Metaphysical Boundaries

Some thoughts.

Kofi Tip jar

Trump has spent weeks bragging about it. The brand new Qatari-donated Air Force One, the one he called spectacular and magnificent, the plane taxpayers poured close to $400 million into. He wanted everyone to see it. He wanted everyone to be impressed.

Then reality arrived. Standing in front of cameras in Turkey, Trump admitted he is Iran's number one target, sitting right at the top of their kill list. And in the very same breath, he announced he would not be flying home on his prized $400 million plane after all.

His excuse was that the new jet needed to detour through Europe so soldiers could tour it. But there is a detail that explains the switch far better than any tour ever could. According to reporting from the Associated Press, that $400 million Qatari plane appears to be missing some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems that protect the older aircraft. One expert said it looked better suited for quick domestic hops than anything serious.

So when the threat became real, Trump did not trust the plane he could not stop showing off. He handed the $400 million jet to the troops as a photo op and climbed aboard the old Air Force One, the one with defenses that actually work.

That is the whole story in one decision. Trump accepted a $400 million gift from a foreign government, turned it into a bragging point, and then abandoned it the instant it might have to fly through danger. The plane was good enough to brag about. It was not good enough to save his own life.

The tough talk stayed at the podium. The careful choice happened quietly, on the tarmac, on the safer plane.

A Complete Glossary Of Terms For Science Fiction Writers

Fishing cats are stocky, muscular nocturnal predators about twice the size of a domestic cat. Little studied and rarely seen, fishing cats lurk near the muddy shores oxbow lakes, mangrove swamps, and tidal creeks in South and South East Asia where they dine on fish and crabs (or, failing that, anything smaller than them). The fishing cat is a fast and powerful swimmer and even has webbed paws!

Sadly, fishing cats are now endangered and the global population may have declined by around 30% in the years 2010–2015. The destruction of wetlands and persecution by local farmers and fisherman have driven them to extinction in many regions.

In just the past two months, Sony has:

Said the PS6 will be more than $1000 at launch

Announced the end of all physical PS game releases

While simultaneously announcing the end of two of their console game stores — ensuring multiple games will die forever

Declared that they are wholly dedicated to (A) leveraging A.I. when making games and (B) creating live-service games above all other game types

Announced that if you bought any movies through their PlayStation Store, over 550 of them will soon be deleted from all users' libraries — with no restitution offered of any kind

Gamers, it is time — to paraphrase Robert Vann — to turn Sony's picture to the wall. Any one of these insults would be bad, and taken alone? Maybe it could be swallowed. But this is an ongoing campaign of disdain towards customers, with each declaration worse than the last.

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Psiloceras planorbis. Ancient elegance, preserved in stone. Over 100 million years old, discovered in Somerset. A natural masterpiece.

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