For many years I have complained about our state department turning a blind eye to what China was doing in S.E. Asia as the real player in the Domino game has always been China. Well maybe they the USA were not as blind as I once thought ?? Now that China Joe is not in office and his predecessors are but bad memories things are changing for the good IMO.
 

China supported Pol Pot who killed off a few million of his own people; educated, wear glasses, went to school overseas, piss off an enforcer, and a club to the head or a bullet was the punishment. One of the better movies about that was "First They killed my father" https://youtu.be/uS3Vp_quGCw  Vietnam wiped out Pol Pot and his minions on the surface but the Chinese communist roots run deep in Cambodia. I was flying in and out of Phnom Penh (carrying mostly people of the state department types) as the whole country was falling under the Chinese supported Pol Pot regime. America was sidelined to do anything as Vietnam had fallen and America was back into the isolationism cycle.

More current time period, there was a big stink about a phone conversation between the leadership puppets of Cambodia and Thailand because the conversation was intercepted by the USA Sneaky Pete boys and girls. Back in the 70s from S.E. Asia we could listen to taxi cab drivers in N.Y. City if it was so desired so the intercept of the conversation is no big surprise. 

In the conversation the true colors of the Thai P.M. was outed and she was shortly removed thereafter.  

I have a lot of faith in the Thai military as most IMO are not puppets of Beijing and do not want to be the good little soldiers for the CCP/PLA. 

I am glad that many of the USA puppets of the Chinese have been removed from our government for they are worse than any virus as the corruption continues to spread if unchecked. 

Quote:Behold the spectacular side view of the Sun! Watch as magnetic field lines twist and turn while Coronal Rain falls down into the solar surface. Underneath all these dancing prominences is a the very active solar surface throwing up all kinds of plasma.

This time-lapse reveals mesmerizing solar activity through a special filter, the Daystar Quark Chromosphere, bringing you views of solar flares and chromospheric features in exquisite clarity.

The audio is created with sound clips from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. It flew through solar wind and the sun’s corona! Its instruments captured electromagnetic waves and particle collisions. These sounds are the results of that data.

The speed of this footage is around 540x compared to real time.

Equipment Used: Skywatcher Evostar 120mm f8 refractor | Heq5 pro mount | Daystar Quark Chromosphere | ZWO 432mm pro | ZWO 120 mm | ZWO Mini guide scope | ZWO AEF

Acquisition: Firecapture | Tracked with LuSol

Processing: Stacked in Autostakkert4 | ImPPG | footage stabilized and edited in After Effects

Hey all. A basic computer question.

Since I've been playing around with these Local AI Apps, I've found they are limited to certain document file types.

I've been using all kinds of "word processors" since before Windows 3 and have some files in formats that are no longer used. I've used Word Perfect since the late 90s, and have been saving those as other document file types usable in most of my other programs and apps. I have had to use my older computer to do that now as Windows 10 can't seem to run it, so I do that as I go along.

I have always thought that basic text (.TXT) was accepted by all programs regardless, and Notepad can read a lot of unknown file types as a TXT file. Basic text documents have no formatting, but could be useful as archival records and for use in applications where all else fails. Also, it will be as small a file as you can get while retaining all the information.

The second most useful document file for me has been RTF text file that is used in Word and others text editors. However, that format is now outdated in favor of .DOC and .DOCx files for simple format document files.

Next document of choice for me is the PDF format and after that, I'm not going for any specialized text editor format files like WordPerfect Documents (.WPD).

So, any thoughts to add or advice to give?

I'm thinking for the purpose of archiving, TXT file format is a must. So, I'm restructuring my directory tree to have separate files for each type and I use around six it seems (.WPD, .DOC, .DOCx, .RTF, .TXT, and "other" like .HTML). 

Everything should be "saved as" or "exported as" a .TXT file where ever possible. Any related files like images can be saved separately. It means a lot of work making folders and getting things in order. Eventually, I'll delete all the old outdated file types for the new standard ones. 

I haven't made up my mind on images but .JPG and .GIF for raster images probably. I haven't thought about what is best for vector images yet.

In the face of mounting debts which are rising at the rate of 5,000 euros per second the French government is looking to the French people to bail them out , they've already asked for them to work a day for free and now they're looking at cutting 2 public holidays from the calendar which Marine Le Pen's National Rally have described as an attack on French workers and are threatening to bring down the government.

I've got an idea Manu , how about you stop letting the feckless of the World into your Country and expecting the people to pay for your virtue signalling  , we're sick of the stink floating across the Channel .... with your help of course.

Prospective Reform UK board member Michael Heaver explains more in this 2 minute video.


"Vive la révolution"

Good for South Korea ! Now that everyone is jumping on the drone band wagon the next great invention will be how to remove all drones in one's A.O.

Quote:The $2.2 billion deal to purchase 36 new AH-64E Apache helicopters? Cancelled. Gone. Just like that. Why would a country under constant military threat suddenly abandon one of the most feared attack helicopters in the world? What do they know that others don't? From loitering munitions to electronic warfare, radar evolution, and AI-powered smart weapons — we uncover the terrifying truth behind this canceled order. Is this the end of the attack helicopter era? Don't miss this deep dive into a decision that could reshape modern warfare.

This cover-up and disavowal by our government of those who carried out America's secret  missions should say something to all who have and will serve. 

We flew with no Dog Tags or any I.D. in Laos and thought we were hot stuff instead of thinking we were dumb shits !! 

Vietnam had fallen and I was taking a piss at Langley AFB when a General officer came in and told me there was going to be a big Reduction in force (RIF) .... He wanted to know if I wanted to stay in the service or get out as he could insure I would not have to leave the service.. I told Bob when Nam fell I hung up my guns. He said he understood.....

I felt as far as doing some governments bidding in a faraway land those days were over for me. I got out in 7/77 after refusing an offer to go down south and fly fixed and rotary wing aircraft for uncle sugar's black project ( I assume Iran Contra) and never looked back. I wasn't bitter I just knew better after watching all the government's broken promises to those who helped and worked for us in Vietnam and my many friends that were dying from agent Orange exposure.. Most continued to die with no government assistance. Bickel had just turned 40 when his nails started turning to mush and then his liver a Kidneys failed; it was not a pretty or cheap death. I had helped to get him a job with our airline; he was a good guy not because he died but because he was a good father and husband. Not sure but I believe his kid died early (a few years later) from a birth defect.
 
The government and all those high morals they want us to believe in are a one way street; for when the going gets tough the bastards will cut and officially run .... just look at history... 



Bickel flew helicopters spraying Agent Orange

I've finally committed to trying a personal AI assistant that is restricted to my computer system and network. One that I can customize and tailor to my system. Free download at the Microsoft Store. To be honest, I've been using Grammarly to check what I write, and technically, that is an AI app.

Local AI Assistant by Software Tailor (HK) Limited

Quote:Description
Local AI Assistant is an advanced, offline chatbot designed to bring AI-powered conversations and assistance directly to your desktop without needing an internet connection. Installed and run locally on Windows (requires Microsoft .Net Desktop Runtime and Microsoft VC++ Runtime, both downloadable free), this app provides a fully self-contained AI experience, ensuring total privacy and data security by keeping all interactions on your device. Built for businesses, students, and individual users alike, LocalGPT is ideal for generating insights, ideas, or engaging in natural language interactions without worrying about data privacy or network requirements.

Features
Microsoft Phi-3 Model-Powered AI: Experience the power and sophistication of the Microsoft Phi-3 model locally, optimized for high-quality conversations and responses without requiring internet access
Full Offline Functionality: No internet connection is needed to operate LocalGPT, guaranteeing 100% privacy and usability even in offline environments.
Data Privacy and Security: All interactions and data processing are conducted locally, ensuring your data remains private and is never transmitted outside your device.
Advanced Natural Language Understanding: The Phi-3 model excels at understanding complex questions and generating coherent, contextually relevant responses.
Instant Responses: Enjoy near-instant response times as the app operates directly from your device, with no network delays or interruptions.
Context Retention: The chatbot retains context within conversations, allowing for smoother and more natural multi-turn interactions.
. . . more

I don't think it will come as a shock to anyone following his appearance at "The end" show a few weeks ago but today sad news has broken that Ozzy Osbourne has succumb to the ailments that have plagued him over the last few years , a constant through my teenage years and throughout adulthood Ozzy played a big part in my musical life and will be sadly missed. 

Quote:It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.

We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.
 
Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis
https://x.com/OzzyOsbourne/status/194773...gr%5Etweet

This story fascinate me , full credit to Jason Wilde who write this :

Jason Wilde @JasonWilde108


"So I keep going back to why UAP and NHI don't land and just walk out and say something… so what if it's because they’re not here for us at all?


Most have assumed this whole time that we’re the main characters they want. That when the craft appear, the beings inside must be trying to reach us. But what if we're just witnesses to someone else's meeting? What if the lights in the sky, weird shit in the woods, the bizarity that could be beneath the ocean... are signals not for humanity, but for another intelligence already here. Maybe older than us, deeper than us, and entirely uninterested in our awareness? Think Apkallu and Oannes...Naga....or even something else more exotic ... and not the whales from Star Trek!!


The craft don’t respond to radio. They don’t honor our airspace. They slip between dimensions like it's nothing, hover above forests, oceans, and remote mountain ranges; and vanish. Maybe not to hide. But to avoid us. Because we’re not the ones they’re talking to. The truth might be far more wild: they could be meeting another species, one that’s hidden beneath our feet or deep inside our oceans. Something the ancients remembered as gods, devas, serpents, or watchers. Beings who never left. Beings who still operate here, unseen. They wrote about all of this.


Maybe sightings aren’t mistakes. They’re ritualistic visits. Scheduled interactions per se. Not invasions, not greetings or UN summits. And us, hairy bastards scrambling for disclosure, aren’t part of the conversation. We’re the noise on the periphery. The ants near the camera lens. So what's the real message? It’s not for us. Maybe It never was. We’re just eavesdropping on a conversation we were never invited to, and if we ever truly understood what we were watching... we may wish we hadn’t."

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
   

It will be close to Earth 2029 , 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) . The size is about Eiffel tower or Empire State Building and it will enter our orbital neighborhood .

The Moon is, on average, 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away from Earth.

If something would happen , so that it  would deviate 13,000 kilometers closer ....it would enter the Roche limit where Earth’s gravity would start breaking it .If it enter about to 18,000 km it could hit Earth.


Sure, they say no danger....that it cant hit Earth . But i dont think we can be 100% sure can we.

God of Chaos' asteroid Apophis could still hit Earth in 2029, study hints — but we won't know for 3 more years


Just small deviation, and that asteroid could potentially reach the Roche limit.....what if other asteroid would hit  Apophis, changing the direction ?

Quote:There is a slim but overlooked risk that the "God of Chaos" asteroid Apophis could hit Earth as it makes a super close approach to our planet in 2029, a new study reveals. The odds of such a calamitous collision are more than one-in-a-billion — but we won't be able to rule it out for at least three more years.

Quote:But large asteroids like Apophis can be nudged off course by impacts from smaller asteroids, similar to how NASA's DART mission successfully redirected the asteroid Dimorphos by smashing a spacecraft into it in 2022. Researchers have previously warned that this could be a possibility with Apophis over the next five years, potentially bumping the city-killer onto a collision course with Earth.

In the new study, published Aug. 26 in The Planetary Science Journal, astronomer Paul Wiegert — an expert in solar system dynamics at Western University in Canada — calculated the odds of such a scenario happening and found that while it was extremely unlikely, it is still possible.

Quote:In March, Weigert was part of a similar study assessing the risk of Apophis being deflected by any known asteroids and found that there was "zero chance" of this happening. However, at the time, the researchers did warn that there was still a chance that an undiscovered asteroid could collide with Apophis.
But we will have to wait until 2027 to find out if Apophis has been knocked off course because it is currently out of sight due to its close proximity to the sun. When it does reappear, astronomers will be better able to calculate the odds of potential change of course between then and 2029, Weigert wrote.