Quote:About 7,000 years ago, humanity faced a silent cataclysm, or at least part of it. Genetic records show that for every 17 women, only one man passed on his bloodline. Nearly 90% of men disappeared in a mysterious bottleneck, while the female population stayed stable. The Y-chromosome diversity collapsed, hinting at very brutal conflicts. This led to the rise of patriarchal clans, or unseen social shifts triggered by agriculture and territorial wars. No written records remain — only the silent testimony of our DNA, whispering of an ancient purge that forever altered the path of human history, and great myth that hints at the importance of war, violence and confrontation in Indo-European cultures. 00:00 Intro 01:10 A World On The Brink 07:35 The Genetic Culling 12:47 Warfare, Power & Patriarchy 18:35 The Birth Of The "Warrior Society" 22:40 Myth Of A Violent Golden Age 26:33 The Long Shadow 30:45 Outro

Not sure if this belongs here or not (mods feel free to move if you think appropriate), but I wanted to make a quick post about people's 'personality'.

GHLD posted an interesting thread the other day about a sub-reddit on Reddit called AITA (Am I The Asshole).  After responding to that post, I got to thinking about a somewhat related topic, but also more fundamental...people's core personality.  I didn't feel like this subject belonged in GHLD's thread as it might confuse things, so I'll post it here.

In my line of work I have to work with lots of peopole (lots and LOTS).  Some of them are employees whom I am in charge of, some of them are colleagues who work for different companies or agencies, and many of them are the general public just by association with the nature of what we do.  As a result, particularly with employees and colleagues, I get the 'good fortune' (lol) of dealing with lots of different personality types.  Some of these are good, some are not so good, and some others still are downright evil and toxic.  To stay in this line of work for any length of time, let alone an entire career, can be a challenge if one is to maintain their own sanity.  I'll cut to the chase here.

I had a very wise man and mentor once tell me, early in my career, that you cannot change a person's core personality.  I didn't fully comprehend what this meant at the time, nor did I realize how valuable that piece of advice would become later on.  At the time, I think I just viewed his advice as circumstantial in that moment.  Later, I realized that this mantra really does apply over the long haul with people.  I'll cite some examples, and it's interesting how far some of these examples reach, even including what we read in the "news" every day.  It's also very interesting how valuable being able to evaluate if a situation is a personality issue or just a conditional situation.  Again, I'll try to explain...

Simplistically, let's say you have an employee who makes a mistake and creates a worse situation from one which is already filled with tension.  I use the word 'mistake' intentionally here because it cuts right to the essence of the issue.  'Mistake' also implies blame (but more on this in a moment).  Let's also say the 'mistake' is not just trivial, and repeating such a mistake would likely result in termination or worse (legal implications).  At this point, as a supervisor, you have to make an assessment (often based on past track record) of whether or not this mistake was the result of a core personality issue, or if it was just an honest 'accidental' mistake.  This assessment results in several different (completely different) courses of actions.  There are numerous examples of possible actions here, so I'll just cite a couple:

- A.) The person is a highly valued worker, but the mistake is a product of a core personality issue.  Or...

- B.) The person is a highly valued worker, but the mistake was just a circumstantial issue and truly accidental.  Or...

- C.) The person is a constant source of problems, and is not a critical team member, and the issue is clearly a core personality trait.

(again, these are not exhaustive examples, but rather just a sampling)

In scenario A.) you might have to reassign a person so they aren't able to get into those situations (if possible).  In scenario B.) you might just need to identify the mistake and give corrective advice, and nothing more.  And lastly, in scenario C.), you might need to separate the employee (or set into motion the steps necessary to do so).

I know this all probably sounds very indifferent (possibly even abrupt), but to be successful long-term, you have to get to the point where you can remove all emotion out of the equation, and understanding a person's personality is key in doing this.

Every day we run into people, co-workers, employees, or even the general public where their actions are a result of either core personality issues, or simply circumstantial.  GHLD pointed this out in the context of people questioning whether they are an 'asshole' or not, but more fundamentally the ultimate answer (or certainly a large portion of it) boils down to a person's motivation to ask the question and what their specific personality type is. 

Sometimes it's not possible to assess a person's personality type as you have no history with that person.  A person in the general public or a person  you just met would be a good example.  This pieces isn't really directed at them, but rather people you do have a track record and history with, a person you've worked with daily for months or even years.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Cheers!

With the claimed operating cost per hour of this aircraft it will be hard to skim money off the top for other projects.

We had something like this (super secret or at least not well known) in Vietnam during the 69 to 70 time frame. 3 bladed prop and super quite night fighter observation platform; lite on weapons but very quite.  This OA-1K is on a different level IMO.

Quote:We got an up-close look at L3Harris' Sky Warden variant of the famed AT-802 Air Tractor that is serving as the test aircraft for Air Force Special Operation Command's OA-1K Skyraider II program. We met up with L3Harris at this year's Special Operations Forces Week conference in Tampa, Florida. We also got the company's take on the aircraft's capabilities, which will have to adapt to high-end combat scenarios in the future. More on the future of the OA-1K program in our recent feature here: https://www.twz.com/air/can-the-oa-1k...

Metal detectorists searching a field in the South of England unearthed something a bit special earlier this year , the first find war a Gold Garnet inlaid band which was found by a chap new to the hobby , beginners luck perhaps but what came next turned the experienced detectorist who found it to tears , the objects are about 1,600 years old.


Credit to the guys for their find and following protocol.

Like many people I have become addicted to Reddit's "Am I the Asshole?". If you are unfamiliar it is a place where people tell their stories and ask that eternal question. Some are genuine in the questioning of their situation while others sugar coat their stories to sway opinion in their favor. Personally I just like the drama, especially since I am safely uninvolved as an anonymous reader.

Why do so many seek the judgement of internet strangers? The answers can be varied but my opinion is only this: Yes, you are the asshole!

We are all the asshole in someone's story. We are all the villain in someone's mind. None of us are perfect- not a single one. No matter how we frame our story in the other guy's story we are evil. I have learned to accept this. No matter how good of a person I think I am from someone else's perspective I am the bad guy. This is true of ALL of us.

The next time you feel all self-righteous and indignant please remember that you too are the asshole in somebody's story, maybe just as much as they are the asshole in yours.

Enjoy your Mother's Day weekend, Rogues! I'll be over here just being an asshole!

Some of the nuts, bolts, and purpose of the Space force

Hopefully nobody gets triggered by this piece.

Quote:Ah, the Baby Boomer counter-culture. That flower-crowned fever dream of peace, love, and delusional utopianism. History remembers it fondly as the moment when an entire generation supposedly broke free of “the Man,” embraced sexual liberation, and fought for civil rights. But peel back the tie-dyed curtain, and what do we find? A mess. A loud, self-righteous, pot-smoke-reeking mess that promised liberation, but delivered gentrification, inflated real estate markets, and the spiritual death of rock 'n' roll.

In the interest of transparency, I am a Cusper. My folks were Depression/WW2 era, making me a Boomer, but many of my peers were the offspring of Boomers—i.e. Xers. By the time I became culturally aware, most of the damage was done. My first wife was a Boomer, and the second was an Xer, and frankly I don’t see a lot of difference.

Let’s begin with the obvious: the Boomers were the first generation in history to rebel against their parents because life was too good. Raised in an era of unprecedented prosperity, they somehow managed to mistake boredom for oppression. Imagine growing up with full employment, cheap tuition, affordable housing, and a pension plan at age 24—and deciding the real problem with society was that the living room wallpaper didn’t have enough mushrooms on it.

This was a revolution that claimed to be against consumerism, while being sponsored by Volkswagen. Yes, nothing screams anti-establishment quite like a mass-produced German vehicle commissioned by Adolf Hitler becoming the symbol of your movement. Boomers didn’t so much reject capitalism, as give it a makeover. Tie-dye T-shirts? Monetized. Anti-war slogans? Trademarked. LSD-induced spiritual awakenings? Published by HarperCollins and sold at Borders.

And let's not forget the music. Oh, the music! The soundtrack of their revolution—Dylan, Hendrix, Joni, Janis—was meant to stir souls and ignite change. But within a decade, those same anthems were background noise in elevators, car commercials and dental office waiting rooms. Woodstock, the pinnacle of hippie idealism, left behind not only good vibes and acid flashbacks, but also a mountain of trash, mud and hepatitis, not to mention “love children”. It was less a utopia and more a prototype for Burning Man with worse plumbing and no logistics.

Of course, the Boomers were very into social justice—when it meant skipping class and quoting Marx in between bong hits and Weathermen reports. But once the revolutions were over, they didn't exactly dismantle the systems they once raged against. No, they bought and packaged them. Wall Street? Now staffed by former flower children with ponytails and investment portfolios. The military-industrial complex? Still booming, just with better PR and possibly a few recycled drum circles. They didn’t kill the system. They moved into it, put their feet up, and asked what the pension plan looked like.

In fact, the anti-war generation has become one of the most bellicose in history, selling bombs to third-world countries, then bombing the buyers, all the while kicking back to the Boomer politicians who facilitated both ends of the deal.

And speaking of pensions—can we talk about housing? These self-proclaimed anti-materialists snatched up real estate like it was going out of style (it was). They turned every affordable neighborhood into an overpriced Whole Foods fantasy, then had the audacity to call millennials “entitled” for not being able to afford a broom closet in Haight-Asbury or a studio flat in Greenwich. They fought the man, then became the man, complete with mortgage-backed securities and vintage LPs that have tripled in value (see The Beatles “Yesterday and Today” unpeeled).

Let’s not gloss over the family values aspect, either. The generation that told their parents “you’re not the boss of me” then went on to raise latchkey kids with divorce rates that made 16th-century monarchs blush. Their parenting style? A cocktail of absenteeism, passive aggression, and vague talk of “finding yourself.” Thanks, Mom and Dad—you created the Therapy Industrial Complex.

And education—remember when Boomers protested universities for being too square? Fast-forward forty years and they're charging students $50,000 a year for the same Cultural Studies courses they once picketed. The revolution, it seems, had a tuition fee. Today's students graduate with debt that would bankrupt a small nation, all while Boomers moan that “kids these days don’t know the value of hard work.” This from the people who spent their formative years dropping acid and reading Siddhartha.


Sorry, I threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Even the environment didn’t get spared. Boomers were the original Earth lovers, sure. They hugged trees, wore hemp, and banned aerosols. But somehow, in the decades since, we’ve managed to cook the planet to a crisp under their watch. Turns out the “ecological consciousness” of the 1970s couldn’t withstand the allure of SUV Breeder Buses, air conditioning, and all-you-can-eat shrimp buffets.

And let’s be brutally honest: the cultural hangover is real. The Boomer legacy gave us new-age narcissism, pseudoscience, and a generation convinced that your chakras are the key to financial success. They replaced religion with horoscopes, wisdom with vibes, and civic duty with yoga retreats in Bali.

What began as a movement of hopeful rebellion mutated into an exercise in self-indulgence. The “don’t trust anyone over 30” crowd never trusted anyone under 30, once they hit 31. Their revolution wasn’t about changing the world—it was about feeling like they were changing the world, while ensuring they still got their tax credits and inherited cottages in the Catskills.


In short, the Baby Boomer counter-cultural revolution didn’t fail because it went too far. It failed because it didn’t sacrifice luxuries and financial security. It was theatre, not transformation. Noise, not substance. A marketing strategy masquerading as social change.

The Boomers were a demographic blob that descended like locusts on the social contract, leaving nothing but scraps and droppings in its wake. It was a drug-infused opium fantasy, couched in fecklessness, espousing liberation from reality.

So here we are—children of the revolution, left to clean up the mess and pay the bills. The peace signs have rusted, the vinyl smells of mildew, and the only thing truly counter-cultural left is financial solvency.

From neo-tribal communes, to the boards of corrupt NGOs, the Boomers’ legacy has bankrupted the treasury and society. The unicorn farts and sunbeams that recently crashed the European grid is a direct result of a self-indulgent generation hell-bent on making everyone else live by their dreams.

Perhaps the 21st century will come to be known as “The Great Mop-Up”.

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There is really only one counter-culture film worth mentioning, and that is Easy Rider (1969). This film is in the moment, of the moment and for the moment. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a must. If you have seen it, it’s been at least 30 years and time again. In many ways, this classic has almost become a documentary. Dennis Hopper co-wrote, directed and stars with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson.

Logistics/supplies means you need to have stuff for your fighting force to carry out a strike or a war(Russia has been lacking in that department for Ukraine).

The video covers some of the logistics in place for an attack on Iran.

Magpie is a smart bird , this smart bird was filmed having a bit of fun at a cat's expense.


Love the way he turns his back to the cat daring it to have a go.