January 29, 2023

Wordle 589 1/29 ***Spoiler Thread***

Wordle 589 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜train
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜child
🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜sighs
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩fishy

January 25, 2023

Mother Jones data counts mass shootings as three or more victims since 2013

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map/

January 25, 2023

There's a current database maintained by Mother Jones

tracking "mass shootings" from 1982 through 2023

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data/

There is no agreed upon definition of what constitutes a mass shooting, but according to RAND's Gun Policy Initiative in America

"Data show that, regardless of how one defines mass shootings, perpetrators are likely to be men."

https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/essays/mass-shootings.html

January 24, 2023

Wordle 584 1/24 ***Spoiler Thread***

Wordle 584 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜trial
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩chest
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩count

January 22, 2023

I don't do routine breast or colon cancer

screenings. I don't do flu shots. I've had high cholesterol for 30 some years and refuse to take statins.

I do use routine asthma medication and take a pill for high blood pressure. I have been vaxxed and boosted for COVID and still wear a mask indoors and avoid crowds. I go to the dentist and eye doc routinely. I will have cataracts removed if necessary or treat glaucoma.

I'll be 72 in March. I've told my doc I will not go through cancer treatment. I live alone. If I get some debilitating disease I'm not going to struggle with it. I'd rather leave an inheritance for my sons than to blow resources prolonging my life, especially if it involves considerable pain or decline in quality of life.

I've had a good life. Bodies age and wear out. Some sooner than others. I have two hip replacements and a knee replacement. I'm not anxious to do more joint replacement surgery, but my first hip replacement was 16 years ago and it's possible it could have to be redone. Ugh. When you replace a hip that's already been replaced, it has to be done the old way from the posterior, which means three months of restrictions to avoid dislocation. Not fun, especially living alone . I have zero desire to move to assisted living.

So, we'll see how it goes. But I won't pursue medical care for everything that could go wrong with me as I continue to age.

January 22, 2023

Wordle 582 1/22 ***Spoiler Thread***

Wordle 582 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨crime
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜smell
⬜🟩🟨🟩🟩gamey
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩matey

Really? My oldest son was showing me a pirate video game yesterday. I guess I should have started with matey, instead of with the crime that is in the title of my youngest son's podcast, who just signed a contract Friday with a network to include his show.

January 20, 2023

I just sent an FU to AmazonSmile regarding their decision

Here's the content of the e-mail I sent to them in response to the e-mail announcing their decision to "wind down" AmazonSmile. The charity I had been supporting was Hope for Paws in Los Angeles. Maybe if they get enough responses criticizing them and threatening to reduce or give up purchasing from Amazon, they'll rethink the decision.

For those who haven't been using AmazonSmile, this is the content of the e-mail which they sent two days ago:

Dear customer,

In 2013, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favorite charities. However, after almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped. With so many eligible organizations—more than 1 million globally—our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.

We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where we’ve seen we can make meaningful change—from building affordable housing to providing access to computer science education for students in underserved communities to using our logistics infrastructure and technology to assist broad communities impacted by natural disasters.

To help charities that have been a part of the AmazonSmile program with this transition, we will be providing them with a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the program, and they will also be able to accrue additional donations until the program officially closes in February. Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.

As a company, we will continue supporting a wide range of other programs that help thousands of charities and communities across the U.S. For instance:

Housing Equity Fund: We’re investing $2 billion to build and preserve affordable housing in our hometown communities. In just two years, we’ve provided funding to create more than 14,000 affordable homes—and we expect to build at least 6,000 more in the coming months. These units will host more than 18,000 moderate- to low-income families, many of them with children. In one year alone, our investments have been able to increase the affordable housing stock in communities like Bellevue, Washington and Arlington, Virginia by at least 20%.
Amazon Future Engineer: We’ve funded computer science curriculum for more than 600,000 students across over 5,000 schools—all in underserved communities. We have plans to reach an additional 1 million students this year. We’ve also provided immediate assistance to 55,000 students in our hometown communities by giving them warm clothes for the winter, food, and school supplies.
Community Delivery Program: We’ve partnered with food banks in 35 U.S. cities to deliver more than 23 million meals, using our logistics infrastructure to help families in need access healthy food – and we plan to deliver 12 million more meals this year alone. In addition to our delivery services, we’ve also donated 30 million meals in communities across the country.
Amazon Disaster Relief: We’re using our logistics capabilities, inventory, and cloud technology to provide fast aid to communities affected by natural disasters. For example, we’ve created a Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta with more than 1 million relief items ready for deployment, our Disaster Relief team has responded to more than 95 natural disasters, and we’ve donated more than 20 million relief products to nonprofits assisting communities on the ground.
Community Giving: We support hundreds of local nonprofits doing meaningful work in cities where our employees and their families live. For example, each year we donate hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations working to build stronger communities, from youth sport leagues, to local community colleges, to shelters for families experiencing homelessness.

We’ll continue working to make a difference in many ways, and our long-term commitment to our communities remains the same—we’re determined to do every day better for our customers, our employees, and the world at large.

Thank you for being an Amazon customer.

January 19, 2023

I have a friend who was on House Hunters International

He moved to Lyon, FRANCE from Kansas City about 15 years ago. He was a high school French teacher here and he teaches in a private International school in Lyon. Moved before he had a job, but had met someone while he was there in the summer taking a course for his Master's degree.

He was already living in Lyon and they gave him three choices for an apartment, one of which had already come up in his current building which he planned to take. Several years ago he moved again to a fabulous 2 bedroom apartment overlooking a central courtyard.

In 2019 I started looking at renting an apartment in Lyon for 3 months to try out the idea of moving there. Before I could make it happen, COVID hit. In April 2020 I put a deposit on building a new house locally to get myself out of the downtown high rise apartment where I was living, feeling like I was playing Russian roulette every time I got in the elevator. I spent the summer of 2020 making design choices for my new house. I guess watching Property Brothers for years finally paid off, but I would rather have been choosing an apartment abroad.

You are lucky to be living your dream. I wasn't able to make mine happen. I turn 72 in March and just don't have the energy to make a move abroad happen now.

I've stopped watching House Hunters, Lottery Dream Home and Property Brothers, although I loved them all at one time.

January 18, 2023

Wordle 578 1/18 *** Spoiler Thread***

Wordle 578 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜mouse
⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜train
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩award
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩chard

January 16, 2023

Wordle 576 1/16 ***Spoiler Thread***

Wordle 576 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨water
🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜rough
🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜cross
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩frock