not "the" Ukraine. I winced a little when Nancy Pelosi put the "the" in front of the country's name.

I associated the use of "the" to the years Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.

https://time.com/12597/the-ukraine-or-ukraine/

“Ukraine is a country,” says William Taylor, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009. “The Ukraine is the way the Russians referred to that part of the country during Soviet times … Now that it is a country, a nation, and a recognized state, it is just Ukraine. And it is incorrect to refer to the Ukraine, even though a lot of people do it.”

I'm shipping gifts to my oldest son's family in CA from NC and want them there in time - best choice for shipping?

I'm thinking I'll go with the post office, but could do the UPS store or even FedEx although I believe that would cost an arm and a leg. However I am willing to pay what it takes to get the presents there on time.

Usually I just Amazon everything to them, but this year I wanted to wrap them all and send them myself. Then the last gift didn't come until yesterday. So here I am, ready to go and hoping to make the best decision.

ETA: I went to the post office, waited not too too long, and paid almost $80 for priority mail. I don't want to take chances. Thank you all for your responses

which I'm struggling to really engage with. thanks to the posted spreadsheet of journalists.

https://universeodon.com/@Mark_H7781/109521450131653569

I heard a more fitting name for Trump's NFT cards.

Broke’mon cards.

I just signed up at Mastodon and want to start following people.

Source: Forbes

According to Bloomberg, Musk’s first email sent to staffers late on Wednesday night warned of “difficult times ahead” for the company, adding that there was no way to “sugarcoat the message.”

Musk also ended Twitter’s lenient remote work policy that has been in place since the start of the pandemic and allowed employees to work from anywhere, corroborating earlier reports.

In his email, Twitter’s new CEO reportedly said the policy change will go into effect immediately and employees are expected to be in the office “at least 40 hours per week.”

Any exemptions to the remote work policy change will have to be personally approved by Musk himself, the report added.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/11/10/musk-reportedly-bans-remote-work-at-twitter-and-warns-of-difficult-times-in-internal-email/?sh=38fe1786031c

---

He's going to lose good people over this. Asshole. It's a tech company, unless you have to go right into the machinery you do not have to be chained to a desk and commute back and forth and all that crap.

He's truly a terrible person, isn't he?

and the first thing I learned this morning is that Beasley lost to a trump nut.

WTF NC - I'm slowly gathering that the news is otherwise good for Dems but WTF NC.

place was jumping and Democrats were outside greeting voters.

I had to fight back the tears. Voting chokes me up especially when I am acutely aware of how important it is. I grew up in CA and we were pretty reliably blue. I've voted more here in NC than I did in my whole 52 years in CA.

I need to breathe because I'm so anxious. Not that we won't get the votes to win, but that republicans will not accept that they lost and will continue to make life miserable for the foreseeable future.

I lived in Raleigh from 2007 to 2016; now I live in Durham.

So WTF happened? All I have learned is that a 15-year-old white kid got a gun and started killing people. He is unnamed and in critical condition, somehow.

I just tried to watch a news conference and it simply enraged me. thoughts and prayers, Raleigh Strong, blah blah blah...I didn't watch it all because it frustrated me too much.

Aren't press conferences held to inform the public about events that are important to them? Instead they turn it into a pep rally?? For as long as I watched, I can say that not one of the speakers mentioned the glaring fact that A 15-YEAR-OLD was holding a deadly weapon in a public place - how did he get it? What kind of gun was it? Who is he? All i know about him is he's a white boy in camos killing people.

I want more. I want to know where he got the gun. I want to know if it was an assault weapon with no other function but to kill humans. I want to know how he came to be in critical condition.

I hurt for the victims and their families. I am beyond pissed at this culture, this sick, sick, culture, that we are all being forced to live in. Don't tell me how to feel. Just fucking tell me what happened and come as close as you can to WHY, because I'm thinking this kid may have been brainwashed by right wing and/or incel media. I'm also wondering how close he may be to the PTB, because of his continued anonymity.

I'll have to check out twitter and reddit. Maybe I'll get some answers there. seriously, the News and Observer and the people running that press conference did not provide them.

/rant off

ETA: Reddit did give me the shooter's name and also the news that the 16-year-old who was killed was his brother. so, go reddit.

My son is getting married in Cary on Saturday. It was to be an outdoor ceremony; Ian had other plans. On Sunday they were going to head out to their honeymoon resort, in Duck, NC. Ian had other plans.

I'm happy because they're perfect for each other. Rory, my youngest son, and I drove to NC from CA and arrived on 03Oct2007. She's born and raised NC and the sweetest and most loving person you'd ever want to meet.

I have high hopes for a new grandchild soon; it's been 15 years since the last one and I'm not getting any younger.

I'm happy because family is coming from the West Coast and so far, it looks like they'll all make it. Today is the big day for arrivals. My niece is possibly not landing until tomorrow so that might be dicey.

Well, gotta run out to the airport for the second time in 3 days (my oldest grandson arrived on Monday). this load is my oldest son and his youngest. Can't wait.

It's going to be beautiful, and I'm preparing a short toast that will include, if only obliquely, our unexpected visitor. I expected that Covid would be showing up, knew there might be rain, in NC on any day there might be rain, but the timing of Ian is as ironic as the purpose for this forum, which is: "Can't you see the sunshine. Discuss all things North Carolina."

All best thoughts and concern to the people bearing the brunt of this vicious storm from Cuba to Florida and beyond.

he needs to taken off the street asap. the list of crimes is nearly endless, take your pick and charge the motherfucker.