Got one two weeks ago.

What's your avg sleep score?

73 here. (Monitors duration, time spent in deep/REM, and bom under resting bpm)

Id like to get it up to 80

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Personally I'm not so sure about the idea of a "noble lie" myself (see other locked/deleted thread commentary) but overall I agree with his premise in general. There is a roughly 30 minute video in that thread if anyone is interested in listening.

Before everyone's biases start kicking in and framing your opinions of this guy/take please also consider the following:

"Climate activists may dismiss Hulme as a “climate denier,” but he agrees the planet is warming due to human activities and specifically says we should prepare for more heat waves.

Moreover, Hulme’s credentials are undeniably impressive. He is a Professor at the University of Cambridge and founding Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Hulme has advised everyone from the United Nations to the UK Government and earned a personalized certificate from the Nobel Peace Prize committee for his work with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Now, in his new book, Climate Change Isn’t Everything, Hulme strongly denounces “climatism,” which he describes as the “unyielding belief that stopping climate change is the pre-eminent yardstick against which all policies must be measured.”..."

Thoughts? I personally agree with the idea that we should always strive to be better stewards to the environment, but "the sky is falling" narrative admittedly makes me less trusting of the movement in general.

Einstein famously called the world "a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

One wonders what the great scientist would make of the United States, a country he moved to in 1933, where those in charge could possibly do more - much more - to keep Americans safe. According to Numbeo's latest crime index, of the world's 50 most dangerous cities, seven are located in the US -- and every one of them is run by a Democrat. The un-magnificent seven include Detroit, Albuquerque, Oakland, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Houston, Texas.

The seven cities listed are more dangerous than San Salvador, the notoriously violent capital of El Salvador.

The US cities listed are plagued by high numbers of burglaries, gun crimes, property crimes, and homicides. In Albuquerque, for instance, there was a significant increase in weapons violations from January to August of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

With a total of 2,372 reported cases, this represented a 24 percent rise on the previous year. Similarly, Oakland has experienced a rise in violent crime, as recently reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Compared to 2022, reports of violent crime increased by 21 percent last year, while robberies and burglaries increased by 38 percent and 23 percent. The city also recorded 120 homicides for the second consecutive year, averaging about one every three days.

In Philadelphia, as highlighted by the left-leaning think tank Brookings, people are fearful and hesitant to walk the streets due to the prevailing levels of lawlessness. Vandalism, assault, arson, and sex crimes are unfortunately common occurrences in Philly. Seattle, according to the Brookings report, is grappling with issues related to security, substance use, and mental health.

Many residents, it seems, are sleepless in Seattle - and for all the wrong reasons. Despite Texas being a predominantly Republican state, its largest city, Houston, is governed by John Whitmire, a long-standing member of the Democratic Party.

Houston, renowned for its diversity of cuisine and ethnicities, also harbors a diverse range of crimes such as larceny, vandalism, and motor vehicle thefts. Robberies and aggravated assaults are also frighteningly common.

When one looks at the Numbeo report a little more closely, they'll see that, of the world's 100 most dangerous cities, 16 are in the United States. The other nine include San Francisco, Washington, DC, Portland, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Seattle, Tucson, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, widely considered the homeless capital of America. Interestingly, none of the 9 cities are run by Republicans. This observation is not intended as a criticism of Democrats but rather a reflection of the report's findings.


Albuquerque finds itself short on police officers - this has been the case for a few years. Meanwhile, in Oakland, defunding has been blamed for a rise in murders, shootings, violent armed robberies, home invasions, car break-ins, and highway shootouts.

Crime is a serious issue - and with a major presidential election just around the corner, it may become a defining issue.

According to Vera Action, a division of the left-leaning Vera Institute, winning elections in which crime is a significant concern requires candidates to demonstrate a genuine commitment to public safety.

Interestingly, once this threshold is met, a clear trend emerges: when given the choice between a "tough-on-crime" or "prevention-first" approach, a majority of voters, particularly Democrats, prefer prevention.

Regardless of political affiliation, most voters would likely support a "prevention-first" strategy, as avoidance is generally more effective than any reactive remedy.


However, as the Numbeo report reveals, none of the 16 cities listed appear to have any sort of effective approach to combating crime in place. This lack of action could have severe consequences for Democrats, and Joe Biden in particular.

A significant portion of the population believes that the current president has performed poorly in addressing criminal activities, with the crisis at the border exacerbating the situation.

In fact, it seems that the border crisis is directly contributing to the rise in crime rates in American cities.

As the analysts at Vera caution, voters who are most concerned about safety have the power to determine the outcome of a political race.

They can make or break a candidate, just like approaches to policing crime can make or break a city.

Disappeared some threads, locked others but the bigots stay.

Who‘s surprised?

Link: D1Baseball

1. Wake Forest (6-1)
2. Arkansas (5-2)
3. LSU (7-1)
4. Florida (5-1)
5. TCU (7-0)
6. Oregon State (7-1)
7. Texas A&M (7-0)
8. Tennessee (7-1)
9. Vanderbilt (5-3)
10. Clemson (6-1)
11. East Carolina (5-2)
12. Duke (7-0)
13. Virginia (7-0)
14. North Carolina State (4-2)
15. Texas (6-1)
16. Alabama (8-0)
17. North Carolina (5-2)
18. Texas Tech (6-2)
19. South Carolina (7-1)
20. Indiana (6-1)
21. Campbell (6-1)
22. Coastal Carolina (5-2)
23. Auburn (6-1)
24. UC-Santa Barbara (3-3)
25. Dallas Baptist (7-0)

Dropped Out
Iowa (#18), UCLA (#20), Kansas State (#24)

==================================

Link: Perfect Game

1. Wake Forest (6-1)
2. Arkansas (5-2)
3. LSU (7-1)
4. Texas A&M (7-0)
5. TCU (7-0)
6. Florida (5-1)
7. Oregon State (7-1)
8. Texas (6-1)
9. Virginia (7-0)
10. Tennessee (7-1)
11. Vanderbilt (5-3)
12. Duke (7-0)
13. South Carolina (6-1)
14. Auburn (6-1)
15. East Carolina (5-2)
16. Clemson (6-1)
17. North Carolina (5-2)
18. Dallas Baptist (7-0)
19. Indiana (6-1)
20. Florida State (7-0)
21. North Carolina State (4-2)
22. Alabama (8-0)
23. Coastal Carolina (5-2)
24. Indiana State (7-0)
25. UCLA (3-3)

Dropped Out
Cal State-Fullerton, Iowa, Kansas State, Stanford

Others Considered
California, Campbell, Kentucky, Texas Tech, UC-Irvine

===================================

Link: Baseball America

1. Wake Forest (6-1)
2. LSU (7-1)
3. Arkansas (5-2)
4. Oregon State (7-1)
5. Florida (5-1)
6. TCU (7-0)
7. Tennessee (7-1)
8. Virginia (7-0)
9. Vanderbilt (5-3)
10. Clemson (6-1)
11. Texas A&M (7-0)
12. South Carolina (7-1)
13. Duke (7-0)
14. Texas (6-1)
15. East Carolina (5-2)
16. Texas Tech (6-2)
17. North Carolina (5-2)
18. North Carolina State (4-2)
19. Auburn (6-1)
20. UC-Irvine (6-0)
21. Indiana (6-1)
22. Coastal Carolina (5-2)
23. Dallas Baptist (7-0)
24. Alabama (8-0)
25. Campbell (6-1)

==================================

Link: USA Today Coaches Poll

1. Wake Forest (23) (6-1)
2. LSU (4) (7-1)
3. TCU (7-0)
4. Florida (2) (5-1)
5. Arkansas (1) (5-2)
6. Oregon State (1) (7-1)
7. Texas A&M (7-0)
8. Tennessee (7-1)
9. Virginia (7-0)
10. Duke (7-0)
11. Clemson (6-1)
12. East Carolina (5-2)
13. Texas (6-1)
14. Vanderbilt (5-3)
15. Alabama (8-0)
16. South Carolina (7-1)
17. North Carolina (5-2)
18. North Carolina State (4-2)
19. Texas Tech (6-2)
20. Coastal Carolina (5-2)
21. Indiana (6-1)
22. Auburn (6-1)
23. Campbell (6-1)
24. Dallas Baptist (7-0)
25. UC-Irvine (6-0)

Dropped Out
UC-Santa Barbara (#18), Iowa (#20), Stanford (#23), UCLA (#24), Northeastern (#25)

Others Receiving Votes
Florida State, UC-Santa Barbara, UCLA, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Indiana State, Georgia, Troy, California, Northeastern, Iowa, Southern Mississippi, Kansas State, Kentucky, North Carolina-Wilmington, Sam Houston State, Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Arizona, St. Louis, Oklahoma, Houston

================================

Link: NCBWA

1. Wake Forest (6-1)
2. LSU (7-1)
3. TCU (7-0)
4. Oregon State (7-1)
5. Arkansas (5-2)
6. Florida (5-1)
7. Tennessee (7-1)
8. Texas A&M (7-0)
9. Duke (7-0)
10. Virginia (7-0)
11. Clemson (6-1)
12. East Carolina (5-2)
13. Vanderbilt (5-3)
14. Texas (6-1)
15. Alabama (8-0)
16. North Carolina (5-2)
17. South Carolina (7-1)
18. Texas Tech (6-2)
19. North Carolina State (4-2)
20. Auburn (6-1)
21. Indiana (6-1)
22. Coastal Carolina (5-2)
23. Dallas Baptist (7-0)
24. Campbell (6-1)
25. UC-Irvine (6-0)

Others Receiving Votes (listed alphabetically)
Austin Peay, Bethune-Cookman, California, Central Florida, Creighton, Florida A&M, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Indiana State, Iowa, Jackson State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Long Beach State, Louisiana Tech, Maryland, Miami (FL), Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Prairie View A&M, Rutgers, St. John's, St. Louis, Sam Houston State, Southern Mississippi, Troy, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara, West Virginia, William & Mary

Dropped Out
UCLA (#19), Iowa (#21), Stanford (#23), Kentucky (#24)

I mean, it kinda feels like since the Swoopes crap came out (around the time she broke the record), that she has been just "off" and that is saying a LOT when this GOAT just put up another freaking triple double. I am just wondering if maybe it is just kind of getting to her just a bit.

They then have UCLA and South Carolina meeting for the National Championship.

Caitlin is their unanimous National Player of the Year.

Is the Elite 8 this year's team's ceiling?

The Story:

An animal found dead on an interstate near Davenport has been identified as a gray wolf.



The wolf was found by State Conservation Officer Brooks VanDerBeek last Monday. It was Iying in the median of I-80, near the interchange with I-280, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.


VanDerBeek collected the animal, which was taken to the Iowa State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Ames. A necropsy confirmed it was a male gray wolf, estimated to be about 2 years old.




“He was in fair shape physically, with not much fat under the hide but a good amount of fat internally,” state wildlife veterinarian Dr. Rachel Ruden said in a news release.


The wolf had parasites, including Echinococcus tapeworms, which can infect people through ingestion of eggs in feces. Ruden said this serves as a reminder for hunters, trappers and wildlife rehabilitators to take care when handling coyotes and foxes.


The DNR is planning to send tissue samples for DNA testing to verify whether the animal is a true wolf or a hybrid, as well as its population of origin.


Vince Evelsizer, state furbearer biologist, said the wolf likely originated from the Great Lakes population in Wisconsin and Minnesota.





The Great Lakes wolf population is the closest to Iowa, and it has been growing in recent years. Over the past five years, Iowa has averaged one to five wolves roaming through the state.


“Wolves have a complex social structure and will naturally disperse, typically in the fall or winter, not necessarily associated with breeding,” Evelsizer said in the news release.


A gray wolf was captured on a trail camera in Delaware County in November, and while the dead wolf “appears to have similar coloring” to the wolf in the photo, Evelsizer said the DNR doesn’t know for sure whether it’s the same animal.


Wolves are protected in Iowa and there is no open season.


“While it is rare for wolves to be in Iowa, this serves as a reminder to coyote hunters to be very sure of your target before pulling the trigger,” Evelsizer said.


Coyotes typically weigh 25-40 pounds, whereas wolves typically weigh 70-110 pounds. The wolf killed near Davenport weighed 77.5 pounds, and measured 62 inches long from nose to tip of the tail.

Iowa could be looking at quite a few 3,4 & 5 seeds. Honestly don’t think we will have any 1 seeds. Closest could be Ayala but who know what the Hell to do with 125. What are your thoughts on where our guys end up. Also what if Gabe and Big Ben go where do you put them…

Just wondering. Ohio State players better be watching

A student who works as a server mentioned today that she has been tipped multiple times by people who leave her a Bible in lieu of money, telling her that she will find it far more valuable than money. I had never heard of this before, and it raises several questions.

Has this been a thing for awhile and I've never heard about it, or is there some organization/denomination advocating for this?
Why did these customers use money to buy food when they could have just bought a far more valuable Bible?
Does the server need to report the value of the Bible as income for tax purposes? And if so, is there some equivalent of a blue book to determine the value of the Bible one receives?
If I am going to tip in the form of Bibles, how do I calculate the appropriate type of Bible to leave? Does it depend on the quality of the service? If I'm just paying for myself, is a small Gideon's version acceptable, but I should leave a larger leather-bound annotated version if I'm paying for a larger party?

Also, I couldn't help but think of this:

Looks like Mizzou decided to wrestle all of their backups except at a few weights.

Northern Iowa 31, Missouri 6

125: #23 Trever Anderson (UNI) over (MIZZ) (For.)

133: #21 Julian Farber (UNI) over Drew Stanfield (MIZZ) (MD 11-1)

141: #24 Josh Edmond (MIZZ) over #8 Cael Happel (UNI) (Dec 4-3)

149: Adam Allard (UNI) over Joel Mylin (MIZZ) (Dec 6-5)

157: #9 Ryder Downey (UNI) over James Conway (MIZZ) (Dec 12-5)

165: Jack Thomsen (UNI) over Jeremy Jakowitsch (MIZZ) (MD 13-4)

174: #30 Jared Simma (UNI) over Ellis Pfleger (MIZZ) (Dec 10-4)

184: #1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) over Colton Hawks (MIZZ) (MD 12-2)

197: #21 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) over Jesse Cassatt (MIZZ) (MD 14-3)

285: #5 Zach Elam (MIZZ) over #13 Tyrell Gordon (UNI) (TB-1 4-1)

With NIL now unrestricted and his performance this year........

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****ing Idiots.

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An interesting question indeed..

Yikes.

Can't wait for the regulars to explain to us why this guy isn't a insane asshole.

Republican Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana expressed concern about drag performers controlling missiles at an Air Force base in his state.

Rosendale was speaking against funding gender reassignment surgeries for military personnel during a U.S. House session on Thursday. A rule was passed during the session for the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would allow lawmakers to start looking into 80 amendments to the military spending bill. Those amendments are related to hot-button issues such as abortion and diversity policies in the Pentagon and aid to Ukraine, according to ABC News.

Rosendale's office reported on Wednesday that the Congressman filed and testified in support of some amendments, including one that bans TRICARE, a health care program for active service members, from covering sex reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender individuals.

"We have drag shows taking place at Malmstrom Air Force Base. There are 150 ICBM missiles that are being controlled by that Air Force Base and by these individuals. I do not want someone who doesn't know if they are a man or a woman with their hand on a missile button," Rosendale said on Thursday.

Republican worried drag queens will launch missiles

GOP Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale expressed his opposition to "anything that doesn't contribute to making our fighting force the most effective."

www.newsweek.com

From media availability today. Brock Harding definitely does not lack confidence lmao
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In the car yesterday I simply said, I think I'll take my mom to Bubba's 33 on Tuesday.

Today!? For the first time ever, this shows up in my news feed.