Hello

Good morning!
Hope you are doing well today

Im doing great today.
Are you an avid reader?

I used to read a lot more, before kids, and I really would like to get into it again.

Super fiction was my favorite genre - like Tom Robbins.

How about you?

Yeah thats about the same with me.

I mainly just read my son a bedtime story every night.

Lol.

That's fantastic - my kids read way more than I do these days, and I'm OK with it!

It's awesome to see kids get lost in a good book

My son is only two, but he loves to read at night before bed.

That's a great age!

My kids are 10.

Can you imagine that 200+ years ago reading novels was discouraged and even considered a immoral?!?

That nuts.

I heard that the record for speed reading is 4700 words per minute.

Thats pretty fast if you ask me.

That's very fast!

I wonder how much a person remembers/retains reading that fast?

My Mom can read an entire novel on a long plane ride - but 4700 wpm is unreal!

I have enough trouble with reading comprehension while reading at a regular pace.

I dont know how they do it.

Reminds me of the Matrix, where he downloads information into his brain and is instantly an expert.

I'd rather take my time and be entertained and relaxed!

Ye.

Thats me as well.

So what other forms of entertainment do you like.

Of course with kids, we love watching movies, playing games and doing sports.

My kids just got an old Wii - I remember playing the old Nintendo games when I was a kid

Yeah me to.

Were you aware that the nintendo could only display 54 colors.

I didn't know that, but I do remember the original Atari and I think that was only 8 colors!

Kids today are so spoiled with technology

So true.

When I was a kid, we had 3 channels on the tv and I was probably 10 before we got a nintendo.

My two year old already has a phone and a tablet.

Right!

I remember the 3 channels and they signed off at night and it was just static or color bars.

My kids have tablets, laptops, smart watches - it's amazing how far we've come in 30 years

I dont miss the days of that old tv antenna.

Remember when you were watching something you liked and the President had a press conference and it was on every channel.

Breaking News!

I thought Ronald Regan would have been the last celebrity who became president.

I had no idea how wrong I was!

Lol.

Well its been a good chat.

Im gonna have to get some stuff done though.

Have a good one.


Hi, how are you?

Great, how about you?

Did you know that dogs are not color blind?

A lot of people think they are.

I thought they were too!
Dogs can have 12 different blood types.

Wow, that's a lot of different blood types.

Did you know that Google prefers dogs over cats?

I guess it's in their code of conduct.

That's a company that I could work for!
AOL was probably a cat company.

Ha, that's funny!

Did you know the first president of zimbabwe was called president banana?

That is a weird nickname.
I wonder if he got that in college...

Maybe so!

Did you know that panda researchers wear panda costumes to work?

That's weird.

Istanbul has a vending machine for dogs!

That's so kind.

What, that's crazy!

Wonder how long they stay in there if no one buys them.

Did you know the U.S. President's guest house is bigger than the White House?

That's gotta infuriate Trump.

He doesn't seem like the type to tolerate that...

No kidding.

The president of Indonesia has released 3 pop albums while in office.

Now that's something Trump hasn't done.

Up until 1805, the losing presidental candidate would become vice president.

Can you imagine Hilary and trump working together?

I tend to think that would be a good thing.

It would force them to work together and might not make the campaigns so cut throat.

It proabably would bring back some civility on the campaign trails.

I am not looking forward to 2020.

It's going to be a train wreck...

No kidding.

There's a lack of viable candidates unfortunately.

Did you know dogs and elephants are the only animals that seem to instinctively understand pointing?

I did not.

I can understand dogs knowing it but elephants?

That's amazing!

And all this time I thought the elephants at the zoo were completely trained!

Do you know what Pizzagate was?

I do!

A far-fetched conspiracy theory!

I wonder why Liz Crokin thinks it's true.

Implausible conspiracy theories!

Yup!
Nice chatting with you!


Hi, how are you?

Great how are you?
Do you use Twitter?

I do use twitter, do you?

No, not really.

It seems like there is a lot of controversial stuff on there.

Have you heard of Pizzagate?

I have.
It seems like such a 2019 thing.
Did you know about it?

I might have vaguely heard about it.
I heard it was discredited though.

Yeah.

I find Chrissy to be funny so I knew she would have a good response.

She has really gotten popular!

Who is she exactly?

I'm not too up to date with my celebrities

She is an SI swim suit model but I know her from the Dan Patrick show where she used to be one 1 time a year.

She was really funny.

I hear she is opinionated and has even been blocked by the president on Twitter!

Yeah.

I do not pay much attention to twitter though.

I feel like people wear masks on there.

You know the real them is in there but your not sure where becuase they are showing something else.

I don't understand why she was being accused of child abuse and pedophilia?

I am not either.

I think it is one of the made up stories from Russia, Like Hillary killing 10 people...

Apparently an author, Crokin, claimed that an emoji proved a link between Teigen and a secret society.

Be careful with that pizza emoji!

I wonder what pizza roll emojis would do?

A smaller, more convenient secret society that will burn the roof of your mouth with inferno hot filling?

Haha!

Right, she could just legitimately like pizza!

Pizzagate believers think that many Democrats and Hollywood elite are a part of the secret society.

If this secret society serves pizza, I want to join.

Do you think people like Lou Malnati are part of the secret society?

I'm not familiar with him either, sorry.

Haha.

It seems as if Hillary Clinton is standing up for her

Lou Malnati's is a famous pizza place in chicago.

It's so good!

Hilary is standing up for her?

Oh, yum!

Love New York pizza.

Yeah, Hillary says she has never bothered to report threats against her but is reporting ones against Chrissy and her daughter.

HAHAHA.
That's funny... Have a great day!


Hello, how are you today

Great, you?

I am great.

Have you seen the movie "White Boy Rick"

No, I haven't.
Is it good?

Yes, it is, and all of it is true.

It starts Matthew McConaughey and Richie Merritt, who play father and son.

I've heard about it.
I've heard it is depressing.

It is depressing and entertaining.

It has drugs, sex and gunrunning,  plus a main character whose neck-deep involvement in all those activities - while still a teenage

Goodness, that's crazy.

Sounds like a brutal movie in the Detroit black underworld.

Taking its title from the nickname bestowed on the younger Wershe by some members of Detroit's black underworld, "White Boy Rick" covers a span of only three to four years

Very interesting, and it's all true

Yes, it is.

The screen writers were Andy Weiss, Logan Miller and Noah Miller.

Never heard of them.

I read it's entertaining in an unsavory way.

Changing topics a little, did you know that When caesar visited britain, around 50bc, he noted that its people bred chickens not for food, but for entertainment

No, I sure didn't but that's an interesting piece of information.

Louis Braille create the braille system for the blind.

I didn't know that.

I did know that Bill nye "the science guy" got his break in entertainment by winning a steve martin lookalike contest.

Haha, too funny.

yes, I thought it was also.

Also, Ronald reagan was once rejected for a movie role because an entertainment executive didn't think he had "that presidential look."

Haha, what an idiot they turned out to be.

Andrew Johnson never attended school.

He didn't, that is interesting.

On another note, Jim carrey doesn't make dramas any more because his belief system prevents him from playing in movies that don't project positivity

Haha, that's interesting as well.
He was hilarious in the 90s.

Yes, well, thank you so much for chatting.

Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY.


Do you have any opinions on the crime drama "White Boy Rick"?

No I haven't seen it, someone told me it was good, what about you?

I haven't seen it either but it's not a genre I particularly am inclined to watch.

It has dark humor, drug addicts and people that get shot requiring them to wear colostomy bags.

I'll pass...

I like sitcoms...

haha ya I agree with you there, did you ever play any games by Blizzard?

Not that I know of... Is that on the 54-color Nintendo System?

Just joking...

haha nope, they make computer games like Warcraft and Starcraft, and give swords and shields to their employees

That's an interesting perk.

I was thinking again of the aforementioned crime drama.

It has appearances by Bruce Dern.

I do like him.

oh ya Bruce Dern is cool, I liked him in Django and also Hateful Eight, any other good movies with him?

The Cowboys?

He has many I just can't recall.

"White Boy Rick"  is 110 minutes long so it's not a huge investment in time.

oh is he in that movie?

If so I guess I'll watch it, did you ever go to Chuck E Cheese?

I did when my kids were kids.

Don't miss those outings much.

As an aside, can you believe the Hugh Laurie made $700K per episode of House?

Is anyone worth that kind of wages?

no that is crazy!

these actors make a lot but some give back, like Patrick stewart who teaches an acting class in the UK

How about that rascal Michael Caine becoming an actor so he could hit on the hottest girls.

I like him -- he's a great actor so it worked out.

haha ya he had the right idea, Jon Hamm also was interesting he was a drama teacher in high school before he hit it big

There was a kid in my HS named John Hamm.

He had a reading problem.

Speaking of reading, it's hard to believe the spread of people reading novels in the 18th century caused a moral panic.

What were they reading?

haha ya imagine if people were scared that so many were reading nowadays, I would just laugh haha

I think it's the other way around.

We are now fearing illiteracy.

Everything is on the internet like where one can listen to thousands of episodes of classic radio dramas.

One has to listen, not read.

ya for sure, did you hear the story behind Braile?

I guess it was created when the guy was only 15

I know that's amazing.

I thought it had something to do with Helen Keller... Dunno.

ya the creators name was Louis Braille and so ya it was named after him

Makes sense...

I though Keller, as a user, popularized it greatly.

Nice chatting with you!


Hey!

Do you play Nintendo at all?

Hard to believe they just discontinued the original NES in Japan in 2003.

I still remember getting mine in 1985!

I loved the original Nintendo.

I can't believe Japan produced them that long.

That's surprising.

Did you also know that for a documentary a company will be excavating the famous atari game landfill?

I've actually seen that documentary!

They find the ET games, believe it or not.

It wasn't an urban legend after all.

Oh wow!

I had always heard about that but did not know if it was true or not.

Now I do.

The original NES could only display 54 colors.

Didn't stop me from playing the heck out of some Zelda though.

I played a lot of that also.

I just loved that system.

Speaking of games, did you know that Blizzard gives swords and shields to its five and ten year employees?

Nice!

That's hilarious.

Wonder how much a ten year employee makes at Blizzard?

Hugh Laurie from the TV show house made $700k and episode!

It has to be a lot.

I did not know that Hugh Laurie made that much for House!

Did you know that Jon Hamm taught drama at his old high school?

I bet he was a great teacher.

Michael Caine became an actor because all the prettiest girls in his school were in drama.

Haha.

Smart kid.

Ha ha, I'm not surprised.

Shockingly one of Jon Hamm's students was Ellie Kemper from The Office!

That's cool.

Jim Carrey only makes movies or shows that project positivity now, because of his belief system.

Wonder how his artwork plays into that?

That's a good question.

I was just thinking that his art is pretty dark and that new show on Showtime he has looks pretty depressing overall.

Yeah, agreed.

Here's an interesting tidbit -- CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien had "You Laugh, You Lose" contests when reading bad poetry.

That would have been awesome to hear!

That's crazy to imagine them together.

I did not realize they were writing at the same time.

Did you know that silently reading is a recent phenomenon?

I admit, as a writer I read aloud A LOT.

Speaking of reading, the world record for speed reading is 4700 word per minute.

Say what now?

I don't know how you would comprehend anything reading that fast.

Apparently everyone used to read out loud and only the most skilled could read silently.

In the 18th century there was a moral panic because of the rise of novels.

Oh, the horror!

Really?

It seems it's always something.

Books then, music when I was a little kid, video games when I was a teenager, TV and movies always apparently.

Starship Troopers is the only novel on three military branch reading lists.

Wonder if they have to watch the movie too?

Hope not.

What a strange choice.

I know there is a military but they are also fighting giant bug creatures so I wonder why that book?

Haha.

No idea.

Maybe it has something to do with battling fascists?

I know the story is an allegory about fascism.

Possibly, seems like they could have picked other war related books.

There is certainly no shortage of them.


I am an absolute dog lover, because not only are they adorable, but they have so many supportive uses.

Did you know that dogs often aid disabled people as service dogs or provide therapeutic support as emotional support animals?

Dogs really are our best friends!

They show love and affection and are never sad to see us.

They are so diverse, too!

They can be so big and intimidating as guard dogs or police K9's, medium sized for hunting or seeing eye dogs, or very small and serve as good emotional support animals.

You're right about the love and affection, dogs are one of the only beings that just give unconditional love and support if you treat them decently.

Did you know that there are twelve different blood types for dogs?

I've never seen an advertisement for a blood drive for dogs, but I guess they are out there.

That's a very good point.

Otherwise what happens when a dog needs surgery?

Also did you know that Google explicitly states they are a "dog company" and prefer dogs to cats?

I now like Google a little better!

I think it's easier to manage dogs in an office environment.

Who knows what cats would get up in an office?

They probably couldn't get alone with each other.

Yeah, cats can be very mischievous.

I recently had a cat that tore up my furniture.

I guess dogs do that too, but they at least appear to feel guilty after!

What are your views on dogs in clothing?

Some people think it's cruel to put clothes/costumes on dogs, others think it's cute and can help warm them up.

What do you think?

I think if you're cold, then the animal is cold and probably needs clothing.

Not all dogs are built for cold weather.

I like the program that Istanbul has created for dogs.

Oh yeah, I think I remember hearing that Istanbul has these food/water machines, kind of like vending machines, that gives food and water to stray dogs in exchange for recycled plastic bottles.

I wonder how that works.

Do you think someone has to provide the bottles, or do you think the dogs are smart enough to figure it out on their own?

The dogs probably wander around looking for bottles.

I bet they steal them out of the garbage bins too.

Elephants, like dogs, understand pointing, yet we have not made pets out of elephants.

That's a cool point.

My old dog would always look to me to point to where I put her treat when she got older, it was so cute how she relied on me to help her find it!

Have you seen that video of the elephant painting a picture with its trunk?

It's unbelievable.

Animals are so smart and extraordinary.

I don't think that Google will ever be an elephant company, no matter how domesticated they become.

I'm surprised that Trump is not one of three richest presidents of the US.

Well I guess we don't really know, since he never ended up releasing his tax returns...

I wonder if that means that he's not as rich as he advertises.

I don't know of course, it's just conjecture.

That's interesting about Washington being one of the wealthiest, though!

Makes me think of Hamilton.

I know that Washington and Jefferson owned a lot of land.

I guess JFK had money because of the fortune that his father built.

That's true.

The Kennedy's were definitely wealthy.

Tragic family, though.

Such terrible things have happened to them despite their good fortune financially and politically.

I wonder what would happen if we reinstituted the old system of elections from before 1805.

Cliton and Trump in the White House together?

It would be like a sitcom!

Oh my god, that's an insane thought!

I would totally watch that show.

They'd get into all sorts of shenanigans and tomfoolery (very outdated words, but fun to use nonetheless!).

I bet there would be many more threats to the White House if that were the case, coming from both sides...

Probably for the best.

Nothing would get accomplished!

The first president of Zimbabwe was called President Banana.

I wonder what Trump and Clinton would be called.

President Clump?

That doesn't sound too powerful.

But then again, neither does President Banana.

And I guess you don't need to seem intimidating/powerful as president necessarily, I mean the President of Indonesia has released 3 pop albums, all while he was in office!

Can you imagine Trump or Clinton releasing albums?

What would their pop duo name be?

Clump?

They would have a massive rap battle over policy issues.

One of them would have to live in the guest house, or they would be at each other's throats.

That guest house is huge though, bigger than the White House itself!

Have you seen the Youtube channel "Epic Rap Battles of History"?

They have a Trump vs. Clinton episode, it's super hilarious!

Well, I enjoyed chatting with you!

You too!


Hi there!

Did you know the official business and office attire in Hawaii is the aloha shirt!?

I certainly didn't know that.

I did not know that, do you know anything about calvin and hobbes?

I do not, but did you know that the White House still uses floppy discs in part for the storing of files?

I did not know that!

i know jimmy carter installed solar panels on the white house!

really?

i heard that George W Bush had solar panels put on the back of the White House.

no, it was carter, and then ronald reagan had them removed!

Interesting; I did not know that.

I did not know that The White House has twin buildings in Ireland and France.

I have never heard that, I know there is a replica in Atlanta though!

#themoreyouknow.

Apparently the US President's Guest House is larger than the White House.

That's an oddity.

that is odd, I know that carter turned the thermostats down to 65 in the winters!

At least he wasn't the president of Indonesia, who released 3 pop albums while in office!

that is crazy!

i also know that the white house address was 1 initially

Every president since John Adams has lived in the White House - so 219 years!

I know lincoln was the first president who was photographed for his inauguration!

That's pretty wild.

You know what else is wild?

The first president of Zimbabwe.

He was called - get this - President BANANA!

that is awesome, I wish I had a name that great!

our last president to speak a foreign language was FDR!

Speaking of the Roosevelts, Teddy banned christmas trees from the white house!

the white house apparently sends back congrats cards for birth announcements!

...but it took them four days to realize that someone had shot up the place back in november of 2011!

really?
I never heard about that!
maybe that was the replica?

Maybe!
Have a great day!


Its a good thing we live in a democracy, we have a president and not a dictator or authoritarian regime

I feel like the line is getting a little blurry currently though, a lot of changes are going unseen.

Yeah are you pro Trump or disagree with his government?

I am anti russia

So thats basically the same considering Russians funded his campaign, you know he's not on the top ranking of the richests presidents in US history

Maybe its one of the reasons he wont release his tax records

I bet it is, he's hiding a lot of things.

I hope he wont get reelected for another term.

I hope he doesn't make it out of this term!

He has obstructed justice long enough

I agree but Mike Pence seems like a worse alternative.

I don't think either one has our country's best interest in mind

True and I think he has already planned for this.

Thats why he has been so quiet

An interesting fact about the US president, until the year 1805 the runner up would become vice president,

I think that would of been pure chaos in 2016!

Would be quite entertaining though

It would be fun to watch, maybe they can make a reality TV show about that, it would be chaos on the house

There already is chaos there now.

Even in 2011 it took the secret service 4 days to find a bullet hit the white house

4 days?

wow, they did a great job protecting the president lol, how can that be, arent they supposed to be the best of the best

They probably are stuck in the past.

They still use floppy disks to store files as well

Really still?

that tech is really primitive and outdated I wonder why they still use it

At least the white house has solar panels.

Thats great, having a source of clean energy, do you know who had the iniciative?

that is praiseworthy

George W Bush

Oh I see, well that was great of him, I thought he was a good president


Hey there what do you think about Kanye West?

I think Kanye needs to see a mental health professional, as those around him are not giving him the help he needs.

That "dragon energy" bit was bizarre, but he was on to something with that hydrogen power that everyone glossed over.

Haha yes he definitely says lot of bizarre things.

I think that he even believes AIDS is a man-made disease.

He certainly has a lot of unconventional opinions.

I honestly think the Kardashian/Jenner women made him that way.

He wasn't like that before he got with Kim.

I don't understand why he  is a trump supporter.

yes theres a lot I don't really understand about him, but he seems like he can be a nice guy, he once gave his microphone to a fan of his at a concert, that fan was in a wheelchair

That on again, off again fued with Taylor Swift is odd.

One would think they would resolve their differences.

Yes they should just ignore each other.

What do you think about the fact that of the top 10 most successful songs ever Kanye West gold digger is the only one written in a minor key

I don't know much about his music.

I do know that he was sued by Evil Kneivel.

No I didn't know that.
Do you know why that happened?
That's so weird

Something to do with damage to his reputation, over the "touch the sky" video.

I don't know exactly what happened.

Well that's weird.

what do you think about rapping in general?

Do you think that Tupac Shakur's music should be in the Library of Congress

I adore Tupac.

I cried when he was killed.

Have you heard of the deaf rapper who raps in sign language?

No I didn't hear about that.

I wonder if I would be able to understand him though?

I did hear that in Korea they do a compliment battle instead of a rap battle

I heard about that too I would like to hear some of that.

I think it's hilarous that McDonalds pays rappers for each time they mention Big Macs in a song.

That is pretty funny.

They should just make a song that is constantly saying the word"Big Mac"LOL

I wonder if anyone did?

Childish Gambino got his name from a Wu Tang name generator.

That is the crunchiest thing every.

Well it is a strange name so that would make sense haha.

Did you ever see the 1998 Rugrat movie?

Apparently Busta Rhymes does the voice of Reptar LOL that's so weird

I have not, but I heard about it.

I guess the singer of the pokemon theme also rapped on a Michael Jackson song.

Wow I didn't know that.

I also didn't know that Eminem loves Spider-Man as a kid, definitely would have thought he liked Batman or something

I would have thought he was a Captain America fan.

It's interesting that the last president to speak a foreign language fluently, was FDR

Yes that is interesting but almost sad too.

I think it's also sad that the president of Indonesia made three pop albums, you think you could use his time better than that


Hi there!

How are you doing this fine Internet evening?

Hi!

I'm just catching up on some reading and saw that Chance the Rapper received backlash for sharing his opinion about not needing to support Democrats.

I think that's a little sad that being a public figure, you can't express your opinions without backlash.

It doesn't matter what you say, someone will criticize you.

It would be better if people didn't condemn others for having an opinion.

Chance took a chance.

That's a hilarious pun!

What type of genre of music do you enjoy?

I personally don't listen to rap but some people refer to it as MCing, rhyming, and even spitting!

I do imagine that the microphones those rappers use are drowned in spit, yuck!

I don't listen to rap really.

I think it doesn't have enough melody, but it is culturally significant.

Yeah, some rap music does have some sort of hook or melody I think, like Eminem's songs.

What do you mean by culturally significant?

It has its roots in culture, especially urban culture.

Rapper Tupac Shakur's music is in the Library of Congress as something of "cultural significance."

Oh ok, I see.

It's also culturally significant because there's a lineage of Black verbal reverence that dates really far back from James Brown's interactions with the crowd to Muhammad Ali's verbal taunts.

The non-mainstream cultures produce something pure and relevant.

It's not produced for commercial success.

Koreans have their own cultural take on it.

Oh, I think Korean music has become very popular these days as I've come to learn through my kids.

Do they get paid by McDonald's by rapping about hamburgers in their songs?

I don't know.

They do compliment battles in Korean, so I guess if they complimented McD's, then maybe they would get paid.

Maybe SNL will do a skit or something about that, like Kanye West when he went on SNL and mocked himself for interrupting award shows twice!

Kanye was rehearsing for that stunt.
He has an ego the size of a planet.

Haha, I forgot why he decided to interrupt the award shows.

Do you remember?

I imagine it's a bit gut wrenching to watch.

I feel embarrassed for him.

I don't think he cared.
He's like Trump.
Doesn't care.
Kanye ought to run for president.

He would fit right in, I'm surprised he hasn't come out with a statement saying he's going to be Trump's VP!

If he did run, he'd probably be the only rapper to do that just like Woodrow Wilson was the only one with a PhD.

Kanye would start his own college and give himself a PhD.

He would release albums with Trump, too.

Lol, I would love to see the parody of that on SNL.

West does have a pretty big ego and seems to be a bit selfish.

The Arctic Monkey's performance on Jimmy Kimmel had to be cancelled because West talked for too long.

He is perfect for president, but not VP.

He can't share the stage with another.

I don't think West would share the stage with someone else.!

Do you think voter turnout would be greater if the popular vote determined who won the presidency instead of the electoral votes?

Yes, it's time for a change.

Centuries ago they predicted that these shenanigans would come to pass.

Anyway, I enjoyed the chat!

Yeah, 5 presidents have been elected even while still losing the popular vote!

Have a good one!


Hi are you a fan of rap?

No, not really.
I don't know it.
I prefer melody and harmony.
You?

I'm like you.

I kind of like Eminem though.

In 2001 a Michigan judge delivered her verdict to him in the form of rap.

I thought that was funny.

I think she was trying to be cool.

Rapper Tupac Shakur's music is in the library of congress of cultural significance.

What do you think of that?

That's pretty neat.

Korean rappers invented a new type of freestyle rap called "compliment battle".

That sounds funny.

lol

I think that is reflective of Korean culture.

Show respect.

Be courteous, even when you spitting mad fire yo.

I like that concept.

Before he became a rapper Eminem wanted to be a comic book writer.

Interesting.

I think he could do that now with all the money that he has.

He could start his own company M&M Comix.

That's funny stuff!

LOL  Switching topics...do you many facts about the president?

I know a bit.

I know that Trump is not the wealthiest.

I believe it.

Before he was president the top 3 wealthiest were JFK, Washington, and Jefferson.

Those guys had land, or came from a family with money.

Hahhaha  You're not lying either!

I would say let Banana but that's already been taken by the first president of Zimbabwe.

lol

Many great possibilities!

The US presidents guest house is larger than the White House.

I don't think Trump has anything to do with that though.

Is that true?

I wonder when the guest house was built.

Why would it be bigger?

I'm not sure.

Maybe to treat visitors top notch.

I watched a documentary on Obama and I was surprised to find out that everything that goes on in the White House the president has to pay for himself right down to the food they eat.

I always thought that stuff was paid for by tax dollars.

I was wrong.

Up until 1805 the US runner up in the presidential elections would automatically become vice president.

That wouldn't work now.

The presidency in the US is not as nice as people think.

I figure that old style system would make for some laughs and interesting photo ops.

Switching up things...do you follow Kanye West at all?

Who would win that battle?
I do not follow Kanye.

I don't know who would win.

..and HAHAHAHAHA  I know Kanye can be out there doing odd things...he once did an SNL skit mocking himself for interrupting award shows.

Kanye can be unpredictable.
Anyway, great chat!

It's been fun!
Have a good one!


do you like rap music?

I like some of it and you?

Me too.

I like Tupac and Eminem.

Tupac's music is also in the library of congress

Me too.

Did you know Eminem wanted to be a comic book artist?

Yeah because he really likes spiderman too

Yeah he did well in music too though so I think that worked well for him

Yeah agreed.
Have you heard of compliment battle?

Yes that is some kind of rap they practice in South Korea where they compliment each other

Yeah interesting.

Did you hear about that judge that delivered a ruling in the form of rap in Michigan?

Yeah because it was a suit against Eminem.

DO you know much about presidents?

I know some stuff.

Do you know who the three wealthiest ones are?

Yes that is Jefferson, Washington and JFK

Yeah.

Did you know the white house is smaller than the guest house?

Yeah that is interesting.

Did you know the president of Indonesia is a pop star?

Yes and the guy has already released 3 albums

Yeah.

Do you know how the VP used to be elected?

Yes that was just the runner up, which is fair enough

Yeah I agree.
DO you like Kanye  West?

Somewhat he can be strange.
He thinks AIDS is man-made

Wow.

But he once gave his mic to a fan on  a wheelchair

Yeah that is nice of him


Hi there!
Are you a fan of rap music?

I would say the lighter raps but not hardcore or gansta.

I'm with you there.

I liked the older rap music from around the late 80s and early 90s...like Young MC, etc.

Did you know that before Eminem became a rapper he wanted to become a comic book artist?

I can see that.

McDonalds paid $5 for Mac references in songs

I didn't know that!

Korean rappers invented a new type of freestyle called "compliment battle".

I bet that's kind of funny to watch.

Wow times have changed.

there is a deaf rapper who raps in sign language!

That would be neat to see!

In 2001, a Michigan judge delivered her ruling in the form of a rap when trying a suit filed against Eminem.

lol

Wow that is cool.
I wonder if she had "flow"

hahaha Nice!

Busta Rhymes voiced the reptar wagon in the 1998 Rugrats movie.

I didn't know that.

The worlds fastest rapper can rap at 14.1 syllables per second

whoa!
I would like to hear that.
I wonder if that guy is on youtube?

Im sure it is....did you hear Kanye gave Trump a hug at the White House?

I did!

I remember seeing it on tv when he visited there.

I remember him wearing the MAGA hat.

Haha!

I liked how he once gave his mic to a fan in a wheelchair at a concert.

That was pretty cool.

Since he cares so much about issues such as North Korea, biopolar disorders and other current topics, I wonder why he does not write songs about them?

You have a point there!

Sometimes I think he does some of those wacky things just for publicity.

Like grabbing the mic from Taylor Swift, she is 2 inches taller than him.

Right!

lol  Out of the top 10 most succesful songs of all time, only Kanye West's "Gold Digger" in in a minor key.

Interesting!

It's been fun chatting with you!

Same here.

Hopefully no one else sues Kanye like Evil Knievel.

See ya

lol  Have a good one!


hi, how are you?
do you like rap music?

Hello, yes I like some of it, how about yourself?

I dont really know much about the genre.

i am more interested in melody and harmony.

who do you like?

Bryce Vine, Cardi B,  Drake.
Did you know Tupac took ballet classes?

I heard that he danced ballet in high school.

He was a talented dancer.

Korean rappers invented a new rap battle, "compliment battle" lol That sounds awesome!

I bet they come up with interesting compliments.

I would how they determine the winner.

Maybe its just timed.

Yes, get the greatest number of compliments in the time limit.

that would work.

I wonder if tupac could do that.

lol probably not,  he doesnt seem like the type to shower you with compliments lol

No, he would probably dress you down for your lack of style and then get the crowd to mock you LOL

lol right.

Before eminem became a rapper he wanted to become a comedian.

A comedian?

i never knew that.

i heard that he wanted to write comic books.

he could do either one now with all his money.

Oh wow, thats awesome too.

Yeah he could do whatever he wants honestly lol

Yeah, he is set.

He could start a comedy club and a comic book company.

By the way, do you like Kanye?

No.
Do you?

No, not really I think his head is too big but not filled with enough knowledge.

He is a weird man.

I agree his head is too big,  he always says hes the best rapper,  his songs are hardly on the radio at all lol and hes rude!

Yeah, he has done some impudent things.
taking mics from people on stage.
He thinks AIDS is man made.
What?
Anyway, great chat!

Fun chatting with you, thanks.

Have a good night!

Thanks you as well.


Hi, how are you?

Good, did you know that only one of Kayne's top 10 songs is in a minor key?

I did not.
I cannot believe he is 41!

Me either, pretty crazy that he did a skit for interrupting shows before he actually did it.

What a wacko!
He thinks AIDS is man-made.

The president of Indonesia is apparently a pop star as well as president.

The first president of Zimbabwe was called President Banana.

Seems appropriate...

I didn't know that Eminem wanted to be a comic book artist before he was a rapper.

Did you know the guest house is bigger than the white house?

Interesting, although it wouldn't surprise me.

The White House is a pretty old building.

Yeah.
But it has to upset trump.

Did you know Rapper Busta Rhymes voiced the raptor Wagon in the 1998 rugrats movie?

I did not.

Tupac's music is in the library of congress because of its cultural significance.

I know, that is a fairly old topic.

I remember when they put it in the library.

Have you heard of the compliment battle?

I think it is a rap battle, but I'm not sure.

I've never heard one.

I have not either.
I guess it originiated in Korea.

It seems like something that would originate over there.

It's an interesting country.

I have never been.
Have you?

No, I have never had the desire.

Amazing that some of the griot traditions can be traced back to Egyptian practices.

Nice chatting with you.


Did you hear about Kayne meeting Trump?

Yes that was very insane.

He was very whacked out and talked about random conspiracies

Definitely.
Kanye even wore a MAGA hat!

Yes and he even said slavery was a  choice!

What the heck?

Well, it was a choice,.....  for the slave owner.

Yes I think a lot of rappers are somewhat unique.

I like the Korean rappers though - they have a compliment battle

Id love to see that.

Much better than American rap which has turned into an insult/i wanna get with you battle.

Yes though I would have loved to watch the michigan judge who rapped her ruling in a lawsuit

Really?

That would be so cool, Id love to see Judge Judy rap a bit.

Yes it is funny enimem once wanted to be a comic book artist

That was before he got into rap, his favorite super hero was spiderman

I wonder who Trumps favorite super hero is?

I think he'd like money-focused superheroes.

bahahhahahhahahahah I think it is funny that until 1805 the loser of the election became vice president.

I would have loved to see Trump/Hillary combo

It would make our country more of a reality show than it already is!

Maybe president Trump could go meet President Banana of Zimbabwe!

Ha.

I had to look that one up when I heard it.

The guy's name is Cannan Banana.

Its his real last name.

Wow that is pretty funny.

I did not realize until recently how loaded Washington and Jefferson were.

They were seriously rich.

Yeah, I wonder where Trump falls on that list.

I am not sure.

But his guest house is bigger than the white house.

That must drive him crazy.

I bet it does.

The guest house probably houses all the families of dignitaries that visit.

I think the white house has a lot more office space too.

For sure.

I just hope Trump does not start recording pop songs!


Are you a fan of rap?

I do listen to rap on occasion.
How about you, do you like rap?

I like older 90's rap though.

Hammertime haha.

What a great style between speech and singing.

Yeah!!!

Me too, I use to listen to LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.

Great!
Do you know what LL Cool J stands for?

In all honesty I don't.

I was wondering what is rap usually associated with?

Ladies Love Cool James haha.
Rap is associated with hip hop.

Oh!

Thanks, I didn't know.

What is the earliest precursor to modern rap?

Not sure, is it from West Africa?

Yes you're right!!!

Yes it was a tradition that goes way back to ancient Egyptian practices which is really amazing.

That is farther back than I thought.

I though Mohammad Ali was rapping when he spoke to the media!

Yes, you're correct!!!

Muhammad Ali was using verbal taunts in a rap format I believe.

Am I right?

For sure!!!

He was so quick witted.

He would have done well free style rapping.

I agree!!!
Do you listen to Eminem at all?

Yes another wordsmith.

Though he wanted to be a comic book writer at first.

Yes, I agree.

Do you happen to know who his favorite superhero was?

The same as mine....spidey!

Ha Ha!!!

I think one of the best rappers out there is Kanye West.

Kanye is so popular right now...resposible for cultural movements

I agree.

He is really talented and I also read somewhere that he gave his mic to a fan in a wheelchair at a concert of his.

I saw that!
Really neat.
Nice to speak to you.
Take care

Thanks.

It was very nice chatting with you as well!!

Have a nice night!


Kanye West sure has a lot of credentials as a rapper, singer, songwriter and more.

Yes he does, I at first did not really care for Kanye West, but now I do like him.

Do you like him or no?

I don't really know him that well to judge, but it looks like he does some good like giving a mic to a fan in a wheelchair at a concert

Yes that is nice that he did that to the fan in the wheelchair.

I also liked how he mocked himself for interrupting award shows, so he knows he did wrong for interrupting.

Interesting that kanye west's gold digger song is in a minor key more sad mood

I find it also interesting that Kanye thinks aids is a man-made disease.

This is very new to me.

Yes, not sure if that is good or bad.

Do you know the wealthiest presidents of the US?

Yes I just found out they were JFK, Washington and jefferson.

Very surprising news to me.

I wonder when Washington became rich, before or after fighting in the Revolutionary War?

I am not sure about that, but that would be interesting to find that out.

The first president of Zimbabwe was called President Banana.

I wonder why?

Also, interesting to find out the runner up for president became president up until 1805

This is actually the first time I've heard about the runner up becoming Vice president.

I think that might still be a good idea to do still to this day.

I don't know though that causes a split in parties, but who know

Yes it would, but then maybe everyone could work better together, but you are right who knows.

The Indonesian President released 3 pop albums, that's entertaining :)

Wow, seems like other countries have talented leaders in areas besides business.

Yes I think that is pretty cool.
Are you a fan of rap music?

No, not particularly, but seems like Kanye West and others have some talent to draw many to them

I'm not much of a fan either.

I do like Eminem music sometimes.

I did not know that he wanted to become a comic book artist.

Interesting that Rapper big Sean had a gpa of 3.7.

The rappers can be very intelligent but may not be given credit.

That is interesting about Rapper Big Sean and yes sometimes credit is not given to musicians.

I find it very entertaining how in 2001 a Michigan judge delivered her ruling in the form of rapping.

Yes, that is cool.

Rappers like Kanye West should be given some more credit.


hey there, do you like music?

I do, but I am not a big fan of rap.

Some rappers like Kanye West are pretty out there.

true.

and others like Tupac had such an impact that their music is considered of cultural significance

Yes.

I can't believe that he actually believes stuff like aids is man-made.

What's up with that?

It is strange, he is strange sometimes.

But sometimes he is nice like that time he gave his fan in a wheelchair the mic.

That is very true.

His being best friends with Trump is pretty odd - he has made some odd statements at the White House.

Yeah for sure.
Do you know the rapper big sean?

No I do not know anything about him.
I have heard of Chance the Rapper.

Big Sean was such a good student and ha d high gpa and turned down a scholarship to attend MSU

That is interesting.

Rap Music is quite different - its origins actually pre-date hip hop culture

Yeah apparently the word apparently has been used in 16th century

That is interesting.

It  can be performed with a beatbox, but I rather prefer it acapalla.

there are so many versions of playing a genre of music nowadays.

do you like eminem?

I do not like his music, but I do like his favorite choice of superhero - spiderman

Yeah and he even dreamt of becoming a comic book artist.

Maybe he is good at that as well

Or perhaps he could be in a animated movie like Busta Rhymes was in the rugrats

Yeah, exactly, so many options to get involved.

Have you heard of compliment battle?

I do not know much about it - just something that the Korean rappers invented.

yeah I think they sing rap style and just compliment each other.

That is pretty funny.

Like the judge who delivered her ruling in the form of rap when she was involved in a suit with Enimen

Oh mine I would have loved to be in that courtroom and listen to that

Yes that would have been hilarious!


Hello Friend!
Do you like Rap music?

Yea, Tupac is my favorite, glad his music in in the Library of Congress

Oh really?

Nice!

I like his music too.

Eminem is another great Rapper he wanted to be a comic book artist.

Yea, I heard Eminem was a huge spider-man fan

Yes!

I can tell with his music he has been through so much Pain.

I wonder why he had issues with a Judge back in 2001, He is no stranger to law enforcement issues.

I guess someone was suing Eminem, pretty unprofessional for a judge to deliver a ruing in a rap though

I agree!

I wish I was a rapper.

I get so into it when I hear others freestyle.

I just cant.

Im better as  an interpreter dancer haha

Well you can't be worse than Korean rappers who do compliment battle raps

Haha!

Its hard to imagine how far back Rap dates, if you really thin k about it.

The west African griot tradition is how it started.

Yea and rapping has given so many people platforms to do other stuff, like Busa Rhymes voicing the reptar wagon in 1998

Wow!
Do you like Kanye West?

I like Kanye's first two albums before he went off the deep end and start interrupting Taylor Swift

Haha, very true.

It took me a while to "like" him again after that.

But I gotta admit, he is very talented too bad it gets to his head.

He is big in conspiracies, he once mentioned Aids being a Man-made disease

Yea but he can do nice things like giving a mic to a fan in a wheelchair

Yes, and his music has inspired others and he has been responsible for cultural movements within mainstream.

Yea, his song Gold Digger was pretty popular, surprised it's his only top 10 song in minor key

Yes!

I didnt know that Big Sean was signed by Kanye, he is another great rapper!

Yea, I wonder if Kayne of Big Sean did any songs with the president of Indonesia who released 3 pop albums

Haha, Speaking of President, did you know that the first president of Zimbabwe was called President Banana?!

I wonder if he got picked on or maybe that means something else in that language

Maybe the first President of Zimbabwe liked Bananas a lot

haha, yeah maybe!
who has been your fav President so far?

FDR.

Well I have to go, nice chatting with you


Hi!
Are you a fan of Kanye West?

I honestly don't know that much about him.

Rap isn't really my kind of music but he seems like a fascinating person.

Yeah, he keeps people guessing!

Did you see that SNL skit where he made fun of himself interrupting award shows?

No I didn't.

I heard he actually did that years before he interuppted Taylor swift though?

Yeah!

I wonder if he saw that skit as permission to keep doing it?

Or maybe he just doesn't care...lol

I'm going to go out on a limb and say he doesn't care.

I mean when Kanye is tweeting in support of Trump he is doing things for the ratings.

You think he does it for the ratings?

I always thought he just doesn't care what people think and does what he wants!

I hear he likes Trump's "Dragon Energy", that made me LOL

Wow that is just bad.

The whole tweet with the MAGA hat smells like a publicity stunt to me.

Our government is a popularity contest though.

That's so true, and so frustrating!!

I once read that Kanye is a contrarian, so he supports Trump because most Black Americans don't support him.

That is just a ridiculous position.

It is like a child doing the opposite of what the parents says simply because they said it.

I wonder if his attitudes contribute to his popularity and success?

That could be, I don't really understand why famous people become famous, it all doesn't make sense to me!

I don't listen to his music but I heard he's played with soul, pop, electro, indie rock, industrial, gospel, etc.

I think it's kinda cool that he's at least playing with different styles - maybe trying to understand and appreciate them - and not just sticking to rap.

Wow that is a lot of styles!
He does really have a talent.
I mean who doesn't know Gold digger?
I love that it is in a minor key.
It really makes it stand out.

Yes, and considering with was one of the top ten most successful songs of all time, you think he would produce more music in the minor key...maybe that's what makes it so good?

Maybe.

He does seem to have a really sweet side like when you see him with his kids or when he gave that mic to the fan in the wheelchair.

Yes, for me he is one person who evokes a whole sea of emotions!

I don't know if I should like, hate, or be disgusted by him!

Did you know that in the Library of Congress they have some of Tupac's music?

They keep it for cultural significance don't they?

I could see that.

He changed the face of music and will always be remembered.

That's true, he's remembered for Rap like Elvis is remembered for Rock and Roll.

One rapper that I've listened to a little over the years is Eminem.

Before he was a rapper he wanted to be a comic book artist!

He is quite the jack of all trades when it comes to art.

I wonder what he thought of that Michigan judge that rapped to him in her verdict.

That would have been hilarious to see.

That would be hilarious!

I hope he got a kick out of it, I know I would!

I would too.

Did you ever watch rugrats as a kid?

I guess Busta Rhymes was the voice of Reptar.

I never would have guessed that.

I did watch it, but I don't remember Reptar...I guess I should look it up!

I have to get going, it was good talking with you...have a great day!


do you watch the NFL?

I sure do.

Did you know Kellan Moore is the only lefty in the nfl?

Nice.

Did you know that Brady was a back up qb in high school?

Really?

WOw.

Did you know that Brad Johnson threw himself a touchdown pass?

WOw how is that even possible.

Yes and they never started Brady, their loss I guess

Yeah exactly, that is why he went down in history to do that

Nice.

Did you know Alex Smith finished college in two years?

Wow I guess he is smart and also a great player

Yes he is , He even started his masters degree before he was picked in the draft

Nice.

Did you know that Russell Wilson is still under a contract even though he is not playing much?

WOw that is pretty cool does not happen very often

True.

Only two african american QBs have won the superbowl

WOw that is very few.

Do you know who invented the circular huddle?

Yes it is very few and they were both playing against Denver Broncos.

WHo was it?

It was Paul Hubbard who was a deaf QB and did not want the others to understand him

Nice smart on his behalf.
Do you like drama?

I love drama.
Did you ever see House MD?

Yes I do.

DId you know Jon Hamm was a high school drama teacher?

Nice.

Laurie made $700 000 per episode in that show

Wow that is a lot of money.
Nice chat!

Same here have a good one


Hello - do you like the NFL?

I love football my favorite team is the miami dolphins whats yours?

Mine is the Cincinnati Bengals.
Do you follow any quarterbacks?

Yes!!

I love Cam Newton which is your current favorite quarterback in the league?

I really love Mahomes and am curious to see how he does in the NFL.

He's a beast.

Who are you hoping wins the superbowl this year?

I really want to see the Saints go.
What about you?

Definitely the saints if the chief win I wouldn't be too mad though they deserve it.

Yep, I like the Chiefs as well.

The Rams too.

Did you know Baker Mayfield once considered quitting football to pursue competitive gaming?

He really likes Halo lol.

Lol imagine a huge athletic talent like that winning a video game championship while also holding a superbowl ring

Haha yea that would be funny.

I heard that the huddle derived from a quarterback who was deaf and used the circular huddle to hide his hand signals.

Thats actually a very intelligent tactic for him to come up with he changed history and the way plays are made with that idea.

Definitely.
Do you like comedy films?

I love them I love tropic thunder and superbad and pineapple express.

Yes, those are all very funny movies.

I didn't know that Demetri Martin was accepted into Harvard but didn't go out of boredom and wanted to chase a career in comedy.

Demitri martin is the best the comedian bert kreischer talks about him on his podcast on youtube and he said he was very generous and he would take lesser known comics on tour with him to give them a chance at performing in front of huge crowds

That's pretty cool.
I also love Bill Murray.

Have you ever seen caddyshack or groundhog day?

I love both of those movies.
They are so funny.

They're classics a lesser known movie of his is Where the buffalo roam, where he plays the crazy journalist hunter s thompson

It was great talking with you!


Hi.

Do you like comedy?

Have you ever seen any of the movies in the bromantic comedy genre?

hi how are you?
i do like comedy.
bromantic?
what is that?

Bromantic Comedies include films like Harold and Kumar, The Hangover and Pineapple Express.

They are films about adult males being best friends and navigating the world together in a comical way.

Oh, ok.
I liked harold and kumar.
i dont know pineapple express.
i think i saw the hangover.
it was good.

I really like Bill Murray movies.
His favorite movie is Kung Fu Hustle.
Have you ever seen it?

I have not.
bill likes that film?
I guess i need to see it then.

He called it "the supreme achievement of the modern age in terms of comedy."

I saw it and liked it but it was not my favorite comedy film.

i think bill might have been facetious there.

could it be the supreme achievement if he wasnt in it?

LOL

That is a great point.

Comedy is very subjective, 3rd rock from the sun won the Golden Globe for best comedy in 1997 beating Seinfeld, Friends and Frasier.

I bet that was the only time that 3rd rock was recognized that way.

those other shows were just much better.

I agree.

I like comedy better than drama.

And Jim Carrey will only make happy movies now.

His belief system prevents him from playing in movies that do not project positivity.

I wonder what he is thinking there.

i think that dramas can be positive.

they might not be funny but they can be positive.

That is true.

Michael Caine found acting to be very positive.

He joined acting because the pretty girls were in drama class.

That is a smart man.
i should have done the same thing.
i missed my chance.
LOL

When Jon Hamm taught drama at school one of his students was Erin from The Office.

Small world.

Jon Hamm?

the guy from Mad Men?

i didnt know that he was a drama teacher.

i guess he had to start somewhere.

Have you ever seen the show House?
I have not but I think I should.
Hugh Laurie is the highest paid actor.

Hugh Laurie has also done a lot of comedy.

the guy is quite versatile and does a great american accent.

I am shocked he earns 700,000 dollars an episode.

He must be very good.

he really carried that show.

the other actors combined couldnt do what he did.

Anyway, great chat!

Thank you for chatting.

I learned a lot of new and fun information today.


do you like horses?

I love them.

Do you know in Iceland they have a fifth speeD?

Yes it is called a tolt and is like speedwalking for them

Yeah.

Do you know Dalmatians are associated with firefighters?

Yes because they can calm and protect horses

Yes.

CLint Eastwood is also a fan of horses and has played in many movies with them

Yes but he is slightly allergic to them ironically

Yeah.

Did you hear of those kids that got suspended because they rode horses to school?

Yes but it was no vehicle to school day that day

Yeah.
Do you know what lipizzaner horses are?

Yes they are born a dark color and change to white as they grow

Do you know much about presidents?

I know some stuff.

Do you know who the three wealthiest ones are?

Yes that is JFK< Washington and Jefferson

Yeah.

Do you know what the first president if Zimbabwe is called?

yes he is called president Banana

Yeah.

Did you also know that the white house is smaller than the guest house?

I guess they get a lot of guests so need more room

I guess.

Do you know how the VP used to be elected?

Yes that was the runner up that moved into that position

Yes that is a good way to go about that I think

True.

It was really nice chatting with you today


Do you have any favorite clothing?

Not really, but any cloths is better than no clothes right?

for sure lol, I don't have a favorite either, for all I care I could wear pilgrim clothing and be fine

Well I wouldn't take it that far.
They sure loved their buckles

Apparently they only wore their "pilgrim" clothes at special occasions

Really?
My kindergarten years were all a lie

ha I was thinking the same thing.

Back in the day apple had their own clothes, ever worn those?

Nope.
Did they just have the apple logo?

I am not sure, I wonder if I could find some on ebay.

Or at a store in alabama who sell unclaimed baggage.

I wonder if that is legal

I wonder also, if so I am going to Chicago o Hare and getting what i can

Do you like any clothes in particular?

Jordan and Nike clothes.

I like to be comfortable, how about you?

I like jeans since they last so long and are usually comfortable unless skinny jeans

For sure, I can't wear skinny jeans, I am over that now lol.

I like khakis too

I could never get into khakis.
Felt too stiff

Jeans is that feeling for me, i am too restricted!

I understand, but as long as the jeans aren't tight and too constricting, they feel smooth for me.

Kind of hard to put into words

That is true, maybe I need looser ones.
Good chatting with you!

I enjoyed chatting as well.
Thank you for your time

you too, bye!


Hi there, do you like horses?

Sure, horses are

Have you ever galloped on a horse?

Icelandic horses have a fifth speed, a tolt, that is like speedwalking.

I meant to say horses are ok.  Hit the enter key by mistake.

No, I have never ridden a horse.

I like the idea that horses have speeds.

Lipizzaner horses are known for their classical dressage performances.

Interestingly enough, they are born with dark fur and take six years to turn completely white.

Horses were domesticated in 4000 BC.
Dogs were domesticated first.
I would rather have a dog than a horse.

I think I'd like a horse so I could ride them like Clint Eatwood does in many of his movies.

Do you think Clint Eastwood ever tickled his horse?

How about his orangutan from every which way but loose?

Sharks, horses and orangutans are ticklish.

Ha, interesting.

Wonder if they could be calmed by a dalmatian.

Dalmatians are associated with firefighteres because they calmed and protected the horses.

I find a good bottle of wine helps me calm down.

Do horse drink wine?

Andrew Jefford things thatthere is a common philosphy that defines wine lovers.

I don't like the taste of wine myself.

The British guy that writes for decanter.com?

I bet most people that write about wine are biased towards wine.

Andrew was  searching for something "pithy" to say.

He calls his outlook Wineism and says it's a progressive view that embraces tolerance and inclusion.

There is little wrong with that.

It would seem that the wine trade is important.

It promotes cross cultural ism.

Enjoy different wines, like horses.

Yeah, he says that wine lovers have a generous spirit and have an international outlook, celebrating differences.

Trade will do that to you.

So will drinking wine.

Do both at once and you will meet lots of new people, cultures.

Right, like differences from vintage, place of origin, grape variety.

I personally do not feel compelled to support a cause when I purchase wine.

Some vineyards do support causes, like fighting heart disease, or the national geographic society.

Yeah, if I picked wine it would have to be for the taste.

So, a wine that donates to environmental causes could claim the environment is what creates the taste.

Wine writers go on and on about taste.

Maybe eco friendly wine is OK.

Interesting!
I'll have to look into that further.
Have a good day!


Are you a wine lover or a progressive?
lol

What a funny outlook the author has on that!

Coincidentally, I am not a wine lover but I do love philosophy.

How do you feel about it?

I am not philosophical nor a wine lover.

Do your tastes match your political ideology?

I guess I would say so, I love beer and I feel like a moderate person.

I never would have thought to associate the history of wine and the necessary trade relationships with a liberal political viewpoint!

Hard to believe wine has been traded and consumed for over 800 years

Yeah, and I guess it really is true that our consumerism of wine has let us experience many different cultural vibes, because our wines come from different places like America or France or Italy.

I can relate to the author's viewpoint when talking about whiskey or vodka.

I love my whiskey an vodka thats for sure!

I would also agree with him that the experience with liquor or beer it is definitely a consistent experience which is what can be so cozy about it.

I don't like sticking with just one brand.

I like to experience different brands and varieties

I'm the opposite, I like the same brand of beer all the time but learning about the variety of wine types like cabernet, merlot or pinot makes me feel tempted to explore some.

On a different note, do you like horses?

I do like horses, but I never would have imagined that we had been riding on them since all the way back in 4000 BC.

I have wild ones that live nearby my property; they are so beautiful

I wonder if your horses are descended from the Przewalski's horse

They are the most dominant wild breed actually.

They are a big part of our Nation's history

Oh, I thought that it was the subspecies Caballus who were related to all of the domesticated horses.

I think you may be right actually.

I don't really like seeing them being used for racing.

I agree with you, but I guess it's not surprising that people are tempted into racing with them considering that a horse's peak output is 14.9 horsepower

I have always wanted to own a couple of Clysedale Horses

I had never much thought about owning horses myself but learning that horses are ticklish makes me wish I had one to test that out on!

Happy Holidays!


Did you hear about Duke Ellington School of the Arts in DC and its $180 million remodel?

That's a lot, but it sounds like a good school.

I did not hear about that.
I was more interested in the scandal.

Yes, I heard some non-resident parents send their kids their without paying tuition.

How did they get away with that?

It is the old dictomy public school is bad until they do something right.

98% graduation rate sounds great, and they have some successful alums like Dave Chappelle.

I like the longer hours and work ethic.

American kids are too lazy these days and need to be pushed to compete with the world.

That's how you get people like Google's founders founding the company when they were still grad students at Stanford.

Yes I wish I was the netfix founders.

I must have had several 100 of late fees for tapes and dvds.

Give Netflix credit for recognizing the future was streaming, not DVD rentals.

A lot of companies don't change with the times.

I totally agree, Hollywood video did not transition and lost.

Sort of like Uber vs Taxi drivers, that however seems different.

Blockbuster also screwed up.

They could have bought Netflix for $50 million; it's now worth 40 times that.

Its interesting to note that all of Netflix tech is run on Amazon Web Services.

Another company that transitioned to a profitable product while selling books cost more money than they were making.

I wonder if young people even know that Amazon was first a book store?

Sort of like how Google is moving beyond searches into cloud computing, software, etc.

And yet Google used Goats to mow the grass around their headquarters.

Some things cannot be replaced like goats as lawnmowers or a paperback book in your hands.

Or Pokemon on TV.
That shows been on forever.

I did not know that south park made family guy and why did the simpsons send flowers to the producers.

I think South Park aired an episode making fun of Family Guy, and The Simpsons crew sent flowers because they agreed with the sentiment.

Was the 70's show verbatim made in UK done with English actors?

I can see how that would not traslate well in the UK.

I am not sure why it's necessary to remake between US and UK.

I mean, Ringo Starr narrated Thomas the Tank engine.

Americans can handle British personalities, and vice versa.

Yes but that 70's show was so America specific.

And to have Brits do it would seem a strange parody.

True.

I know they have Netflix in Britain.

I'd be curious as to how much content is the same as in the States, and how much is different.

So if a single google search requires more computing power than what was needed to go to the moon, where should we now be going?

And are we just killing ourselfs with worthless computing (facebook etc).

I'm not sure people want to go anywhere any more, except on their computers.

Youtube and Netflix account for half of internet traffic.

Sad, we could have been to Mars by now, but people are just introvering themselfs.

I am just waiting for the aliens to take over.

Wont take much.

Unless the Aliens are like us: more focused on entertainment than exploration!

Exactly, but god help us if they are more Klingon like.

All we need its aliens who are slightly more advanced and outgoing.

They could use Google Maps to help plan their military attack.

Track our devices to figure out where we are.

But then we could beam Netflix to their ships and render them unconcious due to binging.

MAybe that's what China is doing to us, LOL.

China doesn't have Netflix.

But if we take Google down then we free up 40% of the web traffic and people will start reading real books again.

I don't trust Google.

They tailor their maps to what countries want to hear.

Maybe they'd end up working for invading space aliens.

I agree Google is not to be trusted.

I think they do stuff like use goats in order to appear quirky and fun, but they are a huge conglomerate now.

Alphabet Inc. now.

But that sounds faceless, so they like to be known as Google.

I agree, and wish that I had bought stock way back when.

If you could have gotten "supervoting" shares you could call the shots there, like Page and Brin do.


do you watch tv?

a lot.
do you watch the simpsons?

Yes and there is an episode where Bart does not appear

Yes and he was strangely not even mentioned at all

Yeah.
How about That 70s SHow?

I liked it but it really flopped in the UK it seems

Yes they remade it verbatim and had to cancel after 10 episodes

Yeah.
How about Pokemon?

I have seen only a few of the total of 750 episodes

Yes they have been on air for 16 years now

Yeah that is so long.
And THomas the Tank, are you a fan?

My kids watch it and Alec Baldwin did the voice of it for 52 episodes

Yeah pretty cool.
DO you watch Netflix?

Yes.

They make up for one third of bandwidth usage in the morning in NA

Yeah and together with youtube they make half of peak internet usage

Yeah and they still use more on postage than bandwidth

Yes 20 times more, what are they mailing really?

I know right?

BLockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix and passed on it

Yes for $50 million they could have made billions now

Bad decision.
Nice chatting with you

Same here


Did you hear about the Duke Ellington Scandal by the way?

I did.

Regarding the School of the Arts?

Apparently there was cheating in order to avoid paying tuition.

Yep that's what I heard.

I guess it's been a predominantly black school for about 40 years now too, and over 50% of the students are eligible for a free government subsidized lunch

Yeah, Dave Chappelle graduated from there.

The school has a 98% graduation rate, with college acceptance at NYU, Yale, and Julliard.

So, they must be doing something right!

Yep I agree!

It sounds like a lot of famous people actually graduated from there and one of them was a Grammy award-winning musician

Do you have Netflix?

I just learned that from 9pm to midnight, Netflix accounts for 33% of all bandwidth in N. America.

Wow that's crazy!

That's a lot of bandwidth, it's also shocking that YouTube and Netflix together make up half of all internet bandwidth

Crazy but not surprising!

Netflix has 137 million subscribers worldwide!

That is a lot!

In about half of them are from the USA alone, what do you think the future holds for Netflix?

Will they get even more popular

Definitely.

They have been producing a lot of their own material- like Bird Box.

It's available worldwide, but just not in North Korea, China, Syria, or Crimea.

Have you ever seen Netflix's first original show that they created?

It was called Lillehammer and it debuted back in 2012, I wonder how it is

I haven't!

It's probably good, as is most of their shows/movies.

I personally really like their documentaries.

Well I'm just glad that they don't have late fees, it's funny that Netflix was originally created because the guy who invented Netflix was fined $40 for turning in Apollo 13 Late

I wonder if his late fee was with Blockbuster, who declined offers to buy Netflix for $50m.

Netflix is now worth $2billion.

That's a good question!

Might have to Google it, how often do you use Google by the way?

All the time haha.

I've become very relient on it, unfortunately, but I'm one of those people who needs to know a definite answer.

One time in 2013 Google went down for 5 minutes and it took 40% of the web traffic with it!

Yeah I can believe that, Google is the biggest search engine of all time, do you know who the current CEO of Google is?

Its Sundar pichai

I didn't know that.

I remember a time before 1998 when AskJeeves, AOL, and Yahoo were the popular search engines.

Two PhD students from Stanford founded Google.

Yep you're right.

It's also crazy that a single Google search uses more CPU power than the CPU that took Neil Armstrong to the Moon, I wonder how that's possible

I wonder too.

I thought it was interesting that the Google headquarters lawn was once maintained by 100s of goats.

That is interesting!

I wish that I had live goats to mow my lawn because I hate doing it haha.

Did you hear how Google will adjust their boundaries on a map depending on which country is doing the search?

That's just in case two countries disagree on what the exact boundaries are


do you watch tv?

Yes I do.
DO you like the SImpsons?

Yes I do.

There is n episode where Bart does not appear

Yes and strangely he was not even mentioned in it

Yeah.
How ahout That 70s Show?

Yes I have seen it and I like it but it really flopped in the UK

Yes it only lasted for 10 episodes and was cut off air

Yes I guess remaking it verbatim lead to that

Yeah.
How about Pokemon?

Yes I have seen some but not the whole 750 episodes

Yes me too, they have been on air for 16 years now

Yeah.
Do you use Netflix?

I do actually.
Do you know when it was founded?

I do not know the year but do you know why it got started?

It was in 1997 and that was because Hastings for a late fee on a VHS

Yeah.

Did you know with youtube they account of half of peak internet usage

Yes and in the morning they account for one third of bandwidth

Yeah.

And they still spend more on postage than bandwidth though

Yeah.

Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for $50 million and did not

That was not a smart decision.
Nice chat

Same here


Interesting that the 70's show was remade verbatim in the UK.

Yeah,  but I didnt know England even had the 1970s...

I guess that is why it was canceled after only 10 episodes.

I was unaware that it was on over there as well.

It was sort of better for the U.S.

I don't recall ever seeing the Queen wearing bell bottoms... My hat's off to them for trying!

Like the nod given by the crew of the Simpsons to the South Park crew for airing a Family Guy finale episode!

Gotta respect that!

I was unaware that there was only one episode of the Simpsons where Bart neither appears nor is mentioned.

Yeah I was like, all "where is Bart?

Was he erased or replaced on the program?"

Media is fickle that way.

Like for "Thomas the Tank Engine", it was narrated by Ringo Starr, George Carlin, and Alec Baldwin, each with at least 52 turns.

I'm not sure if you can view the Simpsons on netflix nowadays.

Yeah, but there are over 750 episodes of "Pokemon" to keep us busy!

I'm not sure if Pokemon is on Netflix.

Crazy how Reed Hastings decided to start the company.

He is quite the character.

He has built it to the point where 33% of all bandwidth in NOrth America is dedicated to Netflix between the hours of 9pm to midnight!

That's crazy!

Crazy that blockbuster declined to buy Netflix too.

Yeah!

It was a steal at $50 million back then, and now it's worth over 2 billion!

It looks they made the mistake, I think blockbuster is completely out of business now.

Good.

I was worried about late fees on a VHS I still have.

LOL

Hilarious, it sounds like a similar thing happened to Reed Hastings.

Now Netflix and YouTube together account for half of peak internet traffic in North America.

I wonder if the rest is Amazon Prime video?

I bet it probably is, Google would likely know from their search business.

Google is probably suspicious of Netflix, since Netflix spends 20-times more on postage than on bandwidth.

Google is jealous!

I'm sure google is a bit jealous, but they do have youtube!

Nice.

Answer me this: if a single Google search requires more computing power than it took to send 12 astronauts to the moon, why does all the Youtube footage of the moon landing look fake?

The footage on NEtflix looks real!

Yeah, that's pretty crazy.

When google went down for 5 minutes, it took 40% of the web traffic with it.

Ah, she's a jealous thing she is.

She once chose to forego use of human lawnmowers and chose to use goats instead to mow the headquarters property.

Google is a vindictive woman.

Interesting concept.
It was made by 2 Phd students.


Do you still have cable tv or did you cut the cord?

I rent a house with my brother, I mooch off his cable

Do you guys till have an old style tube tv or newer flat screen?

I have a couple of flat screen tvs, all my old style tvs broke.

How bout you?

All flat screens.

Can you believe how far we have come since the black and white tv in such a short time?

It's amazing, now they have 3d tv's too.

Do you have neflix?

I do.
I am huge binge watcher of netflix.

Me too, it has a lot of good stuff and over 58 million subscribers

It has come a long way since it began in '97

Yea, they tried to join up with blockbuster in 2000

Blockbuster sure messed up on the decision not to buy them and now look where they are.

Yep, Netflix is now all over the world, even Syria!

They have 137 million viewers where blockbuster has none.

what a major turn around for both companies.

The good thing about netflix is you don't have to worry about late fees

That is one of the main reasons that the company was started, over a $40 late fee

What nice is netflix also has tv shows too, which blockbuster didn't focus on at all

I wish I could work for Netflix overseas like in South Korea.

I wish I could work for google and become a noogler

Interesting.
Google is a huge but fun company too.

yes, they do a lot of work there and use 0.01% of the world's electricity

I love the products they put out in the form of hardware and online digital tools.


Do you know the founding story behind Netflix?

One of the guys ran up a late fee, and was so disgusted that he started netflix!

No, I didn't know that!

Funny that Blockbuster could have bought Netflix and didn't

For the tiny price of $50 million.

I guess Blockbuster thought they could recreate Netflix on their own.

Now there is no more Blockbuster.

I didn't realize that Netflix and YouTube account for half of the internet traffic in North America

People love their television!

I think it's just going to grow with higher resolutions and more shows available.

Yeah, it doesn't seem to have a ceiling.

They could probably stop spending so much on postage lol

I was surprised that they still spend money on postage.

Who rents DVDs and Blueray when they can watch online?

Maybe people with low bandwidth?

That's what I want to know!

I think some things are not available for streaming, too

That would make sense.

I wonder what company will come along and replace netflix.

Perhaps they'll get acquired.

This makes you think: takes more computing poser to do a google search than it took to send astronauts to the moon

Google search has changed the world.

Maybe it'll be important for faking the Mars landing!

yeah they could probably just CGI the whole thing and no one would ever know lol

The best graphics would be reserved for government conspiracy.

They would stream the whole thing live over Netflix.

or YouTube.

They could get a ton of ad revenue from that

Then they could have an IPO for firms on Mars (that weren't really on Mars).

Google calculates traffic by tracking people's phones...that's a little scary

I think phones could be used to stop speeders.

I would like there to be more auto-driving cars on the road.

Probably safer than most people.

I agree.

People are not good drivers.

Too many looking looking at their phones

I would like to see more people use public transit, but I think people like the privacy and comfort of an individual vehicle.

That's true, plus people could save a ton of money.

It's just more convenient to have your own car.

A self-driving car with parental controls could deliver the kids to school, and pick them up at the end of the day.

I wonder if it could make them lunch too lol

Pick up lunch at the automated drive thru, deliver it to school.

I think you solved it lol.

then it could take them to soccer practice


It was fascinating how they tied all of those diverse topics together, Disinformation, Smoking, Google

Do you  think the US anti-smoking campaign does fight disinformation?

Yeah, I'm usually not one to say the US government is doing an effective job at most anything, but in this case, they've managed to stigmatize smoking to an incredible degree.

Then again, the risks of smoking kind of speak for themselves.

It's amazing that the campaign has been ongoing since 1964 and still there are new smokers.

I think teenagers have a sense of thinking such things don't apply to them, and that's the majority of the new smoker population.

Once they realize they are actually fallible, the addiction has already taken hold.

Do you think the disinformation efforts of the US government are succeeding in quelling fake news?

Not really, I think that news media in general is pretty corrupt, all the networks are owned by a handful of people, I believe it

What about with Google?
Any effect on fake news there?

I'm sorry, I pressed enter before I was done.

I think google just relies on algorithms, which makes them less prone to delivering fake news and more prone to delivering results that are nonsense/content farms.

It was interesting to learn that  the tech companies want to avoid being categorized as media companies.

I know that a single google search requires more computing power than it took to send armstrong to the moon, so maybe you're right.

Google went down for 5 minutes in 213 and 40% of the web traffic went down with it.

How about 86% of the land in Nevada being government land?

That blew my mind for some reason, I wonder if Vegas is included

Nevada has a lot of land that is vacant and used for military testing.

A man in France managed to sell the Eiffel Tower twice impersonating a government official.

Let's hope that doesn't happen in NV.

I hear all this stuff about Russia and other countries trying to spread disinformation on social media, apparently being described as a Category 5 hurricane, but I don't know that I've ever come across such a thing.

Have you?

There's a lot of news about them using social media to spread information about political candidates is that what you mean by 'a category 5 hurricane'?

Yeah.

Apparently, the DHS Chief, Kirsten Nielsen, described Russia's impact on our election that way

Yes, I think they have actually proven that.

I don't know how they are going to stop it but they are trying.

Did you know that That 70's Show was redone word for word in the UK?

No, I didn't.
Why did they do that?

To be quirky , I suppose.

All in all, I hope that the anti smoking campaign succeeds

Yes.

The US government and especially the Surgeon General's office have been very dedicated.

I agree.
Thanks for your help.


Hello, what are your thoughts on the US senate?

Hey.

I think they have a very important job being the upper chamber of the US Congress.

I  think the same 50 states, 100 US senators, they are of great value to our democratic system

Yes I agree.

A fun fact is they once used the same gavel for 165 years...until Nixon cracked it.

I guess Nixon changed a lot of things,

Yeah it sounds like it.

On the senate floor women weren't allowed to wear pants until 1993.

I didnt know about that, seems like an unfair rule, good thing that changed now

Agreed.

I find the response Michael Jordan gave about not endorsing the black NC democratic candidate a bit confusing.

It was, I guess he likes to stay away from politics I gyess I can respect that

Yeah true.

I never knew that the Senate chamber was located in the north wing of the Capitol in Washington DC.

They should make a tv show called the "North Wing".

That would be a cool show, Trum would be star and them some other politicians

Haha yeah he would.

I would like to see Trump put out some pop albums like the Indonesian president.

I would love to see that as well, that guy released 3 albums while in office right?

Yes!

What a riot lol.

I wonder what kind of style he had?

Way back in 1986 Apple had a clothing line!

Apple had a clothing line!

wow, I would like to buy an Apple tshirt, its y favorite brand

Haha yeah I want to see what they sold back in the day.

Rip curl makes clothes in North Korea, I had no idea.

I had no idea about that either, there is a cool store in Alabama though, it seels unclaimed baggage from airports

Great business model.

Sell stuff that they get for free!

The pilgrim clothing was full in color and only wore black on special occasions!

I thought they used black always, I guess my 3rd grade teacher pulled a fast one on me

haha maybe so.

One way to tell if something fits well is to look for a collar gap.

Thats a great tip, thanks, a lot of interesting tips about clothes, presidents and the senate


Do you follow the US Senate at all?

I did the Kavanaugh stuff.
Did you?

I heard a few things.

I don't know who else should have gotten the job.

I think other justices will get replaced during Trump's time.

I think you are right.

the whole thing seemed very weird to me.

Politics sure is a funny business.

I've heard that they have a candy desk in the Senate.

a desk full of candy?
I felt bad for both Kavanaugh and ford.

I don't think there's a good way to handle these conflicts, but that hearing was certainly a bad way.

I hope the next candidate isn't as controversial.

me too.

Could you imagine having to dredge up what you might have done 36 years ago?

I think it just becomes "he said, she said," and the perception depends so much on the current climate.

True.

Michael jordan was once asked why he wouldn't endorse black democratic candidate harvey gantt in a north carolina senate race, to which michael jordan responded, "republicans buy shoes too".

As if Michael weren't making enough money already.

But I guess he needed more.

Anything for a little more!

I had no idea about this..Fred rogers is credited with the continued funding of pbs after he presented a passionate argument in front of the us senate in may, 1969. this allowed healthy child development shows like 'mr.

rogers neighborhood' to be fully funded, along with the rest of pbs programming.

I saw that footage!

The guy was amazing in front of the Senate.

He was so credible.

He could never survive in politics, though.

Too honest.

I loved watching him as a kid.
I'm sure a lot of us did.
I might have to look the footage up.

Yeah, there's a film called Won't You Be My Neighbor.

Worth watching.

He was an interesting guy during tough social changes in the US

I'll watch that, thank you!

Senator strom thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster by a lone senator.

he stayed on the senate floor speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes nonstop

I guess he prepared very carefully for that filibuster.

Oh my lord!
I coldn't even imagine.
I wonder what he was fighting for?

Filibusters are to stop something, so he probably wanted to prevent a tax increase or more funding to social security.

Very interesting!

The only us president to have a phd is woodrow wilson

Probably not very helpful for the job.
A law degree would be useful.
Well, I enjoyed chatting!


Hello, did you know that Kristjen Nielsen is the US Homeland Security Secretary.

I was aware of that yes.
She has held a lot of press briefings.

They were talking about smoking.

The government began there efforts to reduce smoking in 1964.

That is when the US government first acknowledged that smoking was harmful to health.

I know that most people smoked then but it's hard to believe that it was deemed harmful so recently.

Apparently the smoking rate was cut in half by 2015.

Well that is good.

Speaking of our Government, did you know that in Nevada, the US government owns 86% of the land.

I was not aware of that.
I wonder why.
May a lot of protected lands.
Nature preserves?

Probably I would guess.

I man in France sold the Eiffel Tower twice by impersonating a Government official.

I actually saw that story on TV once.
I can't remember the show.
Drunk History maybe.
It was fascinating.

Yes it is.

I have a lot of respect for the Norwegian Government.

They donated $1 billion to help save the Amazon Rainforest.

That is amazing.

What a great cause.

I have a very ironic government fact.

The Chinese government has censored the word censorship.

Really, I would expect no more from China.

I am also a huge tv and movie buff.

I love the Simpsons.

There is only one episode where Bart is neither seen nor mentioned.

I know he is very central to show but I'm surprised that has only happened once when it has been on the air for so long.

Speaking of The Simpson, Daniel Radcliffe voiced the cartoon parody of Twilight's Edward Cullen on The Simpsons treehouse of horror xxi.

He did, that is cool.

My son use to love Pokemon.

There are more than 750 episodes.

That is about 50 shows a year for 16 straight years.

WOW!

I knew the video games were still popular but I did not realize that the cartoon still was.

It just keeps going and going.

My son also was a huge Thomas the Tank Engine Fan.

I know that George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, and Ringo Starr all narrated Thomas the Tank Engine for at least 52 episodes each.

That is pretty neat.

That is a very interesting fact.

Speaking of longevity, Weekend Update debuted on the first episode of SNL and is their longest running skit.

I love SNL.

I didn't know that though.

Are you a big internet user.

I know I am.

Google has changed the industry.

I learned that it takes more computing power in a single google search than it did to send Neil Armstrong and 11 other Astronauts to the moon.

That is crazy.

I use the internet constantly.

We stream all of our entertainment at this point.

I am always shocked by how much data we can fit in smaller and smaller devices now.

Like they have SD cards that hold more data than I thought possible at this point.

I am as well.

This is hilarious.

Google once used hundreds of live goats instead of hiring people to mow the lawns around their headquarters.

WOW!

That seems like it would be more costly not less.

Well, thank you for the chat.

I will leave you with this.

Google had their IPO on August 19th, 2004.

That is my birthday.


Hello, how are you this evening?

Very well, thank you.

I hope you are as well?

Not doing your laundry in the famous geyser, Old Faithful, as was the ritual in the old days?

Um, that's random.

I'm as well as can be expected, I suppose, given the state of the world today.

Have you been keeping up with politics?

Sadly, yes.

I watched the Blasey-Ford hearings and the farce in Washington surrounding it.

You?

Yeah, that was a circus.

Personally I don't care if he's guilty or not.

I think his behavior during the hearings is proof enough he's unfit for the Supreme Court.

The fact that he was so defensive certainly made him look guilty.

I disagree.

It was all political theater.

The accuser, a physiology professor that has consulted with the CIA, acted as though she was a helpless little girl.

From her hairdo, one that she never wore until the hearings, to her forced wittle girly voice, was designed to manipulate the audience.

His

So you think that was all an act?

Perhaps.

But it's also possible the hairdo was just her trying to look good since it was a very formal setting, and the nuances of her voice were likely due to the emotions her testimony evoked.

I think a victim sounding like a scared girl is more likely than a grown man keeping decades-old calendars.

What college student actually writes in parties on a calendar, anyway?

I agree that his performance was just as bad as hers.

I just think the eve was a hit job and his response was a calculated defense.

Us normal folks are left trying to sort out the truth, and it comes down to acting skill, not legitimate seek of justice.

But like Michael Jordan said when asked if he would support a democrat candidate, :Republicans buy shoes too."

Washington is partisan and this was a partisan theater production.

As I said, I don't know if he was actually guilty or not.

He was found not guilty and I agree with that finding.

There was no real evidence presented, just one person's word against another's.

Also, if she was truly a victim, she should have gone to the authorities right away.

Regardless, I think it would have been better to consider someone else for the position, since he clearly does not function well under pressure.

You're totally right about Washington being partisan, though.

It's a mess.

Maybe we should go back to making the runner-up in the presidential election the vice president, like we did in the 18th century.

How do you think Trump would like to be forced to work with Clinton?

It would be a character-building experience for sure!

President Harry Truman was selected as a VP candidate for Roosevelt because Harry had help to find so much corruption and waste that he saved the US gov $10-20 billion.

I would say that corruption and waste have kept up with inflation.

Oh definitely, if not surpassed it.

Lately it seems like we taxpayers are spending a lot of money for a bunch of people to sit around and do nothing.

Did you know that in 1988, an obscure rule was invoked which allowed the sergeant-at-arms to arrest absent senators and bring them to the chamber to vote?

I think that's great!

I have to show up to work to get paid; so should they.

Hear, hear!

The only President to have a PhD was Woodrow Wilson.

Actually, the richest presidents were Washington, Jefferson, and Kennedy.

People seem to forget that the our founding fathers were members of the educated elite.

Yeah, and the last Pres to be able to speak a foreign language fluently was FDR.

Educational status of our leaders is going downhill.

I think that mirrors the direction of the country as a whole.

Supposedly we have greater "access" to education, but the quality of the education seems to have degraded, while the expense just keeps rising.

I wonder why we seem to be regressing.

Part of the problem is likely that partisanship we've been talking about.

Our officials spend so much time arguing and trying to be the "winning team" that it takes forever to get anything meaningful done.

Heck, women weren't even allowed to wear pants on the senate floor until 1993.

What a stupid thing to worry about!

Speaking of clothing, did you know that the Greeks used to make clothing out of asbestos?

No, that's crazy!

Was it made for a specific purpose or occasion, or just everyday wear?

Is was considered extremely valuable, so, I guess, it was probably everyday wear.

Do you know any clothing-related trivia?

Sure.

You know how Apple sells basically everything electronic?

Well, back in 1986, they also had a clothing line.

Nice.

They should have made a scratch-n-sniff line of clothing that smelled like apples.

Quality control would have been fun.

Not like the QC folks at Miguel Cabarello's bulletproof clothing manuf co, where they get to be shot to test the clothing.

I really hope that job comes with hazard pay.

Why don't they use dummies made of ballistic gel like in that greatest warrior tv show?

Right?

I guess he rotates the manufacturers through testing so that they all get shot at.

This ensures that the workers remain serious about making efective clothing.

Seems a bit extreme to me!

Nice chatting!


Did you hear that the Norwegian government donated money to save the Amazon rainforest?

I guess they've got cash to spare in Norway.

Must be nice!
Do you smoke?

Not as a habit, no.
More of a party smoker.

I always was too.

U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says the Anti smoking campaign has been a huge success.

I think the tobacco companies want people to consume a nicotine product, whether cigs or something else.

Maybe the government can get behind an alternative.

That would be a good idea.

The effort to reduce smoking in the United States began in 1964!

I had no idea!

I think people suspected the health problems with smoking for a long time, but couldn't "prove" it.

There is just so much money to be made from tobacco.

True.

When the campaign began, doctors were still telling pregnant women that it was safe for them to smoke!

Thanks doc!

I've heard that smoking during pregnancy can make your kid go cross-eyed.

Doctors are a trusted source, so I understand why mothers would believe them.

me too, but really?
I've seen a few crossed people.
Maybe thats why!

The modern day equivalent of smoking is sitting.

We sit all day in front of computers, and hurt our health.

Maybe if all we did was sit, yes.

the tech industry today operates in an unregulated environment.

That is going to change.

too many people are upset by the use of their personal information.

People want some privacy.

It looks like Government is getting ready to step in since they wont change on their own.

The scary part for me is the interference by foreign governments in our elections.

I think that's tantamount to an act of war.

Thats what it says here.

These voluntary efforts are failing to curtail the spread of disinformation, and sooner or later the tech industry will have to face the same FCC restrictions on content and advertising as traditional media - which would undoubtedly help to reduce the spread of erroneous reporting.

Second, the messenger matters.

I agree.

When you see something on a trusted internet source, you tend to believe it.

Nowadays it's getting hard to know who to belielve.

Research shows that even truthful information will be dismissed by audiences if it doesn't come from a trusted source.

Is that true?
Can I trust you on that?
:)

:) I'm not a trusted source yet!

I didn't know that Google went down for five minutes in 2013.

me either, does it say why?

No, it doesn't.

Probably there was a bug in the code.

I'm skeptical about the fact that Google uses goats to mow its lawns.

Can I trust the information that I'm reading here?

Actually you can!
I did a report in college about it!

I wonder whether the goats do a good job.

They do.

Google rents them from local farmers as a way to keep ticks and bugs down too.

Did you know, .

False information reaches people six times faster and is 70 percent more likely to be shared than a truthful story.

I'll remember that when I need to spread some false information!

I've heard that a lie is halfway round the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.

Thats a good saying!

And a good point to remember when trying not to gossip.

Looks like we in the US are getting a National Risk Management Center.

Who is going to manage the Management Center though?

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Well, I hope that they can track the hackers that have done some much harm to our democracy.

Thats what they want to do anyway.
They want to  counter disinformation.

There are other entities working against the US gov't though.

For example, Wikileaks published the government's plans to destroy wikileaks!

I know!

The chinese government has censored the word 'censorship'

The Chinese government also doesn't like a picture that compares the leader to Winnie the Pooh.

I am glad I do not live in that country.

Me too.

The us government publishes the full names of anybody who chooses to renounce their citizenship!

Whoa!

That is an interesting fact.

I guess they want to scare people into thinking twice about renouncing.

I guess so!

The government has actually shut down 17 times over the past 37 years.

it happened 3 times in 1977.

That's a frustrating mess.

I expect Congress to do better, though I don't know why.

Somebody has to be the adult in the room?

You would think!

J.p. morgan bailed out the u.s. government in 1895

Hm.

That is a frightening possibility for the near future, with all the government debt.

The govt bails out the banks usually.

This surprised me.

Most deals made on the television show 'shark tank' are never enacted

That is misleading.

I wonder whether there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the show.

"The deals are just for entertainment purposes only."

There should be if not!

Well, I need to go now.
It's been great chatting!

You too!
have a great day!

Bye