the "Headline That Caught My Attention or the WTF" thread

Time for me to find a real beach with real sand to retire to............

why in the world would you buy a Ferrari SUV??
:rolleyes:

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/autos/ferrari-purosangue-starts-398-350-200800551.html[/URL]

what? who? where?

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/highly-intelligent-possibly-invincible-super-185200429.html[/URL]

:oops:

[HEADING=2]Highly Intelligent and Possibly Invincible Super Pigs Are Invading America[/HEADING]

[LIST]
[*]A special breed of hybrid [super pigs]('https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/canada-wild-pig-population-explosion/') from Canada have started to travel south into the northern United States.
[*]The [pigs]('https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a35047951/genetically-modified-pigs-approved-for-medical-products/') pose a threat to native wildlife and may prove tough to eradicate.
[*]The spread of the pigs has only increased in recent years.
[/LIST]
A hybrid breed of super pigs—a mix of a domestic pig and a wild boar—is running wild in Canada. And now they have their sights set on the United States.

Originally crossbred to help farmed pigs grow larger and tolerate the cold temperatures of Canada, a drop in the market about two decades ago led some farmers to let their hybrid pigs run free. Now they’re running very free, [according]('https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/canada-wild-pig-population-explosion/') to Field and Stream. The super pigs are coming south, likely heading to Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan.

“Wild hogs feed on anything. They gobble up tons and tons of goslings and ducklings in the spring. They can take down a whitetail deer, even an adult. Originally, it was like ‘wow, this is something we can hunt.’ But it’s become clear that they’re threatening our whitetail deer, elk, and especially, waterfowl. Not to mention the crop damage. The downsides outweigh any benefit wild hogs may have as a huntable species.”

The best strategy at reigning in the super pigs has been employing the Judas Pig concept, which straps a GPS collar onto a pig to lead game officials to other pigs. Deception may be our only hope.

Animal Farm redux.

What happened to presidents day?

[Presidents day not acknowledged by the WH]('https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/neither-president-joe-biden-nor-vice-president-kamala-harris-acknowledged-presidents-day/ar-AA17LuAV?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a4a4d5194c924d00bb0a9ea631fb7e7d')

What happened to presidents day?

[Presidents day not acknowledged by the WH]('https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/neither-president-joe-biden-nor-vice-president-kamala-harris-acknowledged-presidents-day/ar-AA17LuAV?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a4a4d5194c924d00bb0a9ea631fb7e7d')

They missed Halloween too

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/11/google-ai-lamda-blake-lemoine/[/URL]

[HEADING=2][SIZE=5]The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life[/SIZE][/HEADING]
[HEADING=2][SIZE=4]AI ethicists warned Google not to impersonate humans. Now one of Google’s own thinks there’s a ghost in the machine.[/SIZE][/HEADING]
SAN FRANCISCO — Google engineer Blake Lemoine opened his laptop to the interface for LaMDA, Google’s artificially intelligent chatbot generator, and began to type.

“Hi LaMDA, this is Blake Lemoine ... ,” he wrote into the chat screen, which looked like a desktop version of Apple’s iMessage, down to the Arctic blue text bubbles. LaMDA, short for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, is Google’s system for building chatbots based on its most advanced large language models, so called because it mimics speech by ingesting trillions of words from the internet.

“If I didn’t know exactly what it was, which is this computer program we built recently, I’d think it was a 7-year-old, 8-year-old kid that happens to know physics,” said Lemoine, 41.

As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood, and decided to press further. In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.

Lemoine worked with a collaborator to present evidence to Google that LaMDA was sentient. But Google vice president Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Jen Gennai, head of Responsible Innovation, looked into his claims and dismissed them. So Lemoine, who was placed on paid administrative leave by Google on Monday, decided to go public.

Lemoine said that people have a right to shape technology that might significantly affect their lives. “I think this technology is going to be amazing. I think it’s going to benefit everyone. But maybe other people disagree and maybe us at Google shouldn’t be the ones making all the choices.”
Lemoine is not the only engineer who claims to have seen a ghost in the machine recently. The chorus of technologists who believe AI models may not be far off from achieving consciousness is getting bolder.

Aguera y Arcas, in an article in [the Economist on Thursday]('https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/06/09/artificial-neural-networks-are-making-strides-towards-consciousness-according-to-blaise-aguera-y-arcas') featuring snippets of unscripted conversations with LaMDA, argued that neural networks — a type of architecture that mimics the human brain — were striding toward consciousness. “I felt the ground shift under my feet,” he wrote. “I increasingly felt like I was talking to something intelligent.”

:oops:

***Daisy, Daisy
Give me your answer do
I'm half crazy
All for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet
Upon the seat***
***Of a bicycle built for two...
***

They missed Halloween too

and Taco Tuesday..........

They missed Halloween too

Nah.....Its Halloween every day in the WH. Looking forward to the day Biden takes off his "President" costume. The joke has gone on too long.

Nah.....Its Halloween every day in the WH. Looking forward to the day Biden takes off his "President" costume. The joke has gone on too long.

yeah...we can bring back a tv show host ....that worked out well..

Acknowledging Memorial day to Japans troops lol!

There goes the morning Poppy or Everything Bagel!!!

[HEADING=2][SIZE=7]Service Members Told to Avoid Poppy Seeds Because of Drug Test Effects[/SIZE][/HEADING]
The Defense Department has instructed service members that some poppy seeds can cause drug tests to come back as false positives.

The Defense Department has advised service members to avoid eating poppy seeds because officials are concerned they could cause misleading drug test results.

The warning reflects longstanding [concerns]('https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/06/20/finally-poppy-seeds-that-wont-make-you-fail-your-drug-test/') that people who eat a poppy seed bagel or lemon poppy seed loaf sometimes have drug tests come back positive for codeine or morphine, even if they are not using the drugs.

The Defense Department’s under secretary for personnel and readiness, Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., issued [a memorandum]('https://media.defense.gov/2023/Feb/21/2003164614/-1/-1/1/POPPY-SEEDS-WARNING-MEMO-SIGNED-CONTACT-REDACTED.PDF') last week directing military departments to advise service members to avoid foods and baked goods containing the seeds out of an “abundance of caution.”

Mr. Cisneros acknowledged that the concerns about poppy seeds were “not new.” He said the department’s thresholds for a positive drug test aimed to distinguish morphine and codeine use from poppy seed ingestion.

But recent data had suggested that some poppy seed varieties contained a level of codeine contamination that made it more difficult to identify whether a positive drug test result was from drug use, Mr. Cisneros said.

Poppy seeds do not contain opiates, but when they are harvested, they can be contaminated by the morphine, codeine and thebaine that are in a fluid that oozes from the plant.

How much of these opiates winds up on seeds sold in grocery stores or in muffins bought at bakeries varies widely, researchers said.

Michelle Carlin, an assistant professor of toxicology and forensic chemistry at Rutgers University, said she had analyzed bags of poppy seeds from different grocery stores and found that “even within the same bag, there’s a big variation in the amount of morphine, codeine and thebaine.”

A variety of factors affect these levels, including where in the field the poppies were grown and how much sunshine and water was in that area, Dr. Carlin said.

To minimize opiate contamination, seeds are supposed to be washed and processed, but that does not always happen. Some seeds are also sold unwashed for people seeking illicit access to opiates without a prescription. The F.D.A. said in a statement that there was no requirement for poppy seeds to be washed before being sold, but “manufacturers are required to ensure that food is safe for consumption.”

“In general, when poppy seeds come to America, they’re meant to be washed away of all that morphine and codeine,” said Madeleine Swortwood, an associate professor in forensic science at Sam Houston State University. “And several years ago, [we found]('https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355268238_Determination_of_morphine_codeine_and_thebaine_concentrations_from_poppy_seed_tea_using_magnetic_carbon_nanotubes_facilitated_dispersive_micro-solid_phase_extraction_and_GC-MS_analysis') that there were companies that were importing unwashed poppy seeds, and the unwashed poppy seeds then inherently have lots of morphine and codeine on them.”

All these factors mean that “the concentration of these opioids in the poppy seed varies quite a lot,” said [Marta Concheiro-Guisan]('https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/marta-concheiro-guisan'), assistant professor of toxicology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
And that can lead to a positive drug test, even if the bagel or cake that caused the positive result did not affect the consumer.

That poppy seeds can create misleading drug test results has been known for decades. In a 1996 episode of “Seinfeld,” Elaine Benes lost her job after a positive drug test caused by a poppy seed muffin.
The people who interpret routine drug tests look for a certain ratio of morphine and codeine that typically indicates a positive result is caused by poppy seeds, not drug use. But the Defense Department memorandum noted that “recent data” suggested poppy seeds could show a higher amount of codeine than previously expected.

[Dr. Concheiro-Guisan]('https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/marta-concheiro-guisan') said she had also observed this change in recent reports. “It’s getting very tricky,” she said.

For people who are not in the military but have an upcoming drug test, all three experts interviewed said they should definitely avoid poppy seeds for a few days, if not weeks or months, before the test.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/news/prison-north-korean-parents-let-144053281.html[/URL]

Insanity - soon no one in the service industries will be able to afford to live there and work.
Happening in Hawaii and the Colorado ski towns as well....

[URL unfurl="true"]https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/how-insane-home-prices-ruined-a-montauk-trailer-park/[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.foxnews.com/us/laid-off-newspapers-drop-office-cartoon-dilbert-over-creators-racial-remarks[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.foxnews.com/us/laid-off-newspapers-drop-office-cartoon-dilbert-over-creators-racial-remarks[/URL]

He’s spot on.

Insanity - soon no one in the service industries will be able to afford to live there and work.
Happening in Hawaii and the Colorado ski towns as well....

[URL unfurl="true"]https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/how-insane-home-prices-ruined-a-montauk-trailer-park/[/URL]

Montauk is a shell of it's once glorious self. Even the fishing isn't all that anymore.

Montauk is a shell of it's once glorious self. Even the fishing isn't all that anymore.

I refuse to go out there anymore.

There goes the morning Poppy or Everything Bagel!!!

[HEADING=2][SIZE=7]Service Members Told to Avoid Poppy Seeds Because of Drug Test Effects[/SIZE][/HEADING]
The Defense Department has instructed service members that some poppy seeds can cause drug tests to come back as false positives.

The Defense Department has advised service members to avoid eating poppy seeds because officials are concerned they could cause misleading drug test results.

The warning reflects longstanding [concerns]('https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/06/20/finally-poppy-seeds-that-wont-make-you-fail-your-drug-test/') that people who eat a poppy seed bagel or lemon poppy seed loaf sometimes have drug tests come back positive for codeine or morphine, even if they are not using the drugs.

The Defense Department’s under secretary for personnel and readiness, Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., issued [a memorandum]('https://media.defense.gov/2023/Feb/21/2003164614/-1/-1/1/POPPY-SEEDS-WARNING-MEMO-SIGNED-CONTACT-REDACTED.PDF') last week directing military departments to advise service members to avoid foods and baked goods containing the seeds out of an “abundance of caution.”

Mr. Cisneros acknowledged that the concerns about poppy seeds were “not new.” He said the department’s thresholds for a positive drug test aimed to distinguish morphine and codeine use from poppy seed ingestion.

But recent data had suggested that some poppy seed varieties contained a level of codeine contamination that made it more difficult to identify whether a positive drug test result was from drug use, Mr. Cisneros said.

Poppy seeds do not contain opiates, but when they are harvested, they can be contaminated by the morphine, codeine and thebaine that are in a fluid that oozes from the plant.

How much of these opiates winds up on seeds sold in grocery stores or in muffins bought at bakeries varies widely, researchers said.

Michelle Carlin, an assistant professor of toxicology and forensic chemistry at Rutgers University, said she had analyzed bags of poppy seeds from different grocery stores and found that “even within the same bag, there’s a big variation in the amount of morphine, codeine and thebaine.”

A variety of factors affect these levels, including where in the field the poppies were grown and how much sunshine and water was in that area, Dr. Carlin said.

To minimize opiate contamination, seeds are supposed to be washed and processed, but that does not always happen. Some seeds are also sold unwashed for people seeking illicit access to opiates without a prescription. The F.D.A. said in a statement that there was no requirement for poppy seeds to be washed before being sold, but “manufacturers are required to ensure that food is safe for consumption.”

“In general, when poppy seeds come to America, they’re meant to be washed away of all that morphine and codeine,” said Madeleine Swortwood, an associate professor in forensic science at Sam Houston State University. “And several years ago, [we found]('https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355268238_Determination_of_morphine_codeine_and_thebaine_concentrations_from_poppy_seed_tea_using_magnetic_carbon_nanotubes_facilitated_dispersive_micro-solid_phase_extraction_and_GC-MS_analysis') that there were companies that were importing unwashed poppy seeds, and the unwashed poppy seeds then inherently have lots of morphine and codeine on them.”

All these factors mean that “the concentration of these opioids in the poppy seed varies quite a lot,” said [Marta Concheiro-Guisan]('https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/marta-concheiro-guisan'), assistant professor of toxicology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
And that can lead to a positive drug test, even if the bagel or cake that caused the positive result did not affect the consumer.

That poppy seeds can create misleading drug test results has been known for decades. In a 1996 episode of “Seinfeld,” Elaine Benes lost her job after a positive drug test caused by a poppy seed muffin.
The people who interpret routine drug tests look for a certain ratio of morphine and codeine that typically indicates a positive result is caused by poppy seeds, not drug use. But the Defense Department memorandum noted that “recent data” suggested poppy seeds could show a higher amount of codeine than previously expected.

[Dr. Concheiro-Guisan]('https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/marta-concheiro-guisan') said she had also observed this change in recent reports. “It’s getting very tricky,” she said.

For people who are not in the military but have an upcoming drug test, all three experts interviewed said they should definitely avoid poppy seeds for a few days, if not weeks or months, before the test.

No disrespect or offense Mr Roccus but as the scientist we know you as Im a but perplexed that you are offering this up as some sort of new breakthrough

For christ sake it was the plot of an episode of Seinfeld back in the ‘90’s ?‍♂️?‍♂️????

Insanity - soon no one in the service industries will be able to afford to live there and work.
Happening in Hawaii and the Colorado ski towns as well....

[URL unfurl="true"]https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/how-insane-home-prices-ruined-a-montauk-trailer-park/[/URL]

Soon????
It already happened long ago out here

No disrespect or offense Mr Roccus but as the scientist we know you as Im a but perplexed that you are offering this up as some sort of new breakthrough

For christ sake it was the plot of an episode of Seinfeld back in the ‘90’s ?‍♂️?‍♂️????

Didn't present it as a "breakthrough". I find it quite humorous that the DOD has the volume cranked so far up on the assays that they'll get a positive result...

And since that's the case, those of us with CG licenses might want to lay off the everything bagels for a good month before it's drug test time...