Official Off Topic Discussion Thread #1

[jjohnwm]

"This one raises an interesting question." It does? How?

When I was still in high school, I took a Creative Writing course one year as an elective. A portion of it was devoted to the field of journalism and reporting. The instructor had a dim view of reporters in general, often stating that becoming a newspaperman was an excellent outlet for people who really wanted to write...but just couldn't.

One of the axioms of the newspaper world was "Man bites dog is news; dog bites man is not!"

When did that change? Rhetorical question; the answer is obvious. When the internet made it easy for every dummy on the planet to post everytime they bought a cheeseburger or farted or wiped their ass using their left hand...well, they had nothing better to do and they somehow seemed to think that the world deserved to know, so they posted all that stuff. And suddenly we were inundated with garbage that simply isn't worth reading. "Newspeople" jumped on that bandwagon, and in a world that always has a war brewing or being waged somewhere, where there are earthquakes and tsunamis and plagues and famines and droughts...we were reading about dog bites and cat scratches and peeling paint as if these things were just as important as world-shaking events.

Fight the trend! Clear your browser history, and then exercise some discipline about what you click on! Just because YouTube tells you to watch a video...does not mean you are morally or legally obligated to do so!

There are an estimated 8 billion people on the planet, and an estimated 1 billion dogs, half of which are not actual pets but which simply live in close quarters with people as strays, ferals, etc. Of course there will be incidents of bites! How is that newsworthy???

Jeez, with 8 billion people around, there is nothing you can come up with that isn't being done by at least some of them. Make it a project; think up some outlandish idea or event or practice...Google it...and then report back if you must. Or switch over to stories of Fish Bites Man; that at least has some tenuous connection with the whole premise of MFK.

Rant over...until the next time I visit Off-Topics...

 

[skjl47]

"This one raises an interesting question." It does? How?

When I was still in high school, I took a Creative Writing course one year as an elective. A portion of it was devoted to the field of journalism and reporting. The instructor had a dim view of reporters in general, often stating that becoming a newspaperman was an excellent outlet for people who really wanted to write...but just couldn't.

One of the axioms of the newspaper world was "Man bites dog is news; dog bites man is not!"

When did that change? Rhetorical question; the answer is obvious. When the internet made it easy for every dummy on the planet to post everytime they bought a cheeseburger or farted or wiped their ass using their left hand...well, they had nothing better to do and they somehow seemed to think that the world deserved to know, so they posted all that stuff. And suddenly we were inundated with garbage that simply isn't worth reading. "Newspeople" jumped on that bandwagon, and in a world that always has a war brewing or being waged somewhere, where there are earthquakes and tsunamis and plagues and famines and droughts...we were reading about dog bites and cat scratches and peeling paint as if these things were just as important as world-shaking events.

Fight the trend! Clear your browser history, and then exercise some discipline about what you click on! Just because YouTube tells you to watch a video...does not mean you are morally or legally obligated to do so!

There are an estimated 8 billion people on the planet, and an estimated 1 billion dogs, half of which are not actual pets but which simply live in close quarters with people as strays, ferals, etc. Of course there will be incidents of bites! How is that newsworthy???

Jeez, with 8 billion people around, there is nothing you can come up with that isn't being done by at least some of them. Make it a project; think up some outlandish idea or event or practice...Google it...and then report back if you must. Or switch over to stories of Fish Bites Man; that at least has some tenuous connection with the whole premise of MFK.

Rant over...until the next time I visit Off-Topics...

Hello; Interesting reply. I get the story is news because the woman is an Oscar winning movie star. Not because the story is unique as illustrated by the reference to a family member of my own with the same story. I was in the journalism club back when in high school. I heard the man bites dog thing as well.

The newsworthy part of this story is the over-the-top reaction some "dog parents" had to the tale. Along the line of years of my life the language has been hijacked to change the rules. We used to have pet dogs, and we were pet owners. Everybody got the emotional attachment people have for dogs-DUH.
Now dog owners are called "mom" or "dad".
If you were following threads about dogs on here maybe ten years or more ago you may recall as how there was a high-power law firm going into small towns following a fatal mauling. The plan was to threaten a small town with expensive legal actions if a dog which had fatally mauled a person was killed. The plan worked as the small towns could not financially stand the costs. Sometimes the dog owners simply had to build a more secure enclosure. Other times the offending dog had to be moved to somewhere else. I have wondered how it would feel to know the dog which killed a child was still alive down the street behind a new fence.

Do not recall if i posted a dog story of a few days ago about a dog bite inside a restaurant. I see dogs in stores and supermarkets often for years now. Not dogs of PTSD military service veterans nor blind folks. Just ordinary and untrained dogs of everyday people flaunting the rules. If i did not post it likely was because i am distracted by the massive fraud stories. Stories poorly acknowledged on here.

But for what it is worth I take the side of the overrated move star. Her movie performances have been fair enough. Maybe she is doing the thing most celebrities' do which is getting attention any way they can.

By the way I do sometimes comment on fish related threads. Did so the last few days. This thread is an off-topic place to post non fish related stuff. I have recently posted on here about an old car I fixed, the big uproar over a shooting and the budget busting fraud being uncovered.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Any number of current significant things which could be discussed. The high court is taking testimony on biological men in women's sports, bathrooms and such. Been the talk among the TV talking heads today. I would hope basic common sense would apply but no longer count on it.
At least one of the justices during a confirmation hearing with the senate was asked about defining what a woman is. The candidate went to great lengths of verbal gymnastics to avoid a real answer but got approved anyway.
Before someone points it out, I do get pretty much all candidates wind up doing the same thing to skirt around "gotcha" questions. I guess the definition of a man or woman becoming such a question is the troubling part.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Here is a topic recently affecting my CD collection. For many years i have been buying factory CD's and ripping them onto my computer. Somenthing over 1200 so far. Before you ask, I now go to a used CD store in Knoxville TN called McKays. They buy and sell CD's, DVD's, vinyl, books, electronic equipment, and more.
For very long time I could open windows media player and insert a new CD. The title of the CD would be found along with the album cover picture and the song titles and more such information. A few weeks ago, I picked up a handful of used CDs. When i opened the program, the data did not show up

I thought it was because my Windows 10 was no longer supported. Turns out such is not the case. I recently learned Windows 11 does not support the program as well. The article stated Microsoft had simply decided CDs were no longer used by enough folks so dropped it.

So now i have to type in all the information. Media player still works.

The article states that Apple computers still support the program. Never had an Apple. I do need a new computer.

Does anyone want to know the trials of USB-C in new cars????