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Portland City Council Member Nick Fish Departs

Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish announced Tuesday that will step down in light of a changing prognosis for his cancer treatment. Fish was diagnosed with abdominal cancer in 2017. He said this month that the disease had become "more complicated" and he would have to take off time over the holidays to learn what it would mean for his role on the City Council.

I'm sorry to see that, and extend all the best to him in the coming days. As a cancer survivor myself, I know all too well how difficult the battle is. It takes a hella lot out of you, even when things seem to be improving. And this is supposed to be a time of celebration and renewal. That's tough news under the best of circumstances. This is hardly the best of circumstances.

You can only do so much at once, and it's good to see that Mr. Fish will take time away in order to devote his energies toward recovery. he'll need to muster all of them.

 

Have A Safe And Happy New Year

Sydney, Australia is ringing in the new year with its world renowned fireworks, but as the country also faces an unprecedented wildfire crisis, many have questioned if these fireworks should be happening at all. Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he supports the decision to go ahead with the fireworks, saying the event shows his country's resilience, reports CBS News correspondent Ian Lee. 

Resilience is all well and good, to a point. When it crosses into idiocy, however, there's nothing especially noble about it.

Amid the country's worst wildfire seasons ever, more than 275,000 people signed a petition to cancel the show, saying cities like Sydney that are already choking in smog from fires didn't need any more smoke in its air.

The petition also said the millions of dollars being spent on the fireworks should have gone toward the firefighters battling the flames and used to protect some of the country's devastated wildlife. The fires have destroyed more than 1,000 homes, as well as habitats for koalas and other animals.

It does seem to be rather a ludicrous expenditure at this time, given that it's being spent purely for entertainment purposes.

Wildfires burning across Australia's two most-populous states have trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions Tuesday. The blazes are feared to have destroyed many properties and caused fatalities.

In the southeastern town of Mallacoota, around 4,000 residents fled toward the waterside as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire towards their homes. The town was shrouded in darkness from the smoke before turning an unnerving shade of bright red.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said there were plans to evacuate the trapped people by sea.

Just spitballin' here, but it seems unlikely that those folks are going to be especially interested in fireworks displays at present.

Around here, we've got some strong winds blowing, temps in the mid-40s, some light rain - and folks down the mountain detonating charges fairly regularly (much to the displeasure of the dog). But should they manage to set their places on fire, they're far enough downslope that it shouldn't affect us, so hey. Just glad they're not next door.

 

He Sees Me When I'm Sleeping

He knows when I'm awake. Puppy Dog is living in town.

 

Peeing at night could cost the United States' economy billions

Scientists call an urge to pee that’s strong enough to wake you up at night nocturia. And earlier this year, a team of scientists at the RAND Corporation, a non-profit think tank, reported that, if you add up all the people who have nocturia across the United States, two or more of these pee breaks per person could cost the US’ economy as much as $44.4 billion dollars.

Well of course they have a term for it. Wouldn't be "science" without a name, after all.

 

Why The Price Of Hamburger Keeps Increasing

"This giveaway is fraudulent. Please do not click on it or provide any personal information. Our digital team is aware of this issue and is investigating."

Grocery stores now have "digital teams"?

 

Safely Behind Bars

Sometimes...our guys and gals must go where others will not dare. Into the very teeth of danger. Well, into the very beak of danger anyway. A very hostile chicken was menacing patrons at a local pharmacy today. Probably feeding an addiction to corn or grubs or birdseed or whatever the heck chickens eat. Responding officers were pecked viciously by the uncooperative fowl fiend, and he made some adept use of vehicles for cover. Some quick thinking, unflappable bravery, and some MacGyver like ingenuity involving a milk crate led to the swift apprehension of the peevish poultry. We’re happy to say he was turned over to the custody of someone who can give him more suitable accommodations. We expect our officers to make a full recovery after some doughnut therapy. We salute you brave sirs. #intothebeakofdanger #epd #etownpdky #peevishpoultry #feloniousfowl #gameofchicken #whydidthechicken #notonourwatch #barnyardbafoonery #911whatsyouremergency #outofcontrolchicken #nota10codeforthat #ourjobdescriptioniskindavsgue #adaptandovercome #allinadayswork #dougnuttherapyhealsall

Two responding officers eventually subdued the suspect.

Random Rewinds

You poke around for a while, you find some amusing images.

 

Not Space Aliens

These are SpaceX satellites.

SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The SpaceX website explains: "SpaceX is developing a low latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of consumers across the globe. Enabled by a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites, Starlink will provide fast, reliable internet to populations with little or no connectivity, including those in rural communities and places where existing services are too expensive or unreliable."

 

Gooood Mornin' Viet Nam!

Americans are invading the country once again, not to fight, but to retire.

Inexpensive health care and a reasonably good standard of living are the main attractions.

Average cost of living there is about $2000 a month. Heck, I'm thinking of moving!

 

Lowest Growth Since 1900

Thanks to excessive regulations, rent control, and increased homelessness among other things, more people are leaving California than entering it. Unfortunately:

According to William Frey of Brookings Institution, they’re heading elsewhere in the West to places economies are picking up, housing costs are cheaper, and there may be no state income tax. According to Frey, the most popular destinations were Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

The problem is that they bring their idiocy with them.

We really need to build a wall - to keep California contamination out of the Pacific Northwest.