Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Links - 16th July 2024 (2 [including Ontario Science Centre])

Whoa: This Is What Happens to Your Body When You Drink Enough Water - "“Long-term hydration is the single best thing we can do to prevent chronic illness,” says Dr. Dana Cohen, an integrative medicine specialist in New York and coauthor of Quench: Beat Fatigue, Drop Weight, and Heal Your Body Through the New Science of Optimum Hydration... Inadequate hydration can cause extreme fatigue, poor memory, dizziness, constipation, and even mood shifts. But the great news is that water can have immediate benefits, even within 10 minutes or less. “That charge increases the cells’ functional efficiency, leading to better energy, clearer thinking, and less brain fog,” says Dr. Cohen. In addition, you can also feel an improvement in muscle cramps and headache relief. Within seven days of being properly hydrated, you’ll have fewer aches and pains and bowel movements will become more regulated and frequent.  Also, your skin clarity will improve. “A body that has been suboptimally hydrated will, over time, shunt water toward essential organs like your heart and away from nonessential tissue like your skin and muscles,” says Dr. Charles Passler, a celebrity nutritionist and founder of Pure Change Detox. “This can lead to wrinkled or drooping skin, as well as reduced muscle strength.” One month into drinking your daily recommended ounces of water, and you’ll be hitting your stride. You can expect clearer, less bloated skin, plus continuous benefits in mental clarity, muscle strength, and stamina, says Dr. Passler. “Having our cells properly hydrated creates homeostasis in the body and flushes out toxins,” says Dr. Passler. Beyond just looking and feeling great, proper hydration is necessary for the proper functioning of every single organ and tissue in your body. “The long-term benefits of avoiding dehydration play an important role in reducing the risk of diseases and disorders, like urinary tract infections, hypertension, coronary heart disease, glaucoma, and gallstone disease,” says Dr. Passler."

TIL of the mummy of Takabuti, a young ancient Egyptian woman who died from an axe blow to her back. A study of the proteins in her leg muscles allowed researchers to hypothesise that she had been running for some time before she was killed. : r/todayilearned

Tropic Thunder - Wikipedia - "Ben Stiller developed the premise for Tropic Thunder while shooting Empire of the Sun, in which he played a small part. He wanted to make a film based on the actors he knew who became "self-important" and "self-involved" and appeared to believe that they had been part of a real military unit after taking part in boot camps to prepare for war film roles"

National Democratic Party of Germany - Wikipedia - "In 2001, the federal government, the Bundestag, and the Bundesrat jointly attempted to have the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ban the NPD. The court, the highest court in Germany, has the exclusive power to ban parties if they are found to be "anti-constitutional" through the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the petition was rejected in 2003 after it was discovered that a number of the NPD's inner circle, including as many as 30 of its top 200 leaders were undercover agents or informants of the German secret services, like the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. They include a former deputy chairman of the party and author of an anti-Semitic tract that formed a central part of the government's case. Since the secret services were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further the ban. The court determined that so many of the party's actions were influenced by the government that the resulting "lack of clarity" made it impossible to defend a ban. "The presence of the state at the leadership level makes influence on its aims and activities unavoidable," it concluded"
Damn far right! This shows how dangerous they are!

Restaurant bans kids under 5, citing dirty diapers and breastfeeding in public as reasons - "An Indianapolis restaurant has closed to dining after its owners experienced strong backlash for announcing children under 5 would be banned for sanitary reasons.  Plantastic Indy is a small vegan restaurant with a focus on fighting climate change through food. It opened four months ago with 10 tables and a small staff. Owners Taina and Gary Bartlett say they have poured much of their life savings into the restaurant, leaving their former careers as engineers."

Pureluck's answer to Was Duchess Kate well-liked before she married into the Royal family? If not, what were the reasons for this? - Quora - "Catherine is the Princess of Wales. She was a novelty and of course she had mixed and intense press coverage. Sadly a lot of it was immensely cruel in comparison to that of any other woman marrying into the family to date.  A lot of press coverage when they discovered she modelled in a friend’s fashion show in an outfit that was deemed “revealing” by the press, it was ridiculous as it’s not like she was naked.  The then Kate Middleton and Prince William took their time and even time apart to be sure it was the right thing to do as clearly William didn’t want a repeat of his parents marriage, so the press coined cruel nicknames for her because she waited for the man she loved.  The Princess of Wales was from what was called a “Common” family. All this meant was she wasn’t a relative or already an aristocrat. So they were very derogatory about her roots. Mostly because she waited on Prince William who she clearly adores and vice versa she was shredded, called a gold digger, waity Katie, stalker etc. It was pretty horrible, at one point her parents made complaints to the press commissioner about the photographers harassing and bad behaviour towards Catherine and her mother and sister. The Princess of Wales, even then showed her grit by keeping her composure and dignity. She just took it in her stride and we now know it was a horrible time for her through friends and family, but she showed she had the class to be The Princess of Wales and continues to do everything with a style, grace a beautiful smile and a warm personality and strength that has endeared her to a nation, even people who weren’t a fan at the start have realised she is the real deal."
Weird. Left wingers keep telling us that Meghan Markle is uniquely picked on, because of racism. But empty vessels make the most noise, and victim culture is hot

Quebec town's bylaw requires kids to collect signatures to play in the street - "the municipality of Les Cèdres published a reminder to residents of a bylaw passed last September that authorizes free play zones on residential streets as long as children acquire the signatures of at least two-thirds of households on the street... Savard said that unlike at fenced-in park playgrounds, children play in the street in ways that are unstructured and spontaneous, all of which positively contributes to their development. Whether hosting a street hockey game or providing a pavement canvas for chalk art, the street gives children a space to socialize that is close enough for parents to monitor, Savard said. Louise de Lannoy, executive director of Outdoor Play Canada, agrees. She said more free play in the street means less time being sedentary and staring at screens. “If that play can happen in natural space, the benefits are even greater. But really any form of outdoor play is beneficial for children's physical, mental, emotional, social and environmental health and well-being,” she said."

The ‘hypotheses’ on why some Quebec students eligible for English schools opt for French - "nearly a quarter of Quebec students who are allowed to attend an English-language school, opt for French education instead... The study’s author suspects that the distance to the school and the language spoken at home could be a few of the factors at play."

It isn't 'foreign interference' if the culprits are willing MPs - "A clandestine intervention in Canada’s elections is not exactly “interference” if it’s solicited, invited and welcomed, and it’s not precisely “foreign” if the culprits are willing Canadian operatives and proxies in foreign-directed influence campaigns. This appears to have been the case, NSICOP concludes, in several obliquely-described instances gleaned almost entirely from top-secret reports by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. There’s always the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and the Senate Ethics Officer that could help Parliamentarians figure out how to reduce their exposure to the shadowy maneuvers of hostile foreign powers, the report observes. But these resources will only work against unwelcome advances. “Unfortunately, the Committee has also seen troubling intelligence that some Parliamentarians are, in the words of the intelligence services, “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in our politics.” This is not just about China’s vast United Front Work Department, which by strong-arming and influence-peddling has burrowed deeply into ethnic Chinese political activism, the media, the universities and Canada’s political parties, most notably the Liberal Party. Beijing has also disrupted Conservative party leadership races, the report notes (the United Front was especially determined to unseat Erin O’Toole from the Conservative leadership two years ago). India has recently redoubled its efforts to secure the election of candidates favourable to India’s national-security objectives in Canada. Delhi insists that the Trudeau government has made Canada a safe haven for Khalistani separatists in Canada’s Sikh communities and has tolerated Khalistanis in positions of influence within the Liberal party. The rise of India’s subterfuge might prompt the Trudeau government to pay closer attention to the foreign interference file. So maybe there’s hope. The problem is, going back five years, the awkwardly-constituted NSICOP, with a secretariat of only 11 people, has produced absurdly redacted yet otherwise consistently rock-solid research and findings about threats to Canada’s national security. Each report has presented sensible conclusions and recommendations that Justin Trudeau’s government has variously ignored, overlooked, put off or bungled. In its annual report released last year, NSICOP noted that the Trudeau government had failed to even respond to a succession of seven of its reports on “critical issues in the security and intelligence community.”... Like the documents released during the course of Madam Justice Hogue’s hearings in the foreign interference commission proceedings earlier this year, much of the NSICOP report vindicates news reports based on CSIS leaks about Beijing’s monkey-wrenching during the 2019 and 2021 federal elections — reports the Trudeau government was all too willing to dismiss before the evidence became too overpowering to ignore... This is scandalous. And it helps explain why the NSICOP report is written in a tone of unmistakable exasperation, and perhaps even despair."

Meme - "Whats the worst thing you've ever done?"
"So I'd started dating this divorced mum who had a 5 or 6 year old crotch goblin, who was utterly convinced that his mommy and daddy were gonna get back together someday. Needless to say he didn't like me very much and basically turned into the antichrist whenever his mom wasn't looking, and did an irritatingly effective job of cockblocking me. So on one of the rare occasions when the walking, talking argument for pro choice was with his father, I took a piss in the bottom drawer of his dresser. His mom found it sometime later and confronted him about it. He told her it wasn't him and tried to blame me which caused his mom to go absolutely apeshit at him for lying (because who would ever believe that a grown ass man would piss in a kids dresser) and forced him to apologize to me for it. Long story short, he avoided me like the plague after that and I got to fuck the shit out of his mom"

Fascinating on X - "Anita Ekberg was a Swedish actress who was also a trained archer and knew how to box.   In 1960, she had a remarkable encounter with the paparazzi.       After warning them to leave her alone repeatedly, she beat one up.   Undeterred, they continued to follow her.    She retrieved a bow and arrow from her car.     Warned them one last time. And she… shot one of them with an arrow.      Anita Ekberg wasn’t bothered by paparazzi again. The La Dolce Vita star eventually lived to be 83, dying in 2015 in Rome."

How to Stop the "Far Right" - "The predictable success of so-called "far right" parties in elections across Europe in recent days–combined with the Reform Party leapfrogging the Tories in one of the latest polls–has, naturally, produced a glut of hyperventilating commentary from the world's media led, as usual, by The Guardian.  It would be tempting, understandable and mostly correct to dismiss this reaction as a coping mechanism our elites use to process the rebellion of the ordinary man against their policies. Mass immigration, an obsession with “multiculti utopia”, failure to ensure order and enforce the law, and all the other forms of extreme behaviour that are never described as such.  Having attempted to suppress dissent against their "progressive" agenda through a combination of overt censorship and political correctness, those who control the media narrative have created a situation where the allegations they so readily level at their fellow citizens are no longer taken seriously by a significant portion of the public. While they spent the last week mocking this man for claiming that accusations of racism have become "boring", what they failed to realise is that a significant and growing portion of the public agree with him privately, even if they're not as willing as he is to say so publicly. As someone who lost family members in the Holocaust, I have become increasingly disgusted by the way these people have utterly debased very important words like "Nazi", "fascist" and "far right" over the past decade. What makes it worse is that they have done so with utter cynicism and no regard for the obvious consequences. The point of words is to describe reality in a way that generates consensus. "Far right" used to mean skinheads, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Now it means 1990s liberals who believe in well-managed migration, being careful with big pharma and women without penises. When the term "far right" is routinely used to describe people whose major crime is to have voted for Brexit or dared to publicly oppose giving 5-year-olds puberty blockers, the inevitable consequence is that if everyone is "far right", no one is. This is a dangerous place to be given that some people really are far right and being able to call them this and be taken seriously is important. Given the frustrations many people rightly feel about the way the mainstream parties and their media facilitators have run our countries, it is tempting to turn a blind eye to the fact that while The Guardian will screech “far right” at anyone and everyone, lurking within these populist revolt movements are some genuinely unsavoury characters.   So, how do we stop this becoming a problem? If you’re a member of what I call the “avocado toast brigade”—i.e., people who live in leafy metropolitan areas in wealth and comfort, unaffected by the consequences of mass immigration and rising crime—you are no doubt reaching for bans, censorship and, the elite go-to of foreign interference."

Meme - "FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NEVER SEEN A CATFISH *cat fishing*"

Meme - "I dont know whats worse the straw placement or the eye contact you'll have to make while using it *Buzz Lightyear cup with straw seeming to be his penis, with you looking into his eyes while sipping from it*"

Are Young Torontonians Always Flakey? : r/askTO - "As someone who was mostly raised in Japan, it's basically been drilled into me that being even a minute or so late is absolutely disrespectful. When I hang out with my friends, I arrive at least ten minutes early, and I never wait for someone because most of my friends in Japan also decide to come early. "Let's meet at 6:00 PM" means "okay, I'll come at 5:30 just in case," with the outcome being you meet your friend earlier so you have a bit more time to hang out.  Here, it seems that the norm is to flake at the last minute. Sometimes, I don't even get any contact until a few days later, which is so weird. The worst part about my experience here as a student is that in the initial stage of planning an outing, they always get so excited, even planning forward with what to do, where to eat, etc.—and yet, when the time comes, it's a last-minute "omg so sorry I can't come!" It's not just tiring and draining, but it also makes you feel like crap, especially when it repetitively happens. With other international students, it's what I usually expect. We set a time and date, then actually follow through. Cancellation happens early on when there's a valid reason not to make it, and if there was any last-minute events, the rescheduling 100% follows through, and I'm guaranteed to see this person again. However, when it comes to Torontonians, I find that even rescheduling is a big pain in the ass because people here always commit and not follow through.  Is it like this with other international students who become friends with the locals here, or is it just my personal experience? I'd love to know."
"British here. If I want to meet my Canadian friends at 6pm, I tell them to meet at 5pm My Indian friends, I tell 4pm. Took me a year to work that out."
"Good thing you don’t have any Jamaican friends…  I have family members who get told we’re meeting for lunch, when we’re actually meeting for dinner."

Ford government to close Ontario Science Centre immediately - "The Ontario Science Centre has been abruptly closed for good after a new engineering report found the roof is in danger of collapsing... Political opponents charged Ford wanted the 55-year-old building to become unusable so he could more easily relocate the science centre to the waterfront by 2028.  But the 52-page Rimkus Consulting Group engineering report found that the air-filled concrete used in construction — similar to that in more than 100 now-closed British schools built in the same era — is nearing the end of its life... The building’s condition is worse than the government thought as recently as last November.  An earlier report released by Infrastructure Ontario, in relation to the planned move of the science centre to Ontario Place, warned the ravine-straddling building “is not sustainable under status quo conditions and is in operational crisis due to a failing structure with mounting critical building maintenance costs.” That 62-page report by consulting firm Ernst & Young was dated March 8, 2023 but not revealed until November when it was presented as a “business case” for the controversial move, stating it would cost $600 million more to fix up the old science centre than to build a new one... Liberal MPP Adil Shamji (Don Valley East) and Floyd Ruskin, co-chair of Save Ontario’s Science Centre, held a press conference just outside the main entrance, as workers put up fences to close off the parking lots.  Shamji questioned the reports calling for the science centre’s abrupt closing, saying he had been speaking at conference inside earlier in the day.  “What we’re seeing happening right now at the science centre is so emblematic of how Doug Ford treats public infrastructure ...” said the Liberal MPP.  “Whether it’s the way he underfunds health care or education, he allows it to fall apart and dismantle it, and then uses it to justify transfers to support his wealthy donors and friends, and to advance for-profit private interests like private spa companies,” he said.  Ruskin noted “there’s been over 50,000 people that have signed a petition not only to keep the Science Centre here on Don Mills Road but also to renew it, restore it and reinvest in it, because this government has refused to fund the maintenance.”"
Naturally, lots of people blamed Doug Ford, and others claimed the report didn't say what the Province said it did (naturally, it did). Of course, it doesn't help when politicians spread conspiracy theories and misinformation

The Ford government blamed bad concrete for the Science Centre’s decay. In a letter last year, the building’s architect told a different story : r/toronto - "They used a material they thought was going to last 250 years not ine that actually will. We have found out since it was built that its real lifespan is only around 50 years.  RAAC which is what they used was found to be a terrible building material and why we stopped using it decades ago. Much like aspetos its was thought to be a wonder building material at the time."
What is RAAC concrete and why is it a safety risk? - "A total of 231 schools in England were confirmed to have Raac, or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, in the most recent government list issued last month.  Due to this, many of these schools have partial closures in place."

REINFORCED AUTOCLAVED AERATED CONCRETE (RAAC) ROOF PANEL ASSESSMENT. FACILITY: Ontario Science Centre Building C - "The majority of the panel anomalies were the result of water ingress through the roof assembly. RAAC panel field modifications were also observed at many locations. The field modifications included unreinforced openings to facilitate localized roof penetrations. Both water ingress and unreinforced field modifications have permanently reduced the load carrying capacity of the RAAC panels. As such, the compromised panels have been functioning with a reduced factor of safety, when compared to the original design intent. A significant snow or rain loading occurrence could exceed the reduced load carrying capacity of the distressed panels, placing them at an increased risk of sudden collapse... As a building material, RAAC has an overall reduced robustness compared to steel decks or traditional concrete, making it more susceptible to damage from impact and raising the risk of sudden failure. In general, the lifespan of RAAC panels is lower in comparison to other common roof deck types, including steel decks or traditional precast concrete panels... Deficiencies developed over time in RAAC products installed in existing buildings pose an escalating risk for future failure, if subjected to on-going moisture ingress. If continual deterioration of the panels is allowed to occur, it poses an increasing likelihood of RAAC failure. The consequences of RAAC failure include potential building damage and risk to public safety"

Ford says second report confirms science centre problems - "Premier Doug Ford says “you’ll fall off your chair” at the contents of a second engineering report to be released Thursday that outlines a number of concerns about the Ontario Science Centre.  “At the end of the day, this is not a safe building. It’s my responsibility as premier to make sure people are safe,” Ford said at an unrelated announcement in Etobicoke Wednesday morning.  “And when I have two engineering reports back to back — and I was briefed for over an hour, just about every issue you can possibly think of — it just doesn’t make sense to throw good money into an old decrepit building.”... Some 366 of Ontario’s 4,500 schools contain some aerated concrete, but boards have been monitoring their condition since last fall when the Ministry of Education asked that they all be inspected in light of what was happening in the U.K.  Aerated concrete that was used to build floors, walls, eaves and roofs from the 1960s into the 1980s is now believed to have a lifespan of about 30 years. The Education Ministry told school boards that given pre-1980 aerated concrete parts are “now past their expected service life … it is recommended that consideration is given to their replacement.”... Ford noted the province has no plans to build on the property, which he said is owned by the City of Toronto. “Anything they decide to do — outside of building another science centre — we’ll be there to support them.”"
This won't stop the unhinged rants about him selling the land so his buddies can profit

Second report on the Ontario Science Centre released - "Closing the Ontario Science Centre has been an “emotional time” given how “beloved” the building is — but it is no longer safe due to “failing infrastructure, including critical roof issues, building systems and an inaccessible pedestrian bridge,” say the centre’s leaders.  Their comments came Thursday morning as the province released a second report on the state of the centre, which echoed concerns from an initial report about the building’s crumbling roof, among other issues it says require immediate attention... In the peer review by VanBoxmeer & Stranges Engineering Ltd. (VB&S) released Thursday, the firm said while some formatting of graphs and table in the original Rimkus report was “confusing,” the overall findings were sound."
Trust the Experts - when it pushes the left wing agenda

Infrastructure Ontario says Science Centre buildings have reached 'end of useful life' - "  “The building’s infrastructure is deteriorating and it has been for years. The capital repairs required in this building go well beyond the immediate structural issues with the roof,” said John Carmichael, Board Chair of the Science Centre... The provincial government has faced widespread criticism over the decision to shut down the Science Centre rather than address the problems while keeping parts of it open.  Jane Domenico, the President of Asset Management and Modernization of Infrastructure Ontario, said Thursday that was not possible.  “We cannot rehabilitate this asset unless the entire buildings are vacant. There is no spot repair that will be sufficient or safe,” said Domenico. “The complexities of this asset are quite unique and are not as simple as just replacing a single panel.”"

Geoffrey Hinton pledges $1 million to fix Ontario Science Centre - "Hinton said he read about the pledges of venture capitalist Adam McNamara to pay $522,500 to keep the building open in the short term. Philanthropist Sabina Vohra-Miller and her husband, former Shopify executive Craig Miller, have pledged $1 million.  Vohra-Miller posted on social media she would like to put together a collective to raise more funds.  Hinton said he had heard from another AI startup founder who was also willing to donate some $250,000.  The provincial government has said the cost of a new roof would be in the range of $22-$40 million. The engineer’s report from Rimkus Consulting said it would be under $8 million in the first year, another $4.5 million to 2029, and $13 million to 2034."
Left wingers hate Doug Ford, and they love wasting money, so even if the private money raised for the building was committed and could cover 100% of costs, when the inevitable cost overruns came in (partially due to their insistence on union contracts), he'd still be to blame for the inevitable decision, and good money will have been thrown after bad
Why are left wingers so scared of change?

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