Stage 3 smog alerts were year-round when I was a kid in the 1980s.

And I remember what it was like in the '50s, when they banned home incinerators because they were believed to be what was causing smog. It didn't work, but they stayed banned, which was a Good Idea. Things like catalytic converters probably helped, but those expensive "boutique blends" of gas were most likely the key to cleaning up the air.

Part of the reason that CA's gas prices are so high is the various additives that are required there to control air pollution and the other refining requirements that make creating gasolene that can be sold there more expensive. And, for the most part, Californians (or at least the older ones) are OK with that because they remember how bad things used to be. I don't know where you live or what the air quality is like there, but if you had a choice, would you pick higher gas prices or third-stage smog alerts every summer?

Thank you! I have a whole bunch of background images for my desktop that change in random order and I just added this to them.

Part of the problem with Jaz drives was that the platters were glass, which is why head crashes did so much damage. Not only that, if you dropped one and it landed wrong, the whole platter would shatter into tiny pieces taking all of that data with them.

Back in the Good Old Days when the Apollo Program first put men on the moon, the men all rode in Apollo capsules, meaning that they all had a crew of three. Artemis II used an Orion spacecraft, with a crew of four, making this the first time that we've sent four men out to the moon's orbit at the same time. This may not look like much, but it shows that we're not just re-using old technology or designs but are making bigger and, I hope better equipment.

I can't speak for anybody but myself, but if I run across a website that refuses to load in Firefox and User-Agent Switcher can't get past it, I just won't go there. Hell, I already refuse to use any site that won't load unless I turn my add blockers off and don't feel that I'm missing out on anything. And, I'm retired so I don't need to get to any sites to get my work done, so that's not an obstacle. If enough people boycott those sites their revenue would drop, possibly far enough to force them to change their policy.

Now if they were to engineer in some harmaline/telepathine and put it into a tomato you could make some very special marinara sauce.

Why stop there? Most modern cuisines use tomatoes, giving you lots of possibilities. How about a adult-grade version of catsup or salsa? Or, if you prefer, tex-mex chili with a new type of kick to it?

Sure. Just a reminder, back in the old days, before the NLRB forced owners and unions to negotiate in good faith... Factories and warehouses burned to the ground during labor disputes, people were beaten and killed.

And for all of you out there who think that that's exaggerated, take a look at the Ludlow Massacre with its body count of approximately 21, mostly women and children.

No, we were involved in blowing away members of the NVA who were invading the Republic of South Vietnam at the time. Much of the time we were using reverse slope trajectories to hit targets on the backside of a mountain, and once to the backside of the second mountain back. Our ship had a very good reputation with the spotting planes giving us the locations of targets.

If we have a draft today the level of resistance will cripple the country. Nobody will tolerate the Government pulling that. That move could break the country.

Yes, and I give him full credit for that. And please note that the reason we don't need a draft now isn't because there's no more conflict but because there are enough men and women willing to serve their country without it.

I was on what was then called a Destroyer Escort (Later changed to a Fast Frigate to fit in with NATO.) doing shore bombardment on the Gun Line for the most part. Our ship was targetted by counter-battery twice; once at night when I was sleeping, and once in the daytime when I was the one who reported that there were 6" shells landing about 30 yards off our fantail.

Trust me, most of us came back without any long-term mental issues. The stereotype of the unhinged 'Nam vet was created by leftist journalists and writers to give them something to point at when they wanted an excuse to make anybody who didn't march in lock-step with their leftist beliefs look evil. Do yourself a favor and take a good look at their propaganda and you'll see for yourself how phony it is.

And I don't care if that billionaire is D.D. Harriman as long as it gets built.

Speaking as a member of the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, I would like to point out that the proper title for people like you is "bubblehead."

Whenever an authoritarian demagogue tries to justify a power grab by telling you, "Think of the children," look them in the eye and respond, "I am."