@QMS
gets you into endless trouble. Don't even try.
https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/dividing-by-zero.html
Have fun with zero (people). /s

before we are reduced to zero?
(Rhetorical question)

thanks for the essay!

@mimi

once, and he developed Addison's disease at the age of 6 months. This failure of the adrenal glands is really rare in cats, as it turns out, and they usually just die on the spot. We got him to the vet just in time, got him diagnosed, and the vet gave us a course of treatment for the critter- consisting of giving him two pills a day (breakfast/dinner) to regulate his sodium/potassium levels and keep him going, at least for a little while.

He lived to the ripe old age of 13, with us pilling him twice a day. Needless to day, we got pretty good at it. We would demonstrate it as a party trick sometimes. He was a very cool and mellow cat, of course. No adrenals, so no startle response: a cat that *never* freaked out for no apparent reason. He's been gone for decades, and I still miss him.

Our dogs, on the other hand, are no fun at all. You give them a pill, and they just take it. Done! Oh, maybe they like a little schmear of peanut butter on it, but that's just because we are big softies...

if it was given by a person the dog loves, right?

All is not well. But who cares?

Me.

@thanatokephaloides

of the various classics.

be well and have a good one

Apropos to this morning's discussion:

How to give a cat a pill:

Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil, and blow down drinking straw.
Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of Scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
Tie the little @!!@#@#$%'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.
Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How to give a dog a pill:

Wrap it in cheese.

(Submitted by Dr. John Delack, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

source

@thanatokephaloides

and brings back memories of trying to get my cat to take a pill. I think they left out getting large quantities of iodine and bandages next time you go to the store. Between the cat and the beagle I’d take wrestling with the beagle any day.

Apropos to this morning's discussion:

How to give a cat a pill:

Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil, and blow down drinking straw.
Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of Scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
Tie the little @!!@#@#$%'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.
Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How to give a dog a pill:

Wrap it in cheese.

(Submitted by Dr. John Delack, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

source

@snoopydawg

blatant lies are a dead give away
have become inured to the propaganda
better to free the mind and use rational,
critical thinking skills
especially when it goes agains the grain
YMMV

keep escaping the current thing mindset and not fall victim to the immense amount of propaganda that is being dished out daily. Here is one thought on that.

It’s the stupidity

In 1943, the Lutheran pastor and member of the German resistance, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was arrested and incarcerated in Tegel Prison. There he meditated on the question of why the German people—in spite of their vast education, culture, and intellectual achievements—had fallen so far from reason and morality. He concluded that they, as a people, had been afflicted with collective stupidity (German: Dummheit).

He was not being flippant or sarcastic, and he made it clear that stupidity is not the opposite of native intellect. On the contrary, the events in Germany between 1933 and 1943 had shown him that perfectly intelligent people were, under the pressure of political power and propaganda, rendered stupid—that is, incapable of critical reasoning. As he put it:
…..

A closer look reveals that the strong exertion of external power, be it political or religious, strikes a large part of the people with stupidity. Yes, it seems as if this is a sociological-psychological law. The power of some requires the stupidity of others. Under this influence, human abilities suddenly wither or fail, robbing people of their inner independence, which they—more or less unconsciously —renounce to adapt their behavior to the prevailing situation.

The fact that stupid people are often stubborn should not hide the fact that they are not independent. When talking to him, one feels that one is not dealing with him personally, but with catchphrases, slogans, etc. that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell; he is blinded; he is abused in his own being.

Having become an instrument without an independent will, the fool will also be capable of all evil, and at the same time, unable to recognize it as evil. Here lies the danger of diabolical abuse. Through this, a people can be ruined forever.

I’m constantly asking myself what things that I believe to be true are not? I have thought some things have been true only to change my mind later after more facts come out. I followed the Q phenomenon at the beginning and maybe it was just hope that some of the deep state folks that screwed up the country would be brought to justice, but I changed my mind after time went by and they never were. But I did learn lots of things I hadn’t known about. I thought I’d die if I got the Rona but that went away after seeing more facts about it and knowing that there were treatments and things I could do to avoid getting it. So far and knock on wood I have. How many knew from the git go that Iraq didn’t have WMDs or that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11? Or that Russia didn’t put Trump in office nor were the republicans under Putin’s thumb. The whole Russia gate saga has been thoroughly debunked and yet there are so many people who still believe those things. No amount of evidence has gotten them to change their minds.

Thoughts?

Never more true than now:

Voltaire - ''Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.''

@snoopydawg

I suppose that many of those perfectly intelligent people were also perfectly anti-semitic before becoming perfectly stupid.

keep escaping the current thing mindset and not fall victim to the immense amount of propaganda that is being dished out daily. Here is one thought on that.

It’s the stupidity

In 1943, the Lutheran pastor and member of the German resistance, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was arrested and incarcerated in Tegel Prison. There he meditated on the question of why the German people—in spite of their vast education, culture, and intellectual achievements—had fallen so far from reason and morality. He concluded that they, as a people, had been afflicted with collective stupidity (German: Dummheit).

He was not being flippant or sarcastic, and he made it clear that stupidity is not the opposite of native intellect. On the contrary, the events in Germany between 1933 and 1943 had shown him that perfectly intelligent people were, under the pressure of political power and propaganda, rendered stupid—that is, incapable of critical reasoning. As he put it:
…..

A closer look reveals that the strong exertion of external power, be it political or religious, strikes a large part of the people with stupidity. Yes, it seems as if this is a sociological-psychological law. The power of some requires the stupidity of others. Under this influence, human abilities suddenly wither or fail, robbing people of their inner independence, which they—more or less unconsciously —renounce to adapt their behavior to the prevailing situation.

The fact that stupid people are often stubborn should not hide the fact that they are not independent. When talking to him, one feels that one is not dealing with him personally, but with catchphrases, slogans, etc. that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell; he is blinded; he is abused in his own being.

Having become an instrument without an independent will, the fool will also be capable of all evil, and at the same time, unable to recognize it as evil. Here lies the danger of diabolical abuse. Through this, a people can be ruined forever.

I’m constantly asking myself what things that I believe to be true are not? I have thought some things have been true only to change my mind later after more facts come out. I followed the Q phenomenon at the beginning and maybe it was just hope that some of the deep state folks that screwed up the country would be brought to justice, but I changed my mind after time went by and they never were. But I did learn lots of things I hadn’t known about. I thought I’d die if I got the Rona but that went away after seeing more facts about it and knowing that there were treatments and things I could do to avoid getting it. So far and knock on wood I have. How many knew from the git go that Iraq didn’t have WMDs or that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11? Or that Russia didn’t put Trump in office nor were the republicans under Putin’s thumb. The whole Russia gate saga has been thoroughly debunked and yet there are so many people who still believe those things. No amount of evidence has gotten them to change their minds.

Thoughts?

Never more true than now:

Voltaire - ''Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.''