Sideswiped: Laundry is a drag
Luxon told to 'oil up', plant vs cow milk, WTF is going on with the letter to the ed page? Dishwasher fanciers, democracy is dwindling and The Flintstones animal tech.
Reaching the youth is a slippery fish
A reader writes: “Christopher Luxon is now the most unpopular National PM since Jenny Shipley but he persists in using campaign-style TikTok’s that show how easy it is to troll him.”
Telling someone to ‘Oil up’ is actually a homoerotic joke. The Urban Dictionary helpfully defines and then uses it in a sentence: “The act of lubricating oneself in oil before sex to minimise friction. Ian oiled up before inviting Phillip round for a game of nude charades.
It originated earlier this year when fans teased UFC boss Dana White during an Instagram Live session with request to “oil him up” it became a reoccurring joke and went viral.
Damn the Dolphins and Prosecute the Parents
One day this week the letters to the editor in the newsprint platform of the NZ Herald read like something from Viz Comics.
“Surely something could’ve lured them back to the natural habitat, perhaps a helicopter or even a trail of tasty treats” opined Colleen and “Why aren’t parents prosecuted or made to do some learning how to bring up kids programme?” says Wendy.
Give me strength.
And, on this particular Monday, all their concerns are from the end of the political spectrum that would defo take a photo with David Seymour if they met him on a walk about.
Dog Life drawing
The milk culture war
What milk is best for you? Finally you can make an informed decision between udder-based and plant-based milk.
Protein — COW MILK BEST
Vitamins and minerals — COW MILK BEST
Fibre — PLANT MILK BEST: No fibre in cow’s milk. But you will find modest amounts in several plant milks. Oat milk best.
Fat and cholesterol — PLANT MILK BEST: Plant milk can virtue signal its heart out here…
Heart disease — PLANT MILK BEST: Polyunsaturated eats saturated every time.
Froth and flavour — COW MILK BEST: Cow milk makes the best silky-smooth froth when steamed, plant milks tend to be too thin and can overshadow the flavours of your coffee — oat milk has the most neutral flavour.
Environmental impact — PLANT MILK BEST: No surprises here, even when you put greenhouse gas emissions against water consumption of the thirsty Almond.
Cost - COW MILK BEST: Plant milks are about 20 percent higher on average than cow milk, which is why an oat milk latte generally costs more.
Added sugars — COW MILK BEST: Analysis of 233 plant-based milks found that 63 percent contained added sugar, but cow’s milk contains lactose, which doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels or carry the same health risks as other sugars.
Extreme Dishwasher Loading
That’s the name of a Facebook page with 31K members. I went for s scroll, with an open mind.
It was weird. They had a pet name for the dishwasher - the moist box, refer to themselves as ‘dishciples’ and they submit photos of their packed appliance and ask others to “rate my load”. Maybe it’s a fetish thing?
“Why is all the cutlery huddled together like that, with empty sections right next to it all? And your scissors need opening, cos how can the blades get cleaned like that? says Catherine, alarmed.
“The basket is broken”.
“You can repair the missing area with a couple of cable ties woven in.”
“Is a colander worth the precious dishwasher space?” asking for a friend, wonders Nigel.
The mun-fucking-dane-ness of it all.
I guess it might be a safe space for the OCD. “Utensil placement. I chose the basket over the top rack due to ease in unloading. I start with knife fork and spoon in each compartment to avoid ‘spooning’ of like pieces preventing optimal cleaning. I continue to sort placement of utensils after the initial placement of K, F and S fills each compartment since sheer numbers of utensils reduces the ’spooning’ threat.”
The Great Democratic Backslide and The Rise of the Autocratic Strongman
You may have heard of Russia. Those vodka slugging, cold war guys from the 80s that started an illegal war in Ukraine just last year. Well, they’ve just had their ‘election’. Though it wasn’t really and ‘election’ as much as at mafia-style shakedown. Leader Vlad Putin won more than 87 percent of the vote, mostly through ballot-stuffing, voter intimidation even the alleged busing of Putin supporters to vote multiple times at different locations.
Oh, and coercion at gunpoint in Ukraine.
According to the Washington Post, the whole world is in a democratic recession.
A new study this month from the V-Dem Institute at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, laid out some of the worrying signs — like undermining integrity in elections and casting doubt over the independence of the commissions that conduct them.
This year’s report found 35 countries witnessing a decline in free and fair elections. In 2019, the number was only 16.
“But the greatest source of concern is India, where the ruling Hindu nationalists under Prime Minister Narendra Modi look set to tighten an already outsize grip on power in upcoming elections. Some 42 countries are “autocratizing,” according to the study, and 71 percent of the world’s population now lives in autocracies — up from 48 percent just a decade ago.”
A Pew survey from last month found an embrace of technocracy (an elite of technical experts) or even an autocratic strongman.
“In 13 countries, a quarter or more of those surveyed think a system in which a strong leader can make decisions without interference from parliament or the courts is a good form of government,” noted Pew. “In four of the eight middle-income nations in the study, at least half of respondents express this view.”
The good news is dictatorship or military rule gets a yeah, nah. Pew found that people want more responsive politicians in power, term limits and liberalizing government forms.
Yabba Dabba Do
The wholesome creativity of using animals as technology in the Flinstones.
I could break down the masters house from the inside! Although the are doing a pretty good job without me.
On the milk thing, as I am lactose intolerant I have run all the gambits of "plant milk" varieties & Oat is my favourite. It is actually very easy to make at home with a good food processor type gadget & using NZ grown rolled oats & tap water it is not expensive, plus the excess "fibre" can be left to settle at the bottom of the jug & incorporated into pancakes, soups etc.