We built our house in the late 1970’s, so no Great Room. Kitchen has an Island, but not big one. It is a working Island. No Marble either. I think he should have mentioned the trend for solid White or even Black Cabinets. Ours are Cherry.
We just passed the 2 year mark on our Florida home which was custom desgined by my wife with a little input from me. We have a stack of microwave with a dual oven (GE). The MW is separate from the ovens, so his criticism there is moot. We have a large island, per me since I do all the cooking has a cooktop. Being Florida (no basement) storage is at a premium so the island has numerous under cabinets. I have no problem with prep area and we eat 98% at the island with the dining table used for when we have guests. Yes, we have a great room and we love it. However, it sits in the center of the house and there are two wings off of it. The east wing is the master with a large extra pantry and utility room with laundry. The west wing consists of 2 guest BRs, one with it’s own bath. Our one daughter who visits a lot works remotely and has no trouble doing so in that area.
At the encouragement of the other daughter whose husband builds new construction we went with basically white tones throughout. I guess it’s the style now, whether it will age like my parents avacado kitchen back in the 70s is to be determined.
I think we did alright.
Farmhouse sinks don’t play well with metal belt buckles.
Most of the designs by Joanna Gaines on Fixer Upper, while pretty to look at, seem to me to be impractical. Constantly tearing down walls to create open concepts.
I don’t want an open concept kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I like to be able to shut the door to the kitchen while eating a Thanksgiving meal at the Dining Room table… keeps the pots, pans and assorted chaos out of sight while enjoying the meal, and also prevents the dogs from snatching the turkey carcass off of the cutting board.
Every click on You Tube and other Google products helps pay for the ropes which the globalist socialists will use to bind and hang their enemies.
Federal judge releases illegal alien who re-entered US after deportation for shooting conviction
The U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to have Ayala-Ayala detained in custody while awaiting trial.
U.S. District Court Judge Young B. Kim denied the request and released Ayala-Ayala with pre-trial release conditions, including a $10,000 unsecured signature bond.
The charge against Ayala-Ayala carries enhanced penalties due to Ayala-Ayala’s previous removal stemming from an aggravated felony conviction.
His next court hearing has not been scheduled yet.
Not as many programs are on rumble or odyssey for example
The tactic is similar to how the levick group was the devils advocates for terrorists at gitmo and when they were released and some returned to fill the ranks of al queda or islamic state they didnt apologize not in the least
Who Speaks for Earth?
Based on what I have read and understood, the odds keep going up that the Galaxy is likely teeming with life, some of it likely intelligent, and some percentage of that intelligent life is also likely to be able to travel from one solar system to another.
We presently have no way of knowing if the Galaxy around us is full of benevolent aliens, malevolent aliens, or likely a combination of both.
Given this, the prudent course to take is to prepare to defend our Solar System and Earth in depth, on the assumption that there is a good chance that alien visitors or their automated probes will arrive with malevolent intent. (If they are benevolent pacifists then we won’t need these preparations, but, if they are predatory, malevolent we’ll really, really need those preparations.
With all of the interest and speculation focused of 3I/Atlas, Havard’s Professor Avi Loeb asks some very pertinent questions i.e. if 3I/Atlas turns out not to be just an unusual comet, but is actually some sort of alien technology, are we ready to deal with this situation? *
And if it is just a comet, what about the next object which comes into our solar system, and the ones after that?
We need a comprehensive, system wide set of sensors to get the earliest possible warning about such objects, to image and analyze them, a policy, plans, and equipment to be ready to deal with the day when the object is alien technology, and a clear agreement about who–what organization–will deal with them, and which individuals will speak for the human race, and what they will say.
P.S. I note that a lot of the people thinking and talking about UAPs and NHIs seem to want to give potential aliens the benefit of the doubt, and are not thinking in terms of UAP or NHI intrusion into our human space as serious, and a direct violation of that space and our rights as Humans; as an unambiguously hostile act.
But, in giving UAPs and NHIs the benefit of the doubt aren’t you “betting the farm”–in this case Earth, the Solar System, the Human race, and it’s future–on nothing more than a hunch?
“China reclaims Allied role in World War II’s victory”
SEOUL, South Korea — Beijing commemorated the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end Wednesday with a massive parade of goose-stepping soldiers and a display of high-tech weaponry designed to awe.
On the VIP reviewing stand, the balcony of Beijing’s Forbidden City, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-in flanked Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Curiously, I lived in an apartment in Greece which had marble kitchen countertops … and windowsills, and doorsteps. And yes – even floors of marble tiles. Because at that time and place, marble was the cheapest building materiel. And yep – the stuff did stain from olive oil, and from acidic spills, was hideously slippery when wet … but yes, I’d never go for marble countertops, after that. I always had a soft spot for Corian, especially with a sink seamlessly integrated into it.
Someday, when I have my dream house…
And yes – the huge statement bathtubs are rarely used, and take up too much space. I’d rather have a luxurious, walk-in shower, like the one I have now.
But, in case you’re not listening to John Podhoretz on a regular basis, you should be. Until Caroline Glick gets back from her tour of duty, he’ll do nicely.
What Happened to the Neanderthals?
An interesting recent explanation—which leans quite heavily on DNA evidence–is that after surviving often quite brutal environmental conditions for some 300,000 years, and despite the occasional interbreeding with homo sapiens, the Neanderthal population was not growing in numbers–it was just too small—and it eventually dwindled down to very small, vulnerable, scattered groups of a few Neanderthals each, living here and there.
Moreover, as small groups, each consisting of a handful of individuals–and these groups isolated from one another–they were especially vulnerable to all sorts of things—bad weather, accidents, illness, scarcity of game, attacks from animals, other Neanderthals, or homo sapiens.
Thus, when things went wrong–since they had no backup from a larger group–they eventually just dwindled away. *
We made an eccentric choice that will make our house hard to sell: in the two bathrooms in the main house, there are big clawfoot tubs and no showers. It suits us perfectly.
Otherwise I couldn’t agree more with the expensive mistakes. We have less of an open floor-plan than is now popular, but even so we didn’t put enough effort into soundproofing a variety of what are now amusingly called “away spaces” and used to be called simply “rooms.” But the we buck the trend against an open kitchen with an island. Our galley kitchen is (gasp) its own separate space. Another feature that will make the house hard to sell!
Mike Plaiss on September 3, 2025 at 6:01 pm
On the Podhoretz interview – I skipped through it but did land on a spot I found interesting; viz regarding the point at which you are trading off the loss of soldiers while going after Hamas vs. the remaining 20 or so hostages. Thus two different groups of relatives have alternative views about how to best prosecute the war. Obvious when mentioned, but something I had not seen or thought of myself previously.
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We built our house in the late 1970’s, so no Great Room. Kitchen has an Island, but not big one. It is a working Island. No Marble either. I think he should have mentioned the trend for solid White or even Black Cabinets. Ours are Cherry.
We just passed the 2 year mark on our Florida home which was custom desgined by my wife with a little input from me. We have a stack of microwave with a dual oven (GE). The MW is separate from the ovens, so his criticism there is moot. We have a large island, per me since I do all the cooking has a cooktop. Being Florida (no basement) storage is at a premium so the island has numerous under cabinets. I have no problem with prep area and we eat 98% at the island with the dining table used for when we have guests. Yes, we have a great room and we love it. However, it sits in the center of the house and there are two wings off of it. The east wing is the master with a large extra pantry and utility room with laundry. The west wing consists of 2 guest BRs, one with it’s own bath. Our one daughter who visits a lot works remotely and has no trouble doing so in that area.
At the encouragement of the other daughter whose husband builds new construction we went with basically white tones throughout. I guess it’s the style now, whether it will age like my parents avacado kitchen back in the 70s is to be determined.
I think we did alright.
Farmhouse sinks don’t play well with metal belt buckles.
Most of the designs by Joanna Gaines on Fixer Upper, while pretty to look at, seem to me to be impractical. Constantly tearing down walls to create open concepts.
I don’t want an open concept kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I like to be able to shut the door to the kitchen while eating a Thanksgiving meal at the Dining Room table… keeps the pots, pans and assorted chaos out of sight while enjoying the meal, and also prevents the dogs from snatching the turkey carcass off of the cutting board.
Every click on You Tube and other Google products helps pay for the ropes which the globalist socialists will use to bind and hang their enemies.
Federal judge releases illegal alien who re-entered US after deportation for shooting conviction
https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2025/09/02/federal-agents-arrest-mexican-national-after-being-caught-in-libertyville-following-deportation-for-shooting-conviction/
Oh noes
https://x.com/realchrisrufo/status/1963255590458724651
Not as many programs are on rumble or odyssey for example
The tactic is similar to how the levick group was the devils advocates for terrorists at gitmo and when they were released and some returned to fill the ranks of al queda or islamic state they didnt apologize not in the least
Who Speaks for Earth?
Based on what I have read and understood, the odds keep going up that the Galaxy is likely teeming with life, some of it likely intelligent, and some percentage of that intelligent life is also likely to be able to travel from one solar system to another.
We presently have no way of knowing if the Galaxy around us is full of benevolent aliens, malevolent aliens, or likely a combination of both.
Given this, the prudent course to take is to prepare to defend our Solar System and Earth in depth, on the assumption that there is a good chance that alien visitors or their automated probes will arrive with malevolent intent. (If they are benevolent pacifists then we won’t need these preparations, but, if they are predatory, malevolent we’ll really, really need those preparations.
With all of the interest and speculation focused of 3I/Atlas, Havard’s Professor Avi Loeb asks some very pertinent questions i.e. if 3I/Atlas turns out not to be just an unusual comet, but is actually some sort of alien technology, are we ready to deal with this situation? *
And if it is just a comet, what about the next object which comes into our solar system, and the ones after that?
We need a comprehensive, system wide set of sensors to get the earliest possible warning about such objects, to image and analyze them, a policy, plans, and equipment to be ready to deal with the day when the object is alien technology, and a clear agreement about who–what organization–will deal with them, and which individuals will speak for the human race, and what they will say.
P.S. I note that a lot of the people thinking and talking about UAPs and NHIs seem to want to give potential aliens the benefit of the doubt, and are not thinking in terms of UAP or NHI intrusion into our human space as serious, and a direct violation of that space and our rights as Humans; as an unambiguously hostile act.
But, in giving UAPs and NHIs the benefit of the doubt aren’t you “betting the farm”–in this case Earth, the Solar System, the Human race, and it’s future–on nothing more than a hunch?
Better safe than sorry-see above.
P.S.S. See the Dark Forest Hypothesis.
* See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8mek93DzgI
“China reclaims Allied role in World War II’s victory”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/sep/3/china-reclaims-allied-role-world-war-iis-victory/
Curiously, I lived in an apartment in Greece which had marble kitchen countertops … and windowsills, and doorsteps. And yes – even floors of marble tiles. Because at that time and place, marble was the cheapest building materiel. And yep – the stuff did stain from olive oil, and from acidic spills, was hideously slippery when wet … but yes, I’d never go for marble countertops, after that. I always had a soft spot for Corian, especially with a sink seamlessly integrated into it.
Someday, when I have my dream house…
And yes – the huge statement bathtubs are rarely used, and take up too much space. I’d rather have a luxurious, walk-in shower, like the one I have now.
It’s on Instapundit so you may have seen,
https://youtu.be/sSohYGXEHDM
But, in case you’re not listening to John Podhoretz on a regular basis, you should be. Until Caroline Glick gets back from her tour of duty, he’ll do nicely.
What Happened to the Neanderthals?
An interesting recent explanation—which leans quite heavily on DNA evidence–is that after surviving often quite brutal environmental conditions for some 300,000 years, and despite the occasional interbreeding with homo sapiens, the Neanderthal population was not growing in numbers–it was just too small—and it eventually dwindled down to very small, vulnerable, scattered groups of a few Neanderthals each, living here and there.
Moreover, as small groups, each consisting of a handful of individuals–and these groups isolated from one another–they were especially vulnerable to all sorts of things—bad weather, accidents, illness, scarcity of game, attacks from animals, other Neanderthals, or homo sapiens.
Thus, when things went wrong–since they had no backup from a larger group–they eventually just dwindled away. *
* See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Sw49IpLPM
We made an eccentric choice that will make our house hard to sell: in the two bathrooms in the main house, there are big clawfoot tubs and no showers. It suits us perfectly.
Otherwise I couldn’t agree more with the expensive mistakes. We have less of an open floor-plan than is now popular, but even so we didn’t put enough effort into soundproofing a variety of what are now amusingly called “away spaces” and used to be called simply “rooms.” But the we buck the trend against an open kitchen with an island. Our galley kitchen is (gasp) its own separate space. Another feature that will make the house hard to sell!
Mike Plaiss on September 3, 2025 at 6:01 pm
On the Podhoretz interview – I skipped through it but did land on a spot I found interesting; viz regarding the point at which you are trading off the loss of soldiers while going after Hamas vs. the remaining 20 or so hostages. Thus two different groups of relatives have alternative views about how to best prosecute the war. Obvious when mentioned, but something I had not seen or thought of myself previously.