This is a conspiracy theory, not unlike the theories you will hear on the right. I’ve never heard anyone on the right equate soy with Asian or other cultures.

Well, in American there was Bernie Sanders.

It’s a confounding thing, that so many people will vote for leaders who straight-up tell them that they will make the world a worse place for them (Reagan, Trump, Thatcher).

Nobody’s head is going to explode. Most conservatives are well aware that soybeans are an American croup and are even proud of the fact. They just think that the soybeans should be served to cows.

Vilifying people you don’t like is no way to establish understanding or communication.

This itself is a conspiracy theory. I’ve known a lot of right-wing people, and none of them made a connection between Soy and Asian cuisine. They don’t like tofu, in particular, because they didn’t grow up with it and see it as some weird, hippy thing.

Hi (Waving from left bubble) !

I agree. I don’t think anyone is thinking that hard about the “Asian” roots of soybeans. And people on the left are just as hung up on their identity politics as people on the right.

There is a strong association between Tofu with hippy culture, even though there really isn’t such a thing anymore. I guess if you don’t want heart disease by the time you’re 40, you must be a hippy.

No. Smoking is way more personally dangerous than alcohol, except for auto accidents. Tobacco hurts you in so many different ways – with sagging skin, lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, stained teeth, strokes, hypertension. Also, alcohol addicts only represent about 10% of the drinking public, whereas about 90% of smokers become chain-smoking addicts.

And, as I mentioned, smoking often kills people a decade short of retirement. Drinkers, on the other hand, often reach old age.

Not justifying alcohol, but there are so many downsides to smoking. But you can’t explain that to an addict.

I have a folding bike that was originally meant to be part of a Marlsboro rewards program. Apparently smokers weren’t all that interested in exercise. Who knew?

Yes, where I worked they generously gave you a 10 minute mid-morning break. Unless you were a smoker, and “needed” to slip out 5 minutes every hour. I often wondered if I could get away with just “smoking” a straw.

Most of the smokers I’ve known don’t even get close to 80, and are often very sickly when they do. Two family members that didn’t make it to 60. A healthy looking co-worker who dropped dead in the parking lot. A former boss who didn’t get to enjoy more than two years retirement.

Cigarettes are the only consumer product that, when used as directed, kill their consumers.

Be the traffic you want to become.

As long as the temperature is below 451F/233C, there should be no danger of fire.

Pro Tip: Keep masking tape in the kitchen. If you do something weird like storing a pizza in the oven, put a piece of masking tape over the oven dial as a reminder. Masking tape is good for putting a date on things going into the fridge too.

How are they for coming off ? The various reinforced tires I’ve tried (randoneur, gator, 25mm) are really hard to put back on. Like you peel the skin off your hands trying. I’ve notice that most tires, even cheaper ones, don’t give you trouble for the first 500 miles. So have gone back to a medium grade tire that doesn’t require special tools to replace.

You only needed a slim 50% to split? Not like a 2/3rds majority?

Regardless, I stay away from both irregardless.

I think multi-vitamins are more important as you get older. Your body simply doesn’t absorb as much of the vitamins in food as it does when you’re younger. So all that advice “Just eat a healthy diet” isn’t quite as true.

How about “U” – “Unstudied” If there’s no money to study a supplement, it doesn’t get studied. Or maybe “unmonied”, because the particular studies the governments want cost $$$.

Most doctors today will tell you NOT to take iron, especially if you are a man. Apparently iron has been associated with various health concerns.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot

What setting?

The thing is, we don’t know how viable this is in the long term.

For all we know, every 200 years the Earth is hit by a major EMP sunspot event that will fry our cellpones, cell towers, and satellites.

This isn’t just speculative. In 1859 a major solar storm took down most of the electronic communication of that time. Back then, that meant telegraph communication. The first major telegraph message had been sent only 15 years before, so world-wide communications didn’t suffer too much.

If we had a major storm now, the winners would be those countries and institutions that still retained paper-based communications and information management systems. The losers would be everyone dependent on electronics communications.

This is it. They don’t warn you in high school, but after school your friends will be in colleges or jobs miles away. This is just the way it is and if anything, cellphones would theoretically allow people to stay connected.