Wrench

Yep, I agree. But Putin has held on this long while he has royally screwed the Russian economy, and exposed their bumbling military for what it is. The oligarchs would have ousted him already if it was easy.

If NATO invades, Russia is doomed. Putin doesn't care that Russia would still exist after a NATO victory, all he cares about is himself and his legacy. Both of which would be destroyed in a NATO victory.

So he would launch the nukes and watch Russia get wiped off the map, because if he can't have it, no one can. And at least he would go out with a bang, rather than suiciding in a bunker.

The oligarchs would not be able to prevent it. They might hold the political power, but the military order to launch the nukes comes directly from Putin. The best we could hope for is conscientious officers refusing the order.

That's not handing anything over. They're going for one last big payout after a lifetime of exploitation.

They have their real estate portfolio that they rent at exorbitant prices, or sell at massive mark ups because they got into the market at sane levels and contributed to the feeding frenzy that has led to today's unaffordable housing.

They strung their employees on, taking the increased profits from inflation without paying their employees enough to keep up.

And now they're selling their small businesses to those same employees at prices that practically guarantee they will be unable to keep up. Because even though they have all the wealth that they've accumulated from a life of exploitation, they deserve to ride off into the sunset with a saddlebag stuffed with gold.

We had two kids my age that wanted to be called by Final Fantasy character names. AFAIK, no one had any problem with it.

I mean, he is. Non-ironically.

The closest (real) thing to this "deep-state" boogeyman of theirs is the Federalist Society, and the people who drew up Project 2025.

These are real organizations that conspire to circumvent the checks and balances that are supposed to protect the rights of the people in this nation, and the rule of law.

And while I don't believe that Trump is at all involved in organizing these conspiracies, he has been more than happy to execute their wishes in exchange for power. And knowingly so.

So yes, Trump is part of the deep state. Factually.

I have a different brand, but I can see the value. The interface on the small screen on the device I have is very clumsy. Took me a while to figure it out, and I'm very tech savvy. I can see a mobile app being useful, also for notifications so I don't independently have to set timers.

Also as a former mobile dev, mobile apps take maintenance to keep up with OS changes over time. And developers are expensive.

What I imagine happened is that they probably outsourced their app development to a 3rd party, because they make hardware, not software. That contract probably expired, including their ongoing support agreement, and they've probably negotiated an hourly rate for support on-demand going forward, maybe with a different 3rd party dev.

So in all likelihood, they're just passing the cost for ongoing maintenance on an EOL model to the customer.

However, that looks absolutely insane from a consumer standpoint.

I don't know their Financials, but they may not be big enough to just swallow the cost for brand PR if they're not selling at a volume and profit margin to be able lose money on old products.

This is why, even as a dev that used to work in the mobile and IOT space, I tend to purchase dumb devices if there are good options. Smart devices get dumb as soon as the shine has dulled.

I don't know how, but my mom could open jars better than me when I was a foot taller and much stronger than her. She'd make me move furniture around, and I'd hand her pickle jars.

Many of us thought he was trying to lose in 2016, too. Garrison's character beautifully depicted the phenomenon.

Sounds like a Bengal to me!

When modding the syringe, I find it easiest to remove the plunger, and using a drill bit from the inside that is slightly smaller than this inside diameter of the syringe. 1/32" leaves enough of a lip to still stop the plunger in my experience, but YMMV depending on the plunger style.

We had a 5ml syringe with a fully plastic plunger (no rubber) that was amazing. Eventually lost it and haven't been able to find a replacement yet, but rubber tipped plunger are fine too, just wear out faster.

“I’ve already been excommunicated from another kingdom hall in (insert town from 2hr+ away)”

Well, there's the trick. I don't think I could say those words without breaking. I'd be demanding a shrubbery before I could stop myself.

Looks like a Bengal. I'm surprised he wasn't snapped up.

BTW as an elder cat caretaker, if he stops eating hit meds willingly (which can easily happen if his condition flares up), we have had amazing success with cutting the tip off a syringe, loading it with canned food and front loading the tip with their pills.

When cutting the tip, leave a tiny bit of material so the plunger still stops, but not so much that the pill gets jammed.

3/4 of our cats actually open their mouths willingly to be pilled because they only taste the food, the pill is swallowed without them noticing.

And are legally required to blast them in populated areas