CIRCLE WITH A DOT

@Teri_Kanefield Perhaps he will fire Hegseth and blame it all on him. He doesn't really care what happens to the country or the world as long as bad stuff is not his fault.

@futurebird Was the alien insectoid? One wonders. Also, this story set me off to wondering about the political implications of a joy detector. Imagine what awful things an authoritarian regime could do with that. "Citizen! Why are you not deliriously happy in the brave new world that Dear Leader has provided for you?" Or the contrary, "Citizen! You are suspiciously joyful in the midst of your poverty and squalor. What thought-crime are you committing to be in this state?"

OK, I'll go back to thinking blissfully about the happy ant. It's a good story.

@DM_Ronin Knives are dangerous you know. It is good to know their whereabouts. And I am sure that when you turn it on, you have to listen to all the rules of safe knife use, along with all of the caveats from the company about not being responsible for unauthorized surgeries, murders, inexpert chicken dismembering, and missing human digits.

@futurebird If you were 100 times bigger, you would be surrounded by soldiers with tanks and attacked from the air by gunships and fighter planes. If you were 100 times smaller you would be eaten by a spider, a mantis, or a crow. Neither outcome seems ideal. I couldn't choose.

@courtcan And the argument that "Iran must not have a nuclear weapon" fails to account for the fact that the withdrawal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella from Asia and from Europe will inspire many other countries, including Japan, South Korea, and probably Ukraine, to develop their own. If wars of conquest become the norm again, everyone will think they need a nuke. "Iran must not have a nuke" is just a slogan that ignores the collapse of the world order that this regime has set in motion and the consequences thereof.

@newsguyusa Perhaps some foreign border official will put an entry stamp right on that scowling visage.

@futurebird Perhaps Pica should run for office.

@RLRVivaldi I used to be a big Murakami fan, but the reviews of this one made it seem like a sort of pastiche of other novels, especially Hard-boiled Wonderland. Is it better than that?

@futurebird This reminds me of the story about scientists who were studying octopus behavior and found that the supply of octopus treats was mysteriously diminishing. They put up a surveillance camera and found that the octopus was climbing out of its tank at night and raiding the treats. The octopus also pled not guilty.