Saturday, April 4, 2026

The times they are a-changin' - and not for the better...

 Young kids these days aren't holding up their end 
of the bargain, leaving us boomers to carry the load...   

Heineken announced last month that it plans to cut up to 6,000 jobs globally and expects slower profit growth in 2026 as the beer industry grapples with weak demand.
The reductions represent nearly 7% of the Dutch company’s approximately 87,000 employees worldwide. The beer giant said the cuts are part of a broader strategy aimed at strenghtening its operations while continuing to invest in growth.
"To fuel the growth and the profit, we are stepping up productivity initiatives and making changes to our operating model," Heineken Chief Financial Officer Harold van den Broek told investors on a call announcing the company’s annual earnings results. "We are moving to a simpler, leaner Heineken centered on empowered operating companies."
Van den Broek said between 5,000 and 6,000 roles will be eliminated over the next two years, as the company redirects it's focus to more non- and low-alcohol content products. 
They should be ashamed of themselves. I can't put it any other way. Maybe, if you dropped your price point and stopped pretending you're some kind of premium product when you're just another beer, maybe people'd drink more, you jackasses.
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Las Vegas is in serious trouble. The city drew about 3.1 million fewer visitors in 2025, a 7.5 percent drop - its sharpest decline outside the pandemic since record-keeping began in 1970, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Passenger traffic also declined, falling about 6 percent in 2025 at Harry Reid International Airport, which is served by major carriers including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Allegiant Air. December traffic - typically boosted by holiday travel - fell an even steeper 10.3 percent.
While conventions remain relatively strong, the weakness is in leisure travel - the city's lifeblood. 'I think this is more of a microcosm of where the American consumer is than necessarily telling us where the American economy is going,' said Andrew Woods, who heads the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada.
 
That's just an absolute crock of shit, Mr. Woods. For 50 years, Vegas and New Jersey were the only games in town for true, degenerate gamblers (like me). 
If you haven't noticed,  450 new casinos have opened nationwide over the past 30 or so years nationwide. Nevada and New Jersey were the only states with legal casino gambling. Then, the flood gates opened. First, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) passed in 1988. It was followed by laws in Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, and Illinois authorizing riverboat gambling and, in Colorado and South Dakota, limited-stakes gaming in 19th-century mining towns. That was just the first of several waves since then, so that now most people in the country have casinos somewhere close by.
At the same time the commercial casinos were expanding, so was Indian gaming. Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and New York were the first states to sign compacts with tribes that allowed them to offer casino gambling.
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 Birthday or Anniversary coming up?
Here's a great idea for a gift for her
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Shakir Khan, a Lodi City, California Councilman, was charged by the state with 14 felony counts for voter registration fraud in connection with the 2020 Lodi City Council Election in which he defeated three opponents including the incumbent by 282 votes. Khan was charged with causing false voter registration, one count of false registration of fictitious person/person not requesting registration, 7 counts of subscription of fictitious name to nomination petition, 2 counts of false nomination/declaration of candidacy, one count of procuring another not qualified to vote, and one count of aiding and abetting commission of fraudulent voting. An investigation by the San Joaquin Sheriff’s office discovered 41 sealed and completed mail-in ballots when searching his home, and a citizen looking into the voter rolls discovered 71 names registered to Khan's address, phone number, or email. Khan took advantage of members of the Pakistani community with his election fraud misconduct. Khan, who resigned from his position, was also charged with illegal gambling, tax evasion, unemployment fraud and other charges, for a total of 77 criminal charges against him (71 felonies and 6 misdemeanors). Khan pleaded no contest to all 77 charges including the 14 felony election fraud charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Gavin Newsome has repeatedly - and emphatically - stated that there is 'absolutely zero' phony voting in his State. Well played, Mr. Kahn...
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The weather lady on WESH2 Orlando news said yesterday that the reason we're in a draught here in Florida is because we didn't have any  hurricane impacts last year.
So, what's happening now is because something DIDN'T HAPPEN 
a year ago. Gotcha. Makes perfect sense.
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Seven games in and we already have a 'catch of the year'?
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No surprise Jersey's the highest.
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Hedy Lamarr - in the top five all-time list of beautiful actresses ever.
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Sacred Heart with Cherry Blossoms...





Friday, April 3, 2026

Sometimes, one HillBetty a day just isn't enough...



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Whoever you are, Todd - you're a lucky guy...


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Handmade gifts are extra special when
they're for someone extra special.
 

Click on the picture for more information on what's available today.
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Have an iPhone? Better check this out tootsweet...

 
Apple has released an emergency iOS update, urging millions of iPhone users to download it now. The company expanded the availability of its iOS 18.7.7 and iPadOS 18.7.7 updates to a much wider range of devices, warning that the software contains critical protections against a cyberattack method known as DarkSword. Apple said this allows more users with automatic updates enabled to receive protection from what it described as web-based attacks.
The DarkSword exploit kit, first identified in 2025, is designed to target vulnerable Apple devices and secretly install malicious software. Security researchers said the attack is triggered when a user visits a legitimate website that has been secretly infected with malicious code, a tactic known as a 'watering hole attack.'
Once activated, the malware can install hidden backdoors that allow hackers to maintain long-term access to a device and steal sensitive information. 
 

Experts warned that a newer version of the hacking tool has now leaked online, raising fears that additional cybercriminal groups could begin using it in broader attacks.





Get high and get busted? No worries - you can still sign up...


A Washington Times report is saying that the U.S. Army has officially raised the maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42 years old and relaxed restrictions on recruiting individuals with marijuana convictions. The move comes as the country continues its war with Iran and widens its recruiting pool after struggling to fill the ranks.
The maximum age for eligible recruits changes for “applicants with prior military service,” according to an Army Regulation report released Friday. This aligns the service’s age requirements with the Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard.
The minimum age to enlist in the Army is still 18, but 17-year-olds can join with parental permission.
Recruits with low-level marijuana convictions previously had to wait two years and pass a drug test before obtaining a waiver to enlist. With the new rule, recruits with a single prior conviction of possession of marijuana or drug paraphernalia may forgo the waiver.
 

In-service drug use, however, remains strictly prohibited...

The 'real story'? 
Click the cover



Hats off and boots up for this HillBetty...


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Is your dog bummin' about something? Maybe...

Most people know by experience that stressful days can lead to sleepless nights, but little work has been done, the researchers note, to find out if the same is true for other animals. In this new effort, they sought to learn more by recording brain waves of sleeping dogs.
To find out if sleep patterns in dogs change due to stressful situations prior to sleeping, the researchers enlisted the assistance of 16 pet dogs of different breeds and their owners. Each of the dogs was subjected to either a positive or negative experience. A positive experience was something the dog was known to like, such as being petted or engaging in playing catch. Negative experiences included being tied to a door for a length of time while being ignored by the owner or having a researcher stare threateningly directly into its eyes.
All of the dogs were fitted with EEG sensors, and after their positive or negative experiences, were allowed to go to a designated place to sleep.A scientific study found that dogs can have trouble sleeping after stressful experiences, similar to humans. In the experiment, 16 dogs had their brain activity monitored after either positive moments like play and affection or negative ones like brief separation from their owners.
The results showed that stressed dogs had poorer sleep quality during a 3 hour nap. They spent more time in REM sleep, woke up earlier, and fell asleep faster, a response researchers linked to stress related fatigue. A calm bedtime routine and a little affection may help your dog rest easier.





Too much team spirit?


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Handmade gifts are extra special when
they're for someone extra special.
 

Click on the picture for more information on what's available today.
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So - who the hell is SIRI? And is she related to ALEXA?

We don't know if they are actually related, but we do know they were both created withouit using one single word. Susan Bennett had no idea at the time because the work she did was only one piece of a much bigger project.
In 2005, she was brought in to record a long list of phrases for a speech system, but no one told her what the audio would eventually become. The material she provided was meant for general text to speech development, and those recordings were later used to build the early version of Siri.
Since her part of the job was so far removed from the finished product, she didn’t realize her voice was on the iPhone until she heard it years later.
 

While Amazon has never officially confirmed the voice actor for Alexa, investigative research and reports identify her as Nina Rolle, a voiceover artist and singer based in Boulder, Colorado. She was reportedly selected after a months-long search, with her voice chosen for its warm and authoritative tone.
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Click here for more information.
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It's getting harder to get from here to there in Iran...

The 446-foot tall bridge could be seen in the dramatic video collapsing in a plume of smoke following the strike. “The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again - Much more to follow!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
The president later teased that more strikes on Iranian infrastructure were coming. “Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 
 

He added, “Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!”
 
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Ovutek Smart Scale for Body Weight
Professional Digital Scale with BMI, 
Body Fat, Muscle Mass - Most Accurate to 0.05lb
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The best thing to come out of the TSA shutdown? Maybe...


Okay, so maybe Delta isn't your favorite air carrier, but at least they recognized how fucked up and how absolutely political this football is, and they acted - on our behalf - at least that's what it looks like. They suspended special airport services for members of Congress who fly with the airline until the partial government shutdown is resolved, which would restore pay to the Transportation Security Agency and other federal workers who support airline travel. In a statement, Delta said it is temporarily halting specialty services typically provided to lawmakers, such as airport escorts and “red coat” assistance, citing resource challenges during the shutdown.
The question to ask is 'why do these assholes get special treatment in the first place'? They are no better - and some are most certainly much worse - than you and me. Why do they get preferential treatment? 
Elevating them to some imaginary loftier status gives us - and certainly them - a bad mojo. They get the smoke blown up their asses that most of them seem to need, and we get shown that we're somehow beneath them? Fuck that. Get rid of it forever going forward. Juss' sayin'...
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Andrew Carnegie spent most of his fortune on philanthropy, and public libraries were at the heart of his mission. He grew up poor and relied on a local library that let working boys borrow books. That access changed the direction of his life and convinced him that knowledge should be free for everyone, not only for those with money.
Over the years, he funded more than 3000 libraries across the world, along with schools, universities, and community programs. By the end of his life, he had given away about 90 percent of his wealth. His library network became a major pillar of modern public learning.
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James Carville warns Trump that if Democrats take the House after the midterms, the investigations won’t stop with him. “The Democrats are going to investigate you to no end… Then they’re going to go after your jackass kids and their spouses.”
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Wouldn't you have loved to be a fly on the wall to listen in on those sessions? 
Ya almost couldn't make up shit crazy enough to probably match 
whateverthefuck she 'needed help with'...
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The head of LGBTQI+ “Pride in London” was fired after allegedly using donated funds on luxury perfume and Apple products. Christopher Joell-Deshields, who led one of the world’s biggest Pride events, was dismissed following accusations that thousands in donations were spent on personal luxury items.
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Whoever it was who thought of this
is an absolute fucking genius who
deserves a medal or some shit...
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 Birthday or Anniversary coming up?
Here's a great idea for a gift for her
Click on the picture for more information on this bracelet
It's simple yet elegant - and comes to you with free shipping!
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Japan has built disaster preparedness into everyday life, including vending machines. Some are designed to switch into emergency mode during major earthquakes. When activated by local authorities, they unlock and provide free drinks to people nearby. Many are equipped with backup power so they can still operate during outages. It is a small detail, but it reflects how seriously Japan prepares for natural disasters. In a country where earthquakes are common, even something as ordinary as a vending machine can become part of the emergency response system.
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The last show I saw before I moved down here. It was surprisingly good, 
but then again, anything with Alice Cooper can't suck...
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The times they are a-changin' - and not for the better...

 Young kids these days aren't holding up their end  of the bargain, leaving us boomers to carry the load ...     Heineken announced last...