
“Happy Saturday night Miss Cardinale, ready to rumble?”
“Rumble Sir?“
“Well a lot of close contact and sweating.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Winner

This week.










Per “The Spun”:
Meet The Clemson Cheerleader Standing Out Against Duke Tonight
Whoops. On my computer, it appears that the link to the sorority pictures has been disconnected. Oh well, their prerogative. They’re there at the link, if you want to see them.
(I guess we can be glad they don’t call it a bi-plane)

Defense News | Aug. 16, 2023 |Rachel S. Cohen
“We’re going into this new area where it’s all about bringing capabilities … to the Air Force, the warfighter [and] the commercial space,” JetZero Chief Executive Officer Tom O’Leary said…
Can’t he speak English?
The Pentagon’s renewed focus on the Pacific as its top priority has placed a premium on assets that can travel farther and faster without breaking the bank.
The Pentagon now cares about costs?
JetZero’s partnership with Northrop Grumman on the Z-5 has received $40 million in government funds in fiscal 2023, Chaudhary said.
The military will put $235 million toward the initiative through 2026, plus more from private investors.
Less ten percent for the Big Guy?
Human and Ape Ancestors Arose in Europe, Not in Africa, Controversial Study Claims
Live Science | late August 2023 | Charles Q. Choi
A newly described fossil suggests that the ancestor of humans and apes arose in Europe, not in Africa…
In the new study, the researchers analyzed a newly identified ape fossil from the 8.7 million-year-old site of Çorakyerler in central Anatolia. They dubbed the species Anadoluvius turkae. “Anadolu” is the modern Turkish word for Anatolia, and “turk” refers to Turkey.
The fossil suggests that A. turkae likely weighed about 110 to 130 pounds (50 to 60 kilograms), or about the weight of a large male chimpanzee.
Based on the fossils of other animals found alongside it — such as giraffes, warthogs, rhinos, antelope, zebras, elephants, porcupines and hyenas — as well as other geological evidence, the researchers suggest that the newfound ape lived in a dry forest, more like where the early humans in Africa may have dwelled, rather than in the forest settings of modern great apes. A. turkae’s powerful jaws and large, thickly enameled teeth suggest that it may have dined on hard or tough foods such as roots, so A. turkae likely spent a great deal of time on the ground.
In the new study, the scientists focused on a well-preserved partial skull uncovered at the site in 2015. This fossil includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the braincase, the area where the brain sat — features that helped the team calculate evolutionary relationships…
The researchers suggest that A. turkae and other fossil apes from nearby areas, such as Ouranopithecus in Greece and Turkey and Graecopithecus in Bulgaria, formed a group of early hominines. This may, in turn, suggest that the earliest hominines arose in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Specifically, the team contends that ancient Balkan and Anatolian apes evolved from ancestors in Western and Central Europe.
“Hominines”? What’s wrong with “Hominids”? That’s a new one on me. Granted, I haven’t been following the science that closely…
But if I ever go into the Witness Protection Program, I’m bringing the name “Charles Q. Choi” with me.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi Says She Will Run for Reelection to House in 2024
WaPo | 8 September 2023 | Amy B Wang, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul KaneFormer House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Friday that she will run for reelection in 2024 for her San Francisco-area House seat, ending speculation about her political future after she decided last year she would step down as the leader of the House Democratic caucus.
Pelosi, 83, told aides she planned to run for another term next year, according to an aide to the former speaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity to confirm the decision.