A win for billionaires. Ukraine left in the dust? In a possible indication of how significant a factor those "opportunities" could be in the negotiations, senior Russian businessman Kirill Dmitriev, a Western-educated banker who now heads a government-created investment fund, was also expected to take part in the talks on Tuesday, according to Russian media. "I will be responsible for the economic aspect of the discussions," Dmitriev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency ahead of the talks in Riyadh. "The figure that we are voicing for the first time now is that American business has lost more than $300 billion by leaving the Russian market," he said, apparently referring to the impact of sanctions imposed on Russia under former President Biden. "Finding joint economic paths, positive solutions to issues, is extremely important, mainly for the U.S. and for many other countries that are beginning to understand that the Russian market is extremely attractive and that it is necessary to be present in it," he said, adding that he hoped for "a positive dialogue." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-russia-meeting-improving-relations-ukraine-war/

@Steve-Miller There are progressives that are basically quadfocals. Definity lens by Essilor. [image: W-content_1.jpg] I used to wear them and they are great. And expensive. But you could see the stairs!

Sharon and I both want to cook when it gets cold like this but it’s been cold for weeks now. We really must slow down. The freezer is so full of soup I’m going to have to tape the door shut. I worry about what will happen if the power goes out but I figure I’ll just put it outside.

Hmm 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph). is that especially or unusually high for wind speeds in the winter?

Anyone in a position to be heard who's criticizing Trump in a loud and vocal way is a plus. I'll take it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

You're making sounds of disgust. I'm just describing how they operate.

The Dems need a new strategy. We're losing the battle. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/16/democrats-losing-trump-doge-information-battle-00204522

I think he may win much but not all he’s asking for in the realm of ‘unitary executive’ but I think he’s fucked on the impoundment cases.

What do you do when a) immigration cases in the courts are backlogged and b) you're promising aggressive immingration sweeps? You fire some immigration judges, just for kicks and grins!! https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/15/trump-administration-fires-immigration-judges

@pique said in JD schools Europe: If you haven't already, look into whether your ancestry entitles you to citizenship in another country. I'm pretty sure mine does, but I don't think Lithuania is a very good choice right now.... eta: I checked and I qualify for Lithuanian citizenship. I hadn't considered the EU aspect of being a Lithuanian citizen. Definitely something to consider. Thanks for the heads up!

Too many people flooding in to take advantage of our NHS and benefit system. Imagine if Turkey joined and their millions could enter our job market. We'd already had an influx of Albanians and Roumanians. And we are already a very multi ethnic society. We knew all the money supposedly to be saved by not being a member was rubbish. We knew that businesses would suffer. We knew there was and still is no clear plan.

The new job is going well. I actually like it as I am working a hybrid schedule with 2 or 3 days at the office and the rest is WFH. Everyone is really cool at the office and we even have an office dog that is there most days. The owner is engaged and is down in the support trenches with his team, as he loves helping people with computer issues and he is also very good at it. While I do well enough in that realm, support was never my main focus, nor do I "love it". Software development has always been my primary focus. We are working on a proposal for a customer to replace his very much outdated and unsupported custom software package with one based on the framework that I have built over the past 40 years. If we get this job it will be a job that I will be doing for the next several years. I am working on finding a younger person to train, who wants to take the torch from me sometime in the next 5-10 years. We have a couple of candidates internally but we might hire someone outside of the company for this role. I am also still engaged in my own company. We just release an update to the 9-1-1 centers last week. Yet another update is getting ready to be pushed out next week.

@Cindysphinx Saw this info on the Federal News Network website. Don't know if there's any info you and your colleagues are not already aware of, but FWIW... There is help for probationary employees who were terminated Federal employment attorneys say probationary employees who were fired can apply for unemployment insurance and have other options for appeal. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2025/02/there-is-help-for-probationary-employees-who-were-terminated/

Oy vey.

Here's the Novavax vaccine finder. Like they say, always check first to see if they have it in stock. https://us.novavaxcovidvaccine.com/vaccine-finder

@Bernard said in My latest piano recording: I do notice a big difference in the tone of the piano when the humidity drops below 30%, which it does occasionally if it's really, really cold, the humidifier ran out of water, or something else. I also notice this.