posted 03-28-2019 09:54 PM                       

quote: Fox News

---

Manual transmissions are nearly extinct in midsize sedans, only one left

And then there was one. The Honda Accord is the last mainstream midsize sedan you can buy in the United States with a manual transmission.

Mazda has confirmed that the Mazda 6 will only be offered with automatics for 2019, as the model is positioned as more of a premium offering.

A spokesperson for the notoriously driver-friendly brand told Autoblog:

"At Mazda we are always listening to our fans, especially when it comes to what they are looking for from our vehicles. As we have moved the Mazda6 upscale with the launch of the Grand Touring Reserve and Signature models, we have seen less demand for a manual transmission option. We continue to support enthusiasts who enjoy driving with a manual transmission in the all-new 2019 Mazda3 Premium Hatchback model, and of course the ever iconic MX-5 Miata. We will continue to listen to our fans and if their desires should change in future we will respond accordingly."

Along with low sales, another reason many automakers have shifted away from stick-shifts is the proliferation of electronic driver aids, like automatic emergency brakes, which work better with automatics.

Honda, however, is one of the few brands that has combined the two.

---

posted 04-01-2019 11:30 PM                       

quote:

---

How about Jar Jar Kinks?

An inter-galactic swinger’s party with a Star Wars theme is expected to be out of this world.

Swingers are being encouraged to “release their dark side” at a May the Force Party on May 4 in Newcastle, England.

And no, it’s not a trap with plenty of prizes for the best costumes.

The orgy organizers said: “We offer a no-pressure environment for you to explore your sexual fantasies and broaden your horizons in the knowledge that you will be safe and respected by all.”

The two-storey venue features a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, private zones and more.

The U.K. Sun even helpfully suggested some character names. In addition to the aforementioned Ja Jar Kinks, here are a few more: Hand Solo, Grabba the Butt, Obi Quick-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skyporker, Darth Laid’er, Boba Fettish, and Porntroopers.

---

posted 04-08-2019 11:31 PM                       

quote: Leo Enticknap

---

Sort of, but my impression of owning a relatively new Honda manual (a 2015 Fit) is that they've jerry rigged the manual transmission into the essentially automatic car, rather than made a serious attempt to combine and integrate. Cruise control is the obvious example: a set target speed will survive some changes of gear, but others will cause it to disengage. There seems to be no pattern or logic to which. And the spacing of the gears in the six-speed box is not intuitive, which leads me to suspect that the same gearbox is used with several engines in several models of car.

---

posted 04-26-2019 03:30 PM                       

A Tennessee movie theater changed 'Hellboy' to 'Heckboy' on its sign

quote:

---

A Tennessee movie theater attracted viral attention after it changed "Hellboy" to "Heckboy" on its sign because it's across the street from an elementary school.
The owner of The Roxy 8 Movie Theater in Dickson told CNN affiliate WZTV that she never puts words on the sign that could be considered profanity, since young children would see it.

---

posted 05-13-2019 05:55 PM                       

quote: Breitbart

---

Florida Police Find ‘Snarling Woman’ with Seven Syringes in Her Vagina

Florida police arrested a “snarling” woman at a Burger King who was later found to have seven syringes filled with an unidentified liquid hidden inside her vagina.

The erratic behavior of Jeymie Wescott, 35, alarmed employees at a Largo Burger King enough to prompt them to call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Upon arrival, officers found Wescott to be combative and “snarling and yelling” at them, the Daily Mail reported.

In their written report, deputies said that they saw “several indicators of narcotics usage” in the St. Petersburg resident’s behavior and they took her into custody.

During the arrest, officers thought they “felt something hard” in her crotch when she was patted down on the scene. She was reportedly warned that if back at the jailhouse they find something hidden there, she would be charged with introducing contraband into a detention facility.

Wescott reportedly refused to tell officers what she had hidden and was taken to jail.

Indeed, once at the station, the suspect reportedly pulled from her vagina a total of seven syringes with a thus far undisclosed liquid in them. She was then hit with the additional charges of introducing contraband into the facility.

Wescott also faces charges of drug use, drug possession, and resisting arrest.

The suspect posted $300 bond last Wednesday and will have to appear in court later this month.

Wescott has a rap sheet including arrests for DUI, methamphetamine possession, and leaving the scene of an accident.

---

Ow!

That would explain the snarling, alright. Burger King food is pretty bad, but not that bad!

I don't think even Gwyneth Paltrow would recommend inserting those "down there" ...

posted 06-28-2019 07:53 PM                       

quote: IFL Science

---

A Man Tried Mixing Cocaine And Pufferfish. It Didn’t End Well

When a 43-year-old man turned up at a Florida hospital saying he’d had too much "blow" at home, doctors probably thought they were looking at your average mild drug overdose. Yet they were surprised to discover that the patient had in fact been eating poisonous pufferfish liver in addition to snorting cocaine, and before long had to hook him up to a ventilator and a dialysis machine as both his respiratory system and kidneys failed.

As Homer Simpson once discovered, pufferfish – also known as blowfish – is an occasionally deadly Japanese delicacy that can only be safely prepared by a handful of expert chefs. This is because the fish contains a poison called tetrodotoxin (TTX), which is primarily concentrated in the liver and gonads and must be skillfully removed from the dish, known as "fugu". According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 50 people die in Japan each year from eating improperly prepared fugu.

As toxins go, TTX certainly isn’t one you want to mess with, with as little as 2 milligrams sometimes being sufficient to kill a person. Overall, it’s about 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide, and works by blocking the activation of nerve cells, resulting in muscle weakness, respiratory problems, and numbness. There is no antidote, and failing to treat the symptoms immediately can lead to paralysis and death.

Writing in the BMJ Case Reports, a team of doctors from the Aventura Hospital report that a local man recently turned up at ER around four hours after having eaten fugu. At that time, he was suffering from chest pains as well as vomiting, numbness in his legs, abdominal pain and muscle weakness, while also struggling to speak.

Yet the authors describe this case as more “exciting” and “interesting” than most run-of-the-mill fugu poisonings, due to the fact that the man had also been ingesting cocaine over the three previous days. This, combined with his history of high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease, led to major complications.

While in hospital, the patient’s kidney issues deteriorated and he had to be placed on a dialysis machine. He also developed pneumonia, and doctors soon had to place a tube into his airways to help him breathe.

Fortunately, most of his symptoms cleared up after about 24 hours, although he did not regain his kidney function and continues to require dialysis treatment. His grandmother, with whom he had shared the fugu (though presumably not the cocaine), was also admitted to hospital with less severe symptoms such as dizziness, but was able to recover with no major complications.

Despite their perverse excitement at witnessing this medical meltdown, the study authors end their write-up by “forewarn[ing] the public to refrain from consuming the deadly delicacy known as ‘fugu’.”

---

posted 07-05-2019 03:12 PM                       

quote: Breitbart

---

Ice Cream Truck Owner Confronts the Problem of Social Media ‘Influencers’

Ice cream truck owner Joe Nicchi has gotten fed up with self-proclaimed Instagram stars demanding free ice cream in exchange for promoting his company on their social media accounts. Nicchi is now telling these supposed “influencers” that not only will they have to pay for their ice cream, they’ll have to “pay double.”

Joe Nicchi — who offers soft-serve chocolate, vanilla, and twist flavors through his company, appropriately named CVT Soft Serve — became fed up with Instagram “influencers” who kept approaching him for free ice cream, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

Instagram “influencers” are people with a relatively large following on the social media platform, who oftentimes solicit companies for “free” products in exchange for them promoting the business to their followers via Instagram posts.

“At first I was confused,” said Nicchi to Los Angeles Times, “It’s like, ‘Hey, what’s up. So, I don’t know if you follow me but I have 100,000 followers. Could you hook me up with an ice cream? I’ll post about you in my story.'”

“It totally threw me,” added Nicchi, “I’m like, this is a $4 item. What are you talking about?”

While it has been reported that Instagram alone may even be responsible for waves of tourism to specific locations around the world — with some locations or establishments embracing social media Influencers by welcoming them and encouraging them to post about their adventures — not everyone appears interested in the concept.

Once influencers began continuously approaching Nicchi’s ice cream truck to solicit him for free ice cream in exchange for social media posts, he took to Instagram himself to inform the public that CVT Soft Serve ice cream — which is reportedly a family recipe passed down from his father — will not be given away for free, and that influencers, in fact, would have to “pay double.”

“We’ve decided to make this thing official with signage,” wrote CVT Soft Serve in its Instagram post, “We truly don’t care if you’re an Influencer, or how many followers you have. We will never give you a free ice cream in exchange for a post on your social media page. It’s literally a $4 item…well now it’s $8 for you.”

The Instagram post included a photo of Nicchi holding a sign, which read, “Influencers Pay Double.” The sign has reportedly been placed in the window of the ice cream truck.

Nicchi is not the only fed up business owner to have reacted to Influencers in this manner. Earlier this year, a beach club in the Philippines called White Banana Beach Club went viral after suggesting in a Facebook post that social media influencers get a real job.

“We kindly would like to announce that White Banana is not interested to ‘collaborate’ with self-proclaimed ‘influencers’ — and we would like to suggest to try another way to eat, drink, or sleep for free. Or try to actually work,” wrote White Banana Beach Club.

The beach club was met with a flood of positive responses from Facebook users who shared the same contempt for supposed Influencers.

“SPOT ON,” said one user in a top-liked comment, “I work in the restaurant industry and get asked all the time to ‘collaborate’, by which they mean, give me a free meal and I’ll post a picture of it on Instagram. Which my paying customers do all the time anyway. Self-proclaimed influencers do not create sales in this industry, they just take free stuff.”

CVT Soft Serve’s Instagram post also went viral, and — similarly to White Banana Beach Club — has now attracted new customers to the business after publicly taking a stand against influencers, according to a report by The Guardian.

“We’re the anti-influencer influencers,” said Nicchi to the Guardian. “It’s weird — but I think it’s really fun. I hope it inspires small businesses to hold their own and tell people to fuck off.”

“If Instagram went away tomorrow, our truck would still survive,” added Nicchi, “I don’t know that your ‘influencer’ business would.”

---