Katter - "We are a vanishing race" UTL COMMENT:- Bit of trivia Katter once called me about 18 years ago asking me about my Project in Central Qld lol.... For those who don't know he's a prominent politician in North Queensland. Not the biggest fan but he's a bit of a character... However I agree with him 100% on this....

Sure, parents who have the additional “village” support of grandparents are fortunate in many ways. But often that help comes with the headache of having to deal with an endless supply of advice they didn’t ask for. Even though these tidbits are given with good intentions, they can create more problems than they solve. To avoid these potential conflicts, DeeDee Moore, a grandma who runs the TikTok account @morethangrand, suggests that grandparents “pause” and ask themselves three simple questions before doling out any guidance. Question 1: “Was I asked for this input?” A grandma in colorful clothes. Photo credit: Canva“If parents haven’t specifically asked for your opinion they may not be open to receiving it,” says Moore. “No matter how valuable you think it is.”There can be a bajillion reasons why parents aren’t open to advice—maybe it’s simply the timing of it all, maybe they gravitate towards newer techniques, or maybe they just want to figure it out for themselves. Either way, those boundaries need to be respected. Otherwise the advice, however accurate and sound, usually falls on deaf ears anyway, wasting everyone's time. Question 2: “Is this about safety or preference?” A grandma smiling with her granddaughter.Photo credit: Canva“Safety concerns might warrant speaking up. But preferences like how they dress the baby or which foods they introduce first are their domain,” Moore says. Safety concerns might include pertinent news one might have stumbled upon, such as food or toy recalls. But other instances, like how babies are dressed or what foods they eat, fall under preferences, and therefore don’t really need to be brought up, especially if not asked. Question 3: “What’s my real motivation?” A grandma smiling with a hat onPhoto credit: Canva“Be honest with yourself: are you trying to be helpful or are you trying to show your expertise or even assert control?”It might not be easy to have this kind of soul searching (no one wants to think of themselves as manipulative or controlling) but it really is crucial for anyone trying to live a little more intentionally, not just grandparents. Moore concludes by affirming that “knowing when and how to give advice can transform your relationship with your adult children and helps you become the supportive grandparent they need.” After all, it’s all about providing support, not further stress. @morethangrand Advice from grandparents can be helpful--but only if it's useful and wanted. Save this for next time you are tempted to give advice to new parents, and see if it passes these three tests. Often, the best way to help parents is to let them figure it out on their own. Want more suggestions about how to truly support new parents? Sign up for our emails to get weekly tips, inspiration, and links to resources for supportive, involved grandparents. Follow the link in my profile to sign up now! #grandparents #grandparent #CommunicationTips #GrandparentsLove #AdultChildren #NewGrandparent #newgrandparents #newgrandma #Grandparenting #grannytok #HealthyBoundaries #Boomer #EffectiveCommunication #GentleGrandparenting ♬ original sound - MoreThanGrand As for parents currently dealing with unwanted advice, polite but firm boundary setting is usually best (if you can’t just laugh it off and move on, ideally). This might include acknowledging and validating their intentions or concerns, perhaps even sharing a bit of appreciation, then communicating your preferences. For example, "Thank you for your input, but I would really like to handle this on my own.” Obviously it’s not a strategy that will have a 100% success rate, but it’s certainly healthier than most alternatives. When you think about how passed down, word-of-mouth advice was essentially the only way our grandparents learned about parenting, it makes sense that they would be naturally inclined to follow that tradition. But parents have so much access to information now, be it through books, online forums and classes, and yes, even TikTok (not vouching for its credibility, just saying it exists). It doesn’t make a grandparent's insight any less valuable, but it does mean that a little adaptability is needed.

In the Mission Impossible movies, you can never quite trust anything you see. That's because the films make liberal use of futuristic and wild fictional mask technology. At least, I thought it was fictional.With a simple scan or photo of someone's face and a machine that fits in a briefcase, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team can 3D print a mask that's 100% indistinguishable from the real thing. Add in a little extra technology that helps the spies mimic others' voices and you've got the perfect disguise. Cruise can walk amongst the bad guys without fear, and his costars get the fun challenge of playing Tom Cruise playing themselves! It makes for incredible entertainment.I've always loved the movies and understood that part of the viewing experience is learning to suspend my disbelief. The gadgets, stunts, and disguises are a lot of fun, but pretty out there.And then I saw this video, and it opened the door to the new, and more than a little frightening, world of hyper-realistic silicone masks.In the clip shared by Science Girl on X, a man tries on a lifelike mask in real time, sliding it over his head, and in just a moment and with one small wiggle of the nose, he's completely transformed. I thought for sure the whole thing had to be AI-assisted, but no. The clip originated from a mask manufacturer called FL Silicone Mask. They've got tons of demonstrations all over their Instagram page.The final result of this mask in particular is a little unnerving, a little uncanny valley. There's something off with the way it looks but it's really hard to say what. The details are incredible, the eye-sockets seamless. The mouth can even move open and closed.In passing, without looking for it, you'd probably never have any idea that this person was wearing a mask. Just see for yourself. It's no wonder the post clocked over 27 million views on social media. — (@) Realistic masks like this one have actually been researched. Studies have shown that about one in five people can be fooled by someone in a realistic silicone mask.A research study out of the Universities of York and Kyoto asked volunteers to look at photographs of people wearing a realistic mask, and photos of people not wearing a mask. They had to guess which was which, and an astonishing 20% of the selections turned out to be wrong. Considering this was a controlled environment where participants were actively looking to see if someone was wearing a disguise, it's even scarier to Imagine how easy it would be to get fooled in real life when you aren't on your guard. - YouTube www.youtube.com The technology for hyper-realistic masks has grown by leaps in bounds in recent years. The fit and detail work on them is astonishing, so much so that it's becoming cause for concern.While Tom Cruise uses his disguises to save the world, not everyone is so altruistic. Police forces all over the world are facing more and more challenges with criminals using creative camouflage.The "Geezer Bandit" once terrorized San Diego banks for years, robbing them while disguised as an old man. He or she was never caught.Realistic silicone masks are expensive, usually costing several thousand dollars, and good ones are hard to find. Mesh masks that can be worn under a hoodie are a lot more cost-effective and incredible at fooling security cameras from a distance. Worse yet, masks can be made in the likeness of almost any person, making identity theft a serious concern. from Damnthatsinteresting There might be a bright side to this bizarre technological advancement, though.For years now, wigs have been helping people with various forms and causes of hair loss find their confidence again. It's a chance to blend in with the public and not feel othered by stares or field any questions. It allows people to just exist the same way anyone else does.Masks haven't been able to do the same thing because, well, they've always looked like masks. But you have to wonder if the technology has finally reached a tipping point where they too could become a source of confidence and normalcy for people with facial deformities or disfigurations.When mangled soldiers were returning from WWI by the hundreds, a British sculptor named Francis Derwent Wood opened up a shop that specialized in creating masks that would hide their scars. According to Forces News, "Wood's painted metal mask work was an attempt to give back to veterans the sense of self-worth and pride they once had in their appearance and help them 'fit in' back on civvy street." — (@) Maybe these stunningly-accurate silicone creations could do that for a new generation of people who could use a little help feeling like themselves again. No one should ever feel like they have to wear a mask or hide their face. But if you're going to wear one, it might as well be the best quality you can find!

“Zappa had no tolerance for it".

"I swear, the blues had gone".

Watch & share!

Have you noticed that America has been getting pummeled by a series of major natural disasters in recent days?  Dozens of immensely powerful tornadoes have carved trails of destruction across the middle of the country, Chicago was just hit by an “apocalyptic” wall of dust, and a plague of millions upon millions of crickets is causing chaos in Utah.  Some have pointed out that what we are currently going through is eerily similar to what the U.S. experienced during the days of the Great Depression in the 1930s.  Others are wondering if the weird behavior of the Sun has anything to do with the disasters that we are now seeing.  But what everyone should be able to agree on is that what we are witnessing right now is certainly not normal. Late last week, more than 70 tornadoes caused “catastrophic destruction” throughout the heartland of America… At least 28 people have died and dozens more were injured after a devastating wave of severe weather swept across the central United States late Friday into Saturday, leaving a trail of catastrophic destruction. More than 70 tornadoes, destructive hail, and powerful wind gusts caused damage across the middle of the country during the multiday severe weather outbreak that started Thursday, May 16. The state of Kentucky was hit harder than anywhere else. According to Accuweather, entire neighborhoods in the town of London were “reduced to piles of shredded wood and debris”… Large tornadoes have been reported in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana with hard-hit southeastern Kentucky reporting a majority of the fatalities. According to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, there were 18 confirmed deaths in the state connected to the severe weather. The fatalities include 17 people in Laurel County and one in Pulaski County. Images emerging at first light on Saturday from the town of London, about 75 miles south of Lexington, show entire neighborhoods razed with homes reduced to piles of shredded wood and debris, downed power lines, cars tossed all over the place and furniture strewn everywhere. When those tornadoes first occurred, they made headlines all over the nation, but most Americans have completely forgotten about them by now. But some of those communities in Kentucky will never recover from this. St. Louis was also hit by an absolutely massive tornado on Friday. That particular tornado had “maximum winds of 152 mph”, and it is being estimated that it caused about a billion dollars in damage… A single tornado that marched through the St. Louis area on a path of 22.6 miles with maximum winds of 152 mph caused five deaths, a few dozen injuries and approximately $1 billion in damage Friday. Mayor Cara Spencer gave the estimate of the damage at a Sunday news conference and said the recovery would be a long one. In a second news conference later in the day, she emphasized that financial donations were “badly needed.” At this stage in our history, “billion dollar disasters” happen so frequently that nobody really gets too fired up about them anymore. Last year, we experienced a “billion dollar disaster” about once every two weeks. We are being told that conditions will “return to normal” eventually, but there is definitely nothing normal about what we have been experiencing over the past couple of years. Just look at what just happened in Chicago.  It is being reported that the Windy City just issued “the first dust storm warning ever”… A dust storm that brought visibility to near zero swept across the Chicago area Friday, prompting the first dust storm warning ever issued to the city, officials said. The “wall of dust” that struck the South Side and other areas occurred on a day in which high winds of 50 mph were forecast, and as a storm system caused at least one deadly tornado in Missouri. The dust came in from the south, moving north, around 6:40 p.m. with winds of up to 60 mph, the National Weather Service said. We haven’t seen anything quite like this since the Dust Bowl days. On Friday, an “apocalyptic” wall of dust that slammed into Chicago was so large that it could literally be seen from space… An apocalyptic ‘wall of dust’ is barreling across Chicago — so vast, it’s visible from space. Satellite imagery shows the storm swallowing highways and buildings, plunging the city of 2.6 million people into darkness. It has triggered visibility warnings, halted traffic, and left Chicago residents choking on dust. When I first started warning that Dust Bowl conditions would be returning, a lot of people out there didn’t take me seriously. But now gigantic dust storms have been hammering cities in the Midwest. As the western half of the country continues to dry out, the gigantic dust storms will only get worse. Following the chaos that we witnessed on Friday, 29 tornadoes touched down in five states on Sunday… At least 29 tornadoes were reported across five states on Sunday, causing widespread damage in Colorado and Kansas. According to preliminary data, at least 16 tornadoes touched down in Kansas, 4 in Colorado, 4 in Oklahoma and Nebraska combined, and 1 in Texas. Severe damage was reported in the community of Grinnell in Gove County, Kansas. Visuals of the storm’s aftermath showed destruction and damage to several structures, including homes and outbuildings. The tornado blew the roof off the Catholic Church in Grinnell. Meanwhile, downed power lines caused closures on I-70, eastbound from Colby to Grinnell and westbound from Hays to Grinnell. In the old days, the immense damage caused by these tornadoes would dominate the news cycle for weeks. But most people will probably forget about these tornadoes by tomorrow. We have become numb to the endless destruction that is happening all around us. What is it going to take for people to start waking up? How about a plague of millions upon millions of “cannibalistic insects”?… Utah is under siege from a rapidly spreading infestation of Mormon crickets—cannibalistic insects that have returned in massive swarms. In areas like Fillmore and Tooele, residents describe the invasion as ‘apocalyptic’, with bugs covering roads, fences, walls, and even the sides of homes. Crushed crickets have made roads dangerously slick, leading to car accidents. In some counties, snow plows are being used to clear away tons of insects. If you live in Utah, you will need to brace yourself for a long summer, because authorities are “warning that the worst may be yet to come”… Farmers are already reporting early crop losses, and backyard gardens are being stripped overnight. In small towns, the air reeks of rotting insects. Officials are warning that the worst may be yet to come. Eggs that hatched in spring could lead to a second wave of crickets by summer. Throughout 2024 and 2025, the United States has been hit by major disasters again and again and again. Sadly, hardly anyone seems to want to acknowledge that what we are experiencing is highly unusual. There seems to be an overwhelming consensus that the period of extreme instability that we are currently witnessing is just temporary. But what if it isn’t temporary? We are being hit by one apocalyptic disaster after another, and I believe that what we have been through so far is just the beginning. Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com. About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s  books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today. The post Why Is The U.S. Being Hit By One “Apocalyptic Disaster” After Another Right Now? appeared first on End Of The American Dream.