e-Bike Explodes into Flames on London Underground Platform

I'll take "Reasons not to bring large lithium-ion batteries into enclosed spaces" for $1000, Alex. Ban e-bikes or we’ll strike, threaten London Underground drivers after platform fire

Firefighters responded to an burning e-bike, destroyed by the fire, with no reported injuries from the incident.

The Aslef union claimed that an internal London Underground investigation concluded that the e-bike was “only moments away from boarding the train”.

30 seconds later and he would have been on a train with the doors closed. All that toxic smoke could have killed people in an enclosed space.

The transit unions are now pushing for a ban on e-bikes. I doubt they will get it, since e-bikes are the darling of the environmental crowd.

So, if an e-bike bursts into flame, and puts off loads of toxic smoke, does it still count as a "zero emission" vehicle? (Hat tip to MGUY Australia.)

The End of the Movie Theater as a Viable Business

As I type this we only have an estimate for the domestic box office for the weekend, but it is telling a horrible story. The total North American box office for this weekend is estimated to be $50,336,771. Compare this to the weekend of March 16th, from 2019. Total box office for that 2019 weekend was $132,499,969

As Culture Casino covers in the video below, those numbers haven't been seen since 1997, and of course since they are not adjusting for inflation, those numbers were much better for 1997.

And this is not a singular bad week. Last weekend total box office was $54,904,384. The weekend before that, the weekend of February 28th, total box office was $53,657,775. Contrast that with a weekend in 2020, just before the lockdowns took over. The weekend of February 14th, 2020, total box office was $156,086,643. Sonic the Hedgehog, which debuted that weekend, pulled in $58,018,348. Even the previous weekend when Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) debuted was nearly $100 million with Birds of Prey bringing in just over $33 million.

The movie theater business cannot survive on the movies that Hollywood is producing. They need more than one big opening a year, and I'm not sure Hollywood will have one big release this year. It wasn't Captain America 4, It probably won't be Thunderbolts. DC's upcoming Superman film has a chance, but the initial test screenings were so poorly received that reshoots were ordered, and that is NEVER a good sign. Disney's Snow White staring Rachel Zegler is tracking for a horrible open. It has a small chance if parents, who aren't paying attention, take kids in droves. No one believes that will happen.

This is the Culture Casino video Box Office COLLAPSE: 2025’s Worst Weekend DOOMS Theaters!

Stationary Steam Engine from 1873

For the engineers and nerds in the audience, and other people interested in tech and history, or the history of tech. Also for anyone who likes steampunk, this is very cool.

Abandoned Steam Engine Brought Back to Life! - 1908 Industrial Time Capsule.

It is one hour and 17 minutes, but I think it is interesting.

This is the steam-powered water-pumping plant in Woburn, Massachusetts, which is a little ways north of Boston. It is a double-expansion, condensing steam engine. It was used to pump water to the local reservoir from about 1873 until 1908.

The engine wasn't preserved, so much as just left alone. It apparently took very little to get back up to running condition.

Clean water, available whenever we open a tap, is such a part of our lives, that we never even think about it, or what it would be like if it went away.

More info on the engine can be found at the following link: Woburn 1908 Steam Pump. There are a couple of shorter videos at that link if an hour is too long. Though the video embedded above is at least as good (almost as good, anyway) as the stuff you would find on PBS in the 1980s.

District Attorneys Want to Win At All Costs

If that means cheating, then they cheat. Cooke County, Texas murder conviction of Michael Newberry raises new questions | WFAA

At the center of the fight is District Judge Janelle Haverkamp, the former district attorney and now the county’s only elected felony court judge. In court filings, she is accused of withholding evidence in a 1997 capital murder case that sent Michael Newberry to prison for life.

Withholding evidence is against the law. More than that, it is evil. I seem to remember something about "bearing false witness," and lies of omission are still lies.

“When a prosecutor hides evidence, that dirties every other prosecutor,” John Warren, the current Cooke County District Attorney, told WFAA. “We won’t turn a blind eye to injustice.”

Court filings by Newberry’s attorneys paint a troubling picture. They claim his confessions were coerced, witnesses gave false testimony, and his own defense attorney had a secret conflict of interest. That attorney is now a county court at law judge, John Morris. He denies any wrongdoing.

Of course he denies wrongdoing. But given that the judge is the same person who prosecuted the case, how do we expect her to rule?

Like every bureaucracy ever, the Criminal Justice System is only interested in advancing its own interests. Justice? There are no points for Justice.

There is more. Cops continuing to question the defendant AFTER he asked for a lawyer. Witnesses changing their testimony, but that info NOT being given to the jury.

In short, they wanted to win. And the system didn't care about the law, only about winning, even if that meant cheating.

Now I don't know if Michael Newberry is guilty of what he was charged with. I do believe that the detectives, the prosecutors, and the courts didn't do everything they were supposed to do, but then I'm cynical when it comes to the government.

Use the NYC Subway? Maybe When It's Safe

I don't expect it to be safe in my lifetime. NYC overnight subway violence includes man beaten in mugging , another slashed over innocent bump: cops

The powers that be are still not putting bad guys in jail. So the law abiding are the only people paying the price for crime.

An outbreak of random violence erupted in the subway overnight, in which a thug slashed one man over an innocent bump and a gang of crooks pummeled a man during a mugging that netted just $15, cops said.

This the environment that the people trying to run NYC want to force people to use, by making it too expensive to drive in NYC.

First the eliminated lanes of traffic for pedestrian lanes and bike lanes. (Pedestrians can't walk on the sidewalks, because that is where the homeless people live, and sell the stuff they stole from Walgreens, or wherever.)

So when you reduce the number of lanes by 25 percent, congestion increases. Then they wanted to add congestion pricing to force cars to stay out of the city, because congestion is bad, or something. Makes perfect sense, to Democrats.

Well Trump just through a monkey wrench into the Congestion Pricing by revoking the federal governments OK to charge it on highways.

Here is a look at the state of the subways, though I think the title is a bit overstated. Trump Just Took Over NYC's Subway... Permanently. The video is from Cash Jordan, and its 17 minutes long.

Riding public transit is like picking up random hitchhikers. At least in NYC, that seems to be the level of safety. (I wish I knew where I first read that comparison.)

Darwin Award Near Miss Times 2

Every once in a while someone from the city, with no experience in the back-of-beyond, decides to "commune with nature." It rarely goes well. Father-son duo survives night in Utah wilderness after finding 'miracle' backpack

How it started.

Back at the beginning of January, 15-year-old Levi Dittman was planning to hike in the Red Mountain Trail area of Dammeron Valley. Stocking his hiking backpack with the best gear, first aid kit, snacks, and emergency supplies was a bit of a passion project for Levi.

He tossed the backpack somewhere he couldn't go, and then got trapped on a ledge overnight.

Apparently his $300 of supplies didn't include a US Geological Survey Topographical Map. I haven't purchased one in a long time, but I doubt they are more than $20 bucks even after all this time, and also you can download sections from the .gov for free.

“Looking at the map, it seems flat, which it’s not,” Levi said of the trail. “So, anyone else, do not try this.”

One month later...

On Monday, Feb. 17, Levi and his mother went to pick up his lost backpack at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, getting the bag back from Julian Hernandez.

“We ended up getting trapped in the same place where, a month ago, that 15-year-old got stuck,” Julian told ABC4.com.

Julian and his son got stuck in about the same place, and they found Levi's backpack, which was a godsend.

A miracle in the shape of the green backpack Levi spent about two months building up, filling it with Pop-Tarts, Clif bars, bandages, and even an emergency tent — all things that Julian said helped him out in a time of need.

I'm not saying you shouldn't get out of your suburban enclave and have an adventure. But understand that there are things you don't know. And even worse, the things you don't know that you don't know. Your cellphone will be useless in most wilderness areas. What navagation skills do you have? Do you have a topo map for the area you're going to hike? Do you even have a compass? A GPS? Anything? What emergency supplies do you have? Do you know how much water you need for a hike in dry air? Do you know what the overnight temperatures are going to be? Even if you aren't planning to overnight, maybe you should be a little prepared, since accidents do happen. And most important, does anyone know where you are going hiking, and when you are due back?

Hat tip to Wirecutter and When city folks go outside.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundup - 15 March

The Right Way starts things rolling with Top of the News

Space Ghost - Bill Whittle on Space Travel Video - Theo Spark
The Shift - Evi. L Bloggerlady

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

I think he’s right on this, folks.
At the very least.
Because of course it does.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 03.12.25 (Afternoon Edition)

Jim McCoy: Top Ten Pilots In SF
Upstream Reviews: Avengers – Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

EBL - The Way

The Way
I liked this movie a lot.

DaleyGator - LINKY LOVE TIME

Pirates Cove covers Voting by Proxy
The Other McCain is a Niner fan now?
Wirecutter is a GIF machine

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 14 March 2025: Engulf And Devour Edition

You can play Android games on Windows? (Liliputing)
Apparently Google Play Games for Windows launched three years ago - in beta, and only supporting a few games, but still - and I only learned of five minutes ago.

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 03.13.25 (Afternoon Edition)

Don Surber: Pax Trump
Glenn Reynolds: The Rout Continues, But Be Ready For The Counterattacks

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - The Schumer Shutdown Looms

At Just Facts Daily, an Overlooked Treasury Report Supports Musk’s Warning About Federal Deficits Sinking the U.S. Ace, Trump To Lay Off 1,300 Department of Education Layabouts and Slapdicks, Cutting Staff by Nearly Half

The Glibertarians - Thursday Afternoon Links

TODAY IN ANTI-DOGE LAWFARE: Federal judge in SF issues preliminary injunction to reinstate probationary employees, gets testy with DOJ lawyers. Also, a federal judge in DC grants expedited discovery in lawsuit against DOGE.

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 03.13.25 (Evening Edition)

Victory Girls: Give Us Our Slush Fund! Climate United Sues EPA After Money Is Frozen, Tim Walz Critiques His Own Campaign, and Randi Weingarten Deeply Unhappy Over Ed. Department Elimination

Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog - LinkSwarm For March 14, 2025

“Federal Judge Denies Request To Block DOGE From Accessing Treasury Data.” Good.
“Exposed: Secret Pact Between 14 Blue States, Left-Wing Groups, and NYC Law Firms.”

Vlad Tepes - Romania riots for freedom, testable prediction for Carney going forwards and more: Links post 1 for March 12, 2025

Something tells me that the Romanians have been here before. The difference is, who learned more. The tyrants, or the freedom seekers?

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 3/12/2025

Judge Denies Pulitzer Board’s Effort to Delay Trump Defamation Case
Florida circuit court judge has denied the Pulitzer Prize Board’s motion to delay President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against them on presidential immunity grounds

Small Dead Animals - Wednesday On Turtle Island

Woke America: The Democrat train wreck. The ethics of gay parenting. VDH – Pathetic opposition to Trump.
King Carney’s Canada: Carney’s Liberals. Blackie’s fetish thing.

Flopping Aces - Schumer turns Judas Iscariot as democrat civil war breaks out!

This has ignited a firestorm on the left.
CEO Branding Expert:

Once again from In The Mailbox 03.14.25

Baldilocks: Stream of Consciousness, also, Trump Is A Copycat
BattleSwarm: The Stupidest Example Of Musk Derangement Syndrome Yet

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 3/ 12 /25

The gargantuan federal deficit.
One Fact Missing From Every DOGE Story

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

Markers On The Road To The Green Energy Wall -- Electric Trucks Edition
The Root of America’s STEM Leadership Problem

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 03/13/2025

You know that Hamas-supporting student Trump is deporting? He has a British security clearance. And he is organizing protests in America, as a “leader” and “influencer.”

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Wednesday Memes … from MaddMedic, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #2405 from 90 Miles from Tryanny, and Memes and Things from The Feral Irishman.

Even Family Can Be a Threat

The gun-hating part of the Left loves to go on - at length - about how if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know than a complete stranger. There is a good reason for that. Man fatally shoots brother to save elderly mom in Los Angeles, police say | NewsNation

He broke in with a baseball bat and attacked his 80-year-old mother. While he was breaking stuff in her house with the bat, she managed to call her other son, who raced to home.

“When he arrived, he saw his mother on the floor,” [Samuel Marullo, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department] said. “He saw his [older] brother on top of her, choking her. He fired a warning shot with a shotgun that he brought from his business, and his brother continued to choke his mother.”

When the assault did not stop, that’s when he turned the shotgun on his older brother and fired a single shot, killing him.

Just because someone is family, does not guarantee that they will never be a threat.

As for the "someone you know" category, the list is quite large. Disgruntled ex-employees. Ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends. The coworker who morphed into a stalker. The guy from the coffee shop or the gas station that you see a few days a week. Just because you know someone, does not mean they will never be a threat to your safety.

The case remains under investigation, and the DA will make the final call on any charges, (this is California, after all). It is, however, clear that LAPD considers this justified. What would you do if someone, even a family member, was attacking your mother?

TDS Now Stands for Tesla Derangement Syndrome

People are crazy, and crazy people are dangerous NYC leftist sees a happy family driving in a Cybertruck, so he reacts how any unhinged lunatic would - Louder With Crowder

Imagine chasing after a car made by a company owned by a guy whose political opinions you don't like and not thinking that you are the assclown in the situation. You'd be this dinkus chasing after a Cybertruck in NYC. Whether or not he knows why he is angry is open for debate. Again, he lives in NYC. There is an above-average chance he is low-information, easily manipulated by social issues, and believes anything he sees on the Internet about people he is told to no longer like. Hence, cursing out a family in one of Elon Musk's creations.

Since Tesla vehicles have a lot of cameras, there is video of the idiot in question.

And following the trail of links to X, there is apparently an entire subreddit devoted to people who are flipping off Tesla owners. "Doing their part," or something.

This doesn't even cover the people doing actually destruction of property.

And just for fun... "People Are Crazy" by Billy Currington.

God is great,
Beer is good, and
People are crazy.

Tank!

I was surprised to find, when I looked, that I hadn't featured this song. I've had a couple of other songs from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, but not the main title song from the anime series. So I decided to fix that.

This song is "Tank!" by Seatbelts from the 1990s anime Cowboy Bebop.

The Other McCain on Chuck Schumer and the CR

Politics shouldn't be this stupid. Chuck Chickens Out: No Schumer Shutdown, CR Will (Barely) Pass Senate

Personally, I agree with Grover Norquist’s most famous quote: “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” But that doesn’t change the reality of how legislation gets passed, nor does it change the political calculus of how to maintain a Republican congressional majority.

There is a lot of insight in to how the Senate works, why Chuck Schumer is an idiot, and more. Click thru.

And I Missed Pi Day

Well, almost... The Political Hat brings us Happy Pi Day

Happy π Day everyone!

3.14. It is also Einstein's birthday.

Demonstrating that innovative thinking can save you decades of time, energy, and sanity, here is an explanation of how Isaac Newton revolutionized the number π!

Click thru for a video from Veritasium on how Pi is calculated. How it was calculated in antiquity, and up to the time of Sir Isaac Newton, and how Newton changed the way we calculate pi, literally saving decades of effort to expand accuracy. And develop a bit of mathematical insight along the way.

Let's Dance

An important (?) anniversary in Music. This song was a written by David Bowie, but turned from a folk song into a classic by Nile Rodgers, of Chic, who was also a producer for EMI. When the song was recorded for the album, it included the work of a then, little-known guitarist from Texas by the name of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

This is "Let's Dance" by David Bowie. It was the title song to his 1983 album. It was released as a single on March 14th of that year, one month before the album was released.

Friday Links - 14 March

Second City Cop starts us off with a story from the Windy City. Come to Chicago to Get Shot

How many other tourists are going to avoid Chicago like the plague once this victim tells everyone about minding her own business and catching a bullet for her troubles? With businesses fleeing, conventions exiting and homeowners rapidly becoming unable to afford the property taxes and crime, tourism is now a fourth pillar of tax revenue that is crumbling before our eyes.

Brian Lupo at Gateway Pundit - Former Las Vegas Officer Who Led Route 91 Shooting Investigation and Maui Police Chief During Lahaina Fires Named as Co-Defendant in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sexual Assault Lawsuit. One man at the front of 2 tragedies?

Once again, numerous claims of mismanagement arose following the fire. They included a lack of planning, ineffective or unavailable advanced warning systems, and potential evacuation routes blocked by debris and, in many cases, police officers. [SNIP]

The calls for administrative leave are in conjunction with [John Pelletier] being named as a co-defendant in a federal lawsuit levied against disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Trouble certainly seems to follow this man wherever he may go.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 12 March 2025: Horror Movie Edition

Donald Trump says the government will be treating acts of domestic terrorism against Tesla as domestic terrorism. (Tech Crunch)

Play stupid games, win stupid jail sentences.

Small Dead Animals - A Conspiracy Theory About the Lieberals

It is not in the best political interest of the Canadian Liberal Party to come to any kind of agreement with the Trump Administration anytime soon. Given the widespread outbreak of TDS amongst the Canadian population, it’s actually beneficial for them politically to remain antagonistic with Trump et al, no matter how much damage it does to Canadian businesses and families.

The Other McCain - Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner: So I Guess I’m a San Francisco 49ers Fan Now

Recall that I wasn’t much of a pro football fan until 2021, when Alabama quarterback Mac Jones got drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots. Four years later, he’s heading to the Golden Gate

Mike Rowe - Mike Albrecht—Got Wood? ( Ep. 428)

I’ve made no secret of the absurdity (and the hypocrisy, in my opinion) of opposing fossil fuel production in this country, while supporting the policies that allow us to import those very same fossil fuels from other places. In fact, I’ve described those policies as the “height of duplicity,” and the epitome of “Not-In-My-Backyard.”

How Should an 85-Year-Old Defend Himself from a 21-Year-Old Man?

If he didn't have a firearm, what should he do? Riverton Man Shot By 85-Year-Old Homeowner Faces Felony Intrusion Charge | Cowboy State Daily

First he got shot, then he got arrested.

A 21-year-old Riverton, Wyoming, man who was shot in the torso after wrestling with an 85-year-old homeowner last August appeared in court Monday, where a judge decided the state has enough evidence to keep prosecuting him for unlawful entry.

Riverton, Wyoming is about 230 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, or about 280 miles northwest of Denver.

The homeowner admits that opening the door was a mistake.

Williams told Cowboy State Daily at the time that he felt answering the door was a mistake.

“The guy was obviously irrational,” Williams said in an August interview with the outlet. “He was saying ‘they’ sent him to my house; ‘they’ said he owns my house, and I don’t – crazy, crazy stuff.”

The 21 year old was much larger than the homeowner, who stands 5 feet 3 inches tall.

There are a lot more details; click thru.

So what should an 85-year-old do against a young man, who is 6 inches taller than he is.

Without the means of self defense, the old and the infirm will be at the mercy of the young and the strong. People of small stature will be at the mercy of the large, and anyone can be attacked by a mob.

A gun is no guarantee of success in such a case, but in this instance it made a tremendous difference.

Hybrid 3D Printed Guns

Impro Guns brings us an update that contains a LOT of pictures. More Hybrid 3D Printed Guns Seized in Brazil (AR9, SMGs)

Hybrid in the sense that some contains elements designed long ago by Professor Parabellum, and other parts that are newly designed for 3D Printers. (Yes, Virginia, you can build firearms without a 3D Printer.)

Quite a number of these appear to be showing up in recent months. Above is a hybrid 3D-printed DIY AR9 which was seized March 10 2025. This particular model (designed by Professor Parabellum) uses a section of steel tubing running the length of the upper receiver.

AR-9s are usually semi-automatic firearms, while submachine guns are fully automatic.

The photos include a square-tube AR-9 variant, and the 3D printers (and some magazines) seized from a location producing magazines for the rifles.

It does makes sense for criminal operations to distribute manufacture of components across various locations.

Click thru. There are a lot of high-quality photos.

12 Minutes Is a Long Time To Wait If Bad Things Are Happening

Especially in a country where self-defense is pretty much illegal. Toronto’s 911 response times improving after peaking in 2023, Olivia Chow says

The average response time is now 12.6 minutes, down from 19.6 minutes this time last year, the Toronto Police Service noted in a release. According to Chow, the average 911 response time peaked to 26.7 minutes in October 2023.

26 minute wait for a response to a 911 call means that you are pretty much on your own. Canada doesn't recognize the human right of self-defense, so that makes it even worse.

At least they recognize that they need to hire more police, firefighters and paramedics. That won't happen tomorrow.

Even a 12 minute response time is a long time to wait if you're being attacked, or your house is on fire, or your mother had a heart attack, or ...

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. Help won't be there instantly.

Will There Be Consequences for the High School Track Meet Attack?

From Cullen Linebarger at The Gateway Pundit we get an update on an attack that happened at a high school track meet. UPDATE: Teen Who Viciously Attacked High School Track Star During Virginia State Title Race Charged with Assault - Local NAACP Issues an Outrageous Defense of Attacker

You've probably seen, or read about, the race. A 4 X 200 relay in which one runner struck another runner across the back of the head with the baton. Kaelen Tucker was struck hard enough to suffer a concussion and possible skull fracture.

But Alaila Everett, the athlete responsible for the assault, astonishingly claimed the clear-cut video was misleading and came up with the most insane lie possible to defend her actions.

More video has been released from various angles, and it is - in my opinion - clear that she hit Tucker in the head on purpose, as Tucker passed her.

WAVY reports that Everett is now facing assault and battery charges for attacking Tucker, which the Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Office confirmed to the Daily Mail.

I won't repeat the NCAAP excuse here. You can click thru if you care for their insanity.

The attack is clear evidence of the decline of civilization. The consequences are at least a sign that law and order may be coming back to Virginia. Or maybe it never left Lynchburg.

Lynchburg, Virginia is about 110 mile drive west of Richmond, or about a 200 mile drive west from Norfolk.

I'm old enough to remember when competition in high school sports was supposed to instill good virtues in people. Winning gracefully. Losing with dignity. Teamwork. Seems like those days are gone, and all kids learn today is winning at all costs. And definitely don't tell the truth. Even if you're caught on video.

MMA Fighter Loses to Armed Homeowner

Maybe he thought his hand-to-hand skills would ensure he came out on top. MMA Fighter Tries Breaking Into a Home. Armed Resident Makes Him Regret It.

Langston Sykes was a mixed martial arts fighter. It didn't help. I don't follow MMA, but some of the news stories listed him as "low ranked," while other stories called him "popular."

The victims told law enforcement that Sykes, who was known to them, “attempted to break into the home and was successful.” There were multiple adults and children in the home at the time. “One of the adults fired multiple shots at the intruder when he rushed toward them,” the police department said.

God made men. Samuel Colt made all men equal.

Lake City, Florida is near the intersection of Interstate 75, which runs north south, and Interstate 10 which runs east west. It is about a 60 mile drive west of Jacksonville, or about 150 mile drive north of Orlando.

The investigation is ongoing, but cops see it as a case of self-defense.

“Based on the investigation, it appears this may be a case of a resident acting in self-defense during a home invasion,” said Police Chief Gerald Butler.

And this didn't take place in New Jersey.

Hat tip DaleyGator and MMA fighter Breaks in Home…

And dies from an acute case of lead poisoning