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cross-posted from: https://feddit.online/c/mildlyinfuriating/p/1784290/interesting

Es ist Hitzwoch 🚰 meine Kerle! Trinkt mehr Wasser

@dach

This is really stupid, because I've never believed in anything supernatural or astrology-adjacent at all.

But I've been working on a satirical plugin for YouTrack (Jetbrain's alternative to Jira) called Scrum Tarot, the equally accurate alternative to Scrum Poker. So I had to kinda look into what sort of Tarot cards exist, and played around with online tarot drawing tools like dailytarotdraw.com. And while the project is now in a "I've lost interest so I'll never finish it" sort of state, I do keep coming back to that tarot website.

It's just ..fun? Like obviously I know this stuff only works because the description of the cards is purposely vague so that your brain fills in the gaps and makes them fit whatever situation you're in. But drawing three at the end of the day and seeing how I'll interpret them has been very meditative and actually kind of a good way to figure out the things that weigh on my mind without realizing.

In a statement on social media, Trump said: “Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.”

A day earlier, the House of Representatives approved the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which is intended to lower rents and home prices by reducing federal regulations, streamlining environmental reviews, speeding up the construction process and curbing the influence of corporate landlords by limiting their ability to purchase single-family homes.

Data center operators largely ignored requests by state agencies to report their water use, angering lawmakers who said they need the information to craft policies to protect the state’s water supply.

Only 17% of the 341 data centers operating in Texas responded to a survey from the Texas Water Development Board last year, the agency’s water supply planning director told lawmakers at a committee hearing on Tuesday.

Temple McKinnon said the companies were required by law to respond, but the state agency lacks enforcement power to compel them to do so. That could be taken up by the attorney general’s office, said state Rep. Cody Harris, a Palestine Republican who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee.

Announced a short time ago, the Callback 8020 is seen as a means of combating the addictive lure of the modern-day smartphone. While it supports Android apps via its SailfishOS, it disables features like web browsing and social media by default.

However, despite the noble quest for a 'digital detox', the phone met with a somewhat frosty reception online (no pun intended), with many comparing it to an elderly relative's flip phone. In our poll, 70 percent of you said you wouldn't be buying one.

She was the worst... her legacy is a shit stain

In a Monday morning decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a formerly incarcerated individual, denying his right to sue the state of Louisiana for violating his Rastafarian beliefs by forcibly shaving his hair. The case is notable in that, while this iteration of the high court has made numerous decisions defending right-wing Christians’ purported First Amendment religious freedoms…

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^...Where^ ^we^ ^came^ ^in?^

One thousand and twenty one days ago, because I thought you might like to go to the show, I made my very... second... post in this series. All in all it might have been more appropriate if it were my first, but followup albums are usually better anyway. That was for the CRKT Provoke Zap, and it's post that's so old and busted that it doesn't even have a headline picture. I've kept promising to redo that one with better lightning and better photography and more words, and, well. I still haven't.

So anyway, here's this.

Now we've come full circle in a very roundabout fashion. Right back to the beginning, except... not the same.

This is the CRKT Provoke EDC, and if you're wondering if you ought to buy a Provoke Zap for general carry-about duty and $75 less: No, you shouldn't. You should buy this instead.

There have been lots of attempts to finagle the karambit idea into being a folding knife over the years, some better than others. The classic Provoke and indeed its Zap incarnation are probably among the better runups at this idea, but they're still kind of a single purpose apparatus. The Provoke EDC, on the other hand, is a karambit that somebody took the karambit out of. Cold, perhaps, as a razor blade, it ditches the hawkbill vibe and instead has a flat ground and more traditionally sharped drop point blade made of D2 that's about 2-1/2" long (63.5mm) with 2-1/4" or so (57.15mm) of usable edge.

It does, however, retain the original's rather byzantine "kinematic morphing action" mechanical arrangement that sees the blade transiting up and around and forward on a pair of swinging armatures rather than doing anything as predictable as merely pivoting. It's another Joe Caswell design, just like the original Provoke.

Unlike the Zap and its various grivory/fiber reinforced nylon bodied brethren, the Provoke EDC is one of CRKT's premium all aluminum jobbies. That results in a pleasingly refined action and a much less Fisher Price feel in the hand by comparison, although you do pay $185 for the privilege of holding it. But I'm alright on that score, Jack. Just keep your hands off of my stack.

Because of or possibly despite that, the Provoke EDC feels dense and solid at 3.47 ounces or 98.4 grams.

What with the big old ring on the back, the intended method still seems to be thumbing it open like this, which results in you holding it in this reverse grip sort of style. It's also possible, although decidedly less slick, to deploy it forward with your pinky landing in the ring instead if, for purest sake of example, you'd like to use your knife without winding up looking like Johnny in front of everybody.

Closing it again is more of a faff about. There's a toggle at the back you have to push down, which as far as I can tell is purpose built to be absolutely impossible to reach with the same hand as you're holding the knife in. It's still a lot easier to find and use than the one on the Provoke Zap, though, so it's got that going for it.

The Provoke's aluminum armatures interlock just about perfectly in both their rear and forward positions, presumably being obsessively and precisely shaped in order to do so. I hope somebody gave old Joe a nice bonus for his trouble. A set of notches are cut into the tips of these which at first blush appear to be just decadent visual frippery, but if you commit to holding the thing frontways around are revealed to serve as jimping for your grip. There's also a detent built into the mechanism for the closed position by way of the lock toggle half-resting in a notch cut out into the heel of the rear armature.

There's a clip on the back that's pretty much flush against the surface when it's not in use. There's a gap underneath it towards the back, and if you mash it right at that point the tip of it pops up so you can slide it over the seam in the pocket of your pants or your pinhole burned favorite silk shirt, or whatever else it is you've got.

Here's a gratuitous demonstration of that, because I'm certainly not showing you weirdos my pants today. The clip can theoretically handle fabric of just about any thickness but it's a real thumb workout to get it to open more than maybe 1/8", especially if you're doing it from the angle of actually trying to stow it in anything resembling a sane and socially acceptable position. If you've got jeans or any other thick fabrics, this can turn into a two handed job. Drawing it is nice, though, owing to the lack of any grip greebles on the back surface of the clip. It stays on by sheer spring tension, of which it has a more than adequate supply. Grabbing it in the way you're naturally inclined by pinching through the ring with your thumb and index finger also automatically puts it in position to open it into that reverse grip.

The Inevitable Conclusion

Your new favorite axe, a toy in the attic?

Or all in all, is it just another knife on the wall?

The Provoke EDC is a great option if you have the cash to burn and want to be able to rock a kinematic folder while wasting neither your money nor patience on a nasty horrible knockoff, and would also prefer a knife that doesn't make you look like the Park Street Slasher whenever you bust it out. It even comes in two colorways, this blue anodized variant as well as a black one. But the black one has a coated blade, so we know which one the correct choice is.

^Isn't^ ^this...^