Yeah, fuck that guy.

I generally agree with this, and the PRC is always sticking their nose where it doesn't belong and violating people's human rights and threatening other countries' sovereignty and I don't have a single good thing to say about them. But if there's one group that creeps me out more than the CCP, it's the Falun Dafa. Shen Yun, while objectively impressive and entertaining, is just the fundraising arm for this incredibly scary cult.

O god that’s diabolical 😂😂

There were earlier agreements, but the Colorado River Compact was negotiated in 1922, after all 7 signatory states had been admitted to the union. They've pretty much been arguing about it and re-litigating it ever since, but as I understand it the main problem was that the rainfall estimates they used when drafting it were way too high. It just happened to be during an exceptionally wet time period that they took their measurements, and so they allocated water that never did come. And, yeah, they've known this for a long time.

Well, I don't have a dog in this fight (pun intended), because I don't do group rides. But it doesn't seem all that unreasonable to request that people not be expected to deal with your dog without prior clearance. Like showing up at the trailhead before you mention if you want to bring your dog along puts people who don't want to ride with your dog in an awkward position. To me it's just common courtesy. And even if he didn't have a daughter who was scared of dogs--take that out of the equation entirely--the behavior described in the article of the dog owners whose dogs were off-leash in a place that (presumably) required them to be on-leash is not acceptable. If your dog is off-leash in an area where leashes are required, you ought to have 100% voice command of that dog. As the author said, "usually" just doesn't cut it.

I'm so sorry. That sucks!

We should just call it making a "bike-free car lane" and do the exact same thing as putting in a bike lane and then these troglodytes would love it.

Not if people don't watch it, it won't.

But, sigh, people will watch it, won't they?

Oh, good, I bet that they would on the prediction markets.

Just kidding. I didn't do that. But I wonder if somebody did.

Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and its Struggle to Survive by Chris Horton. Being a student of Taiwan history, there not a whole lot in it that I wasn't already aware of, but the writing is simply excellent. He's a great explainer and he deftly weaves the events that shaped history into a compelling narrative. Also, he was able to get sit-down interviews with some of the giants of Taiwan's democratization movement before they passed away, so the stories are first hand. This book is a gem so far.

Yeah, cost is one of the issues they discuss. Taiwan is generally pretty affordable, especially for food. But compared to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and maybe South Korea, the motels aren't really such a great value. I've stayed in some nice ones in Taiwan, but they can be pricey. I've also stayed in a lot of cheap fleabags. 😁 Another issue they talk about is labor shortages in hospitality. I believe that is also a problem in Japan. The solution is so easy: just let more migrant labor come in to work the hospitality jobs, but both Taiwan and Japan seem a little hesitant to do that. It also talks a bit about medical tourism, and how Taiwan doesn't open their medical system up to this possibility. Although if you need medical attention here, it's pretty affordable even without the state insurance.

If I'm not mistaken, the ferries from China only run to Kinmen Island, which I've never been to. I think if you want to get to Taiwan proper, you'd have to fly from there. There is a whole lot to see in Taiwan. I've been coming here for 25 years and lived here for 2 and I still haven't gotten to everything I want to. If you have a short time, there's not much need to stray too far from Taipei. You can catch a train or a bus to lots of great places in new Taipei City like Xifen and Pingxi. If you like the beach, Tamsui is worth a visit. Yangming Mountain is also very scenic and accessible from downtown Taipei.