Squatch’s Open Thread 14/11/2015

Well yesterday started out fine but by the end of physio I had a size 9 problem!  As I was putting on my shoes, I tripped over my own feet and went down hard on my bad knee, hit my good knee, ending up on the floor on my stomach.  I jarred my right arm and shoulder, and later on, I noticed that my toes on the right foot are sore.  I may have sprained my big toe. So here I sit with a headache and sore body finishing my posts.  As TomCat said when I told him "Sounds like we need a wheelchair built for two.​" LOL dude!!!  So now you know why TC calls me Bigfoot!  Unfortunately, the fall did not scare the cough away.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:16 (average 4:25). To do it, click here. How did you do? 

Short Takes

The Atlantic — Saudi Arabia produces much of its electricity by burning oil, a practice that most countries abandoned long ago, reasoning that they could use coal and natural gas instead and save oil for transportation, an application for which there is no mainstream alternative. Most of Saudi Arabia’s power plants are colossally inefficient, as are its air conditioners, which consumed 70 percent of the kingdom’s electricity in 2013. Although the kingdom has just 30 million people, it is the world’s sixth-largest consumer of oil.

Now, Saudi rulers say, things must change. Their motivation isn’t concern about global warming; the last thing they want is an end to the fossil-fuel era. Quite the contrary: they see investing in solar energy as a way to remain a global oil power.

As noted in the article above, Saudi Arabia's use of oil is very inefficient — it is used to generate electricity for example.  By "getting into" renewables, they stand to extend their fossil fuel business.  Earlier this year, the following appeared in Al Arabiya.

Al Arabiya — The energy arm of Saudi-based conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel has acquired Spanish-based solar developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, (FRV) the largest such firm in the Gulf.  …

“We will continue to pursue further acquisitions in the renewables sector in support of the MENAT [Middle East, North Africa and Turkey] region’s growing power demand,” said the conglomerate’s chairman Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel.

Whatever we think of Saudi Arabia's motivation for upping the ante on solar and other renewables, the time has come for everyone to embrace renewables.  Cick through for the rest of these two articles . . . The Atlantic and Al Arabiya.

Alternet — On Thursday evening, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gave a speech launched a 95-minute rant to the faithful in Iowa and it was … something else.

He threw insults at Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina, said Marco Rubio is “weak like a baby,” he promised to “bomb the shit out of” oil fields in Iraq and Syria, and called the media “scum” and “garbage.” But he directed most of his venom at—go figure, his closest rival in the race—Ben Carson. 

Click through for the rest of Trump's diatribe.  I am totally incredulous that any sane person could support Trump. Absolute insaniTEA!

Huffington Post — When Alex Malloy caught a cab in Manhattan just after 11 p.m. on Friday, he did not expect anything out of the ordinary.

After he stepped inside, the driver immediately said, “Thank you.” Malloy, 23, told The Huffington Post he wasn't sure what to make of it at the time, but would later write that the conversation that followed was “one of the most heartbreaking moments I’ve ever experienced in my whole life.”

I was moved by this story like so many others who retweeted Alex Malloy's tweet.  We all occupy this earth; if we are cut, we bleed; if we are thirsty or hungry, we each need water and food to survive; if we are hurt, we reach out for solace.  Click through foe Alex's story.

My Universe — h/t Joanne Dixon — Now normally, I don't comment here but today is an exception.  There is a story that goes with this video.

Pet 360 — A tiny, weeks-old cat is being heralded as the "Miracle Kitten," and with good reason. Cassidy was found abandoned in the woods of British Columbia, missing his back legs and fighting to stay alive in the wilderness. Thankfully, someone found poor Cassidy and alerted the non-profit rescue organization TinyKittens in Fort Langley, British Columbia. Charlotte Roche, the operator of TinyKittens, helped capture him and his brother Topper and brought the badly injured cat to the Mountain View Veterinary Hospital. But, as reported by the local paper theLangley Advance, the odds of survival were stacked against him because of his major injuries and the fact that he was emaciated and suffering from a septic E. Coli infection. 

Dr. Renee Ferguson of Mountain View Veterinary Hospital tells Pet360, "Cassidy is a sweet little guy with a giant spirit.  He is a pleasure to exam and he has been so patient with his many rechecks and procedures.  When we met Cassidy, he was so weak from his infected, partially amputated back legs and starvation, that he it was difficult to assess the severity of the problems that he had.  We had to treat the infections, hydrate him and give him nutritional support.  If Shelly hadn’t taken Cassidy in that day, I don’t know how much longer he would have survived.  We felt more confident about his health after about a week.  We are now just consulting with specialists to determine what is the best plan for Cassidy and his legs for  the longterm."

Click through for the rest of the story.  I know the vet in the story, Dr Renee Ferguson. She is excellent and was great with my Scooter who was so very sick. She was doctoring in Port Coquitlam at the clinic I've gone to for 20+ years.  A week before Scooter died (age 17 years), Dr Ferguson gave him a spa day.  She could not believe how he perked up.  He loved having baths and was a very mellow boy in his dotage.