READING TIME: 3 minutes

SUMMARY: News flies through the ether at speeds approaching those of light. I’m retired, and I still can’t keep up, and dammit, it interrupt my napping time! My naps, confoundit. Is nothing sacred? Still, it’s been fun to collect up pieces of news that I thought were interesting and fun and concerning and other stuff that we all might could’ve missed. Here’s what I’ve gathered since the last ICYMI post, and, yes, I’ve got two articles for the next one already.

KEY TERMS: Drought, Alice in Wonderland, Cannabis,Tariff, Reimbursement, Corporate Welfare, Anger, Venting, Relaxation, Microchips, Rick Rolled, Lucy

COMMENTS: Let us know what you’ve been reading — news or otherwise — in the comments!

  1. Worldwide Drought?
  2. Oh for the days when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller
  3. Cannabis: Too Good to be True?
  4. Tariffs: Corporate Welfare because Of Course
  5. If You’re Angry, Don’t Vent
  6. If You’re Angry 2
  7. Turn It Off and On Again
  8. Right Up There With Getting Rick Rolled
  9. What did Human Proto-language Sound Like
  10. Image Attribution

Worldwide Drought?

Is that a thing? Could we enter a worldwide drought? I knew we were having water shortages in the US and around the world, and that we have had serious droughts, sometimes lasting decades. But the entire world all at once? While Trump is in office?

If he handles a worldwide drought as well as he’s handling mass deportation, the Iran War, the 6 January Insurrection, or the #COVID19 pandemic, well, then, we’re all dead, right?

Oh for the days when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller

I had never heard of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, but apparently, it is a thing. It is a condition of unknown cause and irregular duration in which one’s perceptions are greatly disturbed. People with AIWS will see objects looming larger than they were just moments before over them, the faces of those about them distort into grotesque shapes, the speech of others slow to a snail’s pace, or see others as if rendered by AI with an arm protruding from their head or misshapen and mangled fingers.

It all sounds terribly disturbing, but sufferers can live fairly normal lives, learning to ignore the odd distortions that occur periodically in their perceptions.

Cannabis: Too Good to be True?

I’m a Gen Jonser, meaning we jonesed and knew that weed got you through times of no money far better than money got you through times of no weed. We also did more than our fair share of Mexican Green Dirt — not very potent marijuana — and Maui Wowie — very potent marijuana. But, none of that compares to the THC-levels that are available to us today.

Teen brains have not reached their full maturity with the most complex and some would say important region, the frontal cortex and the pre-frontal cortex not reaching full maturity until your mid-twenties. So, of course, no one should be surprised to find out that flooding it with potent THC can cause long term mental health problems.

It may not be as bad as alcohol, but we should all use with caution… If we use at all, which I, for one, do not.

Teen Cannabis Use Doubles Psychosis and Bipolar Risk

Tariffs: Corporate Welfare because Of Course

A tariff “refund” mostly goes to whoever wrote the tariff check: the importer of record. That’s not the same person who paid more at the register. So refunds — if they're offered — might sound like consumer relief, but in reality, they're corporate windfalls.

— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) 2026-02-21T17:46:44.709Z

Trump never parts with money. All of the money in the US Treasury is his in his mind, especially whatever is on the tariff shelf because his jenius put it there. Right after the SCOTUS decision, it was maybe money goes to the companies that paid it at the point of entry of the goods, and it was up to them to reimburse the consumer. See the enduring #COVID19 price increases due to supply chain disruptions.

Now, of course, the administration is begging off of reimbursing anyone because they just don’t have the records or the administrative prowess to do so. These are the same people who couldn’t return stolen children to their parents during their infamous family separation policy. Why would this be any different.

If You’re Angry, Don’t Vent

Way back in the stone age, I was taught in how-to-be-a-social-worker school that catharsis was a thing in dealing with emotion. Turns out — turned out before I got out of school — not to be a thing after all. Now’re told that the most effective way is to relax. That’s it. Relax.

A good reason to learn to meditate, breathing techniques, and progressive relaxation techniques. Seriously. It works.

If You’re Angry 2

Another way to deal with anger, frustration, and stress — and in Trump 2.0, who isn’t? — is to do something for others, to do take action, do something. There are lots of organizations out there that will help you do just that, but one of them is Vote Save America run by some Obama WH alum. They will help you run for office, donate to candidates, register to vote, volunteer for campaigns, promote democracy during the Mid-Terms and beyond.

Turn It Off and On Again

Why does your computer work sometimes and not others? Why does it only not work once in a longish while? Why does it crash? Why does turning it off and on again actually work? As it turns out there are microscopic and smaller defects in chips and these don’t often cause problems, but once and a while…

They’re called “mouse bites.” Maybe Republicans are right. Maybe everything is a fury.

Mystery solved.

Right Up There With Getting Rick Rolled

Tengrain over on Mock Paper Scissors’ — what’s the hand sign for mock? Is there a lizard and Spock version? — gave us this gem. Follow the steps:

What did Human Proto-language Sound Like

I know, you never thought about it, but now you are, and you wanna know. What did Lucy and her mates talk about? What slang did they use? How sophisticated was their language? Well, now scientists have made an educated guess based on organic findings of remains and what other animals and humans sound like. To have a listen, follow the link to the BBC. I know you won’t. Folks rarely do. I can see it on the dashboard, so gotcha!

Image Attribution

This image was found on a Medium article using a Creative Commons search.