They do, and as a Canadian, they should know that fellow Canadian John Hopps invented the 1st pacemaker. He's even considered the father of biomedical engineering. I dug through trying to find out if he coined the term "heartpacer," no such luck. It sounds like a Dutch translation to me.

I feel like it's kind of odd to show the main character shilling fake products during an Upfront, where you are courting advertisers so that they can purchase blocks of advertising time "up front." I mean, it's a little meta, but also potentially confusing if you are trying to put your product next to Fallout's.

That's the part of The Hulk we are all just told to ignore.

I don't mind her noises when she's in the prime universe, but her mirror universe sex-kitten shtick is very off putting.

Pets help us understand our own mortality in ways that continue to surprise me. When I was young, the first pet I lost was a young cat, just a few years old. I raised her from a kitten that was probably too young to ween so we had a close bond. She was indoor/outdoor and was attacked by a neighbor's dog during the day when I was gone. Holding her and watching her die broke me, like she waited all day to die in my arms. She was mine and I felt like I let her down. Woof, it hurt. Still does.

But while I was holding her, our family dog (Allison) was next to me. She was older than I was, a feisty Lhasa Apso that had lost her ability to hold her bladder. We diapered her: we'd cut a hole in human diapers to pull her tail through to keep the hardwoods from getting ruined. She died a year later, after living a full life.

I buried both of them in the front yard, under a couple of pines that bordered our neighbor's pet cemetery. Both times, digging those holes gave me the time I needed to be able to return them to the earth and say goodbye. I learned so much from their passing. It is the last gift our pets give us, their final act of love.

Now, older, with kids of my own, we have Sadie, who I am looking at as I write this. She's a rescue, probably a golden mixed with some border collie, at least 16 years old. Her sister died last year and it was the first close death my kids experienced. Her passing taught my kids the alchemy of aging gracefully, the privilege of old age. Now, they find charm in Sadie's rickety hips and excuse her incontinence. Getting old is okay; we are lucky to be able to do it. Watching your loved ones get old is a privilege we should cherish.

Edit: I wanted to thank OP for posting this. Reading your observations of your aging cat brought It all forward.

Azalea, hellebores, and sarcococca that have been suggested won't survive in your zone. There are some rhododendron that can survive, and those might be your best bet.

What zone are you in?

Musically, this is not their most cohesive album. Their top 5 on Spotify is a good introduction to the hits. It's not my speed, but Uriah Heep has been consistently in my Dad's top 3 since I was a kid. He does that High Fidelity John Cusack thing where he fills empty air with "alright, top 5 70s artists in order of discovery" or something similar.

My Thermador is no different, shitty ice maker.

We all have to ask why this is happening, because it sure as hell isn't because of immigration or fentanyl. If the powers that be are trying to trigger another Great Depression, what is their end goal?

In the US, since the 60s, we have been steadily marching towards the complete privatization of all industries. With the current administration clearly dismantling the federal government and saying things like opening up the public parks for private interests, I think this is their end game. The first Great Depression led to strong government intervention; now, with a mere shell of a federal government, the only ones poised to act after a second Great Depression would be entrenched corporations.

They will buy all the land from bankrupt farmers and carve the US up into smaller corporate States. Individual Americans will own nothing. The corporate States will jockey back and forth to drive profits up at the expense of all natural and labor resources.

It will be hell.

A US made drone designed to be adopted by law enforcement/military with a hefty price tag is probably relying on robust public funds to procure such drones. Lucky for us n'er-do-wells, those public funds are being DOGEd. Right? ...right?

He's great. I first heard him on a Ninja Tune compilation. I got to see him in a 100 seater doing a poetry night. All snaps!