I thought this would be a good thread to have. A way to share news stories and talk about people who have done some pretty amazing things.

I am ashamed to say I am only just hearing about the work of Mashudu Tshifularo. I want to start with him for this thread.

In 2019, Dr Tshifularo and his team successfully pioneered a transplant of a patient’s middle ear to cure his deafness, making it the first in the world. The patient was a 35-year- old man who suffered hearing loss as a result of a car accident that damaged his inner ear. Using 3D technology, he was able to recreate the bones -the hammer, anvil , stirrup, and the ossicles that make up the inner ear, replacing the damaged ones.


The operation was performed by Professor Mashudu Tshifularo and his team from the University of Pretoria Faculty of Health at the Steve Biko Academic hospital in Pretoria on March 13, 2019. The surgery was successfully completed in one and a half hours and was completed through endoscopy, a less invasive method of surgery.

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You can read more about him and his success here.

California’s traffic jams are legendary, but this is one for the books.

A record 62 cargo ships are waiting to dock at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and are stuck floating off the coast amid a serious supply chain crunch that could mean fewer toys under the Christmas tree this year.

The problem reflects a combination of growing cargo volumes, a labor shortage and COVID-related safety measures that slow the handling of each ship. About one-third of all imports into the U.S. pass through the ports each year.

The Port of Long Beach has broken monthly records for how much cargo has passed through for 12 of the last 13 months, with 32 percent more cargo processed this year than in 2020, according to the trade publication Supply Chain Dive. Backups at the port as cargo ships wait for berths have been common all year, and have only grown as the peak fall shipping season arrived.



@Jay get your stuff together.

The Thread Title says it all...Let's Go!

For me, it's when the guy treats it too much like an interview and grills me with questions. Questions are a great way to get to know someone, but it needs to flow smoothly in conversation. I don't want to feel like I'm on the witness stand lol

I know people who have gone through divorce. Some of them did go through couple therapy, while others did not. Some of them still got divorces, but some did stick together for a while longer.

Anyway, would you go through therapy first if you feel a divorce is coming?

And this might be why

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I always liked the concept of being friends with someone first before dating them. It establishes a bond without the entanglements of lust, romance, and infatuation. It doesn't come easy though. Most of the time, you will know if you are interested in making something more or not right away and if you hold back on that, you risk losing them to someone else.

If being friends first was an option for you, would you take that option?

When I was younger, I would dress up and go door to door for candy. Standard childhood experience.

As an adult, I really don't do anything. I am not into the party scene and as much as I do enjoy dressing up, I am not down to go to parties. If I happen to work on Halloween, I will wear some cat ears or something. The clinic I work at allows some minor costume wear which is fun. I would love to be able to pass out candy but I have to wait until I have a proper house for that. Hoping I can swing something next year. Even if I have to get a friend to pay "rent" and do a house share with me. It would be worth it to finally own property. That and I'd love to decorate for the holidays.

Anyway, do you do anything on or for Halloween? Do you have any plans this year?

Did anyone hear about this?

Someone I know mentioned it and I was looking into it more. I can't say I am surprised. What worries yet fascinates me is this mention of a "shadow economy". I always felt like there were things going on that we everyday people have no clue about. The fact that the middle class is disappearing in places like the US, UK, Canada, Australia, etc. really makes me question if this has anything to do with it.

The secret documents expose offshore dealings of the King of Jordan, the presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador, the prime minister of the Czech Republic and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The files also detail financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unofficial minister of propaganda” and more than 130 billionaires from Russia, the United States, Turkey and other nations.

The leaked records reveal that many of the power players who could help bring an end to the offshore system instead benefit from it – stashing assets in covert companies and trusts while their governments do little to slow a global stream of illicit money that enriches criminals and impoverishes nations.

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