Called out as “WSJP248 checking in, anyone on the air?
Got a response, and asked about a fire up the hill, and it helped me to find out this info
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – Roanoke County Fire & Rescue crews are responding to the Havens Wildlife Management area in the Fort Lewis area for a brush fire as of early Friday afternoon.
The County said at noon, “There are no structures in the area and no threat to the public at this time.”
One to two acres have burned as of noon, according to the County, and the fire will likely grow. “There’s a lot of thick brush in the area which will produce heavy smoke.”
A couple of thank-yous for the tip: a bunny with a carrot and a dapper monocled person with a mustache and top hat. Both are wearing pretty large bow ties, drawn on mini Post-it notes.
Pretty smart, actually. I found it very endearing.
Throughout this season Akilah has spoken with many people – historians, politicians, journalists, artists, designers – and in every conversation one name keeps coming up. The Daughters of the Confederacy. So in today’s episode, Akilah is taking a closer look.
Rebel Spirit is a production of Ninth Planet Audio in association with iHeart Podcasts.
Reporting and writing by Akilah Hughes, she is also the Host and Executive Producer.
I arrived at the doctor today, and they handed me a tablet with a new agreement that they wanted me to sign at check-in. I looked at it, and one thing stuck out like a sore thumb.
According to the current Carilion General Consent to Treatment and Financial Agreement, part six: (emphasis mine)
6. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI): Carilion Clinic may use Al tools to assist my healthcare providers. These tools may include, but are not limited to, software that assists decision-making, records information, or helps prepare documentation for my healthcare providers to review and approve. Any data used or recorded by Al tools will be kept in accordance with federal and state privacy requirements.
When I asked the person at check-in if I was going to be denied treatment if I refused, she stated, “Oh, don’t worry, they just use that for dictation.”
I then told her, “Well, that paragraph has me sign away a whole lot more than just allowing a tape recorder in the room. That decision-making portion feels really bad.” I then asked again, “Does this mean I can’t get treatment if I don’t sign?”
Her response was to call someone else, and in the end, she ultimately got the response that we could print out the document, draw a line through the portion I disliked, initial it, and they would scan that in, noting that I disagreed with the AI portion.
Please be sure to read your forms given to you by anyone asking for your signature, and make very sure what they are saying is the same thing that is in writing.
They’re bragging about “thousands” being on the national mall?
The National Mall in Washington, D.C. receives an average of 68,000 to 137,000 visitors per day, without a “fair”. I’d say attendance was even lower than any other given day without it.
Also,
Having a competitive eating contest with only four contestants is pathetic, but that the winner of this pancake-eating competition isn’t decided on merit-as in, who eats the most pancakes-but is based on who gets the most applause is a perfect metaphor for how Trump views… well… everything.
The SALEMander The BearThe Hollow KingThe Roanoke RavagerCowboy Cactus Captain Hamilton’s shipThe Vinton Vulture (and family)Fourth of July is heading our way!
Costumed Heroes… and Villains… Are Appearing Across the Roanoke Valley
At first, everyone thought it was just another internet rumor.
A blurry photo near the Roanoke Star.
A shadow on the Greenway.
A figure perched high above downtown just before dawn.
Then came the videos.
Now… people are asking if the Roanoke Valley has its own superheroes.
The first to capture the public’s imagination was The Roanoke Raven. Dressed in midnight black with a purple mask, witnesses claim the mysterious guardian has been spotted watching over downtown rooftops before disappearing into the night. Some say they’re protecting the city. Others insist they’re simply waiting.
Not long after came The SALEMander.
Equal parts firefighter, athlete, and neighborhood legend, the crimson-clad hero has reportedly been seen racing toward danger rather than away from it. House fire? Flooded street? Cat in a tree? No one can prove anything… but people keep telling remarkably similar stories.
Then, circling overhead (or at least somewhere high enough to judge us all) is The Vinton Vulture.
Despite the intimidating name, locals insist this masked mystery has a knack for finding what others have lost. Missing pets. Missing wallets. Missing hikers. If something disappears, don’t be surprised if a dark-winged figure quietly points rescuers in the right direction before vanishing without a word.
Unfortunately…
Heroes rarely appear without villains.
Reports have begun surfacing of The Hollow King, a ghostly figure said to emerge from abandoned places and forgotten tunnels beneath the valley. Wherever he walks, lights flicker, echoes linger, and people suddenly remember stories they’d rather forget. Some believe he’s more myth than man. Others refuse to go looking.
More concerning is the arrival of The Roanoke Ravager.
Unlike the others, the Ravager doesn’t hide. He wants to be seen.
Witnesses describe shattered signs, overturned park benches, mysterious claw marks, and a booming laugh echoing through the mountains. Every appearance seems designed to test the city’s newest protectors.
Coincidence?
Performance art?
An elaborate social media campaign?
Or something stranger?
Authorities have no official comment.
Local photographers are suddenly carrying better zoom lenses.
And somewhere beneath the glow of the Mill Mountain Star, heroes and villains may already be choosing sides.
If you happen to see a caped figure disappear over a rooftop…
This one messed with me. The O-M connector was just invisible to my eye for a minute, I needed to actually draw on the image.I did better on this maze than I have in real life.I found seven! (One is kind of a cheat though)
World Cup Countries: Universal Healthcare Comparison
A breakdown of the 48 participating nations and their healthcare systems.
Healthcare Status
Participating World Cup Countries
Total
Universal Healthcare
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Colombia, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czechia, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, IR Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Uruguay, Uzbekistan
47
No Universal System
United States
1
*Note: While structural approaches vary (including public, private, or mixed national insurance), 47 of the 48 qualified countries ensure a mandated, baseline access to medical care for their entire population.
What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?
Current Mood: 🌳 Grounded, but wistful. Current Music: The wind chimes out on the porch.
It’s wild to think about how some things from your childhood just evaporate, while others embed themselves so deeply into your DNA that they become a part of how you process the entire world.
That book I read in school (the one that hooked a 13 year old kid sitting under buzzing fluorescent lights) isn’t just a core memory. It turned out to be a lifetime lease on a specific way of seeing.
Here I am, decades removed from that classroom, and my appreciation for Dandelion Wine has only grown heavier, richer, and honestly, a lot more necessary.
When you’re 13, the book feels like an adventure manual. It’s about the thrill of summer, the magic of new tennis shoes, and that first intoxicating shock of realizing you are alive. You read it with forward momentum, looking ahead at this massive expanse of life waiting to be lived.
But reading it now? As an adult who has to deal with the reality of time actually passing? It hits entirely differently.
Now, I don’t read it for the thrill of the future; I read it as a survival guide for the present. When the week has been nothing but screens, spreadsheets, and the numbing noise of the daily grind, Bradbury can still reliably snap me out of it. He reminds me that the world is still magical, even when it’s heavy.
“So if you close your eyes and fade away and whisper, you may go back through the years to the time when because you felt a thing was true, it was true.”
Yesterday, I was sitting on my porch watching a summer storm roll in. The sky turned that deep, bruised purple, the air got cold fast, and for a split second, I wasn’t thinking about my to-do list or my phone. I was just there. I felt that exact same spark of awareness I felt riding the bus home at 13.
