Bits & Bytes

AMERICAN HISTORY: After being discovered as an American spy behind enemy lines, Nathan Hale was hanged on September 22, 1776. Just 21 years old at the time, he famously said, “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.

CATHOLIC: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1670683141325978 [2:58] to hear Josh Pray explain the Catholic practice of adoration. The practice of staying at adoration for a full hour comes from the Garden of Gethsemane, when the disciples fell asleep while Jesus was in his agony and He asked, “Can you not watch with me for one hour?

LBJ: During his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson was legendary for badgering subordinates with demands. Aboard Air Force One, he frequently insisted the flight crew adjust the cabin temperature, something that was not easy to do in that aircraft. The crew asked technicians to install a prominent, custom-built control knob labeled for climate regulation near where the president sat. It was a dummy that did absolutely nothing, but Johnson didn’t know that. Whenever the temperature felt off, he would adjust the dial and rest assured that he was in charge of the jet’s internal atmosphere.

MAHA: Poor sleep and pain feed each other; each one makes the other worse. Just a few nights of restricted or interrupted sleep can increase a person’s pain sensitivity. Melatonin, which is well known as a mild sleep aid, may help break the cycle in more ways than we suspected.

A new analysis of 23 clinical trials involving more than 2,000 patients found that melatonin reduced pain in people with chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis and low back pain. It did not meaningfully help pain after surgery.

Across all chronic pain studies, melatonin lowered pain scores by about 9 points on average. By comparison, a 2020 Cochrane review found that NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen, reduced pain by about 7.7 points on the same scale.

Note that melatonin is not a fast fix like a pain pill. It worked over weeks, with most of the studies using doses of about 2 to 3 mg per day for under three months. Long-term safety hasn’t been well studied. Side effects across the studies were generally mild: nausea, dizziness, headache, and drowsiness.

Check with your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, elderly and at risk of falls, have epilepsy, or take other medications. There are 358 drugs known to interact with melatonin, along with 3 disease interactions, and 3 alcohol/food interactions. Of the total drug interactions, 5 are major, 344 are moderate, and 9 are minor.

The brand I chose for the graphic above is Consumer Lab’s Top Pick for 3 mg, time release formulation.

OH CANADA: [1:15] – Quebec has decided to drive religious instruction out of its schools. Never mind that people of faith pay taxes.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: CLICK https://x.com/Protestia/status/2101019674922135969 [1:33] to hear an Episcopal “pastrix” explain how she was “forced” to tell an elderly congregant that we (allegedly) have no idea what happens when we die.

In the 1990s, I attended back-to-back funerals for two loved ones who had each died on Thanksgiving day. The Episcopal one never once mentioned God or eternal life, just celebrated what a good person the man had been. The Catholic one focused totally on Jesus’ promises.

STUPID PEOPLE: CLICK https://x.com/camhigby/status/2101352762696946012 [:54] to hear a college student snarkily inform us that “a vagina is just an inside out penis.”

CLICK https://x.com/clareanneath/status/2101657393469776001 [:11] to hear another brainiac tell us that every menstrual cycle is an abortion.

TEXAS: On September 4, 2026, the Texas State Board of Education has revised its high school social studies standards. Among the amendments … students must be able to identify 1948 as the year the modern State of Israel was established “in the ancestral homeland of the Jews” and that President Harry Truman was the first world leader to formally recognize Israel. The new standards are scheduled to take effect in the 2030–31 school year.

TRANS: Proving exactly why we don’t want them in our spaces. – Recently, I’ve been listening to ATC clips on Facebook. Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers stay incredibly calm in the most hair-raising circumstances. Then, I read about trannies dragging people into court for refusing to use their made up pronouns and whining about how uncomfortable they feel about being forced to use the men’s room.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFUhaH34yU0 [1:00] to enjoy Budweiser’s 1998 Winter Olympics ad.

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