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Since 1994, this is the 1645th issue of Randy Cassingham’s...
| 21 December 2025: Moana | Copyright ©2025 https://thisistrue.com |
Other Good Reading: Did you get a free VPN so you could use A.I. in “private”? You might want to read this one: “Urban VPN Proxy targets conversations across ten AI platforms,” says the CTO of a security company [emphasis added], and then relays your chats back to the company ...for sale. Worse, the data collection even happens when the VPN extension is turned off, he says. Read up on it at The Register: Browser ‘privacy’ extensions have eye on your AI, log all your chats. It’s important to know that browser extensions often can see everything you type online. You must always read the fine print before installing any browser plugin, extension, or “toolbar.” If you didn’t, you might want to go back and review everything you have installed.
(As always you’re welcome to copy out that paragraph and forward/post it as desired; credit True if you care to — not required.)
Running Late Tonight due to time zone changes on my end (oops). Should be back on schedule next week.
Fuzzy Arithmetic: Ken Johnson noticed a mess in the yard of his Altadena, Calif., home, and later it was worse, so he set up a camera by hiscrawlspace opening to see if he could figure out what was going on. He found out when he went out to change the camera’s battery. He heard “a growl and a hiss, and I just ran,” he said. But he also caught a glance: “It looks like a monster because the eyes are close together and then this big, wide head, and I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at.” The camera revealed a 550-pound black bear, and it has moved in under his house. He called in wildlife officers, who took a bit to set a trap forthe bear. Then more waiting, which was unnerving, Johnson said. About 3 weeks after he first discovered the intruder, the trap worked — but it caught a different bear, not the one named for its ear tag living under Johnson’s house. “Yes, I can confirm that Yellow 2120 is still underneath the home,” said Cort Klopping of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (RC/KTLA Los Angeles, KCAL Los Angeles) ...Wildlife math: 1 – 1 = 1.
Definitely Something In theAir: Following in the steps of Tennessee (see “It’s a Conspiracy!” in True #1554), as well as Florida and other states, a South Carolina Senate subcommittee has advanced Senate Bill 110 for a full committee hearing. Introduced by Sen. Rex Rice, it prohibits releasing chemicals into the air with “the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight.” In other words: so-called chemtrails. “The federal government is not aware of there ever being acontrail intentionally formed over the United States for the purpose of geoengineering or weather modification,” an Environmental Protection Agency fact sheet says. But Sen. Jeff Zell claims evidence to the contrary: “You can go to the Google machine and figure out what the federal government has hidden from its citizens over the last 100 years — particularly in the last 50,” he said. “This isn’t to say that I’m 100 percent in agreeance that there’s this massive conspiracy. But I wouldn’t doubtit at all if there was.” (MS/Charleston Post and Courier) ...Primary source: Google searches from 100 years ago.
Red-Handed: Arsonist accidentally sets himself on fire, and then hides from police. Didn’t work. [Premium Only]
iClaudius: Anthropic puts its Claudius A.I. in charge of a vending machine — and it didn’t go well. [Premium Only]
Family Dynamics: Florida man displeased that his son only visits once per week, so naturally.... [Premium Only]
Last Week Was the First since August with an ad, thanks either to great reader support or lack of ads to run. It takes about 5 upgrades (or equivalent contributions) to replace an ad. Well! That ad brought in 8 upgrades, 13(!!) re-upgrades — long-expired Premium members who came back from as long as 16 years ago — and 2 contributions. The 18 “extras” will keep the ad out for awhile, and any upgrades that come in during that time willextend the ad embargo. Click through on any of the links in the omitted stories to upgrade, and Thanks!
She Didn’t Duck: Florida woman sues amusement park, but it may not go as she hopes. [Premium Only]
Suffer the Children: Pastor plus teen girl may get said pastor up to 35 years in prison. [Premium Only]
Snow Easy Task: “It was a little worse than this last year,” Marcus Clay said, evaluating the Pennsylvania borough of Rankin’s response to the season’s first snow. “They’re trying, at least.” Council member Walter Sewell agreed, “This is just a little bit of adversity that we’re dealing with, and we’re working through it.” The challenge wasn’t just the snow, it was that the borough’s public works employee — yes, employee, singular — doesn’t have the credentials to drive a snowplow.Rankin is trying to find a contractor for the job. Meanwhile, people are doing their own shoveling. “If you have questions, concerns, or need clarity,” Mayor Joelisa McDonald said in a Facebook post, “please reach out directly to your elected council person.” (AC/KDKA Pittsburgh, WPXI Pittsburgh) ...What, can they plow the snow?
Why Did this Take Six Months? Small police department announces they no longer have the evidence ...in hopes someone won’t try breaking in to steal it. [Premium Only]
Pennies Into Dollars: The fate of the last U.S. pennies to be minted. [Premium Only]
And a Large Jamocha Shake: True’s take on the DoorDash driver hosing down a delivered meal with pepper spray. [Premium Only]
Wrong Way: Robotaxi gets in the way of a police operation. [Premium Only]
It’s For the Kids: For the past 14 years there’s been a Christmas fundraiser for the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Ore. This year it had to be moved to a theater since it gets bigger and bigger: in its first year, it brought in $500; last year, $38,000. “We basically created a Jerry Lewis-style telethon with a little more skin and, I think, a lot more laughs,” said the event’s creator, talk show host Aaron Ross. Wait... “skin”? The fundraiser is a show put on byexotic dancers and burlesque performers who “Jiggle All the Way” for the event, titled Tatas for Toys. “The first year we had a couple dancers, then we had half a dozen, then 10, then 12,” Ross says. This year there were 30 — “the best ‘North Pole dancers’ the city has to offer.” While attendance is limited to adults, it’s “mostly PG-13 fun” that supports the hospital’s Child Life Therapy Program, which helps kids deal with their hospitalizations. These days, the funds are enough to last thehospital all year: this year, the event brought in more than $60,000. “Tatas for Toys has been one of the largest donors of toys during the holiday season for many years,” confirms the hospital’s spokeswoman, Nicole Rideout. (RC/Portland Oregonian) ...Tatas: is there anything they can’t do?
Efficiency Expert
Citrus County Woman Accused of Killing Two Ex-husbands in Separate Shootings on Same Day
WWSB Sarasota headline
Did You Find an Error? Check the Errata Page for updates.
This Week’s Contributors: MS-Mike Straw, AC-Alexander Cohen, RC-Randy Cassingham.
Stories This Week were Written/Edited at sea on the way to Bora Bora (French Polynesia).
I woke up early and watched as we pulled in on Monday. I love the keyhole we slipped through to be in the bay: the photo (you know you can click photos in an issue to see them larger, right?) wastaken by an unspecified astronaut aboard the International Space Station in 2003. It was formed by a now-long-extinct volcano.
Other than the Last Story, I decided to not to do any Christmas items for this “Christmas Issue” (but who could resist tatas?!). No, not a War on Christmas (which doesn’t exist): longtime readers probably remember that Christmas became much more somber for me due to a year where there were some rough EMS calls for me. That’s no longer a serious “issue” for me, but I still recognize that it’s not necessarily a joyous time for everyone.
So much so that every year since 2011, I refer to my post that describes my Blue Christmas music collection (as well as all sorts of “weird” Christmas tunes) that tells the story. So if you’re not celebrating (or are blue yourself), know that you’re not alone.
It’s why I don’t say “Merry Christmas” or even “Happy Holidays”. Instead, I wish you all a peaceful holiday season.
No Ask Me Anything video this week, as mentioned last week. I’m feeling almost 100 percent better, though still have the lingering cough. I hope to get one recorded for next week.
The Honorary Unsubscribe this week) is actually a belated posting of last week’s. So I guess my entire schedule is getting a bit whacky!
Ten Years Ago in True: Walking on Sunshine, and not much else.
“Chemtrails” is the Story of the Week, which means you’re welcome to share it from Telegram, Mastodon, Instagram, Threads, and/or Facebook, or grab from any of those to post elsewhere.
This Week’s Sunday Reading: A fictional story I wrote in 1995 to sell TRUE books. “This one made me roar with laughter,” one reader said.... The Story of Billy.
Last Week’s Honorary Unsubscribe goes to Charles Norman Shay. An amazing story of service to his fellow soldiers. It only takes 4 minutes, but is a must-read.
Basic Subscriptions to This is True are Free at https://thisistrue.com. All stories are completely rewritten using facts from the noted sources. This is True® (and Get Out of Hell Free® and Stella Awards®) are registered trademarks of ThisisTrue.Inc. Published weekly by ThisisTrue.Inc, PO Box 666, Ridgway CO 81432 USA (ISSN 1521-1932).
Copyright ©2025 by Randy Cassingham, All Rights Reserved. All broadcast, publication, retransmission to email lists, web site or social media posting, or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online or not, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the author. Manual forwarding by email to friends is allowed if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety from the “Since 1994” line on top through the end of this paragraph and 2) No fee is charged. I request that you forward no more than three copies to any one person — after that, they should get their own free subscription. I appreciate people who report violations of my copyright.
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