JIC you're driving through Ohio

Sobriety checkpoint planned on South Blanchard Street in Findlay - Toledo Blade

"FINDLAY—A sobriety checkpoint is planned tonight in Findlay, authorities.

"The checkpoint will be held from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. tonight on South Blanchard Street."

What's really bad news…

…is when you cut up a banana into your bran flakes and then remember you were going to have it for lunch. Hey, I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. So sue me. 

But now it’s too late.

Enough with the sloppy already, Post 81

Ludlow beats sloppy Post 81 | The Recorder

"Ludlow again took advantage of Greenfield’s failure to score as it reclaimed the two-run lead in the seventh when Lafayette hit a two-out triple and scored on an RBI single by Harris. Greenfield went quietly in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.” [Etc.]

Is the plastic they make these tomatoes out of getting harder or is that just me?

Also look at me taking pictures of my food. Pretty hip for a geezer, huh?

What was that name again?

Big Beautiful Pictures Of America's 13 Billion Super Carrier | The Daily Caller

"While the ship has faced endless technical difficulties, the Navy recently stated that the USS Gerald Ford will enter the service in February 2016…"

Oh, right.

The cameras they're talking about here are not for backing up your pictures…

…they're for backing up your car.

And you thought reading Shakespeare was tricky.

I wouldn't give him all the credit, myself

Republicans' shameful silence on Trump: Column

"Leave it to The Donald to drag the presidential race to a new low."

Stay off our lawn

FiveThirtyEight

Bouquet

iPhome art: Phil Compton

And maybe even you

Conservatives Blame Everything But Climate Change for Drought | The New Republic

Looks like we've arrived; we're in the book

Oxford Dictionary Adds ‘Fo’ Shizzle,’ ‘Masshole’ and ‘Hot Mess’ | TIME

"Masshole (n., 1989): term of contempt for a native or inhabitant of the state of Massachusetts. This is what is known as a blended word, which Lewis Carroll called portmanteaus, naming them after a suitcase that unfolds into two equal parts."

A lot of physics in this

Undernews: How to teach physics today

Christie to be no longer not running soon

Chris Christie to announce 2016 bid as early as next week http://t.co/S19cEaX1sQ | Getty pic.twitter.com/PveWlVlV1R

— POLITICO (@politico) June 24, 2015

OH NO!

France calls in US envoy over spying, holds security meeting (VIDEO)

An editorial note: From now on we're keeping track of Republicans who are *not* running for president

The Note: Here's Bobby: Jindal Takes The Plunge - ABC News

So why don't you get a job sitting pets?

I Am an Adjunct Professor Who Teaches Five Classes -- and I Earn Less Than a Pet-Sitter | Alternet

Good to have friends

Hillary confidant mocked French president’s love life in emails | New York Post

"On Aug. 22, 2011, when Khadafy was on the brink of being toppled, Blumenthal advised Clinton that, wherever she was, she had to take time for a photo op and press conference to make sure she got credit."

Or if it's a burger even

Why over-the-top burgers are ruining the beauty of an American classic - The Washington Post

"‘When you pile it high with 47 ingredients, it’s hard to see if it’s a good burger or not.’"

Well, there wasn't a meter

The German City of Karlsruhe Issued a Parking Ticket to a Warped Car Sculpture by Erwin Wurm | Colossal

"I hope this was a joke, I can only imagine Wurm’s fine for driving this through the city."

(Photo at the link.)

This is bad news for somebody but I'm not sure whom (yes, the glass is half empty)

We have nothing to say but we really, really wish we did

Congress Is So Over Waiting For SCOTUS to Rule on Obamacare - NationalJournal.com

"'It's gonna be what it's gonna be,' said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat. 'It's gonna be when it's gonna be.'"

Cope with it, kid

This Word in an English Exam Has Outraged French Students | TIME

"A disgruntled 17-year-old, known only as Arthur, launched a petition describing the question as ‘incomprehensible’ and ‘impossible’ and called for the notorious ‘Question M’ either to be annulled when grading the exam, known in France as the baccalaureate or for bonus points to be awarded to those who managed to answer it. More than 12,000 pupils had signed it by Tuesday morning."

In the history of healthy eating, a very, very bad day

I stocked up on all these good4U foods the other day and now all I can think about is Spam. Fortunately I had an emergency can of it in my cupboard, or I’d be starving to death right now, as we speak. Whew. Close call.

Don't let 'em get away with doing the right thing, those sneaky *^&(*%!

Nikki Haley Is Not a Hero. She's Just Doing Damage Control for the GOP | The New Republic

Strains!

Your Tuesday Briefing - The New York Times

"Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew host the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington, amid strains over the cybertheft of personal information from 14 million federal workers in the U.S."

Well, as Churchill said, to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war. But still.

But can it go on your expense account?

Japanese Court Says Adultery OK If It’s For Business Purposes | TIME

"Some legal and judicial experts worry that this case will justify extramarital affairs under what the judge called ‘makura eigyo,’ which loosely translates to ‘pillow sales tactic.’"

Imagine our relief

Supreme Court To Feds: Hands Off the Raisins - NationalJournal.com

"For example, 'raisins are not like oysters,' Roberts wrote."

Nor that we have anything against oysters, you understand. But in the bran flakes?

What is it with former heads of state and this stuff?

Hitler’s artwork sells for $450,000, raising questions about auction house ethics - The Washington Post

Sure. Churchill too. And Eisenhower. And, you know, that other guy. And…wait…Putin? Who knew these guys were such experts at work avoidance?

But we know it's there

We Tried — And Failed — To Identify The Most Banned Book In America | FiveThirtyEight

"The ALA itself has several press releases devoted to the list, along with a shareable infographic and an entire section of its website. One of the links in that section is a statistics page, which breaks down the challenges by reasons, initiator and institution."

Oh yeah, works for me

Food Fight - Futility ClosetFutility Closet

"Someone once challenged Gilbert to make up a verse offhand riming the words ‘Timbuctoo’ and ‘cassowary’. He studied for a moment and recited:

"If I were a cassowary in Timbuctoo,
I’d eat a missionary and his hymn book too."

A flying car would be so extremely cool, let's call it one even if it's not one (and nobody's going to use it anyway)

The 18-Rotor Volocopter Is Like a Flying Car, But Better | WIRED

"OK, fine, strictly speaking it isn’t a flying car, because you can’t drive it on the ground, but who cares? It flies."

I saw my first vaporware flying car some time in the late 1940’s, by which time the idea was already old hat in Popular Mechanics. It’s one of those ideas that’s entirely wonderful in concept and would be terrifyingly awful if any significant number were actually in use. Imagine a rush-hour expressway full of airplanes, or everybody trying to take off at once when the opera lets out, eighteen rotors or not.

But what better way to shrink the government than just giving it to China?

Attack Gave Chinese Hackers Privileged Access to U.S. Systems - The New York Times

"‘And it’s not a satisfactory answer to say, ‘We found it and stopped it,’ when we should have seen it coming years ago.’"

Oops

Opinion: Paper, the least terrible password management tool - CSMonitor.com

"Password management company LastPass admitted last week that it discovered 'suspicious traffic' on its network. Though encrypted user data was left untouched, ‘account e-mail addresses, password reminders, server per user salts, and authentication hashes were compromised,’ meaning that some accounts could be vulnerable."

Although LastPass has had, and maybe still has, a pretty good reputation, its disadvantage, both in terms of security and ongoing cost, was always requiring the use of its own (LastPass’s own) server for synchronization between devices. Still, there is a lot of “some” “could be” in the story above. Given the security procedures LastPass enables (a different strong password for every site, timely reminders to replace old passwords with new, and so forth) the risk deriving from a hack like this is probably worth taking. 

Also there are other password managers available. Full disclosure: I use one of them myself.

Huh? What?

Republicans Tread Carefully in Criticism of Confederate Flag - The New York Times

"‘The politics of race rests at the most sensitive nerve of the G.O.P.,’ said Bruce Haynes, a Republican strategist and South Carolina native. ‘All Republicans want to grow their share of the black vote. But it’s the chicken and the egg.’"

How did the chicken and the egg get into this? What am I missing here?

And if you're a twit you can even follow this excellent New York City project on Twitter

About | The Typewriter Project

Not too late to get there if you start right now

We will be celebrating the 92nd anniversary of the National Marbles Tournament in Wildwood, NJ on June 22nd - 25th, 2015.

(And there’s a video at the link.)

Here we are, the longest day of the year…

…and it’s gonna be dark and rainy. All of it. Or mostly all—toward the end we might get an hour or two of merely dark and drippy. And hot.

There is a soggy outdoor jazz concert in Northampton this afternoon but we might not go. Having just been out walking the territory, I’m already soggy enough. Although I’m told there might be a soggy bake sale at the soggy concert, so let’s not rule it completely out. None of us are going to melt (although I suppose the brownies might).