6.04.2016

We can "get along" without "so many" quotation "marks"

Greenfield’s goal to become a “Bee Friendly” city | WWLP.com

GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The third annual “Greenfield Bee Week” kicked off Friday night with a “honey tasting.”…

…President Obama’s “Task Force” last month released a strategy to promote health in Honey Bees.

We can talk about initial caps some other time.

Let's go to Rio and count 'em

Does Attending The Olympic Games In Rio Put The World In Danger Of Zika Virus Spreading? : Goats and Soda : NPR

"To figure out whether Zika might be a big problem at the Olympics, there's one key piece of information you need: How many mosquitoes will be in Rio during the games?"

Hey, I’ll do it.

Ya think?

Oregon derailment likely to reignite rail-by-oil safety concerns | Reuters

"Seeing our beautiful Columbia River Gorge on fire today should be a wake-up call…"

No, the other kind

Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Chairman Can’t Stop Talking About Aliens | Vanity Fair

 

6.03.2016

"Forgotten but not gone"

Carr: Anyone ask these guys’ opinions about anything? | Boston Herald

"Two of these guys used to be governor of Massachusetts, and the third one tried, very hard. They all pretty much retired from elective politics for reasons of health — the voters got sick of them."

Too late

Researchers claim deodorant can make some men smell more masculine - The Washington Post

 

Too much oatmeal in the oatmeal

Grabbed the wrong measuring cup. Maybe I’ll eat only half of it, save the rest for some other time. Maybe cold oatmeal will be the next big trend.

Samuel Johnson, in his Dictionary of the English Language (1775), defined oats as "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people."

Clinton: Be afraid!

Hillary Clinton Warns That Donald Trump’s ‘Thin Skin’ Would Set Off War or Economic Crisis - The New York Times

It worked for Dubya.

And been making payments ever since

Oldest handwritten record ever found in Britain is revealed — and it’s an IOU - The Washington Post

"The documents show that only a few years after it was established, London was a thriving town of merchants and traders. The records include references to beer deliveries, food orders and legal rulings."

First date? Seriously?

Necrophiliac gets 26 years for killing teacher on first date | New York Post

"The judge told him: 'I am firmly of the view that you pose a very great danger to women and young girls …'"

Maybe there's something to this zombie stuff

San Diego Union-Tribune endorses Reagan in upcoming GOP primary - NY Daily News

"Vote once more for The Gipper."

More from the world of public art

The most ridiculous statues from around the world

 

6.02.2016

Yep

How EmailGate Weakened America’s National Security | Observer

"It’s safe to say that Moscow, Beijing and Tehran know a lot more about Hillary Clinton than the American public does"

Imagine what this would be worth on eBay

King Tut’s Dagger Made of ‘Iron From the Sky,’ Researchers Say - The New York Times

"Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Italian and Egyptian experts found that the blade’s composition of iron, nickel and cobalt was an approximate match for a meteorite that landed in northern Egypt."

Me, I'm just waiting for them to translate Moby Dick

The Word of God, Now Available in Emoji - The New York Times

"The book was released Sunday on iBooks… It contains more than 3,000 pages of smiling yellow faces, twinkling stars and cartoon serpents. Angel emojis descend from the heavens, bush emojis burn and ocean emojis are parted."

Except, you know, that cybersecurity one, but who cares about that

CNS - Gov. Jerry Brown Endorses Hillary Clinton

"Hillary Clinton, with her long experience, especially as secretary of state, has a firm grasp of the issues…"

No problem, we're long, long past the point of being clear

Obama warns America not to fall for Trump's 'okey-doke' - NY Daily News

"It remains unclear what exactly okey-doke is in a political context, but as per Obama’s words, it relates to Trump and it certainly doesn’t sound too good."

Finally is better than not at all, but not much

School shocked to discover $1.5M donation was fake | New York Post

"Even after the check was returned, officials were confident their donor was the real thing. So they asked for a replacement check. When that one, too, bounced, officials finally became suspicious."

We just found a spare apostrophe lying around in the press release

You can eat free pizza this Friday at Cambridge's new build-your-own pizza joint

"Each pie is fast fire’d and served within three minutes, according to Cambridge location owner Jamal Bourote."

Maybe civilization was not meant to last anyway

Selfie statue is town’s new ‘claim to fame,’ and everyone hates it | New York Post

"A Texas city has erected a statue of two women taking a selfie outside of its town hall – a piece some are blasting as a sure sign of the steep decline of Western civilization."

6.01.2016

File under Stuff I Stopped Reading Right There

What does David French believe? - POLITICO

"Unlike Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, David French is not a household name."

"First you say you will, and then you won't"

Judge in Trump University case reseals some documents | TheHill

"Curiel told Trump’s lawyers to file redacted copies by Thursday so they can be made public again."

Seems a little harsh

Billionaire beauty is now worth nothing | New York Post

(Also the nothing includes some $800 Million just lying around in the debris somehow.)

That metaphor's getting a little smoky though

Emails block Clinton’s pivot to positive - POLITICO

"There was no smoking gun in the long-anticipated IG report, which did not conclude that Clinton broke the law. But its release created unwanted smoke at a moment when Clinton is hoping to end Bernie Sanders’ stubborn primary challenge and define herself, as well as the stakes of a general election, ahead of the two conventions this summer."

Clinton needs a more positive message, according to her close allies (according to Politico).

How about “Make Blackberry Great Again”?

I keep forgetting it's the middle of the week and not a weekend.

So far, I'm having a senior month.

Get in or get out


5.31.2016

The word, "creepy," does come to mind

Apple's Echo rival could see you with built-in camera

I am never going to have (or need) an Internet-controlled light switch, and since I keep Siri always within reach (hmmm) there's not much need for any of the other functions of devices like Amazon’s Echo or Google Home either. Still, this kind of thing could rapidly get out of hand. Or has.

I think I read somewhere there are some 30 million surveillance cameras in the U.S., one for every ten people more or less. I’m relying on memory here, but whatever the number is it’s sure to grow, quickly and a lot. The cameras aren’t all government operated; many are par oft home or business security systems. Most are potentially accessible to governments (note the plural) however, or hackers. 

Get used to it. Or find yourself a cave.

Always the dreamer, Jesse

Make presidential race about issues, not a spitball fight | Chicago Sun-Times

 

There'll always be an England

Say cheese! Thousands gather for England's annual cheese roll in hilarious photos

When in doubt, lock 'em up

If Captain Cook's ship is found, whose is it? Rhode Island's | Boston Herald

"In 1999, Rhode Island went to federal court in Providence to do what's known as 'arresting' the shipwrecks in the harbor — having the government take possession of them so a federal court could consider the state's ownership claim."

Sounds like bad karma to me

BHC suspends captain of cruise ship run aground during wedding | Boston Herald

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Gerson

The most depressing moment of the 2016 race - The Washington Post

 

Oh no, it's that peace and love thing again

A graying generation founded on peace and love finds its champion: Bernie Sanders - The Washington Post

"MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. — It is a glorious day in Northern California, and Lewis Elbinger, a 68-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter, is feeling great — or, as he puts it, 'high vibe.' "

File under Stuff I Stopped Reading Right There

Lick Your Cat With LICKI, A Giant Silicone Tongue On Kickstarter

"f you’ve ever watched a cat lick itself or another cat and thought, 'I wish I could lick that cat, too,'…"

Umm…how?

Presidential primary candidate endorsement: Hillary Clinton | Daily Bruin

“…[Clinton] should consider incorporating some of [Sanders’] more liberal ideals into her plan because she has proven herself to be the candidate most able to accomplish those goals."

How has Clinton proven herself most able to accomplish Sanders’ goals? The only one I can think of she’s even tried to accomplish is health care and she didn’t exactly knock that one out of the park.

Oh well. Some college newspaper in California is endorsing her.

5.30.2016

King Henry V before Agincourt

This day is call’d the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then he will strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names
Familiar in his mouth as household words:
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d,
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

–William Shakespeare

5.29.2016

And we're worried about security in Afghanistan?

Cops: Lost couple cuts chain to enter nuclear plant property

"The Chesapeake, Virginia, couple were driving from Baltimore on Friday night when they got onto an access road at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, owned by Exelon. The driver told police he didn't see two 'No trespassing' signs when he cut the chain on the gate, The York Daily Record (http://bit.ly/27XVuF5) reported."

"No trespassing" signs…whew…had me worried for a minute there.

The travails of the terribly rich

One of the World’s Greatest Art Collections Hides Behind This Fence - The New York Times

"The drab free port zone near the Geneva city center…looks like the kind of place where beauty goes to die. But within its walls, crated or sealed cheek by jowl in cramped storage vaults, are more than a million of some of the most exquisite artworks ever made."

That’s right, how to avoid taxes on their $mega-mllion art purchases and…

A Worrisome Pileup of $100 Million Homes - The New York Times

 …that’s right, $100 million homes are just sooo common any more.

A new art form is born

Obama and Trump are two sides of the same coin | New York Post

Let’s call it Blatherism.

Please! Tell us more!

How many thousand?

Cleveland officials to outline security for Republican Convention | Reuters

"Cleveland officials are marshalling a force of about 5,000 officers, including police from other law enforcement agencies, to provide security for the convention, City Council members have said."

Fou (hey, I don't know, that's what the Google translator says), those French

Data analysis from Paris raid on Google will take months, possibly years: prosecutor

"Google, which said it is complying fully with French law, is under pressure across Europe from public opinion and governments angry at the way multinationals exploit their global presence to minimize tax liabilities."

They try to do something about it.

Bay Staters getting a little squirmy over rattlers at the reservoir

Charlie Baker missing point on snake debate: Editorial | masslive.com

“ 'You know, everybody loves bunnies and if bunnies were on the verge of extinction, I think people would probably want us to do something about it,’ [Gov.] Baker said."

Enough with the bunnies, Governor.