Not good enough

Flights out of Kabul have resumed for U.S. citizens, but relatives are being denied.

…As charter flights carrying other Americans began to depart Kabul again Thursday, the one with a green card had yet to hear from the State Department whether he and his family would be included. The U.S. citizen, meanwhile, said he was told he could exit with his wife via Uzbekistan but must leave behind other relatives, including his mother-in-law, a California resident who has a green card.

–Washington Post [no link] 

Follow the science

Research on beards, wads of gum wins 2021 Ig Nobel prizes

The winners of the 31st annual Ig Nobels being announced Thursday included researchers who figured out how to better control cockroaches on U.S. Navy submarines; animal scientists who looked at whether it’s safer to transport an airborne rhinoceros upside-down; and a team that figured out just how disgusting that discarded gum stuck to your shoe is.

Hand sanitizer has a moment

Masks: At least they keep your nose warm in the winter

COVID-19 surge in the US: The summer of hope ends in gloom

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. More than six months into the U.S. vaccination drive, President Joe Biden held a White House party on July Fourth to celebrate the country’s freedom from the virus, and other political leaders had high hopes for a close-to-normal summer.

Then the bottom fell out.

(Of course if you don't have winter where you are…) 

$33

 I spent $33 at the grocery store this morning, which is epic for me. I usually manage to stay under $20. I probably shop there more often than you.

It’s because coffee. The $33. I didn’t shut the gate on the bin soon enough and wound up with a whole bag instead of about half. Coffee, these days, is more expensive than gold.

Which is one reason I drink a lot less coffee than I used to, the others being:

1. Tea is the drink of ninjas.
2. My entire net worth is already tied up in gold. (No, I’m kidding. My entire net worth is tied up in a box of oatmeal, and it’s half empty.)

Still—and here’s the dilemma I have—if I drank more coffee I might be quick enough to get the gate on the bin closed earlier, and not be buying so much of it.

This was preventable

The daily case count in the U.S. is 316% higher than Labor Day weekend last year, and hospitalizations are up 158% from a year ago, USA Today reported Monday.

 

“O, brave new world that has such people in't!”

The Taliban has over 800k Twitter followers - could they get a blue tick soon?

You can follow the Taliban on Twitter.

But, for the record, well over 2,000 troops are still dead

Corporate boards, consulting, speaking fees: How US generals thrived after Afghanistan

The eight generals who commanded American forces in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2018 have gone on to serve on more than 20 corporate boards, according to a review of company disclosures and other releases.