12.31.2022
12.30.2022
12.29.2022
Resolutions
Luckily, just in the nick of time, I found the list of things I was planning to learn this year.
Most of them are things I don't care about any more.
And I still have two days to figure out where to hide next year's list.
12.27.2022
File under No Surprise Here
Spending bill aids retirees, and boosts financial industry
WASHINGTON (AP) — A section of the $1.7 trillion spending bill passed Friday has been billed as a dramatic step toward shoring up retirement accounts of millions of U.S. workers. But the real windfall may go to a far more secure group: the financial services industry.
Immigration seems to be a concern worldwide
South Korea lifts ban on imported sex dolls
Although there are no laws or regulations banning the import of sex dolls, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, have been seized by the customs, which cited a clause in the law that bans the import of goods that “harm the country’s beautiful traditions and public moral.”
Wait, we need an excuse now?
Holiday procrastinators are back in force. Blame inflation.
How about all the stores were closed on Sunday? Isn't that good enough?
A lot of them were closed Monday too.
12.24.2022
1.7 million people…
Winter storm batters US power, snarling Christmas travel
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A battering winter storm knocked out power to 1.7 million homes and businesses across the United States on Saturday, left millions more to worry about the prospect of further outages and crippled police, fire departments and an airport in snow-blown New York state.
…with no way to charge their electric cars. But hey, who's going anywhere at Christmas, right?
12.23.2022
Sweet, if nobody runs off with it
Hanukkah Doesn’t Need A Hip Rebrand
Every time someone has tried explaining crypto to me, my mind has reached the same conclusion: This sounds complicated, and anything that complicated—and that unregulated—will not end well, at least for the little guys, and thus it is none of my business….
Enjoy what holidays you have; stay safe and warm.
I guess Dubya was right…
Real coffee, but a fake ‘Starbucks’ in piracy-ridden Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) — Everything from the signboard outside down to the napkins bears the official emblem of the top international coffee chain. But in Baghdad, looks are deceiving: The “Starbucks” in the Iraqi capital is unlicensed.
…when he named Iran as part of his famous Axis of Evil.
A fake Starbucks? Beyond the pale.
Stanford is having a moment
‘Stanford Hates Fun’: Students Revolt After Tree Mascot Suspension
At halftime of a televised game between Stanford and Arizona State University, Stanford’s human sapling walked onto the field. With help from Sparky the Sun Devil, the ASU mascot, the Tree unfurled a 40-foot banner that said “Stanford Hates Fun.”
12.22.2022
And you think Customer Service is slow?
Anyone Hoping for Aliens to Contact Earth Will Have to Wait Another 400 Years At Least
“Where is everybody?” Fermi is said to have asked.
OK, I know things get a little crazy this time of year, but…
This 3-legged buck nicknamed Tripod by Dallas, Ore. residents was not run over by a reindeer but got tangled up in lights while decking the halls like another buck recently. ODFW darted it and removed the lights. The leg wound is fully healed and the deer seems to get around OK. pic.twitter.com/x3m79Egt7Q— Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (@MyODFW) December 20, 2022
…really?
Your money or your life
ALS patients contend with $158K price tag on new drug
In any sane world, this would be called a mugging.
12.21.2022
Thanks, NWS
...Powerful winter storm to produce a multitude of weather hazards across the central and eastern United States through the end of the week...
A person could almost think it's winter.
"A dangerous winter storm and punishing Arctic blast are brewing, but if you’re longing for more sunlight, Wednesday is a day to celebrate: Dec. 21 is the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year — and first day of astronomical winter — in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a sign that longer, brighter days are upon us."
A person could almost think it's winter.
Oh, wait.
Happy Solstice.
Meanwhile, from the Washington Post (via Apple News):
See? Spring is right around the corner,
I really hope he didn't
“'Because of the dismantling of funding to the IRS, they have not been unable to do their job,' said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev."
This from an AP story about the public release of Trump's tax returns, which also says (the story says):And suggests Trump lied when he said audits were ongoing, because they were pending.
Or something. It's not the best journalistic endeavor I've ever encountered. But, tax fans, the whole official report on Trump's taxes is here — all 39 pages of it. Knock yourself out.
Don't hold your breath
Who’s Getting a Car for Christmas? Ask the People Who Sell Giant Bows
"Some makers and sellers of car bows, the oversize decorations that sit on hoods and roofs, report a steep decline in business this holiday season. As with many economic indicators of late, the data is mixed. But if weak bow sales are taken as a shiny red indicator, they may foreshadow a drop-off in the number of cars given as gifts this year." – Wall Street JournalThis is, by the way, an example of OSINT, open source intelligence, and a pretty good one at that. Another familiar example: Tracking pizza orders at the White House to discover whether big news is about to break (people are working late). The best-known example of OSINT on the internet is Bellingcat.
12.19.2022
Yeah right, weather nerd
There's something magical about waking up on Christmas morning and there's snow on the ground.
Unless you're the guy who has to go out and shovel it.
I blame this whole thing on Bing Crosby and that White Christmas song (run along, kiddies—grownup talk here).
[Disclosure: I am not going to mention the forecast for where I am, because I don't want to jinx it.]
[Also disclosure: I belonged to the Weather Forecasting Club one year in high school, so weather nerd are (or were, at least) us.]
12.14.2022
LOL
Caption from a sports photo appearing on the UPI web site:
"Chicago Bears wide receiver Chris Finke (L) attempts to catch a pass…"
Bears fans learn to just live with it.
On playing by the rules
California girl licensed to own unicorn — if she finds one
The first-of-its-kind permit came with strings attached, however: The mythical creature must be provided ample exposure to sunlight, moonbeams and rainbows and have its horn polished at least once a month with a soft cloth.
12.13.2022
Send not to know who got their bell rung here
From a story in Fortune magazine about the FTX-Crypto collapse…
John Ray III called FTX’s collapse one of the worst business failures he has seen — a “paperless bankruptcy,” fueled by an “unprecedented lack of documentation.”…
Ray, a long-time corporate restructuring expert, said the situation at FTX was worse that what he found at Enron two decades ago. Enron was one of the biggest corporate frauds in U.S. history
And from an AP story on the same subject…
U.S. Attorney Williams said Tuesday that Bankman-Fried made “tens of millions of dollars” in illegal campaign donations.
[Emphasis mine.]
12.12.2022
Please let this be true
Could walking backwards be the secret to physical and cognitive health?
“Doing something like challenging the body to walk backwards requires actually quite a lot of coordination, quite a lot of effort, and it’s asking your brain to do something it’s not as used to doing,” McNamara said.This could be the greatest health fad ever! Really…just imagine everybody walking backward all around town. In the grocery store (see the article for cart, dragging behind). Up and down stairs.
Maybe we could all play backward sports!
12.11.2022
Every single one?
Thousands of party animals attend Midwest FurFest, world’s largest furry convention
The Midwest FurFest welcomed thousands of participants from over 50 countries spanning every continent except Alaska, the convention said.
I thought Army winning the Army-Navy football game yesterday was big, but that was before I heard about Alaska becoming a continent.
12.09.2022
The prediction
A guy from the fire department came around today to install a new smoke alarm.
When he was finished he said, "Don't worry, it's a 10-year battery. You'll never have to change it."
We'll see about that.
12.08.2022
Don't be a phish
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) provides this infographic on phishing — something you already know about (right?) but might, nonetheless, require occasional review.
12.07.2022
“American manufacturing is back.”
TSMC Raises Arizona Chip Investment to $40 Billion as Biden Visits
Back, except…well…it's owned by Taiwan.
In a letter to the Commerce Department last month, TSMC said it was primarily relying on its own capital supplemented by U.S. incentive funds for building the complex in Arizona. It didn’t specify how much money it might get from the government.
I guess they're going to let us buy the chips they make in Arizona, which is nice of them.
So it's not that the masks didn't work, it's that they worked too well?
Worst flu outbreak in more than a decade spikes hospitalizations
The worst flu outbreak in more than a decade has left nearly every state with high or very high levels of flu activity, underscoring how pandemic precautions may have left us more vulnerable to seasonal respiratory diseases.
I figured I'd be the last guy on the planet to give in to the "masks didn't work" claim; never considered working could be a bad thing, not a good. Who knew?
Please tell me the "experts" didn't know.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
REAL ID deadline is extended again to 2025
The enforcement deadline had been May 3, 2023, but the Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that it's been pushed back again, until 2025
Nice, round number: 2025 will be an even 20 years after the REAL ID law was passed. But who's counting?
12.06.2022
Well this is embarrassing
Most sinful cities in US
Chicago comes in at only number eight on this list of most sinful U.S. cities, and not even that high—not even close— in the Excesses & Vices category. There it is, by comparison, almost squeaky clean.
It's going to take along time to live that down.
12.05.2022
Moderate…
“The First Amendment isn’t absolute” – Twitter files show Democrat staffers wanted more censorship
Szabo wrote of the Democrats: “They linked this to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal: she did nothing wrong but because the press wouldn’t let the story go, it became a scandal far out of proportion. In their mind, social media is doing the same thing: it doesn’t moderate enough harmful content so when it does, like it did yesterday, it becomes a story. If the companies moderated more, conservatives wouldn’t even think to use social media for disinformation, misinformation, or otherwise.
…has never been a synonym for censor.
[Emphasis mine.]
12.02.2022
A starry-eyed manifesto from the internet's dawn…
…now reads like it came from another Century. (Oh, wait…)
A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
Just getting with the program here
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT[A]) is an environmental movement that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction in order to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of humankind. VHEMT supports human extinction primarily because, in the group's view, it would prevent environmental degradation.
[From Wikipedia. No kidding.]
The only remaining question: Who will be the first extinctionist to run for Congress?
Believe it or not…
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum to close in Atlantic City
Connelly [the museum's mamager] said the museum is closing because its local franchisee is reaching the end of its agreement with Ripley’s.
And also, its function is now performed by Twitter.
Pied Piper need not apply
Rat Attack: NYC seeks hands-on leader in anti-rodent fight
“The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from various angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter,” reads that ad.
Piping is just not slaughtery enough.
12.01.2022
The nature thing
Prayers? Bombs? Hawaii history shows stopping lava not easy
Thinking you should physically divert lava is a Western idea rooted in the notion that humans have to control everything, said Kealoha Pisciotta, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner. She said people need to adjust to the lava, not the other way around.
Which perfectly aligns with my position on lawn care.
[I don't care if you do it, though. –ED]
Contrary to popular belief…
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…there are still some good things about Twitter. This public service announcement, for example.
Everybody writes a note to Santa this time of year
WAR INDUSTRY LOOKING FORWARD TO “MULTIYEAR AUTHORITY” IN UKRAINE
Congress is “supportive of this. They’re going to give us multiyear authority, and they’re going to give us funding to really put into the industrial base — and I’m talking billions of dollars into the industrial base — to fund these production lines,” said the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, Bill LaPlante, in remarks reported by Defense News. “That, I predict, is going to happen, and it’s happening now. And then people will have to say: ‘I guess they were serious about it.’ But we have not done that since the Cold War.”
11.30.2022
U.S. soccer team scores a goal: Great celebration ensues
The Painful Goal That Saved America at the World Cup
No kidding.
This was in fact the second goal our favorite team has scored in a mere three games, and was enough to put the U.S. kickers into the World Cup's Sweet Sixteen — or, as it's known in soccer circles, the "knockout round."
We are, of course, thrilled, and fervently hope they knock themselves out by scoring another goal some day, hopefully before the present tournament ends.
Go U.S.A.!
11.28.2022
There's no business like…
Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell Will Eat You Alive: How ‘Bones and All’ Became the Year’s Sexiest Cannibal Love Story
Not very often do you see headlines like this. (It's from Variety.)
It's not only beans that make Boston famous
Oddball 6-foot ‘Lobsta Mickey’ statue returns to Boston
The 700-pound statue was last seen in the city nearly two decades ago at Quincy Market where it entertained tourists and shoppers — before slipping out of sight and into city lore after it was sold in 2005 at an auction organized by Disney.
Also:
The British are Coming (again): Royal family chooses Boston for award ceremonyThree if by air.
11.25.2022
If a genie ever offers me three wishes, one will be to know how many bulldogs are named Winston
Winston the French bulldog wins Best in Show in Philadelphia
“He is a show dog with personality and beauty and a perfect fit for the breed,” said Vicki Seiler-Cushman, the best in show judge, in a statement. “He has a razzle dazzle that says, ‘I am here to win tonight.’ You can tell that he can also go home and be the perfect pet.”
(If only two, maybe not.)
11.24.2022
And only a few billion years ago, Maybe.
NASA Mars Rover Finds ‘Very, Very Strange Chemistry’ and Ingredients for Life
A trio of new studies using data from NASA's Perseverence rover confirm that Jezero Crater on Mars was once habitable.
[In our experience, chemistry is always "very, very strange." –ED]
Getting invaded by the Russians helps
85,000 Ukrainians Fled to the U.S., and Twice as Many Americans Offered to Help
A new government program cut through red tape and slashed a process from years to weeks. It’s why a woman from Ukraine is living with a family in North Carolina.
Too bad they didn't invade Afghanistan too.
11.22.2022
Twitter was hate-free until…wait, what?
Senate Democrats demand the FTC launches investigation into Elon Musk’s Twitter
The senators claimed that hate has increased on the platform…
If this is all they have to do, we're paying them too much.
By the way (from Wikipedia): "The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection."
What do you think The Washington Post or the New York Times would say if Senators asked the FTC to investigate them?
(Or the Boston Globe, what, Liz?)
[You can contact Senator Warren at @ewarren. BTW. –ED]
The revolution begins, and it's not what you expected. At all.
Taylor Swift ticket trouble could drive political engagement
“The level of anger that you’ve just seen in the country around this issue is astounding,” said Jean Sinzdak, associate director for the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “People are really sharing their feelings about that and building a movement about that online, which I really think is quite fascinating. It’s certainly an opportunity to engage people politically. Whether it lasts is hard to say, but it certainly feels like a real opportunity.”
[Or, who will be the first to call this another Russian plot?]
11.21.2022
Why it's so hard for us fans of real football to understand this sport
World Cup 2022: USMNT squanders dominant World Cup start, settles for draw with Wales
The dominant start of which we speak here consisted of scoring one point. One.
The draw occurred when the other team, Wales, scored a point after 82 minutes of play.
Final: 1-1.
But there's a picture, so you can guess all you want
Car found impaled in Walmart Supercenter parking lot in Leicester
The department did not say how the car became impaled. No further details about the crash were released to the public.
11.19.2022
Defining the word, fiasco
DEA’s most corrupt agent: Parties, sex amid ‘unwinnable war
The way Irizarry tells it, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as “Team America” that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches.
And folks, this is not a partisan story. The whole "war on drugs" dates back to the Nixon administration in 1971, and continues through the alternating reigns of both political parties. Deriliction of leadership is what we're seeing here.
And gobs of misspent money.
Our nomination for laugh line of the day
"Former Vice President Mike Pence warned the Justice Department…"
It's Canada's fault. Again.
A Lake-Effect Snowstorm in New York Dumps 4 Feet of Snow on Buffalo Area
Lake-effect snow occurs when cold air, often from Canada, moves across the warmer waters of the Great Lakes.
Built a wall at the wrong border.
(OK, that's a joke. Kind of.)
Imagine our surprise
They Lived Together, Worked Together and Lost Billions Together: Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s Doomed FTX Empire
The emerging picture of what went wrong suggests the crypto empire was a mess almost from the start, with few boundaries, financial or personal
11.18.2022
Beer. Near.
Sale of beer with alcohol banned at World Cup stadiums
“Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from ... stadium perimeters,” FIFA said in a statement.…AB InBev pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for exclusive rights to sell beer and has already shipped the majority of its stock from Britain to Qatar in expectation of selling its product to millions of fans.
Considerable crying in to follow.
And here, a campaign for the 2014 election has begun
Hundreds of sheep have been walking in a circle for 12 days straight in China
The bizarre behavior, captured on surveillance video, shows the large flock continuously marching clockwise in a near perfect circle on a farm.
Some other sheep can be seen spectating from the outside the rotation while others at times stand motionless in the center.
Oil
Biden administration says Saudi crown prince has immunity in trial over slain journalist
Dismissing the case would help Saudi Arabia end a period of international ostracism triggered by the U.S.-based journalist's 2018 killing
Read in The Wall Street Journal: https://apple.news/AjAxT-aAWRfKFk9x-Ki9GJg
Shared from Apple News
"It's beyond ironic that President Biden has single-handedly assured MBS can escape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable," Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the nonprofit, said using Prince Mohammed's initials. "Not even the Trump administration did this."
11.17.2022
Nostalgia bites
SANDWICHES OF THE 1920S
Emergency Sandwich
“Put six sweet pickles though the food chopper, also five hard-boiled eggs. Salt and pepper to taste. Cream two tablespoons of peanut butter and one of prepared mustard and add the pickle and eggs. A little paprika or a dash of vinegar may be added to thin to spreading consistency. Good on rye or whole-wheat bread.” (p. 57)And so much more.
Just to clarify
From Merriam-Webster:
Turf
A: the upper stratum of soil bound by grass and plant roots into a thick mat
also : a piece of this
B: an artificial substitute for this (as on a playing field)
In other words, turf is "turf" even when it's not. Turf, that is.
So now we can all clearly understand the current NFL/player controversy about turf. The players are complaining about playing fields with turf, which is not grass. What they want to play on is grass turf.
Better now?
11.16.2022
Would you let these guys drive your car?
Fed’s Brainard Says Rate-Rise Pace Can Slow Soon
A slower pace of rate rises would allow the Fed more time to study how its moves this year are slowing the economy in ways that can’t be observed yet, Ms. Brainard said.
Seriously. I don't have a car, so obviously they can't drive mine.
But I'm still a pedestrian. So, now that I think about it, please don't.
Around and around we go
Ukrainian Analysis Identifies Western Supply Chain Behind Iran’s Drones
New intelligence collected from downed Iranian drones in Ukraine shows that a majority of the aircrafts’ parts are manufactured by companies in the U.S., Europe and other allied nations…[Story from Apple News or Wall Street Journal, Nov.16]
The U.S. Government is…investigating,
Once more into the breach
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former president who refused to concede defeat and inspired a failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election culminating in a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, officially declared on Tuesday night that he is running to retake the White House in 2024.
This will not end well, no matter how it ends.
My fearless forecast: Trump will not be a major party candidate in 2024.
11.15.2022
Of course you already know this
US wholesale inflation eases to 8%, 4th straight slowdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices at the wholesale level rose 8% in October from a year ago, the fourth straight decline and the latest sign that inflation pressures in the United States are easing from painfully high levels.
See? There it is, right there. "Easing" does not mean going down, it means going up more slowly. If you consider 8% slow, that is.
Where I buy groceries there's a point in the checkout process where a computer screen announces the total owed and then asks, "Is this OK? Yes/No." I asked the checkout person, "If I say no, will you negotiate?"
She said she wouldn't. But added, "We think there should be a third button that says "Not Really."
I agree.
But the sun
Trump filing in suit against Twitter compares former president to Galileo
The brief likens Trump to Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was persecuted by the Catholic Church for promulgating the belief that the Earth revolved around the sun.
No, Trump fans (and assorted watchers), he's not Hitler. He's not Galileo either. What he is is done. Yes, despite tonight's "big announcement", whatever it is (wink, wink). He's gone.
Wait for it.
Who will write the minority report?
Trains to use AI technology and CCTV to detect pre-crimes
“Our smart iCCTV technology is capable of spotting risky situations early on, for example automatically recognizing when one person is ‘squaring up’ to another,” said Siemens Mobility managing director of rolling stock Sambit Bannerjee.
11.12.2022
A matter of concern
‘Dark Ships’ Emerge From the Shadows of the Nord Stream Mystery
No, not the pipeline story — which is concerning in its own right, of course. But this:
"A NATO official, who did not have permission to speak publicly, confirmed to WIRED that…"
Why is it that when a person without permission to speak speaks people assume he's worth listening to?
Seems to me, when a person without permission to speak speaks he is a priori untrustworthy. I know, I know, whistleblower and all that. But this article — like many others — does not cast said official in the role of whistleblower, but as somebody who reinforces the story's thesis, pretty well laid out in advance.
Anonymous sources are only marginally useful at best, and at worse, downright dangerous.
11.11.2022
Some people are concerned with gun laws, but…
Protester who threw eggs at King Charles III barred from carrying eggs in public as part of bail: report
And also “I did what I did because I don’t believe in kings."
A photo of the offending egg, courtesy of the New York Post, is here.
How it began
Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals…
Now the question is, how does it end?
Now that we're all no longer obsessed with electioneering…
What Is the True Cost of Climate Change?
Faced with two types of predictions, physics versus economics, policymakers have unsurprisingly chosen the one that justifies an easier, urgency-denying path. The challenge for us all—citizens, leaders, and academics alike—is to call out the mathematical, logical, and moral errors built into the economic forecasts before it’s too late.
Business as usual.
11.08.2022
Dispatches from the art wars
How Museums Aim to Stop Food-Throwing, Climate-Change Protesters
Museums are enacting “zero bag” policies, putting prized paintings behind glass and hiring ex-British and Israeli military pros to teach their guards surveillance tactics after a series of climate-change protests have left the world’s most famous art slathered in mashed potatoes and tomato or pea soup.
11.05.2022
Swindon back in the news*
Tired of Daylight-Saving Time Confusion? Just Opt Out
Stefano Pavone from Swindon, England, lives year-round on Greenwich Mean Time, the original standard time. He wears a watch on each wrist as a protest when the U.K. shifts to daylight-saving time from spring until fall. He says he has slept better since making the switch four years ago. “I just need to remember which one to look at when I have an appointment,” he says.Since 1972, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) has been called Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). It is maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). It is also known as "Z time" or "Zulu Time".
*[H/T Jasper Fforde]
11.04.2022
"Fun" has a moment
How Morticians Are Putting the Fun in Funerals
At an industry convention in Baltimore last month, funeral directors were invited to a workshop on how to “build your preneed customer pipeline” and “generate warm leads.” Among the pro tips some have implemented: Dinners at cemeteries, so-called death cafes and burial-plot lotteries.
Beer on the rocks, and other campaign cuisine
Political Candidates Choke on Food, Drink Issues: Crudités, Corn Husks, Ice in Beer
Controversy bubbled over when word spread that the Colorado Republican sipped Michelob Ultra in a glass of ice during an interview. The partisan outrage spilled in a state awash in craft breweries, 428 at last count….
11.03.2022
11.01.2022
Coffee studying: Is it the perfect job?
Starbucks secret: Dark French Roast ‘is not 100% coffee,’ says complaint
“This is strange and hard to believe,” said Taka Shibamoto, a distinguished emeritus professor at the UC Davis Coffee Center, which bills itself as the first academic facility entirely dedicated to studying coffee.”
I can see a whole new career.
Maybe you shouldn't try this at home
Man slices through apples while bouncing on pogo stick for world record
He said the most difficult aspect of what he called the "pogo stick fruit ninja" record was learning to bounce on a pogo stick without using his hands.
10.30.2022
Not everybody gets a Nobel
Geologist hopes to secure state honor for armored mud balls
Franklin County is understood to be the only place in the world to have easily observable Jurassic armored mud balls…
10.28.2022
10.27.2022
Next, a hidden camera detector jammer?
The best hidden camera detectors to give you peace of mind on your next getaway
It's getting younger to be old
The Newest Card-Carrying Members of AARP: 20-Somethings
“You have to be brave enough to ask about it, show it and prepare for the double take,” said Ms. Phillips, who lives in Austin, Texas.
Turns out anyone over thirteen (yes, that's 13) can join.
It's all about the discounts, says this article in the Wall Street Journal.)
[AARP stands for American Association of Retired Persons.]
10.26.2022
So, just to clarify this tweet…
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…the explosion described actually happened 2.4 billion years ago and we are just seining it now.
Light travels at 186,000 miles/second (the way I learned it, before everything changed to metric), so in 2.4 billion years it travels a very long way.
10.24.2022
A person can get arrested…
Michigan woman arrested for failing to scan all items at Walmart self-checkout
…for stealing $1,000 from a Walmart in Michigan but not for filching Top Secret documents from the U.S. government. Just pointing out.
This is what we call (with a straight face) the even-handed administration of justice. Unflinching, etc., etc.
[We do not advocate stealing stuff. From anywhere. -ED]
Chicago Sun-Times pleads for more surveillance
Quick tracking by automakers could reduce carjackings
And they have a point:Carjackings in Chicago rose 38% from 2020 to 2021, as the city saw more than 1,800 carjackings in 2021. In all of Cook County, there were about 2,100 carjackings in 2021.
Modern autos contain tracking devices but companies insist on formalities, even warrants.
Some automakers won’t turn on a location device remotely if a theft victim has not subscribed to the automaker’s tracking service. Some accept calls from police only on weekdays or during certain hours. Others want car owners to be on the phone with police to request a tracking…. Still other automakers require a time-consuming, judge-approved search warrant or a subpoena.
Why not fix that?
The technology is there. The auto companies just need a nudge to do it. And they should do it in a way so that no one — auto companies nor police — can track or keep records of people’s movements later as they go about their daily lives.
Oh. There's the rub.
We're at a crossroads here.
10.22.2022
10.21.2022
How much we missed
International Sloth Day promotes slow-moving animal conservation
Other holidays and observances for Oct. 20, 2022, include Community Media Day, Conflict Resolution Day, Get Smart About Credit Day, Get to Know Your Customer Day, International Chef's Day, International Credit Union Day, International Shakeout Day, Miss American Rose Day, National Brandied Fruit Day, National Call-In Day for Health Reform, National Day on Writing, National Suspenders Day, National Youth Conference Day, Office Chocolate Day, Spirit Day, The International Day of the Air Traffic Controller, Wear Purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Day, World Osteoporosis Day and World Statistics Day.
By our count, that means each "day" gets 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 24 seconds to itself.
Meanwhile, "'Fleet-footed lizard' named Massachusetts' official state dinosaur."
10.19.2022
10.17.2022
We can barely contain our excitement
32 years in, Microsoft has decided to rebrand “Microsoft Office”
When updated, the apps will pick up the Microsoft 365 branding and a new logo, seen above, which still looks kind of like an O, but in a different way from how the Office logo looks a bit like an O.
Look over there! Orange man!
For Biden and Trump, 2022 is 2020 sequel — and 2024 preview?
This election is about the House, the Senate, Governors and other officials of the several states. And that's important.
Biden and Trump can wait. Now is now.
10.16.2022
Luckily, it's improved since then
Biden turning to Trump-era rule to expel Venezuelan migrants
Biden last week invoked a Trump-era rule known as Title 42 -- which Biden’s own Justice Department is fighting in court —
Oh. Wait.
10.15.2022
The Armageddon Codes
U.S. Has Made ‘Dramatic Change’ in Technology Used for Nuclear Code System
The machinery of nuclear Armageddon, as the upgrade to the nuclear-code system demonstrates, isn’t a thing of the past. Yet the acknowledgment of the recent technology refresh surprised several nuclear and security experts, who said they had no prior indication the code-generating equipment had been overhauled.
If you want to stoke your anxieties…
…during these last few electoral weeks, here's a link to FiveThirtyEight's page of polling averages.
For myself, I prefer going to the polls on Election Day to fill out a ballot—seems more participatory that way—but, as you know, there are other options. Pick the one that suits you best and get it done.
Plan to vote.
10.14.2022
I'm so old I remember playing cards
Facebook “whistleblower” Frances Haugen teams up with former intelligence officials to form new pressure group
Former Facebook employee turned “whistleblower,” Frances Haugen, several former lawmakers, defense secretaries, and intelligence chiefs have formed the Council for Responsible Social Media, which will address the harmful impacts of social media.
It was playing cards that was going to ruin the moral fiber of the country, drive us all to despair and perdition. And dancing, of course, and jazz. And movies where two people slept in the same bed.
And on and on, rock 'n roll, video games, smoking funny weeds…I'm skipping a lot, but you get the idea.
Now we're up to social media.
But the real problem is this: People are cranky.
Also, on occasion, pretty cool.
And we're stuck with it.
And I thought those cells were lost forever
Brain cells in a lab dish learn to play Pong — and offer a window onto intelligence
A layer of living neurons is grown on a special silicon chip at the bottom of a thumb-size dish filled with nutrients. The chip, which is linked to a computer, can both detect electrical signals produced by the neurons, and deliver electrical signals to them.If the nutrients include beer…
Why does nobody trust them anymore?
The Regulators of Facebook, Google and Amazon Also Invest in the Companies’ Stocks
The top watchdog of American business is also home to Washington’s most active Wall Street investors.
One problem with these kinds of white-collarish shenanigans is they're booooring. Watching Butch and Sundance rob trains was a lot more fun.
But this is where the big hauls are made.
10.13.2022
Addendum
It has come to my attention from playing Solitaire on my computer that some people keep score at this game, and one of the things they keep score of is how fast they can do it. This kind of knee-jerk competitiveness must stop.
It is a sacrilege and an abomination.
The whole point of Solitaire is to waste time. There is no other reason for it. Therefore I will not be appearing on any Solitaire scoreboard.
Wasting your time looking for my name there, however, is an approved activity.
The end of work. Entirely.
I discovered I have a Solitaire app on my laptop.
And I thought I knew everything.
How wrong I was.
10.12.2022
Nigeria is so last Century
Woman scammed by fake Russian astronaut, loses Rs 24 lakh
Another such case has come to light where a man claiming to be a Russian astronaut scammed a woman into paying more than £27,000 (Rs 24,61,500). The reason? The man asked this woman to pay for his rocket so he could land back on Earth, meet her and then marry her.
[H/T Shawn]
(Sorry. A little geek joke there. Nigerian spammers were, and probably still are, the masters of that craft. Legendary.)
10.11.2022
Imagine the pie
Minnesota pumpkin nearly breaks world record weighing more than 2,500 pounds
Gonna take a lot of whipped cream.
Escaping the bonds of sanity
Best Place to Survive Nuclear War in the U.S.
Some estimates name Maine, Oregon, Northern California, and Western Texas as some of the safest locales in the case of nuclear war, due to their lack of large urban centers and nuclear power plants.
"Normalizing" has become a trendy word in recent years; there is nothing normal about nuclear war. And there is likely nothing survivable either. Even in Maine.
Nuclear chicken is not a game with a happy ending.
10.10.2022
Columbus Day (or Not, if you prefer)…
…in a previous Century traditionally marked the peak of the color season in these parts, but as you can see we are now still mostly green and the real color is still, maybe, a couple of weeks off.
I don't know if this has anything at all to do with global warming; I suspect the leaves change color whenever they please. But it is beginning to seem like a trend.
On dreams dashed
Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere
One of the industry’s favorite maxims is that humans are terrible drivers. This may seem intuitive to anyone who’s taken the Cross Bronx Expressway home during rush hour, but it’s not even close to true. Throw a top-of-the-line robot at any difficult driving task, and you’ll be lucky if the robot lasts a few seconds before crapping out.
But Tesla is touting trucks.
Inure*
North Korea says missile tests are practice for ‘tactical nuclear strikes’ on South Korea
Experts say that North Korea has likely manufactured some nuclear warheads – “20 to 30 warheads for delivery primarily by medium-range ballistic missiles,” Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda of Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, wrote in September.* https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inure
Maybe…
…I'm just saying maybe the press is simply upset they didn't get to leak whatever juicy top secret stuff they think Trump did. They are certainly doing a fine job of it otherwise.
And in this piece…
U.S. Believes Ukraine Was Behind Assassination of Putin Ally’s Daughter
…the Wall Street Journal adds a nifty wrinkle by attributing their story to the New York Times, rather than the ubiquitous people "familiar with the matter." Well done, WSJ. CYA.
And yes, I'm being sarcastic here. But only a little.
10.08.2022
10.07.2022
Ooops
Electric vehicles catching fire in Florida after Hurricane Ian
“There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start."
Still?
Justice Department insists to Trump’s attorneys that he return all documents marked classified
Really? Ia there an end to this? What doesn't exactly add up here?
10.05.2022
Declassified after 60 years
The Cuban Missile Crisis @ 60
There have been books about it, movies about it, and a lot of folklore about it.
This is the it.
Whoda thunk?
A Key to Long Covid Is Virus Lingering in the Body, Scientists Say
Virus remaining in some people’s bodies for a long time may be causing longer-term complications, recent research suggests
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