Chilly, but not much snow in Michigan…

 …says the Snowman Cam.

A moment of envy…

…for Canada (go figure) reported in a story about wayward Chinese "research balloons," one of which is now suspected of lingering above our northern neighbor. Says the North American Aerospace Defense Command:

“Canada’s intelligence agencies are working with American partners and continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard Canada’s sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats."

Canada is apparently not plagued by senior officials who scatter its sensitive information about their private offices, homes, and garages. Must be nice.

On bearing down

Trickery in the NFL May Be Wrong, but It Is Also Legendary* 

The NFL was founded by, among others, Chicago Bears player, coach and owner George Halas, a master not just of blocking and tackling but of the edge-giving trick. He was the owner who positioned his marching band by the opposing bench with orders to play whenever the other coach started to talk. He was the strategist who put itching powder in the opponents’ uniforms. He was the innovator who introduced the modern QB-centered offense which, from the start, was nothing but feint, fake and diversion.

*From a [paywalled] Wall Street Journal article also available in Apple News.

Good one!

China says balloon is for research, accidently strayed

At least they didn't say trawler. Trawler would have been difficult to believe.

UFO might have worked. But here in the US, anything with the word, "research," attached is instantly believed, true or not. 

And, according to the Pentagon, at least, the Chinese were actually doing research — on military installations in the Pacific Northwest. Stuff they couldn't figure out just by lurking around in the networks.

This, by the way, is not the only story about balloons following the jetstream from Asia. There's another story here.

In any other world this would be called plea bargaining

Why the FBI searched President Biden’s beach house

The latest developments in Biden’s case fit the bigger picture of a White House that has been cooperating with the Justice Department from the start…

And, says this article in Vox… 

So far, the growing focus on Biden’s documents hasn’t hurt him politically.

 Is it working? Is this a master class in obfuscation?

Well, you be the judge.

"1984" was a plan

“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” - George Orwell, 1984 

Democratic-backed Connecticut bill would ban ‘Latinx’ term

It's about six and a half weeks until Spring

 Today is, of course, Groundhog Day. And the legend says if the rodent sees its shadow…or doesn't see it's shadow, either way…because, there are groundhogs everywhere…some of them famous, some of them not…and, of course, some of those places are sunny and some are not…its seasonal prediction will be absolutely approximately correct.

Six and a half weeks. More or less.

You can look it up.

The pandemic will end in 101 days

President Biden to end COVID-19 emergencies on May 11

This sounds a little…ahem…contrived, doesn't it? It'll be interesting to find out what else is scheduled to happen about that time.

Anyway, happy to see it go. I think.