Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Bunker

3,526 comments:

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Anonymous said...

Berlin rebuffs Trump idea for bilateral trade talks.

https://euobserver.com/tickers/137145

According to Der Spiegel, Navarro was told to contact the European Central Bank. Germany cannot manipulate the exchange rate of the Euro.

gmbka

CalypsoSummer said...

So-o-o-o-o, we can expect Bigly to start sending out insulting tweets about Chancellor Merkel now, huh? Sad.

Anonymous said...

It's just another to attempt attack the EU. Divide and conquer is often successful, but to try it with the strongest EU member and defender is a bit disingenuous.

https://www.ft.com/content/e2d04cda-028f-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9

gmbka

Anonymous said...

gmbka et al., did you hear on NPR this AM that Trump's chaotic Presidential roll-up may be dissuading some Dutch from voting for the anti-Islamic populist candidate who'd been leading in the multi-candidate polls? Hope it's true. The election is next Wednesday:
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/08/519170671/the-populist-nativist-appeal-of-dutch-politician-geert-wilders

The Netherlands goes to the polls this month for parliamentary elections. One of the leading candidates, Geert Wilders, is running on a populist, anti-immigrant, anti-Islam agenda.

WaPo also has an article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/08/dutch-voters-head-to-the-polls-on-march-15-here-are-4-things-to-know

esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy-Parker

Anonymous said...

P.S. Jumper, thank you for your hospitality ♥

esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy-Parker

Anonymous said...

Jumper, what's the latest on Pistol Pete?

esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy-Parker

Anonymous said...

And ... Vinca is also blooming. Maybe life goes on.

gmbka

Jumper said...

These things require refreshing the page for new comments. I turned off the Captcha thing too.

Anonymous said...

I have heard and read often that we have the highest health-care costs in the world. The graph linked below does not show that because it is adjusted for price, whatever that means. But it shows clearly that we have the lowest life expectancy in the developed world.

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2017/03/roser.png&w=1484

gmbka

Anonymous said...

*looks around* Nice place you got here.
I'm hoping no one forgot to bring along the margarita machine from the old bunker. Or the tequila.

I've been working on developing the syllabus for my fall class, a course I've never taught before. Very excited to have the opportunity to teach this particular subject. BUT, if the department secretary doesn't stop bugging me for a copy of the syllabus, I'ma gonna kill her. Seriously. The deadline for turning them in to the dean's office is the first day of class. Which is in August. Which is at least five months away, by my admittedly unscientific calculation method involving using my fingers to count on. The old crone (er, administrative professional) retires at the end of the fall semester at which point I suspect the entire third floor of DeadWhiteManFounder Hall will rise up and cheer.

-Snarky Squirrel

Dave of the Coonties said...

Having Slovak grandparents (next door to Czech, where robotniks originated), I feel comfortable demonstrating I'm not one.

Spent the afternoon clipping and touching up an overgrown evergreen about the size and shape of Jabba the Hutt. Nearby, a big begonia and a Petrea vine, a Caribbean species that could pass for a wisteria when flowering, were busy performing.

Jabba the Big Bush is slowly going from solid mass of green to something a bit more open, where at least from the back, you can look into the broad trunk and sturdy branches.

Anonymous said...

Badsneakers here. Loved your comment Snarky! I spent this morning in a class on the Reconstruction which is sponsored by a neighboring town's senior citizen center. There sure is a lot of similarity between then and now. It's going to be a fun course!

CalypsoSummer said...

There is an innerestin' article about Neanderthals, because some clever researchers thought of looking inside their dental plaque, and didn't they find some stuff!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/03/08/neanderthal-microbes-reveal-surprises-about-what-they-ate-and-who-they-kissed/

One of the people in the Comments mentioned Kennis & Kennis, whom I've never heard of but who are people who do paleontological reconstructions. If you can say that three times, you're not drunk yet. Remember that reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman? That was them. http://www.kenniskennis.com/site/Home/ Very interesting stuff!

Anonymous said...

Saw that article, Calypso, fascinating!

The St. Pats parade in South Boston is back in the news because the Neaderthals who run it have excluded the gay veterans after having included them for the last two years. Lots of pushback even from our Repub governor.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/08/gay-veterans-group-says-was-denied-spot-south-boston-parade/qjtliAEyvWjY1uYU0KEb7J/story.html

Badsneakers

The Pup said...

The Neanderthal article was intriguing. More research is called for :).

Another article of interest is that super-sized memory can be trained and the effect last for months.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170308131236.htm

In other news, still phoning politicians-- I took a break and came back to it again today.

Mr. Hastings is busy hunting a new spiky purple ball that blends in uncannily well when on chocolate brown rugs. He will be the terror of purple hedgehogs everywhere.

-Haikucle Poirot.

Anonymous said...

Not really surprising the folks who organize a St Pats parade would be Neanderthals. Having an orientation looking backwards to the beginning of the tradition would seem to be natural if not a requirement.

Jim19 from SoCal

Dave of the Coonties said...

Flori-duh, from the Miami Herald: Very drunk UF student body president-elect arrested in Key West

Fortunately, perhaps, he's a food science major.

Dave of the Coonties said...

I should probably go look for a serious history of Ireland. Cromwell and the Puritans did their best to depopulate the island, then a 1740 famine (coinciding, I think, with vast volcanic eruptions in Iceland and horrible weather) did another vast depopulation, and of course the 19th century famine wasn't even the last. There was hunger, but arguably few deaths in the l870s.

Benjamin Franklin toured Ireland and was appalled.

Dave of the Coonties said...

And now the Post reports a serious yellow fever epidemic in Brazil that could spread to the US. A perfect time to cut the CDC budget.

Anonymous said...

Trump also wants to help finance the border wall with budgetary cuts to the Coast Guard, TSA and railroad security. Colbert had a pithy comment re those who enter the US by sea, air or land (can't recall it exactly).

esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy-Parker

P.S. reCAPTCHA is still grilling posters; I'm getting really adept at clicking on squares containing partial images of road signs or patios.

CalypsoSummer said...

Dave, while you're out seeing the sights, you have got to go over to the Anza-Borrego State Park in California, where an extremely wet winter has made the desert explode into flower. The CWG blog has got some mouth-wateringly fabulous pictures:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/03/08/this-park-in-the-desert-southwest-is-experiencing-a-wildflower-superbloom/?tid=pm_pop&utm_term=.3b793a0a277f

Dave of the Coonties said...

Calypso, I saw that. I would have to dig into airline miles and do it immediately. A trip in the other direction is set for the 20th.

Of course half of San Diego and a third of Orange County ought to be there Saturday. Deservedly.

Anonymous said...

Spiegel headline:

"The Double Agent. How much Putin is in Trump", with a a blended Trump/Putin face on the front page. It actually looks better than the two original faces, but that does not take much.

gmbka

Anonymous said...

Sneaks,

Glad you're set to enjoy that class. I have to confess that Reconstruction is not my favorite period of American history to study, but there are some fine books out there on it. What are y'all going to be reading?

-Snarky Squirrel

Anonymous said...

Snarky - our primary text is Eric Foner's book but there will be additional reading assigned. I think one of them is William Dunning's book (to get the distaff view).

This has been a very busy week and today I am off to a hair appointment and then to a girlfriend's house to finally deliver their Xmas presents! (I know, but she was sick and then other things got in the way, so here we are...)

Okay, how do I avoid the robot thingy??

Sneaks

CalypsoSummer said...

That sounds really interesting, Sneaks -- I don't know as much about Reconstruction as I'd like. What are the books' titles?

(Yeah, my list of Books to Get isn't long enough as it is . . . )


P.S. I'm not a robot.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Yesterday evening, made it to a wildly popular Amor Towles presentation on "A Gentleman in Moscow" at the local bookstore, which is still in business. He was well rehearsed, of course, but an excellent speaker, perhaps at his best taking a question and noting that readers of fiction have become extremely fussy about accuracy. Roughly, "Why do we expect authors to adhere so much more carefully to fact than our presidential candidates?" After all, nothing of the sort had been expected of fiction in the past. Shakespeare had concentrated on creating full-fledged figures on the stage. . . It was quite a good mini explanation of how to do drama. Good thing Yale had seen fit to take him as an undergrad.

At 3:30 am the ancient hard-wired fire alarm went off. It's gone.

Anonymous said...

The next time somebody tells me that climate change is just a theory, my response will be "so is gravity". I am so tired of that.

gmbka

Anonymous said...

Cal,

Eric Foner, "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution"
Also, he wrote "A Short History of Reconstruction," which is, well, shorter. [Didn't see that one coming, didya?]

William Dunning, "Reconstruction Political and Economic," was written in the 19-aughts (1905? Somewhere around there) -- not worth the read if you don't have to for a class. His argument is historiographically out-of-date and his racism is appalling.

If you're interested in post-bellum in general, I heartily recommend David Blight's "Race and Reunion." It's about memory of the war. An excellent read.

-SnSq

The Pup said...

What about W.E.B. DuBois, "Black Reconstruction?"
John Hope Franklin " Reconstruction after the Civil War?"

Curious as to your opinion of Douglas Blackmon's scholarship, as well, on the neoslavery that occurred after the Civil War. "Slavery By Another Name: The re-enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil Wars to World War II."

When you read it from the lens of Black history, Reconstruction is a heck of a lot more interesting than you would think, and you also see a warning parable for our times.

Anonymous said...

HP,

I read the last entries of the Pup's blog, and they were beautifully written and illustrated with wonderful photos. Unfortunately this trip ended sadly. But I hope you have not given up writing because you do it so well.

gmbka

Dave of the Coonties said...

I'm waiting for alt-right historian David Barton to explain how Eric Foner's revisionist Reconstruction is fake history, and the classic narrative of virtuous white southerners redeeming their region from the horrors of Reconstruction is the veritable Truth. Bannon and Sessions are leading the Second Redemption right now, repealing the damage done by the Second Reconstruction.

Foner is quite the historian, though I kind of doubt that his volume in Oxford's standard history of the US is in many southern school libraries. It comes after McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom."

The Pup said...

gmbka, thank you. I never did have the heart to finish the whole trip diary, although I have notes from my journal. That final entry just was painful.

I did start a second blog http://2nddogtor.blogspot.com/ which I have enjoyed doing and have continued writing off-line as a manuscript. i hope to finish at least 50K-70K words raw before I begin revising it. I am up to 30K+ I work on it in spurts.

I haven't given up writing. Moving and setting up house and a routine has kept me busy, but I was going back to it, then Election night kind of stopped me cold with rage, and I'm still working on recovering, and I think it's happening, but inspiration is mainly for my more serious fantasy novel draft that's taken forever to work on.

Ideally I would be writing at least 5K words a week on my projects, minimum, and that's not happening. (I can do 2-3K on a good day.)


The Pup said...

Sorry... the best way to read that blog is to start with http://2nddogtor.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-second-dog-tor-is-born.html Every final line has a link to the next post so it makes for easier reading.

Anonymous said...

HP, do you have a publisher yet? If not, places that a writer might be able to start are with a short piece in one's alumni magazine, a "first person" type of column in a local newspaper, or a specialized publication aimed at your niche, because getting that first publication under your belt is crucial. Perhaps other boodlers have additional suggestions, based on their own or friends' experiences.

BTW, I stand in awe of your prolific output. When I'm writing my own words, there are days when every single one is agony to get out (and then I rewrite then obsessively).

*Cheering on HP, and Hastings*

Anonymous said...

Oops, "Anonymous" at 6:06 PM EST is esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy-Parker. (I was in too much of a hurry to go eat dinner).

The Pup said...

Thanks NP. I've published a very little poetry and nonfiction science writing, as well as one fiction story on an online magazine (as an alumni), no pay.

I haven't submitted work in years, but I am considering a few markets right now-- will be for old work already done and that may be publisheable as is, or with some revision. When I can't draft, I often an revise, and when I can't, I can revise.

I do revise a lot, but the goal is to learn how to free-draft without revising at the same time. The two going together tends to bog up input. Doing Nanowrimo did help me with the free draft part, at least. (Never won yet, but I like doing it.)

The Pup said...

Sorry I meant when I can't draft, I can revise. When I can't revise, I can draft. It's important to separate the two stages because one is relaxed, the other is tense and more precise/obsessive. Too much tension while drafting is like pinching off the hose.

Which is why current events had me struggling to relax enough to focus on anything other than umbrage.

Anonymous said...

It's been a very long day. Yes, it's the shorter Foner book and I'm not sure of the Dunning one because the teacher will be emailing us a link to it and my notes are pretty vague. I am very rusty at this stuff as it's been years since I took a course in anything serious.

My friend and her husband loved their Xmas gifts, which made me happy. I knew he'd like his but I thought she'd either love or hate the sweater jacket I got for her. It took me two hours to get home from her house as I had to travel in all the rush hour traffic. But it was nice to visit and also see their three remodeled bathrooms.

-Sneaks

Anonymous said...

Woo-boo
2 kid items out of my garage that goodwill will not take. So far I've given away for free a child gate and a play pen. Later tonight I will put on the free-bee listing a child/pet fence. I've talked to my brother in a different state and good will/charity is not as restrictive.
Pacifica

Anonymous said...

Draft and revise vs. dump the first thoughts and start over. It's hard to come up with the excellent argument, and easy to improve an existing one -- as long as the existing one is yours, and you don't inherit what someone else wrote on the possibly incorrect assumption it's a reasonable approach, because it might not be. At least that's certainly the view to take with computer code. I might assume it works for English, too -- people take what someone else started with because it's too hard to re-analyze from first principles as a starting point, and improve it, to end up with a solution that's still a bad solution. Jim19

Anonymous said...

Hmm... New Zealand hosting South Africa in a cricket test match in Dunedin. Spectators told to leave, players herded to the center of the field... Wonder what's going on. Jim19

Anonymous said...

Dave, a comment of yours just showed up in Achenblog. How?

Anonymous said...

Good evening, Jim!

1) Thanks, Google News: "Play resumes at University Oval evacuated after fire alarm":
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/90311532/university-oval-evacuated-after-fire-alarm-during-third-day-of-test-between-new-zealand-and-south-africa

2) Funny you should mention revising someone else's work, because my current project is editing a translation of a bio, which would be no great problem EXCEPT they aren't sending me the foreign-language original (I suspect it's not in typescript). This must be what flying a plane with only visual cues but no instruments feels like, at least when occasionally encountering occluded conditions. I've never met the subject of the bio, but fortunately I've found a couple of useful articles in English about her online. I'm also familiar with the author's style from other writings of his that I've worked on. Nonetheless, I've experienced a few face-desk moments, and there WILL be notes to the translator (not a native Anglophone, although he seems to have done a pretty good job) asking WTH is meant re certain turns of phrase accompanying my revised manuscript.

esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy-Parker

Anonymous said...

3) I still have my browser open since before the 14-day WaPo deadline for commenting on the latest kit passed, so assume Dave has his open too. I suspect my browser will crash sooner rather than later, however. NP.

Anonymous said...

Winterwonderland here, just an inch for now. I guess the forsythias will turn brown.:-(

gmbka

Badsneakers said...

Three very fluffy inches on the ground but not sticking to the roads at all, which is good for travel. On my way to the gym for exercise class and then PT. One errand after that then home to do chores. I am tired and looking forward to relaxing - maybe Sunday.

I am so totally disgusted with the Repubs and of course with NMP, that I can barely get past reading the headlines anymore.

-Sneaks

CalypsoSummer said...

New kit!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/achenblog/wp/2017/03/10/about-those-mysterious-fast-radio-bursts-from-deep-space/?utm_term=.b2ed942cf535

P.S. I AM a robot, bwa ha ha!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for hosting us, Jumper! NP.

Jumper said...



Good morning to you
Good morning to you
Good morning to you
Good morning to you

Here we are in our places
In bright shining faces
And in our eyes is a new day

Good morning

Dave of the Coonties said...

Was in Sarasota most of today. Likable, except for the local Interstate being like the one in La La Land, without the music and dance.

Now for a sale that begins promptly at 9pm.

Anonymous said...

I spent most of yesterday with spouse in the ER and then hospital. They discharged him today, much to my relief. I really resent those hospital rooms with their noisily beeping monitors, cables, and tubes. But I heard that they gave up the practice of waking up the patients at 6am to weigh them. Progress!

gmbka

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to learn that Mr. gmbka was back in the hospital, although it's good that he's home now. Hope things are more stable for him. Perhaps in a day or two the weather will warm up sufficiently for him to sit outside. which tends to brighten people's spirits.

Tried to minimize my news exposure today, for the sake of my health, so followed Hax's chat and otherwise got a lot of work done. Intend to follow that plan this weekend, with the addition of some baking.

NP a/k/a esda-beth

Anonymous said...

"The Mastermind Behind The International Irish Pub":
http://www.npr.org/2017/04/07/523044318/the-mastermind-behind-the-international-irish-pub (transcript online; audio also available)

NPR's Planet Money team explores why Irish bars look so similar all over the world and what happens when you take an authentic national experience and turn it into an export.

NP a/k/a esda-beth

CalypsoSummer said...

It's a beautiful, bright, cold day out, more suited to early March than early April. I still have some daffodils blooming, plus all the tulips are opening, and there's all those little whatever-they-are minor bulbs in flower, so that's nice.

I also have a couple of young volunteer dogwood trees in the hedgerow that are putting out flowers for the first time, so that's nice, too -- I was hoping they'd do well.

I'm also hoping my bleeding hearts don't get burned up; I'd put them under a tree that I eventually had to take out, and while they were very happy in the shade, I don't know how they'll do now that their friend is gone.

Maybe I'll get energetic and mow the lawn this afternoon. Then again, maybe I won't.

Anonymous said...

"How Much Do Cats and Dogs Remember?":
http://www.livescience.com/58602-do-cats-dogs-have-long-term-memories.html

Calypso, your yard sounds lovely.

Baking potato bread this AM, should be ready for lunch. Yummm!

NP a/k/a esda-beth

Anonymous said...

P.S. This sounds like a healthful alternative to Hollandaise Sauce.

Asparagus With Avgolemono Sauce
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/asparagus-avgolemono-sauce/15811

NP

Anonymous said...

I'm living vicariously thru Calypso right now as we are just starting to see signs of spring here. The forsythia is just beginning to flower and bulbs are probably a week or so away from doing the same. Living by the ocean is great but the temps here are usually 10 to 20 degrees cooler in the spring than inland (onshore breezes).

Anonymous said...

Oops, that was me - Sneaks

Dave of the Coonties said...

Went down to West Palm Beach, palm and cycad sale at Mounts Botanical Garden, which was looking great. They're adding a new water garden.

Took my first look at a standard-issue outlet mall that replaced a failing regular mall that had fallen behind two newer malls and had gained a reputation for being crime-ridden. In fact, big-box retailers had been thriving in that area. The outlet mall was doing nicely.

Do people elsewhere in the country use right turn lanes as passing lanes?

Anonymous said...

Has Joel ever done this as a kit topic?

"It Sounds Like Science Fiction But... It's A Cliché":
http://www.npr.org/2017/04/09/523030282/it-sounds-like-science-fiction-but-its-a-clich

In the 1994 film Timecop, Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a police officer who uses a time machine to catch criminals. Time-traveling law enforcement may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but if one researcher has her way, it will soon become science fact.

See what I did there? That paragraph encapsulates the most tired cliché of science writing: "It sounds like science fiction but it's true."

Sounds like Sci-Fi gets used everywhere, from CNN, to The New York Times, to yes ... here on NPR. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. The best examples usually include a reference to a mid-1990s sci-fi film, just to make crystal-clear what science fiction this particular science fact refers to...


NP

Anonymous said...

The bathroom is painted, ceiling and walls. We also have a new ceiling light which is brighter than the old one and also much more attractive. It's funny how you can ignore something (the old light) for years until suddenly one day you look up and think, that is one ugly fixture, how have I not realized this before? I am afraid my legs and arms are going to be very sore tomorrow, just in time for Pilates and yoga.

I am back to mostly ignoring anything related to NMP.

Sneaks

Dave of the Coonties said...


From the Miami's rap world:

Chief Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, 21, had “bloodshot, watery, droopy eyes” and “had a cup filled with a syrupy liquid known as sizzurp, which is also known as ‘lean’ or ‘purple drank,’ ” an officer wrote in a report.

Sizzurp is a mixture of codeine-based prescription cough syrup and soda.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article143682924.html#storylink=cpy

Anonymous said...

So she's actually a chip off the old block after all, despite her pretense to the contrary the past few years. Some of us were never deceived, and were just waiting for her to show her true colors.

"Marine Le Pen: France ‘not responsible’ for deporting Jews during Holocaust":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/10/marine-le-pen-doesnt-deny-that-french-jews-were-handed-over-to-nazis-but-she-claims-france-is-not-to-blame

...After dark on July 16, 1942, French police rounded up approximately 13,000 Jews from across Paris, depositing them in the “Vel d’Hiv,” a famous indoor stadium that once hosted the 1924 Summer Olympics and where the likes of Ernest Hemingway would come to enjoy the races. From the stadium, not far from the Eiffel Tower, the vast majority of these interned Jews in 1942 were deported to Auschwitz. Most would never return.

The reason the Vel d’Hiv lingers in France’s national memory is that the roundup was orchestrated by French police — not their German occupiers...

“France has been mired in people’s minds for years. In reality, our children are taught that they have every reason to criticize her, to see only the darkest historical aspects.”

“I want them to be proud to be French again”...


"PROUD TO BE FRENCH AGAIN"??? Wow, that sure has a certain ring to it, n'est-ce pas?

NP.

Anonymous said...

FTB here:

Nice to have found the new bunker and I'm ever so pleased that there are no dead bodies here under any furniture. Very nice place you're got here, Jumper.

To answer NP/EB's question about the Stockholm attach from Joel's last (and now dead) kit: yes, all my friends are well and safe. Only one of them lives in the city itself, maybe a 15-20 minute walk from the department store which was hit. Every once in a while I would shop there, if I were in the neighborhood, but I generally preferred NK (Nordiska Kompaniet), which was closer to where I lived (mostly). But Drottninggatan is a "walking street" where no cars are allowed. It's pretty cool, actually. Shopping there was fun.

I made a hearty lentil stew (finally!) yesterday, and added my favorite root veggies. I'll add other veggies to it tonight. Now I've made myself hungry and there's still an entire hour until lunchtime. Not fair, I tell ya! Not fair at all!.

Back to work. Cya later.

Anonymous said...

SCC: attach --> attack. But you knew that, right?

Anonymous said...

I take it this is the infamous bunker?

Vukovar

Anonymous said...

Hi Vuko, I see your Governor is in a heap o' trouble for wrong-doing in the cover-up. Heard on the news that some are calling him "a paranoid bully."

FTB, that lentil stew sounds delicious.

NP

Anonymous said...

Yes he certainly is. They stayed the impeachment proceeding Friday (by sheer coincidence it was from a judge Bentley appointed), but the state Supreme Court reinstated it Saturday with both parties to submit briefs on how fair/unfair the process has been. In addition to the impeachment proceedings, it looks like he committed some felonies along the way, mainly tied to misuse of funds. Here's some tasty gems:

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/04/hidden_gems_in_3000-page_bentl.html#incart_big-photo

Rumor has it Bentley will resign this week but who knows. This is Alabama and they have a high tolerance for idiocy.

Vukovar

Anonymous said...

"...some felonies along the way, mainly tied to misuse of funds." Another case of "it's not the crime, it's the cover-up."

Re your link, it sounds as though the Guv and Flim-Flam deserved one another. Let's hope y'all don't get Roy Moore back.

Joel's day-job seems to be interfering with kit-writing:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/achenblog

NP

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Moore, he had filed an appeal to his suspension, but then stated he couldn't afford to pay for the appeal since he was out of work. But what I'm afraid of is that he would run for governor; all his theatrics seem to be geared towards that.

Ominously, it seems that kits are getting harder and harder to come by, and I've no doubt Joel is buried in other work there. Good for him, but it does give me some concern that the Boodle isn't long for the WaPo. I had wondered if Joel could even open it up to guest (meaning us) writers but I'm sure the Wapo wouldn't go for that. We'll just have to cross our fingers, thank Jumper for being so kind and generous to open this up for us, and go from there. One of the boodle members had made a suggestion which I'm looking into.

Vukovar

Anonymous said...

At Moore's age, one would think he has a pension and Social Security coming in, as well as maybe some savings and investments yielding interest/dividends. NP

Anonymous said...

Moore makes a killing off of playing the religious zealot. He's well-paid to come to the more conservative churches around the state and speak, plus all the other side things he's got going on. That's what the entire 10 Commandments thing was about; getting kicked off the bench for that got him elected to the state SC plus all the publicity. He's got several side businesses that receive contributions that go into his coffers, and this supposed taking a stand about gay marriage just plays into that. You can't buy that kind of publicity and fame. If he does become governor, maybe that'll depress me enough to move away from this nuthouse of a state.

Vukovar

Anonymous said...

P.S. Wouldn't RWNJ foundations be eager to pony up for Roy Moore's appeal? Or perhaps Betsy de Vos could help out. NP

Anonymous said...

The war on science continues. "Sessions orders Justice Dept. to end forensic science commission, suspend review policy":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/sessions-orders-justice-dept-to-end-forensic-science-commission-suspend-review-policy/2017/04/10/2dada0ca-1c96-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html

Eyeroll. NP

Anonymous said...

They do - it goes into his private businesses and nonprofits. By law you have to step down from the state SC at 70; he has no intention of appealing because he'd hit the age limit before he would even get a hearing. It's good theater though.

Anonymous said...

...and the war on language, with dog-whistles galore. "The coded language of the alt-right is helping to power its rise":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-coded-language-of-the-alt-right-is-helping-to-power-its-rise/2017/04/07/5f269a82-1ba4-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.html

[The] far-right movement that seeks a whites-only state is now developing new coded language, much as the Nazis once did, says noted linguist George Lakoff, a professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley...

[According to one alt-righter] “An SJW is a social justice warrior. In the press, this particular public predator tends to be big on PC [political correctness] virtue signaling but happy to smear others viciously with false accusations of sexism, racism, white nationalism, hate speech, etc.”


Owe, the humanity!™

...These new words are intrinsic to the alt-right’s rise, according to Lakoff. He connects this to the Nazis and the coded language (prime example: “the master race”) that eventually allowed them to topple governmental institutions. “The strategy is to control discourse,” Lakoff points out. “One way you do that is preemptive name calling . . . based on a moral hierarchy”...

Preemptive name calling is Trump's stock-in-trade, especially when he's falsely accusing others of his own faults and misdoings. I wonder at what point a critical mass of his erstwhile supporters will recognize the Emperor's New Clothes for what they are. NP

Dave of the Coonties said...

I wonder whether United will survive its customer-dragging fiasco.


Dave of the Coonties said...

New Yorker has a commentary on United that pretty much fits my sentiments. "The United merger is a grand example of a consumer sinkhole—a merger that proves to be not just a onetime event but an ongoing disaster for consumers (and shareholders) who suffer for years after. . . "

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/leaving-united-airlines-after-merger?mbid=social_facebook

Anonymous said...

BREAKING NEWS: "Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold wins Pulitzer Prize for dogged reporting of Trump’s philanthropy":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/washington-posts-david-fahrenthold-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-dogged-reporting-of-trumps-philanthropy/2017/04/10/dd535d2e-1dfb-11e7-be2a-3a1fb24d4671_story.html

As well he should have! NP

CalypsoSummer said...

I don't fly much, but I'll be damned if I'll get on a United airplane after THAT!

I know that Bigly's hatefest has overflowed into other parts of society, but I wonder how much of it is responsible for that particular instance.

Anonymous said...

http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2017

NP

Anonymous said...

Also Jim Morin of The Miami Herald for Editorial Cartooning:
http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/jim-morin-0 (with samples of his winning work)

Anonymous said...

Bentley will resign today. I'm going to miss the 'ol Cryptkeeper. For a nanosecond.

Vukovar

Anonymous said...

From Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey's Wikipedia page ALREADY: "She became Governor on April 10, 2017 upon the resignation of Governor Robert Bentley."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Ivey

NP (also responsible for the Jim Morin post)

Dave of the Coonties said...

Congrats to Fahrenthold and his many collaborators.

Anonymous said...

Morin won for editorial cartooning?? Yaaaaaay! I love Jim Morin!

Here are a few of his they didn't include:
http://www.gocomics.com/jimmorin/2016/08/24
http://www.gocomics.com/jimmorin/2016/09/28
http://www.gocomics.com/jimmorin/2016/11/16

(I absolutely love Clay Jones, too, not to mention our very own Tom Toles, but we can only have one editorial cartoon winner at a time, darn it -- )

CalypsoSummer said...

Whaddaya mean, "Anonymous"?? That was ME, dang it!

HeadFool said...

I was on work travel when the kit closed. My return to the real world was delayed however when Delta canned my Friday morning flight at 2am. I was stuck in SLC for an extra day, not a bad thing, but it did sort of hork up the weekend. The Saturday morning flight was delayed about an hour too, waiting on crew I think. There were lots of folk "inconvenienced" even that far west. But I certainly didn't see anything as ugly as the United forced disembarkation.

Back in the Real World ™ with a list of things to do.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Post headline: "U.S., Mexico, Canada make joint bid for 2026 World Cup. U.S. could have gone it alone, so why didn’t it?"

Well, it looks as though the Trump Administration will support the bid. Looks like it'll just about be NAFTA's for the asking.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Bill O’Leary did a wondrous Post photo illustration of David Fahrenthold on a Washington street, checking his smart phone, with assorted Trumps around.

CalypsoSummer said...

From today's ComPost, by Petri:

Q: Achenblog

Did the Achenblog die, or is it just on hiatus? I know you're friends with Joel and some of the boodlers, so was hoping you could mention it to Joel.

A: Alexandra Petri

I will! I have been wondering myself! The Achenblog must not Die in darkness.

******************************

See? We're not the only people concerned about that!

Anonymous said...

Calypso, that would be mine *blush*

Also, if Justice Louis Brandeis were still alive, I believe he would declare that the Achenblog is said to be among the best of disinfectants ;-) NP

Anonymous said...

"Carl Reiner Pays Tribute to Don Rickles: ‘We All Knew of Don’s Heart’":
http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/carl-reiner-don-rickles-tribute-1202027778/

I’ve known Don Rickles a long, long time. My first meeting was very interesting. No one knew of him then. He had just come out here. I was doing a movie with Ernie Kovacs, and Ernie said, “There’s a guy at the Slate Brothers they say is very funny. I’m going with Frank Sinatra. Do you want to join us?”...

My father and I loved to watch Kovacs' TV show together *sniffle* NP

Anonymous said...

FTB back again. I got to ooVoo with my Zambian fam this afternoon. T looks very good, considering everything he's been through, and I think he's finally (like, *finally*) at the stage where he is actually going to change his diet and the stress in his life. He's in his late 40s (oh, to be in my late 40s again ...), he's got a terrific wife and two adorable and equally terrific boyz, and he's got to take care of himself. He's ready. They are both soooo glad to be back home from New Delhi.

It's hot here locally, and I don't got no A/C yet at home. Since there's a cold front that's supposed to move through tomorrow, the condo honchos will delay the A/C as long as possible. I may have to have {*euphemism alert*} a "word" with them if it gets any worse. That being said, I've got a ceiling fan going in my bedroom, and a tower fan with all sorts of interesting settings, so I'm really okay. The A/C in my car, though, still needs adjusting, which I will have done, once taxes are paid and I have any money left over (doubtful).

Hope everyone's fine and dandy.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update on "T," who's certainly been through the wringer lately. Hope his condition continues to improve.

Keep cool ;-) NP

Anonymous said...

I walked this morning with some women from my exercise class. We met at a local beach which I admit I had never really explored. It was a long walk on a dirt road parallel to the beach, the road only accessible to 4-wheel drive vehicles. Because today was the first really warm day, the beach was crowded with sunbathers and the road was rather busy with both other walkers and some cars. It was a long walk and after also going grocery shopping, I am beat.

ftb, glad your Zambian family is doing better and I hope T does change his diet - something very hard to do!

Sneaks

CalypsoSummer said...

Headline: "FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor former Trump adviser Carter Page"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-obtained-fisa-warrant-to-monitor-former-trump-adviser-carter-page/2017/04/11/620192ea-1e0e-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html?utm_term=.4df18d0f8b79

Oh. My. Goodness!

"The FBI and the Justice Department obtained the warrant targeting Carter Page’s communications after convincing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia, according to the officials."

Uhhhhhhhhh.

Well! Okay, then!

Anybody want to make a few wagers about how Sean Spicer's going to handle THIS hot potato?

Dave of the Coonties said...

Wonder why officials "spoke about the court order on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of a counterintelligence probe." (Post story). Bad FBI.

Bob S. said...

Just wandering by to say howdy. I hope all are well. - Bob S.

Jumper said...

Hi, Bob. I hope so too.

Anonymous said...

1. Calypso, perhaps Spicey will say, "See, Obama WAS secretly tapping Trump after all, and Hitler never did that."

2. Hey Bobbbbb, it's swell to see ya! (Notice what I did there? ;-) )

esda-beth, formerly known as Nosy Parker.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday dear boodler,
happy birthday to you.

Anonymous said...

From NP: I hope Joel does a kit on this. "Top Scientists Revamp Standards To Foster Integrity In Research":
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/11/523406710/top-scientists-revamp-standards-to-foster-integrity-in-research

..."Sometimes these detrimental research practices can be as damaging as actual misconduct," [Robert] Nerem [a professor emeritus of bioengineering at Georgia Tech] said. They can undercut the validity of findings and make them not reproducible in other labs. Other scientists can spend a long time chasing dead ends.

"You've wasted the time of a lot of people, and time is an irreplaceable resource," [C.K.] Gunsalus [head of the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics at the University of Illinois] said. "And it's valuable and you use highly trained people with expensive educations using expensive equipment in labs. When you waste the time you've done something really damaging"...

...[Nerem said] research misconduct and what we call in the report 'detrimental research practices' occur more often than any of us would like, and the research community has to step up to the plate to address this.

"The report sets out a series of recommendations designed to improve the integrity of science, including steps that universities can take to improve their standards and protect whistle-blowers...
[my emphasis]

Anonymous said...

Sietsema just cited this hilarious piece in his live online chat, regarding a 3-star restaurant in Paris' Four Seasons Hôtel George V.
"The Worst Lines of Jay Rayner’s Le Cinq Review, With Cats / It’s a truly scathing review":
http://www.eater.com/2017/4/10/15240702/jay-rayner-le-cinq-review-cats

Anonymous said...

That Paris restaurant review *laceration" more like, was wonderful. I giggled and guffawed throughout it.

When the hell are we going to get a new kit???

ftb

Anonymous said...

Maybe Joel's on vacation during Spring Break. Let's hope nothing's wrong. NP.

Anonymous said...

I think it was Tina who posted a link to that restaurant review on FB last week. I read most of it out loud to "S", but I was laughing so hard I had trouble getting thru it! Oh, to be able to write like that!

Between exercise class, our last class on the Reconstruction and then pruning the rose bushes, I am beat once again. The weather isn't quite as nice as yesterday but still warm enough to work outside without a jacket. I think I need to switch over some of my clothes, which is another chore!

I agree with ftb, a new kit would be ever so nice...

Sneaks

Dave of the Coonties said...

Joel retweeted "NASA's Newest Interstellar Concepts Rely on Huge Laser Arrays and Gravity Surfing" five hours ago. He's got to be up and doing. Gravity surfing.

We've had three shark bites over the past few days on the Florida Atlantic coast, none serious.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Our precautionary boil water notice turns out to not have been necessary. Testing finally showed no contamination.

CalypsoSummer said...

Gravity surfing actually sounds like a lot of fun. I'd be up for that! And I'm sorry to hear about the people who got chewed on. If I was in the ocean and I thought a shark was gnawing on me, I wouldn't just walk on water -- I'd be sprinting across the surface.

You know, kits have been expiring more and more, lately. I don't know why, of course, but it feels like there's a certain lack of interest. Curmudgeon stepped out of the comment stream and the kits started aging out. I would hate to think of the Boodle turning into a burden to Joel, a distraction rather than a pleasure, but I can't help wondering if we're looking at the sunset glow as it sinks over the horizon. I hope that's not the case. But I can't help wondering if it is.

suesea7 said...

Hey, everyone! Just checking in. We're having a colder, rainier spring than usual, but most of my plants are budding out and shooting up as they should. We had a wild day Tue of rain, then sun, then more rain, etc. Saw 4 rainbows over the course of a few hours.

I wonder too if the shine is off the blog. If Joel doesn't have time to post every couple of weeks...I feel like a nag to email him about it. I'm sure he's busy doing other work.

seasea

HeadFool said...

JA can run the Achenblog however he sees fit, but I'd suggest he could just put up an "Open Thread" kit like Sargent does.

Dave of the Coonties said...

The Post is a busy newspaper, which is good.

I concur with seasea.

The Miami Herald reports on what state restaurant inspectors found at Mar-a-Lago. Just before the Japanese Prime Minister's visit, the facility met minimum standards, but it had always done much better before Trump got into politics, and tended to inspect the kitchen himself.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else watch "The Great War" on American Experience this week? The following article summarizes well many points that struck me during the series. NP.

“This Epic PBS Documentary Shows How Creepily Little Has Changed Since World War I”:
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2017/03/great-war-wwi-documentary-pbs-american-experience-10-takeaways

1. America was as polarized a century ago as it is today.
2. The "great" war was so not great.
3. Immigrants were scapegoated.
4. You were either with us or against us.
5. Laws were passed to justify repression.
6. World War I spawned a huge propaganda machine.
7. America betrayed her black soldiers.
8. The war was a turning point for women's voting rights.
9. Petty bipartisan squabbling ruined everything.
10. Hillary Clinton actually would have been our second female president.

Dave of the Coonties said...

World War I pretty much ended German as a regularly-used language in Pennsylvania. I remember going by whole shelves of state legislature documents in German in the university library. Penn apparently has a vast archive of German books and documents from Pennsylvania.

Anonymous said...

My American-born grandmother was a child of German immigrants, so grew up bilingual (although with no accent to her English). My mother told me that before WW I, her mother had befriended German immigrant neighbors, since she was able to speak German with them and help them.

However, once the US entered the war, other neighbors came down on my grandmother like a ton of bricks, insisting she no longer have anything to do with the Germans and not speak the language. Thus my mother grew up knowing little German. As a schoolchild (post-WW II) I got my grandmother to teach me some basic German when we'd go visit her. But the culture by then was almost entirely eradicated from the family.

Anonymous said...

That was my post re the bilingual grandmother. NP.

Dave of the Coonties said...

German was more or less my mother's second language, after Slovak. Guess what the parents spoke when they didn't want the kids to know? English? That was for the schools to teach. Thanks to a teacher, she became a New Yorker with a vaguely English accent.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Joby Warrick reports on North Korea's imports of missile parts and software. I haven't seen another story like it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kim-jong-uns-rockets-are-getting-an-important-boost--from-china/2017/04/12/4893b0be-1a43-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_usnorthkorea-720am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.c9ab7212bb51

Anonymous said...

Dave, a friend my age who attended a small college had a German instructor who was a post-War refugee from then-Czechoslovakia, so the students naturally learned German with a slight Czech accent.

Adult Americans' use of familial language-of-origin when not wanting the children to know what they're talking about is a very common story (e.g., for discussing the family business, family finances, holiday gifts, salacious gossip, etc.). I've known a number of such children who took their family's ancestral language in college, in order to learn it formally. NP.

Anonymous said...

"Misdirected' Airstrike By U.S.-Led Coalition Kills 18 Allied Fighters In Syria."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/13/523746461/misdirected-air-strike-by-u-s-led-coalition-kills-18-allies-in-syria?utm_source=npr_new

At this point I am so cynical that I have to refrain from a comment.

gmbka

Dave of the Coonties said...

Southern and central Florida is wonderfully polyglot, with a fair amount of Portuguese and Haitian Creole. In the winter, at least, some French.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Joel was busy with CRISPR and research published in Science Thursday afternoon.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/13/a-new-crispr-breakthrough-could-lead-to-simpler-cheaper-disease-diagnosis/?utm_term=.7539e5ce5ae8

Anonymous said...

Are any other boodlers also watching season 2 of Home Fires on PBS's Masterpiece? Here's the link to a blog by the author of the book Jambusters on which the series is based:
http://www.juliesummers.co.uk/blog/

P.S. to boodle knitters: I love the period hand-knit sweaters that so many of the characters wear. The show's costumers seem to have done a great job at providing authentic-looking sweaters.

Anonymous said...

That's my post. NP.

Jumper said...

I rarely gripe about technology, but CRISPR will make bio warfare easier to develop, and you could about hook up any modern phone inside a rocket to guide it.

Anonymous said...

From NP. Sequel to NPR report I cited at 9:13 AM, April 12, 2017.

"How A Budget Squeeze Can Lead To Sloppy Science And Even Cheating":
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/14/523786179/how-a-budget-squeeze-can-lead-to-sloppy-science-and-even-cheating

...Sometimes scientists simply don't know better. Occasionally scientists willingly cheat. But often these behaviors are driven by bad incentives in the system.

"I think what we're really talking about here is human nature," says C.K. Gunsalus, director of the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics at the University of Illinois. She and Martinson both served on the National Academies' committee on research integrity.

"If you're in an environment that has very high stakes and very low chance of success, those are two of the predictors of environments in which people are going to cheat," Gunsalus says.

That's exactly the environment where many scientists find themselves today. There are strong career incentives to bend the rules, by exaggerating accomplishments in a grant proposal, for example.

"One of the rules in life is if you reward bad conduct you're going to get a lot more bad conduct," Gunsalus says, "because even people with Ph.D.s can figure out what you're rewarding and say, 'Ooh! If that's what it takes to get ahead, I can do that.' "

But if scientists see everyone else playing by the rules, they are more likely to do so as well. That's why Gunsalus, who swoops into troubled academic departments to fix dysfunction, looks to see whether the leaders are setting a good example. If they are, others are likely to follow.

"People do fundamentally care about the rigor and integrity of research because that's how progress happens," she says. "I mean, you can't scam the facts or nature, right?"

And in addition to scientific progress and tax dollars, careers are at stake here.

Mary Allen says only three of the six grad students in her uprooted lab ended up getting Ph.D.s, despite the many years all of them had put in. It took her 8 1/2 years to complete hers...

Anonymous said...

From NP. "Outgoing 'New Yorker' Cartoon Editor Says 'Being Funny Is Being Awake'":
http://www.npr.org/2017/04/14/523992723/outgoing-new-yorker-cartoon-editor-says-being-funny-is-being-awake (with a few cartoons)

yellojkt said...

Hey gang,
I'm back from my European adventure, this time taking on some of the smaller but cuter cities in the Benelux region. photos and commentary to come. Tonight it's just jet lag recovery.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back, yello, doubly so because you bring pictures. :-)

gmbka

Anonymous said...

yello, I hope your trip was beneficial and deluxe! (See what I did there?)

How's your arm? Hope it didn't hurt, and that it's continuing its healing ways.

What sorts of reactions did you, as Americans, get from the locals? My "go-to" line this winter was "I voted for Hillary."

Was the little white fluffy dog elated to see you, or is he punishing you for his abandonment?

Anonymous said...

Dang, I forgot to sign my name. NP.

Anonymous said...

Nice to have you back, yello. Looking forward to your pics, as always.

I am looking forward to a weekend without any formal exercise as I am just exhausted.

Sneaks

Jumper said...

I was planning some weekend firewood acquisition out back, but was suddenly notified my sister decided to have a diseased willow oak taken down before it chose the time and direction to fall. So I have some six-footers from across town in my truck now.

I decided to do errands while waiting on tree guys, and got a tax refund banked, and went to a local bike shop for a helmet, meeting an old German-accented man who runs it. I saw he had a unicycle and we discussed my ability to ride them long ago. The helmet set me back $45. I am out of coffee, so need to go out for it, hopefully with an empty truck and logs cut and stacked.

Someone asked me once about seasoning firewood and I said I don't. Or not exactly; I pursue a goal more directly: I dry my firewood. If that does or doesn't take a season is irrelevant. Under the eaves and with some sun does it.

Anonymous said...

From NP. Honestly, I've tried *really hard* to minimize my posts here re Trump, but this news is really distressing, because it suggests a concerted Presidential effort to undermine our Constitutional system of checks-and-balances. Guess this is part of what he meant about bringing business practices to the White House.

"Democrats fear that Trump has barred key federal workers from speaking to them":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/15/democrats-fear-that-trump-has-barred-key-federal-workers-from-speaking-to-them

...The issue started in January and grew into such a concern that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asked Rep. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) to track Democrats’ correspondence to the executive branch that have gotten no response. So far, Sarbanes said, there are more than 100 cases from the House...

The Trump administration did not respond to a request from The Washington Post to address the allegations of an apparent gag order, but at least one administration spokeswoman denied that her department forbids officials to speak to minority party lawmakers...

CalypsoSummer said...

Jumper, I can quite understand that seasoning firewood might be a bit of a problem. I mean, what if you use too much salt? And suppose that you loaded it up with hot peppers and turmeric and cumin and so on, but then found yourself in the mood for fines herbs? It could be a problem!

I just got back from running errands and, among things, I have a pot of hot-pink hyacinths, a package of freesia bulbs, some coreopsis, a couple of scabiosa, and a puzzled expression. I wasn't planning on getting any plants, dammit -- how did THIS happen?

Dave of the Coonties said...

Windy day at the beach, messy surf, but one aggressive surfer caught some ridable waves. Given the mess, some misses, but a good ratio. https://www.flickr.com/photos/45621748@N05/albums/72157679332526054

gmbka said...

Nice summer day with temps in the low eighties. Since I cut the grass already and hired somebody to trim the hedges next week, I enjoyed an afternoon of reading on the patio.

For the heavier yard work I found a minority- and woman-owned landscaping company and feel rather smug about it.

The other day I threw out my back while doing my routine back-exercises. I did not appreciate the irony of it, but maybe you can.

Happy Easter everybody.

yellojkt said...

I promised y'all photos, so here are 98 from the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellojkt/albums/72157682548760656

yellojkt said...

Try this link: Keukenhof Gardens

gmbka said...

What a delight. Thank you, yello.

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter to all. I'll have to look at yello's pics later as we are on our way to "S"'s niece's house for Easter brunch. It's going to be in the 80's and will certainly reach that where we're going (near Worcester or Woosta, if you prefer).

Hope your back is better today, gmbka!

Sneaks

Dave of the Coonties said...

What a lot of tulips! If Yello can do a link, maybe this might work. No guarantees: Flickr

gmbka said...

This surfer is quite elegant, on and off the board. Marvelous photos.

Jumper said...

The tiny pinch of fennel seed in the otherwise lightly seasoned commercial sauce which required browned hamburger, made my quick spaghetti dinner meat sauce very tasty. Pinch of that, garlic, and dash of oregano. The pasta was actually what they're calling "ruffles" lately. I first tried it as "radiatore" which apparently was scaring the consumers.
http://jumpersbloghouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/radiatore.html

Anonymous said...

Love both of those photo arrays!

yellojkt, the vast expanses of all those flowers is a wonderful sensory overload, although I enjoyed the closeups of the mixed tulips best.
Dave, I especially liked the water sprays you captured.
Jumper, I assume you had to save most of your fennel, garlic and oregano for seasoning the wood ;-)

There was an editing emergency yesterday afternoon (yes, there IS such a thing!), so I wound up having to work hard into the evening to rake someone else's chestnuts out of the fire (on the bright side, he owes me bi-i-i-ig time now!). Then I stayed up to watch SNL, so between yesterday's late hours and so much stressful work, I slept in all AM. Re last night's SNL, a snarky friend emailed that Sean Spicer is a textbook example of the Peter Principle, having achieved his apogee of success as the 2005 Bunny at the White House Egg Roll.

NP.

CalypsoSummer said...

There were two little sisters in identical fluffy pink dresses and their two little brothers were in identical suits with vests and ties and bright peacock-blue shirts. There was a little dark-haired girl with a flowered headband and a yellow taffeta dress with a very full skirt. There was a couple of redheaded toddlers who were handed around interchangeably among five redheaded adults -- twins? Cousins? Kidnapped? Borrowed for the day? There was a tiny baby with a huge flower on an elastic band, almost as big as she was. A little blond guy had a windowpane-checked gray suit and a VERY spiffy bow tie. I just love seeing the little kids all dressed up at Easter!

P.S. Okay, I admit it -- I'm a robot.

Anonymous said...

"Gerrymandering Is Illegal, But Only Mathematicians Can Prove It":
https://www.wired.com/2017/04/gerrymandering-illegal-mathematicians-can-prove

See especially the "packing and cracking" illustration partway down this article:
...In packing, you cram many of the opposing party’s supporters into a handful of districts, where they’ll win by a much larger margin than they need. In cracking, you spread your opponent’s remaining supporters across many districts, where they won’t muster enough votes to win

For instance, suppose you’re drawing a 10-district map for a state with 1,000 residents, who are divided evenly between Party A and Party B. You could create one district that Party A will win, 95 to 5, and nine districts that it will lose, 45 to 55. Even though the parties have equal support, Party B will win 90 percent of the seats...


Calypso, I'm still a robot, too. NP.

Anonymous said...

P.S. Article includes maps of several ways to slice and dice North Carolina. NP.

Dave of the Coonties said...

I admit to editing water sprays to improve contrast.

As for the surfer, after a while I did notice that his hair was somehow never mussed. Something I didn't notice when he said hello.

Anonymous said...

Around here, today is all about the Marathon. The mobility impaired group just set off from Hopkinton. It's going to be a bit warm for the runners with temps going into the low 70's. I have my normal Monday ahead, Pilates, yoga and knitting and I'm feeling fairly good after resting my body all weekend.

The pics from yello and Dave were great. Such beautiful flowers and great waves. I am hoping for at least one more Kit from Joel before he pulls the plug...

Sneaks

gmbka said...

It's going to be a requiem. Sigh.

Dave of the Coonties said...

It was a good, long run.

CalypsoSummer said...

Has anyone asked Joel what's up? Maybe his mom is really sick or something.

HeadFool said...

Heavy Sigh.

gmbka said...

Oh no, Calypso, I hope not. I prefer him being sick and tired of his blog and killing it in cold blood to some personal tragedy.

suesea7 said...

I think Joel is just busy. I've seen him posting on twitter. Maybe I'll try emailing him.

seasea

Dave of the Coonties said...

Joel's got a story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/atom-smashing-scientists-are-unnerved-by-harsh-trump-budget/2017/04/17/68106d44-1ece-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html?tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.3607f1738f7f

suesea7 said...

I emailed Joel late last night, and he replied a few hours ago. He said he will try to post a new Kit soon. He's fine, really busy.

seasea

Anonymous said...

Thanks, sea! I'd been concerned for a while that something serious was wrong. NP.

gmbka said...

Homeland Security's newest idea:

"Homeland Security is considering forcing some travelers to provide their passwords to social media accounts as a condition to enter the U.S. This would violate the right to privacy, undermine freedom of expression, and create numerous cybersecurity risks for all travelers."

It's amazing what they come up with, but the ACLU is fighting it.

Seasea, thank you for the info. It is encouraging.

Anonymous said...

From NP. On today's Fresh Air on NPR, "From 'F-Bomb' To 'Photobomb,' How The Dictionary Keeps Up With English":
http://www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english

In 2017 alone, Merriam-Webster added more than 1,000 new words to the dictionary. Noah Webster himself might have struggled to define these new English terms — such as binge-watch, humblebrag, photobomb, NSFW, truther, face-palm and listicle.

But language is a "living thing" says lexicographer Kory Stamper, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster — and it's constantly shifting in use and meaning...

Interview Highlights
* On the criteria for adding a word to the dictionary
* On how context really helps
* On tracking down a word's first-known written use
* On the careful deliberation that went into entering the racial slur n***** into the dictionary

suesea7 said...

Woo hoo! Bill O'Reilly is out at Fox (the awful Tucker Carlson to take his spot), Jason Chaffetz not seeking reelection.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/jason-chaffetz-reelection/523575/

seasea

Dave of the Coonties said...

Listened to some of the Fresh Air segment, coming home from the local theater's production of "Saturday Night Fever" with a huge cast and elaborate staging.

Unknown said...

Hello, everyone! Wow. I have not seen some of you in a million years. Landed here from Bill's email. This is a_Bea-c, now without the C.

Kory Stamper. LOVE her. Follow her and her colleague Peter Sokolowski on Twitter. You won't be sorry.

Jumper, love your pix. Already sent a link to your education map to a friend.

Off to shoot insects before the sun is completely gone.

B

Needles said...

Gosh darn it, I haven't been here before. And I haven't been to the boodle in forever. I keep getting kicked out for viewing too many WaPo articles though I do follow some of you on Facebook. Just waving haloooooooo

dr

gmbka said...

dr, hallo to you too. Waving and hoping this is not a cameo appearance.

CalypsoSummer said...

dr! I was thinking about you and some of the other missing Boodlers the other day, wondering how everyone is. How nice to see you!
*waves happily*

Michigoose said...

Just checking in and waving to the Boodle.

How do I add an avatar?

gmbka said...

The only good thing about a comatose kit/boodle is that many find their way to Jumper's blog and I am grateful that the boodle still exists.

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping Joel will do a kit following Saturday's March for Science. NP.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-next-big-protest-in-washington-is-this-weekends-march-for-science-and-there-are-more-to-follow/2017/04/20/494c15ce-2528-11e7-b503-9d616bd5a305_story.html

Anonymous said...

"Why scientists are marching on Washington and more than 400 other cities," By Joel Achenbach, Ben Guarino and Sarah Kaplan:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/20/why-scientists-are-marching-on-washington-and-more-than-400-other-cities

...This is not simply a reaction to President Trump's election, [AAS President, and former member of Congress Rush] Holt said. Scientists have been worried for years that “evidence has been crowded out by ideology and opinion in public debate and policymaking.” Long before Trump's election, people in the scientific and academic community raised concerns about the erosion of the value of expertise and the rise of pseudoscientific and anti-scientific notions. Science also found itself swept up into cultural and political battles; views on climate science, for example, increasingly reflect political ideology...

Anonymous said...

Oops, that was mine. NP.

The Pup said...

Thanks for the article posts. One thing I miss about current kits is that Joel often provides links to his stories.

I am at least amusing myself by thoughts that he is busy covertly meeting with Deep Beaker (and Deep Neutron Spaller) and a few other secret sources and soon will break open Clean Watergate. Hey, we can dream big for him, right?

There is a march 1 hour from me. I want to go, so I hope I feel better for the drive. My ankles are flaring up again. This-- the case of the wilting woman-- may be a mystery I have half-cracked; I have just given a crucial lead to investigate; the question is if they agree and how long. For stubbornness, it is difficult to choose between medical professionals and Scotland Yard inspectors.

But of all marches, I really want to be at this. Well, maybe the impeachment celebratory parade, too.


Haikucle Poirot.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Florida state senator Frank Artiles resigned, the outcome of a racist and vulgar rant on the senate floor in which he even called the senate president (of his own party) a p---y.

The March for Science is a worthy cause, but the Republican wave of de-funding state higher education and the possibility of vast demolition at EPA, NOAA, NASA, NSF, and NIH suggests we may be in for an era of homeopathy and unassisted prayer, not to mention science of the tobacco-industry sort.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Susan Svrluga's story on new Georgetown University law professor Shon Hopwood is a marvel.

Anonymous said...

Latest from the Boodle Sweetheart. "‘Killing Bill’ (in the style of noted historian Bill O’Reilly)":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2017/04/21/killing-bill-in-the-style-of-noted-historian-bill-oreilly

Full disclosure: I've never read any of O'Reilly's books, nor watched his show. My knowledge of him comes almost entirely from satire of him, plus a couple of scathing reviews of his "history" books. I mean, why waste my precious eyesight on him??? NP.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Steven Pearlstein's column, "What happens if the President doesn't matter" is one of the best I've read lately. It fits well with David Fahrenthold's column on Trump's charitable giving, to the effect that the President inhabits a small social world.

With Pearlstein, it amounts to huge opportunities for Trump's Tea Party appointees and Congressional Republicans. Grover Norquist, rejoice!

CalypsoSummer said...

I love Pearlstein, and I was so sad when he quit writing his regular column. I miss him, and I'm happy whenever he comes to visit.

Waldman is currently picking up the slack in Pearlman's absence -- and his current column's title? "President Trump appoints Tax Fairy to key economic post"
*coffee spray*

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/04/21/president-trump-appoints-tax-fairy-to-key-economic-post/?utm_term=.508dda3533d5

gmbka said...

Here is the link Dave referred to above:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/shon-hopwood-robbed-banks-and-went-to-prison-now-hes-a-law-professor-20170421-gvq5ba.html

It's a great feel-good story, ideal for a Friday evening.

CalypsoSummer said...

Dear, dear! My, what tangled webs we weave -- it seems that Theranos, that med-lab company which could tell your entire medical history (or something like that) from but a single drop of blood, used a shell company to buy standard lab equipment which they then sneaked into their building.

The Wall Street Journal (for which I do not have a subscription) has the whole scoop, and Ars Technica has some scraps of info on the subject.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/04/report-theranos-used-shell-company-to-secretly-buy-outside-lab-equipment/

I imagine it will be all over the various news outlets this weekend.

Dave of the Coonties said...

Looks like good work by WSJ. Theranos was smelling fishy, of course.

Couple of hours of spring cleaning in the yard today. Dirty pavements, leaves. Bunny rabbit showed up.

The Pup said...

Planted some surprise serviceberry bushes (really bare-root twigs, not so fancy as they sound) and got a bit of grass mowed. Pondering whether I try and get some free pallets as a "deck" for the raised garden or just go with weed-killing liner alone. I will have to get some more bags of soil yadda yaddda for the bins I will have to use. Note: I'm just happy I can possibly do a raised garden this year even though it will not be pretty, but the pallets would help reduce mowing around it.

Cut up some things and considering what sign I will make for tomorrow. I am feeling a bit better from this morning but trying not to push it too much ;).

Haikucule Poirot

Raysmom said...

Hi Al! Finally found my way here and figured how to post. Glad to see you all.

Anonymous said...

R-mom, how are you feeling these days? On the mend, let's hope, with no more surprises.

Poirot, try to pace yourself in the garden, even though your growing season is pretty short. Doggie-treats to Hastings.

Will look for coverage of the Theranos story; imagine there'll be more, elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Ack, that was mine. NP.

yellojkt said...

NP,
You need a Google account so you can log in with an alias. They are easy to get and free.

gmbka said...

NP, alternatively under Choose an identity, just click name and put your handle in.

Nosy Parker said...

Especially for Head Fool: We enjoyed the "Nature" episode of "Craft in America" which featured, inter alia, the glass work of Tlingit Preston Singletary:
http://www.craftinamerica.org/artists/preston-singletary/

P.S. Thanks for the tip, gmbka.

Sneaks said...

I hope choosing a name helps make posting here easier. The suicide of Aaron Hernandez has given NMP some competition for news supremacy hereabouts this week. No one I know has shed tears over his passing. Just sad that someone with such talent couldn't break away from bad influences and instead threw it all away.

The news about Theranos isn't surprising. Everything I've read about that company set off my bs meter.

HeadFool said...

Not that I ever gave a damn about Kid Rock... but how does the man go from playing the Stuart/Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear to palling around with Trump, Ted Nugent, and Sarah Palin?

Nosy Parker said...

James Mattis resigned from Theranos' board after being nominated for Secretary of Defense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos

...In November, 2016, the Wall Street Journal ran a story about Tyler Shultz, the grandson of former Secretary of State and one-time Theranos director George P. Shultz. The younger Shultz was a Theranos employee 2013–14 and, it appears, a critical whistleblower regarding defects in Theranos' technology. The elder Shultz had joined the board in 2011 and been joined soon thereafter by fellow Hoover Institution fellows former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). "After the Journal published in October 2015 its first article detailing problems at Theranos, the company announced that all four men had been moved from the board of directors to a newly formed board of counselors." David Boies' law firm pursued the younger Shultz aggressively on behalf of the company. While causing significant family and financial strains, in the November 2016 article Tyler Shultz was quoted as having said, "Fraud is not a trade secret .... I refuse to allow bullying, intimidation and threat of legal action to take away my First Amendment right to speak out against wrongdoing." He had first failed to successfully register his concerns with company management, to which he had special access due to his family connection. He had then been a key Journal source for its October 2015 article and was also, under an alias, the first to report the company to a regulatory body – New York state's public-health lab...

gmbka said...

It has stopped raining for now and with luck it won't be raining on our science parade at noon.

CalypsoSummer said...

"Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist who helped reveal the emotional lives of animals by tickling rats and listening to their ultrasonic laughter in experiments that upended his field and opened new possibilities for the treatment of depression and other forms of mental illness, died April 18 at his home in Bowling Green, Ohio."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/jaak-panksepp-rat-tickler-who-revealed-emotional-lives-of-animals-dies-at-73/2017/04/21/01e367ce-2536-11e7-a1b3-faff0034e2de_story.html?utm_term=.53e6c96596d9

Someone put a link to a video of him, with rats, in the Comments.

Nosy Parker said...

Where in the world is Joel Achembach? Covering the DC March for Science today!

"Why people are marching for science: ‘There is no Planet B’":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/big-turnout-expected-for-march-for-science-in-dc/2017/04/21/67cf7f90-237f-11e7-bb9d-8cd6118e1409_story.html

"Here are some of the best signs from the March for Science in Washington and around the world":
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/22/here-are-some-of-the-best-signs-from-the-march-for-science-in-d-c

Nosy Parker said...

SCC: Achenbach. Ack, I just washed my fingers and I can't do a thing with them ;-)

gmbka said...

We had a good crowd for the march, stretching over 2 blocks. The students were missing, although the event took place right on their doorstep. Well, they obviously don't care about their future. My generation turned out thousands strong for demonstrations, but that was after 68 and times have changed.

CalypsoSummer said...

My blue irises just decided that today was the perfect day to start opening their flowers, so I have a dozen or so lovely ruffled irises that are getting rained on. They don't seem to mind -- in fact, they probably like it a lot -- but all that rain makes it inconvenient for admiring them.

Dave of the Coonties said...

The Post's coverage of the March for Science is looking good.

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