Judge blocks anti-competitive grocery merger
Grocery giant Kroger has long drooled over acquiring Albertsons, for the simple reason that competition drives prices towards equilibrium and away from rent-seeking. When Kroger published the list of...
View ArticleUpdates in the news
Two stories I mentioned previously have updates today:After a Federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington rejected the Albertsons-Kroger merger, Albertsons has filed suit against Kroger for...
View ArticleDivers and Sundrie News on a Cold Thursday
My, we've had a busy day:President Biden commuted the sentences of 1,500 Federal inmates in the largest single-day clemency in American history. Two of them stole millions in massive frauds against...
View ArticleThe mouse that roared, software edition
I just had a hilarious meeting with a vendor.We (at my day job) use a JavaScript library for a small but useful feature in our application. We've used it for probably the app's entire 10 year lifespan...
View ArticleFriday afternoon round-up
Before I link to anything else, I want to share Ray Delahanty's latest CityNerd video that explores "rural cosplaying." I'll skip directly to the punchline; you should watch the whole thing for more...
View ArticleFinally above freezing again
The temperature dropped below freezing Tuesday evening and stayed there until about half an hour ago. The forecast predicts it'll stay there until Wednesday night. And since we've got until about 3pm...
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Lots of walkies today
So far today, Cassie has gotten almost exactly 10 km of walks, including a swing through the Horner Park DFA. This is a happy dog:We also passed by a controlled burn in Winnemac Park:They burn out the...
View ArticleCrystal Magnum completely recants Duke lacrosse allegations
In a podcast this week, the woman who accused Duke University lacrosse players of gang-raping her in 2006 has admitted the she made it all up:“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped...
View ArticleMarch comes early
We have warm (10°C) windy (24 knot gusts) weather in Chicago right now, and even have some sun peeking out from the clouds, making it feel a lot more like late March than mid-December. Winds are...
View ArticleKhaaaaaaan!
The Library of Congress has named Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and 24 other films to the National Film Registry this week. A quick view of the list tells me I've only seen 5 of them, so I need to...
View ArticleUgly Chicago street could get much better
The Chicago Department of Planning and Development has proposed changing the zoning rules along a stretch of Broadway between Montrose and Devon to increase its density while simultaneously reducing...
View ArticleUnexpected holiday bonus
Earlier this year the Illinois State Treasurer's newsletter mentioned the state database of unclaimed property. It took two quick searches to discover that the state had about $200 of my money, and...
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Solstice sunset serendipity
I happened to be on the 40th floor of a downtown high rise at just the right moment yesterday:
View ArticleChristmas on a Wednesday is annoying
Once every seven years (on average), Christmas and New Year's Day fall on successive Wednesdays. Most other Christian holidays get around this problem by simply moving to the nearest Sunday. I guess...
View ArticleHanlon's Razor and related irritants
I've been on the fringes of something recently that I won't get into to protect the guilty, except to say it doesn't have anything to do with my day job. As this thing goes on and on and on, I keep...
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Oh to know the joy of a dog
Cassie got a Christmas present from one of my friends:I can only imagine the kind of joy she felt as she paraded around the house showing everyone her new toy. Perhaps it helped that I gave her...
View ArticleBoxing Day links
Because Christmas came on a Wednesday*, and my entire UK-based team have buggered off until Monday in some cases and January 6th in others, I'm off for the long weekend. Tomorrow my Brews & Choos...
View ArticleJimmy Carter, 1924-2024
The 39th President of the United States died at his home in Plains, Ga., yesterday:The Carter Center in Atlanta announced his death, which came nearly three months after Mr. Carter, already the...
View ArticleWhy 2K no problem? Because we fixed it
Twenty five years ago this evening, I rang in New Year 2000 in the ops center at ING Barings in midtown Manhattan...and nothing happened.Since then, people have largely bought into the myth that...
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Statistics: 2024
Despite getting back to a relative normal in 2023, 2024 seemed to revert back to how things went in 2020—just without the pandemic. Statistically, though, things remained steady, for the most part:I...
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