Max Bialystock is Trump's campaign manager
Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale Tweeted yesterday that 200,000—no, 300,000!—people have bought tickets to the campaign rally scheduled for Juneteenth—no, June 20th!—at the 19,000-seat arena...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chicago skyline
It was too windy today to get above 30 m, so I just snapped this still before taking the Mini on a "walk" down the block. But I also didn't want to waste a perfectly clear day, so I snapped this before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Calm winds, altitude test
We had calm winds in my neighborhood this morning, so after walking Parker I grabbed my Mini and did an altitude test. I discovered that I had to replace 3 damaged propeller blades (more on that...
View ArticleViolence is the last refuge of the incompetent
This sort of thing keeps happening, and explains why the police hate the public's ubiquitous video recording:When CTA supervisor Martesa Lee attempted to lodge a complaint against a Chicago police...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beautiful night in Chicago
A combination of crystal-clear air, calm winds, and a setting sun gave me some great shots from the Mini this evening. I visited two locations in Lincoln Square: Welles Park, and the corner of Wilson...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another perfect night to fly
The Mini has a service ceiling of 120 m AGL (above ground level) by default. I can jump through some hoops to increase that, but for now, while I'm getting to know how the aircraft handles, that seems...
View ArticleReturning to normal, slowly
Finally, after 97 days and an hour-long webinar on Covid-19 safety precautions, I will finally get to work in my actual office on Monday. We're allowed 2 or 3 times a week, with masks, sanitizer, and...
View ArticleAfternoon news roundup
My inbox does not respect the fact that I had meetings between my debugging sessions all day. So this all piled up:Josh Marshall calls our Covid-19 response an "abject failure" compared to, say,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Then and Now, Lawrence and Broadway
Now that I have a drone, I've been looking for historical aerial photos of Chicago. I found this 1933 photo of Uptown through the Chicago Public Library collection:Here's approximately the same view...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Then and now: Wilson Yard
I found this photo from 1964 at Chicago-L.org, looking north along what is now the Red Line from above Buena Park:Here's almost the same view yesterday:So, a few changes. Two the west, three city...
View ArticleWhere I was supposed to be today
In November, the Apollo Chorus of Chicago performed in the Chicago Opera Theater production of Everest, a 2015 opera by Joby Talbot. After the second performance, Talbot and a number of the soloists...
View ArticleWhat just happened in SDNY?
On Friday night, US Attorney General William Barr announced that Jeffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, had resigned. Minutes later, Berman said "the hell I have."A...
View ArticleIt's way past time for this amendment
Attorney General William Barr's behavior since taking office, and especially over the past week, demonstrates the need for the United States to do what 43 other states already do: elect the Attorney...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ah, the company we keep
If I have to go more than a year without visiting Europe because my fellow Americans are too individualistic to stop the spread of Covid-19, I might have to move there permanently when able:In case you...
View ArticleSo much to read
I'm back in the office tomorrow, after taking a 7:15 am call with a colleague in India. So I won't spend a lot of time reading this stuff tonight:Tom McTague sees other countries pitying us, and would...
View ArticleFriendly Anglo-American competition
Parts of the United States and the United Kingdom have started a friendly competition to see which English-speaking country can obviate months of combating Covid-19 in the stupidest ways possible.Up...
View ArticleThree cheers for a friendly fungus
As this 2017 article from National Geographic explains, humans and yeast have had a tremendously successful relationship for the last 9,000 years or so:From our modern point of view, ethanol has one...
View ArticlePrinceton drops the Wilson name
Princeton University has removed the name of their 13th president (and the 28th President of the United States) from their School of Public Policy:Wilson’s racism was significant and consequential even...
View ArticleIn the real world, these would both be career-ending gaffes
This morning, President Trump re-Tweeted a racist video that included a supporter yelling "white power," thanking the elderly Florida gentleman in question for his support. Even though that would end...
View ArticleWhat if the NTSB investigated our pandemic response?
Private pilot and journalist Jim Fallows suggests an answer:Consider a thought experiment: What if the NTSB were brought in to look at the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic? What would...
View Article