Lunchtime Tuesday
I put on a long-sleeved shirt to walk Parker this morning, and I'm about to change into a polo. It's a lovely early-autumn day here in Chicago. Elsewhere...In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, former...
View ArticleThe Reagan Test
Author John Scalzi asks the question Reagan asked 40 years ago, and concludes he's worse off than he was in 2016:In 1980, which is now — Jesus — 40 years ago, Ronald Reagan asked a question of the...
View ArticleBetter Know a Ballot
Talk-show host Stephen Colbert has set up a website called Better Know a Ballot where you can check on the voting requirements for your state. He's producing videos for each state (starting with North...
View ArticleBingey
Working from home with a gigabit Internet connection has at least one major perk: TV on in the background. I've gone through a lot of it in the last six months. The Expanse, Tales from the Loop, Wyonna...
View ArticlePanic-moving to the suburbs
As Covid-19 cases rose in large cities, people started moving to the suburbs in larger numbers. Crain's reports that the combination of fear, downtown office closures, and low interest rates caused...
View ArticleRuth Bader Ginsburg, 1933-2020
The Notorious RBG died at her home earlier today:The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court said.Justice Ginsburg’s pointed and powerful dissenting opinions, usually...
View ArticleActions must have consequences
Yesterday evening I wrote that the only appropriate response to the Republican Senate putting another Federalist Society pretty boy on the Supreme Court (or, really, anyone other than Merrick Garland)...
View Article200,000
The official death toll in the US for Covid-19 has passed a milestone Deborah Birx predicted back in March:In the predawn hours of March 30, Dr. Deborah Birx stepped in front of the camera on the White...
View ArticleLong day, long six weeks ahead
Choral board meeting followed by chorus rehearsal: all on Zoom, and as president and generally techy guy, I'm hosting. After a full day of work and a 5 km walk. Whew.So what's new?David Corn advises...
View ArticleThe return of Allie Brosh
The cartoonist and author behind Hyperbole and a Half has returned with a new book, which I should receive tomorrow. This news offsets pretty much all the other news from today:Author John Scalzi, who...
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A lack of compassion
More than 200,000 people have died of Covid-19 since we started paying attention six months ago. Let me put that into perspective:The columns represent the total number of deaths for each event (blue)...
View ArticleMixed personal milestones
As of yesterday, I've hit my daily step goal 250 times in a row. My previous record streak, which ended 7 November 2019, was 207 days. I'm pretty sure I'll make it another 115 or more days, barring...
View ArticleHow did we get here?
Take 20 minutes to fully understand the incompetence that brought us to 205,000 Covid-19 deaths when our peer countries have only a fraction:
View ArticleThe most timely video you can watch this month
On 30 April 2011, President Obama addressed the White House Correspondents Dinner.The funniest bit starts 9 minutes in, when he takes on his successor, so many years before anyone thought that would...
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The waters recede a bit
Lakes Michigan and Huron did not set a record for high water level in September. In fact, the lake system ended the month at almost exactly the same water level as last year:It may not seem like much,...
View ArticleThe President has Covid-19
After presidential adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday, he and the First Lady have also tested positive, and he showed symptoms at a fundraiser in New Jersey last...
View ArticleThe damage he's done, personal edition
First, a quick note: Joe and Jill Biden have tested negative for the virus.Many of my friends, who I consider reasonable people, have spent the morning freaking out on social media about the...
View ArticleTravel day!
Today I left the state of Illinois for the first time since January 19th, 259 days ago. It's the longest I've gone without leaving Illinois since I was 3½ years old. And because I drove, I'm continuing...
View ArticleOperating costs for a plug-in
The consequences of buying a Toyota Prius Prime continue to amaze me. On my trip yesterday, I filled up after almost completely emptying the tank. It cost $18.18. I last filled up in April.So for the...
View ArticleNot all political
Today's lunchtime round-up only had one article about current politics:John Scalzi warns that "nostalgia is a luxury."The president, sick with Covid-19, took a joyride around the grounds of Walter Reed...
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