Everything was fine at Cub Scout Day Camp. Hot. Fang ran one archery range with a teen girl helper, and I ran the other with a boy. We dragged in other adults to help as needed. All the Cubs tried hard and followed the directions, and - at least on my side - all of them saw some improvement.
The first day of basketball camp went well. About half the coaches are new, so they were puzzled at this old guy coaching, but then one of the leaders hugged me, then insulted me (affectionately), so they figured out I belong here.
The overall coach is thrilled, because I am comfortable enough with drills he can put me anywhere, and move me about. I coached shooting for 12-15 yo boys for two hours, then when we had an hour of scrimmage he asked me to coach two girls teams, 10-12yo. That went well until my two teams both won, and then had to play each other! 😳Fortunately my team won! 😀
My youngest is also a counselor at the basketball camp, and he enjoyed himself. He coached a team that won. He and I demonstrated some drills, where he explained what was happening. He did well.
We stopped at Raising Cains for lunch, and chatted on the trip home.
No broken bones, no torn ACL, so it's been a good week! 😀
I assume that remark about no broken bones or torn ACLs was about activities at basketball camp and not the chat you had with your youngest son on the way home.
I hear the loons calling, they must be in our bay. The two chicks are now diving. Yesterday the three Blue Jay baby birds flew the nest that was located in the peak of our house atop the motion lights (that haven’t worked for years.) I heard an awful commotion and went outside to find that one had fallen into a window well. My husband provided cover from the swooping parents while I scooped it out. I shooed another one away from the house so they could better hide from my dogs. Baby blue jays are adorable.
Fortunately I have a good collection of episodes of binge-worthy programs on my DVR. Won't even look at any live TV, except perhaps for Mr. Stirewalt's Sunday television program, if my local broadcast channel picks it up that week.
"I hear the loons calling, they must be in our bay" has a wistful poetic rhythm to it.
Which makes clear it is about birds and not politics.
I tried to rescue a baby bluebird earlier this year, got him back in the birdhouse only to realize I put him in the wrong hole. I don't generally interfere but the circumstances seemed to warrant it. I was wrong.
Well this post is certainly an uplifting start to the week. I’m reading about it with no power as Beryl waltzes through this part of Texas. Several inches of rain already, with lots of wind.
Up here in Chicago we're supposed to be hit with remnants of Beryl overnight. But here on the north side of the area, we'll probably not get torrents--most likely we'll see under an inch.
I remember several years ago when we caught the very last remnants of some other hurricane. They come up the Mississippi valley and transform into regular rain systems. So on the day in question, after noting that this was forecast to happen, I was at work watering the flowers, and the sky briefly clouded up and we had some drops, enough to take note of but not enough to make me seek cover. I said to myself "Ah, so that was technically Hurricane [I forget what name it was]."
Good morning. No rain here last night. Another provocative Front Page headline this morning, “What was a Parkinson’s doctor doing at the White House?” Turns out a Parkinson’s specialist from Walter Reed has paid several visits to President Biden over the last several months.
Another FP story draws parallels to a 1990s movie “Dave,” about a President who has a stroke, replaced in public by a body double while the chief of staff runs the government behind the scenes. So who *has* been running the government lately?
The idea of Biden having a body double reminds me of a scene from Mel Brook's "Young Dr. Frankenstein". In it he has Marty Feldman acquire a brain for him, from someone named Abby. Abby Normal, it turns out.
If Biden were using a body double, either they are cheap and not acquiring someone with talent, or one of Marty Feldman's kids picked out the body double, someone named Abby.
I just got an update from NR, and Biden sent an angry letter to Hill Democrats saying he will not step down. This should be interesting, and I’m starting to wonder if we’re going to see calls to invoke the 25th.
The 25th Amendment can be invoked if (a big “if”) VP Kamala Harris and a majority of Biden’s Cabinet agree. But Biden gets to dispute that, and ultimately it would take 2/3rds of both Houses of Congress to agree.
But would Harris even be on board with that? Doubtful.
It’s like we’re inventing a new tradition in which every four years America empties out its retirement homes and booby hatches and puts the erstwhile residents up for election…
Once again! There’s a definite pattern by which they have the first round of elections and scare themselves silly with the results, then return for the pendulum swing in the opposite direction for the second round. Crazy system.
It’s even harder to predict what’s about to happen due to strict bans on polling and campaigning in the final days, iirc.
If I were Marine Le Pen, I would be seriously upset. First the French voters flirt with her in the first round, then spurn her in the second. This is a recurring pattern in French politics.
I'm thinking it would be good for American politics if we had a system (ranked choice voting) where that could happen. It would tend to keep politicians and their handlers from getting swelled heads.
Total Freak Week in Euroland in general. Pendulum swing to Lab in the UK.
And Orban inaugurating the Hungarian rotating EU presidency by endorsing joint Chinese-Belarussian military maneuvers along the Polish-NATO frontier. All this without the benefit of crazy pills dumped into the water supply.
It’s remarkable how fortunate the UK is: a quick, smooth change of governing parties, once again for a relatively sane form of Lab compared to the last flirtation with that antisemitic whacko Corbin. Starmer looks fairly innocuous, much like Blair did when the Tories last overstayed their welcome.
Good morning. That's all as cheerful as all the rain we had over night. Not that rain is bad in an objective sense, but the world is going to be soaked for the first day of camp.
All the population centers along the Atlantic coast were yellow fever swamps for a good portion of the summer until the discovery and use of DDT in the first half of the 20th C.
I recall an article the WaPo ran ten or twenty years ago about DC residents in around 1900 wearing their full Victorian (?) garb of wool suits for the gents and hooped dresses covering all skin down to the ankles and wrists for the ladies. There was not only no AC, there weren’t electric fans. And DC was built in a malarial swamp.
Everything was fine at Cub Scout Day Camp. Hot. Fang ran one archery range with a teen girl helper, and I ran the other with a boy. We dragged in other adults to help as needed. All the Cubs tried hard and followed the directions, and - at least on my side - all of them saw some improvement.
No limbs or sensory organs lost = victory!
Kids experiencing how self-improvement works in the solid real world = priceless.
We try to exceed that minimum. Tomorrow morning we'll have the youngest kids.
The first day of basketball camp went well. About half the coaches are new, so they were puzzled at this old guy coaching, but then one of the leaders hugged me, then insulted me (affectionately), so they figured out I belong here.
The overall coach is thrilled, because I am comfortable enough with drills he can put me anywhere, and move me about. I coached shooting for 12-15 yo boys for two hours, then when we had an hour of scrimmage he asked me to coach two girls teams, 10-12yo. That went well until my two teams both won, and then had to play each other! 😳Fortunately my team won! 😀
My youngest is also a counselor at the basketball camp, and he enjoyed himself. He coached a team that won. He and I demonstrated some drills, where he explained what was happening. He did well.
We stopped at Raising Cains for lunch, and chatted on the trip home.
No broken bones, no torn ACL, so it's been a good week! 😀
I assume that remark about no broken bones or torn ACLs was about activities at basketball camp and not the chat you had with your youngest son on the way home.
From camp. My son is stronger than I am! 😉
Might makes right when it comes to chatting. 💪
You might be right.
Another article examining how Russian spooks employ fake news by pretending to be local:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72ver6172do
From the mothership: Worth Your Time II: 'Can Democratic Leaders Actually Lead?' --David French
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/opinion/democrats-loyalty-biden-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k0.yPIu.7H3Q44t-523p&smid=em-share
I hear the loons calling, they must be in our bay. The two chicks are now diving. Yesterday the three Blue Jay baby birds flew the nest that was located in the peak of our house atop the motion lights (that haven’t worked for years.) I heard an awful commotion and went outside to find that one had fallen into a window well. My husband provided cover from the swooping parents while I scooped it out. I shooed another one away from the house so they could better hide from my dogs. Baby blue jays are adorable.
That sounds wonderful. The birds are really active right now, and it’s so much fun to sit on our porch swing in the evening, just listening to them.
But, I will say that when I first read “I hear the loons calling,” I started thinking about what’s going on politically! 😂
I thought to myself that it isn't time for the conventions to start yet, is it?
Fortunately I have a good collection of episodes of binge-worthy programs on my DVR. Won't even look at any live TV, except perhaps for Mr. Stirewalt's Sunday television program, if my local broadcast channel picks it up that week.
I can’t even imagine what that’s going to turn into!!
Loonacy.
Yes. It was hard to avoid the mental imagery of J.D. Vance clearing his throat to warble…
"I hear the loons calling, they must be in our bay" has a wistful poetic rhythm to it.
Which makes clear it is about birds and not politics.
I tried to rescue a baby bluebird earlier this year, got him back in the birdhouse only to realize I put him in the wrong hole. I don't generally interfere but the circumstances seemed to warrant it. I was wrong.
Baby blue jays are adorable.
Well this post is certainly an uplifting start to the week. I’m reading about it with no power as Beryl waltzes through this part of Texas. Several inches of rain already, with lots of wind.
Up here in Chicago we're supposed to be hit with remnants of Beryl overnight. But here on the north side of the area, we'll probably not get torrents--most likely we'll see under an inch.
I remember several years ago when we caught the very last remnants of some other hurricane. They come up the Mississippi valley and transform into regular rain systems. So on the day in question, after noting that this was forecast to happen, I was at work watering the flowers, and the sky briefly clouded up and we had some drops, enough to take note of but not enough to make me seek cover. I said to myself "Ah, so that was technically Hurricane [I forget what name it was]."
We got about 10 inches. I’ve been through a few hurricanes here and am still amazed by the amount of rain that falls.
Wow! Stay safe.
At least your cell towers seem to be functional.
Good morning. No rain here last night. Another provocative Front Page headline this morning, “What was a Parkinson’s doctor doing at the White House?” Turns out a Parkinson’s specialist from Walter Reed has paid several visits to President Biden over the last several months.
Another FP story draws parallels to a 1990s movie “Dave,” about a President who has a stroke, replaced in public by a body double while the chief of staff runs the government behind the scenes. So who *has* been running the government lately?
The idea of Biden having a body double reminds me of a scene from Mel Brook's "Young Dr. Frankenstein". In it he has Marty Feldman acquire a brain for him, from someone named Abby. Abby Normal, it turns out.
If Biden were using a body double, either they are cheap and not acquiring someone with talent, or one of Marty Feldman's kids picked out the body double, someone named Abby.
Song of the day, courtesy of The Clash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN1WwnEDWAM
Sounds plausible. And Dave was an excellent movie.
Dang, I wish I had that one on DVD. Maybe I'll order it.
Alex Berenson over the weekend reported the doctor visited the White House 9 times since July 2023.
The mothership is reporting on the growing pressure for Dave -- I mean, Joe Biden -- to step aside and withdraw from the race.
I just got an update from NR, and Biden sent an angry letter to Hill Democrats saying he will not step down. This should be interesting, and I’m starting to wonder if we’re going to see calls to invoke the 25th.
The 25th Amendment can be invoked if (a big “if”) VP Kamala Harris and a majority of Biden’s Cabinet agree. But Biden gets to dispute that, and ultimately it would take 2/3rds of both Houses of Congress to agree.
But would Harris even be on board with that? Doubtful.
Of course! Why get my hopes up about anything!! Not that Harris is much more ensuring.
Apparently that’s not a real option till he’s literally comatose. 🙄 Heaven help us.
I’m telling you, something is going to happen to him one way or another. He’s not capable of doing the job right now, and he’s going downhill quickly.
It’s like we’re inventing a new tradition in which every four years America empties out its retirement homes and booby hatches and puts the erstwhile residents up for election…
France seems to have rallied past efforts to boost LePen.
They would do well to botte LePen. 👢
Doesn’t that name sound like someone from the French Revolution.
Oui! As they say, Le Pen is mightier than le sword.
Now, don't be modest. It's not *they* but *you* who said it. Phil will get confused about who to give his door prize to.
Or a criminal mastermind for Hercule Poirot to match wits with.
Once again! There’s a definite pattern by which they have the first round of elections and scare themselves silly with the results, then return for the pendulum swing in the opposite direction for the second round. Crazy system.
It’s even harder to predict what’s about to happen due to strict bans on polling and campaigning in the final days, iirc.
If I were Marine Le Pen, I would be seriously upset. First the French voters flirt with her in the first round, then spurn her in the second. This is a recurring pattern in French politics.
I'm thinking it would be good for American politics if we had a system (ranked choice voting) where that could happen. It would tend to keep politicians and their handlers from getting swelled heads.
C'est Magnifique!
Il ne marche pas bien…
Total Freak Week in Euroland in general. Pendulum swing to Lab in the UK.
And Orban inaugurating the Hungarian rotating EU presidency by endorsing joint Chinese-Belarussian military maneuvers along the Polish-NATO frontier. All this without the benefit of crazy pills dumped into the water supply.
You sure about that last? Or maybe they've been drinking bottled water from the good ol' U.S.A.
Viktor Orban is himself a crazy pill.
...and the congregation said, "Oy."
And a vey we go!
It’s remarkable how fortunate the UK is: a quick, smooth change of governing parties, once again for a relatively sane form of Lab compared to the last flirtation with that antisemitic whacko Corbin. Starmer looks fairly innocuous, much like Blair did when the Tories last overstayed their welcome.
That one nearly got by me, and would have, had not Optimum called you out -- 🚪
Well played on the "vey" front.
Good morning. That's all as cheerful as all the rain we had over night. Not that rain is bad in an objective sense, but the world is going to be soaked for the first day of camp.
We have vacation Bible school this week, fortunately indoors.
From what you said yesterday, it sounds like you’ve got a couple of busy but rewarding weeks ahead.
This is the part of the summer where nearly every afternoon is a coin toss on T-storms.
Yes, it is. We used to have Day Camp in mid-June, immediately after schools let out There are downsides to July.
The heat and humidity make conditions feel combustible.
You mentioned something about crazy pills above...
https://apnews.com/video/oklahoma-city-oklahoma-heat-waves-weather-national-d7fc4dc4bf1545979411bd3f78b8df6e
When the heat waves, some try waving back…
You deserve a flaming hot fire door for that one, but unless Phil's got something better...
🔥🚪🔥
And sweaty and generally unnngh. But we'll manage.
All the population centers along the Atlantic coast were yellow fever swamps for a good portion of the summer until the discovery and use of DDT in the first half of the 20th C.
I recall an article the WaPo ran ten or twenty years ago about DC residents in around 1900 wearing their full Victorian (?) garb of wool suits for the gents and hooped dresses covering all skin down to the ankles and wrists for the ladies. There was not only no AC, there weren’t electric fans. And DC was built in a malarial swamp.
So, no AC in DC back in the day.
I'm glad to be alive now. Air conditioning for the win! Germ theory!