Good morning. I have fallen a bit behind on my reading and commenting while I make progress on my real-life to-do list. I have two things to mention today:
1) I am still thinking about summarizing what's going on with Bovino and his ICE goons in Chicago vs the federal judges, but it's turned into a whole string of stories, so I'm not sure if I can get it under control. The national media aren't covering all this, but the local journalism persons are doing a decent job. There is still some ambiguity, though, as one can't necessarily tell from specific stories whether members of the public (including officeholders) were crossing the line and getting physically aggressive against the agents, or whether the agents were crossing the line in treatment of people because they just don't like even being observed. Even good reporters won't know the answers right away, just what so-and-so claimed. Indications are there's some of each, and there are clearly squalid conditions at the detention place. There's a story with analysis of the difference between Border Patrol and ICE. Bovino did a long deposition and the details may be juicy; I haven't gotten around to reading those stories yet. I have in mind posting links to stories with very brief summaries, either here or on the mothership or both, but not sure if anyone will even be interested, and there could be paywall problems, so maybe I should just read the stories myself and move on.
2) The Remnant (and other Dispatch podcasts) suddenly became unplayable from the web page the day before yesterday. It turned out to be a bug that I reported to "Member Services," and as of this morning they not only got it fixed but walked me through the most daunting challenge: clearing the cache in my tablet so the unbuggy version of the web page would come up. So, kudos to Member Services, and now the only issue I face is which podcast to listen to first as I do housework.
I've been listening to the Erickson one and will now resume there. I was hoping to hear some actual maneuvers on his part to reconcile his general air of knowledgeability and common sense with his unquestioning support of the same person he also admits is very not good. So far I have been disappointed. I am still trying to figure out words to say why this bugs me so much. It's like he has made "Dems absolute evil" into an a priori assumption, never to be revisited. It's not just partisanship, it's screwy thinking. Convenient, but lazy and wrong. Maybe you can find something in there that I may have missed.
After reading about today's special geographical feature (maybe there's a TSGF in CSLF's future?), the thought occurred to me that you might do a TSAF on these sometime...
Yeah. I got there about a week ago. NYC ain't America, regardless of what the 14,837,334 independent political commenters have to say about it on Substack and Xitter.
I went to a Halloween party last year, before the election, dressed as a gypsy with my crystal ball. At the bottom I glued some sparkly 2028 #s & predicted a more sane election no matter who won.
I thought it was pretty then … & perhaps still is…
Just as the notion or idea or possibility or speculation that something may happen is not a "fact" if it's about the future. Too many people who should know better tend to fall back on "fact" because they can't come up with a word that fits better. Notes jotted on index cards might help them.
Once someone has offered a speculation or prediction, other people in the journalistical industry treat the non-fact as if it is something that has happened, rather than a maybe about the future.
As P.J. O'Rourke observed, it's not clear how any actual information gets into this system.
I'm not even referring to journalists' treatment of speculations. I'm thinking about pundits or even regular people who go on about "the fact that . . ." when this is not what they mean, because it's not a fact, it's an idea they themselves just expressed, and they should know that very well.
Obscure Chinese villages, very often stuck out in the middle of nowhere, lack resources other than rock. The result is entire villages constructed with rock. Rock houses, rock roofs, rock walks, rock stairs, rock everything...laid out in rambling formations resembling Whoville in Horton Hears A Who. There are some peasant houses with some of the most perfect stonework I have ever witnessed; works of art in stone that you get to live in.
will ask son if he did. He's been several times w/ his wife & her family.
Before they married he traveled by himself. I don't remember everywhere he went, but he did ride the Trans-Siberian Railway system, starting in China, then crossed over into Russia & rode it to Moscow. The tales he told about that were fascinating!
After that he went to other areas; he loved Viet Nam...
I was able to get a good, clear view of the moon last night from my back porch. Looked kind of orangey. Size--well, it's all relative. Didn't look like a beaver, but I didn't expect it to. The interesting thing to me about moonlight is that what we're really seeing is light from the sun being bounced off the moon. That is very strong light to have that effect at such a distance.
Rocks are more than geologic features in China. I don't know why, but there are more weird rocks in China than anywhere I've ever been in the States. My FIL is an avid collect, as are many elderly Chinese. We've got several in our house. Entrances to campuses, corporate parks, and just about any substantial development will have HUGE rocks, bigger than a yellow school bus, gently formed and polished, with the name of the development carved into the stone. I collect weird stones, and when I got to China, it was exciting finding so many weird new rocks.
We used to drive to Florida a couple times each year. Running down I-75, the signage for Rock City extends hundreds of miles either side of Rock City. Never stopped to take a look. Speaking of looking, there were also a ridiculous number of signs for Lookout Mountain.
China has extremely strange and interesting geology. I've only read about Gansu and had friends tell me about it. I have been to the stone forest in Kunming, and the karst formations found in Hubei and Hunan. Great little piece on rocks, thanks as always.
David French isn't as optimistic about the arguments in the Trump tariff case as I was, and he actually listened to the whole argument: "Based on the oral argument, I’d say that four votes seem strongly against the administration’s position (Gorsuch, Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson), two are softer votes against the administration (Barrett and Roberts), two seemed moderately sympathetic to Trump’s case (Kavanaugh and Thomas), and Alito was ready to defend Trump’s tariffs like he was making a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl."
Some people call our city (Rochester) "Roc City". But it hasn't caught on big. I think it comes from how our airport is designated by the FAA and the flight search websites: "ROC".
Some of those designations don't seem very intuitive, like Toronto's (YYZ), or Dulles's (IAD).
Where in TN were you? I lived in Knoxville 1974, then Nashville & Brentwood '76 - 2015.
Fat Man's Squeeze at Rock City - one of ex's uncles (edited to take out the ' of uncle's, altho I could have left that in, & added butt...) literally couldn't go thru it.
pistachios are often a snack w/ my cab wine while playing pool in the afternoon. Dry roasted, still in the shell, half cracked - I have a nice little pistachio sheller thingy that works perfectly for those shells that need a little help.
The ones I can't easily open with my fingers, I throw back in the jar, and when there are enough of them, I use a small rock--which I happen to keep handy as a paperweight--to smash them, carefully.
The US has Artist’s Palette in Death Valley that I did NOT get to see on our Death Valley bike trip. My derailleur snapped in two at the entrance. We had to hitchhike our way back to the hotel 15 mi away. The one attraction I was most looking forward to. No I’m not bitter. https://www.nps.gov/places/artists-palette.htm
Good morning, We have the moveable feast of Trash Day today. Temps are 34 with a high in the 50s.
The mothership reports on the Supreme Court oral arguments on the legal basis of many of the Trump tariffs. The FP ruminates on “The Meaning of Mamdami”.
Our Autumn has turned into a very decent color season, thanks to those rains a few weeks back. We've had absolutely perfect weather for weeks....warm sunny days, very cool nights, perfect sleeping with the windows open and a down comforter weather.
I am already feeling an overload of "Explaining Mamdani" to pieces.
Good morning. Happy Trash Day to you, and many more!
We are having days in the 70s and nights in the 40s or 50s at the moment. Teengirl has a campout this weekend, and they're guessing lows in the 50s, which will be nice for the campers. Maybe I'll set the tent up in the yard in solidarity.
I have a small rock collection. I've painted rocks, also. People in our community used to leave nicely painted rocks around for walkers, joggers to see along the way to admire. Then politics unfortunately 'hit the trails' & every decorated rock was banned. I still have some in my yard/porch, & in plants inside, & just bowls of rocks inside.
There was a time when painted rocks would go on journeys. On the bottom of such a rock you'd add a painted note: if found, keep me or release me, then a facebook site to post to if found. So that rock, ie, could be found, go on a cruise, then dropped off in another country to be found, & hopefully posted at the FB site, w/ pic...
I used to do crafting w/ kids in the neighborhood, in TN, & painting rocks was always a hit
My brother & SIL in Ohio have 2 Koi ponds, he built, & she has a beautiful flower/herb/veg garden w/ rocks & yard art. Once they were visiting & she yelled "Stop", cause at the side of the busy road she saw a LARGE rock she HAD to have for their garden! HEAVY - lugging that thing into the back of their car was hilarious - but it happened!
Good morning, everyone. Happy Thor's Day! Vlad has a doctor visit this morning and doesn't feel comfortable getting himself to it independently, so there goes whatever else I might have done. That reminds me, I still need to get Teengirl back in there for bloodwork and Epic for a vaccine booster. Maybe next week ...
well, today is my annual dr visit... wonder if she'll give me my memory test??? Last yr she laughed & said she probably won't do so again, at least for a few yrs - the words were: banana, apple, table, sun, chair... you only have to repeat the words later in the visit, but I gave my explanation, saying I saw the banana sitting in the chair (smiling 'cause the banana was sitting in the way so it curved upwards), in front of the table w/ the apple on it, gazing at the sun...
btw, for you youngsters, your dr will start giving you memory tests at some point, around the age of 70ish. They also give you the directions to draw a clock set at a certain time. When hubs had that part of the test, 1st time, he drew a digital clock - haha - nah, he had to redraw the old fashioned clock face kind (he knew he 'cheated' w/ the digital - his sense of humor is pretty good).
temps now 56, to get to 85... back into shorts this week. I was going to store the shorts up on the top shelf of my closet, but instead I cleared out a dresser drawer & put 'em there. So glad I did.
Reminds me of a funny scene. In the 1981 movie Arthur the future father in law Burt says, "I don't drink because drinking affects your decision-making," to which Arthur replies, "You may be right. I can't decide"
I remembered to get there; this time the CAPTAIN, was looking at his GARDEN, and took a PICTURE... she, my doctor said, when people make associations like that it's clear they don't have any form of dementia. Oh, btw, I might have given y'all a cheat sheet. Many docs here use the same words - I don't know if it's a nat'l thing or not... & the time was still 10:10 - doesn't matter if it's am or pm I guess...
Good morning. I have fallen a bit behind on my reading and commenting while I make progress on my real-life to-do list. I have two things to mention today:
1) I am still thinking about summarizing what's going on with Bovino and his ICE goons in Chicago vs the federal judges, but it's turned into a whole string of stories, so I'm not sure if I can get it under control. The national media aren't covering all this, but the local journalism persons are doing a decent job. There is still some ambiguity, though, as one can't necessarily tell from specific stories whether members of the public (including officeholders) were crossing the line and getting physically aggressive against the agents, or whether the agents were crossing the line in treatment of people because they just don't like even being observed. Even good reporters won't know the answers right away, just what so-and-so claimed. Indications are there's some of each, and there are clearly squalid conditions at the detention place. There's a story with analysis of the difference between Border Patrol and ICE. Bovino did a long deposition and the details may be juicy; I haven't gotten around to reading those stories yet. I have in mind posting links to stories with very brief summaries, either here or on the mothership or both, but not sure if anyone will even be interested, and there could be paywall problems, so maybe I should just read the stories myself and move on.
2) The Remnant (and other Dispatch podcasts) suddenly became unplayable from the web page the day before yesterday. It turned out to be a bug that I reported to "Member Services," and as of this morning they not only got it fixed but walked me through the most daunting challenge: clearing the cache in my tablet so the unbuggy version of the web page would come up. So, kudos to Member Services, and now the only issue I face is which podcast to listen to first as I do housework.
I'm still behind on Remnants. I finished the Charles Murray one yesterday, and now I'm a few minutes into the one with Erick Erickson.
I've been listening to the Erickson one and will now resume there. I was hoping to hear some actual maneuvers on his part to reconcile his general air of knowledgeability and common sense with his unquestioning support of the same person he also admits is very not good. So far I have been disappointed. I am still trying to figure out words to say why this bugs me so much. It's like he has made "Dems absolute evil" into an a priori assumption, never to be revisited. It's not just partisanship, it's screwy thinking. Convenient, but lazy and wrong. Maybe you can find something in there that I may have missed.
In contrast, if one were asking the same sort of question about John Podhoretz, the answer would be "Israel."
At least it's an answer that suggests an actual thought process.
Interesting. Maybe I should listen to the Henry George one instead.
I think I'm gonna do the Grand Rapids one next.
After reading about today's special geographical feature (maybe there's a TSGF in CSLF's future?), the thought occurred to me that you might do a TSAF on these sometime...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Rock
And if it's not too hard, maybe even cover these guys someday, since they don't seem half-bad at covering stuff themselves...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzmPTE131R8&list=RDRzmPTE131R8&start_radio=1
Is anyone else getting early onset Mamdani Overload, with the accompanying affliction, What Mamdani Means articles?
Olivia Reingold did a good interview with the Triggernometry guys. She said she’s read all of his 16k tweets. She’s not a fan.
She said she’s read all of his 16k tweets.
Poor Olivia. Maybe she wishes she'd had a career as a grocery store manager instead.
She's really bright, the FP has a lot of talented youngsters.
I've read some of her pieces.
:-)
I have read all that interests me for now. Maybe there will be something unexpected eventually.
Yeah. I got there about a week ago. NYC ain't America, regardless of what the 14,837,334 independent political commenters have to say about it on Substack and Xitter.
There is no new information. Predictions or wishes or maledictions regarding possible future events are not "information."
are you saying my crystal ball is worthless???????????
It's not worthless if you think it's pretty.
I went to a Halloween party last year, before the election, dressed as a gypsy with my crystal ball. At the bottom I glued some sparkly 2028 #s & predicted a more sane election no matter who won.
I thought it was pretty then … & perhaps still is…
"Reply hazy. Try again later."
Just as the notion or idea or possibility or speculation that something may happen is not a "fact" if it's about the future. Too many people who should know better tend to fall back on "fact" because they can't come up with a word that fits better. Notes jotted on index cards might help them.
Once someone has offered a speculation or prediction, other people in the journalistical industry treat the non-fact as if it is something that has happened, rather than a maybe about the future.
As P.J. O'Rourke observed, it's not clear how any actual information gets into this system.
I'm not even referring to journalists' treatment of speculations. I'm thinking about pundits or even regular people who go on about "the fact that . . ." when this is not what they mean, because it's not a fact, it's an idea they themselves just expressed, and they should know that very well.
Nope. It's noise absent signal.
they all seem to be saying the same thing, altho I don't read many. I'm looking into the future, into my crystal ball...
Everyone is definitely saying the same things. One doesn’t even have to read them. I don’t. It’s ridiculous.
Obscure Chinese villages, very often stuck out in the middle of nowhere, lack resources other than rock. The result is entire villages constructed with rock. Rock houses, rock roofs, rock walks, rock stairs, rock everything...laid out in rambling formations resembling Whoville in Horton Hears A Who. There are some peasant houses with some of the most perfect stonework I have ever witnessed; works of art in stone that you get to live in.
on my visit there, I didn't see any...
will ask son if he did. He's been several times w/ his wife & her family.
Before they married he traveled by himself. I don't remember everywhere he went, but he did ride the Trans-Siberian Railway system, starting in China, then crossed over into Russia & rode it to Moscow. The tales he told about that were fascinating!
After that he went to other areas; he loved Viet Nam...
The cool stone stuff is out in the rural villages. Some of them are now tourist destinations, so more people will see them.
THOUSAND WORDS: The super moon: https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/november-supermoon-2025-7f9861cb18b207cd9f5fefcb124f2ae4
It was so pretty last night rising above the golf course.
I was able to get a good, clear view of the moon last night from my back porch. Looked kind of orangey. Size--well, it's all relative. Didn't look like a beaver, but I didn't expect it to. The interesting thing to me about moonlight is that what we're really seeing is light from the sun being bounced off the moon. That is very strong light to have that effect at such a distance.
Some really cool ones today...thanks!
Thanks!!
Bat/India; Bosnia; New Orleans
Great. Thanks, Wilhelm.
Most welcome. Y'all have a good day!
Rocks are more than geologic features in China. I don't know why, but there are more weird rocks in China than anywhere I've ever been in the States. My FIL is an avid collect, as are many elderly Chinese. We've got several in our house. Entrances to campuses, corporate parks, and just about any substantial development will have HUGE rocks, bigger than a yellow school bus, gently formed and polished, with the name of the development carved into the stone. I collect weird stones, and when I got to China, it was exciting finding so many weird new rocks.
Rock. It's a big deal in China.
I think you're right...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dNunqwTE_k&list=RD6dNunqwTE_k&start_radio=1
Excellent.
We used to drive to Florida a couple times each year. Running down I-75, the signage for Rock City extends hundreds of miles either side of Rock City. Never stopped to take a look. Speaking of looking, there were also a ridiculous number of signs for Lookout Mountain.
China has extremely strange and interesting geology. I've only read about Gansu and had friends tell me about it. I have been to the stone forest in Kunming, and the karst formations found in Hubei and Hunan. Great little piece on rocks, thanks as always.
David French isn't as optimistic about the arguments in the Trump tariff case as I was, and he actually listened to the whole argument: "Based on the oral argument, I’d say that four votes seem strongly against the administration’s position (Gorsuch, Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson), two are softer votes against the administration (Barrett and Roberts), two seemed moderately sympathetic to Trump’s case (Kavanaugh and Thomas), and Alito was ready to defend Trump’s tariffs like he was making a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl."
Some people call our city (Rochester) "Roc City". But it hasn't caught on big. I think it comes from how our airport is designated by the FAA and the flight search websites: "ROC".
Some of those designations don't seem very intuitive, like Toronto's (YYZ), or Dulles's (IAD).
IAD: International Airport - Dulles
Right. It's all backwards. Not intuitive.
Not intuitive, but not completely unconnected, like YYZ.
Two guys came through the blacksmith shop at the fair wearing "See Rock City" tee-shirts. I hadn't seen that since my co-op days in north Alabama.
I've been to Rock City, but don't have a t-shirt
I have not been there, but I remember the signs from when we live in Tennessee in 1995-96.
Where in TN were you? I lived in Knoxville 1974, then Nashville & Brentwood '76 - 2015.
Fat Man's Squeeze at Rock City - one of ex's uncles (edited to take out the ' of uncle's, altho I could have left that in, & added butt...) literally couldn't go thru it.
Manchester. My husband went to grad school at UTSI.
TSRF
A nice new feature! 😀
Rocks are our friends, too. We're all made of minerals and stuff.
I checked the nutrition label on a bag of pistachios, and I can confirm that people need certain minerals in their diet.
pistachios are often a snack w/ my cab wine while playing pool in the afternoon. Dry roasted, still in the shell, half cracked - I have a nice little pistachio sheller thingy that works perfectly for those shells that need a little help.
The ones I can't easily open with my fingers, I throw back in the jar, and when there are enough of them, I use a small rock--which I happen to keep handy as a paperweight--to smash them, carefully.
The US has Artist’s Palette in Death Valley that I did NOT get to see on our Death Valley bike trip. My derailleur snapped in two at the entrance. We had to hitchhike our way back to the hotel 15 mi away. The one attraction I was most looking forward to. No I’m not bitter. https://www.nps.gov/places/artists-palette.htm
Nice!!
Thanks, that's really pretty.
Good morning, We have the moveable feast of Trash Day today. Temps are 34 with a high in the 50s.
The mothership reports on the Supreme Court oral arguments on the legal basis of many of the Trump tariffs. The FP ruminates on “The Meaning of Mamdami”.
Our Autumn has turned into a very decent color season, thanks to those rains a few weeks back. We've had absolutely perfect weather for weeks....warm sunny days, very cool nights, perfect sleeping with the windows open and a down comforter weather.
I am already feeling an overload of "Explaining Mamdani" to pieces.
Maples and locusts are outstandingly orange around here.
The Left loves him and everyone else is trying to figure him out.
Agreed. What bothersome is so many folks can't see what he is.
Unfortunately they're basing their figuring on obsolescent names and political diagrams.
Right.
Good morning. Happy Trash Day to you, and many more!
We are having days in the 70s and nights in the 40s or 50s at the moment. Teengirl has a campout this weekend, and they're guessing lows in the 50s, which will be nice for the campers. Maybe I'll set the tent up in the yard in solidarity.
Rocks!! I love them! When traveling, I leave room in my suitcases for rocks. Sea agates are my favorite.
I have a small rock collection. I've painted rocks, also. People in our community used to leave nicely painted rocks around for walkers, joggers to see along the way to admire. Then politics unfortunately 'hit the trails' & every decorated rock was banned. I still have some in my yard/porch, & in plants inside, & just bowls of rocks inside.
There was a time when painted rocks would go on journeys. On the bottom of such a rock you'd add a painted note: if found, keep me or release me, then a facebook site to post to if found. So that rock, ie, could be found, go on a cruise, then dropped off in another country to be found, & hopefully posted at the FB site, w/ pic...
I used to do crafting w/ kids in the neighborhood, in TN, & painting rocks was always a hit
My brother & SIL in Ohio have 2 Koi ponds, he built, & she has a beautiful flower/herb/veg garden w/ rocks & yard art. Once they were visiting & she yelled "Stop", cause at the side of the busy road she saw a LARGE rock she HAD to have for their garden! HEAVY - lugging that thing into the back of their car was hilarious - but it happened!
Sounds completely reasonable to me.
I was never a big fan of Rock Hudson nor "the Rock". They were okay, that's all.
Jay, are you that person who finds a way to sidetrack any academic meeting?
:-)
How about James Rockford - The Rockford Files. He seems easy to like.
I liked that show
James Garner, Stephen J. Cannell. Both at the top of their game.
I liked Rock Hudson. But mainly I liked Susan St. James. (Mcmillan and wife).
I think Dwayne Johnson is really cute.
I get that. He is charming.
Such a pleasant smile. I imagine that you could say to him, "Isn't this absolutely the best tree?" and he would say, "Tell me all about it."
As your therapist, tell me a little more about your fantasy conversations with Mr. Johnson, please.
"Oak trees host more species of insects than another other genus of trees." That was pretty much it.
Good morning, everyone. Happy Thor's Day! Vlad has a doctor visit this morning and doesn't feel comfortable getting himself to it independently, so there goes whatever else I might have done. That reminds me, I still need to get Teengirl back in there for bloodwork and Epic for a vaccine booster. Maybe next week ...
well, today is my annual dr visit... wonder if she'll give me my memory test??? Last yr she laughed & said she probably won't do so again, at least for a few yrs - the words were: banana, apple, table, sun, chair... you only have to repeat the words later in the visit, but I gave my explanation, saying I saw the banana sitting in the chair (smiling 'cause the banana was sitting in the way so it curved upwards), in front of the table w/ the apple on it, gazing at the sun...
btw, for you youngsters, your dr will start giving you memory tests at some point, around the age of 70ish. They also give you the directions to draw a clock set at a certain time. When hubs had that part of the test, 1st time, he drew a digital clock - haha - nah, he had to redraw the old fashioned clock face kind (he knew he 'cheated' w/ the digital - his sense of humor is pretty good).
temps now 56, to get to 85... back into shorts this week. I was going to store the shorts up on the top shelf of my closet, but instead I cleared out a dresser drawer & put 'em there. So glad I did.
My doctor scheduled me for a memory test, but I forgot to go.
Reminds me of a funny scene. In the 1981 movie Arthur the future father in law Burt says, "I don't drink because drinking affects your decision-making," to which Arthur replies, "You may be right. I can't decide"
I remembered to get there; this time the CAPTAIN, was looking at his GARDEN, and took a PICTURE... she, my doctor said, when people make associations like that it's clear they don't have any form of dementia. Oh, btw, I might have given y'all a cheat sheet. Many docs here use the same words - I don't know if it's a nat'l thing or not... & the time was still 10:10 - doesn't matter if it's am or pm I guess...
yep, I keep looking at the digital clock hoping I don't forget...
A memory palace!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonwalking_with_Einstein
ETA: I've tried to get my daughter to use the concept for her mineralogy class.
Love that! Thank you! Amazon delivers - tomorrow - & not kindle this time, but paperback, so hubs can use it, too
I did the same thing when I had the memory test: put the words into a description in my mind.