132 Comments

UK Health Minister Nadine Dorries has tested positive for COVID-19. Somewhere Alanis Morissette is smiling.

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I need to know:

Does WFC = ATQ South? Or does that have to stay over there?

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It doesn't link back to CGB anymore (or anywhere!) so someone could register it on GoDaddy

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Mar 10, 2020Liked by Erik Johannessen

Currently ATQ South, but anxiously awaiting the day your kind becomes WFC North.

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Adorable! I saw a ~6" tall western screech owl on my street on Sunday. The thing was damn cute, but it was a little concerning since it was about an hour after sunrise. I had a dog with me, so I kept my distance, but was able to snap a few photos. Looked just like this one: https://centerofthewest.org/2018/03/19/introducing-western-screech-owl/

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WHOLE MILK

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I've been working from home for nearly 4 hours before I realized that I could do the DBD on my personal laptop. SUP Y'ALL

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sup

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I FEEL YOU.

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I don't think that Newellbany is still looking in CA, and I also don't exactly know what you do, but this made me think of you

Protocol Officer job opening at Berkeley Lab

http://m.rfer.us/LBLl8L2bY

Berkeley Lab has an exciting opportunity for a Protocol Officer in the Protocol Office. Reporting to the Head of the Protocol Office, the Protocol Officer is responsible for planning and facilitating high-level meetings, visits and events for the Laboratory Directorate. This position develops and recommends solutions to complex problems, protocol policies and procedures, and identifies appropriate courses of action. The Protocol Officer plays a key role in helping to manage and develop Berkeley Lab’s public image as well as assist with cultivating strategic relationships.

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Just whole milk.

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Substack thinks they have fixed the email issue about DBDs being posted. Did anyone receive an email this morning about the new DBD going up?

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I did not get an email about the DBD going up. Got one less than an hour ago about a response to a comment I posted.

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I did not get an email about the DBD being posted. Though I also did not get an email about the Pac-12 preview on the Front Page. The what now?

Are we not supposed to get emails for any new Front Page posts?

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IMO, the goal is to minimize emails. I don't think daily emails are part of our plan, but definitely not for DBDs.

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Noticed that the link sent in emails has a 'Rec and Read' feature. Are you SURE you don't want to enjoy this feature longer...

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Today in Covid-19

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My parents have stopped suggesting I come home, and instead have switched to "Why don't you stay in Bangkok?" - I think there are legit carrier/their health concerns. If I were to fly home it would route through Hong Kong/Tokyo/Korea and who knows who will be on those flights? So I'm going to stay here until the news changes.

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My brother and his wife were/are visiting Cambodia - not sure when they are due back but sometime around now. I know flying over they went through HK so don't know what kind of hassle they will encounter on return.

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I've heard from friends who have recently flown into the US - not much hassle. Which is probably a bad thing.

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Coronavirus is mysteriously sparing kids and killing the elderly. Understanding why may help defeat the virus.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/10/coronavirus-is-mysteriously-sparing-kids-killing-elderly-understanding-why-may-help-defeat-virus/

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Just saw Xi on the news visiting Wuhan. Says the virus is basically controlled. Where have I heard that before?

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His "visit" was like in a hotel. What they don't tell you is that after 20 years of pragmatic technocrats (Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao - engineers both) Xi is rumored to not be very smart.

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The footage I saw he was walking on the street waving up to people in a building. Granted it could have been outside the hotel.

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That's funny. Whenever he visited Shanghai (three times in the last five years) - everyone has been ordered off the streets with curtains closed. A couple of hotels have even had to "not rent" rooms facing in the general direction where he'd travel to/from.

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Mission Accomplished!

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Taiwan scientists develop antibodies for 15-minute Wuhan virus test in 19 days

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3893301

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Go Taiwan Scientists! LETS. GO. SCI.EN.TISTS **clap clap 👏👏 👏

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I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THIS CHEER IS ALL FOR ME.

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i just want my old life back. but time is linear, so...

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Have you not seen Arrival? You just need to learn a new language! Break out of the prison house of language

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A lot of St. Patrick's Day parades and events are being cancelled.

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Oh no not that

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But not Pittsburgh nor Philadelphia

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Fox News Host: "Coronavirus is a Democratic Impeachment Scam"

https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1237174846355841024

This is 31 flavors of effed up.

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then there's no problem holing them all up together, right?

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French Government: Attention citizens, cocaine does not prevent Covid-19

https://twitter.com/MinSoliSante/status/1236626510703968257

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I like how in Taiwan they are working on developing new tests, utilizing their scientific prowess, and in France they are doing lines, harnessing their raw hedonism

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I propose further testing of the control group . . .

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I've heard of "an ounce of prevention" before, but this is ridiculous!

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they crossed the Line

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BOOOOOOOOO

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Damn, back to the drawing board I guess

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man, the french are so much cooler than we are

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well that's disappointing.

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Our town got 5 new cases confirmed yesterday. They've been walking around town for 2 weeks. At this point, I think it is imminent that work and schools gets shut down. Also, regulations to get a Covid test are stupidly difficult. You have to have all of the 3 things before they'll let a doctor have a test kit: a) travelled to an at-risk country, b) have a fever, c) be under respiratory distress.

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Yeah No 1 told me he got really sick last week but I think he's better now so I'm not sure if he should get tested. What I don't understand about the 3 is a). I'd assume many of the ones getting it now didn't travel to an at risk country.

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6 of the 7 confirmed cases in our town who have been confirmed with it caught it domestically (Boston, Seattle). We had one case go through Charlotte Airport and one person get sick and drove back to Tennessee. I'm fully convinced that there is there is a minor outbreak and it will only be a few weeks before it is endemic here.

Also, I have a minor cold. It's not the flu because I sneeze, cough, and don't have a fever. But when I feel a cough coming, I hide it by farting.

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"But when I feel a cough coming, I hide it by farting."

"SGBear isn't sick. He's just stinky."

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GO#$AMMIT!

I was just in a meeting within close proximity to a guy who went to California last week and then, came back with a fever and then came into work today saying that he says he feels better. Say he didn't think it was Covid-19 because his son also had a fever and he thought kids couldn't get it. He's a lawyer, for goodness sake. How stupid can he be?

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I wouldn't assume lawyering is the mark of intelligence--after all, Twist is one.

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i also would not make this assumption, based upon my experience with myself

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If you die can I have your baseball cards? (Kidding!)

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There's not really a ceiling on stupidity.

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..or a floor.

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"But when I feel a cough coming, I hide it by farting" - No sarcasm I want to get your autograph this is amazing

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I'm thinking about cancelling my trip to Philly and NYC in a couple of weeks.

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uh, have you thought about not going?

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Was going to say that there are countries that are safer in term of COVID-19 than the US, but Germany is not one of them. I actually already wasn't going to go for our experiment's meeting next week (and was going to go for a longer trip either April or May which is also up in the air), but the university is now forbidding all international travel (one of our grad students is already out in Germany). The main fear of some other US collaborators about going to Germany next week is being stuck there.

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impressively low death rate in germany.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/countries-where-coronavirus-has-spread/

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It's also following the Italy curve, just like 2 weeks behind. We might see exponential growth over the next week

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Elsewhere in college sports

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Albany was all kinds of pumped to be hosting the NCAA tournament next weekend. Tickets were hella expensive...not anymore!

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Ivy League canceling their conference tournaments. Also, Harvard wants every to go home and disappear from campus in 5 days (not everyone can do that).

https://ivyleague.com/news/2020/3/10/general-ivy-league-cancels-basketball-tournaments-limits-spectators-at-all-sporting-events.aspx

https://twitter.com/thecrimson/status/1237360709048000513

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Vandy cancelled this week. Sent out an email saying "Since some students may need to remain on campus during this period of in-person class suspension, the campus will remain open with limited or reduced services". No 2 and his friends think it's a get off campus, if you can. And the last 2 weeks in March are online or alternative learning so I wonder if they don't want students to come back. And they reserve the right to continue it until finals the last week of April.

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This reminds me when UC Santa Cruz closed down for 5 days because of landslides in the Santa Cruz Mtns (Jan. '82, I think). The landslides took out electricity transmission towers and broke a water transmission line that carried water from Loch Lomond Reservoir to the city. The electricity went out the night before classes were to start. The water transmission line probably broke at about the same time.

Electricity was unavailable (but would soon be restored) and water was being rationed. All on campus students were told to leave campus if we could. My grandmother had space in the attic available, so me, my roommate, and a mutual friend decamped to Berkeley. We left via Route 17 over The Summit. Landslides blocked lanes on Route 17 as we traveled over. Once we got into Los Gatos we could fill up with gas. There was electricity there; we could pump gas.

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On a UCSC note, all in person classes have been cancelled for the remainder of the quarter. Classes are scheduled to restart in April for the Spring '20 quarter.

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Campus and all facilities are still open. But classes and all events with 50+ expected attendees have been cancelled

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Milk

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I put a splash in my coffee but I don’t drink it on its own

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was a bad choice!!

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2% Clover has won me over recently. Can’t justify the up charge for organic 2% clover... one day

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I don't drink much but when I do I prefer Clover Whole Organic.

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Is the official state drink of like half of the US States...thanks to the milk lobbyists.

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I drink it all the time. I like 1% but the places I shop don't sell it often so I end up drinking 2%. To me skim tastes like water, full-fat tastes like cream.

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I had a client once that was a creamery. The whole dairy business is subject to these pooling agreements and restrictions dating back to the depression that are quite unusual. I wonder if the stress on the industry by consumer shifts away from dairy will loosen some of those things.

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I would be interested in hearing more about this...

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Basically milk producers pay into a pool and receive payments out of it based on what the milk was used for. So like use in ice cream is a high profit use - you’d pay in and get nothing back. Use in making a gallon of milk or butter is low profit so you pay in but you will get more back. Like revenue sharing sort of, is meant to avoid milk producers selling their milk only to some high profit uses. But it seems to presuppose a scarcity of milk, which is no longer the case.

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is it time to deregulate the dairy industry?

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"After Legalizing Raw Milk, Legislators Fall Ill From Drinking Raw Milk"

Insert joke about spilled milk here: Lawmakers who passed a bill to legalize the consumption of raw milk fell ill after drinking raw milk to celebrate their victory. According to WSAZ, after passing legislation that allowed residents of West Virginia to drink raw milk, some delegates celebrated by consuming the unpasteurized dairy beverage. In a strange coincidence — or not — many of them became ill hours and days later. After an anonymous complaint to the Department of Health and Human Resources, state health officials are now investigating the matter.

https://www.eater.com/2016/3/9/11186922/raw-milk-lawmakers-ill-after-drinking-raw-milk

(It also may have been the flu)

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Or just regulate it differently. It’s a system set up to deal with family farmers really. These dairies that are hurting now, sliding into chapter 11, are giant companies. Seems like different medicine is needed

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Not so good for we lactose intolerant folks. I grew up using soy milk on my cereal.

I do use Lactaid to be able to eat dairy products now, but to this day I've never actually had a glass of milk.

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I'm with Scootie; LOVE milk. Drink it with dinner most nights, and some lunches. Sometimes by the canning jar, vs by the glass.

Grew up on a farm, and loved milk so creamy after we skimmed it it was still richer than store-bought "whole" milk. (Our best heifer was consistently at ~12%.) When we sold off the Jerseys, adapting to whole milk took a while. The 2% stuff in lunch at school was undrinkable.

Fast forward a few decades and the household members who were concerned about the weight affects of too-rich milk instituted 2%. Took a few years to adapt, just in time to have 1% be mandated by the primary grocery buyer.

Gained a son in law who we discovered has a digestive issue with milk, and can only handle some cheeses and some almond milk. More family changes.

Still drink more milk than anyone I know, and love it, even 1%. If I can sneak some of the good stuff somewhere, so much the better.

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In the Thai supermarket, I found 9%. I bought it for making mac and cheese.

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Is 9% just yogurt?

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Yogurt is cultured.

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I think the "weight effects" concern is largely BS.

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What'cha think about the health concerns of dairy as a whole? As a cheese lover, I'm quite sad that the science seems pretty conclusive.

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Which ones specifically are you concerned about? I think if you're otherwise healthy, it's fine to be part of your overall diet, maybe in moderation if you have specific issues you think might be exacerbated. I mean, alcohol isn't *good* for you either, but are you going to give up scotch entirely, or enjoy your life?

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Specifically, the bad ones. Alcohol helps disinfect my mouth and throat, so in these dangerous days of COVID-19, I feel we must soldier on even if we'd personally prefer to drink less alcohol.

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haha

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I will note the almond stuff is quite good too.

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people make fun of me for pronouncing it "melk" but I can't help it.

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Milk is great, Chocolate Milk is the best.

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I don't like milk. I don't particularly care that much for chocolate (it's fine, but I'd rather choose different flavors). But I really like chocolate milk.

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This is correct

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Adding a splash of strawberry syrup to a big glass full is pretty good too.

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I've always had Dean's chocolate milk in Louisville, which I think is similar to Berkeley Farms (similar to Best Foods/Hellmans). Once maybe 10 years ago at Berkeley Bowl they were giving away samples or Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk. Wow it was amazing.

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Love milk. Have 2% in the fridge, but I don't mind any of the weights.

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I love milk as well. I grew up drinking 2%, but in the last few years have switched to full fat whole milk and it is even better!

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Nah, none for me, something clicked in my brain when I was 18 or 19, and I found drink a glass of milk gross.

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and now that I think about it, that's not 100% true; when I was working my way though college, I'd buy a small carton of chocolate milk & a bag of Doritos on morning break.

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SOY MILK FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMUNITY. Kimchi farts are enough. No need for milk farts.

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Whole.

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unsweetened almond milk. hands down. after that, 2% organic. i don't need to buy organic for many other things, but for milk and eggs, only organic.

question is, should i also be buying organic cauliflower and broccoli?

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When we moved to a plant-based, whole food diet, we experimented with soy, almond, and oat milk. Oat milk won.

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My kids, especially the older one, are big fans of oat milk now that they are both avoiding dairy

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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NY Times: Brad Parscale firm charged Trump campaign $35m since 2017. Some of those fund went to pay Eric Trump's wife and Trump Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/us/trump-campaign-brad-parscale.html

Summary that is not behind paywall: https://www.salon.com/2020/03/09/brad-parscale-used-private-firm-to-make-payments-out-of-public-view-to-don-jrs-girlfriend-report_partner/

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This is great news, I hope they grift as much as possible from this campaign.

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PRO

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In an unsurprising move, the Dodgers announce that Kershaw is the Opening Day starter.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28872909/clayton-kershaw-make-9th-opening-day-start-dodgers

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GBBR

He did say that he didn't want a pity opening day start. Buehler is the clear No 1 but I think the Dodgers had setup the spring training starting rotation to have Kershaw be the opening day starter. I'm sure Buehler wanted the opening day start but he probably said that he was fine with Kershaw starting.

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Buehler will be the opening day starter before long. Probably as soon as next year.

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oh I agree. I think he probably should be the opening day starter this year but Kershaw is still pitching well enough, and actually really well during the spring, that it isn't a pity opening day start.

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CAL

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Go Bears!

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booo bad twitter embedding.

Cal Coaches awkwardly ask for money. (BIG GIVE Is coming!)

https://twitter.com/CalAthletics/status/1237438465878323200

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There are (mostly) awkward ones for basically each of the Cal sports!

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WGolf: Bears are playing well all of a sudden. After winning a tournament last week for the first time since 2016, Bears is just one shot behind the leader in Washington State going to the final day/round of play.

http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=19921

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MGolf: Bears in 3rd, now only 4 strokes back from lead in 19 team field. #33 Cal is doing better than higher ranked teams like #3 ASU, #5 Texas A&M, #11 Arizona, #18 BYU, #19 CSU, #20 Dook, and #28 SDSU. Lamkin Championship, SDCC, Chula Vista

http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=20223

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Half and half! None of that, “Try this, if you squint, it tastes almost like the real thing...”

No thanks!

Give me a C

Give me an H

Give me an O

Give me an L...

What’s that gonna spell?

Cholesterol!

Go Bears!

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Since I've been eating a lot more fat, my blood cholesterol levels have been fantastic. High HDL (good cholesterol), low LDL (bad cholesterol), very low triglycerides.

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iz annoying

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Like your face

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Fair, since the prompts to create a profile are fairly square.

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I think this is what happens when you aren't subscribed. I believe this is something we're discussing with Substack, but Erik would know best.

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correct. if you give in and subscribe, the prompts go away. since this is a subscription-based platform, i don't expect substack to remove that, but allowing users more find-grained controls over email notifications would greatly reduce the disincentive towards signing up for a free subscription

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It has to do with the type of milk you prefer.

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