Interesting article, and a different way of looking at the housing issues in the Bay Area
"What I find so curious is that here is an issue — helping workers and regions that have been left behind — that holds enormous appeal to supporters of President Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and just about everyone in between. Not coincidentally, it involves regions that are most likely to decide the coming election. Yet none of the presidential candidates — not Democrats, not Trump — is even talking about legacy cities, or industrial policy or regional economic development.
I’d put the case for a more muscular urban and industrial policy this way: If Case and a few billionaire friends are willing to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to redirect investment and growth from a handful of cities with too much to those with too little, shouldn’t the federal government be willing to commit hundreds of billions alongside?"
It would be complex, risky, expensive, and geographically limited, and probably require a good dose of leadership and creativity, which means it would never make it through Congress these days. It feels like it'll be more likely for a couple of large companies to get fed up and move.
Isn't it? Part of the plan is that new business will take root or grow, even if you can successfully incentivize some existing businesses to move. One high-profile failure would be enough to shift the optics unfavorably, because the public doesn't understand investing.
No, I think this plan relies on some existing business moving to existing cities with existing infrastructure and housing, and new business growing after that. I think with a national approach (rather than cities and states fighting over scraps) this could have a very high success rate. The individual cities and states would have to buy into the plan to succeed.
Shows sometimes, but only item I can recall was a large format edition of Jack Kirby's "The New Gods" (some of his very best work) that sold out rather quickly.
Still can't access from work computer. But today is a work from home day, so I can use two computers! Had to make them stop talking to each other though..
You know, I still try to eat lower carb generally, but I'm not strict about it, and I'll happily indulge in bread or sweets from time to time, especially if I'm being social or whatever. I'm still usually good about only having 1-2 meals a day, so that's been enough to allow some flexibility on what I eat. I still stay largely away from processed crap. I feel healthy [shrug]
I’m right there with you. For a while I was trying to really be keto (<75g of carbs), but I suffered diet fatigue then moved in with my in laws and that went out the window. I also gained back 10-15lbs. Now I’m back to low carb (~100g), but I’ll indulge usually once or twice a week. Weight is slowly coming off again, I’m just not ready to fully commit to the keto life again to super charge the loss.
I went on a cooking rampage over the past 2 days, so there are a lot of left-overs in my fridge. As a result, I had a giant green enchilada (chicken/cheese) on a bed of Belizean red beans/coconut rice. Not exactly "breakfast food", but whatever.
Cub Scout potluck dinner tonight...we're bringing fettuccine with homemade garlic cajun alfredo sauce so that we have an alternative to the usual Little Caesar's crap pizza offering.
lots of chopped garlic (however much you like). I usually use 4-6 medium cloves
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded (not grated) parmesan cheese
your favorite cajun seasonings (or salt and pepper to taste if you don't want cajun)
Cook the pasta. I start the sauce as soon as the pasta is in the boiling water because the sauce takes almost no time to make. Melt the butter on medium low to medium heat. Saute the garlic in the butter until fragrant. Add the cream, cheese and seasonings and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth and heated through. Pour the sauce on the pasta and toss to combine.
Notes: I use Emeril Essence brand seasoning for cajun spice. It's not spicy hot at all. You can also add cayenne pepper to add heat. Granted parm doesn't melt as well as shredded and can come out grainy. Also, I have added chicken breast, shrimp and crab to this sauce on occasion. If you do that, cook the meat first in the garlic butter and add a little of your seasoning to the meat before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Finally, get your defibrillator ready just in case...
1) Well, where to I start...I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen The Excorcist 167 times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it.
Kidding...Cal Band (Trumpet '90), lawyer in the East Bay, just attended my 30th consecutive Big Game (and it was FANTASTIC).
2) I know virtually nothing about any of you...this just seemed like a fun place to post random thoughts while reading about all things Cal.
Look forward to participating and getting to know y'all!
No 2 is back for spring break this week and the boys want Bucatini with Sage Browned Butter for dinner so I'm making that along with some homemade chicken soup. Don't know what my plan is for lunch.
I just had granola for breakfast. For lunch, I have a Thai curry--I used green curry paste, but everything in it is orange (bell peppers, butternut squash, and salmon).
Alex Ebert. Man I love his new album. Much easier to understand the quirkiness and approach on his new album if you know his body of music, his talent for writing and producing, and his perspective on music and life.This dude is like Nietzsche embodied in music. My wife accuses me of having a hard man crush on Ebert. I can't argue against it.
What? He walked away seeing the sell out coming and abandoned ship before it went down. Now he is taking some Netflix money, but by all accounts, has full reign over his artistry. Also...he has not done a movie donning a fat suit, dressed up as an old lady, or dressed up as a privileged, caucasian female. I know that is setting the bar low...
Well he signed that big deal with Comedy Central and bailed on it almost immediately, then disappeared for like ten years. He returned and is authentically himself in a way, but some of these Netflix specials are just mailed in, not sufficiently honed/worked. I’m sure his motivation for pumping them out is monetary. I do like him though! He needs to sort of chill on the constant vaping
I think he disappeared only to the commercial audience. He was playing small clubs for those ten years, just doing his thing. I agree the Netflix shows weren't totally honed, but I see it as an extension of what he was already doing, just stream of conscious comedy that can either be the funniest thing ever, or sometimes doesn't land right. I think this is what I really appreciate about Chappelle. He takes risks that other comedians aren't willing to take--like walking away from a $50 contract, not knowing how he'd land after-- and being far less premeditated than other comedians. Still, Chappelle on a bad day is 10 times funnier than half the derivative garbage that passes as comedy.
Tough time getting the requisite COVID-19 stuff - hand sanitizer, wipes, etc. On another topic the Bears were skewered by the Ducks last night. We did make a mini-run with 12:01 left in the 2nd half getting within 15 points, but a missed layup plus an Oregon 3 made a five point swing. Put a fork in it.
Don't buy into the marketing hype of hand sanitizer. It's helpful on the run, but soap and water works against practically everything (whereas santizier is useless against certain viruses).
You just need to be careful that you're not buying anti-bacterial sanitizer, and instead opting for anti-microbial. However, soap and scrubbing for more than 20 seconds is obviously the way to go.
I'm flying to NYC and taking the train to Philly to visit No 2. Then visiting HeyStudentBears in NYC before flying back. Thinking of bringing along a couple small travel size things of hand sanitizer.
Substack required all users to be subscribers to comment up until about 6 weeks ago or so. They changed that as a result of conversations with us, actually.
My friend has a lot of miles with Korean Air, so she often flies first. On one trip, she thought it was weird that she wasn't allowed to board first, and then found out that it was because BTS was on her flight. Once she boarded, she saw BTS, their manager (who told her she wasn't allowed to take any pictures), and a woman she didn't recognize (to be fair, she didn't really recognize BTS either).
It turns out that woman is a superfan, and she booked that flight specifically so she could fly with BTS. As soon as they landed, she was turning right back around on another flight.
My friend later saw on message boards that people were saying there were TWO superfans on board.
I wanted some new adidas superstars that were an all star weekend limited edition. sold out in women's sizes everywhere, but I tracked some down through GOAT. Supposed to arrive today!
When I was a lil punk rocker, every band that I liked before they got on MTV. I think I was ~17 when I realized that if getting paid for what you love to do made you a sell out, I’d sell out every day of the week and twice on Sunday
I get what people are saying about Metallica, and sure, 80s Metallica is never coming back, but I also don't really "get" the egregiousness of the sell-out. They changed their sound, they got older, whatever. Yeah, Reload was mediocre and St. Anger is actively bad, but I just don't understand the hate for the music as they evolved.
Now, suing their own fans for downloading their music? I don't have a defense for that.
"Now, suing their own fans for downloading their music?" I think you answered your own question. A band that first became popular by raw production and thrashing, fuck-the-man metal, then becomes the very thing their angst ridden music targeted. That's where the egregiousness comes in. Also rock and roll, though of a different genre, the Grateful Dead did not care a single whiff about how much bootlegging of their music happened. If ever there were a band that retained artistry, integrity, and relevancy for decades, despite making tons of money, Grateful Dead is it and I think in some ways, serves as a counterpoint to Metallica, though an imperfect one.
For the most part, their music from that era is not good. It’s dated to the trends of that era. Load and Reload were hot garbage. St Anger more so. We all know 80s Metallica isn’t coming back but I feel they are forcing the change through bc of how big they are. It’s a “this is what you’re getting and you’ll like it” situation. A majority of the songs from that era rarely make it into set lists.
I actually think Load wasn't that bad, but it never felt like selling out to me so much as evolving as musicians, and in a direction that just wasn't as good as their previous stuff.
Commercial success versus retaining artistic control. That is usually going to be an answer that an artist has to answer at some point. While calling a band a sellout may be a critic's way of tearing down a band, there is some truth that artistic integrity is likely compromised in the process. Whether you care or not that an artist has sold out shouldn't be based on the critics, but whether you actually like the music and how it makes you feel. I've read a lot of criticism of Alex Ebert and MGMT. Usually, the criticism is that they didn't follow up on commercial success of songs like Kids, Time to Pretend, and Home even though subsequent albums from both were amazing, though not as accessible for the public at large. So, the criticism goes both ways. I find value in commercial music and also value artists that walk away from lucrative contracts to retain artistic control. Each its a different musical need for me. At the same time, no one can pretend that Metallica is the same band it was in the eighties. I like playing old Metallica now and then for adrenaline and nostalgia's sake but I don't really find their music compelling or relevant anymore. I don't know if I can separate this feeling from the fact that they sold out, because at least as Metallica goes, selling out and becoming irrelevant is one and the same.
They are not amazing driving machines in a sporting sense but for the road trip, to the extent that such a thing isn’t going to become an artifact of the late Anthropocene, they are hard to beat.
I spent much of the last week hanging out with newly arrived friends from Shanghai who came down to escape the cold and boredom (and JUST BEAT the now-imposed required 14 day quarantine for arrivals from China, Taiwan, HK, Macau, Japan, Korea, Italy, Iran).
They've described life in Shanghai as similar to Switzerland or Casablanca during WWII. Things very close to them are chaos, but life in the city is pretty safe and boring. Everyone is just stuck at home, works from home, and relies on delivery for all sundries and groceries and food. All deliveries are now "pick up at the gate" so it's the 1-2 times a day that people leave their apartments and go downstairs to the front of their buildings or complexes.
Also, a friend of mine stuck in Wuhan made an Instagram post about her daily life. She doesn't get to leave her apartment except once every 2-5 days to throw out their garbage. When she does, she has an entire disposable suit that she wears. they don't even get to "shop" for deliveries - the government distributes basic food + vegetables for every household. Man, if she wasn't at home, she'd starve - she's not very good at cooking, luckily she's with her family. I get the sense, the main issue for her is utter and complete boredom.
Being confined to a 900 sq. ft. 2 bedroom apartment with one's family. Hell, I was stuck at home for much of January. There were only a few restaurants open - and no one was in town. It was suffocatingly boring.
Chinese TV, Chinese internet - and very few people own board games. And I get the feeling that being stuck with one's parents does not fill "people you love to interact with"
I got a text from my 17 y.o. last night wondering if the first cases in our county would lead to schools being closed. Turns out the patients are 2 people in their 70s and 1 in his 50s
my company has cancelled most travel, offsites, hosted events and said almost all of us can work from home for the time being. I figure everyone would take advantage of this so i came into the office (and will do so until they shut down the cafeteria)... meanwhile somebody across the building is talking about their COVID symptoms but saying "but it's not that bad" so perhaps I've made a poor decision
Not to sound Trumpy, but how do they know the denominator to calculate death rate? No asymptomatic person would go get tested, and if you had mild symptoms you wouldn’t either. Do they model that into the figures? If it’s a straight line calculation of number of deaths over number of known infections, the numbers are likely significantly inflated
That is what a non-expert idiot who doesn't understand science, statistics, error rates, or the like, would want you to think: That scientists are some hokey wannabees taking pot shots on something like this without building in necessary assumptions.
right now it's a wild ass guess based on observed transmission rates and methods and extrapolating based on how many people have recovered. and my guess, as a 'new' flu type virus it will have a high mortality/serious illness rate for this first year. So greater than the current flu rates of about 0.01 to 0.1% (depending on type).
And as the testing has been so random and not nearly complete enough, the transmission/infection rate is probably low. meaning WAY more people have it, and could spread it to the more vulnerable population. 0.1% of the US population is about 300,000 getting really sick.
Maybe that's true, in fact I'm sure it is somewhat, but how much? Do we want the president downplaying and suggesting sick people go to work? If it's "only" 2% or 1.5% a hell of a lot of people are going to die.
A friend didn't have to go in to work over the weekend because the event they were planning in Switzerland was cancelled. Months of weekend work down the drain, but at least no more weekend work.
I’m now the proud recipient of a $5k deposit for our Christmas party from a restaurant where we cancelled an event coincident to a conference that’s not happening
just over a month until conference I've already paid for in Dallas... work policy currently is: "travel as needed, but if you feel uncomfortable, seek alternative solutions"
I do wonder how much support they got from the science graduate students. My experience was that there has always been a divide where the sciences graduate students are better compensate that they are less inclined to unionize. When I was at Yale, a failed attempt to unionize involved not telling the sciences people about the vote...which had the opposite effect when the sciences people found out. Then again, the work load at a private school is much much less than that of a public school.
And "Cal" was the questions to one of the answers last night! I shouted out Berkeley! but none of the contestants got it. Then Trebek said "What is Cal?"!
The clue was apparently: "This university's informal "Dropout Hall of Fame" includes author Jack London & '60s activist Jerry Rubin" in the category of "Get Schooled". It was a triplestumper, according to J-Archive: http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=6570
"Four veterans of Warren’s first run for Senate in 2012 said the 2020 campaign was sometimes unrecognizable.
“People really knew her as a fighter for the middle class. And people would shout at us [at campaign events], ‘The middle class is getting hammered!’ So we knew they knew who she was,” said Abby Clark, the deputy field director on the 2012 race who also volunteered for Warren in New Hampshire and Massachusetts this year. “The language was accessible and people got it. The meaning of ‘big structural change’ is mystifying to the average person. It’s what you get when you don’t hire a pollster or do focus groups.”
They (and all of the dems) forgot the rule of KISS. I often find myself mystified as to the meaning of some democratic policy descriptions. The repubs just repeat a few simple phrases: "cut taxes" "smaller gub'ment" "strong defense". Easy to grasp.
I agree with the article, "big structural change", what's that? What it is is a perfect example of dem-speak. Further study required to decipher. Democrats need to tighten it up.
Yeah, I saw that earlier. I agree with some of it. "Big, Structural Change" was a message that resonated with overeducated policy nerds like me, but she should have kept the message simple, populist, and digestible, and I think she should have been punchier sooner. But it is a very difficult balance to strike between aggressiveness and likability, because, you know, sexism. I also think she should have done better minority outreach earlier.
Anyway, every campaign has made many mistakes, but the men's campaigns consistently paid a much lower price for theirs in comparison. It's just a fact.
Making mistakes, having bad debates, gaffs etc. didn't do her in; they did do in quite a few male candidates. The article points the main area where sexism has a great impact, mainly when women candidates get angry and forcibly argue their points.
Her mistakes were strategic, she had the whole wrong approach to the campaign in many respects and:
"Nearly every staffer interviewed for this story said the campaign should have put out a health care plan months earlier than Warren did, given that primary voters consistently cite the issue as their biggest concern.
At the very latest, she should have released a plan before the October debate, they said, when Warren was hammered for not having one. And instead of issuing the plan in two phases weeks apart, they said she should have done it all at once.
When Warren did finally come out with her health care plan, her attempt to thread the needle struck some as trying to have it both ways. Yes, she was for Medicare for All. But first, she said Congress should pass a public option, and then follow up by implementing full single-payer health care by the end of her first term.
Aides said it was a byproduct of the larger — ultimately losing — strategy of Warren pitching herself as a bridge candidate."
And after that, she plummeted after being #1, and other than that lame-ass dig against Bernie (Women can't win) she never really attacked him, but if she was ever going to have a chance of winning, she had to take him on forcefully.
She misread the field, and the right approach to winning.
It seems like Sanders and (especially) Biden were able to much more easily weather their mistakes than Warren. Could that be because of sexism? In part, yes.
But on the other hand they were also by far the best known candidates coming in (highest name recognition). That buys you a lot of goodwill with voters who already liked you coming in. It's not hard to see why Biden has that, above and beyond being a white man.
Michael Bloomberg, for example, very clearly paid a huge price for his one terrible debate performance, because Democratic voters lacked a history with him and did not give him the benefit of the doubt. This despite him being a white male billionaire.
It's not just the voters' goodwill, it's how the media covers it. Biden has gotten an almost complete pass for his awful debate performances and clear mental decline, for example.
yes, but that also plays into the 'Uncle Joe' thing. Voters know he's doing the right thing and will keep doing it in office as best as he can. And for many that counts a whole lot. even when as best as he can, is less than we might like.
I don't know, the media sources I consume were pretty critical of the Biden campaign's performance up until SC. And his poll numbers did suffer for a while.
Immediately violates the first rule of gun safety (NEVER EVER POINT YOUR WEAPON AT SOMETHING YOU DO NOT INTEND TO SHOOT. ALWAYS TREAT THE WEAPON AS IF THE SAFETY IS OFF AND THE GUN IS LOADED). And that gun . .. has no sights? And is also bedazzled.
I’m good. Recent common cold - not you know what. Short trip to Atlanta to see son in-law in from Germany for a conference. Heat pump went on the fritz & fried the thermostat, defrost board in the condenser and a contactor relay. All fixed / replaced for a mere $646!
Terrible news. Eddie Javius passed away today.
Wow. I knew him in high school. What happened?
Wow, SxSW music festival just got cancelled here in Austin
Interesting article, and a different way of looking at the housing issues in the Bay Area
"What I find so curious is that here is an issue — helping workers and regions that have been left behind — that holds enormous appeal to supporters of President Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and just about everyone in between. Not coincidentally, it involves regions that are most likely to decide the coming election. Yet none of the presidential candidates — not Democrats, not Trump — is even talking about legacy cities, or industrial policy or regional economic development.
I’d put the case for a more muscular urban and industrial policy this way: If Case and a few billionaire friends are willing to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to redirect investment and growth from a handful of cities with too much to those with too little, shouldn’t the federal government be willing to commit hundreds of billions alongside?"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/28/midsize-vs-metropolitan-cities/
It would be complex, risky, expensive, and geographically limited, and probably require a good dose of leadership and creativity, which means it would never make it through Congress these days. It feels like it'll be more likely for a couple of large companies to get fed up and move.
I agree with all that except the risky part.
Isn't it? Part of the plan is that new business will take root or grow, even if you can successfully incentivize some existing businesses to move. One high-profile failure would be enough to shift the optics unfavorably, because the public doesn't understand investing.
No, I think this plan relies on some existing business moving to existing cities with existing infrastructure and housing, and new business growing after that. I think with a national approach (rather than cities and states fighting over scraps) this could have a very high success rate. The individual cities and states would have to buy into the plan to succeed.
Took in some comedy last night https://twitter.com/daraobriain/status/1235772171361845249?s=21
My ex showed us a video of a comedian she saw, Ismo. It's a really funny bit about the word shit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh9iO5BxBo&list=PL7cum-m6tWxUV5KJSxmjpmUj_7E4f30Ff
Far be it for me to be a prescriptivist, but Dara is a man?
I had just assumed it was an anglicized version of an Irish name but it was also a man’s name in the Old Testament https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A1ire
Very much so
Rawr
Shows sometimes, but only item I can recall was a large format edition of Jack Kirby's "The New Gods" (some of his very best work) that sold out rather quickly.
Still can't access from work computer. But today is a work from home day, so I can use two computers! Had to make them stop talking to each other though..
Maybe you can have two accounts that talk to each other!
It was OSX Handoff that confuses me, and seems to interfere with Skype. So I had to turn Handoff off. Off off off.
CBG once thought redonk and zoonews were the same person. #RIP
i still don't know that they aren't, i've only met one of them IRL
FET: In person, CBG introduced himself to me as Twist. Now you use his picture as your avatar. We've come full circle.
Can we get a new DBD dictionary post? I've forgotten the difference between FET and BST
My understanding was that FET and BST were the same, but boomtho (free boomtho) came in after the fact and debuted his own term for the same thing.
Over time (when I stopped DBDing), I was told BST was for more lascivious stories; I still prefer the original definition because I'm a curmudgeon.
I remember it being BST to be DBD after dark stories as well
if we want to give vox business: https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2014/9/16/6282461/dbd-9-17-2014-dbd-dictionary-again. It's too long to post in a comment. As Mon's DBD it would work.
Or as a regular/permanent blog post?
Important update: I am working from home today and I just made cheesy grits for breakfast and I am VERY happy.
What is on your menu today?
Currently answering emails with a burger and beer on the Redondo Pier. With all this low carb nonsense, I forgot how good of a combo that is
You know, I still try to eat lower carb generally, but I'm not strict about it, and I'll happily indulge in bread or sweets from time to time, especially if I'm being social or whatever. I'm still usually good about only having 1-2 meals a day, so that's been enough to allow some flexibility on what I eat. I still stay largely away from processed crap. I feel healthy [shrug]
I’m right there with you. For a while I was trying to really be keto (<75g of carbs), but I suffered diet fatigue then moved in with my in laws and that went out the window. I also gained back 10-15lbs. Now I’m back to low carb (~100g), but I’ll indulge usually once or twice a week. Weight is slowly coming off again, I’m just not ready to fully commit to the keto life again to super charge the loss.
Just eat less, the idea that carbs are inherently bad is silly.
lunch was cheese sandwich.
Tacos from a place I really like in the City.
A cup of home-made tomato soup with garlic croutons to start, followed by a gratin of cauliflower, onions, tomatoes & garlic for lunch. Very healthy.
Just had Hawaiian BBQ for lunch. I made a simple chicken and rice for dinner yesterday and have leftovers for today.
Garlic brown rice/quinoa with carne asada for lunch. Planning nachos for dinner
Nachos for dinner?!?! Egads!
I didn't realize nachos were time-restricted.
Just doesn't seem like a meal to me, more of a snack or appetizer. Wine pairing would be challenging, to say the least.
If you load them up enough (beans, meat, olives, corn, etc.), they're definitely filling and well-rounded enough to be a meal.
Besides, I don't drink, so wine pairing's no challenge for me.
I thought you drank occasionally in college...
Normal busy day fare. Oatmeal, juice, bacon, roll with jam for breakfast, and plenty of coffee.
Sub sandwich, some cheese sticks, bag of chips, some cherry tomatoes, and a banana for lunch.
Whatever salad &/or sandwich/taco or burrito/ pizza I can snag / is provided to me after office hours/before game time tonight.
I am not working from home, and forgot my lunch today. So I will be crabby and snarky in a couple hours.
Oh no!
I went on a cooking rampage over the past 2 days, so there are a lot of left-overs in my fridge. As a result, I had a giant green enchilada (chicken/cheese) on a bed of Belizean red beans/coconut rice. Not exactly "breakfast food", but whatever.
Though if you said you made polenta, it would sound a lot more classy :)
Well, yogurt with blueberries for breakfast
Cub Scout potluck dinner tonight...we're bringing fettuccine with homemade garlic cajun alfredo sauce so that we have an alternative to the usual Little Caesar's crap pizza offering.
Share garlic cajun alfredo sauce recipe, please&thankyou. That sounds delicious
Sure...
1lb fettuccine
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
lots of chopped garlic (however much you like). I usually use 4-6 medium cloves
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded (not grated) parmesan cheese
your favorite cajun seasonings (or salt and pepper to taste if you don't want cajun)
Cook the pasta. I start the sauce as soon as the pasta is in the boiling water because the sauce takes almost no time to make. Melt the butter on medium low to medium heat. Saute the garlic in the butter until fragrant. Add the cream, cheese and seasonings and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth and heated through. Pour the sauce on the pasta and toss to combine.
Notes: I use Emeril Essence brand seasoning for cajun spice. It's not spicy hot at all. You can also add cayenne pepper to add heat. Granted parm doesn't melt as well as shredded and can come out grainy. Also, I have added chicken breast, shrimp and crab to this sauce on occasion. If you do that, cook the meat first in the garlic butter and add a little of your seasoning to the meat before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Finally, get your defibrillator ready just in case...
That's worryingly easy
Wait, do we have a new DBDer or did someone change their name on the new site?
I'm new...decided that the transition to the new forum was as good a time as ever to start.
Tang trumpet? Say hi to Gerald for me.
What's your order at Top Dog?
5 Guys or In N Out?
Blondies or Fat Slice? (RIP)
Exciting!
1) Tell us about yourself!
2) Tell us what you already know about us :P
1) Well, where to I start...I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen The Excorcist 167 times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it.
Kidding...Cal Band (Trumpet '90), lawyer in the East Bay, just attended my 30th consecutive Big Game (and it was FANTASTIC).
2) I know virtually nothing about any of you...this just seemed like a fun place to post random thoughts while reading about all things Cal.
Look forward to participating and getting to know y'all!
The Exorcist actually is pretty damn funny. You seem to be as well :)
also Tang!
"I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that."
@Wait...Cugel changed his name?@
Whoa, 30 Big Games is a lot of perserverance!
1) Another lawyer? Time to update the Venn...
2) Thank God--I can start with a fresh slate.
No 2 is back for spring break this week and the boys want Bucatini with Sage Browned Butter for dinner so I'm making that along with some homemade chicken soup. Don't know what my plan is for lunch.
going back to yesterday's red v white sauce debate, bucatini all'amatriciana is delightful.
NICE.
I just had granola for breakfast. For lunch, I have a Thai curry--I used green curry paste, but everything in it is orange (bell peppers, butternut squash, and salmon).
Eat the rainbow!
Yes. As always, we take leadership from Marshawn.
Oops
Not Sold Out
Alex Ebert. Man I love his new album. Much easier to understand the quirkiness and approach on his new album if you know his body of music, his talent for writing and producing, and his perspective on music and life.This dude is like Nietzsche embodied in music. My wife accuses me of having a hard man crush on Ebert. I can't argue against it.
Dave Chappelle
He sold out, returned the money, and is now selling out again 😀
What? He walked away seeing the sell out coming and abandoned ship before it went down. Now he is taking some Netflix money, but by all accounts, has full reign over his artistry. Also...he has not done a movie donning a fat suit, dressed up as an old lady, or dressed up as a privileged, caucasian female. I know that is setting the bar low...
Well he signed that big deal with Comedy Central and bailed on it almost immediately, then disappeared for like ten years. He returned and is authentically himself in a way, but some of these Netflix specials are just mailed in, not sufficiently honed/worked. I’m sure his motivation for pumping them out is monetary. I do like him though! He needs to sort of chill on the constant vaping
The way he pulls from his vape, the actual motions, are crazy to me. I can't stop watching.
I think he disappeared only to the commercial audience. He was playing small clubs for those ten years, just doing his thing. I agree the Netflix shows weren't totally honed, but I see it as an extension of what he was already doing, just stream of conscious comedy that can either be the funniest thing ever, or sometimes doesn't land right. I think this is what I really appreciate about Chappelle. He takes risks that other comedians aren't willing to take--like walking away from a $50 contract, not knowing how he'd land after-- and being far less premeditated than other comedians. Still, Chappelle on a bad day is 10 times funnier than half the derivative garbage that passes as comedy.
Edit: Not a $50 dollar contract, a $50 million dollar contract.
Tough time getting the requisite COVID-19 stuff - hand sanitizer, wipes, etc. On another topic the Bears were skewered by the Ducks last night. We did make a mini-run with 12:01 left in the 2nd half getting within 15 points, but a missed layup plus an Oregon 3 made a five point swing. Put a fork in it.
Don't buy into the marketing hype of hand sanitizer. It's helpful on the run, but soap and water works against practically everything (whereas santizier is useless against certain viruses).
You just need to be careful that you're not buying anti-bacterial sanitizer, and instead opting for anti-microbial. However, soap and scrubbing for more than 20 seconds is obviously the way to go.
Soap it is then. I'm happy to support Big Soap. Now if I can just take my eyes off the monitors showing the market's precipitous fall I'll be OK.
Screw Big Soap. Support your local Fight Club instead.
I'm flying to NYC and taking the train to Philly to visit No 2. Then visiting HeyStudentBears in NYC before flying back. Thinking of bringing along a couple small travel size things of hand sanitizer.
Now we know who has sold out to Big Soap.
Yes... Big Soap...
Don't forget you have to drink 10 cups of water™ to be healthy!
If you don’t log in properly it tells you that you must be a paying subscriber to comment... that was a new error message
Substack required all users to be subscribers to comment up until about 6 weeks ago or so. They changed that as a result of conversations with us, actually.
so. I know nothing about substack. are we going to be one of their busier sites?
no idea, and because Substack is a platform, not a network, I wouldn't necessarily expect them to share such information.
I sure hope so, though!
I think I remember hearing that we were one of the busier ones for sbnation, especially early to mid 2010s.
we were busy for a college site, but never compared to the biggest pro sites.
I know in the early SBN days we were up there, before they expanded to force a site for every team, and it became all about the NFL and page views.
Sold out item
BTS tickets.
My friend has a lot of miles with Korean Air, so she often flies first. On one trip, she thought it was weird that she wasn't allowed to board first, and then found out that it was because BTS was on her flight. Once she boarded, she saw BTS, their manager (who told her she wasn't allowed to take any pictures), and a woman she didn't recognize (to be fair, she didn't really recognize BTS either).
It turns out that woman is a superfan, and she booked that flight specifically so she could fly with BTS. As soon as they landed, she was turning right back around on another flight.
My friend later saw on message boards that people were saying there were TWO superfans on board.
those dudes are worth like $5bb yearly to the korean economy.
And yet they still have to fly commercial? Sounds risky.
i'm pretty sure they aren't sitting with the plebs though.
and chartering a flight across oceans and continents seems riskier/more expensive/waste of fuel.
plus, i bet they have some deal with korean air 'cause it's like free advertising every time they get off the plane.
'cause shit like this happens every time they do...
https://pm1.narvii.com/7073/5d773aa20f3d45e7c97d6efe76a2449bf846ee28r1-720-431v2_uhq.jpg
I wanted some new adidas superstars that were an all star weekend limited edition. sold out in women's sizes everywhere, but I tracked some down through GOAT. Supposed to arrive today!
My friend just got hired to work at GOAT. They are doing really poorly in China though.
In the fall, it was generators. In the winter, it is N-94 masks. Aren't we giddy to find out what spring and summer will bring?
Voting machines
I still have a few dust masks from the fire times a couple years ago.
Sell out artist
Selling out is something only Gen Xers (and older) care about. Millennials and especially Gen-Z are "LET'S GET THAT BREAD"
When I was a lil punk rocker, every band that I liked before they got on MTV. I think I was ~17 when I realized that if getting paid for what you love to do made you a sell out, I’d sell out every day of the week and twice on Sunday
Guy Fieri, though I'm not so sure that he qualifies as an "artist".
Who did Guy sell out to? He just wants everyone to enjoy Flavortown.
He’s a hack cook
He's no sandwich artist
For the award for most egregious sell out, I nominate the world's shittiest band made up of the world's shittiest people: Metallica
I get what people are saying about Metallica, and sure, 80s Metallica is never coming back, but I also don't really "get" the egregiousness of the sell-out. They changed their sound, they got older, whatever. Yeah, Reload was mediocre and St. Anger is actively bad, but I just don't understand the hate for the music as they evolved.
Now, suing their own fans for downloading their music? I don't have a defense for that.
"Now, suing their own fans for downloading their music?" I think you answered your own question. A band that first became popular by raw production and thrashing, fuck-the-man metal, then becomes the very thing their angst ridden music targeted. That's where the egregiousness comes in. Also rock and roll, though of a different genre, the Grateful Dead did not care a single whiff about how much bootlegging of their music happened. If ever there were a band that retained artistry, integrity, and relevancy for decades, despite making tons of money, Grateful Dead is it and I think in some ways, serves as a counterpoint to Metallica, though an imperfect one.
Yes, imperfect because the Dead SUCKS
Bill Walton's ears are burning right now. Also, you are totally wrong! :)
For the most part, their music from that era is not good. It’s dated to the trends of that era. Load and Reload were hot garbage. St Anger more so. We all know 80s Metallica isn’t coming back but I feel they are forcing the change through bc of how big they are. It’s a “this is what you’re getting and you’ll like it” situation. A majority of the songs from that era rarely make it into set lists.
I actually think Load wasn't that bad, but it never felt like selling out to me so much as evolving as musicians, and in a direction that just wasn't as good as their previous stuff.
i generally liked their last 2 albums though.
I haven't listened to the most recent one, but agreed on Death Magnetic.
Hard to top this nomination. Also, just more proof that all rock n' roll stars, as a rule, should die before age 30.
Eh... looks around, doesn't find any examples...
But I'm sure there's some!
I’m okay with letting them retire but any attempts at comeback tours and chop chop
I'm okay with comeback tours, but don't pretend you are doing it for anything other than $$ and adulation.
Does anyone do a comeback tour for any other reason?
They all say it's to promote their new music. which is total BS.
Based on history, 27 appears to be the optimum age.
Everyone has sold out by the time I hear them
I guess I don't really care about who has "sold out" or not anymore. Seems like a way to just tear artists down for being successful.
I guess it can be... but OTOH bands do sell out, some even acknowledge it privately. Is that a bad thing? Depends on what you like I guess.
Commercial success versus retaining artistic control. That is usually going to be an answer that an artist has to answer at some point. While calling a band a sellout may be a critic's way of tearing down a band, there is some truth that artistic integrity is likely compromised in the process. Whether you care or not that an artist has sold out shouldn't be based on the critics, but whether you actually like the music and how it makes you feel. I've read a lot of criticism of Alex Ebert and MGMT. Usually, the criticism is that they didn't follow up on commercial success of songs like Kids, Time to Pretend, and Home even though subsequent albums from both were amazing, though not as accessible for the public at large. So, the criticism goes both ways. I find value in commercial music and also value artists that walk away from lucrative contracts to retain artistic control. Each its a different musical need for me. At the same time, no one can pretend that Metallica is the same band it was in the eighties. I like playing old Metallica now and then for adrenaline and nostalgia's sake but I don't really find their music compelling or relevant anymore. I don't know if I can separate this feeling from the fact that they sold out, because at least as Metallica goes, selling out and becoming irrelevant is one and the same.
Saab
I learned how to drive stick on my friend's Saab 9-3 convertible. It wasn't really helpful in learning how to drive stick on like any other car.
I am a wistful former owner. Now a brand that’s on my list of possible restomods (I’m sure there’s someone in the US who does this) http://kcperformance.eu/en/services/auto-body/custom-saab-9-5
One thing I always loved about Saabs was the amazing visibility.
They are not amazing driving machines in a sporting sense but for the road trip, to the extent that such a thing isn’t going to become an artifact of the late Anthropocene, they are hard to beat.
Silk
Today in Covid-19
I spent much of the last week hanging out with newly arrived friends from Shanghai who came down to escape the cold and boredom (and JUST BEAT the now-imposed required 14 day quarantine for arrivals from China, Taiwan, HK, Macau, Japan, Korea, Italy, Iran).
They've described life in Shanghai as similar to Switzerland or Casablanca during WWII. Things very close to them are chaos, but life in the city is pretty safe and boring. Everyone is just stuck at home, works from home, and relies on delivery for all sundries and groceries and food. All deliveries are now "pick up at the gate" so it's the 1-2 times a day that people leave their apartments and go downstairs to the front of their buildings or complexes.
Also, a friend of mine stuck in Wuhan made an Instagram post about her daily life. She doesn't get to leave her apartment except once every 2-5 days to throw out their garbage. When she does, she has an entire disposable suit that she wears. they don't even get to "shop" for deliveries - the government distributes basic food + vegetables for every household. Man, if she wasn't at home, she'd starve - she's not very good at cooking, luckily she's with her family. I get the sense, the main issue for her is utter and complete boredom.
In general, I don't understand people being bored. There's always something to do to, even if stuck at home alone.
Being confined to a 900 sq. ft. 2 bedroom apartment with one's family. Hell, I was stuck at home for much of January. There were only a few restaurants open - and no one was in town. It was suffocatingly boring.
But they have TV and the internet and board games and people you love to interact with...
Chinese TV, Chinese internet - and very few people own board games. And I get the feeling that being stuck with one's parents does not fill "people you love to interact with"
I got a text from my 17 y.o. last night wondering if the first cases in our county would lead to schools being closed. Turns out the patients are 2 people in their 70s and 1 in his 50s
University of Washington just shut down their campus.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/coronavirus-college-campus-closings.html
Johns Hopkins puts together a neat dashboard:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
my company has cancelled most travel, offsites, hosted events and said almost all of us can work from home for the time being. I figure everyone would take advantage of this so i came into the office (and will do so until they shut down the cafeteria)... meanwhile somebody across the building is talking about their COVID symptoms but saying "but it's not that bad" so perhaps I've made a poor decision
is talking about their COVID symptoms but saying "but it's not that bad"
MAGA
Not to sound Trumpy, but how do they know the denominator to calculate death rate? No asymptomatic person would go get tested, and if you had mild symptoms you wouldn’t either. Do they model that into the figures? If it’s a straight line calculation of number of deaths over number of known infections, the numbers are likely significantly inflated
That is what a non-expert idiot who doesn't understand science, statistics, error rates, or the like, would want you to think: That scientists are some hokey wannabees taking pot shots on something like this without building in necessary assumptions.
right now it's a wild ass guess based on observed transmission rates and methods and extrapolating based on how many people have recovered. and my guess, as a 'new' flu type virus it will have a high mortality/serious illness rate for this first year. So greater than the current flu rates of about 0.01 to 0.1% (depending on type).
And as the testing has been so random and not nearly complete enough, the transmission/infection rate is probably low. meaning WAY more people have it, and could spread it to the more vulnerable population. 0.1% of the US population is about 300,000 getting really sick.
Maybe that's true, in fact I'm sure it is somewhat, but how much? Do we want the president downplaying and suggesting sick people go to work? If it's "only" 2% or 1.5% a hell of a lot of people are going to die.
My firm has cancelled non essential travel and hosted events in our offices. I figure it’s just a matter of time until schools close
They took all the kids crayons away at preschool because of the Crayolavirus
Had to cancel a conference we host annually at work yesterday. Darn shame given how much effort went in to it but the right move.
A friend didn't have to go in to work over the weekend because the event they were planning in Switzerland was cancelled. Months of weekend work down the drain, but at least no more weekend work.
I’m now the proud recipient of a $5k deposit for our Christmas party from a restaurant where we cancelled an event coincident to a conference that’s not happening
just over a month until conference I've already paid for in Dallas... work policy currently is: "travel as needed, but if you feel uncomfortable, seek alternative solutions"
I've been asked to travel to the home office next month, but told "only I felt comfortable doing so"
https://preview.redd.it/3k5o3jona0l41.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=b5debc68aca8d221106cb85191a1818c916ef800
CAL
GO BEARS!
Projected 2020 Pac-12 Football Records from @247Sports:
—North—
1. Oregon, 8-1
2. Washington, 7-2
3. Stanford, 4-5
WSU, 4-5
5. Cal, 3-6
6. OSU, 2-7
—South—
1. USC, 7-2
2. Utah, 6-3
3. ASU, 5-4
4. UCLA, 4-5
5. Arizona 2-7
Colorado, 2-7
https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/Projecting-Pac-12-win-totals-for-every-team-in-2020-Oregon-Ducks-USC-Trojans-144624789/#144624789_1
No write up on Cal? No wonder he has us below Furd and Wazzu. It must be the same writer as the PFF guy that wrote about Pac-12 LBs.
Cal Grad Students go on strike in support of their Slug compatriots:
https://www.kqed.org/news/11805470/uc-berkeley-graduate-students-stage-walkout-push-for-strike-authorization
I do wonder how much support they got from the science graduate students. My experience was that there has always been a divide where the sciences graduate students are better compensate that they are less inclined to unionize. When I was at Yale, a failed attempt to unionize involved not telling the sciences people about the vote...which had the opposite effect when the sciences people found out. Then again, the work load at a private school is much much less than that of a public school.
Jeopardy: yet another UC Berkeley alum/winner gives a Cal shout-out.
https://twitter.com/YRueyYen/status/1235776926347923456
Yay Ruey!
And "Cal" was the questions to one of the answers last night! I shouted out Berkeley! but none of the contestants got it. Then Trebek said "What is Cal?"!
The clue was apparently: "This university's informal "Dropout Hall of Fame" includes author Jack London & '60s activist Jerry Rubin" in the category of "Get Schooled". It was a triplestumper, according to J-Archive: http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=6570
Thanks!
I might guess Cal because of Jack London, but I probably would not ring in on this $1600 question if I was playing.
I got the Final Jeopardy! answer even though none of the contestants did.
Ooh....I sorry Wiata78, the answer was "What is Cal?"
Unfortunately I don't recall the clue. Something to do with a famous author who dropped out of Cal. I looked here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Writers_from_Berkeley,_California
But nothing jogged my old brain cells.
I need to read more. I only recognized, like, 5 names on that list.
*read more non-fantasy/sci-fi
MBB: Oregon paddles Cal 90-56.
Bears go ice cold for long periods of time. Also, defense couldn't stop the Ducks.
https://calbears.com/news/2020/3/5/mens-basketball-cal-oregon-recap.aspx
After tomorrow, all it'll take is a simple four game winning streak and we're dancing!
Which will only be 3-5 more wins than is remotely likely to occur.
How will winning four out of four be 5 more wins than is likely to occur? Is -1 win a possibility somehow?
Game was supposed to be on ESPN2 but did not start until 11 so I opted for bed. Seems like I made the right decision.
MTennis: A non-conference loss at a neutral site.
#16 Cal Bears 1 - #21 Oklahoma State Cowboys [4].
https://calbears.com/news/2020/3/5/mens-tennis-no-16-cal-loses-4-1-to-no-21-cowboys.aspx
MSwim: Cal has great Day 2 in Pac-12 Championships, just 5.5 behind 'furd.
https://calbears.com/news/2020/3/5/mens-swimming-diving-day-two-dominance.aspx
WBB: What a comeback! 12-seed Bears rally in 2H to upset #5 ASU (71-67) in Pac-12 Tourney.
https://calbears.com/news/2020/3/5/womens-basketball-cal-vs-asu.aspx
Three wins to the ncaa championship tournament.
Not looking good. I just checked the score and Cal down by seventeen in the third quarter.
PRO
Watch and listen to Freddy Freeman call that he's gonna score on an apparent routine pop-up:
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1235999086765060098
Hate FF because he kills the Nats but I'd take him on my team any day.
I've always liked him. He's from Westminster!
Warriors 113 - Raptors [121]
[PictureOfATank.jpg]
Steph Curry plays, but is a little rusty from 3.
https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401161571
Watched the first few minutes. Steph had some nice assists but couldn't make a shot.
You must have the off balance 3 he nailed from 4ft behind the line
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Now her staff is talking:
"Four veterans of Warren’s first run for Senate in 2012 said the 2020 campaign was sometimes unrecognizable.
“People really knew her as a fighter for the middle class. And people would shout at us [at campaign events], ‘The middle class is getting hammered!’ So we knew they knew who she was,” said Abby Clark, the deputy field director on the 2012 race who also volunteered for Warren in New Hampshire and Massachusetts this year. “The language was accessible and people got it. The meaning of ‘big structural change’ is mystifying to the average person. It’s what you get when you don’t hire a pollster or do focus groups.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/06/warren-team-wonders-how-they-blew-it-122628
Worth a read.
They (and all of the dems) forgot the rule of KISS. I often find myself mystified as to the meaning of some democratic policy descriptions. The repubs just repeat a few simple phrases: "cut taxes" "smaller gub'ment" "strong defense". Easy to grasp.
I agree with the article, "big structural change", what's that? What it is is a perfect example of dem-speak. Further study required to decipher. Democrats need to tighten it up.
Yeah, I saw that earlier. I agree with some of it. "Big, Structural Change" was a message that resonated with overeducated policy nerds like me, but she should have kept the message simple, populist, and digestible, and I think she should have been punchier sooner. But it is a very difficult balance to strike between aggressiveness and likability, because, you know, sexism. I also think she should have done better minority outreach earlier.
Anyway, every campaign has made many mistakes, but the men's campaigns consistently paid a much lower price for theirs in comparison. It's just a fact.
Making mistakes, having bad debates, gaffs etc. didn't do her in; they did do in quite a few male candidates. The article points the main area where sexism has a great impact, mainly when women candidates get angry and forcibly argue their points.
Her mistakes were strategic, she had the whole wrong approach to the campaign in many respects and:
"Nearly every staffer interviewed for this story said the campaign should have put out a health care plan months earlier than Warren did, given that primary voters consistently cite the issue as their biggest concern.
At the very latest, she should have released a plan before the October debate, they said, when Warren was hammered for not having one. And instead of issuing the plan in two phases weeks apart, they said she should have done it all at once.
When Warren did finally come out with her health care plan, her attempt to thread the needle struck some as trying to have it both ways. Yes, she was for Medicare for All. But first, she said Congress should pass a public option, and then follow up by implementing full single-payer health care by the end of her first term.
Aides said it was a byproduct of the larger — ultimately losing — strategy of Warren pitching herself as a bridge candidate."
And after that, she plummeted after being #1, and other than that lame-ass dig against Bernie (Women can't win) she never really attacked him, but if she was ever going to have a chance of winning, she had to take him on forcefully.
She misread the field, and the right approach to winning.
The populist message would have just turned her into Sanders, which is difficult when there's also Sanders.
It seems like Sanders and (especially) Biden were able to much more easily weather their mistakes than Warren. Could that be because of sexism? In part, yes.
But on the other hand they were also by far the best known candidates coming in (highest name recognition). That buys you a lot of goodwill with voters who already liked you coming in. It's not hard to see why Biden has that, above and beyond being a white man.
Michael Bloomberg, for example, very clearly paid a huge price for his one terrible debate performance, because Democratic voters lacked a history with him and did not give him the benefit of the doubt. This despite him being a white male billionaire.
It's not just the voters' goodwill, it's how the media covers it. Biden has gotten an almost complete pass for his awful debate performances and clear mental decline, for example.
yes, but that also plays into the 'Uncle Joe' thing. Voters know he's doing the right thing and will keep doing it in office as best as he can. And for many that counts a whole lot. even when as best as he can, is less than we might like.
I don't know, the media sources I consume were pretty critical of the Biden campaign's performance up until SC. And his poll numbers did suffer for a while.
There’s nothing like people trying to make sure they can catch on to a new campaign
Ha!
Congressman Ken Buck is a douche bag. That is all.
https://twitter.com/RepKenBuck/status/1235944686910660609
Immediately violates the first rule of gun safety (NEVER EVER POINT YOUR WEAPON AT SOMETHING YOU DO NOT INTEND TO SHOOT. ALWAYS TREAT THE WEAPON AS IF THE SAFETY IS OFF AND THE GUN IS LOADED). And that gun . .. has no sights? And is also bedazzled.
This virtue signaling online is out of hand
Performative political incorrectness is a bigger problem on the right than performative wokeness is on the left.
Yep, also straightforward political correctness is a problem on the right. They're very snowflakey when they get criticized.
"virtue"
Went to ReStore to buy a new Keurig. A few months ago they had stacks of them, new in the box.
Nope. All gone.
Missus had to go to BB&B and use 20% coupon. Still $40 more then the asking price at Habitat’s thrift store.
Keurig's are trash generators. Just sayin'.
What about the reusable Keurig coffee pods?
Use them daily. Load with my own grease ground Columbian. Trash generation reduced.
Fresh
How are you doing, Old Bear? How's the family?
I’m good. Recent common cold - not you know what. Short trip to Atlanta to see son in-law in from Germany for a conference. Heat pump went on the fritz & fried the thermostat, defrost board in the condenser and a contactor relay. All fixed / replaced for a mere $646!
Happy for a gas fireplace.
#1 Grandson is now in college inGreenville SC. Only three hours away.
Grand daughter got finger printed today.
So she can work in the kitchen of a camp that hosts children. LOL
This makes it sound like you've chosen a favorite grandson...
#1=Oldest.
There is an astounding amount of paperwork for camps to reduce the risks of missing bad actors and / or killing a kid with the wrong medication
Aw, sounds like a lot of good milestones in the family! Stay warm!