36 minutes outside Kansis City, there's a cinder block house with 1 door and no windows. It has a storage container and a BBQ next to it for only $2.0m.
Three US troops killed in drone strike in the Middle East. Biden vows retaliation. Iranian backed groups somewhere in Syria, Iraq, and/or Yemen are about to find out why the doesn't have universal healthcare.
The Detroit Lions have a perfect first half and go up 24-7 on the 49ers. Matt Campbell dares the 49ers to stop him and they do, forcing two turnover on downs within field goal range. Add in another fumble and the Lions have a second half that will just add to their lore of suffering. Niners win 34-31. The game was a thrilling game of inches on both sides - dropped passes, fantastic catches, tiny seams that get exploited by speedy player. What a game!
My father had 49er season tickets since the mid fifties. He would often tell the sad tale of an SF loss in a 1957 playoff game at Kezar Stadium in which the Niners blew a big halftime lead. The opponent? Detroit. The halftime score? 24-7. Revenge is sweet even 67 years later. Somewhere my dad is smiling.
In general I like the aggressiveness, but when it's halfway through the 3rd quarter and you have the chance to go from 2 scores ahead to 3, you have to take it. The benefit of that seems greater to me than the extra potential reward of getting 4 more points on a TD (and maybe a couple more minutes of possession time).
I still think eschewing the FG to tie the game at 27 in the 4th was a bonehead, though that one is at least forgivable, given the time of the game and potential script.
The idiotic 3Q 4th down try is indefensible. I’ve watched every Lions game this year, and I know that “this is what they do.” That doesn’t excuse it, nor does it make it a smart move.
So apparently there is a sense that their kicker sucks on any kick longer than 45 yards or so. They've barely asked him to try any at that length. Maybe that factored into their decision.
Though honestly, if you don't have a kicker who can be trusted to make a 48-yarder at about a 75% clip in the NFL . . . get a new kicker.
Exactly! Yeah, the analytics dorks are really pushing that narrative on Twitter. Riley Patterson kicked much of the year due to an injury to former Charger Michael Badgley. Badge’s back, and sorry but if he can’t hit a 45-47 yarder in perfect conditions then he shouldn’t be on the roster in the NFCCG, especially when guys like Robbie Gould or Mason Crosby are available.
Remember that Russian skater that got caught doping during the Olympics and they still allowed her to skate and then her team won but no medals were awarded? The Court of Arbitrations banned her from competition for four year, backdated to 25 Dec 2021. The backdating means she's banned in non-Russian events for another 23 more months and makes her eligible for the next Olympics. And the backdating ban also means she wasn't allowed in the 2022 Olympics - but stopped short of DQing her team's win - reserving that for the IOC.
The Kansas City Chiefs punch their ticket to the Superbowl beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10. Baltimore doomed themselves with Zay Flowers fumbling on the goalline and Lamar throwing into triple coverage with a miniscule throwing window in the endzone. It's the Chiefs' fourth AFC Championship game in five years. At this point, Mahomes is already a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame; it's more a question who gets to come with him.
Bundesliga game had a ref go down due to injury, they asked on the PA if there was a qualified ref in the audience, and then some dude answered their call
DR Congo defeats Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in over half a century. It came down to PKs, with the goalies deciding the victory - with their feet.
The GOP's Reading Clerk of the House announced a Rule 8 of DOJ subpeen for documents from Sergeant at Arms of the House William McFarland. Rule 8 is an administrative step that announces that the subpeen is valid. This is important because it shows that there is a grand jury out for a matter related to the House of Representatives. There is no disclosure for what it is about, but context is everything - Sergeant at Arms (House security protocols), DoJ, and him not being being on the job during J6 means means people can only speculate. The popular theories are that it IS related to J6 and another is that it's related to Rep Jamaal Bowman for pulling the fire alarm last September.
Guy who got a job at the IRS solely so he could disclose Trump's tax returns is sentenced to Federal minimum of 5 years in the pokey. What he did was wrong, but I get it.
The court-appointed monitor for Donald Trump's documents for the NY case against Trump Organization flagged a questionable $48m loan from Trump to himself via Trump Org. Trump went bananas on Truth, which means that this is a tender spot for TFG.
No reason was given in the article, but I presume that this was a way to create tax free ways to take money out of Trump Org and put it in Trump's pocket, which seems like tax fraud. This comes on top of $40m in cash transfers not previously disclosed by the Trump Org via its financial statements - including $29m for legal fees to defend Trump against E. Jean Carrol and the $5.6m payment for the first defamation award.
How do you make a deep, deep Southern Georgian town care about animal rights? Put a $400m medical monkey breeding facility in it. Isn't this how Planet of the Apes started?
Last month, Judge Engoron (the judge in the NY civil fraud case) said he targeted a ruling by 1/31, which is Wednesday. AG Tish James asked for $370m and a lifetime ban on owning NY property.
Biden pulls a political aikido move on the MAGA flank. In review, an interim government funding bill was put together with bipartisan help, but the GOP tied Ukraine and border protection funding together and ensured their funding was left out. So far, all the bills - both House and Senate originated - are DOA because MAGA wants to ensure that no border protection bills are passed because they want to preserve it as an outrage point. Biden reversed tact by vowing to "shut down the border" the day that a bipartisan deal is signed. Biden effectively calls MAGA's bluff about being tough on border.
After Donald Trump and Alina Habba's terrible defense in the second defamation case of E. Jean Carroll, the jury only took 3 hours to award $83.3m to Carroll. Trump has put aside $5.55m to into escrow to appeal the first ruling in an attempt to have both cases reversed. Trump also continues to defame her on Truth network, but we'll see how much more he does to incentivize Carroll to sue him a third time.
During the first TO, the football team came out with the Axe. Wilcox and Ott said some things that were hard to hear. Then it took an extra minute to funnel the team out through the SE corner. Play was delayed while they waited.
Roomba deal goes boomba. Amazon called off its acquisition of iRobot after admitting that the FTC wouldn't allow it. Roomba announed that a third of its people will be laid off, their CEO resigns, and their market cap got halved in the past month.
A HK court ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande Group. Once again, Chinese property developers have a history of way overbuilding inventory, need restructuring on their debt, the Chinese government bails out the banks to prevent them from failing due to the debt-write downs, and then selling their way out of trouble. But they don't have any other plays in their playbook, so they are back in hot water again. This has and will put future pressure on the Chinese debt banks and financial markets.
The local municipal swimming pool near our house in the Netherlands had a snack bar that sold “frites supreme” - fries topped with ketchup, mayo, and onions, very tasty
36 minutes outside Kansis City, there's a cinder block house with 1 door and no windows. It has a storage container and a BBQ next to it for only $2.0m.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2191-SW-Zack-Wheat-Dr-Polo-MO-64671/252368496_zpid/
Which bad actor/actress are you surprised is still getting roles in big films?
Sandra Bullock
Adam Driver
Adam Driver’s spins on SNL made me a fan…
Brie Larson.
Worst actor to ever win an Oscar.
I had to look up what her Oscar was for - never heard of the movie!
Dax Shepard.
OUR UNSTABLE WORLD
Three US troops killed in drone strike in the Middle East. Biden vows retaliation. Iranian backed groups somewhere in Syria, Iraq, and/or Yemen are about to find out why the doesn't have universal healthcare.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/24/middleeast/us-iran-middle-east-war-mime-intl/index.html
Hungary - which is facing the ire of the rest of the EU and NATO - stepped aside in opposing Sweden's entry into NATO.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/24/europe/hungary-supports-sweden-nato-bid-intl/index.html
PRO
The Detroit Lions have a perfect first half and go up 24-7 on the 49ers. Matt Campbell dares the 49ers to stop him and they do, forcing two turnover on downs within field goal range. Add in another fumble and the Lions have a second half that will just add to their lore of suffering. Niners win 34-31. The game was a thrilling game of inches on both sides - dropped passes, fantastic catches, tiny seams that get exploited by speedy player. What a game!
https://www.espn.com/nfl/playbyplay/_/gameId/401547380
My father had 49er season tickets since the mid fifties. He would often tell the sad tale of an SF loss in a 1957 playoff game at Kezar Stadium in which the Niners blew a big halftime lead. The opponent? Detroit. The halftime score? 24-7. Revenge is sweet even 67 years later. Somewhere my dad is smiling.
Dan Cambpell has no ragrets
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39414214/lions-coach-dan-campbell-regret-costly-4th-calls
In general I like the aggressiveness, but when it's halfway through the 3rd quarter and you have the chance to go from 2 scores ahead to 3, you have to take it. The benefit of that seems greater to me than the extra potential reward of getting 4 more points on a TD (and maybe a couple more minutes of possession time).
I still think eschewing the FG to tie the game at 27 in the 4th was a bonehead, though that one is at least forgivable, given the time of the game and potential script.
The idiotic 3Q 4th down try is indefensible. I’ve watched every Lions game this year, and I know that “this is what they do.” That doesn’t excuse it, nor does it make it a smart move.
So apparently there is a sense that their kicker sucks on any kick longer than 45 yards or so. They've barely asked him to try any at that length. Maybe that factored into their decision.
Though honestly, if you don't have a kicker who can be trusted to make a 48-yarder at about a 75% clip in the NFL . . . get a new kicker.
Cal had a similar issue with Bhaghani. I think they didn't trust him with anything longer than 40.
Exactly! Yeah, the analytics dorks are really pushing that narrative on Twitter. Riley Patterson kicked much of the year due to an injury to former Charger Michael Badgley. Badge’s back, and sorry but if he can’t hit a 45-47 yarder in perfect conditions then he shouldn’t be on the roster in the NFCCG, especially when guys like Robbie Gould or Mason Crosby are available.
Go Niners!
Mike Shanahan knew that a 17 point lead is easily reversible in 2 quarters
Remember that Russian skater that got caught doping during the Olympics and they still allowed her to skate and then her team won but no medals were awarded? The Court of Arbitrations banned her from competition for four year, backdated to 25 Dec 2021. The backdating means she's banned in non-Russian events for another 23 more months and makes her eligible for the next Olympics. And the backdating ban also means she wasn't allowed in the 2022 Olympics - but stopped short of DQing her team's win - reserving that for the IOC.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/29/sport/kamila-valieva-russia-skating-cas-ruling-spt-intl/index.html
USA! USA! USA!
A Russian athlete doping? Behold my shocked face!
The Kansas City Chiefs punch their ticket to the Superbowl beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10. Baltimore doomed themselves with Zay Flowers fumbling on the goalline and Lamar throwing into triple coverage with a miniscule throwing window in the endzone. It's the Chiefs' fourth AFC Championship game in five years. At this point, Mahomes is already a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame; it's more a question who gets to come with him.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/playbyplay/_/gameId/401547379
The two biggest turnovers of the day were committed by electric rookies, Gibbs and Zay.. Live and die with youth…
Bundesliga game had a ref go down due to injury, they asked on the PA if there was a qualified ref in the audience, and then some dude answered their call
https://www.dw.com/en/bundesliga-spectator-unexpectedly-stars-as-game-official/a-68104475
[Tennis] Sinner becomes saint by defeating Djokovic and Medvedev, coming back from two sets down to the latter - to win the Australian Open.
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/39407873/jannik-sinner-wins-australian-open-claims-first-major-title
49ers open as a 2 point favorite over the Chiefs. The SB will be indoors at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas.
Prop bets open for Taylor Swift & Superbowl
https://www.covers.com/nfl/super-bowl/props/taylor-swift-props
DR Congo defeats Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in over half a century. It came down to PKs, with the goalies deciding the victory - with their feet.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/697524
https://twitter.com/CAF_Online/status/1751769327206891726
Apparently the DR Congo goalie takes penalties regularly for the club he plays for in France, which is helpful
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
The GOP's Reading Clerk of the House announced a Rule 8 of DOJ subpeen for documents from Sergeant at Arms of the House William McFarland. Rule 8 is an administrative step that announces that the subpeen is valid. This is important because it shows that there is a grand jury out for a matter related to the House of Representatives. There is no disclosure for what it is about, but context is everything - Sergeant at Arms (House security protocols), DoJ, and him not being being on the job during J6 means means people can only speculate. The popular theories are that it IS related to J6 and another is that it's related to Rep Jamaal Bowman for pulling the fire alarm last September.
https://www.newsweek.com/new-house-subpoena-sparks-wave-theories-1865037
Guy who got a job at the IRS solely so he could disclose Trump's tax returns is sentenced to Federal minimum of 5 years in the pokey. What he did was wrong, but I get it.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/29/former-irs-contractor-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-leaking-trump-tax-records.html
The court-appointed monitor for Donald Trump's documents for the NY case against Trump Organization flagged a questionable $48m loan from Trump to himself via Trump Org. Trump went bananas on Truth, which means that this is a tender spot for TFG.
No reason was given in the article, but I presume that this was a way to create tax free ways to take money out of Trump Org and put it in Trump's pocket, which seems like tax fraud. This comes on top of $40m in cash transfers not previously disclosed by the Trump Org via its financial statements - including $29m for legal fees to defend Trump against E. Jean Carrol and the $5.6m payment for the first defamation award.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/29/trump-attacks-monitor-in-business-fraud-case-after-she-reports-errors.html
How do you make a deep, deep Southern Georgian town care about animal rights? Put a $400m medical monkey breeding facility in it. Isn't this how Planet of the Apes started?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/28/monkey-farm-breeding-medical-science-research/72339272007/
Last month, Judge Engoron (the judge in the NY civil fraud case) said he targeted a ruling by 1/31, which is Wednesday. AG Tish James asked for $370m and a lifetime ban on owning NY property.
$5.5M here, $83M there, the occasional $370M, you’re starting to talk real money - wonder if Trump has any of that?
Biden pulls a political aikido move on the MAGA flank. In review, an interim government funding bill was put together with bipartisan help, but the GOP tied Ukraine and border protection funding together and ensured their funding was left out. So far, all the bills - both House and Senate originated - are DOA because MAGA wants to ensure that no border protection bills are passed because they want to preserve it as an outrage point. Biden reversed tact by vowing to "shut down the border" the day that a bipartisan deal is signed. Biden effectively calls MAGA's bluff about being tough on border.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/27/politics/biden-border-shut-down-us-mexico-immigration/index.html
After Donald Trump and Alina Habba's terrible defense in the second defamation case of E. Jean Carroll, the jury only took 3 hours to award $83.3m to Carroll. Trump has put aside $5.55m to into escrow to appeal the first ruling in an attempt to have both cases reversed. Trump also continues to defame her on Truth network, but we'll see how much more he does to incentivize Carroll to sue him a third time.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-walks-out-courtroom-carrolls-lawyer-offers-closing-argument-2024-01-26/
CAL
Go Bears! 🐻
Fun facts to know and tell: Cal has the Axe and just beat the Furd in basketball. Sometimes life is sweet.
HAG was at the game. sent me photos of the Axe and presumably was part of the raucous 8000+ crowd
During the first TO, the football team came out with the Axe. Wilcox and Ott said some things that were hard to hear. Then it took an extra minute to funnel the team out through the SE corner. Play was delayed while they waited.
DBD STREET JOURNAL
Roomba deal goes boomba. Amazon called off its acquisition of iRobot after admitting that the FTC wouldn't allow it. Roomba announed that a third of its people will be laid off, their CEO resigns, and their market cap got halved in the past month.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/29/amazon-terminates-irobot-deal-vacuum-maker-to-lay-off-31percent-of-staff.html
So you're saying now is the time to get a deal on a Roomba...
A HK court ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande Group. Once again, Chinese property developers have a history of way overbuilding inventory, need restructuring on their debt, the Chinese government bails out the banks to prevent them from failing due to the debt-write downs, and then selling their way out of trouble. But they don't have any other plays in their playbook, so they are back in hot water again. This has and will put future pressure on the Chinese debt banks and financial markets.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67562522
DBD AV CLUB
Coming 3 July 2024: Despicable Me 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQlr9-rF32A
I probably won’t go to see it in the theaters but I probably will watch it at some point
Saw the ads for Dune 2 during the nfl games last night, might make a rare foray to a movie theater for that one
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Fries with ketchup
Fries are a ketchup delivery system.
Fries with dijon mustard >> fries with ketchup. That is all.
Ketchup with some mustard mixed in is pretty dang good, too.
I never put anything on fries 🍟
Never ketchup. Either plain or with BBQ sauce or ranch.
Fries with butter = my Freshman 15.
i know people think it is gross. i prefer fries w/ mayo.
or malt vinegar if in an English pub setting.
The local municipal swimming pool near our house in the Netherlands had a snack bar that sold “frites supreme” - fries topped with ketchup, mayo, and onions, very tasty
On our last few trips to the Netherlands, the go-to option was a combo of both mayo and curry sauce
That sounds delicious