in fact 2 of my dad's brothers raised their families in Sweden. i have 5 first cousins there all married to Swedes. one is an ambassador to Qatar. another is a photographer and lives way up north near the Arctic Circle.
the cousins seem to do well on game show contests. the ambassador won Teen Jeopardy when he was a kid. his sister was recently a finalist in some sort of Top Chef type show.
i am off to Stockholm next week for memorial for an uncle who died last month. i had the chance to go see him one last time right after Xmas. even though i did not, i think that seeing my cousins at this moment will be equally useful thing to do. it will be more like a family reunion than just visiting a sick person before they die.
DBD Logistics. I'm off to drink beer and tell lies to my buddies in Seattle. Y'all are own your own tomorrow. Don't throw a party in my house while I'm gone.
we have an old house that is 100 yrs old. everything is fine, but it seems like something could easily catch fire like a frayed electrical cable. the insulation on the old lines look like cloth to me.
You have knob and tubing electrical. We used to have that. Some of our old house in Louisville (built in the 1880s) was updated so some had romex and the rest had knob and tubing.
A bookshelf that is secured to the wall, but the top shelf that is almost ceiling height does have stuff that could fall off in an earthquake. And sometimes someone sleeps on a mattress on the floor when the house is full.
What a pedigree! Look at the lines! This baby will spark endless desire in you. Desire to please not suck this year. In terms of playoffs, very low milage. Only 19 previous owners.
If you're an Indiana state lawmaker and you're meeting students who are on a gun-control advocacy trip - do you meet with them and a) debate them in a civil manner or b) prove their point?
"I'm not gaslighting you. You're gaslighting you. What are you going to believe, what I am telling you or what everyone just saw in a very public manner via court"
Will Carlos go to Mercedes then? Rumors he might go to the rebranded Alfa Romeo/Audi team in '26 but Mercedes might want him before that. He's a really good driver
Houthis fire a missile at a US warship. Normally, missiles are intercepted by other missiles. This time, the Houthis got so close that the USS Gravely had to use its Phalanx gatling gun system to shoot it down. If the Houthis had succeeded - both sides of the aisle would demand that the US Military do what the Saudis and Sunni coalition couldn't do. The reverberations of 9/11 and the US subsequently removing Iraq as the counter-balance against Iran remain strong.
It's wild that Osama bin Laden wanted to do something to promote Sunni interests through violent global revolution via al Queda - but he ended up achieving the opposite of his goal in spectacular fashion. Iran now has the advantage and they are about to fail to learn from his cautionary tale.
Long sleeve swim shirts and big old bucket hat when having a day out on the water. I don't care if I look like a dork - I'm tired of sunburns and the routine of reapplying sunscreen. I think its one of the more practical things that Aussies have brought into my life.
i didnt realize there was a thing as "old uncle energy". i just new words like "cool uncle" or "goofy uncle" or "rich uncle" are ones that i think about most often.
but maybe in trying to be cool or goofy uncle, i am really coming across as old uncle.
i have 3 niece/nephews in Philly that i am close with. they are 7, 10 and 13. their nickname name for me is "scary uncle" in a fun way.
My friends made fun of me for always getting the same boring shoes (I basically get these every 5 years https://www.clarks.com/en-us/carleigh-ray/26175052-p). Well, on my most recent trip to Taiwan, my grandma accidentally put on my shoes because she thought they were hers.
No 2 was the same way. He had a pair of Nike high tops he loved and kept buying them. All he really does is wear them to school and stuff and doesn't abuse them so he's able to get 1 -1.5 - 2 years per pair. After we stopped finding them around I found an ebay seller so I bought him a couple of pairs. Now he needs to find something new. In Taiwan with all the walking his feet hurt and we told him that basketball shoes aren't really great for every day wear and lots of walking. So he tried my Ultraboosts and he said they were more comfortable, but he liked the ankle support of the high tops, even though there is evidence they don't really help.
He did find a pair of the UNC Jordan 5s very lightly used in a Taiwan thrift shop for like $60 less than I paid for a new pair. So we'll see how those go.
Good. Except I got the flu in Japan for a few days and No 1 got it for 6 days. He said it felt like he got hit by a mack truck.
No 2 found some things to eat. I think his favorite was Beef noodles at Lao Shandong Homemade Noodles over by the main station. That place was amazing.
I have used the same Nikes for running forever. I keep them for casual wear when they’re no longer good for running. I have a couple dozen pairs laying around and that’s after giving many away to the street people I know who wear the same size.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) is not dumb, but his aggressive questioning that is a performance for his base makes him seem like he is. I hate this whole performative politics era that we're currently in.
The NCAA notified U Tennessee that it was under investigation for NIL violations by its main NIL collective. Clearly someone connected got very angry because, in turn, the states of Tennessee and Virginia sued the NCAA. At the heart of the matter is that there is an NCAA rule that prohibits schools from talking to recruits about potential NIL deals before they enroll - which EVERY school has to be doing. However, U Tennessee just happened to get get caught apparently and is upset because they are getting investigated for something that something that someone else did (the collective). I can't say that Tennessee is wrong per se - but I hate that we're here and this is happening. I hate the chaos that the NCAA's ex-CEO Mark Emmert created and got $3.3m to blow up without a plan.
Swedish Uncle
in fact 2 of my dad's brothers raised their families in Sweden. i have 5 first cousins there all married to Swedes. one is an ambassador to Qatar. another is a photographer and lives way up north near the Arctic Circle.
the cousins seem to do well on game show contests. the ambassador won Teen Jeopardy when he was a kid. his sister was recently a finalist in some sort of Top Chef type show.
i am off to Stockholm next week for memorial for an uncle who died last month. i had the chance to go see him one last time right after Xmas. even though i did not, i think that seeing my cousins at this moment will be equally useful thing to do. it will be more like a family reunion than just visiting a sick person before they die.
DBD Logistics. I'm off to drink beer and tell lies to my buddies in Seattle. Y'all are own your own tomorrow. Don't throw a party in my house while I'm gone.
What's the most dangerous thing in your house?
we have an old house that is 100 yrs old. everything is fine, but it seems like something could easily catch fire like a frayed electrical cable. the insulation on the old lines look like cloth to me.
You have knob and tubing electrical. We used to have that. Some of our old house in Louisville (built in the 1880s) was updated so some had romex and the rest had knob and tubing.
A bookshelf that is secured to the wall, but the top shelf that is almost ceiling height does have stuff that could fall off in an earthquake. And sometimes someone sleeps on a mattress on the floor when the house is full.
Either my vegetable mandolin - which scares me. Or my pantry, which will hold all the things that will likely eventually kill me
My teenage son. His judgment sometimes...
Advertise Cal Basketball, but promote it like you're selling a used car
"Here's Cal Basketball with his bear Oski!
(Banjo music begins)
If you want a better buy, go see Cal
You're the guy we satisfy, go see Cal
Go to Haas to see a game, the other team is really lame
Go see Cal, Go see Cal, Go see Cal"
This here baby [slaps hood] is a classic.
What a pedigree! Look at the lines! This baby will spark endless desire in you. Desire to please not suck this year. In terms of playoffs, very low milage. Only 19 previous owners.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
If you're an Indiana state lawmaker and you're meeting students who are on a gun-control advocacy trip - do you meet with them and a) debate them in a civil manner or b) prove their point?
https://www.thestatehousefile.com/politics/lucas-shows-gun-students-feel-fear-tuesday-at-the-statehouse/article_48a530d8-bfef-11ee-9a78-8b0a2abe7689.html
"I'm not gaslighting you. You're gaslighting you. What are you going to believe, what I am telling you or what everyone just saw in a very public manner via court"
https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1752789598496076229
PRO
Multiple reports have Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari in 2025. Wait, what?
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-set-to-make-shock-switch-to-ferrari-in-f1-2025/10571247/
Will Carlos go to Mercedes then? Rumors he might go to the rebranded Alfa Romeo/Audi team in '26 but Mercedes might want him before that. He's a really good driver
Ferrari is the MLS of F1
WaPo also reporting Lewis is moving and Sainz is out. Does he move to Mercedes now? Or does Mercedes go with a rookie?
[USWNT] She's not wrong, but perhaps the phrasing could be better
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/39436242/most-us-soccer-fans-smart-uswnt-captain-horan
HSB: Your hunch on Embiid was correct. He was injured.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39436999/sixers-fined-75k-injury-reporting-violations-embiid-knee
If you're talking up the market publicly, it's because that market is soft
https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2024/01/31/mac-jones-trade-new-england-patriots-nfl-football/
OUR UNSTABLE WORLD
Houthis fire a missile at a US warship. Normally, missiles are intercepted by other missiles. This time, the Houthis got so close that the USS Gravely had to use its Phalanx gatling gun system to shoot it down. If the Houthis had succeeded - both sides of the aisle would demand that the US Military do what the Saudis and Sunni coalition couldn't do. The reverberations of 9/11 and the US subsequently removing Iraq as the counter-balance against Iran remain strong.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/31/politics/us-warship-close-call-houthi-missile/index.html
It's wild that Osama bin Laden wanted to do something to promote Sunni interests through violent global revolution via al Queda - but he ended up achieving the opposite of his goal in spectacular fashion. Iran now has the advantage and they are about to fail to learn from his cautionary tale.
SHE BLINDED ME WITH...
Some evidence that the moon is shrinking. Wait, what?
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/31/world/moon-shrinking-moonquakes-south-pole-scn/index.html
Heh...shrinkage.
"I don't know how you guys walk around with those things."
Says creasing causes landslides on the moon. With less gravity, those have to be some of the least terrifying landslides in the universe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PrZ-J7D3k
https://youtu.be/YgJvgESR920?si=AP334fYV80B2bW4d
KICKS
Do y'all like these? I'm thinking I need something like this before I die.
https://www.nike.com/t/terminator-low-mens-shoes-nMRL7V/FJ4206-700
Hell yes. It appears that chicks do indeed dig them, judging by the sold out sizes.
Oh, hell yes.
Purchased. Thank you for validating a decision that I already made before asking.
Where do you bring “old uncle” or “aunty” energy?
Long sleeve swim shirts and big old bucket hat when having a day out on the water. I don't care if I look like a dork - I'm tired of sunburns and the routine of reapplying sunscreen. I think its one of the more practical things that Aussies have brought into my life.
i didnt realize there was a thing as "old uncle energy". i just new words like "cool uncle" or "goofy uncle" or "rich uncle" are ones that i think about most often.
but maybe in trying to be cool or goofy uncle, i am really coming across as old uncle.
i have 3 niece/nephews in Philly that i am close with. they are 7, 10 and 13. their nickname name for me is "scary uncle" in a fun way.
We nicknamed my ex-BIL "uncle scary" because when No 1 first met him, no 1 screamed and cried.
I expect I qualify as “goofy uncle” but I’m OK with that.
My friends made fun of me for always getting the same boring shoes (I basically get these every 5 years https://www.clarks.com/en-us/carleigh-ray/26175052-p). Well, on my most recent trip to Taiwan, my grandma accidentally put on my shoes because she thought they were hers.
No 2 was the same way. He had a pair of Nike high tops he loved and kept buying them. All he really does is wear them to school and stuff and doesn't abuse them so he's able to get 1 -1.5 - 2 years per pair. After we stopped finding them around I found an ebay seller so I bought him a couple of pairs. Now he needs to find something new. In Taiwan with all the walking his feet hurt and we told him that basketball shoes aren't really great for every day wear and lots of walking. So he tried my Ultraboosts and he said they were more comfortable, but he liked the ankle support of the high tops, even though there is evidence they don't really help.
He did find a pair of the UNC Jordan 5s very lightly used in a Taiwan thrift shop for like $60 less than I paid for a new pair. So we'll see how those go.
How was your Taiwan trip? Did everyone have a good time? Did No 2 eat anything???
Good. Except I got the flu in Japan for a few days and No 1 got it for 6 days. He said it felt like he got hit by a mack truck.
No 2 found some things to eat. I think his favorite was Beef noodles at Lao Shandong Homemade Noodles over by the main station. That place was amazing.
I have used the same Nikes for running forever. I keep them for casual wear when they’re no longer good for running. I have a couple dozen pairs laying around and that’s after giving many away to the street people I know who wear the same size.
With all the running you do, I imagine you go through multiple pairs a year. Giving them to street people is a good idea.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) is not dumb, but his aggressive questioning that is a performance for his base makes him seem like he is. I hate this whole performative politics era that we're currently in.
https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1752747934125359168
CAL
Go Bears!!!
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
The NCAA notified U Tennessee that it was under investigation for NIL violations by its main NIL collective. Clearly someone connected got very angry because, in turn, the states of Tennessee and Virginia sued the NCAA. At the heart of the matter is that there is an NCAA rule that prohibits schools from talking to recruits about potential NIL deals before they enroll - which EVERY school has to be doing. However, U Tennessee just happened to get get caught apparently and is upset because they are getting investigated for something that something that someone else did (the collective). I can't say that Tennessee is wrong per se - but I hate that we're here and this is happening. I hate the chaos that the NCAA's ex-CEO Mark Emmert created and got $3.3m to blow up without a plan.
https://www.on3.com/news/did-the-ncaa-pick-a-fight-with-tennessee-that-it-cant-win/
I always knew West Virginia looked like Cal. But I found this new school that looks even more like Cal, and it's located in a city called Beckley.
West Virginia Tech Golden Bears
https://www.wvutech.edu/news/2018/08/16/golden-bears-settle-in-for-the-season
DBD STREET JOURNAL
Adidas not ready to write off Yeezy inventory yet, but will sell at cost
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/31/adidas-will-not-write-off-remaining-yeezy-inventory.html
Buy, Mortimer, buuuuuuyyy
https://news.yahoo.com/growing-threat-sends-price-popular-190000121.html
We’re back
DBD AV CLUB