Variant XBB.1.5 "Kraken" is now the dominant strain. Kraken is an omicron variant. Vaccinations appear to offer some defense, but it's not great. Symptoms are more like a common cold and the loss of taste/smell is not common with this variant. It also appears to be less virulent.
I wonder if this is what No 3 had a couple of weekends ago. He had tested Thurs and Fri before coming up to play Cal in club baseball and was negative. He was here with us Sat and Sun. He tested right before leaving to go back to UCSC on Sun and tested positive. He was here for a day and I didn't test positive, nor did I have symptoms.
I'm obviously not an epidemiologist, but isn't this actually a reasonably predictable progression for the evolution of a virus? If it's too deadly, it dies too. What I'm interested in seeing is if we start to get strains that do less long term damage to people.
And also as people's immune systems get used to it (either by vaccination or catching the virus), individual bodies become less likely to have bad responses. The big issue with COVID-19 was that it was completely novel. I think we saw that with the most recent winter surge that seems to be petering out earlier.
White House will not renew emergency declaration that expires 5/11, which means free Covid tests and vaccines stop. Don't worry, I have faith that the pharma companies will sell their products at a reasonable price.
Adults, English as a Foreign Language. Current students range in age from 18 to 40. (Been an EFL teacher for 13 years, taught middle school history for 22 years.)
This is true but it is also great fun. Of course it varies depending on whether you're teaching beginners, intermediate or advanced. I've enjoyed doing all three.
even though i try - my impression from my wife is that "all guys" do not appreciate how much harder it is to be a woman in the current day and age.
perhaps it is not even really possible to be or feel something that you are not - especially when there are massive biological and social and cultural differences.
presumably the same could be said of white/black or gay/straight etc etc.
Lived experience cannot be substituted. Men can be sympathetic to a woman's experience, but it takes another woman to empathize with experiences unique to women precisely because women have status that differs from men.
The socialization of boys and girls into adulthood creates the chasm and it is based on a person's sex characteristics, perceived and assumed. My take on social history is that while many social advances have been made for women (right to vote, job opportunities, changes in the law advancing financial independence, and so on), social attitudes towards women have become remarkably regressive in the last 60 years. In some ways, women have even less respect from men than they had in the early 1960s.
Lastly, trying is a nice thought. It's the doing that matters as it has been repeated multiple times.
Since cash tolls have been eliminated in Maryland (EZPass or license plate based billing ftw), I tend to forget that other places still are okay with people stopping to hand over cash.
In a weird way, I kind of miss the tokens from the Garden State Parkway.
the only thing that comes to mind is buying a cup of coffee when I'm traveling and the occasional lottery ticket. I still have to go to the ATM occasionally, but like once a fiscal quarter to get a couple hundred bucks. I used to only buy my coffee and lunch cash when I went into the office.
I didn't go to Nats Park last year, but the year before it was card only. Plus, for almost all the concessions you had to order using a QR code. You couldn't just walk up and say I want a beer.
"You couldn't just walk up and say I want a beer."
This is an example of what I call Social Isolation. It's an incremental invasion of computers into the social fabric while also rending it at the same time.
You make your order with a QR code. You don't talk to a person who serves the beer. In a ballpark setting that's just nuts when you're already at the beer counter. Why put an unnecessary step in the process of procuring said beer?
I've also noticed that QR codes have also displaced the original interaction between a customer and wait staff at many brew pubs. It might even be universal within the East Bay or the Bay Area because every time I've gone out there's a QR code inside a clear plastic stand that gives you access to the menu and order placement. You don't interact with wait staff until they bring your order to the table. I actually want to interact with wait staff. It means that I'm seen, heard and I can see and hear them as well. That interaction reaffirms everyone's humanity.
Yeah, there was a kiosk that sold local craft beers I liked to go to every time I was at a game and got to know the guy who worked there. It wasn't the same after they changed the way the transaction was handled.
i would have said that pre-coronavirus times i go thru at least $100 in cash a week in NYC since plenty of places didnt take credit or phone payments and i was there on a much more regular basis.
i still use it sporadically and always have btw $50-200 with me.
The Last of Us (S1E4). Very good, but it's a transitional episode - both literally and figuratively from E3, which was a perfect show. The episodes deepen some relationship dynamics and introduce new characters primarily - but the central scene that features Juan Magana as "Bryan" was incredibly written by Craig Mazin. (HBOMax, 17/19, WB)
Still watching the first season of Friday Night Lights (2006-07) been a long time, such a great show. Started 3rd season of Dead to Me - a fun and less than great show (15-19?) but worth the fun, and am still enjoying Superstore (deep in 4th season).
"The Imagineering Story" on Disney+ 17/19. Watched the first episode last night, even tough I'm sure it's been on the platform for a while. I love Disney history, and this was a really fantastic look at how influential the imagineers are to the theme parks. The first episode covered the pre-Disneyland period through Walt's death. My favorite part is where the original designer for the Matterhorn went inside and showed off the basketball hoop. I also found it interesting to learn a a bit about Walt's work ethic. He was very much the kind of guy who left yesterday behind to focus on today and tomorrow. Very well done.
There's some awesome engineering at Disney. I met a fellow once who said to me "I was an Imagineer". He said this which such strong, essentially religious affectation that I couldn't help but laugh. Which I immediately felt bad about, because he clearly had such passion for his former work.
Kyrie said he felt disrespected by Net's front office. It's unclear if he means their patience for his anti-Semitism, anti-vax position, flat-earth beliefs, or something else.
There was an interesting tweet I saw last night stat comparing Lebron with the other NBA players (Kobe, Dirk, Kareem, MJ) who eclipsed 30K points. Most were in the twilight of their respective careers, avg 10-20 PPG, while Lebron is still averaging 30+ for the last 2 seasons.
What’s wild is that he is still a top 5 player in the league. He may be wasted on that team though …. epilogue to his feat is that they lost a key game there
I gathered from Twitter that there was a lot of heckling from the usual suspects in the GOP caucus, which is an interesting choice considering that Biden generally doesn't give a shit and will respond in kind, which kind of undercuts the whole bit of "he's too senile to do anything." Not that anyone's mind will be changed either way.
I’m not so sure that happens. 1) Kevin Warren is gone, and 2) Carol Christ is still the chancellor. The way she spoke out against fUcla going tells me she wouldn’t readily accept an invite even if it’s in the best interest for her wrap around porch. Knowlton and Christ need to be gone if this were to happen. They’re too short sighted to see the big picture of athletics. But… fUcla would vote to let us in so they wouldn’t have to financially prop up our failing AD.
If the 4 above leave, ASU, UofA, Utah, and Colorado go to the Big-12, I bet. Then the Pac-12 is done. No way it sticks around with Oregon St, Wazzu, and a bunch of weak teams.
Wasn't there a rumor of this exact same thing happening or being explored after USC and UCLA announced their departure for the B1G? Said rumor was quashed or ruled out because there wasn't a fit. Which is not to say it couldn't happen, I'm just wondering what would have to change to make it happen.
The Big XII expands to 14 schools in '23 with the addition of Cincinnati, Central Florida, Houston, and BYU. Texas and Oklahoma leave in '25 dropping it to 12 schools. Adding Arizona, ASU, Utah, and Colorado would expand the Big XII to 16 schools.
Sprite? Never, hated that, and in fact, I haven't liked soft, sweet drinks since early 20's - ain't my love. I changed to lower sugar for a while than from likes like Coke, but even then, that was too sweet.
I don’t allow my kids to drink soda and don’t have any in the house but if we are getting food at In N Out or Costco food court I’ll allow them to get Sprite, Sierra Mist or 7Up (whatever lemon lime flavor they carry) but I mix it with half soda water to dilute it a bit.
I shudder to think how much soda I drank as a child. Never touch the stuff anymore. From what I understand drinking a Diet Coke is one of the worst things you can do to your body.
Bad for gut health, tooth enamel, decreases bone density, bad for the heart, increases risks of diabetes, adds weight, can disrupt sleep, can contribute to liver problems, high blood pressure and dementia. In some people increases anxiety. Of course, the above are mostly in cases of regular consumption.
What's the source on all of this? Especially on adding weight? As far as I know, diet sodas contain zero to negative calories so I doubt they add weight by themselves. The studies that show this find it hard to separate causation from correlation (people who drink lots of diet sodas are more likely to be those with weight problems in the first place).
As far as I can tell, most of this seems to be a bit exaggerated but there may be some truth. I do often find it hard to sleep on those occasional days when I have a Coke Zero.
I wonder what the incidence of kidney stones are today compared to 40 years ago and how it compares to the consumption of sodas and colas over the same period.
That makes sense. Many folks add 2 or 3 heaping teaspoons of sugar to their iced tea. I wouldn't have guessed, though, that iced tea consumption is a major driver of kidney stones.
EBMUD has especially delicious water! My current muni water is great, too. But I have been to places where you wouldn't want to even brush teeth with the muni water, so they get a pass.
Little know fact: EBMUD's 100th anniversary is approaching. EBMUD was established by popular vote of a number of East Bay communities on May 22, 1923. Up until that time, the East Bay was served by for-profit water companies (which are often referred to as the "predecessor companies").
Formation of the District also brought a building boom that included Lancha Plana Dam (now known as Pardee Dam), 3 filter plants, and 3 aqueducts.
Today, EBMUD serves an estimated 1.4 million people in its service area.
Don't I know it. I've been spoiled by EBMUD water and having lived in the service area for most of my life.
Not everyone can have such good quality water and it's one of those things that should not be. It should be a priority that people everywhere have clean, healthful water. I remember visiting UPenn in the Spring of 1979. The tap water was pulled from the Delaware River and it was brown. Ugh.
Anyone else remember when the owner of Top Dog featured RC products? The grill man said the owner got pissed off at the Coke distributer so he switched to Pepsi...until that guy pissed him off, too. The grill man was like, I really hope the RC man plays it cool because I don't know what kind of swill would be next!
I hadn't been much when we moved away so I probably missed that. I do remember sometime early 2010s I went an they had IBC root beer on tap. I was so happy.
I think they have some sort of small company soda. I didn't really look at the name but I think they have the usual cola, sprite, root beer, etc. I remember more upscale sitdown places are going with boutique sodas. There were a couple places in Louisville (smoked meat and nashville hot chicken) that had cheerwine on tap.
Yes, it's still around. In the early 80s, 7-Up had about 7% market share. Pepsi bought it from - of all companies - Philip Morris in order to compete with Coca-Cola Company's Sprite in 1986. 7-Up continued to lose market share for a decade, so it was sold to Cadbury-Schwepps who drove it into the ground. It's market share is less than 1% now. 7-Up is now owned by Keurig - which also owns Snapple, Dr. Pepper, RC Cola, A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Hawaiin Punch, Schweppes, and Squirt.
I miss the dude on the adds who would say about 7-up's lack of caffeine "never had it, never will" and then he'd laugh huge like there was anything funny there.
I have a suspicion it will be back, probably with a promotion. It's become a common practice to discontinue a popular, profitable product in order to create such a demand that the lost revenue is more than made up for by the rush for it when it returns "for a limited time only".
My initial reaction to this news was such an old man's take... I was like "Starry? What the fuck is that? The whole world's going to hell in a handbasket!" But then I thought, wait, why should I give a shit about this? So I caught myself, which maybe means my transition into full blown old man is not yet complete.
I started distance running before the advent of Gatorade. The go to drink during a marathon at that time was flat Coke, sometimes with a little sugar added. Frank Shorter won the 1972 Olympic marathon using Coke as his drink and it became the alternative to plain water.
Today in Covid
Variant XBB.1.5 "Kraken" is now the dominant strain. Kraken is an omicron variant. Vaccinations appear to offer some defense, but it's not great. Symptoms are more like a common cold and the loss of taste/smell is not common with this variant. It also appears to be less virulent.
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/xbb15-omicron-subvariant-questions-patients-may-have
I wonder if this is what No 3 had a couple of weekends ago. He had tested Thurs and Fri before coming up to play Cal in club baseball and was negative. He was here with us Sat and Sun. He tested right before leaving to go back to UCSC on Sun and tested positive. He was here for a day and I didn't test positive, nor did I have symptoms.
I'm obviously not an epidemiologist, but isn't this actually a reasonably predictable progression for the evolution of a virus? If it's too deadly, it dies too. What I'm interested in seeing is if we start to get strains that do less long term damage to people.
Yeah, totally. I think that has always been the hope, that it would mutate into just another random virus of inconvenience.
And also as people's immune systems get used to it (either by vaccination or catching the virus), individual bodies become less likely to have bad responses. The big issue with COVID-19 was that it was completely novel. I think we saw that with the most recent winter surge that seems to be petering out earlier.
White House will not renew emergency declaration that expires 5/11, which means free Covid tests and vaccines stop. Don't worry, I have faith that the pharma companies will sell their products at a reasonable price.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/02/08/1155225903/covid-test-kits-treatments-vaccines-increasing-cost-to-consumers
Something you say at work several times a week
Apropos: https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/1623675627147591681
https://youtu.be/wg5lIpQkoOg?t=33
make it so, number one.
(i dont actually, but i wish i did)
UH, where's the rent?
You need to stop renting to atoms and turkey.
"Okay, now it's time for YOU to talk, let's get into groups."
"Any questions?"
"Most important, have a great rest of the day and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Thanks everybody you were great as usual."
What grade?
Adults, English as a Foreign Language. Current students range in age from 18 to 40. (Been an EFL teacher for 13 years, taught middle school history for 22 years.)
My ex has been a very good ESL teacher for probably 13 years. It seems so hard and requires a lot of patience.
This is true but it is also great fun. Of course it varies depending on whether you're teaching beginners, intermediate or advanced. I've enjoyed doing all three.
She teaches beginners. At least in Louisville it was new refugees. Not sure what level her current job is out here.
Is it time for cake?
I want you to understand the process, but that doesn't mean we have to come to an agreement.
"How can I help?"
Also, "you have got to be fucking kidding me" and "get a load of this one."
Hard rec on that first one, a refrain I say frequently at work...in my head.
Service industry?
I'm a bank exec.
"Try to stay clear of the collapse zone."
What's up? What can I do for you?
Thank you for everything you do.
Said very often in emails -
"Contact me with questions."
Something all guys do
even though i try - my impression from my wife is that "all guys" do not appreciate how much harder it is to be a woman in the current day and age.
perhaps it is not even really possible to be or feel something that you are not - especially when there are massive biological and social and cultural differences.
presumably the same could be said of white/black or gay/straight etc etc.
Lived experience cannot be substituted. Men can be sympathetic to a woman's experience, but it takes another woman to empathize with experiences unique to women precisely because women have status that differs from men.
The socialization of boys and girls into adulthood creates the chasm and it is based on a person's sex characteristics, perceived and assumed. My take on social history is that while many social advances have been made for women (right to vote, job opportunities, changes in the law advancing financial independence, and so on), social attitudes towards women have become remarkably regressive in the last 60 years. In some ways, women have even less respect from men than they had in the early 1960s.
Lastly, trying is a nice thought. It's the doing that matters as it has been repeated multiple times.
Things are worse than the 60's?????? Different, but not worse. No way.
Are you trying to pick a fight? Read it again.
Once was enough.
Well nowadays you can actually be a woman or a man to try it out ;)
Where do you still use cash?
Toll booths, tips for non-dine-in, and unhealthy food purchases
Since cash tolls have been eliminated in Maryland (EZPass or license plate based billing ftw), I tend to forget that other places still are okay with people stopping to hand over cash.
In a weird way, I kind of miss the tokens from the Garden State Parkway.
I remember throwing change into the NJT 25 years ago.
Titty bars
I'm waiting for some stripper to tattoo a QR code for their venmo account on their body.
Blackjack/Pai Gow/Roulette tables
At the farmer's market. Most of the venders take cards but many prefer cash.
Oh this is a good answer. I do this as well.
many have started using QR codes for Zelle or Venmo.
even my mechanic has one .. since there is a 3.5% upcharge to use a credit card.
Yes, this too.
the only thing that comes to mind is buying a cup of coffee when I'm traveling and the occasional lottery ticket. I still have to go to the ATM occasionally, but like once a fiscal quarter to get a couple hundred bucks. I used to only buy my coffee and lunch cash when I went into the office.
Pretty much don't. Probably the last time was on the East side of Memorial buying a Pierogi.
the only sports events I go to these days are DC United games, and I am pretty sure they have gone to card-only, no cash at all.
I didn't go to Nats Park last year, but the year before it was card only. Plus, for almost all the concessions you had to order using a QR code. You couldn't just walk up and say I want a beer.
"You couldn't just walk up and say I want a beer."
This is an example of what I call Social Isolation. It's an incremental invasion of computers into the social fabric while also rending it at the same time.
You make your order with a QR code. You don't talk to a person who serves the beer. In a ballpark setting that's just nuts when you're already at the beer counter. Why put an unnecessary step in the process of procuring said beer?
I've also noticed that QR codes have also displaced the original interaction between a customer and wait staff at many brew pubs. It might even be universal within the East Bay or the Bay Area because every time I've gone out there's a QR code inside a clear plastic stand that gives you access to the menu and order placement. You don't interact with wait staff until they bring your order to the table. I actually want to interact with wait staff. It means that I'm seen, heard and I can see and hear them as well. That interaction reaffirms everyone's humanity.
Yeah, there was a kiosk that sold local craft beers I liked to go to every time I was at a game and got to know the guy who worked there. It wasn't the same after they changed the way the transaction was handled.
My barbershop. I think he has a card reader, but literally everyone still pays cash.
How’s the quartet there, Andy?
;-)
I don't think anyone, much less 4 anyones, who can sing have ever been there. Now, telling lies about the last fishing trip...that's another matter.
Casino
Do casinos still use change for slots? The few I've walked through all have seem to moved to cards.
I only use paper money when I play slots. Can't recall the last time I saw a coin slot on a machine.
Saw some quarter slots at Venetian last week.
If I am buying a lottery ticket.
Haircuts.
Transactions under $10 ($20 in a mom & pop shop), tips, lottery tickets.
Lottery tickets. When I get my hair (what there is of it) cut because they request payment in cash.
I don't have any other regular purchases where I use cash.
smaller stores like a local donut shop or Farolito. Places where I don't spend too much money or they want to charge for CC.
money to put into red envelopes for CNY
It's funny, those red envelopes to go the younger single people, but that group doesn't use cash any more. ApplePay, Venmo.
Ohh...new app idea. Red envelope delivery (TM).
using Red envelope QR code
this reminds me that we get a lot of cash for the kids from the grandparents. usually the kids give us the cash as we venmo/transfer $$ to them
that's what I do when my daughters get paid in cash for sitting - they basically never have paper money
walking around in NYC
i would have said that pre-coronavirus times i go thru at least $100 in cash a week in NYC since plenty of places didnt take credit or phone payments and i was there on a much more regular basis.
i still use it sporadically and always have btw $50-200 with me.
Whenever we go to NYC, the missus always says something about the "walking out the door" tax of being there - oh look, $20 just disappeared!
Oh, poof, it's just gone!
I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a NYC ATM and taken out "enough money for the weekend"...only to be back at the ATM like two hours later.
DBD AV CLUB
The Last of Us (S1E4). Very good, but it's a transitional episode - both literally and figuratively from E3, which was a perfect show. The episodes deepen some relationship dynamics and introduce new characters primarily - but the central scene that features Juan Magana as "Bryan" was incredibly written by Craig Mazin. (HBOMax, 17/19, WB)
Bingewatching Community on Netflix. Just finished the first season, all 23 episodes. Loving it. 16/19.
Thru 3 is great. 4 is good. 5 is meh. 6 is bad. I watched all during early covid. hadn't seen S6 before. did for completeness sake. wish I hadn't
Cunk on Earth. 1/19. not good. It's a 2-minute daily show sketch stretched out into 6 30-minute episodes. We turned it off after 15 minutes.
I watched is for about 5 minutes. WNB
Still watching the first season of Friday Night Lights (2006-07) been a long time, such a great show. Started 3rd season of Dead to Me - a fun and less than great show (15-19?) but worth the fun, and am still enjoying Superstore (deep in 4th season).
"The Imagineering Story" on Disney+ 17/19. Watched the first episode last night, even tough I'm sure it's been on the platform for a while. I love Disney history, and this was a really fantastic look at how influential the imagineers are to the theme parks. The first episode covered the pre-Disneyland period through Walt's death. My favorite part is where the original designer for the Matterhorn went inside and showed off the basketball hoop. I also found it interesting to learn a a bit about Walt's work ethic. He was very much the kind of guy who left yesterday behind to focus on today and tomorrow. Very well done.
There's some awesome engineering at Disney. I met a fellow once who said to me "I was an Imagineer". He said this which such strong, essentially religious affectation that I couldn't help but laugh. Which I immediately felt bad about, because he clearly had such passion for his former work.
PRO
German pro hockey: goalie on goalie crime
https://twitter.com/ScoutingTheRefs/status/1622963251586781184
Kyrie said he felt disrespected by Net's front office. It's unclear if he means their patience for his anti-Semitism, anti-vax position, flat-earth beliefs, or something else.
https://sports.yahoo.com/kyrie-irving-says-he-felt-disrespected-by-nets-after-trade-to-mavericks-231044843.html
LeBron becomes all-time NBA scoring leader
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35611846/lakers-lebron-james-passes-kareem-abdul-jabbar-become-nba-all-scoring-leader
He didn't have to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes
He got an earlier start by 4 years.
Salient point. Kareem's basketball career required that he attend college for four years before entering the NBA.
There was an interesting tweet I saw last night stat comparing Lebron with the other NBA players (Kobe, Dirk, Kareem, MJ) who eclipsed 30K points. Most were in the twilight of their respective careers, avg 10-20 PPG, while Lebron is still averaging 30+ for the last 2 seasons.
Crazy the celebration was in game, not sure I have seen that before?
Steph breaking the 3 pt record was also in game. That was the first I remember.
we were there! it was great.
maybe he will retire now ..
What’s wild is that he is still a top 5 player in the league. He may be wasted on that team though …. epilogue to his feat is that they lost a key game there
Don't know why Draymond would want to play there, according to the rumor. I don't see any way the Lakers compete without a complete overhaul.
USWNT star Alex Morgan calls potential Saudi sponsorship of Women's World Cup 'bizarre'
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usaw/story/4872872/uswnt-alex-morgan-bizarre-for-saudis-to-sponsor-womens-world-cup
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Montana state Senator introduces bill to ban teaching science because he's unclear on what science is.
https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2023-02-07/bill-would-ban-the-teaching-of-scientific-theories-in-montana-schools
maybe they should just ban teaching altogether??!!
Biden goes long: Speech beat last year’s by about 11 minutes
He stayed largely on script, but true to form, he often added short off-the-cuff quips.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/07/biden-speech-length-state-union-00081732
Mitt Romney was deliciously rude to George Santos, inventor of the SheWee.
I gathered from Twitter that there was a lot of heckling from the usual suspects in the GOP caucus, which is an interesting choice considering that Biden generally doesn't give a shit and will respond in kind, which kind of undercuts the whole bit of "he's too senile to do anything." Not that anyone's mind will be changed either way.
Elsewhere in college
[McMurphy @ ActionNetwork] Kliavkoff visiting SMU to see if they're a candidate for Pac-12 expansion. 🙄
https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1623127085618237442
Say no to second rate "bag man program" replacements
What a disappointment. SMU is the only Div I school to receive NCAA Death Penalty sanctions.
Unbe-f***ing-believable.
Pac-12 needs to be proactive in going after these programs since I still think UW/Oregon/Cal/Furd leave for the Big-1X.
I’m not so sure that happens. 1) Kevin Warren is gone, and 2) Carol Christ is still the chancellor. The way she spoke out against fUcla going tells me she wouldn’t readily accept an invite even if it’s in the best interest for her wrap around porch. Knowlton and Christ need to be gone if this were to happen. They’re too short sighted to see the big picture of athletics. But… fUcla would vote to let us in so they wouldn’t have to financially prop up our failing AD.
Which brings up a discussion point - *if* Cal goes to the B1G then I'm not sure I care what happens to the remnants of the Pac-12.
Cal is closer to leaving for the Big West than for the B1G.
If the 4 above leave, ASU, UofA, Utah, and Colorado go to the Big-12, I bet. Then the Pac-12 is done. No way it sticks around with Oregon St, Wazzu, and a bunch of weak teams.
Wasn't there a rumor of this exact same thing happening or being explored after USC and UCLA announced their departure for the B1G? Said rumor was quashed or ruled out because there wasn't a fit. Which is not to say it couldn't happen, I'm just wondering what would have to change to make it happen.
The Big XII expands to 14 schools in '23 with the addition of Cincinnati, Central Florida, Houston, and BYU. Texas and Oklahoma leave in '25 dropping it to 12 schools. Adding Arizona, ASU, Utah, and Colorado would expand the Big XII to 16 schools.
Yeah, OSU and WSU join the MWC.
CAL
Go Bears!!!
NYT Crossword today ... a 3 letter word
clue > "The Golden Bears of the N.C.A.A., familiarly"
But wait, CSUB "Cal State U Berkeley," is a four letter word.
UCB
they always have some clever theme or scheme, but i rarely get it until i am done w/ the whole thing and look back at it
Cal men's basketball's progress under Mark Fox shown in this video https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1623076705672781825?s=20&t=tGqQXrT7z4a-KKJ6kGIzmw
Sprite
Sprite? Never, hated that, and in fact, I haven't liked soft, sweet drinks since early 20's - ain't my love. I changed to lower sugar for a while than from likes like Coke, but even then, that was too sweet.
This is 2023; so the early 20s was 2020 & 2021?
Well no wonder, in the early 1920's Coke still had cocaine in it.
I don’t allow my kids to drink soda and don’t have any in the house but if we are getting food at In N Out or Costco food court I’ll allow them to get Sprite, Sierra Mist or 7Up (whatever lemon lime flavor they carry) but I mix it with half soda water to dilute it a bit.
I shudder to think how much soda I drank as a child. Never touch the stuff anymore. From what I understand drinking a Diet Coke is one of the worst things you can do to your body.
Hmm, what does Diet Coke do exactly?
Bad for gut health, tooth enamel, decreases bone density, bad for the heart, increases risks of diabetes, adds weight, can disrupt sleep, can contribute to liver problems, high blood pressure and dementia. In some people increases anxiety. Of course, the above are mostly in cases of regular consumption.
That would require regular immersion.
What's the source on all of this? Especially on adding weight? As far as I know, diet sodas contain zero to negative calories so I doubt they add weight by themselves. The studies that show this find it hard to separate causation from correlation (people who drink lots of diet sodas are more likely to be those with weight problems in the first place).
As far as I can tell, most of this seems to be a bit exaggerated but there may be some truth. I do often find it hard to sleep on those occasional days when I have a Coke Zero.
As long as you drink the Diet Coke with Jack Daniels you’ll be okay.
I wonder what the incidence of kidney stones are today compared to 40 years ago and how it compares to the consumption of sodas and colas over the same period.
My understanding is that the US has a higher rate of kidney stones than our European peers and it is largely due to ice tea consumption.
That makes sense. Many folks add 2 or 3 heaping teaspoons of sugar to their iced tea. I wouldn't have guessed, though, that iced tea consumption is a major driver of kidney stones.
We very rarely have any kind of soda or cola in our house. I'm a big believer in municipal tap water. Then again, I'm biased by my work history.
I also look askance at bottled water for that same reason.
EBMUD has especially delicious water! My current muni water is great, too. But I have been to places where you wouldn't want to even brush teeth with the muni water, so they get a pass.
Doesn't EBMUD water come from the Mokelumne River? I read somewhere that it did. Pure snowmelt.
Yes and yes.
Little know fact: EBMUD's 100th anniversary is approaching. EBMUD was established by popular vote of a number of East Bay communities on May 22, 1923. Up until that time, the East Bay was served by for-profit water companies (which are often referred to as the "predecessor companies").
Formation of the District also brought a building boom that included Lancha Plana Dam (now known as Pardee Dam), 3 filter plants, and 3 aqueducts.
Today, EBMUD serves an estimated 1.4 million people in its service area.
Don't I know it. I've been spoiled by EBMUD water and having lived in the service area for most of my life.
Not everyone can have such good quality water and it's one of those things that should not be. It should be a priority that people everywhere have clean, healthful water. I remember visiting UPenn in the Spring of 1979. The tap water was pulled from the Delaware River and it was brown. Ugh.
I don't get it because I always get Coke. At Costco, they only have Pepsi products so I get Sierra Mist since most don't have Mountain Dew.
i am not that picky, but prefer Pepsi over Coke for cola.
but more than anything i prefer cans over plastic .. which often a dilemma at gas stations these days.
also, 12 oz is more than enough for me, so getting a 16 oz bottle is a bit of a waste for me.
Anyone else remember when the owner of Top Dog featured RC products? The grill man said the owner got pissed off at the Coke distributer so he switched to Pepsi...until that guy pissed him off, too. The grill man was like, I really hope the RC man plays it cool because I don't know what kind of swill would be next!
I hadn't been much when we moved away so I probably missed that. I do remember sometime early 2010s I went an they had IBC root beer on tap. I was so happy.
i remember getting only RC cola for years. but now they seem to have something new/different (maybe?)
I think they have some sort of small company soda. I didn't really look at the name but I think they have the usual cola, sprite, root beer, etc. I remember more upscale sitdown places are going with boutique sodas. There were a couple places in Louisville (smoked meat and nashville hot chicken) that had cheerwine on tap.
I'm the opposite. Coke over Pepsi. I also have read that McD gets a special version of the syrup that is more concentrated to account for ice melting.
can you even still buy 7up? did they get rid of it for good?
Yes, it's still around. In the early 80s, 7-Up had about 7% market share. Pepsi bought it from - of all companies - Philip Morris in order to compete with Coca-Cola Company's Sprite in 1986. 7-Up continued to lose market share for a decade, so it was sold to Cadbury-Schwepps who drove it into the ground. It's market share is less than 1% now. 7-Up is now owned by Keurig - which also owns Snapple, Dr. Pepper, RC Cola, A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Hawaiin Punch, Schweppes, and Squirt.
I miss the dude on the adds who would say about 7-up's lack of caffeine "never had it, never will" and then he'd laugh huge like there was anything funny there.
That’s interesting. You can still get 7Up at In N Out.
Interesting evolution of the brand. So the uncola has become scarce.
there was also that middle school game we played to keep us quiet on rainy days.
"thumbs up, seven up"
Pepsi just got rid of Sierra Mist and replaced it with something called Starry.
I have a suspicion it will be back, probably with a promotion. It's become a common practice to discontinue a popular, profitable product in order to create such a demand that the lost revenue is more than made up for by the rush for it when it returns "for a limited time only".
They must not have rolled this out nationwide yet as the Costco food court still features Sierra Mist.
My initial reaction to this news was such an old man's take... I was like "Starry? What the fuck is that? The whole world's going to hell in a handbasket!" But then I thought, wait, why should I give a shit about this? So I caught myself, which maybe means my transition into full blown old man is not yet complete.
for some reason - maybe because it was not that sweet - it didnt really count as a sweetened soda in our house growing up.
it was the most common remedy for upset stomach.
Oh interesting -- flat Coke for us.
Bubbly coke for us.
I started distance running before the advent of Gatorade. The go to drink during a marathon at that time was flat Coke, sometimes with a little sugar added. Frank Shorter won the 1972 Olympic marathon using Coke as his drink and it became the alternative to plain water.
it is quite common for the pro cyclists to drink a Coke too as a fast way to get some energy or quick recovery as they collapse after a race.