I asked ChatGPT to write a song about Cal and this picture. I’m not tapping my feet to this, but *shrug*.
Verse 1: On the Berkeley hills, where the sun shines bright / There's a football team that takes the field with pride / The Golden Bears, they wear the blue and gold / And they fight for victory, never to fold
Chorus: But on a sunny day, a cat came to play / And he jumped in a car full of watermelons / He drove down to the stadium to cheer for Cal / And he sang this song, oh so well
Verse 2: The football players, they heard the meow / And they wondered where they came from, anyhow / They searched the stands, but to no avail / Until they saw the car with a feline tail
[Chorus]
Bridge: The players laughed, and they shook their heads / They never thought they'd see something like this / But the cat just smiled, and he purred with glee / For he knew that Cal would win, you'll see
[Chorus]
Outro: So if you ever see a cat, in a car full of melons / Driving down to Cal, to cheer for the team / Just know that anything is possible / When you believe in the power of a dream.
we are in some company-wide meeting and we are going thru high level company goals for the year. i knew i was working on something semi-critical, but didnt think it would get called out at this meeting for everyone to know ...
>>> Deliver and demonstrate the initial version of our next generation calibration software by end of Q1'24 as measured by working closed-loop calibration in OS2.
i could not agree more. it takes about 20% of our time just to create, debate and track OKRs which i think could be better off spending doing lots of other things, even wasting time doing not-profitable work ..
When first faced with these, I pointed out to my boss that some things are more efficiently tracked qualitatively rather than quantitatively. And seeing that many in our group were chemists, I noted that the chemistry community knows this, and that's why we have both qualitative and quantitative chemistry.
I might as well have been speaking to a wall.
As far as my boss was concerned. But I think I made a good impression on the scientists.
The local acronym is KPI. Which can be viewed as an attempt to quantify things that can't reasonably be quantified, much less compared, for people that don't actually know what is going on, or required, or know how to actually do things.
But they have read enough jargon by consultants marketing jargon-based baloney to believe it means something.
BERKELEY – With heavy rains expected to continue in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tuesday's nonconference baseball game between California and UC Davis at Stu Gordon Stadium has been postponed.
No makeup date for the postponed game has been announced.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former California field hockey player Megan Rodgers will make her 17th appearance with Team USA this week when the United States participates in the Hobart FIH Tournament in Hobart, Australia.
The FIH Hockey Pro League is an annual global league involving field hockey's best men's and women's national teams. For the 2022-23 season on, matches will be played in "mini tournaments", where several teams will gather in one venue to play two matches against each other.
SACRAMENTO – After rain and lightning delays forced multiple stoppages on day one of the Causeway Invitational at Del Paso Country Club on Monday, the Cal women's golf team finds itself in third place behind a pair of top-two round one finishes.
With all 11 Bears on the roster in action for the first time, Cal's A and B lineups were led by senior Tzu-Yi Chang and freshman Adora Liu, respectively. Both Bears finished the opening round tied for second overall with a score of 1-under-71. It was the best score of the season for each of them.
BERKELEY – The No. 66 California women's tennis team starts a busy week by welcoming third-ranked Michigan to the Hellman Tennis Complex on Wednesday. The midweek match will be followed by the start of Pac-12 Conference play at No. 36 Utah on Friday at 1:30 p.m. MT and at No. 62 Colorado on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT.
Cal brings a 3-3 record into the dual match with the 7-1 Wolverines. Utah is 8-3, while Colorado – ahead of its Friday match vs. Stanford – is 7-3.
I watched Michigan play when Cal came to a tournament in my town last year. They are on a different level and I will be shocked if they don't crush us.
This is one way to hedge one’s bets and manage expectations.
“ The Golden Bears are one of the tougher teams to evaluate ahead of the 2023 season because the roster has a number of newcomers, including quarterback Sam Jackson V who arrived via TCU. California could end up being way better than our projection and we’ll get a better idea of where it stands following the spring game.”
I think there’s enough intrigue with a Spavital/Sammy Jax da Fifth pairing to think this team could really be markedly different from last year…but that schedule is sure a doozy.
There is a fair amount of spit-balling here, but that is to be expected. It doesn't jump off the page that they are likely off by more than +/- 2 for anyone. Cal looks like a good soled 11th, with a reasonable shot at 10th.
Elon's WLAX team bus got stuck in the mud at George Mason and they push it out. No word on whether they circle the campus a few times, drive perpendicular to traffic, and break down on the side of the road like Bus #2.
[On3Sports] Stanfurd reportedly to hire Viane Talamaivao as their O-line coach. Talamaivao has been a O-line Grad Assistant/QCA for three years at Oregon and was recently hired as NAU's O-line coach, but has never been a coach before.
Too small, tho if I’m GM, probably still taking him over Anthony Richardson at Florida…53% completion rate will not cut it. He’d make a helluva RB tho.
I just saw that at the SAG awards on Sun night, Everything Everywhere All At Once won Best Cast, Leading Actress, Supporting Lead Actress, Supporting Lead Actor. And Abbott Elementary won best Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Started a French series called Women at War on Netflix last night, about the lives of four women in France at the beginning of WWI. Been described as a combination of Downton Abbey and All Quiet on the Western Front. So far so good for me.
I thought it was the worst so far of the season, merely good rather than great. It followed the "Left Behind" DLC content. When you play TLOU, you play the game and then you play the DLC. The show doesn't flow that way, so you lack some critical knowledge that would have made the episode more emotional. If you knew how the episode ended, the fluffy 2nd act would be more meaningful. I also felt that the script was a little too subtle in connecting the dots as to why Ellie and Joel are the way they are. There is a massive payoff at the end of TLOU2, but it all seems like a meaningless story development at this point. I am also disappointed that they don't include side discoveries - the little discoveries of inanimate objects that start off as helpful tools, but then you come to the chilling realization that you are holding the last of someone else's hope and love before they failed and died, leaving you to be one of The Last of Us.
It is just wild that the GOP claims to be all about personal freedoms, freedom of speech. But if you want to talk about subjects they don’t like (racism), or do things on your private life they don’t like (anything outside of hetero norms), they have no issue wielding the power of the state to ban your lifestyle, chill your speech, and intrude into your personal life. And I honestly don’t know if they even notice the contradiction. Or perhaps they do but simply don’t care?
Sinclair bought the local ABC affiliate a couple years ago. I have been pleasantly surprised that I can't really detect their influence on the local news.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) — among the Republicans critical of the military aid provided to Ukraine who were questioning defense leaders in a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday — highlighted a report that the Azov Regiment, a Ukrainian far-right paramilitary group, is receiving U.S. aid.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl responded that there was no evidence that weapons or funds had gone to the group. Gaetz then named his source as he entered it into the record: the Global Times.
“Is this the Global Times from China?” Kahl asked. The newspaper is a Chinese state-media outlet.
“It might be,” Gaetz said, after pausing to look at the paper.
“As a general matter, I don’t take Beijing’s propaganda at face value,” Kahl said.
If Trump were prez, and wanted to build a hotel in Kyiv or Odesa instead of Moscow, he'd be 1) all-in on aid for the Ukraine side of the war and 2) the looney caucus would be climbing over each other to support such aid.
i paid some kids $20 to shovel snow for my neighbors since i was already done clearing my own driveway.
personally, i love shoveling snow, so would not want to pay someone else to have my fun for me. but figured that i would otherwise want kids to have a good experience trying to make a little well-earned cash.
Last night some asshole was looking for packages to steal at every house, with a bright flashlight; I was dressed in shorts & T-shirt (working out), so I didn't chase him with my Katana, but I would have if I was dressed.
OKRs - do your company have them?
objectives and key results .. as a way to set company goals, for those not familiar
we are in some company-wide meeting and we are going thru high level company goals for the year. i knew i was working on something semi-critical, but didnt think it would get called out at this meeting for everyone to know ...
>>> Deliver and demonstrate the initial version of our next generation calibration software by end of Q1'24 as measured by working closed-loop calibration in OS2.
Yes and they are the fucking dumbest thing I have to deal with.
i could not agree more. it takes about 20% of our time just to create, debate and track OKRs which i think could be better off spending doing lots of other things, even wasting time doing not-profitable work ..
We call them Key Performance Indicators, KPIs. KPIs are reported on each and every month.
When first faced with these, I pointed out to my boss that some things are more efficiently tracked qualitatively rather than quantitatively. And seeing that many in our group were chemists, I noted that the chemistry community knows this, and that's why we have both qualitative and quantitative chemistry.
I might as well have been speaking to a wall.
As far as my boss was concerned. But I think I made a good impression on the scientists.
The local acronym is KPI. Which can be viewed as an attempt to quantify things that can't reasonably be quantified, much less compared, for people that don't actually know what is going on, or required, or know how to actually do things.
But they have read enough jargon by consultants marketing jargon-based baloney to believe it means something.
Cal
[BASE] Bears, Aggies Postponed Due To Expected Weather
https://calbears.com/news/2023/2/27/baseball-bears-aggies-postponed-due-to-expected-weather.aspx
BERKELEY – With heavy rains expected to continue in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tuesday's nonconference baseball game between California and UC Davis at Stu Gordon Stadium has been postponed.
No makeup date for the postponed game has been announced.
[FH] Megan Rodgers To Play In Hobart FIH Tournament
https://calbears.com/news/2023/2/27/field-hockey-megan-rodgers-to-play-in-hobart-fih-tournament.aspx
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former California field hockey player Megan Rodgers will make her 17th appearance with Team USA this week when the United States participates in the Hobart FIH Tournament in Hobart, Australia.
The FIH Hockey Pro League is an annual global league involving field hockey's best men's and women's national teams. For the 2022-23 season on, matches will be played in "mini tournaments", where several teams will gather in one venue to play two matches against each other.
[WGOLF] Bears In Third After Rain, Lightning Delays
https://calbears.com/news/2023/2/27/bears-in-third-after-rain-lightning-delays.aspx
SACRAMENTO – After rain and lightning delays forced multiple stoppages on day one of the Causeway Invitational at Del Paso Country Club on Monday, the Cal women's golf team finds itself in third place behind a pair of top-two round one finishes.
With all 11 Bears on the roster in action for the first time, Cal's A and B lineups were led by senior Tzu-Yi Chang and freshman Adora Liu, respectively. Both Bears finished the opening round tied for second overall with a score of 1-under-71. It was the best score of the season for each of them.
[WTEN] Cal Hosts Michigan, Opens Pac-12 Play
https://calbears.com/news/2023/2/27/womens-tennis-cal-hosts-michigan-opens-pac-12-play.aspx
BERKELEY – The No. 66 California women's tennis team starts a busy week by welcoming third-ranked Michigan to the Hellman Tennis Complex on Wednesday. The midweek match will be followed by the start of Pac-12 Conference play at No. 36 Utah on Friday at 1:30 p.m. MT and at No. 62 Colorado on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT.
Cal brings a 3-3 record into the dual match with the 7-1 Wolverines. Utah is 8-3, while Colorado – ahead of its Friday match vs. Stanford – is 7-3.
I watched Michigan play when Cal came to a tournament in my town last year. They are on a different level and I will be shocked if they don't crush us.
Go Bears!!!
A very early look at the P12, per 247...
https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/Pac-12-football-predictions-Way-too-early-order-of-finish-for-2023-season-205454630/#205454630_1
Because Cal.
This is one way to hedge one’s bets and manage expectations.
“ The Golden Bears are one of the tougher teams to evaluate ahead of the 2023 season because the roster has a number of newcomers, including quarterback Sam Jackson V who arrived via TCU. California could end up being way better than our projection and we’ll get a better idea of where it stands following the spring game.”
I think there’s enough intrigue with a Spavital/Sammy Jax da Fifth pairing to think this team could really be markedly different from last year…but that schedule is sure a doozy.
There is a fair amount of spit-balling here, but that is to be expected. It doesn't jump off the page that they are likely off by more than +/- 2 for anyone. Cal looks like a good soled 11th, with a reasonable shot at 10th.
I'm sure you mean 11th or 10th in the nation. Certainly atop the conference.
I'm sure I wish that you are correct.
[Report] Truvia may not be good for you
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3876664-zero-calorie-sweetener-popular-in-keto-diets-linked-to-strokes-heart-attacks/
hasn't this been said about virtually every zero calorie sweetener?
no... some are cancer, others are Alzheimer's.
Time to change all of your important LastPass passwords
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/02/lastpass-hackers-infected-employees-home-computer-and-stole-corporate-vault/
I switched from LastPass to 1Password a few years ago and have been slowly changing all the really old passwords just in case.
I use iCloud Keychain, which works great
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
NCAA says they have found U Tenn football guilty of recruiting violations
https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/2/28/media-center-tennessee-football-coaches-administrators-committed-ncaa-violations.aspx
Elon's WLAX team bus got stuck in the mud at George Mason and they push it out. No word on whether they circle the campus a few times, drive perpendicular to traffic, and break down on the side of the road like Bus #2.
https://abc11.com/elon-college-bus-stuck-womens-lacrosse-team-freed/12888585/?
At first I was confused why Musk had bought a women’s lacrosse team (and/or their bus).
I had the same reaction tbh
[On3Sports] Stanfurd reportedly to hire Viane Talamaivao as their O-line coach. Talamaivao has been a O-line Grad Assistant/QCA for three years at Oregon and was recently hired as NAU's O-line coach, but has never been a coach before.
https://twitter.com/mzenitz/status/1630250530042953728
Pac12 media negotiations are reportedly not going well from the Pac-12.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-networks-pull-out-amazon-is-playing-hardball-with-the-pac-12-cf781358
[On3Sports] Oregon reportedly to hire ASU's O-line coach as an assistant. Man, the rich get richer when they can hire a coach as an assistant.
https://twitter.com/mzenitz/status/1628921075495993345
We hired ex O-line coach as an assistant too! Is he gone? Probably
Amazon only interested in Pac-12 Friday games and ESPN only interested in P12-After-Dark.
https://theathletic.com/4242454/2023/02/27/mls-apple-deitsch-media-column/
Who is/was worse at their job….Larry Scott or Jim Knowlton?
Yes
Both.
A distinction without significance.
Pac-12 media day moved from LA to Vegas this year
https://twitter.com/AdamGrosbard/status/1630371595293446144
That's because George is a Vegas guy, former exec at MGM.
Bryce Young is allegedly shorter than advertised
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1630262989675741187
Too small, tho if I’m GM, probably still taking him over Anthony Richardson at Florida…53% completion rate will not cut it. He’d make a helluva RB tho.
I wouldn’t take either of those QBs in the first round.
I would take Young in the 2nd or 3rd.
Richardson is a 5th round project IMO.
DBD Lunch
Had dinner with tbb and DCT last night at an Afghan restaurant in DC. Was really good. Topped it off with Jeni's.
good food and good company, in fact, although my daughter was mystified that I didn't partake of the Jeni's.
Delightful.
Not sure, made a sandwich yesterday, may take leftover awesome meatball and spaghetti for lunch today - sadly no wine if it's lunch.
fried egg and avocado sandwich w/ a little mayo and siracha
mostly because i couldnt find where i left the carne adobada or any reasonable leftovers
Left over carne adobada. There is no single adobada recipe, but I used one with a ton of achiote paste and it was fricking amazing.
Pulled pork sandwich, manchego cheese.
Watermelons
I like them, it’s in my top 3 for fruit.
Cats
Memories
I have one.
DBD AV Club
Black Widow (correction from yesterday)
i realize now that i was just watching the movie and not a series!
overall i thought it was a good action film w/ an Avenger's twist even though it was mostly not Avenger's related at all.
I really liked the movie so when you mentioned the potential of a series I was both excited and confused.
Finished season 1 of Cobra Kai - so amazingly good - did not expect that; two episodes into season 2.
The Witcher: Blood Origin - finished -> SO BAD. I sorta liked the first of four episodes, but the next three were shit!
I just saw that at the SAG awards on Sun night, Everything Everywhere All At Once won Best Cast, Leading Actress, Supporting Lead Actress, Supporting Lead Actor. And Abbott Elementary won best Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Abbott Elementary deserves it.
Started a French series called Women at War on Netflix last night, about the lives of four women in France at the beginning of WWI. Been described as a combination of Downton Abbey and All Quiet on the Western Front. So far so good for me.
Started S5 of “Drive to Survive” on Netflix. Last year was the first F1 season I followed start to finish—fun to see the drama onscreen.
The latest episode of The Last of Us was another stand alone, and I found it rather disappointing…wonder if the group felt the same…
I thought it was the worst so far of the season, merely good rather than great. It followed the "Left Behind" DLC content. When you play TLOU, you play the game and then you play the DLC. The show doesn't flow that way, so you lack some critical knowledge that would have made the episode more emotional. If you knew how the episode ended, the fluffy 2nd act would be more meaningful. I also felt that the script was a little too subtle in connecting the dots as to why Ellie and Joel are the way they are. There is a massive payoff at the end of TLOU2, but it all seems like a meaningless story development at this point. I am also disappointed that they don't include side discoveries - the little discoveries of inanimate objects that start off as helpful tools, but then you come to the chilling realization that you are holding the last of someone else's hope and love before they failed and died, leaving you to be one of The Last of Us.
It was a bit of a boring, flashback filler episode but some decent revelations. Probably the weakest of the season.
Democracy
Deposition of Rupert Murdoch is a doozy. Like, damn, this is some evil shit.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1630317375533744130.html
Yet, no real consequences will come of this.
TN Gov. Bill Lee (R) - who is trying to make drag shows a felony - is confronted with a picture of him in drag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6zZKSvuqw
It is just wild that the GOP claims to be all about personal freedoms, freedom of speech. But if you want to talk about subjects they don’t like (racism), or do things on your private life they don’t like (anything outside of hetero norms), they have no issue wielding the power of the state to ban your lifestyle, chill your speech, and intrude into your personal life. And I honestly don’t know if they even notice the contradiction. Or perhaps they do but simply don’t care?
Media, especially Sinclair Media: "DOE report says Covid definitely came from a lab".
Actual DOE report: There is no evidence that Covid came from a lab.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34jk8/what-low-confidence-in-the-lab-leak-theory-actually-means
Sinclair bought the local ABC affiliate a couple years ago. I have been pleasantly surprised that I can't really detect their influence on the local news.
I feel like we will never know. But it would be really wild if it were some lab accident.
Other cartoonists: "Oh, it took you this long to figure out Scott Adams was a racist douche?"
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/28/1159605012/dilbert-cartoonist-scott-adams-rant-rebuke
From WaPo:
Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) — among the Republicans critical of the military aid provided to Ukraine who were questioning defense leaders in a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday — highlighted a report that the Azov Regiment, a Ukrainian far-right paramilitary group, is receiving U.S. aid.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl responded that there was no evidence that weapons or funds had gone to the group. Gaetz then named his source as he entered it into the record: the Global Times.
“Is this the Global Times from China?” Kahl asked. The newspaper is a Chinese state-media outlet.
“It might be,” Gaetz said, after pausing to look at the paper.
“As a general matter, I don’t take Beijing’s propaganda at face value,” Kahl said.
“Fair enough,” Gaetz said.
If Trump were prez, and wanted to build a hotel in Kyiv or Odesa instead of Moscow, he'd be 1) all-in on aid for the Ukraine side of the war and 2) the looney caucus would be climbing over each other to support such aid.
Just how big is the Always Trump component of the Republican Party?
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/28/trump-voters-republican-primary-00084652
Emerson Poll: Trump leads DeSantis by 30 points
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3876286-trump-easily-beats-desantis-in-gop-primary-poll/
Pro
HERE COMES DIGGINS!
https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2023/02/28/jessie-diggins-world-championships-gold-medal-cross-country-skiing/
And if you don't know what "here comes Diggins" means, it's from this delightful morsel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pgIfriF2lQ
So, not Skylar Diggins. (I knew that.)
NY Giants Blake Martinez tore his ACL in 2021 and then retired in 2022. He has made $5m since then trading Pokémon cards.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/26/blake-martinez-made-5m-in-seven-months-selling-pokemon-cards/
Oh geez. This is probably more common than we hear and is rough. I can't quite square up how to solve this problem.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35752687/irv-cross-former-nfl-star-analyst-died-2021-had-cte
Carson went
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35748616/commanders-cut-qb-carson-wentz-one-season
I think it's pretty clear now that Goff is better than Wentz. Prescott vs Goff is still debatable.
I still think Goff is better than Prescott but Prescott was the better draft day value.
Carson Wentz fall has been epic but I’m sure he can be a backup QB for about a decade if he wants to be one.
Yeah, #1 overall vs 4th round, Prescott was a steal.
I know there are Dodger fans here. Not good news.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35753629/dodgers-gavin-lux-miss-2023-season-torn-right-acl
nope, not good news at all.
Certainly of some relevance to Padres, and possibly Giants. Probably not relevant to the D-Backs and Rockies.
A birthday video for Collin Morikawa from the PGA Tour showed up in my Facebook feed today. So, I guess, happy birthday Collin.
2023 NFL Mock Draft: Colts, Buccaneers move up for QBs; Bears stockpile picks for future
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2023-nfl-mock-draft-colts-buccaneers-move-up-for-qbs-bears-stockpile-picks-for-future/
Neighborhood
i paid some kids $20 to shovel snow for my neighbors since i was already done clearing my own driveway.
personally, i love shoveling snow, so would not want to pay someone else to have my fun for me. but figured that i would otherwise want kids to have a good experience trying to make a little well-earned cash.
Last night some asshole was looking for packages to steal at every house, with a bright flashlight; I was dressed in shorts & T-shirt (working out), so I didn't chase him with my Katana, but I would have if I was dressed.
Why would you need a katana? Sounds like you already had the guns out.