after having been there for 3 wks last year, i miss a lot of things. the morning coffee and pastry, the markets, the random ruins on the side of the street.
the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina is the place in Rome that is preserved where Julius was stabbed. currently there is a colony of cats!
I love Rome. Like the rest of Italy it seems there are great restaurants everywhere. It's a particularly good walking city. It's among the contenders for next year's Euro vacation.
Don't worry. His body will give out soon. Or his mind will be so far gone that there will be no choice but to either (a) impeach him or (b) invoke the 25th Amendment. I think impeachment is far more likely and it won't be flimsy. He'll do something so absolutely atrocious that there will be no choice but to remove him from office. He may have already passed the tipping point.
There are folks with backgrounds in medical fields who make a good case that he has frontal-temporal dementia for about 10 years, and it's been worsening for some time now. A case could be made that the US is in a war with Iran right now because Trump is losing his guardrails and his actions have become increasingly impulsive. Saber rattling is one thing; actually attacking Iran is something else. It reminds me of the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. Generally speaking, the character substitution is as follows: Brer Rabbit is Trump, Brer Fox is Netanyahu, and the Tar Baby is Iran.
The only complication with this story is that the conflict threatens to pull the world economy into a global recession because Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz and will probably keep it closed.
This is where the House and the Senate come in. They have to realize that the worsening conditions are flat out unacceptable and threaten the worldwide economy. The best way to ameliorate the situation is to remove the bad actor, which is not Netanyahu (although he is a bad actor), but Trump.
Of course, there's absolutely no guarantee that there will be sufficient will among Washington leadership to act now, but they should. It will get worse before it gets better. Metaphorically speaking, I'd guess that the clown car will drive off the cliff before any action is taken.
Yeah, I was in a similar boat. After Guess 3, I knew the middle 3 letters. It was just a matter of putting letter at the ends. I felt so silly trying to guess the first letter after I realized what the last letter was.
BERKELEY - The California lacrosse team (4-6, 1-4 ACC) was defeated 20-3 by the nation's top-ranked team and defending national champion North Carolina (8-0, 6-0 ACC) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Thursday at California Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels set a school record with their 30th straight victory that is also the nation's longest current win streak and the sixth-longest in the sport's history.
The 15th-ranked California women's tennis team (5-2) continues nonconference action this weekend at No. 40 UC Santa Barbara and — in the two teams' second meeting in a week — No. 6 Pepperdine.
California men's gymnastics returns to Stanford's Burnham Pavilion this Saturday for the Golden Bears' penultimate meet of the regular season, sharing the gym with the host Cardinal on their senior day as well as Air Force, Team France and several members of Team Quebec. The first rotation will begin at 4 p.m. PT, with live streaming and live scores from the competition to be broadcast on Virtius.
California track & field's Ali Sahaida will compete on the national stage for the first time in her career Saturday at Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, going toe-to-toe with the best collegiate women's pole vaulters in the country for a chance at the NCAA Indoor Championship title.
BERKELEY – Jeff Tyrrell, who previously spent 10 seasons on the California men's water polo team's coaching staff, has returned to the program as associate head coach, Ned Spieker Men's Water Polo Head Coach Kirk Everist has announced.
Tyrrell was a volunteer assistant for the Golden Bears for two years before becoming a full-time assistant coach in 2016. He was promoted to associate head coach following the 2021 season before stepping down after the 2023 campaign to spend time with his young family.
After a thrilling 52-45 victory over Navy on homecoming weekend, California rugby will travel east for a duel with the Army Black Knights on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT.
Last Saturday, the Bears defeated a strong United States Naval Academy team, scoring eight tries by seven different players. Despite playing a man down for the final 24 minutes and two men down for the final 10 minutes, the Bears prevailed. Cal also honored nine former national championship teams during a halftime ceremony as part of its homecoming celebration and national championship reunions.
The Dodgers didn’t have to worry about being in an another offensive onslaught in their second matchup of the spring against the Cincinnati Reds, as they struck early and kept their foot on the gas pedal in a 9-5 victory on Thursday.
Could you imagine if Steph got the foul calls that SGA does? It seems like SGA has been getting fewer calls this year, but still more than Steph. I think it's because Steph doesn't flop and plays through it to try to make the basket.
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A couple of nights after being ejected for vehemently arguing a no-call, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown bemoaned what he perceived as an NBA trend of players being rewarded for "foul baiting."
I read article the other day (Athletic?) that noted that the only reason wilt’s streak ended is that he was ejected with two Ts early in a game. Called by rookie ref. So SGA passed an artificially low number.
Right, in November. That's an 8-month stretch with no Friday the 13th in it. Amazingly, that's not the longest stretch between Friday the 13ths! I have identified a 14-month stretch that will next occur between August 13, 2027, and October 13, 2028. (!)
DBD logistics
other logistics. starting tomorrow HAG is traveling and 12 time zones away. extra participation is REQUIRED for the next 10 days.
any DBD logistics complaints can be directed to heyalumnigo@wfc.com
All complaints are auto filed into the circular file!
i guess heyalumnigo@wfc.com is an alias for DONTOREPLYTOTHISEMAIL@wfc.com
Have a good trip!
Top billing.
Not sure why. DBD is near the top of WFC today
Rome
after having been there for 3 wks last year, i miss a lot of things. the morning coffee and pastry, the markets, the random ruins on the side of the street.
the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina is the place in Rome that is preserved where Julius was stabbed. currently there is a colony of cats!
I love Rome. Like the rest of Italy it seems there are great restaurants everywhere. It's a particularly good walking city. It's among the contenders for next year's Euro vacation.
_'s 3rd soccer team is ASD Trastevere Calcio
https://www.trasteverecalcio.it/
this is the shirt i have which i thought was cool w/ the foosball theme
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KBBbw8wppTq3NozM7
and for reference this is the neighborhood where younger child stayed during their semester in Rome
Hit Rome with the ex-wife in '17...she ruined the trip completely.
The former Mrs. Jimmy C's visit is arguably the worst thing to happen to the city in over 1600 years.
Political stuff goes here
now why is this not in the NYT?? saw it on Foxnews
Chicago Teachers Union calls for school shutdown on May Day to protest Trump
CTU Vice President Jackson Potter says teachers must 'stand up' against 'authoritarian billionaire in Washington'
I just realized that Trumpy is only fourteen months into what could be a 48 month term. Talk about depressing.
Don't worry. His body will give out soon. Or his mind will be so far gone that there will be no choice but to either (a) impeach him or (b) invoke the 25th Amendment. I think impeachment is far more likely and it won't be flimsy. He'll do something so absolutely atrocious that there will be no choice but to remove him from office. He may have already passed the tipping point.
There are folks with backgrounds in medical fields who make a good case that he has frontal-temporal dementia for about 10 years, and it's been worsening for some time now. A case could be made that the US is in a war with Iran right now because Trump is losing his guardrails and his actions have become increasingly impulsive. Saber rattling is one thing; actually attacking Iran is something else. It reminds me of the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. Generally speaking, the character substitution is as follows: Brer Rabbit is Trump, Brer Fox is Netanyahu, and the Tar Baby is Iran.
The only complication with this story is that the conflict threatens to pull the world economy into a global recession because Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz and will probably keep it closed.
This is where the House and the Senate come in. They have to realize that the worsening conditions are flat out unacceptable and threaten the worldwide economy. The best way to ameliorate the situation is to remove the bad actor, which is not Netanyahu (although he is a bad actor), but Trump.
Of course, there's absolutely no guarantee that there will be sufficient will among Washington leadership to act now, but they should. It will get worse before it gets better. Metaphorically speaking, I'd guess that the clown car will drive off the cliff before any action is taken.
Enjoy your Friday the 13th.
Sure seems like it has been more!
Word games
Wordle
Wordle 1,728 4/6*
⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨
⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨
🟨🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
3 today.
Hopefully I'll. Figure out what is wrong with my Friday crossword soon.
Wordle 1,728 6/6
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Really went down a rabbit hole today
Wordle 1,728 4/6
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Took me a while to figure it out.
It took me a little bit to figure out the first letter. I had the other 4 after 3.
Yeah, I was in a similar boat. After Guess 3, I knew the middle 3 letters. It was just a matter of putting letter at the ends. I felt so silly trying to guess the first letter after I realized what the last letter was.
Cal
[LAX] No. 1 North Carolina Wins In Berkeley
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/lacrosse-no-1-north-carolina-wins-in-berkeley.aspx
BERKELEY - The California lacrosse team (4-6, 1-4 ACC) was defeated 20-3 by the nation's top-ranked team and defending national champion North Carolina (8-0, 6-0 ACC) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Thursday at California Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels set a school record with their 30th straight victory that is also the nation's longest current win streak and the sixth-longest in the sport's history.
Walking across campus to a noon jazz concert at Georgetown the men’s lacrosse team is practicing. No idea if they are any good.
I was about to say that I thought Cal had a club team but wouldn't have thought GTown would come to play a club team. Then noticed it was dcblue.
[WTEN] No. 15 Cal Heads South To Face Gauchos, Waves
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/womens-tennis-no-15-cal-heads-south-to-face-gauchos-waves.aspx
The 15th-ranked California women's tennis team (5-2) continues nonconference action this weekend at No. 40 UC Santa Barbara and — in the two teams' second meeting in a week — No. 6 Pepperdine.
At No. 40 UC Santa Barbara (7-7)
Noon PT, Saturday, March 14
Arnhold Tennis Center, Santa Barbara, Calif.
[MGYM] Bears Head To The Farm For Stanford Quad Meet
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/mens-gymnastics-bears-head-to-the-farm-for-stanford-quad-meet.aspx
California men's gymnastics returns to Stanford's Burnham Pavilion this Saturday for the Golden Bears' penultimate meet of the regular season, sharing the gym with the host Cardinal on their senior day as well as Air Force, Team France and several members of Team Quebec. The first rotation will begin at 4 p.m. PT, with live streaming and live scores from the competition to be broadcast on Virtius.
[T&F] Sahaida Primed For NCAA Indoor Championships
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/track-field-sahaida-primed-for-ncaa-indoor-championships.aspx
California track & field's Ali Sahaida will compete on the national stage for the first time in her career Saturday at Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, going toe-to-toe with the best collegiate women's pole vaulters in the country for a chance at the NCAA Indoor Championship title.
[MPOLO] Tyrrell Returns To Cal As Associate Head Coach
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/mens-water-polo-tyrrell-returns-to-cal-as-associate-head-coach.aspx
BERKELEY – Jeff Tyrrell, who previously spent 10 seasons on the California men's water polo team's coaching staff, has returned to the program as associate head coach, Ned Spieker Men's Water Polo Head Coach Kirk Everist has announced.
Tyrrell was a volunteer assistant for the Golden Bears for two years before becoming a full-time assistant coach in 2016. He was promoted to associate head coach following the 2021 season before stepping down after the 2023 campaign to spend time with his young family.
[WPOLO] No. 4 Cal Hosts No. 5 Hawai'i On Sunday At Spieker
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/womens-water-polo-no-4-cal-hosts-no-5-hawai-i-sunday-at-spieker.aspx
BEAR BITES
California is in the midst of a three-game homestand, setting up for a visit from Hawai'i this weekend at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
• The No. 4 Golden Bears (10-3) face the No. 5. Rainbow Wahine (10-3) at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
• Hawai'i will be coming off of a Friday game at UC Davis before taking on the Bears.
[RUGBY] Cal Set For Road Battle With Army
https://calbears.com/news/2026/3/12/rugby-cal-set-for-road-battle-with-army.aspx
After a thrilling 52-45 victory over Navy on homecoming weekend, California rugby will travel east for a duel with the Army Black Knights on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT.
Last Saturday, the Bears defeated a strong United States Naval Academy team, scoring eight tries by seven different players. Despite playing a man down for the final 24 minutes and two men down for the final 10 minutes, the Bears prevailed. Cal also honored nine former national championship teams during a halftime ceremony as part of its homecoming celebration and national championship reunions.
Go Bears!!!
PRO
Ballers opening day is May 19th. Have they always started so late?
Un-affiliated minor league/semi-pro teams usually do.
Giants tie the ChiSox 3-3.
Dodgers crush a trio of home runs in win vs. Reds
Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Nevin all went deep on Thursday, Dodgers defeat Reds 9-5.
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/111108/dodgers-reds-game-recap
The Dodgers didn’t have to worry about being in an another offensive onslaught in their second matchup of the spring against the Cincinnati Reds, as they struck early and kept their foot on the gas pedal in a 9-5 victory on Thursday.
this guy is good!
Gilgeous-Alexander eclipses Wilt for NBA's longest 20-point streak
Could you imagine if Steph got the foul calls that SGA does? It seems like SGA has been getting fewer calls this year, but still more than Steph. I think it's because Steph doesn't flop and plays through it to try to make the basket.
Celts' Brown calls out 'foul baiting,' says NBA rewards flopping
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48192061/celts-brown-calls-foul-baiting-says-nba-rewards-flopping
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A couple of nights after being ejected for vehemently arguing a no-call, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown bemoaned what he perceived as an NBA trend of players being rewarded for "foul baiting."
I read article the other day (Athletic?) that noted that the only reason wilt’s streak ended is that he was ejected with two Ts early in a game. Called by rookie ref. So SGA passed an artificially low number.
Friday the 13th. Seems like we just did this...
Pi Day tomorrow.
We did. This is what happens when February in a typical year (like this year) has a Friday the 13th. This cannot happen in a leap year.
there is a 3rd one later this year too
Right, in November. That's an 8-month stretch with no Friday the 13th in it. Amazingly, that's not the longest stretch between Friday the 13ths! I have identified a 14-month stretch that will next occur between August 13, 2027, and October 13, 2028. (!)