Walked the Incan trail for 2 days. It was easily the most beautiful hike I have ever had. The Andes are so new that they are super steep with razor sharp peaks, narrow valleys, snow caps on the taller ones, and lush rainforest smothering the sides. Absolutely breathtaking. The best part of doing the Incan trail is that you are granted a different circuit at Machu Picchu, which means you get views and photo opportunities unblocked by the masses who come just for the day.
i have not done the Incan trail, but i was at Machu PIcchu when i was probably 5 or 6 and i still vividly remember it as one of the best travel experiences.
The deep Amazon jungle surprised me as to how aggressive it was. It has avoided the ice-ages, so it has had hundreds of millions of year of uninterrupted evolution leading to an enormous amount of biodiversity. However, it was an arms race of biodiversity. Everything is specialized to attack or defend against an attack - which means a lot of the things you can see are dangerous and the there are things that are really good at not being seen. Canoed through the jungle, which was flooded due to it being the wet season. Saw different types of primates, frogs, a tarantula the size of a salad plate, snakes, pink dolphins, macaws/parrots/toucans, tons of other birds, and a zillion mosquitos. Found an ayahuasca vine and a bunch of ants and wasps. As they say there, if an ant or wasp has a name - you want to really, really avoid it - like the bullet ant or the velvet wasp - both have stings akin to being shot.
I asked a Peruvian what the deal was with Pisco. He said the Spanish came and planted a ton of grapes in order to make wine. The wine turned out terribly, but they still liked to get fucked up - so they made brandy out of it. And everyone likes grape brandy, whereas not everyone likes chicha (ie, spit-fermented corn beer).
On one hand, Peru has an amazing diversity of fresh ingredients. This makes Lima the culinary capital of South America with a high density of Michelin starred restaurants in Lima with chefs who have leveraged Peru's ingredients. This includes the #1 restaurant in the world two years ago and this year's current #2 - Central.
On the other hand, traditional Peruvian cuisine is firmly rooted in peasant fare - starchy maize, plantains, potatoes, and - until Westerners made it too expensive - quinoa. Now Peruvians eat a lot of rice, beans, pasta, and chicken. Llama, alpaca, and guinea pig are premium priced, so are more of a luxury. As a result, Peruvian are very short and quite round. Despite the great ingredients - Peruvian food - like almost all South American cuisine - is pretty bland to the American palate. As a result, Asian-Peruvian food has carved out decent market share - Chaufa (Chinese style fried rice) on the low-end and ceviche (lime marinated raw fish) on the high-end.
wasn't trying to be coy, just had actual work to do (boooo)
We flew to Edinburgh from JFK, had a delightful time hanging out with my uncle as well as my cousins and their kids (who are a good bit younger than mine, at 8, 5, and 5). My wife and younger daughter hadn't met either of the 5 year olds, and I'd only met one of them. (the mystery 5 y.o. was my cousin A's daughter and she's an absolute delight). Did some touristy stuff (wandered around the Royal Mile and Grassmarket, national museum of Scotland, Edinburgh castle, the promenade at Portobello beach) and went on a tour of University of Edinburgh; we were also staying in an area with a lot of students and such. I'd completely forgotten about the traditional crowds of teenagers from France and Spain on their school's Easter holiday trips, but they weren't an annoyance at all. We took the train down to London, my daughter and wife got an informal tour of the anthropology department / program at UCL before the joint closed for an extended easter weekend, and then we kind of bummed around the area (St Pancras, Pentonville, Barnsbury Estate) to get a feel for it, as well as some obvious museums (British Museum, National Gallery) and less obvious (London Canal Museum, which was low key charming in a very dork way).
Net result: University of Edinburgh in strong contention still, UCL less so - I think it's one step too far in terms of lacking any real sense of a campus and the housing situation is a debacle waiting to happen; my daughter was really impressed with it academically, but was struck that she could see a path to finding friends / her people with the setup in Edinburgh arriving cold that wasn't nearly so obvious at UCL.
I was rolling my eyes a bit - we flew home on Friday in part to join my wife's family for a belated Seder on Saturday, during which 2 of her uncles and an aunt (by marriage) decided that I needed to hear about why it was a bad idea for my daughter to go to school overseas and how hard it would be for her to adapt to a new country which was fascinating considering that there was one person in the conversation who had moved across the Atlantic and it wasn't any of them. Mind you, said aunt and I had already been at odds over various of her COVID opinions strongly stated as fact, so...
she's leaned into "masks are nonsense, natural immunity is best" so I got a lecture about how I should be pleased my mother and brother (underlying health issues) finally got it recently, and didn't believe that I haven't had it yet. She's one of these boomer liberals who's reached the point of thinking that she's challenging contemporary orthodoxies from young people going mad. (I'm just glad we didn't get into her thoughts on trans issues, because the my daughters and their cousins would have politely scorched the earth)
While I am sure you jest, we did indeed look for evidence of the Spectacled Bear - the only South American bear. The female is tiny, often weighing less than a medium-sized American human.
Toscana (Netflix, WNB, 6/19). It's like "Under the Tuscan Sun" except it had a fat middle aged guy rather than Diane Lane, was in Danish, and it sucked.
Cunk on Earth (Netflix S1, E1-4). Diane Morgan reprises her role as Philomena Cunk, a gormless hostess who powers through a mockumentary series by walking purposely through setting shots, prattling-on while injecting some super-dry jokes with a stone-faced delivery, and heaving ridiculous questions at academic experts. It is undiluted British humour. It's good, but I could only take 4 episodes (13/19, WB an episode or so, but not the whole series).
you made it farther than I did. I could not last more than 20 minutes of the first show. It wears it's welcome out really quick. It's like if a Daily show sketch was one hour long and never pivoted back to a serious moment.
From what I've heard from others, and my experience with Ep 1, the B-level acting has left me really missing the holy trinity of graphic violence, nudity and strong sexual content that is needed in programs of this ilk.
I enjoyed it - it really only got to the point of "not even I'm willing to suspend disbelief that much" in the last 15 minutes or so of the final episode, but that wasn't a deal breaker.
Like a lot of suspense / action films, the new "magazine that's never empty" is the "smartphone battery that never dies."
2046 (2004) - Wong Kar Wai's spiritual sequel to In the Mood for Love and Days of Being Wild, it's a really strange film narratively, leaping between 2046 and the 1960s Hong Kong and Singapore following ITMFL's Mr. Chow now beaten down after his non-affair, he turns into a playboy always dating prostitutes and club girls. (12/19)
This has been on my radar, but Ali Wong is honestly the reason I've been hesitant. Haven't been a huge fan of the direction her stand-up has been going, but this is a different style of humor so I'll probably give it a shot.
I watched the first episode of this. I realized while watching this that I don’t want to spend my time watching stressed out people act shitty/nasty to each other. 0/19 for me.
I'm on the fence. I watched the first one, and also don't feel like watching people act badly to each other. But I am obsessed with Succession right now, so maybe I need to give Beef another episode or so.
Jerusalem Artichokes are the rhizome of a type of sunflower. IMHO, they taste kinda like a cross between artichokes and potatoes. I roast them with garlic-infused oil & salt.
There are fields of them all over Yolo County. Lots of sunflowers here are grown for seeds for folks in other areas to grow sunflowers for eating/oil/etc.
Continual fiddling with the format and the schedule, too strict control over rules, and putting corporate connections ahead of talent have turned off the fans who know better, and pricing both fans and new entry teams out of the game has left them without any reason to pick a hero out of a batch of mostly bland personalities that are the replacements for drivers (and crew chiefs) that actually had personality. Plus they have not valued their more interesting races, and tried to force bland events to the forefront.
IMO. it is a lot like baseball or soccer. If you didn't grow up playing or being involved, it is nearly impossible to get into an event that is mostly commercials.
Warriors set a record 55 points in the first quarter versus the tanking Trailblazers. The Warriors led by 28 by the end of Q1 and ended up winning by 56. The game also featured this Kuminga jam
It definitely helps to be playing against teams that are not trying to win.
I didn't think it would happen, but the Warriors actually got a pretty favorable draw again. Still going to be hard to win a bunch of series as the road team, but there is a path.
Warriors are the most dangerous team in the NBA Playoffs this year. The hardest part is getting to the playoffs with a healthy roster.
If that condition is fulfilled, then there is no limit to what they can do because they have an excellent starting five, outstanding coaching, and excellent role players. The window won't stay open forever, but it is open now.
Liverpool's Andy Robertson grabs the assistant ref's arm in a dispute and gets a elbow to the chops for his trouble. Robertson got a yellow card and he assistant ref has been suspended until an investigation is completed.
A's outscored 22-0 in less than 24 hours versus the powerful Rays. On to Baltimore with the worst record in the bigs and an unsightly ERA of 7.64. Furthermore, to add salt to the wound, Seth Brown will miss at least 10 games with an oblique injury. Call in the Cavalry!
Gabe Kapler continues to show he’s sharp as a marble when it comes to managing his bullpen as the Giants cough one up Saturday to the Royals in a brutal loss. His idea to let Stripling piggy back onto Manaea’s start seemed sound on paper, until the former pitched a gem for 6 innings. Kapler then lets Ross Stripling pitch the 7, where he immediately gives up an HR to make it 5-2. No biggie, it happens. It’s the 8th tho where Kapler showed he still has no feel for game flow and bullpen management, as Stripling gives up 3 straight hits in a high leverage situation, including a game tying 3-run homer to Salvador Perez, who’s hit 71 HRs the past 2 years.
San Francisco then loads the bases on 3 straight singles with no out in the 8th, before failing to score as Estrada, Crawford and Sabol all strike out swinging. This is Farhan year 5. Yuck.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I have complete confidence in Kapler to find new and inexplicable ways to mis-manage the Giants right out of the race.
AP, part of me would love to know how much say some of these GMs/analytics departments actually have from an “in-game” strategy/decision-making perspective. I’ve heard whispers amongst media that it isn’t always ALL on the Manager. It’s definitely more of a factor in some organizations than others…I know analytics teams often have major input in the NFL on in-game calls. Wonder how much is actually going on in baseball…only way to explain Farhan not losing his mind over Saturday is if he was either ok with it, or he still hasn’t figured out the rules of baseball.
Major career resurgences all at the same time by 4 dudes in their mid-30’s sure helps….as does a journeyman Donny Barrels getting literally a big hit in every situation and a scrap heap player like LaMonte Wade having the season of his life.
Indeed. And I think 2021 will prove to be fluky on at least 2 levels: (1) the number of wins gained based on the roster's talent level and (2) Kapler's ability to maximize the effect of his decisions in wins and losses with regard to the talent available.
There may be another level of fluke here - Zaidi's ability to identify and assemble talent for the Giants. That may be a bit harsh, but what if 2021 was Zaidi's apogee, his apex, as it were, and .500 is the best to expect out of Zaidi's rosters going forward. That's my pessimism talking.
The towel was never even taken off the rack....this roster is garbage. It is the lineup of a 4th place team in the NL West...you know I am skeptical of a guy that knows nothing about baseball running the 5th most valuable franchise in the game though.
There is zero evidence Farhan can build a contending team. Whether that is ownership or just him, who came off as totally arrogant to 1 big time potential free agents named Aaron Judge, is up for debate.
Of course he signed Darin Ruf...of course he will sign Brandon Belt when Toronto DFA's him.
Totally fair, though getting shut out 2 of the first 3 games, failing to muster anything v SP1 Cease and then struggling with the Royals was a pretty predictable start of the season considering their lack of moves in the offseason. Day to day, this is one of the worst lineups in the NL...tough to argue with that.
Leak of about 100 sensitive US top secret documents has embarrassed the US. They leak has been traced to "Thug Shaker Central" on Discord - a channel of about 20 users who like video games, Orthodox Christianity, and the "Oxide" Youtube channel (weapons in English language). The DoD is investigating. And since the user list is so small, I suspect someone is about to get an extended period in some place like Quantico.
Whatever. Unless he is somehow barred from running, there is no doubt that T will be the GOP nominee for president in 2024. He is the only one who inspires 'the base' to get out and vote. I use 'the base' in quotes, because it is not the true base, but the people who don't vote unless they are fired up that uppity people of color might be restricted by the candidate.
Word on 247Sports is Madsen is going to nab Jalen Cone, a quick, good shooting PG grad transfer from NAU that averaged 18 a game in the Big Sky...along with Fardaws Aimaq, 2 impact players...more recruiting news in a week than the past 6 years...
After a long drought, yesterday was a good day for "Go Bears." On my run I saw a young woman running in a Cal sweatsuit. Gave her a "Go Bears" and got a smile in return, though she had earbuds in and I'm not sure if she really heard me. Later in the run saw a woman walking in a Cal sweatshirt and gave her a Go Bears. I got no immediate reaction but a few steps after I passed her I heard her say to her walking partner "He just said Go Bears" in an excited voice. I had already run eleven miles so maybe my voice was weak and it took a sec to register. Later in the day I went for a walk to stretch my legs and was wearing a script Cal cap. Someone saw it and gave me a "Go Bears" which I responded to appropriately. Three in one day is good.
I sat next to a woman on the train toward the trailhead of the Inca Trail who had a Cal knapsack. I caught her eyes and then said "Go Bears!" to which she gave a pursed lipped smile - and that's it. It later became clear to me that she didn't speak English.
Since I don't have season tix this year I checked the Auburn game and see that the prices on StubHub start at $101 for one seat in row 1 in the endzone, up to $500 or so per seat in other places.
Right now there are only 540 tix available at Stub Hub. As we get closer to the season Cal Athletics might release more seats which could drive down prices. Curious to see how many Alabama War Eagle folks show up. I remember that the Ohio State game was a sea of red, shamefully. At any rate I'm going to the game whatever the price.
NASHVILLE — Local officials voted Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republican state lawmakers for leading a gun-control protest on the House floor after a fatal school shooting.
The vote by the Nashville Metro Council to give Rep. Justin Jones, 27, his job back comes just a few days after Tennessee Republicans expelled Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis for leading a gun-control protest from the House floor with a bullhorn. The Shelby County Commission is expected on vote on whether to reappoint Pearson on Wednesday.
Went to Italy at Gilman for Mrs Slug's b'day dinner. It was a milestone birthday, to be followed in 10 short days by a non-milestone anniversary. The older son and his fiancee treated. Also invited was the younger son and his girlfriend.
Mrs Slug had Risotto. She enjoyed it very much.
I had Lasagna di Manzo. It was okay. Didn't think the sauce was anything particularly special or outstanding. The filling was very yummy, though.
Well, sorry to be gone; wife made a fantastic dinner, pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon, lovely roasted asparagus, lightly done, side of new potatoes cut in half, boiled and tossed with butter and herbs. I can say I opened some great wine: 2010 Riserva Brunelo di Montalcino by Poggio dell'Otto (but I just picked, didn't make it).
Daughter made some great cookies. Nothing to do with Easter, but quite good.
Dalai Lama in a tempest in a teapot via asking a child to suck his tongue. He should have said "it's just a joke, bro"
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65229327
Peru
My trip was amazing. The country blew me away with the diversity of experiences. Top 5 place to visit in the world for sure.
Walked the Incan trail for 2 days. It was easily the most beautiful hike I have ever had. The Andes are so new that they are super steep with razor sharp peaks, narrow valleys, snow caps on the taller ones, and lush rainforest smothering the sides. Absolutely breathtaking. The best part of doing the Incan trail is that you are granted a different circuit at Machu Picchu, which means you get views and photo opportunities unblocked by the masses who come just for the day.
i have not done the Incan trail, but i was at Machu PIcchu when i was probably 5 or 6 and i still vividly remember it as one of the best travel experiences.
some OLD photo of my sister and i .. that hand knit leather sweater was one of my favorites until i lost it somehow.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hqUJxuUkCyD6z24F9
The deep Amazon jungle surprised me as to how aggressive it was. It has avoided the ice-ages, so it has had hundreds of millions of year of uninterrupted evolution leading to an enormous amount of biodiversity. However, it was an arms race of biodiversity. Everything is specialized to attack or defend against an attack - which means a lot of the things you can see are dangerous and the there are things that are really good at not being seen. Canoed through the jungle, which was flooded due to it being the wet season. Saw different types of primates, frogs, a tarantula the size of a salad plate, snakes, pink dolphins, macaws/parrots/toucans, tons of other birds, and a zillion mosquitos. Found an ayahuasca vine and a bunch of ants and wasps. As they say there, if an ant or wasp has a name - you want to really, really avoid it - like the bullet ant or the velvet wasp - both have stings akin to being shot.
very cool
I asked a Peruvian what the deal was with Pisco. He said the Spanish came and planted a ton of grapes in order to make wine. The wine turned out terribly, but they still liked to get fucked up - so they made brandy out of it. And everyone likes grape brandy, whereas not everyone likes chicha (ie, spit-fermented corn beer).
On one hand, Peru has an amazing diversity of fresh ingredients. This makes Lima the culinary capital of South America with a high density of Michelin starred restaurants in Lima with chefs who have leveraged Peru's ingredients. This includes the #1 restaurant in the world two years ago and this year's current #2 - Central.
On the other hand, traditional Peruvian cuisine is firmly rooted in peasant fare - starchy maize, plantains, potatoes, and - until Westerners made it too expensive - quinoa. Now Peruvians eat a lot of rice, beans, pasta, and chicken. Llama, alpaca, and guinea pig are premium priced, so are more of a luxury. As a result, Peruvian are very short and quite round. Despite the great ingredients - Peruvian food - like almost all South American cuisine - is pretty bland to the American palate. As a result, Asian-Peruvian food has carved out decent market share - Chaufa (Chinese style fried rice) on the low-end and ceviche (lime marinated raw fish) on the high-end.
I love chaufa and I'm not ashamed about it
I went to Rainbow Mountain. Before going, I had no idea that it is only 1,200 feet lower in altitude than Everest basecamp.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/rainbow-mountain-peru
sounds rather more exotic than our trip to the UK, but I managed to enjoy it anyway ;)
wasn't trying to be coy, just had actual work to do (boooo)
We flew to Edinburgh from JFK, had a delightful time hanging out with my uncle as well as my cousins and their kids (who are a good bit younger than mine, at 8, 5, and 5). My wife and younger daughter hadn't met either of the 5 year olds, and I'd only met one of them. (the mystery 5 y.o. was my cousin A's daughter and she's an absolute delight). Did some touristy stuff (wandered around the Royal Mile and Grassmarket, national museum of Scotland, Edinburgh castle, the promenade at Portobello beach) and went on a tour of University of Edinburgh; we were also staying in an area with a lot of students and such. I'd completely forgotten about the traditional crowds of teenagers from France and Spain on their school's Easter holiday trips, but they weren't an annoyance at all. We took the train down to London, my daughter and wife got an informal tour of the anthropology department / program at UCL before the joint closed for an extended easter weekend, and then we kind of bummed around the area (St Pancras, Pentonville, Barnsbury Estate) to get a feel for it, as well as some obvious museums (British Museum, National Gallery) and less obvious (London Canal Museum, which was low key charming in a very dork way).
Net result: University of Edinburgh in strong contention still, UCL less so - I think it's one step too far in terms of lacking any real sense of a campus and the housing situation is a debacle waiting to happen; my daughter was really impressed with it academically, but was struck that she could see a path to finding friends / her people with the setup in Edinburgh arriving cold that wasn't nearly so obvious at UCL.
I was rolling my eyes a bit - we flew home on Friday in part to join my wife's family for a belated Seder on Saturday, during which 2 of her uncles and an aunt (by marriage) decided that I needed to hear about why it was a bad idea for my daughter to go to school overseas and how hard it would be for her to adapt to a new country which was fascinating considering that there was one person in the conversation who had moved across the Atlantic and it wasn't any of them. Mind you, said aunt and I had already been at odds over various of her COVID opinions strongly stated as fact, so...
Your restraint is admirable
she's leaned into "masks are nonsense, natural immunity is best" so I got a lecture about how I should be pleased my mother and brother (underlying health issues) finally got it recently, and didn't believe that I haven't had it yet. She's one of these boomer liberals who's reached the point of thinking that she's challenging contemporary orthodoxies from young people going mad. (I'm just glad we didn't get into her thoughts on trans issues, because the my daughters and their cousins would have politely scorched the earth)
Did you see Paddington there?
While I am sure you jest, we did indeed look for evidence of the Spectacled Bear - the only South American bear. The female is tiny, often weighing less than a medium-sized American human.
I would never jest about Paddington
What is a medium-sized American human?
About 1.5 laden medium-sized European humans
Jimmy Chitwood, 1995 - 2015.
May he rest in expansion.
DBD AV CLUB
Toscana (Netflix, WNB, 6/19). It's like "Under the Tuscan Sun" except it had a fat middle aged guy rather than Diane Lane, was in Danish, and it sucked.
Cunk on Earth (Netflix S1, E1-4). Diane Morgan reprises her role as Philomena Cunk, a gormless hostess who powers through a mockumentary series by walking purposely through setting shots, prattling-on while injecting some super-dry jokes with a stone-faced delivery, and heaving ridiculous questions at academic experts. It is undiluted British humour. It's good, but I could only take 4 episodes (13/19, WB an episode or so, but not the whole series).
you made it farther than I did. I could not last more than 20 minutes of the first show. It wears it's welcome out really quick. It's like if a Daily show sketch was one hour long and never pivoted back to a serious moment.
The Night Agent (Netflix 17/19)
Watched the first 4 episodes. Really enjoy it so far. Kind of like The Recruit.
Some sick burns on Stanfurd in E5
https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/netflix-show-night-agent-cal-stanford-burn-17875985.php
Just saw that episode. Was great.
From what I've heard from others, and my experience with Ep 1, the B-level acting has left me really missing the holy trinity of graphic violence, nudity and strong sexual content that is needed in programs of this ilk.
Do they happen to appear in later episodes?
not so far. I'm in the middle of episode 6.
Enjoying this as well! Acting/writing is a step down from Slow Horses, but still very enjoyable. I’d say like a 15/19
I enjoyed it - it really only got to the point of "not even I'm willing to suspend disbelief that much" in the last 15 minutes or so of the final episode, but that wasn't a deal breaker.
Like a lot of suspense / action films, the new "magazine that's never empty" is the "smartphone battery that never dies."
Or like in 24, who needs to go to the bathroom.
sometimes when I watch these shows I'm like "at this point I'd be like fine I surrender just let me get a fresh pair of boxers."
2046 (2004) - Wong Kar Wai's spiritual sequel to In the Mood for Love and Days of Being Wild, it's a really strange film narratively, leaping between 2046 and the 1960s Hong Kong and Singapore following ITMFL's Mr. Chow now beaten down after his non-affair, he turns into a playboy always dating prostitutes and club girls. (12/19)
Gene Hackman - The Conversation - San Francisco - 1974.
Blew me away, 18/19 - amazing strange movie.
That 70s run from Francis Ford Coppola is pretty legendary.
it's really really good - my wife sold me on watching it some time ago, I was dubious about the premise but it was fascinating
Beef (Netflix ... 12/19)
funny/strange show about two very stressed out Asian lead characters who start off the show in a road rage car chase.
watched first 2 episodes. Ail Wong is funny and it is an interesting premise for show.
one of my wife's friend's friends wrote/produced the show. so my wife is mildly interested in a show that she normally would never watch.
This has been on my radar, but Ali Wong is honestly the reason I've been hesitant. Haven't been a huge fan of the direction her stand-up has been going, but this is a different style of humor so I'll probably give it a shot.
I've got this in my queue and will watch it at some point. I saw Ali Wong on one of the late night shows so I'll give this a chance and check it out.
I watched the first episode of this. I realized while watching this that I don’t want to spend my time watching stressed out people act shitty/nasty to each other. 0/19 for me.
I'm on the fence. I watched the first one, and also don't feel like watching people act badly to each other. But I am obsessed with Succession right now, so maybe I need to give Beef another episode or so.
Sun
Sunflowers
Jerusalem Artichokes are the rhizome of a type of sunflower. IMHO, they taste kinda like a cross between artichokes and potatoes. I roast them with garlic-infused oil & salt.
https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-sunchokes
Any relation to the Jerusalem Tulip that Gaylord AKA Greg Focker brings Jack Burns?
one of the most enduring and best sights of the Tour de France is where the race goes past a fully blooming field of them
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/27/1406464548539/riding-through-the-sunflo-013.jpg?width=1010&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=32afa968e34fe7ff8dc796d5c922d355
There is a huge field of them just before UC Davis along 80 at exit 69.
There are fields of them all over Yolo County. Lots of sunflowers here are grown for seeds for folks in other areas to grow sunflowers for eating/oil/etc.
They were a basket ingredient in a recent episode of Chopped!
PRO
NASCAR TV ratings continue to decline. Perhaps it's because they're pretty right, despite only going left.
https://www.sportscasting.com/nascar-broadcaster-sounds-alarm-bells-decline-2023-television-ratings/
Continual fiddling with the format and the schedule, too strict control over rules, and putting corporate connections ahead of talent have turned off the fans who know better, and pricing both fans and new entry teams out of the game has left them without any reason to pick a hero out of a batch of mostly bland personalities that are the replacements for drivers (and crew chiefs) that actually had personality. Plus they have not valued their more interesting races, and tried to force bland events to the forefront.
IMO. it is a lot like baseball or soccer. If you didn't grow up playing or being involved, it is nearly impossible to get into an event that is mostly commercials.
Ha!
Warriors set a record 55 points in the first quarter versus the tanking Trailblazers. The Warriors led by 28 by the end of Q1 and ended up winning by 56. The game also featured this Kuminga jam
https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1645173076550664194
https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gameId/401469385
all the teams that needed to win, all won their games so the playoff seedings did not go completely bonkers on the last day.
Clippers @ Suns and Warriors @ Kings should both be good series for a chance to play the 1/2 seeds.
i was telling HAG this weekend that i have pretty low expectations for Ws this year in the playoffs despite how good they can be in short stretches
It definitely helps to be playing against teams that are not trying to win.
I didn't think it would happen, but the Warriors actually got a pretty favorable draw again. Still going to be hard to win a bunch of series as the road team, but there is a path.
Warriors are the most dangerous team in the NBA Playoffs this year. The hardest part is getting to the playoffs with a healthy roster.
If that condition is fulfilled, then there is no limit to what they can do because they have an excellent starting five, outstanding coaching, and excellent role players. The window won't stay open forever, but it is open now.
I don't think anyone in the West wants to play the Warriors, or even the Lakers. If they can get Wiggins to 90% then I think they take out the Kings.
The W's will take out the Kings, because the ref's will call the fouls on Steph that don't get called when playing teams from bigger markets.
Liverpool's Andy Robertson grabs the assistant ref's arm in a dispute and gets a elbow to the chops for his trouble. Robertson got a yellow card and he assistant ref has been suspended until an investigation is completed.
https://twitter.com/TonyL_01/status/1645136285231722498
OBJ signs with Ravens for $15m guaranteed. I wonder how many games he'll play before he the Ravens suspend him for doing something stupid.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36138360/odell-beckham-jr-agrees-deal-baltimore-ravens
Boston Bruins set record for single season wins. Now have sights on most points.
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/36140118/boston-bruins-secure-nhl-record-single-season-victories
Rudy Gobert got ejected [checks notes] during a timeout by his own team for punching a teammate
https://twitter.com/BackcourtAlerts/status/1645162650186432513
[golf clap]
https://twitter.com/wmwhitecaps/status/1645077032781459457
play in format (??)
why dont they just do a 2 for 1 deal w/ seeds 7-10 and 8-9?
instead of the current format?
maybe they dont expect the lower seed to beat the higher seed 2 games in a row.
or they just want the drama of one game and you are out ..
A's outscored 22-0 in less than 24 hours versus the powerful Rays. On to Baltimore with the worst record in the bigs and an unsightly ERA of 7.64. Furthermore, to add salt to the wound, Seth Brown will miss at least 10 games with an oblique injury. Call in the Cavalry!
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2023/4/10/23676274/elephant-rumblings-reinforcements-desperately-needed
Gabe Kapler continues to show he’s sharp as a marble when it comes to managing his bullpen as the Giants cough one up Saturday to the Royals in a brutal loss. His idea to let Stripling piggy back onto Manaea’s start seemed sound on paper, until the former pitched a gem for 6 innings. Kapler then lets Ross Stripling pitch the 7, where he immediately gives up an HR to make it 5-2. No biggie, it happens. It’s the 8th tho where Kapler showed he still has no feel for game flow and bullpen management, as Stripling gives up 3 straight hits in a high leverage situation, including a game tying 3-run homer to Salvador Perez, who’s hit 71 HRs the past 2 years.
San Francisco then loads the bases on 3 straight singles with no out in the 8th, before failing to score as Estrada, Crawford and Sabol all strike out swinging. This is Farhan year 5. Yuck.
I have tried. I have really tried to like that dude, but it's just never gonna happen. The Stripling bullshit was my last straw.
It's unusual that I dislike someone who's that handsome, but he's messing with my team.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I have complete confidence in Kapler to find new and inexplicable ways to mis-manage the Giants right out of the race.
AP, part of me would love to know how much say some of these GMs/analytics departments actually have from an “in-game” strategy/decision-making perspective. I’ve heard whispers amongst media that it isn’t always ALL on the Manager. It’s definitely more of a factor in some organizations than others…I know analytics teams often have major input in the NFL on in-game calls. Wonder how much is actually going on in baseball…only way to explain Farhan not losing his mind over Saturday is if he was either ok with it, or he still hasn’t figured out the rules of baseball.
Either way, you have described a formula for failure.
2021 looks more and more like a fluke.
Fire Kapler.
Major career resurgences all at the same time by 4 dudes in their mid-30’s sure helps….as does a journeyman Donny Barrels getting literally a big hit in every situation and a scrap heap player like LaMonte Wade having the season of his life.
Indeed. And I think 2021 will prove to be fluky on at least 2 levels: (1) the number of wins gained based on the roster's talent level and (2) Kapler's ability to maximize the effect of his decisions in wins and losses with regard to the talent available.
There may be another level of fluke here - Zaidi's ability to identify and assemble talent for the Giants. That may be a bit harsh, but what if 2021 was Zaidi's apogee, his apex, as it were, and .500 is the best to expect out of Zaidi's rosters going forward. That's my pessimism talking.
Throwing in the towel after 9 games? Tough crowd.
The towel was never even taken off the rack....this roster is garbage. It is the lineup of a 4th place team in the NL West...you know I am skeptical of a guy that knows nothing about baseball running the 5th most valuable franchise in the game though.
There is zero evidence Farhan can build a contending team. Whether that is ownership or just him, who came off as totally arrogant to 1 big time potential free agents named Aaron Judge, is up for debate.
Of course he signed Darin Ruf...of course he will sign Brandon Belt when Toronto DFA's him.
Welcome to Giant's fandom.
The thing is, they haven't been particularly bad? Yes, the one game described above by Jimmy was bad but otherwise they've been pretty okay?
I dunno, silly me for wanting to wait a little while before declaring the season as over.
Totally fair, though getting shut out 2 of the first 3 games, failing to muster anything v SP1 Cease and then struggling with the Royals was a pretty predictable start of the season considering their lack of moves in the offseason. Day to day, this is one of the worst lineups in the NL...tough to argue with that.
Per Baseball Reference, they're currently ranked 9th in runs scored per game. Offense hasn't actually been their problem.
Well, not always. But it sure was this year.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Leak of about 100 sensitive US top secret documents has embarrassed the US. They leak has been traced to "Thug Shaker Central" on Discord - a channel of about 20 users who like video games, Orthodox Christianity, and the "Oxide" Youtube channel (weapons in English language). The DoD is investigating. And since the user list is so small, I suspect someone is about to get an extended period in some place like Quantico.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/04/09/from-discord-to-4chan-the-improbable-journey-of-a-us-defence-leak/
Worst. Pizza. Party. Ever.
https://twitter.com/gwengraham/status/1644511402369974272
Firearm deaths amongst US children is up 50% over the past two years
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/10/gun-deaths-among-children-are-soaring
As Trump dominates the airwaves, ‘it feels like f--king 2016’
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/10/trump-2024-2016-gop-00091097
Whatever. Unless he is somehow barred from running, there is no doubt that T will be the GOP nominee for president in 2024. He is the only one who inspires 'the base' to get out and vote. I use 'the base' in quotes, because it is not the true base, but the people who don't vote unless they are fired up that uppity people of color might be restricted by the candidate.
Bullshit
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
CAL
Word on 247Sports is Madsen is going to nab Jalen Cone, a quick, good shooting PG grad transfer from NAU that averaged 18 a game in the Big Sky...along with Fardaws Aimaq, 2 impact players...more recruiting news in a week than the past 6 years...
Go Bears!!!
After a long drought, yesterday was a good day for "Go Bears." On my run I saw a young woman running in a Cal sweatsuit. Gave her a "Go Bears" and got a smile in return, though she had earbuds in and I'm not sure if she really heard me. Later in the run saw a woman walking in a Cal sweatshirt and gave her a Go Bears. I got no immediate reaction but a few steps after I passed her I heard her say to her walking partner "He just said Go Bears" in an excited voice. I had already run eleven miles so maybe my voice was weak and it took a sec to register. Later in the day I went for a walk to stretch my legs and was wearing a script Cal cap. Someone saw it and gave me a "Go Bears" which I responded to appropriately. Three in one day is good.
I sat next to a woman on the train toward the trailhead of the Inca Trail who had a Cal knapsack. I caught her eyes and then said "Go Bears!" to which she gave a pursed lipped smile - and that's it. It later became clear to me that she didn't speak English.
Since I don't have season tix this year I checked the Auburn game and see that the prices on StubHub start at $101 for one seat in row 1 in the endzone, up to $500 or so per seat in other places.
Looks like I could get between 2-300$ each for my tickets
I guess I should've gotten like 4 extra season tickets and just sell them all.
Cheapest season tickets are only 150. I wonder if you can just get them and sell the rest.
Right now there are only 540 tix available at Stub Hub. As we get closer to the season Cal Athletics might release more seats which could drive down prices. Curious to see how many Alabama War Eagle folks show up. I remember that the Ohio State game was a sea of red, shamefully. At any rate I'm going to the game whatever the price.
My ATO rep said to contact him after single game tickets go on sale after July 4th. So I suppose there are some being held back.
From the WaPo -
Nashville council votes to reinstate Black Tennessee lawmaker
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/10/nashville-council-justin-jones-expulsion/
NASHVILLE — Local officials voted Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republican state lawmakers for leading a gun-control protest on the House floor after a fatal school shooting.
The vote by the Nashville Metro Council to give Rep. Justin Jones, 27, his job back comes just a few days after Tennessee Republicans expelled Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis for leading a gun-control protest from the House floor with a bullhorn. The Shelby County Commission is expected on vote on whether to reappoint Pearson on Wednesday.
Sunday Dinner
Went to Italy at Gilman for Mrs Slug's b'day dinner. It was a milestone birthday, to be followed in 10 short days by a non-milestone anniversary. The older son and his fiancee treated. Also invited was the younger son and his girlfriend.
Mrs Slug had Risotto. She enjoyed it very much.
I had Lasagna di Manzo. It was okay. Didn't think the sauce was anything particularly special or outstanding. The filling was very yummy, though.
Well, sorry to be gone; wife made a fantastic dinner, pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon, lovely roasted asparagus, lightly done, side of new potatoes cut in half, boiled and tossed with butter and herbs. I can say I opened some great wine: 2010 Riserva Brunelo di Montalcino by Poggio dell'Otto (but I just picked, didn't make it).
Daughter made some great cookies. Nothing to do with Easter, but quite good.
we didnt cook last night. at the last minute decided to go out, and not much was open.
ended up at local pub known for wings and bbq and beer.