Substack is kinda messed up this morning. It is not showing everything. Some comments are disappearing. Some articles are showing up when they're not supposed to. Do not adjust your TV set.
I used to do a bunch of these in lieu of boring old running. Stopped because it bruised my undercarriage, which for a middle-aged guy is not a trivial thing you want to keep un-abused.
i end up wearing padded bike shorts to spin classes mostly because i have them already from years of riding outside. that is not normal though. most women seem to wear tights/leggings and the men mostly wear normal workout shorts.
i am a big fan of spin classes. 500+ at SoulCycle over 10+ years. the bulk of them w/ one particular instructor (Karyn) and location in NYC (NOHO).
i even dragged HAG to one recently. cant remember exactly where we were.
i recently tried one in Paris that has a similar SoulCycle vibe. it was good that i knew what was expected because i couldnt figure out any of what they were saying in French except "right, left, right, left" = "droite, gauche, droite, gauche"
It was when we were in Durham for the UNC game. It was interesting, but not for me. So many things you need to know for all the different "moves". Seemed like it was either 20-somethings or older people like you and me.
maybe in NYC the demographics are different. there a lot of bisy career women all ages.
the time you go makes a big difference too. the before/after 9-5 hours are more career people. at 930-1030a when i normally go, you get more of a diverse crowd.
also, spin classes in NYC are hard to compare to other regions because there are so many of them as well as other competing fitness options.
one of the fundamental properties of particles along w/ mass and charge. it obeys conservation laws similar to the other two and features prominently in quantum mechanics.
it is sort like the spinning of a top and has something to do w/ angular momentum. however it it is not something you can start and stop and it is quantized as well.
from Wikipedia
> Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by composite particles such as hadrons, atomic nuclei, and atoms. Spin is quantized, and accurate models for the interaction with spin require relativistic quantum mechanics or quantum field theory.
NFL fines Atlanta Falcons DC Jeff Ulrich $100k for leaving his iPad out and his 21-year old son got a hold of Shadeur Sanders phone number and prank called him on draft day. Go to your room, you're grounded, no dessert and no Fortnite for a month.
The A’s got hit hard today as they lost to the Rangers 15-2, losing the second game of this four-game set.
On the bump for the visiting team was left-hander Jacob Lopez. Acquired in the offseason in the same trade that brought Jeffrey Springs to the organization, Lopez was making his first start of the year (and third of his career) for the big league squad after fellow starter JT Ginn went down to injury last week. The 27-year old had already been stretched out in the minor leagues after making a pair of starts down there so the team could reasonably expect some length from the rookie.
The Dodgers followed up their walk-off win on Monday with an offensive explosion to win 15-2 and take the series against the Miami Marlins.
The Dodgers used a bullpen game against Miami, with rookie southpaw Jack Dreyer making his first career big league start. 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara got the start for the Marlins, having struggled through his first five starts with a 6.56 ERA.
BERKELEY – The California women's basketball team has added graduate transfer Sakima Walker to its roster for the 2025-26 season, Cal head coach Charmin Smith announced Monday.
Walker, a 6-foot-5 center from Columbus, Ohio, is transferring to Cal from the University of South Carolina, where she spent the previous two seasons (2023-25).
BERKELEY – The California baseball team allowed single runs in the top of the eighth and ninth innings in a 10-9 nonconference home loss to San Francisco (20-25) at Stu Gordon Stadium on Tuesday evening.
BERKELEY – Dai Dai Ames has signed to play for the California men's basketball program in the 2025-26 season. A 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard from Chicago, Ames arrives in Berkeley after spending one season at both Virginia (2024-25) and Kansas State (2023-24).
BERKELEY - The California football program announced its home game themes for the upcoming 2025 season on Monday. Over the course of the season, Golden Bear fans have the chance to celebrate a variety of groups and causes.
Beginning in September, fans can gather at California Memorial Stadium to celebrate historically black colleges and universities, educators, youth sports, homecoming, Cal Athletics Hall of Fame inductees, AAPI culture, military members and first responders.
What a sad home schedule. Not a single rival (Furd, U$C, UCLA) no traditional foes like the Washington or Oregon Schools not so much as an Arizona school. I think Minnesota is the only school we've hosted at Memorial Stadium more than once. IIRC we'e hosted SMU, Duke and NC once each. It's depressing to see what's happened to college football.
BERKELEY – Three Golden Bears were among the 77 student-athletes named to the 2024-25 All-ACC Men's Basketball Academic Team, which was announced by the conference office Tuesday.
Lee Dort, Joshua Ola-Joseph and Rytis Petraitis represented California on the all-academic team. The full list of honorees can be viewed on theacc.com.
Twenty-six athletes representing the California track & field team have been honored with Indoor All-ACC Academic honors, as announced by the conference on Tuesday. To be eligible for consideration, athletes must have earned a 3.00 GPA for the immediately preceding fall semester, maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher and have participated in either the ACC Indoor Championships or NCAA Championships.
BERKELEY – California's athletic communications staff was recognized with the Super 11 Award on Tuesday for the second consecutive year.
The Super 11 Award is presented annually by the Football Writers Association of America to 11 athletic communications staffs across the country from the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The winners were "deemed to have excellent accessibility during the week of their games and after the game with a program's players, coaches and coordinators/assistant coaches."
A murder mystery that isn't unique. Tell me if you've heard this before - a quirky, impossibly observant/smart/erudite detective who rejects the obvious explanation of the situation to the exasperation of everyone else, follows a few red herring to keep it interesting, and then ends up (spoiler alert) solving the thing neatly. Yeah - nothing new - but it's tight, well acted, well paced, well written, and has a wonderful person of color as the protagonist. I really enjoyed it.
Mrs Slug and I also enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the character of Cordelia Cupp (detective). There's also a touch of Columbo in Cordelia Cupp, except this is a true whodunnit, not a howcatchem. I had my own favorite as the murderer, but I was wrong. I was a little gratified that my guess was also the guess of one person on the committee.
If sports are that much of a necessity at AU, maybe the university ought to see about buying out their neighbors. Kelo v. City of New London suggests that AU would only need an assist from Congress by putting pressure on Washington DC municipal government to take the private property of the neighbors using eminent domain, which American University could then use for faculty housing and not need to construct pesky noise walls.
Some might call that a far-fetched scenario. In these times, is it, really?
I did a tour of AU two years ago. Their campus facilities are tired and their main building looks dated, dark, and beat-up. If they have extra money, they should spend money on other facilities besides softball.
This is a problem that higher education institutions will face more frequently in the coming decades because the burn-it-down crowd is running the show in the federal government now.
The denaming of Trinity College's Berkeley Library begs the question of whether or not there is any interest in denaming and renaming the City of Berkeley.
Such action would have wide-ranging consequences and so, would probably be very difficult to accomplish.
I'm sure that some folks within Berkeley will object to that as well. Berkeley politics is frequently about posturing. Serious people have a hard time in local city government.
I may have regular neighbors soon. The couple that owns the unit above me both work there. He’s a history professor and for awhile was an acting dean. She directs the Asian cultural center and is a language instructor. They’re normally only here during school breaks but I’m pretty sure both are eligible to retire.
Substack is kinda messed up this morning. It is not showing everything. Some comments are disappearing. Some articles are showing up when they're not supposed to. Do not adjust your TV set.
At IHOP the substack is very reasonably priced and comes with a side of fruit.
Yesterday I got an error message and couldn’t connect for awhile.
What are five music albums you can't live without?
From a Room - Chris Stapleton
Vegas - Crystal Method
Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park
Travelers & Thieves - Blues Traveler
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
...Nothing Like the Sun - Sting
The Joshua Tree - U2
Stan Kenton Live at Brigham Young University - The Stan Kenton Orchestra
311 - 311
California Here's to Thee - The University of California Marching Band (c. 1991)
I haven't listened to full Joshua Tree in a long time. Going to need to listen to it soon.
i have this one
>> California Here's to Thee - The University of California Marching Band (c. 1991)
The ones I would miss most if I couldn't listen to any song from them again.
REM - Life's Rich Pageant
Green Day - American Idiot
Billy Joel - Greatest Hits 1 and 2 (kind of cheating a little
Can't think of any others off the top of my head right now.
trying not to include greatest hits type things ..
Graceland - Paul Simon (this is in the lead at #1 by a lot)
Led Zeppelin IV
Abbey Road - Beatles
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
5150 - Van Halen
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan
There Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul Simon
Abbey Road - The Beatles
All 'N All - Earth, Wind & Fire
Out of the Blue - ELO
Abbey Road -- The Beatles
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust -- David Bowie
Back to Black -- Amy Winehouse
The Doors -- The Doors
Al Green The Greatest Hits -- Al Green
SPIN
class.
I used to do a bunch of these in lieu of boring old running. Stopped because it bruised my undercarriage, which for a middle-aged guy is not a trivial thing you want to keep un-abused.
i end up wearing padded bike shorts to spin classes mostly because i have them already from years of riding outside. that is not normal though. most women seem to wear tights/leggings and the men mostly wear normal workout shorts.
i am a big fan of spin classes. 500+ at SoulCycle over 10+ years. the bulk of them w/ one particular instructor (Karyn) and location in NYC (NOHO).
i even dragged HAG to one recently. cant remember exactly where we were.
i recently tried one in Paris that has a similar SoulCycle vibe. it was good that i knew what was expected because i couldnt figure out any of what they were saying in French except "right, left, right, left" = "droite, gauche, droite, gauche"
It was when we were in Durham for the UNC game. It was interesting, but not for me. So many things you need to know for all the different "moves". Seemed like it was either 20-somethings or older people like you and me.
maybe in NYC the demographics are different. there a lot of bisy career women all ages.
the time you go makes a big difference too. the before/after 9-5 hours are more career people. at 930-1030a when i normally go, you get more of a diverse crowd.
also, spin classes in NYC are hard to compare to other regions because there are so many of them as well as other competing fitness options.
one of the fundamental properties of particles along w/ mass and charge. it obeys conservation laws similar to the other two and features prominently in quantum mechanics.
it is sort like the spinning of a top and has something to do w/ angular momentum. however it it is not something you can start and stop and it is quantized as well.
from Wikipedia
> Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by composite particles such as hadrons, atomic nuclei, and atoms. Spin is quantized, and accurate models for the interaction with spin require relativistic quantum mechanics or quantum field theory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(physics)
City. A decent enough sitcom starring Michael J Fox from the late '90s.
PRO
NFL fines Atlanta Falcons DC Jeff Ulrich $100k for leaving his iPad out and his 21-year old son got a hold of Shadeur Sanders phone number and prank called him on draft day. Go to your room, you're grounded, no dessert and no Fortnite for a month.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44934516/nfl-fines-falcons-dc-jeff-ulbrich-shedeur-sanders-prank-call
Luka covered the cost to restore the Mambas Forever mural in LA.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44921957/lakers-luka-doncic-covers-cost-restore-vandalized-kobe-mural
https://www.instagram.com/p/DJDQ2avPilL/?img_index=2
A’s smacked by Rangers 15-2
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2025/4/29/24420655/as-smacked-by-rangers-15-2
The A’s got hit hard today as they lost to the Rangers 15-2, losing the second game of this four-game set.
On the bump for the visiting team was left-hander Jacob Lopez. Acquired in the offseason in the same trade that brought Jeffrey Springs to the organization, Lopez was making his first start of the year (and third of his career) for the big league squad after fellow starter JT Ginn went down to injury last week. The 27-year old had already been stretched out in the minor leagues after making a pair of starts down there so the team could reasonably expect some length from the rookie.
Giants lose to the Pads, 7-4. Battle for first place.
Dodgers get to Sandy Alcantara early, take the series against the Marlins
https://www.truebluela.com/2025/4/29/24420573/dodgers-marlins-game-recap
The Dodgers followed up their walk-off win on Monday with an offensive explosion to win 15-2 and take the series against the Miami Marlins.
The Dodgers used a bullpen game against Miami, with rookie southpaw Jack Dreyer making his first career big league start. 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara got the start for the Marlins, having struggled through his first five starts with a 6.56 ERA.
CAL
Cal's #1 portal recruit flips to Miami.
https://caneswarning.com/miami-lands-huge-commitment-from-top-fcs-freshman-over-cal-and-nebraska-charmar-brown
I am not allowed to say why, but this was not Cal's fault.
[WBB] Cal Signs Sakima Walker For 2025-26 Season
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/womens-basketball-cal-signs-sakima-walker-for-2025-26-season.aspx
BERKELEY – The California women's basketball team has added graduate transfer Sakima Walker to its roster for the 2025-26 season, Cal head coach Charmin Smith announced Monday.
Walker, a 6-foot-5 center from Columbus, Ohio, is transferring to Cal from the University of South Carolina, where she spent the previous two seasons (2023-25).
Is she related to Samaki Walker?
We got a new Chad Hansen
https://x.com/chris_hummer/status/1917658540455366733
[BASE] Cal Edged By San Francisco
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/baseball-cal-edged-by-san-francisco.aspx
BERKELEY – The California baseball team allowed single runs in the top of the eighth and ninth innings in a 10-9 nonconference home loss to San Francisco (20-25) at Stu Gordon Stadium on Tuesday evening.
archer_phrasing.gif
[MBB] Dai Dai Ames Signs With Cal
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/mens-basketball-dai-dai-ames-signs-with-cal.aspx
BERKELEY – Dai Dai Ames has signed to play for the California men's basketball program in the 2025-26 season. A 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard from Chicago, Ames arrives in Berkeley after spending one season at both Virginia (2024-25) and Kansas State (2023-24).
[FB] Cal Football Announces 2025 Game Day Themes
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/cal-football-announces-2025-game-day-themes.aspx
BERKELEY - The California football program announced its home game themes for the upcoming 2025 season on Monday. Over the course of the season, Golden Bear fans have the chance to celebrate a variety of groups and causes.
Beginning in September, fans can gather at California Memorial Stadium to celebrate historically black colleges and universities, educators, youth sports, homecoming, Cal Athletics Hall of Fame inductees, AAPI culture, military members and first responders.
What a sad home schedule. Not a single rival (Furd, U$C, UCLA) no traditional foes like the Washington or Oregon Schools not so much as an Arizona school. I think Minnesota is the only school we've hosted at Memorial Stadium more than once. IIRC we'e hosted SMU, Duke and NC once each. It's depressing to see what's happened to college football.
Just look at Wazzu's and Oregon State's schedules and count yourself to be very, very lucky
https://wsucougars.com/sports/football/schedule/2025
https://osubeavers.com/sports/football/schedule
Actually not as bad as I thought.
The Apple Cup in September? That's just wrong.
They play each other twice?! That's Pac-thetic.
[MBB] Cal Trio Tabbed To All-ACC Academic Team
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/mens-basketball-cal-trio-tabbed-to-all-acc-academic-team.aspx
BERKELEY – Three Golden Bears were among the 77 student-athletes named to the 2024-25 All-ACC Men's Basketball Academic Team, which was announced by the conference office Tuesday.
Lee Dort, Joshua Ola-Joseph and Rytis Petraitis represented California on the all-academic team. The full list of honorees can be viewed on theacc.com.
[T&F] 26 Bears Named To Indoor All-ACC Academic Team
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/track-field-26-bears-named-to-indoor-all-acc-academic-team.aspx
Twenty-six athletes representing the California track & field team have been honored with Indoor All-ACC Academic honors, as announced by the conference on Tuesday. To be eligible for consideration, athletes must have earned a 3.00 GPA for the immediately preceding fall semester, maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher and have participated in either the ACC Indoor Championships or NCAA Championships.
[FB] Cal Athletic Communications Earns Super 11 Award
https://calbears.com/news/2025/4/29/football-cal-athletic-communications-repeats-as-super-11-award-winner.aspx
BERKELEY – California's athletic communications staff was recognized with the Super 11 Award on Tuesday for the second consecutive year.
The Super 11 Award is presented annually by the Football Writers Association of America to 11 athletic communications staffs across the country from the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The winners were "deemed to have excellent accessibility during the week of their games and after the game with a program's players, coaches and coordinators/assistant coaches."
Go Bears!!!
PAC-12 AFTER DAAAAAAAAAAAAARK
https://x.com/CalFootball/status/1917276468528439542
POLITICS
DBD AV CLUB
The Residence (Netflix, 16/19 WB).
A murder mystery that isn't unique. Tell me if you've heard this before - a quirky, impossibly observant/smart/erudite detective who rejects the obvious explanation of the situation to the exasperation of everyone else, follows a few red herring to keep it interesting, and then ends up (spoiler alert) solving the thing neatly. Yeah - nothing new - but it's tight, well acted, well paced, well written, and has a wonderful person of color as the protagonist. I really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed this show too and Cordelia…hope for a next season. Maybe her birding takes her to campus and our peregrine falcons?
Mrs Slug and I also enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the character of Cordelia Cupp (detective). There's also a touch of Columbo in Cordelia Cupp, except this is a true whodunnit, not a howcatchem. I had my own favorite as the murderer, but I was wrong. I was a little gratified that my guess was also the guess of one person on the committee.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Bill Belichick young girlfriend put the kabosh on Hard Knocks
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6322316/2025/04/30/bill-belichick-girlfriend-unc-hard-knocks-deal-off/
Bill wearing a t-shirt older than Jordan
https://x.com/CBSSunday/status/1916897771342139845
Northwest DC shares similar problems as Berkeley
https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2025/04/meet-the-neighbors-keeping-au-sports-quiet
If sports are that much of a necessity at AU, maybe the university ought to see about buying out their neighbors. Kelo v. City of New London suggests that AU would only need an assist from Congress by putting pressure on Washington DC municipal government to take the private property of the neighbors using eminent domain, which American University could then use for faculty housing and not need to construct pesky noise walls.
Some might call that a far-fetched scenario. In these times, is it, really?
I did a tour of AU two years ago. Their campus facilities are tired and their main building looks dated, dark, and beat-up. If they have extra money, they should spend money on other facilities besides softball.
This is a problem that higher education institutions will face more frequently in the coming decades because the burn-it-down crowd is running the show in the federal government now.
It’s kind of a forgotten entity around here. You see and hear a lot related to Georgetown and George Washington U. but not much about AU.
FYI: Trinity College's Berkeley Library is no longer called that, despite it also having an Arnaldo Pomodoro sculpture outside of it. https://www.tcd.ie/library/about/denaming.php
The denaming of Trinity College's Berkeley Library begs the question of whether or not there is any interest in denaming and renaming the City of Berkeley.
Such action would have wide-ranging consequences and so, would probably be very difficult to accomplish.
Maybe we can change the name to be Barkley - like it's original Irish pronunciation and say that the city and school are named after Charles.
I'm sure that some folks within Berkeley will object to that as well. Berkeley politics is frequently about posturing. Serious people have a hard time in local city government.
RIP IU
https://x.com/BL_Balthaser/status/1915875181714935986
I may have regular neighbors soon. The couple that owns the unit above me both work there. He’s a history professor and for awhile was an acting dean. She directs the Asian cultural center and is a language instructor. They’re normally only here during school breaks but I’m pretty sure both are eligible to retire.
The Pac-12 gets a TV deal on the CW
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/44916471/pac-12-reaches-tv-deals-25-oregon-st-washington-st-games
Funny that it’s still called 12
There are also 18 teams in the Big 10 and 16 teams in the Big 12.
Well when you've got a school that has a view of the Pacific Ocean in the Atlantic Coast Conference anything goes.
Did you mean to post two DBDS? When I go to the archive tab there are two dated today.
Eeep.
The other is for the rebel faction within the DBD.