5 miles off Cape Mendocino the night the Lightning Complex Fires started. Late rising moon, so full Milky Way with tons of meteors in clear skies to the left (with bioluminescent waters below) and absolute dry lightning chaos over land to the right.
I took a picture of the night sky with my iphone while on the coast near the Oregon border. At first blush, it didn't come out good. But a little tweaking revealed a lot more stars, and a hint of the Milky Way.
Night Sight on Android does a surprisingly good job when it's pretty dark. I was at one of those nocturnal rooms at a zoo and it produced surprisingly detailed pictures in the almost dark.
Probably the darkest sky I've ever seen is in Vermont while backpacking the Long Trail. Also, in certain parts of Sonoma County it gets inky dark after sundown. So dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face. I actually have decent night vision, so this isn't just idle nonsense thrown out there to impress anyone. I've watched the Perseid meteor showers many times while there.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- A six-run first powered the Idaho Falls Chukars to an 15-10 win over the Ballers in game two of the 2025 Pioneer League Championship Series on Wednesday night. Oakland's offense worked hard to stay in the game, but never tied the score, and the Ballers now have to win three elimination games at Raimondi Park to win a title.
Game two of the three-game series between the Athletics and the Boston Red Sox took place tonight at historic Fenway Park in Boston. Taking the mound tonight for the A’s was 24-year-old rookie Mason Barnett. He faced off against 31-year-old righty Lucas Giolito.
For 10 innings, the San Francisco Giants couldn’t get a runner past first base against Brandon Pfaadt and the Arizona Diamondbacks. They barely got anyone to first, with a walk, a single and an error providing the only three baserunners of the first 10 innings — with two of them immediately erased by Heliot Ramos grounding into double plays. Things were feeling distinctly sweepy at Chase Field.
For the third night the Dodgers set themselves up for success, hearing the click, click, click as the rollercoaster rose to its apex. But thanks to Blake Snell and friends, there was no stomach-turning drop this time. It was Snell who was rolling, and he mostly coasted to a 5-0 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
BERKELEY – The California volleyball team found itself in a five-set battle at Haas Pavilion for the second-straight Wednesday evening, looking to turn its fortunes around against UC Davis after experiencing a pair of losses over the weekend. Ultimately, however, the contest went to the visiting Aggies, who improved to 4-4 after winning 20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11; meanwhile, the Golden Bears dropped to 3-5 on the year.
The California men's soccer team returns to the East Coast this week to play at No. 14 Clemson in an ACC battle on Friday in South Carolina and take on UNC Asheville in a nonconference match next Tuesday in North Carolina.
This marks the Golden Bears' second trip to the East Coast in September, including their games at Boston College on Sept. 7 and at Harvard on Sept. 10. The trip to UNC Asheville will be their first to the Tar Heel State since they played North Carolina, Duke and Clemson in last year's ACC Championship.
Former Cal football star Jared Goff was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday for his Week 2 performance in a 52-21 home win over Chicago. The Detroit Lions quarterback completed 23-of-28 passes for 334 yards with a career-high-tying five touchdowns and no interceptions for a 156.0 rating that was the third highest of his career.
The California softball team is set to play a five-game fall ball slate, announced Wednesday by head coach Steve Singleton.
The Golden Bears will begin play on Oct. 5 against Santa Clara at the Santa Clara Softball Stadium at noon. The following week, Cal will head to Saratoga to face off against West Valley College on Oct. 11, followed by a doubleheader against Sacramento State and Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 12. The Bears will close out the fall slate against the College of San Mateo on Oct. 25 at Viking Field.
Trump says he is designating Antifa as a terrorist organization. Since it isn't an actual organization, it's a war against ideas and an excuse to go after his detractors
I expect a wave of this from private universities with big endowments. They should have done it decades ago, but now the urgency is more tax reform is on the table this fall and next year and they want to keep their foundation/tax-exempt status.
NCAA announces removal of Spring transfer portal window and moved the lone winter portal window to 10 days after their final game. However, I'm not sure it won't stop kids from stop playing and announcing "their intentions" so that other teams can tamper with them and then withdraw/enroll-in-a-new-school like Jake Retzlaff did.
"I'm not sure it won't stop kids from stop playing and announcing "their intentions" so that other teams can offer (tamper) with them and then withdraw/enroll-in-a-new-school"
I’m not up late so don’t see his show but only clips that make it to the internet. Does he really say anything that ABC needs to fear losing their license? I understand they can make life miserable for them but is there any legitimate cause they need to fear?
While there is all kinds of evidence (such as tweets, etc.) that this came from POTUS, they are also exercising economic pressure to get what they want. In the Kimmel case, ABC/Disney "indefinitely paused" Kimmel when a very large owner of ABC affiliate stations said that they would not air the show. The owner of those affiliates is in the midst of a big merger that needs FCC approval. FCC head says that Kimmel should be canceled. Owner then cancels Kimmel by noticing they wouldn't run on those networks, ABC/Disney then in a funding hole, and can point to (rigged) economics as to why they had to pull the show. So blatant.
The claim from the MAGA right was that he said Charlie Kirk's killer was MAGA, and that's a lie and therefore he should be punished. He didn't actually say that, though. He said the MAGA people were spending all of their time trying to prove the guy wasn't MAGA, which is true. Then he went into a bit about how Trump didn't really care that Kirk got killed and wanted to talk about construction instead.
It's all a load of bullshit to cover for an obvious case of the government forcing a TV network to cancel a show they don't like.
Of course, it is. Let's stop pretending that to Trump and his cronies the law is anything more than ink on paper.
Let's also not use the word "government" to refer to these twerps. It only will confuse the general public when the government is returned to the control of serious, highly competent public servants who believe in the ideal of a republic.
These twerps are playing Calvinball and everyone else is playing by rules that don't apply.
Hi, W4C community -- this will probably be a larger post at some point, but for now...
If you do not know (or perhaps missed a chance to order when we made that possible), Rob, Avi and I put together and self-published a 297 page, full color community anthology with photos, telling our collective experience as fans last year called Calgorithm, Vol 1: A People's Anthology of the 2024 season.
We made 200 of these and they're all currently accounted for (and going to be shipped out soon).
We're figuring out what to do for next steps -- what we want a revised edition to look like, how best to go about making more to get to the quality we want, etc.
You can now get on the interest list to receive updates when we are ready to announce our next steps in this endeavor: https://forms.gle/9t92wEchg2p4ierF9
SHE BLINDED ME WITH...
I would bet that most people would be alarmed if they saw what a real night sky looked like with the billions of stars covering the night sky
https://spectrum.ieee.org/scale-of-light-pollution
What is the darkest sky you've ever seen?
5 miles off Cape Mendocino the night the Lightning Complex Fires started. Late rising moon, so full Milky Way with tons of meteors in clear skies to the left (with bioluminescent waters below) and absolute dry lightning chaos over land to the right.
New moon nights at the Lair are also very very dark
Central Idaho Dark Skies Reserve area is pretty awesome. Ketchum/Sun Valley/Hailey area and beyond.
I took a picture of the night sky with my iphone while on the coast near the Oregon border. At first blush, it didn't come out good. But a little tweaking revealed a lot more stars, and a hint of the Milky Way.
Night Sight on Android does a surprisingly good job when it's pretty dark. I was at one of those nocturnal rooms at a zoo and it produced surprisingly detailed pictures in the almost dark.
Probably the darkest sky I've ever seen is in Vermont while backpacking the Long Trail. Also, in certain parts of Sonoma County it gets inky dark after sundown. So dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face. I actually have decent night vision, so this isn't just idle nonsense thrown out there to impress anyone. I've watched the Perseid meteor showers many times while there.
Probably Glacier Point in Yosemite over the summer.
DBD STREET JOURNAL
Zuckerberg demos AI glasses live. Fails. Do you like cringe? Watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UcycakgOdEU
He's been too busy writing checks for one dollar and NINE CENTS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaz2hxZLycY
Trump asks SCOTUS for an emergency order to remove Lisa Cook from the Fed Board
Fed cuts rates by a quarter point. Probably not as fast as the Administration wants. Let's see if they can thread the needle & avoid stagflation
PRO
I'm not saying that head trauma caused this, but yer boy needs some help
https://sports.yahoo.com/mma/article/ufc-legend-bj-penn-arrested-for-5th-time-since-memorial-day-weekend-amid-imposter-family-saga-174333124.html
But we already knew that Kyler Murray has poor decision-making skills
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46296175/cardinals-murray-sorry-post-vick-jersey-bulldog
Same with his "idol" if you can call Michael Vick an idol.
Cubs have a chance to do something hilarious and so Cubs-like
https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-stand-hilariously-close-to-playoff-clinch-after-securing-third-straight-series-win-r2165/
They swept the Pirates yesterday and clinched. This article is from the day prior…
That would be really something. It might even erase the memory of the 1969 collapse.
Ballers Fall Behind Early, Comeback Falls Short in 15-10 Loss
https://www.oaklandballers.com/sports/bsb/2025p/releases/20250918eoori0
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- A six-run first powered the Idaho Falls Chukars to an 15-10 win over the Ballers in game two of the 2025 Pioneer League Championship Series on Wednesday night. Oakland's offense worked hard to stay in the game, but never tied the score, and the Ballers now have to win three elimination games at Raimondi Park to win a title.
Athletics drop one in Extra’s to the Red Sox 5-4
https://www.athleticsnation.com/recaps/100263/athletics-drop-one-in-extras-to-the-red-sox-5-4
Game two of the three-game series between the Athletics and the Boston Red Sox took place tonight at historic Fenway Park in Boston. Taking the mound tonight for the A’s was 24-year-old rookie Mason Barnett. He faced off against 31-year-old righty Lucas Giolito.
Giants bats awaken in 11th for 5-1 win in Arizona
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/san-francisco-giants-scores-standings-nl-west/100873/giants-bats-awaken-in-11th-for-5-1-win-in-arizona
For 10 innings, the San Francisco Giants couldn’t get a runner past first base against Brandon Pfaadt and the Arizona Diamondbacks. They barely got anyone to first, with a walk, a single and an error providing the only three baserunners of the first 10 innings — with two of them immediately erased by Heliot Ramos grounding into double plays. Things were feeling distinctly sweepy at Chase Field.
Blake Snell strikes out 12, Dodgers finally beat Phillies
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/103977/blake-snell-strikeouts-dodgers-phillies
For the third night the Dodgers set themselves up for success, hearing the click, click, click as the rollercoaster rose to its apex. But thanks to Blake Snell and friends, there was no stomach-turning drop this time. It was Snell who was rolling, and he mostly coasted to a 5-0 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
I stayed up to see Ohtani’s first three AB’s. Of course he waited until later to hit his HR.
CAL
[VB] Bears Fall In Five To UC Davis
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/17/volleyball-bears-fall-in-five-to-uc-davis.aspx
BERKELEY – The California volleyball team found itself in a five-set battle at Haas Pavilion for the second-straight Wednesday evening, looking to turn its fortunes around against UC Davis after experiencing a pair of losses over the weekend. Ultimately, however, the contest went to the visiting Aggies, who improved to 4-4 after winning 20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11; meanwhile, the Golden Bears dropped to 3-5 on the year.
[MSOC] Cal Heads To Carolinas
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/17/mens-soccer-cal-heads-to-carolinas.aspx
The California men's soccer team returns to the East Coast this week to play at No. 14 Clemson in an ACC battle on Friday in South Carolina and take on UNC Asheville in a nonconference match next Tuesday in North Carolina.
This marks the Golden Bears' second trip to the East Coast in September, including their games at Boston College on Sept. 7 and at Harvard on Sept. 10. The trip to UNC Asheville will be their first to the Tar Heel State since they played North Carolina, Duke and Clemson in last year's ACC Championship.
[FB] Goff Named NFC Offensive POW To Lead Week 2 Performances
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/17/football-goff-named-nfc-offensive-pow-to-lead-week-2-performances.aspx
Former Cal football star Jared Goff was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday for his Week 2 performance in a 52-21 home win over Chicago. The Detroit Lions quarterback completed 23-of-28 passes for 334 yards with a career-high-tying five touchdowns and no interceptions for a 156.0 rating that was the third highest of his career.
[FB] Cal Softball Announces Fall Schedule
https://calbears.com/news/2025/9/17/cal-softball-announces-fall-schedule.aspx
The California softball team is set to play a five-game fall ball slate, announced Wednesday by head coach Steve Singleton.
The Golden Bears will begin play on Oct. 5 against Santa Clara at the Santa Clara Softball Stadium at noon. The following week, Cal will head to Saratoga to face off against West Valley College on Oct. 11, followed by a doubleheader against Sacramento State and Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 12. The Bears will close out the fall slate against the College of San Mateo on Oct. 25 at Viking Field.
POLITICS
Trump says he is designating Antifa as a terrorist organization. Since it isn't an actual organization, it's a war against ideas and an excuse to go after his detractors
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/politics/antifa-terrorist-designation-trump
Straight out of the autocrat's playbook.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
The most extensive week-3 analysis on placekickers.
https://www.sevenyardsback.com/post/at-the-end-of-one-2025-fbs-kicker-rankings-through-3-weeks
Emory will be tuition free for those families making less than $200k/year
https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/09/17/emory-university-become-tuition-free-students-whose-families-earn-less-than-200k-annually/
Same for Wake Forest, at least for North Carolina residents. https://myfox8.com/news/wake-forest-university-will-be-tuition-free-for-admitted-students-from-north-carolina-families-earning-less-than-200000/
I expect a wave of this from private universities with big endowments. They should have done it decades ago, but now the urgency is more tax reform is on the table this fall and next year and they want to keep their foundation/tax-exempt status.
NCAA announces removal of Spring transfer portal window and moved the lone winter portal window to 10 days after their final game. However, I'm not sure it won't stop kids from stop playing and announcing "their intentions" so that other teams can tamper with them and then withdraw/enroll-in-a-new-school like Jake Retzlaff did.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46296718/ncaa-eliminates-spring-transfer-portal-window-football
"I'm not sure it won't stop kids from stop playing and announcing "their intentions" so that other teams can offer (tamper) with them and then withdraw/enroll-in-a-new-school"
I am sure. It won't stop.
Lawsuit in 5,... 4,... 3,... 2,...
DBD AV CLUB
Jimmy Kimmel gets yanked off air as FCC threatens ABC's license
I’m not up late so don’t see his show but only clips that make it to the internet. Does he really say anything that ABC needs to fear losing their license? I understand they can make life miserable for them but is there any legitimate cause they need to fear?
When dealing with Trump, you can not rule anything out.
While there is all kinds of evidence (such as tweets, etc.) that this came from POTUS, they are also exercising economic pressure to get what they want. In the Kimmel case, ABC/Disney "indefinitely paused" Kimmel when a very large owner of ABC affiliate stations said that they would not air the show. The owner of those affiliates is in the midst of a big merger that needs FCC approval. FCC head says that Kimmel should be canceled. Owner then cancels Kimmel by noticing they wouldn't run on those networks, ABC/Disney then in a funding hole, and can point to (rigged) economics as to why they had to pull the show. So blatant.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c203n52x1y9o
This is what he said.
https://x.com/latenightercom/status/1968455055251562716
The claim from the MAGA right was that he said Charlie Kirk's killer was MAGA, and that's a lie and therefore he should be punished. He didn't actually say that, though. He said the MAGA people were spending all of their time trying to prove the guy wasn't MAGA, which is true. Then he went into a bit about how Trump didn't really care that Kirk got killed and wanted to talk about construction instead.
It's all a load of bullshit to cover for an obvious case of the government forcing a TV network to cancel a show they don't like.
The jester is the only guy that can tell the truth about the king. This is awful
Of course, it is. Let's stop pretending that to Trump and his cronies the law is anything more than ink on paper.
Let's also not use the word "government" to refer to these twerps. It only will confuse the general public when the government is returned to the control of serious, highly competent public servants who believe in the ideal of a republic.
These twerps are playing Calvinball and everyone else is playing by rules that don't apply.
They were just waiting for him to say anything remotely controversial. They had the banhammer loaded up and were just waiting.
100%, though it's still amazing that it wound up being over something so mild.
This after Trump said Kimmel is next after Colbert was fired. Watch out Seth Meyers
Hi, W4C community -- this will probably be a larger post at some point, but for now...
If you do not know (or perhaps missed a chance to order when we made that possible), Rob, Avi and I put together and self-published a 297 page, full color community anthology with photos, telling our collective experience as fans last year called Calgorithm, Vol 1: A People's Anthology of the 2024 season.
We made 200 of these and they're all currently accounted for (and going to be shipped out soon).
We're figuring out what to do for next steps -- what we want a revised edition to look like, how best to go about making more to get to the quality we want, etc.
You can now get on the interest list to receive updates when we are ready to announce our next steps in this endeavor: https://forms.gle/9t92wEchg2p4ierF9