137 Comments

I don't think any of you were planning to come out to Wondrous today to get hodduk from Rob's friend Sammy, but as it turns out, Sammy had a family emergency and won't be there today, so Rob and I will also not be congregating there either. Stay warm and stay safe!

Expand full comment

Does anyone want a single ticket in the Young Alumni section (Section QQ, Row 32) for the rest of the season? I am almost certainly not going to any of the games, so am happy to transfer my ticket to anyone who is interested. :)

Expand full comment

I would be interested in the $C ticket.

Expand full comment

Awesome! You can e-mail me at jesscheng86 at gmail.com; I think I just need an e-mail or phone number to transfer the ticket to you. :)

Expand full comment

Tweet at @twistnhook on twitter. he likes to collect and re-distribute ticket

Expand full comment

Thanks for the info! I will try that if I don't get any takers.

Expand full comment
author

Day 5 without internet. Thank goodness for mobile phones otherwise we might have to read or (gasp) talk to each other.

Expand full comment

pqtm, what happened?

Expand full comment
author

Fiber optic cable got cut somewhere.

Expand full comment

my neighbor did that to my fiber line when aerating their lawn. grrr.

Expand full comment

Re signs, I randomly went to a Canada Day celebration in Seoul once with a Canadian friend and they separated the porta potties between men and women, or tried to at least. The sign above the section with the men’s toilets said “Man Piss”. After sudsing up a bit my friend and I went to try and steal it only to find that someone else beat us to the punch.

Expand full comment

Turn Turn Turn

Expand full comment

i remember being very surprised to learn the words were taken from the Bible. i was reading for Freshman western civ class and it was wholly unexpected ..

The lyrics are taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes, as found in the King James Version (1611) of the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) though the sequence of the words was rearranged for the song.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn!_Turn!_Turn!

Expand full comment

one of those things I learned in church (for a while we had a very crunchy granola nun who did the music when I was young).

Expand full comment

DBD Test Kitchen

Expand full comment

School lunches are free this year (thanks Obama!), and I have 2 of 3 kids eating them now. Need to get over the hump on the third - saves so much time, but she is pretty picky

Expand full comment

I always had free lunch from elementary through HS because my family was low income and qualified. I always ate the free lunch but my younger brother was picky and my mom always packed his lunch.

Expand full comment

Ah your elementary schools had a cafeteria? I went to a few different ones and none of them did, same re middle school. It is pretty cool if they do, a nice investment in human capital.

The one thing my picky eater loves is peanut butter, but that is like trying to sneak in a loaded weapon these days

Expand full comment

Yep, my elementary and middle school both had cafeterias. When I first started elementary I had a lunch card that they would punch but by 5th grade they had transitioned to a keypad and I had a pin code I would enter.

Expand full comment
author

If you go to school in Davis, you can eat your school lunch in the rain.

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/california-school-district-tells-parents-their-children-must-eat-lunch-in-the-rain-due-to-covid

Expand full comment

As I recall (though none of my kids went to Davis schools), they are outdoors for lunch regardless of covid, weather, or anything else.

Expand full comment

Here's another fox coverage of that story, that's lighter on the rant: https://fox40.com/news/local-news/schools-juggle-cold-rainy-weather-with-covid-safety/

Expand full comment

Thinking back to my own childhood, I don’t think I could get lunch at school until high school

Expand full comment

I had school lunch 29 out of 30 days. Very very very occasionally I'd bring something from home.

Expand full comment

I never attended a school that provided food in the k-12 years

Expand full comment

You had to pay for it, but I never attended a school that didn't provide lunch.

Expand full comment

DBD AV Club

Expand full comment

Started Sex Education, pretty good.

Expand full comment

we're halfway through season 3, its very entertaining

Expand full comment

Our Crumbling Democracy

Expand full comment

I feel like we need a reorg at the federal level. Constitution needs to be amended and restated, like any contract would after 200 plus years. Govt just doesn’t function well at a systemic level. Call an article V convention in name of competing with China and just amend and restate the thing

Expand full comment

unfortunately I feel like we're gonna have to go through some very bad times before that happens

Expand full comment

Can't let the GOP impose their will in any way in that convention, though.

Anti-democratic tendencies need to be routed.

Expand full comment
author

Can't he do it the old fashion way of welcoming pork barrel? I can't stand obstructionists.

Expand full comment

You mean Manchin? He could, but that assumes he's not a scared idiot.

Expand full comment

Or a Republican in Democratic clothing.

Expand full comment

FBI at Washington home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/politics/fbi-oleg-deripaska/index.html

Expand full comment

Today in Covid 19

Expand full comment
author

I did not expect Double-Doubles to go hand-in-hand with libertarian BS.

https://abc7.com/in-n-out-san-francisco-shut-down-covid-vaccine-mandate-defying-orders/11144956/

Expand full comment

The family that owns In-n-Out is pretty right wing tho - remember when a plane crashed with family members on it and the explosion was suspiciously large for a landing (theoretically less fuel) but it turned out there was a huge amount of ammunition on the plane?

Expand full comment

also, they used to have bible verses printed on the bottom of soda cups. I don't think they are still doing that.

Expand full comment

They are, and they added it to the burger wrappers too.

Expand full comment

Hasn't hurt their burger quality, or popularity, though.

Expand full comment

I will continue to eat there.

Expand full comment

looks like rolovich is planning to sue WSU. Good luck - he's claiming his catholic faith precludes him from taking teh vaccine - dude, the Pope said take the vaccine.

Expand full comment

I have a friend who just took a job with the federal govt. She is a devout Catholic and won't get vaccinated. May be a short tenure when the deadline to get the shot comes (I think sometime next month).

Expand full comment

How does she square being a devout Catholic and not listening or following the Pope who has endorsed the vaccine and received it himself?

Expand full comment

I have no idea. I only see her once a year or so and heard about her situation from a mutual friend.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

I’m Catholic, and I’m with you, YWC

Expand full comment

It’s seems a lot of American Catholics believe:

Trump>>QAnon>>Pope

In regards to the vaccine and getting it.

Expand full comment

Dude, he follows the Pope in Avignon, not that pretender in Rome!

Expand full comment

I’m sure he also follows the president in Mar a Lago and not that pretender in DC.

Expand full comment

@That's the joke...@

Expand full comment

Yeah, that’s a tough defense to argue when the head of the Catholic Church has been vaccinated.

Expand full comment

Oh good, then a court will issue a finding rejecting the argument. May help to counter message

Expand full comment

Pro

Expand full comment
author

NFL: We've read all 650,000 emails and John Gruden is the only bad person in the NFL. No, you can't see them.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/no-one-else-in-nfl-cited-with-email-violations-ap-source/2833229/

Expand full comment

Heh...yeah I noticed that as well. Me thinks he's going to be the fall guy...

Expand full comment

Cody Bellinger & the Dodgers aren’t dead just yet

https://www.truebluela.com/2021/10/19/22734043/dodgers-home-runs-cody-bellinger-comeback-nlcs-game-3-braves

The Dodgers looked deader than a doornail for far too large a chunk of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, a punchless offense combined with a shockingly poor start on the mound seemed certain to send them to a 3-0 series deficit.

But then Cody Bellinger awakened the Dodger Stadium crowd and his offense with a three-run home run, part of a stunning, four-run eighth, pulling out a 6-5 win over the Braves, and suddenly looking very much alive.

3 takeaways from Game 3

The big inning, such a large staple of an offense that led the league in runs scored during the regular season, has eluded the Dodgers for most of this postseason. They had 105 innings scoring three or more runs in 162 games, accounting for 7.4 percent of their innings.

Expand full comment

I posted recently why you keep Cody Bellinger around. This was a good reinforcement of that point.

Expand full comment

I know the Bravos went up 2-0, but I just don’t see them winning this series

Expand full comment

IMO they let their chance slip away in the 8th inning last night.

Expand full comment

That sounds like someone who understands what it's like to be close...and then loses it.

7th inning, Game 6, 2002 WS.

Expand full comment

The entirety of SF Giants history before 2010. Even that year I still expected them to blow it all the way up until the final World Series out was recorded.

Expand full comment

I've been a Giants fan from my first baseball game in 1964. 2002 was an exquisitely royal messing of a fan's mind. 2010 was like sweet release, although it will never make up for 2002.

Expand full comment

Yeah agree. Dodgers likely tie it up today and then ride the momentum train to a 2017 WS reboot

Expand full comment

Well. . .. not so hasty.

Expand full comment

I was wrong! Dodgers look gassed. Same thing happened to Cubs in 2015 - tense pennant race, WC game, and NLDS left them gassed by LCS and Mets swept them

Expand full comment

Thanks, Treebeard

Expand full comment

I listened to the first inning in the car while driving to have dinner with a friend. Other than glancing at the TV to see the score during dinner, I didn't see a minute of the game.

GBBR

Expand full comment

GBBR - I listened to the game on the way to work - 5 stops from the office is where Belli hit the home run

Expand full comment

I think for tonight's game you should be heading into work as well. Which means you need to leave 3 hours later.

Expand full comment

I have an early conference call to take (damn west coast meeting hours!) so I will be on the bus later (not 3 hours later, but later)

Expand full comment

Warriors win season opener vs Lakers

i went to bed at halftime and missed the good stuff apparently. was good to have NBA back.

- AD looked unstoppable

- Westbrook out of sync

- Curry and Draymond were out of sync too, at the least the half i watched

- James scored but was somewhat passive as he tends to be

- you could tell the Lakers will take a while to gel since everyone is new

Expand full comment

greatest shooter of all time had a triple double despite shooting 23% and putting up bricks from every direction

Expand full comment

It was impressive to see the Warriors putting up points even when Curry wasn't. It's been a while.

Expand full comment

Nemanja is a great fit for this team.

Expand full comment

Yes! He was very good. He also looks like a hired assassin, so bonus points tgere

Expand full comment

Yeah and really without anyone hitting threes at all

Expand full comment

Other College

Expand full comment

Conference USA collapsing as we speak. Six schools (North Texas, Rice, UTSA, Charlotte, FAU, and UAB) all heading to reload the AAC and Marshall and Southern Miss. apparently leaving for the Sun Belt.

Expand full comment

They could pick up Liberty and UConn, and probably UMass, and hang on until the WAC teams on a track to get to FBS in a few years can instead fill out the west end of a conference that would cover a similarly massive amount of miles as it does now.

Expand full comment
author

Well shit. Cal to lag another 130,000 feet in the unfair war against Oregon. COLONIZE STRAWBERRY CANYON!

https://twitter.com/sportico/status/1450620055927013379?s=21

Expand full comment
author

5-star DE recruit flips from USC to Georgia

https://twitter.com/MykelW_50/status/1450839520514125836

Expand full comment

Cal

Expand full comment

GO BEARS!!!

Expand full comment

"Cal continues to occupy the space between good enough to compete but not good enough to win. This week it was a seven-point loss to Oregon. I can't help but believe a win will come at some point, and perhaps it'll be at home this week against No. 25 Colorado in THE BOTTOM 25 GAME OF THE CENTURY OF THE WEEK! Yep, that's right! It's the only game between ranked teams that we have available this week. (23)"

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-rankings-kansas-reclaims-the-bottom-25-throne-as-jayhawks-return-to-familiar-position/

Expand full comment

Did someone say elimination game?

Expand full comment

I feel bad that we are just wasting Garbers. Ah well, he and Bobby Shaw and numerous others can form a club

Expand full comment

"wasting Garbers" lulz. Sounds like a shitty alt band. Garbers is a just ok college QB, not sure how much he is being wasted

Expand full comment

This is certainly a hot take.

Expand full comment

Just keeping you guys warm! It’s basically hot stove time already for Cal football

Expand full comment

Scorching!

Expand full comment

Garbers is doing a pretty decent job of wasting things himself, tho...

He's a great Cal Bear, represents the university and the program well, and we should all respect what he did in his 11 seasons as starting QB. That said, he leaves a lot of plays on the field & I'm looking forward to seeing what a signal caller with more physical gifts can do.

It will be a major disservice to the program if Wilcox fails to get Millner some live action in the final month of the season, while preserving his redshirt season.

Expand full comment

Maybe I have recency bias because he was good against Oregon, but I feel like what is shooting him in the foot is really the playcalling

Expand full comment

As far as the play calling being a detriment to CG...Well, sure some portion of it but as I see it, a significant amount is CG's execution. IMO, he's not, by far, making as much lemonade out the "lemon" play calling as he should.

Expand full comment

Nah, he misses TD's with short throws, can throw deep, but misses leading receivers so they get 2 yards rather than 7 on what should be easy throws, he's OK, but no Jesus in cleats.

He's a gamer, a lot like Riley, if you ask me.

Expand full comment

Ok, fair points, but he is good enough for us to win more than we have, and better than the average Cal QB

Expand full comment

He is very similar to Riley but I feel like Riley had a much better deep ball.

Expand full comment

And his 3-5 yard knuckleballs into the turf

Expand full comment

I also have a soft spot for the guy after the scamper for the winning TD in 2019 big game

Expand full comment

True that...in his career, he's beaten Stanford, SC, Oregon, Washington and UCLA and won a bowl game...puts him in rare company for Cal QBs the past 50 years.

Expand full comment

You know things are bleak for the program when they score the 12:30 P12 Network slot....yuck...

Expand full comment

Speaking of, the whole conference is kind of garbage. Is ASU best team?

Expand full comment

Utah just made a case counter to that.

Expand full comment

True! I still can’t believe Oregon beat Ohio State in Columbus. Nothing makes any sense this year

Expand full comment

Too bad Gameday is going to the Oregon-UCLA game. A game between bottom 25 teams would seem to be the ultimate twist in irony.

Expand full comment

hahaha - but they'll never do that, and we aren't *really* a bottom 25 team, despite our record.

Expand full comment

I feel like this is legit a 3-3 team. We aren’t really a bottom 25 team, just like if we were 5-1 we wouldn’t be a real top 25 team.

Expand full comment

It's not a legit 3-3 team. 3-3 would be overachieving given the critical errors this team has made; errors that have kept the team from victory.

Penalties, turnovers, failures to convert (points and first downs). And it isn't the same thing, but it's always something.

Those are the hallmarks of poor coaching, poor leadership, and poor organization.

Expand full comment

You are such a sour old blue it's curdling your brain; of the 6 games we've played, 5 were winnable. 50/50 is hardly out of question. Didn't happen, but you make it sound like destiny.

Expand full comment

^^this^^

Expand full comment

You are what your record says you are

Expand full comment

Yeah I know, but when we lost to Oregon, they dropped a spot. Should say something.

Expand full comment

You mean Oregon dropped a spot? Probably because they narrowly beat Cal.

Expand full comment