112 Comments

One thing that has gone right in 2020: Michael B Jordan is the Sexiest Man Alive.

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Minor pet peeve:

All the blather about Space X flight - "first time a private company launched a spacecraft" - come on people, do you think NASA ever owned a factory? All of America's spacecraft were built by Boeing, McDonald-Douglas, Raytheon, and all the other aerospace companies under contract with NASA, which is really not all THAT dissimilar to this deal.

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THE SAN DIEGO ZOO IS HIRING!!!!!!!!!!!! You can write for Zoonooz!!!!! WHERE IS ZOONEWS!?!?!?!?!

https://us59.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/sdzg/Posting/View/2182

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My sister in law works for the Zoo and she was just called back to work this week.

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How cool! (That she works for the Zoo)

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Americans, Liberians, and Burmese of the DBD - when do you use or think in metric?

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When in a chemistry lab.

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Absolutely never.

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When I read about some running races - 5K, 10K. Otherwise not much.

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Baseball and basketball analysis.

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what sort of stuff? i am imagine pitch speeds are rarely measured in kph.

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I took him to mean metrics, as in sabermetrics.

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Each metric is a metric.

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Use the eye test, Cash!! You boob....Snell is DEALING

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I ain't complaining

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Like the times that announcers say "with that walk, the lead runner is now 27.432 meters closer to home"

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thats what i figured

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Only when I have to.

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Mostly car-related stuff: speeds in kph, distances in km, weights in kg, power metrics in nM and kw (though those two still don't come naturally).

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all the time. Meds, IV fluids, hts/wts are all metric in the medical setting.

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as much as i can.

i switch all the things that tell me temperature to C, and all the things that tell distance to km.

it takes a little getting used to, but after a while you can start to feel cold at 10 deg C and quickly realize that driving 200 km takes 2 hours.

fuel efficiency on a car is a little tricky because you also buy gas in gallons and the units are flipped. efficiency is reported at liters per 100 km instead of miles per gallon.

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The problem with C is that a single degree is too large. 1 degree C can be the difference between pleasant and uncomfortable.

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they have decimals, you know

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I have to admit, liters / 100km is just a step too far for me - I was looking at a bunch of europe-only models of cars and ended up using some vague rubric to get me in the ballpark.

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I keep reading MBTF as MTBF or mean time between failure.

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ohhhhh that's why it looked familiar

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Me too

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maybe mean time between heart failure

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Looks like a lot more than 4.5 oz of meat

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TWSS?

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It's enlarged to show texture. The links actually the size of jellybeans.

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Never had a sausage flavored jellybean. Sounds good.

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Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans has a good rendition of them i believe

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Agreed.

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BLM today

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"BLM Web Site is Temporarily Unavailable"

blm.gov is down.

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heh...I was about to ask how BLM is a .gov website...

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"BLM" was (and is) a thing (a different thing) that means a lot in a lot of places, especially in the west, long before events of this year unfolded.

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I still have to read the context to make sure what is being talked about.

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This happened in Discovery Bay, the next town east of Benecia

https://abc7news.com/society/ca-family-accused-of-acting-black-in-white-neighborhood/8047314/

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Your geography's a little off, son. Disco Bay is due east of Brentwood. Benecia's a good 40 miles away.

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And Discovery Bay is on the other side of the river from Brentwood/Antioch or whatever it is you cross.

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jfc. has the internets gone after the Karen yet?

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Tell the DBD of an under-the-radar philanthropic organization

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Astronomers without Borders Foundation

https://astronomerswithoutborders.org/

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The [Jahvid] Best Foundation

Jahvid's family organization helps mobilize resources to the underserved communities in the SF Bay Area. They also bring the message that education and leadership matter to kids.

https://thebestfoundation.info/

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Today in Covid

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Nawlins Mardi Gras parade canceled.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/us/mardi-gras-new-orleans-parade-trnd/index.html

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Good, I guess.

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The Bluetooth SIG was going to have an event at the beginning of Feb. I'm disappointed it was cancelled. I mean I agree it should be cancelled but I'm just disappointed I can't go enjoy New Orleans on the company dime. I'm hoping all the cancelled events will just be rescheduled next year. I'm guessing Lisbon's event will also be cancelled yet again in Apr and probably Budapest yet again in June.

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Sen Chuck Grassley has Covid

https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1328830806291341312

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Is it wrong that I hope he dies from it?

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Yes, root for Mitch (Democratic governor), not Chuck.

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Good thing you clarified which Mitch you meant.

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Elsewhere in college

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Looks like we have hit 12 games on the week's ppd/cx list by Wednesday afternoon. Texas @ Kansas and Ole Miss at Texas ATM now ppd.

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At this rate, some teams are going to have to play 9 AM & afternoon kickoff games on Dec. 12, and then play a night game. And maybe pick up a 4th on Sunday morning. You'd think this was youth tournament baseball.

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Wyoming at Utah State cancelled due to Covid cases at Utah St.

Sounds like the Pac-12 is open to non-conference games when a cancellation leaves aPac-12 with no opponent, which might open the door for a Wyoming-Colorado game. I'd expect the Mt. West would be on board if they can manage the same testing & protocols the Pac-12 requires.

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Colorado St-Colorado rivalry revival also a possibility; looks like UNLV has had to cx their game vs the Rams. Doubt Wyo & CSU wa't a rematch this soon.

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Maybe we can play San Jose State? 4-0 with some impressive performances.

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We may want to avoid SJSU this season.

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FSU loses another starting QB. Chubba Purdy out for the season. FSU hopes to get injured Jordan Travis back for the next game. Seminoles only have one other QB on their roster.

https://twitter.com/joshnewberg247/status/1329097752261906434

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Wake Forest at Duke rivalry? game postponed due to Covid problems at Wake.

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Wazzu has '26/'27 home-and-home against Boise State moved back again to '32/'33

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Kind of a long way out. But, we will have made it to the Rose Bowl by the '32 season.

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Good to know they have a high degree of confidence that we will get that far!

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@2132?@

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Kent State does not punt, goes perfect 11/11 on third down, has only 3 incompletions, amasses 750 yards and 38 first downs on way to scoring 69 points vs. Akron.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/matchup?gameId=401249867

Also, Akron may not be a very good football team

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=30339479

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That was bonkers

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He was also over the line of scrimmage.

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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these motherfuckers I tell you what

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Nov 18, 2020Liked by SGBear

Well that didn't last long....

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I typed with complete calm

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This may seem an odd thing to say, but between our complete inability to manage COVID and the ongoing collapse of an American polity, I think I've exhausted my strategic reserves of outrage. I know that this is not a great time to check out of trying to do the right thing or supporting people who do the right thing, so I won't. But I am not currently sold on the long term viability of a population / civil society that behaves like this. I'm plainly a lightweight by comparison to black and other "minority" populations who keep trying in the face of apparently impossible odds.

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i have similar feels. less outrage, more "wanting to to bash people's heads together."

on one hand, i want to stick around and be part of the people that hopefully make it better and travel to the occasional Cal away game. on the other hand, i would like to move somewhere completely different (eg Sweden, Canada, Switzerland). i know that every place has its issues, but i am tired of a place where in the end it is a very "every man/woman for themselves" mentality.

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Agreed. The missus and I were just talking about how this pandemic has clearly demonstrated the US as an example of what happens when a country goes overboard in valuing individual rights over collective rights.

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The problem is we have one party (Democrats) that values collective rights and another (GOP) that values individual rights and power above all else.

The GOP loves this country, they just hate half the people in it.

I don’t have much faith in the American experience surviving because the GOP doesn’t want to govern and as they become more of a minority party they undermined the democratic process to cling to power.

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Both sides in the not so distant past have too often taken the extreme position that the other side is not only wrong, they are wrong to even have the concerns they have. That widens and deepens the divide, and it invites a certain element that is ignorant to a lot of things by choice because its easier by giving them a home and some support.

Somehow the mindset has to return to one of cooperation, not fight everything for fear of losing any ground. This has become the mindset of a lot of labor relations by next accounting period bottom line at the expense of anything and everything else as well, so its not just a Dem/Rep issue.

The challenge will be figuring out how to incentivize collaboration with the "opposition", which have been become demonized.

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i hear that the demonization is quite grim

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The thing is that this wasn't always the case. During the 50s and 60s the Republicans did make concessions and support some collectivist solutions to problems (Nixon created the freakin' EPA). That's because FDR's legacy was still strong and they knew that's what the voters wanted.

I feel like such a shift is happening now, but the extreme divisions between urban and rural populations are keeping it from taking hold, allowing the current GOP to block reforms much more easily than they could in the New Deal era. Not sure how this gets resolved other than with generational replacement.

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More to the point, the voting rights act of 1964 wouldn't have passed without Republican support.

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(Nixon created the freakin' EPA)

He didn't give 2 fucks about this, just signed the law created by Democrats - he doesn't deserve the title of "father of the EPA"

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and even though we are on the plus side of financially successful, i feel that the wealth disparity is unsustainable. something has to change or it will end badly ..

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100%. I am happy to pay more in taxes if it means universal health care, cheaper child care, better education, etc. IMO those benefits will redound back to me in the long run anyway (and everyone else).

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Wayne County election officials reverse course, certify election. WaPo (no paywall for this article) explains why and, more interesting, how Drunk Uncle Rudy has pushed aside Stephen Miller to bet everything on the FRAUD EVERYWHERE strategy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-election-challenges/2020/11/17/ea741372-28f6-11eb-8fa2-06e7cbb145c0_story.html

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It’s amazing to witness the complete and utter incompetency of Rudy on full display and wonder how this mfer took down the mafia.

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The NY mafia recognized that Rudy was a tool for them to clean house by getting people they wanted out of the organization caught and convicted.

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it's possible that the mafia weren't smart so much as good at keeping people from talking.

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That was 40 years ago; I could do things then I can't do now.

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I read that Rudy now has an office in the campaign HQ down the street. I'll put out an alert if I see him.

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PRO

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Klay hurt his lower leg, can't put weight on it. Maybe Achilles? It is the other leg, not the ACL one.

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson suffers right leg injury, will undergo tests, sources say

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30344848/golden-state-warriors-guard-klay-thompson-undergo-tests-leg-injury-suffered-wednesday-offseason-workout-sources-say

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson suffered a leg injury during a workout in Southern California on Wednesday, the team announced.

A source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Thompson injured his lower right leg and is expected to undergo testing in the next few days to determine the severity of the injury.

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Bummer.

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I was reminded yesterday that the NBA Draft is tonight. After this year's time-shifted season, I can't seem to keep track of any of the usual summer milestones (draft, free agency, training camps, etc.).

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It's fun time for NBA hot stove right now. You can always count on plenty of moves at the draft and the patented awkward photo of a draftee wearing the wrong hat because he's already been traded but that trade is technically not official yet (I still expect to see this with draftee on Zoom still wearing the wrong hat).

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For some reason, I love a good NBA Draft...probably the same reason I hold my breath for a Cal Rose Bowl bid someday...the Andy Dufresne "Hope is a Good Thing" perhaps? Even when the Warriors were absolutely dog shit, and drafting the Todd Fuller's, Ike Diogu's, Ekpe Udoh's, Mikael Pietrus' and Anthony Randolph's of the world, I still watched, because you never know when a player could turn out to be a game changer...

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CAL

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Nov 18, 2020Liked by Rick Chen

Go Bears!!!

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John Wilner: Pac 12 opens door to potentially allowing out-of-conference games this season

https://twitter.com/wilnerhotline/status/1329082678247755782

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Cal commit Bastian Swinney earned his fourth star from 247

https://twitter.com/BastianSwinney/status/1329116469322510340

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