Watched 1.5 episodes of Spider Noir. Not bad. Why did I never saw any promotions? Special effects good, besides the usual spider swinging, plenty of 1930s cars and old NY skylines. I wonder how much AI was used.
Conversations around conference expansion have dominated the college football spring meetings thus far, and Kirby Smart's comments on Tuesday about the SEC essentially seceding have created plenty of questions.
The Georgia coach suggested that if an agreement can't be reached on expansion, spending in the NIL era and beyond, perhaps the SEC should try to go it alone.
The SEC is rattling their sabers. They're not in a position to dictate.
If the rest of FBS decided not to follow the SEC's lead, the SEC could find themselves on the outside looking in. I think that the NIL era in general is a threat to SEC "dominance" and they know it. Further, if non-white athletes decide that Jim Crow 2.0 means they don't want to be where they aren't wanted, then there will be a talent drain. That's better for schools in states that are more willing to practice DEI principles.
If I was an alum of an SEC school, I would have existential dread about my school's football program.
Y'all need to get y'all's house in order if y'all want to compete.
It's funny - ESPN is carrying this story far more than other sports outlets. Huh. I wonder why. Why would the entity that stands to gain the most from adding playoff content be the one relentlessly pushing this story. Huh. So weird.
Maybe ESPN doesn't share that feeling about expanding the college playoffs being a boon to the bottom line.
Actually, the likelihood is that ESPN doesn't care about playoff expansion one way or the other. They care about audience, not whether the playoff field is 12, 16, or 24.
Has anyone watched The Mandalorian and Grogu? I'm not going to pay to watch so I'll probably just wait for free streaming once one of the one I have gets it. These days, I think I'm much more picky what I'm willing to pay to watch. Unless one of my kids want to watch something.
I think the last movie I paid to go see was Top Gun: Maverick in IMAX in SF. That was the one movie I was looking forward to and thought it would be best in IMAX.
I didn't mean to send out the email for the DBD today. Accidentally clicked the send email button. For those that found us via email, come on back. We don't usually send email because we don't want to upstage the front page posts for our little corner of WFC. But, please feel free to come on back. I promise we're more than just Word(le) games.
When they give distances, I'm not sure how they compute it. Like is it center of the country to the center of the country in question? For example, if two countries border each other, it says X KM, when clearly they're adjacent.
Ham salad is a thing, too, but pretty much everyone thinks that's gross, including me. I wonder why other meat salads are deemed acceptable but ham salad is not, even for ham lovers?
I think it's the pickle relish that I don't like in Tuna Salad, along with some mustard. When I make regular chicken salad I just put in mayo, salt, pepper, and celary. I generally don't like mustard except for in a couple of things, one of which is the Orvieto chicken salad. Deli mustard is good in hot dogs and sausages. Yellow mustard can GTFO
Agree about yellow mustard. It's unquestionably my least favorite condiment. In what scenario would somebody choose yellow mustard over literally any other type of mustard?
Okay, but most tuna salad is probably just mayo and maybe something else, any ingredient except the mayo would be optional. Of course, if it's just mayo and tuna then you've made the most basic and humble tuna salad imaginable, but often the most satisfying.
Oh i see what you're saying. I guess I was thinking the other stuff is what makes it a tuna salad vs just tuna with mayo. I guess my regular Chicken Salad really is just mayo with salt and pepper and optional celery. So I guess what I made is just tuna salad.
At work, when they were giving out recognition for years of service, one of the bosses used the analogy that knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit, and wisdom is knowing they don't belong in a fruit salad. I thought that was fun.
3) Nicoise Salad, in theory... because I've never had one, even though I know I'd pick out the anchovies.
4) Waldorf Salad because I never was a fan. Nothing really against the ingredients because I like 'em all. Just not that combo, for a reason I cannot explain. It's always been this way since my childhood.
I've never had a nicoise salad but I just went to Italy for the first time this year and I tried a salad with anchovies on it. 17/19 would order again if I came across it. Tuna salad is dead last for me.
California men's basketball sets up for its third season of competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference with its home and away opponents locked in for the coming 2026-27 season. The ACC announced all home and away pairings today, and the Golden Bears and their fans can expect some exciting games ahead at Haas Pavilion and beyond.
Looks like @UNC and @Dook again. before adding Cal, Furd, and SMU, ACC used to do home, away, home and away between teams over a 3 year span. I think now that's changing.
Last year HSB and I did @UNC. Hoping this year UNC and Dook are both on the same roadtrip. Even though we already did UNC, I really now want to do Dook. Tickets are really hard to come by and very expensive. They were $250+ on seatgeek but day of I think there was one available for like 125. If it is the same roadie, I'd consider just hanging out in the area on the off chance cheap tickets show up.
Spurs OKC game 6 tonight. Rooting hard for Spurs. Don't want OKC and have to choose between the Knicks and OKC. Though in that case, I think I'd want the Knicks to take out OKC. Absolutely don't like SGA falling down as he gets bumped when he shoots.
Totally. Unlike Yankees fans who deserve nothing good in life, Knicks fans are long-suffering loyal fans who have earned a chance at joy. I hope the Knicks put up an adequate fight in the Finals.
OAKLAND, CA – The Oakland Ballers could not hold their six-run lead late as the Long Beach Coast rallied to defeat the Ballers 14-10 on Wednesday afternoon from Raimondi Park to take a three games to two series lead on Oakland.
Oakland (3-5) led 9-3 through seven innings but Long Beach (5-3) scored 11 runs in the final two innings to stun the Ballers.
I've been to 2 Ballers games this year, last Thurs which was Too $hort day with bobblehead and both Gary Payton that through out the first pitch and Too $hort, and Sunday. They aren't very good. The ball flies out of the ballpark as small as it is and they have hitters, but their pitching doesn't seem very good at all. I think they're going to lose a lot of games like this one, lots to just a little bit less.
The ballpark is really fun to go to. There is a Cal day on June 16th (I think).
There are two types of comedy (note: there are probably more, but work with me here). There’s comedy that is about setting up expectations for an audience before subverting them with the unexpected. Then there’s comedy that plays with the audience’s expectations, that pokes and prods it, teasing it just long enough for a tickle of doubt to form before the inevitable happens. This is the kind of humor behind cartoons like Tom and Jerry, or classic Looney Tunes’ rivalries. There is a hunter and hunted, and try as the hunter might, the hunted is never caught. The comedy doesn’t lie in the fact of their failure, but how they fail.
The Dodgers flirted with a no-hitter until the eighth inning and earned a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies, winning the finale 4-1 on Wednesday.
Florence .. even though twice as far from Rome than Orvieto, is an easy day trip because of high speed train. in fact you get there in less time than the local train to Orvieto
granted it is worth more than a day trip, but that's all the time i had and it was pretty fantastic for first time there.
i guess i didnt take many photos except this funny poster in a cafe
That church is lowkey wild. You can see that it has been lovingly worked on for centuries because it has elements of every architectural, artistic, and cultural styles added to it. Moorish/North African alternating stone work? Done. Romanesque towers? Yes. Early gothic rosette? Yup. Mid-gothic arches. Yup. Late gothic flying buttresses and nubby tower fixtures? Yessir. Neo-classic painting the upper part of the church. Yup. Some tiles that Giancarlo from down the road made four years ago? All dat.
The black and white horizontal stripes were wild. They do look pretty cool.
Since the city is on top of a plateau (?), there are a lot of tunnels below the town. One of the things they did under there was make olive oil. With the controlled climate under there, lots of towns people also used it for storage and stuff. We took a tour of the tunnels which was cool, both literally and figuratively.
DBD AV
Watched 1.5 episodes of Spider Noir. Not bad. Why did I never saw any promotions? Special effects good, besides the usual spider swinging, plenty of 1930s cars and old NY skylines. I wonder how much AI was used.
Politics
My route took me by this earlier. Another boondoggle. Doesn’t seem close to being finished.
https://people.com/trump-reflecting-pool-renovation-contractor-making-bigger-profit-than-usual-analysis-finds-11985251
@shocking that the contractor is making a big profit@
my impression is that only those who object care. the other 50% are getting what they want in other facets of life, so the dont care
Other colleges
We're taking our football and going home.
With expansion argument brewing, Smart hints at SEC secession
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/48892111/with-expansion-argument-brewing-smart-hints-sec-secession
Conversations around conference expansion have dominated the college football spring meetings thus far, and Kirby Smart's comments on Tuesday about the SEC essentially seceding have created plenty of questions.
The Georgia coach suggested that if an agreement can't be reached on expansion, spending in the NIL era and beyond, perhaps the SEC should try to go it alone.
The SEC is rattling their sabers. They're not in a position to dictate.
If the rest of FBS decided not to follow the SEC's lead, the SEC could find themselves on the outside looking in. I think that the NIL era in general is a threat to SEC "dominance" and they know it. Further, if non-white athletes decide that Jim Crow 2.0 means they don't want to be where they aren't wanted, then there will be a talent drain. That's better for schools in states that are more willing to practice DEI principles.
If I was an alum of an SEC school, I would have existential dread about my school's football program.
Y'all need to get y'all's house in order if y'all want to compete.
It's funny - ESPN is carrying this story far more than other sports outlets. Huh. I wonder why. Why would the entity that stands to gain the most from adding playoff content be the one relentlessly pushing this story. Huh. So weird.
Maybe ESPN doesn't share that feeling about expanding the college playoffs being a boon to the bottom line.
Actually, the likelihood is that ESPN doesn't care about playoff expansion one way or the other. They care about audience, not whether the playoff field is 12, 16, or 24.
DBD Lunch
Probably the left over Orvieto Chicken Salad from yesterday.
Ended up getting pizza/focaccia with HSB at the coffee shop to eat on the walk back.
me too
me too
DBD AV Club
Has anyone watched The Mandalorian and Grogu? I'm not going to pay to watch so I'll probably just wait for free streaming once one of the one I have gets it. These days, I think I'm much more picky what I'm willing to pay to watch. Unless one of my kids want to watch something.
I think the last movie I paid to go see was Top Gun: Maverick in IMAX in SF. That was the one movie I was looking forward to and thought it would be best in IMAX.
i would see it in theaters. i am also self-desscribed Star Wars junkie. i have low expectations though
Seems to be one of those movies where the Tomatoes audience rating is much higher than the critics rating.
Accidental emails
I didn't mean to send out the email for the DBD today. Accidentally clicked the send email button. For those that found us via email, come on back. We don't usually send email because we don't want to upstage the front page posts for our little corner of WFC. But, please feel free to come on back. I promise we're more than just Word(le) games.
Seconded.
I came back after, like, a five year hiatus, and I had forgotten how much I heart the DBD.
Travel Games - a new DBD section to not clutter the word games category
Worldle
#Worldle #1588 (28.05.2026) 1/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 14 days
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
failure ...
#Worldle #1588 (28.05.2026) X/6 (94%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 0 days
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜⬇️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨⬅️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨↘️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨⬆️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜↘️
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜↙️
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
#Worldle #1588 (28.05.2026) 5/6 (100%)
🔥 Current Win Streak: 2 days
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜⬇️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨↙️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨↗️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨⬇️
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/share
When they give distances, I'm not sure how they compute it. Like is it center of the country to the center of the country in question? For example, if two countries border each other, it says X KM, when clearly they're adjacent.
I believe it is the center of the country
Makes sense then.
Globle
🌎 May 28, 2026 🌍
🔥 3 | Avg. Guesses: 8.07
⬜🟥🟩 = 3
https://globle-game.com
#globle
🌎 May 28, 2026 🌍
🔥 2 | Avg. Guesses: 3.5
🟨🟥🟩 = 3
https://globle-game.com
#globle
ok...more than just Word(le) games and Travel games).
lots of little countries along the way
#travle #1261 +3
🟧🟧✅✅✅🟧🟩✅🟩✅
https://travle.earth
#travle #1261 +5
🟧🟩🟩🟩🟧🟧🟧🟩🟩🟥🟩✅
https://travle.earth
At the end, I realized I could go around a few small countries
Rank 'em
Chicken Salad
Tuna Salad
Nicoise Salad
Waldorf Salad
Ham salad is a thing, too, but pretty much everyone thinks that's gross, including me. I wonder why other meat salads are deemed acceptable but ham salad is not, even for ham lovers?
My fave is Chinese Chicken Salad, like Popo used to make. Not that mayonnaise stuff from the 60s.
Oh...that's a good choice. I loved eating it at Sweet Tomatoes (RIP) and other places. Never made it at home.
Chicken Salad, and the rest are way down there. I like tuna with mayo, but I don't consider that tuna salad.
Allow me to share my tuna salad recipe, which is from the housekeeper of an old friend. I learned the recipe in the 1970s.
1 - 5 oz. can of tuna
2 Tablespoons of mayo
1 Tablespoon of sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of pimento (optional)
I think it's the pickle relish that I don't like in Tuna Salad, along with some mustard. When I make regular chicken salad I just put in mayo, salt, pepper, and celary. I generally don't like mustard except for in a couple of things, one of which is the Orvieto chicken salad. Deli mustard is good in hot dogs and sausages. Yellow mustard can GTFO
Agree about yellow mustard. It's unquestionably my least favorite condiment. In what scenario would somebody choose yellow mustard over literally any other type of mustard?
Okay, but most tuna salad is probably just mayo and maybe something else, any ingredient except the mayo would be optional. Of course, if it's just mayo and tuna then you've made the most basic and humble tuna salad imaginable, but often the most satisfying.
Oh i see what you're saying. I guess I was thinking the other stuff is what makes it a tuna salad vs just tuna with mayo. I guess my regular Chicken Salad really is just mayo with salt and pepper and optional celery. So I guess what I made is just tuna salad.
Exactly.
#1 is far and away fruit salad, then chicken salad.
At work, when they were giving out recognition for years of service, one of the bosses used the analogy that knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit, and wisdom is knowing they don't belong in a fruit salad. I thought that was fun.
Even though tomatoes are a fruit, fruit doesn't belong on pizza. Looking at you Hawaiian pizza!!!
1) Chicken Salad
2) Tuna Salad
3) Nicoise Salad, in theory... because I've never had one, even though I know I'd pick out the anchovies.
4) Waldorf Salad because I never was a fan. Nothing really against the ingredients because I like 'em all. Just not that combo, for a reason I cannot explain. It's always been this way since my childhood.
1) Nicoise, 2) Tuna, 3) Chicken.... 632) Waldorf
I've never had a nicoise salad but I just went to Italy for the first time this year and I tried a salad with anchovies on it. 17/19 would order again if I came across it. Tuna salad is dead last for me.
indeed. anchovies are pretty fantastic.
there are the traditional very salt ones and there are the white vinegar-ed ones.
luckily our whole family likes them and even from a young age, the kids would ask for extra anchovies w/ our caesar salad.
Stinky fermented oily fish parts are fine, but a fresh apple is a bridge too far?
one of our favorite family weeknight dinners is this one
Pasta With Caramelized Cabbage, Anchovies and Bread Crumbs
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12373-pasta-with-caramelized-cabbage-anchovies-and-bread-crumbs
i dont like an fruits in my non-fruit salads so Waldorf is out.
and i recently learned that the true Nicoise DOES NOT have green beans in it.
HAG makes a pretty good replica of that chicken salad in Orvieto. we had it yesterday for lunch
Word(le) Games
see the new Travel Games section
Wordle
Wordle 1,804 4/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 44/99
everything divisible by 11!
Octordle
Daily Octordle #1585
🕛5️⃣
6️⃣🕚
9️⃣7️⃣
🕐🔟
Score: 73
Quordle
🙂 Daily Quordle 1585
6️⃣9️⃣
5️⃣8️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Lost a guess word hunting.
Wordle 1,804 3/6*
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟨🟨⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 62/99
Kinda lucky guess for word 3.
but skillful too!
Wordle 1,804 5/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 87/99
Luck 21/99
Absolute nonsense from me today. My brain does not work well on lack of sleep.
Wordle 1,804 3/6
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 94/99
Luck 70/99
took me a while to even find a valid word for 3rd guess. beat WordleBot who got 4.
Wordle 1,804 3/6*
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 96/99
Luck 54/99
Cal
[MBB] ACC Opponents, Locations Announced For Cal Men's Basketball
https://calbears.com/news/2026/5/28/acc-opponents-locations-announced-for-cal-mens-basketball.aspx
California men's basketball sets up for its third season of competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference with its home and away opponents locked in for the coming 2026-27 season. The ACC announced all home and away pairings today, and the Golden Bears and their fans can expect some exciting games ahead at Haas Pavilion and beyond.
So we don't play Georgia Tech this year, but we play NC State twice. I'm happy the ACC gave us the lifeline, but these superconferences are dumb.
Looks like @UNC and @Dook again. before adding Cal, Furd, and SMU, ACC used to do home, away, home and away between teams over a 3 year span. I think now that's changing.
Last year HSB and I did @UNC. Hoping this year UNC and Dook are both on the same roadtrip. Even though we already did UNC, I really now want to do Dook. Tickets are really hard to come by and very expensive. They were $250+ on seatgeek but day of I think there was one available for like 125. If it is the same roadie, I'd consider just hanging out in the area on the off chance cheap tickets show up.
PRO
Spurs OKC game 6 tonight. Rooting hard for Spurs. Don't want OKC and have to choose between the Knicks and OKC. Though in that case, I think I'd want the Knicks to take out OKC. Absolutely don't like SGA falling down as he gets bumped when he shoots.
I don't have a dog in any potential NBA Finals matchup. But I want the Knicks to win it anyway.
i am rooting for the hometown Knicks!
Totally. Unlike Yankees fans who deserve nothing good in life, Knicks fans are long-suffering loyal fans who have earned a chance at joy. I hope the Knicks put up an adequate fight in the Finals.
Ballers bullpen implodes late in Wednesday loss (Ballers lose to the Long Beach Coast 14-10)
https://www.oaklandballers.com/sports/bsb/2026/releases/202605280dhsee
OAKLAND, CA – The Oakland Ballers could not hold their six-run lead late as the Long Beach Coast rallied to defeat the Ballers 14-10 on Wednesday afternoon from Raimondi Park to take a three games to two series lead on Oakland.
Oakland (3-5) led 9-3 through seven innings but Long Beach (5-3) scored 11 runs in the final two innings to stun the Ballers.
I've been to 2 Ballers games this year, last Thurs which was Too $hort day with bobblehead and both Gary Payton that through out the first pitch and Too $hort, and Sunday. They aren't very good. The ball flies out of the ballpark as small as it is and they have hitters, but their pitching doesn't seem very good at all. I think they're going to lose a lot of games like this one, lots to just a little bit less.
The ballpark is really fun to go to. There is a Cal day on June 16th (I think).
Yabadee, yabadee…That’s All Folks!
These losses are beginning to feel inevitable. (Giants lose to the DBacks 3-2)
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/san-francisco-giants-scores-standings/107023/sf-giants-mlb-recap-diamondbacks-thats-all-folks
There are two types of comedy (note: there are probably more, but work with me here). There’s comedy that is about setting up expectations for an audience before subverting them with the unexpected. Then there’s comedy that plays with the audience’s expectations, that pokes and prods it, teasing it just long enough for a tickle of doubt to form before the inevitable happens. This is the kind of humor behind cartoons like Tom and Jerry, or classic Looney Tunes’ rivalries. There is a hunter and hunted, and try as the hunter might, the hunted is never caught. The comedy doesn’t lie in the fact of their failure, but how they fail.
Shohei Ohtani homers, tosses six no-hit innings in win over Rockies
https://www.truebluela.com/dodgers-scores-standings/116902/dodgers-rockies-game-recap
The Dodgers flirted with a no-hitter until the eighth inning and earned a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies, winning the finale 4-1 on Wednesday.
i watched the first ininng, the Ohtani HR, and then went to bed early.
Day trips from big cities
Florence .. even though twice as far from Rome than Orvieto, is an easy day trip because of high speed train. in fact you get there in less time than the local train to Orvieto
granted it is worth more than a day trip, but that's all the time i had and it was pretty fantastic for first time there.
i guess i didnt take many photos except this funny poster in a cafe
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nfc6iTXYyf7ZdzGn7
Back before senior year in HS, my family did Venice, Florence, and Rome, along with a day trip to Pompeii. All 3 were cool.
Orvieto - cute little town on a hilltop about a 90 min train ride from Rome.
known for an extensive network of over 1,200 Etruscan-carved caves, wells, and cisterns hidden beneath the city's streets.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/R8YsrF1RTFa2dGNm8
in other random trivia. we have UVM grad student as a tenant in our studio apt and she is getting a masters in Food Systems.
she spent some time in Orvieto learning about food and how farms and things work.
That church is lowkey wild. You can see that it has been lovingly worked on for centuries because it has elements of every architectural, artistic, and cultural styles added to it. Moorish/North African alternating stone work? Done. Romanesque towers? Yes. Early gothic rosette? Yup. Mid-gothic arches. Yup. Late gothic flying buttresses and nubby tower fixtures? Yessir. Neo-classic painting the upper part of the church. Yup. Some tiles that Giancarlo from down the road made four years ago? All dat.
The black and white horizontal stripes were wild. They do look pretty cool.
Since the city is on top of a plateau (?), there are a lot of tunnels below the town. One of the things they did under there was make olive oil. With the controlled climate under there, lots of towns people also used it for storage and stuff. We took a tour of the tunnels which was cool, both literally and figuratively.
i think they hide themselves down in the caves as necessary as well.
or stored large quantities of stuff and provisions when there hilltop city was otherwise besieged.