I'm back from 5 days in and around Yosemite. Before I left, there was some talk on the DBD about whether the experience would be noticeably different because the current occupant of the white house cut parks funding and removed the entry permit system, etc.
I'm pleased to report that Yosemite was still awesome. There were two times where I noticed a difference, however.
First, a longtime shuttle bus operator responded to my dad's questions that she thinks the park is being over-loved, and the removal of the entry permit system diminishes the experience (I didn't find that, myself, but she would know better).
Second, there was a sign in the museum on Yosemite's indigenous peoples that said something to the effect of visitors should inform the park service if anything is broken or needs repair, or if it besmudges the history of any Americans - living or dead. I think everyone working in the museum just wants to reflect the history accurately, but they were made to hang a sign that included Washington-approved language.
One of the fun parts of the trip was going to the Iron Gate Saloon in Groveland, outside the park, which purports to be the oldest bar in California. It's daggum great. I half expected Yosemite Sam to walk in and start a shootout.
Of course, the Magnolia Saloon in nearby Coulterville says that it's the oldest operating operating saloon in California, but whatevs. I'm sure I'd love that place, too.
Update: the Magnolia Saloon is closed, according to the interwebs. We had only driven by it. So the Iron Door Saloon wins the prize (at least as far as I know).
Also, it's the Iron Door Saloon, not the Iron Gate Saloon as I said above. I'll blame the hooch for my mistakes.
I used to see those signs on lots of places around DC. But now that I think, I haven’t seen one lately. I wonder if the Park Service took them down or if people who didn’t like them took them down and they just weren’t replaced.
There's a photo of my grandpa climbing up the cables to the top of Half Dome, the same photo of my dad, and the same photo of me. I think I'm obligated to get my girls back there to get that photo of them.
i was just checking my flights to PBI - Palm Beach in a few weeks.
it now says. JFK > DJT
normally even if they change an airport name, they dont change the 3 letter FAA code. eg DCA is stil DCA. even though it is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
The only comparable historical precedent of this magnitude was when New York's Idlewild Airport (IDL) was fully recoded to JFK to honor John F. Kennedy.
of all the episodes of Little House on the Prairie that i have seen (most of them), the one where they scare Nellie Olson w/ the fake Loch Ness Monster is my favorite.
hard to say, unless my first guess hit 4 or 5 letter, i am not sure i would even try. with Quordle it seems that getting some coverage of 10 letters to start is the best way to go for 6.
i had several words in mind, i guess i got extra lucky. i picked the word that i thought was more likely to be the answer, rather than a regular exploratory word.
The opening move of a Wordle genius, XXXXX is my favorite opening word of them all (in hard mode). And it was extraordinarily lucky today: You’ve eliminated all but seven of the words in my dictionary.
I was visiting Northern California last week and an A's game came on at the bar. Nobody as much as glanced at it. Dallas Braden looked like he was being held hostage.
Same thing when I was near Sacramento - the sense I got is that folks in Sac like the A's less now than when when they were playing in Oakland, maybe because they didn't want to drive the getaway car for a heist.
I have no idea who, if anyone, is an A's fan right now.
PS - good article in The Athletic about how the GS Valkyries went from a $50 million expansion fee to a $1 billion valuation in two years. Short explanation is that they invested in their players and they leaned into being integrated into the community. In other words, they're doing it like the Haas family's ownership of the A's... exactly the opposite of John Fisher's A's ownership. Good luck in Vegas, John - I'm sure it'll go swell.
Tour de France Femmes ends in spectacular racing over the last 3 days w/ previous champ Demi Vollering edging out another previous champ Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.
Fri - Mont Ventoux, Niewiadoma takes yellow jersey by just 15 sec on what might be historically the most impressive climb in a women's race.
Sat - Vollering hits back to go ahead by 8 sec or so on a short steep hill near the finish
Sun - Vollering again attacks on a short steep hill and finishes about a minute clear of everyone to seal the win.
Yosemite
I'm back from 5 days in and around Yosemite. Before I left, there was some talk on the DBD about whether the experience would be noticeably different because the current occupant of the white house cut parks funding and removed the entry permit system, etc.
I'm pleased to report that Yosemite was still awesome. There were two times where I noticed a difference, however.
First, a longtime shuttle bus operator responded to my dad's questions that she thinks the park is being over-loved, and the removal of the entry permit system diminishes the experience (I didn't find that, myself, but she would know better).
Second, there was a sign in the museum on Yosemite's indigenous peoples that said something to the effect of visitors should inform the park service if anything is broken or needs repair, or if it besmudges the history of any Americans - living or dead. I think everyone working in the museum just wants to reflect the history accurately, but they were made to hang a sign that included Washington-approved language.
One of the fun parts of the trip was going to the Iron Gate Saloon in Groveland, outside the park, which purports to be the oldest bar in California. It's daggum great. I half expected Yosemite Sam to walk in and start a shootout.
Of course, the Magnolia Saloon in nearby Coulterville says that it's the oldest operating operating saloon in California, but whatevs. I'm sure I'd love that place, too.
Update: the Magnolia Saloon is closed, according to the interwebs. We had only driven by it. So the Iron Door Saloon wins the prize (at least as far as I know).
Also, it's the Iron Door Saloon, not the Iron Gate Saloon as I said above. I'll blame the hooch for my mistakes.
I used to see those signs on lots of places around DC. But now that I think, I haven’t seen one lately. I wonder if the Park Service took them down or if people who didn’t like them took them down and they just weren’t replaced.
nice to hear it is still AWESOME. i havent been in a while and as evidence of "poor parenting" i have not prioritized taking the kids there.
There's a photo of my grandpa climbing up the cables to the top of Half Dome, the same photo of my dad, and the same photo of me. I think I'm obligated to get my girls back there to get that photo of them.
Political talk goes here ..
i was just checking my flights to PBI - Palm Beach in a few weeks.
it now says. JFK > DJT
normally even if they change an airport name, they dont change the 3 letter FAA code. eg DCA is stil DCA. even though it is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
The only comparable historical precedent of this magnitude was when New York's Idlewild Airport (IDL) was fully recoded to JFK to honor John F. Kennedy.
Not comparable- JFK had been assassinated.
Loch Ness Monster
i mistakenly thought the monster's name was Nellie. it is Nessie, which makes more sense.
of all the episodes of Little House on the Prairie that i have seen (most of them), the one where they scare Nellie Olson w/ the fake Loch Ness Monster is my favorite.
(assuming i am remembering the details correctly)
my sister and i were each allowed one hour of TV on weekdays when we were younger (not HS). we usually both used after school instead of prime time.
i used mine for Star Trek. my sister used hers for Little House. so i usually watched her hour too.
Don Nelson and other NBA coaching discussion
a nice long form article about Nellie. i didnt appreciate he won 5 NBA titles w/ the Celtics
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49568985/don-nelson-second-winningest-coach-nba-history-dies-86
i became a W's fan in the late-80s and i fondly remember those Run TMC days. went to a bunch of games because a friend had season tickets.
one time i shot hoops w/ Hardaway at our local middle school before our weekly pickup game. i didnt realize it was him.
Digitial Diversions
🙂 Daily Quordle 1659
8️⃣3️⃣
6️⃣5️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
not as exciting as the 2 on Wordle, but close
🙂 Daily Quordle 1659
5️⃣4️⃣
6️⃣3️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Will we ever see 2345 or even 1234?
hard to say, unless my first guess hit 4 or 5 letter, i am not sure i would even try. with Quordle it seems that getting some coverage of 10 letters to start is the best way to go for 6.
i had several words in mind, i guess i got extra lucky. i picked the word that i thought was more likely to be the answer, rather than a regular exploratory word.
The opening move of a Wordle genius, XXXXX is my favorite opening word of them all (in hard mode). And it was extraordinarily lucky today: You’ve eliminated all but seven of the words in my dictionary.
Wordle 1,878 2/6*
⬛⬛⬛🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 93/99
This is from two days ago but I got a really cool result so I saved it.
Wordle 1,876 5/6*
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Hmm, the spacing is a bit off. It would look much cooler in a perfect square
Wordle 1,878 4/6*
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟨🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
You kicked my ass.
Wordle 1,878 3/6
🟨⬜🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟨🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
yes, but 93 luck is a lot!
Wordle 1,878 4/6
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟨🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WordleBot
Skill 98/99
Luck 51/99
I don’t think I’ve ever had luck over 90. Certainly not today!
Our last two rows matched.
Cal
Pro
A's win first series since Jun by beating Red Sox
also this
Athletics' Wilson sets record with 111 errorless games in row
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49570864/athletics-wilson-sets-record-111-errorless-games-row
I was visiting Northern California last week and an A's game came on at the bar. Nobody as much as glanced at it. Dallas Braden looked like he was being held hostage.
Same thing when I was near Sacramento - the sense I got is that folks in Sac like the A's less now than when when they were playing in Oakland, maybe because they didn't want to drive the getaway car for a heist.
I have no idea who, if anyone, is an A's fan right now.
Sad.
PS - good article in The Athletic about how the GS Valkyries went from a $50 million expansion fee to a $1 billion valuation in two years. Short explanation is that they invested in their players and they leaned into being integrated into the community. In other words, they're doing it like the Haas family's ownership of the A's... exactly the opposite of John Fisher's A's ownership. Good luck in Vegas, John - I'm sure it'll go swell.
Tour de France Femmes ends in spectacular racing over the last 3 days w/ previous champ Demi Vollering edging out another previous champ Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.
Fri - Mont Ventoux, Niewiadoma takes yellow jersey by just 15 sec on what might be historically the most impressive climb in a women's race.
Sat - Vollering hits back to go ahead by 8 sec or so on a short steep hill near the finish
Sun - Vollering again attacks on a short steep hill and finishes about a minute clear of everyone to seal the win.
great racing, close finish. couldnt ask for more.