Record Company Executive: Your fans are church folk, Johnny. Christians. They don't wanna hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists, tryin' to cheer 'em up.
Johnny Cash: [pause] Well, they're not Christians, then.
In case you haven't seen it, here's Sergei Brin's zeppelin. It makes me vaguely uncomfortable, but I can't say that it isn't a bad idea if I was a bajillionaire.
It's not the easiest to read, but it strains credibility to suggest this is an issue that warrants their attention and focus, relative to other current matters they would be involved with.
I went on several dates with a woman from Mills in the pre-cell phone, pre ubiquitous email, times. I guess we just made plans with each other's answering machines for a bit until we found each other in our rooms.
Something similar happened locally with Concordia, and there was a merger of a couple of private high schools recently. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened a lot more, both with usually small universities, as well as schools. The price tags associated with some of these are nothing short of astonishing, largely because they have no economy of scale, and yet they are so small, and often limited in focus, that they still can't cover their costs.
You would like to see some better way to link up some of these in some sort of cooperative arrangement, which would preserve some good programs, and some good people who have been trying to deliver them, but by their nature, the necessary compromise on practically everything is very challenging for a group that is doing what they have been doing because of a mindset of doing it their way as the preferred alternative over any form of compromise or cooperation.
also, i have little mini wallet for when i go on weekend bike rides. it is good to have $1 bills so you can stop at kids' lemonade stands and it is good to have some more cash and credit card if you stop for a beer or pizza afterwards.
I get $80 maybe once a month. There are some places where I use cash, like smaller family run shops where they either have a min CC charge (donut store) or I spend < 10 and don't want them to have to absorb the fees. Also places like the farmer's market.
I noticed out here that many of the small, independent businesses went all-in on cash-free and touchless payment during the pandemic (no minimum purchase, specifically asking customers to use cards rather than cash).
That's true. Many of those places are cash free. I guess I have a few places I go every so often that are cash only or have a min so I do that. Or like the local hardware store where I went to buy $2 of screws and I don't want to have to use a card for that.
I think it's loosened a little over time, but when the shutdown first hit it was tough on the homeless I know. The only place that was taking cash was McDonalds so that was all they could buy. I used to use cash a little more but now it's almost all card. I do go to Safeway and buy a 69 cent donut to get change so I have ones to give to my homeless buds. (Otherwise I would NEVER buy a donut.)
Excepting the time I was in Thailand, I withdrew 200 RMB (about $30) the other week just to have emergency cash in my wallet because I paid the water delivery guy with cash - (left it under the water bottles, so couldn't use an app)
I got a bunch of cash out of an ATM when things were getting a little rocky on the supply chain front last year - I always figure that it's worth having cash in hand when you might want to persuade someone to sell you something. I haven't been back to the ATM since, so far as I can recall.
I pay my barber in cash so I can get change to put a couple $ in his tip jar. I think I've only paid cash otherwise maybe once since I bought the Xmas tree at the tree farm last December. But, like DC, I try to keep some at hand just in case of a situation where I might need something on short notice.
I think Christmas trees are the only sort of purchase for which I've received a cash discount in _years_. My most frequent use of cash before These Unprecedented Times was lunch / coffee by the office, so that's stalled.
in fact when i call over and try to make resv for stuff i talk in English but w/ a French accent. that seems to go better than just the American accent.
Heh, the last time we stayed in Paris, one of the real benefits of staying in a fancy hotel was having the concierge make reservations for us, truly a world of difference.
Jamaican...years of listening to Reggae. On a related note, once when spending time in London and walking home from a club with some Brits, I spontaneously went into a Hank Hill accent. The Brits were laughing uncontrollably.
In a prior life I used to be an actor, so I can do a lot. I've most often been asked to do an upper-class English accent and am good at it (even had English people tell me it's good).
I've never understood the entire national / regional model, although to be honest I've never tried. All I know is that ESPN+ demonstrates that you can broadcast a lot of "niche" college sports without having a massive superstructure. Folks like CalBear81 are already using a patchwork of streaming services to see games in multiple sports - so why not streamline to a single platform and detach from cable?
Larry's approach to this has been completely antiquated. He mostly ignored the large swath of cord cutters and judging by the very limited availability, he didn't try at all to get onto streaming services other than (as far as I know) Sling TV. And even then the network is in the extra add-on category. I would have paid for a subscription based stand alone app, but them again I think it would have been outrageously priced
The real problem with good Irish Whiskey is it's too smooth, too easy to drink a bit too much. Fun fact! Before prohibition, Irish Whiskey was America's #1 imported spirit.
My parents lived in Fair Oaks for over a decade. Right next to Folsom and Lake Folsom. My dad watched Cal Crew participate in Nationals right on Lake Folsom.
I have a friend whose PCP contacted him that he and his parents (same PCP) could go get vaccinated. He's not in any of the buckets I don't think but they are over 75.
I emailed my doc about vaccination and he said "I support all of my patients in their quest to get vaccinated." But he had no idea of how/where to get vaccinated. My pharmacist said to register with the city of Berkeley for the vaccinations they are doing at Golden Gate Fields. They will email me when my group comes up...
[CNN]: CDC to change in-school distancing from 6 feet to 3 feet on Friday. No word if there will be signs posted outside schools notifying the virus to not infect anyone further than 3 feet away.
To the surprise of nobody, the Georgia Sheriff who glibly said that incel shooter who killed 8 people (mostly Asians) was "lashing out" after "having a bad day" was previously promoting anti-Asian t-shirts.
Oregon State puts their current President F. King Alexander, who was the former President for LSU, on probation for about 10 weeks. They will hire an outside consultant to review the LSU Husch Blackwell report about Title IX violations - specifically sexual assault and harassment issues. As you can imagine, Brenda Tracy - who was allegedly gang-raped by 3 OSU football players in 1998 - is outraged. If you may recall, Ms. Tracy was the one who addressed Cal's football team to address sexual assault and personal accountability and left an impression on them. My own company hired Ms. Tracy for a speaking gig and she was a very good speaker. Mr. Alexander is mentioned frequently in the Husch Blackwell report. I have no idea how OSU would even consider him as a candidate given this scandal was less than 7 years ago.
The Oregon State Faculty Senate passed a vote of no confidence today, and called for the resignation of President F. King Alexander.
Oregon governor Kate Brown’s office released a statement that said she expected the Oregon State Board of Trustees to “take decisive action to remove” Alexander after their independent investigatory and disciplinary process.
"To my mind it is clear, that the settlement among us of an inferior race is to be discouraged by every legitimate means. Asia, with her numberless millions, sends to our shores the dregs of her population. Large numbers of this class are already here; and, unless we do something early to check their immigration, the question, which of the two tides of immigration, meeting upon the shores of the Pacific, shall be turned back, will be forced upon our consideration, when far more difficult than now of disposal. There can be no doubt but that the presence among us of numbers of degraded and distinct people must exercise a deleterious influence upon the superior race, and to a certain extent, repel desirable immigration."
- Leland Stanford, CA Gov. inauguration speech 1862
Madame Tussaud's in San Antonio has removed their Trump wax statue because people keep punching it.
https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2021/03/17/tussauds-waxworks-in-san-antonio-removes-trump-figure-because-people-keep-punching-it
Man, that's a terrible looking dummy.
face isn't fat enough. Although Madame Tussaud's is usually accurate so does that mean Trump is terrible looking? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In case you haven't seen it, here's Sergei Brin's zeppelin. It makes me vaguely uncomfortable, but I can't say that it isn't a bad idea if I was a bajillionaire.
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Sergey-Brin-Google-airship-blimp-zeppelin-LTA-16030652.php
Did someone say Skytanic?
https://archer.fandom.com/wiki/Skytanic
The airship company started in 2008 also was backed by the google guys.
A bit like that scene in Naked Gun.
Font
DC Court of Appeals goes to war against Garamond font.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-court-of-appeals-garamond-font
Huh. I love Garamond. Use it a lot. Pretty sure my resume (which is many years out of date) is in it.
It's not the easiest to read, but it strains credibility to suggest this is an issue that warrants their attention and focus, relative to other current matters they would be involved with.
Mills College is shutting down
https://sfist.com/2021/03/17/oaklands-mills-college-calls-it-quits-after-several-rough-years-will-accept-no-incoming-freshmen/
I went on several dates with a woman from Mills in the pre-cell phone, pre ubiquitous email, times. I guess we just made plans with each other's answering machines for a bit until we found each other in our rooms.
I'm curious to know how they expect to continue as an Institute as mentioned in the article without a revenue stream.
I wonder if there will be alumnae pushback as happened with Sweet Briar college (a women's college in VA that nearly closed a few years ago)
Something similar happened locally with Concordia, and there was a merger of a couple of private high schools recently. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened a lot more, both with usually small universities, as well as schools. The price tags associated with some of these are nothing short of astonishing, largely because they have no economy of scale, and yet they are so small, and often limited in focus, that they still can't cover their costs.
You would like to see some better way to link up some of these in some sort of cooperative arrangement, which would preserve some good programs, and some good people who have been trying to deliver them, but by their nature, the necessary compromise on practically everything is very challenging for a group that is doing what they have been doing because of a mindset of doing it their way as the preferred alternative over any form of compromise or cooperation.
one of my closest friends is a graduate and is quite distraught
Too bad. It once was a well known liberal arts college.
Cash
Saw him in concert at the Sonoma County Fair at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds when I was 8. My first concert.
I can't remember the last time I withdrew cash from an ATM. Definitely longer than 6 months, maybe over a year.
I rarely used cash pre-pandemic and I never use it now.
somehow i still end up using a good amount of cash. maybe it is just NYC and surrounding has more old-school cash-only places.
i set my ATM quick withdraw to $200 and usually go more than once a month
my wife says that being in Manhattan means that there's effectively a $20 "walking out the door" tax, and that's often in cash.
also, i have little mini wallet for when i go on weekend bike rides. it is good to have $1 bills so you can stop at kids' lemonade stands and it is good to have some more cash and credit card if you stop for a beer or pizza afterwards.
I get $80 maybe once a month. There are some places where I use cash, like smaller family run shops where they either have a min CC charge (donut store) or I spend < 10 and don't want them to have to absorb the fees. Also places like the farmer's market.
I noticed out here that many of the small, independent businesses went all-in on cash-free and touchless payment during the pandemic (no minimum purchase, specifically asking customers to use cards rather than cash).
That's true. Many of those places are cash free. I guess I have a few places I go every so often that are cash only or have a min so I do that. Or like the local hardware store where I went to buy $2 of screws and I don't want to have to use a card for that.
I think it's loosened a little over time, but when the shutdown first hit it was tough on the homeless I know. The only place that was taking cash was McDonalds so that was all they could buy. I used to use cash a little more but now it's almost all card. I do go to Safeway and buy a 69 cent donut to get change so I have ones to give to my homeless buds. (Otherwise I would NEVER buy a donut.)
I noted much the same.
Or some places that are cash only like Chinatown Dim Sum takeout.
Excepting the time I was in Thailand, I withdrew 200 RMB (about $30) the other week just to have emergency cash in my wallet because I paid the water delivery guy with cash - (left it under the water bottles, so couldn't use an app)
Other than that I think it was Christmas 2019 before I went to Japan was the last time I pulled cash.
I got a bunch of cash out of an ATM when things were getting a little rocky on the supply chain front last year - I always figure that it's worth having cash in hand when you might want to persuade someone to sell you something. I haven't been back to the ATM since, so far as I can recall.
I still use cash, it's useful, and often I get cash discounts - last Christmas the tree was $20 cheaper with cash, so I left a $10 tip.
I pay my barber in cash so I can get change to put a couple $ in his tip jar. I think I've only paid cash otherwise maybe once since I bought the Xmas tree at the tree farm last December. But, like DC, I try to keep some at hand just in case of a situation where I might need something on short notice.
I think Christmas trees are the only sort of purchase for which I've received a cash discount in _years_. My most frequent use of cash before These Unprecedented Times was lunch / coffee by the office, so that's stalled.
Bitcoin
i thought i saw some article the A's selling luxury suite for a season for 1 BTC. apparently a good deal compared to the normal $65k price tag
not cash though
What is the best non-native accent that you can do?
the next DBD Zoom we will all be required to use our best fake accent
Oh no!
Either Scottish or Midwest (particularly Minnesota)
French.
in fact when i call over and try to make resv for stuff i talk in English but w/ a French accent. that seems to go better than just the American accent.
plus i think when i worked on Wall St trading desk, it was particularly humorous becaus everyone can hear all your private conversations
Heh, the last time we stayed in Paris, one of the real benefits of staying in a fancy hotel was having the concierge make reservations for us, truly a world of difference.
@I didn't know McDonalds in Paris require reservations?@
I still need to write that book "Paris, on 1,000 Euros a Day"
Hong Konger speaking English?
Valley.
I'd love to be able to talk, and sing, and play guitar, like Johnny Cash.
Rather like Mr. Hyunh of Hey Arnold singing like Randy Travis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOcQOYF_kQs
Jamaican...years of listening to Reggae. On a related note, once when spending time in London and walking home from a club with some Brits, I spontaneously went into a Hank Hill accent. The Brits were laughing uncontrollably.
In a prior life I used to be an actor, so I can do a lot. I've most often been asked to do an upper-class English accent and am good at it (even had English people tell me it's good).
Sort of a Mumbai accent. I've worked with many Indians over the years.
technically speaking, my current accent, inasmuch as it's a battered English / Mid-atlantic accent and I am not English.
this was a very kind thing to do: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/03/18/ekiben-restaurant-baltimore-cancer/
https://twitter.com/SuzyNakamura/status/1372653340002193410?s=20
@SuzyNakamura: YOU GUYS, NOW THEY’RE SAYING CAPTAIN BAKER HAD A BAD DAY:
“Captain Baker had a difficult task before him, and this was one of the hardest in his 28-years in law enforcement.“
You mean because now he is held accountable for his thoughts (inside voice) and actions?
And nobody was shocked
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/18/hotline-investigation-future-of-pac-12-networks-in-doubt-as-the-sports-media-world-threatens-to-leave-the-conference-behind/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
I've never understood the entire national / regional model, although to be honest I've never tried. All I know is that ESPN+ demonstrates that you can broadcast a lot of "niche" college sports without having a massive superstructure. Folks like CalBear81 are already using a patchwork of streaming services to see games in multiple sports - so why not streamline to a single platform and detach from cable?
Larry's approach to this has been completely antiquated. He mostly ignored the large swath of cord cutters and judging by the very limited availability, he didn't try at all to get onto streaming services other than (as far as I know) Sling TV. And even then the network is in the extra add-on category. I would have paid for a subscription based stand alone app, but them again I think it would have been outrageously priced
But hey!
Wait, I can't think of a single positive thing he did.
Well, he spent a lot of money and effort so that I could see Cal get waxed by Yale and also Liangelo Ball steal some sunglasses in Hangzhou.
The real problem with good Irish Whiskey is it's too smooth, too easy to drink a bit too much. Fun fact! Before prohibition, Irish Whiskey was America's #1 imported spirit.
Folsom
Old Bear 71 loves Cash and would play this record (which I now own and play for my boys) all the time. It's still one of my faves.
I used to sing Folsom Prison Blues to my daughters as a lullaby when they were infants and being fractious.
My Dad used to sing it all the time. He also hummed the tune. He had been a big Johnny Cash fan since he was deployed in Viet Nam in 1968.
My parents lived in Fair Oaks for over a decade. Right next to Folsom and Lake Folsom. My dad watched Cal Crew participate in Nationals right on Lake Folsom.
Today in Covid-19
I have an appointment to get my first shot (finally!)
NIce. Unfortunately I Don't think I fit into any bucket so I'll have to wait until it's available to anyone over 16.
No idea when I'll qualify.
Maybe my problem is I don't have a Primary Care doctor here. I guess I'll just wait until everyone is eligible
I have a friend whose PCP contacted him that he and his parents (same PCP) could go get vaccinated. He's not in any of the buckets I don't think but they are over 75.
I emailed my doc about vaccination and he said "I support all of my patients in their quest to get vaccinated." But he had no idea of how/where to get vaccinated. My pharmacist said to register with the city of Berkeley for the vaccinations they are doing at Golden Gate Fields. They will email me when my group comes up...
[CNN]: CDC to change in-school distancing from 6 feet to 3 feet on Friday. No word if there will be signs posted outside schools notifying the virus to not infect anyone further than 3 feet away.
https://twitter.com/AnaCabrera/status/1372592905920131072
JFC, Dr. Fauci has way more patience for Rand Paul and his anti-science ilk than I could ever.
https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1372573094494285829
Our Crumbling Democracy
To the surprise of nobody, the Georgia Sheriff who glibly said that incel shooter who killed 8 people (mostly Asians) was "lashing out" after "having a bad day" was previously promoting anti-Asian t-shirts.
https://twitter.com/RichPhelps/status/1372257212966440960
AND used to work for Blackwater. Seems like a nice guy.
I for one am [not] shocked
Man arrested outside VP's residence with rifle & ammo. Kamala & family have not moved in yet.
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/17/978363447/texas-man-arrested-with-guns-ammo-outside-of-vice-presidential-residence
Trump set to do at least 12 book interviews in the coming weeks
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/17/donald-trump-book-interviews-476864
Four of them are not coloring books
This review of the Spiritual Journey of Donald Trump made me laugh
LOL
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/donald-trump-spiritual-biography/
Oh man, that is more sad than funny.
He really is such a weirdo, so convinced of his own greatness.
I'm sure he thinks he can convince the authors to write that he was the greatest President ever.
Has he actually read any books?
He can't read I'm pretty sure.
Pro
Patrick Chung - the recipient of this famous stiff-arm has decided to retire (again). https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/california-golden-bears-marshawn-lynch-10-stiffarms-oregon-ducks-15-picture-id1006107034?s=612x612
Jed Lowrie, back on the A's for the third time, doubles twice in the A's 10-5 victory over the Royals.
Lowrie is something of a local folk hero, given how long he has been able to keep piecing together a pretty good overall career.
49ers sign Alex Mack to one-year, 5.5 million $ deal.
Other College
Oregon State puts their current President F. King Alexander, who was the former President for LSU, on probation for about 10 weeks. They will hire an outside consultant to review the LSU Husch Blackwell report about Title IX violations - specifically sexual assault and harassment issues. As you can imagine, Brenda Tracy - who was allegedly gang-raped by 3 OSU football players in 1998 - is outraged. If you may recall, Ms. Tracy was the one who addressed Cal's football team to address sexual assault and personal accountability and left an impression on them. My own company hired Ms. Tracy for a speaking gig and she was a very good speaker. Mr. Alexander is mentioned frequently in the Husch Blackwell report. I have no idea how OSU would even consider him as a candidate given this scandal was less than 7 years ago.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/03/17/oregon-states-puts-former-lsu-president-f-king-alexander-probation/4741812001/
The Oregon State Faculty Senate passed a vote of no confidence today, and called for the resignation of President F. King Alexander.
Oregon governor Kate Brown’s office released a statement that said she expected the Oregon State Board of Trustees to “take decisive action to remove” Alexander after their independent investigatory and disciplinary process.
This getting real ugly.
NCAA committee to recommend dead period end May 31, but college football recruiting may be changed for good
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ncaa-committee-to-recommend-dead-period-end-may-31-but-college-football-recruiting-may-be-changed-for-good/
Cal
Go Bears!
Cal Athletics issues statement that condemns anti-Asian violence and racism.
https://twitter.com/CalAthletics/status/1372571121019539456
Apropos:
"To my mind it is clear, that the settlement among us of an inferior race is to be discouraged by every legitimate means. Asia, with her numberless millions, sends to our shores the dregs of her population. Large numbers of this class are already here; and, unless we do something early to check their immigration, the question, which of the two tides of immigration, meeting upon the shores of the Pacific, shall be turned back, will be forced upon our consideration, when far more difficult than now of disposal. There can be no doubt but that the presence among us of numbers of degraded and distinct people must exercise a deleterious influence upon the superior race, and to a certain extent, repel desirable immigration."
- Leland Stanford, CA Gov. inauguration speech 1862
https://governors.library.ca.gov/addresses/08-Stanford.html
still a depressing number of people who talk that away about immigrants (not Asian in this case, but still) https://twitter.com/janecoaston/status/1372595951542620160?s=20
Annie the Campanile falcon has laid a fourth egg.
https://twitter.com/CalFalconCam/status/1372250602852339714
The shots of Grinell looking up at the camera with a "why me?" look on his face are great.