In Hokkaido, Japan's second-largest island, fluffy white little birds flitter through the trees. They look like white cotton balls bouncing around and are beloved by the Japanese, who call them “Shima enaga”. In English, they're known as long-tailed tits, though this particular subspecies is only found in Hokkaido. Unlike the Northern long-tailed tits in the rest of Japan, this one doesn’t have brown “eyebrows” – its face is completely white.
Being a living fossil, we still watch the News Hour (or the parts we find interesting), anyway there two amusing things: one after a story about Biden's sanctions on Russia, they post a graphic that said "the economy of Russia is the same size as Texas'" - which my daughter described as "flexing" - and Boehner was on promoting his book, I found it kinda sad that for someone who can joyously say "Fuck you, Ted Cruz" - he couldn't denounce QAnnon (claimed not to know what it was) - and resorted to criticizing the "crazies" in both parties.
There are definitely ideologues among the Dems, but all the actual crazies are Repubs.
Latif Nasser is the 2021 Joseph H. Hazen Lecturer in the History of Science.
While a graduate student in the history of science, Latif Nasser started moonlighting as a journalist. Upon graduating, he took the plunge covering science in print for the Boston Globe, through the podcast Radiolab, and in a Netflix docuseries called Connected. In this Hazen lecture, he will tell a bit about this professional left turn, as well as give a few tips about how to tell science stories — past and present — to audiences outside academia. Nasser will be joined in conversation with historians of science Alex Wellerstein and Ingrid Ockert, followed by Q & A with current PhD students and the audience.
Event Speakers
Latif Nasser, Host of Connected and Co-Host of Radiolab
Moderated by Alex Wellerstein, Assistant Professor in Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology
Special guest Ingrid Ockert, Marketing Communications Coordinator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Comments by Sarah Pickman, PhD Candidate in History at Yale University
Comments by Sarah Qidwai, PhD Candidate in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto
I read NYT and WaPo, and one unfortunate thing about the Times is instead of "most read" they have "most popular" which would seem to indicate shootings of American are really popular.
As a result of the in memoriam tweets I have also learned that she was married to Damian Lewis, whom I keep forgetting is English - rather like that guy who played McNulty in the Wire.
Yeah I was surprised that he was English. Also two of the main cast members on Chicago Fire are Aussie. One even did a bad fake Aussie accent on the show for a few seconds.
New CW show....Kung Fu. Mrs. watched the first ep. what I saw looks like it has potential as an action mystery family drama. One early drawback does appear to be a strong asian stereotyping of some of the characters. Hard to tell with only one episode.
Re-read my all-time favorite book for the 3rd time in anticipation of the imminent movie release on Primo Ammie de Bezos....
...Without Remorse, by Tom Clancy. It's the epic backstory of recurring Clancy character John Clark, and tho the movie has been in the works for years, it finally got done. It stars Michael B. Jordan, and judging from the synopsis/IMDB profile, you can already see that the plot has been significantly tweaked, which makes sense...the original took place in Vietnam-era. It'll be interesting to see how the movie turns out, but the book was fantastic. Highly recommended for fiction fans.
I forgot they're making a move on Without Remorse. That was an interesting book that gave the John Clark back story. I'm also wondering how close they'll follow the book.
Do you like the Jim Halpert Jack Ryan series? I enjoy them.
I like Krasinski in everything...even his Lip Sync battle tv show. He and Emily Blunt just seem like a solid couple. The Jack Ryan show is pretty solid, tho I liked Season 1 better.
Figure the movie will loosely follow the book...but I doubt it’s set in the Cold War ‘70’s with American POW’s In Vietnam. Still, a stellar backstory for Clark...a little Man on Fire-ish...
sci-fi short stories by Ted Chiang. i just recently read _Stories of Your Life_ and was very happy. it was interesting, strange, thought-provoking in a way that really good sci-fi should be
So, I'm at page 725 of 900+ Reaganland Rick Perlstein's magisterial account of American politics/culture from 1964 - 1984? Not sure where it ends. Anyway with a name like that, you'd thing it would mainly be about Reagan but no, mainly about Jimmy Carter, at this point in the book, it's the Iowa caucuses, and Herbert Walker Bush has just scored an upset win vs. RR.
This the fourth book in the series, and for me quite frustrating. Frustrating, because I was alive then, but honestly wasn't paying that much attention to politics. And reading about Carter is exasperating, because despite being intelligent and generally competent, endless unnecessary political goofs cost him a real legacy, second term, and defeat of that doddering Hollywood B-list actor.
"Lee Child" has been doing the same thing with the past 3 Jack Reacher novels. Take a breather if ya need to, Mr. Grant. These past 3 have been boo boo
I'm assuming that the quotation marks are because he doesn't write the books anymore (not sure how many it's been). I forgot, is Grant his brother's "maiden" name?
James Grant is apparently Lee Child’s real name...Lee Child being the pen name. His brother is Andrew Grant, also a writer. They combined to write the most recent Reacher book, The Sentinel.
Agreed! I was about to write that my 5-yo daughter got on a chair lift today for the first time and did the run without stopping. But then I felt like a superficial A-Hole! :-)
But she is a great kid also! Altho I guess for the above notes that there are more years of evidence. A "good kid" at 15 or 25 or more means more than a nice 5-yo...things can change for her (hope not), but the older kids (adults) are baked in already!
Agreed. Rather uplifting....we should move this conversation over to the Men's Basketball board, as it would bring some much needed joy to that disaster...
My oldest daughter had very rough high school years but is finally figuring it out at 22 years of age. My son got into Cal for this fall's freshman class. My youngest daughter is on the high school volleyball team and is generally avoiding all the drama typical for a 9th grader.
My daughter was in the OSUMB (parade block front row), this after going to a high school with a good band & symphony program, but one that at the time did not march, and a very successful Jazz Band in high school, both as a trombone player. Where, exactly the music talent came from I have no idea; it didn't come from my family, and far exceeded anything in my wife's family.
No 1 is this way. I think mostly because we got married about 6 months after she graduated, had him 11 months later, and none of our friends had kids so he always talked with adults. The one funny thing was he always wanted me to call the haircut place to get him an appt. Not sure why he never wanted to call.
Every year Mr. CG2004 and I go through the pile of annual holiday letters that land in our mailbox, and we just marvel at the fact that although our son and daughter may not be curing cancer or awaiting the buyout of their start up, we're darn proud of the good solid people they've become. And we make a point of telling them.
My brother hit 20k in savings. For someone who struggled to find and keep a job, and even when he had a job wasn't the best about saving, I'm particularly proud of him.
Yesterday we ended the day in 5th place- especially thanks to @clapdoc (Nam asked g. oso and I to pass along apologies to @clapdoc because he thought you were his students trying to troll him because your twitter had zero followers and followed zero people)
Nam has ANOTHER anonymous donor willing to match up to $2,520 so if you donate (https://app.mobilecause.com/e/BzZbrQ?vid=hmpo0) screenshot and @aguynamednam on Twitter - or send to rico or myself and we'll get it counted for the matching funds. It's a great cause .. . and a way to show out being petty.
I thought I was done, but wanted to get those matching funds, so I threw in 71.74 (for Rich Campbell's 4 years of passing totals) and 25 (for Marshawn Lynch's touchdowns)
Ten of us traveled to Hokkaido in Jan 2020 for two weeks (SFO - Tokyo, Kyoto, Niseko). The beauty of Hokkaido was incredible. Would consider it a do-over, but it's a long haul. At the start of the trip (mid-Jan in Tokyo) packed subways/trains and no masks other that the few natives who wore them as custom. By the time we headed home, NRT airport security were fully masked up, thermal scanning passengers (us) coming off the plane from Sapporo (CTS). Arrived in LAX from NRT - no masks (yet)!
Rented a bus to haul us and the gear from CTS to Niseko. Everything else was Ubers or taxis, including the round trip from condo to grocery store and back. Stayed on mountain in two condos. We hit the sweet spot with snow conditions. It snowed a few days before we arrived and a couple of good dumps while we were there. Great for powder hounds in our group; me, not so much but I managed just fine. Most of us opted to bring the boots and rent the boards. On-site shop made for easy ski-in and out, literally the lobby level of the condo complex. Overnight storage, easy gear exchange with their in town shop. With fully equipped kitchens we cooked breakfasts, ate most dinners out (no bad meals), created our own in-house cocktails ($$$), and club music mix! Kanpai!
One thing to consider if you're flying JAL or ANA (or affiliated, like UAL) is that you can (could?) buy a Golden Ticket (not the Willy Wonka version). You get five one-way domestic tix for ¥50000 (about $460 at this time). Even if you are just two peeps and waste the fifth ticket, still might be worth it at ~$90/flight. But if you're five people, then two Golden Tix fits the bill!
No, I live in orange county. But I go to Japan for work, mostly super country side as I in the dairy industry. I've never been to Niseko actually. Would like to snowboard there someday.
It's a little bit of an awkward trip unless you're going to spend at least 4 days up there since it's 3 hours from Sapparo. But of course there are tons of ski hills in Hokkaido - you don't have to go to Niseko - people are complaining that it's too Chinese nowadays anyways. (Yes, but as an American I can't get a international driver's permit unless i go home so I just stick to where the easy transport links are - and that's Niseko and Rusutsu - also Niseko is so built up the food is so good. One of the best pizzas I've ever had is a 8 table tiny shack where the chef/owner spent 15 years in Italy studying pizza making.)
From 2000 until two years ago I spent about 7 weeks in Hokkaido snowboarding at Niseko and Rusutsu - I really miss it. The week I spent in China snowboarding just didn't measure up (although it was 30% of the price - and also took 2 hours to fly there instead of 5)
Hokkaido is fantastic; wife is Japanese so I've been there twice. The lavender fields in Furano are amazing (we missed the peak in our side trip there unfortunately).
The better snow is Dec - Feb, but the main thing is to AVOID CHINESE NEW YEAR (and any Japanese Golden Weeks) - both of them move from year to year so I don't have a consistent piece of advice but just be sure to avoid CNY and Japanese Golden Week.
Also, it's not QUITE as expensive as you would think - if you have a big enough group, renting a cabin and driving a car could work out - but if you want to drive you'll need an international driver's permit from AAA or any other body that issues them in the US. THey're like $20 and they take like 30 minutes to get.
If you eat out every meal, Japan will add up, but buying groceries and you can keep the prices down - lift tickets are quite cheap - $70-100 USD. Also, Niseko is the big built out resort, but I love love love Rusutsu. My next trip I think I will split my days evenly between the two.
Also also, if you have your own equipment - make sure it's set to powder. I brought my Burton Custom up a couple of times and have had negative experiences. Now I have a Skeleton Key short Pow board and it is my favorite thing in the entire world to do.
Not sure where to place this in the thread (and it's a sidebar from Hokkaido, altho sticking with skiing). While I've been to Hokkaiko, I haven't skied there. Did ski a few years ago in Nagano (some of the olympic resorts), which were amazing. Big and cheap! In addition to (instead of?) morning and afternoon passes, they have Happy Time passes (of course they do!) It's a four-hour pass that starts when you start. Wife and daughter were with fam that day, so I just did run after run after run. I think it was a weekday, so very empty. Had VPN and cell service on phone, so watched Dubs v Lakers while on the chair!
Yeah, Happo-One is something you can add on 3 days from Tokyo and take the Shinkansen up there. The real expense of Japan is: Tokyo. And it's difficult really find super cheap meals - most cheap Japanese meals are at connivence stores and vending machines. but lift passes and hotels (pensions, apartments, etc.) outside of Tokyo are all very affordable.
find a favorite okonomiyaki place and fill yourself up for about $10! And then there's kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) for the fish eaters. And there's a nice Indian place across from Shibuya Tokyu Hands (and if you're in Tokyo, you *have* to be at Tokyu Hands at some point). Unlimited butter naan – the nice fluffy triangular version, not the pita bread I seem to find in San Francisco – at least during lunch.
Besides that, soba and udon "ticket machine" places are no-frills, but good. $5 maybe? And the food in Japanese convenience stores can be quite good...not the 7-11 rolling hot dog or red-painted cardboard pizza that we're used to here! ;-)
And...the basements of department stores have lots of little shops, many of which have free samples...if you're in a pinch and feeling experimental!
i had some romantic notion of staying in some Japanese inn, sleeping on tatami mats and getting great food everyday w/ the expectation it would be expensive.
about equipment, not sure if we would travel from NY w/ our stuff especially if we were to spend some time in Tokyo. but definitely hoping to experience some of the powdery snow that Japan is known for.
i usually travel w/ my backcountry skis which are light and versatile enough to ski powder days. but good to know what you said in advance.
Yeah - it's a lot easier for me to think about lugging my board all over as a single guy. IF you have the money - Japan is super easy to do with equipment though - you can fly into Narita. Spend 30 minutes shipping your skis up to your hotel in Hokkaido via Yamato Transport - most Japanese people do not travel with their equipment for a long trip, only for weekends - enjoy Tokyo, fly up and then get your skis at the hotel (or do the reverse, when you're done with your week in Hokkaido, ship it to Narita Airport, enjoy Tokyo, and then get to the airport a couple hours early to find the Yamato desk and then get them out to check in)
But, of course, if you're not a "I need to have my stuff" family, they obviously have tons of ski rental places in Hokkaido.
I am trying to 1) be more positive when I see something that comes from people enjoying themselves, and 2) think through things I might not ordinarily try. I was a very narrow minded youth about what I was willing to try that was new - but I turned 50 last year, and I'm starting to think about what to make of my remaining orbits of the sun without the cop-out of waiting for retirement. So while I'm not likely to be snowboarding on Hokkaido any time soon, who knows what could be possible?
After a sluggish start, the Golden State Warriors came alive to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-101.
Stephen Curry led the way with 33 points, while reserve Juan Toscano-Anderson put up a career-high 20 points in the victory, giving the Dubs their first-four game winning streak of the season.
The Oakland A’s collected eight hits on Thursday including a pair of homers, but it was the gifts they received from their opponent that pushed them over the top.
The A’s drew a dozen walks and benefited from a pair of fielding errors in an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers that didn’t feel half as close as the final score suggests. Oakland increased their winning streak to five games, in the first of a four-part weekend series at the Coliseum.
At the end of five innings, this was a frustrating kind of night. The A’s led 3-2 but it seemed like it should have been much more, as they left the bases loaded twice but did manage a pair of solo homers, just never quite sequencing everything together correctly against Tigers starter and Hayward native Tarik Skubal.
Twice the Dodgers trailed by a pair of runs on Thursday night, and twice they got three-run home runs, one from each of their hottest hitters. It was Max Muncy’s three-run shot in the seventh that game LA the lead for good in a 7-5 win over the Rockies to complete the three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have swept the Rockies in five of their last seven series at home, winning 20 of their last 23 matchups against Colorado at Dodger Stadium.
Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, a pair of walks brought Muncy to the plate with two outs, against reliever Yency Almonte. Muncy slammed a 2-0 changeup 405 feet into the right field pavilion.
Pads blew chances to win with men on base in 9th, in the 10th BIG TIME and big time again in 11th, striking out 4 times w/ a runner on 3rd...they’re not ready for prime time v. The Doyers...
It was a great game. Not sure why the Padres Mateo started the bench clearing dance. Yes he was hit but Santana isn't trying to hit him in that situation.
Next man up. Bellinger out for a couple of months? Raley steps up and hits a HR. Let Kiké go? McKinstry looks like a vet at the plate and a possible rookie of the year. Use your best 4 relievers? David Price has bounced back after struggling in his first few appearances and looks really good over his last 3 outings.
recently Sonoma County allowed the idea for fans at the Toyota Save Mart 350 for NASCAR at Sonoma Raceway, no idea on the raw number but it definitely seems like normality is coming back (at least for me)
This is true although NHRA has dramatically less people to hold since its on the strip as opposed to the road course and INDYCAR doesn't even go to Sonoma anymore so as of right now it should be 15 mins additional aside from NASCAR weekend.
Yeah I'd venture to guess they'll shoot for somewhere around 35-40% but 50% would be able to be done since sonoma is 2.5 miles long and the stands are stretched out.
True and Sonoma County has like bottom 3 total cases in the state in terms of county and mix that with increasing vaccinations this is a good idea in my opinion.
Being a living fossil, we still watch the News Hour (or the parts we find interesting), anyway there two amusing things: one after a story about Biden's sanctions on Russia, they post a graphic that said "the economy of Russia is the same size as Texas'" - which my daughter described as "flexing" - and Boehner was on promoting his book, I found it kinda sad that for someone who can joyously say "Fuck you, Ted Cruz" - he couldn't denounce QAnnon (claimed not to know what it was) - and resorted to criticizing the "crazies" in both parties.
There are definitely ideologues among the Dems, but all the actual crazies are Repubs.
https://scienceandsociety.columbia.edu/events/latif-nasser-how-turn-your-phd-netflix-series
next Friday
Event Description
Latif Nasser is the 2021 Joseph H. Hazen Lecturer in the History of Science.
While a graduate student in the history of science, Latif Nasser started moonlighting as a journalist. Upon graduating, he took the plunge covering science in print for the Boston Globe, through the podcast Radiolab, and in a Netflix docuseries called Connected. In this Hazen lecture, he will tell a bit about this professional left turn, as well as give a few tips about how to tell science stories — past and present — to audiences outside academia. Nasser will be joined in conversation with historians of science Alex Wellerstein and Ingrid Ockert, followed by Q & A with current PhD students and the audience.
Event Speakers
Latif Nasser, Host of Connected and Co-Host of Radiolab
Moderated by Alex Wellerstein, Assistant Professor in Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology
Special guest Ingrid Ockert, Marketing Communications Coordinator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Comments by Sarah Pickman, PhD Candidate in History at Yale University
Comments by Sarah Qidwai, PhD Candidate in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto
I read NYT and WaPo, and one unfortunate thing about the Times is instead of "most read" they have "most popular" which would seem to indicate shootings of American are really popular.
Helen McCrory (Harry Potter, the Crown, Peaky Blinders) has died https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1383099980940972059?s=20
As a result of the in memoriam tweets I have also learned that she was married to Damian Lewis, whom I keep forgetting is English - rather like that guy who played McNulty in the Wire.
Yeah I was surprised that he was English. Also two of the main cast members on Chicago Fire are Aussie. One even did a bad fake Aussie accent on the show for a few seconds.
Saw him first in Band of Brothers.
He does play hella Americans.
DBD AV Club
Posted yesterday, started watching The Bureau; French spy show, really really good, three episodes in, we both love it
New CW show....Kung Fu. Mrs. watched the first ep. what I saw looks like it has potential as an action mystery family drama. One early drawback does appear to be a strong asian stereotyping of some of the characters. Hard to tell with only one episode.
New F9 The Fast Saga trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEE4RO-_jug&ab_channel=TheFastSaga
Most transformational movie franchise there is I love it but my dad hates it lol.
I like the first 3 better when they were driving movies not action movies. But I'll still watch each one just because they're so entertaining.
I like to imagine how quickly the characters would die if it were real life and they were driving/fighting the way they do.
i give it about 5 minutes.
DBD book club
Re-read my all-time favorite book for the 3rd time in anticipation of the imminent movie release on Primo Ammie de Bezos....
...Without Remorse, by Tom Clancy. It's the epic backstory of recurring Clancy character John Clark, and tho the movie has been in the works for years, it finally got done. It stars Michael B. Jordan, and judging from the synopsis/IMDB profile, you can already see that the plot has been significantly tweaked, which makes sense...the original took place in Vietnam-era. It'll be interesting to see how the movie turns out, but the book was fantastic. Highly recommended for fiction fans.
DBD Book/AV Club!!!
I forgot they're making a move on Without Remorse. That was an interesting book that gave the John Clark back story. I'm also wondering how close they'll follow the book.
Do you like the Jim Halpert Jack Ryan series? I enjoy them.
I like Krasinski in everything...even his Lip Sync battle tv show. He and Emily Blunt just seem like a solid couple. The Jack Ryan show is pretty solid, tho I liked Season 1 better.
Figure the movie will loosely follow the book...but I doubt it’s set in the Cold War ‘70’s with American POW’s In Vietnam. Still, a stellar backstory for Clark...a little Man on Fire-ish...
I loved Man on Fire. One of those movies I'll watch if I'm flipping around and I see it on.
She calls her bear...Creasey Bear
sci-fi short stories by Ted Chiang. i just recently read _Stories of Your Life_ and was very happy. it was interesting, strange, thought-provoking in a way that really good sci-fi should be
So, I'm at page 725 of 900+ Reaganland Rick Perlstein's magisterial account of American politics/culture from 1964 - 1984? Not sure where it ends. Anyway with a name like that, you'd thing it would mainly be about Reagan but no, mainly about Jimmy Carter, at this point in the book, it's the Iowa caucuses, and Herbert Walker Bush has just scored an upset win vs. RR.
This the fourth book in the series, and for me quite frustrating. Frustrating, because I was alive then, but honestly wasn't paying that much attention to politics. And reading about Carter is exasperating, because despite being intelligent and generally competent, endless unnecessary political goofs cost him a real legacy, second term, and defeat of that doddering Hollywood B-list actor.
I read Dean Koontz's "Silent Corner" while sitting/napping on the beach this week. He mailed it in. 7/19, WNB
"Lee Child" has been doing the same thing with the past 3 Jack Reacher novels. Take a breather if ya need to, Mr. Grant. These past 3 have been boo boo
I'm assuming that the quotation marks are because he doesn't write the books anymore (not sure how many it's been). I forgot, is Grant his brother's "maiden" name?
James Grant is apparently Lee Child’s real name...Lee Child being the pen name. His brother is Andrew Grant, also a writer. They combined to write the most recent Reacher book, The Sentinel.
Pinot noir
Probably my favorite Titus Andromedon song
Sea Smoke Pinot Noirs are my favorite.
They are very good, I think you get better value with Williams Selyem. I also like Caldera, Domain Eden, and well I could go on and on.
Thx. I have had Caldera (very good). I will look for a Williams Selyem.
What do you think of Kosta Browne?
Also excellent, there's some good values up North in the Anderson Valley, generally around $50.
Something your child does/did that makes you proud. If no children, something about a friend.
Going to the bathroom without being reminded.
(He's 5 and autistic, so it's a big deal when this happens.)
It's lovely to see everyone's comments here!
Agreed! I was about to write that my 5-yo daughter got on a chair lift today for the first time and did the run without stopping. But then I felt like a superficial A-Hole! :-)
But she is a great kid also! Altho I guess for the above notes that there are more years of evidence. A "good kid" at 15 or 25 or more means more than a nice 5-yo...things can change for her (hope not), but the older kids (adults) are baked in already!
Agreed. Rather uplifting....we should move this conversation over to the Men's Basketball board, as it would bring some much needed joy to that disaster...
My oldest daughter had very rough high school years but is finally figuring it out at 22 years of age. My son got into Cal for this fall's freshman class. My youngest daughter is on the high school volleyball team and is generally avoiding all the drama typical for a 9th grader.
My daughter was in the OSUMB (parade block front row), this after going to a high school with a good band & symphony program, but one that at the time did not march, and a very successful Jazz Band in high school, both as a trombone player. Where, exactly the music talent came from I have no idea; it didn't come from my family, and far exceeded anything in my wife's family.
That's soooo very cool. Nice.
My son's fearlessness in speaking in a public setting, even among people he does not know.
No 1 is this way. I think mostly because we got married about 6 months after she graduated, had him 11 months later, and none of our friends had kids so he always talked with adults. The one funny thing was he always wanted me to call the haircut place to get him an appt. Not sure why he never wanted to call.
Beyond everything else, I am proudest that my son is a good person
Every year Mr. CG2004 and I go through the pile of annual holiday letters that land in our mailbox, and we just marvel at the fact that although our son and daughter may not be curing cancer or awaiting the buyout of their start up, we're darn proud of the good solid people they've become. And we make a point of telling them.
My sons are good people. They are also better persons than their old man.
This is what I would say as well.
Yes this.
My brother hit 20k in savings. For someone who struggled to find and keep a job, and even when he had a job wasn't the best about saving, I'm particularly proud of him.
both my daughters are competitive rock climbers.
the older one is particularly competitive and is perennially on the verge of making it to Nationals. hopefully this year ...
they are also excellent skiers, which is something i can do with them, unlike rock climbing
I did indoor climbing one day with the boys using a groupon. It was fun. Tough but fun.
My son finishing his MBA at 21.
EDSBS CharitiBundi Bowl
Yesterday we ended the day in 5th place- especially thanks to @clapdoc (Nam asked g. oso and I to pass along apologies to @clapdoc because he thought you were his students trying to troll him because your twitter had zero followers and followed zero people)
https://twitter.com/newampaths/status/1382895099672211456?s=20
Here's the top ten as of yesterday:
the Michigan Money Cannon - $58,591
Georgia Tech - $21,654
Bama - $18,801
Georgia - $15,317
Cal $15, 143
tOSU - $14,614
Penn State $13,156
Florida - $11, 807
Texas - $10, 179
Notre Dame $8,781
Nam has ANOTHER anonymous donor willing to match up to $2,520 so if you donate (https://app.mobilecause.com/e/BzZbrQ?vid=hmpo0) screenshot and @aguynamednam on Twitter - or send to rico or myself and we'll get it counted for the matching funds. It's a great cause .. . and a way to show out being petty.
I thought I was done, but wanted to get those matching funds, so I threw in 71.74 (for Rich Campbell's 4 years of passing totals) and 25 (for Marshawn Lynch's touchdowns)
What are the chances we stay in the top 5?
Provided we make the $2520 match and hit $20K, i'd say good shot at top 5
HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND IN SECOND
Can someone sell a company really quickly so that we can get to first?
we're not catching the Michigan money cannon unless someone cashes in their Dogecoin.
@clapdoc - here's Nam's apology
https://twitter.com/AGuyNamedNam/status/1382882295741222915?s=20
No apology needed it makes sense when I reactivate a Twitter that I have never used before and will likely never use again.
Hokkaido
Ten of us traveled to Hokkaido in Jan 2020 for two weeks (SFO - Tokyo, Kyoto, Niseko). The beauty of Hokkaido was incredible. Would consider it a do-over, but it's a long haul. At the start of the trip (mid-Jan in Tokyo) packed subways/trains and no masks other that the few natives who wore them as custom. By the time we headed home, NRT airport security were fully masked up, thermal scanning passengers (us) coming off the plane from Sapporo (CTS). Arrived in LAX from NRT - no masks (yet)!
Rented a bus to haul us and the gear from CTS to Niseko. Everything else was Ubers or taxis, including the round trip from condo to grocery store and back. Stayed on mountain in two condos. We hit the sweet spot with snow conditions. It snowed a few days before we arrived and a couple of good dumps while we were there. Great for powder hounds in our group; me, not so much but I managed just fine. Most of us opted to bring the boots and rent the boards. On-site shop made for easy ski-in and out, literally the lobby level of the condo complex. Overnight storage, easy gear exchange with their in town shop. With fully equipped kitchens we cooked breakfasts, ate most dinners out (no bad meals), created our own in-house cocktails ($$$), and club music mix! Kanpai!
One thing to consider if you're flying JAL or ANA (or affiliated, like UAL) is that you can (could?) buy a Golden Ticket (not the Willy Wonka version). You get five one-way domestic tix for ¥50000 (about $460 at this time). Even if you are just two peeps and waste the fifth ticket, still might be worth it at ~$90/flight. But if you're five people, then two Golden Tix fits the bill!
I go to Hokkaido 3-5 times every year. Last year I only got to go twice before Covid and none this year, but can't wait to go back. The animal I am hoping to see sometime in Hokkaido is this https://iheartintelligence.com/real-life-pokemon-tiny-adorable-japanese-dwarf-flying-squirrels/
Are you based elsewhere in Japan? I've run into a couple of Cal people on the slopes before.
No, I live in orange county. But I go to Japan for work, mostly super country side as I in the dairy industry. I've never been to Niseko actually. Would like to snowboard there someday.
It's a little bit of an awkward trip unless you're going to spend at least 4 days up there since it's 3 hours from Sapparo. But of course there are tons of ski hills in Hokkaido - you don't have to go to Niseko - people are complaining that it's too Chinese nowadays anyways. (Yes, but as an American I can't get a international driver's permit unless i go home so I just stick to where the easy transport links are - and that's Niseko and Rusutsu - also Niseko is so built up the food is so good. One of the best pizzas I've ever had is a 8 table tiny shack where the chef/owner spent 15 years in Italy studying pizza making.)
From 2000 until two years ago I spent about 7 weeks in Hokkaido snowboarding at Niseko and Rusutsu - I really miss it. The week I spent in China snowboarding just didn't measure up (although it was 30% of the price - and also took 2 hours to fly there instead of 5)
Hokkaido is fantastic; wife is Japanese so I've been there twice. The lavender fields in Furano are amazing (we missed the peak in our side trip there unfortunately).
agreed about Furano! Also went to Rebun and Rishiri (islands NW of Hokkaido), which are worth a few days.
i have been looking into a ski trip to Hokkaido for a couple years now. we havent figured out all the logistics but it looks amazing.
would you recommend Feb (during kids Presidents week break) or Mar (kids springs break, but often late Mar)?
The better snow is Dec - Feb, but the main thing is to AVOID CHINESE NEW YEAR (and any Japanese Golden Weeks) - both of them move from year to year so I don't have a consistent piece of advice but just be sure to avoid CNY and Japanese Golden Week.
Also, it's not QUITE as expensive as you would think - if you have a big enough group, renting a cabin and driving a car could work out - but if you want to drive you'll need an international driver's permit from AAA or any other body that issues them in the US. THey're like $20 and they take like 30 minutes to get.
If you eat out every meal, Japan will add up, but buying groceries and you can keep the prices down - lift tickets are quite cheap - $70-100 USD. Also, Niseko is the big built out resort, but I love love love Rusutsu. My next trip I think I will split my days evenly between the two.
Also also, if you have your own equipment - make sure it's set to powder. I brought my Burton Custom up a couple of times and have had negative experiences. Now I have a Skeleton Key short Pow board and it is my favorite thing in the entire world to do.
Not sure where to place this in the thread (and it's a sidebar from Hokkaido, altho sticking with skiing). While I've been to Hokkaiko, I haven't skied there. Did ski a few years ago in Nagano (some of the olympic resorts), which were amazing. Big and cheap! In addition to (instead of?) morning and afternoon passes, they have Happy Time passes (of course they do!) It's a four-hour pass that starts when you start. Wife and daughter were with fam that day, so I just did run after run after run. I think it was a weekday, so very empty. Had VPN and cell service on phone, so watched Dubs v Lakers while on the chair!
Yeah, Happo-One is something you can add on 3 days from Tokyo and take the Shinkansen up there. The real expense of Japan is: Tokyo. And it's difficult really find super cheap meals - most cheap Japanese meals are at connivence stores and vending machines. but lift passes and hotels (pensions, apartments, etc.) outside of Tokyo are all very affordable.
find a favorite okonomiyaki place and fill yourself up for about $10! And then there's kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) for the fish eaters. And there's a nice Indian place across from Shibuya Tokyu Hands (and if you're in Tokyo, you *have* to be at Tokyu Hands at some point). Unlimited butter naan – the nice fluffy triangular version, not the pita bread I seem to find in San Francisco – at least during lunch.
Besides that, soba and udon "ticket machine" places are no-frills, but good. $5 maybe? And the food in Japanese convenience stores can be quite good...not the 7-11 rolling hot dog or red-painted cardboard pizza that we're used to here! ;-)
And...the basements of department stores have lots of little shops, many of which have free samples...if you're in a pinch and feeling experimental!
this is great and useful info.
i had some romantic notion of staying in some Japanese inn, sleeping on tatami mats and getting great food everyday w/ the expectation it would be expensive.
about equipment, not sure if we would travel from NY w/ our stuff especially if we were to spend some time in Tokyo. but definitely hoping to experience some of the powdery snow that Japan is known for.
i usually travel w/ my backcountry skis which are light and versatile enough to ski powder days. but good to know what you said in advance.
Yeah - it's a lot easier for me to think about lugging my board all over as a single guy. IF you have the money - Japan is super easy to do with equipment though - you can fly into Narita. Spend 30 minutes shipping your skis up to your hotel in Hokkaido via Yamato Transport - most Japanese people do not travel with their equipment for a long trip, only for weekends - enjoy Tokyo, fly up and then get your skis at the hotel (or do the reverse, when you're done with your week in Hokkaido, ship it to Narita Airport, enjoy Tokyo, and then get to the airport a couple hours early to find the Yamato desk and then get them out to check in)
But, of course, if you're not a "I need to have my stuff" family, they obviously have tons of ski rental places in Hokkaido.
I am unlikely to ever use this advice but I love it
DCT, I love your commentary. I plan to copy it.
I am trying to 1) be more positive when I see something that comes from people enjoying themselves, and 2) think through things I might not ordinarily try. I was a very narrow minded youth about what I was willing to try that was new - but I turned 50 last year, and I'm starting to think about what to make of my remaining orbits of the sun without the cop-out of waiting for retirement. So while I'm not likely to be snowboarding on Hokkaido any time soon, who knows what could be possible?
Our Crumbling Democracy
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/15/republican-party-big-business-georgia-voting-rights-conservative-481978
Fascinating look at the crumbling relationship between Repubs and the business community.
Wow that's an eye opening article.
'A nicer version of Trump': GOP donors flock to DeSantis
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/16/desantis-trump-gop-donors-481891
Figures, they are both of the "sweep it under the rug and pretend it isn't a problem" school of thought.
More mass shootings. More teenagers shot by cops.
Today in Covid 19
Pro
Let's go Roots!
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31269669/former-nfl-star-marshawn-lynch-joins-ownership-group-usl-oakland-roots
Stop the presses, the Warriors have won 4 games in a row
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2021/4/15/22386678/warriors-cavs-final-score-curry-leads-dubs-to-win
After a sluggish start, the Golden State Warriors came alive to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-101.
Stephen Curry led the way with 33 points, while reserve Juan Toscano-Anderson put up a career-high 20 points in the victory, giving the Dubs their first-four game winning streak of the season.
Game #13: A’s stroll to victory over Tigers
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2021/4/15/22387065/oakland-as-game-13-detroit-tigers-score-result
The Oakland A’s collected eight hits on Thursday including a pair of homers, but it was the gifts they received from their opponent that pushed them over the top.
The A’s drew a dozen walks and benefited from a pair of fielding errors in an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers that didn’t feel half as close as the final score suggests. Oakland increased their winning streak to five games, in the first of a four-part weekend series at the Coliseum.
At the end of five innings, this was a frustrating kind of night. The A’s led 3-2 but it seemed like it should have been much more, as they left the bases loaded twice but did manage a pair of solo homers, just never quite sequencing everything together correctly against Tigers starter and Hayward native Tarik Skubal.
Justin Turner, Max Muncy give Dodgers leads, David Price saves it to sweep Rockies
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/4/15/22386949/max-muncy-justin-turner-home-runs-david-price-dodgers-rockies-recap
Twice the Dodgers trailed by a pair of runs on Thursday night, and twice they got three-run home runs, one from each of their hottest hitters. It was Max Muncy’s three-run shot in the seventh that game LA the lead for good in a 7-5 win over the Rockies to complete the three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have swept the Rockies in five of their last seven series at home, winning 20 of their last 23 matchups against Colorado at Dodger Stadium.
Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, a pair of walks brought Muncy to the plate with two outs, against reliever Yency Almonte. Muncy slammed a 2-0 changeup 405 feet into the right field pavilion.
Pads blew chances to win with men on base in 9th, in the 10th BIG TIME and big time again in 11th, striking out 4 times w/ a runner on 3rd...they’re not ready for prime time v. The Doyers...
It was a great game. Not sure why the Padres Mateo started the bench clearing dance. Yes he was hit but Santana isn't trying to hit him in that situation.
Next man up. Bellinger out for a couple of months? Raley steps up and hits a HR. Let Kiké go? McKinstry looks like a vet at the plate and a possible rookie of the year. Use your best 4 relievers? David Price has bounced back after struggling in his first few appearances and looks really good over his last 3 outings.
Price even got an RBI. ha! Getting hit in extra innings and you start a rumble? That's nonsense. San Diego isn't ready for prime time just yet...
GBBR
GBBR
Jaylen Brown nearly perfect against Lakers
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401307638
Go Bears :(
17-20 and 3-5 on 3PT. nice
Other College
NCAA suspends the sit-a-year transfer rule for '21-22 season.
https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-council-adopts-new-transfer-legislation
Cal
GO Bears!!!
In honor of clapdoc's generous donation, let's watch the 2002 highlights vs. Baylor
https://youtu.be/gtrgFvSG58w
Go Bears!
recently Sonoma County allowed the idea for fans at the Toyota Save Mart 350 for NASCAR at Sonoma Raceway, no idea on the raw number but it definitely seems like normality is coming back (at least for me)
Welp, that's the end of driving home from Kenwood down 121. Back to Arnold Drive, 116, and Lakeville Road.
at least for the weekend of June 6th lol.
It's the Sonoma Raceway season in general that is at issue and the return of crowds as the state reopens.
Traffic on that stretch of 121 can add 30 minutes or more to a return trip home from Kenwood *when Sonoma Raceway holds a race*.
So much has changed in the last 50 years.
This is true although NHRA has dramatically less people to hold since its on the strip as opposed to the road course and INDYCAR doesn't even go to Sonoma anymore so as of right now it should be 15 mins additional aside from NASCAR weekend.
Should be able to do it at 50% capacity if they require evidence of negative test or vaccination.
Yeah I'd venture to guess they'll shoot for somewhere around 35-40% but 50% would be able to be done since sonoma is 2.5 miles long and the stands are stretched out.
At least it's outside.
True and Sonoma County has like bottom 3 total cases in the state in terms of county and mix that with increasing vaccinations this is a good idea in my opinion.