went for a HOT ride in Reno. 100 deg temps, but there was a nice breeze.
rode up the Mt Rose Hwy to the ski area. 10 miles straight uphill. took almost 2 hours.
the descent was fast, great. i didnt take any chances on a rental bike so i probably hit about 40 mph downhill
not that i wasnt sufficiently impressed w/ the pro riders, but when it takes you 2 hrs to do a climb they do at 3x the speed and then do 3-4 of them in one day, it is hard to comprehend the level of fitness ...
My dad was really allergic to bites. I was somewhat. I remember as a kid going backpacking in Desolation Wilderness. I got bit and by time we were going home I had a red line running up my arm from the bite spot toward my shoulder. They took me to Kaiser emergency and gave me some kind of shot. Don't remember of what.
When I was a young teenager, I learned that if a mosquito hit a blood vessel, you could cause them to explode by briefly constricting the blood supply then removing said constriction. I've seen it done. Hell, I've done it.
A friend of mine took a sabbatical for a year and traveled the world several years back after selling his tech. company. Problem was he caught malaria in Africa - still having side effects to this day. Not something to play around with.
Season 1 or 2? Have you hit the Dark Quiet Death episode?
Season 2 was more uneven for me - some high points, but there was a lot of episodes centered on side characters who I didn't feel like should be front characters. But the way they ended the season is promising- hopefully Apple will renew
I loved the Dan Flashes sketch. Thought there were a few really good, but mostly just ok/decent from the new season. Higher ratio of great ones in Season 1, which set a really high bar.
ICYMI: Lauren Boebert (R-CO) - in her own words - proudly describing how social programs helped her rise up so she can now fight against social programs.
TX Democrats leave state to stall anti-voting legislation. Gov. Abbott (R) threatens to arrest the law makers even though it isn't illegal because he's a blowhard wannabe despot.
After all the stories of Californians fleeing to Texas, I have to say I feel a bit of dark joy in reading all these Texan Dystopia news stories, even though I must acknowledge the awfulness as well
Yeah, I'm not out of the woods yet, even if I've been vaccinated. We just don't fully understand the consequences of the Delta variant on people who have been vaccinated.
Tennessee is the land of personal freedom, one of five state with a mature minor doctrine that allows health care providers decide whether a minor is mature enough to understand the impacts of getting medical care - specifically vaccines. The state head of vaccines shared this fact in a memo, so she was fired because this particular vaccine is politicized.
You figure the final few rounds are pretty iffy on whether the guys just pass on signing and play college ball, so it’s really the first dozen or so rounds that matter
Also this year without any scouts being able to see players it's easier to watch video of a pitcher throwing than a batter hitting. You can't teach velocity. The Dodgers drafted a HS kid that was throwing 98 but was all over the place. I mean even during warmups he bounced lots of balls. But he was throwing high 90s which you can't teach. Kinda like you can't teach height in basketball.
Salvador Perez got the unfortunate pairing. Hit the 2nd most HRs in the round (28 I think) and still lost. Of course others still stopped when they won so they could've had more but still sucks for Perez.
That was so impressive. He didn't even seem to get tired. Ohtani was worn out. He looked like he got caught up in the moment and tried to yank HRs down the line.
If you look at how Ohtani swings the bat...max effort and thus the really long balls when he does connect with the proper launch angle, I don't think he can win a home run derby that way
As was apparent last night, the person pitching is an important component. Lefties generally were at a disadvantage there as well. Ohtani hadn't hit a ball off the guy throwing to him since spring training. Both pace and location really matter, and some of the contestants had obviously better prepared than others.
Yeah, I was glad that they did nix the never-truly-enforced rule about not tossing the next pitch until the previous one had landed...since that benefited one type of home run hitters but not others
He was locked in during his interview after his first round while the other guy was hitting. All his answers were serious. He got 1M for winning and his salary is only 676K so it got 150% of his yearly salary for winning. I can understand his mission of winning.
NC State adopted its "wolfpack" mascot in 1947. Cheerleaders would bring a timber wolf named State to games. But State was too afraid — he would cringe and cry when he was in the stadium. He was eventually sold to a traveling circus.
Another wolf named Lobo I came in 1959, but he died not long after arriving and was quickly replaced by Lobo II. That one did not last much longer. A timber wolf who was rolled out in a cage during games, Lobo II was so traumatized by the thousands of screaming fans that he had a nervous breakdown and never recovered. One night, his cage was left open and he ran away into the woods, never to return.
None of this should have come as a surprise to anyone who understands wolves. They are nocturnal animals who do not like being around humans. It would be difficult to pick a worse atmosphere for a wolf than a packed football stadium on a Saturday afternoon.
That did not stop North Carolina State from trying. Fans and students sold 25-cent shares and collected enough money to buy yet another timber wolf in 1966. This time, it worked out for a while. Lobo III was comfortable around people and used to delight fans by howling on the sideline. He was the perfect fit. Or so it seemed. One day, a zoology professor took a closer look. It turned out that Lobo III was a coyote. Lobo III fell out of favor and was unsuccessfully replaced with Malamutes and Huskies through the 70s.
In 2010, the University chose a Tamaskan, a mix of German shepherd, Alaskan malamute and Siberian husky - which looked like a wolf but was all domestic dog. The dog got the stage name Tuffy. Tuffy retired after a good long run and had his seed frozen to preserve his lineage. Tuffy II was sired, but died of a heart problem due to his grain-free dog food diet. Tuffy II's sister was assassinated by poisoning.
Tuffy's jizz was defrosted and he sired another litter. Among that, we now have Tuffy III.
I think their "request" is based on the same idea that folks convicted of marijuana crimes should have their record expunged of those crimes now that marijuana crimes are no longer crimes.
I agree. Not that I expect that the NCAA will grant the request. But maybe they will.
Tour de France rest day .. was yesterday.
went for a HOT ride in Reno. 100 deg temps, but there was a nice breeze.
rode up the Mt Rose Hwy to the ski area. 10 miles straight uphill. took almost 2 hours.
the descent was fast, great. i didnt take any chances on a rental bike so i probably hit about 40 mph downhill
not that i wasnt sufficiently impressed w/ the pro riders, but when it takes you 2 hrs to do a climb they do at 3x the speed and then do 3-4 of them in one day, it is hard to comprehend the level of fitness ...
Mosquitos
growing up going to India for the summer, we had to always get malaria shots, sleep under mosquito nets, etc
There was a good Throughline episode about mosquitoes. It said roughly half of all people in human history died of mosquito borne illnesses.
My dad was really allergic to bites. I was somewhat. I remember as a kid going backpacking in Desolation Wilderness. I got bit and by time we were going home I had a red line running up my arm from the bite spot toward my shoulder. They took me to Kaiser emergency and gave me some kind of shot. Don't remember of what.
Sharper Image and others sell a trap that doesn't zap them, it just sort of starves them to death.
https://www.sharperimage.com/view/product/1+Acre+Flying+Insect+and+Mosquito+Trap/201447?rrec=true&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=agt.DSA-SiteWide&Keyword=&device=c&creative=350101116715&cm_mmc=CPC-_-Google-_-agt.DSA-SiteWide-_-Everything+Else&network=g&matchtype=b&adpos=&creative=350101116715&mkwid=oz4aMDq4%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpcrid%7C350101116715%7Cpmt%7Cb%7Cpdv%7Cc%7Cslid%7C%7Cproductid%7C%7Cpgrid=22700081903&ptaid=dsa-19959388920&gclid=CjwKCAjw87SHBhBiEiwAukSeURSdR4pS4vJWubZsd14N43onU1_2yEMgCxD4Bp7Xymx0O6DS7EsWxRoCwx0QAvD_BwE
I bought something similar to this that was propane powered. Didn't work that well.
Is that actually less cruel?
I'll be frank and say I'm not worried one iota about cruelty to mosquitos.
Same. Nasty little bloodsuckers.
The mosquitos don't seem to worry about cruelty to humans.
Not really sure. But the zapping types make the bugs explode, spreading bit of bug guts over a small radius, so you may not want to be nearby.
When I was a young teenager, I learned that if a mosquito hit a blood vessel, you could cause them to explode by briefly constricting the blood supply then removing said constriction. I've seen it done. Hell, I've done it.
...they prefer my wife
She is kind of the best!
This may be the most important thing fr sub-saharan Africa this century. Bravo, Science!
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-04-23-malaria-vaccine-becomes-first-achieve-who-specified-75-efficacy-goal
A friend of mine took a sabbatical for a year and traveled the world several years back after selling his tech. company. Problem was he caught malaria in Africa - still having side effects to this day. Not something to play around with.
They were horrible in Louisville.
DBD Test Kitchen
It's national french fry day, everyone! 🍟
I had onion rings with lunch
I did not know that, but I did have some fries at lunch today, so I did my patriotic duty.
I shall be sure to celebrate!
DBD AV Club
Really enjoying The Bureau - best spy show ever? I think so.
I’ve heard it’s a quality program.
I haven’t seen yet, but strong rev in this genre for Deutschland 83, have you seen?
No I haven't, I see it's also on AMC+
*strong rec I mean
Five episodes in to Mythic Quest and I love it already.
Season 1 or 2? Have you hit the Dark Quiet Death episode?
Season 2 was more uneven for me - some high points, but there was a lot of episodes centered on side characters who I didn't feel like should be front characters. But the way they ended the season is promising- hopefully Apple will renew
I thought it started REALLY slowly. But second half was good, in particular the pandemic and post-pandemic eps.
S2 was stronger. And I liked the two-part CW episode.
I guess I preferred Poppy and Ian's office conflict over following the tester's relationship. I did like the CW stuff a lot.
I really like Jo, but I didn't need all the Jo centric episodes (same with Brad).
I'll give you that the tester drama was meh. and yes, a bit less Jo (and Brad) wouldn't have been bad.
Was getting a bit tired of Poppy and Ian, but I did like the Poppy gets an award episode.
started rewatching Central Park. Trying to like it, but the songs just aren't that good...
Central Park has every thing I should I like, but it didn't catch on with me.
Dickinson is my Apple TV recommendation once you get past the major ones.
Agreed about Dickinson, altho S2 < S1
And I didn’t “re” watch CP, but rather started again, with like S1E5
Started Community...funny
It peters out at the end, but it's a very strong first 3 seasons.
SKIP S6...S5 is meh.
Yes, 6 is terrible, but 5 has some great episodes.
Some…could justifiably stop at end of S4 (when Glover leaves, right?)
Very much so, finished a re-watch a few months ago.
I loved the Dan Flashes sketch. Thought there were a few really good, but mostly just ok/decent from the new season. Higher ratio of great ones in Season 1, which set a really high bar.
Oh my god it is amazing. I laugh so hard that tears are just pouring out of me. I miss Detroiters, too, maybe can be rebooted on Netflix?
Yeah I think there must be some consolidation in the offing in streaming land. There are just too many of these things now
Our Crumbling Democracy
‘Get on the team or shut up’: How Trump created an army of GOP enforcers
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/13/trump-gop-enforcers-state-chairs-499456
ICYMI: Lauren Boebert (R-CO) - in her own words - proudly describing how social programs helped her rise up so she can now fight against social programs.
https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1306238422764474369
Good for her for squeezing an entire Onion article into 280 characters
TX Democrats leave state to stall anti-voting legislation. Gov. Abbott (R) threatens to arrest the law makers even though it isn't illegal because he's a blowhard wannabe despot.
https://twitter.com/ChristinaKVUE/status/1414743616250077195
A friend of mine (well actually a friend of mine's husband) is in that exodus. He's a state legislator representing a district of Houston.
After all the stories of Californians fleeing to Texas, I have to say I feel a bit of dark joy in reading all these Texan Dystopia news stories, even though I must acknowledge the awfulness as well
Today in Covid 19
People with greater risk conditions feel they are getting ignored, and are scared.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/12/frightened-readers-risk-ill-covid-share-thoughts-health-condition
My sister sent me an article pointing out that some vaccinated folks are starting to show up with Covid of the Delta variant, which is worrisome.
Yeah, I'm not out of the woods yet, even if I've been vaccinated. We just don't fully understand the consequences of the Delta variant on people who have been vaccinated.
It's a good reason to keep wearing masks indoors.
Stupid Republicans
There are so many...
Tennessee is the land of personal freedom, one of five state with a mature minor doctrine that allows health care providers decide whether a minor is mature enough to understand the impacts of getting medical care - specifically vaccines. The state head of vaccines shared this fact in a memo, so she was fired because this particular vaccine is politicized.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/12/health/tennessee-vaccine-manager-fired/index.html
Pro
MLB Draft just concluded, no Cal players taken in the 10 rounds of Day 3. Just the 4 taken on Day 2 this year.
Also, the Angels used all 20 picks on pitchers.
The Dodgers were right with them until they deviated and took a SS in round 16 and an OF in round 18. The rest were pitchers.
You figure the final few rounds are pretty iffy on whether the guys just pass on signing and play college ball, so it’s really the first dozen or so rounds that matter
Also this year without any scouts being able to see players it's easier to watch video of a pitcher throwing than a batter hitting. You can't teach velocity. The Dodgers drafted a HS kid that was throwing 98 but was all over the place. I mean even during warmups he bounced lots of balls. But he was throwing high 90s which you can't teach. Kinda like you can't teach height in basketball.
Matt Olson hits 23 homers, exits in the first round.
Salvador Perez got the unfortunate pairing. Hit the 2nd most HRs in the round (28 I think) and still lost. Of course others still stopped when they won so they could've had more but still sucks for Perez.
Polar Bear mauls the Home Run Derby.
That was so impressive. He didn't even seem to get tired. Ohtani was worn out. He looked like he got caught up in the moment and tried to yank HRs down the line.
If you look at how Ohtani swings the bat...max effort and thus the really long balls when he does connect with the proper launch angle, I don't think he can win a home run derby that way
As was apparent last night, the person pitching is an important component. Lefties generally were at a disadvantage there as well. Ohtani hadn't hit a ball off the guy throwing to him since spring training. Both pace and location really matter, and some of the contestants had obviously better prepared than others.
Yeah, I was glad that they did nix the never-truly-enforced rule about not tossing the next pitch until the previous one had landed...since that benefited one type of home run hitters but not others
That's the only way Todd Frazier was able to beat Joc.
Unless the rules are tweaked yet again to reward more for distance (but then that's not really a home run derby)
Toward the end of the time period he started hitting HR's. First minute and a half were rough for him, though.
He was locked in during his interview after his first round while the other guy was hitting. All his answers were serious. He got 1M for winning and his salary is only 676K so it got 150% of his yearly salary for winning. I can understand his mission of winning.
Other College
NC State adopted its "wolfpack" mascot in 1947. Cheerleaders would bring a timber wolf named State to games. But State was too afraid — he would cringe and cry when he was in the stadium. He was eventually sold to a traveling circus.
Another wolf named Lobo I came in 1959, but he died not long after arriving and was quickly replaced by Lobo II. That one did not last much longer. A timber wolf who was rolled out in a cage during games, Lobo II was so traumatized by the thousands of screaming fans that he had a nervous breakdown and never recovered. One night, his cage was left open and he ran away into the woods, never to return.
None of this should have come as a surprise to anyone who understands wolves. They are nocturnal animals who do not like being around humans. It would be difficult to pick a worse atmosphere for a wolf than a packed football stadium on a Saturday afternoon.
That did not stop North Carolina State from trying. Fans and students sold 25-cent shares and collected enough money to buy yet another timber wolf in 1966. This time, it worked out for a while. Lobo III was comfortable around people and used to delight fans by howling on the sideline. He was the perfect fit. Or so it seemed. One day, a zoology professor took a closer look. It turned out that Lobo III was a coyote. Lobo III fell out of favor and was unsuccessfully replaced with Malamutes and Huskies through the 70s.
In 2010, the University chose a Tamaskan, a mix of German shepherd, Alaskan malamute and Siberian husky - which looked like a wolf but was all domestic dog. The dog got the stage name Tuffy. Tuffy retired after a good long run and had his seed frozen to preserve his lineage. Tuffy II was sired, but died of a heart problem due to his grain-free dog food diet. Tuffy II's sister was assassinated by poisoning.
Tuffy's jizz was defrosted and he sired another litter. Among that, we now have Tuffy III.
https://twitter.com/PackAthletics/status/1414979255918755840
The ex-The Ohio State players want their record reinstated. I don't understand the logic that the rule change now means that their wrongdoing then is suddenly okay....unless there are evidence that EVERYBODY was doing this and they were the only ones that got caught. https://sports.yahoo.com/ex-ohio-state-qb-terrelle-pryor-and-others-ask-for-ohio-state-to-reinstate-records-for-2010-team-that-went-12-1-165346587.html
I think their "request" is based on the same idea that folks convicted of marijuana crimes should have their record expunged of those crimes now that marijuana crimes are no longer crimes.
I agree. Not that I expect that the NCAA will grant the request. But maybe they will.
Good luck with that...
Cal
Go Bears!!!
Anyone know what day Fall camp will start?