121 Comments

Derek Chauvin sentencing

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22 1/2 years

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too short, but a (precedent-setting) long time for a killing by a cop.

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You sure? It's a long time for not being murder 1, I think.

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that's true, but people have gotten more (time) for less (crime)...but I'll add the disclaimer that I'm not a lawyer, so what do I know!

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It's 10 years longer than sentencing guidelines, so I'm choosing to think its a Result.

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that's good to know! I just hear about 3 strikes people who get life for minor things, so seemed that it might be "short", even tho 22.5 years is a big chunk of the rest of his life!

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just saw that!

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Scientists say they found another hominid species: Homo longi. They found a 140,000 year old skull in China that is closer timewise and physiologically to homo sapien than Neanderthal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/science/dragon-man-skull-china.html

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DBD Book Club

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"Twilight of the Gods" the final book in Toll's trilogy of the war in the Pacific.

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Since visiting Nag Hammadi a few years ago I resolved to get through the Nag Hammadi Codex in translation, just wrapped up "The Hypostasis of the Archons"

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I'm reading this nifty little booklet. I liberated it from my grandmother's estate 20 years ago. I forgot I had it and just now found it.

https://twitter.com/SGBear2/status/1408420638872805377

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Reminds me of that 1980s movie Atomic Cafe.

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I too enjoy those old public service type books/pamphlets. Depending on the topic and the state of science at the time they can be informative, amusing, horrifying, or a combination of all three.

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my uncle used to live in Zurich where everyone was required to have a legit nuclear shelter.

everyone used it as a wine cellar so you could probably survive for a good long time and live well down there.

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Mumford & Sons' banjo player leaves band because of the pushback on his supportive tweet for Andy Ngo. https://mrwinstonmarshall.medium.com/why-im-leaving-mumford-sons-e6e731bbc255

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1. I cannot imagine caring about what Mumford & Sons think about American politics.

2. There's no reason this guy needed to quit the band over this. In a month or two it would have blown over.

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boo fucking hoo

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Also, Andy Ngo's an asshole.

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of all the people to decide to defend...

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I think there's a good chance this guy only read the book and knows nothing else about Andy Ngo.

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The book?

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In his comments he mentions that he read Andy Ngo's book and posted positively about it on Twitter (which touched off this whole controversy).

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New Student Receptions

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Going to the send-off reception for Cal students (class of 2026 OMG) tomorrow. in the ten years I've done this in China (4 times) we've gone from 3 entering students/8 alumni to 200+ two years ago, Tomorrow 180 people have registered, but there's a lot of parents too.

I was really impressed with the current Cal students two years ago who emphasized 1. Grades are not your identity 2. Get out and do stuff beside school 3. Do not only make friends with other Chinese people 4. Expand your comfort zone 5. HERE ARE RESOURCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH. They really talked about it a lot - and they never talked about this, obviously, when I was a student.

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Good progress!

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2026? GTFO

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i used to help w/ the NYC version of this w/ the local Cal alumni chapter. but they have gotten away from it in recent years or i am not invited anymore

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You can attend mine. I've got 37 who've RSVP'd for a July 10th event at 3pm EST.

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And I could use the help. My board either moved away, quit, or recently had babies.

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is this all happening live and in-person again?

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Virtual because it's students from FL, GA, KY, TN, NC, and SC. I told CAA that I'd take GA & FL if the Georgia chapter didn't host one this year.

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Chicken

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made thai chicken and rice last night.

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the grilled chicken or hainan style?

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Mentals...

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Take care y'all

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One of the best things I've done during the pandemic is learn how to roast whole chickens in a cast iron pan. Yoghurt marinated, just salt & pepper, over cabbage, over potatoes, etc. etc. Before it was a lot of thighs and legs, but I'm enjoying whole chickens.

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this seems like a good idea in the cast iron. i usually roast the whole chicken in the Big Green Egg because the meat turns out so tender and juicy. but there is always that "start up the grill effort" that takes an additional 30 min of planning.

also, i rarely marinate, so i'll try that ...

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Try this recipe - this is what started my journey

https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/04/roast-chicken-with-schmaltzy-cabbage/

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Rhode Island

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Rhode Island is the "most Italian" state per capita, beating NJ and New York.

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the entire crimetown podcast

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is neither a road, nor an island . . . discuss.

https://tenor.com/bhrZR.gif

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Newport is decent place to visit for a weekend trip, but i would recommend picking the off-season to do so.

we went one year in December and it was crisp and windy but great for walking along the coast and a nice bike ride. the whole mansion tour thing is overrated, as you might expect.

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I remember stopping by Newport on the drive back from Cape Cod one summer. I like the East Coast oceanfront towns.

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I stayed a night in Newport last summer on the Coast to COVID, and it was delightful. Just a quaint little B & B for the pup and I. Definitely go during the off-season, or during a pandemic, of course....

However, a visit to either the Newport Jazz Festival or the equally attractive Folk Festival are on my bucket list.

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SGB 2.0 was considering attending Brown or RISD. We stopped in Providence last month and those schools dropped down in popularity. On the positive side, Jeff's Pizza is amazing and you should make a point to stop there if you're on the 195. https://www.jeffswoodfired.com/

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What were some negatives from actual observation/visit?

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Like many former industrial centers on the East Coast, it has aged roughly. While there are certainly good parts and areas of charm, there's is widespread decay. Also, there's a lot less white collar opportunities is Providence - Boston is the logical next step.

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certainly agree on the job opportunities part - that's one reason we left. Also, if you think it's scruffy now, you should have seen it 30 years ago 😬

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Then again, this isn't a far stretch from Berkeley.

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haha true. when i first visited Berkeley i thought it was really ghetto. But I grew to love it and didn't bother me at all. But when friends visited from orange county, they were scared of the place.

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Providence is overlooked, I think, lots of good food. Brown is a great place for undergrads but you have to be a bit of a self-starter.

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Some years ago I spent a couple days in Providence when my nephew was there to run in the Junior Olympics cross country championships. Bay Area kid got to race in the snow. It didn't go well.

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will put it on the list.

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I spent a St. Patty's Day in Providence in '16...drove over for the Arizona/Wichita St. round of 64 game...they do a rather festively debaucherous St. Patricks Day.

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DBD Crossfit Box

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Week 4 completed, now looking forward to my post 8wk plan, even reached out to my trainer friend who runs a gym in Shanghai (who Terence knows) about creating a plan for continuing improvements past the initial two months

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The most random shared IG follow

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have been feeling very sleepy since wednesday so skipped my HIIT session and my spin session. Might get up early for the coffee ride (50km at 30kph) tomorrow

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Heh, I planned to take a bike ride yesterday morning but was so tired that I took a nap instead. I had a reasonable amount of sleep, so I don't know what my deal was.

I had one final ride in today's lovely weather this morning before summer humidity sets in for tomorrow's long ride.

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Rain scheduled for tomorrow. I then looked at my spinning studio, but I'm out of current classes, and my next set of classes doesn't start until July 1. And buying a class individually is like $40.

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i had my first day of intervals on the bike yesterday. i was fading badly by the end of the 4th one ...

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DBD AV Club

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Anyone brought up Hacks on HBO. Pretty good S1. 15/19

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Interesting argument about how UK television and movies no longer count for EU rules for "home grown content," which means other countries are starting to jockey for position. Interestingly, the French person interviewed was speculating that there would be a reduction in US sourced content being shown, to keep popular British programming on screens while remaining in line with the regs.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jun/25/the-thought-is-unbearable-europeans-react-as-eu-plans-to-cut-british-tv

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Watched episodes 9 & 10 of S7 Clone Wars, and as G.O. said "Holy Shit" is right. Was it my imagination, or did they up the quality of the animation for those two?

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Finished Star Wars Rebels last night and I can see where the new Ahsoka series will be headed.

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I was looking for something else this morning and came across 2 netflix DVDs that I must have had for years, which was a startling reminder that I'm obviously still paying for the DVD service. So that's a task for the weekend.

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And I thought I was bad a keeping subscription services I no longer use....

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That's some real Tropic of Cancer stuff from Seinfeld....Netflix likely has DVD-Detectives that will be tracking you down... ;-)

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Sorting that out was one of my pandemic triumphs. My lingering DVD was the Spike Lee documentary on Katrina "When the Levees Broke" which I haven't watched but still really want to see.

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That doc is excellent.

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Absolutely agree. I haven't seen many of Mr Lee's films, which is On Brand for me, but that documentary is tremendous.

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I am not a huge Spike Lee fan, other than when he did the Michael Jordon Nike ads.....however, he's done 2 movies that I really enjoyed, Inside Man and 25th Hour (which is one of my all-time favorites).

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i think Do the Right Thing is one of the most important and prescient movies of the last 40 years.

And Malcolm X is a masterpiece.

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He's maybe the epitome of an up-and-down filmmaker, but when he's great he's among the best.

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Whoops!

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DBD Test Kitchen

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Filet of sole with spinach and confit potatoes tonight.

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Atlantic salmon on the grill this eve,,,

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Brisket smoking begins tonight for consumption midday tomorrow

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Planning to bbq some steak tomorrow for the first time since 2019!

But the dry age ribeye we purchased has not arrived yet.

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Our Crumbling Democracy

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[New York Times] Erik Prince (wealthy founder of Blackwater and Betsy DeVos' brother) funded an operation to hire under-cover ultra-conservative operatives within state administrations to influence electoral districting and to infiltrate and sabotage liberal organizations. It is unknown how successful they were in this Deep State shit. They recruited from Project Veritas. And it will probably not surprise anyone that they were headquartered in Cody, Wyoming.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/us/politics/spies-conservatives-left-political-enemies.html

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Hmmmm I wonder if anyone we know was involved in that.

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haha I was thinking "so that move suddenly makes more sense now, hmmmmmm"

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This picture of Kyrsten Sinema. Some great responses like "I found Waldo" and a response that her leg is a knee crutch due to a marathon-induced broken foot from "running away from her campaign promises".

https://twitter.com/FakieMcFakeface/status/1408118279047200771

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[NY Times] Manhattan DA hasn't gotten Allen Weisselberg to roll over on Trump, so now they're gearing up to go after Trump Organization. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/nyregion/trump-organization-criminal-charges.html

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Trump set to reemerge on the trail with revenge on his mind

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/25/donald-trump-2022-elections-496126

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Today in Covid 19

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Sinovac appointment #! scheduled for Sunday. I was hoping the Chinese government was going to approve Pfizer-BioNTech, and was kind of dragging my feet to try and wait for it - it's been rumored for a few months now, Pfizer and Fosun Pharma are reportedly spinning up production facilities here in Shanghai .. . but I also need to get vaccinated because the work project I'm on, it's a requirement that on-site (start in August) everyone needs to be vaccinated.

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Can you get the (supposedly not great) sinovac for paperwork purposes and then get Pfizer later?

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Probably - Sinovac is not an mRNA vaccine, so it should be able to stack. But honestly, Sinovac is effecttive at keeping people from getting serious Covid, not keeping people from catching Covid. And (hopefully) for my purpose, that's fine. Especially since transmission numbers in China are tiny since the borders are mainly closed. Right now, any outbreak of dozens of people is national news - and the last one was a month ago.

All other known cases are imported and caught in quarantine.*

*I have my suspicions that there are wild cases out there in more rural areas that don't come into contact with urban China.

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Yikes!

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Pro

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A's beat Rangers 5-1 as Jed Lowrie homers, Mark Canha injured however and will undergo an MRI. Bay Bridge Series in SF commences tonight.

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Kevin Durant fires back at Scottie Pippen's criticism that "he's not a team player" with "didn't throw a fit and sit out when the final shot got drawn up for Kukoc?"

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Jason Kidd finalizing deal to become Mavericks coach. Rick Carlisle secures Pacers job, lobs grenade at Mavs on his way out.

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Loved watching him a Cal, but doesn’t seem to be much of a coach

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Clippers and Paul George bounce back from game 2 to take game 3. Clippers now 3-0 in this year's playoffs when down 0-2

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Boo!

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Dodgers no hit by the Cubs :(

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Yay!

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Congrats to all you Cub fans out there

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Other College

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Oh geez, NC State's baseball team caught Covid. College World Series delayed because of it.

https://twitter.com/barstoolcarl/status/1408488419706220553

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Not delayed for long. In the second inning with a short roster. Can't get in the way of ESPN programming.

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Cal

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Cam Goode's mom gave her husband one of the coolest father's day presents ever. Can't wait until NIL makes this a real thing.

https://twitter.com/goodegirl84/status/1406764459587162114

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Go Bears!

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Benji Palu doesn't just grill. He also caters low country boil. Needs more andouille sausage imo. https://twitter.com/BenjiPalu_Cal/status/1408260303012335618

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ICYMI: Justin Wilcox video interview with various journalists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAWU2srYuyE

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and no one from W4C on the call.

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Key take-aways: Luc Bequette is coming back to Cal but pending NCAA approval. Gabe Cherry no longer on roster.

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Bequette's return would be a great boost to the D-line. Could the D-line finally have...depth? It seems like such a foreign concept.

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