145 Comments
User's avatar
SGBear's avatar

I have never been to Four Corners

DC Trojan's avatar

It’s not terribly interesting but it is a reminder of how appallingly poor the Navajo nation is

GoldenSD81's avatar

Navajo Nation is about the size of West Virginia and just as poor.

DC Trojan's avatar

I will admit that I’ve never spent any time in rural West Virginia for comparison but I was genuinely shocked by what I saw in Navajo Nation.

Ruey Yen's avatar

FYI, South Dakota also called itself the Sunshine State before that name became more synonymous with Florida (who put that on their license plates).

sycasey's avatar

Hmm, is South Dakota really known for its sunshine?

Ruey Yen's avatar

I have been to South Dakota and there is sunshine there...that's enough? Should one of the more extreme latitude places that has long days of sunshine during the summer (and really short days on sunlight in the winter) have that moniker instead?

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

I will be on my way to South Dakota from Cheyenne, WY in an hour. The Coast to Covid road trip is off and running...GoldenSD will be soooo disappointed in me!!

Ruey Yen's avatar

Are you stopping by Devils Tower on the way? I skipped a half-day of a conference (at Deadwood, SD) to go check that out years ago.

GoldenSD81's avatar

I’m not disappointed in you at all. Enjoy the road trip.

atoms's avatar

This is fantastic and all the states should just do this.

Cugel's avatar

Terrible! They weren't Republics, only us & Texas!

atoms's avatar

Just take out the word "republic", and keep the aesthetic.

Ruey Yen's avatar

I didn't learn until recently that the Confederacy didn't even use the now-familiar flag until midway through their short history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America

Cugel's avatar

Sort of, it was used early as the Battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, before being adopted as the flag of the Confederacy.

sycasey's avatar

Socio-political implications aside, I do think the second flag is a better-looking flag.

Cugel's avatar

That flag is amazingly bad, hard to believe it was done in 1915.

DC Trojan's avatar

You could be forgiven for thinking that someone had just cobbled it together in PowerPoint

Cugel's avatar

I know! Doesn't it look like that?

rocksanddirt's avatar

apparently I already liked your graphic.

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

Wait, are you one of the gnomes??? Also why are there two gnomes?

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

How has no one mentioned the Maryland flag here

Berkelium97's avatar

That's about as sacrilegious as badmouthing Old Bay around here.

DC Trojan's avatar

Is there anything that Marylanders will not put the flag on? There is not.

Ruey Yen's avatar

I thought the Maryland flag on everything was only a thing after the creation of Under Armour...by a University of Maryland alum.

DC Trojan's avatar

It was prevalent before then, but he certainly helped accelerate it. He wasn’t make coozies and flags and bumper stickers and so on and so forth though

Ruey Yen's avatar

Also, the red/white part has some confederacy ties. Not to mention this unfortunate shirt that said "White Pride". I can't find the photo (it's pretty generic) but here is the student paper article about it. https://dbknews.com/2016/08/12/article_574eeac4-f13a-11e1-9199-0019bb30f31a-html/

DC Trojan's avatar

Strong talk coming from someone whose home state couldn’t manage to square off their flag

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

Well, yeah. We love when WE are special and hate when OTHERS try to be 🤪

Cugel's avatar

Because it's AWESOME! As a flag, it rocks. Trust me on this.

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

Please, what do you know about aesthetics

Tangtpt's avatar

VERY challenging golf course. My memory of #1 is looking up at what seemed to be a 45 degree slope about 700 yards to the green.

Cugel's avatar

Memories of taking my son to the merry-go-round and park, his favorite was the friendly giraffe.

Wiata78's avatar

Memories of trout fishing.

SGBear's avatar

What's for breakfast?

Berkelium97's avatar

Smoothie with a mix of fresh and frozen cherries.

DC Trojan's avatar

Coffee and blood pressure meds, the breakfast of middle aged champions

imalasmax's avatar

Don’t those cancel each other out?

Cugel's avatar

Yogurt & blueberries

imalasmax's avatar

An egg white omelette

And then because my mum didn’t know I’d already made myself breakfast, apples and cinnamon oatmeal

And then because my dad didn’t know that I’d already made myself breakfast, Death Star waffles

Cugel's avatar

What is this, a Bergman film?

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

Cereal (well, granola eaten as cereal), which I am eating now and getting started with my day

goldenone's avatar

Some Hungarian Goulosh left over from last night

dcblue's avatar

After a warm run, gatorade, honeydew melon, and french toast.

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

Meanwhile, it's 60 degrees and overcast here in the western East Bay

Wiata78's avatar

I thought you were in Ohio?

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

I lived in Ohio in my childhood and again during grad school, but after grad school, I lived in Taiwan, and now I've been back in the Bay for 2 years.

AndyPanda's avatar

English muffin with jam and bacon.

DC Trojan's avatar

I don’t think this really belongs under the crumbling democracy header so I’ll put it here: watching AOC dismantle angry Republican congressmen and professional reactionaries makes me wonder why any of them think it’s going to end well when they try her.

rocksanddirt's avatar

for most of them it is the first time someone with equal or greater media clout is ripping them. So, they don't expect it. Reading the room is hard when you can't read very well.

Berkelium97's avatar

Having a baby maybe? lol. Mrs. Bk97 is due any day now, so we're mostly just waiting around for Cf98's grand arrival

heyalumnigo's avatar

Congrats on Ca-249 (was this the name the DBD decided?)

imalasmax's avatar

That’s very exciting! I wish her a painless delivery (as much as that’s possible)

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

Congratulations, and all the best for a smooth delivery and recovery!

DC Trojan's avatar

My older daughter is a July baby and as a friend helpfully pointed out as the due date came and went, the midatlantic is a place where it’s cooler in utero than outside in the summer

Berkelium97's avatar

It's probably just as humid too.

Berkelium97's avatar

I'm relishing the uninterrupted nights of sleep.

heyalumnigo's avatar

Driving cross country. At Elko now. Probably to Cheyenne-ish tomorrow. Weekend will be through Nebraska, Iowa on Sat and Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, etc.

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

Driving from Fargo, through Lake of the Woods in N. Minnesota...apparently the farthest Northern part of the lower 48 States. I will be re-watching Frances McDormand’s Fargo tonight.

imalasmax's avatar

Zoom call with a friend in Singapore, watch a livestreamed play with my grandfather, science fiction book club virtual meeting, make a chocolate wedding cake topper, write out and illustrate and mail recipes for a Reddit exchange, do a jigsaw puzzle with my mum, do some preliminary sketches for paintings for a friend’s nursery, and attempt not to read more than 5 books.

rocksanddirt's avatar

assemble some bookshelves for Mrs. classroom. Even if school is on 'distance learning', she'll need the room set up.

DC Trojan's avatar

I got nothing. Maybe dealing with the various family members’ tech refresh needs

dcblue's avatar

Try to stay out of the sun as much as possible. That may mean watching a lot of baseball on TV.

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

My brother's birthday is Saturday, so I'm making a coconut cream pie for him.

goldenone's avatar

Staining some new benches for the backyard patio...

SGBear's avatar

Today, SGB Jr went to go volunteer handing out free meals for kids who would have otherwise gotten subsidized food from schools. The gut-punch observation of the day was that a large number of the folks picking up the meals were wearing census 2020 t-shirts.

DC Trojan's avatar

Well, that’s who’s available for short term piece work 😐

Cugel's avatar

Since I started getting "American Announcement" emails, I see the bullshit the MAGA crowd believes, and they are STILL peddling lies about Hydroxychloroquine saving 100,000 lives.

This country is bonkers.

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

My work phone keeps getting texts like, "This is Don Jr. We MUST stop Pelosi and Schumer!" 😡

dcblue's avatar

Just picked up my mail and I got a letter from President Obama.

dcblue's avatar

Have even that many taken it for covid?

rocksanddirt's avatar

the crazy I see is them saying that in India the gov't is giving it to everyone.

SGBear's avatar

Hydroxychloroquine also prevents vampire attacks

Wiata78's avatar

And garlic cures covid19

rocksanddirt's avatar

what if I want to become a vampire?

imalasmax's avatar

I can send you lots of cautionary and angsty media that advises you otherwise

DC Trojan's avatar

I’m starting to worry about vampires now

SGBear's avatar

OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

GoldenSD81's avatar

Unfortunately it didn’t take Stephen Miller.

GoldenSD81's avatar

Can vampires die from the Rona? I guess we will find out.

rocksanddirt's avatar

Since it seems to affect blood vessels, I'm thinking they might have a reaction to it.

Ruey Yen's avatar

Washington Football Team will be the name used for that team for 2020. Funny thing is that if I had just woken up from a coma, I actually might think "Washington Football Team" is the name of a new soccer team (in either DC or the state of Washington).

Ruey Yen's avatar

I like the logo, particularly the Space Needle in the anchor. The name, not as much.

Ruey Yen's avatar

MLB is back tonight! There were some rumors that MLB is trying to expand the playoffs for this 60 game season but that agreement needs to happen before the first pitch of the season at around 7pm ET tonight.

Ruey Yen's avatar

16 teams will be in the playoffs this year...I'm definitely not a fan and hope it's just an one year thing. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/07/mlb-playoffs-expanded-postseaon-16-teams-2020.html

Berkelium97's avatar

Watching preseason games being played in empty stadiums wasn't nearly as odd as I expected. Maybe I'm used to it from watching a handful of Premier League matches over the last month. However, I watched some preseason NBA last night and it seemed odd: the videos of crowds in the stands, the overzealous arena announcers, sound issues with television announcers.

AndyPanda's avatar

It will be nothing new in some places, such as Tampa Bay, and places like San Diego and Seattle after May 1st (when they are normally officially eliminated) when the series isn't against an opponent that is the whole draw.

GoldenSD81's avatar

The Padres typically still fill Petco to respectable attendance even once eliminated. This is mostly due to it being great weather to spend a day at the ball park, a beautiful ballpark with lots of good food and drink options, Petco being in downtown SD, and of course opponent attendance.

heyalumnigo's avatar

The one Dodgers/Padres game I went to in August or Sept was mostly Dodgers fans.

dcblue's avatar

It will be somewhat less fun for me to watch as Juan Soto has tested positive for the virus.

Ruey Yen's avatar

But with the news of an expanded playoff to 16 teams, Nats can start very slow yet again and still salvage the season.

Ruey Yen's avatar

3 Cal alumni on active MLB roster to open the year - Semian and Canha for the A's, Knapp for the Phillies. 3 more Bears on the 60 men roster but at alternative site - 1B Vaughn (White Sox), RHP Jeffries (A's), RHP Shortridge (Pirates).

https://calbears.com/news/2020/7/23/baseball-ready-for-opening-day.aspx

SGBear's avatar

Jack Follman of SBN Pac12 focused Pacific Takes with a hot take:

https://twitter.com/jackfollman/status/1286004072235978753?s=19

goldenone's avatar

Chase Garbers Fifth after Davis Mills? Rubbish.

goldenone's avatar

I should add that Garbers is a "winner" who excels in the 2-minute drill. His nose for being tough and winning reminds me of Pawlawski.

imalasmax's avatar

Did you guys see the new Berkeley Zoom backgrounds?

https://lnkd.in/es9UtGR

dcblue's avatar

When I was out this morning I saw a guy on the bike trail that runs parallel to the dirt trail I was on who was wearing a Cal biking jersey. He was too far away for a Go Bears!

AndyPanda's avatar

Jon Wilner is advising the Pac-12 will announce plans week for a 10 game Pac-12 season starting mid-September, with an option to retain the 9 game schedule (with a few modified dates), and 3 possibilities for the Conference Championship Game.

What is less clear is what the indication is that leads to the belief that the surge in the Covid virus will subside by then. What is totally unclear is how college football can be conducted legally, never mind safely, when football as an activity at any level is currently prohibited in (at least) 1 (maybe 2) state the conference is in, and most of another, or how limits on gathering sizes can be exceeded for a few organizations, but not others.

AndyPanda's avatar

There is no indication of what the situation would be as far as fans in the stands. That's likely going to be a local, case by case situation, and should be a nightmare for making travel plans.

sycasey's avatar

I think we all just have to assume there won't be fans.

AndyPanda's avatar

I'm pretty sure that's not the plan at at least some of the Universities, due to the $s involved. Many of the suits involved will sell anyone's soul for a dime under normal conditions, and given that the company line all along has been that games will be played, oblivious to pretty much anything, I expect at least some will try, until and unless local health authorities shut them down.

Cugel's avatar

Didn't UT say 50% fans?

DC Trojan's avatar

I appear to have recovered from whatever perma-ban was enacted at SBN. I went to Conquest Chronicles and discovered that in fact it could get even more dead in the comments department 😬

rocksanddirt's avatar

I haven't been to SBN in months.

TheBuckeyeBear's avatar

https://twitter.com/THECITYNY/status/1286332708432556034?s=20

@THECITYNY: 1/ We just did an analysis of five years of data from New York City’s housing lottery system and found that those applying with the *highest* incomes are six times more likely to have their number picked than those with the *lowest* incomes.

Let’s break this down.

rocksanddirt's avatar

I'm surprised it's only 6 times as likely. I would have expected higher.