Typhoon In Fa made landfall over the weekend here in China (near Shanghai) - we were pretty lucky with just tons of rain and fuck-you level winds, but nothing really bad like what happened in Zhengzhou with the recent flooding and dozens of deaths. A compound wall fell over a couple of blocks away, but it's mainly downed branches and curb level flooding here.
The convergence of "return to campus" and "reorganize and relocate everything IT" and "move lots of processing and data to the cloud" and "replace core systems so we can claim credit for doing so" all at once, by people who do not begin to grasp the complexities of any of these initiatives, much less having all of them occur in collision, and over-committing to making too many changes during times of unprecedented change generally.
A close second is aging and overtaxed infrastructure that means dealing with something unexpectedly failing on a daily basis, with no budget (or time) for upgrading anything.
A coworker said in a meeting yesterday, "I can feel the anger in the room," and I imagine she was referring to my facial expression, because she then sent me a calendar invitation for a 1:1 check in today.
Our big annual meeting is in August. The person who is normally in charge of planning that meeting went on medical leave in January and told management that she was probably going to retire after medical leave. Management didn't take her work seriously, so they chose not to replace her. But, that means the group planning the meeting is inexperienced (I am tangential to the planning, but this year, I'm the most experienced person in the group), and the new person in charge didn't listen to my (or other people's) concerns. She made a bunch of decisions, but then left us to implement them, and we finally reached a breaking point (the platform for the virtual meeting is unstable and inconsistent) last Friday (she was conveniently on vacation) and made the choice to switch back to Zoom (which we'd been trying to use all along, but she didn't want to listen). In the meeting, she kept saying, "We've all been working hard, we're all frustrated..."
A few weeks ago I attended a virtual conference that used the "Let's Get Digital" platform which comes from the Netherlands. It had an odd sense of humor (they include a toilet option) and a number of strange access issues.
When you click on the toilet option, a hostess appears and points out the public Toiletten, she but also remarks that the ones in your home are much closer. Dutch humor?...In our actual conference, the toilet option was still there, but they changed it to link to an instructional video on the International Space Station Toilets.
I can believe it's a hot mess from the organizer side. They wanted to accomodate international time zones, so each day the conference ran for 14 hours.
I cannot tell how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. - The oracle, O Brother Where Art Thou?
White Lotus on HBO, with Connie Britton, Steve Zahn & Stiffler's Mom, among others...um, interesting? 3 of 6 episodes have aired, and while I wouldn't call it must-see tv, it's my kind of train wreck and I wanna see what ends up happening. It does have Alexandra Daddario, who I remember first seeing in season 1 of True Detective, and she is a national treasure.
I have a 2nd cousin who swam in the 100 Free this morning, representing Guam. Finished 2nd in his heat and (I think) 59th overall. Fire Starkey name represent! Top swimmer from Micronesia I think. For DC...he swam for Brown a few years back.
Nice! I have a second cousin who is representing Taiwan in gymnastics! I don't know him super well, but I'm close to his grandma (my grandma's sister).
My wife was watching the women's gymnastics on NBC last night. I was only passively listening while doing something else, but the announcers really turned me off with their hubris. They talked about the USA's utter dominance, generational talent, and how crushingly good these ladies were before they even started. That' not the gymnasts fault, but it seemed really tacky.
Her Chinese rival was a terminator - nearly emotionlessly going through her lifts. This contrasts with Diaz, who brought bubbly emotional spirit to her lifts that were perfectly on brand for the Philippines. Her lift is at the 4m 11s mark.
That was awesome! Reminds me of when wrestler Rulon Gardner beat the Russian in 2000 for the Gold. And he ended up appearing in an episode of Nash Bridges.
I had a medical procedure done today and I was chatting with my surgical nurse before going into the OR, and discussing when my company is scheduled to return to the office (Sept 7th). She looked hard at me and said, "yeah, you're not going back then."
I agree with her, but would love for the CEO to pull the plug sooner rather than later on this.
Thank you! I'm good. I had a interlaminar steroid epidural (basically, steriods injected into my upper spinal column) to help treat the two herniated discs in my neck I've been battling for nearly a year. This was a repeat procedure -- I had it also in January and it was fantastic until early June when the effects started to wear off, so we did it again to buy another six months to see if the discs will heal because I am super not interested in spine surgery, which would be the next step.
When this all started, I thought worst-case scenario was lasting to the end of the year (2020). I don't know how confident I am about things being 100% back to normal by the end of *this* year anymore.
DOJ: Former Trump officials can testify about Jan. 6 Capitol attack
The move greenlights potentially damning testimony from aides close to Trump, coming as the House select committee on the riot holds its first hearing.
Must have missed the news that Chad Hansen is now in Detroit reunited with Goff. I hope he makes the roster. He has a chance with the Lions with almost all the WR production from 2020 not returning.
Nick Rolovich pipes a slightly different tune about vaccines today. No word on whether his butt still hurts from the spanking given by the University President.
Yup, although I think the fans run about 70-80% fans feel "fire his ass" 20-30% are MAGA, saw my first crazy propaganda - but the mod hid it nearly instantaneously
The last time I was on the OSU campus was 2016 for a Cal/OSU game basketball game. My friend's brother is one of the Assistant ADs and got me a few tickets to watch. I was walking around campus and saw a big #WTFOSU banner. WTF? Got closer and it read "What to Fix, Oregon State University". Did no one in management proofread that sign?
PSA: Albanese 12 flavor gummies are the best Gummy Bears by far. Available in the bulk foods at places like Sprouts or in a small (around 8 oz) bag or a huge 5 lb bag. Factory is off I-65 in Indiana right before it ends at I-90.
Because "life is great when you are able to snack on the best beef jerky while watching the finest college athletes in your home region" and nothing else matters.
Guess where I'm NOT going this summer...
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/27/ozarks-lake-covid-unvaccinated-500784
I thought Lake Havasu was the hardest partying lake.
Dat-dere London Bridge Resort there really goes wild......I knowit....
I thought that place sounded familiar...the same thing happened last year
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-lake-of-the-ozarks-pool-party-20200922-d6ohdhaoargz3bqho3ha7xkdpa-story.html
Even absent covid it doesn't seem like a place I'd hang out.
Email I just got at work: So cool -- he's now talking about his hot-nozzle technique!
Maybe you can get some ideas for your follow up short story.
naughty
sounds rule 34-ish.
Typhoons/Hurricanes/Cyclones
Typhoon In Fa made landfall over the weekend here in China (near Shanghai) - we were pretty lucky with just tons of rain and fuck-you level winds, but nothing really bad like what happened in Zhengzhou with the recent flooding and dozens of deaths. A compound wall fell over a couple of blocks away, but it's mainly downed branches and curb level flooding here.
Those flood videos were scary :(
So the next one will be So?
pqtm
then la
A typhoon in LA would be nice.
Time for a cup of tea.
with jam and bread.
Obstacles
procrastination
lack of interest in doing things
The convergence of "return to campus" and "reorganize and relocate everything IT" and "move lots of processing and data to the cloud" and "replace core systems so we can claim credit for doing so" all at once, by people who do not begin to grasp the complexities of any of these initiatives, much less having all of them occur in collision, and over-committing to making too many changes during times of unprecedented change generally.
oh god no
A close second is aging and overtaxed infrastructure that means dealing with something unexpectedly failing on a daily basis, with no budget (or time) for upgrading anything.
"sure just let me wave my magic wand over that"
Finding a building manager...
Apparently, NO Jeopardy for 2 weeks b/c of stupid Olympic coverage on NBC here in SB....boo.
My lack of poker face
A coworker said in a meeting yesterday, "I can feel the anger in the room," and I imagine she was referring to my facial expression, because she then sent me a calendar invitation for a 1:1 check in today.
What are you mad about?
Our big annual meeting is in August. The person who is normally in charge of planning that meeting went on medical leave in January and told management that she was probably going to retire after medical leave. Management didn't take her work seriously, so they chose not to replace her. But, that means the group planning the meeting is inexperienced (I am tangential to the planning, but this year, I'm the most experienced person in the group), and the new person in charge didn't listen to my (or other people's) concerns. She made a bunch of decisions, but then left us to implement them, and we finally reached a breaking point (the platform for the virtual meeting is unstable and inconsistent) last Friday (she was conveniently on vacation) and made the choice to switch back to Zoom (which we'd been trying to use all along, but she didn't want to listen). In the meeting, she kept saying, "We've all been working hard, we're all frustrated..."
There is no "we." The rest of us tried hard.
Short sighted management is a drag.
Also the norm.
A few weeks ago I attended a virtual conference that used the "Let's Get Digital" platform which comes from the Netherlands. It had an odd sense of humor (they include a toilet option) and a number of strange access issues.
A toilet option, you say?
And yes, virtual conferences are an intriguing tool, but also a hot mess!
https://letsgetdigital.com/en/
When you click on the toilet option, a hostess appears and points out the public Toiletten, she but also remarks that the ones in your home are much closer. Dutch humor?...In our actual conference, the toilet option was still there, but they changed it to link to an instructional video on the International Space Station Toilets.
I can believe it's a hot mess from the organizer side. They wanted to accomodate international time zones, so each day the conference ran for 14 hours.
I cannot tell how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. - The oracle, O Brother Where Art Thou?
DBD AV Club
White Lotus on HBO, with Connie Britton, Steve Zahn & Stiffler's Mom, among others...um, interesting? 3 of 6 episodes have aired, and while I wouldn't call it must-see tv, it's my kind of train wreck and I wanna see what ends up happening. It does have Alexandra Daddario, who I remember first seeing in season 1 of True Detective, and she is a national treasure.
Mrs. Coach! I'll always identify her that way.
All the acting is excellent but it's really difficult to figure out what kind of show it is or where it's even going. It's satire, I guess?
Sort of related: https://twitter.com/jerryasleep/status/1419971288521576451?s=20
DBD Test Kitchen
Olympics
German judo competitor Martyna Trajdos has an... uh... unusual psych-up routine.
https://twitter.com/michaljadczak/status/1419939509911830530
She must have been a fan of that similar scene in Airplane!
Maybe next time she could have a drinking problem.
I actually caught the Barbara Billingsly I-speak-Jive scene yesterday on tv...classic.
"Cutty say can't hang...."
Republic of China wins first its medals of Olympics, including gold.
I have a 2nd cousin who swam in the 100 Free this morning, representing Guam. Finished 2nd in his heat and (I think) 59th overall. Fire Starkey name represent! Top swimmer from Micronesia I think. For DC...he swam for Brown a few years back.
Nice! I have a second cousin who is representing Taiwan in gymnastics! I don't know him super well, but I'm close to his grandma (my grandma's sister).
Still breaking news, but Biles injured and out of team competition.
My wife was watching the women's gymnastics on NBC last night. I was only passively listening while doing something else, but the announcers really turned me off with their hubris. They talked about the USA's utter dominance, generational talent, and how crushingly good these ladies were before they even started. That' not the gymnasts fault, but it seemed really tacky.
Cal alum '17 Ryan Murphy takes bronze in the 100m backstroke - the first time the US hasn't taken gold since 1992
Philippines wins their first medal ever as Hidilyn Diaz takes gold in the women's 55kg
You can watch the highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDAFZFL1fGg
Her Chinese rival was a terminator - nearly emotionlessly going through her lifts. This contrasts with Diaz, who brought bubbly emotional spirit to her lifts that were perfectly on brand for the Philippines. Her lift is at the 4m 11s mark.
That was awesome! Reminds me of when wrestler Rulon Gardner beat the Russian in 2000 for the Gold. And he ended up appearing in an episode of Nash Bridges.
Today in Covid-19
Anti-mask Huntington Beach restaurant says it will only serve unvaccinated diners
https://www.ocregister.com/2021/07/26/anti-mask-huntington-beach-restaurant-says-it-will-only-serve-unvaccinated-diners/
how exactly are you supposed to prove a negative? Just by declaration?
<<animated gif michael scott declare unvaccinated.gif>>
Have to wear a MAGA hat.
What could go wrong?
The US could see 200,000 Covid-19 cases a day within the next six weeks, former CDC director says
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html
I had a medical procedure done today and I was chatting with my surgical nurse before going into the OR, and discussing when my company is scheduled to return to the office (Sept 7th). She looked hard at me and said, "yeah, you're not going back then."
I agree with her, but would love for the CEO to pull the plug sooner rather than later on this.
At least my 3 kids will be going to schools that require vaccination. Otherwise I'd be waiting or when they revert to zoom classes again.
I think the over/under is after Christmas break.
Hope it went well, and you will be ok soon!
Thank you! I'm good. I had a interlaminar steroid epidural (basically, steriods injected into my upper spinal column) to help treat the two herniated discs in my neck I've been battling for nearly a year. This was a repeat procedure -- I had it also in January and it was fantastic until early June when the effects started to wear off, so we did it again to buy another six months to see if the discs will heal because I am super not interested in spine surgery, which would be the next step.
When this all started, I thought worst-case scenario was lasting to the end of the year (2020). I don't know how confident I am about things being 100% back to normal by the end of *this* year anymore.
Our Crumbling Democracy
GOP Chair Stefanik says that 1/6 Insurrection was... [checks notes]... Nancy Pelosi's fault.
https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1420016108527046657
DOJ: Former Trump officials can testify about Jan. 6 Capitol attack
The move greenlights potentially damning testimony from aides close to Trump, coming as the House select committee on the riot holds its first hearing.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/27/doj-trump-officials-testify-jan-6-capitol-attack-500819
1. I doubt any Trump aids will or are even willing to testify.
2. If by a slim chance any are, I’m sure this will be challenged in court by Trump.
Pro
Must have missed the news that Chad Hansen is now in Detroit reunited with Goff. I hope he makes the roster. He has a chance with the Lions with almost all the WR production from 2020 not returning.
USE HIS REAL NAME.
Yep. They have been banished to the Siberia of the NFL. Now let's see what they can do. This is Hansen's big chance to shine.
USMNT advances in the Gold Cup to the QF to play Qatar after an 82 minute goal by Matthew Hoppe. Qatar is the Asian champ and not to be taken lightly.
No, they look very good on the attack, maybe less so on defense. Almost let El Salvador back in that game.
Qatar is the champ over Japan and South Korea?
They won the 2019 tournament (the last one played). I don't think most people would have them ranked above those teams in general, but upsets happen.
huh, who knew
Other College
George K: 😐
https://twitter.com/slmandel/status/1420038629485809664
Nick Rolovich pipes a slightly different tune about vaccines today. No word on whether his butt still hurts from the spanking given by the University President.
https://twitter.com/slmandel/status/1420059154568278016?s=20
I checked Coug Center and they basically called for his firing yesterday.
Yup, although I think the fans run about 70-80% fans feel "fire his ass" 20-30% are MAGA, saw my first crazy propaganda - but the mod hid it nearly instantaneously
George K: no comment on Texas Tech to the Pac-12, but whoever comes over doesn't need AAU accreditation (eg, Texas Tech, Baylor).
https://twitter.com/rossdellenger/status/1420041519218577414?s=21
Texas Tech would be a meh addition. Hard pass on Baylor.
Agreed. If we are expanding and only taking Big 12 leftovers then I would add Tech and OSU.
We could have a battle of OSUs and they both have to wear black and orange.
We already did that. Was not a "must do this again" event.
The last time I was on the OSU campus was 2016 for a Cal/OSU game basketball game. My friend's brother is one of the Assistant ADs and got me a few tickets to watch. I was walking around campus and saw a big #WTFOSU banner. WTF? Got closer and it read "What to Fix, Oregon State University". Did no one in management proofread that sign?
George K: we got the meat
https://pac-12.com/article/2021/07/24/pac-12-announces-old-trapper-official-sponsor
Official Jerky of the Pac-12 Conference?
How about a gummy bear manufacturer?
PSA: Albanese 12 flavor gummies are the best Gummy Bears by far. Available in the bulk foods at places like Sprouts or in a small (around 8 oz) bag or a huge 5 lb bag. Factory is off I-65 in Indiana right before it ends at I-90.
Because "life is great when you are able to snack on the best beef jerky while watching the finest college athletes in your home region" and nothing else matters.
Cal
Go Bears!!!