Events

The President and the convicted-felon XPOTUS will perform for the voting public this evening in what CNN optimistically calls a "debate." One of them currently managing the Federal government competently and without drama as an impressive cap to his 50 years in public service, while the other is a convicted fraudster who has raped, stolen, and lied his way through 50 years of narcissistic fury. But sure, let's have them discuss matters of national concern. Hillary Clinton, who has actually debated both...

Yesterday's productivity apparently included my nose producing a few billion coronaviruses: This comes almost exactly two years after my last bout with the disease (that I know of). That one took about 5 days to resolve, so I figure I'll be fine by Tuesday. I've had a couple of colds since June 2022 but tested negative for SARS-Cov-2, though before 2020 I rarely got colds of any kind. I'll get my next Covid booster in September when flu shots come out, but I think going forward, I'll get one every six...

I'm trying to get home a little earlier than usual, so this will be a lazy post. Stuff to read: Hillary Clinton, who has debated both President Biden and the convicted-felon XPOTUS, has thoughts on tomorrow night's event. Dana Milbank doesn't mourn Rep. Jamaal Bowman's (D-NY) loss last night, and neither do I. If you hate corporations, you might want to support President Biden's increase to the corporate income tax as well as to his proposed increase in the share-buyback tax. The village of Wheaton...

Lunchtime link roundup: Dr Daniela J Lamas of Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston evaluates how age has affected President Biden and the convicted-felon XPOTUS, given that whoever wins in November has a high probability of being the oldest serving US President in history. Israel's highest court ruled that the IDF can, in fact, draft all the religious nutters who have avoided doing anything for the benefit of society since the country was founded. Perhaps this will help the country's crushing...

I woke up at my usual time this morning, noticed how dark it was, checked radar, and got Cassie out the door less than 10 minutes later. Because by the time I had her to day camp and got myself to the Metra platform, it looked like this: Waiting for the train, I got this: But what luck, it let up just as the train arrived. The photo doesn't do it justice: those are horizontal rain bands, and I was standing behind a window. By the time I got down to Ogilvie, we had this: Again, just a bit of light rain...

I may have my next Japanese itinerary, courtesy of Not Just Bikes:

Butters Poochface has gone home, Cassie and I have taken about an hour of walks so far, and the temperature hasn't yet cracked 25°C. I'm about to upend Cassie's life, though. It's bath time. Even one night boarding can create an awful smell. Wish me luck. Last time I bathed her, Cassie accepted her fate with grace and humility. The time before that she...didn't.

I've got a performance this evening that requires being on-site at the venue for most of the day. So in a few minutes I'll take two dogs to boarding (the houseguest is another performer's dog), get packed, an start heading to a hockey rink in another city. Fun! If I'm supremely lucky, I'll get back home before the storm. Since I also have to travel to the venue, I'll have time to read a few of these: Jamelle Bouie warns that the convicted-felon XPOTUS has even less preparation for a possible second term...

Imagine an overnight train from New York to Miami that takes 12 hours. China just opened a $165 train that does about the same thing: From Hong Kong to Beijing, the overnight trip takes 12 hours 30 minutes, and it covers roughly the same distance as a flight from New York to Miami or Los Angeles to Dallas. It complements the 8 hour 15 minute day train that has run for years. The overnight trip to Shanghai takes 11 hours. The corresponding day train takes just 7 hours 47 minutes. We can have similar rail...

Butters is back at IDTWHQ: Just for one night, though. Cassie seemed pretty happy when Butters' person dropped her off, but after a 35-minute walk (that should have been about 20% shorter) with Butters pulling against the flow of traffic, I think Cassie got a little irritated: Between Cassie and me, who together out-mass Butters by almost 10:1, we got Butters moving on more than one occasion when Butters didn't want to. Butters is now crashed out on the dog bed in my office. It's kind of adorable.