russell

by russell From the Guardian, a prediction about large scale human migration induced by climate change. Basically, some parts of the world are going to be less habitable, or even not inhabitable at all.  Lots of people live in those places now.  They are going to leave the less habitable places they are now, and … Read more

by russell a bit of local history.  local to me, at least – the events described here all occurred within a mile or two of where I live.   plus ca change.  I wonder if the bit about the local militia stand-off at the bridge is a peek at our future.  

by russell Marty's post in another thread made me ask myself what it is, exactly, that we celebrate on the 4th of July.  that put me in mind of this often quoted poem by Langston Hughes. It's long-ish, but this excerpt perhaps captures the spirit of it: O, let America be America again—The land that … Read more

by russell it's been a weird week here in Lake Wobegon… last weekend, one of our local white supremos drove a stolen struck into a building, then walked around and shot the first two random black people he encountered.  cops suspect he might have intended to drive the truck into a Jewish temple in the … Read more

by russell if you have not already met him one way or another, allow me to introduce you to Gurdeep Pandher. who is Gurdeep?  he is a Punjabi Sikh who currently lives in the Yukon.  not sure how he got there, but life is interesting and full of surprises. what does Gurdeep do?  he dances … Read more

by russell Time for a fresh thread. A bad day, I think we can all agree, is when a whale tries to eat you while you're diving for lobster.  A good day is when the whale figures out that 'human in a dive suit' was not what he ordered, and spits you back out. A … Read more

by russell our friends the tardigrades are in the news again. the little water bears have survived extreme heat and cold (-328 F to 304 F), extended periods (years) with no water or food, extreme pressure (6x the water pressure at the bottom of the Marianas Trench), radiation at levels 1,000x a lethal dose for … Read more

by russell From the League of Women Voters notes on a recent City Council Meeting in Salem, MA: The motion to pass an ordinance to change the language in existing and future ordinances to remove gender bias was distracted by a long debate over the suitability of changing "manhole" to "maintenance hole." Though this linguistic … Read more

by russell finance is not my usual beat.  as I mentioned to friends recently, I am at best two steps ahead of the old-time geezers who fill jelly jars with cash and bury them out in the backyard.   But some co-worker brought this to my attention and it seemed interesting.  The tl;dr here is: Gamestop … Read more

by russell In memory of the great Martin Luther King, Jr, who countered hate with love, lies with truth, and madness with deep sanity.  a semi-jazz-free joint, dig it if you dig it. share your own if you like. Lucky Peterson Nina Simone Donny Hathaway Gregory Porter Sam Cooke Aretha Ain't gonna get better than … Read more