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- It appears we’re going to need more synonyms for “orange.”
- I gave serious consideration to renaming this week’s log “Dreadful thoughts Friday” after Tuesday’s election because my thoughts have been anything but random lately.
- My favorite roller coaster (that still exists) is the old wooden ride at Knoeble’s in the middle of Pennsylvania. It’s not super complicated, but the sound of the metal running along the wooden frame, hanging onto the 1950’s-style cars as they speed among the branches of huge trees that grew throughout it, was quite a ride.
- It is not a coincidence that this is happening as last of The Greatest Generation die off.
- An Irish cooking show called “Lords and Ladles” is an enjoyable watch if you can find it, blending cooking, history, and a inside look at what the elites ate at their castle’s high table. Unshockingly, lots of fat and empty calories not unlike modern fast food.
- The First Amendment Museum needs to relocate from Augusta, Maine to Washington, DC to remind everyone what the damn thing’s about.
- In Baltimore, you get a crabcake and beer. In Portland, you get a razor clams and beer. In New Orelans, you can get some of the greatest food in the world, but if you wash it down with the city’s signature drink, you won’t remember it, and the hurricane will destroy your taste buds.
- I wonder how many Xanax prescriptions will be filled between now and when RFK Jr. determines that all pharmaceuticals are evil and we should only use St. John’s wort, raw pork, and cattail extract to treat our next plague.
- During the mid-1800s, US steamboat explosions taking hundreds of lives each were so common, newspapers across the nation called for the greedy owners whose greed (“cupidity”) caused the accidents to be held criminally liable for the deaths. Conditions were so bad, insurance companies frequently refused to issue policies, like in modern Florida.
- Today is the 101st anniversary of the defeat of the Beer Hall Putsch. History has a strange sense of humor.
- A new study shows that chickens can remember up to 100 distinct faces–both human and fellow chickens–and they remember past events and learn from them to avoid tragic outcomes. Chickens also develop their own reputations among their flock, with birds that steal or horde food frequently corrected by the flock as a whole. This means chickens have higher societal values than American voters.
- The First Amendment Museum needs to relocate from Augusta, Maine to Washington, DC.
- Fun fact: according to family lore, one of Mrs. Jack’s grandmothers was born on the Carpathia as it was picking up survivors from the Titanic.
- Attending my first NHL game happened completely by accident, when a hotel concierge in Dallas randomly asked if I wanted center-ice seats for the Stars game against the Colorado Avalanche starting in 20 minutes. After dumping our bags in our rooms, my business partner scampered the five blocks and arrived at the arena with just enough time to grab a beer and a pretzel before puck drop. It was one of those surprise events that comes back to me occasionally when I’m watching a game.
- Now would be a great time to re-watch the opening scene of the HBO series “The Newsroom.”
- Pesto over vodka sauce. Vodka sauce over alfredo. But if you learn a basic marinara, you can create most anything, from a fine basic pasta dinner to a more complicated lasagna. And honestly, if you find a commercial marinara that works from you, either off the shelf or from a local vendor, good for you. It’s fine to have someone else do the cooking.
- We finally had a night dip below 45 degrees, so we christened the new chimney which functioned as designed: the house did not burn down.
