33 Comments

Joel Achenbach's "Why Things Are" (I think that is what it was called) which ran in the 90s (and maybe some of the 80s and the aughts) was among the best things ever.

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I have the book, and I see there are follow-up volumes which I’ll have to order.

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Trump’s new nominee for surgeon general of the United States?

I thought the photo was of Steven Cheung.

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Found this. https://search.app/uV9NaMQaSKDGupgT8

Although it says the article, titled “Beatle Juice, was “originally published January 31, 2014,” the article refers to Paul McCartney as being 47, which would have been in 1989. It also refers to “The four great American writers of this century, Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Weingarten.”

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As a member of Gen X, I won't make a phone call unless I need to summon emergency services, so I have no idea if other Gens answer their phones

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You're right. The media chase after every shiny object Trump throws up in the air. The rest of us need to stop doing so. He's like a kid having a tantrum. He stops when he's ignored.

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The problem is that when he is first ignored, his tantrums will reach volcanic proportions. That's what operant conditioning theory says.

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I am thinking that he is floating these horrible nominees so that when they are unable to be vetted and denied confirmation, his equally horrible replacement nominees will look almost normal by comparison.

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The newer headlights are called HIDs and they’re HIDeous.

From Wikipedia:

“Beginning in the early 1990s, HID lamps have seen applications in automotive headlamps. Xenon, or high-intensity discharge (HID), lighting provides brighter headlights and increases visibility of many peripheral objects (e.g. street signs and pedestrians) left in the shadows by standard halogen lighting. However, the bright headlights have given rise to complaints about glare.”

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I am tail-end Boomer and I never, ever answer my phone at work in real time. I listen to my messages in a clump and decide whether or not to return them. The only cell phone calls I always answer are my parents, my son, three friends, and my doctor.

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Please delete my votes on the poll questions for today because I haven’t driven a car in about 10 years and I never call anyone on the phone.

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Bluefish is delicious. Mackerel too. I've never had either one raw but would do so happily.

Anyone who doesn't like "fishy fish" is stupid. Or at least: doesn't like fish. (Which is dumb.)

And in related news: Yosemite Sam for Secretary of Defense is a brilliant move.

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Much better than any people I see to be nominated. I want to see a team that he wants and then see how they mess up. "Give them enough rope," so they say.

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Hmm. What are your thoughts on people who don't like Indian food?

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One of the all-time worst appointments ever made was also a brilliant strategic move: Reagan appointed James Watt as Secretary of the Interior so that Watt (and not Reagan) would take the blame for raping the enviornment.

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Vision problems with glare at night are probably an indicator of cataracts. When I started seeing "halos" around lights, I knew something was amiss.

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Halos are not my problem. I hate very blue bright head lamps and at night will shield my eyes from them. Perhaps it is the color.

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The bluish ones are LEDs. They put out around 4000 lumens compared to the 1000 lumens that the old halogen ones do.

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I mean, as I was answering I thought, really this just means we’re old.

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We’re actually born with the potential for cataracts, they just grow very slowly, and then, BAM, you’re 70 or so and can’t see to drive at night. The surgery is worth it!

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Absolutely! Rather life changing to be able to drive at night again. Trick is to request far-vision lenses before surgery.

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My eye dr says it is nothing to do with cataracts; it is the blue lights themselves that cause the horrible glare. Even young peoples' eyes can't adjust to the glare from the horrible LED ones.

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What I'm more interested in are the departments and jobs that don't currently exist but are likely to spring up under Demento. Like maybe the FU Department which would be in charge of gleefully informing the American public of what the next move by the administration to screw it will be --- and offering helpful hints on how to deal with it --- similar to those WWII British conservation tips, such as repurposing worn out shoes as a soup base. Then perhaps reviving the British tradition of "Groom of the Stool" on this side of the pond --- adding to the chore of assisting with the king's bowel movements, the kissing of his ass daily in a public ceremony. This honor would likely rotate among cabinet secretaries and members of Congress.

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I suspect that Elon Musk will direct that the White House respond to all press and constituent inquiries with the poop emoji.

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I can't find a link to the Tropic story about Paul McCartney by Joel Achenbach. Does anyone have a link?

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Here's an article ABOUT it, but the embedded link to the original article is broken: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/achenblog/wp/2014/02/04/be-grateful-the-beatles-broke-up/ It does contain some excerpts.

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Either it’s no longer there or you have to be a Miami Herald subscriber to see it.

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I gathered from the Post article that the Herald agreed to reinstate it in 2014. Apparently they aren’t interested in keeping it alive in perpetuity.

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Does a link to the McCartney’s Brain column exist? If so, may we please have it? 😁

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See above reply to Steve Shapiro.

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