Monthly Archives: March 2024

Number One Is In The Back Yard

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Or is it the front yard?

From the WSJ:

“Fewer than 10 bridges in the U.S. have the clearance of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the 1,200-foot span that collapsed after a supersize containership slammed into one of its vertical supports. All of them have a vulnerability where the failure of even a single steel component in tension along the span could cause a collapse. 

The National Transportation Safety Board flagged this condition in the Key Bridge after it fell early Tuesday morning—but the hit that destroyed the Key wasn’t a blow to one of those crucial steel components. Rather, it was the devastating strike taking out one of the bridge’s concrete vertical supports, known as a pier, that caused the massive structure to cascade into the water below. 

Any span of that size suffering a comparable loss could tumble, according to engineers, making bridges that can accommodate giant ships particularly at risk.”

Say What?

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Post swim, sitting in the jahjahcuzzi stretching while reflecting on the meaning of life.

Dude asks, “Where did you get your gloves?”

Inner dialogue. “Gloves? What on earth? Oh, he meant paddles.”

“SwimOutlet.”

“Where’s that? Around here?”

“On-line, swimoutlet.com.”

“Oh, okay, thanks, they’re cool.”

Inner dialogue. “I haven’t heard anyone trip over basic sports terminology that badly since talking to the Good Wife.”

Sentence To Ponder

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BALTIMORE—”The crew of workers from Mexico and Central America were well into their night shift, pouring concrete to fix the potholes that dotted the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”

So they weren’t animals from insane asylums committing crimes?

Anti-immigrant hysteria depends upon not seeing or thinking about the people fixing potholes on bridges in the middle of the night.

Add Andrew Huberman To The List

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Of famous figures capitalizing on the public’s tendency towards gullibility.

I read this lengthy takedown of Huberman so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.

The two most telling paragraphs are easily skipped over because of their seeming ordinariness.

“On Thanksgiving in 2018, Sarah planned to introduce Andrew to her parents and close friends. She was cooking. Andrew texted repeatedly to say he would be late, then later. According to a friend, ‘he was just, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll be there. Oh, I’m going to be running hours late.’ And then of course, all of these things were planned around his arrival and he just kept going, ‘Oh, I’m going to be late.’ And then it’s the end of the night and he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry this and this happened.’

Huberman disappearing was something of a pattern. Friends, girlfriends, and colleagues describe him as hard to reach. The list of reasons for not showing up included a book, time-stamping the podcast, Costello (his dog), wildfires, and a ‘meetings tunnel.’ ‘He is flaky and doesn’t respond to things,’ says his friend Brian MacKenzie, a health influencer who has collaborated with him on breathing protocols. ‘And if you can’t handle that, Andrew definitely is not somebody you want to be close to.’

“Flaky” is far too generous a word. Where was Huberman when he didn’t show? The profile would suggest with one of the six women he was in relationship with at the same time.

It turns out, thanks to the powers of duplicity coupled with the public’s gullibility, you can become famous, rich, and influential as a podcaster, salesperson, and academic without showing up for colleagues or even close personal friends. Repeatedly.

But “showing up” is a prerequisite for being a decent human being.

Paragraph To Ponder

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College financial crisis edition. Same ol’ story at the local Catholic liberal arts school, declining enrollment, shit retention rates.

“. . . options are currently being discussed, such as continuing freezing staff vacant positions (currently 25 staff positions are frozen), lowering adjunct faculty course loads, decreasing the number of cross-listed and co-taught courses, and lowering or freezing the employer 403(b) contribution benefit. Please know that any budget-saving measures enacted will not impact the student experience, university officials say.”

A static, older faculty with increasingly negative attitudes towards their employer won’t have any impact on the student experience. LOL. Tell me another one!

How To Resolve Conflicts And Have Relationships That Last

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Recently, the Good Wife told me I am a conflict avoider. I told her I didn’t want to talk about it.

I may not communicate as much as she’d like, but my hilarious, nonstop comedy routine has to compensate. Doesn’t it?

We’re learning to work though conflict by assiduously avoiding “you” statements and instead saying how we feel and what we want. What the social scientists refer to as “soft skills”.

Here’s the relationship saving formula, just in case, in the distant future, any of you ever experience conflict with someone special. I feel ____________. I want ____________.

I shocked the Gal Pal last night when I voluntarily shared some of my innermost thoughts. I asked her, “Are you up to doing some active listening?” Half in shock, she quickly said, “Yes.”

“I feel bereft. I want UCLA to play better next year so I don’t have to go through another March Madness feeling so left out.”

After she thoughtfully paraphrased what I was feeling and wanted, and showed me real empathy, I felt a lot better.

Conflict avoider my ass. I deftly wield the softest of skills.

Math To Ponder

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From CBS News.

“As of mid-February 2024, Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth at $2.6 billion, putting the real estate developer at No. 1,216 on the magazine’s list of the world’s richest people. 

Trump’s wealth largely stems from real estate, spanning residential buildings in New York City to golf courses and hotels around the world.

According to Bloomberg, one of his largest assets is his $500 million stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, an office building in Manhattan. Trump also has $600 million in liquid assets, while his Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort is worth about $300 million, Bloomberg said.”

Source.

And yet, today he’s claiming he can’t pay his $454m judgement. I tapped out after Algebra 2/Trig, but isn’t $600m > $454m.

He should prob start charging more for the shoes.

Strange Denizens of the YMCA

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Dude rolls into the Plum Street Y sporting his own 7 foot 45 pound bar like it was a javelin and he’s an ancient warrior. Everyone has their own way of signaling toughness I guess. I just bench 125 pounds in five sets of five to let everyone know I’m not effing around.

Guess the Y’s eight or nine bars just don’t feel right? The mind whirls. Does he take his own eggs to his favorite breakfast place? His own range balls to the driving range? His own violin to the symphony concert? Just how far does his self sufficiency go?

Same day I refrain from telling another strange denizen that his too many to count tats looked just plain awful. Just in case he’s like the elderly bloke next to me with 255 pounds on the bar.

Better safe than sorry.