Congratulations to Gonzaga Nation.
Sometimes, okay a lot of times, I’m wrong.
The Bruins simply missed shot after shot in the second half. And got out rebounded bigly. End of story.
I dug watching the team play all season. Tons and tons of heart. (Seemingly) good dudes. Great chemistry. Lots and lots of success.
I’ll be okay thanks to this.
It’s really the Los Angeles Unified School District support staff that are striking for livable wages. And 89% of the students’ families support them. Because they are intimately familiar with the challenges of trying to make ends meet in one of country’s most expensive cities.
As reported here:
“The parents see their lives mirrored in the struggles of the bus drivers, cafeteria workers and classroom aides walking the picket lines — working-class residents who take on multiple jobs to survive in Southern California.
‘If you’re not making massive six-figure salaries, then, yeah, it’s hard,’ Ms. Cruz, 33, said. “How can you not support their cause?”
The strike has sharply illustrated the economic divide in modern Los Angeles, where low-wage workers can barely scrap together rent while affluent professionals blocks away are willing to pay $13 for a coconut smoothie. In this case, the school district’s working-class parents and school workers are on the same side of the divide.”
Support staff are seeking a 30% increase in pay while the district has countered with 23% over several years.
From a comprehensive report. Long story short, in 2022, Portland bicycle traffic dropped more than a third compared to 2019, to levels not seen since approximately 2005-2006.
A precipitous decline despite several measures to increase bicycle riding. The “discussion” on page 11 suggests Portland officials really don’t know why bicycle riding is in decline.
Maybe schedule more of these?
Watching the tournament in real time feels like watching one long commercial with intermittent basketball breaks. I have to mute the sound. And the officiating video replays aren’t quite as bad as football and pro basketball, but they’re still bad. One time in the first round the broadcaster said, “And this official replay is sponsored by X.” I can’t remember the company because I was going into epileptic shock. The sports watching apocalypse is upon us.
I have one regret. Larry, my college roommate extraordinaire, has a hundy on the Bruins to win it all. I wish I did too. When that happens, he’ll collect $1,900. Wonder if he’ll claim his $1,800 on his taxes?
At least I’ll get another t-shirt as a result of the great East-West battle royale. Probably. Richie had Virginia, Duke, and Miami. I had Arizona, UCLA, and St. Mary’s. I told Richie, despite all the weightlifting I’ve been doing, I’m still a medium. Go figure.
Zag Nation and everyone else still standing, prepare yourselves. The UCLA Bruins are cutting down the nets. And it’s gonna be oh so sweet.
Do you see a therapist, take meds, or work out? New research boosts the case for working out.
A clear, thoughtful, and substantive summary of recent research on treating depression and other mental health issues like OCD and anxiety.
Subtitle: For the ultra-wealthy and the super-famous, regular therapy won’t do.
Unsettling.
The clinics seek recurring revenue more than their clients’ health and well-being. Some financial advisors are “fiduciaries” meaning they have a legal/ethical responsibility to act in their clients’ best interests.
To prevent these types of clinics from proliferating, the mental health profession should have a similar type of designation. Absent that, they may weaken the public’s trust in the mental health profession.
Scientific literacy is in short supply these days so this FOX “News” article, “New York plastic surgeon’s viral TikTok video warns of exercise he says causes premature aging” probably shouldn’t be surprising.
I challenge you to find a worse “science” story. Whenever there’s no control group, the findings are highly suspect. And there was no control group. It’s all smoke and mirrors, by which I mean intuitions and anecdotes.
This embarrassing story is perfectly in keeping with Fox “New’s” modus operandi. Be afraid, very afraid of among many, many other things: immigrants, criminals (not white insurrectionists and fake legislators, just dark skinned ones), liberals, gays and transexuals, women, California (especially San Francisco), anti-gun advocates, non-whites, environmentalists, taxes, and the public sector. It turns out, fear sells. Really, really well.
Whenever you see FOX “News”, know that the “FOX” stands for Fear of “X”. And be afraid, very afraid of even seemingly salubrious things like exercise.
Harvard’s Institute of Politics words. A cornucopia of data including this graphic. My admittedly simplistic take-away. Spend way less time on-line and more at a job that requires your full attention.
I’m going to assume a few things. First, you’re unfamiliar with the San Luis Obispo Swim Center. Second, the next time you’re passing through the Central California coast, you’re gonna want to get your swim on at the Center.
I can’t quite explain how infatuated I am with the Center, an outdoor Olympic sized pool that has three generous lap swimming shifts a day, year round. Owned by the city, it single handedly proves the public sector works. Built in 1979, it’s “Exhibit A” of substance over style. The “locker room” doesn’t have lockers, people just leave their post swim accessories—shampoo, soap, shaving cream—splayed on wood benches and on their towels near the showers. It’s the epitome of rustic minimalism. And it works beautifully at keeping all the classist dilettantes away.
Thursday pre-dawn, the Center’s Sinsheimer pool was set up long course meters. I split my lane with another dude. Air temp in the mid-30s, I couldn’t see from one end to the other because of the steam rising from surface. Just like the old days when the mighty Cypress High Centurions water polo team practiced before first period. Saturday noon, I had one of the twenty 25-yard lanes spread across the beautiful behemoth to myself.
The only negative, besides the Pacific Northwest winter weather, was the cashier who charged me the senior rate, $3.75, without any questions. Dammit, I wanted to pay the $4.25.
After Saturday’s swim, I chatted up an eight-year old swimming stud* and then read the Center’s rules and policies while waiting for the GalPal. Allow me to highlight the most important rules and policies to help you avoid an embarrassing infraction.
Proceeding from “fairly easy” to “impossibly hard”.
1st. And I quote, “Guests currently suffering from active diarrhea or who have had diarrhea within the previous 14 days shall not be allowed to enter the pool water.”
2nd. Horseplay, sitting on shoulders, or throwing of guests is not allowed.
3rd. Animals are not allowed to enter the water at any time.
4th. Excessive displays of public affection are not allowed.
The Good Wife struggles mightily with the last. To reduce the odds of an infraction, I purposely pick a lane a safe distance away.
You are welcome.I hope you enjoy your swim(s) half as much I enjoy mine. Long live the Center.
*My new eight-year old friend swims, plays soccer, and baseball. “Yeah, I always make the All-Star team,” he said matter-of-factly, “but I don’t get to play because I have to visit my family in Greece.” “Always?!” What, has he been named to eight All-Star teams in a row?! I spared him a “family privilege” talk.
North Dakota’s lovely weather is, of course, a powerful magnet. Not to mention the affordable real estate. But Taylor Brorby paints a depressing picture. “The Real Reason North Dakota Is Going After Books and Librarians”.
He writes:
“The summer after graduating from college, when I was outed by my aunt, and my home was no longer a safe space, I searched the stacks of the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library for stories of gay people disowned by family members to help me find my own way to stable ground. During those evenings, I would settle into a plush armchair with a pile of books and magazines and read. I read authors like Kent Haruf and Amy Tan and Mary Karr. I would listen to classical music CDs to try and calm myself. I was free to roam, peruse, and free to be myself, at least privately.
North Dakota is a part of a growing national trend. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 of last year, the American Library Association recorded 681 attempts to ban or restrict library resources. . . . According to PEN America, 41 percent of books banned throughout the 2021-22 school year contained L.G.B.T.Q. themes, protagonists or prominent secondary characters. Bills similar to North Dakota’s have also been introduced or passed into law in states like West Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Montana, Iowa, Wyoming, Missouri and Indiana.
Under Missouri’s new law banning the provision of “explicit sexual material” to students, school districts removed works about Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo; comics, such as “Batman” and “X-Men”; visual depictions of Shakespeare’s works; and “Maus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust.
But let’s be honest: It’s not the Venus de Milo these laws are going to come for first. It’s books with L.G.B.T.Q. stories, or books by L.G.B.T.Q. authors — the kind of books that have provided so many queer young people with a lifeline when they needed it most. I don’t know where I would have ended up if I couldn’t read my way out of despair. My heart breaks to think of all the kids now who won’t have that option.”
One large step backwards.
Pressing Pause 