March 25, 2026

Sunrise — 6:36, 6:59.

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Write about whatever you want in the comments.

Propaganda from Iran — "One Vengeance for All."


Does this ad mean that Iran — whoever purports to be acting for Iran — has no intention of negotiating for peace or could this be understood as a display of a strength that it has as it prepares to enter negotiations? The strength is its power to undermine America support for the war, and I think there are many Americans who will respond very positively to this ad.

Meanwhile, according to Trump, negotiations are in motion:

"[Eighth-grade algebra] was removed from middle schools under the rationale that many students — especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds — would benefit from having more time to master foundational math before tackling algebra in high school."

"But the plan didn’t work. The number of students enrolled in advanced high school math declined, and wide racial gaps remained. Meanwhile, many parents enrolled their children in summer and after-school math courses to keep them accelerated, often paying out of pocket. For years, San Francisco 'tried to achieve equity not by raising the floor, but by lowering the ceiling,' said Thomas S. Dee, a Stanford University economist who studied the policy with colleagues.... [Under the new plan] [a]ny eighth grader would be able to enroll in algebra, but high-achieving students would be automatically placed in the course with the ability to opt out — a policy meant to increase access for underrepresented demographic groups."

From "San Francisco Killed 8th-Grade Algebra. Now It’s Set to Come Back. The San Francisco school board approved a plan to restore algebra as an option at all middle schools, more than a decade after it was removed over equity concerns" (NYT).

"Commonly known as 'tree lobster' or 'walking sausage,' the Lord Howe Island stick insect's only known wild habitat is Ball's Pyramid."

"The sheer rock islet was formed more than 6 million years ago by volcanic activity, and at 572 metres it is the tallest volcanic stack in the world."

From "New discovery of rare Lord Howe Island stick insect colonies" (abc.net.au).

Nice photos of Dryococelus australis and of Ball's Pyramid.

"[Melbourne Zoo's phasmid specialist Rohan] Cleave said he was 'really stoked' by the program's new arrivals, which he described as 'beautiful and placid animals' that 'you can't help but fall in love with.'"

"If this happened here there would be uproar, quite rightly. Yet Trump and his cronies can do whatever they like with total impunity, and indifference from the public. What is wrong with Americans?"

A comment on the London Times article "Kristi Noem spent $20,000 on horses for advert that got her fired/The contract for the Department of Homeland Security’s one-minute advert was worth $220 million — more than the budget for this year’s best picture Oscar winner."

March 24, 2026

Sunrise — 6:41.

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We were surprised by the pink. Seemed like it was going to be another one of those all-gray clouds mornings, but that just goes to show.

Write about whatever you want in the comments.

"What's he doing in there?"


Video by Meade, on the shore of Lake Mendota, today in the afternoon. We don't know what that man was doing out there in the water. Perhaps limnology. 

Later, I had no idea Meade was making this video of me, traipsing about in the forest:
 

"President Trump, who has long railed against mail-in voting — including on Monday, when he called it 'mail-in-cheating' — used the method himself in a Florida special election scheduled to take place on Tuesday."

I'm reading "Trump, Who Calls Mail-in Voting ‘Cheating,’ Just Voted by Mail/President Trump has long fixated on mail-in voting to bolster his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. But he recently used the method in a Florida special election."

What do you think?
 
pollcode.com free polls

"Am I being performative?"

AND: "Marine destroys woke college professor."

With the Corgis taking the lead....

"It seems that the seven dogs stolen from their owners escaped from an illegal transport truck and made their way back home. They say that [with the Corgis taking the lead], they crossed highways and fields together, traveling about 17 km to return to their respective homes" (translated from the Japanese).

More here.

"The American Cornhole League said in 2023 that Webber was a 'shining example of our slogan — anyone can play, anyone can win.'"

That's the last line of a Fox10 article with the headline "Quadruple-amputee cornhole player accused of shooting man to death during argument."

Dayton James Webber, 27, is a professional cornhole player. He was 10 months old when he had a blood infection that cost him his limbs.

It's hard to picture a quadruple amputee shooting a gun, but we are told that he was also driving a car, he shot the front-seat passenger, and there were also backseat passengers, and when they got out of the car and declined to pull the victim out of the car for him, Webber drove off with the victim still in the front seat.

And so it goes for the shining example of the notion that anyone can do anything.

By the way, who knew there was a professional cornhole league?

"This is not about providing deterrence. A blind 88-year-old man can’t leave his house."

Said the lawyer for Bill Cosby, arguing against punitive damages, in "Bill Cosby Loses Sex Assault Lawsuit and Faces a $59 Million Judgment A California jury found that Mr. Cosby had abused Donna Motsinger in 1972 after inviting her to attend one of his comedy shows" (NYT).

The jury awarded $19.25 million in compensatory damages and $40 million in punitive damages.

Motsinger testified that Cosby gave her "a pill that had left her incapacitated." Cosby did not testify.

"To lead a better life..."

She was great as the girlfriend to male comedians — Lenny Bruce and W.C. Fields — but she's also perfect as the mother of The Village People....


Goodbye to Valerine Perrine.


March 23, 2026

Sunrise — 6:46, 6:57.

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Write about whatever you want in the comments.

"OnlyFans was launched in 2016, the same year as TikTok, and started out by connecting models directly with fans to sell them photos and videos."

"Where pornography had mostly been viewed for free on online sites, OnlyFans developed a subscription-based model for creators with their own OnlyFans accounts, with most being sex workers. In 2021, OnlyFans banned sexually explicit video content on its site as it looked to bring on outside investors and responded to requests from banking partners and payment providers, including major credit card suppliers."

From "OnlyFans Owner Leonid Radvinsky Dies at 43/The adult entertainment platform owner ran the company since 2018 and passed away after a battle with cancer" (Hollywood Reporter).


I'd never noticed this ban until now, mixed in with the news of the death of the man who got very rich building the platform and who died at the age of 43.

UPDATE: This post seems like a deliberate trick to lure readers into revealing their familiarity with OnlyFans! It was only after posting that I realized that Hollywood Reporter was bad at reporting the complete facts. Neither the new article nor the 2021 article revealed that the ban was never implemented. I suspect it's because of an assumption that its readers know what goes on at OnlyFans. I knew enough to write "I'd never noticed this ban until now." I never noticed what was not there to be noticed. Noted.