Althouse: At the Friday Night Café…

February 2, 2024

At the Friday Night Café…

… you can talk about whatever you want.

33 comments:

Joe Smith said...: Already tired of Black History Month.; 2/2/24, 6:53 PM
Mason G said...: How often do you buy tires for your car?

At EV Garage Miami, a Sweetwater repair shop that services 90 percent electric vehicles, lead technician Jonathan Sanchez said tires are the most frequent thing customers come in about, no matter what model or make of EV they’re driving. Tire mileage can vary widely of course, but he frequently changes EV tires at just 8,000 to 10,000 miles — a fourth or even fifth of typical tire wear on a gas-burning car.

https://jalopnik.com/florida-drivers-discover-hard-truth-about-evs-they-eat-1851194045; 2/2/24, 6:57 PM
narciso said...: https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1753569711432835382; 2/2/24, 7:12 PM
narciso said...: https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1753565745500365229; 2/2/24, 7:18 PM
donald said...: Wayne Kramer died. Total rock and roll animal. Godspeed buddy.; 2/2/24, 7:59 PM
tim in vermont said...: I don’t know if early reports are the most accurate, but it is being reported that we are punishing terrorists in Iraq, supported by Iran, by blowing up grain silos in Syria, where we are guarding the oil fields from which billions of dollars in oil are being stolen from Syria. This is the same country where we lobbied that earthquake relief be blocked last year, and where we are giving protection to rebels who are taking Syrian grain. Anybody who can tell me what the difference is between our actions and Putin’s, I am all ears. Just don’t say “rules based order.”; 2/2/24, 8:28 PM
tim in vermont said...: We are being fed these endless wars one bullshit pretext after another.; 2/2/24, 8:29 PM
tim in vermont said...: Also it looks like we are doing the preparatory work for an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Maybe not. Time will tell. But should it happen, it won't be explained to us what the differences are between what Israel will be doing, and what Putin did in Ukraine. Was it the threat to Israel from a hostile army near their border? Because that sounds like a familiar justification, a justification that we rejected in the case of Ukraine, whose borders, like those of Syria and Lebanon, are sacrosanct.

It's the "rules based order" at work again, I see. As far as I can tell, the "rules based order" that Blinken assures us that we are defending, looks a lot like Calvinball.; 2/2/24, 9:03 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/2/24, 9:04 PM
Jupiter said...: Professional courtesy.; 2/2/24, 9:10 PM
Jupiter said...: "We are being fed these endless wars one bullshit pretext after another."

Are you suggesting that America's freedoms might be safe even if we did not have a bunch of unfortunate young people sitting around waiting to get killed in Jordan? I don't think you understand the extent to which the various goat-fuckers in that neighborhood hate our freedoms. They see an American freedom and it's like the color red to a bull. If we didn't have all those UYP's there to protect them, we would have to keep our freedoms here in North America. And they sure as Hell wouldn't be safe here!; 2/2/24, 9:16 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: You know what?

Why not just declare the 2016 election null and void and move to sentencing.

Why do I always have to think of everything.; 2/2/24, 10:43 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Great. I think I posted to the wrong thread again.; 2/2/24, 10:44 PM
Big Mike said...: ”President Lincoln said, we are not enemies. He said, we are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”

The worst President in the history of the Republic (displacing Buchanan and elevating Carter to third-worst) quotes from one of the best. Mr. President, sir, with respect, you picked the fight with us, not us with you.; 2/2/24, 10:50 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Via TwitterX: Everybody's favorite food critic; 2/2/24, 11:02 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Via TwitterX: This kid got potential; 2/2/24, 11:14 PM
Jupiter said...: A drone opportunity if ever there was one.; 2/2/24, 11:20 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: TwitterX video: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Just - Radiohead; 2/2/24, 11:26 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Via crackpot Tucker: The real reason why Big Pharma run ads during so called television news programs

Ozempic is the next cash cow on the horizon.; 2/2/24, 11:58 PM
Big Mike said...: The thought crosses my mind that if we are going to have a war in the Middle East I do not want dingbat idiots like Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, and the sort of admirals and generals they are comfortable with in charge of winning that war. I’d be happier with Ron DeSantis than Trump, but even Trump would be miles ahead of Biden, Austin, and the rest of the clown show.; 2/3/24, 4:54 AM
Kai Akker said...: Who will ever cover a Taylor Swift song? I saw a young woman singer doing a Swift set, not five miles from Taylor's childhood home -- at a Reading Phillies game -- but no headliner singer is going to cover a Taylor Swift song, I suspect. They are so unique to Taylor, and also they're not all that great. She complains in one of her lyrics about a boyfriend listening to "an indie record much cooler than mine," and she's right. Her music is ordinary. The lyrics vary, but they are entirely bound up in the Taylor Swift persona. How did she ever create that? Where she could use her own worst traits to make a charming song for her first SNL appearance? It's all the production and the super videos and all the personality pizzazz she brings, that puts her music over. Yes, she can be shockingly personal in a way that anyone can relate to and that definitely helps. So much charm, too, fortunately for her.

So I liked the era that is already 10 years and more in her past. Her videos then always included numerous clunky kids, nerdy kids, terrible-but-happy dancing kids.... truly inclusive and rare, so rare in that industry! You liked this person. And her attention to detail must be extraordinary. She's smart.

But Taylor's life left "ordinary" behind a long time ago. I don't keep up with her today. A relative is having an adventure with friends, they are flying to Barcelona to see a Taylor Swift concert. Can you say first big salary job? But does Taylor Swift the phenomenon get any bigger than that?

Good luck, Taylor. It's going to be hard to find a man for life that can keep up with you. What will Travis Kelce be when he retires from football? But at least he's a man! Unlike those musical dweebs and donjuans she used to fall for.; 2/3/24, 4:56 AM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: Checking in from Orlando where the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials are taking place this morning. It's on Peacock live starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern, and NBC on delay a few hours later. I was in Atlanta for the last one on Leap Day, 2020, just before everything shut down. Many of us T&F fanatics think it's the best T&F event held in the U.S. It's going to be high fifties at the start moving into mid-sixties by the finish. The four loop course has long stretches without shade and although those temperatures sound mild to non-runners, these are not good marathon conditions with the direct sun factored in. It will be a war of attrition.; 2/3/24, 5:11 AM
Enigma said...: @Mason G quote: "Tire mileage can vary widely of course, but he frequently changes EV tires at just 8,000 to 10,000 miles — a fourth or even fifth of typical tire wear on a gas-burning car."

I'm no fan of golf-cart-like EVs, but this makes a lot of sense. First, EVs have instant-on torque and ridiculous acceleration. This creates a lot of friction and heat -- the enemy of tire life. Second, regenerative braking recharges batteries and may also generate a lot of friction and heat. Tire wear may be mitigated by slowing the torque curve, but that'll make the cars slower too.; 2/3/24, 5:40 AM
Humperdink said...: Deterrence to Iran? Military veteran/ Congressman Michael Waltz called it a multi-million dollar fireworks show. (Read: A waste of money); 2/3/24, 6:14 AM
gadfly said...: tim in vermont said...
"I don’t know if early reports are the most accurate, but it is being reported that we are punishing terrorists in Iraq, supported by Iran, by blowing up grain silos in Syria, where we are guarding the oil fields from which billions of dollars in oil are being stolen from Syria. This is the same country where we lobbied that earthquake relief be blocked last year, and where we are giving protection to rebels who are taking Syrian grain."

Not sure what garbage you read or why you believe Syria's propaganda but you appear to be loose with your "facts." Centcom's advisory is below:

Feb. 2, 2024
Release Number 20240202 – 01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAMPA, Fla. - At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicle storage, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.

And this is only Day One. As I responded before, the US is not in the oil business and has no interest in heavy dirty oil from Syria when oil companies frack and refine the finest light crude in the world right here in America. As for earthquake relief, there was an active war going on in Syria's northwest corner which prevented immediate relief last year.; 2/3/24, 6:18 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: An eye opener about activity at the Darien Gap.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/02/01/brett-weinstein-discusses-the-possibilities-behind-the-invasion-at-our-southern-border/; 2/3/24, 6:37 AM
Leland said...: “ The real reason why Big Pharma run ads during so called television news programs”

Call me skeptical. First of all, the strategy didn’t work for cigarettes or the oil industry. Second, how does that strategy work with pharmaceutical reps and doctors. Buying off doctors to sell drugs, sure, but to avoid lawsuits? No.

Big oil used to be a major sponsor of PBS and many of what is now called E&I programming. For all the funding, they got trashed by onscreen talent.; 2/3/24, 6:46 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Further to Mason G’s comment.

“Six million tonnes of tire wear particles are released globally each year. Particulate matter from tire wear is a significant source of microplastics in rivers and oceans, and tire wear in cities could pose up to a four-fold greater risk to the environment than other microplastics, according to the researchers”

Add that to your list of downsides of BEVs.; 2/3/24, 7:36 AM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: The sad news of the month is the Messenger has shut down. Just another Democrat front news site that couldn't divert Democrat readers from the likes of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS or NBC.

I'm sure there are one or two readers who are crying in their beer, I mean chardonnay.; 2/3/24, 8:04 AM
Narr said...: gadfly at 618, Lying John Kirby's understudy.

One of the things that struck me about the "dignified" reception of the three unfortunate national guardspeople was the makeup of the pallbearers. Looked like strapping white boys to me, every one of them.

Nice visuals for someone to exploit--just run the pix of the contrast constantly, and show how race functions in the army.

Excellent fodder for an anti-war movement. Just sayin'.; 2/3/24, 10:09 AM
Leland said...: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups.

Breaking News? Biden and Austin telegraphed the airstrikes nearly a day in advance. The bombers took off from US soil and just about wheels up, Austin and Biden announced they did something. In the meantime, any leader with any desire not to be a martyr had time to safely get into a bunker far from anywhere the bombers might strike. The news is that with all the warning, nothing was shot down in transit.

And this is only Day One.

Nonsense. This was a response to US forces already being attacked and killed days ago. This isn't Day One, it is more like Day +7 after that attack, but most of this began on October 7th, so this is something like Day +127. We had to get Austin out of the hospital and Biden out of the basement, and that seemed to take some time.

As I responded before, the US is not in the oil business

Yeah, we aren't in the LNG business either, thanks to Biden. We seem to only be in the arms selling business. Do you have anything intelligent to say here, or are you just paid to bring government propaganda into blog comment sections.; 2/3/24, 10:33 AM
Jim at said...: Many of us T&F fanatics think it's the best T&F event held in the U.S.

I don't know. Went to the World Championships in Eugene in July of 2023. Hard to beat that.

And the Prefontaine Classic ranks up there, too.; 2/3/24, 4:45 PM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: Me - "Many of us T&F fanatics think it's the best T&F event held in the U.S."

Jim - "I don't know. Went to the World Championships in Eugene in July of 2023. Hard to beat that."

And the Prefontaine Classic ranks up there, too."

I agree that those two meets are up there, as well. The weather is much more of a factor over 26.2 miles than in the shorter events and, of course, the course undulates and twists and turns in more than one direction. The nutrition and hydration issues are compounded. I would say that those of us who have run marathons, and most hard core fans have, have experienced trying to manage all those issues and so we live and die with them maybe a little more than in the track events. There are a lot of slow people like me have run marathons but were never at all competitive in the shorter events. I was a football player in high school and ran most of my marathons and ultramarathons at 180-190 lbs. Another thing is that the athletes have usually been around T&F a long time before they ever run a marathon, and they have accumulated more fans. Then there is the fact that only top three go on to the Olympics. They train for years to get to where they can be competitive in the marathon, then they specifically train for this event for 4-6 months, and if they don't make it, they have to wait four years to try again. It's heartbreaking.; 2/4/24, 7:52 AM