D.C. is becoming a protest battleground. In a polarized nation, experts say that’s unlikely to change. [Click] “They feel Trump won the election and that the country is being stolen from them, so this is their last chance to save America,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and the former director of intelligence at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “They’re a lot angrier now, and that worries me. It worries me that now they’re deciding if they’re going to bring guns to the street fight.”
...or cows. I have been on a train (Burlington VT to Montreal) that had to stop and wait because there was a cow on the tracks that wouldn't move. Took two hours for them to figure out whose cow it was and get the farmer there to get the cow off.
No cow catchers on the locomotives these days, alas. Or cattle prods, I suppose. Maybe for controlling obstreperous passengers? BTW, the classical cow catcher on a locomotive was designed to scoop the cow (or buffalo) off the track and throw it aside, not to actually catch it.
Am I right in thinking that level crossing gates or bars or whatever they're called have been largely done away with? When you hear news items about people stopping their car in the middle of the track and being surprised when a train comes along and kills them all, the story also usually seems to include the observation that the level crossing barriers had been removed from that particular crossing. What possible purpose can be served by removing the barriers?
I hadn't heard that, although there have always been intersections where there were no crossing gates. There are also cases where a line of cars stopped for a light crossed the tracks before the gates came down. But mostly you hear of people driving around the gates because they mistakenly think they can beat the train.
Alan, things have been okay for us, but I know some people are struggling. I think murder rates were up in 2020, even though school shootings were down.
Similar here. Even in the best of times food insecurity is a serious problem hereabouts, and if the official unemployment rate were ever to get down to 10%, people would probably be dancing in the streets. House prices have gone up noticeably during the past year, presumably because of remote working by people priced out of the San Francisco Bay Area (prices here are historically about the average for the US as a whole).
Thanks, Cat; that's a nice little summary. As for the black holes, I hadn't liked the idea of information all disappearing when something crosses the event horizon, or that all the rules of physics disappeared there. But saying that all the information of an object persists when it is reduced to (as an analogy) pulverized ash also seems very difficult to grasp. If quantum entanglement makes sense of it, I guess that's OK. But the idea that there is something more fundamental beyond space and time sits just fine with me. I managed to avoid taking a quantum mechanics course in college--I felt that my mathematical skills just weren't up to that, so that might make a bigger picture more natural to me.
Reading about Mike Pence’s problems arising from opening the state electoral votes envelopes, it occurred to me that he might just as well retire and take it easy. Which made me wonder how well off he is. I found this accounting of his net worth. [Click] He won’t be living under a bridge by any means, but I was rather surprised that he hasn’t done better financially. Maybe that indicates that he isn’t financially corrupt; or maybe it shows he simply isn’t very good at handling his money—or both.
Hundreds of thousands more US Covid deaths possible amid vaccine chaos [Click] But, but, but—Our Glorious and Ever Triumphant Leader assigned the Army to take care of vaccine distribution! How did the Deep State manage to stop them?
ReplyDeleteD.C. is becoming a protest battleground. In a polarized nation, experts say that’s unlikely to change. [Click] “They feel Trump won the election and that the country is being stolen from them, so this is their last chance to save America,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and the former director of intelligence at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “They’re a lot angrier now, and that worries me. It worries me that now they’re deciding if they’re going to bring guns to the street fight.”
ReplyDeleteOver on D Listed I found this unattributed quote:
ReplyDelete"It's important to get a good night's sleep so you can fully experience the quiet despair of everyday existence."
The U.S. finally has a system to prevent deadly rail accidents. It took 50 years [Click] Wow! Positive Train Control on all freight and passenger lines!
ReplyDeleteOf course controlling the trains alone won't stop pedestrians or motor vehicles from heedlessly getting onto the tracks.
Delete...or cows. I have been on a train (Burlington VT to Montreal) that had to stop and wait because there was a cow on the tracks that wouldn't move. Took two hours for them to figure out whose cow it was and get the farmer there to get the cow off.
DeleteNo cow catchers on the locomotives these days, alas. Or cattle prods, I suppose. Maybe for controlling obstreperous passengers? BTW, the classical cow catcher on a locomotive was designed to scoop the cow (or buffalo) off the track and throw it aside, not to actually catch it.
DeleteAm I right in thinking that level crossing gates or bars or whatever they're called have been largely done away with? When you hear news items about people stopping their car in the middle of the track and being surprised when a train comes along and kills them all, the story also usually seems to include the observation that the level crossing barriers had been removed from that particular crossing. What possible purpose can be served by removing the barriers?
DeleteI hadn't heard that, although there have always been intersections where there were no crossing gates. There are also cases where a line of cars stopped for a light crossed the tracks before the gates came down. But mostly you hear of people driving around the gates because they mistakenly think they can beat the train.
DeleteA lot of level crossings without gates have been removed, as I understand.
DeleteFrom Maha's place--
ReplyDeleteA small spanner in the works. Humorous to think of the required scrambling if nothing else.
DC hotel frequented by Proud Boys to close Jan. 4-6
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/531933-dc-hotel-frequently-by-proud-boys-to-close-jan-4-6
I stayed there once, and was very well pleased with it.
DeleteI remember you mentioning it!
Deletehttps://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/531933-dc-hotel-frequently-by-proud-boys-to-close-jan-4-6
DeleteCartoon: Britannia gazes out into the future. . . [Click]
ReplyDeleteMitch also gazes into the future. . . [Click]
DeleteOHIO; COVID cases 714,673 and 9,017 deaths.
ReplyDeletePelosi and McConnell Homes Vandalized [Click]
ReplyDeleteEqual opportunity, eh?
DeleteTrump Rally In Georgia [on Monday] Could Be Super-Spreader Event Could be?[Click]
ReplyDeleteOf course it will be. You don't think he'd pass up an opportunity to spread just a little more death and destruction, do you?
DeleteA year of hardship in parts of Cleveland has left many with the sense that the fabric of their communities is fraying. [Click] Renee—do things seem OK, considering, where you are?
ReplyDeleteI know Cleveland isn't nearby, but still.
DeleteCooter's here putting up the last of storms. I begged him not to come yesterday because of the ice, so brief visit as he leaves tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous comment
ReplyDeleteAlan, things have been okay for us, but I know some people are struggling. I think murder rates were up in 2020, even though school shootings were down.
ReplyDeleteSimilar here. Even in the best of times food insecurity is a serious problem hereabouts, and if the official unemployment rate were ever to get down to 10%, people would probably be dancing in the streets. House prices have gone up noticeably during the past year, presumably because of remote working by people priced out of the San Francisco Bay Area (prices here are historically about the average for the US as a whole).
DeleteThe Year's Biggest Breakthroughs in Physics - Click
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cat; that's a nice little summary. As for the black holes, I hadn't liked the idea of information all disappearing when something crosses the event horizon, or that all the rules of physics disappeared there. But saying that all the information of an object persists when it is reduced to (as an analogy) pulverized ash also seems very difficult to grasp. If quantum entanglement makes sense of it, I guess that's OK. But the idea that there is something more fundamental beyond space and time sits just fine with me. I managed to avoid taking a quantum mechanics course in college--I felt that my mathematical skills just weren't up to that, so that might make a bigger picture more natural to me.
DeleteReading about Mike Pence’s problems arising from opening the state electoral votes envelopes, it occurred to me that he might just as well retire and take it easy. Which made me wonder how well off he is. I found this accounting of his net worth. [Click] He won’t be living under a bridge by any means, but I was rather surprised that he hasn’t done better financially. Maybe that indicates that he isn’t financially corrupt; or maybe it shows he simply isn’t very good at handling his money—or both.
ReplyDeleteBoris Johnson would lose majority and seat in election tomorrow – poll [Click] Labour is rebuilding, and the SNP is doing very well. Most likely Westminster government would be a Labour-SNP coalition.
ReplyDelete