Papering the record for appeal.
¶“It was lucky [that we survived], but we know from evolutionary biology that the emergence of a new species can happen in small, isolated populations....”
¶This is fascinating, perhaps morbidly so. Are we smart enough to avoid repeating history? We may be on the verge of finding out, measured on a scale of thousands (or maybe tens or hundreds of thousands) of years.
¶Here’s the original research published in Science.
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(bbc.com)
¶RIP Jimmy Buffett.
¶I’ve never been a Parrothead, but I’ve always enjoyed Buffett’s music. And more than just the hits, too. He blended a lifestyle into music that made both appealing.
¶On a side note, I wanted to post the Rolling Stone obituary for Buffet, because that would just feel right. More right than a BBC link, anyways. But…paywalls. Anyways, if you’re an RS subscriber, click the link in that last sentence and enjoy. I’m sure it’s an excellent article on Buffett’s life and unique career in music. If you’re not, join with me in lamenting that the masthead that should be the source of record on biographies of famous rock musicians…isn’t.
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¶It’s moving day. Second moving day, actually. We’ moved the stuff Jonathan had left at home into his dorm yesterday. Today we’re moving the stuff from the apartment into the dorm. Shouldn’t be too bad or take too long - I think his apartment stuff will fit in one car load, but we’ll see. Two, tops.
¶Renee and I started the day with breakfast at Tatte in Harvard Square.
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¶We walked to dinner after getting Jonathan’s room situated. We decided on Pinocchio’s, his favorite pizza place (which is not Dave Portnoy’s favorite, btw). We all love it, too, so we weren’t upset when he requested it.
¶“Cash only tonight guys, credit card reader is down.”
¶Luckily we had enough cash between us, and had a great dinner.
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¶Ready to start senior year!
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¶All moved in! This was probably the easiest move yet. Jonathan has thinned his belongings a bit, and we’re getting a little better at the process. Easy parking helped, too. All in all, the process was smooth and easy. He’s ready to start his senior year.
¶He simplified the chalkboard this year, too, which really simplified things. We left the old one at home and bought four chalkboard panels at Home Depot. A few heavy duty command strips on the backside appear to hold everything just fine. He’s going to let this first one sit for a few days to make sure, then will hang the others. He even tested the first one out right after hanging it, writing out the equation he worked to prove in his research over the summer.
¶One load for the apartment stuff, btw. We’ve got Renee’s new Tesla Model Y, which is surprisingly spacious.
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¶We’ve all been bamboozled when it comes to streaming. Remember when it was supposed to be simpler and less expensive than cable? Yeah, I don’t either.
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¶Here comes Idalia! Sort of an unconventional storm/hurricane, originating off the Eastern coast of Mexico and projected to roll over Cuba and into the Gulf before crossing Florida to the Atlantic. Looks like St. Pete Beach will meet her tomorrow evening. We’ll see how long my camera stays online!
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¶RIP Bob Barker.
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¶I had the chance to watch some preseason NFL football over the weekend. I love football and am always glad to see its return in the fall. Watching this game over the weekend reminded me of something that bugs the heck out of me, though.
¶One of the people I was watching the game with made a ridiculous comment as a defensive player sacked the quarterback and did a little dance in celebration of the play. I’ve watched plenty of football with this guy over the years, and this isn’t the first time he’s made this comment. Indeed, it seems to be one of his favorites.
¶“Stop the celebrating. Just do your job. I don’t celebrate every time I do something I get paid to do. Just walk back to the huddle already.”
¶Yeah, does your job involve a massive adrenaline rush every 30 seconds? And I don’t think you’ve ever “done your job” on national television as you competed for a spot “on the team” (he made his comment in the second half of the game, which, in preseasons games, is generally reserved for players trying to earn a spot on the roster.)
¶“Just do your job.”
¶What an asshole comment.
¶I love the celebrating, as long as it doesn’t rise to taunting (which it rarely does these days). It brings a bit of individuality to the downtown between plays. It adds personality, and brings some levity to the downtime between plays.
¶It’s like the bat flip in baseball, which is great.
¶I say bring it on.
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¶Jake had his first flight as an aviation student at BG today. It also happened to be his first time flying a Piper, his first time flying with his new instructor, and his first official flight as an instrument student. He doesn’t know yet, but I went down to the airport to watch him fly. I’ve been driving him to his flying lessons since he was 14, so my role has changed. And that’s going to take a little getting used to.
¶The airport was busy, too! He hasn’t had to deal with much traffic in his training up to this point, so I think that’s a good thing. There was plenty in the air yesterday, and on the ground, too. He was third in line for takeoff when he first taxied out.
¶I suspect he did sort of an orientation flight today to familiarize himself with the Piper, the glass cockpit (also new for him), the airport, etc. And his instructor.
¶He landed twice, and both looked pretty smooth!
¶I’m looking forward to talking to him about it…and telling him I was there. ;-)
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¶Teddy loves starting his day with a survey of the backyard.
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¶Well, this is not likely to go over well.
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¶So, for the first drive in the new car, we literally drove across the street to the mall, figuring we’d grab lunch and look around a bit. Hard to pass up Shake Shack.
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¶Drove to Columbus this morning to pick up Renee’s new Tesla. We’re essentially all electric now.
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¶Gilligan’s Island wasn’t among my favorite shows as a kid, but I’m sure I’ve seen every episode…twice. Thurston Howell “the third” was such a great character. I imagine he was a single malt guy, though. No “blended scotch” for him. Although, when stranded on an uncharted desert isle, I’m sure “the millionaire and his wife” would have gladly accepted a “Mr. Howell” with its blended scotch and rum.
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¶Downtown Toledo is such a gem. Tonight had plenty of activity on a beautiful summer evening. People everywhere. We had a dinner party at one restaurant and walked to another a few blocks away for a late drink. The Mud Hens were in town for a game earlier in the day, and Toledo hosted its Pride Parade earlier in the day. Toledo is a gem. Most people don’t realize that.
¶I caught this view back into the building as we left the second restaurant. It made me think of how much I love downtown Toledo.
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¶For the record, here’s the description of a Mr. Howell – I’m not sure of the provenance of “blended scotch” or even what Falernum is, but…rum. Yeah, rum pretty much goes with everything.
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¶Today was a long day, but a great one. After the trip to Columbus and back, Renee had her annual back to school party for faculty and staff. It’s always a great event and gets us out in downtown Toledo, which is fun. Afterwards we stopped into our favorite restaurant, Registry Bistro, literally two minutes before they closed and asked the bartender if we could sit for just one round. She was wonderful, and obliged. So, we had a round with friends and had some wonderful conversation in the process.
¶I opted for a mixed drink - a “Mr. Howell” as it’s known. Turns out rum and “blended scotch” is pretty ok, as our good friend Richard would say.
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¶We made it home in about 17 hours flat. Not bad. Might be the last time we do the drive from St. Pete to Perrysburg that quickly, though — Renee picks up her new Tesla next weekend. From now on, we’ll need to plan for charging time.
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¶Rays just walked-off the Guardians again. My two favorite teams are going in opposite directions.
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¶Sunset will occur tonight at 08:13 PM. My sunsetter script is set to take a photo at that time and at six deviation times.
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¶Breakfast on the runway at Albert Whitted.
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¶Early to bed, early to rise. We’re heading home tomorrow, leaving at 4 AM. Good night.
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