The only even remotely legitimate argument for keeping the filibuster is that we might need it in two years.
Every time I listen to, say, “Here Comes The Sun”, or “Something”, I think how maddening it must have been for George Harrison to know that he was only the third best songwriter in the Beatles.
Unpacking my library, 16 months after moving in.
Bonus points if you can recognise any books.
Projects.
Took advantage of the first truly beautiful Spring day to wander down to Canbury Gardens for lunch — and found them filming #TedLasso (one of our favorites, and not just because they make it in the neighborhood).
I admit I’ve mostly been trashing the emails from the Democratic National Committee — but the one from Bowzer, I read.
To slightly misappropriate an excellent phrase from politics here in the UK, McConnell’s appalling, unsurprising and self-serving near-simultaneous acquittal and condemnation of Trump is the purest example of cakeism — and it will probably work.
RIP Arianna Rosenbluth, the programmer of the first implementation of the Metropolis algorithm, the forerunner to and basis of now-ubquitous Monte-Carlo simulation algorithms (a history the details of which I didn’t know). H/T Andrew Gelman @statmodeling.
Hey, parents: I was surprised that “er”, “ar”, “or”, &c are so-called digraphs here in the UK. With my American accent, those seem like they ought to be two separate sounds. Here, there isn’t an explicit “r” sound at the end. Or have I been speaking wrong forever?
Snow in London
Ahhhh. From carnage to unity and soul.
Of course we’ll accept McConnell’s support, but let’s not mistake political expediency for even an iota of principle.
Maybe John King on CNN calling them
“knuckleheads” is all the respect they deserve.
Shame on Trump and his enablers. Shame on Cruz and Hawley. Shame on the house Republicans. Shame on the mob at the capitol. I feel little but shame, myself, that we’ve let this happen, despite our history, and our victories in November and today.
Closing all London primarily schools is absolutely the right thing to do (& an expected u-turn from this omnishambolic gov’t) but my own work/research/teaching effectiveness is going to plummet. Apologies to my colleagues/students/collaborators.
Gove: reopening England’s schools will involve ‘trade-offs’.
As a country we have decided… that we prioritise children returning to school. But… we have also had…Christmas mixing.
So we haven’t really prioritised schools, have we?
Latkes, cooked in Vegetable oil, not schmaltz, but served with applesauce (pink, of course, in honour of my grandmother)
We organised our wedding in two hours to beat tier 4
Call me a curmudgeon, but this shouldn’t be presented as a couple heroically working to save their wedding at the last minute, but rather as selfishly endangering people when they already have the information to know better.
I’ve eaten pork and shellfish my whole life without any guilt, but this feels really transgressive.
RIP Arecibo Telescope, Puerto Rico, USA. The passing of a literal giant of astronomy.
Peace & love, everyone. We’re crying with relief and joy.
I assume the CNN US Election Coverage/Octonauts demographic overlap is pretty small, but in our house, when we hear “Key Race Alert” we think “Creature Report” (and hope for a dance break).
“Breaking News: No winner has been called in Presidential election” -CNN
Trying not to cry, scream, or drink at 7:30am in front if the kids.
More bourbon, or a few hours of sleep?
—well-known humorist and actor Wallace Shawn.
Warning: not funny.
R.I.P. James “The Amazing” Randi, a hero from my youth as a magician and my adulthood as a scientist. (h/t @telescoper)
I voted. In San Francisco, from London, via fax (because that’s somehow more secure?) Well, via a web-to-fax service. Surely there’s a better way?
Whatever it takes.
(Surprisingly?) nervous about running my first online @ImperialPhysics undergraduate tutorial in 8 minutes…