(1 of 2) So, I've long known about the ancient Greek... legend? verified fact?... that a king asked the oracle at Delphi if he would be successful in an attack he was planning, and was told that if he attacked, "a great empire will fall", only to have it turn out to be his own empire.

A this-shouldn't-be-radical proposal, spurred by a post a friend of mine recently made: I don't think election results should be released piecemeal, over the course of an entire evening (or more). I think they should be held until the counting is completed.

This is the story of the 2025-26 winter, in one map. If you live in the northeast US, you had a pretty cold winter, possibly one of the 25 coldest since these records began (1895). But if you're in the west, WOW was this a hot winter -- for many, the single hottest ever recorded.

I guess we won't be offered "Bread and Circuses" after RFKj turned the food pyramid upside down, but the circuses are coming: www.politico.com/news/2026/01... (for reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_a... )

Do you think you could re-implement By Hook Or By Crook (Adel Verpflichtet) to be about crypto, where instead of art the cards are memecoins, and the actions you take attempt to get others to invest, while you pump and dump it for profit? Why I ask: tinyurl.com/EricAdamsNYC...

I called my senators to show my opposition to the un-American rhetoric coming from the White House, which suggests that because we want other nations' property, and we are strong, we can take it. Even to suggest that the military could take Greenland is thuggish, even if it isn't actually done.

I posted this on [a previous social media site] years back, but I wanted to give it its Bluesky premiere:

Another "I can't believe I was just captivated for that long about a topic like that" video from Alec Watson, the funniest electrical-engineering geek on the internet. And yeah, he does look surprisingly like a grown-up Eddie Munster, but you get over it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=INZy...

What the grep is going on here??

If I want there to be more content from my friends in my BlueSky feed, I ought to at least post some content of my own that my friends might want to see. Like the best photo of me I've had in a while, as two friends and I escaped from an escape room we were beta-testing.

But the heat is stifling. It is enough to make a man start quoting William Fryer Harvey.

Today is 22/7, so I wish you a Happy Pi Day!

Quiz time! I removed the colors from four US states on this map. What color(s) should the four have? (Don't actually say what the reason is, so others can still try to figure it out.)

The great work begins! To find out just what the heck this is all about, you'll have to come to Live Taskmaster at alumni weekend

Amazing surveillance-camera footage from Myanmar, showing the moment of the March 28 2025 earthquake. The video loops a bunch of times, sometimes zoomed in, so you can catch how various things are affected -- like the power-transmission tower at far right! www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OeL...

I bet The Daily Show or The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will get around to making this for tonight's episode... but I figured I'd beat them to it.

Welp, I guess someone's finally opened a Stargate. www.politico.eu/article/spai...

I haven't seen any news stories about this, but the number of measles cases in the current Canadian outbreak is now over 1000 – in a much smaller population that the US. And yes, almost all among the unvaccinated. (I learned about it from a comment on an "Er Doctor Reacts to The Pitt" video)

I made a funny today. I was at Swarthmore boardgaming, playing Terraforming Mars, and at one point (there was context; I've forgotten it) said, in a husky, haunted voice, "Let the right one in!" To which Nathaniel responded, "Let the right one out!" To which I replied....

The HANDS ØFF demonstration in Media PA had well over a thousand people just now. I don't think it got two thousand, but crowd-size estimation isn't my strongest skill...

In light of Elon Musk's actions towards Meals on Wheels, USAID, etc., I thought it was time to remind folks about an apt Monty Python sketch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaJG...

Senator McCormick (R)'s DC voicemailbox was full for the first time, though I was able to leave a message at his Phila number. I left a message for Fetterman (D) as well. I've still never gotten any responses from either, by phone or email, despite asking for one and leaving my contact info.

I just called my Democratic senator and my Representative, to suggest a different way to frame something apparently in the cards on Capitol Hill for the next few days: House Speaker Mike Johnson has planned to pass a Republican-aligned budget in the House, send it over to the Senate, and adjourn...

The special one-off episode of Taskmaster: Minnesota that I flew out to St. Paul in January to attend the taping of, has just been posted on YouTube. It was worth the trip then, and is just as good to rewatch now. www.youtube.com/watch?v=egAs...

Following the vote, Representative Zephyr took to social media to discuss the implications. “These kind of votes are born out of transgender representation in government. Howell & I have built solid relationships with Republicans and those relationships change hearts, minds, and (eventually) votes.”

Apparently September 8th is Star Trek Day, but I think it ought to be today. Because when you March Forth, you boldly go.

I think that the way the many billions of variables in a Large Language Model can dazzle people into believing an AI must be conscious has a close parallel to the way many billions of years of evolution can dazzle people into believing there must be a Creator.

TL;DR news has dug into the numbers reported on the Department of Government Efficiency website that list the amounts they claim to have saved. There's a substantial amount of overstating and miscounting going on. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8ms...

Called my senators to remind them that when Reagan and GHWBush did mass inspector general firings when they took office, Congressional uproar got (some of) them unfired. Then I called my Rep, Mary Gay Scanlon, to thank her for a good motivational speech she gave at the Presidents' Day demonstration.

David Ha told me about this puzzle based on Taskmaster, which will probably only interest those in the intersection of Taskmaster fans and puzzle-solvers. But if that's you... it's a nice puzzle: web.archive.org/web/20241109...

The snow in Swarthmore was the perfect kind for making snow rolls this morning, so I couldn't resist

I called my senators this morning to voice concern that the executive branch has been defying rulings from the judicial branch, and hoping the legislative branch will stand up for checks and balances -- and also to reiterate that Elon Musk needs confirmation hearings before having so much power.

Wow, that was a great game! Antione, Jeff, and I all came within a single turn of getting back to basecamp. Antoine was one card short; Jeff and I both made it, but he won on the tiebreak. ...What, you mean there are other games happening today besides _The Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples_?

I tried calling my senators this morning, to ask them whether they thought Elon Musk, having had no confirmation hearings, not having been elected, and heading what's called a department even though it hasn't been established by Congress, is legally authorized to cut off programs.

Today was the studio taping of the Taskmaster:Minnesota special at Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul, and it was awesome. The trip to subzero-land was extremely worth it to see it happen live, and to be there showing my support for the great TM:MN endeavor. Here's me with its creator, David Ha.

I still can't believe I'm going to do this. Thank goodness I have friends whom I consulted when I was vacillating (who talked me out of being sensible, of course). 6° highs here I come, ready or not! www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK3X...

This is one of my favorite days of the year, since starting tomorrow the sun will set a little bit later each afternoon. Bye, darkness! (Well, the sun is still rising later each morning, so we have more total darkness per day... but I'm rarely up at sunrise, so that matters less to me.)

I think I have a new favorite xkcd: