Mortality. It’s constrained by your mortality.

CRUDE derives from Latin crudus meaning raw/bloody flesh. This is the watchword of this administration

The addressee of Dr. Peterson's email, Dr. Sweet, who was the conduit of these complaints. You cannot make this stuff up. The cowardice of so many academics just blows my mind. 😭 Dr Peterson, otoh, absolutely rules.

Confirming my suspicion that no one used the word “stuffie” for stuffed animal when I was growing up and everyone does now

“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...” A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today. lithub.com/renee-nicole...

All that talk about car brain and no one talks about bike brain—which makes me primed to go when I see the leading pedestrian signal turn on—even when I am driving a car (don’t worry, i override the bike brain instinct when i need to) @thewaroncars.bsky.social

Somehow the owie overtook the boo boo (but I think it must be somewhat regional, because boo boo was definitely still dominant in the Boston area into the 1990s)

New guidance to alumni interviewers for Harvard: no mention of racial or cultural identifiers in reports. “Do NOT write: ‘He has served 2 years as president of his school's Turkish students association.’ DO write: ‘He has served 2 years as president of one of his school's cultural affinity groups.’

Hebrew has 2 words for nation, ‘am (with ‘ayin) and umah/le’om (with aleph). They are not related. It’s even more interesting. ‘Am is from an ancient near eastern word meaning “father.” It persists in the Ar. word ‘am meaning paternal uncle. umah/leom, is from mother (em/um in Heb/Ar respectively).

Medina in Arabic means city; in Hebrew, state. Speaks to the ancient overlap of the concepts (see: city-states). The root of the word is DIN. In Arabic din means “religion” in Hebrew “law.” Again, reflects two religious systems structured around law.

Lucky to have the best bike parking (in my campus office, in a building with an elevator). Just refurnished the office with some stuff from surplus that had been left in the hallway, so feeling extra fancy

TIL that coconut is no longer (as of early 2025) classified as a tree nut. Because it’s not a nut, it’s a drupe. Drupe is one of my favorite words ever. So don’t be a dupe, eat a drupe.

When bar mitts came of age, they had a bar mittsvah. They went on a bike Torah.

Kid’s current preferred morning activity is to turn off the lights, turn on the disco ball, turn on ABBA “Money, Money, Money” on repeat, and lie catatonically on the floor/couch taking it all in.

This is not where we should have been on the 5th anniversary of Jan 6

slop(n.1) c. 1400, "mudhole, puddle," probably from Old English -sloppe "dung" (in plant name cusloppe, literally "cow dung"), related to slyppe "slime" (from PIE root *sleubh- "to slide, slip").

“May be”

Can journalists just nix the phrase “tense calm”? If it’s tense it’s not calm.

I don’t think it’s called a “break” if the two were sworn enemies from the get go.

Hey Seattle: You can now scoot/bike to transit for the cost of a transit fare (or less for very short rides) and can earn free transit tickets by doing so. Info here: sdotblog.seattle.gov/2024/09/16/b...

I just Limebiked a half mile to the light rail station. It turned a 12-minute walk into a 4-minute ride and cost $1.66 after tax.

@seattle.carinbikelane.com Police car in bike lane, Latona NE/NE 47th

Non-interventionist wings of both the Democratic and Republican parties, this is your moment.

umpire(n.) "an arbitrator, mediator," mid-14c., noumper, from Old French nonper "odd number," in reference to a 3rd person to arbitrate between 2, from non "not" + per "equal," from Latin par "equal". Orig. legal; the gaming sense is recorded by 1714 (in wrestling).

This is not the way (but I admire the gumption)

Why not install a disco ball? (Seattle)

Yes we Wilson

Let’s hire faculty based on what zip code they grew up in

Some goofy nerds are heterosexual women

New year, new ear infection for kid. Happy New Ear Infection! But really it’s just the antibiotic resistant ear infection of last year rearing its ugly head again. Just like the new year itself. A bit too on the nose, er, ear.

And one of the favorites of all the cloud picture books

Mir Yarfitz, community organizer and educator (and my friend for over 20 years), is running to represent NC-10, currently represented by a MAGA republican but 100% competitive after new gerrymandering significantly narrowed the GOP hold. Follow him and consider supporting his inspiring campaign.

On a super foggy Seattle NYE, a sampling of beautiful children’s books about clouds—the kid’s current obsession

Quarter millennium life crisis coming up for the US

Oh shoot, it’s the US’s semiquincentennial? Better get ready to eat a lot of quinces sliced in half

This six-seven idiocy better have petered out by New Year’s Eve 2026/7

Closing out 2025 with an industrial strength staple in my rear ebike tire.

The real game changer for urban mobility would be free transfers between transit and scooter/bike rentals, including inclusion of unlimited scooters/bike use on monthly and company-sponsored passes. Do any cities do this?

Some bike/scooter parking zones seemingly in the works, downtown Seattle, 4th and Madison

In 2026 I am *not* resolving to procrastinate less but instead to have more analog (rather than digital) ways to procrastinate. To that end: what analog procrastination toys/tools should I consider? So far I’m enjoying this 3d maze. Looking for specific toys not activities like baking, cleaning, etc

Key body parts: ise, eres, stumeck, usofagise, penise

Pro tip if you have vacation this time of year: make and begin fulfilling your New Year’s resolutions on Christmas and use the days off to start a habit.

All is well in the world of social media

“Toilet rats” has an abysmally low scrabble point value for the amount of shock value it brings

Wall Street Journal featuring a throuple purchasing and renovating a new home like it’s just another day. Maybe not all is lost.

Goals for 2026

Important body parts for highly idiosyncratic kid: MAWTH, TETH, LOST TOOTH, YOLULYA, ASOFAGIS

Kid’s first ever college basketball game was UW women’s team. Last weekend he went to game #2, men’s. How was it, I asked. “This time it was boys,” he said. “Why was it boys?” “Boys can play basketball too,” I replied.

CWOGROPOLE may be my favorite phonetic spelling yet

Cities in which I have, thus far, used bike and scooter share: Boston, Montreal, Los Angeles, Charleston SC, and latest, DC. DC has amazing bike lanes and a ton of bike share options. Recommend (but get the national guard and ICE the f out).