Everything is horrible - except for UP sunsets. Those are awesome!

Kind of late for our first paddle of the season (we’re running a bit behind schedule this year…), but I’m happy to report that the Brittany Navigation System is still working well!

We’re a bit late getting up to the cabin this year, but someone finally got to take her first swim of the season. So nice to be back in the UP!

This article is more than 2 months old, but my local Kroger continues to scam its customers. I don’t shop there often, but every time I do, I get overcharged — often for multiple items. Nice way to treat your customers, Kroger. 🙄 www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Earlier this week, I wrote about Epstein, making a timeline for my own clarity. It was originally appended to the piece but was too long. So here it is on my personal site, if useful. pbump.net/timeline.html

'Humiliating and traumatizing': Czech musician set to perform in Kent detained, sent home www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/l...

Why are we still hearing fireworks?!? Argghhh!!!

Gift article www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Just turned in grades for the last time ever. Looking forward to retirement and weeks full of nothing but Saturdays!

Was out walking at 6am and it was already 74 and ridiculously humid. Ugh.

We each have our own thing we do to preserve our mental health. Mine is to spend hours and hours with my clarinet(s) trying to play music that I’ll never be able to master in a million years. Works wonders, although my dog and neighbors probably wish I had a slightly less noisy therapy routine.

Been a while since I’ve had this much fun with 10,000 of my closest friends. 😂

Just read a student paper that consistently referred to "steak holders" instead of "stakeholders" and of course now I'm craving a steak for dinner (and I don't even eat steak...).

Took advantage of the beautiful weather in the UP today. Enjoyed a nice walk overlooking the Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Made a stop at Bond Falls on my way home. This sure beats working!

Should have spent the evening grading. This was much more pleasant.

Lots of tornado warnings in the region right now. If you’re in the Cincinnati area, please stay safe!

The spring Brittany crop is coming in nicely this year. Should see the head any day now!

Just took the most fattening walk ever. Some of the neighborhood kids were selling Girl Scout cookies at the end of their driveway. Since I didn’t have my wallet with me, I thought I was off the hook. For my convenience, however, they accepted Venmo. Came home with 3 boxes. 😂

** Cracking my knuckles and dusting off my COBOL skills ** Thinking it’s time to teach those DOGE youngsters a thing or two.

Nice job, Lincoln Heights!

Tonight’s dinner music selection: Brahms Piano Concerto No 2. When everything seems awful, we all look for ways to find beauty in the world. Music does it for me.

Drinking a glass of wine and listening to Dvorak’s Serenade for Winds and now the world seems just a little less awful.

Kinda wishing Canada would annex the UP - in which case we would just sell our house in Ohio and relocate to the UP cabin. Come on, Canada - let’s do this!

Was planning to click “submit” on my retirement paperwork this week, and now I’m not so sure… 🤔

Should be required reading for every elected official - especially for Dems, who seem to be absolutely clueless about the damage being done by Elon and his band of marauders.

Bummer.

Wondering if Walter Isaacson feels even a little embarrassed right now

About once every 10 years I have the horrible job of notifying my students that one of our class colleagues passed away. Today was one of those days. This is absolutely the worst part of my job.

Tom Brady. Ugh.

I’m not much of a TV person, and I’ve somehow managed to avoid reality TV for most of my life - so I have no idea how @emilynussbaum.bsky.social’s “Cue the Sun” ended up on my TBR list. Glad it did, though - excellent read. Mark Burnett has a *lot* to answer for.

More snow coming down. Looks like we'll end up with about 11-12" for the week. Pretty sure my snowshoes are sad and lonely up at the cabin; wish I had brought them home with me when we closed things down back in October.

You know you've had an excellent winter break when you try to log in to your work account but can't remember the password.

Bengals!

Bengals and Steelers both seem determined to lose this game

Being a Bengals fan is always a bit of an adventure. Not sure how much more of this season my blood pressure can take!

Just submitted grades - wrapped up the semester four full hours ahead of the deadline. 😂 And now it’s time for 🍷

Not a fan of these Seahawks unis. They look like highlighters, and they’re making my eyes hurt.

I guess a win is a win, regardless of style points, but this was one of the sloppiest games I've ever seen -- which is saying something, given that I'm a long-suffering Bengals fan.

Well, that botched fumble recovery kind of sums up this season for the Bengals.

Really don’t like turning down late work, but damn — this semester needs to end!

Another opportunity at the University of Cincinnati (Blue Ash campus) - this time for a tenure-track position. Details:

University of Cincinnati (Blue Ash campus) is looking for a Visiting Assistant Prof of Business and Economics (one year position) beginning Aug-2025. Details are available here:

Well that was the most Bengals way to win a game ever. 😂

I think the Bengals could score 100 points, and it wouldn’t matter because their defense would give up 101 points.

Looks like the Bengals brought their very special Swiss cheese defense to the game again today. Holes everywhere.

Been having problems with Microsoft apps all day. Pretty sure this error message will be really helpful for tech support as they work to resolve the issues. 🙄

Bye week for the Bengals, so pretty sure they won't lose this week.

So. Ice cream and wine for dinner. How’s your day going??

Bengals defense. Ugh.

When we think about why victims of sexual violence don’t come forward or report, it’s worth thinking about how Donald Trump was accused by at least 26 women, and that a majority of voters—including a majority of white women—don’t view sexual violence as a barrier to leadership