Truly bonkers stats that should give us pause

One the weirdest aspects of the Citizens United Supreme Court Case is that corporations affiliate with political parties. I wonder if professional athletes will start to consider Nike's giving behavior when they compete with adidas? www.msn.com/en-us/news/p...

A trip to Paris is a weird mix of technologies. NFC payments aren't widely accepted, with credit card chip + pin as the backstop that American's don't have. It's like the smart phone revolution quietly skipped this part of the world - with eye opening differences. Some of them good - but v different

Currently Googling: Can a concussion improve mental performance? #HookEm

It's the time of year where pseudo-intellectuals give their reasons why we should stop changing our clocks, ignoring the fact that we have already tried this and hated it so much, Congress interrupted watergate to go back with veto proof majorities. www.washingtonian.com/2022/03/15/t...

Folks who don't go to college are critical of the concept of college.

"Never short a cult"

“—and what do we call prisoners who are children and haven’t been charged with anything?” is a textbook example of why imprecise language makes bad journalism

I'm very thankful that so many were released today. If you were an Israeli soldier pulled from a tank during a battle, you were a "hostage" and if you were a Palestinian child seized by the IDF without charge you were a "prisoner." I'd love to understand that logic @nytimes.com @nbcnews.com

Watches and wearables are finally good enough that I can start going places with completely empty pockets. That's pretty incredible progress!

Absolutely bonkers detail from today's ceasefire signing:

The Aggie uniforms today are driving me crazy. White helmet with white stripes, but cream numbers and cream pants. Who designed these crimes against design?

We're in the middle of a wild societal experiment

Why is Mayor Whitmire breaking the one part of Metro that didn’t need fixing? | Editorial www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/edit...

In the wake of polling last week that showed Democrats viewing Israel through the same lens as apartheid South Africa, multiple leading Democrats are publicly disavowing AIPAC. Today's latest example is McMorrow in Michigan, but it's becoming hard to track all of the pledges.

I know folks are really bummed about the keys to CBS News being tossed over to a new-media startup, but "network news" has been dead for a very long time. This is just the tombstone.

There's always next year

We all joke about Israel being the 51st state, but it was Qatar all along: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Like AM radio and newspapers, it's fascinating to watch the death rattle of broadcast net affiliates. Down 66% since the pre-pandemic high, and basically at its 1994 IPO price. Half of their shrinking revenue is from recarriage rights - ie checks in the mail from cable comps because of a 1992 law.

If you invested $1 in Sinclair in 1995, you would have $1.08 today. Share price is down 66% since the pandemic.

Companies currently have 3 choices on certain types of employment. Pay an American $200K a year, Pay an H1-B $100K a year, or offshore for <$50K a year. Many companies choose the H-1B option. If we tax the H1-B option $100K a year, which of the remaining two options do you think they will choose?

A tangible impact of the UK recognizing Palestine is that it is now illegal for UK citizens to join the IDF under the Foreign Enlistment Act: questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

Your regular reminder that owning a pet dog has the same carbon footprint as driving an extra full size car

How dead is linear television? Most watched episode by year: 1983: M*A*S*H 106 million 1993: Cheers 84 million 1998: Seinfeld 76 million 2004: Friends 53 million 2025: Tracker 17 million

Ug, so now I have to sleep early? Researchers analyzed the sleep and exercise habits of 20K adults with wrist trackers...Adults who habitually were in bed by 9 p.m. got about 30 more minutes of physical activity in the following day than those who went to bed at 1 a.m. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

I'm reading "The Power Broker" right now, and just read the section about Robert Moses fighting with Mayor LaGuardia about building a park in Harlem, and finally relenting and filling it with Iron Monkeys and...wow. Just dumbfounded that they took 50 years to remove: www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/n...

I love college football allowing foreign language name plates on uniforms. Kudos to @notredame.bsky.social and @wmuhumanities.bsky.social for leading the pack here!

My favorite teenagers are playing football today! #Hookem

New $400K Cadillac sedan set to compete with Rolls Royce: www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

Your regular reminder that The Heisman Trophy is named after Rice University Football Coach and Athletic Director John Heisman: www.nytimes.com/1927/12/05/a...

The world today is very different than the world I grew up in. In some ways it is better, in others it is worse. My personal life has never been better, but I've never been more anxious. I suspect this is true for a lot of folks.

Does anyone have a decent explanation for why film posters and media never line up the star names with the photos?

So in the UK it is apparently ok to talk on speakerphone in literally any setting. Just had dinner at a Michelin⭐ restaurant and the couples on both sides were both on speakerphone which is wild to me. Earlier today person next to me on the train, and later during a tour. Wild.

New Polling on US/Israel is jaw-dropping. No matter how you ask, there is a 40 point gap between young adults and elderly. That kind of a demo split is unheard of. I looked through every poll in Gallup history and the only analog was interracial marriage. news.gallup.com/poll/692948/...

omw to London

The world isn't ready for the sheer volumes of realistic looking bullshit that AI is unleashing on us: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/w...

This is absolutely bonkers. Major airlines now charge almost 2x the price for buying a single ticket over paying for 2 passengers. It's a mechanism to suss out business travelers vs leisure: thriftytraveler.com/news/airline...

Women’s soccer players who evacuated Afghanistan in 2021 are now in Houston. Abandoned by FIFA, they are fighting to rebuild their team. www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/dynam...

Countries that allow free speech are increasingly rare. Some truly insane examples from India, where the mildest speech can land you in prison: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/w...

I just shotgunned the first 5 books in the "We Are Legion, We are Bob" series by @dennisetaylor.bsky.social in 2 weeks and really loved them. Can't wait for the next 5 books to come out!

Last night's air force battle between India (Russian + French planes) and Pakistan (US + Chinese) has massive geopolitical ramifications that will take us years to unpack. 97 advanced aircraft involved! www.linkedin.com/posts/rabia-... www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/w... www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/a...

Finally headed back to Houston after a brutal travel week. IAH-SFO-IAD/DCA-DTW-IAH. Everywhere I went I saw amazing entrepreneurs and VCs unphased by externalities they can't control. I'm optimistic about the future.

so like...what does work?

If this trade agreement doesn't liberalize the rules for importing Indian Mangoes to the US I will declare it a failure 🥭 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

1st class used to board last because being on an airplane isn't great. Then airlines started charging to check bags, which broke the system because there wasn't enough bin space, forcing 1st to pre-board. No one wants to board even EARLIER, this isn't a win. www.fodors.com/news/news/wa...

Houston leads the nation in "returning to the office" with 74.3% of pre-pandemic levels: realtynewsreport.com/houston-lead...

Powell's speech indicates that it's more likely he will increase rates because of tariffs than decrease them: www.wsj.com/economy/cent...

Does anyone know where to get the cheapest Zeiss replacement lenses for glasses in Houston? www.reddit.com/r/houston/co...

I got Genius! www.nytimes.com/badges/games...

THIS IS HUGE! Researchers at McMaster University have discovered a NEW peptide antibiotic that targets a broad range of disease-causing bacteria INCLUDING those RESISTANT to existing antibiotics. This discovery marks the first potential new class of antibiotics in NEARLY 30 YEARS. 🧪🧵⬇️