Today would be good. It would be a mercy, really. Save the old guy the shame of having to resort to booking cover bands from Branson, MO to play at his American State Fair event.

What Courtney Said

1/ Yesterday's Bay Area to Portland road trip went smoothly. My hybrid's range estimates seem to get dodgy when dealing with a combination of terrain. I thought I was very low on range, and bought two gallons, and then one gallon, when it looked like I'd run out. Ended up 52 miles of range left.

I have a big announcement: I'm leaving my corpo job to work full time on TTRPGs. A scary step but one I think will be worth it. So, from August I'm available to hire as a writer, editor, or marketing consultant (15 years in marketing). Here's how you can help...

Long trip north from Bay Area to Portland starts in an hour. Breakfast with east coast family first.

Do not watch Sesame Street on Tubi with the subtitles on 😭. I swear, I didn't edit or add anything. Is it hilarious? Yes, but also, they need to fix this immediately. Absolutely incomprehensible and bad

The most skilled physical therapists have extra knuckles.

@nomadpdx.bsky.social For Rent: A One-Bedroom Coyote House www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/a...

In the Bay Area for a family event. 24 years after moving north to the Portland burbs I'm still shocked by trips down here what with the eight lane highways and hair-raising traffic.

Grateful for motel breakfast bars. And the people who invented those flippy Belgian waffle irons that so many of them have. I would have been better off with oatmeal, but hey, waffle!

It is all online, but there are wonderfully produced hardcover (and softcover) collections of DRIVE episodes as well. Enough to keep you busy until someone is smart enough to turn this into a TV series.

Bluesky pals! I have a sci-fi graphic novel called DRIVE, & it's my favorite thing I've ever done! If you need a long, escapist read at the moment the entire thing is free to read, here: drivecomic.com (THIS PAGE: Elective Monarchy )

I drank 2 x 20 oz bottles of Diet Mt Dew, a medium coffee, and a very large coffee to stay awake on today's road trip, I must have stopped to pee a half a dozen times.

In a cheap (but nice and clean) motel in Arcata, CA. There was no front desk clerk. Just a kiosk with a remote operator.

The Progressive Era started in response to the corruption and excesses of the Gilded Age. The *first* Gilded Age. Time for a second era of progress, and this time put teeth into the reforms, and curb stomp the Confederacy and its apologists for good.

It has been about 20 years since I last drove from Grant's Pass down 199 to 101 to the Bay Area. I only remembered the scenic bits -- mighty redwoods and the pacific coast -- and not the tedious winding country roads, which is why I stopped taking the coastal route.

Trump wants the Treasury to print a $250 bill with his face on it. Congress will never approve this indulgent bullshit, but a few wankers in the House will run on voting for it.

The proper response on seeing a blast like this in person is to say "Oooooohhh!" like you're watching Fourth of July fireworks.

First online purchanse that I recall. Very, very early in Amazon's history, while I was going to grad school (95 - 97) I ordered a copy of a @greatdismal.bsky.social book, mostly likely "Idoru." Back when Amazon only sold books and seemed wholesome. They sent me a free mouse pad.

Today's Olive and Popeye at @comicskingdom.bsky.social : Today's Olive and Popeye: comicskingdom.com/olive-popeye...

I think ER and STAR TREK have a lot in common. They're both about a staff of extremely competent-yet-still-fallible co-workers who face the unknown every day with empathy and a personal mandate to always do the right thing, even at great expense to themselves.

I do not think it is possible to do this. The world today is so different from the one I grew up in. If you add cell phones into a story that doesn't have them, there are so many "why didn't they--" questions that arise.

In the run-up to last week's Oregon primaries, one GOP governor candidate aired ads in which he said he'd protect the sanctity of girl's sports. Of all the problems in the state, that was his big issue.

"Gripen Jets" is trending, and with no context I get to imagine that this is the name of an underdog soccer team that just won some big game.

www.wsj.com/us-news/a-lu... today in "real doomsday prepping is doing mutual aid and building solidarity"

I'd be so grateful to anyone who makes any level of donation to help me with my ttrpg efforts buymeacoffee.com/scottmalthouse

This is Ken Paxton's mugshot. He was indicted on 3 felony counts for investment fraud. He was reported to the FBI by his own staff for bribery. He was impeached by his own party for corruption. Now he’s the Republican nominee for US Senate in Texas. Together we will stop him.

With Alt Text:

Wealthy bigots influencing politics are one of the very best cases for returning to a 90% top income tax rate.

UPDATE: After loud backlash, @KnoxSchools has put ‘ROOTS’, a Pulitzer-prize winning state book, back in schools. tennesseelookout.com/2026/05/26/k...

Thursday: Making my first interstate road trip in my (now year old) new car, and my first trip to the Bay Area since 2018. Big family event. Driving down 101 since I have time and want to see scenery.

Back from a cheapskate matinee showing of "The Mandalorian and Grogu." Good, not great. A very pleasant and diverting popcorn movie. Good humor throughout. I was kind of baffled by one voice over choice. As usual, Sigorney Weaver classes up everything she appears in.

Am I a bad person for hoping the contractor hired to put this venue together is a shady firm hired because they're paying a kickback to Trump, and that the whole shlamozzle will collapse when the birthday boy takes the stage?

BREAKING: Donald Trump once again gets the highest ever cognitive test scores, amazing top cognitive doctors, big tough guys, identifying 3 out of 4 animals and drawing the best clock they've ever seen. "They were crying, they'd never seen a clock so beautiful. All three hands were perfect."

Reading about Russian & Ukrainian drone warfare tactics, I'm thinking that Hegseth's inane WARFIGHTER ULTIMATE LETHALITY WARRIOR ETHOS BLAH BLAH BLAH rants are like a general in 1914 calling for breeding of really large, strong horses so his army can mount really effective cavalry charges.

A friend asked me to give a nice finish to a large model rocket he'd built. It will fly a special payload over Oregon's high desert on June 6th.

I don't approve of AI. AI is the tool of the enemy. But damn, too good to pass this one up.

This, always and every day and no matter what, THIS. Right now many things are terrible, they would be a lot more so were there not so many people doing so many things in in hope, in defiance, in solidarity.

You can get tours of the Jim Henson Creature Shop in Long Island City now.

Graduating Students Cheer as Steve Wozniak Tell Them Human Intelligence Still Matters futurism.com/artificial-i...

For Memorial Day: "My Very Dear Wife" - The Last Letter of Major Sullivan Ballou' Watch on YouTube: buff.ly/gAFm1BN

A growing body of research suggests that optimism may protect the heart — both biologically and by promoting healthier habits. Even if you’re not a natural optimist, there are habits you can develop to handle stress and feel more hopeful about life: https://wapo.st/4nrE3ZY

Why not today?

Like so many, my dad was plagued by PTSD and nightmares after the war. In college he switched his major to language and literature because, as he said, "I needed to get it out of my gut...write it down. This is the way it began for me." Images: Rod Serling 1943 & 1975