Friday, February 06, 2026
Friday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
This is Super Bowl weekend and starting to get the feeling the US is going to bomb Iran to distract people from the endless pregame shows or from Bad Bunny at halftime. President Trump has already said he's not attending the game. Maybe because he wants to be close to the situation room?
As always = please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
Thursday, February 05, 2026
Starlink Direct to iPhone?
The Starlink Internet service needs some sort of receiver. Combined this news with the recent speculation of a SpaceX - Apple partnership makes you wonder if the next models of iPhones will have that receiver built in and allow for native Internet, voice, and texting via Starlink. Take you phone anywhere and still get a signal. That would be a big selling feature. (Photo via)
EDIT: Elon Musk says this report is fake news. Too bad - a guy can dream of a better iPhone though.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- From the archives: The acrobatic grace of Cary Grant.
- America's three biggest cities are swimming in employee pension debt. Unfunded or underfunded pensions are the biggest problem facing many municipalizes and some states.
- The EPA makes everything worse - case in point marine diesel engines. As an aside - you can't spell Borepatch without "epa."
Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Today is kind of a schadenfreude day as many who were paying attention saw layoffs coming to the Washington Post and the truth about the LA fires long before it was finally being accepted by the left. Common sense told people paying attention that you can't drive away readers and lose $250 million a year or that you can't fight wildfires if you don't have any water going to the hydrants and cut $17 million from the fire fighting budget before hand. Common sense. It's fitting that Billy Eilish ends being the poster child for this day.
As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
Wednesday, February 04, 2026
Robert Kraft Not Elected to Hall of Fame
When Bill Belichick was passed over many excused the slight due to voters only being able to vote for three names and some players perhaps being on their last ballots. It was unfair to make them wait it was argued. But now that Robert Kraft has been likewise passed over by the voters - that excuse no longer holds water.
A price has to be paid for this travesty.
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Trump was right about tariffs. Agree 100% - reciprocal tariffs work!
- The Artemis II launch date has been pushed off till March at the earliest. This was the sort of bad publicity I was talking about.
Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
The NBA trade deadline is drawing near (Thursday at 3:00 PM) and the trades are already starting to fly. The big highlight so far is the Clippers trading James Harden to Cleveland for Darius Garland. The Celtics and Bulls also made a trade - Boston sending Anthony Simmons for Nicola Vucevic. Will keep an eye on this situation for the next couple of days.
As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
Tuesday, February 03, 2026
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Thoughts on guilds from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. Was surprised by the link between guilds and universities.
- Danielle Bolelli: The Melian Dialogue and the Nature of Power.
- The worldwide humiliation of Bill Gates: From tech god to global embarrassment.
- The fraud in California will dwarf the amount of fraud in Minnesota.
Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Perhaps lost in the news that SpaceX is acquiring xAI was the earlier announcement Apple may be partnering with Starlink (also owned by SpaceX) to provide space based Internet service on all new iPhones. This could be a game changer and potentially allow any iPhone to become a hot spot replacing home Internet service for many users. A game changer.
As always = please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
Monday, February 02, 2026
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- SpaceX seeks to launch 1 million solar powered satellites to create AI datacenters in space.
- 200 Reasons Why I'm Here. Good advice. (HT Cultural Offering)
- The long poverty decline: Before and after the war on poverty. It was going better before the government got involved.
- Dan Wetzel: NFL should look into Giants co-owner Steve Tish. Tish's behavior was disturbing.
The Bombing of Hiroshima
One of the things written on the first atomic bomb ever to be used in war was written, "Greetings to the Emperor from the men of the Indianapolis." That was the sort of feeling that was common in US forces in WW II.
Enola Gay navigator "Dutch" Van Kirk said shortly after the A-bomb exploded, "I thought, Thank God the war is over and I don't have to get shot at any more. I can go home."
The book notes, "It was a sentiment hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and sailors would soon express." And could you blame them?
Japan had been warned before the bombing to surrender or face destruction. The Japanese refused and instead issues sharpened sticks to civilians to fight invaders to the death if necessary. General Curtis LeMay had been firebombing the cities of Japan so much that LeMay lamented that he was denied cities targeted as possible sites for the atomic bomb. Despite the unprecedented firebombing damage - Japan didn't surrender. They didn't even surrender after the bombing of Hiroshima. They only surrendered after the destruction of Nagasaki.
Quotes from The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.
Monday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
The Bruins played the Lightning at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa last night for a cool outdoor game. Boston raced to a 5-1 lead, there was a goalie fight, but then lost 6-5 in an OT shootout. The team arrived dressed as patriots and the initials of all six New England states were on their uniforms. Not sure if this was to support the Patriots in the Super Bowl or a reminder to sports fans that there's more than one team in Boston.
As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
Sunday, February 01, 2026
More Linky Links
More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Learning from "Kill the Wabbit." Remember that when Curious George was learning the alphabet we saw "D" is for "dromedary" - wonder what today's generation would use for "D."
- Astronauts are going back to the moon for the first time in half a century. Interesting read on the Artemis II mission.
- All 10 NFL head coaching jobs are now filled - with grades for each!
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- It's really cold. Here's how to stay happy (with science). (HT Jake)
- Peter Attia: Metformin misses the mark? Maybe when it comes to extending longevity that is.
- The chip rebellion is on. Interesting look at potentially the future(s) of computer chips.
- The qualities of decent, cultured people. (HT Cultural Offering)
Sunday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Each morning I wake and wonder if there'll be overnight news about the fall of the regime in Iran, the government in Cuba, or a clarification of the situation in China. And each morning I'm slightly discouraged there's not. Now I'm getting worried that all three situations will choose next Sunday when I'm preparing for the Super Bowl to all resolve at once.
As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Go Pats!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
Top 5 Quotes from Groundhog Day
2. "Who wants some flapjacks?"
3. "I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. *That* was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over and over and over..."
4. It's the same things your whole life. "Clean up your room.", "Stand up straight.", "Pick up your feet.", "Take it like a man.", "Be nice to your sister.", "Don't mix beer and wine, ever.". Oh yeah, "Don't drive on the railroad tracks."
5. "This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."
Saturday, January 31, 2026
USS Indianapolis
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Many only learned of the USS Indianapolis from Captain Quint's speech in the movie Jaws. Here's what really happened after the Indianapolis delivered the bomb at Tinian.
"...the Indianapolis, an older vessel, lacked sonar gear for submarine detection and was top heavy. Japanese submarine I-38 discovered the heavy cruiser in the Philippines Sea a little before Midnight on Sunday, July 29...
The torpedoes and following explosions of ammunition and aviation fuel ripped away the cruiser's bow and destroyed the power center. without power the radio officer was unable to send a distress signal - he went through the motions anyway - or the bridge to communicate with the engine room, The engines pushed the ship forward unchecked, scooping up water through the holes in the hull and leaving behind the sailors thrown overboard who had been sleeping on deck in the tropical heat. The order to abandon ship, when it came, had to be passed word of mouth."
About 850 sailors went into the sea facing 12 foot waves:
"Most had kapok lifejackets. Few could find their way to the life rafts. They floated instead in clusters, linked together, stronger men swimming the circumferences to catch sleepers before they drifted away, one group numbered between three and four hundred souls. They pushed the wounded to the center where the water was calmer and prayed the distress call had gone out.
The captain had found two empty life rafts and later that night encountered one more unoccupied. He ordered the rafts lashed together. They sheltered ten men and he thought them the only survivors. Through the night a current carried the swimmers southwest while winds blew the rafts northeast: by the light of morning rafts and swimmers had separated beyond discovery."
What happened next to those in the water was beyond terrorizing and I'll omit because words can't do it justice.
"Thursday morning, August 2, a Navy plane spotted the survivors. Because of negligence at Leyte the Indianapolis had not even been missed. A major rescue effort began, ships streaming to the area. PBY's and PBM's dropping food, water, and survival gear. The rescuers found 318 naked and emaciated men."
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- How to sleep well and wake up energized. I don't adopt all the methods but your mileage may vary, (HT Jake)
- Aren't they even aware of the two tiers of justice in this country?
- Tim Ferriss: How I beat Lyme disease with the Ketogenic diet.
Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
In what may be the mother of all Friday news dumps - 3 million more Jeffrey Epstein emails were released and some pretty big names like Bill Gates, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and Giants part owner Steve Tish were implicated. If Jack Smith was working the case he's give just till Monday for all the emails to be read.
As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks and oh - Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.
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