Notices by Bruce MacDonald (rationaldoge@hachyderm.io)

"Journalist killings are rare in the United States, and this marks the first time that a current or former U.S. official has been convicted of killing a journalist."
https://www.voanews.com/a/former-nevada-official-found-guilty-of-murdering-journalist-/7762931.html

#journalism

@inthehands I remember when the period discussion came to our Middle School classroom (we called it Junior High back in those days).

The girls were spirited away and instructed separately; we boys were not to badger them or discuss it further when they returned from their unprecedented sequestration.

I, of course, had informants who filled me in on the substance of the lesson. And that was that!

It was all very interesting, memorable, and good to know.

'The ruling distinguishes between the ability of a government entity and a private business to restrict political speech.

'“More important here, whether the city has an ordinance that restricts political speech is not relevant to Life Time’s right as a private entity to restrict political speech on its premises,” the appeals panel wrote.'

Candidate’s gym membership termination upheld by Minnesota appeals court
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/08/26/candidates-gym-membership-termination-upheld-minnesota-appeals-court

So long (eventually) to the place where I learned about William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, and Charles Dickens.

Hard to find the entrance to the Humanities Building but it didn't take long to find your way around.

Always thought it was a quintessential modern university building because it was kinda funny looking.

The columns, especially, look like they fall short of a safe slenderness ratio.

But I was a journalism student not an engineering student so I didn't mind.
https://madison.com/opinion/editorial/our-view-tear-down-ugly-failing-monstrosity-in-heart-of-uw-madison-campus/article_cc7bfcd0-616a-11ef-9602-5b3a5948e30c.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Lesser Minnesota in the news.

"The prevailing anecdote in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest following George Floyd’s murder was that droves of people moved out of Minneapolis. But it wasn’t true."

New survey debunks myth about migration out of Minneapolis
https://www.startribune.com/new-survey-debunks-myth-about-migration-out-of-minneapolis/601128917

#Minneapolis #Minnesota #Hinterlandia

'I would always call the Observer, because I knew them. … I would call them, totally indignant and enraged by what was happening that week in the Capitol, and I’d be like, “You guys need to get over here and write about this.”

'I think they got so tired of me calling that they said, “Well, why don’t you just come and work here?” I took like a $10,000 pay cut and went back to journalism.'

Observing the Borderlands
https://www.texasobserver.org/observing-the-borderlands/

#journalism #Texas #borders

@inthehands I just broke out into song: the final number in Bernstein's "Candide."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DROkQJc_F0

@futurebird Well put.

The membrane control panel is the only quibble I have against our induction range; we're used to exquisite sensitivity on our self-phone screens and the membrane just doesn't compare.

Also, having to reach above a pot of boiling water to poke at the panel is sub-par.

That's a design consideration I wish I had thought of when I was purchasing. I'd go with a front panel with rotary knobs if there's ever a next time.

Various expensive foodstuffs are one of the principal draws of the State Fair; others include

• crop art and seed bags
• creative activities
• heritage recipes
• newspaper museum feat. hot type
• 4H exhibits
• DNR building
• school kids' artwork
• corn roast
• home improvement nonsense
• Christmas trees
• antique tractors
• free music
• cows

Politicians. Who knows? maybe you'd run into future governor Peggy Flanagan.

The #MinnesotaStateFair is arguably the best in the country; don't miss it.

As cheap [frugal] as I am, I would not resort to this. But it's good, and a bit surprising, that one could do:

"Food costs can get pricey at the fair, especially for families. If you don’t mind skipping out on fair food, preparing your own is a great way to save money. The fair allows guests to bring outside food and coolers, as well as nonalcoholic outside drinks."
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/08/15/minnesota-state-fair-101-guide-great-minnesota-get-together-2024

#MinnesotaStateFair

@inthehands @aburka As the inscription on the sundial at the Lake Harriet Rose Garden says, "Count only the sunny days."

Your observation that incentive pricing didn't work well surprises me. But electricity already seems like a pretty good value around here and maybe the savings were not that Big?

Anything to forestall peaking generation and transmission woes, though.

I'd like to build a dashboard for my meter and keep a cold eye on it.

@inthehands Dang it Paul I've been running my dishwasher after midnight!

I got that idea when Xcel started talking about maybe someday trying time-of-day pricing in Minnesota, something that would Save Big Money.

(Economists say people respond to incentives. I'm just incredibly cheap.)

Seriously though I've found that my many years of individual quirky behaviors have not mattered ONE WHIT.

Discouraging. Some days I just want to say, Eff it. I'm hopping on a plane, to roar over my house.

Oh, Cory.

'[Rothman] contrasted that [$55,000 threshold] with the new Minnesota State Promise program that waives tuition and fees for students from families with adjusted gross incomes under $80,000 per year.

'“So they have made a commitment to educate, quite frankly, more of their students,” Rothman said.

'State Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, countered by stating, “I wouldn’t worry too much about Minnesota, because it won’t be long and they’ll be bankrupt…'
https://www.wpr.org/news/uw-system-president-jay-rothman-legislative-council-study-committee

Will Bunch: "Officials predicted it would benefit at least 15,000-20,000 current students while hopefully enticing more — especially when combined with a similar benefit for the state’s tribal members, a funding boost for academic programs, even increased child care for students who are parents. No wonder public enrollment in Minnesota jumped 2% last year while it dropped elsewhere, with a bigger surge likely this fall as the North Star programs takes effect."
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/tim-walz-jd-vance-higher-education-policy-20240808.html

Holy mackerel. Sorry to read this. The latest bike boom is over.

"A pillar of Minneapolis's cycling community is shutting down after 22 years in business. The Hub Bike Co-op announced Friday that it’s closing both of its locations, on Minnehaha Avenue and in Dinkytown, on Sept. 30.

"Brian Dowdy, a worker-owner, said that industry conditions have been unfavorable to small bike retailers."
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/08/03/minneapolis-workerowned-bike-shop-to-close-after-22-years

#cycling #Minneapolis

'After a weekend of lower temperatures and increased humidity, which aided fire suppression, officials worry that a shift in weather could again fuel elevated fire activity. Last week, the explosive wildfire more than doubled in size several times in a matter of hours and produced fire whirls, or “firenados,” as it grew.'
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-29/park-fire-is-californias-sixth-largest-blaze-in-history

"Crusaders against online misinformation tend to assume that everyone who likes or shares it must believe it. But the Vance episode illustrates a nuance crucial to understanding why even fantastical falsehoods can flourish online: Often, the people circulating them don’t care whether they’re true. They just find them funny or effective as a way to embarrass the other side."
—from the article

C'mon, folks. Get it together. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Mis- vs Dis-information. Thorough:

"An online Associated Press post that purported to debunk the claim served more to fan the flames than douse them. On Thursday, the AP retracted its fact check, drawing a fresh round of attention to the bogus post. Pointing out that it would be unfair to mentally associate Vance with couches became a bit like telling someone not to think of an elephant."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/07/26/jd-vance-couch-twitter-whitelist-fake/

"Scientists have been tracking global temperatures only for the past few centuries. Yet there is good reason to believe that Sunday was the hottest day on Earth since the start of the last Ice Age more than 100,000 years ago."

Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, scientists say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/07/23/hottest-day-ever-recorded-climate-change/

Ash wastewater spill at northern Minnesota coal plant more than five times larger than first reported
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/07/19/ash-wastewater-spill-at-northern-minnesota-coal-plant-more-than-five-times-larger-reported

#environment #Minnesota