I’m getting that drained feeling again. Probably because the last few months have just been a whirlwind – personally, professionally, politically. So, fresh content may be sporadic for a while.
Metal Tuesdays and B-Side Fridays will continue as I cue those up a month at a time. Same with Anime Recommendations. Monday Links? Eh, maybe. Ward Manor happenings? Maybe, if something notable happens that I want to remember.
I’m just looking at the next month or two and realizing that I need to kind of take a step back. I want to focus a bit more on finishing a couple of writing projects. One will definitely get posted here at some point. The other? I’m not sure.
Enjoy your holidays folks! I’m going to enjoy mine at Ward Manor.
In the last month, it seems like I’ve been telling people the same two things:
Incentives Matter
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
What surprises me is how often when I use one of these, the result is the person looking at me like I made some profound pronouncement that they just realized.
A massive container ship adrift at 9 mph issued a “mayday” early Tuesday as it headed toward the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge, losing power before colliding with one of the bridge’s support columns. As the vessel struck the bridge, it caused a din that could be heard ashore and immediately toppled an essential mid-Atlantic thoroughfare into the frigid waters.
Several cars were knocked into the Patapsco River and as of Tuesday around 11 a.m., authorities were searching for six construction workers who had been repairing potholes on the bridge. Two others were rescued — one who was briefly hospitalized and another who declined to go to a hospital. Extensive rescue efforts were ongoing.
Baltimore awoke to the tragedy: States of emergency declared by both the mayor and governor, search-and-rescue efforts for those missing, a bridge disappeared.
Before the collision, the ship’s crew notified authorities that the vessel had lost power. That “mayday” allowed Maryland Transportation Authority Police on the highway above to prevent many cars from driving onto the bridge just before the catastrophe.
“These people are heroes,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a morning news conference. “They saved lives last night.”
Moore added that there was no evidence that the collision was a terrorist attack.
Of course, there’s already wild speculation that it was a terrorist attack. Because the internet is a fucking cesspool sometimes.
It’s been a while since I posted a Monday Links post. So, I’ve got a bunch of Reason links from the beginning of the year that I’m just going to post here.
A couple of Florida stories that show the danger of single party rule – regardless of which political party rules the roost. Florida legislation would ban civilian police oversight boards. I could see reforming the boards to make sure they don’t get out of control, but do you really want a place like Broward not to have any oversight. Also, DeSantis wants to ban lab-grown meat. WTF? If customers want lab-grown meat, let them have buy lab-grown meat. It’s just as bad to ban the product than forcing it on everyone.
The ACLU is suing the Ronald McDonald House for not housing folks with assault convictions. Let’s see. We have a charity that is housing the families of children undergoing medical treatment. It’s already a stressful environment. I can see not wanting people with a history of violence in that environment. And I’ll still give money to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. They do good work.
There are some musical performances that seem to transcend time and place. The Tracey Chapman / Luke Combs duet from this year’s Grammy’s fits that bill. The simplicity, the emotion in the singers, the reaction of the audience. It reminds a person of the basic humanity in all of us.
Yesterday, country singer Toby Keith passed away at the young age of 62. Fuck cancer sideways.
This may come as a shock that I liked some of the country music from the late nineties through the early 2000’s. Toby was one of those whose brashness was kind of endearing to me. Here are my two favorites.
I’ve been feeling a bit in the doldrums in regards to posting. Part of it is stress with new job. Part of it is stress with the clowder. Part of it is just other things going on in my life.