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Celerity
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Celerity's Journal
October 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/1313255293200072707
Conan O'Brien: Good luck getting paid, Walter Reed.
https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/1313255293200072707
October 6, 2020
By far the best Biden speech of the last 2 years, THAT was an election-winning level of speech.
October 6, 2020
https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/the-50-best-whiskeys-in-the-world-w211382/
Whiskey drinkers have never had it so good. Over the past decade or so, the number of varieties has exploded, presenting tipplers with a mind-boggling array of options. You can now drink bourbon that’s aged entirely on the ocean, a truly kick-ass rye, or Japanese single malts that beat the Scots in blind taste tests. All this poses a serious—if highly welcome—dilemma: What the hell should I drink? Fear not: Men’s Journal is on the case. In addition to putting our own taste buds to work, we recruited 18 top experts from the wide world of whiskey—writers, bartenders, restaurateurs (and in some cases, all three)—who have collectively sampled over 1,000 bottles. Somehow, we narrowed them down to these 50, most of which can be found at any good liquor store and none of which should fail to please. So whether you’re looking for massive peat smoke for a frigid winter night, an easy weekend sipper on the rocks (or chilling stones), or a budget bourbon for a pitcher of Old Fashioneds, we’ve got the perfect bottle for you.
I pick 3 that I personally recommend, the others are at the link
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14-Year-Old Single Malt
St. John Frizell, owner of Brooklyn cafe and bar Fort Defiance, can’t get enough of this Scotch finished in rum barrels. “It’s surprising how much rum character comes through,” he says. “It’s beautiful Balvenie whiskey, but with graceful notes of almond, lime rind, tropical fruit, allspice, and nutmeg. These are rum punch flavors, straight out of the West Indies.”
Bowmore 15
When Ben Rojo, bartender at Angel’s Share, first got into Scotch whisky, he was drawn immediately to the peat monsters of Islay — stuff his wife claims turns his breath to “bandaids and cigarette butts.” He says his tastes have mellowed a little since then, “but Bowmore 15 is still my security blanket.” It’s got all the hallmark smoke and salinity that he fell in love with, and its tempered with the fruit and caramel of the finishing sherry casks.
Glenmorangie Signet
The mash used to create Glenmorangie Signet is made with a portion of heavily roasted chocolate barley — just like what’s used in stouts and porters. As you might expect the whiskey has notes of coffee and cocoa, but also sweetness of apricot and raisins. In short, the perfect nightcap.
The 50 Best Whiskeys in the World
(yes, I know it is all terribly subjective, lol)https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/the-50-best-whiskeys-in-the-world-w211382/
Whiskey drinkers have never had it so good. Over the past decade or so, the number of varieties has exploded, presenting tipplers with a mind-boggling array of options. You can now drink bourbon that’s aged entirely on the ocean, a truly kick-ass rye, or Japanese single malts that beat the Scots in blind taste tests. All this poses a serious—if highly welcome—dilemma: What the hell should I drink? Fear not: Men’s Journal is on the case. In addition to putting our own taste buds to work, we recruited 18 top experts from the wide world of whiskey—writers, bartenders, restaurateurs (and in some cases, all three)—who have collectively sampled over 1,000 bottles. Somehow, we narrowed them down to these 50, most of which can be found at any good liquor store and none of which should fail to please. So whether you’re looking for massive peat smoke for a frigid winter night, an easy weekend sipper on the rocks (or chilling stones), or a budget bourbon for a pitcher of Old Fashioneds, we’ve got the perfect bottle for you.
I pick 3 that I personally recommend, the others are at the link
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14-Year-Old Single Malt
St. John Frizell, owner of Brooklyn cafe and bar Fort Defiance, can’t get enough of this Scotch finished in rum barrels. “It’s surprising how much rum character comes through,” he says. “It’s beautiful Balvenie whiskey, but with graceful notes of almond, lime rind, tropical fruit, allspice, and nutmeg. These are rum punch flavors, straight out of the West Indies.”
Bowmore 15
When Ben Rojo, bartender at Angel’s Share, first got into Scotch whisky, he was drawn immediately to the peat monsters of Islay — stuff his wife claims turns his breath to “bandaids and cigarette butts.” He says his tastes have mellowed a little since then, “but Bowmore 15 is still my security blanket.” It’s got all the hallmark smoke and salinity that he fell in love with, and its tempered with the fruit and caramel of the finishing sherry casks.
Glenmorangie Signet
The mash used to create Glenmorangie Signet is made with a portion of heavily roasted chocolate barley — just like what’s used in stouts and porters. As you might expect the whiskey has notes of coffee and cocoa, but also sweetness of apricot and raisins. In short, the perfect nightcap.
October 6, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/style/cecil-b-demille-liquor-dusty-hunters-whiskey.html
Kevin Langdon Ackerman had a good lead, so he left his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Beachwood Canyon on a Tuesday morning in August and drove 18 miles northwest to Sylmar, Calif. He guided his metallic black BMW off the 210 and up the winding road to the top of Little Tujunga Canyon; on the right side, Middle Ranch, an equestrian facility and popular wedding venue, on the left, multimillion-dollar estates, everything surrounded by the mountains of the Angeles National Forest. Eventually he reached his destination, a Santa Fe-style home built in the early 1900s. There he met his contact, Caroline Debbané, who took him not through the front door but around to the back of the property.
There, a modern lock code opened the swinging cellar doors, and the two descended a flight of concrete steps to the bunker. One entire wall had built-in wine turrets, with dusty bottles of wine and champagne lying on their side. Another wall acted as a liquor cabinet, with more bottles of bourbon, Irish whiskey and rum, untouched for over a half century. Mr. Ackerman had found the booze collection of Cecil B. DeMille, the legendary director and producer. “I’m thinking, ‘Holy crap! I want this, and I need to get this,’” Mr. Ackerman said. “In my mind, this was born of and ultimately the fruit of me being incredibly vigilant over the last eight years.”
Mr. Ackerman, himself a filmmaker by trade, is also a dusty hunter: an antique collector who only searches for still-sealed bottles of vintage alcohol, usually American whiskey. Discussion of dusty hunting, and the use of that exact term, appears on the internet around 2007, mostly on whiskey enthusiast blogs and message boards, such as Straight Bourbon. (Collectors of vintage nail polish, chronicled by The Times in 2014, are also considered dusty hunters.)
Though this is a fairly new hobby, it is one already facing its end days, as there are simply fewer and fewer undiscovered bottles still out there to find. Mr. Ackerman took up the quest in 2012, after coming across an online article about a group of friends who had specifically flown to Kentucky to search liquor store shelves for old bottles of bourbon from the much lauded but by then defunct Stitzel-Weller Distillery.
snip
Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready for Your Booze Stash
Dusty hunters seek valuable old bottles of whiskey and other spirits. This one found the collection of a lifetime.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/style/cecil-b-demille-liquor-dusty-hunters-whiskey.html
Kevin Langdon Ackerman had a good lead, so he left his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Beachwood Canyon on a Tuesday morning in August and drove 18 miles northwest to Sylmar, Calif. He guided his metallic black BMW off the 210 and up the winding road to the top of Little Tujunga Canyon; on the right side, Middle Ranch, an equestrian facility and popular wedding venue, on the left, multimillion-dollar estates, everything surrounded by the mountains of the Angeles National Forest. Eventually he reached his destination, a Santa Fe-style home built in the early 1900s. There he met his contact, Caroline Debbané, who took him not through the front door but around to the back of the property.
There, a modern lock code opened the swinging cellar doors, and the two descended a flight of concrete steps to the bunker. One entire wall had built-in wine turrets, with dusty bottles of wine and champagne lying on their side. Another wall acted as a liquor cabinet, with more bottles of bourbon, Irish whiskey and rum, untouched for over a half century. Mr. Ackerman had found the booze collection of Cecil B. DeMille, the legendary director and producer. “I’m thinking, ‘Holy crap! I want this, and I need to get this,’” Mr. Ackerman said. “In my mind, this was born of and ultimately the fruit of me being incredibly vigilant over the last eight years.”
Mr. Ackerman, himself a filmmaker by trade, is also a dusty hunter: an antique collector who only searches for still-sealed bottles of vintage alcohol, usually American whiskey. Discussion of dusty hunting, and the use of that exact term, appears on the internet around 2007, mostly on whiskey enthusiast blogs and message boards, such as Straight Bourbon. (Collectors of vintage nail polish, chronicled by The Times in 2014, are also considered dusty hunters.)
Though this is a fairly new hobby, it is one already facing its end days, as there are simply fewer and fewer undiscovered bottles still out there to find. Mr. Ackerman took up the quest in 2012, after coming across an online article about a group of friends who had specifically flown to Kentucky to search liquor store shelves for old bottles of bourbon from the much lauded but by then defunct Stitzel-Weller Distillery.
snip
October 6, 2020
With the prospect of ‘no-deal’ once again prominent in the headlines and the fear that the government is now leading us into an at best threadbare Brexit trade deal at the end of this year, there has been a renewed focus on the likely disruption to the UK economy. This outcome will pile significant economic damage to the economy on top of that already caused by the Covid pandemic. As a report this week from the UK in a Changing Europe demonstrates, not having a deal will have consequences more profound than restricting trade between the UK and the EU27.
The report’s conclusion is both stark and worrying: ‘a no deal outcome will have repercussions not just on our economy, but on our politics, our security, and the UK’s own Union’. The Kafkaesque announcement that lorries will need a permit to enter Kent reinforces the sense of disarray, whatever Michael Gove, the responsible minister, claims about contingency plans, including the hiring of an additional 50,000 customs officers and border officials. Even if, in a last minute settlement, it proves possible to avoid lengthy delays and blockages at the major ports, critical breaches of supply chains, shortages of food and other essential commodities, the magnitude of the challenge facing the UK economy has to be recognised, yet the government has remained remarkably silent about a further serious blow to the economy arising from Brexit – the loss of access to investment finance from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The EIB is a financial giant
The EIB, situated in Luxembourg, is the EU’s house bank and by far the largest multilateral lender in the world. Founded under the Treaty of Rome in 1957 its primary purpose is, by raising finance on the world’s capital markets with its top-class AAA rating, and on-lending it long-term for viable projects in member states, to promote the balanced economic development of the EU. Since the UK joined the (then) European Community in 1973 the EIB has lent nearly €120 billion for projects in the UK. Many of them are iconic transport infrastructure projects such as the channel tunnel and the second Severn crossing but in recent years the EIB has extended its coverage to “social” sectors such as education (schools and universities), health and housing. Prior to the 2016 decision to leave the EU, annual lending to the UK was running at around €7 billion a year, which, since the EIB lends on average around a third of total project cost (it plays a valuable role as a catalyst for other lenders), supported total annual investment of around €20 billion.
But all that will cease with Brexit. The Withdrawal Agreement stated clearly that “After withdrawal UK projects will not be eligible for new operations from the EIB reserved for member states”. This is because the EIB’s statute restricts it to lending in member states except for a small minority of loans in third (mostly developing) countries under unanimously agreed special provisions. In theory, if good will were available after departure, amendments to the Treaty and/or to the EIB’s statutes could be made to enable the UK to continue to benefit from EIB finance. But this would also require unanimity and given the UK’s increasingly aggressive approach to the negotiations – not to mention its threat to break international law by reneging on key provisions of the Withdrawal Treaty – such good will is most unlikely to be available. Ominously, the EIB, and its subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF), which has been providing over a third of UK venture capital, have already, in anticipation of the final break, drastically reduced their UK commitments (the EIB to less than €1 billion in 2018). And despite talk of setting up a new British investment bank, little seems to have been done so far that could begin to replace EIB finance.
snip
The European Investment Bank: we will miss it when it is gone
https://fedtrust.co.uk/the-european-investment-bank-we-will-miss-it-when-it-is-gone/With the prospect of ‘no-deal’ once again prominent in the headlines and the fear that the government is now leading us into an at best threadbare Brexit trade deal at the end of this year, there has been a renewed focus on the likely disruption to the UK economy. This outcome will pile significant economic damage to the economy on top of that already caused by the Covid pandemic. As a report this week from the UK in a Changing Europe demonstrates, not having a deal will have consequences more profound than restricting trade between the UK and the EU27.
The report’s conclusion is both stark and worrying: ‘a no deal outcome will have repercussions not just on our economy, but on our politics, our security, and the UK’s own Union’. The Kafkaesque announcement that lorries will need a permit to enter Kent reinforces the sense of disarray, whatever Michael Gove, the responsible minister, claims about contingency plans, including the hiring of an additional 50,000 customs officers and border officials. Even if, in a last minute settlement, it proves possible to avoid lengthy delays and blockages at the major ports, critical breaches of supply chains, shortages of food and other essential commodities, the magnitude of the challenge facing the UK economy has to be recognised, yet the government has remained remarkably silent about a further serious blow to the economy arising from Brexit – the loss of access to investment finance from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The EIB is a financial giant
The EIB, situated in Luxembourg, is the EU’s house bank and by far the largest multilateral lender in the world. Founded under the Treaty of Rome in 1957 its primary purpose is, by raising finance on the world’s capital markets with its top-class AAA rating, and on-lending it long-term for viable projects in member states, to promote the balanced economic development of the EU. Since the UK joined the (then) European Community in 1973 the EIB has lent nearly €120 billion for projects in the UK. Many of them are iconic transport infrastructure projects such as the channel tunnel and the second Severn crossing but in recent years the EIB has extended its coverage to “social” sectors such as education (schools and universities), health and housing. Prior to the 2016 decision to leave the EU, annual lending to the UK was running at around €7 billion a year, which, since the EIB lends on average around a third of total project cost (it plays a valuable role as a catalyst for other lenders), supported total annual investment of around €20 billion.
But all that will cease with Brexit. The Withdrawal Agreement stated clearly that “After withdrawal UK projects will not be eligible for new operations from the EIB reserved for member states”. This is because the EIB’s statute restricts it to lending in member states except for a small minority of loans in third (mostly developing) countries under unanimously agreed special provisions. In theory, if good will were available after departure, amendments to the Treaty and/or to the EIB’s statutes could be made to enable the UK to continue to benefit from EIB finance. But this would also require unanimity and given the UK’s increasingly aggressive approach to the negotiations – not to mention its threat to break international law by reneging on key provisions of the Withdrawal Treaty – such good will is most unlikely to be available. Ominously, the EIB, and its subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF), which has been providing over a third of UK venture capital, have already, in anticipation of the final break, drastically reduced their UK commitments (the EIB to less than €1 billion in 2018). And despite talk of setting up a new British investment bank, little seems to have been done so far that could begin to replace EIB finance.
snip
October 6, 2020
In recent weeks Michael Gove has admitted to the House of Commons that the end of the transition period could lead next year to queues of “up to 7000 HGVs in Kent” and that a system of “Kent Access Permits” would be necessary to manage the congestion. The Road Hauliers Association told the media that its meeting with Michael Gove on 17th September “fell far short of our expectations.” A representative of the British Veterinary Association has, meanwhile, complained about the inadequacy of governmental guidance on the new checks on agri-food that will be required from 1st January. Business groups in Northern Ireland have reiterated their concerns about the now exacerbated uncertainty of their position under the Withdrawal Agreement. Leaders of the pharmaceutical industry have added their voice, warning that patients could face delays in obtaining medicines in the New Year.
It is obvious from these and many other examples that governmental preparations for the abrupt changes to the functioning of British trade with continental Europe in 2021 are badly behind hand. It cannot be stressed too often that many of these changes will need to be made whether the UK leaves the transition period with or without a “deal.” Once Theresa May proclaimed in 2017 that the UK would be leaving both the European Single Market and the Customs Union in her version of Brexit, it was inevitable that substantial new administrative resources would be required to supervise British trade with its continental neighbours. This need might be mitigated by a broad free trade agreement signed after Brexit, but it would not be eliminated. With the transition period having lasted until December 2020, the government therefore had nearly four years to prepare for necessary changes. The reasons why they have largely failed to do so throw interesting light on the underlying nature of the Brexit project.
Hollow promises
The referendum was won in 2016 on the promise that no or minimal economic disruption would follow upon the UK’s leaving the European Union. Some voters would have been prepared to countenance some such disruption in the hope of recovering supposedly lost national sovereignty, but their numbers fell far short of assuring a majority for the Leave campaign. Copious reassurance was therefore offered by Brexit’s advocates that Brexit was an economically unthreatening choice. Indeed, it would supposedly liberate hitherto latent but constrained economic capacities. This reassurance was effective in winning the 2016 referendum campaign but created for the government seeking to implement Brexit an unpleasant dilemma. Undertaking the serious and highly visible work necessary to reflect the real and disruptive consequences of Brexit would be an implicit recognition of the hollowness of the promises made in 2016. Inaction on the other hand would render the eventual impact of Brexit yet more traumatic and politically damaging. Faced with this uncongenial choice, the government opted for equivocation, claiming for many months and years that a wide-ranging free trade agreement was achievable that would indeed pre-empt the need for border formalities. It was only at the beginning of 2020 that it began seriously to recognise and plan in a meaningful way for these inevitable extra formalities. This was too little too late. The Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing reluctance of Ministers consistently and honestly to present the disagreeable impending changes to British business have brought painfully slow progress towards equipping British business for the inevitable changes to come.
There was of course a certain cynical political rationality in thus postponing for as long as possible public realisation of the mendacity of the Leave campaign in 2016. This rationality was however conjoined with what can only be described as “magical thinking.” At every step of the Brexit negotiations it has been clear that the EU, as the larger partner well-versed in trade negotiations, was in a much stronger position than the UK. Throughout most of the negotiations the reaction of the British side has been to act as if it accepted this imbalance, but then vigorously to deny any such imbalance to the outside world. In making these public denials, British negotiators seem genuinely to have believed that they were in some way strengthening their hand. If they believed hard enough in their ability to make a reality of the chimera of a painless Brexit, then apparently that belief would eventually rub off on the EU’s representatives as well. If these were unconvinced, then that must be because some British negotiators were not strong enough believers, or no believers at all. It is easy to see how such an attitude would be a deterrent for both Ministers and civil servants considering when and how to manage and mitigate the disruption wrought by Brexit. Public preparations for a disruptive Brexit, particularly before the UK left the Union, would be a betrayal of British negotiators by confirming to the EU’s representatives that the UK would be adversely affected by Brexit. The EU might well suspect this to be so but could never be sure until it received confirmation by the public actions of the British side.
snip
Brexit: The worst is yet to come
https://fedtrust.co.uk/brexit-the-worst-is-yet-to-come/In recent weeks Michael Gove has admitted to the House of Commons that the end of the transition period could lead next year to queues of “up to 7000 HGVs in Kent” and that a system of “Kent Access Permits” would be necessary to manage the congestion. The Road Hauliers Association told the media that its meeting with Michael Gove on 17th September “fell far short of our expectations.” A representative of the British Veterinary Association has, meanwhile, complained about the inadequacy of governmental guidance on the new checks on agri-food that will be required from 1st January. Business groups in Northern Ireland have reiterated their concerns about the now exacerbated uncertainty of their position under the Withdrawal Agreement. Leaders of the pharmaceutical industry have added their voice, warning that patients could face delays in obtaining medicines in the New Year.
It is obvious from these and many other examples that governmental preparations for the abrupt changes to the functioning of British trade with continental Europe in 2021 are badly behind hand. It cannot be stressed too often that many of these changes will need to be made whether the UK leaves the transition period with or without a “deal.” Once Theresa May proclaimed in 2017 that the UK would be leaving both the European Single Market and the Customs Union in her version of Brexit, it was inevitable that substantial new administrative resources would be required to supervise British trade with its continental neighbours. This need might be mitigated by a broad free trade agreement signed after Brexit, but it would not be eliminated. With the transition period having lasted until December 2020, the government therefore had nearly four years to prepare for necessary changes. The reasons why they have largely failed to do so throw interesting light on the underlying nature of the Brexit project.
Hollow promises
The referendum was won in 2016 on the promise that no or minimal economic disruption would follow upon the UK’s leaving the European Union. Some voters would have been prepared to countenance some such disruption in the hope of recovering supposedly lost national sovereignty, but their numbers fell far short of assuring a majority for the Leave campaign. Copious reassurance was therefore offered by Brexit’s advocates that Brexit was an economically unthreatening choice. Indeed, it would supposedly liberate hitherto latent but constrained economic capacities. This reassurance was effective in winning the 2016 referendum campaign but created for the government seeking to implement Brexit an unpleasant dilemma. Undertaking the serious and highly visible work necessary to reflect the real and disruptive consequences of Brexit would be an implicit recognition of the hollowness of the promises made in 2016. Inaction on the other hand would render the eventual impact of Brexit yet more traumatic and politically damaging. Faced with this uncongenial choice, the government opted for equivocation, claiming for many months and years that a wide-ranging free trade agreement was achievable that would indeed pre-empt the need for border formalities. It was only at the beginning of 2020 that it began seriously to recognise and plan in a meaningful way for these inevitable extra formalities. This was too little too late. The Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing reluctance of Ministers consistently and honestly to present the disagreeable impending changes to British business have brought painfully slow progress towards equipping British business for the inevitable changes to come.
There was of course a certain cynical political rationality in thus postponing for as long as possible public realisation of the mendacity of the Leave campaign in 2016. This rationality was however conjoined with what can only be described as “magical thinking.” At every step of the Brexit negotiations it has been clear that the EU, as the larger partner well-versed in trade negotiations, was in a much stronger position than the UK. Throughout most of the negotiations the reaction of the British side has been to act as if it accepted this imbalance, but then vigorously to deny any such imbalance to the outside world. In making these public denials, British negotiators seem genuinely to have believed that they were in some way strengthening their hand. If they believed hard enough in their ability to make a reality of the chimera of a painless Brexit, then apparently that belief would eventually rub off on the EU’s representatives as well. If these were unconvinced, then that must be because some British negotiators were not strong enough believers, or no believers at all. It is easy to see how such an attitude would be a deterrent for both Ministers and civil servants considering when and how to manage and mitigate the disruption wrought by Brexit. Public preparations for a disruptive Brexit, particularly before the UK left the Union, would be a betrayal of British negotiators by confirming to the EU’s representatives that the UK would be adversely affected by Brexit. The EU might well suspect this to be so but could never be sure until it received confirmation by the public actions of the British side.
snip
October 6, 2020
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday he is switching his endorsement in the L.A. County district attorney’s race and supporting George Gascón in his bid to unseat incumbent Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey as the head of the country’s largest prosecutor’s office. Garcetti was among a number of Southern California politicians who threw their support behind Lacey’s bid for a third term early last year, before Gascón entered the race.
But in the wake of nationwide protests calling for criminal justice reforms following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, some began to walk back their endorsements of Lacey, who has spent most of her second term under intense scrutiny for declining to prosecute officers in a number of controversial shootings of unarmed men. Gascón, who was San Francisco’s district attorney for eight years and served in the Los Angeles Police Department for decades before that, did not prosecute officers in a number of high-profile shootings in the Bay Area either. But Gascón’s record of using restorative justice programs rather than incarceration to deal with nonviolent offenders has made him attractive to progressive leaders, including U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
During a June interview, Garcetti said “it may be” time for a change in leadership in the district attorney’s office, but he had since declined to elaborate. In a statement issued Sunday, the mayor said he was proud to back a candidate who could improve public safety “through partnerships with and beyond law enforcement.” “George Gascón will help our county shift the burden from the criminal justice system and jails toward diversion, intervention and re-entry programs that save money and save lives,” the statement read. “He is a leader who I have known and trusted for nearly twenty years who can meet this moment.”
Lacey dismissed the endorsement from the mayor of the largest city in her jurisdiction as an attempt by Gascón to distract from his performance in a Saturday night debate, which she termed a “disaster.” For Garcetti, the move marks his latest attempt to navigate the topic of criminal justice reform. He has repeatedly come under fire from Black Lives Matter organizers and other city activists — most of whom overwhelmingly support Gascón — for the LAPD’s handling of demonstrations this year. But Garcetti is also a frequent target of criticism from law enforcement unions, who have spent millions in support of Lacey’s reelection bid this year.
snip
very glad to see this, the last sentence is all you need to know
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti shifts support to George Gascn in contentious D.A.'s race
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-04/la-mayor-eric-garcetti-shifts-support-george-gascon-district-attorney-raceLos Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday he is switching his endorsement in the L.A. County district attorney’s race and supporting George Gascón in his bid to unseat incumbent Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey as the head of the country’s largest prosecutor’s office. Garcetti was among a number of Southern California politicians who threw their support behind Lacey’s bid for a third term early last year, before Gascón entered the race.
But in the wake of nationwide protests calling for criminal justice reforms following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, some began to walk back their endorsements of Lacey, who has spent most of her second term under intense scrutiny for declining to prosecute officers in a number of controversial shootings of unarmed men. Gascón, who was San Francisco’s district attorney for eight years and served in the Los Angeles Police Department for decades before that, did not prosecute officers in a number of high-profile shootings in the Bay Area either. But Gascón’s record of using restorative justice programs rather than incarceration to deal with nonviolent offenders has made him attractive to progressive leaders, including U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
During a June interview, Garcetti said “it may be” time for a change in leadership in the district attorney’s office, but he had since declined to elaborate. In a statement issued Sunday, the mayor said he was proud to back a candidate who could improve public safety “through partnerships with and beyond law enforcement.” “George Gascón will help our county shift the burden from the criminal justice system and jails toward diversion, intervention and re-entry programs that save money and save lives,” the statement read. “He is a leader who I have known and trusted for nearly twenty years who can meet this moment.”
Lacey dismissed the endorsement from the mayor of the largest city in her jurisdiction as an attempt by Gascón to distract from his performance in a Saturday night debate, which she termed a “disaster.” For Garcetti, the move marks his latest attempt to navigate the topic of criminal justice reform. He has repeatedly come under fire from Black Lives Matter organizers and other city activists — most of whom overwhelmingly support Gascón — for the LAPD’s handling of demonstrations this year. But Garcetti is also a frequent target of criticism from law enforcement unions, who have spent millions in support of Lacey’s reelection bid this year.
snip
very glad to see this, the last sentence is all you need to know
October 5, 2020
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33648414/scientists-catch-time-crystals-interacting/
For the first time, scientists have observed an interaction of a rare and baffling form of matter called time crystals. The crystals look at a glance like “regular” crystals, but they have a relationship to time that both intrigues and puzzles scientists because of its unpredictability. Now, experts say they could have applications in quantum computing. Scientists only theorized the existence of time crystals starting in the 2010s, making this the state-of-matter equivalent of so-called ruby chocolate—is it really a new thing or just a special case of something else? (Sorry, ruby chocolate, we’re not convinced.) By 2015, researchers were outlining ways time crystals could exist, generalized as a “non-equilibrium form of matter”:
Now, researchers say, they’ve collided two time crystals to see what happens next. “Our results demonstrate that time crystals obey the general dynamics of quantum mechanics and offer a basis to further investigate the fundamental properties of these phases, opening pathways for possible applications in developing fields, such as quantum information processing,” they explain in a new paper
In their experiments, they placed two time crystals in superfluid and mixed magnons between them. Magnons are a magnetic quasiparticle that, in this case, led to “opposite-phase oscillations,” while the crystals themselves stayed phase stable. What’s cool (and, literally, supercooled) is how the matter acts within predictable quantum mechanical ways despite the central quality of wild oscillation patterns over time.
snip
For the First Time Ever, Scientists Caught Time Crystals Interacting
That's huge news for the most mysterious phase of matter—and maybe physics as we know it.https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33648414/scientists-catch-time-crystals-interacting/
In new research, mysterious time crystals interact pretty normally in an experiment.
Time crystals are a very new form of matter where particles move forever and don't lose energy.
The interacting time crystals passed magnons back and forth and stayed stable.
For the first time, scientists have observed an interaction of a rare and baffling form of matter called time crystals. The crystals look at a glance like “regular” crystals, but they have a relationship to time that both intrigues and puzzles scientists because of its unpredictability. Now, experts say they could have applications in quantum computing. Scientists only theorized the existence of time crystals starting in the 2010s, making this the state-of-matter equivalent of so-called ruby chocolate—is it really a new thing or just a special case of something else? (Sorry, ruby chocolate, we’re not convinced.) By 2015, researchers were outlining ways time crystals could exist, generalized as a “non-equilibrium form of matter”:
Now, researchers say, they’ve collided two time crystals to see what happens next. “Our results demonstrate that time crystals obey the general dynamics of quantum mechanics and offer a basis to further investigate the fundamental properties of these phases, opening pathways for possible applications in developing fields, such as quantum information processing,” they explain in a new paper
In their experiments, they placed two time crystals in superfluid and mixed magnons between them. Magnons are a magnetic quasiparticle that, in this case, led to “opposite-phase oscillations,” while the crystals themselves stayed phase stable. What’s cool (and, literally, supercooled) is how the matter acts within predictable quantum mechanical ways despite the central quality of wild oscillation patterns over time.
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October 5, 2020
I have zero clue what is going on, but we sure as FUCK are being lied to all around. The doctors are star-struck berks!
arrrrrrrrfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
Fuck these Walter Reed shills, fuck this whole thing, I trust NOTHING! It all stinks like Rumps arse
I have zero clue what is going on, but we sure as FUCK are being lied to all around. The doctors are star-struck berks!
arrrrrrrrfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
October 5, 2020
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/free-online-guitar-lessons-fender-play-october-2020
Okay. The deluge of online talks, lessons, and classes from the spring has lost its lustre. The novelty of virtual tours and happy hours has worn off. You're in Zoom meetings more times a week than you care to count. That's understandable.
Still, you want to learn how to play guitar. Fender offered free access to its Fender Play platform in the spring, giving out three months of free guitar lessons to anyone who signed up. The company is at it again, and if you missed out before you can get three months of lessons for free right now. It's not just guitar, either. The platform offers lessons for guitar, bass, and ukulele.
Starting October 1, you can sign up for three free months of lessons through the Fender Play site. The offer will be available through the end of 2020. So, you've got time to plan out how you're going to go from two chords on ukulele to "Eruption" in three months.
Once you sign up, you'll be asked whether you want lessons for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, or ukulele. You'll also be asked what style of music you want to play. Each lesson lasts just a few minutes, so it's easy to cram it into your busy schedule. You'll also get access to lessons on how to play a ton of songs through instructional videos and tablature. You'll be annoying housemates with "Wonderwall" on repeat before you know it.
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The World's Biggest Guitar Company Is Offering Free Online Guitar Lessons
Get out that dusty axe and learn to play.https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/free-online-guitar-lessons-fender-play-october-2020
Okay. The deluge of online talks, lessons, and classes from the spring has lost its lustre. The novelty of virtual tours and happy hours has worn off. You're in Zoom meetings more times a week than you care to count. That's understandable.
Still, you want to learn how to play guitar. Fender offered free access to its Fender Play platform in the spring, giving out three months of free guitar lessons to anyone who signed up. The company is at it again, and if you missed out before you can get three months of lessons for free right now. It's not just guitar, either. The platform offers lessons for guitar, bass, and ukulele.
Starting October 1, you can sign up for three free months of lessons through the Fender Play site. The offer will be available through the end of 2020. So, you've got time to plan out how you're going to go from two chords on ukulele to "Eruption" in three months.
Once you sign up, you'll be asked whether you want lessons for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, or ukulele. You'll also be asked what style of music you want to play. Each lesson lasts just a few minutes, so it's easy to cram it into your busy schedule. You'll also get access to lessons on how to play a ton of songs through instructional videos and tablature. You'll be annoying housemates with "Wonderwall" on repeat before you know it.
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