Newmark's Door

"Squashing Some Mosquito Myths"

Another endorsement of DEET as effective against mosquitos, but this piece proposes a new addition to the arsenal that I hadn't heard of: Bite Blocker.

"Ritz cracker ‘edges’ mystery finally solved: TikTok hack blows mind"

"Blows mind" is exaggerated, but the story was indeed new to me.

"Brilliant flowchart proves 'Point Break' and 'The Fast and the Furious' are basically the same movie"

Linked because I liked The Fast and the Furious and I really liked Point Break.

"What Happens If Yellowstone Blows Up Tomorrow?"

Short answer: it would ruin your whole day. But the experts--let's hope they're right this time--think it's not likely any time soon.

"Lose Your Head"

London Grammar.

"Willin'"

Live, in 1976, Linda Ronstadt. "Young people now think Taylor Swift is great. They have no idea what great really is."

"Coffee Regional Flavor Profiles"

From Hawaii to Papua New Guinea and the all the growing places in between.

"Jeff Bezos famously embraces failure. Here are the biggest flops Amazon has overcome under his watch."

"Flops"?! But . . . but . . . I was told Amazon was an evil monopolist who could do anything it wanted.

Apparently not.

"Electric Vehicles on Collision Course with Reality"

They are inconsistent with many things Liberals profess to want and believe. (So what else is new?)

"What Really Happened at the Hernando de Soto Bridge?"

Interesting. But might make you a little nervous driving over bridges. (13 minute video.)

"Identification of the 100 richest dietary sources of polyphenols"

Cloves and dried peppermint are the winners by a considerable margin. (But cocoa powder, oregano, and dark chocolate are pretty good.)

"A Chemical Hunger – Part I: Mysteries"

"The study of obesity is the study of mysteries."

Part II here.

"Hertzsprung-Russell diagram: the most important graph in astrophysics"

A graph that made a difference.

"Almost Four Decades After Its Birth, The Diversity Industry Thrives on Its Own Failures"

Makes sense: you set a goal that can never, ever be reached and you can stay in business forever.

"Subversive Education"

This, unfortunately, hits very close to home for me: "North Carolina’s largest school district launches a campaign against 'whiteness in educational spaces.'"

"iAge: predicting health with your 'inflammatory age'"

Once again, a story about how chronic inflammation is supposedly at the root of a host of health problems. (I'm not sure about it, but I do watch my hsCRP number.)

"Unlocking the ‘gut microbiome’ – and its massive significance to our health"

If you age-related health problem isn't caused by chronic inflammation (see post immediately above), then it's probably caused--supposedly--by problems with your gut microbiome.

"Government-Protected Monopolies Are The Ones To Fear"

Ain't this the truth.

It still, after all these years, amazes me that most of the people who tremble at the "power" of Amazon et al., don't fear the power of government and government-protected entities a whole lot more.

"Post Apocalypse"

A piece that explains one major problem right now with the USPS.

"Seeing America from the Ground"

Another very fine column from Selena Zito.

They are so disconnected from most places that it would astound them if they took the time to get on the road and ask them how they feel about the issues of the day. They don't want their police departments defunded. They want their bridges and roads fixed and their water to be clean. They don't want critical race theory jammed down their children's throats. They are horrified at how political the military has become and are worried about the long-lasting impact of the crisis at the border.

They are good neighbors. They love God and aren't ashamed to show it as much as they like pickles in their beer and ranch dressing on everything.

(Ranch dressing I knew about but I have to say the "pickles in their beer" is a new one for me.)

"Author of the Mega-Viral Thread on MAGA Voters, Darryl Cooper, Explains His Thinking"

If you missed the "mega-viral" thread on what MAGA voters are thinking currently, and why--which I found quite persuasive--this piece will bring you up to speed.

"The Left wanted a culture war. It got one. Now it’s upset."

Well, being upset is kinda their raison d'etre.

(See also Glenn Reynolds: "To be fair, lefties are always upset when they don’t get their way. Also when they do. Because being upset is their only reason for living.")

 

"Why Cuba is having an economic crisis"

"Three crises and a whole lot of bad policy decisions have driven hungry Cubans into the streets."

"Options Volumes Hit Record, Concentrated In Just Five Stocks"

Today's stock market is more than a bit weird.

"California Wakes Up From Its Dream"

Opinion piece in the NY Times?! (Won't the Timesfolk from California claim this makes them feel "unsafe"?)

"U.S. News Ranks the Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2021-2022"

Raleigh-Durham ranks #2. And North Carolina ranks #2 in "America's Top States for Business". 

More evidence that I lucked into a good place to spend most of my adult life.

"No Soliciting Sign That Works Like A Charm!!!!"

If only they had something like this for junk phone calls.