5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
Am I the only one liking the current weather? I have no problem sleeping, with the window open it's fine. I'm dreading colder weather. I used to be good with the cold and bad with the heat, coming from Scotland, but lived abroad in some hot places for a few years and now I'm the opposite!
I'm loving it. There's nothing better than SE4 (or SE14) in the soupy warmth of Autumn climate change. Having a BBQ tomorrow.
This has probably been covered, but oughtn't Labour be looking to push Khan out? He's seriously under polling his Party. Someone Else Labour would surely poll better?
That's a good point. I was surprised to realize he was standing again after 8 years in the job. You cross the rubicon with a 3rd term. Because if 12 years is ok why not 16 or 20? We'd be looking at a kind of London Putin.
Holding a position for more than 8 years is hardly an unusual thing. Lots of Prime Ministers have. (I realise it’s easy to forget this, living in the age we do of Tory PMs with tenures like mayflys.)
I don’t think you should compare Khan to Putin until he leads an invasion of Essex.
It will never happen. The HYUFD tank brigade is ready and waiting.
Wars are won by logistics and London has the economic might to win this special operation, which, I hasten to add, was only necessitated by Essex aggression.
Essex irredentism would only extend to Havering, Redbridge, Barking, Newham* and Waltham Forest, all part of Essex pre-1965!
* except North Woolwich which was considered part of Kent!
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
The weather continues to be glorious in West Yorkshire. A bit of light cloud has kept the edge off things today, and it is a perfect temperature to sit in the garden in shorts and T-shirt.
I picked the right week to be Staycationing. And I mean properly - at home.
... which leads me on to a brief self indulgence to celebrate my 10,000th post. If you'll kindly forgive the self-indulgence, I want to report a scene I saw today. Middle daughter, recently started secondary school, has started meeting friends on the rec (playing fields behind the houses over the road) after school. I wandered over there to see when she would be home: there was a small handful of eleven and twelve year old girls, in various school uniforms, lolling amiably beneath a tree in the low September sunshine, listening to music on their phones. It was a scene which wouldn't have been out of place 30 or 60 years ago - except 30 years ago they'd have been listening to a cassette player, and 60 years ago to a radio. They weren't doing much beyond each others'company - something they'd much rather do in person than virtually. Kind of gave me hope for the future.
Congrats on 10k. Every one a winner. Were they listening communally to music or was each one listening to their own through earphones?
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
The age of US Presidents has on average been remarkably consistent as compared to UK PMs, albeit the last couple have really stood out as aged, but I wonder what the situation is like for those in the House and Senate. For MPs the average age has barely shifted at all since at least 1979, even as other changes (such as ethnic representation) have changed dramatically, and balancing out a rise in younger MPs. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-trends-the-age-of-mps/
This post found on a brief google claims the average age of the latest Congress is 58, which apparently is a drop of 3 years, and the average age in the Senate was 64, I assume because they stick around so long. https://fiscalnote.com/blog/how-old-118th-congress
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
Some say that the current administration is really being run by 30-year-old staffers and the superannuated office holders have lost control.
No, Biden has a strong grip. Trump otoh didn't, which was probably just as well. Should the unthinkable happen and he (Trump) gets back in, the extent to which he'll be 'managed', and by whom, will assume great importance.
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
86 - 2 year terms remember.
In other american news Kari Lake is taking time out from calling Trump the greatest leader in world history (she wants that VP slot so bad) she's actually come closer to admitting she did indeed lose her gubernatorial race, but only because it was google's fault, which is progress of a sort.
FPT: One can be disgusted by Tucker Carlson -- as I am -- and still see Barack Obama as a failure -- as I do.
For example: I cannot think of anything Obama did, as a community organizer, as a state senator, as a US senator, or as president that reduced black-on-black crime. Not one thing.
Here's what Colbert I. King has to say about DC, now: '“A summer so lawless in D.C., it feels like the Wild West” was the headline on a column I wrote on Aug. 28, 2015 — almost eight years ago. “Law-breaking takes place with impunity.” “The brazenness is staggering.” Words from days gone by. . . . The point in calling attention to the eighth anniversary of that D.C. crime assessment is that the Wild West spirit alive in 2015 is still thriving and engulfing the city in broad daylight, ensnaring people of all ages.' source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/25/dc-crime-wild-west-spirit/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1
There is nothing novel about crimes committed against one's own group. The Mafia have made it tough for Italians both in Italy and in some parts of the United States. Bernie Madoff's victims were, according to accounts I have seen, disproportionately Jewish. And so on.
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Congrats on your 10,000th and the charming cameo of your daughter
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
86 - 2 year terms remember.
In other american news Kari Lake is taking time out from calling Trump the greatest leader in world history (she wants that VP slot so bad) she's actually come closer to admitting she did indeed lose her gubernatorial race, but only because it was google's fault, which is progress of a sort.
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
My plans to install solar powered A/C in the loft conversion look better by the day.
I’m considering similar. We have a period like this every summer, and it often means a week to ten days of sleeplessness.
If you get the reversible systems, you can use them as air source *heating* in winter. Which means you don't pay VAT on the units or installation. You can get 4-1 - 1Kw input gives you 5Kw of heating.
The is different to air source water heating, which replaces your hot water and requires much bigger units.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
... which leads me on to a brief self indulgence to celebrate my 10,000th post. If you'll kindly forgive the self-indulgence, I want to report a scene I saw today. Middle daughter, recently started secondary school, has started meeting friends on the rec (playing fields behind the houses over the road) after school. I wandered over there to see when she would be home: there was a small handful of eleven and twelve year old girls, in various school uniforms, lolling amiably beneath a tree in the low September sunshine, listening to music on their phones. It was a scene which wouldn't have been out of place 30 or 60 years ago - except 30 years ago they'd have been listening to a cassette player, and 60 years ago to a radio. They weren't doing much beyond each others'company - something they'd much rather do in person than virtually. Kind of gave me hope for the future.
Meanwhile, her Dad, at home, skulking on social media …… congratulations on your 10,000th post, BTW.
Haha - yes, I see the irony. She is an example to me. I mean, I like you lot, but you can't beat IRL. In my partial defence, I have taken the youngest two climbing but am unable to join in due to a mildly poorly knee.
See, out cycling I get (perma-air con as you pedal, though the searing inferno when you occasionally stop is fun) - but our local climbing place gets SO HOT it is ridiculous. I was going to head there this evening, but - no.
I say climbing, actually bouldering (which I like cos there's no faff with ropes and clips and whatnot). I like going with my daughter, who at six is liking a little gecko scaling the walls. Me less so, though one of the reasons I'm taking it up is to get a bit less lumpen'n'lardy (and it's quite a laid back and unintimidating place). I could've joined a gym for the umpteenth time, but god I find the gym so unbelievably tedious. Climbing you engage you brain as much as your body.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
FPT: One can be disgusted by Tucker Carlson -- as I am -- and still see Barack Obama as a failure -- as I do.
For example: I cannot think of anything Obama did, as a community organizer, as a state senator, as a US senator, or as president that reduced black-on-black crime. Not one thing.
Here's what Colbert I. King has to say about DC, now: '“A summer so lawless in D.C., it feels like the Wild West” was the headline on a column I wrote on Aug. 28, 2015 — almost eight years ago. “Law-breaking takes place with impunity.” “The brazenness is staggering.” Words from days gone by. . . . The point in calling attention to the eighth anniversary of that D.C. crime assessment is that the Wild West spirit alive in 2015 is still thriving and engulfing the city in broad daylight, ensnaring people of all ages.' source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/25/dc-crime-wild-west-spirit/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1
There is nothing novel about crimes committed against one's own group. The Mafia have made it tough for Italians both in Italy and in some parts of the United States. Bernie Madoff's victims were, according to accounts I have seen, disproportionately Jewish. And so on.
I lived in DC (Eastern Market) for five years up to 2010 and go back regularly and it doesn't seem massively crime-ridden or to have gotten worse over that time. I'm not hanging out in Annacostia, mind you.
FPT: One can be disgusted by Tucker Carlson -- as I am -- and still see Barack Obama as a failure -- as I do.
For example: I cannot think of anything Obama did, as a community organizer, as a state senator, as a US senator, or as president that reduced black-on-black crime. Not one thing.
Here's what Colbert I. King has to say about DC, now: '“A summer so lawless in D.C., it feels like the Wild West” was the headline on a column I wrote on Aug. 28, 2015 — almost eight years ago. “Law-breaking takes place with impunity.” “The brazenness is staggering.” Words from days gone by. . . . The point in calling attention to the eighth anniversary of that D.C. crime assessment is that the Wild West spirit alive in 2015 is still thriving and engulfing the city in broad daylight, ensnaring people of all ages.' source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/25/dc-crime-wild-west-spirit/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1
There is nothing novel about crimes committed against one's own group. The Mafia have made it tough for Italians both in Italy and in some parts of the United States. Bernie Madoff's victims were, according to accounts I have seen, disproportionately Jewish. And so on.
That seems like a weirdly specific thing to judge a politician on. Are you aware that there are competing policy goals even with the realm of crime reduction. I can't lie, I'm a little concerned at the metric you've chosen.
And of course policing in Washington DC, or San Francisco or anywhere else is the responsibility of local police forces, not their president or Congress-woman.
FPT: One can be disgusted by Tucker Carlson -- as I am -- and still see Barack Obama as a failure -- as I do.
For example: I cannot think of anything Obama did, as a community organizer, as a state senator, as a US senator, or as president that reduced black-on-black crime. Not one thing.
Here's what Colbert I. King has to say about DC, now: '“A summer so lawless in D.C., it feels like the Wild West” was the headline on a column I wrote on Aug. 28, 2015 — almost eight years ago. “Law-breaking takes place with impunity.” “The brazenness is staggering.” Words from days gone by. . . . The point in calling attention to the eighth anniversary of that D.C. crime assessment is that the Wild West spirit alive in 2015 is still thriving and engulfing the city in broad daylight, ensnaring people of all ages.' source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/25/dc-crime-wild-west-spirit/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1
There is nothing novel about crimes committed against one's own group. The Mafia have made it tough for Italians both in Italy and in some parts of the United States. Bernie Madoff's victims were, according to accounts I have seen, disproportionately Jewish. And so on.
That seems like a weirdly specific thing to judge a politician on. Are you aware that there are competing policy goals even with the realm of crime reduction. I can't lie, I'm a little concerned at the metric you've chosen.
Did Trump or Bush get a grip on white on white crime during their presidencies? (maybe orange on orange in Trump's case?)
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
It seems quite hard across Europe to go back beyond 1000AD. It’s not just England and the Conquest
In my dreams there is some obscenely posh but incredibly discreet family who still live, very very quietly, in a beautiful villa in Deep Sussex which they can trace back to their Romano British ancestors in 246AD when great (great great etc) uncle Angelicus was pro-consul in Londinium and used to commute into town by chariot
Quite enjoying the hot weather, sitting alfresco with a cool drink in the last blast of summer.
But by gum, there are few bodies improved by tattoos.
I think - I hope - we are past peak tattoo. It was largely a millennial thing in the same way binge drinking was a Gen X thing (and still is). I'm not sensing many people in their teens now getting tats like they were a decade or so ago.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
The empty stands for Fiji were shocking
Quarter Finals are the absolute limit of our expectations.
Quite enjoying the hot weather, sitting alfresco with a cool drink in the last blast of summer.
But by gum, there are few bodies improved by tattoos.
I think - I hope - we are past peak tattoo. It was largely a millennial thing in the same way binge drinking was a Gen X thing (and still is). I'm not sensing many people in their teens now getting tats like they were a decade or so ago.
There's some great ones out there, well designed and high quality. But even then they won't always look so nice on the average body, you really need to think hard about where and when I always say.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
The empty stands for Fiji were shocking
Quarter Finals are the absolute limit of our expectations.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
The empty stands for Fiji were shocking
Quarter Finals are the absolute limit of our expectations.
Given the very low number of countries which play Rugby to any standard I should bloody well hope so.
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
The empty stands for Fiji were shocking
Quarter Finals are the absolute limit of our expectations.
Evens to make the semis due to a very kind draw.
Henry Arundell. If we are going to do anything, Borthwick has to play him, and Marcus Smith, and tell ‘em to throw caution to the winds. Of course Borthwick won’t do this
Honestly for the Dems putting up Biden is like playing tight-weak at Texas Hold 'Em. It's not going to end well.
The GOP primary voting intention is scary. Certified sociopath, wannabe dictator and alleged criminal in the lead, followed by loony climate denier and Putin-apologist, followed by loony climate denier and antivaxxer. Between them attracting 84% (!) of the membership votes of the main right of centre party in the most powerful country in the world.
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
Quite enjoying the hot weather, sitting alfresco with a cool drink in the last blast of summer.
But by gum, there are few bodies improved by tattoos.
I think - I hope - we are past peak tattoo. It was largely a millennial thing in the same way binge drinking was a Gen X thing (and still is). I'm not sensing many people in their teens now getting tats like they were a decade or so ago.
There's some great ones out there, well designed and high quality. But even then they won't always look so nice on the average body, you really need to think hard about where and when I always say.
And what they'll look like when you're 80 years old, wrinkly, drinking rum in the Spyglass inn with Long John Silver and proposing major new road building projects while urging on Ukraine against the Russians.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
This is a drum you have been banging for years. Entitlement or not, the point is that American voters do not discriminate on age grounds. There are 15 members of Congress older than President Biden and many more in their 70s. Don't base your 2024 betting on the idea that Biden (or indeed Trump at 77) is somehow too old.
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
Strange to say, there will probably be families of wolves (or elephants, vultures, salmon, penguins etc) that have been inhabiting the same territory - possibly the same crag or ice floe or bend in the river - for millennia, only nobody is recording them.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
This is a drum you have been banging for years. Entitlement or not, the point is that American voters do not discriminate on age grounds. There are 15 members of Congress older than President Biden and many more in their 70s. Don't base your 2024 betting on the idea that Biden (or indeed Trump at 77) is somehow too old.
I assume the gerontocracy is a direct result of the fact you need tens of millions of dollars of personal wealth to attempt to get to a senior elected position there. With the occasional lucky exception (Obama being one, Harris and Buttigieg being others).
So far in the oldest-family-in-the-same-place stakes (non royal) we have the Berkeleys of Berkeley Castle, and the Eltzs of Eltz Castle
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
Strange to say, there will probably be families of wolves (or elephants, vultures, salmon, penguins etc) that have been inhabiting the same territory - possibly the same crag or ice floe or bend in the river - for millennia, only nobody is recording them.
Well, yes
“spores from salt deposits in New Mexico have been revived after 250 million years, making these bacteria by far the longest-living organisms ever recorded.”
250 million years knocks the Scudamores into a cocked hat, frankly
It’s depressing, I agree, but - Unless Borthwick’s England start improving dramatically, and also play more attractive rugby, Twickenham will begin to empty out for England games. Even the 6N
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
For decades England have played dull rugby but still managed to do well in the 6 nations and get through to late stages of the WC. I think we may need a big humiliation to bring us to our senses.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
The empty stands for Fiji were shocking
Quarter Finals are the absolute limit of our expectations.
Evens to make the semis due to a very kind draw.
The quarters should all be very tight. The semis blowouts. Thanks to having the top 4 sides in the same half of the draw to the semis. Would be mildly surprised if England don't make the last 4. But an utter joke to then call them one of the best 4 in the world when 2 of France, Ireland, NZ and SA will be out in the quarters.
Dr, Foxy said: "And of course policing in Washington DC, or San Francisco or anywhere else is the responsibility of local police forces, not their president or Congress-woman."
As is often true in the US, jurisdictions overlap, depending on the crime. So, for example, counterfitting is a federal crime, so it is typically handled by the FBI. the Reagan administration fought the "war on drugs" from the White House. (This isn't new, as the Mann Act (which is actually about women) remidns us: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act
The federal government gives aid to crime fighting, especially in poorer areas, and makes the aid conditional on policies. For example, Bill Clinton promised aid to enable communities to add 100,000 extra police officers.
Sometimes the federal government takes charge of police procedures by court orders, as happened in Seattle. (The rules were recently relaxed somewhat.)
(Then there are oddities such as this one: Marijuana is still illegal federally, but in some states, Washington, for example, by state law it is legal.)
Ì realise this is counter-consensus, but I think these numbers are reasonably decent for Biden.
Back in July 2011, Pew polled Obama v Generic Republican, and they were basically the same. Obama was neck-and-neck with Generic. And Independents broke decisively - i.e. by 7-8 points - for Republicans.
Obama won that election relatively comfortably. And Romney - while he lacked charisma - also lacked Trump's negatives.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
This is a drum you have been banging for years. Entitlement or not, the point is that American voters do not discriminate on age grounds. There are 15 members of Congress older than President Biden and many more in their 70s. Don't base your 2024 betting on the idea that Biden (or indeed Trump at 77) is somehow too old.
I assume the gerontocracy is a direct result of the fact you need tens of millions of dollars of personal wealth to attempt to get to a senior elected position there. With the occasional lucky exception (Obama being one, Harris and Buttigieg being others).
Perhaps, although initially I'm not convinced. There are lots of American billionaires making political donations who could get behind younger candidates if they chose. More likely it is just stasis and incumbency. After all, we have several MPs who have long since collected their bus passes. Jeremy Corbyn, the subject of this header, is 74.
... which leads me on to a brief self indulgence to celebrate my 10,000th post. If you'll kindly forgive the self-indulgence, I want to report a scene I saw today. Middle daughter, recently started secondary school, has started meeting friends on the rec (playing fields behind the houses over the road) after school. I wandered over there to see when she would be home: there was a small handful of eleven and twelve year old girls, in various school uniforms, lolling amiably beneath a tree in the low September sunshine, listening to music on their phones. It was a scene which wouldn't have been out of place 30 or 60 years ago - except 30 years ago they'd have been listening to a cassette player, and 60 years ago to a radio. They weren't doing much beyond each others'company - something they'd much rather do in person than virtually. Kind of gave me hope for the future.
Meanwhile, her Dad, at home, skulking on social media …… congratulations on your 10,000th post, BTW.
Haha - yes, I see the irony. She is an example to me. I mean, I like you lot, but you can't beat IRL. In my partial defence, I have taken the youngest two climbing but am unable to join in due to a mildly poorly knee.
See, out cycling I get (perma-air con as you pedal, though the searing inferno when you occasionally stop is fun) - but our local climbing place gets SO HOT it is ridiculous. I was going to head there this evening, but - no.
I say climbing, actually bouldering (which I like cos there's no faff with ropes and clips and whatnot). I like going with my daughter, who at six is liking a little gecko scaling the walls. Me less so, though one of the reasons I'm taking it up is to get a bit less lumpen'n'lardy (and it's quite a laid back and unintimidating place). I could've joined a gym for the umpteenth time, but god I find the gym so unbelievably tedious. Climbing you engage you brain as much as your body.
Where do you go? You're in Stockport IIRC, so - Awesome Walls? We've never actually been there - we were at the Depot today, but we also do Rockover in Cheetham Hill. The kids have been climbing about seven years now and are bafflingly good - I only really took it up belatedly when it struck me they don't actually need me to watch their every endeavour. I am usually the oldest and fattest man in there but people are encouraging. I am a sub-optimal shape for climbing.
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
... which leads me on to a brief self indulgence to celebrate my 10,000th post. If you'll kindly forgive the self-indulgence, I want to report a scene I saw today. Middle daughter, recently started secondary school, has started meeting friends on the rec (playing fields behind the houses over the road) after school. I wandered over there to see when she would be home: there was a small handful of eleven and twelve year old girls, in various school uniforms, lolling amiably beneath a tree in the low September sunshine, listening to music on their phones. It was a scene which wouldn't have been out of place 30 or 60 years ago - except 30 years ago they'd have been listening to a cassette player, and 60 years ago to a radio. They weren't doing much beyond each others'company - something they'd much rather do in person than virtually. Kind of gave me hope for the future.
Congrats on 10k. Every one a winner. Were they listening communally to music or was each one listening to their own through earphones?
Oh, listening communally and discussing animatedly. It was charming. Could have been a scene from my youth, or that of my parents. Of course, I couldn't relate in any way to what they were listening to, but that's almost the point. I could at least recognise it as music.
That seems like a weirdly specific thing to judge a politician on. Are you aware that there are competing policy goals even with the realm of crime reduction. I can't lie, I'm a little concerned at the metric you've chosen."
You may have missed my "For example:"
But I chose that example because -- if you think black lives matter, and have the courage to look at crime stats, you will almost certain conclude that the most important thing you can do to help blacks out is reduce the crimes committed against them -- mostly by other blacks. If, for example, you reduced murders of blacks down to the white level you would probably add years to black life expectancy.
When I was young, our news folks rated the importance of crimes in this decreasing order:
black criminals, white victims white criminals, white victims white criminals, black victims
black criminals, black victims
Now our news folks order is more like this:
white criminals, black victims white criminals, white victims
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Congrats on your 10,000th and the charming cameo of your daughter
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
Haha - no, we just have different standards of warm. But I think trees and flowers are more relevant than temperature. While there is still blossom, it is spring; once these give way to green leaves, summer. Once the leaves start to turn, as they already have, calling it early Autumn doesn't seem daft, even if it's 26 degrees.
Ì realise this is counter-consensus, but I think these numbers are reasonably decent for Biden.
Back in July 2011, Pew polled Obama v Generic Republican, and they were basically the same. Obama was neck-and-neck with Generic. And Independents broke decisively - i.e. by 7-8 points - for Republicans.
Obama won that election relatively comfortably. And Romney - while he lacked charisma - also lacked Trump's negatives.
What would you attribute that to?
Some form of "swingback" to the incumbent?
If so, is there evidence that it's a regular phenomenon (rather than just the one example you give)?
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Congrats on your 10,000th and the charming cameo of your daughter
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
Haha - no, we just have different standards of warm. But I think trees and flowers are more relevant than temperature. While there is still blossom, it is spring; once these give way to green leaves, summer. Once the leaves start to turn, as they already have, calling it early Autumn doesn't seem daft, even if it's 26 degrees.
I’m sitting outside in the garden of a charming boutique Tudor hotel in the Forest of Dean. It is 25C at 7.30pm, there are wasps and drowsy flowers, and a pastel pink sunset hazed by the warmth. This is still, definitely, summer. Late summer, but summer nonetheless
Autumn for me - in southern England - reliably begins around September 15th. Looks like this month won’t be an exception
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
The Wyndham family in Orchard Wyndham
700 years, max. Nouveaux
The oldest I can find on my little island are the De Carterets who have been living as Seigneurs of St Ouen’s Manor since 1135.
I imagine there are plenty of old jersey families still living on the same sites and farming the same land, obviously not potatoes, but the French and Spanish burnt their houses down as happened with a suitable regularity.
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Congrats on your 10,000th and the charming cameo of your daughter
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
Haha - no, we just have different standards of warm. But I think trees and flowers are more relevant than temperature. While there is still blossom, it is spring; once these give way to green leaves, summer. Once the leaves start to turn, as they already have, calling it early Autumn doesn't seem daft, even if it's 26 degrees.
I’m sitting outside in the garden of a charming boutique Tudor hotel in the Forest of Dean. It is 25C at 7.30pm, there are wasps and drowsy flowers, and a pastel pink sunset hazed by the warmth. This is still, definitely, summer. Late summer, but summer nonetheless
Autumn for me - in southern England - reliably begins around September 15th. Looks like this month won’t be an exception
Well the leaves here are already on the turn, and the light of early September is not a summer light. Dark by 8ish, for a start. But mainly for me its because my seasons are so governed by the activities of my daughters. Once they are back to school, it just seems self-deluding to call it summer. As I say, it's all highly subjective and personal. This is just how I feel about it.
That seems like a weirdly specific thing to judge a politician on. Are you aware that there are competing policy goals even with the realm of crime reduction. I can't lie, I'm a little concerned at the metric you've chosen."
You may have missed my "For example:"
But I chose that example because -- if you think black lives matter, and have the courage to look at crime stats, you will almost certain conclude that the most important thing you can do to help blacks out is reduce the crimes committed against them -- mostly by other blacks. If, for example, you reduced murders of blacks down to the white level you would probably add years to black life expectancy.
When I was young, our news folks rated the importance of crimes in this decreasing order:
black criminals, white victims white criminals, white victims white criminals, black victims
black criminals, black victims
Now our news folks order is more like this:
white criminals, black victims white criminals, white victims
black criminals, white victims
black criminals, black victims
Both orders are racist, of course.
I'd say thus is true in the UK too, though probably not to the same extent.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future.
These people are grotesque in their entitlement. She is obviously decrepit and far too old to do the job. Yet on they go, oozing narcissism
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I don't discount that some people of that age are able to do the job very well, but so many does seem...unlikely. Some are clearly not well enough for the job (I don't know about Pelosi).
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
There are dozens of videos of Pelosi acting so bizarrely, slurring her words so badly, one can only conclude she is a raging alcoholic or terminally senile - or both. She makes Biden look like JFK
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
This is a drum you have been banging for years. Entitlement or not, the point is that American voters do not discriminate on age grounds. There are 15 members of Congress older than President Biden and many more in their 70s. Don't base your 2024 betting on the idea that Biden (or indeed Trump at 77) is somehow too old.
I assume the gerontocracy is a direct result of the fact you need tens of millions of dollars of personal wealth to attempt to get to a senior elected position there. With the occasional lucky exception (Obama being one, Harris and Buttigieg being others).
I'm not sure that Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is a senior elected position.
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Congrats on your 10,000th and the charming cameo of your daughter
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
Haha - no, we just have different standards of warm. But I think trees and flowers are more relevant than temperature. While there is still blossom, it is spring; once these give way to green leaves, summer. Once the leaves start to turn, as they already have, calling it early Autumn doesn't seem daft, even if it's 26 degrees.
I’m sitting outside in the garden of a charming boutique Tudor hotel in the Forest of Dean. It is 25C at 7.30pm, there are wasps and drowsy flowers, and a pastel pink sunset hazed by the warmth. This is still, definitely, summer. Late summer, but summer nonetheless
Autumn for me - in southern England - reliably begins around September 15th. Looks like this month won’t be an exception
Well the leaves here are already on the turn, and the light of early September is not a summer light. Dark by 8ish, for a start. But mainly for me its because my seasons are so governed by the activities of my daughters. Once they are back to school, it just seems self-deluding to call it summer. As I say, it's all highly subjective and personal. This is just how I feel about it.
I entirely agree, and I find it equally fascinating
And for me it really matters coz I get SAD and the British winter fucks me up, big time, so I need to know when to FLEE
5th day in a row with temperatures over 30C in London. We should end up with 7 days by Sunday. Possibly just squeezing out a final 8th on Monday though that's unlikely.
Before this year the record number of consecutive 30s in September was 3. The record for consecutive 30+ in any month is still held by the June/July 1976 spell, followed by the record breaking August 2003. But this I think ends up third longest of all time. In Autumn.
Yesterday's mean Central England Temperature was 23.3C. The warmest 24 hours in September history and one of the warmest 24 hours in any month in the UK.
France has has a week of mid to high 30s. Widely record breaking and completely unprecedented for the time of year.
But next week it's back to Autumn, folks. Will come as a bit of a shock
Early and mid September are summer, not autumn. And the heat is grim. A cool down cannot come soon enough. I have barely slept all week.
They are astronomical summer but meteorological autumn. A debate as old as time (well almost). September is autumn just as March is spring. Leaves start turning orange in September. Lambs frolic and birds tweet in March. Schools are back for the Autumn term. Occams Razor, or its Met equivalent.
Both are valid. There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
Congrats on your 10,000th and the charming cameo of your daughter
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
Haha - no, we just have different standards of warm. But I think trees and flowers are more relevant than temperature. While there is still blossom, it is spring; once these give way to green leaves, summer. Once the leaves start to turn, as they already have, calling it early Autumn doesn't seem daft, even if it's 26 degrees.
I’m sitting outside in the garden of a charming boutique Tudor hotel in the Forest of Dean. It is 25C at 7.30pm, there are wasps and drowsy flowers, and a pastel pink sunset hazed by the warmth. This is still, definitely, summer. Late summer, but summer nonetheless
Autumn for me - in southern England - reliably begins around September 15th. Looks like this month won’t be an exception
Well the leaves here are already on the turn, and the light of early September is not a summer light. Dark by 8ish, for a start. But mainly for me its because my seasons are so governed by the activities of my daughters. Once they are back to school, it just seems self-deluding to call it summer. As I say, it's all highly subjective and personal. This is just how I feel about it.
I entirely agree, and I find it equally fascinating
And for me it really matters coz I get SAD and the British winter fucks me up, big time, so I need to know when to FLEE
It also really matters where you are in the U.K. Autumn starts a lot earlier the further north you are. Currently not enjoying the heat in Wilts with a grumpy, overtired wife and a sweaty, teething 7 month old son.
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
The Wyndham family in Orchard Wyndham
700 years, max. Nouveaux
The oldest I can find on my little island are the De Carterets who have been living as Seigneurs of St Ouen’s Manor since 1135.
I imagine there are plenty of old jersey families still living on the same sites and farming the same land, obviously not potatoes, but the French and Spanish burnt their houses down as happened with a suitable regularity.
In Scotland it must be the Clan MacLeod in Dunvegan? 700 years at least…
Another excellent meal here in Clearwell, Glos, at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel
That’s five good or great dinners in a row. I wonder if British cooking has taken another step up
I have also had one of the best breakfast dishes of my life on this trip. The smoked haddock, whipped egg white and black bomber omelette at the Haughmond
Another excellent meal here in Clearwell, Glos, at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel
That’s five good or great dinners in a row. I wonder if British cooking has taken another step up
I have also had one of the best breakfast dishes of my life on this trip. The smoked haddock, whipped egg white and black bomber omelette at the Haughmond
Up there with Robuchon’s scrambled eggs in Monte Carlo, and I do not jest about such serious things
That sounds very fine. Have you read "Red Sauce, Brown Sauce" by Felicity Cloake? Basically a tour of the UK in search of the perfect breakfast. Very readable. My lament when it comes to breakfast is for the increasing scarcity of kippers on breakfast menus. Haven't seen them for years (not that I frequently eat breakfast out).
I was questioning the Wythall wine dude and marvelling at the longevity and stasis of his family, living in the same house for five centuries
He said “that’s nothing, there’s a Scudamore living in a house down the road and they’ve been there since at least 1100. Almost a thousand years”
That must be close to the world record. For a non-royal family occupying the same house for the longest time. Tho I remember once reading - and my memory might be faulty - about a family, plus house, that claimed to date back before 1066. Anglo Saxon origins
Is there an even older lineage anywhere? Japan?
Some German ex-nobility?
There are a lot of German ex-nobility.
Awful lot of wars, invasions and revolutions however. These tend to displace families
That’s why England and Japan have so much old stuff. Both are Islands that have rarely been invaded or conquered and are generally (but not totallty) immune to revolutions
I appreciate this is not an insight for the ages but it is 31C and I am in the Forest of Dean looking for wild boar
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
The Wyndham family in Orchard Wyndham
700 years, max. Nouveaux
The oldest I can find on my little island are the De Carterets who have been living as Seigneurs of St Ouen’s Manor since 1135.
I imagine there are plenty of old jersey families still living on the same sites and farming the same land, obviously not potatoes, but the French and Spanish burnt their houses down as happened with a suitable regularity.
In Scotland it must be the Clan MacLeod in Dunvegan? 700 years at least…
Four green energy tidal stream projects have been given the green light. Marine Energy Wales has welcomed today’s announcement that tidal stream projects based in waters off Anglesey. They will provide electricity to the National Grid.
It comes as part of the latest round of the UK Government’s renewable auction. Over 22 megawatts (MW) of tidal stream capacity has been contracted in Wales and will be deployed at Morlais Tidal Demonstration Zone on Anglesey. The projects include:
Hydrowing: 10MW Verdant: 4.9MW MOR Energy: 4.5MW Magallanes: 3MW
Overall, 93 projects with existing planning permission across England, Scotland and Wales have won contracts through the competitive auction process. The greatest capacity – almost 7GW - has been secured from new offshore wind projects around the coastline of Great Britain, enough to increase the country’s overall capacity built and under construction by 35% and take a significant step towards meeting the government’s 50GW of offshore wind ambition by 2030.
Tidal stream technology, which produces power from tidal currents, is a predictable and consistent source of energy. It has already delivered over 70GWh of electricity to the grid – which is said to be enough to power more than 25,000 households for a whole year.
Another excellent meal here in Clearwell, Glos, at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel
That’s five good or great dinners in a row. I wonder if British cooking has taken another step up
I have also had one of the best breakfast dishes of my life on this trip. The smoked haddock, whipped egg white and black bomber omelette at the Haughmond
Up there with Robuchon’s scrambled eggs in Monte Carlo, and I do not jest about such serious things
That sounds very fine. Have you read "Red Sauce, Brown Sauce" by Felicity Cloake? Basically a tour of the UK in search of the perfect breakfast. Very readable. My lament when it comes to breakfast is for the increasing scarcity of kippers on breakfast menus. Haven't seen them for years (not that I frequently eat breakfast out).
My Dad LOVED kippers!
I love a smoked haddock, with poached egg, and toasted sourdough: a classic breakfast. You can still reliably find it in good hotels
But that omelette was fucking amazing. And I rarely swear. Absolutely ace. Very rich, but perfectly small, so you didn’t feel overfed, or stuffed, you just left the breakfast table with a smile and a feeling of “yay let’s go”
Another excellent meal here in Clearwell, Glos, at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel
That’s five good or great dinners in a row. I wonder if British cooking has taken another step up
I have also had one of the best breakfast dishes of my life on this trip. The smoked haddock, whipped egg white and black bomber omelette at the Haughmond
Up there with Robuchon’s scrambled eggs in Monte Carlo, and I do not jest about such serious things
That sounds very fine. Have you read "Red Sauce, Brown Sauce" by Felicity Cloake? Basically a tour of the UK in search of the perfect breakfast. Very readable. My lament when it comes to breakfast is for the increasing scarcity of kippers on breakfast menus. Haven't seen them for years (not that I frequently eat breakfast out).
Start a campaign to bring them back…
I’ve been campaigning for years to reintroduced the Stinger cocktail…
Quite enjoying the hot weather, sitting alfresco with a cool drink in the last blast of summer.
But by gum, there are few bodies improved by tattoos.
I think - I hope - we are past peak tattoo. It was largely a millennial thing in the same way binge drinking was a Gen X thing (and still is). I'm not sensing many people in their teens now getting tats like they were a decade or so ago.
I think you might well be right, though I do notice an increasing number of tats on Gen X as a manifestation of midlife crisis.
Another excellent meal here in Clearwell, Glos, at the Tudor Farmhouse Hotel
That’s five good or great dinners in a row. I wonder if British cooking has taken another step up
I have also had one of the best breakfast dishes of my life on this trip. The smoked haddock, whipped egg white and black bomber omelette at the Haughmond
Up there with Robuchon’s scrambled eggs in Monte Carlo, and I do not jest about such serious things
That sounds very fine. Have you read "Red Sauce, Brown Sauce" by Felicity Cloake? Basically a tour of the UK in search of the perfect breakfast. Very readable. My lament when it comes to breakfast is for the increasing scarcity of kippers on breakfast menus. Haven't seen them for years (not that I frequently eat breakfast out).
The decline of kippers for breakfast is one the finest metaphors going for the decline of England.
Comments
CorrectHorseBot??
* except North Woolwich which was considered part of Kent!
A phenomenon to watch in Leicester East, where the Labour Party is currently suspended for unclear reasons.
America’s gerontocracy is ugly indeed
I picked the right week to be Staycationing. And I mean properly - at home.
Christina Lamb and Sir Nicholas Coleridge got honorary doctorates as did (@ydoethur will be annoyed to note), Amanda Spielman.
Ahead of me was Paul Nuttal, who got a Doctorate in politics for his thesis on Alderman Salvidge, the Boss of Liverpool in the early 20th century.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-trends-the-age-of-mps/
This post found on a brief google claims the average age of the latest Congress is 58, which apparently is a drop of 3 years, and the average age in the Senate was 64, I assume because they stick around so long.
https://fiscalnote.com/blog/how-old-118th-congress
I assume in part its personal reluctance to give up power, but for the parties themselves someone with those juicy doner connections is something they don't want to lose, and they have fewer sticks to encourage someone to stand down anyway.
High of 22°C.
Legionella found onboard the Bibby Stockholm is most deadly strain
Exclusive: Data from Dorset council shows that Legionella pneumophila Serogroup 1 discovered on August 15
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/08/legionella-found-onboard-the-bibby-stockholm-is-most-deadly-strain
She shouldn’t be anywhere near office NOW yet she wants to stand again when she is 84 and go on til she is 88?? Why do Americans tolerate this?
Perhaps it is her great record of doing so well for her “constituency” of San Francis…
Oh
Steve Borthwick safe from sack even if England flop at Rugby World Cup
Exclusive: Head coach would survive pool-stage exit as he is viewed by RFU as key to rebuilding process for 2027 World Cup in Australia
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/09/08/steve-borthwick-job-safe-regardless-england-world-cup/
Clinton 65m
There's also the 'what does it feel like' test which is deeply subjective. For me, Autumn starts when the kids go back to school; winter when you open the first window of the advent calendar; Spring when it starts to feel Springlike - here, that's typically mid to late March - and summer some time in early June, or earlier if it's a particularly glorious May - or else when the first test cricket match starts. But summer also sometimes ends on August bank holiday Monday, leaving a few seasonless days before Autumn starts.
In other american news Kari Lake is taking time out from calling Trump the greatest leader in world history (she wants that VP slot so bad) she's actually come closer to admitting she did indeed lose her gubernatorial race, but only because it was google's fault, which is progress of a sort.
https://eu.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2023/09/06/kari-lake-fingers-a-new-culprit-that-cost-her-the-election-google/70779653007/
For example: I cannot think of anything Obama did, as a community organizer, as a state senator, as a US senator, or as president that reduced black-on-black crime. Not one thing.
Here's what Colbert I. King has to say about DC, now:
'“A summer so lawless in D.C., it feels like the Wild West” was the headline on a column I wrote on Aug. 28, 2015 — almost eight years ago. “Law-breaking takes place with impunity.” “The brazenness is staggering.” Words from days gone by.
. . .
The point in calling attention to the eighth anniversary of that D.C. crime assessment is that the Wild West spirit alive in 2015 is still thriving and engulfing the city in broad daylight, ensnaring people of all ages.'
source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/25/dc-crime-wild-west-spirit/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1
There is nothing novel about crimes committed against one's own group. The Mafia have made it tough for Italians both in Italy and in some parts of the United States. Bernie Madoff's victims were, according to accounts I have seen, disproportionately Jewish. And so on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colbert_I._King
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Chicago
I’d have thought in Manchester summer begins on the first properly warm day - over 25C - in early June, then ends on the only other warm day, a few weeks later
Spring = Mar-May
Summer = Jun-Aug
Autumn = Sep-Nov
It's just how it is.
The is different to air source water heating, which replaces your hot water and requires much bigger units.
If that happens Borthwick won’t last a week. The RFU are hugely dependent on that income
I say climbing, actually bouldering (which I like cos there's no faff with ropes and clips and whatnot). I like going with my daughter, who at six is liking a little gecko scaling the walls. Me less so, though one of the reasons I'm taking it up is to get a bit less lumpen'n'lardy (and it's quite a laid back and unintimidating place). I could've joined a gym for the umpteenth time, but god I find the gym so unbelievably tedious. Climbing you engage you brain as much as your body.
I suggest once Borthwick has left with his tail between his legs they employ Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes to manage the team. Before long we'll be winning games with scores like 97-55.
President:
(R) Trump 42% (+1)
(D) Biden 41%
GOP Primary:
Trump 65% (+55)
Ramaswamy 10%
DeSantis 9%
Christie 3%
Haley 2%
1,500 LV | 9/3-4
https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/joe-biden-administration-approval-ratings-and-hypothetical-voting-intention-3-4-september-2023/
House of Eltz in Eltz Castle since the 12 C.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eltz_Castle
Suspect there are quite lot due to the massive amount of minor German nobility. Were most taken out of overt politics in the 1930s or earlier? There was a lot of restoration of property after the war iirc.
But by gum, there are few bodies improved by tattoos.
(maybe orange on orange in Trump's case?)
In my dreams there is some obscenely posh but incredibly discreet family who still live, very very quietly, in a beautiful villa in Deep Sussex which they can trace back to their Romano British ancestors in 246AD when great (great great etc) uncle Angelicus was pro-consul in Londinium and used to commute into town by chariot
Honestly for the Dems putting up Biden is like playing tight-weak at Texas Hold 'Em. It's not going to end well.
I do feel sorry for you that you had to share the stage with not only a notorious pseud and failure, but also Paul Nuttall.
Plus maybe some Japanese hoteliers who pre-date both of them by about 500 years
It’s surprisingly hard to find an Italian family which goes back, in situ, before about 1200
“spores from salt deposits in New Mexico have been revived after 250 million years, making these bacteria by far the longest-living organisms ever recorded.”
250 million years knocks the Scudamores into a cocked hat, frankly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-living_organisms
Thanks to having the top 4 sides in the same half of the draw to the semis.
Would be mildly surprised if England don't make the last 4.
But an utter joke to then call them one of the best 4 in the world when 2 of France, Ireland, NZ and SA will be out in the quarters.
As is often true in the US, jurisdictions overlap, depending on the crime. So, for example, counterfitting is a federal crime, so it is typically handled by the FBI. the Reagan administration fought the "war on drugs" from the White House. (This isn't new, as the Mann Act (which is actually about women) remidns us: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act
The federal government gives aid to crime fighting, especially in poorer areas, and makes the aid conditional on policies. For example, Bill Clinton promised aid to enable communities to add 100,000 extra police officers.
Sometimes the federal government takes charge of police procedures by court orders, as happened in Seattle. (The rules were recently relaxed somewhat.)
(Then there are oddities such as this one: Marijuana is still illegal federally, but in some states, Washington, for example, by state law it is legal.)
Back in July 2011, Pew polled Obama v Generic Republican, and they were basically the same. Obama was neck-and-neck with Generic. And Independents broke decisively - i.e. by 7-8 points - for Republicans.
Obama won that election relatively comfortably. And Romney - while he lacked charisma - also lacked Trump's negatives.
I am a sub-optimal shape for climbing.
Of course, I couldn't relate in any way to what they were listening to, but that's almost the point. I could at least recognise it as music.
That seems like a weirdly specific thing to judge a politician on. Are you aware that there are competing policy goals even with the realm of crime reduction. I can't lie, I'm a little concerned at the metric you've chosen."
You may have missed my "For example:"
But I chose that example because -- if you think black lives matter, and have the courage to look at crime stats, you will almost certain conclude that the most important thing you can do to help blacks out is reduce the crimes committed against them -- mostly by other blacks. If, for example, you reduced murders of blacks down to the white level you would probably add years to black life expectancy.
When I was young, our news folks rated the importance of crimes in this decreasing order:
black criminals, white victims
white criminals, white victims
white criminals, black victims
black criminals, black victims
Now our news folks order is more like this:
white criminals, black victims
white criminals, white victims
black criminals, white victims
black criminals, black victims
Both orders are racist, of course.
Some form of "swingback" to the incumbent?
If so, is there evidence that it's a regular phenomenon (rather than just the one example you give)?
Autumn for me - in southern England - reliably begins around September 15th. Looks like this month won’t be an exception
BUT
Yes, she should retire.
I imagine there are plenty of old jersey families still living on the same sites and farming the same land, obviously not potatoes, but the French and Spanish burnt their houses down as happened with a suitable regularity.
As I say, it's all highly subjective and personal. This is just how I feel about it.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/london/historic?month=10&year=2011
The dogs enjoyed it.
As did I.
Move over, you old crone, give someone younger a go. UGH. No wonder Americans don’t bother voting, no wonder the young are utterly disengaged
Biden and Trump likewise, of course, and Mitch “Call the Mortuary” McConnell. All of them
I remember when we in the west used to scoff at China and the USSR for their dysfunctional octogenarian politburos
And for me it really matters coz I get SAD and the British winter fucks me up, big time, so I need to know when to FLEE
Currently not enjoying the heat in Wilts with a grumpy, overtired wife and a sweaty, teething 7 month old son.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunvegan_Castle
That’s five good or great dinners in a row. I wonder if British cooking has taken another step up
I have also had one of the best breakfast dishes of my life on this trip. The smoked haddock, whipped egg white and black bomber omelette at the Haughmond
https://www.thehaughmond.co.uk/menu
Up there with Robuchon’s scrambled eggs in Monte Carlo, and I do not jest about such serious things
Have you read "Red Sauce, Brown Sauce" by Felicity Cloake? Basically a tour of the UK in search of the perfect breakfast. Very readable.
My lament when it comes to breakfast is for the increasing scarcity of kippers on breakfast menus. Haven't seen them for years (not that I frequently eat breakfast out).
https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/mesolithic-skeleton-known-as-cheddar-man-shares-the-same-dna-with-english-teacher-of-history
It does of course help them that Connor MacLeod is still kicking around. Hard to evict someone who is immortal.
far away?
Four green energy tidal stream projects have been given the green light. Marine Energy Wales has welcomed today’s announcement that tidal stream projects based in waters off Anglesey. They will provide electricity to the National Grid.
It comes as part of the latest round of the UK Government’s renewable auction. Over 22 megawatts (MW) of tidal stream capacity has been contracted in Wales and will be deployed at Morlais Tidal Demonstration Zone on Anglesey. The projects include:
Hydrowing: 10MW
Verdant: 4.9MW
MOR Energy: 4.5MW
Magallanes: 3MW
Overall, 93 projects with existing planning permission across England, Scotland and Wales have won contracts through the competitive auction process. The greatest capacity – almost 7GW - has been secured from new offshore wind projects around the coastline of Great Britain, enough to increase the country’s overall capacity built and under construction by 35% and take a significant step towards meeting the government’s 50GW of offshore wind ambition by 2030.
Tidal stream technology, which produces power from tidal currents, is a predictable and consistent source of energy. It has already delivered over 70GWh of electricity to the grid – which is said to be enough to power more than 25,000 households for a whole year.
I love a smoked haddock, with poached egg, and toasted sourdough: a classic breakfast. You can still reliably find it in good hotels
But that omelette was fucking amazing. And I rarely swear. Absolutely ace. Very rich, but perfectly small, so you didn’t feel overfed, or stuffed, you just left the breakfast table with a smile and a feeling of “yay let’s go”
I will read that book!
I’ve been campaigning for years to reintroduced the Stinger cocktail…
I have resisted temptation myself.
Jumpers at the ready...