Jon Webb

I am really liking the current season of "Foundation." I found the first two reasons tedious (like many prestige streaming series), but kept watching because Asimov. I'm glad I did. The new season is interesting, smart, and exciting.

They're going to die anyway.

Photo of Fleetwood Mac.

From NYT. Note caption. People have forgotten what "clockwise" means.

I don't know how I missed "Love, Death, and Robots" on Netflix. It's brilliant sci-fi.

I'm pretty sure that Trump is trying to help Cuomo beat Mamdani out of his love for the country. It can't possibly be that Mamdani, by harnessing energy as Trump did, might be part of a movement that would revive the Democratic party, and help end the Trump era.

Not to defend Musk's antics, but Starlink is a huge benefit for people in remote areas. And it can be reasonably argued that he accelerated electric vehicle adoption.

This didn't age well, did it?

This is more or less a regular thing in Texas, when the Republicans try to do something outrageous. It's got an amusing history (look up "Killer bees Texas legislature").

Chasing R's out without confirming all nominees, sending House R's fleeing from Epstein and now Texas D's leaving the state. THIS is how you fight fascism.

Amid PFAS fallout, Maine residents navigate medical risks Maine was among the first states to begin extensive testing and to try to limit further public exposure after discovering that farms and residences had been contaminated by land-spreading of sludge.

As the article explains, Maine is leading on PFAS testing. They've tested their farmland, for example. But Pennsylvania has not. Why not? Do we not care about the condition of agriculture in our state? Or would we just rather not know?
share.inquirer.com/mx52mn

Siamese cat sitting in sun under chair.

Cats do an awfully good job of color coordination for creatures that don't see color as well as us.

61m people live with hepatitis B, 9m hepatitis C in South-East Asia: WHO Every year, over 260 000 lives are lost, many due to preventable complications of hepatitis

Something I learned last night (dinner with an endocrinologist): hepatitis is endemic in southeast Asia. Tens of millions have it, undiagnosed and unrated.
www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/h...

How the Israeli Right Explains the Aid Disaster It Created The fiercest defenders of Netanyahu’s war in Gaza continue to insist that Palestinians aren’t starving.

Did you ever have a conversation with someone where it became clear that they had no interest in a real discussion, but just wanted to bury you in bullshit? This conversation about Gaza, with Amit Segal, an Israeli journalist, is like that.

www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

She needed to say it.

I know. I just remember cupcakes you could hold with your hand and eat. You don't really need that much frosting.

They're pretty, but how are you supposed to eat them? Putting big globs of ganache on top makes it impossible to simply take a bite of cupcake.

Appeals Court Hears Legal Challenge to Trump Tariffs as Trade War Widens

People may be surprised when and if Trump's major policy is ruled null and void. But it should be. The Constitution doesn't give the President and power to impose tariffs unilaterally.
It's really a question whether the Supreme Court will follow the law, though.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...

Part of the reason for the big impact was that it hasn't happened for a while. If you remember the 70s your experience is that inflation comes down after a while. So the Biden inflation was just a blip that will go away. Butt if you were younger the recent inflation was a huge shock.

You have to admire the inventiveness of the people who design pump bottle opening mechanisms. Each one is different.

Is he talking about cut-and-paste commands?

I knew this was coming.

The Achilles heel of Trump is he can't imagine other people's feelings. Dribbling out crazy details of why he made Epstein leave Mar-a-Lago. Originally said he was a creep. People could relate. Then he said he stole employees. Not as good. Now it's young women (girls?) from his spa. Far worse.

One of the most hopeful things from "A brief history of equality", by Thomas Piketty (which I recommend) is things can change quickly. Ex., Sweden went from one of the least equal voting systems (based on wealth) to one of the most equal, in 10 years. Things can change, as they have in the past.

The dog was fun too.

Philly trash cake

Disagree. I think that if it turns out there's confirmation that he had pedo sex, they'd just forgive him. "OH, that's why he didn't want the files released. Makes sense!"
More than anything, it's the sense that he's concealing something, that he doesn't trust them to forgive, that bothers them.

I'm a computer scientist in a film. I have no discernable social skills and live alone in a cluttered apartment. I do, however, have a hot girlfriend without a name. Sometimes, when I have a hard problem, I type really fast, and that solves it.

Wow. That's a lot closer that I thought it could get!

Donating to Democratic candidates is like buying a car at a dealer. Theoretically you're getting something you want (a car, a politician you like elected) but they so poison the well with aggressive sales techniques (for politicians, unending texts) that your never want to do it again

Israel's national security minister Ben Gvir:
"The only way to win the war and bring back the hostages is to completely halt the ‘humanitarian’ aid, conquer the entire Gaza Strip and encourage voluntary emigration."

He is advocating for the genocide of Gaza.