Tom McGinty

I'm surprised that precise measurements could possibly go back that far. How did they measure back then?

What is the source of your zip code-level registration data?

I admire your commitment to the bit. On the only scale that counts, I give it a T+10.

*Wouldn't have been a pangram, but still.

GANTLET today!

Image shows Signal settings option to set "Who can see my number" and "Who can find me by number" to "Everyone" or "Nobody."

Yes, your Signal phone number can be hidden now.

Good story. Investigators talk about the swiss cheese theory of aviation catastrophes. Several holes in the various layers of protection and redundancy suddenly line up, leading to disaster.
One thing: The hed should be home in, not hone in.

I love how a SAS data step discretely tucks an error alert into the useless reams of log output printed at the start of the operation, then spends hours happily running the code that doesn't work due to error.

Are there any transit stats filtering out yet? LIRR, NJT, Metro North, subway, PATH? YOY might be problematic, due to recent back-to-office mandates.
Aside: I don't know how well my ride—the LIRR—can track ridership, given that they often fail to check tickets on crowded rush-hour trains.

@bcdreyer.social Re your latest "A Word About...", I always fail to conjure recto and verso when they come up in crosswords. But if I ever get them down, I realize now that I can also remember which is which by recalling that one starts with the same letter as its side of the book (recto = right).

How Health Insurers Racked Up Billions in Extra Payments From Medicare Advantage The Wall Street Journal’s yearlong investigation into Medicare’s private insurers relied on exclusive access to billions of records of Medicare services.

My WSJ colleagues and I did a ton of work on this issue in 2024. (Krugman's post links to our work, too.)
www.wsj.com/health/healt...

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Or bail hearings. I sat through many as a reporter in Trenton, and it was like watching an assembly line, where many of the defendants rolling down the conveyor belt had no idea what was going on.

Also, there are few things more electric than the reading of a verdict in a criminal trial.

Thank you, Kitty!

I make no warranties or representations about the Acquired take--I was just mentioning it.

I just finished listening to the Acquired podcast's two-part Microsoft series, and they come away with a much more nuanced view of Ballmer's tenure.

Hospital Prices Are Arbitrary. Just Look at the Kingsburys’ $100,000 Bill. Barbara Kingsbury, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer two years ago, died in June, and her husband is still paying the bills. Newly public data reveal how some patients end up paying more at hospi...

It's a labyrinth, and arbitrary.

www.wsj.com/articles/hos...

Agree on Christmas Wrapping.

I'm curious what @bcdreyer.social thinks about this.

food have grown tired

Insurers Collected Billions From Medicare for Veterans Who Cost Them Almost Nothing Taxpayers paid for their care at the VA—and for Medicare Advantage coverage that many didn’t use. ‘I don’t think I’ve used my Medicare in years,’ said one Air Force veteran.

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE: Private insurers collected billions for veterans' healthcare, while the VA delivered it, by @mcgint.bsky.social and crew. www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Insurers Collected Billions From Medicare for Veterans Who Cost Them Almost Nothing Taxpayers paid for their care at the VA—and for Medicare Advantage coverage that many didn’t use. ‘I don’t think I’ve used my Medicare in years,’ said one Air Force veteran.

We've done a lot of reporting on Medicare Advantage plans this year, and our latest is out tonight: Insurers collected billions from Medicare for veterans who cost them almost nothing. (Gift link)
www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Vol. 37, No. 11: Semiquincentennial In the monthly Wall Street Journal stylebook bulletin, you’d never guess the name of the country’s 250th anniversary. Also, some postelection reminders.

From the latest WSJ Style & Substance:

Rulings & reminders

As we plead every year, let’s avoid ’Tis the Season headlines or leads—which have been done too often by writers over the years—unless you somehow come up with a perfect twist.

www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

This is a screenshot of this excerpt from the interview: TUCKER: I think it - yes, I think it's difficult. I think he's an - you know, he's a character like no other. Well, yeah, I think I do accept that. I think it's a challenge. INSKEEP: And what's the challenge exactly? TUCKER: I think the challenge is how do you - you know, our - how - I mean, I think the challenge is reminding people or putting in context what he says. You know, we always - we're unflinching in how we report things. We're always looking for transparency. If people say things that aren't true, we make sure our readers understand that. I'm trying to think - how do you put this? It's like... INSKEEP: Take your time. TUCKER: Or maybe this is the best way to put it - is our readers are very sophisticated. We don't want to just be sort of truth nannies that fact-check every single thing on either side because that becomes very tedious. I think we accept we've got sophisticated readers. They understand that politicians bloviate and exaggerate, some more so than others. But where there are obvious untruths and, you know, things that are not correct, we will make sure that we give the context for that. And I think we have to hold Donald Trump to account just as we would any other politician.

This prompted me to read the interview, and I'd argue the full context does not match this characterization.

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #775,762!

I just came here to share with you the WSJ's take on candidatorial aprostophication, and that was before I had seen your new handle. Nice. And here it is.
www.wsj.com/us-news/vol-...

I just saw this in a WSJ story about politicians using Botox. I'm betting the Star Trek possessive is correct according to WSJ style, but, man, is it ugly. I'd rewrite the sentence to avoid it.

The WSJ style mavens addressed this very topic recently.
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

As you were saying. (I couldn't find that "flub.")
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

@bcdreyer.bsky.social I just came across this in a rereading of DE, and it reminded me of one my favorite Minnesotaisms I encountered after moving there at 15 from (way) upstate NY. "Can you borrow me a dollar?" I'm betting you would fight that stet?

Was this post prompted by your thread, or is it just a coincidence?
bsky.app/profile/shak...