Incredibly Bad Idea

Using Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market platform, they made bets on the fires — how they would grow, how long they would last and how much they would destroy.

Using online prediction markets to place bets on wildfires is basically incentivizing arson. This is like the literal definition of a moral hazard.

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Automotif DCXXX...

A 2019-2024 Bentley Continental GTC. This is the lesser model, with the 542 horsepower twin turbo 4.0L V-8 and not the 6.0L twin turbo W12, which puts out a whopping 650 ponies.

Shot with a Nikon D4 and a 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoom lens.

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The Dumbest Timeline...

The Sunday morning political talking head shows were abuzz with the latest rounds of high explosive tag in the Persian Gulf: Iran drones some ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the US retaliates by striking targeting radars and missile & drone storage facilities, then Iran launches missiles at US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and we launch more airstrikes on Iran...

Then suddenly this morning, before sunup, the story breaks on the Wall Street Journal's site: "U.S. and Iran Agree to Halt Days of Fighting Over Strait" and it's all over the teewee news this morning.

The vibe here is so obviously "Quick! Before the markets open!" because Wall Street traders have the object permanence of a toddler playing peek-a-boo. "Where'd mommy go? Oh no! Mommy's gone forever!", except in this case mommy is the Iranian ability to interdict traffic in the Strait.

We are entering a new phase of the war where fighting will primarily occur between Friday evening and Monday morning EDT.

Memes for Monday!

Air You Can Wear

Went for my walk around the block this morning just minutes before local sunrise.

Air temperature was 74℉ and the dew point was also 74℉. In other words, the humidity was over 95%.

Rather sticky feeling.

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"I didn't get a harrumph from that guy!"

Happy one hundredth birthday to a true national treasure, Mel Brooks!

Meme Dump!

Tab Clearing...

• If your laptop or phone is getting long in the tooth, the best time to upgrade is three months ago: How the AI boom is driving an inflationary surge in consumer electronic prices.


• The guys with the Roman statue PFPs don't know jack about the classics they claim to love.


• War Films and the Experience of War.

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Meme Dump!

Expired...

So after nine years one of the two batteries (the smaller of the two) on the cordless lawnmower gave up the ghost.

The label said "Poulan" but it wasn't. It was a relabeled... well, WORX and Greenworks are the electric lawn appliances still in circulation from those days.

I think we definitely got our money's worth out of it (and it still works, it's just the smaller of the two battery packs crapped out) so we're taking advantage of Prime Day and buying a replacement. The old one can stay as a backup unit.

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Tab Clearing...

• Russian frigate sent to watch over "shadow fleet" tankers moving through the English Channel is now itself low on fuel and drifting.


• Russia, feeling the stress of Ukrainian counterattacks, believed to be preparing "provocation" in Baltic nations or Poland to test NATO resolve.


• New Jersey residents have to keep cool road sign greased up to prevent theft.

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End-Of-Week Memes!

Meme Dump!

*headdesk*

Me: *spends literal decades on the internet trying to explain to people that there’s not a dial labeled ”GAS PRICES” on the Resolute desk*

POTUS, yesterday:

Current Reading...

I'm just wrapping up reading Murphy's Law: My Journey from Army Ranger and Green Beret to Investigative Journalist, and found it quite enjoyable.

It's not often that a guy with experience in the Rangers and Special Forces forgoes the usual vetbro career track and instead takes on serious journalism as well as working as a war correspondent.

Worth the read.

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Wednesday Memes!

It’s all a “you problem”.

Is there a claimed issue with a type of pistol action… whether DA/SA, DAO, cocked and locked single action, or safetyless striker fired …that isn’t actually just a lack of training and practice on the part of the end user?