Linkee-poo time is not on my side

"I’ve been working on getting better at building good habits and cultivating greater discipline." Kameron Hurley on the next steps for going from Good to Great.

"If there’s one thing The Da Vinci Code’s Dan Brown and The Library of Babel’s Jorge Luis Borges have in common it is a love for obscure religious and occult books and artifacts. But why do I compare Borges—one of the most highly-regarded, but difficult, of Latin American poets and writers—to a famous American writer of entertaining paperback thrillers? One reason only… Borges would be deeply moved by Brown’s recent act of philanthropy, a donation of €300,000 to Amsterdam’s Ritman Library, also known as the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica House of Living Books… The generous gift will enable the Ritman to digitize thousands of 'pre-1900 texts on alchemy, astrology, magic, and theosophy…'" Shit, I'm never going to get any more writing done. (Grokked from Warren Ellis)

"The planet's global surface temperature last year was second warmest since 1880, NASA says. NOAA calls it the third warmest year on record, due to slight variation in the ways that they analyze temperatures." We're boned.

Another problem of climate change. "Scientists knew that bacteria called Pasteurella multocida type B caused the mass death. Now, new research suggests that the bacteria was already present in the animals; it was triggered and became harmful because of a period of unusual weather."

"First observed among captive mule deer in Fort Collins in 1967, CWD has since infected wild herds in 24 states and Canada. It has also been found in South Korea and Norway. In that time, there's been no report of human illness due to CWD exposure, but a recent Canadian study has renewed concerns that the disease could make the jump." Ohio just had a reported case from a male deer that was used for breeding on a captive deer farm and then released into a hunting preserve.

"A Canadian woman has been convicted of killing her friend after police discovered the murder weapon used in a picture of the pair on social media."

"Steve Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during a House Intelligence Committee interview of the former Trump chief strategist." Bannon refused to answer any questions, but did not claim executive privilege. Now, if Bannon answers Mueller's questions he could be held in contempt of Congress (IANAL but as I understand it the refusal to answer questions is not an on-again/off-again situation, which is why if you are investigated by the police request a lawyer first and as your answer to every question).

Oh look, it's another group of conservatives upset that have to play with everyone else, so they're going to take their little red ball and go home to their own state of New California. Well, they're also upset that they're no longer in the majority or in control of the government. (Grokked from John)

"Health care workers who want to refuse to treat patients because of religious or moral beliefs will have a new defender in the Trump Administration." Fuckers. This is just plain bigotry and discrimination bullshit.

Turns out earmarks weren't all that bad. "Like many lawmakers, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., supports reviving earmarks, but he mused at a House Rules Committee hearing Wednesday that the debate is futile if House Speaker Paul Ryan does not." I helped secure one of the last earmarks for my village. We had been working hard to get a stop light at the intersection where our school lets out. Across the highway is our industrial center. While we haven't had a fatality yet, it's bound to happen. We worked through all the regular channels for our state, but always ran into roadblocks on the final approval. So we went to our congressional representative and got an earmark. If it's a Federal law, the State can't block it. Unfortunately that was the last budget to have earmarks and it was delayed. And delayed. Delayed again. And then the Congress decided they wouldn't allow any earmarks and they stripped the appropriations bill of all the earmarks, including ours. So we still don't have a stop light at a dangerous intersection.

And we finally have the Fake News Awards. Release the eye rolling!

"A former Department of Energy photographer has filed a federal whistleblower suit alleging he lost his job after leaking photos of a private meeting between Energy Secretary Rick Perry and a major Trump donor who heads one of the country's largest mining companies… The photographs show Perry and Murray embracing and Murray handing Perry a four-page confidential 'action plan' for reviving the country's struggling coal industry. The Associated Press and The New York Times obtained copies of the plan earlier this month and reported that it mirrors policy later pushed by the Trump administration." They're selling us out.

"Wide gender, racial and political gaps leave American voters divided on whether President Donald Trump is 'mentally stable,' as 45 percent say he is stable and 47 percent say he is not stable, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today."

"Haitians will no longer be eligible for U.S. visas given to low-skilled workers, the Trump administration said."