Linkee-poo goes screaming into the night

Man, what a year this week has been.

"Florence slowly made landfall in Wilmington, N.C. Friday, causing a life-threatening storm surge, according to the National Hurricane Center."

"The other reason I plan to wait out this hurricane is to remain close to my home and look after my property if Florence crushes it… You got to defend your home. As my friend Mark put it while we were sitting in Waterline Brewery drinking Mango Kolschs yesterday, 'Death before Dishonor.'" Of course it's at Fox News. And as the bug in MIB said, "Your proposal is acceptable." At least it looks like his house is on high ground.

"Hurricane Florence has made landfall in North Carolina, but its crawling pace and overwhelming storm surges are setting up hours and hours of destruction and human suffering -- with dozens desperately awaiting rescue in one flooded town alone." Also note that the storm is expected to stall over the state (it may pass over the Appalachias and head into Ohio). If it does, all that water is going to head to the coast. So you may make it through the initial strike, but still not be out of danger.

Also just a reminder, New Orleans survived the eye-wall of Katrina, it was when all of the storm's water came down the Mississippi when New Orleans flooded. Everything from Florence that drops east of the Appalachias will head east to the shore. And she still has a lot of water in those clouds.

"Super Typhoon Mangkhut is hurtling through the Pacific, boasting 180 mph winds threatening millions of people across Asia in what is estimated to be one of the strongest systems on record." Mangkhut is equivalent to a Cat 5 Hurricane. There is no Cat 6.

Delilah S. Dawson tweet storm on pitching. Also as a note, unless asked, don't start with it. So pitches, "Left-behind rom/com for those of us who will be left-behind." "Seven Samurai, but just one guy and he works for the crooks." "Battle of the gods from the view point of the tool." "Landlocked fairy-Jaws police drama/slasher."

"Humans are suspected to have killed off the largest birds that ever lived. Regardless of whether that's true, however, new evidence shows that they coexisted for thousands of years." There's a lot of breathless, "but humans lived with the elephant birds for almost 9,000 years (before the birds went extinct). Like these are two separate issues. When really all it means is that he continued to hunt the birds until the population reached a tipping point about a thousand years ago, when our predation (and other animals) outstripped the bird's ability to reproduce (either population size and/or environmental changes).

"This is how it happens when extraterrestrials make contact with Earth… It starts with a newspaper report about suspicious activity at a space research facility—government agents and military vehicles. The local sheriff gets angry and confused. Then the TV news reports feature interviews with locals saying things like, 'Nothing really happens here very much. And since nobody knows, it could be almost anything.'" (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"On Thursday evening, without any advance notice, SpaceX tweeted that is had signed the world’s 'first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle.' Moreover, the company promised to reveal 'who's flying and why' on Monday, September 17. The announcement will take place at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif."

"The pain could be a bad sign. It could mean that an experimental treatment Reid is betting on hasn't worked to control his cancer. Instead of curbing the leukemia, the cancer may be continuing to proliferate… Reid… came to NIH in July to take part in a an early-stage clinical trial for a cancer treatment called CAR-T for short." Fuck cancer.

"The chief executive of a small pharmaceutical company defended hiking the price of an essential antibiotic by more than 400 percent and told the Financial Times that he thinks 'it is a moral requirement to make money when you can.'" Actually, Nirmal Mulye, CEO Nostrum Laboratories, that's the exact fucking opposite of a "moral requirement." You college is calling, they want their degree back. I feel a little sorry for them, because when we finally get them all against the wall, they really won't understand why. (Grokked form Matt Staggs)

"In this article I offer new evidence about something readers of Academic Questions already know: The political registration of full-time, Ph.D.-holding professors in top-tier liberal arts colleges is overwhelmingly Democratic." Note that while the article writer then goes on to say that this also can lead to research bias that his own sample is small and self-limiting (only tenured or tenure-track faculty, only "liberal arts colleges" as listed by US News, but then this is the focus of the organization). But gee, it does seem that the more educated you are the less likely you'll be a Republican. Also note, the organization seems to have an axe to grind (if you read some of their reports, or at least the summation). (Grokked from Fred Clark)

How go the Trade Wars? "U.S. automakers in China are feeling the most pain as some American companies are getting hurt by new tariffs from both the White House and Beijing, according to a survey released this week from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce in China."

"Ten years ago, the collapse of Lehman Brothers signaled that the U.S. was hurtling toward a financial crisis. In the years that followed, consumers faced difficulty managing debt as the economy contracted, unemployment accelerated and incomes stagnated… So where are we 10 years later?"

"The Department of Homeland Security transferred nearly $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a budget document released by a Democratic senator late Tuesday night, diverting funds from the relief agency at the start of the hurricane season that began in June." I am not a budget expert, but I believe that line item transfer would be illegal without an Congressional vote. At least it would be for local governments. Or do departments not have their own line items in appropriation bills anymore? (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

"The actions by Long, the U.S. government’s lead disaster official as the country braces for Hurricane Florence, have been called into question by the inspector general over whether taxpayers have inappropriately footed the bill for his travel, an issue that has tripped up a number of current and former top Trump administration officials." Ah, the well functioning government. It's just like most large businesses I've worked for. Congrats conservatives.

"Some of Willie Nelson’s conservative fans are angry that the country legend is throwing his support behind Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke." Just like with Bruce Springsteen, apparently conservatives don't know the words. But if you've followed the various writers in social media you'll note that more than likely these people really weren't fans, weren't going to buy the new album or tickets to see the show. They're just trying to silence someone with an actual megaphone. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

Sometime I wonder if I'm in a media bubble, and then I see articles like this. "'But my book actually uses science and real data and true psychological theory to explain why it is quite possible that this president is the most sound-minded person to ever occupy the White House,' she said." Uh, yeah, Bob. It's a book, written by someone without an actual psychology degree, the PhD is from an "online" school (coughDiplomaMillcough), and she's a part of Trump's 2020 re-election campaign. Yeah, by comparison I'm way outside of any bubble. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"President Donald Trump allegedly ordered an architect not to include braille in Trump Tower elevator panels because 'no blind people' would live in his building—even after being informed that excluding the tactile writing system is against federal law." Of course, you know, he didn't really mean it, according to his enablers. I know we all often joke about keeping "the blinds" out of our spaces. You know, like you do. "(Barbara Res, who led construction at the Trump Organization) said she 'wasn’t surprised' by snippets in either piece, and that Trump even in the past 'would expect people to lie for him.'" Our president, everybody. He shouldn't even be allowed to clean up the horse shit after the parade. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

Last minute add Forgot to mention there's word that Manafort is going to cop a plea for his second trial (failing to register as a foreign agent and other election things). He could be doing this because 1) they've got him dead to rights and he want to avoid the legal bill, 2) he expects a presidential pardon or commutation and want to avoid the legal bill or 3) he's going to cooperate with the Mueller investigation. My money is on #2.