A Large Regular

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - Congress mandates cable TV pricing disclosures. Good first step towards full transparency of what subscribers are actually paying for.

- Very Cool

- Definitely going to hell for laughing at this

- US Coast Guard says Ryuk ransomware took down maritime facility. HT Stephen Landry

- Concussion lawsuit against Pop Warner Football is dismissed

- Star Wars humor

- How to live a creative life

Happy New Year's Eve and tonight feel free to party like Frank Sinatra Don Knotts.

A list of 58 Books That Will Make You Better, No Matter Who You Are.

I love book lists. On this list of 58 books I've only read 5, I have 2 of the books on my bookshelves but as of yet unread and I have 4 of the books on my Amazon Wish List.

Probably going to add some of these recommended books to my Wish List as well.

HT Cultural Offerings.

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana

The reports that President Trump is seeking to meet with enlisted men and enlisted men only - no generals or officers - made me think of both the above quote but also this interview with Col. David Hackworth.

Hackworth's book About Face should be required reading for every officer in the US military.

Beef is a versatile word, almost as versatile as the word "fuck".  Think about it.

Beef could mean the meat that comes from a cow. It could mean an argument "I'm having a beef with that guy." It could mean a fart "Who beefed?" It could mean muscular "That guy's pretty beefy." It could mean to screw something up "I really beefed up that project." A very versatile word.

Personally I would be amused if Angus Beef would be used as a name for a Scottish wrestler.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Andrew Yang should spend the rest of his campaign warchest hiring Taylor Swift to do a video of her just squirting whipped cream into the mouth of a kneeling  Andrew Yang. It may really be the only thing that could give him a significant bump in the polls... This is definitely one of my favorite Venn diagrams... Patriots fans who bemoan the fact that the team drafted Sony Michel instead of Lamar Jackson fail to realize that without Sony Michel there's no Super Bowl victory last year. I'm glad we have Michel and the Super Bowl trophy... Awesome... What if Neanderthals self-identified as Homo Sapiens? Ever think of that you Neanderthalphobic bastards?... Boston is blessed to have two 42-year old future Hall of Famers still playing at elite levels but it is disappointing that nationally people only talk about Tom Brady but not Zdeno Chara who is still playing at All-Star levels for the Bruins... And speaking of Tom Brady - with his start today he becomes the only 42-year old QB to start every game in a season in the NFL's 100-year history... GO PATS!

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Radio legend Don Imus passes away aged 79. Love him or hate him he did good charity work for kids with cancer.

- Another example of why hockey players are the best

- Rewriting human history through DNA

- Dean Martin the coolest cat who ever lived

- Interesting - scientists have discovered a way to manipulate the body's own immune response to boost tissue repair

- A new patent from Tesla may make a million-mile battery a reality.

- Russ Roberts lists his 5 favorite novels. Sadly I haven't even read one of these. Will have to remedy that in 2020.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

It could be argued that anti-Semitism is so rampant in the Democratic Party that if a Democratic Presidential candidate today called New York City "Hymie Town" that candidate would actually go up in the Democratic polls... If you watch the movie To Kill a Mockingbird backwards it is the story of a black man brought back from the dead to break up some furniture... Getting this off my chest - when it was announced Tom Cruise would play fictional character Jack Reacher there was an outcry because in the books Reacher was 6'5" while Cruise is just 5'7". Yet I don't think anyone blinked an eye at 5'10" Robert DeNiro playing real life 6'4" Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran... NSA Employee of the Month... The offseason announcement that all true Red Sox fans are waiting to hear is "Today we placed Wally the Green Monster on irrevocable waivers"... Just saying but if this point if either Oprah or the Rock decided to run for President as a Democrat then the nomination would be all but theirs for the asking - you know that's true... Love this JRR Tolkien story...

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Two years after legal weed was introduced in California - it accounts for only an estimated quarter of all pot sales in the State. Americans do love avoiding paying taxes and California politicians could screw up anything.

- Heh Heh - Burger King's Impossible Burger will give you "manboobs". And it serves you right!

- Classy move by the Patriots

- Have to remember this one for next Christmas

- Victor Davis Hanson - Recalling the Battle of the Bulge

- In case you ever wondered what sailors eat on a submarine

“We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library, whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different languages. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend but only dimly suspects.” - Albert Einstein

Still one of my favorite things ever on the Internet.

- Love, Happiness and Time

- How Not to Be Stupid

- Focusing is an Art, Not a Science

- Second-Order Thinking: What Smart People Use to Outperform

It could be argued that if you truly regularly incorporated the lessons from these four short articles into your life then you'd have a much more productive and happy 2020.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Marilyn Monroe once famously sang Happy Birthday to You (Mister President) to JFK. What's lesser known is that Kennedy never paid the licensing fee for the song. That was the real reason JFK was killed. The Happy Birthday to You rights holders don't friggin' mess around... FACT: Donald Trump has never been defeated in the Octogon by any other President living or dead. You can't argue with facts!... Excellent point... I'm going to have business cards printed up that say "Chris Lynch - Public Intellectual and Thought Leader" because why not?... Speaking of Trump "Loki Never Forgets an Insult" would make a great Trump 2020 campaign slogan... A reminder on the wisdom of the masses - a 1967 Gallup poll found almost twice as many Americans supported nuking North Vietnam as opposed to those who supported withdrawing from the war... It's possible that when parents started to tell children not to be "fresh" (i.e. talking back) is when America started having an obesity problem. "Do you want some fresh fruits or vegetables?" "No - my parents told me not to be fresh"... Remember until you pin me Festivus is not over!...

Bet you didn't know Santa was that hardcore. Merry Christmas everyone!

Please enjoy Santa painted into great works of art while you sip your eggnog.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I' share.

- Ed Latimore's 10 observations from 2-years of not drinking

- Perhaps the most Australian thing ever

- We've just had the best decade in human history. We live in a Golden Age.

- Hong Kong protesters rally for China's Uighurs. I think linking the two causes is a smart move by the protesters.

- Wrong on so many levels

- Russ Roberts thoughts on health care without (much) Government

Every year at Christmas I re-read A Christmas Carol. It is a very short book (not even a long short story really). It is my personal Christmas tradition.

"Spirit! are they yours?" Scrooge asked, horrified. He could say no more.

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, "and they cling to me, appearing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware the boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."

- Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol

I hope in the year to come that you can work to erase ignorance in your life and want in the lives of those you love. 

Merry Christmas - God bless us everyone! 

Actually a pretty good primer on the holiday.

Happy Hanukkah to all members of the Tribe out there!

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

America's sustained competitive advantage stems from our vast natural resources and our freedoms. Of the two our freedoms are by far the most important and irreplaceable. Just look at Hong Kong to see the truth of this... "Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and their politicians as a joke." - Will Rogers... No dirty hippies, NO WIRE HANGERS, and a splash of vodka on everything... I would love it if MLB started referring to left-handed pitchers as "left-wingers" and right-handed pitchers as "right-wingers" just to mess with people... Santa's super powers vs those of other super heroes... Prior to the second day of the Battle of Stirling the Scots knelt and prayed. King Edward II saw this and assumed the Scots were praying for mercy from the English. He was mistaken. The Scots were praying to beg forgiveness from God for what they were about to do to the English... Periodic reminder to Steelers fans - your team lost playoff games to both Blake Bortles and Tim Tebow...

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The upcoming 5G confusion. Good primer on why 5G phones should come with a serious caveat emptor warning.

-  Quality and effort. Good advice.

- Interesting analysis of the Democratic field. Only problem - he left off Tulsi Gabbard who has the best chance to be the Democrats' "star"

- Your periodic reminder of things you control.

- How to exercise when its the last thing you want to do.

- Heh Heh - what's the worst that could happen?

Everyone has trouble talking about sex with their kids. I don't care how cool or hip or how with it you think you are - you are still going to have trouble talking to your kids about sex. 

Even God had trouble talking about sex. Seriously. If you read between the lines in the story of the Garden of Eden - you see how uncomfortable God was in talking about sex. 

Start from the beginning. God made Adam in his image but with one major difference - God was smart whereas Adam didn't know any better because he did not eat from the tree of knowledge - yet. Think about that for a minute. You have a dumb male - a naked male at that - in perfect health just bopping around the Garden of Eden with really nothing to do. Every guy knows what that means. 

Adam must have spent all of his time playing with himself.

There must of been a first time when Adam discovered the hard-on. It was probably morning - a BEMHO (basic early morning hard-on) - not to be confused with a HOFNAR (hard-on for no apparent reason). Can't you picture it? Adam, "Hey what's this?" And of course the first thing he does is to touch it. "Hey it feels pretty good to rub this thing. Hey - this - is - great! Now I know how I'm going to spend my day."

As an aside - God gave Adam the job of naming all the plants and animals. So you know Adam must have also named his newly found best friend. That's why men give their penis a name to this very day. It's a throwback to the Garden of Eden. (I call mine Mr. Happy.)

Now God used to roam the Garden of Eden in those days and you know he must have walked into Adam when Adam was jerking it. 

God, "Whoa - Adam? What are you doing?" 
Adam, "Just rubbing myself God. Hey watch what happens when I go really fast." 
God, "Adam that's fine. That's something you do in private." 
Adam, "Private? What's that? I'm the only one here. I'm in private everywhere I go." 
God, "I really have to do something about this guy."

So that night God took one of Adam's ribs and created woe-man and the Bible tells us that is was so that Adam would not be "lonely" but really it was because God was probably tired of seeing Adam playing with himself all the time. 

I thought Monet's Snowy Scene would be a classy way to officially welcome Winter!

This recent story on how the Canadian tundra was once a vast forest spurred me to discuss something that has been bothering me. Before I get to my point I just want to emphasize that the Canadian tundra was once a vast forest and it didn't change to a frozen landscape because of anything humans did.

The story that article reminded me about was how some scientists have estimated that we may only have between 60 to 100 harvests left due to soil depletion. Sure this theory may just be more environmental alarmism but it seems to be grounded in more solid scientific evidence than most climate change arguments.

But here's the thing - if the soil depletion theory is correct - shouldn't we welcome climate change on behalf of the survival of the species? If both climate change and soil depletion are correct then logic says as things get warmer places like the Canadian tundra and Siberia in Russia would then be available for farming and the raising of crops potentially saving mankind from vast famines. 

Not arguing the validity of either climate change or soil depletion theories just saying there's potentially a silver lining. And thus no reason to worry. Besides if climate change is due to a change in the tilt of the Earth's axis, solar cycles, the magnetic poles switching or any other reason like that - there's not much we humans can do anyway (except maybe invest in buying cheap Canadian tundra land as a gift to our grandchildren or great-grandchildren).

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- It's a good thing to read above your level.

- Money has been leaving China at a record rate.

- It's getting harder to NOT believe in UFO's

- Heh Heh

- Make before you manage - advice from Tim Ferriss

- Head coach of the team that inspired Remember the Titans, Herman Boone, passes aged 84

Still one of may favorite Christmas things.

Swear to God this was one of the top songs of 1972. Honestly. It was a simpler time.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Tulsi Gabbard votes "Present" on Impeachment. Very wise move. She is the Democratic candidate to watch in my opinion. The question is whether the Democratic Party establishment would allow her to be the candidate. That's a serious concern... Has the cancel culture gone after Cher for her 1973 hit song Half-breed yet? That would be fun to watch... #TulsiCoward is trending on Twitter. Proof that she hit a nerve with her non-vote for Impeachment with the unhinged. That just makes her more attractive for us voters who are hinged... This is one of the reasons why investing in Bitcoin makes me nervous... Heh Heh - Kim Jung-Un the new Siskel & Ebert... Let's be honest - Greta Thunberg's greatest accomplishment was as the inspiration of hundreds of "How dare you!" memes... And I don't care where Tulsi is polling because the polls are crap. If you added Candidate McCandidateface to the polls that choice would immediately become the front-runner. Just saying... If James Comey goes to jail - what are the odds that the Obamas ask if he can be given Jeffrey Epstein's old cell?...

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The inspirational story behind the success of MyPillow. (HT Cultural Offering) And I know the story is more than 2-years old but its new to me (and still inspirational).

- 200 freelancers let go to be replaced with 20 employees - you would think this situation would create 180 newly "mugged by reality" Republicans but not in California.

- Said it before - Gary Sinise is the man!

- NASA's X-59 is really cool (but I can't help but wonder what the practical use for such a craft would be)

- Not all heroes wear capes

- A brief history of tiny nuclear reactors

This week marks the 75th anniversary of what has become known as The Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945).

Old AF Sarge has a nice remembrance of the Battle and the costs paid.

Mental Floss has 10 things you might not know about the Battle of the Bulge (some good stuff including how the Battle got its name and perhaps the one American officer who saw the attack coming).

There has been some notice of the anniversary in the news. But honestly not much.

Sadly many 35-years old and younger may have only heard of the battle because it was featured in HBO's Band of Brothers (great show).

Personally I'm fascinated by the men who fought the battle. Men like Baseball Hall of Famer Warren Spahn or writer Kurt Vonnegut who was taken prisoner during the battle (and later survived the bombing of Dresden). People like actor Jack Warden. Or baseball manager Ralph Houk who was nicknamed the Major for good reason (Houk's exploits during the war would make an excellent movie).

Sadly most of these heroes have passed and for too many their memories and sacrifices are being forgotten. All the more reason for people to do their small part in keeping anniversaries like these in our thoughts and deeds so that the younger generations can understand the price paid by those who came before them.

Good King Wenceslas is one of my favorite Christmas carols. Did you know that he was a real person and that on September 28, 935 AD he was killed by his brother?

Now maybe you can think of that cheery fact every Christmas when you hear the tune. At least you can take comfort in thinking no matter how stressful your family gatherings are at least you probably won't be killed by one of your siblings.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh Heh - Boobies!

- I predicted that about 4 Democratic Congressmen would end up switching parties because they represent Districts in which Trump is popular. Looks like we've just had our first to switch.

- The next nuclear reactors will be small, svelte, and safer.

- The new California employment law is starting to crush freelancers - I would say "unexpectedly" but people were warned about this.

- Tough not to root for new BC football coach Jeff Hafley

- Cool - The Spaghetti Western trailer for The Mandalorian

It is the Christmas season which means soon holiday classics will be on TV constantly. I need to get off my chest the truth about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys. The thing about the misfit toys wasn't that they were squirt-guns that shot jelly or cowboys who rode ostrich's. The really strange thing about these "toys" was the fact THEY WERE ALIVE!

Now any high school biology student can tell you that life comes from life. These misfit toys were probably the offspring of some sick minded magic elves who must have gotten too "friendly" with some of the toys they were working on and fondling day after day. They were put on the Island of Misfit Toys probably as an attempt by upper management of Santa's Workshop to cover up some of the sick shit that was going on when the lights got turned off at night.

Let's be clear here - we aren't talking about misfit toys either - we are talking about FREAKS! If my kids got a choo-choo with square wheels that was alive - I would freaking BURN IT WITH FIRE! I would also then have to start spending thousands of dollars on therapy probably for the whole family. You could bet that Christmas and Santa would take on whole new meanings (and nightmares) from that day forward.

God help the children who ended up getting those freak misfit toys on Christmas morning.

And don't even get me going on the heroin backstory to The Little Drummer Boy.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations from Saturday's Army/Navy game.



The above video was shown on the big screens prior to the game - I thought it was pretty cool... One of the pre-game traditions that I was not aware of was the game balls being run to the stadium from both West Point and Annapolis by marathon runners from both academies. The runners were honored prior to the game... Another pre-game tradition I was not aware of was the "prisoner exchange" where Midshipmen spending a semester at West Point and Cadets spending a semester at Annapolis were "exchanged" at midfield to allow them to return to their natural rooting environments during the game. Can't recall that ever being shown on the pre-game TV show... President Trump got a huge ovation at the game and I give Trump credit in that he seems to thrive in a football environment... Trump received a huge ovation despite his presence (and therefor that of the Secret Service) causing a large security line getting into the stadium (here's what it looked like 45-minutes before kickoff)... The rain and clouds before kickoff caused the cancellation of the traditional pregame fly-over. However, we were treated to a half-time airshow... It was a great game and I'd happily attend another. Really glad to have had the experience...

Another of the Christmas songs I enjoy (but never seem to make it into the rotation of songs you hear).

Go Pats!

Pretty excited to attend my first Army / Navy game today in Philadelphia. Had two brothers in the Marines so my natural inclination is for Navy but my tickets are on the Army side. So just hoping for a good game (and good weather).

(Now I have a machine gun)

If I still sent out Christmas cards - this is the one I'd send out this year.

And yes - Die Hard is indeed a Christmas movie (and Dick in a Box also qualifies as a Christmas song).

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The many lives of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

- Tim Ferriss is getting "back to basics" meaning he's going back to blogging on a regular basis.

- Very Cool

- Interesting - new study in mice finds boosting NAD (500 mg/every other day) reduces alcohol-induced liver damage. Gonna get me some NAD

- Truth

Perhaps the most important theory that you've never heard of. I've watched the video a few times and boy does my brain hurt!

Miscellaneous Christmas related thoughts and observations.

What came first - the Elf on a Shelf phenomenon or the NSA spying on all your data? The two seem to be related. Maybe the NSA invented Elf on a Shelf in order to get all new generations used to being watched all the time... As we enter the Christmas season a gentle reminder - if you play The Christmas Shoes on the jukebox I should be allowed to throw darts at you. No exceptions!.. Confession: I have never seen the movie A Christmas Story. No plans to see it this year either... Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin was born on Christmas Day 1856. He was nicknamed Pud because he made hitters look like "pudding" at the plate. Not because he was a dick... If I worked at a radio station that played Christmas music 24/7 - I would play the soundtrack to Die Hard over and over. Then quit!... The phrase "get bent" is supposedly short for "you should get bent over so that someone can sodomize you on Christmas." Oh those Brits! And a Merry Christmas to you too!...

One of the Christmas songs I actually enjoy.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Matt Taibbi breaks down the IG Report. The FBI looks bad but the press looks even worse. Taibbi has quickly become my favorite reporter.

- Wisdom from Naval.

- The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now. I'm pretty good with these but I do have to work on numbers 5 and 8.

- How to make money online.

- Sadly this story on Five Dimes founder "Tony" Creighton now has a definitive tragic ending

- Haven't been following Brexit but this ad would make me vote for Boris Johnson if I lived in England

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Can't help but wonder how many Democrat Congressmen in Districts Trump carried in the 2016 election will end up changing parties in the next few months to protect their re-election efforts. All because of how off-putting the impeachment efforts have been to their constituents back home. I'd put the over/under at 4 Congressmen... We have reached an inversion point in our nation's relation to China so much so that it has become an election issue... I'm a male over 50 but if I get denied employment as a surrogate mother - under the new rules some are trying to force on society shouldn't I get to sue for discrimination?... I love the Queen song We Are the Champions as much as the next guy but was a bully kicking sand in someone's face ever really a thing? Really? I mean I remember those Charles Atlas ads as a kid but that stuff may have happened once if at all... In that Johnny Depp Dior Sauvage cologne commercial is Depp burying his jewelry to hide it from debt collectors? Is he crying over what happened to his career? Inquiring minds want to know!...

Via

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thoughts I'd share.

- Pete Frates was an inspiration. The face of the fight against ALS passed Monday aged 34. Pete Thamel does a nice job with the legacy of Pete Frates. The Bruins send their condolences. All the Boston sports teams did.

- Actor Gary Sinise takes over 1,000 Gold Star children on annual trip to Walt Disney World. Gary Sinise is a national treasure.

- Analysis - True!

- Business are moving out of China as business conditions worsen. Looks like China's economy may tank in the not to distance future.

- Cool - the secret history of the Motorola Razr

- Heh Heh

Here are my Top 5 thoughts on the state of the New England Patriots:

1. The team is 10-3 which is tied for the 3rd best record in the NFL and the Patriots are the reigning Super Bowl champs. The last championship parade was less than 12 months ago. Their final regular season record this year will probably be 12-4 or 13-3. There is NO need for gnashing of teeth.

2. One of the big needs on the team is at tight end and I can't help but notice that every time I watch Seattle on TV Jacob Hollister seems to be catching passes. For the season he has 29 catches for 237 yards and 3 TD's. Those numbers would be far and away the best of any New England tight end (who all combined only have 29 receptions on the year). The Patriots traded Hollister to the Seahawks for a 7th round pick. I'm wondering if Bill Belichick would like to have that one back right about now.

3. Another need is at receiver but playing receiver for the Patriots is tough both because of the sophisticated system they run and the fact that the player has to earn Tom Brady's trust (which is no small matter). A simple solution could be to have Stephon Gilmore switch over from CB for a few snaps a game. Gilmore knows the Patriots offensive sets because he practices against them all the time and there's few players that Tom Brady respects more in the league. There's precedent of having an All-Pro corner also play receiver - maybe you've heard of a guy named Deion Sanders? Also Bill Belichick has shown a willingness to do something like this - remember when he had Troy Brown help out the defense when the secondary was depleted back in the day?

4. I wouldn't be surprised if Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels brought in an extra lineman at tight end to help with pass blocking. Makes perfect sense but continuing on the vein of players switching sides of the ball - before there was Gronk the Pats often had Mike Vrabel come in on goal line situations. Vrabel finished his career with 10 TD's in such situations. No knock on Vrabel but Jamie Collins is stronger and more athletic. I'm hoping the Pats could dust off some of those Vrable plays for Collins.

5. And finally let's not forget that this team has the greatest QB to ever play the game in Tom Brady and the greatest coach ever in Bill Belichick. There's a lot to be thankful for.

- Avoiding Stupidity is Easier than Seeking Brilliance

- Ayn Rand on Why Philosophy Matters

- Signaling: The Language Peacocks, Gazelles and Humans all Speak

- This is Water by David Foster Wallace (Full transcript and audio). Always worth revisiting this speech from time to time.

Conflicted over my view on the War in Afghanistan. I support the troops but I'm not sure if I support the War anymore. This report by the Washington Post seems to make it clear that the Generals and the civilians overseeing the war have not been exactly truthful with the American public.

Read the whole thing.

Parallels between Afghanistan and Vietnam are not exactly hard to draw. The Post even calls their report The Afghanistan Papers to echo the historic Pentagon Papers from the Vietnam War (not exactly subtle). You can't help but wonder if the War in Afghanistan was being fought with draftees instead of volunteers if we'd still even be there?

Like I said - not sure what to think. Only sure of one thing - I support the troops.

It has been 39-years since John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in Manhattan. Like many I learned of Lennon's death via Howard Cosell while watching the Patriots on Monday Night Football. 

Gerard Vanderluen has a much more personal remembrance of the death of John Lennon which he reposted today.  

Lennon was an infinitely interesting guy who counted among his friends people you may not have expected like Peter Boyle (John Lennon was best man at Boyle's wedding) and Monday Night Football's Howard Cosell. It can't be denied that Lennon's cultural significance is beginning to fade. As is even more true of his friends. When's the last time you thought of or heard Peter Boyle, Howard Cosell or Harry Nilsson mentioned in conversation? Life is fleeting and fame only slightly less so.

I still can't help but think of a "what if" situation. After shooting John Lennon - Mark David Chapman just stood around waiting to be arrested. What if he didn't? What if Chapman just stuffed the gun in his coat pocket and just started walking away? A slightly over-weight, average height white guy in a city with millions of people matching that description. He had no motive that the police would have been able to discern on their own. How could they have fathomed that they were to look for a guy who was delusional about being Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. If Chapman just walked away would the police have been able to find him? Would we have to this day all sorts of conspiracy theories about "who really killed John Lennon"?

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Vegan "influencer" eats meat for 30-days, shocks fans by saying she's healthier than she's felt in years. "My vegan identity crumbled immediately."

- Heh Heh

- This is probably why the terrorists hate us

- Heh Heh

- Interesting - using small nuclear reactors to produce cleaner jet engine fuel

From the Mike Leach autobiography co-written with Bruce Feldman:

...I told the team how similar football teams are to pirate crews, guys of all kinds of ethnicities coming from all corners of society, serving a gamut of roles onboard. I explained how the pirates viewed their swords the same way football players viewed their bodies.
    "They took great pride in their swords, sharpening them just like players do their bodies by lifting the weights and doing all the drills we do," I said.
    The players said nothing.
    I swung this long sword through the air in front of them.
    "Your body is your sword. Are you going to swing your sword aggressively, but really out of control like you're out there playing street ball?" I said as I began to haphazardly swing the sword around.
    "If you're frantic, without being clear-minded, you put yourself into a vulnerable position. Are you going to duck your head and swing it timidly? Or are you going to have great technique and swing it without hesitation?"
    Some of 'em nodded their heads. Some laughed watching me flail around with the sword. Some couldn't wait till I stopped talking just so they could come up and touch the sword. But the point was made. We were pirates, and the next time we went into battle, our swords would be ready. "Swing Your Sword" became a battle cry for us.

Go out there today and Swing Your Sword! 

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Heh heh - Joe Biden: "I'm just like you regular folk. I put my pants on one arm at a time",,, A blonde is a blonde. A brunette is a brunette. A redhead is a redhead. So what do you call a woman with black hair? She's not a "black" and definitely not a "blackhead." And don't come at me with raven because that's a bird or a pro football player from Baltimore... Ron Rivera is a good man. He'll make someone an excellent coach next year with the team with the most obvious need for someone like Rivera being the Cleveland Browns... It has to be said that the world has really gone to hell since the passing of Abe Vigoda. Was he some sort of sentinel guarding the gates of chaos or something?... This is an interesting map. Islam is losing its grip on Northern Africa. Also interesting is in these sorts of graphs red is generally bad and green generally good. Were the map makers trying to insinuate that religion on a whole is bad?... As a rule I don't judge people but I will judge you if you play Hotel California on a digital jukebox that has access to thousands of other songs. And my verdict won't be kind...

The things you find on the Internet! Pictured above is Ballydavid in Ireland located in County Kerry's Dingle Peninsula. It is a community of mostly fishermen and farmers. It is also where my mother was born and raised.

The picture just happened to be retweeted into my Twitter feed which made for a pleasant surprise for me.

A little rock to start your weekend.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- A military historian breaks down Peter Jackson's Siege of Gondor from The Return of the King. Cool.

- This honestly surprised me.

- A listing of just some of the ways that things improved in 2019. We live in a golden age.

- Because my final request is to terrify a bunch of children

- Heh Heh

- How Amazon created AWS and changed technology forever. (HT Stephen Landry)

One of the few Christmas songs I actually enjoy hearing.

In a strange way Kim Jong Un owes his position as Supreme Leader of North Korea to the Presbyterian Church.

Kim Jong Un's great-grandmother was Kim Song Ju who was active in the Presbyterian Church. His great-grandfather was Kim Hyong Jik who was educated in schools founded by American missionaries. Kim Jong Un's great-grandparents were introduced to each other by Nelson Bell, who is probably best known as the father-in-law of the famous evangelist Billy Graham. 

Billy Graham twice visited North Korea and met with then leader Kim Il Song (Kim Jong Un's father) in 1992 and 1994.

I'm fascinated by these little wrinkles in history. (Info via The Hermit King: The Dangerous Game of Kim Jong Un)

"Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things." - G.K. Chesterton

You mean obvious things like this?

Interesting look at President Trump's international and diplomatic messaging and their effectiveness.  I've long just assumed that some of his statements and Tweets that may seem strange or off to us Americans are actually aimed at specific international audiences.

Take the Tweet of Trump as Rocky. The timing of a seemingly out of nowhere Photoshop seemed strange to the US audience. But in hindsight the Rocky Tweet coming at the same time as him signing the Hong Kong sanctions law was clearly a message to both China and the people of Hong Kong. And it seems that the protesters in Hong Kong got the message loud and clear.

The same cannot be said of the people at the Washington Post.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Stocks sink after Trump says China deal can wait. Trump is putting pressure on China to do a deal by saying maybe he'll be the one to wait till after the 2020 election not the Chinese. More tariffs by December 15th. First to blink loses.

- I had never heard of Bee Propolis before but is sounds like good stuff.

- More wisdom from Naval

- Cool (pun intended) - Scientists just triggered the coldest chemical reaction in the known universe. Being able to "see" what happens during the process of a chemical reaction could be a huge breakthrough in science.

- Why is there no record of ancient humans? Interesting talk by Randall Carlson

- More good advice.

"A happy person isn't someone who's happy all the time.

It's someone who effortlessly interprets events in such a way that they don't lose their innate peace." - Naval Ravikant

In other words - don't let shit get to you.

Good advice.

- The Charlie Munger Operating System: How to live a life that really works. Such great advice in such a short article.

- Arthur Schpenhauer (1788-1860) on the dangers of clickbait.

- How to Live on 24-Hours a Day: Arnold Bennett on Living a Meaningful Life within the Constraints of Time

I would suggest not only reading (or rereading) the above articles but also trying to purposefully incorporate at least one suggestion from each article into your daily life.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Thinking of having business cards printed up that say "Chris Lynch - International Free Agent" (technically it's true!)... Have to wonder if the Twitter handle @JoshShawNFLPicks has already been taken... "All I want is peace, peace is happiness at rest and happiness is peace in motion" - Naval Ravikant... Seriously think that Boston sports fans are undergoing a success exhaustion. Patriots lost last night and deep down some fans wonder if the dynastic run is over. In other regions this may cause some depression but because the other Boston teams (Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) have also been successful during the past 15-years there's a sort of resigned "meh" we'll see how the other teams do feeling... Too funny... I seriously would like to see Disney do a re-make of Team America: World Police just to see what their version would look like...

Kind of a lost classic from back in the days of bad music videos.

Judging Amy is the first show to pop up on the list that I have not seen a single episode (not even by mistake). But after that show's appearance there were many other shows which I've never seen.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- How to Win: 4 steps to achieve greatness (actually 5 steps and the 5th is vitally important)

- A story that's supposed to be about Jeffrey Epstein, blackmail and a "hot list" of men caught on camera in compromising situations. Instead the story is a behinds the scenes look at how sleazy high-priced lawyers can be.

- Intermittent Fasting - an update from Harvard Medical

- This is HUGE news but it seems to be getting little attention - US posts first month as net petroleum exporter in 70-years! Being energy independent and a robust economy are heavily intertwined.

- Heh Heh

"If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough." - Mario Andretti

Ain't that the truth!

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- So potentially the two lasting symbols of the Hong Kong Protests might be the Tweet from Daryl Morey and the photoshop of Trump on Rocky's body

- 7 ways to thank people in your life

- Heh Heh

- Cool - AR Swim Googles. I could use a heads up display as I always lose track of how many laps I've swum

- Good question - why hasn't Canada come out in support of the Hong Kong Protesters?

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Teddy Roosevelt thought Thomas Jefferson was an awful President and especially thought Jefferson deserved no credit for the Louisiana Purchase. Roosevelt argued that US settlers moving into the territory would have forced the matter anyway. It was far cheaper for France to sell us the "rights" to the land than to defend it militarily... This remains perhaps my favorite painting of President Obama... I'm still upset that Andre the Giant wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Princess Bride... Who knew? Urban Meyer was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1982 and spent a couple of years in their minor league system... The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). They were born of Memory so their arts cause the soul to remember a higher plane of being. The Ancients seem to have had a better grasp of what the arts do then we moderns... Baseball-Reference.com says that one of the nicknames for Lou Gerhig was "biscuit pants." There has to be a pretty good story behind that... One of my dream cars - Reggie Dunlop's GTO from Slap Shot... Quote for the day: George Bernard Shaw when asked to name a deceased man he missed the most said, "The man I miss most is the man I could have been"... 

Hard to believe but George Harrison passed away 18-years ago today. Above is one of his hits that seems mostly forgotten today. Here's perhaps his greatest song performed by friends after his passing (and featuring one of the best guitar solos in history). Sad that the song was supposed to be a tribute to George but now also serves as a tribute to both Tom Petty and Prince as well.

Who says there's no Thanksgiving song.

You're welcome!

This is a short film that hopefully puts you in the proper frame of mind for the day. Not just for Thanksgiving but for any in your life.

It being Thanksgiving the radio stations will now turn to playing Christmas music. For my money Fairytale of New York is the best Christmas song ever made.

Bar none.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- If you want to save the world, veganism isn't the answer. Soil erosion is arguably a much bigger problem than climate change.

- Mass State Police have tested out Boston Dynamics Spot the robot dog and even have used the robot on a couple of instances. I'm of two minds on this.

- Heh Heh

- Neil Gaiman's 8 rules for writing

- Celtic's Jayson Tatum saves every dollar of his NBA salary and lives off his endorsement money. Gronk was the first pro athlete I heard doing this but it seems like it's becoming a trend.

- The UK has called on China to allow UN observers "immediate and unfettered access" to the Xingjiang region where over a million Uighur Muslims are being held in "camps."  I'm afraid the words "Never Again" have lost their meaning.

- Fascinating look at the beating heart of a Blue Whale