Edition #11 of my musings from the deep. A few thoughts, some information, some opinion, a bit of commentary, some trivia, some attempts at humor and some nonsense.
Now that I see more clearly, I’d like a bit more time.
I fear we are witnessing the death of civility.
The best thing for being sad… is to learn something. T.H. White
Make more use of the Del key in your emails and posts. Less is more. And yes, I should take my own advice.
X now has an about this account feature exposing the source of messages. Surprises? Not really. You are being deluged by South Asian, African, Eastern European impersonators.
Gambling in households increases the odds of domestic violence by over 10x, and gambling has the highest suicide rate of any addiction. And now there’s a casino in everyone’s pocket. Disaster looms.
In the MLB, you can place a bet on whether a particular pitch will be a ball or strike. Who knew? A couple Cleveland pitchers for sure.
Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.
Willie, Mickey and the Duke.
How to become a millionaire. Become a head football coach. Get fired.
Voter fraud in the USA is minuscule. The Heritage Foundation, the Project 2025 folks, have data to prove it.
Rural hospitals and clinics are going the way of high schools. Consolidation and elimination. Mayo Clinic is closing 6 rural clinics and “The Area Hospital” is becoming the norm, meaning long drives for primary/emergency care for rural folks.
Have you had the misfortune of being hospitalized lately? Look around, immigrants do most of the dirty work.
Have you tried to make an appointment at your primary care clinic lately? Urgent Care is the new primary care clinic.
The most private thing in the world is pain. You experience it alone.
Cars are getting too complex. If you see me coming on a sunny day with my windshield wipers flapping, know that I am about to make a turn.
Have you ever changed a tire out on the road? In the winter?
On a snowy freeway, 90% of the vehicles passing you at speed are RAMs, F250's, Sierras or Silverados.
Technology advances are quickly perverted - literally so with AI porn.
Drone use is mainly militarily. Who would have predicted that?
Given that there are an estimated 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, it seems improbable to me that Earth is the only planet hosting life.
Round up the usual suspects.
Brazil's Bolsonaro has started a 27 year prison sentence for leading an attempted coup. Former Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption and accepting bribes. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for drug trafficking. He received a Trump pardon.
Time wounds all heels.
Who was it that thought women's high heels were a good idea?
We now get our news out of the Pentagon from My Pillow TV
Voice of America has gone dark .. in so many ways.
I am old. I have 2 versions of the Lutheran Book of Worship: one Red, one Green. And a third, a paperback sized Black Hymnal with just text, no scores.
Stashed in barrels, Martin Luther smuggled 11 nuns out of the convent of Marienthron in Saxony, one of whom was Katharina, who he promptly married and fathered 6 children.
In this era of mega-disasters, does anyone really accept that FEMA is unnecessary? No one imagines a catastrophe could happen to them. Until it does.
Half a million Americans go bankrupt every year due to medical expenses. For every other developed country the number is 0.
Medicare for all.
Does anyone walk around on stilts these days? I made a pair as a kid with foot supports about 16" above ground. Gary walked around 6' off the ground - had to get on a step ladder to board.
I think I have a hula hoop out in the garage somewhere if you're interested.
Genocide against Afrikaners? Theater of the absurd. They’ve got it backwards.
We trade F-35's and military bases for golf courses and an ancient 747.
At some point the Venezuelan boat strikes will bring the US to The Hague. The second boat strike was murder. So was the first.
I'm pretty sure the US Navy is capable of interdicting, boarding, searching, confiscating and arresting? If not, call in the Coast Guard. They do it on a daily basis.
Body art is hazardous. Tattoo ink travels the body and kills immune cells.
Clark Gable appeared bare-chested in the 1934 film It Happened One Night. T-shirt sales plummeted.
Your cat is likely obese.
My new economic indicator. Count the day-to-day increase in pages of foreclosure listings in the daily paper.
Economic storm front brewing. The Chinese are rapidly switching from US to their own products. (You might want to reduce your Nike & Apple holdings). America is no longer in vogue. Chinese products and marketing are vastly improved but I think there might be another factor in play.
Tough job market for new college grads these days. AI is taking entry-level jobs. Is a college degree worth it? For those with a bachelor's degree, versus those with a high school diploma, median annual earnings are 59% higher, life expectancy is 6 years longer
Epstein had a ranch in New Mexico. I doubt he was raising Herefords.
2 basic freedoms. Freedom from violence. Freedom from lies. Chekhov
It used to be that Supreme Court justices did not wear team jerseys under their robes.
People will believe anything and rarely, the truth. Just because you believe it doesn't make it true.
Most demonstrations are parties. People party, feel good and then go home. Nothing changes.
Your Anglican God? He’s too soft, too reasonable and understanding, doesn’t really want to interfere—more like the ideal next-door neighbour than a deity. I need to feel God’s terrible wrath, his retribution waiting for me. My Anglican God will just look sad and give me a ticking off. Forgotten Brit
As he grew old, all Montaigne asked for was an old age free from dementia.
Can a country built on Native American genocide and the backs of slaves be called exceptional? That is, in a positive way? Nikole Hannah-Jones
The super rich are sociopathic. Almost always. Almost always men.
Huntley-Brinkley News was 15 minutes long - and I believe I got more relevant news content then than today's 24 hr news cycle.
This administration's recently released "America First" strategy means abdicating our role in the world and abandoning our allies. See National Security Strategy 2025. Russia is a fan.
American History professor, Heather Cox Richardson, publishes a daily current events newsletter, Letters from an American, providing commentary, insights and historical context. 5 stars.
For you’all who are old like me, where were you on November 22, 1963? January 28, 1986? September 11, 2001?
The Republicans are the party that say government doesn’t work and then get elected to prove it. P.J. O’Rourke
Can I bum a scroll off you?
10 million Iranians may need to evacuate Tehran because there is no water for the tap. The words ‘climate change’ have been purged from every government publication and website. God help us. (Read Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future.)
One of life's few mandatory rules. In a men’s restroom, incoming traffic has the right-of-way. Hugh Leonard
Over or under? The correct answer is over, unless you have little kids or a cat.
Day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers — so busy they call it “Brown Friday.”
"Things happen" is all you need to say these days to dismiss most any transgression.
Copyright © 2025 Dave Hoplin
