House GOP Fixin' To Screw Up Speaker Vote, Imperil Trump’s Inauguration, Cause Us To Die Laughing. Gary Legum at Wonkette: “It’s wild to think that at some point down the road, the fate of the planet could really hinge on what decision these fuckwits make here.”
The NYPD and New York City government are in freefall. Fun to watch, unless you live in New York, as Tim Cushing at Techdirt notes:
Ticket to the freakshow
Lately, I’m keeping in mind George Carlin’s line that when you’re born you get a ticket to the freakshow and when you are born in America you get a front-row seat.
Carlin was dark in his final years, or at least his stage persona was. And I don’t think you can maintain a persona for as much time as Carlin did without it being true. He cheered for mass death. He hated the human race but loved people, which are two views I am finding more sympathy for as I am now just eight years younger than he was when he died.
When I read the news, I am disgusted by the human race, but when I meet people in life or work, I’m more inclined to love them as they are, without judging them.
I started using my current barber soon after the pandemic lockdown ended. I’m pretty sure that at that time, they did not take Apple Pay, and they had an ancient, slow credit card reader, so I just paid them cash, because it was more convenient. The last time I went in for a haircut, I forgot to bring my wallet, so before I sat down, I asked if they take Apple Pay. They do now.
That’s the last place on Earth I paid cash for anything. I’m living the cash-free life now.
Brett’s @ttscoff@nojack.easydns.ca mention of Drafts as a place he stores lists makes me think I should use Drafts more as a place where some text lives, not just a place where it starts. Then I think that sometimes I like to save images too, which makes Drafts less useful to me. Then I think, should I use Bear? Then I think: Why use anything else when Apple Notes is right there?
This is far from the first time my brain has gone around this particular hamster wheel.
A brief Christmas report
Our stop was the Lafayette Hotel, which has been remodeled recently and looks delightfully bonkers, with an over-the-top early-midcentury theme.
Here’s a reproduction of the hotel in gingerbread.
And the view from the hotel lobby bar, where we sat for 15 minutes waiting for a table, with an estimated 25 minutes to go and getting hungry.
So we opted for the traditional Chinese food dinner.
Mitchellaneous: Catfish therapist
Trump isn’t joking about wanting to control Greenland and the Panama Canal. Trump’s talk will push America’s allies closer to China.