The sun peeks through the curtains like a nosy neighbor wondering why I'm not up yet.

Epidemics seldom end with miracle cures. Most of the time in the history of medicine, the best way to end disease was to build a better sewer and get people to wash their hands. “Merely chipping away at the problem around its edges“ is usually the very best thing to do with a problem; keep chipping away patiently and, eventually, you get to its heart. --Adam Gopnik

The unpopularity of “Defund the Police“ among people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds has been well documented. A USA Today/Ipsos poll found that only 22 percent of respondents supported 'the movement known as 'defund the police.'“ In contrast, seven in ten supported increasing police budgets.

According to a 2020 Gallup study, when asked whether they want the police to spend more time, the same amount of time, or less time than they currently do in their area, most Black Americans--81 percent-- want the police presence either to remain the same or to increase.

September 28
brocard (n.)-- An elementary principle, a short proverbial rule or maxim

A joke:

How do you know when there's a bodhran player at your front door?

The knocking gets faster and faster.

And there's a woman climbing over chairs, taking pictures of every conceivable object at every conceivable angle...so she's obviously American.

He's upset a few along the way too, as does anyone willing to put their head above the fray.

A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel stuck in his pants. The bartender asks, “Hey man, isn't that annoying?“ The pirate responds, “Arrrr, it's driving me nuts.“

Top joke in the UK:

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says, “That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen.“ The woman goes to the end of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her, “The driver just insulted me!“
The man says, “You go right up there and tell him off! Go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you.“

Eskimos use the word “laugh“ to refer to lovemaking--to “laugh“ with someone is to have intercourse with them.

One researcher estimated that a good laugh produces an increase in heart rate that is equivalent to ten minutes on a rowing machine or fifteen minutes on an exercise bike. Other researchers have found that people who suffer from heart disease are 40% less likely to laugh or to see the funny side of life.

Tourists in the Chicago Museum of Natural History were marveling at the dinosaur bones. One of them asked the guard,“ Can you tell me how old the dinosaur bones are?“ “They are three million, four years, and six months old.“ “That's an awful exact number,“ said the tourist. “How do you know their age so precisely?“ The guard answered, “Well, the dinosaur bones were three million years old when I started working here, and that was 4 1/2 years ago.“

September 27
anonym (n.)-- Someone who wishes to remain anonymous: a pseudonym

In 2001, some researchers decided to turn to science to find the world's funniest joke. They did this by having the general public submit hundreds of jokes, which were later voted on. The result was this book...which is terrible. Why? It says in the introduction: “Obviously, we couldn't allow any offensive jokes onto the site.“ I'm not sure why that's “obvious,“ but it resulted in a collection of stupid Dad jokes.
#2025Book41

September 26
palaestra (n.)-- A place for debate or a battle of wits

September 25
theic (n.)-- An excessive drinker of tea.

My father once told me that what makes a good job is enjoying what you do, who you do it with, and what you get paid to do it--and unless you're happy with at least two of the three, you won't be happy with the job.

I don't agree with Doug Stanhope's advice about not ever giving comedy advice, as there's plenty about comedy that applies to every comic. For example, don't invite a whole bunch of your friends to your first show. If you invited all your friends to watch you take your first driver's lesson, they'd probably laugh at you. And if you invite them to see your first stand-up performance, they probably won't.

#2025Book40

Tufts University professor Eitan Hersh blames some of this polarization on “political hobbyists.“ Hersh believes that real politics is about “the methodical pursuit of power to influence how the government operates.“ In contrast, political hobbyists are more likely to spend their time consuming the news than volunteering in political organizations. Political hobbyists treat politics like a parlor game, an opportunity to debate abstract issues.

Thomas Edison said it best: “Vision without execution is hallucination.“

One of the core appeals of incrementalism is that it allows us to face the world as it really is, as opposed to its idealized form. It also encourages humility about how much change is possible or desirable given limited information and uncertainty about the impact of our actions.

Human beings, who always face severe cognitive, conceptual, and political constraints, cannot operate according to a comprehensive ideal. Instead, they take shortcuts and seek to reduce their decision-making burden into manageable chunks. They do so not out of excessive fealty to the status quo but because it is the best way to actually get things done in the real world.

In recent days, the two of us have, at various points, taken a subway ride, sat in a local park, drunk clean water from a tap, and visited a public library. The streets we walked on were, by and large, clean and safe. No policeman approached us looking for a bribe. All of these building blocks of a good life can be traced back, in one way or another, to incremental improvements by government.

(continued) Looking at Rosling's efforts, Matt Ridley, the author of The Rational Optimist, concludes: “People are worse than ignorant: They believe they know many dire things about the world that are, in fact, untrue.“ According to Ridley, one of the reasons for our predilection for pessimism is simple: bad news is more sudden than good news, which is usually gradual.

Swedish public health expert Hans Rosling began asking people a fundamental question about global poverty: has the percentage of the world population that lives in extreme poverty almost doubled, almost halved, or stayed the same over the past 20 years? Only 5 percent of Americans got the right answer: extreme poverty has been cut almost in half. A chimpanzee picking answers at random would do much better.

Amara's Law, named after Stanford University computer scientist Roy Amara, argues that we tend to overestimate what can be accomplished in the short term and underestimate what can be done in the long term.

As Giuseppe Lampedusa, the Italian author of The Leopard, once wrote: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.“

Outstanding! Such an important book. A much-needed return to common sense.
#2025Book39

September 21
otacust (n.)-- A spy, an eavesdropper

September 20
cohonestation (n.)-- The act of honoring with your company

#2025Book38

September 18
scugways (adv.)-- Clandestinely; with a hidden purpose or motive

September 16
perfretation (n.)-- A sea voyage or crossing.

September 15
miraculate (v.)-- To produce by a miracle

September 14
charette (n.)-- A period of intense work or creative activity undertaken to meet a deadline

September 13
epinicion (n.)-- A song or poem of victory

September 12
serendipitist (n.)-- Someone who benefits from serendipity or a serendipitous event.

This was the novella that inspired the film Eyes Wide Shut. I've seen the film several times, and had trouble getting it out of my head. Either way, the film was better.
#2025Book37

September 10
pot-valour (n.)-- Courage or boldness induced by drinking

September 9
agerasia (n.) A more youthful appearance than one's true age.

One of my high school teachers, Terry Crane, added fuel to the fire of my linguistic intrigue. He delighted in confounding us students by phrasing common statements in grandiloquent ways. One such phrase that lingers in my memory pertained to the fruitless pursuit of a nondomesticated waterfowl of the family Anatidae whenever referring to a wild goose chase.

September 7
prosopopoeia (n.)-- Personification, the application of human characteristics to an inanimate thing

A Coca-Cola employee was once fired for marrying a Pepsi employee.

People with mental illnesses tend to dream less.

Identity Crisis, Texas Style
The Dallas Cowboys play in Arlington, Texas, at AT&T Stadium. That stadium is also home to college football's Cotton Bowl game, which is no longer held at the Dallas Stadium that's actually named the Cotton Bowl.

The Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain was started in Indiana by a man who initially wanted to run a “Colorado-themed“ restaurant.

The saddle shape of a Pringles chip is mathematically known as a hyperbolic paraboloid.

September 5
pogonophobia (n.) A hatred or dislike of beards.

There's no reason to hang on to beliefs you don't actually believe in and that don't make sense to you, just because you can't imagine a happy and fulfilling life without them. We know that leaving religion can be a scary and painful process-- but once it's behind you, life is good.