On this day in 1997 my wonderful wife and I had our first date. If you had told us that we would be very happily married 24 years later I think we both would have thought you were crazy.
I think the lesson to be learned is that it’s very important to keep an open mind, which is why I rail against blind adherence to ideology. I LOVE YOU, V Squared!
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This article from CNBC is about how some sports fans are losing access to televised games because cable companies are dropping regional sports networks (RSNs) from their lineup. The reason is that these companies claim very few cable subscribers actually watch more than just a handful of games. They’ve decided the amount they have to pay to keep RSNs in the bundle no longer makes economic sense, given how few people watch them and how much they charge.
Although I have watched more college football this season than I have in many years, much of that has been on CBS or Fox and not an RSN. With Nebraska’s decline into irrelevance, I would not care if I lost access to the Big Ten Network.
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Here are some links to pieces in Why Evolution Is True. While many posts on the site are disturbing to me, this one about how the Canadian government is denying grants to a university professor because he is hiring based on merit and not on “diversity” is very disturbing. Maybe Mark can weigh in, but I have read more than once that “wokeness” is even worse in Canada than in the US.
Two more links:
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On this day in 1895 the first organized automobile race took place in the US. The Chicago Times-Herald had actually announced it would host the race in July, but many entrants telegraphed the paper because they needed more time to work on their prototype vehicles. Since Herman Kohlstaat, publisher of the Times-Herald, wanted a good number of participants, the race was delayed until November.
One source claims the reason only six of the 83 vehicles signed up for the race actually arrived for the start is that the Chicago area had several inches of snow. Another source claims that many cars could simply not be completed in time or were damaged en route to the race.
Two of the six cars were electric and three of the other four were Benz automobiles. However, the winner was American Charles Duryea, who finished the 54-mile course in seven hours and fifty-three minutes in his two-cylinder gas vehicle. Neither electric car finished the race. From This Day in Automotive History a picture of Duryea and, supposedly, his winning vehicle.
The Duryea brothers–Charles and Frank–are usually cited as the builders of America’s first gasoline-powered automobile, which was first driven in 1893. Some sources claim that John Lambert’s three-wheeled vehicle or Henry Nadig’s four-wheeled automobile were actually built and driven before the Duryea brothers’ first car. We’ll never really know, of course, in this reminder that record-keeping hasn’t always been computerized and available 24/7/365.
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Since I don’t really need an excuse to test drive a nice car, but under the guise of scouting out potential replacements for the Cadillac ATS when (if?) it is returned to us but seems to be not the same as before the accident, I recently drove this car:
My wonderful wife would still much prefer a four-door vehicle as grocery car/taxi. I have told her I might consider such a car, but only if it is not a run-of-the-mill automobile. (Happy Wife, Happy Life)
With the exception of a little turbo lag, the car drove very well in terms of acceleration, handling and braking. The smell of leather in the interior was almost intoxicating and the back seats were very comfortable. They also sit a bit higher than the front seats, which I think is a nice feature.
Surprisingly, my wonderful wife has not ruled out the purchase of a car like this Ghibli. Why not the Quattroporte? It won’t fit in the third garage bay as it’s too long.
#SundayAnniversary
#WokeIsACult
#FirstUSAutomobileRace
#MaseratiGhibli
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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