Category: News

T. rex skeleton sells for more than $5M at Zurich auction

C’mon, man, you know that’s not shipping assembled.

One wonders how much it will cost to have an expert assemble that from the container.

One also wonders if the “private collector” is the founder of Ikea. Because that would be awesome.

Study shows nearly a quarter of kids in Springfield are not prepared for kindergarten:

The Mayor’s Commission for Children’s 2022 Kindergarten Readiness Study found nearly one-quarter of Springfield kids were not prepared for kindergarten.

The commission conducts the study approximately every four years. This year, the study was prepared by Dr. Melissa Duncan Fallone from the Dixon Center for Research and Service at Missouri State University.

• A total of 360 surveys were completed by Springfield Public Schools teachers for a response rate of 80%. 2022 overall readiness results indicate 23.9% of those surveyed were not prepared for kindergarten.
• 36.6% of free and reduced lunch program students were reported as “not ready,” while 13.5% of their non-free and reduced lunch program peers reported as “not ready.”
• 53.8% of students who did not attend a formal preschool were reported as “not ready,” as compared to 20.4% of their preschool-attending peers.

I wondered what kind of hard metrics they used to determine if a child was ready for kindergarten, so I looked at the study itself. At my cursory glance, it looks like the actual hard data is simply a survey of kindergarten teachers who are asked how ready a student is, although the study references the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) “evaluation” which basically scores conditioning to school conditions and the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-3 and DIAL-4) which is… well, a quick Internet search doesn’t explain exactly what it measures in children from 4 to 6 (kindergarten age), but I did see extracts of at least one paper disputing its value.

Which means that ready for kindergarten probably tracks pretty closely with has already been conditioned to sit quietly for periods of time and to do directed activities as directed (id est, to not be a pain in the butt to the teacher) and not so much academic performance or preparedness. So, yeah, kids who have already those school-coping skills at pre-school programs that cost money would be better prepared for school than kids who spent their days with their grandparents or moms and had the run of the house or the yard but are suddenly given desks and schedules.

The report does not break down or break out other children’s activities that might accustom them to the organized activities of school, such as day care, Sunday school at church, or Vacation Bible School. Nor does it explore whether children would be more ready for school at age 6 rather than as soon as possible.

Because it’s not so much science as it is lobbying for more money and to extend the state schools’ reach in childhood.

Because I’ve seen that movie before.

Actually, I read about the movie in one of the kiddie computer magazines in like 1984–I forget which magazine, but I had a subscription to it several years before I had a computer–and I eventually watched it at some point.

I don’t have it in the library here at Nogglestead, and it’s not likely that I’ll find a videocassette of it in the wild, but one never knows.

Police investigate counterfeit money in Republic, Mo.

The counterfeit money is not exactly the highest quality:

C’mon, man, that’s not putting any effort into counterfeit money. That’s buying stage money and passing it.

Even Old 880 put more effort into it than that.

Apparently, going to the gym is getting dangerous.

• Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine brutally beaten inside Florida gym
• Punjabi actor Aman Dhaliwal ID’d as victim of bloody hatchet attack at California gym

Here in southwest Missouri, my greatest danger at the gym is that I’ll do something foolish to impress my beautiful wife, like captain’s chair leg raises:

I know it’s a good ab workout when I think I’ve contracted the stomach flu two days after the ab workout.

Woman who got B&Bs confused and climbed in man’s bed died after being ‘dragged outside’

I had a recent trip to St. Louis, and my beautiful wife asked me if I preferred an AirBNB or a hotel.

Given that I might be arriving at night, I preferred a hotel with big signs, a parking lot, and a lobby.

Because I have enough imagination to find myself entering not the AirBNB but the house/apartment/condo next door at 11pm and getting ventilated for it.

Not likely to be dragged down stairs, though, given that I’ve conquered being skinny.

Less than a month ago, I mentioned Robert Blake on this blog talking about the television show Hollywood Squares.

Robert Blake died yesterday. And the headline is “Robert Blake, actor acquitted in wife’s murder, dies at 89“. Not “Robert Blake, Television’s Baretta“. Not “Robert ‘Bobby’ Blake, Mickey in the Our Gang/Little Rascals Comedies”.

As you might recall, gentle reader, Larry McMurtry died while I was reading The Last Picture Show.

I guess that’s not a large sample size, and it’s probably because I’m an old man who often blogs about older people. But still. One can never be too careful.

A hard-hitting, ProPublica and Gannett-regurgitated piece delves into an accidental death on a dairy farm and discovers the real killers.

Apparently, the farm was mostly staffed by immigrants who might have been illegal immigrants, and the boy’s father might have backed over him with a skid steer. To be honest, although the story indicates this is the police report, it remains purposefully vague on a lot of points and casts some doubt on whether the report is accurate because the employees who were there, including the father, spoke little or no English.

But is it a tragic accident? Yes, but:

What happened to Jefferson and his father is a story of an accumulation of failures: a broken immigration system that makes it difficult for people to come here even as entire industries depend on their labor, small farms that largely go unexamined by safety inspectors, and a law enforcement system that’s ill equipped to serve people who don’t speak English.

The system failed. Not in keeping out illegal immigrants (maybe), but it not being completely bilingual and more accommodating of the immigrants.

After all, it was you and me.

I don’t mean to make light of this tragedy–I am a father myself, you know–but the authors of this piece try to make political hay of it, exploiting the tragedy for political gain.

I am not sure who will be swayed by this piece–I see it’s off of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Web page already–but rest assured, the nonprofit, its employees, and its vendors will continue to get paid.

‘Heartbreaking’: Visitor accidentally shatters Jeff Koons ‘balloon dog’ sculpture at Art Wynwood

“Accident” my patootie. All the balloons and balloon-like objects must be destroyed.

U.S. Military Shoots Down Fourth “High-Altitude Object,” This One Over Lake Huron

Who benefits from the United States using $400,000 missiles to shoot down balloons?

China.

How fast are we building replacement Sidewinders?

Objects shot down over US could be ‘alien or extraterrestrials’, Pentagon says.

Who benefits from blaming aliens? China.

(Link via Sarah Hoyt at Instapundit.)

More unhinged speculation here.

Man, I’m sounding a lot like Bill Gertz soundbites these days, but, hey, he’s had a pretty good run for 20 years sounding like Bill Gertz.

Also, I would like to state for the tribunal that although these thoughts occur to me, I only halfway believe them. But it’s getting halfier all the time.

This thought occurred to me the other morning when I was trying to not wake up at 4:00 in the morning.

Borepatch, amongst others asks:

For the life of me, I can’t see what compelling interest the USA has in war with Russia. I can see what the US Military Industrial Complex has with a war like that. And as they say, “War is the health of the State”.

But I don’t see what’s in it for us.

You mean, what is in it for the United State in burning off war materiel by shipping it to Europe? By leaving, what, $7,000,000,000 worth of stuff abandoned in Afghanistan?

I’ve seen people speculate it’s the military industry looking for profits. Meh, I don’t think the military industrial complex has been hurting for money. But you know cui bono from diminished stocks in the United States?

General is right that US, China headed to war over Taiwan by 2025: congressman

Paranoid thoughts in the middle of the night? Or history in the making? Time will tell.

Also, as a disclaimer, I don’t think war is inevitable, nor do I think it is impossible. History is full of currents, trends, and proclivities that are only manifest in events, and then we can argue about why they occurred. So it’s never clear what is to come, and it’s only marginally clearer what just happened.

I know I already covered the story about insurance companies not writing insurance for some easily stolen cars. That was based on something I saw on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Web site.

Well, the story has made it to Springfield media as we see on this KY3 story: Some insurers refusing to cover cars deemed easy to steal:

Two major auto insurers, State Farm and Progressive, will not be writing new policies on certain older Kia and Hyundai vehicles because they are so easy to steal.

Affected vehicles include those manufactured by Kia and Hyundai between 2015 and 2019 that don’t have immobilizers, which prevent the vehicle from starting if its key is not present. Most vehicles from other manufacturers with the push button start system include that technology.

Which is currently on the home page below this story: MSHP trooper struck by stolen vehicle, two suspects at large:

Three juveniles were taken into custody after a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper was struck by a stolen vehicle they were driving. Three of them were taken into custody and two remain at large.

On Saturday around 8:45 p.m., an MSHP trooper was asking for a license plate check while conducting a traffic stop for a Kia Optima on I-70 eastbound just west of Mid Rivers Mall Drive. All occupants were juveniles. Shortly after stopping the Kia, authorities say the vehicle struck the trooper and drove away, initiating a pursuit.

Not a Chevy Citation, either.

Major insurance companies halt new policies for Kias, Hyundais amid St. Louis-area theft surge:

Greedy insurance companies:

Two major insurance companies have refused to issue new policies on some Kias and Hyundais in the St. Louis region as theft rates of those vehicles remain high following last year’s surge.

In a seemingly unprecedented move, insurance behemoths such as Progressive and State Farm are declining to open new policies on Kias and Hyundais altogether, while drivers with existing plans are stuck paying increasingly high premiums.

“I’ve been in this industry for 15-plus years. It’s hard to call a precedent for this,” said Michael Barry, spokesman for Insurance Information Institute, a consumer education organization.

Cheap automakers:

Rates of stolen Kias and Hyundais exploded last year — a trend also seen nationally because of a viral TikTok video that shows how to break into and drive off in many 2011-21 models of the South Korean-made vehicles using just a screwdriver and a USB charging cable. The method can be used on some models of those cars because manufacturers did not install engine immobilizers, an electric anti-theft security device.

However, it’s more likely attributable to post-2020 explosion in crime surges and Soros-back prosecutors like the one in St. Louis who “reimagine” prosecution:

Rates of stolen Kias and Hyundais exploded last year — a trend also seen nationally because of a viral TikTok video that shows how to break into and drive off in many 2011-21 models of the South Korean-made vehicles using just a screwdriver and a USB charging cable. The method can be used on some models of those cars because manufacturers did not install engine immobilizers, an electric anti-theft security device.

Thefts of Kias and Hyundais jumped 1,450% last year in the city, from 273 to 3,958. The same was true in St. Louis County, where a jump from 140 to 1,621 marked a 1,157% increase.

Four thousand Kias and Hyundais of this type were stolen last year in the city of St. Louis. Four thousand! In a city of under 300,000 people! I am not a statistician, but I am pretty sure that is a hella lot, although it’s possible it’s the same dozen cars stolen every day.

This is a problem with lawlessness, not greedy corporations. Don’t fall for the indictment of State Farm and Progressive here. They’re not in the business of unprofitably underwriting the failures of governance. That’s what the government expects its job is.

(More coverage on the nationwide story at The Drive as seen on the Ace of Spades HQ Overnight Thread.)

John Kass mentioned on January 10 that he was scheduled for open heart surgery, but his Web site has not provided any updates on his status.

So I searched the Internet for news.

He provided an update on The Chicago Way podcast.

He’s recovering.

Green comet to appear in sky for first time in 50,000 years:

People looking at the morning sky this month might notice a rare celestial body.

NASA says a glowing green comet will make an appearance for the first time in 50,000 years.

It will have streaking tails of dust and could appear fuzzy.

The comet will be closest to the sun Thursday and closest to Earth between Feb. 1 and 2.

Night of the Comet:

The Earth is passing through the tail of a comet, an event which has not occurred in 65 million years and coincided with the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. On the night of the comet’s passage, eleven days before Christmas, large crowds gather outside to watch and celebrate.

If we survive, perhaps on February 3 I will start my screenplay for a mash-up of a zombie movie and Groundhog Day/Edge of Tomorrow.

Michael Williams has a story about how Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast/TSR is trying to screw people over with copyrights, leading to Williams’ rant about IP.

I, on the other hand, remember what TSR did to Game Designers’ Workshop and Gary Gygax over Dangerous Journeys (Gygax talks about it way down in this interview.

Mike, another friend, and I met Gygax at GenCon when he was preparing to or had just settled the lawsuit, so we got to look at the court papers (which Gygax was carrying with him, I guess). TSR was claiming copyright to things like dwarves, elves, and rolling dice.

So it’s not new that they’re playing IP games, especially now that they’re owned by bigger fish. It’s that they’ve always wanted to be the stereotypical Microsoft-style or Google-kind of monopolistic power, but they’re niche.

US renames 5 places that used racist slur for a Native woman

The word is squaw which has only recently come to be a racist slur because some people want a cudgel to beat others. If you look at the etymology of the word, and if you’re looking at an online source if you scroll past all the verbiage describing how this is a racist, vulgar, double plus ungood badthink badmouth, you’ll find this comes from a Massachusett (the tribe for which the commonwealth is named) word for woman or younger woman.

In common usage, I’ve seen the word used to describe a Native American woman (of any tribe–remember, the natives were tribal, and sometimes those tribes slaughtered other tribes–history, anyone?). So it’s a single word to describe a human person of a particular heritage. It does indicate “race,” but I haven’t seen it used much as a slur or to denigrate someone unless you already think that someone of a particular heritage is inferior. Which I don’t because most squaws are not blondes.

In my experience, it’s fallen out of common usage anyway as the cowboys and Indians mythos has fallen out of the common culture. For example, through the 90s, you see the baddest word fairly frequently, but not this other not the baddest but bad word (and if I start using that expression for not baddest word racial descriptions it will get confusing). Of course, I guess I read a lot of urban suspense novels and not a lot of things set in the southwest.

This online source usage note is rich, though:

It can be very offensive when members of the dominant culture appropriate piecemeal bits of language to imitate or perform impressions of an ethnic or racial minority. Borrowed words like firewater, squaw, and wigwam, or imitative words like how were once used for comedic effect, but they are now considered insensitive to Native Americans and their cultures.

My quibbles (which in this sense means complete disagreement with) the usage note (which is much like what you find on other dictionary sites and Wikipedia):

1. English is nothing if not a thief of words from other languages–because if they have a better or more concise way of expressing it, we want to use that. But you don’t see the Greeks and the Romans rising up, much less Hispanics or the Spanish, the Italians, or the French rising up. Well, I am sure the French try.
2. Firewater would be a compound word the natives might have borrowed from the English (I say might have because I have only seen it in pop culture sources, not original or historical documents). So how is it that English speakers would be appropriating it?

Never mind; it’s not about speaking and writing with concision. It’s about beating others with any cosh you can.

Also, if full disclosure, I used firewater in a video I shot some decade ago. Because I’m a racist. Or a pedant. Which some parts of the disculture might think they’re normalizing for me, but they’re not.