DrW

We have been living in Lubbock now for nearly 20 years. It is an excellent place for raising kids - very good public schools and very affordable housing.

My sleeper: Erik Ezukanma WR Texas Tech Living in Lubbock (TTU pays me to teach biochemistry), I am watching every Texas Tech game. Erik has good size (6'2" to 6'3", 210 to 220, depending on the source) but plays even stronger, fighting for YAC with defenders hanging on to him. He is the best WR Texas Tech had since Michael Crabtree (admittedly, so far he has not reached Crabtree's level). He was a clear day 2 candidate after the 2020 season. An injury and the atrocious pay of the Texas Tech QBs in 2021 dropped his stock.

- Rufus T. Firefly: Do you realize our army is facing disastrous defeat? What do you intend to do about it? - Chicolini: I've done it already. - Rufus T. Firefly: You've done what? - Chicolini: I've changed to the other side. - Rufus T. Firefly: We're in a mess. Rush to Freedonia! Three men and one woman are trapped in a building! Send help at once! If you can't send help, send two more women! - Rufus T. Firefly: Lieutenant, why weren't the original indictment papers placed in my portfolio? - Bob Roland: Why, uh, I didn't think those papers were important at this time, Your Excellency. - Rufus T. Firefly: You didn't think they were important? Do you realize I had my dessert wrapped in those papers? - Rufus T. Firefly: Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.

One of the best bands from Down Under... And they could do more than straight rock...

As we mentioned Wire in the Roxy Music thread...

Saw Roxy Music once in 1980 in the"Kuppelsaal" in Hannover, which is normally a classical music venue (with chandeliers). Warm-up act was Wire, a pretty stark contrast to Roxy Music. Still, probably the third-best convert I ever attended (nobody beats Zappa at 1 and 2).

Well, I am aware that most Americans do not see soccer as a real sport, but Major League Soccer follows the international rules for league play where ties are allowed. However, in case of a tie both teams are "punished" as a tie gets both teams only one point each, while in a game with a winner the winner gets three points.

Since introduction of the NFL commissioner position in 1941, all commissioners have been white males. Roger, why don't you step down and make place for a minority commissioner?

As I am a sucker for non-4/4 rhythms here we have a little waltz...

This 4-hour time limit. Do you expect everyone to set their alarms at night?

Texans and Bills: The Texans traded the No. 203 and No. 212 picks to the Bills for the No. 174 pick. With 203 the Bills selected Stevenson, with 212 Wildgoose.

Starting in the 1970s, German public TV would present a few times a year a live "Rockpalast" concert. Among the hundreds of groups which appeared on Rockpalast were the Grateful Dead, the Who, the Talking Heads, U2, ... Here is the 1977 concert of a very unique band...

For three years in the mid-1990s my then-girlfriend, now-wife was a postdoc in Montreal while I worked in Rochester. About every other weekend we would alternate visiting the each other. Several times each winter there were nasty storms. Especially bad was the lake-effect snow on the I-81 between Pulaski and Watertown. Often the best thing to do was to wait for the next snow plow and follow it. Well, I should not complain too much as I was protected by several tons of metal in the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, while she did the trip in an old Ford Escort.

According to Kansas State University https://www.k-state.edu/mcnair/names/alumni/samuel_b.html Samuel Brinton, M.S. they/them Education: Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering and vocal music (May 2011) Master of Science in nuclear science and engineering (technology and policy) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology This should take care of the competence issue.

My daughter sent me this. For a group of 11 to 17 year olds, their mastery of the instruments is astonishing. The vocals will improve when they get older.

She was not afraid to express her opinion... https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/madeleine-albright-once-infuriated-vladimir-210609378.html

Interesting topic. For me, college was actually the time where it was easiest for me to make friends; usually, I am not very social. Of course, the circumstances in Germany where I grew up are different from the US. It is assumed that when you have finished high school (which, due to differences in the school system, applies to about 30-40% of all kids), you know enough about all general subjects. Thus, e.g. when you study biochemistry (as I did), you have classes in biology (botany, zoology), math, physics, and (mostly) chemistry and biochemistry, but not in languages, history, or ballroom dancing. All of the chemistry, biochemistry, and physics classes had labs, where you have more contact with your classmates. All together, with about 10 biochemistry and 40 chemistry majors in my class, this means that you are permanently around the same group of people. Thus, forming social bonds was nearly automatic. One other relevant difference between the US and Germany is the drinking age. In Germany, when you start college/university at 18, you are allowed to drink alcohol in public. Thus, when you finish your zoology lab at 6 pm after having dissected a frog, and some classmates ask you to join them for a beer in a close-by pub, the answer is easy.

Well, you guessed wrong. We have state inspections in Texas. The problem seems to be more on the enforcement side. You need a current state inspection for the annual re-registration. However, when you walk over a random parking lot, I would guess that 10-20 % of the vehicles have an expired registration - sometimes by a year or more.

Dedicated to the brave Ukranians...

A plug for the local boy: In the 7th round the Bills will select what later turns out to be the steal of the draft - Erik Ezukanma (Texas Tech). Seriously, after the 2020 season he might have been a 2nd/3rd round pick. Last season he was not quite as successful due to injury and the atrocious play of the TTU QBs. He has good hands for contested catches and fights for YACs.

This reminds me of a statement in an article about preserved Santa Fe steam locomotives: "There are two surviving AT&SF 2-8-2 "Mikado" type locomotives. These two locomotives (numbers 3167 and 4076) were lost in a flood in 1952 and are now sunk in the Kaw River in Topeka, KS." https://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=2-8-2&railroad=atsf

What about the other half of JA after the split, Hot Tuna? First a traditional... and then something from their heavier phase...

My favorite JA song (well, a tie with "White Rabbit"). I always liked them when they were a bit more experimental. Grace on vocals, Jorma on guitar, and Nicky Hopkins on piano (reminiscent of his piano parts in "She's a rainbow" by the Rolling Stones) are the highlights.

To promote the Austin, TX scene (both our kids are UT)... And as I have a special place in my heart for everything that does not have the standard 4/4 time signature...

The pre-Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac versions were so much better. Here are even earlier examples of the Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green... (Youtube does not allow embedding of this video.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8v_OC3zWCM