Welcome to next year!
Not very long ago this year was next year. In about a year this year will be last year. For the moment since I'd still kinda like to be on a beach in Mexico, I'm saying I'm currently in next year. If you're confused, don't worry: so am I.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. My family did...nicest in some time though I must admit to passing out on Sunday night not just before midnight (because I never stay up that late) but before my usual thing of watching the ball drop in NYC at 10 PM our time. Just couldn't get there.
Kristen and I and one kid went to Playa del Carmen. At the last minute (or at least just a couple of days before we left) the older kid decided he didn't want to go. My kids grew up in the Boulder County foothills, near Nederland, at around 8300 feet, and they just don't dig heat or humidity. We'll see how they handle Cairo in March on our big trip with listeners though actually it's usually lovely there in spring, I'm told.
So the three of us went to Chichen Itza (highly recommend, but you gotta leave the Riviera Maya at about 6:30 AM to get there when it opens or you'll be stuck in miserable lines of cars and people and massive throngs around everything inside. It's quite specatcular, though, and worth a visit. I recommend getting in touch with this guy (Jeroen Alst) for any and all tours you'd be considering in the Yucatan, including swimming with whale sharks which I want to do one day: Home - Private Day Tours, Private Day Tour Chichen Itza, Chichen Itza (alsttravel.com) His English is near-perfect (due to being raised in Holland) but he's married to a Mexican gal and has been there for nearly 25 years and has great knowledge and connections and is full of amazing stories about things he's done in his life. (He's also not short of opinions, and I rather enjoyed listening to someone else's for a change rather than giving my own.)
My son and I went fishing for a few hours one morning. It was VERY calm...too calm for good ocean fishing...but at some point after moving from place to place we found a spot with the mother lode of triggerfish and I think we caught almost all of them. We took some back to the condo we rented (more info on that if you want it...just email me) and cooked some and made ceviche from some, but left the majority with the guide and boat captain. And wow was that fish tasty. I mean, if I had that fish at a restaurant I would not have been disappointed.
Kristen and the kid went parasailing, sitting in a harness under a parachute being towed behind a boat and going up a couple hundred feet. I was watching from probably half a mile away and couldn't see them individually but just seeing the parachute gave me the willies. No way I want to go up that high. They had a great time, including a fast Wave Runner (like a big Jet Ski) from the beach to the boat and back again.
Ate some good food in Playa though the best was away from the tourist areas. Yes, the tourist areas were very crowded but still it wasn't nearly as annoying as Bali or even Cancun, both of which are full of drunk 20-somethings. Playa was much more family-oriented and I'd say around half of the tourists were Mexican. The Mexican people are really friendly, even when trying to nag you into a store to buy tequila. A few times a day, some dude would say "I remember you from the hotel...I was your waiter. Come look at my family's store." But we were at a condo, not a hotel, with no restaurant and no waiters. Gotta give 'em credit for trying.
I managed to read quite a bit but less of it was while sitting in the sun than I had hoped so I return about as pasty white as when I left. I guess my dermatologist is happy, or would be if I had one.
I don't like New Years resolutions but I did make one. I won't tell you what it is specifically but it focuses on being a better parent in a particular way. I hope I can fulfill it.
I hope you had a great week and I'm looking forward to getting back to our daily conversations in a world that doesn't seem to be getting any less interesting.
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Just One Thing: We're from the government and we're here to help
Welcome to 2024. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Because the government is here to help you, here are some laws that take effect as of now. The Family and Medical Leave Act, having pilfered 700 million from workers and employers so far, will now take applications for people taking time off to care for kids or loved ones or for illness. There are at least 5000 applications pending already and I think it’s not long because our taxes are raised again. No more single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and no more Styrofoam cups and takeout containers from restaurants, though the restaurants can use up existing inventory. A right to repair your own farm equipment without having to use near-monopoly and overstretched dealership technicians. I hope you feel much better now.
Colorado workers can start taking paid family leave Jan. 1 (coloradosun.com)
There are quite a few more...read 'em below:
Six new Colorado laws that go into effect in the new year - Colorado Newsline
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Today's Guests
Josie Hubbard is an animal behavior researcher at UC Davis who was part of a project done in conjunction with the SETI Institute in which they communicated with a whale named "Twain" in an experiment that they hope might facilitate future interactions between humans and non-Earth intelligences.
Scientists had a 20-minute “conversation” with a humpback whale named Twain (msn.com)
If you're super into this, here's MUCH more and for biology nerds it's fantastic:
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We'll also have KOA's own Ryan Edwards talking about the Russell Wilson saga that blow up over the past week. One question I'm interested in is whether Ryan seens any way to repair the rift and keep Wilson...and if he'd want to see that if it were possible. See the links in "Other Stuff" below...
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Other Stuff
This was clearly the big political news in Colorado while I was away: Lauren Boebert switches congressional districts ahead of 2024 election (coloradosun.com)
Colorado GOP told Lauren Boebert a district swap would be a mistake. She did it anyway (msn.com)
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We'll talk about this with Ryan Edwards:
And...The biggest football story of the past week was right here in Broncos Country, and here's a little more detail: NFL Network report throws Russell Wilson directly under the bus (predominantlyorange.com)
Broncos Russell Wilson: Asked to adjust contract or risk benching | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)
Separately, this has been a disastrous year for NFL officiating:
Calls Mount for Bengals-Chiefs NFL Officiating Crew to Be Investigated (msn.com)
NFL reportedly downgrading Lions-Cowboys officiating crew heading into playoffs - mlive.com
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This is probably important: Gallup offers four high-level trends they see in America...I'm not a big any of any of them, really, even the decline in religion (and I say that because I'm not religious, although I am clearly a member of one particular faith.): Crisis in Confidence 2023 (gallup.com)
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One thing that doesn't change regardless of the year: California politicians willing to sacrifice that state's own people to chase the wokest and most anti-science of agendas: Electric Mandates Have California Truckers Charging Overtime - WSJ (archive.ph)
To be fair, it's possible (even probable) that at some point, battery and charging technology will catch up with driver demand. Still, when you get to that point you're going to have to be generating a lot more electricity and that's going to require nuclear power, something very many of the anti-human radicals on the environmental left aggressively and mindlessly oppose.
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Seriously, this is happening in Carbondale, CO, population ~6,500: Influx of migrants in Carbondale prompts $5 million in state emergency funding for local communities (denverpost.com)
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That's a heck of an achievement: Taylor Swift breaks Elvis Presley’s record for most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart (foxnews.com)
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I think I've said almost all of this, but Bill Barr has more credibility on the law than I do: Bill Barr: I Oppose Trump—and Any Efforts to Ban Him From the Ballot | The Free Press (thefp.com)
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It's always true: tariffs are bad for consumers and are paid by domestic purchasers not the foreign exporters: Tariffs and the Common Man - WSJ
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If you’ve ever been in or around the military, this won’t surprise you. But it’s important that you let others know.
The Military’s Phantom ‘Extremists’ - WSJ
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RTD slashes fares and monthly passes in changes that begin Jan. 1 (denverpost.com)
They want "equity, simplicity and affordability". OK, sure, but how about financial sustainability? I mean, theoretically IF a fare is worth more than the marginal cost of providing the particular transportation, which is likely the case, then RTD COULD improve its finances if lots more people use it because of the lower cost. It's not insane conceptually. I just think it won't work. I'm not sure if I hope I'm wrong. I just can't help but feel like the Nanny-Staters are always trying to push us to ride buses and trains and mostly I don't want to...and really never will.
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Look, I don't misunderstand fiction to be nonfiction or dystopian possible futures to be likely cases but somehow it still seems a bummer that one can actually imagine another American Civil War. Even if it's a 0.01% probability. The movie will come out in spring and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a big hit. Will be interesting to see if reviewers claim that it has political bias one way or the other. If the movie makers are smart, they'll mostly try to avoid that, and show good and bad people and good and bad thinking on "both sides" (as if America should have "two sides").
What Caused The Civil War In A24's New 2024 Movie? (screenrant.com)
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Imagine the utter chaos here if the Supreme Court turned down laws that the majority found "unreasonable" (regardless of whether they're constitutional). I mean, I know some people think this is already what happens but I don't. This is what happens in Israel and now the Supreme Court there by the narrowest vote possible (8-7) struck down a law that would have stopped them from being able to overturn laws created by the nation's legislature. I know that some of the judicial reforms proposed by Netanyahu went too far, but not all of them and frankly most of the world's left-leaning media has done no favors to anybody with their biased coverage of the issues. It would have been one thing if this had been 11-4 or something like that, but with an 8-7 vote that makes ongoing turmoil even more likely...or at least just as likely since it was already very likely. The only question right now is whether Israelis will continue to put off these debates until after the war is over.
Israeli court scuttles Netanyahu reform amid troop pullout: Updates (usatoday.com)
One interesting take: Israeli minister says she ‘sinned’ for her role in reforms that tore country apart - POLITICO
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The release of these names could come today. Just being on this list will be a little embarrassing but we shouldn’t assume that anyone named was involved in illegal or immoral activity. Maybe just very bad judgment. OR…maybe illegal or immoral activity, just saying let’s not assume it.
Bill Clinton to be identified in previously redacted Jeffrey Epstein documents: Report (foxnews.com)
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Don't fall for it (though the victims in this specific type of crime are likely to be outside the US): Chinese student found in U.S. woods after 'cyber kidnapping' scam - The Japan Times
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Today's Videos
OK, some classic sitcom stuff
Asian "murder" hornets are scary
Kinda dumb but slightly amusing
Also kinda dumb tu slightly amusing