THE INTERNET IS BROKEN THIS MORNING But not completely so here's hoping I can post this after I write it. There is a big outage affecting Cloudflare, which is a big company that ostensibly protects tons of other websites from harm. They say it's already resolved but the ripple effects will continue throughout the day. It's made show prep a little challenging this morning so I shall overcome!
WE'RE COLLECTING FOOD TOMORROW AT KING SOOPERS! And you can stop by the store at Colorado and Yale and say hi, make a donation to the Food Bank of the Rockies, and maybe even meet Dave Fraser! He's coming by to do Weather Wednesday live and in person! As always I expect you to donate MORE than those goobers who listen to Michael Brown or KOA Sports. I'll see you there tomorrow at noon!
I'VE GOT THREE CABINS LEFT ON THE NEXT MANDY CONNELL ADVENTURE So if you've been thinking about it, now's the time. Find out more here, but obviously stop thinking about it and book it.
DRUG COMPANIES ARE DROPPING PRICES ON WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS Guys, there are two things in play here. First, insurance companies have simply refused to cover weight loss drugs at $1,200 a month. Drug companies haven't seen any real movement on that and it's pinching the demand side for these drugs. Second, and this is LESS important in reality though more important optically, is that Trump demanded they lower drug prices. Why do I know it's less important? Because they had already lowered the prices before Trump RX was announced. I had it on my blog when they did it. They did lower prices a bit more with the Trump deal, but I suspect that's because even the new lower priced drug was priced too high and they know it. But by giving Trump the win, they buy more goodwill from an administration that actually seems to really want to lower drug prices. It also got Medicare to cover the drug. It's a genius move.
HAVE COLORADO SKI RESORTS PRICED RESIDENTS OUT OF THE MARKET? If you are an avid skier, you can always buy a yearly pass, right? But what about if you want to take your family skiing a couple of times a year? This article breaks down the numbers but I thought I'd just ask you instead.
HOW TO MAKE THANKSGIVING MORE AFFORDABLE THIS YEAR I'm off next week so you guys are going to get my Thanksgiving content early this year. If you want to plan the perfect meal but stay on budget, this article shares how to use a Chat bot to find the best deals and stay on budget. Or just go to Walmart.com and buy their Thanksgiving bundle for $40! If you don't want to cook, The Black Eyed Pea is open for Thanksgiving and they do a great job. Lots of options for your holiday meal! How are you getting creative this year?
WILL YOU SPEND A GRAND ON THANKSGIVING? This study says people will spend an average of $1000 bucks this Thanksgiving. If you're traveling I can see it, but if you staying home this feels ridiculous. Are you doing a Friendsgiving this year? A lot folks are using this holiday season to get together beyond family, and I think that's fantastic.
WILL WE TIE FOR THIRD ON OUR EARLIEST SNOWFALL? I am not complaining ONE bit about this glorious fall that we've had, but it's getting late for the first snow. It looks like we may get something this week, but we've already moved into 4th Place on our all time latest snow index. We'll have to make it all the way to December 10th to break the record.
WHAT'S IN YOUR BALANCE? Coloradans are overachievers when it comes to credit card debt. At $4720 bucks on average, we carry the 10th highest amount of credit card debt in the country. The national average is $4180 and that is way too high. By the way, if you only make minimum payments on that debt, it would take you just over three years and $10,000 to pay it off. GET OUT OF CREDIT CARD DEBT. It's such a money and future sucking trap.
THE AI JUBILATION MEETS AI DREAD This is an interesting story about the disconnect between the companies making AI and Wall Street and how the average consumer feels about AI. Unlike the initial tech boom, which felt like a great equalization of power, this feels like a Great Replacement and people are nervous because they don't see how THEY fit in anymore. This part struck me:
AI can be unsettling even if you face no direct threat from it, just as an out-of-control border bothered people unaffected by illegal immigration. Both undermine your sense of control. “The AI fear is one hunk of meat in a stew of distrust and grievance that has been marinating for a long time,” said Micah Roberts, a partner at pollster Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the CNBC survey.
This must have been what it was like to be a laborer during the Industrial revolution. Or a scribe when the printing press was invented, but on a massive scale. All of this as tech companies working on AI have seen their stocks soar. We live in interesting times.
OUR WAR ON POLLUTION WARMED THE OCEANS At least they did according to this study. It seems when we removed all the nasty particulates from the air we removed a protective layer of gunk in clouds that may have been keeping oceans cooler. Whoops.
WE ALL AREN'T FEELING OPTIMISTIC And this polling isn't good for Americans or the Trump administration. One thing that unites us is everyone is concerned about inflation and the cost of living. Fair. But what's interesting is that folks in rural communities say they ARE hopeful for the future, mostly because they trust Trump, while urban dwellers are NOT feeling so good. Maybe because they don't trust Trump? Or they are in cities run by Democrats who making everything harder? I don't know, read more here.
WASHINGTON STATE IS UNIMPRESSED BY OUR WOLF RE INTRODUCTION And they just declined to send any more wolves here. Why? This is the money quote:
“Colorado’s ill-conceived reintroduction effort is failing on its own terms,” he said, citing the wolves that were shot by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Colorado is not caring for wolves, “yet have the audacity to ask for more” without exhausting all other alternatives, he said.
Yikes. This was from a wolf activist. This is fine by me, by the way.
THE UN APPROVES TRUMP'S GAZA PLAN And did so without a veto by Russia or China, which is nice. The plan is 20 points and puts Trump in charge of the board overseeing the rebuilding of Gaza. It remains to be seen how Hamas fits into this, but it they have any ability to run things it will end the exact same way next time that it ended this time.
LARRY SUMMERS IS OVER After a long career moving between Harvard and the political class it seems the man's very embarrassing email exchanges where he asked convicted sex offender for advice on how to cheat on his wife have been exposed. He says he's "stepping back" from public commitments now that everyone knows he's just an old horndog. Gross. Read more here if you must.
WHEN DID DENVER BECOME A LIBERAL BLANKHOLE? That is the question being asked by New Yorker Andrew Cumia after he saw Mayor Mike's video about housing teachers and firefighters with addicts and junkies. You can watch it below but it contains a good bit ot cursing.
WASHINGTON STATE'S FIRST ELECTRIC FERRY IS AN ABJECT FAILURE And this story makes me laugh. You may not realize it but Seattle has a robust ferry system to take people to and from their homes on the islands that dot Puget Sound. It's a very efficient system, I've used it often. Last year they spent $132 million to retrofit an older ferry and it's been in service since last June. Except the days they've had to remove it from service because it doesn't work. Heh. Read more here.
NO HORMONAL BIRTH CONTROL ISN'T DANGEROUS No matter what you might see on Tiktok. A long study just showed a TINY chance of women developing breast cancer while on hormonal birth control. Like TINY. But "influencers" looking for clicks have taken that to mean that hormonal birth control = cancer. Please don't get your health information from TikTok or any other social media platform without confirming it with a reliable source. This story is that reliable source.
DIA IS FINALLY MAKING A BETTER CELL PHONE LOT The cell phone lot where you wait for people to arrive is perfectly fine in and of itself. However, the location sucks SO BAD. You have to go on the wrong side of the road to get there, and getting back to the airport is a pain in the you-know-what, which is why so many people illegally park on the side of the road when they are picking someone up. Now the new cell phone lot will be on the RIGHT side of Pena Blvd with easy access to the road. I have no idea why this took so long but here we are.
BILL MAHER SCHOOLS LEFTIST PATTON OSWALT And if I'm Oswalt, I'm embarrassed to realize that I live in a bubble that unflattering news doesn't penetrate. Watch this exchange.
In this clip, he disabuses Oswalt of the notion that Democrats "stuck to science". It's magic.
It really is like we live in two different worlds. But also a reminder that being mad about what someone like Patton Oswalt says on X or BlueSky is a useless exercise because they literally know not what they do.
NO, POPPING YOUR KNUCKLES DOESN'T CAUSE ARTHRITIS Watch below or click here.
STOICISM AS AN INSIDE JOKE I am not down with his use of 'inside joke" but I agree with the sentiment here. It's the opposite of believing you're a victim.
AROD'S RABBIT HOLE FROM YESTERDAY OMG this is ridiculous. Watch below or click here.
NIKKI MINAJ IS MAGA? Apparently so, as she is speaking to the United Nations about the Christian genocide in Nigeria. Um, what? Read more here.
IT'S TIME FOR BO NIX TO GET A NICKNAME Because he's been very, very impressive and it's time.
IT'S STILL CHEAPER THAN A DUI Watch below or click here.
EPSTEIN'S VICTIMS SPEAK OUT