DrinkMonkey

That was my initial reaction, thinking China MUST hold more treasury bonds than anyone else, right? Turns out that’s typically Japan ($1 trillion), and the UK has generally held roughly the same number as China (both in the $700B range). Maybe the US anticipated and had contingencies ready if it was just China doing the selling, but when the other big holders started a slow bleed, it might’ve given them pause? Dunno.

We also don’t know who held what more recently than January and I don’t know if the data gap is the usual lag or if the the people who do this work at the Treasury department got “DOGE’d”.

Bottom line, it’s been fun to think about but I don’t think we should put too much stock in conspiracy theories originating on Substack.

There’s a theory being batted around without too much evidence (hold tight, Snopes is on it) that Mark Carney talked European and Japanese leaders into accumulating US Treasury bonds, and then slow-selling them to make Trump squirm once he imposed the broad-brush tariffs to spook the T-bill market.

The theory sounds mostly plausible in that Carney was in Europe for closed door meetings with European leaders shortly after being designated PM, and that Trump backed off so quickly and used the language of “the bond market is tricky” to justify the change in direction. Dropping demand for T-bills leads the Fed to increase yields to keep the borrowing taps on, means expensive borrowing for them, means no money for tax cuts for billionaires.

On the other hand, the story originates from a twice-fired shock-jock’s Substack.

But it sounds like something a wicked smart Harvard/Oxford educated economist would dream up and pull off…

¯\(ツ)/¯

The deceased girl’s father insisted that measles helps build up a person’s immune system.

So here’s the thing…and I know that everyone here knows this, but it doesn’t.

Measles causes immune amnesia.

It’s pretty sneaky - integrating into respiratory tract macrophages, and avoiding destructive phagocytosis by binding directly to certain membrane receptors, and then being transported to lymph nodes where B and T cells get infected by the measles virus too. These memory B and T cells contain the memory of past infections, and when they’re destroyed (because they’re infected), you no longer have the ability to quickly ramp up a response to past infections and you get to start all over from the start.

So even if their other kids survived, their chances of dying from another infection goes up. It takes somewhere between 2.5 and 5 years for that risk to come back to baseline.

The infection itself might not have been “that bad” (despite killing one of their children) but the mortality risk isn’t over by a long shot.

…that mediocrity can pay to greatness”

All this “mediocrity” is pretty overwhelming right now.

I like these ones below. While I consider Star Trek the utopian ideal, and as a Canadian could use some Picard daddy energy in my life right now, this whole shitstorm feels more like a resistance, so went with Star Wars.

I really don’t dig the “I bought this before…” versions because they’re face saving, wordy, and somewhat defensive.

To paraphrase Office Space, “Why should I apologize, he’s the one who sucks!”

Literally wearing this shirt right now!

It’s all laid out in the final scene in Rebecca’s office, and that appears to be exactly what’s happening.

Auto guiding right now! Under 3” of error, though I don’t really know if that’s particularly good or bad. Pretty new at this!

I did get the tripod because I have no prior experience with tripods and wanted to make my life easy. I’m probably a bad judge as to its usability for other purposes, but it is definitely large. There are much sleeker options for carrying around but this sucker goes from my office to the backyard and occasionally the trunk.

I’m just under 4kg, and it works well. I’m able to get very good balance, which matters, and my focal length isn’t too long at 270mm which is forgiving.

It’s really great having a go-to mount. Saves my neck, especially with the ASIAir and plate solving.

As a beginner, it’s perfect for me with a small refractor with ALL the accessories (cooled astro camera, filter wheel, auto focusser, guide scope and camera, ASIAir).

Sure you can spend more now on something fancy like a strain-wave, but those prices are much higher and unless a big heavy scope purchase is imminent, get the GTi, use it with what you have or nab a small refractor, and pick up your next mount on the used market when it’s time for much less. It really makes things easy.

Just a friendly reminder that no conservative premier in Alberta has served a full term, nor even stood for reelection since Ralph Klein. It’s how they keep the brand fresh.