Survive and Advance

Well, that was... an interesting Duke game.  It was certainly exciting, and for 80% of it my thoughts were "There is no way this team can win this game" and "For all of the NIL money they are getting, we deserve better."  I mean, all of the missed FT, the unfinished layups, the stupid turnovers; it really is a bit much.  To be sure, St. John's regressed to the mean on 3s, Duke played a bit better, Caleb Foster did his Willis Reed impression, Duke went to the line 24 times for 8 for St. John's (nothing to see there), and... I am not sure?  The Brotherhood pulled it out?  I was making (and still am!) a seven-layer jello for a family fest, otherwise I would have had a coronary.

I have decided that the only way to make sure the jello layer are perfect is that you have to wait a full 30 minutes for each one to set.  Yes, it takes time, and yes I could let the bottom layers bleed a bit, but that would not be right, and we all know how I feel about that.  In the meantime, I can do all sorts of things -- laundry, paperwork, not cleaning my house.

I went to the PSRCH today to attend the Communion of All Saints fish fry and meet their new Conference President.  Getting there was a bit of an adventure -- traffic and East Side driving certainly made it an interesting trip.  The food was...pretty good?  Decent-sized cod filet, seasoned well, nice presentation.  Bit pricey but quite solid.  The natives were friendly, though I couldn't but feel like a lion in the Daniel's den.  I didn't stay long, as I had to get to Stations (not missing it with the Duke game) and I made it just in time.  Last evening Stations, as Holy Week is upon us!

My sister gave me a pile of photos, and I took some time this evening to put them into an album.  I have a whole box of them, and I was thinking I really should looking through these things more, and I should echo my mother and start labeling them... of course, there are so many other things to do, as with so many other thigs in life... 

Crashing

 I meant to post last night and ended up falling asleep on the floor.  Oops.  Tonight there is NCAA hoops, so that won't happen, even if the late games are not particularly compelling.  The Purdue-TX game... crazy ending.  One keeps waiting for Purdue to choke, but they have actually done pretty well -- just not won it all yet.

Jay Bilas calls out 'laughable' double standard after Will Wade leaves NC State for LSU
Quite true, but to me the issue is that Wade was fired for... NCAA violation...from LSU.  His successor struggled in part because he had to deal with the scholarship reduction and such caused by Wade.  Now you bring him back?  I realize this is the NCAA and the SEC (at that), and the school that hired Brian Kelly, but... they seem to have replaced Louisville as the place where ethics go to die.

You know, it was quite nice today for about 8 hours -- 70 and sunny and warm.  I took a walk outside just to enjoy it.  Of course, that wouldn't last, and you saw it get darker and colder as the evening went on, followed by rain and storms.  I was driving home from the gym and saw/heard the lightning and thunder; it appears we missed the wind here (I hope).  But my plan to shut off the furnace has been delayed.  For now.

Iran built a vast camera network to control dissent. Israel turned it into a targeting tool
This is...almost sad.  More seriously, this is yet another reason NOT to have the surveillance network -- letting anyone hack into these things is... unwise?  To say nothing of the privacy concerns, not that that is a concern anymore -- not in this era of Only Fans (the economics fascinate me, if nothing else), TikTok, and all of that.  I realize I am a curmudgeon and a Luddite, but I think I prefer a world where we see less of each other.

A Practical and Ugly Way to Fix America (Most of You Will Hate This Answer)
I rather agree -- and find that voting GOP is a solution for every problem -- but there are two issues.  First, you need to get rid of the government unions, and no one seems to want to do that.  Second, in Ohio, voting GOP isn't that helpful if the people you elect don't act like Republicans... between Mike DeWine, the SB6 scandal... well, I am not exactly sure that Vivek is the solution, but he is something of an outsider, and that is... nice?  He just has to be electable...

Fireworks

Had a meeting and a haircut in Lakewood today, and I have to admit:  it is nice to visit and drive through, but driving there is like driving on the East Side, which makes me wonder why I do it.  Of course, I also note that there are a bunch of interesting restaurants there that I need to try.  I should try to find the ones with decent parking first, I guess.  To be sure, I am overdue for restaurant tourism, but I have been parish fish-frying, so the funds earmarked for food are being spent, just elsewhere.  Lent is almost over, so... we can resume our usual duties.

My blood sugars were much better today, and while it is one day, the more serious re-adjustment of injection sites might be the cause.  Not proclaiming victory yet, but... let's keep an eye on it.  And still feel sheepish about it.  It would also be nice to be able to reduce insulin use a bit, for a bunch of reasons -- I do have a dislike of putting stuff in me, no matter the results.

‘He has to justify what he did’: Black leaders slam JB Pritzker after Illinois primary - POLITICO
This amuses me, as I am at a loss as to what they will do to him....vote Republican?  Shit on his budget?  Deep-six his Presidential ambitions?  As with so many other things, I will believe it when I see it.

Source: Hubert Davis fired as North Carolina hoops coach
As a Duke fan, I fully support this move, as I think Davis is quite a solid coach, and I am not sure that anyone else out there could do as good of a job as he has done.  I realize he had not won enough (for some) and UNC is like tOSU in that you don't necessarily have a retirement dinner, but...

Syracuse Women’s Hoops Coach Calls Having to Face UConn in NCAA Tournament a ‘Personal Attack’

This seems a bit strong?  First, coach better?  I mean, not saying it doesn't suck to get blown out by Syracuse, but lots of teams do.  Second, it is the NCAA rules that are keeping them close to UCONN; if they were the #9 seed in the West and lost to UCLA...is that better?  Finally, a personal attack?  Good Lord, I doubt anyone on the women's selection committee even cares...

Mattie Tries Something New

The NIT is the mid-major tournament we all wanted
You know, they are right; the NIT is doing what people always say they wanted -- a place for good mid-major teams to play other quality teams on somewhat even terms.  That said, the NCAA isn't doing the NIT, or, for that matter, the Women's Tournament, any favors by airing most of the games at the same time as the Big Dance.  Let's face it, no one -- or very few -- are watching, which is a shame, as several of the games have been as close and compelling as the main action.  I realize there are only so many hours in a day, and there are so many games, but... it is still not good.

Went to the endocrinologist today to discuss -- among other things -- the issue of my Dawn phenomenon, and he suggested I rotate my injection sites, and even showed me where I could inject.  I guess I had forgotten about it -- if I am hitting scar tissue it won't take -- and while I am not sure that it will work, I am willing to try.  I have to admit, it was...unsettling for him to rattle off these rare conditions that could be the cause, followed by him telling me that as I didn't have any of those symptoms... well, lovely.

Finished my current read, The Washington War, which looks at the war inside DC with FDR and his advisors during WWII.  Interesting; for all of the wise decisions he made during the way -- most of which were let the generals and the admirals fight the war -- it certainly seemed that FDR let too much go in the way of infighting and internal fighting, and it is not unfair to say that we won in spite of this.  It is correct to say that once the industrial might of the US got started it would not stop, but the delays certainly impacted how we fought the war.  Which meant that the USSR moved farther west instead of us moving east, and we all know how that came out.

Ins and Outs

Friday night I crashed on the floor -- the evening games were sort of blowouts, and I think I just lost interest.  Last night I was tired and went to bed after the games, but it was quite the day of action -- Duke managed to pull away in the second half, as it often has done...but it was a close run thing for most of it.  I don't want to say that Dixon stopped coaching after the T, but...Duke really pulled away then and he didn't seem to do anything.  Odd.  Then of course we had Nebraska-Vandy -- speaking of a close-run thing -- and Arkansas needed everything to get past High Point.  To say nothing of Texas upsetting Gonzaga.  This is what we like about March!

Matt Painter, Nate Oats Blast Mid-Major Scheduling Debate During NCAA Tourney | OutKick
Dare I say that they are both partially correct, but the general point is that Power Conference teams seldom schedule good mid-major teams.  I realize there are more schools with Little Sisters of the Poor resumes, but no one seems to think they try.  These comments do not help.

The usual Church-gym today, and then home to do some laundry and some other chores.  Glacial house cleaning continues -- dust will be there, March Madness will not -- but between that and some work I will be hopping today.  Hard to believe Palm Sunday is next week and then Easter -- need to get the kielbasa and Paska bread sooner rather than later!

The Long Shadow of a Lie: The Duke Lacrosse Rape Hoax, 20 Years Later | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
Again, the people who perpetrated this were never punished, compared to the people who were actually punished for doing nothing wrong...  Mind you, there wasn't any contrition from the school (actual contrition) and there should have been.  Sometimes, people need to go...pour encourager les autres.

A little too much madness...

Well, that was an interesting first-round game for Duke.  Down by double-digits at the half to a 16-seed (one I thought was not a 16-seed, but...)?  Mind you, that game stayed out of reach for Duke for several minutes into the second half -- poor shot selection, poor ball control, you name it.  To be sure, the defense tightened in the second half, and while the Saints made some shots when it counted...at the end of the day, talent won out, but barely.  I cannot imagine what TCU is thinking.  I was thinking that all of the money spent on this roster, I expected...more.  

To be sure, the games got a little better.  I had High Point over Wisconsin -- that was exciting, and while BYU was a hit, I was quite pleased with VCU -- I went out for dinner (it has been a long week) and they were down.  I arrived home to see them tie UNC, take them to OT, and win.  Very sad!  I mean, most games are going the way people expect (Saint Louis was underseeded as well, I think)...it seems like Illinois has too much height for Penn.  

High Point coach calls out major teams after March Madness upset over Wisconsin | Fox News
Mostly true?  I mean, most times the Power conference teams will win, but if they never play a good mid-major, you never find out.  Again, until the Selection Committee fixes this, this problem will continue.

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That ‘Oldest Site in the Americas’ Claim Just Took a Massive Hit
Interesting.  This has always fascinated me -- the idea that the Clovis people were the oldest/first seems off, given the timeline, but then the idea that this site is twice as old also seems odd.  I can see why people defend it -- you want to really hammer in the nail of the Clovis casket -- but then you need other sites.  Yes, I am aware of the Solutrean hypotheses, and the fact that most of the sites are underwater, but...

Nolte: Why Cesar Chavez Suddenly Became Politically Inconvenient to the Left
Submitted without comment!

3News investigates: North Royalton moves to fire officer who filed whistleblower complaint against top police brass
Didn't Nort Royalton not-so-long ago have an officer who made fake DUI arrests (i.e., arresting innocent people)?  And now this?   Again, if only we were a state run by Republicans and could go and investigate these things if they wanted....

Linx

The Miami game tonight was...impressive?  Interesting?  Fairly or not, for a lot of people, this was their first test against a "real" team, and they...handled it?  Certainly, the 3-point accuracy was the key.  That said, I thought they played defense quite well, minimized errors, and... good ball movement?  It seemed like they were able to break the zone just enough to force SMU to play man, and they then shot well enough to negate that.  Will it work again?  Prolly not, but for one night, it was...glorious.

Senate Republicans worry they’re losing ground in the midterms - POLITICO
Well, yes... they should be.  To be sure, POTUS should have thought of this as well, and while there is still time to turn things around....sooner is better than later.

Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years - The New York Times
‘Hard to absorb’: Chavez allegations stun Newsom, top Democrats - POLITICO
Is it me, or is the timing of this most curious?  Why now?  It appears this was an open secret for quite a while -- such as when he was alive and could be confronted about this.  Is he guilty?  Probably, but... how do we give him a chance to defend the allegations?  (Especially as these are Democrats who would give any other criminal 100 chances!)  On the right of course they are saying that there are other reasons for the timing, and while I do not necessarily agree, I do not necessarily disagree....

Got an Idea About Who Robbed the Gardner Museum? Get in Line. - The New York Times
Interesting.  Of course, the main issue is...where are the paintings?  Most people suspect -- sadly -- that these things are no more -- which would be an incredible tragedy.  The fact that everyone seems to have bought the farm...

John Bengtson, Modern-Day Silent-Film Sleuth, Dies at 68 - The New York Times
Interesting read.  As the article notes, you are going back in time when you watch a silent film, and that is one of the reasons I really like them.  This is pretty cool, actually, that people go around and look for these things -- the industry was not quite where it was now, and people did just start shooting if they liked a spot, and not necessarily on a sound stage...