Posts from — March 2021

The media was reporting this morning that my whacko Congresscritter, Matt Gaetz, was considering leaving Congress to become a media troll. Then this evening it is being reported that he is under investigation by the Feds for crossing state lines with a 17-year-old female [you’re adults, so you know what I mean].

So, basically I can look forward to the end of his stupid e-mails as he goes either to NewsMax or a SuperMax. 👿

Sundown today marks the beginning of Pesach [Passover]. The story is found in the Book of Exodus. Rather more relevant this year during a pandemic.

This is a time of Matzah [unleavened bread], Marror [bitter herbs], wine and the retelling of the story of founding of Israel.

You can, of course, just pop in a DVD of The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille’s version.

At its core this is a story of immigration and anyone claiming to be a Christian or Jew should pay attention – it’s on the FINAL EXAM.

Just as everyone knows that the 25^th of March marks the fall of Sauron after the ‘One Ring to control them all’ is melted in the fires of Mount Doom, everyone now knows Election Fraud didn’t actually exist in the 2020 Presidential race:

Ex-Trump attorney Sidney Powell’s weekslong campaign to invalidate the results of the 2020 election was not based in fact, her lawyers said Monday.

“No reasonable person would conclude that the statements were truly statements of fact,” Powell’s attorneys said in a court filing defending her against a billion-dollar defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, the manufacturer of the election equipment she claimed was involved in the conspiracy to steal the election.

It’s amazing how a $1.3 billon defamation suit can jog one’s memory.

It’s that time of year. Spring arrived at 4:37AM CDT this morning. You could have watched it come at Archæoastronomy.

The air is already filled with pollen and the live oaks are dropping last year’s leaves. The azaleas have already peaked and the pear trees are snowy with blooms.

I would note that locally we have had 12 hours or more of daylight since St. Patrick’s Day, and usually do.

Victoria Hardwick (48) turned out the Red Lantern at 22 minutes and 6 seconds after Midnight AKDT after 10 days 9 hours 22 minutes and 6 seconds of racing. She finished 2 seconds after Dakota Schlosser (39)^R.

Standings at 3:30AM CDT (0:30AM AKDT):
Finished At Deshka Landing S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
2 Aaron Burmeister (36)
3 Brent Sass (21)
4 Wade Marrs (25)
5 Mille Porsild (28)
6 Nicolas Petit (10)
7 Ryan Redington (20)
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
9 Richie Diehl (6)
10 Ramey Smyth (9)
11 Michelle Phillips (26)
12 Jeff Deeter (7)
13 Jessie Royer (24)
14 Aaron Peck (2)
15 Jessie Holmes (44)
16 Dan Kaduce (40)
17 Lev Shvarts (38)
18 Ryne Olson (14)
19 Paige Drobny (42)
20 Cody Strathe (37)
21 Matthew Failor (29)
22 Kristy Berington (4)
23 Chad Stoddard (18)^R
24 Anna Berington (13)
25 Travis Beals (33)
26 Matt Hall (17)
27 Martin Buser (34)
28 Joshua McNeal (30)^R
29 Joanna Jagow (22)^R
30 Sean Underwood (47)^R
31 Susannah Tuminelli (31)^R
32 Hal Hanson (12)^R
33 Larry Daugherty (43)
34 Will Troshynski (27)^R
35 Dakota Schlosser (39)^R
36 Victoria Hardwick (48) Φ

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, while italics indicates Yukon Quest winners. The numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers. The small “R” indicates a total rookie, while the small “Q” indicates an Iditarod rookie who has completed a Yukon Quest.

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Iditarod can be seen by selecting “Iditarod” from the Category box on the right sidebar or clicking on the Sled Dog graphic.

Standings at 6:30PM CDT (3:30PM AKDT):
Finished At Deshka Landing S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
2 Aaron Burmeister (36)
3 Brent Sass (21)
4 Wade Marrs (25)
5 Mille Porsild (28)
6 Nicolas Petit (10)
7 Ryan Redington (20)
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
9 Richie Diehl (6)
10 Ramey Smyth (9)
11 Michelle Phillips (26)
12 Jeff Deeter (7)
13 Jessie Royer (24)
14 Aaron Peck (2)
15 Jessie Holmes (44)
16 Dan Kaduce (40)
17 Lev Shvarts (38)
18 Ryne Olson (14)
19 Paige Drobny (42)
20 Cody Strathe (37)
[Read more →]

Éireann go Brách!

Well everyone agrees that he died on March 17^th, but the year is subject to debate. This is his feast day on the Catholic calendar. Enjoy as you are wont.

Wikipedia has more on Saint Patrick’s Day, if you need more.

Twenty teams have finished and 16 are still on the trail. Chad Stoddard (18)^R is on track to be the first rookie to finish and the Red Lantern is not determined as Victoria Hardwick (48) and Dakota Schlosser (39)^R are running together at the back.

Standings at 7:30PM CDT (4:30PM AKDT):
Finished At Deshka Landing S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
2 Aaron Burmeister (36)
3 Brent Sass (21)
4 Wade Marrs (25)
5 Mille Porsild (28)
6 Nicolas Petit (10)
7 Ryan Redington (20)
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
9 Richie Diehl (6)
10 Ramey Smyth (9)
11 Michelle Phillips (26)
12 Jeff Deeter (7)
13 Jessie Royer (24)
14 Aaron Peck (2)
15 Jessie Holmes (44)
16 Dan Kaduce (40)
17 Lev Shvarts (38)
18 Ryne Olson (14)
19 Paige Drobny (42)
20 Cody Strathe (37)
21 Matthew Failor (29)
[Read more →]

Dallas Seavey won the Iditarod for the fifth time at 8:08:57AM AKDT. He is now tied with Rick Swenson’s record for the most wins. He finished the 848 mile Gold Trail Loop in 7 days, 14 hours, and 8 minutes.

Jeremy Traska (5) made the decision to scratch at Nikolai ‘in the best interests of his team”. Jeremy was down to 9 puppies.

Standings at 9:45PM CDT (6:45PM AKDT):
Finished At Deshka Landing S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
2 Aaron Burmeister (36)
3 Brent Sass (21)
4 Wade Marrs (25)
5 Mille Porsild (28)
6 Nicolas Petit (10)
7 Ryan Redington (20)
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
9 Richie Diehl (6)
10 Ramey Smyth (9)
11 Michelle Phillips (26)
Beyond Skwenta S
12 Jeff Deeter (7)
13 Jessie Royer (24)
14 Aaron Peck (2)
15 Jessie Holmes (44)
At Skwenta S
16 Lev Shvarts (38)
17 Dan Kaduce (40)
18 Ryne Olson (14)
19 Paige Drobny (42)
20 Cody Strathe (37)
21 Matthew Failor (29)
[Read more →]

3/14 is Albert’s birthday and

Π Day.

I assume you have all shopped for the perfect gift.

To start: Π ≅ 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399
3751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679….

[[!!Don’t forget the time change!!]]

Dennis Kananowicz (8) made the decision to scratch at McGrath ‘in the best interests of his team”. Dennis was down to 11 puppies.

I’m going to shut down early because they are only interested the front of the race and that won’t change until the morning.

Dallas has a mandatory 8 hour rest before making the final run to Deshka Landing.

Standings at 7:30PM CDT (4:30PM AKDT):
At Skwenta S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
2 Aaron Burmeister (36)
3 Brent Sass (21)
Beyond Finger Lake S
4 Mille Porsild (28)
5 Wade Marrs (25)
6 Ryan Redington (20)
7 Nicolas Petit (10)
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
9 Richie Diehl (6)
10 Michelle Phillips (26)
Beyond Rainy Pass S
11 Jeff Deeter (7)
12 Ramey Smyth (9)
13 Jessie Royer (24)
14 Aaron Peck (2)
Beyond Rohn S
15 Lev Shvarts (38)
At Rohn S
16 Paige Drobny (42)
17 Ryne Olson (14)
18 Dan Kaduce (40)
[Read more →]

Spring forward, Fall back.

Just to screw up your life, don’t forget that Congress has stolen 2:00 to 2:59AM Sunday from you. They should at least have the decency to wait until the equinoxes to do this sort of thing. There’s barely enough daylight to do what needs to be done, much less save.

It’s a government conspiracy to make you late for church 😈

Peter Kaiser (3) made the decision to scratch at McGrath ‘in the best interests of his team”. Peter was down to 10 puppies.

Riley Dyche (16) made the decision to scratch at Iditarod ‘in the best interests of his team”. Riley was down to 9 puppies.

Standings at 10:00PM CST (7:00PM AKST):
Beyond Rohn S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
At Rohn S
2 Aaron Burmeister (36)
3 Brent Sass (21)
4 Ryan Redington (20)
5 Wade Marrs (25)
Beyond Nikolai S
6 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
7 Richie Diehl (6)
8 Michelle Phillips (26)
9 Mille Porsild (28)
10 Jessie Royer (24)
11 Nicolas Petit (10)
12 Travis Beals (33)
13 Jeff Deeter (7)
14 Aaron Peck (2)
15 Ramey Smyth (9)
16 Jessie Holmes (44)
At Nikolai S
17 Paige Drobny (42)
18 Ryne Olson (14)
19 Lev Shvarts (38)
20 Cody Strathe (37)
[Read more →]

This morning half the field is headed South.

Rick Casillo (45) made the decision to scratch at McGrath ‘in the best interests of his team”. Rick was down to 13 puppies.

All of the teams on the trail have finished their 24-hour rest stops, but many still have to take their 8-hour stop, which must happen at or before Rohn.

Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):
Beyond McGrath S
1 Dallas Seavey (23)
At McGrath S
2 Brent Sass (21)
3 Wade Marrs (25)
4 Ryan Redington (20)
5 Aaron Burmeister (36)
6 Travis Beals (33)
7 Mille Porsild (28)
8 Michelle Phillips (26)
Beyond Ophir S
9 Richie Diehl (6)
10 Peter Kaiser (3)
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (41)
12 Jessie Royer (24)
13 Aaron Peck (2)
14 Jeff Deeter (7)
At Ophir S
15 Ramey Smyth (9)
16 Paige Drobny (42)
17 Ryne Olson (14)
18 Jessie Holmes (44)
19 Nicolas Petit (10)
20 Lev Shvarts (38)
21 Cody Strathe (37)
[Read more →]