On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog

She’s the only planet we have, if we blow it, we can’t pack up and move.

There’s no Plan[et] B.

Wikipedia has an Earth Day entry, with links to other sites.

Lieutenant HRH Princess Elizabeth

It’s Queen Elizabeth’s 95^th birthday, but any celebration will be extremely limited by the death of Prince Philip. The official celebration of the Queen’s Birthday takes place in the summer when the weather is better for outdoor events.

Property and Excise are 14 today.

Tax Day has been moved to May 15^th but here’s the theme music for the day on YouTube.

This is what happens when you have small children – you dye your kitchen.

Yes, the festival of Easter, goddess of the Spring, is celebrated this time of year with the traditional symbols of fertility, the egg and the rabbit, by the people who settled around the Baltic Sea – the Teutons, Slavs, Finns, Prussians, Letts, et al. It is a festival of plenty after the hardships of winter, with the promise of new growth.

Of course, later groups took the celebration and turned it to other purposes, but I doubt Easter minds.

[An oldie from Easters past]

The BBC’s Spaghetti Harvest is still the top of the list for pranks.

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 →]