Weekend January 21-22--

Saturday--

An interesting question came up in our conversations this morning: How many voters voted for down ballot candidates but not for a Presidential candidate. The Oracle of Google has provided at least a partial answer. In fourteen states the down ballot candidates out polled the presidential candidates significantly. Wyoming would have been the fifteenth if the "none of the above" category (which is allowed in that state) had been included with those who didn't vote for president but did vote category.

Sunday--

Nimue Brown has a nice little piece on clutter. I have read pieces over the last couple of years about the "de-cluttering" movement (I guess you could call it.) Nimue is right that the philosophy is underpinned by a simple sounding assumption: we all have too much stuff. Sometimes that is true--sometimes not so much. I have gone through periods of de-cluttering. When I realized that I wasn't going to go back to science related course work I got rid of most of the advanced material I had held onto for almost a decade. I kept a (very) few basic books though I am more likely these days to Google a specific question than seek an answer in a book. When I realized that I wasn't going to go back to academic history I purged my library once again keeping a few favorites. But the clutter remains. I have needlework projects in every stage of development from barely a thought in the recesses of my brain, to just started, to halfway done, to almost done, to finally finished. Some I haven't picked up in a decade but will--someday soon...maybe. I finally got the floss stash pretty well organized and I don't add as much stuff to the stash as I once did. But the needlework keeps me sane in our insane world as do the books I have kept and still buy at a much slower rate than I used to. I think I would hate a thoroughly organized and de-cluttered space. It would be suffocating.

I notice the so-called "main"stream media didn't carry any of this in their sound bites. All those who voted for him hoping he would get us out of our various (and largely unsuccessful) wars of choice may regret their votes. His "America First" slogan doesn't preclude more wars of choice for any spurious reason his fevered simulacrum of a brain comes up with at any given time.