Let’s get normal for a change

Today is Friday, May 14th. The first vaccine was administered on this day in 1796.

Live Boston rounds up gunplay across the city over the last few days. But check out the photography. There are some amazing ~~shots~~ photos included.

There’s new guidance from the CDC. It’s all good news. We’re still masked in Massachusetts but we’ve taken one huge step in returning to normal: The aisles at Roche Brothers are back to two-way traffic. No more arrows on the floor. Hallelujah!

Another big ransomware attack, this time on the Irish Health Service. Not good.

Some members of Congress are trying to get more money for NASA‘s moon mission. There’s only one problem. NASA says it doesn’t need it.

And a Dogecoin millionaire believes in memes as money. “Memes are the language of the millennials,” he says. As someone a bit older, I’m fascinated by this and by NFT’s, and curious to see how it all plays out in the next several years.

Switching to plan b

It’s Wednesday. Exile on Main Street is 49 years old today.

Where is Q? Two data science researchers did a forensic analysis that put him somewhere on the west coast and occasionally in China and Thailand.

I think Kim Janey is taking a common sense approach to getting people out to Long Island: ferry now, bridge later. Smart.

Most of the people who haven’t yet been vaccinated are not opposed to a shot. They’re more just disorganized, or lazy. But the anti-vax folks are still a factor. Mack Lamoureux reports on the goings on in crazytown.

In the wake of the Colonial pipeline attack, Brian Krebs takes a detailed look at how the DarkSide ransomware gang does business. It’s quite an operation. And DC Police data is still being held for ransom by a different group, Babuk, which had previously wanted to get out of the business but apparently haven’t done so.

And, speaking of the Colonial attack, gasoline anxiety is starting to kick in just as people begin making plans for Memorial Day travel. That’s unfortunate.

Nearing a new normal

Today is Tuesday and that’s totally tremendous.

Voyager 1, which launched back in 1977, is phoning home from 14 billion miles away with information about plasma waves in interstellar space. That’s just crazy.

England, Northern Ireland and Scotland recorded no Covid deaths in the latest reporting period. (Wales is still catching up, reporting 3 deaths.) Closer to home, Massachusetts had 14 deaths but only 446 new cases. Just a few months ago we were looking at over 6000 new cases a day, so we’re certainly moving in the right direction. By August 1st the worst may be over.

Airline workers were on the front lines in the mask wars. Retail workers too. It’s amazing how selfish and petty people can be. These workers need a raise.

Remember all that rhetoric about blue state bailouts? We were told that states like California shouldn’t get pandemic relief because they couldn’t manage their own budgets? Flash forward: California has a $75.7B budget surplus. Sounds pretty well-managed to me.

And Donovan Leitch, who once had an incredible string of hit songs in the 1960’s, has now teamed up with David Lynch for a music video. There are no talking monkeys but it’s still very Lynchian.

Vicarious victimhood

It’s a rainy Monday. Today’s word is shrive.

What can you do about a bad judge? Not much. One guy from Groveland is trying to change that.

Two stories today on policing and politics. The first revolves around last week’s shooting in Times Square and how candidates for mayor are using it to showcase their support for public safety and the NYPD. The other looks at how most of the 12,000 police departments across the country are not like the NYPD. 90% of departments in the US have less than 50 officers. Unlike in many countries, policing here is decentralized. While that may be good in that allows local police to be closer and more responsive to their communities, it can also make reform challenging. Bug/feature.

Did Tucker Carlson get vaccinated? Inquiring minds want to know.

That ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline was a bigger deal than I thought. It could impact oil prices in the US and might lead to discussions about diplomatic or military retaliation. It’s also prompting requirements for companies operating as critical infrastructure to harden their networks against these attacks. Finally.

And LiveBoston617 reports on the arrest of a man from Leominster for gun possession. How would you describe the gun he was found with? It was… kinda funny looking. Ya. Funny looking.