One way ticket

Today is Tuesday. The most random day.

A bonkers millionaire who ran for president has been arrested for tax evasion.

With a budget shortfall looming, service cuts are coming to the MBTA, especially ferry lines and the commuter rail. And when those cuts come, they’re likely here to stay.

“Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” An odd thing to say under the circumstances. Maybe replace the ‘dominate your life’ with ‘threaten my reelection’ and it starts to make a little more sense. But still, weird.

Three scientists, including Andrea Ghez from MIT, won the Nobel Prize this week for work on black holes. And Sir Roger Penrose, the Isaac Newton of our time, was one of the three.

And speaking of black holes, the trade deficit (as opposed to the budget deficit, which is $3 trillion dollars) is at $67.1 billion, up 5.9% in August. Good times.

For no apparent reason

Wednesday. Halfway up the ladder of the week. Happy Birthday Billy Preston.

Fargo is back later this month with season 4. Here’s the trailer. Another great cast.

Joan Vennochi is prone to nitpicking our local political leaders but she likes the fact that Charlie Baker activated the National Guard for no apparent reason. Go figure.

Canadians not only have fast internet speeds, they’re also quick witted.

You can buy a circuit board with LEDs that show where MBTA trains are (HT to Reddit). I wouldn’t exactly call it “visually stunning” but it is pretty cool, in a nerdy sort of way. Get yours today.

And a new scientific study has determined that cyclists are better walkers than walkers are.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

It’s Thursday, August 27th, and the Internet has gone mad.

Coleman Herman asked T employees why they weren’t wearing their masks. Judging by the answers it doesn’t appear that a culture of customer service has been instilled in the workforce.

The most popular Republican governor in the country wasn’t even invited to the Republican National Convention. In normal times that would seem strange. At the convention, the Vice President bemoaned the violence now going on in Kenosha but warned that you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America. The fact is, the federal government has very little to do with protests and violence in the streets, except for creating the larger conditions that could lead to them. And that is clearly what’s happening today in Donald Trump’s America.

Tom Cruise went to the movies to see Tenet. Thumbs up, apparently.

We’re getting a peek at what the new normal will look like. Boston area businesses were surveyed and the consensus is that remote work is here to stay, even after coronavirus concerns have passed. Gartner found the same thing on a larger scale.

And remember those mysterious seeds that people were receiving? Turns out it was probably just brushing, in which online sellers send random people free things to boost their own presence in the marketplace by then writing glowing reviews for themselves that appear to come from verified buyers. Seeds are lightweight and cheap, and perfect for this scam.

Skin in the game

Tuesday, I think. Right?

He was a nice guy that we all knew from TV.

There was shock and outrage from the defense bar after prosecutors asked for a higher bail for a homeless man accused of robbery when it became clear that the Massachusetts Bail Fund would pay his way. But I’m with the DA on this one. Bail is a surety to insure that the defendant will appear at trial. Why would an indigent person show up for a trial that could end up with them being convicted and incarcerated when they had nothing to lose by avoiding it?

The MBTA is scrambling to find money to keep the lights on. It looks like a little bit of creative bookkeeping may be involved.

The NYT reports that Irish government officials are dropping like flies in the wake of GolfGate. Who thought that a large private dinner gala for senior officials at a hotel in Clifden in the middle of a pandemic was a good idea? “This was in the context of people having been very compliant here with the coronavirus regulations, rather more so than in many other countries,” a professor at Trinity College told the Times. “Some people didn’t even go to parents’ or grandparents’ funerals.” So yes, I can see why people are upset.

And some putz on LinkedIn wrote that New York City was dead forever. “Are .. You .. Kidding .. Me?!”

On down the line

Monday morning. January 20th. MLK day.

Garrappolo is going to the Super Bowl without us.

There’s still time to bid on a bunch of old MBTA trolleys. Not sure what you would do with them but I suppose with a little imagination you could come up with something.

In an op-ed, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, writes that AI is too important not to be regulated.

I’m just catching up on these details about the Christmas Party from hell that left 3 dead or seriously injured and several more in jail.

NYT: “Amazon customers use Amazon cameras to watch Amazon contractors deliver Amazon packages.” Never thought of it like that but it pretty much sums up Ring.

And in the battle between environmentalists and single-use plastic bags, the bags are winning.

Dead weight

Sunday. Highs in the mid thirties today.

According to Reddit and the World Index, Boston comes in at #8 in the top cities with the highest quality of life.

The Globe is starting to notice the gap between reality and promise in the state executive branch. I think Baker has done a reasonable job under the circumstances, especially with the Registry and MBTA. It’s hard to manage/reform unionized agencies that have been seeded with political job seekers over the years. But sometimes you have to pick the hard battles.

Emily Nguyen, the teenager missing from Dorchester, has been found (via Universal Hub ).

Trump touts Putin speaking out against his impeachment. Meta.

And a roundup of government ransomware attacks in 2019 from GovTech. It was not pretty.