Batiuk Event

 

Tulsa's Flag, 1924-1941

 This is so bad that I think it's awesome.

Flag Day 2021 (640 Pixels Wide)

 

Flag Day 2021

 

Anthony Gonzalez Quote

"If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit. Liz isn't going to lie to people. Liz is going to say what she believes. She's going to stand on principle. And if that's going to be distracting for folks, she's not the best fit. I wish that weren't the case."

From https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/03/politics/anthony-gonzalez-gop-cheney-trump/index.html

Homeless Dude or Long Distance Runner?

Over on Ye Olde Facebook, I scrolled by an image of a man with a haggard, but determined look on his face.  I remember he had a short, graying beard, and was dressed for cold weather.  I thought it was somebody I didn't know on a running group, posting a selfie after a long run in cold conditions.  Instead, it turned it to be part of an advertisement for a charity to help our neighbours in need (which sounds like a good idea to me).

Maybe I should get some more photos and make an online quiz: "Homeless Dude or Long Distance Runner?"

Egg Sausage Soufflé

 Pronounced as in English, "souffel".  In my mother's handwriting:

A Drawing

 

KennyG

 

Thanks for the Memories

Cowsills Reference

Stallone with Frazier

Rocky VI Photo

Just looking for a place on the web to keep a copy of this photo.  I hope it works.

2019 Curling and Marathon

All Sides With Ann Fisher

The show that's too interesting to turn off,
But so boring that you want to.

I Never Studied Latin

Still, I really enjoy the rare opportunity to post Latin responses on social media.

Covfefe

I took part in a brief exchange on a different social media platform.  This involves the word (if I may call it that) "Covfefe", which is getting a bit of attention as I write this.  The question is, was it a simple typographical error that didn't get corrected, or was it a word from antediluvian, pre-Tower of Babel days meaning something like, "In the end, we win"?  (Yeah, I'm missing a question mark in the graphic below.)

I apologise for my language, but Are you pooping me?  I mean it seriously.  Do people really believe that, just because someone said so on a web site that looks like it combines flying saucers and the Egyptian pyramids, people really believe that "Covfefe" is a long-attested word passed-down by Jews over thousands of years, and secretly taught to the President?

Or did he just make a mistake and not correct it either because he thought it was funny, or something else came up and he went to sleep?

And do people above really believe the former?  Or Are they pooping me?

Here's a link to Scott Adams' Blog: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/161280001386/covfefe

The Relevancy of Marriage in the United States

I know some people feel that marriage as an institution is dying out, but I disagree...

Tom Lehrer, 1965

The subject of marriage has been in the local news a lot recently, with the recent Obergefell v. Hodges decision and all.  What are my thoughts on the subject?  Statistics, or course.

Question #1: Do people still get married?

In short, the rate of marriage has been declining in the United States for decades.  In 2010, 51% of US adults 18 and over were married[1].  (I think it's safe to assume that this figure is lower than 50% in 2015.)  In 1960, 72% of US adults were married.  And it's not that people are staying divorced more these days.  In 1960, 15% of US adults were "Single, Never Married".  Fifty years later, in 2010, this figure had nearly doubled, to 28%.

Actually, there's a lot of interesting information in the link I referenced above.  But my point is that a lot fewer people get married now than in the past.  Unless everyone is waiting for Mr and/or Miss Right, it would seem that the relevance of marriage is declining for US adults.

Question #2: Do only married people have children?

The answer to this question is, "Of course not."  But what about the trend?  In 2013, 40.6% of US births were to single mothers[2], a figure which had been basically unchanged since first reaching 40% in 2008.  In 1960, this figure was 5.6%.

Also of note in that referenced link is the fact that more than half (58%) of the 40% mentioned above are to cohabiting parents.  So, almost a quarter (23.2) of young US children were born to a 2-parent, unmarried heterosexual household.

I'm curious how many US children are living with both of their married, biological (or adoptive) parents, and how this has changed, but I can't easily find this value.  According to this link [3], 46% of US children in 2013 were living with both their parents in their parents' first marriage, down from 73% in 1960.  Actually, according to [4], the situation doesn't seem as non-traditional, as in 2009, 64.7% of US children were living with married parents.  But I expect this percentage to decline, as more of the youngest children are being born to unmarried mothers.

My point with regards to children is that I don't think children of unmarried parents will feel that marriage is "relevant", at least in the sense that it's made a positive difference in their lives.  And, within a generation, these will be the adults, either getting married, or not.

Conclusion

A lot will be made (quite rightfully) regarding whether or not the government should (or may) limit a citizen's marriage choices to a member of the opposite sex.  But the numbers show that a declining number of US adults are getting married.  And, with a declining percentage of US children being born to, and living in, "traditional" family situations, I expect this decline to continue.  Regardless of ones stand on Obergefell v. Hodges, this overall decay in the institution of marriage is the bigger story.

Postscript

...and the point was driven home to me rather forcefully not long ago by a letter I received which said: "Darling, I love you and I cannot live without you. Marry me, or I will kill myself." Well, I was a little disturbed at that until I took another look at the envelope and saw that it was addressed to occupant.

Tom Lehrer, 1965

Some People Take Their Kids to Disney World

I take mine to Fermilab!

Current Political Situation in Somalia

According to Wikipedia, this map represents the situation in Somalia as of December 2012.  I don't know what all the small flags represent, but I do recognise one of them:  Thar be pirates! Aargh, mateys!

Pinewood Derby Car, 2013

As years go by, I think we end up with less parental involvement in the car creation.  However, this is what he said he wanted.

Thoughts From Last Night's Presidential Debate

I thought Larry King's question regarding which new Constitutional amendment the candidates would like to see was interesting.  It would have been great if some candidate (maybe Goode or Johnson) said something like, "The Constitution is good the way it is now -- let's start following it."  But here is my memory of their responses:

• Johnson (citing his experience as a term-limited state governor) and Goode (citing his experience as a term-unlimited Congressman) both spoke in favour of term limits, apparently for Congress.
• Anderson spoke in favour of an Equal Rights Amendment for gender and sexual orientation.
• Stein had two areas, which she saw as related, though it is not clear to me how they'd be worded as an amendment.  She wanted it to be clear that free speech is not the same thing as freedom to spend money (apparently for political advertising) and also she wanted to clarify the distinctions between corporations and persons, with corporations not being treated as persons.

Pinewood Derby, 2012

We didn't attend the Pinewood Derby this year, in large part because with this pack, the boys don't do anything besides watch.  I think we had something else to do, and didn't feel needed in 2010, so we entered a car and let the leaders do the racing.  Despite this, we still had the fastest car in our age group.