“Tragically, the Western leaders and diplomats who are right now trying to stave off a Russian invasion of Ukraine still think they live in a world where rules matter, where diplomatic protocol is useful, where polite speech is valued,” The Atlantic says. “All of them think that w[...]
Archive for February 13th, 2022
February 13th, 2022 - 3:08 am § in Misc.
The Alaska Highway was a defense project
Now, it’s a tourist adventure. It was built during World War 2 to get military supplies to northern bases in the event Japan invaded the U.S. or Canada. It was a huge project; building it required “174 steam shovels, 374 blade graders, 904 tractors and 5,000 trucks” and “16,0[...]
February 13th, 2022 - 2:47 am § in Misc.
The Superbowl stadium is a garish sport temple
It’s unlike any other stadium. Because it’s under the Los Angeles Airport flight path, it’s mostly underground, and fans climb down to their seats. The end zones are open to ocean breezes. The roof is a giant TV screen. It has a lake. But more than anything, it proves there’s[...]
February 13th, 2022 - 12:54 am § in Misc.
Olympics: Doing the Biellmann spin (video)
This may be the only thing I post about the 2022 Winter Olympics. Many skaters attempt the Biellmann spin (details here), but hardly any do it well, because they lack the flexibility needed to get the leg straight up, and it doesn’t look as good when they don’t. I would rate it as the mo[...]