Add Mexico to the list. Mexico said Wednesday its postal service was suspending package shipments to the United States ahead of an end to the exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages by the Trump administration. The announcement follows similar moves by postal services from the European Union and several other countries to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the U.S. measure. It also comes during monthslong negotiations between the Mexican government and the Trump administration to avoid wider tariffs. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/28/mexico-suspends-postal-shipments-to-united-states-over-tariff-confusion-00533242

Maybe people should not be so picky about things that really don't matter much.

Also today's Krugman blog post: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/why-arent-markets-freaking-out?publication_id=277517&post_id=172134133&isFreemail=true&r=53zo0e&triedRedirect=true

Have one of the rigid wood-look chair mats on carpet, a Costco purchase. Despite the fact that it has a slightly textured back, it still moves around as @Axtremus has described. The other thing that I find to be a pain is that the chair rolls around too easily and I feel like the slightest movement makes the chair move when I don't want it to. We used to have a clear, slightly flexible plastic/polycarb chair mat with gripper teeth on the back. It had a little more texture on the top so the chair didn't "float" around as easily, and those gripper teeth were very effective. And very pointy, almost like a thorn. A bitch to set up, but once it was in place, it didn't budge. It lasted a long time (years and years), but because it was not rigid, it would flex downward a little into the carpet and it got tons of little cracks from a person sitting in the chair and moving it around. Eventually it cracked all the way through and I replaced it with the one we have. The best arrangement is to have a rolling chair on commercial carpet that isn't pile but rather looped. You get a little resistance with respect to rolling, but it's still much easier than moving on a thicker carpet.

@Mary-Anna I can let you know when pharmacies here have them in stock. Shoppers Drug Mart is the general go to for both flu and COVID vaccinations - in Quebec it is called Pharmaprix.

Scathing resignation letter from Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him) https://x.com/dr_demetre/status/1960843433473376602 Better link for those who won't do Twitter, also includes other resignation letters from the exodus at CDC today https://open.substack.com/pub/insidemedicine/p/breaking-news-read-three-top-cdc?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

The painting has gone missing. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn84mld1gr9o

All very beautiful!

Finally much needed significant rainfall this evening, tail-end of some US storm I guess. Why our council workers this morning were out in force mowing and spreading clouds of brown dust, goodness knows.

From what I've seen of Trump's dealings with Putin, he should get the Noballs Peace Prize

It's allowed in the ornithological sense. Fanny pack is a bum bag here. Like Daniels sling bag. We still use underpants(boxers/y-fronts/nickers) but have lost (the quite obvious use of) pants as you commonly use the word. Rubber is still used in art contexts. I say condom. But then, I'm getting a bit long in the tooth.

Denmark's foreign minister had the top U.S. diplomat in the country summoned for talks after the main national public broadcaster reported Wednesday that at least three people with connections to President Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland. On Wednesday, Danish public broadcaster DR reported that government and security sources, which it didn't name, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the U.S., believe that at least three Americans with connections to Mr. Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in the territory. It said its story was based on information from a total of eight sources, who believe the goal is to weaken relations with Denmark from within Greenlandic society. DR said it had been unable to clarify whether the Americans were working at their own initiative or on orders from someone else. The network said it sources believed one of the Americans has been compiling lists of Greenlandic citizens for and against Mr. Trump's overtures, in a bid to build a list of citizens on the island who could potentially be recruited for a Greenlandic secession movement. The other Americans, according to DR, "have tried to cultivate contacts with politicians, businesspeople and citizens, and the sources' concern is that these contacts could secretly be used to support Donald Trump's desire to take over Greenland." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/denmark-us-greenland-trump-covert-influence-operations-report/

AI is getting quite good at music composition. There was a music history teacher who asked me, decades ago, why I chose another major field study other than music. I wonder what she would say today.

jon, I contacted company, told them their package was a week late, that I didn't want this package, and that I want the same product in black. Their customer service skills were great.

Link to video