They are still out there doing the repair. Gonna be a long night for them.
W
wtg
@wtg
Posts
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Bit of excitement in the neighborhood -
Bit of excitement in the neighborhood -
Bit of excitement in the neighborhoodI went out in the screen room this afternoon and caught the smell of natural gas. Turns out a construction crew working on a village project to replace water mains managed to hit a gas line around 2 pm. Took Nicor (gas utility) almost two hours to get here and as far as I can tell they still haven't figured out how to turn off the gas. A consulting engineer who is on the water main project said that a) the gas line was unmarked and b) the fact that it was pretty windy is working in our favor, dissipating the gas.
Looks like they won't be shutting off our gas (the break is apparently on the other side of the still-to-be-located shutoff valve) so they won't be pounding on our door in the middle of the night to come and re-light the pilot in our water heater. At least that's what the Nicor guy said. I hope he knows what he's talking about. Given that they can't figure out where the valve is, my level of confidence in their abilities is not real high right now.
(tried to post some pics but postimages is misbehaving right now)
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WWJD? -
WWJD?What would Jesus drink? Welcome to the age of Christian energy beverages
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/04/jesus-christian-energy-drink
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GCA Giant Cell Arteritis@chas I pinged my eye researcher friend Dr Mary (PhD, not MD, but she regularly saw patients in the eye clinics at the universities where she worked). Hopefully she'll get back to me soon!
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60 MinutesSteve Kroft weighs in:
Former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft calls the changes under Bari Weiss "disastrous." He adds: "This is journalistic interference. It makes no business sense whatsoever. It's the highest rated news program on television, and it has been that way for more than 50 years. The audience was up about 9% last year. Why would you mess with that?" Our conversation airs tonight on the
@newshour
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60 MinutesThe exchange between Pelley and Bilton:
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Antoni GaudiOne hundred years ago, on June 10, 1926, Catalan architect Antoni GaudĂ tragically died in a tram accident in Barcelona. In his 73 years of life, the designer left his mark on the Spanish city, from his emblematic basilica, the Sagrada Familia, to Casa BatllĂł, Casa Vicens, Park GĂŒell and numerous other sites.
Has anyone visited any of his buildings?
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Ătzi the Iceman and his microbiomeResearchers at Eurac Research have obtained a detailed picture of the microbial community associated with Ătzi, Europe's oldest known natural human mummy. The study provides insights into a complex microbiome, ranging from the gut flora of a Copper Age human to cold-adapted yeasts.
Using a variety of samples and methods, the researchers were able to differentiate which microorganisms were already present in the body during his lifetime and which only colonized it after his deathâboth during the time in the glacier and over three decades of preservation. In samples of internal tissue, the team was able to detect genetic material from bacteria belonging to Ătzi's original gut flora.
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-tzi-iceman-microbiome-year-relationship.html
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Hay Mary AnnaThat's quite an assortment!
I feel your pain on the critter front. It's a never-ending battle.
Potatoes are really easy to grow in pots. Critters seem to pretty much leave them alone, though a couple of years ago my neighbor found a bunch of his potatoes harvested by some enterprising chipmunk and hidden in its den under the front porch, quite a distance away from the pots in the backyard where they had been growing.
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EvanescentTowering among vibrant summer blooms, monumental iridescent bubbles transform the natural landscape of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, forming an immersive world of light and reflection as part of the newest seasonal exhibit.
âEvanescent,â the centerpiece installation series of the gardenâs âShimmering Summerâ exhibit, will be open to visitors beginning June 6, and running until Sept. 20.
The large-scale bubble sculptures are designed to be an immersive experience for visitors of the 385-acre garden, capturing the âephemerality and fragility of lifeâ through the form of a bubble, according to the installationâs designer, Australian art duo Atelier Sisu.
âThe installation emulates the ethereal quality and magic of bubbles, and our summer programming extends that playfulness for visitors of all ages,â said Jodi Zombolo, associate vice president of visitor events and programs for the Chicago Botanic Garden.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/06/03/chicago-botanic-gardens-shimmering-summer-exhibit/
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Hay Mary Anna@mary-anna It looks lovely! Lots of personality in those old homes. Not cookie cutter!
I know you're are super busy with other projects, but the "g" in "wtg" is wondering if you are planning a veggie garden.
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60 MinutesI hadnât been following what has been happening at CBS. What a cluster.
Scott Pelley, one of the most well-known and respected journalists in broadcast journalism, has been fired by CBS News after clashing with network brass over last weekâs severe round of cuts at 60 Minutes, the show he has worked on since 2004, the Guardian confirmed.
While changes were long expected at 60 Minutes, CBS News management shocked staffers last week by firing the networkâs executive producer, executive editor and two correspondents, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, without giving a specific reason for their terminations.
During an extremely heated meeting on Monday morning with the showâs newly appointed executive editor Nick Bilton, along with another CBS News executive, Pelley rebuked Bari Weiss, the longtime opinion commentator who joined the network in October as editor-in-chief.
âSheâs murdering 60 Minutes,â Pelley said, as first reported by the Guardian. âShe does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.â
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jun/02/scott-pelley-60-minutes-cbs-news
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What do chefs cook at home? -
ICE and DHS strike againHere in Chicago.
Federal agents chased and detained a man Tuesday morning in Albany Park, crashing into a womanâs car during the pursuit and threatening residents who gathered at a chaotic scene.
A Sun-Times reporter witnessed the scene and its aftermath.
The arrest comes amid a continued effort by federal immigration authorities to carry out arrests in the Chicago area, months after the end of Operation Midway Blitz â the Trump administrationâs pummeling deportation campaign that led to thousands of arrests.
Tuesdayâs incident started at 8:07 a.m., when a black Nissan SUV carrying one agent turned east onto Lawrence Avenue from Kedzie Avenue, chasing a shirtless man. A second black Nissan SUV carrying more agents then pulled out of a nearby parking lot and hit a womanâs car in an apparent effort to block the man from running.
The agents were wearing Department of Homeland Security badges and patches associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Three agents ultimately wrestled the man to the ground as he screamed for help, asking agents to get off him as he was held under the front bumper of one of the SUVs. One agent then shocked him with a Taser.
The agent also aimed the weapon at bystanders and a journalist. Another agent pulled out a can of pepper spray and pointed it at the crowd as he waved away passing vehicles.
During the scuffle, an agent dropped a fully loaded bullet magazine onto the street. A supervisor picked it up minutes later, after other agents had left.
As the man was being detained, agents threatened to arrest the woman whose car had been struck. She had been stopped at a red light.
A few dozen people showed up and faced off with the seven federal agents who arrived in five unmarked vehicles equipped with emergency lights. Onlookers filmed on their cellphones, blew whistles and screamed at the agents.
One agent had a Jerusalem cross sticker on the back of his phone, a Christian symbol dating to the Crusades that more recently has gained popularity among the far-right and white supremacist groups. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized for having a chest tattoo of a Jerusalem cross in the weeks before President Donald Trumpâs second inauguration. He countered with a since-deleted post on X, saying, âAnti-Christian bigotry in the media on full display.â
Chicago police officers who arrived minutes after the arrest spoke to witnesses and made a report. An officer and said detectives would take over the investigation if the crash was deemed a hit-and-run.
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For our train buffs -
Mark Cuban Cost Plus DrugsThatâs pretty high if itâs generic.
From a comparison of pitavastatin to other statins:
Pitavastatin offers several advantages, including minimal drug interactions, potent LDL cholesterol reduction, and a favorable effect on HDL cholesterol. However, it tends to be more expensive than generic statins like atorvastatin or rosuvastatin
A much deeper dive comparing pitavastatin to other statins:
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The Obama Presidential Centersidebar:
A nonprofit called the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc. was set up in December 2024, after ABC News agreed to donate $15 million toward a future presidential library as part of its defamation lawsuit settlement with then-candidate Trump. Over the next year, that fund got an influx of cash from various legal settlements with Meta, X and Paramount.
The fund was dissolved by the state in September 2025 â just days before the trustees' vote â after it failed to file a mandatory annual report. It is not clear how much money was in the fund, but a trio of federal Democratic lawmakers pursuing the issue says it could have held up to $63 million in settlement money.
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, along with Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, wrote to ABC, Meta, X and Paramount earlier in March to ask for more detailed explanations on the original terms, conditions and amounts of their settlement deals.
"The Fund is now gone, and the public has no clarity about the current location or purpose of the funds provided by ABC or any other source," the lawmakers wrote.
NPR has reached out to the White House for comment about the status of the settlement money.
The Trump family opened a similarly named library foundation in May 2025, which is the entity that now owns the Miami property.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5768094/trump-presidential-library-renderings-miami
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The Obama Presidential CenterAnd the future DJT library:
More renderings here:
There is a promotional video on Truth Soc but I refuse to include the link here....
