WTF-Beta

Couple of days late, but heartfelt Happy Birthday wishes to our September birthday twins, @adagiom and @kluurs !

And to today's birthday boy, @daniel !

Opponent

How an MIT research project became a global programming language

With millions of users across the world, Julia has been used to conduct cutting-edge research and to design new drugs, jet engines, heat pumps, and more.

https://news.mit.edu/2026/how-mit-research-project-became-global-programming-language-0831

United Nations votes 164-1 for Equal Earth map after US brands it 'radical ideological project'

The resolution backs equal-area maps over the Mercator projection, which makes Africa appear far smaller than it actually is

Six nations abstained, including Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine.

Yaryna Ferencevych, the deputy U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, said the resolution was presented as "an anodyne effort to update cartographic proportions" but was, in her view, part of a "much larger and more radical ideological project."

https://www.foxnews.com/world/united-nations-votes-164-1-equal-earth-map-us-brands-radical-ideological-project

FYI to @axtremus .

When I checked the forum earlier this morning I had to log in (expected after reading this thread) and all seemed normal. But when I just came back to the forum again a few hours later, I had to log in again. Seemed like that happened after you applied your interim fix. And a couple of registration requests that I had already rejected popped up again.

Another oddish thing...there were two posts that showed up in "Unread" that I had already read.

Race

Eagles

Grand

zap

@bernard brought up North by Northwest in @steve-miller 's travel thread; the last part of the movie is set on Mt Rushmore.

Mt Rushmore.... makes a great movie set!

Spoiler alert for anyone who never saw North by Northwest (I doubt there's anyone who has never seen it).

And later...

I highly recommend it. 5 stars. One of Hitchcock's best.

Got me thinking about which of Hitch's movies are my faves. To Catch a Thief is definitely number 1 on my list, followed by Notorious.

What is/are your favorite(s)?

@steve-miller - been super busy so haven't had time to read this thread and to post another comment till now....great thread, pics, and stories of your adventures. You and Ron are lucky to have each other to share this great road trip.

@jon-nyc said:

Does anyone remember where they were when they heard about it?

Door County. With Mr wtg and my friend Pat.

A friend called to tell us that Diana had been in an accident. We turned on the TV and there was tons of coverage. We were still watching when they announced her death.

Oddly, Pat was visiting at our house when Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022; we watched the funeral together.

The royals might want to take note of Pat's travel schedule that includes a stop at the wtg house.

ent

It seems to be one of those clobber-you-over-the-head vaccines. From reports I've read, though, it may have benefits beyond just keeping you from getting shingles down the road, so maybe keep that in mind and the current misery will at least seem worthwhile.

Same as @shirokuro here.

Pancho

cops

Hector “Alessandro” Negrete got the phone call nine months after he moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, hoping for a fresh start without the onerous weight of uncertainty and fear he carried in Los Angeles.

“Hey, you have something that says, ‘invoice to border patrol,’” Negrete recalls his former roommate telling him around 8 p.m. that night as he was meal-prepping after the gym. He consulted with his lawyer, and his roommate tore the envelope open.

“Vecino, what is this?” his roommate asked, calling him “neighbor” in Spanish.

Inside was a seven-digit number. He owed the Department of Homeland Security $1.8 million, the paper read.

“What the hell?” Negrete said he first thought. Perplexed, he initially believed the letter was fraudulent. He got on a FaceTime call with his roommate to process the shock.

His second thought: “Oh my God, I’m gonna lose my money. I’m gonna lose my job.”

The letter sent to his old address where he still files US taxes said he must pay a $1,820,352 civil penalty for his failure to comply with a 2009 deportation order, according to a copy of the notice reviewed by CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/01/us/dhs-deportation-order-fine-immigration

So @steve-miller ... Have to admit I prefer front loading washers to top loaders, though it's been a long time since I've owned a top loader. Yea, there can be issues with the stinky washer problem with front loaders but they are so much gentler on clothes than the top loading models. SQ makes a front loader but of course it has electronic rather than mechanical controls.

eta: The clothes spin out better in front loaders, too. Dries faster.

Thoughts?

Interesting.

I'm not usually an early adopter of new models of anything. I'd prefer to see some real world data on performance and reliability. Have to admit I'd probably opt for the SQ even if the Maytag is cheaper if I needed a new washer in the nearish future.