Meanderings, 11 December 2021
Good morning!
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
(NEXSTAR) – Do you live in one of the tip-top cities for top tippers?
A recent study of the country’s online-ordering habits has allegedly determined the cities with the most generous tippers, at least when it comes to food-service workers and delivery drivers.
The cities where gratuities were generally highest, according to the survey, were Seattle, Austin and Nashville, each of which boasted a 38% rate of tips exceeding 20%. Rounding out the top five were Detroit (34% of tippers left more than 20%) and Denver (33%).
Justice is doing the right thing at the right time, at least this was the right thing:
It’s been a long time coming, but Chicago White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso is a Hall of Famer, as the Baseball Hall of Fame announced that he was one of four players selected for induction by the Golden Days Era Committee on Sunday.
Along with Miñoso, former White Sox pitcher Jim Kaat was also elected to Cooperstown, along with Dodgers legend Gil Hodges and Minnesota Twins star Tony Oliva.
Dick Allen, who won the MVP award with the White Sox in 1972, did not receive enough votes for induction.
The highlight for White Sox fans is the vote to induct Miñoso, the first Black Cuban player in MLB History, into the Hall of Fame. The only player in baseball history to play in five different decades, the “Cuban Comet” racked up some incredible numbers in his career, with 195 home runs, 1,093 RBI’s and 216 stolen bases in 1,946 career games.
Yes, justice here too:
(CNN)Negro League baseball players Buck O'Neil and Bud Fowler were elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
They were two of seven Negro League and pre-Negro League players who were being considered Sunday for induction into the Hall of Fame. O'Neil and Fowler join four other candidates -- Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso and Tony Oliva -- as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
The six players will officially be inducted in Cooperstown, New York, on July 24, 2022, according to the Hall of Fame website.
My students bring a lot of baked goods to class. It’s the consequence for breaking my technology policy: no screens, no electronic devices of any kind unless there is an academic accommodation, and if I see you on a device, or if another student points out that you’re on a device, you bring baked goods for the whole class the next day. It has worked like a dream. No one is unduly shamed, everyone likes baked goods, but no one wants to bring them, so students generally remember to stay off their phones.
I explain to students that the reason for this policy is to offer them one single space in their lives where they can be fully present and attentive. Most of them know that they are distracted and most recognize that they experience some kind of constant noise, but most of them also don’t think they can do anything about it, or that they might need to. So I tell them that I want to give them one space where they only have to focus on one thing. They can be fully present and give their brains a rest. Still, some of them are so addicted they don’t even realize they are reaching for their phones. That unconscious reach, the inability to detach, is growing more frequent among my students. And though we get more baked goods, I am concerned for them.
There are so many things that are clamoring for space in our heads all the time. Things we never even invited. I am not on any social media, and I am bombarded. I need to work on my computer, often on the internet, to do my job, and I am assaulted with advertisements and corporate enticements every time I need to look something up. My email dings constantly with more people wanting my attention. Even sitting in my shared office space in my own home as I write this, my housemate is telling me about the latest cute toddler story appearing on Twitter. And as I stare at this Word document, my brain wonders what might be on the internet that would be more interesting than finishing this essay.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man called police Saturday afternoon when he found a nearly five-foot-long red-tailed boa deep inside his new couch, Clearwater police said.
In a Facebook post, officers say the man bought the couch days earlier adding he believed the snake was hiding in the couch since it was moved inside his home.
Report: Woman caught breastfeeding cat on Delta Airlines flight
In response, officers temporarily removed the couch from the home and found the snake burrowed deep inside the couch. They then carefully extracted the snake from its hiding place adding “it was easily five feet long,” the Facebook caption said.
Officers also returned the couch back inside the residence for the man.
Do you have smartphone pinkie?
CHICAGO — If you’re constantly holding your phone, it can take a toll on your body, including your pinkie finger.
A new report from the Washington Post stated that the overuse of handheld technology leads to wrist and hand problems. These injuries include what’s dubbed as “smartphone pinkie.”The injury occurs when a one-handed grip with a smartphone resting against the pinkie compresses nerves and causes muscle soreness.
Doctors suggest you take 5-minute breaks and change positions frequently to prevent minor overuse symptoms from becoming more severe problems.
After nearly two years of living in a pandemic, many Americans have started to return to “normal” life.
In fact, 74 percent of Americans said their lives had returned to normal, according to a November Yahoo News/YouGov poll. But the new COVID-19 variant, omicron, could once again change how Americans feel about getting back to their pre-COVID lives. A recent YouGov survey found that 33 percent of Americans said they were somewhat concerned by the omicron variant, and 21 percent said they were very concerned. Other polling had similar findings: A recent The Hill/HarrisX poll found that 41 percent of voters were somewhat concerned and 27 percent were very concerned.
The World Health Organization classified omicron as a “variant of concern” on Nov. 26, shortly after South African officials flagged the variant (although recent retesting of older samples has shown that omicron was in Europe about a week prior). But there isn’t that much known about the variant at this point. For instance, we don’t know how transmissible omicron is compared with other variants, and the severity of an infection from omicron remains unclear, too.
There isn’t that much polling on how Americans are reacting to the omicron variant yet, either, but a YouGov poll conducted on Nov. 30 found that 38 percent of Americans thought the variant posed a serious risk to all Americans, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, although 25 percent of respondents were unsure on the variant’s risk level. And the country thinks restrictions are on the way. The Harris Poll found that 87 percent of adults thought the omicron variant would very or somewhat likely lead to a higher case rate and new restrictions. But Americans seem prepared to take precautions. A Morning Consult poll conducted Nov. 29-30 found that large majorities of Americans were willing to take a number of precautions to stop the spread of omicron, such as mandatory mask usage and encouraging vaccination and booster shots. However, Americans were less supportive of closing businesses or government facilities to combat omicron — just 44 percent supported this.