Friday, I went to work early in the downstairs cave. I have a converted oversized closet as an office. I came back up for a coffee refill to the loveliest snow. It was that peaceful, quiet, wet snow. Light and large flakes. Beautiful.
We were supposed to get an atmospheric river, and I guess the elements were just right for a couple inches of snow.
A few hours into the snow day.The next morning, from our front door.A lovely Saturday morning!
The carnival is open later than shops and restaurants at the rodeo. Officials did not indicate they would change its hours of operation for the remainder of the season.
On Tuesday's show: An Australian gambler known as “The Joker” has confirmed he was behind the plot to engineer a guaranteed Lotto Texas jackpot win in 2023. We learn more about the man and the ring of high-stakes gamblers who pulled off the plot.
Diamon Mazairre Robinson impersonated a federal agent and had two active felony warrants for years, officials say, but was hired by Crockett and police agencies under an alias.
The City Council will discuss the looming crisis Tuesday. One model predicted a water emergency in November. Other scenarios show that happening in May.
LEAWOOD, KS—Groaning at the thought of having to be somewhere on the weekend, Travis Kelce was reportedly feeling bummed Monday after he learned fiancée Taylor Swift had signed him up for the NFL again. “She says sticking with it will teach me responsibility and discipline, but I know what she really wants is to just get me out of the house,” said the 36-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end, who stated that he was already dreading the annoying warmups and drills he would have to do each morning when Swift dropped him off at practice. “I thought I was doing the podcast for my activity this year. Not the stupid NFL. My brother Jason doesn’t have to play football. His wife stopped signing him up years ago. It’s not fair! I’ll have to get up super early, the food sucks, and learning plays is so boring. Plus, the coach is so mean to me!” According to reports, Kelce was even more bummed after his fiancée told him they were having fish for dinner.
PIKEVILLE, KY—Speculating that a new path in life might improve his job prospects, unemployed man Ian Hampel, 36, told reporters Tuesday that he was considering going back to school to become an AI. “I can see the writing on the wall: If I want to stay relevant in the workforce, I’m going to need to go back to college and turn into an artificial intelligence,” said Hampel, who had already begun looking into degree programs that could prepare him for work as a large language model or an autonomous agent. “I know pivoting later in life is a risk, but I honestly think I’d be good at predicting the next word in a sequence by processing huge sums of information. Plus, I already hallucinate a lot, and I’ve even convinced a guy to kill himself. Sure, it’s not really my passion. But at the end of the day, the market is the market.” According to reports, Hampel later realized he didn’t need any more schooling to become an erotic AI sexbot.
DALLAS—Saying the decision had been reached following an extensive internal review of the company’s boarding procedures, Southwest Airlines confirmed Tuesday that passengers would now be assigned chores ahead of time. “There has always been a degree of chaos around passengers having to choose right as they’re boarding how they’re going to help keep the plane tidy,” said Southwest representative Martin Nieman, explaining that the airline hoped to streamline the task allocation process by randomly appointing responsibilities at the time of check-in. “For instance, everyone in row 18 might now be in charge of trash on this flight, while those in the fire exit rows will push the beverage cart. Chore assignments will be clearly printed on all boarding passes for ticketed travelers 2 years old and above. Those flying standby may refer to the chore wheels posted at fore and aft of the plane. Of course, you will have the option to pay extra if you want a more comfortable job.” Nieman asked flyers frustrated about being on bathroom duty to be patient, stressing that everyone who flew with Southwest would have to take on the unpleasant task eventually.
BURLINGTON, VT—Voicing appreciation for the fact that the boy’s morbid obsession was at least getting him to read, local mom Hana Garrett confirmed Tuesday that everything her son Ethan got at the school book fair was about medieval torture again. “Well, that’s another $70 haul of books about breaking convicts on the wheel and dislocating their shoulders by strappado,” said Garrett, adding that the fourth grader was currently winning his school’s competition to read the most books thanks to his endless appetite for accounts of victims being stretched on the rack during the Spanish Inquisition. “I was so sure he was going to branch out and get Holes this time, but he put it back at the last minute and picked a book with a diagram of something called a head crusher. I guess it’s nice that he’s learning some vocabulary with torture implement names like ‘the brazen bull’ and ‘the pear of anguish.’ There’s even some French stuff like ‘oubliette.’ But his teacher did ask for his next book report to be on something that doesn’t involve castration for a change, so maybe I’ll put that one about hanging, drawing, and quartering away until his birthday.” At press time, Garrett reportedly expressed relief after her son finally asked her for a book detailing more modern forms of torture.
The city could lose access to millions of gallons of water per day in April or May. City leaders will present potential plans on Tuesday afternoon to begin cutting water demand.
By Dylan Baddour
EDNA, Texas—Water shortages could hit Corpus Christi within weeks when contract terms mandate a 10 percent reduction in the city’s draw from its largest remaining reservoir, the equivalent of 7 million gallons a day, according to local officials. City leaders previously said water curtailment could begin in November.
I was told to stay off screens for a few days last week due to a possible concussion (I’m fine), so today and tomorrow will include some posts from the archives. This was originally published in 2015.
A reader writes:
I took employment at a nonprofit as an economic researcher about seven months ago. Overall, I love my job and what I get to do and helping people, but there is one major issue: My boss, who is the founder and head of the organization, thinks he is a mayan shaman. I am not joking.
He spends crazy amounts of money (sometimes company money) to fund his “spiritual projects” and recently has been telling me to do ludicrous projects like comparing chakra colors in different cultures and staring at a candle to find a sacred angle. Seriously. I’ve been able to handle it just fine until now. He is getting crazier by the day and I don’t know how to handle it anymore because if I tell him anything, he will say the “darkness has possessed me” and then be uncommunicative when I need information.
What can I do? Is there anything, because I don’t want to quit my job but this is getting out of hand. He sends texts to us at the middle of the night with his “visions” and when one of our employees was pregnant he would call it the “christ child” and say that one quarter of the DNA must be his. I swear this is not a fake situation or question.
Shamans have to have day jobs, I guess.
And he’s welcome to believe he’s a shaman. Who knows, maybe he is. But the problem here is that he’s letting his spiritual beliefs interfere with work and apparently misusing the organization’s resources.
But I doubt there’s a lot you can do here. This is your boss, the head of the organization, and ultimately he’s calling the shots here. If you really wanted to try to get this addressed, you’d have two options: Talk to him directly, or talk to the board of directors.
If you talk to him directly, I’d say something like this: “Percival, I respect your religious beliefs, but I’m not comfortable discussing religion at work or being given religious assignments to work on. I was hired to do economic research and our organization isn’t religious in nature. Is there a way for us to work well together without bringing religion into it?” Ideally, you’d do this with a group of coworkers who feel the same rather than on your own; it’s harder to ignore a group of employees than one lone one — but either way, it’s a reasonable thing to say.
That said, will it work? I doubt it. This is a guy who’s telling you that darkness has possessed you and claiming some sort of parentage over a quarter of an employee’s baby. In other words, probably not open to reasoned conversation on these topics.
So that leaves you with the second option: Talk to the board. Every nonprofit is required to have a board of directors that serves as its ultimate governing body and which is responsible for ensuring that the organization is well managed and fiscally sound. The board is basically this guy’s boss — even though he’s the founder and even though he’s in charge of day-to-day operations. He might have a seat on the board, but there are presumably other board members, which means that he can be outvoted.
The board would presumably want to know that the head of the organization is using resources to find sacred candle angles and freezing out employees when he thinks the darkness has possessed them.
But that said … unless you care passionately about this organization and want to take an active role in getting this situation straightened out, your better bet might be to leave. This isn’t likely to change overnight, there’s likely to be some tension if you go to the board, and — maybe most importantly — do you really trust this guy’s leadership, even if he cools it with the shamanism talk at work? I mean, let’s say that the board puts a stop to all the behavior you’ve written about, and it even happens quickly — you’re still going to be working at an organization led by a guy who thought all of this was reasonable to begin with. Is that the job you want?
In light of that, it might make sense to skip past all these steps and just start working on leaving.
(Alternately, maybe just embrace the whole thing and have him influence the spirit world in your favor. That could be useful too.)
Originally a Catholic feast day for the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a global celebration of Irish heritage and culture. The Onion presents a historical timeline of the holiday.
432 A.D.
St. Patrick kicks all the snakes out of Ireland for failing to meet the three-drink minimum.
521
St. Brigid of Kildare invents the puke and rally.
1721
First known uttering of the phrase “You think you’re better than me?”
1845
Millions of Irish immigrants come to America, where they were oppressed too, you know.
1876
Guy with a pinching fetish gets involved.
1890
Guinness begins bottling factory floor runoff to send to America.
1963
John F. Kennedy proves that the Irish aren’t all lucky.
1970
McDonald’s debuts the original corned-beef–flavored Shamrock Shake.
1989
Bagpipes decriminalized.
1999
Erin and Johnny break up and get back together four times in the same bar.
2007
The popular girls all wear matching green Abercrombie polos to school.
2015
Entire city of Boston arrested for public urination.
WASHINGTON D.C. – With the Strait of Hormuz shut down by Iranian forces following the U.S.-Israel-led invasion, President Donald Trump has publicly invited his “pathetic baby NATO allies” to send warships and secure the vital shipping lane. “Obviously it makes no sense for me to send American troops to secure the Strait, because I already […]
In brief: In today’s post we look at windy conditions over night, in which large chunks of the region saw gusts of 45 to 55 mph. This is leading to very chilly conditions this morning, and we’ll only warm up a little bit today. Temperatures tonight will get into the 30s for much of the area, but should remain above freezing.
Preliminary wind gust observations over the last 24 hours as of Monday morning. (Weather Bell)
Windy conditions
In the wake of Sunday evening’s cold front a river of winds in the atmosphere has, essentially, dipped down to ground level. This has brought very windy conditions across the region overnight. Much of the area has experienced gusts of 45 to 55 mph, with even higher ones along the coast. At 3:52 am this morning, for example, Galveston recorded sustained winds of 43 mph, and a gust of 58 mph. Those are tropical-storm force winds. Winds will die down slightly over the next few hours, but we will continue to see a very blustery day, with gusts of 30 to 35 mph possible until later this afternoon when things finally settle down for awhile.
Monday
Although cold temperatures trailed the wind, much colder air did begin to make serious progress into the region after midnight. Air temperatures this morning range from the low 40s north of Houston to upper 40s in the city, with slightly warmer conditions near the coast. But when you tack winds on, temperatures feel like they’re in the 30s across the area, so very chilly out there. Highs won’t climb much today despite the sunny skies. Most of us won’t get higher than the mid-50s this afternoon. So far the winds have had a negligible impact on power outages.
Houston rodeo weather
Although winds will fall off this afternoon and early evening, they’re not going away. We should still see some gusts in the 20 to 25 mph range before tonight’s show. Air temperatures before the show will be about 50 degrees, falling to the upper 40s afterward. So with the wind chill it will be quite brisk outside. Winds should finally die off by or before midnight tonight. Lows in Houston will bottom out at about 40 degrees in the urban core of Houston, with much of the outlying area falling into the mid- to upper-30s tonight.
Low temperature forecast for Tuesday morning. (Weather Bell)
Tuesday
This will be a sunny day with high temperatures in the low 60s. I feel pretty confident in saying this is likely to be Houston’s coldest daytime temperature until at least October, or possibly even November. So really, Monday and Tuesday are probably our last “winter-like” days in Houston until next winter. Winds will be almost entirely gone, but importantly they will subtly shift from the northeast to southeast, which will eventually bring us much warmer weather. Lows on Tuesday night should fall into the upper 40s in Houston.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Sunshine will prevail for the rest of the week as we see a warming trend from highs in the mid-70s on Wednesday to the mid-80s on Friday. Overnight lows will be in the 50s and 60s. Humidity comes back but it should not be oppressive.
Saturday and Sunday
The weekend looks sunny and hot, with highs in the mid- to upper-80s. Some inland locations might even flirt with 90 degrees—quite the turnaround from this morning. Rain chances are nil.
Next week
The first half of next week should see continued, rather hot weather for March. The pattern may change by the middle of next week (or not!) with an increase in rain chances and possibly a front. Although I must say this is far enough into the future that my overall confidence is rather low. But by then we’ll definitely be back in the “We could sure use some rain” camp.
Every year, dozens are killed and many more injured in the avalanches that surge down mountains nationwide. Here’s ways to avoid an untimely death by snow.
Check God’s Wrath Level Before Heading Out: If forecasts indicate He’s angry with you, it’s best to stay in.
Get Ready: To help ensure you are prepared, try getting stuck in a few test avalanches beforehand.
Don’t Taunt The Snow: Most avalanches happen because someone mouthed off.
After Getting Trapped, Move On With Your Life: The avalanche was a big change, but it’s time to accept that being buried under 25 feet of snow is your new normal.
Protest: Use your First Amendment right to voice your disapproval to the avalanche.
Save Energy: Power down your ROG Ally X gaming handheld after a few more rounds of Spelunky.
Conserve Oxygen For Whistling: You’ll want to be able to whistle.
Amputate Your Arm With A Dull Pocket Knife: It won’t free you from being trapped, but it will help you pass the time.
Let The Mountain Know It’s Not In Your Will: An avalanche is less likely to be deadly if the mountain knows there’s no financial benefit.
Dig Down To The Center Of The Earth: The planet’s core is much warmer than snow.
Eat A Mediterranean Diet: While it might not help in the short term, a Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy option that can increase your life by up to 10 years.
In Kansas, 1,700 residents had their driver’s licenses invalidated for being transgender, with the law also invalidating birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers. What do you think?
“Should I go back to my birth height as well?”
Ben Favers, Unemployed
“Sometimes they let you off with a warning if you promise not to be transgender next time.”
Malorie Lyrad, Baton Twirler
“Finally, I can feel safe going to the bathroom in my car again.”
I've been thinking a lot about gratitude recently.
I've shared before about how we live in amazing times. It's also hard out there, and harder for some than others. I am not promoting toxic positivity, but a regular practice of gratitude has genuinely helped me.
I'm inspired by Jason Mesut's "Friday Thanks" posts on LinkedIn, several recent conversations with friends, and Gratitude by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. Give it a listen before reading on.
These things aren't a given They're a gift to behold ... Try and hold on to Gratitude
I'll be sharing what I'm grateful for more regularly – it's helping me frame my experiences and actually get them published.
Today, I want to share my gratitude for libraries. I had the good fortune of beautiful weather while in the Bay Area last week. I always try to find a university or major city library while I'm traveling. They're peaceful, inspiring free workspaces, and many have incredible art collections and exhibits. Libraries are an underappreciated community resource, and I love them.
This trip, I visited the UC Berkeley University Library and the San Francisco Public Library's main branch. Both are amazing places.
Photos of the UC Berkeley library front steps, a Maya Angelou quote, and the SF public library
What was the last library you visited? Was it local, or were you traveling? What did you experience while you were there?
