PicoBlog

Well it’s the Friday before the third Monday in April which means Marathon Monday is right around the corner. The Boston Marathon takes place every Patriot’s Day (except one) and if you’re a running enthusiast like myself you know how important pizza is to marathon training. Lately I’ve been running around 70 miles a week preparing for the Pittsburgh Marathon and I’m craving two things at the end of a run: a cortado from Constellation and a large plain pizza from any pizza shop that’ll have me.

Those future deadlines to abolish, ban, etc various things have dreadful effects, even if there is no intention to ever follow through, or kick them into the future forever. The car you will be buying in 2035 is already on the drawing board, but manufacturers now have to reckon with political risks. Do they spend trillions on ramping up electric production capacity only to have the rug pulled when the ban is overturned in 2034?

The region’s newest brewery has roots in Spain. No, seriously. Justin DeWolf, a Phelps native, lived in Barcelona for a number of years, started the first homebrewing club there, and is bringing a bit of that Catalonian flair and influence to his under-construction Victor brewery. DeWolf Brewing, which is on track to open in late 2024 or early 2025, will feature a Spanish-influenced food menu, a bright, airy ambiance, and a focus on fresh, local lager to its historic spot at 60 Maple Ave.

20 Games into the season at the quarter mark of the season, the Raptors sit tied for 10th in the conference with a 9-11 record. They’ve won games they should have lost, lost games they should have won, and been down and come back by double digits so often that Raptor fans could qualify sitting on their couch as intensive cardio workouts. As the league sets the stage for the in-season tournament, the Raptors have some time off, with their next game not until Wednesday, they have 4 days of rest.

In the universe of Warhammer 40k there is a something known as a Dreadnaught. For the uninitiated Warhammer 40k is a tabletop war game in which players command armies of miniatures against one another in simulated combat and was arguably the most nuclear armament in my arsenal in the war against losing my virginity when I was a teenager. In the year 40000 AD, mankind has spread across the galaxy, and found itself at constant war.

The top-selling car in 1980 was the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Gas mileage on this vehicle averaged 20 miles per gallon (17 city/23 highway). By 2021 the Honda CR-V claimed the title. The CR-V reported mileage at 31 miles per gallon (28 city/34 highway). This represents an increase of 55 percent over this 41-year period. Mileage has been increasing at a compound rate of around one percent a year. Back in 1980 gasoline was selling for $1.

I’ve been “Abu Aardvark” since 2003. I chose the name as a combination of my deep love for the 300 issue epic comic book series Cerebus the Aardvark, an unwittingly savvy move to occupy the top slot on everyone’s blog roll (that used to be a thing), and a testament to my then newborn daughter (who arrived just as the US invaded Iraq, which also used to be a thing for my old school blog).

Updated throughout with news of Everette Jackson’s body found. May his family and friends know solace. Questions remain. The sheriff’s office isn’t allowing an autopsy. “It isn’t necessary,” a deputy tells the family. They aren’t letting the family go to the spot where Everette’s body was found. This Juneteenth, a cherished young man —Everette Jackson, 21, a son, an uncle, a brother, a friend — was found, passed away, clinging to a tree, after his loving, close-knit family from Louisiana walked the banks of the fast-moving Payette River in Emmett, Idaho, desperately searching for him.

I was listening to a recent episode of Every Single Album where the podcast hosts were discussing 1989 (Taylor’s Version). It was a “mailbag” episode and Nathan and Nora were taking listener questions. Somewhere in the discussion, Nathan mentioned that he considers evermore to be a Christmas album. This caught my attention and my intuition agreed, but I thought it’d be worth investigating further. As research for this issue of so long daisy mae, I also listened to the evermoreepisode of Every Single Album where Nathan and Nora break down their favourite songs on evermore.