Paul Turner
@pst1953.bsky.social
Retired with more time now for history and science. One of the ex-X jackals who have moved here.
Cat coat genetics is fascinating and nicely explained by Wikipedia. Black vs. orange depends on a site on the X chromosome. Early in development of females one X turns off randomly in each cell (X-inactivation), causing a beautiful mosaic of black and orange if the alleles on each X were different.
December 5, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Cat coat genetics is fascinating and nicely explained by Wikipedia. Black vs. orange depends on a site on the X chromosome. Early in development of females one X turns off randomly in each cell (X-inactivation), causing a beautiful mosaic of black and orange if the alleles on each X were different.
There's someone whose existence I had forgotten. Thank you Popehat!
December 2, 2025 at 11:31 PM
There's someone whose existence I had forgotten. Thank you Popehat!
Speaking of keister kissing, I have seen the verb, "to underbus," several times now referring to Secretary Hegseth's cowardly and disloyal "praise" of Admiral Bradley. Change the spelling, and underbuss could be a new word for kissing ass. The Trump regime needs endless synonyms for that.
December 2, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Speaking of keister kissing, I have seen the verb, "to underbus," several times now referring to Secretary Hegseth's cowardly and disloyal "praise" of Admiral Bradley. Change the spelling, and underbuss could be a new word for kissing ass. The Trump regime needs endless synonyms for that.
I just wish there were a way to double tap the heart button for this post!
December 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I just wish there were a way to double tap the heart button for this post!
I cannot understand anyone who fails to realize that tolerance of overt anti-Muslim speech primes toleration of overt anti-Jewish speech. For much of my life, whatever religious prejudice a person might harbor, its utterance rendered the speaker déclassé. No more. Islamophobia spreads antisemitism.
November 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I cannot understand anyone who fails to realize that tolerance of overt anti-Muslim speech primes toleration of overt anti-Jewish speech. For much of my life, whatever religious prejudice a person might harbor, its utterance rendered the speaker déclassé. No more. Islamophobia spreads antisemitism.
I'm old enough to remember when we stopped starting the school day with a prayer. My enduring memory is wondering why we said the Lord's Prayer differently at school than at our church. I never told anyone, but it made me worry that something was wrong with my family. Imagine if I had been Jewish!
November 21, 2025 at 2:23 AM
I'm old enough to remember when we stopped starting the school day with a prayer. My enduring memory is wondering why we said the Lord's Prayer differently at school than at our church. I never told anyone, but it made me worry that something was wrong with my family. Imagine if I had been Jewish!
Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest.
November 20, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest.
The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans. The entire trilogy is superb, but only the first volume has page-turning narrative drive. That is because of nature of the events themselves, not some failure of the author to follow through.
November 20, 2025 at 1:43 AM
The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans. The entire trilogy is superb, but only the first volume has page-turning narrative drive. That is because of nature of the events themselves, not some failure of the author to follow through.
The style channels Richard Posner: direct, conversational, full of active verbs, not pausing to quibble over details. The rest of the opinion exhaustively takes care of those, ties up the loose ends, and fully justifies the holding. Specialists will admire it. Bonus: it doesn't screw California. 2/2
November 18, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The style channels Richard Posner: direct, conversational, full of active verbs, not pausing to quibble over details. The rest of the opinion exhaustively takes care of those, ties up the loose ends, and fully justifies the holding. Specialists will admire it. Bonus: it doesn't screw California. 2/2
I assume you are taking the age of the various parts and averaging.
November 16, 2025 at 11:38 PM
I assume you are taking the age of the various parts and averaging.
You don’t need “somebody very close to this case” to know that it isn’t prepubescent girls Epstein abused. So why choose this moment to lecture on the technical definition of pedophilia used by pros (as opposed to popular usage)? Obviously to underplay the depravity. She thinks Trump is implicated.
November 13, 2025 at 11:37 PM
You don’t need “somebody very close to this case” to know that it isn’t prepubescent girls Epstein abused. So why choose this moment to lecture on the technical definition of pedophilia used by pros (as opposed to popular usage)? Obviously to underplay the depravity. She thinks Trump is implicated.
It needs much more publicity than it will get from appearing in the pathetic Tribune. The signers are people we Chicagoans trusted for decades.
November 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM
It needs much more publicity than it will get from appearing in the pathetic Tribune. The signers are people we Chicagoans trusted for decades.
I followed your link and quickly recognized the essay even though I am certain that I read it way back in my student days. It is well worth taking a fresh look at every fifty years or so. I think it was something Stephen Jay Gould pointed out in his first collection of columns.
November 13, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I followed your link and quickly recognized the essay even though I am certain that I read it way back in my student days. It is well worth taking a fresh look at every fifty years or so. I think it was something Stephen Jay Gould pointed out in his first collection of columns.
By the rules of Kavanaugh stereotyping, we can now expect to see ICE hanging around on the sidewalks outside big city hospitals and in the parking lots of Silicon Valley tech firms demanding identification from everyone they think looks South Asian. Time to alienate another bloc of voters.
November 8, 2025 at 12:56 PM
By the rules of Kavanaugh stereotyping, we can now expect to see ICE hanging around on the sidewalks outside big city hospitals and in the parking lots of Silicon Valley tech firms demanding identification from everyone they think looks South Asian. Time to alienate another bloc of voters.
Nigeria has a population greater than that of Russia. It has an area greater than that of any European country except Russia. Donny, don’t let a Mercator projection fool you. Nigeria is BIG.
November 7, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Nigeria has a population greater than that of Russia. It has an area greater than that of any European country except Russia. Donny, don’t let a Mercator projection fool you. Nigeria is BIG.
Agree 100%. In addition, the viciousness ensures that some voters with transgender family or friends whom they love will never, ever forgive one single member of the party that harbored or tolerated such cruelty. Others will wonder what group they care about will be targeted next for equal cruelty.
November 6, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Agree 100%. In addition, the viciousness ensures that some voters with transgender family or friends whom they love will never, ever forgive one single member of the party that harbored or tolerated such cruelty. Others will wonder what group they care about will be targeted next for equal cruelty.
Was the unexpectedly large margin propelled by a shift among Latino voters? Perhaps pollsters missed it because those same Latino voters are reluctant to talk to strangers on the phone about voting, whether they plan to vote, whom they plan to vote for, or anything else. I wonder why.
November 6, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Was the unexpectedly large margin propelled by a shift among Latino voters? Perhaps pollsters missed it because those same Latino voters are reluctant to talk to strangers on the phone about voting, whether they plan to vote, whom they plan to vote for, or anything else. I wonder why.
When Trump wrote "Save our Supreme Court from 'Packing'" he hadn't heard about today's oral argument on tariffs. How long will it be before he is demanding that his tame Congress expand the court so he can pack it? My bet is not until after the decision comes down, but he might float the threat.
November 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
When Trump wrote "Save our Supreme Court from 'Packing'" he hadn't heard about today's oral argument on tariffs. How long will it be before he is demanding that his tame Congress expand the court so he can pack it? My bet is not until after the decision comes down, but he might float the threat.
There is a huge selection bias at work here. “Other Normal People” are numerous, but they’re nodding along and saying those words to themselves. The complainers are overrepresented among those who reach for their keyboards because “You’re right, Ken” just takes up space. Bluesky is mostly ONPs.
November 5, 2025 at 11:46 AM
There is a huge selection bias at work here. “Other Normal People” are numerous, but they’re nodding along and saying those words to themselves. The complainers are overrepresented among those who reach for their keyboards because “You’re right, Ken” just takes up space. Bluesky is mostly ONPs.
And finally, there are a bunch of truly amazing young musicians posting covers of 60s and 70s songs on YouTube. Also some not so young. If you have never seen the Gat Brothers play Sultans of Swing on a Jerusalem street corner your life is incomplete. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqS... 3/3
www.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
And finally, there are a bunch of truly amazing young musicians posting covers of 60s and 70s songs on YouTube. Also some not so young. If you have never seen the Gat Brothers play Sultans of Swing on a Jerusalem street corner your life is incomplete. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqS... 3/3
Moreover, I hear 70s music endlessly in stores, restaurants, and hotel lobbies, at times to the exclusion of much else. More relevant, however, is prestige television, which has an endless appetite for songs of that era, including deep cuts. Think of Alone Again Or at the end of Russian Doll. 2/3
November 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Moreover, I hear 70s music endlessly in stores, restaurants, and hotel lobbies, at times to the exclusion of much else. More relevant, however, is prestige television, which has an endless appetite for songs of that era, including deep cuts. Think of Alone Again Or at the end of Russian Doll. 2/3
Probably not, but I think of deep cut as pointing to obscure album tracks to the exclusion of anything that ever got AM play. As for the youngsters, my codger friends and I frequently note how much our 20 something relatives seem to know about and like the music of our salad days. 1/3
November 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Probably not, but I think of deep cut as pointing to obscure album tracks to the exclusion of anything that ever got AM play. As for the youngsters, my codger friends and I frequently note how much our 20 something relatives seem to know about and like the music of our salad days. 1/3
interesting choice, but I wouldn’t call it a deep cut. Folks my age would recognize it at once, and it still pops into my head sometimes. Is it a problem that the Norman Greenbaum lyrics about Jesus (“He’s gonna set me up with the spirit in the sky”) seem slightly mocking of Christianity. Not to me…
November 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
interesting choice, but I wouldn’t call it a deep cut. Folks my age would recognize it at once, and it still pops into my head sometimes. Is it a problem that the Norman Greenbaum lyrics about Jesus (“He’s gonna set me up with the spirit in the sky”) seem slightly mocking of Christianity. Not to me…