The Tartan Army

I am loving this story!

The Scots are having great fun during their stay, and plan to be in Miami this week for the next game, and promise more marches and more takeovers!  With all the bad stuff happening in the world, its great to read about something so wholesome and fun.  (ok with all the alcohol, maybe not quite "wholesome" but they're apparently very pleasant whilst drinking).

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tartan-army-takes-over-boston-013417160.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCEkyyYY1zw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9c6AygH0ZU

We need SO MUCH MORE of this in our lives!

Can Repair Cafes save a dollar and the planet?

I have to say that I really like this idea. I was fortunate to have learned a lot about how to repair things from my father and grandfather (both were exceptionally handy). 

But this is a bit of a lost art. My kids didn’t really express much interest in taking part and fixing things (not that they can’t, or didn’t listen, it’s more about desire maybe) and I know I’ve heard the same from other people in my age range. 

So the idea of being able to go somewhere and get hands on and learn with an expert of sorts is intriguing. 

 

https://thehustle.co/newsletters/12-06-2026

Women's heatlh

I was vaguely aware of how women's health is not well funded or really taken seriously.  But, the fact that this doesn't get much press left me in the dark about the depth of the disparity.

Here's an article that calls out some of the issues, and how women are treated differently than men. For example, I just learned that women weren't even included in large research studies about health until 1993.  Wait, how did I not know that? (shame on me in a way)

And then there's funding for various women-specific issues.  Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, yet only gets .067% of NIH funding (around $28 million), and another $44 million from startups.

Meanwhile male pattern baldness (which has no adverse health effects!) gets $1.2 billion in funding annually.  

Women typically aren't used in Alzheimer's studies in spite of the fact that they actually comprise 67% of the people afflicted with the disease.

And on and on from there.

It's something we should all be aware of, and try to right this "injustice" in how money is applied to the situation. 

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2025-12-04/women-health-tiktok-research-opinion

I guess we just can’t understand what it is to be obscenely wealthy.

A positive story in the World Cup

in spite of the visa issue that vozinha notes, this is is a pretty great story. 

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/meet-cabo-verde-world-cup-darlings/

Watch "It’s Not the 1980s Men Miss. It’s This." on YouTube

I found this video to be a little … enlightening. As a man of a certain age, I can absolutely relate. 

Times have changed and there are maybe simpler things that I miss  

 

https://youtu.be/lS3sXeuZLBQ?is=w6R3BJKR_beD8Ga0

Iran World Cup team coach says it was ordered out of U.S. right after first match - CBS News

This sounds right. Great game. Now get out! Or we’ll arrest all of you and put you in prison. Eyes roll. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-world-cup-team-coach-says-team-ordered-out-of-us-right-after-first-match-amir-ghalenoei/

Also…

The Iran winger Mehdi Torabi’s US visa has expired after the team’s opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday, according to state media.

The player only had a single-entry visa instead of a multiple-entry with Iran staying in Mexico and travelling into the US for their matches.

“Following the national team’s trip to Los Angeles for the match against New Zealand and the conclusion of that game, Torabi’s visa has now expired,” the state news agency IRNA reported.

The Iranian Football Federation “has taken steps to obtain a new visa for Torabi, so that he can accompany the national team in its upcoming matches”, it added.

World Cup organisers and the US have not yet commented.

Shanghai Disney expansion

This is the story about a planned new theme park to complement the Shanghai Disney World that currently exists, and is wildly popular.  (And it may have already been formally announced by the time you read this, its unclear when it will be unveiled)

The article goes into some detail about the design of the park and its operation and is worth a read.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2026/06/14/disney-expected-to-announce-new-theme-park/

Oh look. Another country manipulated him.

Epstein file contains claim of "underage sex parties" on Trump golf course

Is this the line?

C’mon man!  This guy is quite clearly implicated in the Epstein business. 

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/epstein-file-says-trump-knew-and-funded-underage-sex-parties-at-his-golf-course-40555980/

Inside Trump’s White House, the Epstein Files Caused a Freakout - The New York Times

This is the height of self righteous absurdity. They all need a day of reckoning. 

And it’s sad that Biden didn’t do something about this when he had the chance to. He could have ended this, and prosecuted as necessary. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html

The World Cup

The games kicked off this week, and there's rather a lot going on, beyond the pitch.  

First off, let's talk about ticketing.  When it was first announced that the World Cup would be making its way to the US for the first time in some years, I was intrigued.  And when some games were announced for Miami, I was excited.  Games in my backyard?  Maybe I could catch one!  Except that the price point was well beyond what it was 4 years ago (10x the amount!), and there was some weird lottery to get in.  There have been investimagations into price gouging, and it appears as though not all tickets have actually been sold, contrary to what we're told.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino assured us that it's all simply okay, because the average price was only(!) $500 per ticket.  Then went on to tell us "Let me say that we are very relaxed about it because before starting to sell 7 million tickets, we checked what we would do with the best lawyers or experts In California, we sold 800,000 tickets for the games in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Out of the 800,000 we had three customers who complained. The fourth one has come since. These cases were solved before the investigations started. We welcome any investigations. We'll present everything and make our case. But it's most important that every dollar that we generate goes back into football." (by the way, that's a funny way to say that FIFA takes all the profits and keeps them!)

Then, it was a lot of information about the sheer grift that was happening in host cities. Money was being spent to "upgrade" stadiums and to get fans to games.  But at our expense as taxpayers, rather than by FIFA.

And then there was the absurdity of visas for fans travelling from other places.  The state department was moving so slowly, and there was an (since rescinded, but not after having the intended effect) "entry bond" placed on some of what this administration thinks are undesirable countries. And many people just couldn't get visas to come and watch their country play.

Some fans managed to secure visas, only to have them later rescinded. Some players and referees had difficulty getting the visas.  A few were turned away as they went through customs.  Some were subjected to intense searches, and detainments that lasted for many hours.

Infantino addressed this too: "Believe me when I tell you, or don't believe me if you don't want, but we try always to find solutions, always.  But then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces and I don't know what. We are a sports organization, we try to do our best with the means that we have."

 

Referring to the referee who was stopped in Miami - who the US said has an "association with suspected members of terror organizations" - Infantino said "It is unfortunate what happened to Omar, the referee from Somalia, but again we don't control everything.  We try, we'll discuss, we'll see. Maybe sometimes it's good as well to chill, relax. We work on everything, we try to resolve everything. Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect in terms of finding a solution. We always try to find solutions, always. But then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces."

 

Funny that he gave T-rump the first ever FIFA peace prize... and then when the guy in charge doesn't embody that, its met with a shrug and an urgence to "relax"... man is this all dumb.

Meanwhile, hotels, which had expected a surge of customers, have low bookings.  

And did I mention the heat due to climate change?  Yeah, its too hot in some cities to play soccer, according to the player rep organization.  And FIFA says the cutoff to postpone if it hits 32C, which is about 90F.  Several cities (Miami included) hit that daily.  But you can imagine they won't postpone matches.  Because there's money to be made.  So instead, they disrupt the flow with hydration breaks (which they've done before, but its all weird)

Its a bit of a mess. Here's to hoping the games we see on TV are good!

Wind and solar provided 24% of U.S. grid capacity through March 2026: report - pv magazine USA

How do you like them apples? 

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/06/04/wind-and-solar-provided-24-of-u-s-grid-capacity-through-march-2026-report/

Are we unable to survive as humans if we can’t adapt?

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change.”

— Charles Darwin 

This quote highlights a core idea from Darwin’s thinking about evolution and survival. The message is not that strength or intelligence has no value, but rather that neither guarantees long-term survival on its own. Conditions in nature are never fixed, and environments keep shifting in ways that cause living beings to respond or adjust.

But consider it in context to today’s world where many humans are unwilling to adapt to any sort of change.  

SpaceX IPO

This planned IPO for SpaceX is so bizarre.  Wealthy investors and the investment banking firms are losing their minds about it.  Its so valuable! Elon is letting us in on his world! Its all excitement (wrapped up in a silly amount of hype).

For the average investor, there's nothing to see here.  We can't feed at this trough.

And there's the matter of "going public" via an IPO.  It would seem that any rules the SEC has, and applicable laws are being bent or outright abused.

He's selling a small percentage of shares, and will keep the rest for himself.

As far as I can tell, Musk will still "own" the company, and there is no immediate plan to establish a board of directors. So in most ways this is a fundraiser and not making his company publicly traded.

And then there's this "plan" to merge SpaceX and Tesla as one company.  He is the CEO of Tesla - not a single owner.  He would have to get board and then shareholder approval for such a move (and he may follow that rule in the long run), but its weird that he just says its what he wants to do without proper filings and whatnot.  And without a board or significant shareholders in SpaceX, how would this be done?  It will be publicly traded and would have to go through some disclosure and due diligence process I would think.

And honestly, in a more normal world where he wasn't a "part of government," this would probably get flagged and not be allowed.  Yet, here we are.

Oh and there's the small matter of the company valuation.  He pegged a number, and what has come back since is less than half that value.  

And it would seem that SpaceX is "probably" doing no better than breaking even on their space ventures (that's expensive!).  Rideshares to space and starlink are income, but it seems just enough to keep the company afloat.  Whether that has value to investors remains to be seen.

Trains in Switzerland Are Now Running Over Solar Panels in a First-of-Its-Kind Test

Using train tracks for solar collection is a novel idea, with some merit. 

I mean, many tracks are in direct sunlight and they remain clear most of the time. 

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/solar-panels-over-train-tracks-switzerland/

Scientists lose critical climate record as ocean observatory will go dark under Trump funding cuts

Fuck me….

https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-critical-climate-ocean-observatory.html

3 Teens Win Global Earth Prize for Inventing Tamarind Powder That Easily Removes Microplastics

Nicely done! These teens came up with a tamarind based product that can added to water; a little agitation and the powder combines with microplastics and clumps. This clump can be removed with a magnet. 

That’s crazy. But is another example of how we can do better! 

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/3-teens-win-global-earth-prize-for-inventing-tamarind-powder-that-easily-removes-microplastics/

Watch "INSIDE Disney’s Groundbreaking Robotic Marble Sculpting | Grumpy's Gauntlet" on YouTube

This is an unexpected innovation that Disney has created. They have developed a robot that can take a 3D image and sculpt it from a stone block. 

What once came from a chisel and perseverance from a sculptor, can now be accomplished fairly easily by nearly anyone with an artistic eye. 

https://youtu.be/khNXWahOa1Y?si=om7lQYyrm1nOKdj1

While the world fights over oil, China just flew a 7.5-ton unmanned cargo plane powered by a megawatt-class hydrogen turboprop, climbing to 984 feet, covering 22.4 miles at 137 mph, and landing 16 minutes later with the engine running smoothly the whole way

Hydrogen powered, very large, unmanned …. Wow, that’s a lot to take in.  But it shows that there are opportunities to move away from our oil dependence. 

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/while-the-world-fights-over-oil-china-just-flew-a-7-5-ton-unmanned-cargo-plane-powered-by-a-megawatt-class-hydrogen-turboprop-climbing-to-984-feet-covering-22-4-miles-at-137-mph-and-landing-16-min/32807/

The downside of "reducing taxes"

Most states that lean conservative, have these weird plans to cut taxes!  Florida is no exception, with lots of moves designed to "help the average individual" - though we all know that these types of things disproportionately  benefit the wealthy among us.  And I just read about yet another push to eliminate property taxes in my fair state.  Because #FreeDumb

The obvious problem is that counties and cities have less in the way of capital that they can spend on infrastructure, services (including emergency type things), and even schools.

To combat that loss of revenue, there are many communities around Florida that are finding new ways to take in money from residents.  Among them are automated cameras around school busses, in school zones, and now in construction sites.  They use radar detection to measure speed, and read the tag on the car.  They then issue a citation to the owner of that car for an amount.  Its not a ticket, per se, and it comes off as a kind of a tax.

There are so many issues with this setup, but the biggest concern is about enforcement.  Take school zones, for example.  The system operates on school days for a period of time (I think its around 30 minutes) *before* the stated school zone time, and around 30 minutes *after* the stated school zone time, it will generate these citations if a driver is 10 miles an hour over the 15 MPH school zone.  And during the rest of the time, it will generate a citation if you are 10 miles an hour over the regular pasted speed limit for non-school times.  

School zones here all have a flashing warning light to let you know that you're in a school zone, but they go on during the hours posted - not in the 30 mins before and after.  So they are utterly meaningless.

Oh, and don't miss the fact that some communities don't follow this rule, and simply issue citations if you're going over 25MPH during the school day.  Full stop. Even though the signage indicates otherwise.

Its a mess, but has generated millions for these communities!  

So thanks Florida legislature for trying to make the tax less of a burden, while allowing for these silly loopholes that allow communities to make up their own rules for "taxation" - without the need to have anyone present (don't we have a constitutional right to know our accusers?!) and a complete inability to fight against this.