Early stages of strep

Of course, when there are 10 candidates on stage, no one gets a lot of time to lay out their policies, but former vice president Joe Biden managed to elbow his way into 12 minutes and 53 seconds, while Senator Kamala Harris of California had 11 minutes and 37 seconds of speaking time. … [Read more...] about People are mad that Andrew Yang got the least speaking time at the Democratic debate

As much as my brain has been ravaged by temporal distortion, I remember vividly the day of Trump’s inauguration. I made the trip to Washington D.C. to be part of it, to physically register my opposition. The rattled hordes marched with parade floats, like a purgatorial Mardi Gras. A scattered handful of black bloc antifascists weaved in and out of the crowd, en route to go trash some property. (Many of them racked up felony rioting charges for their efforts.) Ghoulishly ebullient MAGA Dads jeered at the lot of us to “get a job,” even though it was Saturday. … [Read more...] about What looking back at Trump’s inauguration tells us about Biden’s presidency

Air conditioners aren’t the only reason electricity use is still close to its pre-pandemic levels. Many building systems, such as water heaters and server rooms, are designed to operate all the time, not to be turned on and off like a light switch in the office kitchen. To ensure long-term functionality, many operational systems continue working even when people aren’t in the building. For owners, this is one of the costs of operating buildings. “The last thing they want to do is shut everything off and then have an issue with mechanical degradation or mold,” Robin says. “You can’t just mothball a building.” … [Read more...] about Empty office buildings are still devouring energy. Why?

The second Democratic debate was befuddling to say the least. With 10 disparate candidates vying for precious airtime on stage, it felt as though most of them didn’t know which point to make, what question to respond to, or even where to put their hands. … [Read more...] about Kamala Harris did not show up to the Democratic debate to play games

Unfortunately, recent history suggests otherwise. Four years ago, the Republican primaries similarly ballooned into an unwieldy free-for-all, with no fewer than 17 candidates vying for the top job at one point. Many of those candidates held on longer than you’d expect. According to FiveThirtyEight’s recap, former Texas governor Rick Perry was the first of the major candidates to drop out, but that didn’t happen until September 11, 2015. The equivalent date for the 2020 cycle is more than five weeks away. … [Read more...] about When will 2020 Democrats start dropping out? A depressing reality check