Purple. Neighbours had the first bbq of the year this sunny weekend.

My heart bleeds for his troubles. I'm a total landlubber but found that article truly irritating for the way it occasionally used 'boat' (and even 'yacht') to describe such a large multi-masted ocean going ship. It's a ship. And not to be too much of a complaining pedant, yes it is also a yacht, but isn't a far better description something like 'three-masted schooner? It's more like a tea clipper than your average yacht! Fabulous ship, one of the good things of having ridiculously wealthy individuals is that things like this are built.

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/colombia-plans-to-euthanize-dozens-of-cocaine-hippos-descendants-of-animals-brought-by-notorious-drug-trafficker-pablo-escobar-180988548/ Colombia is taking aim at its invasive hippopotamus population. This week, the government announced plans to euthanize dozens of the hulking animals, which are causing ecological and safety issues in the South American country. “It is out of responsibility to our ecosystems that we must take these actions,” said Irene Vélez, Colombia’s environment minister, at a press conference on April 13, as reported by El País’ Lucas Reynoso. Colombia is home to nearly 200 hippos, which are the descendants of four animals brought to the country illegally by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar in the early 1980s. Escobar housed the hippos—along with rhinoceroses, elephants and other smuggled creatures—at Hacienda Nápoles, his estate and private zoo located roughly 90 miles from Medellín. The three females and one male began reproducing and, with no natural predators or droughts to keep the population in check, the species thrived in Colombia. After Escobar was shot and killed in 1993, authorities seized Hacienda Nápoles and transferred the animals to nearby zoos—except for the hippos.

Much more so. The stuff today is exponentially stronger. It was the main reason I quit like 48 years ago.

https://macleans.ca/politics/i-dont-recognize-alberta-anymore/ Since the day I was born, 46 years ago at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta has shaped who I am. I can sing the words to “Four Strong Winds,” our unofficial provincial anthem. I’ve visited more rodeos than I can count. My first vehicle was an old pickup, and I taught myself to parallel park using two round hay bales. I’ve spent Saturdays on my family’s acreage, cleaning horse manure out of our barn and helping neighbours with their cattle. I know the beauty of a prairie sunset, and I’ve watched the sun rise in Alberta’s Rockies. Despite my love for the Wild Rose Province, I’m Canadian first, Albertan second. The flag that hangs in my office is the Maple Leaf. When people abroad ask where I’m from, I don’t miss a beat in saying I’m Canadian. This national identity has taught me about the power of multiculturalism, the beauty of bilingualism and the idea that peacekeeping—and a willingness to understand one another—can move the world in a better direction. Alberta is imprinted on my heart, but Canada is part of my soul.

https://apnews.com/article/iowa-superintendent-conflict-audit-fb0c9065a825b51bd429c59c81d83e6b Iowa’s largest school district said Tuesday that it revised its conflict-of-interest policy after an audit found its former superintendent awarded district business to a consulting firm he worked for, affirming findings first reported by The Associated Press in the weeks after federal immigration officers detained him. Ian Roberts, a native of Guyana in South America, worked for two decades as an educator and administrator in urban districts across the U.S. His Sept. 26 arrest in Des Moines, Iowa, shocked the community and drew national attention to his history of criminal charges and falsified credentials. He pleaded guilty in federal court in January, admitting to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on a federal form and illegally possessing firearms. Roberts’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 29. The two counts together carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Heh. The Rubio-on-the-sofa meme is like the Chris-Christie-on-the-beach meme of this era. Versatile and never gets old.

I haven't listened to it, but some of you may be interested. RFK Jr. podcast In the first episode, Kennedy interviews reality-TV chef Robert Irvine about his makeover of military food at Fort Hood, an Army base in Texas. Irvine was the host of the popular Food Network show Dinner: Impossible when a newspaper investigation found that he had embellished parts of his résumé, including that he had created Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cake. Irvine admitted to exaggerating his qualifications and was initially dropped by the network but was eventually brought back. (Irvine also happens to have a line of snack bars called FitCrunch; while protein-packed, they’re also made with the sort of difficult-to-pronounce ingredients many nutritionists caution against.) Irvine did serve in the UK’s Royal Navy after enlisting at a young age, and he began his culinary career there. On the podcast, he tells Kennedy he’s been working with the US military to bring in healthier dining options with a focus on fresh and whole foods. He claims he’s helping to lower food costs by negotiating with suppliers—something the Pentagon has presumably not thought of doing—and that the dining hall food at Fort Hood is so good there are “lines out the door.” Irvine doesn’t address what kinds of foods Fort Hood was serving before he stepped in nor does he elaborate on the meals it offers now, beyond lower-sodium chicken and sliced melon.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-defies-trump-and-tightens-its-grip-on-hormuz-01a4e32b?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1 The U.S. and Iran are teetering on the brink of a dangerous new phase of the war, as both turn to military force to break a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz that has paralyzed shipping and imposed costs on both sides. Fighting flared for the first time in about a month Monday, with the U.S. Navy trying to open the waterway and Iran hitting commercial ships to keep it closed. The U.S. said it used Apache helicopters to sink Iranian speedboats harassing traffic in the strait. Iran hit a critical oil port in the United Arab Emirates and several vessels around the strategic waterway. The return to a more openly violent chapter will test both sides. Each has reason to try to force an end to the current paralysis in the strait. But they also face substantial risks if the skirmishing escalates out of control—for Iran, greater damage to its economy and leadership, and for President Trump, deeper involvement in a war that is unpopular at home.

Apparently he was taken off the ventilator. That’s a good sign.

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@Mik said: [image: 688070469_1491810025646473_5705398905455320652_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=13d280&_nc_ohc=ETMFQyrfOvAQ7kNvwEUCafM&_nc_oc=Adov1Ufy4NQBUFei4ImNX_5B-9nVQ1yH8Ssu6ZlPlZ5J08fYcAdDg1RxRthho6IPOThJdojjqTOiDZzhb5uVlPta&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fluk1-1.fna&_nc_gid=yfUdUyeBh_pEXPvO00Z7RA&_nc_ss=782a8&oh=00_Af7Xpygqb_gzyRnSgDdMw54COvcyb8-9cmKv6DnbNUNCmw&oe=69FE39F8] I remember talking to a guy in India one time who worked for one of the big machine companies (Caterpillar, or John Deere, or Kumatsu, can't remember which one) and he said that they had a lot of trouble selling certain equipment into India. It was cheaper for a contractor to hire 1000 people a day at $X/day than to spend $XXXXXXXXXX on a piece of equipment.

@Tom-K LOL.

@Andrea-B said: …as in the case of Kiriakou, the process. I think we should be grateful as a society that we have to go back 15 years to actually find an example where the DoJ used the process as a punishment.

1974 New York City.

Thanks! Had a good day hanging out with the kids at a park and nature center.