Did Today’s DOT Fall Through The Cracks? [Sunday Open Thread-ish, 17/7/2022]

This may have to do I'm afraid

17/7/22 MatthewCrawley 31
Is that where the DOT went?

If one is forthcoming I apologize. If I signed up to take it for today I apologize, but I know I didn’t.

I can start us off though. According to this piece in today’s Guardian next year India will supplant China as the world’s most populous country. By midcentury China’s population is expected to fall from 1.43 billion to 1.3 billion, and India’s will rise from 1.41 billion to 1.6 billion. Wow, that seems awfully tight. But is it?

China, at 3.705 million square miles, is only slightly smaller than the US, at 3.787 million square miles. When China recedes to 1.3 billion people, it will be slightly less densely populated than Florida overall. The difference is that Florida, assuming the water table holds up and the seas don’t rise too rapidly, Florida is almost entirely habitable. One could even develop the Everglades, but you’d destroy that ecosystem and its aquifier and then basically much of southern Florida uninhabitable. China’s Gobi Desert? Not so much.

India will feel a little more crowded. It only (only) has 1.269 million square miles of land. Will the entire subcontinent resemble the teeming streets of Mumbai? No, it will feel slightly more crowded than Connecticut. But again, Connecticut is pretty much 100% inhabitable, whereas India has the Himalayan uplands, and there are only so many ski chalets you can build at 10,000 feet.

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31 Comments

  1. Hmm, IDK I wasn’t in charge of today I know that much.

    Thanks for filling in!

     

  2. Oh, my pleasure. How is your recovery coming along? Speedily and steadily, I hope.

  3. Thanks Matt. I noticed when I got up this morning but we’re getting ready to go to the beach so I couldn’t stop to slap one together.

    • Oh lucky you. It looks like it will be another steamy one here, but not quite as bad as Paris, where by 7 PM (their time) it is supposed to be 91 degrees and sunny. And that’s still not quite as bad as Madrid, where by 7 PM (again, their time) it’s supposed to get up to 103 degrees.

      I’m officially an old man. I have sunk to charting weather in places I live nowhere near. My mother was good for this. She enjoyed hours watching the weather channel. When I’d call her she’d be half-watching and say things like, “And did you you see about tomorrow, 36 inches of snow predicted?” “No, I didn’t see that. Where? For you? For me?” “No, no, no [like I was the slow child] in Denver. Those poor people. Still, I guess they’re used to it.”

  4. @MatthewCrawley bravely steps into the breach and saves the day.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m inspired.

  5. I don’t think it was me, but maybe? I carefully wrote down the dates RIP was out and checked the two I was responsible for, and this wasn’t one. If it was me, I apologize.

    • Nothing to apologize for. And best/worst of all I’ll be back at noon, with another thrilling episode of FYCE’s Celebrity Sunday Matinee. That’s how I know I didn’t sign up for this in advance. Even one post from me might be more than enough.

      • I think this may have been a pop fly that landed in the outfield while all the players stand around in a circle wondering why nobody called it.

    • Can we stop referring to these people as “staunch conservatives?”  Bob Dole was a staunch conservative.  Trump supporters are reactionary Christofascists.

      • This: Trump supporters are reactionary Christofascists. Well said, Mr. Kilmister. Drink any good whiskey or whisky lately?

    • I can sum it up in 1 sentence:

      “If Jesus didn’t want that baby to be born, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant”

      And yes, I know she didn’t get pregnant, she was raped. But it doesn’t matter to people like that.

    • Yes, but this won’t do anything to improve the trade deficit, but it’s probably a wash for Chamber of Commerce types. So much American manufacturing is outsourced that this is a good thing, because the dollar is appreciating everywhere, so the cost of inputs is nominally falling. But then you have to sell that crap somewhere, and tons of “American” products are sold abroad, so presumably people will buy less of it when the prices rise, or the manufacturers will reduce prices and therefore profit$.

      As the world’s de facto reserve currency (even the Chinese and the Russians and for all I know the North Koreans have vast holdings of American assets) it’s not a great thing when the dollar appreciates rapidly like this. It means that the global mood is souring and everyone who’s moving all these assets around are feeling uncertain. Uncertainty usually inspires pessimism, not hope.

      But we shall see. That is why economics is called a soft science: no theory can be tested because results can’t be duplicated. However, there is broad historical knowledge to learn from, if only humans and world leaders weren’t so damned unpredictable.

      • Understandable considering the Chinese real estate collapse is still happening and badly based on what seem to be non-bullshit Chinese news sources.

         

  12.  

    I think by “turn on everyone” she just means he’s going to call them names, but wouldn’t it be great if he had a Col. Jessup moment instead?

     

    http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/brandon-gage/102429/mary-trump-donald-will-turn-on-everybody-if-he-is-indicted?fbclid=IwAR0joB6Ap8tjYpx0rcExHarFL7z8IRmEZoYU7oBIfX-SwpQfVEZa7GerB0I

    • If Trump had a Jessup moment, I don’t think it would be the overly macho reaction he’s hoping for more like this teenager’s freak out/social life destroying tantrum.

      • The first time I saw that tantrum clip I laughed my ass off. (On @midnight, I think)

        Then the questions started: why did nobody teach this kid how to manage disappointments in life? Why did the other kid do this to him? How is this kid supposed to live down having a very private moment put on blast? Why was our first reaction howling laughter?

  13. @matthewcrawley you are a gentleman and scholar! You have inspired me to go off on a tangent and share a cocktail mixer recipe.

    8 – 10 cups cubed seeded watermeon depending on how tart you want in proportion to the limes; 1/2 cup fresh lime juice; 2-4 tablespoons sugar, again in proportion to desired tartness. Blend. Add booze of choice, or no booze at all. Mix with a bit of sparkling water or Sprite and garnish with a mint leaf.

     

  14. Good point!

    WTF?

    https://crooksandliars.com/2022/07/nbc-reporters-act-desantis-press

     

  16. Asking for a friend, can you eat too much watermelon?

    Okay I lied.

    Asking for me, as I bought a big watermelon on Thursday and have been eating it constantly since then and wow this is a great reminder for why I should buy the smaller ones going forward.

    • eh…..at least it keeps you hydrated right?

      • Valid point, I haven’t been that thirsty all weekend hahahah

  17. huh…..a hedgehog just ran over my foot to get into my garden whilst i was out for a smoke….then another one followed and just inched past me

    did people stop being scary?

    am i being invaded?

    not sure if they went out under the back fence or are currently living in my shed…..its dark and tbh…i dont care…they can live in my shed…they are cute

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