The last question thwarted us again and disproved my Guessability Theory.

What is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea?

What 1958 film is about a fan who'd sell his soul to aid the Washington Senators?

Who responded to Barry Goldwater's "In your heart you know he's right" slogan with "In your guts you know he's nuts"?

What song ranked #3 by Rolling Stone and #1 on its list of protest songs begins with the following lyrics?

"I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh, and just like the river, I've been running ever since"

Tesla's sales are down 13% globally in Q1, compared to Q1 of last year.

It was worse in China, and in most of Europe.

I want to celebrate, but this still leaves me wondering about the math. If sales tanked worse in most countries, then they may have improved somewhere else to balance at 13%.

Guess where "somewhere" is gonna be... guess what country we don't have sales numbers for yet 🤣

There are other explanations though, the Model Y just got a refresh that some people were waiting for. That bump won't last.

So I am still hopeful that Americans will be either too smart or too dumb to buy a Tesla!

Finished week 2 at Google (on contract). It's quite a relief to get a job where i'm given a task and am not micromanaged (even if all my various facets of existence within the Google hivemind have yet to fully coalesce, which hindered my ability to work until this Wednesday).  I've had to thrash against the limits of my ignorance yet, after establishing the initial parameters, managed to surpass obstacles on my own, needing only once to ask for clarification.

Plumbing and electric work on the new house is nearly done, which will allow us to insure it.  The garage at the current house has been obliterated and removed, and the dogs are greatly loving the new roaming grounds.  Memo hates shovels and, when faced with the Bobcat that remained overnight (the garage demolition took two days), felt that it was his duty to bite the largest shovel he'd ever seen.

Our grandson Elliott drew some capybaras during his last visit. They now grace our fridge.

The semifinals aren't happening yet, but My Favorite Team did get tripped up by the final question this week.  My post-mortem advice was that the final answer is almost always something you could have guessed, even if you didn't.

What character created by Stan Lee was supposed to be unlikeable because "everyone hates war"?

What tech company founded in 1939 was named based on the flip of a coin?

What was Elvis Presley's first number one hit?

What automobile device was first used to try to gain an advantage in the 1894 Paris-Rouen race?

My wife is watching a video titled "Pride and Prejudice 1995 More Things You Might Have Missed".  My immediate thought was "Good grief, that's a lot of things to have missed!"

And then I laughed and laughed and laughed at myself.  

Still rocking, My Favorite Team is in the semifinals.  We'll see how we do against tougher competition. 

Rehoboam is the name of an AI in what dystopian sci-fi series on HBO?

What sportswear company founded in 1938 is named for a river in Oregon?

Miss Trunchbull is the headmistress in what novel by Roald Dahl?

After his death in 2022, whose nickname was added to his home country's dictionary as a synonym for "exceptional, incomparable, unique"​​​​​​​?

Because One Day I'll Leave You
​​​​​​​A Phantom To Lead You

Fan(s?) of nerdsholmferret crosswords will recognize the first one, which I answered with glee.  Do not get me started on "Rick Pitino" or "Malcolm Gladwell", which I nearly answered, with gnashing of teeth.

In the movie "Better Off Dead", Johnny the paperboy repeatedly demands what quantity of money?

What Paul Simon song starts with "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all" ?

What movie features this quote:  "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they've come" ?

What 18th century Prussian monarch composed flute sonatas and corresponded with Voltaire about philosophy, in addition to waging wars of conquest?

Remember that you are dust, and also these bits of trivia:

This science-fictional character had the prime directives "Serve the public trust.  Protect the innocent.  Uphold the law."

This capital city has an unofficial slogan urging its inhabitants to keep it weird.

This politician appeared in a short film depicting his 1896 Republican nomination for the presidency.

Portrayed by Frank Langella, Adam Sandler, and Nicholas Cage, this is the most portrayed literary character.

Today I decided to stop using the name of the chain that operates the 24hr pharmacy in my neighborhood, the one that operates the overwhelming fraction of the pharmacies that serve the entire metropolitan area in which the city where I live is located.

Henceforth, I shall not call it “Walgreens” and it shall be known to me going forward as The Prison Commissary.

Please make a note of it.