I haven't had my hair cut since Covid. 

It's a big mass of not-quite-straight but not-really-curly coarse reddish mop. I admit, it's inappropriate for a woman my age to have her hair long below her shoulderblades, but there it is. Around the house, and often when I'm outside, I twist it up into what would be a man bun, if I happened to be a man. 

I've always brushed it out every day, but somehow, over the last month or so, it has developed a massive mat in the back which I cannot deal with. I've known I'm going to have to get help with it, and I was given the name and number of a woman who makes house calls to do hair. I can't abide salons.

So I call her up, and she's coping with her father’s death, which is ongoing. She didn't actually sound devastated – he's 97, he's got to go sometime, she said. The doctor said he would die this morning, but he's hanging on!

I told her it wasn't an emergency. What else could I say?

Where did the blazing ball of radioactive fire go

Why is my third floor habitable

What do you mean we don't need to water the garden

What is this damp substance on the ground

I am confused

I walked through Little Italy today, lots of people inside and out watching the Canada-Morocco match, but the vibe wasn’t like it is when the Azzurri are on the field. 

Now I’m back to doing a book cover for a collection of Marxist writings on which I’ve been asked not to put a portrait of Karl. So maybe Harpo?

One of my two main clients has been going through hell lately because his wife has cancer and has not been getting better. He called me yesterday to tell me that she has elected to have MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) next Monday.

He was crying.

I said some things, but have been thinking, one grew up with certain formulaic things to say if someone’s relative was seriously ill or had died, but no appropriate responses when told that person had scheduled their death.

I mean, you can’t say “I hope it goes well.”

What American comptitive eater has won the Mustard Yellow Belt a record 17 times?

What sort of fully-functioning object was "America", a 227-pound 18-karat gold artwork that was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum and then stolen from Blenheim Palace?

What American company (the world's first billion-dollar corporation) was co-founded in 1901 by Elbert Henry Gary, for whom Gary, Indiana was named?

We're back. Not sure what happened there, the out of memory zapper zapped mongod last night. I took the opportunity to do a package update as well. Thanks Rob for pointing it out.

What did Gertrude Ederle become the first woman to swim across?

Who was Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989?

What was Ernest Hemingway's debut novel?

The run-up to the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup was utterly dispiriting to me.

However, the games have begun, and things are feeling normal again, even in the face of... everything.

Okay so hey, in the glorious randomness that is my life, I went to a Dr Pepper Knockoff tasting last weekend. It has been 20 years since the last Dr Pepper Knockoff tasting that I attended, so it was time.

NOTE: Dr Pepper dropped the "." after Dr in the 50s. 

INTEL: Dr Pepper was invented by a pharmacist in Waco Texas who wanted a drink that tasted like the pharmacy smelled. 

May 30th, 2026 Bethesda, Maryland Dr Pepper & Knockoffs tasting results:

TOP CHOICES: 

• DR PEPPER - tried and true. Best mouthfeel, best tasting
• MR P!BB - deserves a PHD. Like Dr Pepper + splash of cherry

NOT TOO SHABBY

• DR TOPPER - very respectable clone. Hint of bitters?  Would work well as a mixer for an alcoholic bev. 
• DR. PERKY - best name. Not bad actually. Solid but not stellar.

OKAY

• DR. POP - very vanilla. Almost but not as good as Perky.
• DR THUNDER - Tried and ok. Not a loser, but not a winner. 

ONLY IF YOU HAVE TO

• DR BOB - bland, watery, better the second sip but still not good. Malpractice comes to mind

JUST DONT: 

• DR. POPZ prebiotic soda from Aldi (?) - Maybe shouldn’t have been invited, more kombucha than soda. Medicinal, artificial, thin. Suggested use: drain cleaning.

THIS IS REALLY A DIFFERENT THING ALTOGETHER

• Cheerwine. This one is not even trying to be a Dr. Pepper knockoff. Not sure how it slipped into the tasting. Good, but not in the DP family,.