NFL Week 8 Results

Ten right, four wrong -- not a  bad week. Correct picks in green, incorrect in red:

• Green Bay Packers beat Carolina Panthers
• Baltimore Ravens beat Buffalo Bills*
• Cincinnati Bengals beat Tennessee Titans
• Dallas Cowboys beat Arizona Cardinals
• Minnesota Vikings beat Detroit Lions*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat New York Jets
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Cleveland Browns
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Atlanta Falcons*
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Indianapolis Colts
• Los Angeles Rams beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver Broncos
• New England Patriots beat Miami Dolphins
• Washington Commanders beat Philadelphia Eagles
• Chicago Bears beat Seattle Seahawks*

So far I'm at 71-49 for the season and in the 84.7th percentile among players of ESPN's NFL Picke'em game.

Wordle 1963 Hint

Hint: Marsupial nursery. 

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First Letter: P

Wordle 1962 Hint

Hint: A means of locomotion that might involve sliding while sitting or riding while standing. 

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First Letter: S

Wordle 1961 Hint

Hint: I got so close to solving today's Wordle before failing. If it was a snake, it would have bit me (and I guess it did).

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First Letter: V

Thanks For Asking! -- 11/01/26

Wow, it's November! Ask me anything in the comment thread below this post and I'll answer in, or linked from, that comment thread (trolls' questions have to be interesting to get answered; if they're boring, they just get deleted).

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #43

   "Silence is the fence around wisdom." (Judaism, Pirkei Avot 3:13)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

I guess the most clever way to handle this one would be to say nothing at all about it.

And an obvious knee-jerk retort comes directly from the Bible, specifically Proverbs 17:28: "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise."

The rabbinical explanations for the aphorism go in a different direction -- keeping silence gives one time to think the matter through instead of just spouting off with something incorrect, and makes time for listening while doing that thinking.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Wordle 1960 Hint

Hint: A "brute in human form" in Swift's Country of the Houyhnhnms (or the star of Young Einstein).

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First Letter: Y

Wordle 1959 Hint

Hint: Blues guitar accessory (Duane Allman's was an empty Coricidin bottle).

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First Letter: S

NFL Week 8 Picks

Week 8 of the NFL season kicks off tonight with the Green Bay Packers vs. the Carolina Panthers. My picks:

• Green Bay Packers beat Carolina Panthers
• Baltimore Ravens beat Buffalo Bills*
• Cincinnati Bengals beat Tennessee Titans
• Dallas Cowboys beat Arizona Cardinals
• Minnesota Vikings beat Detroit Lions*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat New York Jets
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Cleveland Browns
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Atlanta Falcons*
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Indianapolis Colts
• Los Angeles Rams beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver Broncos
• New England Patriots beat Miami Dolphins
• Washington Commanders beat Philadelphia Eagles
• Chicago Bears beat Seattle Seahawks*

Upset picks are marked with an asterisk. If I change any of my picks, the changes will be made before kickoff and specifically noted in an update to this post. The picks are also recorded at ESPN's Pick'em game.

Wordle 1958 Hint

Hint: You should find today's Wordle  moving -- provided, that is, that it's installed in a vehicle, in proper working order, not out of gasoline.

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First Letter: M

NFL Week 7 Results

Eight right, six wrong for Week 7, as follows:

• Chicago Bears beat New England Patriots
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat New Orleans Saints
• San Francisco 49ers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Cleveland Browns beat Tennessee Titans
• Minnesota Vikings beat Indianapolis Colts
• New York Jets beat Miami Dolphins
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Carolina Panthers*
• Baltimore Ravens beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• Houston Texans beat New York Giants
• Denver Broncos beat Arizona Cardinals
• Detroit Lions beat  Green Bay Packers
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Seattle Seahawks
• Dallas Cowboys beat Philadelphia Eagles

At present, I'm 61 correct, 45 incorrect for the season, and have fallen to the 83.5th percentile among players of ESPN's NFL Pick'em Game.

Wordle 1957 Hint

Hint: Flour or meal, before milling.

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First Letter: G

Wordle 1956 Hint

Hint: Number-matching game (often hosted by your local veterans' organization).

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First Letter: B

Wordle 1955 Hint

Hint: Kind of an insult 40 years ago, more of a fashionable adjective today -- nerdy in an enthusiastic or socially awkward way.

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First Letter: G

Wordle 1954 Hint

Hint: To put on (a bandage, clothing, etc.).

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First Letter: D

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #42

   "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." -- Matthew 6:19-21

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

Any religion that posits an afterlife, conditioned on one's actions in this life, will likely include an admonition of this type.

It might be a single, eternal afterlife of either paradise or punishment (as in conventional modern Protestant Christianity), or a reincarnation scenario (as in some eastern religions) where one's accrued karma in this life determines one's station/situation in the next).

And once one of those religions gets organized and established, the admonition is quite useful for getting believers to fork over much of their material wealth to "the church," etc.

My own religious beliefs tend toward the idea that, given the lack of clear instructions with strong proof of authenticity from Deity X, our only real "duty" is to try to discern morality from a study of "creation" itself. Deity X handed us a puzzle in a box, and we should try to put that puzzle together as best we can.

Is an obsession with the next Lamborghini or Rolex unhealthy for "the soul?" I think perhaps it is.

But the material world is here, and I can't see any "sin" in approaching that material world with an eye toward living comfortably within it, and peacefully making or earning such material means as bring us closer to that comfort. Since we're each unique in our comfort standards, lecturing "the wealthy" about having "too much" seems silly.

But if your own beliefs point you toward intentional poverty in pursuit of a posthumous reward, don't let me talk you out of it -- especially if you find that the approach makes you happy.

Wordle 1953 Hint

Hint: Like Swiss cheese, a colander, or the Warren Commission Report.

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First Letter: H

The Qualifications for US Senator Are ...

1. At least 30 years old;
2. At least nine years a citizen of the United States; and
3. An inhabitant of the state he's seeking to represent.

This morning, the US Justice Department filed a transparently frivolous and vexatious lawsuit to prevent certification of the Senate election in Alaska if Daniel S. Sullivan doesn't win ... because one of his opponents is named Daniel J. Sullivan. So far as I know, both Dan Sullivans meet the qualifications laid out in the US Constitution.

Even if there was actually a "problem" here  (there's nothing in the US Constitution that forbids two similarly named people from running for office), it wouldn't be the Justice Department's problem, because:

1. The states, not the federal government, get to run elections; and
2. As I pointed out in a comment on another subject this morning, the Constitution is clear that "Each House [of Congress] shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members."

Is Daniel J. Sullivan's "independent" candidacy and campaign a cheap trick to boost Democrat Mary Peltola over incumbent Republican Daniel S. Sullivan? Almost certainly.

Should Alaska's voters inform themselves about the candidates and read their ballots carefully if they bother to vote? Yes, they should.

But most candidacies and most campaigns are full of cheap tricks, the guy's name is in fact his name, the voters are entitled to choose whichever candidates they choose, and the US Department of Justice has precisely zero standing to interfere in the matter.

The courts need to start personally sanctioning US attorney general Todd Blanche right in the bank balance every time he lets one of his underlings pull this kind of bullshit barratry -- or orders them to -- and referring said underlings to their state bar associations for disciplinary measures.

Wordle 1952 Hint

Hint: A singing or playing technique with a "quavering" feel to it.

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First Letter: T

The Doctors Keep Changing Their Story ...

... and it keeps getting worse.

This morning, I had an 8am appointment with an opthalmologist to determine what needs to be done about a small hole in my left retina.

Four hours later, after multiple rounds of various types of imaging, the answer turned out to be: Nothing. The hole is small enough to not be in any danger of tearing.

BUT!

All that imaging revealed that what eye examiners have been telling me is a "freckle" in my left eye for probably ten years or so is actually a lot bigger than can be seen in a regular eye exam. Big enough that it bears watching at three-month intervals to see if it grows/changes.

Who will be watching it? A specialist in retinal oncology, which is the kind of doctor I really, really, really would rather never have to see.

She seems well-qualified -- MD from the Iran University of Medical Science, opthalmology residency and vitreo-retina surgery fellowship at Tehran University of Medical Science Farabi Eye Hospital, uveitis and ocular immunology fellowship at Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institute, clinical research fellowship at Harvard Medical School -- but the current political environment has me a little scared that politics will interfere with her continued practice here. Remember kids, immigration authoritarianism kills Americans.

NFL Week 7 Picks

But wait, you say, what about Week 6 results? I completely forgot to do that post just now and after four hours of medical stuff today I only feel like doing one post. You can see my very, very, very bad Week 6  (only five right, nine wrong) here if you're interested. Week 7 picks:

• Chicago Bears beat New England Patriots
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat New Orleans Saints
• San Francisco 49ers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Cleveland Browns beat Tennessee Titans
• Minnesota Vikings beat Indianapolis Colts
• New York Jets beat Miami Dolphins
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Carolina Panthers*
• Baltimore Ravens beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• Houston Texans beat New York Giants
• Denver Broncos beat Arizona Cardinals
• Detroit Lions beat  Green Bay Packers
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Seattle Seahawks
• Dallas Cowboys beat Philadelphia Eagles

Upset picks are marked with an asterisk. If I change any of my picks, the changes will be made before kickoff and specifically noted in an update to this post. The picks are also recorded at ESPN's Pick'em game.

Wordle 1951 Hint

Hint: Most of do this routinely with our electronic devices; Klaus Schwab wants a more general "great" one.

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First Letter: R

Wordle 1950 Hint

Hint: Two of them constitute my opinion, but I'm only offering one for your thoughts.

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First Letter: P

Someone Should Tell the Florida GOP ...

... about the Streisand Effect. Per CBS News:

The Republican Party of Florida filed suit on Friday against the Florida Democratic Party, many of its candidates, and a slew of television stations, seeking to stop the airing of a political ad that highlights the leaked grand jury presentment in the Hope Florida scandal.

The scandal, for those not following it:

A grand jury found that several Florida Republican figures conspired to steal $10 million in taxpayer money, route it through a charity operated by the state's first lady, and use it to rig an election. In addition to Casey DeSantis, the conspirators included Ashley Moody (then the state's attorney general, now a US Senator) and James Uthmeier (who is the state's attorney general now, but at the time of the theft operated the PACs that the laundered money went to).

The lawsuit comes after a court "expunged" the grand jury report.

But expungement doesn't change the facts.

The facts being that a grand jury found that several Florida Republican figures conspired to steal $10 million in taxpayer money, route it through a charity operated by the state's first lady, and use it to rig an election.

Not only is the lawsuit frivolous and vexatious on its face, but it will just result in more people noticing that a grand jury found that several Florida Republican figures conspired to steal $10 million in taxpayer money, route it through a charity operated by the state's first lady, and use it to rig an election.

Wordle 1949 Hint

Hint: To take something, with a sort of violent twisting motion.

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First Letter: W

Green Card Holders and Voting

Per The Guardian:

The US Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against 28 green card holders in California accused of fraudulently registering to vote and casting illegal ballots. ... A justice department spokesperson said 21 of the 28 defendants had cast unlawful ballots.

If they did, I have no sympathy for them. US Citizenship and Immigration Services expressly informs green card applicants that "[p]ermanent residents cannot vote in federal, state, or local elections." Do the crime, do the time.

As for registration, given that so many states have "motor voter" laws that may automatically register people who get drivers' licenses, etc., I'd say the criterion for prosecution should be "did this person actually vote or attempt to vote?" It's entirely possible that a green card holder gets a driver's license, gets automatically registered due to government error, and never even notices, let alone tries to use the registration to actually vote.

A lot of the news coverage of such things, including the story linked above, asserts that "[v]oting by noncitizens is extremely rare," and that seems to be the case.

In fact, this set of arrests tends to confirm that. California claims 22 million registered voters. The US Department of Justice has been able to find a whopping 21 alleged non-citizen voters. That's less than 1 in a million registered voters. Have any statewide elections in California ever been decided by one one-millionth of votes cast? Or even by, say, 21 votes?

Wordle 1948 Hint

Hint: With apologies to Mr. Krabs, today's Wordle is "a kind of smelly smell ... the smelly smell that smells ... smelly."

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First Letter: S

Wordle 1947 Hint

Hint: Decorate, as with baubles, trinkets, ornaments, etc.

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First Letter: A

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #41

  "Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet." (Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

OK, I had to look that one up to figure out what it even means or refers to. Hanh was a Zen master and, Zen being largely connected to meditation, was discussing walking as meditation, and recommending that one walk slowly, attentive to contact with the ground, timing steps with breathing, etc.

I guess I might give that  a try, but usually when walking I'm more of the outward than inward attention type, and that attention is less toward the ground immediately beneath me than to my surroundings (which sometimes results in sprains, etc.). I guess I'm more of a "nature walker" than a "meditation walker." To each their own.

Wordle 1946 Hint

Hint: An embarrassing mistake (usually, in current usage, a spoken one). 

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First Letter: G

Wordle 1945 Hint

Hint: Kinda sus (or, shielded from sunlight).

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First Letter: S

NFL Week 6 Picks

Week six of the 2026 NFL season starts tonight with the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Denver Broncos. My picks:

• Seattle Seahawks beat Denver Broncos
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Houston Texans
• Chicago Bears beat Atlanta Falcons
• Baltimore Ravens beat Cleveland Browns
• Indianapolis Colts beat Tennessee Titans
• New York Jets beat New England Patriots*
• New York Giants beat New Orleans Saints
• Carolina Panthers beat Philadelphia Eagles*
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Los Angeles Rams beat Arizona Cardinals
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Las Vegas Raiders beat Buffalo Bills*
• Dallas Cowboys beat Green Bay Packers*
• San Francisco 49ers beat Washington Commanders

Upset picks are marked with an asterisk. If I change any of my picks, the changes will be made before kickoff and specifically noted in an update to this post. The picks are also recorded at ESPN's Pick'em game.

Wordle 1944 Hint

Hint: Slow learner (pointy cap optional).

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First Letter: D

NFL Week 5 Results

Kind of a boring week -- the Chiefs didn't play at all, and the Jaguars played on the NFL Network, which I don't subscribe to. Any, correct picks in green, incorrect picks in red:

• Dallas Cowboys beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Philadelphia Eagles
• Houston Texans beat Tennessee Titans
• Cincinnati Bengals beat Miami Dolphins
• Las Vegas Raiders beat New England Patriots
• Minnesota Vikings beat New Orleans Saints
• Cleveland Browns beat New York Jets
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Indianapolis Colts
• New York Giants beat Washington Commanders
• Chicago Bears beat Green Bay Packers
• Denver Broncos beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Detroit Lions beat Arizona Cardinals
• San Francisco 49ers beat Seattle Seahawks*
• Baltimore Ravens beat Atlanta Falcons
• Los Angeles Rams beat Buffalo Bills*

Nine right, six wrong (although one of the wrongs, Giants v. Commanders, was a tie rather than a defeat for the Giants). Not too terrible. I'm currently 48 right to 30 wrong for the season and in the 89.8th percential among players in ESPN's NFL Pick'em game.

Wordle 1943 Hint

Hint: Shorthand for studies and medical specialties relating to the mind.

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First Letter: P

Still Chinese, But Looks More High-Quality Than the Temu "Random Letters Are Our Brand Name" Stuff

With a new, better motorcycle, I'd been planning to buy a new, better air pump. I've had two Temu products (one for each of the old bikes). One shit the bed after about six months; the other has held on, but I can't say I really trust it.

Of course, I kept forgetting that I needed to, you know, actually buy the thing until today when I was watching a FortNine video that is "sponsored" by a "PSA" (about 45 seconds in) advising me to "check my damn tire pressure":

And, of course, the "PSA" recommends a brand and offers promo codes (in the video's description text) for discounts on several models. After looking at reviews (and noticing that Ryan FNine prefers this one) I got $6 off the Fanttik X9 Ace Mini (not an affiliate link, but presumably FortNine will get a taste if you use the promo code).

Because I know the trolls will be chiming in with "why not American?" BS, I looked for an American maker of motorcycle air pumps. There's one -- and their product looks fairly large, seems to rely on manual checking of pressure with a separate tool, and has to be connected to the bike's 12-volt battery. The Ace X9 Mini is compact, runs off its own USB C charged battery, and monitors the pressure itself (you can even tell it what pressure to inflate to and walk away -- it will stop when it hits the correct pressure).

I'm planning, Real Soon Now, to consolidate all my ride tools (inflater, plug kit, wrenches, sockets, etc.) into one kit that I can just move between bikes instead of having three separate, but usually incomplete, sets, one always on each bike.

Wordle 1942 Hint

Hint: If you want to get from one side of today's Wordle to the other, you'll need to think "more broadly."

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First Letter: W

I Guess I'm Riding a Bagger Now

But only when I want to. The Viking Bags 28-Liter Pantheon Saddlebags (not an affiliate link) come with "quick mount/release" hardware, so I can have them off in about 30 seconds (there's an internal lock so no one else can remove them, at least easily).

They arrived this morning, I installed them in 15 minutes or less (as advertised!), and took them on a quick test ride. No unseemly rattling, etc. I stopped mid-ride to snap a picture.

Pretty sweet. I think I'm going to like them, and they'll definitely make long-distance, multi-day trips more practical.

Wordle 1941 Hint

Hint: An Alpine singing method popularized in American country music by Jimmie Rodgers.

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First Letter: Y

Wordle 1940 Hint

Hint: To remove a covering (of, for example a bottle or a pen) or a limit (of, for example, a spending allocation).

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First Letter: U

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #40

 "Purity of Heart is to will one thing." (Søren Kierkegaard)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

The aphorism is also the title of the work from which it's taken; that essay is about single-mindedness and total devotion to "the good" (which to Kierkegaard meant God), as opposed to attempting to "serve two masters."

Interesting, but there are really two ways to approach it, because we all have to eat.

One of those ways is to take a vow of poverty and intentionally adopt an ascetic, devotional lifestyle even at the price of possible starvation, etc.

The other is to be born into, and for life enjoy, a certain degree of affluence that leaves one free to express and act on such devotion without worry as to where the next meal will come from.

Kierkegard was in the latter category, and while I find his writings quite interesting in general, I perceive a bit of "let them eat cake" naïveté in this particular aphorism.

Wordle 1939 Hint

Hint: Quality of the ride on a road with lots of potholes.

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First Letter: B

Wordle 1938 Hint

Hint: As military rank goes, today's Wordle isn't minor.

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First Letter: M

NFL Week 5 Picks

Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season kicks off tonight, and doubt that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will beat the Dallas Cowboys. My picks:

• Dallas Cowboys beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Philadelphia Eagles
• Houston Texans beat Tennessee Titans
• Cincinnati Bengals beat Miami Dolphins
• Las Vegas Raiders beat New England Patriots
• Minnesota Vikings beat New Orleans Saints
• Cleveland Browns beat New York Jets
• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Indianapolis Colts
• New York Giants beat Washington Commanders
• Chicago Bears beat Green Bay Packers
• Denver Broncos beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Detroit Lions beat Arizona Cardinals
• San Francisco 49ers beat Seattle Seahawks*
• Baltimore Ravens beat Atlanta Falcons
• Los Angeles Rams beat Buffalo Bills*

Upset picks are marked with an asterisk, and there may end up being a third to go with the two marked above (as of this writing, the Raiders/Patriots game is at 50/50 among players of ESPN's Pick'em game; I'll try to remember to add the asterisk if that changes in favor of the Pats). If I change any of my picks, the changes will be made before kickoff and specifically noted in an update to this post.

NFL Week 4 Results

My Week 4 NFL picks -- green means I got it right, red means I got it wrong:

• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Cleveland Browns
• Washington Commanders beat Indianapolis Colts*
• Buffalo Bills beat New England Patriots
• Chicago Bears beat New York Jets
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• New York Giants beat Arizona Cardinals
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Green Bay Packers beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Baltimore Ravens beat Tennessee Titans
• Houston Texans beat Dallas Cowboys*
• Minnesota Vikings beat Miami Dolphins
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Las Vegas Raiders
• San Francisco 49ers beat Denver Broncos
• Seattle Seahawks beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Detroit Lions beat Carolina Panthers
• New Orleans Saints beat Atlanta Falcons

Nine right, seven wrong, one better than last week. I'm 39-25 for the season and in the 88.2nd percentile among players in the ESPN Pick'em game.

Wordle 1937 Hint

Hint: Scatter (as a wedding's "flower girl" does with rose petals).

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First Letter: S

A Viking I Shall Go

I love it when a non-plan comes together.

A client owed me some money, and in asking how I'd like to be paid it came up that they don't do Bitcoin but were good with check, cash via PayPal ... or just buying me something I wanted in that general price range.

And I just happened to have been looking at something which came to almost exactly that price (give or take $20), and really liking it, but having trouble deciding whether or not to spend that kind of money on that kind of thing. The "just buy you something" offer made up my mind for me, and they're on the way:

They're a 28-liter (14 liters each) pair of hard-case Viking Bags Pantheon Saddlebags (not an affiliate link) complete with "quick mount" hardware for Lena Mae.

They go on and come off quickly/easily, but are locked to the bike (via a lock inside) when they're on it.

Between those and my top case -- or possibly a top bag, which I've been considering since it would be easier to remove along with the saddlebags when I prefer the bike bare-naked -- I'll probably be able to carry seven days' worth of travel necessities, plus some food for the road to minimize c-store/fast food stops on long trips.

And they just happen to be American-made, so the trolls can consider themselves fed.

Wordle 1936 Hint

Hint: Demonstrate beyond doubt.

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First Letter: P

I Usually Find Amazon's "Prime Big Deal Days" Somewhat Disappointing These Last Few Years

This year isn't really an exception. I did buy two things -- a new motorcycle helmet and a Bluetooth headset to install in it -- and both were listed as "deals," but it was only a discount of about 10%, from ~$70 to ~$63.

It seems like a decade or so ago, there were a lot more discounts that were really deep, 30-50% off, than there are now.

I'd had that helmet and that headset in my "shopping list" for about a month, and 10% off is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick -- especially since it doesn't include a $4 "digital products credit" I get for choosing "no rush shipping" (I'll spend it on Kindle ebooks -- haven't bought anything new to read in a little while). But I was kind of hoping that a $107 helmet I also had on my list would be on a deal for $70 or less.

The more expensive helmet is a well-regarded Italian brand that almost perfectly matches Lena Mae's "old school matte green" livery.

The helmet I bought is a black and gold Chinese helmet that has the same brand name as my tent. If the specs are accurate, it should be more appropriately sized than my current daily driver (my head circumference is right on the line between "medium" and "large," and the current helmet, a "large," is a little loose). In addition to an internal "sunglasses" visor, it has an extra external swap-in visor in glare-reducing gold.

Both the Italian and Chinese helmets are regular full-face helmets. The current helmet is "modular" so you can flip the whole front up and ride open-face, but I never use that feature. It's more trouble than it's worth, and also you're riding down the road with a big chunk of helmet sticking up and catching the headwind.

Wordle 1935 Hint

Hint: Not brightly.

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First Letter: D

Wordle 1934 Hint

Hint: A coffee bean variety, or the Yemeni port it's named for.

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First Letter: M

Wordle 1933 Hint

Hint: The B-52s headed down the Atlanta highway, looking for this love getaway.

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First Letter: S

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #39

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little" (allegedly Epicurus, but more likely Lucretius)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

The aphorism appears in "Vatican Sayings," a 14th-century Vatican manuscript, attributed to Epicurus but seemingly a partial/truncated quote from Lucretius in On The Nature of Things:

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where the mind is satisfied."

The actual quote provides some context ... but perhaps the medieval Catholic Church wasn't as keen on to that context to the extent that it preached general contentment, without intellectual enrichment, to the peasantry?

Either way, it's a nod to the virtues of "the simple life," but in the fuller version it promotes "the life of the mind."

Personally, I'm happier when I possess certain material objects that exceed the absolutely, positively necessary minimum but either make life easier or are enjoyable. For example, I'd rather drive or ride than walk unless I'm walking specifically for enjoyment.

On the other hand, given the choice between a free Lamborghini on one hand or a free practical vehicle and library filled with books of my choice, I'd probably take the latter (or take the Lamborghini, sell it, and buy the practical vehicle, the books, and other things both practical and enjoyable).

But let's roll that back even more to the first few words: "The greatest wealth is to live content ..."

No. To me, contentment itself is a form of death. What's life without goals and ambitions, however minor or trivial they might be in the scheme of things?

Wordle 1932 Hint

Hint: Even someone who claims to own no pets will almost always have at least one of these constant annoyances.

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First Letter: P

Wordle 1931 Hint

 Hint: A financial practice of great interest.

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First Letter: U

Thanks For Asking! -- 10/01/26

Happy October! It's the monthly AMA thread -- ask me anything in the comment thread below and I'll answer in, or linked from, the comments (if you're a real reader, that is -- if you're a troll, your question has to be interesting or it will just get deleted).

Wordle 1930 Hint

 Hint: Swanky/posh. Or, alternatively, like a popular snack cracker.

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First Letter: R

NFL Week 4 Picks

Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season kicks off tomorrow night with the Pittsburgh Steelers, I predict, savaging the Cleveland Browns on Amazon Prime Video. Here are my picks -- feel free to join my "leaderboard" at ESPN's "Pick'em" game if you'd like to compare football prediction prowess.

• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Cleveland Browns
• Washington Commanders beat Indianapolis Colts*
• Buffalo Bills beat New England Patriots
• Chicago Bears beat New York Jets
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• New York Giants beat Arizona Cardinals
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Green Bay Packers beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Baltimore Ravens beat Tennessee Titans
• Houston Texans beat Dallas Cowboys*
• Minnesota Vikings beat Miami Dolphins
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Las Vegas Raiders
• San Francisco 49ers beat Denver Broncos
• Seattle Seahawks beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Detroit Lions beat Carolina Panthers
• New Orleans Saints beat Atlanta Falcons

"Upset" predictions -- predictions on which I disagree with the majority of ESPN Pick'em players -- are marked with asterisks. Any changes I make to my picks will be done prior to kickoff and noted below as well.

Wordle 1929 Hint

 Hint: Per Heraclitus, you'll never step in the same one twice.

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First Letter: R

NFL Week 3 Results

I went 8 right, 8 wrong in NFL week 3, which doesn't seem like a great week. But I apparently did better than most, since I remain in the 93.7th percentile in ESPN's "Pick'em" game. Of my eight incorrect picks, six of them were not upset picks but rather went with the consensus. And two of my upset picks worked out. Correct picks in green, incorrect picks in red:

• Green Bay Packers beat Atlanta Falcons
• Buffalo Bills beat  Los Angeles Chargers
• Carolina Panthers beat Cleveland Browns
• Detroit Lions beat New York Jets
• Houston Texans beat Indianapolis Colts
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Miami Dolphins
• Tennessee Titans beat New York Giants*
• Cincinnati Bengals beat Pittsburgh Steelers
• Seattle Seahawks beat Washington Commanders
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat New England Patriots
• San Francisco 49ers beat Arizona Cardinals
• Minnesota Vikings beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Dallas Cowboys beat Baltimore Ravens*
• Las Vegas Raiders beat New Orleans Saints*
• Denver Broncos beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Chicago Bears

So far I'm 30 right, 18 wrong for the season. I'd like to improve that dramatically, but I guess we'll see whether I'm able to.

Wordle 1928 Hint

 Hint: This equipment makes diving a real gas.

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First Letter: S

Key Motorcycle Choice Metric

While at my local Kawasaki dealership looking at the bike I got, I also sat on one of the other candidates: The KLR 650, an adventure touring bike that arguably answered better to certain characteristics I sought in that it's more configured toward carrying luggage, etc. for touring.

But the KLR 650 has a seat height of 33 inches plus, and I have a 32 inch inseam. So, impossible to flat-foot it on both sides at stops. Even at kickstand lean angle, my toes barely touched the floor. At my age and with my knee problems, not ideal. The time would almost certainly come when I'd roll to a stop, lean the bike over to put my left foot down, and just go on over.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, which had been my target bike, has a slightly, but not much, lower seat height, adjustable from 31.5 to 32.5 inches.

The Eliminator has a seat height of 28.5 inches.

These seem like small differences just looking at the numbers, but it's the difference between stability and instability for a rider of my height/inseam at stops (or,  in off-road or soft-sand-road riding, when needing to get a foot down for a controlled-skid turn).

My other two bikes range from 28.7 inches for the Lifan KP-Mini 150 to 30.7 inches for the Italica Bulldog 150. On the Lifan, I can easily flat-foot it; on the Bulldog, not really ...

... but a factor to co-consider is weight. the Mini and Bulldog are much lighter bikes, coming in at between 220 and 250 pounds, wet. The Eliminator is next up that scale at 330 pounds. The KLR and the Himalayan, 400 pounds plus. An extra 100+ pounds would make a big difference coming to rest with the support of an unreliable knee.

So that turned out to be a big equation for me: If I'm going to ride a tall bike, it also needs to be a light bike, which probably means, at most, a 250cc air-cooled job. And those don't produce quite the power/speed I want for longer rides that entail at least some freeway travel.

I've got more than 200 miles on the Eliminator now and am starting to get comfortable with it. In addition to higher speed potential, it also has taller tires (18" front/16" rear vs. e.g. the Mini's 12" pairing). That sounded scarier to me, but the taller tires handle bumps and potholes a lot better and feel a lot more stable. The rear tire has yet to break loose on the sand roads I ride (including the cow path I live on ... but if it does, that lower seat height will make easier for me to get a foot down.

Wordle 1927 Hint

 Hint: What you'll find at the rear (usually) of an automobile or the front of an elephant.

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First Letter: T

Two of My Favorite Subjects in One Video

The two subjects are tariffs (which I, like all right-minded individuals, oppose) and motorcycles (which I, like most crazy people, love). As is often the case, the video is from Fortnine:

I Keep Affiliate Links Pretty Rare Here, But I'm Doing This One

"Cheap Chinese Junk Haters" can just move along. I learned this morning that Temu has an affiliate program. Yes, that is an affiliate link. If you use it, I get a little piece of the action (which I can withdraw to PayPal or just use to buy stuff at Temu).

PROS OF TEMU

• Low, low prices. Any time I'm looking for something specific, I compare what I find on Temu to what I find on Amazon, at Walmart, etc. I generally stick to small ticket stuff -- I think the most expensive thing I've purchased via Temu has been $30 or less -- but I often find equivalent items for about half the price. And the quality is usually similar (if you buy at Amazon or Walmart, it's likely just as Chinese as anything you'll find on Temu).
• Free shipping under certain conditions. If you're ordering direct from Temu, the minimum for free shipping is usually $20; for "local warehouse" buys (meaning the stuff is already in the US), $30 and it all has to be from the same "local warehouse" seller. But on the "local warehouse" stuff, the shipping is usually $2.99 if you don't want to spend that minimum.
• Order cancellations are easy if the items haven't yet been shipped. The screen warns that your refund may take a couple of days, but I've never seen it take more than a couple of minutes (I've canceled a grand total of two orders, once because I noticed I had put the wrong thing in my cart and then ordered it, once because a couple of minutes after my order, someone told me "we already got one of those").
• If you leave reviews,  negative language apparently triggers an immediate "refund or replace" offer. I've only had that happen once or twice and have never taken the offer because the negatives were little things (e.g. a motorcycle bag made of thinner cloth than I expected).

CONS OF TEMU

• There's none of this "same day / next day" delivery like you'll get with Amazon Prime or Walmart+. The non-"local warehouse" stuff is coming from China and there's a 5-10 day estimated wait time. The "local warehouse" stuff used to arrive really fast, but now seems to take about that long as well. So don't order anything you're in a hurry to get. BUT! there's an "arrives by" date when you place the order, and if it doesn't get there by that date, you get $5 credit to your Temu account.
• It's easy to get hooked into small item impulse purchases. There are a lot of cheap gadgets, gizmos, doodads, etc. available for a couple of bucks. I know someone who falls for that a lot. I quickly developed the habit of only visiting Temu when I'm looking for something specific; if I find and order that thing, and it doesn't hit the $20 free shipping minimum, then I'll look at other stuff and order enough to get free shipping.

So there you have it. That's my pitch for Temu. If you go for it, thanks and you're welcome. 

Wordle 1926 Hint

Hint: A boat like the John B.

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First Letter: S

Applicable(?) Aphorisms #38

"A man is great by deeds, not by birth." (Hinduism, Mahabharata 13.107)

True, false, good, bad, useful, not so useful, etc.? Discuss.

My thoughts:

Seems self-evident to me, but I found it interesting enough to merit a little research into how India got from that claim to the hereditary caste system that remains entrenched there today.

While the Mahabharata and Upanishads do refer to inherent qualities (gunas) and recommend aligning one's occupation and life with such qualities, they definitely emphasis behavior and accomplishment, not any strictly inherited social status.

It took a couple of thousand years for those individual "gunas" to evolve into occupational "varnas," and another thousand years or so for those "varnas" to get codified in e.g. the Manusmriti as legal duties.

In other words, as tends to happen with religion, politics ruined Hinduism in the area of social relations.

But back to the aphorism: Yes, obviously, it's what you do, not who your ancestors were, that matters.

Wordle 1925 Hint

Hint: A poetic lamentation.

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First Letter: E

Motorcycle Accessories/Gear On The Way ...

... because any new motorcycle needs some new stuff, and any motorcycle rider moving into a larger engine class should consider some gear improvements.

• Arriving today from China: A magnetic tank bag and an embroidered keychain with the bike's name ("Lena Mae") on it (I keep a separate, labeled keychain for each bike).
• Arriving soon from China: Mirror extenders and a little six-piece socket tool to supplement the bike's factory tool kit. Also, some stickers for the top case because I'm cool like that.
• Arriving tomorrow from Amazon: Motorcycle boots and a radiator protector.

I generally wear boots when riding, but haven't previously purchased boots specifically made for riding, and that's going to matter if I hit the pavement with a 400-pound motorcycle on top of me while moving at 60 mph (or any mph). I found a pair (Italian-sounding name, but of course Chinese in actual origin) on Amazon for $50 that are CE certified and EN 13634:2017 rated as 1-2-2-1. Those last four numbers signify abrasion resistance, impact cut resistance, transverse sole rigidity, and sole delamination resistance. "1" is basic, "2" is better.

As for the radiator protector, I was a little iffy on it, but after looking at the radiator at less than 200 miles, it looks like it really gets quite a bit of mud splash from the front wheel, so it's worth the $30 investment. It also looks great:

So far, the one really annoying thing about the Kawasaki Eliminator 450 is something I knew before I got it because it was mentioned in literally every video review I watched: The mirrors don't stretch out far enough on either side to really be useable by any person of normal shoulder width. You look in the mirror, you see your shoulder unless you twist your body halfway around to get your shoulder out of the way. Extenders are cheap, so I'm trying them first, but I may eventually just go to bar-end mirrors.