Mitt Romney Has a Secret Twitter Account, and It Sure Looks Like It’s This One

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Mitt Romney Has a Secret Twitter Account, and It Sure Looks Like It’s This One

Earlier today, the Atlantic’s McKay Coppins published a lengthy profile on Mitt Romney, apparently part of Romney’s effort to set himself up as the noble Republican foil to an out-of-control president. These sorts of pieces, which are more about narrative setting than anything else, typically don’t contain a lot of new information, but this had one notable exception. About midway through, the usually guarded senator revealed that, just like fellow lone-voice-of reason-haver James Comey, he was the owner of a secret Twitter account.

How Fish and Chips Migrated to Great Britain

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How Fish and Chips Migrated to Great Britain

As told by Simon Majumdar in his podcast, Eat My Globe, it all began outside of the U.K., hundreds of years ago. From the 8th to the 12th century, Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived in relative peace in Portugal, known as Al-Andalus under Moorish rule. Sephardic Jews, who likely comprised around 20 percent of the population, were relatively well-respected and held positions in the high court. For this reason, the area became somewhat of a haven for those fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. However, in 1496, after the end of Moorish rule, King Manuel I married Isabel of Spain, who was not so aligned with the idea of religious freedom. Her ultimatum: Their betrothal would mean the expulsion of Jews from Portugal. Manuel I mandated that all Jews be baptized, or otherwise expelled.

While many fled, some Jews stayed, and either converted to Christianity or pretended to do so while continuing to practice Judaism in secret. But when Portugal fell under Spanish rule, the Inquisition targeted individuals with Jewish lineage, threatening anyone claiming to be a Converso. As religious violence worsened, many fled Portugal and resettled in England, bringing with them culinary treasures founded in Sephardic cuisine—including fish.

December 28, 2019 Afternoon

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Good evening! Mostly clear and 33 degrees at Moscow Hill Camping Area in Brookfield. Calm wind as we are tucked down in the valley. Smoke is going straight up from the fire. Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 7 pm. ☃️

Beautiful evening, mild for late December but the ground is still fairly frozen. ⛺ That said I’m sure these campsites have a thick pack of gravel because they’re trampled by horses 🐴 and heavy horse trailers and diesel pickup trucks all summer long. These sites have those nice little pavilions that the DEC has at a number of state forests in Central and Western New York. 🏡 They’re perfect for handing up lights and cooking and preparing food under. 🍲 I wish they had them up at Cherry Ridge 🍒 but only at the horse camp 🐴.

I was originally planning on going up to Cherry Ridge 🍒 but the road was icy as it’s plowed but not sanded or salted beyond the seasonal use only. I probably would have been fine going up it but there is that one steep section towards the top so I decided against it in favor of Moscow Hill horse camp. 🐴 The riding season is done for the year and while it’s right off of the county highway, there is very little traffic nearby, certainly far less than NY 8. I think I made a good choice camping here and I forgot how nice the pavilions are. Plus being only fifteen minutes away from Shurburne it made for a nice drive down there to visit the Rogers Environmental Education Center. 🐸 No cellphone here but I kind of enjoy the solitude. 📱

Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 26 degrees at 4am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 4th. Light and variable wind. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 26 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1933.

Madison County certainly is a brown and gray as I noted earlier. But that’s winter and that how the land is. So many neat old farm houses and real rough cut farms that are super muddy after it being relatively mild. 🐮 Lots of run down trailers, modular homes and even a few shed to homes. Not too many off grinders although I bet in the future – especially with new homes you’ll see more of that, especially on dirt roads without electric lines. 🔌

While I didn’t grow up in a trailer or a farm 🚜 I’ve always loved the gritty rural life. 😍 The piles of junk and manure. 🔧 The goats 🐐 tied to the tree, the homesteaders processing their own deer and hogs 🐖. They call it poverty or ignorant rednecks but those people are a lot smarter and privledged than I. Someday I’ll own an off grid cabin 🏡 and do a little homesteading myself but I’ll never be a true country boy :mrgreen: like those who were raised the life in a place like Southern Madison County. Sure, a lot of my neighbors growing up raised pigs and cows, llved in trailers or modular homes and even burned their own trash 🔥 but I grew up in an ordinary house in the country to college educated 🎓 parents. They had goats and chickens 🐔 buy were no means real country boys.

Tonight will have a with 15% illuminated with the moon setting at 6:57 pm. It is definitely a pretty beautiful little moon. The is on Wednesday night with mostly cloudy skies. The is on Wednesday night. The sun will rise at 7:31 am with the first light at 6:59 am, which is 16 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 14 hours and 56 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 29 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will rain likely, mainly after 4pm. Cloudy 🌧, with a high of 37 degrees at 1pm. Five degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around December 13th. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 50 degrees. The record high of 71 was set in 1984. 6 inches of snow fell back in 1915.❄

Tomorrow morning I’m taking down camp ⛺ and heading to Glimmerglass State Park before the rain ☔. As it is a fairly mild night, 🌃 I decided to not bother with the tent – I’ll be plenty warm once I get snuggled under the covers in my truck bed. I do like the warmth of the hot tent but it is a lot more work to set up and take down. If I were staying multiple nights or if it was colder I’d definitely had considered the tent.

In four weeks on January 25 the sun will be setting at 5:05 pm,🌄 which is 29 minutes and 57 seconds later then today. In 2019 on that day, we had partly sunny, snow showers and temperatures between 35 and 15 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 31 and 14 degrees. The record high of 61 degrees was set back in 1938.

Looking ahead, Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 is in 3 weeks, 5 PM Sunset 🌆 is in 4 weeks, February 🌧 is in 5 weeks, Average High is 50 🌸 is in 3 months, Average High is 60 🌼 is in 16 weeks, Average High is 70 🐮 is in 20 weeks, Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ is in 21 weeks, and Summer ️⛱️ is in 25 weeks.

Open Area [Expires March 9 2024]

December 28, 2019 Morning

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Good morning! Today 4:30 PM Sunset 🌆. It’s going to be a while before the 8:30 sunset returns but slowly but surely creeping towards black fly season. In the mean time, Three weeks to Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯. I’ve always been quite partial to honey. Bee 🐝 keeping is a big hobby for a lot of people. Good for the flowers 🌸 and orchards too. 🍎And a good source of year around sugars in much of the country. Drizzle and cloudy and 36 degrees in Delmar, NY. 💧 There is a northwest breeze at 13 mph. 🍃.

Right now it’s kind of a dark and gray morning. ☁ A few rain drops here and there. Supposed to clear out later but I’m still a bit hesitant to rush out. I get tired of these gray and cold days in the woods. I decided last night to pull the plug 🔌 on the Finger Lakes trip though I think I will camp out in Madison County today and visit Glimmerglass State Park. Supposed to clear out later and be a nice mild night and it looks like it’s snow free out that way from both the radar and webcams in Hamilton. Last night I was thinking about going to the Adirondacks but I don’t really feel like camping in the snow ❄ again. Plus while they don’t have a ton of snow up north, they had a fair amount of snow a few weeks ago which can mean snow banks hardened to ice. It’s going to be warm enough that I don’t think I’ll have to pitch a tent 🎪.

This mornings weather is kind of a bummer 😐 but it promises to change. I’m kind of slow rolling 🍥 getting out of town to see what really happens because if it’s going to be gray today and tomorrow, I might as well not waste the $50 in gas. ⛽ It’s warm enough for sure but gray and windy. I do like the rural landscape, small towns and farms along US 20 🚜 but I’ve driven that road too much in the fog 🌁 and rain.

I am fully packed except for my gun and personal care supplies 🪒. I am just waiting on the sun but not for much longer. Hopefully it will come out soon and make for a nice drive. I don’t want to get out there too late lest the road is closed and I have to camp ⛺ somewhere else. It should be good though – I will get to test out my gas lantern 🏮 tonight to see if I have properly restored it after cleaning and see how the LED lantern works before I’m hot tenting later in the winter.

Today will be mostly sunny later 🌞, with a high of 44 degrees at 2pm. 12 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around November 26th. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies. The high last year was 50 degrees. The record high of 61 was set in 1982. 7 inches of snow fell back in 1967.❄

The sun will set at 4:30 pm with dusk around 5:01 pm, which is 42 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly sunny skies 🌃 and temperatures around 43 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 4 minutes of daytime, an increase of 25 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌤, with a low of 26 degrees at 6am. Nine degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around December 4th. Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2018, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 26 degrees. The record low of -18 occurred back in 1933.

I checked the oil in the truck 🚚 and it was good. Maybe that’s because it’s on a bit of a slope from the ice on the driveway but at any rate it’s not real low. I haven’t driven that many miles since my November oil change. The accessory battery bank 🔋 is lower than I would hope but the alternator will charge that up. This morning I changed the starting battery disconnect voltage to 13.2 volts up from 13.0 volts so hopefully this will keep the accessory battery bank healthier even if it means I’m dumping slightly less excess charge into the starting battery. The relay is engaged at 14.2 volts on the solar panel, which I increased on Christmas Eve 🎄

Lyme disease seems to be bothering me again. 😟 I had a bad headache this morning and I’m a bit sore in my knee and elsewhere. 💪I’ve heard that it’s not uncommon for Lyme symptoms to stick around for a while after the antibiotics although for a while I was feeling good but kind of slipped downhill after the doxcycline ran out. I used to think it was only girly people got chronic Lyme 👧, but people I know who complain about Lyme haul feed sacks all day, shovel manure and get pushed around by cows 🐮 all day long and then own more guns than I do 🔫 and aare hardly weak. I might go back to the doctor on Monday or Tuesday 😷 but I really hate to go unless I’m truly sick and not just a headache. And maybe I’m just getting another cold.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Winnie the Pooh Day 🍯 when the sun will be setting at 4:50 pm with dusk at 5:21 pm. On that day in 2019, we had snow showers, mostly cloudy and temperatures between 35 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 30 degrees. We hit a record high of 59 back in 1973.

Great Valley

NPR

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Trump Battles Toilets, Showers, Dishwashers, Lightbulbs In Rally Speech : NPR

Peter Gleick with the Pacific Institute in Oakland considers this all to be Trumpian nostalgia for a time when showers were strong, toilets used 4 gallons a flush and lightbulbs burned your hands when you touched them.

Gleick said these newer household items are part of an "efficiency revolution," doing the same tasks with less and halting the upward trajectory of water and energy consumption in America. And, yes, a dishwasher cycle takes longer, and incandescent bulbs are cheaper to buy upfront.

But in the long run, "They're much more expensive, because they use a huge amount of energy, which we pay for over time and they burn out 20 times faster," Gleick said.

Based on the way Trump talks about efficient lightbulbs, it seems his complaint is with compact fluorescent bulbs, which were the only low-energy bulbs widely available 10 years ago. But today, store shelves are full of LED bulbs with warmer-looking light and even longer life spans. Gleick suspects Trump's toilet complaints are outdated as well, because low-flow toilet technology has come a long way in recent years.