Square Bear

a portrait of me as a young man

[Colin McLaughlin @colinthecrabb]

Get outta here Odysseus. We're eating the sun-god's cattle and you don't want none of this shit

[Square Bear @patareff]

@JaysGotNext I believe we lost this game on a Wemby clutch jumper and a Jaylen live ball turnover btw. Not intended to disparage anyone but this Celtics teams is a quite a ways away from contending as current constructed.

[Square Bear @patareff]

@BostonGlobe Maybe they just looked at the Sox's record this year and were upset? Understandable reaction if so.

[Boston Celtics @celtics]

Injury Report for tomorrow vs. DAL:

Jayson Tatum - Right Achilles Repair - QUESTIONABLE

[Square Bear @patareff]

@DaMachinis45851 @TheLatamGuy I think some places have gotten worse (Detroit, New Orleans? Paris?). A lot of places have gotten better (Mexico City, NYC, Boston, Dublin). I am young and not well-traveled so only have limited anecdotal evidence, but I don't think it has all gone in one negative direction.

[Square Bear @patareff]

@DaMachinis45851 @TheLatamGuy You think NYC has gotten worse since the 1970s? The NYC of The Blackout, trash can fires, garbage strikes (1968, I'm cheating), hard hat riots, and Fear City? I was not alive back then but that would surprise me.

My parents and grandparents say Boston is nicer now as well.

[Square Bear @patareff]

@dylanwiliam @Oliver_S_Curry @TheEconomist Why would this not also apply to the small smart-phone ban effect?

[LA\/ENDER @LavenderGhast]

American characters in an early 2000's Japanese video game

[Square Bear @patareff]

@MBTA the train was delayed an hour. Come on now

[hero thousandfaces @1thousandfaces_]

If the only thing keeping a kid on the Nice List is the expectation of toys, then, brother, that kid is a piece of shit

[hero thousandfaces @1thousandfaces_]

The Naughty List is going to be tough on you. And Santa is very, very hard on people who tell kids he isn’t real. If you get the opportunity, you should coal yourself.

[hero thousandfaces @1thousandfaces_]

Past a certain age a man with an Xbox on his Christmas list can be a bad thing, believe me

[Patrick Collison @patrickc]

Maybe a very prosaic observation, but I've been reflecting on just how much the pandemic changed the world in ways that are completely unrelated to the pandemic itself. I think I've underestimated it 'till now.

In a recent interview, I was struck by the comment that so many of the shops that we associate with the best of France—the poissonneries and the fromageries—closed during the pandemic, to be replaced by take-out pizza shops and the like.

College professors almost uniformly describe big changes in student behavior: lecture attendance and willingness of students to complete reading assignments are both way down.

A UK government official recently told me that British economic statistics have become much less reliable since the pandemic: data on trade, employment, and population is suspect. (The true GDP per capita figures are probably worse than what is indicated by the published data, since the 2021 census is believed to be an undercount.)

In the West, there are far fewer bustling workplaces than there used to be. In recent conversation with a well-traveled friend, he bemoaned how so many cities—places like Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Bali—have lost so much of their erstwhile vibrant nightlife.

Immigration accelerated enormously across many countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia.

In China, I hear descriptions of how fear, caution, and conservatism have persisted since the COVID lockdowns. (And Western travel to China remains massively depressed.)

Lots of the changes are neutral, or even good. Retail participation in the US stock market almost doubled overnight, say, and has persisted at that elevated rate. Firm creation in the US increased by around 50%, which is probably a very good thing.

Overall, the number of time series (either literal or figurative) that jumped discontinuously during COVID and then didn’t return to baseline is just very striking.

Which are the best historical analogs? Are there any apart from major wars?

I want to read this book!

[Square Bear @patareff]

I keep dressing for yesterday's weather.

[Square Bear @patareff]

Ned is a perfectly nice snail, but a rare shell means a doomed love life https://t.co/dW1YmBTrOr

[Square Bear @patareff]

No one likes lawyers and no likes HR. Everyone likes trucker hats, grilling, and their local deli owner. Not sure the Dems can overcome this electoral disadvantage.

[Square Bear @patareff]

There’s no way Tom Brady has ever watched One Piece, is there?

[Drake Burton @bengalsdrake]

People called me crazy for pointing out Tom Brady for constantly not showing love to Burrow & then there’s this🤣

[Square Bear @patareff]

Coming back to my email job in Boston after a weekend on the seacoast of Maine/NH during the summer:

[Square Bear @patareff]

Cracker Barrel actually IS real Americana these days. As are the Savannah Bananas. I will not elaborate on this.

[Square Bear @patareff]

Changed my mind, actually this is what it is all about