Random News: December 29, 2022

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s December 29, 2022, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I suppose we should put up the periscope and take a look around in case anything is happening… 

• A shocking announcement from Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who just got elected as ranking member of the powerful Oversight Committee next term…
• “After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer.”
• He is starting a course of chemo-immunotherapy and hopefully will make a full recovery. We need people like him.
• Quick note on the horrifying outcome of the recent blizzard that’s taken dozens of lives in the Buffalo, NY area.
• These folks have dealt with harsh winter weather their whole lives. So when they hear that a blizzard is coming, they naturally assume it’s something they’ve been through before and handled.
• But climate change is making all manner of weather more harsh and intense, with stronger winds, higher heat, and lower cold temps than any of us ever had in our lifetimes. Please take these storm warnings seriously.
• Speaking of serious things, I hope you don’t own any Tesla stock.
• Shares of the electric-vehicle maker have lost 68% in 2022 through Wednesday, making it the worst performer among major companies in the S&P 500.
• Tesla's slump is unprecedented. It was the largest-ever addition to the S&P 500 when it joined the index in late 2020.
• In related news of weird dudes who run poorly-performing tech companies, Facebook parent Meta isn't very far behind Tesla in the race to the bottom, down 66% over the same period.
• In a follow-up to yesterday’s bullets, Barry Croft Jr., 47, was sentenced yesterday to more than 19 years in prison for his role in the plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.
• Good. Fuck him too.
• I’d previously mentioned TikTok, the popular short video app. It’s now been banned from electronic devices managed by the US House of Representatives.
• They’ve identified TikTok as a “high risk to users due to a number of security risks.”
• Separately, the US government is soon expected to ban TikTok from all federal devices as part of legislation included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill.
• More than a dozen states in recent weeks have implemented their own prohibitions against TikTok on government devices.
• Probably might want to determine if you want to keep using the app, if you are, or (more likely) your kids are.
• Per another batch of transcriptions from the January 6 Committee, former White House top-level aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that she saw former chief of staff Mark Meadows burn documents in his office fireplace around a dozen times – about once or twice a week – between December 2020 and mid-January 2021.
• Note: almost all documents from the White House are required by law to be preserved.
• Hmm.
• Hutchinson also described a discussion about QAnon during a December 2020 meeting with Meadows, then-President Trump and Republican members of Congress, including Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
• “Ms. Greene came up and began talking to us about QAnon and QAnon going to the rally, and she had a lot of constituents that are QAnon, and they’ll all be there. And she was showing him pictures of them traveling up to Washington, D.C., for the rally on the 6th.”
• Sweet Lordy Moses.
• And now, The Weather: “Cool Guy” by Girlhouse
• George Santos, the incoming congressman who apparently lies about every aspect of his life, is being investigated by a New York prosecutor.
• As mentioned here previously, one big question is about how he was able to lend his campaign $700,000 after having claimed on a campaign finance form in 2020 that he was making $55,000 per year.
• From the Sports Desk… I guess this was bound to happen. The Raiders have benched Derek Carr, who holds franchise records in nearly every category, for the remainder of the season. Backup Jarrett Stidham will start for the two final games of the regular season. 
• Carr has left the team rather than being on the sidelines for two weeks. I doubt we’ll ever see him in a Raiders uniform again.
• Carr had started started 91 consecutive games for the Raiders, the longest active streak by any QB in the NFL. He’s thrown for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns this year… and also 14 interceptions, the most in the NFL.
• Teams most likely to be looking at Carr: Bucs, Commanders, Jets, Texans, and Titans.
• Here are the most popular baby names for kids born in New York, NY this year, in order of popularity.
• Boys: Liam, Noah, Ethan, Lucas, Jacob, Joseph, David, Daniel, Aiden, and Benjamin. Girls: Emma, Olivia, Mia, Sophia, Leah, Ava, Isabella, Amelia, Luna, and Sofia.
• Houston, TX put out their own somewhat similar list…
• Boys: Liam, Noah, Mateo, Sebastian, Dylan, Daniel, Ethan, Santiago, Elijah, and Oliver. Girls: Emma, Olivia, Camila, Mia, Isabella, Sophia, Sofia, Ava, Amelia, and Charlotte.
• Shrug. My actual name isn’t Zak, you know. I don’t mind the name Zak. It’s served me well for various purposes. But my actual name is Jeff. I love being a Jeff. It’s fun sounding.
• I’m a fun guy. Mostly.
• Today in history… Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, GA (1778). The United States annexes the Republic of Texas (1845). Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film, The Squaw Man (1913). The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution (1937). Czech writer, philosopher and dissident Václav Havel is elected the first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia (1989). 
• December 29 is the birthday of inventor Charles Macintosh (1766), chemist Charles Goodyear (1800), US president Andrew Johnson (1808), UK prime minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809), cellist Pablo Casals (1876), politician Tom Bradley (1917), golfer/architect Pete Dye (1925), actress/producer Mary Tyler Moore (1936), actor Jon Voight (1938), musician Rick Danko (1943), singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull (1946), actor Ted Danson (1947), drummer Cozy Powell (1947), director/screenwriter Lilly Wachowski (1967), actor Jude Law (1972), and NFL player Myles Garrett (1995).

I have no idea what’s going on today. I’ve got a few ongoing work projects, as always. Some stuff to write, draw, format, post, code, whatever. My prediction for this week in regard to not knowing what each day will bring has been accurate. Of course, heh heh, we kid ourselves every single day that we know what’s going to happen. We’re usually right; life on a short scale is relatively predictable. But every day also contains some level of uncertainty. I aim for a steady existence, but there are always factors both within and outside of my control that can make things interesting in both good and bad definitions of that word. Hopefully more good then bad. Enjoy your day.