notes

1. Summer is i-cumin in. Temperatures are up in the high 80s F. No doubt new records will be set later, as there are every year now. It's also that hot in Portland and Seattle, where they're less used to it and are suffering more. When I went to Seattle in late April, the highs were 45-55 and it was usually raining slightly. That's what I expect there. Back home it was in the 70s.

2. A couple of the last pieces I need for the annual Tolkien bibliography came in on inter-library loan, so I went down to the library and grabbed them, scanned the relevant pages, and packed the files away for later use. Three more to go.

3. Article on protests in suburban neighborhoods against denser housing. I can't say I'm sympathetic to the protests. This is a suburban neighborhood, but I live in a 26-unit condo complex, there are several garden apartment buildings adjacent to us, and most of the other houses on this street are duplexes, although you won't notice that unless you look closely. We manage. I'd favor similar zoning - which is what's up for proposal in Arlington in the article - in other places, but I'd ask the council this question: "What are you planning to do about traffic?"

4. The bane of keeping up with political commentary is endless articles asking if the conviction in the sexual abuse trial, or the disastrous CNN "town hall," will finally put an end to DT's political support. Of course not. Anybody liable to be shamed by anything he does has long since already left. The Billy Bush tape should have put an end to it, and it did shake a few people, notably Mike Pence, but they didn't leave the train.

5. Trivia item no. 1. John Maynard Keynes worked in the British Treasury during WW2. "He occupied a room next to the future Governor of the Bank of England, Lord Catto, and in consequence, particularly when he was occasionally reluctant to give an opinion, became internally known as Lord Doggo."

6. Trivia item no. 2. What is the following a complete list of? 1. Foxes. 2. "That bird." 3. Stoats. 4. Dogs.