A MIXTURE OF THE DISPENSIBLE AND THE CONTEMPTIBLE FOR THE MOST PART: What Do College Administrators Do?

OPEN THREAD: Enjoy yourselves.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China’s Landspace conducts first VTVL test for reusable stainless steel rocket.

It looks . . . familiar.

BUILD MORE NUCLEAR PLANTS: If Red Sea Shipping Doesn’t Open Soon, They’ll Have to Rename It Great BRRRRritain.

Also, the Royal Navy has centuries of experience burning out nests of pirates. Perhaps this will provide sufficient motivation to exercise those skills.

THE AMAZON ISN’T SOME SPECIAL GREEN GARDEN OF GAIA. IT’S A POST-COLLAPSE FOREST THAT GREW OVER FORMERLY SETTLED LAND. Cluster of Ancient Lost Cities in The Amazon Is The Largest Ever Found. “This amazing discovery, the oldest and largest of its kind in the region, includes a vast system of farmland and roads, revealing that Ecuador’s Upano Valley was densely populated from about 500 BCE to between 300 and 600 CE. . . . Evidence of a vast, pre-Hispanic human influence in the Amazon continues to grow, with the current coverage of LIDAR data suggesting more than 90 percent of the human history in the Amazon is yet to be uncovered. . . . The organization of the cities reveals the sophistication and engineering capabilities of these ancient cultures, according to the researchers, who concluded that the ‘garden urbanism’ of the Upano Valley provides further proof that Amazonia is not the pristine forest once depicted.”

YET ANOTHER REASON THEY SHOULD BE TARRED AND FEATHERED AFTER BEING REMOVED FROM POWER: Survey: America’s Elites Say There’s Too Much Freedom. “Know your place, peasants!”

But there are too many for tarring and feathering. At the very least, though, they need to be put in their place, socially and politically.

POPCORN: Woman Scorned Strikes Back: My Husband Paid Fani’s Way — And I Have Bank Records to Prove It.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Solar panels on Japan’s SLIM lunar lander fail to create electricity as needed.

HMM: Revolutionizing Heart Health: Scientists Develop Game-Changing New Cholesterol Vaccine. Call me back in 5-10 years and tell me how it’s going.

PROBATION? REALLY? What Does a Gender Studies Degree From the University of IL Get You? Probation After Being Held At Gunpoint by CCW Holder During Hot Burglary.

I guess a gender studies degree identifies you as a friend of the regime.

PYREX isn’t what it used to be. But it’s better for the environment!

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Pennsylvania Young Adult Gun-Carry Ban During Emergencies Found Unconstitutional. “The ruling adds to a growing body of federal court decisions casting doubt on age-based gun restrictions.”

WELL, THAT SEEMS REASONABLE: Alec Baldwin indicted by grand jury on involuntary manslaughter over ‘Rust’ shooting. ” A grand jury has indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of ‘Rust,’ months after prosecutors dropped their case against the actor over her death. The indictment charges Baldwin, 65, with involuntary manslaughter (negligent use of a firearm) or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter (without due caution or circumspection), both fourth-degree felonies.”

DON-MENTUM: Tim Scott to Endorse Donald Trump.

Related: I Was Pence’s Top Aide. It’s Time to Unite Behind Trump.

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: LA Times staff to walk out over cuts.

UPDATE: Sports Illustrated’s entire staff told they’re getting laid off. The trans swimsuit cover didn’t do it?

I DON’T KNOW WHY THEY’RE TRYING SO HARD TO SQUEEZE HER OUT BUT IT LOOKS VERY SLEAZY AND UNSUPPORTED: David Lat: 6 Video Clips Of Judge Pauline Newman: Judge Newman wants the legal world to see as well as hear her in action.

My latest guest, Judge Pauline Newman of the Federal Circuit, is 96 years old, and there’s an effort afoot to remove her from the bench based on alleged “cognitive decline” and “significant mental problems”—which she vociferously denies.

I believe that listening to our podcast conversation will convince many observers that Judge Newman is completely lucid, but the judge felt that video would make the case for her cognitive ability and continued vitality even more persuasively. So at her request, I’m posting a half-dozen video clips, highlights from our conversation, so you can see as well as hear Judge Newman for yourself. (You’ll occasionally notice what might seem like little jumps in the video; some of this is from editing, which was minimal, and some is from the Zoom connection.)

Thanks to my audio engineer, Tommy Harron, for producing these clips. And thanks to Judge Newman for both her time and transparency.

Something shady is going on behind the scenes at the Federal Circuit.

AUTOPHAGE ROCKETRY: Watch this rocket ‘eat’ its own body for fuel.

MICROBIOME NEWS: Semen microbiome health may impact male fertility.

ALSO FRESHMEN, SOPHOMORES, AND JUNIORS: Marijuana use linked to impaired driving among seniors.

WELL, GOOD: New hope for early pancreatic cancer intervention via AI-based risk prediction.

CREEPING, AND CREEPY: The Creeping Evil of Davos.

“SCHOLARS:” Scholars call for ‘social justice’ in civil engineering courses. Chase the Wokies out.

THE PROBLEM IS, THEY’RE MORONS: Technocrats have long told us what we can and can’t do, what we’re allowed to own, what our kids must learn in school, and so on.

AN IDEA SO CRAZY IT JUST MIGHT WORK! ‘Harvard Dialogues’ taps power of respectful debate.

#JOURNALISM: This Washington Post Opinion Piece is Rewriting the Recent History of Border Control.