THE EV EXPERIENCE IS NOT LIVING UP TO THE HYPE: Our Last Ford F-150 Lightning EV Pickup Road Trip Was a Nightmare.

GUN MEME OF THE YEAR: The package clearly states “from Santa.”

SOME PARTS OF AMERICA STILL WORK: NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter set a new flight distance record on Mars. “In total, Ingenuity has so far spent 125.5 minutes aloft to fly nearly 10.5 miles across the surface at altitudes as high as almost 80 feet. . . . Ingenuity long surpassed its original estimated lifespan, even without taking its latest feats into consideration. When first launched back in 2021, NASA expected the aircraft to only last for 5 flights in order to test avionic capabilities in the thin Martian air (just 1 percent of Earth’s atmosphere), and had no intention of utilizing it as a major component in the overall Perseverance mission.”

HMM: Engineers develop a vibrating, ingestible capsule that might help treat obesity.

SPACE: SpaceX launches Starlink, Sarah-2 missions.

THE 21ST CENTURY IS NOT TURNING OUT AS I’D HOPED: FDA warns of scarring, deformities from unapproved ‘fat-dissolving’ injections.

CRISIS BY DESIGN: The US Migrant Invasion Was Carefully Planned. “A network of NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, seems to be playing a powerful role in coordinating the large-scale invasion of illegals at the US southern border.”

The role of unaccountable NGOs needs to be sharply constrained.

WHERE DOES HE GO TO GET HIS CAREER BACK? SDSU punter who lost NFL gig vindicated as accuser drops rape claim against him.

IT’S COME TO THIS: Catholic university offering ‘safe haven’ for Jewish students amid rise in anti-Semitism.

TAKING SIDES: New York Times Publishes Gaza Mayor’s Lament.

ICYMI: Thoughts on Christmas, and Muddling Through.

ICYMI:

It remains to be seen if they can save their own skins by throwing her to the wolves, but I think it is possible they will try it.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) December 23, 2023

WILL THEY BE HEALTH COACHES, OR WILL THEY BE ROBOTIC NAGS? AI Health Coaches Are Coming Soon to a Device Near You.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE REYNOLDS/SMITH HOUSEHOLD!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

OPEN THREAD: Have yourself a merry little Christmas Eve.

OPEN THREAD: Life is short, but the years are long.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: 55 years after Apollo 8’s Christmas at the moon, a new Artemis crew readies for launch.

HMM: People With Suicidal Thoughts Show a Chemical Pattern in Their Blood.

BLUE STATE UPDATE: Gavin Newsom’s 10-year plan to end San Francisco homelessness marks 20-year anniversary.

ME ON SUBSTACK: Muddling through, somehow.

BILL ACKMAN: CLAUDINE GAY HAS BEEN ASKED TO RESIGN.

I have heard from a source that is reliable but a step or two removed from the situation that the @Harvard Corporation has asked President Gay to resign and she has refused.

Gay has apparently said that if she is fired, she will sue. Gay has retained her own counsel.

I can’t…

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 24, 2023

Hoping for a lawsuit with lots of discovery.