Brian McDaniel

@Watchman_motto This room is the exception. I've never seen a studio apartment that looks this good (except here or in a magazine).

I’ll always carry a sentimental feeling towards studio apartments. It’s very cozy but you wouldn’t think so. Everything in one room. If someone comes over, they’re deep into your life.

@cnni The position of the hands is a common political tactic, at least in America. Turning your hand down to allow the other person to grab from the top is a subtle way to communicate. The lower hand is pulling in the other for control or to assert dominance.

Talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have been largely positive, though the future of Taiwan threatens to strain the relationship. Follow live updates: cnn.it/3RbckAK

@Watchman_motto I'm struggling to work out the right corner under the window. Which shelf is flush to the wall?

Color perfect - dark wood and this ocean blue/green almost turquoise. Shelves are missing books.

@KobeissiLetter Tax Refunds flowing back to the tax payers.

BREAKING: Money market funds posted +$136 billion in inflows last week, the largest weekly intake since January 2026. This is also the 2nd-largest weekly inflow since the beginning of 2025. This follows -$175 billion in outflows in the preceding week, the largest weekly withdrawal on record. As a result, the 4-week average of outflows stands at -$45 billion, the 2nd-largest on record. Meanwhile, investors allocated +$25.9 billion to bonds last week, with Investment-Grade bonds alone attracting +$16.4 billion, the largest weekly intake since January 2026. Investors are shifting capital after a historic run.

@Watchman_motto The Chemex is so much easier and better tasting. And it costs much less than a coffee station. ☕️

One thing that will really boost your quality of life is an espresso machine and a good coffee station in your kitchen or dining room. Not to mention it will save you money in the long run over buying fancy coffee out.

An unusually orange snowy owl spotted in Michigan has left scientists puzzled over its rare coloring. Wildlife photographer Julie Maggert captured the bird, nicknamed “Rusty” by locals. While snowy owls are normally known for their white feathers, experts believe the owl’s unusual reddish-orange color may have been caused by dye, de-icing fluid, or a rare genetic mutation.

@anishmoonka I'm curious how man-made sponges compare to natural sponges.

The research behind this is wild. Your kitchen sponge has the same density of bacteria as human stool. German scientists found 54 billion bacterial cells per cubic centimeter inside used sponges in 2017. Yours is sitting right next to your sink. Sponges are the perfect home for bacteria. They are wet, warm, full of food bits, and never fully dry between washes. Across all 14 sponges, the team found 362 different types of bacteria. The most common species include strains that can make people sick. In 2011, the public health group NSF International swabbed 30 things in 22 American homes. The dirtiest object in the entire house was the kitchen sponge. It was dirtier than the toilet seat. 75% of the sponges tested positive for the kind of bacteria that includes Salmonella and E. coli. Microwaving does not clean the sponge. The 2017 study found microwaved sponges had higher amounts of the smelliest, most harmful bacteria. Heat kills the weak strains. The strong ones survive and refill the sponge with no competition for space. A 2021 Norwegian study compared kitchen sponges to dish brushes. In brushes, Salmonella was wiped out within three days because the bristles dry out between uses. In sponges, bacteria climbed to about a billion cells per sponge. The lead researcher told CNN that one kitchen sponge can hold more bacteria than there are people on Earth. Three things actually work. Switch to a dish brush, because brushes dry fully between uses while sponges stay wet for hours. Replace your sponge every one to two weeks. Never leave it sitting wet in the sink. Norway and Denmark already do this by default, but most other countries don't. The detergent is fine. Your sponge is the problem.

I also appreciate the work of the Colombian Bishops around Digital Missionaries. It's so much better than Catholic Influencer.

I just came across Pope Benedict's phrase “Digital Continent." It’s a powerful way to describe social media and the online world as a real place where people live, connect, and shape culture. Let’s use this term more often.

Residents who spoke to the Sun-Times Thursday say the changes in the neighborhood since Pope Leo's election have been mostly for the better. chicago.suntimes.com/religion/2026/…

@ahmed_baokbah Which is why F1 cars don't provide formation laps ahead of a B2 mission. /s

Fun fact: The estimated building cost for all 22 cars would easily reach $320 million. At the end of the season, considering the full team-wide operational budget, it would total nearly up to $2 - 2.5 billion. One B-2 Spirit costs $2.1 billion to build.

@AJManaseer Helmets are not required in Illinois for motorcycles either.

One thing I was shocked to learn about prominent bike lane advocacy groups is that they are against helmet mandates. Chicago, unlike most cities, doesn’t even require children to wear helmets. This is despite overwhelming evidence that helmets dramatically save lives and prevent serious injury. Why are they against helmet mandates? Because this lowers ridership. Which lowers funding and political support. Think about that. They are willing to let more people suffer from preventable death or traumatic injuries in order to maintain political influence. This is how you know the bike lane debate is not about public safety.

Say what you want about Spirit Airlines, but in 33 years of revenue service they never lost a single plane.

2026 London Marathon winner Sebastian Sawe had a strong Catholic upbringing and remains deeply committed to his parish in Kenya, local church staff told ACI Africa. ewtnnews.com/world/africa/l…

The King makes a good point.

@Osinttechnical Begun, a forever war has. - Yoda (Maybe)

Trump does not want to resume bombing Iran or walk away from the conflict, will continue an indefinite blockade -WSJ

The bigger story from this weekend's London Marathon may be what happened behind Sabastian Sawe. linkedin.com/pulse/two-hour…

@anishmoonka So, the Siesta works, it appears.

By 2 PM, a sleep chemical called adenosine has been collecting in your brain for seven straight hours. The afternoon wall hits even when you skip lunch entirely. Researchers at Loughborough University ran a driving simulator study. They fed one group a small lunch (305 calories) and another a heavy one (922 calories). Both groups drove for two hours on a long, dull stretch of road. Both got hit by the dip at the same time. Their conclusion: the post-lunch dip is "largely unrelated to lunch." Two things are happening at once. The first is adenosine. Your brain has been making it since you woke up. Picture sediment slowly filling a glass over the day. By midday the glass is half full, and that buildup starts to slow down the part of your brain that keeps you alert. Coffee works because caffeine grabs those same spots before adenosine can, blocking the sleep signal. The second is your body clock. Around 2 PM, it dips. Your body temperature, your stress hormones, and your focus all drop a little. It's a small version of what knocks you out at 3 AM. In 2014, researchers ran brain scans on well-rested people throughout the day. The scans showed reduced activity in the parts of the brain that control attention during the early afternoon. A separate review pulled together 14 studies and found the average dip across populations lands between 2 and 4 PM. About 86 percent of mammals sleep in chunks throughout the day rather than one big block at night. Humans are the odd ones out. Spain, Italy, Greece, and most of Latin America built the siesta into the workday because it sits exactly where the dip lands. Industrialization deleted that nap from the schedule. Our biology never agreed. NASA wanted to know what happens when you fight the dip. In 1995, they gave long-haul pilots a 40-minute nap window during the cruise portion of the flight. The pilots fell asleep in 5.6 minutes. They slept an average of 25.8 minutes. After waking, their job performance was up 34 percent and their alertness up 54 percent compared to pilots who stayed awake. 93 percent of the pilots took the nap when offered. The wave hitting you at 2 PM is the same biology that runs every other primate on the planet. The siesta cultures kept it in the schedule. The rest of us tried to caffeine our way through it.

It's starting to look more like Spring. The bird feeders are attracting customers, including a few goldfinch. Time to make nectar for the hummingbird feeders.

@Bachscore Let's point out that the top three finishers in London all beat the standing world record from Chicago in 2023. Amazing effort.

TWO men broke the 2-hour barrier for the marathon today in London. Both were wearing a super-light, 3.4-ounce shoe that has yet to be released. Adidas' head of running told me how they made it: wsj.com/sports/super-s…