Mostly Entertainment

• Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said yesterday, “I’m just not ready to back Donald Trump.” That was an example of good negotiating. “Not ready” means he hopes to be able to back Trump someday, but only if Trump changes in some unspecified ways that Ryan wants. It gives Ryan leverage. It was a strong move.

But Trump responded with “I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda.” 

Checkmate, in one move. On this chessboard, a future President beats a Speaker of the House. And Trump makes you think past the sale again, to his presidency.

I will say it once and say it again, Scott Adams’ deconstruction of Trump’s tactics is fascinating.

• Opponents of Trump have started making the case that he is “dangerous” and “risky.”

You know who likes dangerous men? Answer: Everyone.

Seal Team Six is dangerous. George Washington was dangerous. Abraham Lincoln was dangerous. Women like dangerous men. Men want to be dangerous men.

And the Clinton camp somehow loses by making Trump risky and dangerous – someone over there just doesn’t get it.

• Outstanding Restaurant
  Alinea, Chicago

As a huge fan of Alinea, and eagerly awaiting what’s in store with their renovation and re-imagining, I was happy to hear of their selection as “Outstanding Restaurant.” Congrats Alinea Team!

• To prevent burns, sensors monitor the heating elements in the head 20 times every second to ensure a constant temperature is maintained—automatically shutting the unit down should it get too hot. 

In my head I’ve wondered why Dyson hasn’t made a hairdryer yet because it seemed like an obvious choice, but I forgot about that whole “damaging” hair thing.

• it’s also been specifically engineered to shift some of the high-pitched sounds hair dryers often produce to an even higher frequency beyond the reach of human hearing. The motor’s compact design also means it can be integrated into the Supersonic’s handle, instead of the head, completely changing its weight distribution, and making it more comfortable to hold and use for prolonged periods.

I will be curious to see how quiet this thing ends up being, but even at $400 when it’s available in September, I see something that might be on my wife’s Christmas list.