Newsletter Leaf Journal CCVII 〜 On your desk
No one voted for The Newsletter Leaf Journal, but our post-election newsletter comes to you with links to the four newest New Leaf Journal articles, 21 links from around the web, and other news and notes.
Welcome to the 207th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. This newsletter comes to you as always from the editor and administrator of The New Leaf Journal and The Emu Café Social, Nicholas A. Ferrell. While this past week was busy with the U.S. general elections, I did not publish too many words, but I still have a decent collection of new articles to go along with our usual assortment of links, news, and notes.
Leaves from the week that was
I published four new articles on The New Leaf Journal, all of which came early in the week. First, I recounted a story from my high school days -- late October 2005 to be precise -- wherein my classmate commented on the then-upcoming New York City mayoral election by expressing her concern that Bush, referring to then-President George W. Bush, who had been elected to a second-and-final four-year term as president one year prior -- would "win again." If that story is not exciting enough, you will get two stories for the price of one when I later skip ahead to 2008 to tell readers about a moment where this same student and I improbably ended up having something in common.
I published two election-themed articles on November 4. First, I wrote about a case wherein a noncitizen student from China was charged with illegally voting in Michigan (his vote apparently counted despite being illegal). Using the reported charges as a prompt, I explored the potential immigration consequences for illegal voting. Second, I published an article about a pigeon-themed mailer I received from the New York City Board of Elections on early voting. If that sounds familiar -- I wrote about a similar, but less stylish, mailer I received from NYC BOE in April.
On Tuesday, I documented three free desks (and a lighted mirror) I encountered while walking around Brooklyn. If that sounds familiar, I also published a free desk article on election day back in 2020.
I published two short posts on The Emu Café Social. First, I noted an update to my recent article on presidential runners-up with the most recent birth date, specifically that Al Gore, who had held the mark as the presidential runner-up with the most recent birth date since coming up just short in the 2000 election, had finally been relieved of his crown. Secondly, after reading about how some colleges and universities were coddling students after the election, I complained that no one at Brooklyn College offered me cookies after the 2008 presidential election (I had class the day after the election).
Leaves from around the web
Let's check in on what's going on around the world wide web.
Not to brag, but...
Noncitizen Voting Bans at the State Level Gain Momentum
Marguerite Telford for Center for Immigration Studies. November 8, 2024.
The voters clearly read my reporting on Michigan.
Trying out /e/OS with Easy Installer on a FairPhone
The Privacy Dad. November 1, 2024.
I reviewed /e/OS before the Easy Installer was a thing.
Using Cloudflare on your website could be blocking RSS users
Open RSS. October 16, 2024.
Despite subscribing to more than 100 feeds, I have only run into this problem with one site. I have written about getting around Cloudflare blocks for saving articles, however.
Checking in on Pennsylvania
Decision Desk HQ’s Statement on Our Pennsylvania Race Call
Decision Desk HQ. November 6, 2024.
Decision Desk HQ was the first outlet to call the 2016 and 2020 elections for Donald Trump and Joe Biden respectively. It continued the tradition in 2024, being the first to call Pennsylvania, and as a result the presidential election, for Donald Trump at 1:21 AM on November 6. Here, the editors explained why they called Pennsylvania when they did (Fox called Pennsylvania about 20-30 minutes later, followed by the AP sometime between 2 and 3).
Why AP called Pennsylvania Senate race for David McCormick
Mike Catalini for the Associated Press (via The Washington Times). November 8, 2024.
Decision Desk HQ was not the first to make every big call in Pennsylvania, however. Here, the Associated Press explains why it called Pennsylvania's Senate race for the challenger, David McCormick, at 4:09 PM on Friday (the AP is thus far the only major outlet to call Pennsylvania for McCormick and the race has not been conceded).
America's fighters
With Next-Gen Fighter in Limbo, F-22 Must Dominate
Sean Carberry for National Defense. September 6, 2024.
Talk about pressure.
Why media coverage of the F-35 repeatedly misses the mark
Alex Hollings for Sandboxx. October 24, 2024.
Defending the honor of America's multi-talented fighter.
Marine pilot loses command after ejecting from F-35B that kept flying
Stephen Losey for Marine Corps Times. October 31, 2024.
A complicated and unfortunate situation all around.
I'm not saying, but...
Most parents say social media, polarization has made their job harder than in the past: Survey
Sean Salai for The Washington Times. October 31, 2024.
I mean when you choose to delegate your parenting responsibilities to an Apple device...
How Google is Killing Bloggers and Small Publishers - And Why
Michael Miszczak for Just a Pack. June 5, 2024.
There are obvious drawbacks to making yourself dependent on the whims of an ad company.
Character Amnesia in China
David Moser for global china pulse. October 22, 2024.
You may have a problem with your language if people are forgetting how to write "cook" and "sneeze."
News from the former Soviet Union (happy Berlin Wall fall day!)
In Crimea's Fields the Poppies Blow
Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy. May 27, 2024.
A poppy war poem from the Second World War.
Soviet Terror Victims Commemorated In Russia Amid Challenging Political Climate
RFE/RL. October 30, 2024.
It would not be such a challenging political climate if no one in Russia had to point out what is making for such a challenging climate.
Russia perceived to have world’s “strongest military” – US News rankings
Eurasianet. October 30, 2024.
The headline raises serious questions but let us read beyond that for a moment. Belarus is... 12th? Is this the same military that can't beat Pokémon GO?
Are we factoring in cost?
9Barista Espresso Machine: One Year Later
November 2, 2024.
It looks cool. The price, however...
Producing An Exquisite Wooden Keyboard
Lewin Day for Hackaday. November 1, 2024.
Should be a waterproof wooden keyboard for $1,000.
Pricey soap dispensers on Air Force planes lead to parts probe
Mike Glenn for The Washington Times. October 29, 2024.
Boeing is such a train-wreck that it messes up in stories where it is not named in the headline.
Deference to the experts
Who Were the Mysterious Moon-Eyed People of Appalachia?
Hadley Meares for Atlas Obscura. October 22, 2024.
If Jefferson believed, I believe.
Bob Dylan Is on X. Is He Messing With Us?
Neil Shah for The Wall Street Journal (via MSN). November 7, 2024.
I would have to defer to my distinguished colleague.
Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night
Why I Hate Sun Tzu
James M. Stephens for Marine Corps Association. October 24, 2024.
Way to take the high ground.
'I'm walking here!': Jaywalking legalized in New York City
Philip Marcelo for the Associated Press (via The Washington Times). October 29, 2024.
I look forward to jaywalking for the first time in my entire life.
Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week
I use a privacy-friendly and entirely local tool called Koko Analytics to track page hits. In each issue of the newsletter, I list our five most-visited articles, according to Koko Analytics, for the one-week period beginning with Saturday and ending with Friday. Below, you will find the most-visited articles of 2024 Newsletter Week 45 (November 2 through November 8). I will include 2024 and historic (which runs through the first week of 2021) ranking information for each article.
1: An In-Depth Look at Norton Safe Search
N.A. Ferrell. Oct. 18, 2022.
27 appearances and 9 top placements in 2024; 39 and 14 overall
2: Broken Optical Audio Cable Door “Fix”
N.A. Ferrell. September 16, 2023.
10 appearances in 2024 & overall
3: A Sign of Affection - Anime Review
N.A. Ferrell. March 28, 2024.
6 appearances.
4: Planning and Angel Next Door Season 2
N.A. Ferrell. Nov. 5, 2023.
25 appearances and 11 top placements in 2024 & overall.
5: Installing Ubuntu Touch on a Google Nexus 7 (2013)
N.A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021.
19 appearances and 2 top placements in 2024; 96 and 4 overall.
Analysis
My Norton Safe Search review had what was its second or third best week of the year en route to cruising to its third consecutive weekly first-place ranking. Its best month in 2022 was November, so perhaps little-used search front-ends by commercial antivirus companies are popular in November. Our overall views were a tick down from previous weeks and that was reflected after the top two in this week's ranking.
Taking leaf
I promised news and notes, but I do not have much new to report about The New Leaf Journal that I did not cover in the news and notes last week (I fell a little bit behind on my plans, but everything I noted last week is still in progress). Instead, I will leave things off here for this week. I will add briefly here that I do have an article planned for Veterans Day, which lands on Monday the 11th.
Thank you as always for reading and following The Newsletter Leaf Journal. If you enjoyed the newsletter and are not already a regular reader, you can sign up for our once-weekly email, add our newsletter's RSS feed to your favorite feed reader, or check in on our newsletter archive page at your leisure (see all the options).
Until November 16,
Cura ut valeas -- Nicholas A. Ferrell.