The new problem on the Texas border.

Texas border patrol stops 90+ people smuggling eggs from Mexico as prices soar

We are selling our house and getting rid of lots of stuff. Neither me nor my wife have a Facebook account, but we heard that Facebook Marketplace is the best place to advertise the sort of items we want to sell. My wife set up an account but was almost immediately banned. Her offense: she used a photo that wasn’t her face. Ok, kinda odd. So I set up an account and used a standard head shot of my face. I posted one item for sale and made a few postings and read my feed like any normal Facebook user. Today, several days after all of this I am banned. Except no reason given. I have contested just out of curiosity. I wonder what’s up at Facebook. I suspect they have a problem with “vandalism”. People unhappy with Facebooks political stance coming in and disrupting the platform. If this is the case and they are wholesale rejecting new users (jeez all I wanted to do was sell some furniture) then I don’t see a bright future for the platform.

i love maps but can’t say I’m too familiar with Africa. There are interesting territorial quirks all over the world and they usually give an interesting of unusual look into the history of a place. A good article from Al Jazeera on unusual features of African map geography.

Ever wonder why Africa’s borders appear so strange?

The politics of Texas isnt much of a mystery. Oil and gas interests have always had a large influence, understandably. I don’t see this bit of progress being stopped. The economics of renewables is just too compelling.

Texas Lawmakers Scramble To Stop Solar Energy But It Just Keeps Coming

A good read with lots of data. I agree until the end, and one commenter addresses this. If things are so good, why change course? Maybe growth for the sake of growth isnt a good thing. It also never attempts to understand why a prosperous society would suddenly stop having children. From Uncharted Territories.

Why Japan Succeeds Despite Stagnation

I remember this well, as will everyone who was there. It was the moment I decided I was done living in Texas. From NPR.

Four years after deadly blackout, doubts remain over reliability of Texas’ power grid

Austin continues to change. And I don’t mean that necessarily in a good way,

Iconic Willie Nelson Mural Demolished in Austin

Another good one from Verite News.

Remembering the Thibodaux massacre, a bloody chapter in U.S. labor history

I am too young to remember the original Krazy Kat comics but I remember some reprints. A short article from Verite News about the creator.

’Krazy Kat’ comic strip creator had roots in New Orleans