Saturday Morning Coffee

CNN: “Over the past couple of months while I’ve been reporting from Moscow, I’ve met many people who have been horrified, shocked and numbed by Putin’s wanton aggression.”

I know we can’t get into the war, but it drives me absolutely bonkers to see us sit on our hands while innocent lives are lost or displaced with nowhere to go.

Morning Shots: “Republicans are anxious — very anxious indeed — to tell us that Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn doesn’t speak for his fellow Republicans.”

This dude has to go. He doesn’t care about legislating. He’s just in Congress to be performative and stay in power. He’s another authoritarian.

The Bitter Southerner: “So my mother and her sisters and friends amassed an impressive collection of delicious, creative cake recipes including apricot nectar cake, the Darn Good Chocolate Cake, and cinnamon coffee cake — all unapologetically starting with a box.”

Who doesn’t like a good cake?

AP: “Known as an ‘onion’ service, users can access this version of Twitter if they download the Tor browser, which allows people to access sites on what is also referred to as the ‘dark web.’ Instead of .com, onion sites have a .onion suffix.”

Learned something new. I wasn’t aware of onion sites. Hopefully this helps Russians organize and put an end to Putin. 🤞🏼

DNA Lounge: “DNA Lounge’s policy is unchanged: we will continue to take steps necessary to reduce the risk of infection to our staff, families and customers”

I was an avid reader of Jamie Zawinski’s work back when he was part of the original Netscape team. His stories were wild.

After Netscape he opened DNA Lounge and I kind of lurk in the shadows to see what’s happening there.

It’s nice to see someone is still treating COVID like it’s dangerous.

A wonderful bouquet of flowers.[The Fresno Bee](https://www.fresnobee.com/fresnoland/ article258792998.html): “Fresno has many people who are jobless, underemployed or underpaid or for whom opportunities for gainful employment are severely limited, aptly described by Michelle Skoor, chief workforce officer for Bitwise Industries, as ‘excluded people in underestimated places.’”

I love the city of Fresno and the work Bitwise Industries is doing.

There is an area of Fresno called The Tower District. I spent quite a bit of time there with friends when we were trying to build a little startup. The startup failed but The Tower is now in my blood.

Downtown Fresno is also a special place. It’s kind of a burnout husk of a city with beautiful — empty — buildings waiting for someone to turn them into something special. Bitwise has repurposed and remodeled a number of those diamonds in the rough. I often had delusions of grandeur about buying one, remodeling it as living space above a certain floor, with offices below, and retail at its base. Big dreams for a man who doesn’t know the first thing about pulling something like that off.

I once described it as a Technology Blackhole. It is no longer, thanks to Bitwise.

The Real News Network: “On Feb. 8, seven workers were fired from the Poplar & Highland location in Memphis. The group, who quickly became known on social media as the ‘Memphis 7,’ made up the original union organizing committee at that store location. They say they were fired because of their organizing efforts. Starbucks denies this.”

You just so happen to fire the seven people responsible for trying to form a union, and it wasn’t because they’re trying to form a union? Right.

Tiny Apple Core