Recovering bookseller, skeptical lawyer, diarist manqué. Clinically exasperated. Mom always said, "you learn something new every day if you're not careful."
Urbs in Horto
Joined October 2012
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"I have seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that dogs think humans are nuts."
~ John Steinbeck
MC Pastoret retweeted
My comments on the triumph of Arab science and their contribution to preserving Aristotle, Ptolemy, Euclid, Pythagoras, Archimedes, during the dark ages, until it transitioned 500 years later to Copernicus, Galileo, Tycho Brah, Kepler, Vesalius, da Vinci, Gilbert. Without the great centers of Arab science in Baghdad, Cordoba, Cairo, all would have been lost. There would be no SpaceX, Anthropic, Meta, or at least not for another 500 years. You can take that to the bank
straitstimes.com/world/unite…
MC Pastoret retweeted
My late colleague and brilliant co U.S. Science Envoy with me in the Obama Admin the @Caltech Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Ahmed Zewail would disagree. God rest his soul he didn’t have to endure this, and of course RFK Jr forgets that it was the Arab scientists of the Middle Ages who kept Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen alive to hand it down in the Renaissance. My favorite books on this topic attached
👍 to the Ballot Tracking feature for Vote By Mail (I used the secure drop at my early voting 🗳️ site):
MC Pastoret retweeted
When they first arrived, Irish immigrants in Chicago did the jobs no one else wanted – including digging the 96-mile Illinois and Michigan Canal. #ChicagoStoriesWTTW wttw.com/chicagostories
MC Pastoret retweeted
The story of the Irish in Chicago is one of political and economic ascent. It is also a complicated one, marked by the same exclusion they once endured. The Irish may have come with nothing, but they changed everything. to.wttw.com/4zN9nHs #ChicagoStoriesWTTW
MC Pastoret retweeted
I looked them up and they appear to be at the Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) in Tucson, Arizona. If you adopt both of these dogs together — or any animal from this center — I will pay for a month's worth of pet food and help you find a good pair of pants.
24petconnect.com/PimaAdoptab…
And of course each passenger who boards and cannot pay because the terminal is out of order is greeted with the announcement: “fare payment is required.” Anyone working on this, @cta? Anyone at all?
There’s an audible ping as the driver marks each boarding passenger who does not pay (because the terminal is out of order), & each time I hear that, I think “another $2.25 down the drain, @cta…”
There’s an audible ping as the driver marks each boarding passenger who does not pay (because the terminal is out of order), & each time I hear that, I think “another $2.25 down the drain, @cta…”
Always pains me to see this @cta —especially on a high ridership route like the #22
MC Pastoret retweeted
WE'RE HIRING 📣 📣 📣
We’re looking for a full-time reporter to cover Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Norwood Park and other Far Northwest Side neighborhoods. You’ll cover everything from local school council meetings and community policing efforts to restaurant openings and real estate developments.
Apply by 11/15:
buff.ly/UAZkvII
MC Pastoret retweeted
Betsy, @Delavegalaw, I don’t mean to one-up you, but just now, I correctly identified 3 creatures on my couch—a husband, a dog, and a cat, the latter of which was hard because she is sleeping and closely resembles a meatloaf. 100%.
MC Pastoret retweeted
The ongoing stretch of gorgeous mid-October weather will continue through at least the end of the week. #ILwx #INwx
ALT This is a multiday forecast graphic for northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. Headline: Gorgeous Mid-October Stretch Continues! Sub Headline: Warm, dry, and sunny pattern will continue through the remainder of the week. Visit weather.gov/Chicago for more forecast details for your location. Graphic Created: Monday, October 19, 2026 1:33 PM CDT