Julia Curlee is a trans woman who ably served the CIA under four presidents. That ended last year, after the second Trump administration decided she was the wrong kind of American. Now, she’s sharing her story publicly.
The Wrong Kind of American ∞
Though she’s left the CIA, Julia Curlee is still serving.
Monday, August 24th, 2026
We Need More From the Media ∞
Everything is so exhaustingly stupid.
Friday, August 21st, 2026
Speaking of terrible things that have stuck in my mind1, I’ve been hung up on something I read a few weeks ago. Following Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s moronic reference to “DEI bike lanes”, the Department of Transportation began stripping evidence-based tools and information on bike safety from government websites. Never mind that data shows bike lanes make roads safer for all users, including drivers, all without causing congestion. This idiotic new front in the cultural wars must be fought, truth be damned.
It gets dumber. When NPR inquired about these website changes, they received a response from a DOT spokesperson which included the following:
“Since nearly 80% of the population uses cars to get to work and
their important medical appointments, we are taking a closer look at federal guidance to ensure American families have the infrastructure they need,”2 the spokesperson said. “This is a common sense approach despite the Left’s belief that everyone should ride a bike to their shoebox-sized apartment to eat crickets to achieve a phony climate agenda.”
I’ve added emphasis to that last sentence, because it’s so profoundly stupid that it makes me want to scream.
The spokesperson who provided this quote was not named in the piece. I would argue they also should not have been quoted at all. Doing so elevated a completely ridiculous reply in a way it did not deserve. It would serve no useful purpose to quote the ravings of a dementia patient, and that’s the level we’re on here.
The media should strive to be unbiased, and they’re not actually doing that very well lately. When one side perpetually acts in bad faith, lazy both-sides journalism is just a weapon for them to spread their misinformation. Journalists aren’t supposed to be mere stenographers, and putting falsehoods on equal footing with facts and data is bad for society.
In other words, printing that quote without calling it out normalized nonsense. When someone attempts to pass off bullshit as reasoned discussion, reporting it as straight news isn’t being unbiased. It’s just being used.
Footnotes:
After that post, I heard from multiple fans of the hummingbird moth. I’m sorry to have yucked your figurative yums. I can only say that I know what I don’t like, and I don’t like that bug! But hey, more hummingbird moths for you folks to enjoy. *Shudder* ↩︎
I feel compelled to note that of course a huge percentage of Americans currently use cars frequently, because decades of transportation policy has privileged cars at the expense of our health, our safety, and our sanity. That doesn’t mean we have to continue the folly forever. ↩︎
The $999,999 Limit
Oh, the points you could earn!
Thursday, August 20th, 2026
Though the recent email sent by Massachusetts was suspicious in the extreme, the registration on my car will indeed come due in a couple of months. After I verified that, I figured I ought to get it taken care of online. It’s generally a relatively painless process, requiring just a few clicks.
As I finalized things and reached the payment stage, I saw this:
I highlighted what is a truly bizarre sentence to read, in any context. “The maximum payment allowed on a credit card is $999,999”! I would love to know the story behind that. This message has been shown since at least 2025, because I was similarly taken aback when I saw it last October. I took a screenshot then, and chuckled about it with friends. Only now, upon seeing it again, did I think to share it with you too.
Which would you guess is less common: a million dollar RMV charge, or a credit card with a million dollar limit? I suppose someone who purchases a multimillion-dollar super car might owe the RMV taxes that reach seven figures. That type of person might also have a real Amex Black Card (not the bogus Visa Black Card), which could make it possible to charge such a bill to a credit card.
Still, does it really make sense for every single resident who transacts with the RMV to see this ludicrous message?
Hummingbird Moths
I’m sorry.
Wednesday, August 19th, 2026
Last week, I learned of the existence of the hummingbird clearwing moth. I don’t care for it! I mean, just look at it:
[Photo credit: Larry Dallaire]
This large moth might be mistaken for a hummingbird because it hovers and beats its wings rapidly while unfurling its long tongue (proboscis) to sip nectar…They can fly sideways and backwards, accelerate quickly, and these moths beat their wings about 60 to 70 times per second (!) when hovering — fast enough to produce a buzzing or humming sound that is within the range of human hearing.
I’ve been thinking about this thing a lot, because it’s gross.1 Honestly, hummingbirds might be gross too if I consider them too much, but they get a pass because they’re birds, and birds are cool. A moth is just a gross flying bug. It may be a pollinator, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Anyhow, the best way I know to get this thing out of my mind is by sharing the awfulness with all of you. As always, thanks for reading One Foot Tsunami!
Footnotes:
Here’s an extremely relevant video clip.2 ↩︎
“Gross” doesn’t even begin to describe Danny Masterson, the actor who portrayed Stephen Hyde on “That ’70s Show”, nor the reprehensible actions of the Church of Scientology. Masterson is now serving 30 years to life after being found guilty of two counts of forcible rape. The Church of Scientology worked to cover up his crimes.↩︎
Oh, Massachusetts, No
2:50 AM on a Sunday is also a particularly scammy time for this to be sent.
Tuesday, August 18th, 2026
This past Sunday, I received an email from “Do Not Reply” with the subject line “Vehicle Registration Renewal Reminder”. Here’s what it looked like:
This is a very, very bad email, beginning with the awful A.I. slop image at the top. Here’s a larger look at just that:
Lest you have any doubts whatsoever as to the origin of this image, note that they didn’t even crop out the Gemini logo from the bottom right. While I’ve compressed the image above, the original of this needless image was also a needlessly large 760 KB png file. Awful.
When I saw this email, I was quite certain it was a phishing scam. I assumed that the link inside would take me to a scammy replica of a government website, one that would steal credit card numbers. But no! As far as I can determine, this is a legitimate email from the RMV.1 The lone link in it does indeed go to http://mass.gov/rmv, which forwards on to the official RMV site.2 And indeed, my car registration is expiring in a couple of months.
In the past, I have always received an official form in the mail which can be used to renew my registration. For many years, that letter has simply prompted me to go online to renew. Given that, a switch to email notifications make sense. They sure ought to look a lot more official than this, however.
Footnotes:
What’s most often known as the “Department of Motor Vehicles” (DMV) is indeed called the “Registry of Motor Vehicles” (RMV) in Massachusetts. Why? Just to be difficult, I assume. But we’re far from the only ones. ↩︎
I’m not sure why the original link is
http://rather thanhttps://, but the forward does lead to a secure page. ↩︎
Subsidized Internet for Vacant Homes ∞
In this case, the internet is a series of tubes to nowhere.
Monday, August 17th, 2026
Adak Island is 1,200 miles from Anchorage, and all but deserted since its naval base closed in 1997. Nevertheless, it receives government-subsidized internet service at a cost of over $340,000 a year. And it seems not a single person is using it.
We know this because we flew to the island in June and visited every building the company itself told regulators it serves. We knocked on every door. Talked to every person we could find.
Not a single one told us they subscribe to the island’s subsidized internet service.
What an incredible waste of money.
Betting on the Wedding ∞
The classiest wedding bet is on how long the marriage will last.
Friday, August 14th, 2026
I’ve been quite horrified by the rapid spread of gambling in American society in recent years, but even still, betting on weddings seems like a tacky new low to me.
And the Daytime Emmy Goes to…John Oliver’s Wig! ∞
“This…is Devlin St. John.”
Thursday, August 13th, 2026
Recently, comedian and TV host John Oliver has made guest appearances on two different soap operas. For his “Days of Our Lives” stint, he even brought his own wig, and it is magnificent:
[Photo credit: Days of Our Lives]
I like to think that if I were a celebrity, this is the kind of nonsense I’d get up to.
Three Stellar Race Photos
Ah well. The price was right.
Wednesday, August 12th, 2026
After running a 5K last week, I was pleased to receive an email letting me know I had complimentary race photos available. It read as follows:
You crushed it at the Shoreline 5K! Your complimentary photos from MarathonFoto are ready to download and share.
It was 85° and sunny at race time, and while I was happy to land in the top 100 out of 1500+ finishers, I most certainly did not “crush it”. I was more than two minutes slower than my personal best, and in such a short race, that’s a lot. Nevertheless, I’ll happily snag a few photos from the race. Free is a much better deal than usual.
When I clicked the email link to grab my pictures, I was taken to a gallery of 11 images. Did MarathonFoto provide a way to download all my photos at once? Don’t be ridiculous. Technology hasn’t advanced to the level where that sort of convenience would be possible. Maybe someday.
For now, I was able to click the “Free Download” button on each photo, which turned into “Download Now” on hover. Rather than actually downloading the image, that took me to a second page featuring just the photo in question. There, I could click a “Download” button which finally did download the photo. After that, I could click “Back to Gallery” to repeat the tedious process ten more times.
Anyhow, let’s have a look at what the course photographers captured. Here’s a pretty nice shot of, apparently, stranger-to-the-site Ramgopal V. :
It is not so hot of a photo of me, though. I’m the out of focus guy in the blue hat, someone you’d retouch right out of there if you were Ramgopal:
There we go. Now it’s a great shot of this man who is unknown to me. I hope he finds it and enjoys it.
What else have we got? Well, here I am, once again on the left and out of focus:
Folks, level with me. Am I just naturally blurry, like Bigfoot?
The lousy photos above do demonstrate something notable. While race photos formerly keyed solely off OCR with a runner’s bib number, that’s changed. I recall being confused the first time one of these systems presented me with a photo where my face was visible, but my bib was not. I quickly surmised, however, that they were employing facial recognition. The future can be a real creep show.
Facial recognition wasn’t needed for our final photo though, nor even any use. Please enjoy this winner:
I think I’ll print that out and get it framed.
Sunfish Smashing ∞
Chill out, orcas.
Tuesday, August 11th, 2026
Humanity may deserve having killer whales sink our boats, but I don’t think sunfish deserve to be rammed so hard they explode.
