Notes From All Over, Nothing About The Bakken -- December 14, 2019

First things first: on ESPN right now -- NCAA FCS quarterfinal -- #1 NDSU Bison leading unranked Illinois State, 9 - 0 in the second quarter. The Bison scored again just before the half, but they had to settle for their third field goal. Bison struggling. Clear holding call missed by the officials. Amazing. Link here. Late fourth quarter, Illinois will take the ball with the score, 9 - 3. NDSU is playing horribly. NDSU dominance on the line. Illinois starts on their own 20-yard line. Now 3rd and seven. Pass incomplete, 4th and seven. And there it is: NDSU stops Illinois. NDSU has a 35-game win streak -- longest all-time streak in NCAA FCS history. First time NDSU has not scored a touchdown in Fargodome since 2002.This kind of playing won't win them another championship.

• NDSU: 13 - 0 / 8 -0
• Illinois State: 10 - 4 / 5 - 3
• Fargodome, Fargo, ND

The book I will be ordering for Christmas: The Anarchy, William Dalrymple, just released, September 10, 2019.

It's about the East India Company. There's a strong tie between William Shakespeare and the East India Company which makes it, at least for me, a huge find. So, opened a copy at Barnes and Noble to see if Shakespeare was mentioned. Yes, in the introduction (or first chapter, I forget), very first line, along with Hamlet. I checked the index for Sir Henry Neville. Not mentioned, but that's fine. Reading the first few chapters, first impression, excellent. As I got deeper and deeper in to the book I realized it was going to be a hard slog -- India's history is very, very new to me, and the names are difficult. But it's definitely one I need to read slowly.

I'll probably start reading it in earnest in the next couple of weeks. I'll provide updates.

Two clicks on Amazon. "Free." Cash back from purchases on the card throughout the year.

Cardboard boxes: huge problem, they say. I don't know, but there certainly are a lot of Amazon boxes on front porches. In the old days I would have bought the book off the shelf at the local book store and probably not even bothered with a plastic bag. Now, it arrives in a cardboard box. Minimal dollar cost to Amazon or the economy but huge environmental cost, they say.

Last mile, sources: FedEx and UPS are "being killed" by cost of "last mile" delivery. Jeff Bezos willing to spend whatever it takes. Amazon's "last mile" delivery has transformed itself many times in the past few years; seems to be able to turn on a dime (pun intended). USPS, UPS, FedEx seem slow to adapt. Everything from big old diesel trucks to high shipping costs for the consumer.

Politics: when Bernie Sanders is leading the polls in Iowa, one really has to wonder about Iowa. To me it suggests the Iowa economy is really, really hurting. Other than corn, ethanol, and liberal universities does Iowa have anything else? The poster child for the "fly over" states.

The Hill. I only read a bit of this, but it seems "right on."

WWI, redux: a reader sent me the link to this story -- America's longest "war." This is probably one of the very few stories that I will not read the comments.