Sunday, September 13, 2026

2025 Was a Good Year for Bay Grass

Almost certainly not Chesapeake Bay
From the Bay Journal, Chesapeake grass beds expand for fifth year in a row

Chesapeake Bay underwater grass beds expanded for the fifth consecutive year in 2025,
driven in large part by the surprising resurgence of underwater meadows in the lower Bay.

Underwater grasses provide critical habitat and are one of the most closely watched indicators of Bay health. Last year’s annual aerial survey found the most submerged aquatic vegetation, or SAV, since 2018. The coverage was sixth highest reported since the survey began in 1984.


Grass beds generally increased throughout the Bay in 2025, but the best news came in the high-salinity areas in Virginia. That area had the most underwater grasses ever seen in the survey — surpassing the record set in 2024 by 13%.

“We are just exploding in the saltiest waters of the Chesapeake,” said Chris Patrick, a researcher with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who oversees the survey. “The eelgrass is just doing phenomenal.”

Overall, the amount of SAV in the Bay and tidal portions of its tributaries increased by approximately 7% in 2025 compared with the same areas in 2024.

But the 82,968 acres mapped by the survey almost certainly undercounted the extent of the grasses by thousands of acres. Extended periods of poor weather, government shutdowns and restricted access to some sites limited aerial photography in some places, primarily in Virginia.

Those areas contained 6,417 acres of SAV in 2024. Assuming those sites had similar coverage in 2025, scientists estimate that the Baywide total in 2025 was likely closer to 89,385 acres.

2026 is likely to be a good year too, guessing from the weather. 

The Return of Flotsam and Jetsam

Yes, I'm back from my Syrupean fishing vacation. I made it home by late in the afternoon Friday, and after putting away the mess, a quick trip to the Drs, Gabby's soccer game, and general fatigue, I didn't get much accomplished yesterday.

It was interesting traveling out of Minneapolis/St. Paul on the morning of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Speaking of which, according to NYPo, AOC spotted laughing next to Mamdani at 9/11 ceremony — as victims’ families weep during reading of names. Hat Hair's Dave Strom calls it Enraging: AOC and Mamdani Laugh It Up at 9/11 Memorial As Names of the Victims Read. Ace, Victory Lap: Communist Jihadi Zohran Mamdani Does "Interfaith" Walk on 9/11, Which Ends at... Islamic Center, "Unbelievable," and Twenty Five Years After 9/11, Most Have Forgotten -- and the Children Who Were Born After the Terrorist Attack are Being Taught That Muslims Were the Victims and Americans the Racist Aggressors, "How on earth was this allowed to happen?" At Twitchy, Abigail Spanberger Gets TORCHED on X for Claiming Americans 'Lost Their Lives' on 9/11. PJM's Vicky Taft has one of her West Coast, Messed Coast™ — Nothing Says 'We Hate America' Quite as Much as UCLA's 9/11 Event. TownHall's Matt Vespa likes how Bill Maher Zeroed in on the Biggest Moral Cowards Post-9/11. It's Exactly Who You Think. "Maher added that the biggest cowards post-9/11 are Democratic Party politicians, whose moral confusion, which has become cancerous over the past quarter century since the attacks, has been laid bare by the Gaza War: a strip of land the Israelis gave back as part of a peace deal, made possible when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ditched Likud to form the now-defunct Kadima Party. It was later taken over by Hamas, a terrorist organization, and used to launch attacks on Israel. Israel launched a counterattack after the equivalent of their 9/11, the October 7 attacks, isn’t genocide. And yet, it’s the issue Democrats police their candidates like the Gestapo—they must say it, or at least not bash the terrorists."

Nicole Russell at USA Today, As Texas Senate race tightens, Talarico's mask is slipping. "Newly surfaced comments on capitalism, faith and abortion reveal Texas state Rep. James Talarico is more progressive than his campaign lets on. Voters are starting to notice." Hat Hair's Capt. Ed had Saturday's Final Word. @amuse @amuse, "TEXAS SENATE RACE: Would you be surprised to learn that the architect of James Talarico's political career is a trans man who attended Furman University and got a degree in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies? Tyler Mitchell, now known as Hyacinth High (they/them/theirs), shaped Talarico's campaigns and ensured they were staffed primarily by LGBTQ folks, with a particular focus on hiring trans staffers. Hyacinth is now Regional Campaigns Director at The Fairness Project. Texas doesn't need someone with Talarico's extreme ideology representing the interests of Texans." Capt. Ed was pretty happy when The Cavalry Arrived: Senate GOP Drops $32 Million Into Texas for Paxton. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn thinks the Dems Got Themselves a Case of the Cray Crays and They Just Can't Seem to Shake the Loons Off. But Driscoll at Insty notes DEMOCRATIC PARTY PULLS SUPPORT FOR NC HOUSE CANDIDATE SHELLY HEADEN: The Calvin Coolidge Project @TheCalvinCooli1, "Report: North Carolina Democrats have withdrawn support for State House candidate Shelly Headen after she called for violence against Republicans and compared herself to Jesus Christ She said: “I think our only hope is an attack on US soil, preferably Alabama, Louisiana where the stupid people live.” She said: “I’ve sacrificed myself just like Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross, and Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and all the people that put themselves out there to sacrifice for our country,” she said. “If a few angry moments on social media are the end, then so be it. MAGA will keep winning if we continue with not standing up for what’s right.”" Tippinsights wonders Sen. Tafoya? Minnesota Polling Shows a Dead Heat. AMAC warns Don’t Buy Democrats’ “Farm Revolt” Narrative, "The media is buzzing about a brewing farmland revolt against Republicans in November. But that narrative has far less basis in reality than Democrats would have Americans believe."

Hat Hair's John Sexton has A San Francisco Squatter Story for the Ages. Variety worries Paramount Leaving California Would Devastate Los Angeles Economy, Leaked Report Finds. From the OC Reg, Orange man gets 30 years for role in $269 million Medi-Cal fraud

Stacy McCain considers the The Permanent Problem of Liberalism "You see the point of this narrative — the emotional payoff of the melodrama — is that the liberal is always the hero, deserving praise and admiration for his courage in opposing the Republican villain. Once you recognize this, you realize why there is no point arguing with the liberal. He cannot be persuaded by facts or logic, because facts and logic are not the basis of his belief system. And this is why I say that liberalism is a permanent problem. If we could not vanquish liberalism in 70 years, during which time we had such brilliant minds as Buckley advocating for the conservative cause, isn’t it the height of folly to imagine we’ll be able to declare a final victory anytime in the foreseeable future?"

Da Signal has two from the Great Victor Davis Hanson: When Will the Iranian People Overthrow the Regime? and Canadians Feel Real Pain in Stage 4 of Trade War. I have to see, I didn't see a lot of pain there. At Hat Hair, Salena Zito is pleased with the 'Trump Power Plant' Coming to Fayette County, the Largest Investment in Its History. Dennis Santiago at RedState sees a Firestorm Ignited Over Proposed US Census Rules. Here Is What Citizens Can Do About It. Taking the illegals, and other non-residental aliens out of the count for apportionment.

Twitchy calls it PERFECTION! Guess Who Rescued a Stranded Anti-Trump MS NOW Crew in the TX Desert: New York Post @nypost, "MS NOW crew gets stuck in Texas desert - and has to be rescued by Border Patrol https://trib.al/nsL6CAq."

From Ace, The "Rogue" Juror the Extreme Left-Wing AWFUL Karens Berated and Bullied for a Week? B L A C K and Of Course: Garbage Tier Network NBC Is Now Doxxing the Lone "Rogue" Holdout in the Lindsay Clancy Case, "The media exists solely for purposes of blackmail and incitement to murder." Sister Toldja at RedState says Whoa: NBC News 'Tries to Bury' Holdout Clancy Juror, but DeSantis Makes Him an Offer They Won’t Like. Sundance at CTH, NBC Targets and Doxxes Lindsay Clancy Juror Holdout – Visits Home, Searches, Investigates Family and Worse. Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog, "They’re flat out doxxing an anonymous juror because he didn’t acquit a triple murderer. These people are evil beasts. Demons from hell. Sue, you deserve nothing but shame and scorn. You despicable freak." Quote Sue O'Connell: COMMENTATOR, not a reporter @SueOC_NBCBoston, "EXCLUSIVE: The holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial had a history of domestic violence allegations, the @NBC10Boston Investigators have learned through court documents and interviews with family members ..."

Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok, "I have no words… USA Today says the people mocking Charlie’s ass*ssination is actually good because they’re just using humor to deal with it emotionally USA Today is covering up for the violent scum who want us dead and celebrate m*rder I can’t believe this is real They have no shame."

From the Robinson Report a Chinese National Accused of of Illegally Modifying Homeland Security Computers - MWTV. "A Chinese national working as a CBP supervisor in Calais was charged after investigators said 46 government computers were altered at Maine border facilities."

Matt Margolis at PJM, Were You Hoping Jessica Tarlov Would Get Fired From Fox News? I've Got Some News. Three year contract. They need someone to spew the DNC line, Harold won't.

Ace finds out The UK Branded Turning Point Members as Dangerous Right Wing Extremists, Claimed Leftists, On the Other Hand, Were "Moderate". "They actually tracked and surveilled Turning Point UK members because they thought they were dangerous -- after a leftist killed Charlie Kirk. They feared they would agitate for "free speech," which is of course dangerous to a corrupt authoritarian and wildly unpopular regime. They also complained that the "ERW" -- "extreme right wing" -- blamed Kirk's assassination on "the political left." I am done with the UK. I am done with NATO."


Palm Sunday

Users of the dedicated Reddit community continue to thoroughly analyze available promotional materials for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI. A player named Kwint456, citing the author of QuinfyGTA, noted how realistically the crowns and branches of palm trees are deflected by the downward airflow from a passing helicopter. This visual mechanic underscores Rockstar Games' overall commitment to realistically simulating benchmark-level physics and dynamic environments.

The post sparked a lively discussion among community members. Some commenters noted that similar effects involving helicopter rotors interacting with foliage had already appeared in one form or another in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto V. However, other users emphasized that the animations and foliage deformation in Grand Theft Auto V are the most smooth, organic, and technologically advanced in the sixth installment compared to the studio's earlier releases.

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Rule 5 Saturday - Annie Agar

This week's Rule 5 winner is Annie Agar: Annie Agar, Ja’Marr Chase joining forces on ‘Chasing No 1’ podcast
On Monday, Overtime announced the launch of Chasing No 1, a new podcast featuring Chase and NFL content creator Annie Agar. The first episode will drop on Wednesday, just in time for the start of the 2026 NFL season.

"I am so excited. This is probably the biggest and coolest thing I've done in my NFL career so far," Agar said on social media. "This is going to change this NFL season for you guys and for me in terms of being able to put out different content for you. I'm so excited."

In a video announcing the original version of the podcast in February, Chase said that it was his opportunity to show people who he is off the field and who he really is.

Agar was named to Awful Announcing's list of top sports influencers and content creators last year, and she continues to add to her list of more traditional reporting and hosting roles beyond the viral videos that brought her fame.