Fries the way they were meant to be made: golden brown and with a side of mayo. Why does the Netherlands have so much better fast food than America, my kid asked, and I didn’t know the answer.

The Dutch have some interesting water sports going on.

On the day Boeing’s incompetence was headline news our family of five boarded a 787 to Amsterdam that was delayed by 90 minutes for repairs. Good thing I don’t read the news, or it would’ve made for an anxious trip. #newsnoise

In today’s not-a-linkblog blog:

• Maybe It Doesn’t Matter
• Who Are You Really? (part one)
• There Is No Need to Lose Our Minds Over the Jevons Paradox
• What Is the Best Way to Cut an Onion?

Have a great weekend, all.

This is not a linkblog. But here are some links that, if it were, I would have posted today:

• Nobody Knows What’s Going On
• Deep Reading Will Save Your Soul
• Culture War as Imitation Game
• Going Offline

Happy Thursday, etc.

The Washington Post is having a crisis of identity — it recently laid off most of its local columnists but apparently still wants to focus on local news:

Sir William and co. are floating an idea called “Local+,” a new offering for readers who want to pay extra for premium local content, sources tell me.

At the same time, their coverage of 12 best ice cream shops in Washington starts with one in Alexandria, Virgina. So, the “+” in “Local+” may not mean what I think it should mean.

One of the first things European visitors to the US will notice is how many squirrels there are running around — almost as many as rats!

Well, there is a whole family of albino squirrels living at the National Mall, behind the National Gallery of Art. Albino rats I haven’t seen outside of a lab.

Our eldest just missed a friend’s birthday party because the invitation went to mom’s overflowing and rarely checked personal email and not dad’s inbox nearly-zero. I’m used to school administrators not seeing fathers as the default parents, but having it come from another parent kind of stings.