February 3, 2026

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…:

Glenn sent me this one, and I had to double- and triple-check to make sure it wasn’t a parody.

And the replies… well, just click and enjoy.

Posted at 7:48 am by Stephen Green

NICE: Manufacturing Activity Returns to Expansion in January.

The ISM (Institute for Supply Management) Manufacturing PMI entered expansion territory in January, registering 52.6%. This figure is a 4.7-point increase compared to December’s seasonally adjusted reading and the first time manufacturing activity has expanded since February 2025.

“In January, U.S. manufacturing activity returned to expansion territory, with improvements in all five subindexes that make up the PMI (new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories),” says Susan Spence, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee. A reading below 50% represents contraction.

The new orders index entered expansion territory last month, growing 9.7 points from 47.4% in December to 57.1% in January. The production index is growing at a faster rate, registering 55.9% in January, 5.2 points higher than December’s 50.7%.

Those are good numbers, needless to say.

Posted at 7:33 am by Stephen Green

I’M SURPRISED THEY DIDN’T FIRE HIM FOR HIS DISCREDITED RESEARCH: Duke professor Dan Ariely had longstanding friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, newly released files show.

Dan Ariely, professor of business administration in the Fuqua School of Business and Duke alum, had a longstanding relationship with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of at least six years, per newly released documents from the Department of Justice in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Ariely is named 636 times in the more than 3 million additional files released on Jan. 30. He was a prominent professor at Duke over the course of his correspondence with Epstein.

Per The Chronicle’s review of the documents, Ariely, Graduate School ’98, and Epstein met at least seven times from 2010 to 2016. Ariely and Epstein appeared to have been friends — in an email dated Sept. 20, 2011, Ariely promised Epstein a ticket to a small TEDtalk gathering, despite the tickets already having sold out. . . .

At Duke, Ariely has received criticism since 2010 that his studies lack reliability and reproducibility. In particular, Ariely faced allegations for falsifying data in a 2012 paper about methods to discourage dishonesty, prompting the article’s subsequent retraction.

In January 2024, Ariely told The Chronicle of Higher Education that Duke had completed a confidential investigation, which concluded that the data had been falsified but Ariely had not fabricated it knowingly. A University spokesperson reportedly told the CHE that they could not be a source of information regarding the investigation.

In a February 2024 Academic Council meeting, Jennifer Lodge, vice president for research and innovation, explained that the University takes academic misconduct seriously but that investigations remain confidential to protect the privacy of faculty and those affiliated.

Background on the research scandal here and here.

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

FROM MARY CATELLI:  Madeleine and the Mist.

Enchanted pools, shadowy dragons, wolves that spring from the mists and vanish into them again, paths that are longer, or shorter, than they should be, given where they went. . . the Misty Hills were filled with marvels. Madeleine still left the hills, years ago, to marry against her father’s will. If her husband’s family is less than welcoming, she still is glad she married him, and they have a son, two years old. But her husband’s overlord has fallen afoul of the king. And all his men fall with him, including her husband. She sets out, to seek the queen and try to bypass the king — and the Misty Hills. Some things are not so easily evaded.

Posted at 7:00 am by Sarah Hoyt

I UNDERSTAND HER NAME IS NOW AMELIA ROSE ALBION:  Turning The Tables.

And it’s delicious.

Posted at 3:33 am by Sarah Hoyt

February 2, 2026

OPEN THREAD: Monday, Monday.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

TO BE FAIR, I’M REALLY NOT AT ALL SURE IT’S POSSIBLE.

Posted at 9:15 pm by Glenn Reynolds

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD:

UPDATE:

Posted at 9:14 pm by Ed Driscoll