I was listening to a Commentary Magazine podcast while driving to pick D up from camp this morning. I had kind of tuned it out because I was thinking about a turtle when Christine Rosen said, "This is why we all fantasize about Mitch Daniels in a non-sexual way."
Good morning on Sunday. The protests in Los Angeles over ICE immigration raids, and Trump's response to mobilize the California National Guard, is a gravely concerning situation.
And I have just heard from the Sunday morning talk shows that Trump has theatened to deploy active duty troops if he deems it necessary.
It's not clear to me that these are "riots". Reading news reports, I have not heard of either injuries nor property damage. Nothing worse than interference with traffic. I pray that remains true.
Nothing coming close to an actual "riot" has yet occurred. Yes, there have been quite small semi-violent skirmishes with police and federal agents instigated by a handful of people among a few hundred total protesters, not all of whom congregated and protested in one place. Some bricks and pieces of concrete hurled at ICE vehicles. Minor property damage and rubbish piles set afire in the streets in a few place. I believe one car was torched. Several dozen protesters arrested.
But contrary to the appearances in the footage the news shows are playing over and over and over again, the city is not burning. No major violence-producing unrest is occurring
There's nothing at this point that local law enforcement and the feds involved couldn't handle if they have any kind of competent leadership at all. But I expect it more likely that the leadership needed exists on the local level with the police, but with the feds, from what I've seen of their leadership in action of late, that could be a serious problem.
But this isn't an "overreaction" by the president as some pundits are charitably calling it; it's a deliberate and calculated action meant to intimidate, not to control or de-escalate the situation.
But why worry? With a Commander in Chief who has no respect at all for the U.S. Constitution or the rule of law and just itching to use his power in a show of force and who probably thinks Posse Comitatus is the name of an old movie western, and a 2-bit former FOX News TV host at the helm of the Pentagon literally threatening to send in the *Marines* from a nearby base while mixing it up in a very public social-media-brawl-for-show with California's governor...
After my last post I saw reports of graffiti vandalism with spray paint, and throing projectiles at the police. Pretty serious, but in and of itself, something the police should be able to handle.
I agree, Trump si brining in the National Guard, not because they are needed, but to intimidate. That's a dangerous action which could escalate.
Calling up the Guard isn't an issue if there's a legitimate need for it. Like Tim Walz deploying several thousand in Minnesota in response to the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in 2020. A couple of dozen other states had deployments that year as well, amounting to nearly 70K Guardsmen in total, and that was all a legitimate use of that government resource and the authority attached to its use. Considering the circumstances, there was no reason to doubt the justification as far as I was concerned, and in some instances I think they should have been deployed sooner than they were.
But in this instance, I see nothing here but the aforementioned intimidation and even provocation. I'm sure Trump would like nothing better this time around than to flaunt his power at every opportunity and isn't above creating his own opportunities.
I'm really hoping those protesters don't fall for this ruse and proceed to take the bait. But sadly, that wouldn't surprise me one little bit.
Morning. Here’s hoping things settle down. It would be more encouraging if I felt this president were vaguely sane…
I’ve got a minor video project this weekend which is turning into an open-ended time-suck—and current events make me grateful that I don’t have much time to spend watching the minute-by-minute drama unfolding.
Reading about the SoCal riots and I don't have a good feeling about this. I suspect there will be fatalities.
We had one yesterday when a protestor tried to stop a moving car. the car refused to stop, the protestor after 15 seconds or so fell back and hit his head hard, and died.
What a cool, cute bird..Now I want a stuffed one...lol
Been a rough week... my boss had to put his mom in Hospice, he was out of the office most of the week, and I had to run the whole shebang...lol...She is in her late 80s and has COPD....and she doesn't want any help anymore...he is pretty devastated, even though they have a difficult relationship...I will help him through this as much as I can, but I suspect he might be a bit relieved, so she doesn't suffer more, and because she lives with him and it was pretty stressful for him...he was always having to run home to help with some problem...she has two dogs who are going to not understand where she is too...
My debit card got hacked again...sigh, I have no idea how, I don't click on things I don't trust, and I only give that information to sources I trust and have been using for years...I am supposed to get the new one Monday or Tuesday, , but in the meantime I had to use a credit card to cover a couple of autopay deduct payments, which I an pay when I get the new card...and it is going to be a nightmare....again...changing the card number everywhere I use it...the curse or black cloud just won't go away...lol
I saw a cool-looking butterfly the other day outside my office...it was black with blue dots along the edge of its wings, smallish sized....never saw one before, so I looked it up...it called an Acala butterfly and it is pretty rare, at one point they thought it might be extinct...it is native to south Florida, Cuba and The Bahamas...So I googled how it ended up in NE OH...there are several ways, hitchhiking with things that are shipped here etc...bu,t, the most interesting one was there is a specific shrub that it needs to build coccons, starts with a B, but I can't remember how to spell it...lol...and that animal/nature lovers who found out about it have planted it in their yards across the country to attract them...as their habitat down there is not so optimal anymore...though being who I am, I am now worried it is all alone and won't be able to find a butterfly to mate with...lol
The vast yeomanry of people in this country who could actually make stuff and do stuff with the stuff they made is all but completely gone. Pencil pushers, button pushers and mouse clickers are now the order of the day.
Well, I guess you could call me a button pusher and mouse clicker for the last couple of decades of my working days since most of the things I made were made with programmable CNC machine tools rather than manual machines with power feed levers and crank handles, all of which allowed me to make stuff much faster, but not necessarily always better.
I bought Katie a pair of "Willow Tree" figurines (from shopgoodwill.com); one is a married couple, the other is a music box.
Her first t-shirt arrived today; it was the right size (sizing depends on the cut, I learned today), and she liked the design. The other t-shirt is the same size, and a similar design, so I might go 3 for 3! 😀
Katie is resting today. Her sister (3 hours away) was gonna host a 'Prince Birthday party'. Katie is okay with Prince, but not a devotee. So she's down in the quilt kingdom turning scraps into squares. One of our doggos is napping on a piled of cut up t-shirts; he loves it! Katie is thinking of making a pillow case to stuff it with for him.
Cute, but they sure do not look stable when soaring. It’s as if their wingspan is a little too short. Today is daughter #1’s 32nd birthday. Gee that time went fast.
Good morning. 67 degrees and cloudy with highs in the high 70s. More muggy than hot.
My wife’s birding guide describes puffins as “alcids,” a class of seabirds also known as auks, which “replace penguins in the Northern Hemisphere”. Most of the auks are smallish birds that swim more than they fly. The largest was the Great Auk which went extinct in the 19th century,
Speaking of Ladder Lady, she is recovering at hone, slowly and painfully.
We saw penguins for our first time on a cruise through Tierra Del Fuego last year. They were as imagined, very cute. Close up they are also very messy. The trip also included Patagonia Torres del Paine park and some Chilean cities and countryside. I found Chile much more enjoyable that our recent trips to Italy and France. If the US goes under, Chile seems a good place to hide.
Phil is correct. It means they have a similar role in the ecosystem. Puffins and other auk-things can fly, while penguins can't. This is essential because the Far North has terrestrial predators, while Antarctica does not. There are some species of penguins that live farther north in the southern hemisphere - like African penguins - and they have adaptations to avoid land-based predators ... but they still can't fly.
The wind is as advertised - relentless. We shared a table in a cafe with an interesting Nordic guy. His "job" was a sailor for recreational sailing in (across?) the Atlantic. His vacation was backpacking N to S in Patagonia. We could tell he was quite strong and resilient. Making that trip solo takes a special physical and mental strength.
Our trip originated with plans for a friend and I to backpack the "O" loop. I've mentioned before, but my friend very sadly was diagnosed and died of cancer. Instead of the backpack, the plans changed to a resort tour with my wife, with day trips in many of the same segments. The scenery is other-worldly and a must do. In our segment hikes, I was surprised to find that the O loop is a bit crowded. Not awful, but more than imagined. There are only designated routes, similar to Grand Canyon. I think I would have been at least a bit disappointed on the backpack since I was expecting very remote conditions away from people.
I will go back to either Atacama or Patagonia National Park. If you have not heard of it, I can't recommend enough the documentary about Doug Thompkins and the founding of the National Park. "Wild Life". The story can make one ponder what a useful purpose is. Thompkins was no angel either though.
Regarding Europe, it is of course wonderful for history and art and culture that can't be beat. Still, many times I couldn't help feel I was on an adult version of "It's a Small World" at Disney. The food was fine, but unexceptional, including several Michelin restaurants. I'm more moved by the exceptional sushi restaurants for visual and culinary creativity. Or even my own amateur efforts with cassoulet or paella.
Well, nice, thank you! I am currently enjoying a wonderful time with my new granddaughter in Pittsburgh for a few weeks. Our son and his wife are here this weekend too, from Chicago. This new chapter is an adventure of a different sort, and the best of all. We are so blessed.
If mated pairs "usually reconnect in the spring," and if the birds are solitary on the vast Atlantic for most of the year, one wonders what percentage of puffins fail in a given spring to reconnect -- whether because the mate has been eaten by a seal or because he forgets where they agreed to meet up.
And how much searching would a puffin do before deciding she'd better move on to a new mate?
Unfortunately for him, their designated rendezvous site is the same as everyone else’s. And when she calls out his name—“Fred! I’m over here!”—she learns that all the other men are also named Fred…
That's a good question. . Most of what we know about puffins was learned at their mating/nesting sites.
It's possible that there's been some research on this. If they were going to observe individuals over time, they'd need to be clearly marked. There are always new, young-adult pairs forming, so I don't know how they would distinguish courtship behavior of a brand new couple vs an older puffin looking for a replacement partner.
I was listening to a Commentary Magazine podcast while driving to pick D up from camp this morning. I had kind of tuned it out because I was thinking about a turtle when Christine Rosen said, "This is why we all fantasize about Mitch Daniels in a non-sexual way."
Good morning on Sunday. The protests in Los Angeles over ICE immigration raids, and Trump's response to mobilize the California National Guard, is a gravely concerning situation.
And I have just heard from the Sunday morning talk shows that Trump has theatened to deploy active duty troops if he deems it necessary.
It's not clear to me that these are "riots". Reading news reports, I have not heard of either injuries nor property damage. Nothing worse than interference with traffic. I pray that remains true.
Nothing coming close to an actual "riot" has yet occurred. Yes, there have been quite small semi-violent skirmishes with police and federal agents instigated by a handful of people among a few hundred total protesters, not all of whom congregated and protested in one place. Some bricks and pieces of concrete hurled at ICE vehicles. Minor property damage and rubbish piles set afire in the streets in a few place. I believe one car was torched. Several dozen protesters arrested.
But contrary to the appearances in the footage the news shows are playing over and over and over again, the city is not burning. No major violence-producing unrest is occurring
There's nothing at this point that local law enforcement and the feds involved couldn't handle if they have any kind of competent leadership at all. But I expect it more likely that the leadership needed exists on the local level with the police, but with the feds, from what I've seen of their leadership in action of late, that could be a serious problem.
But this isn't an "overreaction" by the president as some pundits are charitably calling it; it's a deliberate and calculated action meant to intimidate, not to control or de-escalate the situation.
But why worry? With a Commander in Chief who has no respect at all for the U.S. Constitution or the rule of law and just itching to use his power in a show of force and who probably thinks Posse Comitatus is the name of an old movie western, and a 2-bit former FOX News TV host at the helm of the Pentagon literally threatening to send in the *Marines* from a nearby base while mixing it up in a very public social-media-brawl-for-show with California's governor...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/deranged-newsom-hegseth-trade-insults-173151252.html
Well, gee. What the heck could possibly go wrong?
After my last post I saw reports of graffiti vandalism with spray paint, and throing projectiles at the police. Pretty serious, but in and of itself, something the police should be able to handle.
I agree, Trump si brining in the National Guard, not because they are needed, but to intimidate. That's a dangerous action which could escalate.
Calling up the Guard isn't an issue if there's a legitimate need for it. Like Tim Walz deploying several thousand in Minnesota in response to the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in 2020. A couple of dozen other states had deployments that year as well, amounting to nearly 70K Guardsmen in total, and that was all a legitimate use of that government resource and the authority attached to its use. Considering the circumstances, there was no reason to doubt the justification as far as I was concerned, and in some instances I think they should have been deployed sooner than they were.
But in this instance, I see nothing here but the aforementioned intimidation and even provocation. I'm sure Trump would like nothing better this time around than to flaunt his power at every opportunity and isn't above creating his own opportunities.
I'm really hoping those protesters don't fall for this ruse and proceed to take the bait. But sadly, that wouldn't surprise me one little bit.
Morning. Here’s hoping things settle down. It would be more encouraging if I felt this president were vaguely sane…
I’ve got a minor video project this weekend which is turning into an open-ended time-suck—and current events make me grateful that I don’t have much time to spend watching the minute-by-minute drama unfolding.
I hope the edits go quickly!
Good luck on your project!
Reading about the SoCal riots and I don't have a good feeling about this. I suspect there will be fatalities.
We had one yesterday when a protestor tried to stop a moving car. the car refused to stop, the protestor after 15 seconds or so fell back and hit his head hard, and died.
What a cool, cute bird..Now I want a stuffed one...lol
Been a rough week... my boss had to put his mom in Hospice, he was out of the office most of the week, and I had to run the whole shebang...lol...She is in her late 80s and has COPD....and she doesn't want any help anymore...he is pretty devastated, even though they have a difficult relationship...I will help him through this as much as I can, but I suspect he might be a bit relieved, so she doesn't suffer more, and because she lives with him and it was pretty stressful for him...he was always having to run home to help with some problem...she has two dogs who are going to not understand where she is too...
My debit card got hacked again...sigh, I have no idea how, I don't click on things I don't trust, and I only give that information to sources I trust and have been using for years...I am supposed to get the new one Monday or Tuesday, , but in the meantime I had to use a credit card to cover a couple of autopay deduct payments, which I an pay when I get the new card...and it is going to be a nightmare....again...changing the card number everywhere I use it...the curse or black cloud just won't go away...lol
I saw a cool-looking butterfly the other day outside my office...it was black with blue dots along the edge of its wings, smallish sized....never saw one before, so I looked it up...it called an Acala butterfly and it is pretty rare, at one point they thought it might be extinct...it is native to south Florida, Cuba and The Bahamas...So I googled how it ended up in NE OH...there are several ways, hitchhiking with things that are shipped here etc...bu,t, the most interesting one was there is a specific shrub that it needs to build coccons, starts with a B, but I can't remember how to spell it...lol...and that animal/nature lovers who found out about it have planted it in their yards across the country to attract them...as their habitat down there is not so optimal anymore...though being who I am, I am now worried it is all alone and won't be able to find a butterfly to mate with...lol
Sorry for your debit card travails. Maybe getting a bush and becoming a butterfly rancher will give you something to look forward to. 😃
Ha, I think someone should take that voodoo doll aay from whoever is using it on me...lol
I'm very sorry about your card. Those events are a tremendous nuisance!
Thanks, Cynthia, I have calmed down about it with some time in between...I will just grouse when I have to go change the card numbers everywhere...lol
Tarrifs strike. This grieves my soul:
https://craftindustryalliance.org/parent-company-of-the-big-4-sewing-pattern-brands-sold-to-a-liquidator/
I don't sew, but it grieves me too. That stuff is foundational, it reflected a culture, a culture where folks make stuff.
Yeah, but, well, they're mostly women. And they aren't making things out of steel - so who cares? I mean, how much money could it be?
/s
Not much. I just have memories of folks making clothes, and I thought it was cool.
Sorry, re-reading my comment, the sarcasm in my imagined Trump response falls flat.
I wondered what you were taking about with the steel.
The vast yeomanry of people in this country who could actually make stuff and do stuff with the stuff they made is all but completely gone. Pencil pushers, button pushers and mouse clickers are now the order of the day.
"Pencil pushers, button pushers and mouse clickers are now the order of the day."
That's me!
As a (now retired) IT guy, that was definitely me.
Congratulations on your retirement! (Am I repeating myself?)
No, I don't think I mentioned my retirement previously, It only happened in February.
Well, I guess you could call me a button pusher and mouse clicker for the last couple of decades of my working days since most of the things I made were made with programmable CNC machine tools rather than manual machines with power feed levers and crank handles, all of which allowed me to make stuff much faster, but not necessarily always better.
So far I am two for two!
I bought Katie a pair of "Willow Tree" figurines (from shopgoodwill.com); one is a married couple, the other is a music box.
Her first t-shirt arrived today; it was the right size (sizing depends on the cut, I learned today), and she liked the design. The other t-shirt is the same size, and a similar design, so I might go 3 for 3! 😀
Katie is resting today. Her sister (3 hours away) was gonna host a 'Prince Birthday party'. Katie is okay with Prince, but not a devotee. So she's down in the quilt kingdom turning scraps into squares. One of our doggos is napping on a piled of cut up t-shirts; he loves it! Katie is thinking of making a pillow case to stuff it with for him.
Round of applause for Jay!
https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkrugman/p/inventing-the-renaissance-ada-palmer
A very interesting read about Florence! And why it remained as the Renaissance place..
They really are cute.
Cute, but they sure do not look stable when soaring. It’s as if their wingspan is a little too short. Today is daughter #1’s 32nd birthday. Gee that time went fast.
Happy birthday to your daughter!
Good morning. 67 degrees and cloudy with highs in the high 70s. More muggy than hot.
My wife’s birding guide describes puffins as “alcids,” a class of seabirds also known as auks, which “replace penguins in the Northern Hemisphere”. Most of the auks are smallish birds that swim more than they fly. The largest was the Great Auk which went extinct in the 19th century,
Speaking of Ladder Lady, she is recovering at hone, slowly and painfully.
So, I guess Great Auks aren't part of the Great Replacement theory concerning penguins in the Northern Hemisphere... 🤔🙄
Ah - no.
We saw penguins for our first time on a cruise through Tierra Del Fuego last year. They were as imagined, very cute. Close up they are also very messy. The trip also included Patagonia Torres del Paine park and some Chilean cities and countryside. I found Chile much more enjoyable that our recent trips to Italy and France. If the US goes under, Chile seems a good place to hide.
I wonder what "replace penguins" means?
Phil is correct. It means they have a similar role in the ecosystem. Puffins and other auk-things can fly, while penguins can't. This is essential because the Far North has terrestrial predators, while Antarctica does not. There are some species of penguins that live farther north in the southern hemisphere - like African penguins - and they have adaptations to avoid land-based predators ... but they still can't fly.
I’d like to do a bicycling trip in Patagonia.
The wind is as advertised - relentless. We shared a table in a cafe with an interesting Nordic guy. His "job" was a sailor for recreational sailing in (across?) the Atlantic. His vacation was backpacking N to S in Patagonia. We could tell he was quite strong and resilient. Making that trip solo takes a special physical and mental strength.
Our trip originated with plans for a friend and I to backpack the "O" loop. I've mentioned before, but my friend very sadly was diagnosed and died of cancer. Instead of the backpack, the plans changed to a resort tour with my wife, with day trips in many of the same segments. The scenery is other-worldly and a must do. In our segment hikes, I was surprised to find that the O loop is a bit crowded. Not awful, but more than imagined. There are only designated routes, similar to Grand Canyon. I think I would have been at least a bit disappointed on the backpack since I was expecting very remote conditions away from people.
I will go back to either Atacama or Patagonia National Park. If you have not heard of it, I can't recommend enough the documentary about Doug Thompkins and the founding of the National Park. "Wild Life". The story can make one ponder what a useful purpose is. Thompkins was no angel either though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJL-OAPBDa8
Regarding Europe, it is of course wonderful for history and art and culture that can't be beat. Still, many times I couldn't help feel I was on an adult version of "It's a Small World" at Disney. The food was fine, but unexceptional, including several Michelin restaurants. I'm more moved by the exceptional sushi restaurants for visual and culinary creativity. Or even my own amateur efforts with cassoulet or paella.
That sounds very interesting. The southern tip of South America sounds interesting. Send in a travel account, we’ll put it on the front page.
If you'd like to write a guest column, just tell MarqueG. It would be cool to have a more detailed travel report!
Well, nice, thank you! I am currently enjoying a wonderful time with my new granddaughter in Pittsburgh for a few weeks. Our son and his wife are here this weekend too, from Chicago. This new chapter is an adventure of a different sort, and the best of all. We are so blessed.
Write a little bit more about this stuff. I'd read more.
Thank you!
That was really interesting. I appreciate your insights.
I took “replace” to mean “occupy the same ecological niche”.
Ow! She should know that we’re all rooting for her!
Wet and rainy here. Little prospect of blue skies for the next 12 to 24 hours.
If mated pairs "usually reconnect in the spring," and if the birds are solitary on the vast Atlantic for most of the year, one wonders what percentage of puffins fail in a given spring to reconnect -- whether because the mate has been eaten by a seal or because he forgets where they agreed to meet up.
And how much searching would a puffin do before deciding she'd better move on to a new mate?
Unfortunately for him, their designated rendezvous site is the same as everyone else’s. And when she calls out his name—“Fred! I’m over here!”—she learns that all the other men are also named Fred…
That's a good question. . Most of what we know about puffins was learned at their mating/nesting sites.
It's possible that there's been some research on this. If they were going to observe individuals over time, they'd need to be clearly marked. There are always new, young-adult pairs forming, so I don't know how they would distinguish courtship behavior of a brand new couple vs an older puffin looking for a replacement partner.
Or what happens when she gives up and moves on, only to have her ex show up, late? 🤔
That would be a good plot for a movie!
"You must remember this
A kiss is still a kiss,
a sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by"
Play it again, Sam...