It's not really made of silver, which is good, because if it were, it might suffer the fate of the golden goose. According to Jonah Goldberg on a recent podcast, there are at least two versions of the method by which greedy people in the fable cut off their own gold supply, but the end result was the same. No more goose, no more gold.
As I was looking up information about the silver pheasant, I kept seeing advertisements for pheasant-shaped items made of silver. It was a popular theme for dinner table items and pieces of decor.
Today is the 158th anniversary of the establishment of Canada, an independent nation, with its own government and economy. It is located north of the US border where there is not yet a wall, but might be someday soon. Today is a beautiful day in my part of the country, with clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties. If I were to drive fifty kilometers west, I'd reach the Rocky Mountains. Fifty kilometers in any other direction takes me through rolling prairie and ranchlands.
It's a nice place. We're just not sure about the neighbors.
Camp anecdote: One of my clothing items that fell in the mud during the storm Wednesday evening was a pair of olive-green pants from the athletic gear section at Walmart. I didn't take them to the laundromat in Marion on Wednesday because I didn't want all that mud in the load. On Thursday, I scraped a lot of the mud off and washed them with a few other items.
All the other items ended up with mud on them, and the pants didn't look a bit cleaner. On Friday morning, I gave them another wash, in hot water with more detergent. Still dirty. "What in the world?" I said. "I can scrape this off with my fingernail!" So I washed the pants in the sink with dish soap and a plastic dish scrubber. That got the mud off.
We all know that the negative electrical charge of clay particles is a critical element in nutrient cycles throughout the biosphere. Maybe there's something about this synthetic fabric that attracts clay with a powerful positive charge. Also, top-loading, no-agitator washers are an idiotic design, obviously engineered by someone who had never done laundry in his life. You might as well put clothes in a bucket, barely cover them with water, and occasionally walk by and kick the bucket.
We saw the owlet last night. Now I have to worry about missus bunny in my front yard who was making her bunny nest last Friday. I sat on my stoop while she went back and forth on the sidewalk leading up to my stoop and came within feet of me to gather her materials. She didn’t fear me as much as she should have.
Best wishes for the survival of all the animals! We have rabbits in the shrubbery near the compost bin. I saw several on a walk this morning, also two cats with their own agendas.
Last week I spotted a bunny in the next block while walking to the bus stop. About a second later he disappeared into the shrubbery. It seemed on the small side; maybe it was an adolescent. I don't often see bunnies around here, but it doesn't mean there aren't any. I don't think they eat anything I grow. I have more of a problem with squirrels occasionally digging in my containers. They can be defeated with chicken wire, which is unsightly but effective.
Grandpa Jack raised Silver and Golden Pheasants. Peacocks too. I called the Golden Pheasant "The Judge" because their mane looked like a British Barrister's wig
I cannot hear the phrase "The Judge" without thinking about "Blood Meridian". The Judge is possibly the most memorable villain I can think of, along with Anton Chigurh from "No Country For Old Men". McCarthy has a knack for bad dudes. The Judge is "a massive, hairless, albino man who excels in shooting, languages, horsemanship, dancing, music, drawing, diplomacy, science and anything else he seems to put his mind to. Despite his almost infinite knowledge, which he can use to achieve anything he desires, Holden favours a life of murder and hate... He is also the chief proponent and philosopher of the Glanton gang’s lawless warfare."
I've been hoping for a film adaptation since I first read Blood Meridian many years ago. Over time, the rights were controlled by Tommy Lee Jones, Ridley Scott, and James Franco. There is now a new effort with John Logan (whoever that is) to write the screenplay that is ongoing. I think my pick to play The Judge is Tom Hardy.
Pretty much just let them hang around his little 1 acre retirement compound with the creek in back. We were never privy to what happened when one of them wasn't there the following year. Knowing my Grandpa, I figure he ate them.
The silver pheasant is quite lovely. The Iowa pheasant is pretty too but in a different way. That would be pheasants you see in Iowa. I KNEW HE DID IT, Kohberger that is. I’m typically not a revenge person but in this case I do believe the firing squad is appropriate.
He seems like a narcissist to me, hoping to commit a perfect crime. But at the same time, sparing the victim families a trial is a positive benefit, even if he lives in prison a long time.
Forget about prison justice, just the loss of freedom, the regimentation, his life will be miserable. In his case, he has nothing to look forward to, ever again. That will be a tremendous punishment.
This decision may disappoint the one family, but watching the defense try to make a case for their client won't make them happy. With a guilty plea, they can have their say in court and move on with their lives, which will still be painful. Had he pled within 30 days of being arrested, the families could have begun moving on that much sooner.
A death penalty can bring closure, but the case often stays open for decades; in the US a death penalty is 20+ in jail before it can occur.
I think the biggest criticism of letting him plead in return for no death penalty is the hope someday he'll be released. Courts sometimes release young violent offenders 20-30 years after their crime. And that too often hurts families as well. We need life to mean "forever", not "until the news about the case dies down".
'We need life to mean "forever", not "until the news about the case dies down".'
Yes, that's a main issue. I think there would be much less support for the death penalty if you didn't have to sentence a person to multiple, consecutive life sentences to have a snowball's chance of his staying in prison until he dies.
Good morning. 73 degrees here and raining, which will continue into the afternoon, keeping temps in the 70s.
The mothership is recapping the just concluded Supreme Court term, with significant decisions on gender “transitions” for minors, employment discrimination, nationwide injunctions (related to birthright citizenship) and others. The FP asks, “Will Trump’s winning streak continue?”
MarqueG mentioned that a question arose last week about the status of the rock pigeon, identified as "feral" in my survey of pigeon species.
The rock pigeon or rock dove, Columba livia, was domesticated as a source of meat and eggs in the Middle East - Mesopotamia, Anatolia, those places - at last 5,000 years ago. An animal is considered "domesticated," as opposed to "kept in captivity," when the captive population shows significant physical, behavioral, and genetic change from wild populations.
For example, domesticated animals are usually consistently larger than their wild relatives. Because they are fed by people, they often lose the ability to find food for themselves. Except for breeding males, domestic animals are usually less aggressive among themselves than wild animals. They are usually less mobile.
Pigeons were kept as a farm animal for millennia before Europeans discovered America. They were brought to North America as a food animal by European colonists. Some of these pigeons escaped - like horses and hogs did - and established flourishing wild - technically "feral" - populations over the next several hundred years. There are also feral pigeon populations in Europe and Asia.
Other examples of ancient feral populations are the "wild" goats found on Mediterranean islands such as Crete. These goats were brought from the Asian mainland, as domestic animals for meat, milk, and hides, by people more than 10,000 years ago.
I had asked who is currently raising rock pigeons, which no one answered, maybe could answer. I’ve heard of carrier pigeons of course, and maybe backyard coops here and there, but I don’t know of any large scale pigeon farms in the US. I suspect maybe that’s more done in other parts of the world?
Fun Weather Fact: Last weekend, it was sunny in the NY Capital District (Albany and its environs). This was the first weekend without precipitation since Nov. 17, 2024.
Our school has a dry sauna! Well, not technically, but they showed us the back terrace. A tiled floor (HOT!0 , no shade in 1pm (VERY HOT!), and now breeze (dry sauna time). I guess the smokers go out there to lose weight while they smoke.
All 27 students arrived on time, most looked sleepy this morning. Class starts tomorrow. I am going to rest up a bit (still jet lagged), then do some computer work. Katie worked 9am-8pm yesterday, which is 3pm-2am locally. So, we didn't get a chance to chat much. I texted her some pix.
"All your students turned up safely" reminds me of something I've seen on TV, where a city person who keeps homing pigeons up on the roof will take them some distance out of town and release them for the exercise. Then the city person watches to make sure they all return safely a few hours later. They usually do; they're professional pigeons. (The TV show was NYPD Blue. Jimmy Smits got to be the pigeon guy. They take good care of their birds, give them nicknames, etc.)
Not a cat, but a nice bird.
It's not really made of silver, which is good, because if it were, it might suffer the fate of the golden goose. According to Jonah Goldberg on a recent podcast, there are at least two versions of the method by which greedy people in the fable cut off their own gold supply, but the end result was the same. No more goose, no more gold.
As I was looking up information about the silver pheasant, I kept seeing advertisements for pheasant-shaped items made of silver. It was a popular theme for dinner table items and pieces of decor.
Happy Canada Day!
Today is the 158th anniversary of the establishment of Canada, an independent nation, with its own government and economy. It is located north of the US border where there is not yet a wall, but might be someday soon. Today is a beautiful day in my part of the country, with clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties. If I were to drive fifty kilometers west, I'd reach the Rocky Mountains. Fifty kilometers in any other direction takes me through rolling prairie and ranchlands.
It's a nice place. We're just not sure about the neighbors.
"High twenties" would be Celsius, right?
I have been to Canada several times. I enjoyed my stays.
Yep, since it's our national day, I figured I'd use our national measurements. 😃
It got up to 28 degrees Celsius today, which works out to about 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
Happy Canada day!
"We're just not sure about the neighbors."
We feel that way about South Carolina.
Camp anecdote: One of my clothing items that fell in the mud during the storm Wednesday evening was a pair of olive-green pants from the athletic gear section at Walmart. I didn't take them to the laundromat in Marion on Wednesday because I didn't want all that mud in the load. On Thursday, I scraped a lot of the mud off and washed them with a few other items.
All the other items ended up with mud on them, and the pants didn't look a bit cleaner. On Friday morning, I gave them another wash, in hot water with more detergent. Still dirty. "What in the world?" I said. "I can scrape this off with my fingernail!" So I washed the pants in the sink with dish soap and a plastic dish scrubber. That got the mud off.
We all know that the negative electrical charge of clay particles is a critical element in nutrient cycles throughout the biosphere. Maybe there's something about this synthetic fabric that attracts clay with a powerful positive charge. Also, top-loading, no-agitator washers are an idiotic design, obviously engineered by someone who had never done laundry in his life. You might as well put clothes in a bucket, barely cover them with water, and occasionally walk by and kick the bucket.
When you write "kick the bucket" - you mean just give up?
In this case, I meant literally kick the bucket, so as to slightly jostle the contents.
I love the way you think.
Actually, I didn’t know that…. clay, negative charge, nutrient cycle, etc.
It's called Cation Exchange.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDYDp11RI4
Likewise.
Good morning. Delightful conditions right now. Overcast, so cool and breezy. But not breezy enough to keep the mosquitoes away.
We saw the owlet last night. Now I have to worry about missus bunny in my front yard who was making her bunny nest last Friday. I sat on my stoop while she went back and forth on the sidewalk leading up to my stoop and came within feet of me to gather her materials. She didn’t fear me as much as she should have.
Best wishes for the survival of all the animals! We have rabbits in the shrubbery near the compost bin. I saw several on a walk this morning, also two cats with their own agendas.
We have a rabbit that is visiting our yard and eating my wife's sunflowers. I'm not optimistic about its chances.
Last week I spotted a bunny in the next block while walking to the bus stop. About a second later he disappeared into the shrubbery. It seemed on the small side; maybe it was an adolescent. I don't often see bunnies around here, but it doesn't mean there aren't any. I don't think they eat anything I grow. I have more of a problem with squirrels occasionally digging in my containers. They can be defeated with chicken wire, which is unsightly but effective.
Is your wife a fierce hunter?
Given the right motivation. She had great hopes for those sunflowers.. 🙂
Grandpa Jack raised Silver and Golden Pheasants. Peacocks too. I called the Golden Pheasant "The Judge" because their mane looked like a British Barrister's wig
I cannot hear the phrase "The Judge" without thinking about "Blood Meridian". The Judge is possibly the most memorable villain I can think of, along with Anton Chigurh from "No Country For Old Men". McCarthy has a knack for bad dudes. The Judge is "a massive, hairless, albino man who excels in shooting, languages, horsemanship, dancing, music, drawing, diplomacy, science and anything else he seems to put his mind to. Despite his almost infinite knowledge, which he can use to achieve anything he desires, Holden favours a life of murder and hate... He is also the chief proponent and philosopher of the Glanton gang’s lawless warfare."
I've been hoping for a film adaptation since I first read Blood Meridian many years ago. Over time, the rights were controlled by Tommy Lee Jones, Ridley Scott, and James Franco. There is now a new effort with John Logan (whoever that is) to write the screenplay that is ongoing. I think my pick to play The Judge is Tom Hardy.
What did he do with them?
Pretty much just let them hang around his little 1 acre retirement compound with the creek in back. We were never privy to what happened when one of them wasn't there the following year. Knowing my Grandpa, I figure he ate them.
The silver pheasant is quite lovely. The Iowa pheasant is pretty too but in a different way. That would be pheasants you see in Iowa. I KNEW HE DID IT, Kohberger that is. I’m typically not a revenge person but in this case I do believe the firing squad is appropriate.
He seems like a narcissist to me, hoping to commit a perfect crime. But at the same time, sparing the victim families a trial is a positive benefit, even if he lives in prison a long time.
Forget about prison justice, just the loss of freedom, the regimentation, his life will be miserable. In his case, he has nothing to look forward to, ever again. That will be a tremendous punishment.
One family is particularly incensed as they want the death penalty or at least the chance to make the case for it.
This decision may disappoint the one family, but watching the defense try to make a case for their client won't make them happy. With a guilty plea, they can have their say in court and move on with their lives, which will still be painful. Had he pled within 30 days of being arrested, the families could have begun moving on that much sooner.
A death penalty can bring closure, but the case often stays open for decades; in the US a death penalty is 20+ in jail before it can occur.
I think the biggest criticism of letting him plead in return for no death penalty is the hope someday he'll be released. Courts sometimes release young violent offenders 20-30 years after their crime. And that too often hurts families as well. We need life to mean "forever", not "until the news about the case dies down".
If his family can raise the money for a large enough "political contribution", he might be pardoned in a year or two.
'We need life to mean "forever", not "until the news about the case dies down".'
Yes, that's a main issue. I think there would be much less support for the death penalty if you didn't have to sentence a person to multiple, consecutive life sentences to have a snowball's chance of his staying in prison until he dies.
I doubt he will last 20 years in prison. He might have a worse fate there than in front of a firing squad. 😳😬
I had not heard of the Kohberger case. But reading about it - how awful.
Really??!! He thought he could commit the perfect crime, the psycho.
The Ring-necked Pheasant. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-necked_Pheasant/overview
They are very pretty.
81F overnight low temperature.
Nice bird!!
Wishing a happy Canada Day to our Upnorth friends!
Good morning. 73 degrees here and raining, which will continue into the afternoon, keeping temps in the 70s.
The mothership is recapping the just concluded Supreme Court term, with significant decisions on gender “transitions” for minors, employment discrimination, nationwide injunctions (related to birthright citizenship) and others. The FP asks, “Will Trump’s winning streak continue?”
MarqueG mentioned that a question arose last week about the status of the rock pigeon, identified as "feral" in my survey of pigeon species.
The rock pigeon or rock dove, Columba livia, was domesticated as a source of meat and eggs in the Middle East - Mesopotamia, Anatolia, those places - at last 5,000 years ago. An animal is considered "domesticated," as opposed to "kept in captivity," when the captive population shows significant physical, behavioral, and genetic change from wild populations.
For example, domesticated animals are usually consistently larger than their wild relatives. Because they are fed by people, they often lose the ability to find food for themselves. Except for breeding males, domestic animals are usually less aggressive among themselves than wild animals. They are usually less mobile.
Pigeons were kept as a farm animal for millennia before Europeans discovered America. They were brought to North America as a food animal by European colonists. Some of these pigeons escaped - like horses and hogs did - and established flourishing wild - technically "feral" - populations over the next several hundred years. There are also feral pigeon populations in Europe and Asia.
Other examples of ancient feral populations are the "wild" goats found on Mediterranean islands such as Crete. These goats were brought from the Asian mainland, as domestic animals for meat, milk, and hides, by people more than 10,000 years ago.
I had asked who is currently raising rock pigeons, which no one answered, maybe could answer. I’ve heard of carrier pigeons of course, and maybe backyard coops here and there, but I don’t know of any large scale pigeon farms in the US. I suspect maybe that’s more done in other parts of the world?
Asia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pRvFZUxudU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp_dmrPpU8k&t=320s
Some are rock pigeons, and there seem to be other species as well.
Thanks. It seems a lot of pigeon farming is done in PR China.
That’s a much more complex story than I had imagined. I’d thought they were domesticated for use as messengers, for instance.
Food first. The message delivery came later.
Fun Weather Fact: Last weekend, it was sunny in the NY Capital District (Albany and its environs). This was the first weekend without precipitation since Nov. 17, 2024.
That's a welcome change.
So Albany NY has been soggy for many weekends. Interesting.
I believe 18 consecutive weekends.
Ugh.
I wonder if someone was camping on all of them.
There's always that one person...
That’s crazy!
And soggy!
Fascinating.
Howdy Americanos and others back home!
Our school has a dry sauna! Well, not technically, but they showed us the back terrace. A tiled floor (HOT!0 , no shade in 1pm (VERY HOT!), and now breeze (dry sauna time). I guess the smokers go out there to lose weight while they smoke.
All 27 students arrived on time, most looked sleepy this morning. Class starts tomorrow. I am going to rest up a bit (still jet lagged), then do some computer work. Katie worked 9am-8pm yesterday, which is 3pm-2am locally. So, we didn't get a chance to chat much. I texted her some pix.
I'm glad all your students turned up safely. It's a start!
"All your students turned up safely" reminds me of something I've seen on TV, where a city person who keeps homing pigeons up on the roof will take them some distance out of town and release them for the exercise. Then the city person watches to make sure they all return safely a few hours later. They usually do; they're professional pigeons. (The TV show was NYPD Blue. Jimmy Smits got to be the pigeon guy. They take good care of their birds, give them nicknames, etc.)
Good morning, everyone. Warm day here already. High of 89, fairly good chance of rain by evening.
Morning. Supposed to have some cooling after a front passes through today.
Continuing 90s here, except for Wednesday if it's raining. Summer and all ...