Saturday, February 17, 2024
Our Hopes and Dreams Wall
The sentiments expressed on the "Our Hopes and Dreams Wall" at Deterding Elementary School were frequently high-inded and optimistic: "End terrorism," "Cleaner oceans," "No more cruelty," and the like. Still, a few were a bit - different.
Dental Disco
About 9 p.m. (on February 4th), I heard a big boom, so I knew a transformer had blown and someone nearby had lost electrical power. At 11:30 p.m., Jasper and I went searching to find out who that might be. It turned out to be the nearby dentist’s office, where the lights had gone nuts, creating a dancerless, dentist-office disco.
A Couple of Wandering Turkeys
Vehicles move around and honk in the parking lot behind my house all the time, but it was the first time I ever heard a honk followed by a gobble. I looked closer and sure enough there were two turkeys in the parking lot. One turkey trilled musically and pecked at its own reflection in the black finish on all sides of a Dodge RAM SUV. The other turkey eyed me curiously. I quietly dropped a bit of bird seed and both were delighted.
Michael Mann Wins His Lawsuit
Michael Mann wins against the climate change deniers/defamers! Time to sue all of those right-wing, fossil-fuel fuckers for all they're worth:
One of the major issues confronting scientists today — especially those working in the heavily politicized fields of global warming, vaccines and the origin of COVID-19 — is how to deal with the torrents of misinformation and disinformation, some of it personal, pushing back against their work.
Climate scientist Michael E. Mann just found an answer. Sue the critics — and win.
Last week, a Washington, D.C., jury awarded Mann more than $1 million in punitive damages against two right-wing writers who had accused him of research fraud.
“I hope this verdict sends a message that falsely attacking climate scientists is not protected speech,” Mann said after the verdict.
There’s more to the case than the exoneration of a single scientist. The verdict scored a direct hit on personal attacks on scientists using innuendo and outright lies, all aimed at advancing partisan and economic ideologies by undermining scientific research.
“The attacks denigrating science and trying to undercut science, both for climate science and biomedicine, [are] not just about the science,” Peter Hotez, a leading authority on medicines and vaccines and a prominent foe of anti-science politics, told PBS.
“It’s now gone the next step to attack the scientists and portray us as public enemies,” said Hotez, who is collaborating with Mann on a book about the anti-science movement. “Both Michael and I are stalked regularly. We receive threats online, phone calls to the office, sometimes physical confrontations. So it’s gone out to that new level.”
Jarring Visit to Mrs. B.B.'s Deathbed
Poor Mrs. B.B. We people are such fragile creatures. Afterwards, a visit to the Putah Creek South Fork Preserve, just outside Davis.
Sac Dancelab's Valentine's Weekend Performance in Old Sac
A few photos from Sac Dance Lab’s Friday night performance (02/09/24) in Old Sac. Tried to get a few with fellow ballet students Dimitra and Bethany together.
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