Van Down By The River

I actually recall seeing this when it first came out. Floored me then. By now, it's a classic. Can't get enough!

 

Why We Regulate

RIP, Lucia Trujillo

Lucia was my cousin Max's second wife. I last saw her in 2015. She happily detailed how she was chosen to represent Sandia Pueblo for a ceremonial appearance at the Obama White House. Excellent! She was sweet. I will miss her....

Let The Chips Fall Where They May

Second Moderna, In The Arm!

 

I'm disappointed about the delay in getting the vaccination. I'm part of the Sutter system, with Blue Shield insurance. Sutter vaccinated their own workers at their main facilities, but opened only 2 mass vaccination clinics, both of which were in the suburbs far from where most Sacramento residents live. Good luck getting an appointment there! Plus there was that one week where they ran out of vaccines completely, because despite running one of the largest hospital systems in the state, they apparently lacked the institutional heft to get a steady supply. There were some bright spots here - UCD Health took a proactive position with their people. Still, few wanted to take a leadership position, and it shows! 

 And as Sutter was doing its passive-aggressive best to vaccinate just as few people as possible, Blue Shield was developing its disappointing MyTurn web site. They were tasked with taking over vaccine distribution statewide, but were rejected by counties across the state. So, in Sacramento, it's fallen on the pharmacies to get people vaccinated - not really a priority, it seemed. So, Sacramento County lags the state in vaccination rates, and has persistently high Covid rates - right now, the highest in the state. It would be nice if Sacramento County could get some attention on these matters.

Still, these are First World problems.  Glad to finally arrive!

Jellyfish Submarine

Australian photographer Tim Samuel managed to get a once-in-a-lifetime shot while free diving off The Pass in Byron Bay, on the north coast of New South Wales. The marvelous images present the bizarre sight of a fish stuck inside of a jellyfish. Even more unusual is that, according to Samuel, the trapped fish was able to control where the jellyfish moved, like some sort of twisted version of a living and breathing submarine. 

The shots seem to capture the expression of utmost horror (or maybe it's confusion?) on the face of the poor little fish, confined to his jelly-prison. A photographer for over five years, and a surfing instructor before that, Samuel claims to have never seen anything like this in all his years spent in the water.

Types of Radio Astronomy Paper

 

Love Them Leaves!

Masai Giraffe at the Sacramento Zoo reaches for some good Sacramento Valley Oak leaves.

 

Jasper's Three!

On the occasion of his third birthday (April 29th), Jasper watches another dog stalk a squirrel.

(Also, this is my 20,000th post on Marc Valdez Weblog!  Not bad, considering this Weblog, started in October 2002, is older than Facebook.) 

Today's mistaken-identity moment with Jasper - watching him gingerly nose around a brontosaurus toy as if it was some kind of exotic dog.
 

Where Does Fake News Come From?

As is clear from this article, the reporters are ordered to write it:

The New York Post temporarily deleted, and then edited and republished, a debunked article that falsely claimed that copies of Vice President Kamala Harris' book were being included in "welcome kits" given to migrant children at a shelter in Long Beach, California.

The reporter who wrote the article, Laura Italiano, tweeted late Tuesday afternoon that she had resigned from the newspaper. Italiano tweeted: "The Kamala Harris story -- an incorrect story I was ordered to write and which I failed to push back hard enough against -- was my breaking point."

...On the media tour, Southern California News Group staff photographer Brittany Murray took a photo of a single copy of the Harris book sitting on a cot along with a backpack and hygiene items. A cot in the background of the shot has two unrelated books on it.

Another Murray photo from the media tour shows different books on other cots. It is unclear why the New York Post decided to suggest that the Harris book would be included in welcome kits. Murray said in an email that there were no more than five books in the section of the facility they toured, "all different titles/authors," and that the "only mention of books during the tour was a request for book donations from the public." 

Nathaniel Percy, a Long Beach Press-Telegram reporter who was on the tour with Murray, said in an email, "I did not see any other copies of Harris' book while on the tour." Percy also said, "I did not see anything suggesting that the children would be receiving any books in welcome kits upon their arrival."