Getting Annoyed at Google's Prudish Censorship of My Blog

Lately, I notice that Google administrators based in Muslim countries are systematically going through the 20,000+ posts on my blog and are removing posts that seem to offend them. Three such posts include: 

• A drive along the Las Vegas Strip, featuring pictures of the many large casinos there; 
• A reminiscence of driving through central Nevada and seeing signs for brothels; 
• A puzzling case where a tourist in Las Vegas fell into prostitution for insufficient reasons. 

Now, I can see how references to prostitution and gambling, or just references to Nevada, in general, might offend some people. Still, these examples are exceedingly mild compared to what is possible out there. 

I even notice Google administrators have been pondering a joke I made about Flat-Earthers. (No censorship there yet, thank goodness, but exactly where the line is there is unclear to me.)

Anyway, the content of my blog is my business.  If I want to make jokes about Flat-Earthers, or notice something seamy in Nevada, it's my business.  No one is making you read it.  So, just buzz off already!

Folsom Lake Levels

Rising smartly!

Solomon Peña is Quite The Republican Weirdo

Solomon Peña's wired in to other New Mexican weirdos:

Toulouse-Oliver, the secretary of state, was a target of Pena’s rage. On Twitter, the failed candidate blamed her for helping ensure the 2020 election was “rigged against Trump” and vowed to “personally volunteer my time to escort her handcuffed body to Guantanamo Bay Cuba.” In a statement to TPM, Toulouse-Oliver described Pena’s alleged crimes as the byproduct of election conspiracy theories. 

“The recent violence we’ve seen here in New Mexico against elected officials is the sad but predictable outcome of dangerous rhetoric and conspiracy theories, largely centered around false claims about our elections and election administrators,” Toulouse-Oliver said. “This drumbeat of lies and dangerous rhetoric aren’t just throwaway comments on social media. It can have real and frightening impacts on our daily lives as the recent shootings show. There simply is no place for it in our communities and democratic society.”

I looks like drug money fueled Peña's political campaign:

“APD detectives learned through witness interviews related to the shooting investigation that Peña identified individuals to funnel contributions from an unknown source to his legislative campaign,” said APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos in an official statement. “Detectives are working with other law enforcement agencies to determine whether the money for the campaign contributions was generated from narcotics trafficking, and whether campaign laws were violated.”

Celebration of Life for Historian Robert M. Utley

A charmed life.

 

A Very Albuquerque Doordash Story

I recognize the Burqueño paranoia. This is something I could see some of my relatives doing:

Court documents say Nicki Osborne was trying to confirm a delivery address when a female emerged from a house armed with a gun and yelled at Osborne to leave the area.

When Osborne tried to leave, a second female and a male emerged from the residence armed with guns and fired shots. Osborne was unharmed in the incident. 

When police arrived on the scene, the suspects barricaded themselves inside the residence and initiated a lengthy standoff before they eventually surrendered.

Thinking of Arkstorm Again

Marguerite was musing:

I’ve been thinking about the “mega flood” of 1862. And the evidence of earlier mega flooding incidents in California history. In no way are we prepared for this kind of massive, catastrophic scenario, and I don’t know that we will be by the time it happens again. Lengthy article, but well worth reading:

What they found was stunning. The Great Flood of 1862 was no one-off black-swan event. Summarizing the science, Ingram and USGS researcher Michael Dettinger deliver the dire news: A flood comparable to—and sometimes much more intense than—the 1861–1862 catastrophe occurred sometime between 1235–1360, 1395–1410, 1555–1615, 1750–1770, and 1810–1820; “that is, one megaflood every 100 to 200 years.” They also discovered that the 1862 flood didn’t appear in the sediment record in some sites that showed evidence of multiple massive events—suggesting that it was actually smaller than many of the floods that have inundated California over the centuries.

This map from the report doesn't give me confidence.  The bottom of my basement is 23 feet and 8 inches above sea level.  Which I think isn't nearly high enough....

Approaching a Break

It's raining hard tonight, but we are getting close to a break. The rains will ease Monday night, and there's a chance of showers on Thursday, but after that, likely no more rain for the rest of the month. 

Still, tonight, areas in the Sierras southeast of Sacramento will get hit hard (Valley Springs, Angels Camp, Sonora, Mariposa). Hoping the best for them. 

The rain monitor broke at Sacramento Executive Airport on Jan. 9th (the rainiest day so far), so it's necessary to substitute values for the 9th and 10th to get statistics. Still, Sac Exec is about 179% of average for the date, and the Sacramento City monitor near El Camino & Watt is 197% of average. It sounds like a lot, but we've had more rain even in the recent past (January and February 2017, just six years ago, saw more rain). Some local places are approaching flood (worried by North Natomas), but I'm hoping we'll avoid calamity in Sacramento. 

At first, the rains were light in the northernmost regions of the state, but lately they've received more. Indeed, the only places in California not to have been hammered are in the Mojave Desert.