Various Signs

School environments, bumper stickers, etc.

The Homicide Rate In Los Angeles Is TEN TIMES LOWER Than It Was 35 Years Ago

Source link:

Crime rates used to be so much higher. I remember being concerned about all the drug-sale activity going on in my Sacramento workplace neighborhood in 1991. Several times, I stayed at work till midnight to sabotage these sales. They'd exchange money in the workplace parking lot because there was a bright light there. I'd call in the cops whenever I saw the money flash. Sometimes, the cops even came. The drug sales moved elsewhere. I couldn't do the same today.

Interesting Thoughts on Large LLMs, and AI

@cybelecanterel Big AI companies made incredibly bad bets based on faulty assumptions and myths that don't serve anyone but themselves; now we’re all in trouble. But there are ways out of the mess. #ai #layoffs #economy #techtok #artificialintelligence ♬ original sound - Cy Canterel

Ice Cream Omen

Order an ice cream treat at Gunther's, raise an existential question. What does this omen mean?

Time moves in circles. My father belonged to Baker Company in the 666th Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army that fought in World War II, running and gunning its way across northern Germany. 

In his memoir, "Charlie of 666: A Memoir of World War II," by Nathaniel Blumberg, the question posed by 666 caused him to pause. (I also like this story because I once lived in Denver and I'm familiar with the intersection of West Colfax and Federal Blvd.)

Corporal Blumberg relates:

 

"My four assignments in the Army had provided overwhelming evidence that the military moves in mysterious ways, and we discussed the mystery. Was the choice of "666" the result of a rare example of military sense of humor, or an even rarer military sense of irony, or a premeditated military decision or simply another baffling military accident? Was Freud right when he said there are no "accidents"? Could it be one of those "coincidences" Jung insisted did not exist? …

"I went to the library in Brownwood (Texas) to refresh my memory of the "Beast" described in the Book of Revelation in the King James version of the Holy Bible. There among its prophecies, was one telling of a great beast coming out of the earth, speaking as a dragon, with two sheep's horns - or, in some interpretations, two rays - emerging from its head (Rev. 13:11). As a new artilleryman, I was taken with the prophecy that "he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Rev. 13:13). And: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six (Rev.13:18).

"Ah, but then I noted this is the second great beast of prophecy, following an even more blasphemous and powerful beast that arose from the sea. "If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword" (Rev. 13:9-10).

"On reading that my head was spinning. The sharp memory returned….

"It was 1934 and I was 12 years old, hawking Saturday night editions of the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News Sunday papers to people in their cars awaiting the change of stoplights at West Colfax Avenue and Federal Boulevard. I picked up spending money by the customary practice of newsboys, paying the delivery man six cents a copy and selling them for ten cents. On the front page of one issue of the Post was an editorial cartoon portraying Adolf Hitler with a huge military machine behind him. The caption was "He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword." I had never seen that quotation before, so I asked my learned father, who said it was based on a sentence in the New Testament. Already schooled in the Old Testament, I promptly traced the quotation to its source. Years later, in the Brownwood library, I was astonished by the remembrance that brought my childhood and my life as a soldier full circle.

"But then more questions arose: Were we of 666 to be a part of the biblical Antichrist that has haunted religious history? Were we an agent of a satanic force, deceiving the faithful and even fighting on the side of evil? Were we so designated in the belief that we would strike terror in the hearts of the enemy as deputies of Satan? (I suggested that we were headed for Europe rather than the Pacific on the slim evidence that the Japanese would not be familiar with the biblical reference.)"

So, the soldiers of the 666th were a great beast: a second beast replying in kind to the greater first beast. They had the task of removing Hitler and his Nazis from power. 

Time moves in circles. My task, and the task of this generation, is to remove Trump from power. And sometimes eat ice cream treats too.

Dog Days Politics

An interesting story about how businesses use labor law and migrants to establish de facto slavery in the U.S. It’s no wonder why no one is in a hurry to change immigration law.

@skyfishreturns Big Ag economics 101 #history #laborlaw #immigration #harvest #ketchup ♬ original sound - sky fisher

Courtesy of John.

   

Better than invisible ink.

RCTC Cabaret - August 3, 2025 - Sierra 2

River City Theatre Company (RCTC) Cabaret - August 3, 2025, Curtis Hall, Sierra 2 Community Center, Sacramento, CA 

The first three videos here are from performers that were sitting at our table.

   

Note that the ruler Larry uses belongs to me.

 

Carl E. sings "Unruly Heart" from "The Prom"

Jacob W. sings "Sunset Boulevard," from "Sunset Boulevard."

Avalon C. sings "Naughty," from "Matilda, the Musical."

Cecily B. sings Cass Elliott's "Dream A Little Dream Of Me."

The performers.

There were several people in attendance who I hadn't seen in many years; for example, Debbie, Ken, and Meghan Vanderford.  It was wonderful to see them!

Also in attendance was Julie Soto (left), who, last I checked in, about 2013, was still Miss Musical Theater.  Today, she is a popular author who consistently places Number One on the New York Times bestseller list.  It was wonderful to see her and see that she is doing so well.

Ron Cisneros and Marc Valdez.  Ron Cisneros has an epic memory perfectly-suited for choreography, and is now a near-legendary figure in Sacramento Community Musical Theater.  Ron is also a cofounder of RCTC.

Protest at Immigration Court - Capitol Mall - August 2, 2025

 

I thought the Saturday morning protest was a little too sedate.  Not much traffic on Capitol Mall on a Saturday morning.  Others were itching to head out to Arden and Howe, where the public support is greater, plus you get into debates with MAGA passersby.

C.C. was there.  Apparently she's done six shows straight in local musical theater.  That's arduous for anyone!

Not many young people at this demonstration, although it was apparently mentioned by Rachel Maddow on her show.  I was surprised that S., one of the few young people present, spoke at this rally. Apparently she is much better wired into the local protest scene than I am, and basically knows everyone and runs most things.  Good to know!

The Brothers were happy when they saw that I had made it to Arden and Howe.  Numbers of volunteers were lower, given the other rally.  It was fun to perform for the automotive crowd!

My signs for this weekend.

The gathering.

Sidewalk chalk.

I Don’t Want Any More Angst In Me

Overheard. One woman speaking to another as they pass by on the sidewalk, heading the opposite direction. “…and that puts more angst in me, and I don’t want any more angst in me.”

RIP, Tom Lehrer

As a kid back in the Sixties, we had access to only three record albums: "The Nutcracker Suite," "Rhapsody in Blue," and "Songs by Tom Lehrer" (1953). Which pretty-much explains my life. 

Songs by Tom Lehrer" (1953)​ album playlist

A Clip From July 19th

Arden Blvd. in Sacramento becomes a protest alley on Saturdays, with three separate protests underway.

Come on out and participate! Psychologically, protesting is healthier for you than doomscrolling. You are doing something, in the company of people who care, and no longer a victim of old Cankles McFacist in Mar-a-Lago. 

(I make a very brief appearance here in my blue-and-yellow Ukrainian T-Shirt)

 

@obriengoespotatoes Intersectional solidarity | Arden Way, Sacramento CA. Three separate protests opposing ICE’s mass deportations, Chevron’s connection to the genocide in Gaza, and the Tesla Takedown fighting oligarchy. I got to interview an organizer at each. I’m proud of Sacramento. 7/19/25 #palestine #freepalestine #chevron #immigration #deportation #DOGE #musk #elon #trump #ICE @NorCalResist ♬ skyworld - glissey

Epstein Was A Much More Honest Guy Than Trump

I’m intrigued at 34:40 in this interview here, where Trump dimed on Epstein, because Epstein knew that Trump must be laundering money. Despite not having money himself, in 2004, Trump outbid Epstein on a house. It was because Trump was fronting for a Putin-linked Russian oligarch, Dmitry Rybolovlev.

 

Coolest July in Sacramento Since 2011 and 2012

It's been such a mild and pleasant July in Sacramento this year, but I was surprised to learn that temperatures are exactly average. That suggested that temperatures must have been above average in recent years. So, I looked at the data. 

Data from two sites are presented: the "Downtown" station (which is no longer downtown, with data available since 1877) and the Sacramento Executive Airport station (with data available since 1947). In general, the Exec Airport site is cooler than the Downtown site (further from the urban center; closer to the Sacramento River Delta). 

July 2025 seems to be the coolest July since 2011 and 2012. 

The increase in July average temperature since 1877 is due to heat island effect as the area urbanized, as well as global warming. The Downtown station has moved several times since its inception, and that might account for some of the variation.

Protesting impressions, Howe at Arden, Sacramento, CA, July 19, 2025

Project 21 - Molly Long - Poppa Was A Rolling Stone

Words just aren't adequate to describe just how good these dancers are. Wonderful Temptations hit from 1972 and excellent camera placement and editing too.

 

Disco Snails

Choreographer Hailee Payne, from Infinity Studio in Ogden, UT. The Utah dance scene is amazing! I'm not surprised good work comes from there. 

I've been waiting 46 years for this! Great choreography and great dancers. Long live 1979!

 

Barry Manilow - Last Concert Tour - July 19, 2025

Quite by accident I ended up at Barry Manilow's concert in Sacramento. 

Gabe has been sick, and so Eleanor asked me if I wanted to go with her and friend. I knew Rachel was likely a fan, and so I asked her if she wanted to go. She was interested. Then Gabe decided he would likely go. But then I had a dilemma. You can't just dangle Barry Manilow before a fan and then snatch him away. So I got two tickets for Rachel and myself. 

I've always thought of Barry Manilow as an East Coast enthusiasm. At least, that's how I was introduced to him, by the Schindwolfs, fans who hailed from Long Island, back in the day. 

I was surprised by the number of fans at Golden One Arena. He has a loyal following. Many Filipinos. 

I thought his style wasn't a good for for an arena. His show would be better for a showroom - like the Copacabana! The sound was atrocious in some ways (but better when he sat at the piano). He played some videos from the mid-70s that were quite nice. His songs were the soundtrack of the mid-70s in some way.

 

Spinal Tap "Stonehenge"

Never a bad time for this - one of the best comedic pieces ever committed to film!

 

Make Good Trouble

Amusing Story, Well-Told, About An Overheard LA Conversation

@luke.is.alive_ #lalife #laliving #losangeles #genz #hashtags #emoji #banter #funny #california #accent #accents #cali #beachlife #humor #fypage #usa #englishman #chat #follow ♬ original sound - Luke Colson

My friend Jonathan responded with this:

 

But Carlos Is So Busy

Various Impressions from Protesting at Howe and Arden on Saturday, July 12, 2025

Auburne Gallagher - One Piece Of Work!

Auburne Gallagher is apparently a MAGA influencer from northern areas of Houston. She sounds a different note in the aftermath of the flooding.  

(This is why New Mexicans loathe Texans.)

 

Ruidoso Trading Post Video

Flooding!

 

Esparto Fireworks Explosion - July 1, 2025

I haven't been out to Esparto for awhile. Chavo used to live out there and Brian taught out there, and sometimes I used to drive through on the way up Highway 16. Not much happens there. Until now. Seven dead, and an investigation is underway. The facility apparently didn't have a local permit, but it was run by a Woodland police captain and so, surprise! The place stored many fireworks.

 

@nizag_18 Original Audio! Esparto Explotion! Watch to the end for a different video! #Esparto #fireworks ♬ original sound - Niza✨

Find The Human In It

Protesting on Saturday was interesting. I arrived fashionably late at the Tesla dealership on Arden Blvd. (11:20 a.m.) and took my usual spot, right by the driveway, baking in the full sun and waving two signs. 

At noon, most protesters left, but some headed over to the new protest folks had started at the intersection of Howe and Arden. Since I arrived late I stayed at Tesla until I was the only one left. (I like being the only protester, but fewer people honk when you are the only one out there.) 

At 1 p.m., I decided to head over to Howe and Arden and introduce myself to the people there. There was more traffic, and even more support from passing motorists. There were a few grumps too. For several weeks we've been keeping an eye on the Good Humor man of the neighborhood, who drives past with his popsicles saying cranky things. On Saturday, I thought I heard him say "There is no butterflies...." but perhaps I misunderstood. 

Afterwards, I ate lunch with the organizers of this particular demonstration: two brothers, and their friend, from SoCal. The brothers explained their unusual path. 

Both brothers were from a small California town (which was also the site of a prison) and were raised as fundamentalist Christians. The older brother had been a Christian minister for 15 years. The younger brother was rules-focused and worked at the prison, where rules are all. Both would describe themselves as being on the hard right. 

"I can easily remember my approach to illegal immigration," the younger brother explained. "You create a rule. You set up little stations every few feet along the border that emit poison gas. No one can cross. Period. Problem solved!" 

Then, something happened. They both received a challenge (whether through their faith, or elsewhere, was unclear). The challenge was: "Find the human in it." "So, no matter what rule I might think of, no matter how perfect the rule might be, I now had to figure out how a fallible human trapped in the system being might have to deal with it." 

Lo and behold, in the face of this challenge to find the human angle in rules-based systems, the brothers' entire Christian faith spun away from them. Even more surprising, for the first time in their lives, they found themselves politically on the Left. 

And so now, the brothers organize protests. "I sometimes feel like I have Imposter's Syndrome." the younger brother explained, "I know exactly how right-wingers think, because until five years ago I was one myself, but as long as I 'find the human in it,' I'll be all right."

 

"Guys and Dolls" - Stage Right Productions - July 5, 2025

Curious Political Statement Here

I'm curious about what the political statement is here. A Christian cross plus an Israeli flag. In front of Arden Fair Mall, about 3 p.m., Saturday, July 5th.

Farewell to Naugahyde and Herring Week

Walking Jasper and Max. Hard to get a cute picture out of them when they are both on a mission. 

Max is visiting for the week. Jasper is used to getting all my attention, so he’s jealous. 

I’ve had a problem. I bought a bunch of different dog treats for Jasper, but he’s picky about what he eats. Food is not his prime motivator. The enticing Canine Carryouts, from Topeka, Kansas, that look like corporate Naugahyde injected with artificial color and flavor? Jasper won’t touch them. The Wild Caught Herring, the smelliest fish in the Baltic Sea, kept in a warm plastic bag for, oh, maybe a year? “Please, no!” says Jasper. 

But as soon as Jasper realizes Max has no such qualms and will soon get all the treats, Jasper wants the treats too. 

This is Farewell to Naugahyde and Herring Week.

As Ever, Hypocrisy on the Right

What comes to mind is the hypocrisy of the Right when they pontificate about freedom of speech. As always, they lash out with a vengeance at those who actually speak freely:

In the post that preceded the end of her time at Blue Fish Pediatrics, Propst alluded to how Kerr county had – like Texas as a whole – voted in favor of Trump as he defeated former vice-president Kamala Harris in November’s White House election. Trump’s administration has since eliminated mentions of the ongoing climate crisis and its consequences, one of which is downpours like the one that devastated Kerr becoming more common. He has also mused about “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), in part so that the president’s office could be in charge of distributing disaster relief funds and ultimately “give out less money”. 

“May all visitors, children, non-Maga voters and pets be safe and dry,” said the post, which invoked an acronym for Trump’s “Make America great again” slogan. “Kerr county Maga voted to gut Fema. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for.”

The post concluded with the phrase: “Bless their hearts,” which in the US south is often used as a condescending insult.

The Available Information

There is an interesting discussion here about the weather forecasts available for Texas when the flooding started, with the conclusion that the forecasts were adequate. The breakdown occurred with how the flash flood warnings were used. 

There are situations when weather emergencies sneak up on people. Tropical Storm Barry didn’t last very long. Once it came ashore in Mexico it unraveled into the general humid murk of southern Mexico, but it still retained enough integrity to be identifiable as it slowly moved uphill, and north. There are many cases in history where post-tropical flooding can be catastrophic. (Thinking Cyclone Yasi in Australia a few years ago.) Still, I can’t think of a situation where the onset of danger was as surprising as here. The middle of night on a holiday. Getting word to people in time and a place where flash flood warnings are somewhat common and thus easily ignored.

So you had the remnants of a tropical storm. Because of this, you had abundant moisture coming from that storm's source region in the Gulf. You had strong moisture transport coming northward as well with a strong low-level jet stream (a common feature in Texas located about 5,000 feet above the surface). But the jet was oriented to allow for maximum upsloping, aimed right at Hill Country. You had plentiful instability in the atmosphere as well. So, tallying all that together: A remnant tropical system, moisture levels in the 99th percentile or higher, forced upward motion due to geography and wind direction, and plentiful instability. That's a recipe for flash flooding. 

So how do you go from flash flooding to catastrophic flash flooding, because the difference is clearly enormous. When you put those parameters in concert with a weather pattern that allows for maximum efficiency of rainfall, a monsoonal pattern, and slow movement, as well as geography that allows for rapid build up of water on dry ground and riverbeds that "funnel" that through an area, that's when you flip from ordinary to potentially tragic.

Record Crest

Astonishing!

UPDATE: The Guadalupe River at Hunt flash flooding crest was updated to 37.52' an ALL TIME record crest. Even more incredible, the flow of the river went from a trickle (~1,000 CFS) to over 185,000 CFS -- the equivalent to at least TWICE the flow of Niagara Falls per second -- in just over 2 hours.

Lack of Data Kills

The data gaps and the lack of warning:

I believe this is a good example of what we talked about a couple of weeks ago. In order to consistently and accurately predict these type of events, I believe we need more weather observations, especially weather balloons. We simply do not have enough information about what is going on in the upper levels of the atmosphere to accurately predict these type of events well in advance. 

Did you know there are only 7 weather balloon stations for the entire state of Texas? And there are NO launching sites in central Texas. So for the area between Fort Worth and Midland - both cities of which routinely launch weather balloons - there was NO BALLOON DATA. We used to have weather balloons in Stephenville and San Antonio, but those were closed years ago.

Wilhoit's Law

The principle behind conservatism.

 

@mamamephistopheles #politics #leftist #lgbt #trans #feminism #socialist #nokings ♬ original sound - MamaMephistopheles

Optimism in Ukraine

And they are beginning to feel optimistic, for a change, in Ukraine!

@leftofscenter Link 🔗 to Caolan Robertson’s YouTube channel can be found in comments. This last week signals a strong turning point in Russia. Starting with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, grave news has been coming out in headlines across Russia about its economy and inflation, warning Russians about rising food and energy costs. The Kremlin doesn’t put out statements like that unless things are truly last-minute and critical, which signals a serious shift in Russia’s economic system. In this video, I assess what that looks like for Ukraine and what it means for Russia’s defense spending. #caolan #ukraine #fyp #viral ♬ original sound - leftofscenter

More Protesting (June 28th)

Probably Unsuccessful

This article makes a few points regarding the DIA assessment that the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities was probably unsuccessful:

"Are you surprised at what seems to be the limited degree of damage to these facilities?

No, the United States military has been toiling for several decades to develop weapons capable of destroying underground facilities. ... It proved far more difficult than anyone would have imagined. The government established a test facility, a mock underground chemical and nuclear production facility, out in the western US and bombed it literally for years. Every imaginable type of bomb or combination of bombs were used, rarely did it cause any more than superficial damage to the facility. So, this latest weapon, long in development but never deployed, has demonstrated once again that if an adversary simply digs deeply enough, the laws of physics are on their side. ....

If this initial report proves true, what are the consequences? 

Terrible. As long as we didn’t use them, Iran didn’t know for sure how damaging they could be. That gave us leverage with them. Now the situation is reversed. ... Going into any negotiations with them, they know our limits. ... In any negotiations with Trump, it’s the sanctions they want lifted. But now they’re in a much better position to get what they want than they were before this bombing run, especially considering other intel suggesting that the regime removed some or all its highly enriched uranium and centrifuges out these facilities before the attack. And not just Iran. Every other adversarial regime now knows these weapons are essentially duds. That weakens our leverage considerably with all of them. I am sure Kim Jung Un is happy in North Korea today."

It looks like we'll have to be kissing some Ayatollah ass pretty quick now! Because we will have little choice. 

But that doesn't worry me very much. What concerns me is that with all this bombing we might make the Iranians MAD. They will now be MAD at US; not just the Israelis. And when people get MAD, they get EVEN. Revenge is a dish best served cold, as they say. They are the wrong people to anger. If the Iranians don't have nukes now, they soon will. Nukes make great weapons of vengeance! 

This is what comes from putting idiots in charge of the country.

He's Back Again

I gaze over my bird-feeding patch. There are no birds anywhere, save one. 

Oh....

Wow, You Can Really Dance!

1957 Chevrolet Belair

The low riders are out here tonight (June 22nd) in Sacramento. 

One of the vehicles that’s parked over at Pancake Circus is a black-and-white 1957 Chevrolet Belair, which was my family’s household car when I was a kid, from about 1961-1968. 

1957 Chevrolet Belair. This vehicle looks much nicer than our household car. We drove our car up and down the dirt road washboard of La Entrada Road in Corrales every single ding-dong day. Enough to render any vehicle into a bag of bolts. I don’t think this car’s owners do that. Still, this vehicle sure brings back memories!

David Frum Quote

David Frum at The Atlantic is quotable: “Trump has not put U.S. boots on the ground to fight Iran, but he has put U.S. troops on the ground for an uninvited military occupation of California.”

Regarding The Iran Bombing Campaign

What worries me is that no one holds a grudge like the Shiites. They will remember long after you’ve moved on.

Uptick in Enthusiasm at This Week's Tesla Protest

More protesters at Tesla this weekend; more flags; more support. I think it's the beating of the war drum that's responsible for the uptick.

 

Whither America?

It will be interesting to see whether Trumpian America's approach to immigrants will be more like Nazi Germany's genocides or more like pre-Civil-War America's abuse of Fugitive Slaves, or some creative blend of the two models:

"Can a nation committed to human equality treat human beings like chattel? “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” Abraham Lincoln famously said in 1858, “I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I expect it to cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

The federal government is now committed to treating immigrants almost precisely as the antebellum South treated slaves. They are to have fewer rights than others; to their jailers, they are not even truly “persons”; they need not receive due process, or indeed any process, before being detained indefinitely or even deported to countries they have never seen. And under the Trump executive order on birthright citizenship, this subordinate status is to be permanent and hereditary—passed down, the way slave status was, from parent to child. 

Truly, this house cannot stand. These conflicts will recur. They will grow more, not less, corrosive to a free, democratic republic. Americans—red or blue—are not accustomed to heel-clicking compliance to the orders of some jack-in-office with a Sharpie."

I Like This Rant About The Inept Democratic Party Establishment

It's a "distraction":

Scan the footage of the largest protests in United States history. Read the signs. How many of the unprecedented crises alluded to by those signs have been called distractions by the political figures most charged with responding to them? What percentage of those crowds is, according to Democratic strategists, foolish for caring about their issue more than the party-authorized real issues? 

It is cowardice. Party strategists are so obsessed with maintaining control over what party voters are allowed to challenge or not allowed to challenge that they have fossilized at their desks, unable to respond to anything that was not already on the spreadsheets. And it is certain, absolutely certain, that if this authoritarian moment is beaten back down it will be those elected officials willing to channel the true, visceral outrage of the public who will do it.

Welles' "Deja Vu"

@jessewelles #siNgErsOngWriTer #OrIgNaL #CoUnTRy #FoLk #SonG ♬ original sound - Welles

The Southwestern Monsoon Is About To Start

The GFS model weather predictions for the next two weeks show that the Southwestern Monsoon is primed for an early, vigorous start on June 22nd (at least over New Mexico; it'll generally be later, in July, for Arizona). 

The high pressure system that will make life miserable next week in the Ohio River Valley strengthens at the same time, and indeed, appears integral to the initiation of the monsoon. (I wonder if something like this is true for all southwestern monsoons?) 

I'm hoping the best for abundant southwestern rainfall, but you can never be certain how it will all play out. I remember the 1984 southwestern monsoon had a similarly-vigorous start, but the cloud cover that accompanied it depressed the orographic uplift of thunderstorms. It didn't rain much at all in the southwest in June, 1984. Instead, high pressure hurled all that the moisture far, far into Canada before much rain managed to fall. I know the Canadians need rainfall, but can't we get some too? 

And there may be a Global Climate Change aspect too. Michael Mann is out with a brand-new paper entitled "Increased frequency of planetary wave resonance events over the past half-century." Mann asserts that resonance events (like next week's heat wave in the Midwest) have increased three-fold over the last half-century, especially in the summer, due to global warming. I'm sure the report will make good reading on a miserably-muggy Cincinnati evening next week. 

Southwestern rainfall is exceedingly erratic, and always has been, at least as far as post-Ice-Age records reveal. Still, I'm thinking there is a slow, decades-long increase of rainfall underway. You look at century-old photos of the southwest and things just seemed less lush in the bad old days. We are getting hotter temperatures these days, but we are getting a bit more rain too. 

Change can seem slow. I hope we like the new world we are creating.

I Was Momentarily on Reddit with My Tesla Protest Picture

I Like Visiting the DMV

I like visiting the DMV. It’s a way to see my neighbors and stay grounded. 

And in the typical manner, I apparently already have a Real ID, and so there’s no reason for me to be here at all. Learn something new every day!  All I'm doing here is gumming up the works and slowing things down.

Brute Force 0; Lucky Escape 1

This morning, Jasper and I started our morning walk down the alley. Two sparrows sat on a wooden fence as we approached. 

Suddenly, * THWACK! * A big bird’s wing hit the fence and its owner tumbled into the yard behind. The sparrows tumbled too. Was the big bird a chaotic pigeon? Perhaps a not-so-intelligent crow? No, it was a HAWK, trying to catch the dazed sparrows. Fly away! 

One sparrow immediately fled from the yard and the other sparrow squeezed through a tiny crack in the fence before using our presence to shield its escape down the alley. The hawk gathered itself, summoned its dignity, and flew up to a utility line. The hawk then gazed down in disdain on us. Brute Force 0; Lucky Escape 1. 

This event doesn’t provide an answer as to why pigeons are challenged in my neighborhood, but it is a data point. Life is cheap out here on the bird seed frontier!