Musings

Back out on the open road using the interstate highway system…our tax dollars at work. In fact, here’s a newly sculpted cut in a an Appalachian spine with what used to be burlap sheeting to stabilize the new surface, and probably now is an inorganic compound emitting bajillions of nano-plastics.

Posted at 8:18 PM | 1 Comment »

Tomorrow is election day, and I thought up this post before I “hit a wall,” and went to bed early. Without posting. Without watching the Rachel–Fani interview.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Delayed post

You’re looking at an illusion. It looks like the sun over to the right, peering through the leaves. But: no; it’s a night shot, and that brightness is the moon. Truly, it was rather dark out; the camera brightened everything (no flash).

Posted at 9:51 PM | Comments Off on Trust me

In early Covid, the Apple store moved to an exterior location in Lenox mall, not far north of our house. We visited there because the Guru’s new iPad (with a fabulous screen), began just rebooting without rebooting, with an Apple logo, then the waiting circle; repeat. Not good. Anyway, a Genius determined that the system software needed to be reinstalled, meaning that after we returned home the Guru started over with repopulating the device with his digital world. Fortunately, the machine seems to be fine…just some software stutter-glitch. [If I have it right.] Oh, the staircase? The sterile, angular, cold staircase? It’s in the interior of the two-story Apple store, invisible to people in the store. Mostly Apple customers leave the store and take the escalator in the hallway outside the store to change levels. Since the rest of the store features clear glass, even along the balcony wall of the second story, this walled-off stairway is additionally strange. Must be a fire code requirement to have the staircase.

Posted at 9:56 PM | Comments Off on Stark stair

I got curious about what word or phrase rhymes with hydrangea. I couldn’t think of any, so I requested suggestions from Out There. AI must have generated the lists I saw, as offerings included grandma, grandpa, and raffia. Mentally, I give each zero points and a nasty buzzer noise.

Posted at 10:21 PM | Comments Off on I’m no rhymester

I’ve been mapping the distribution of Bronze Age mounds in modern central Turkey, and thinking about the (human) population density, and the agriculture and distribution system it took to feed those people. This is the era of the Hittites (not what they called themselves). I’ve been vastly ignorant of Hittite history, which perhaps is just as well, as there have been several breakthroughs in recent research that has changed our ideas about their political economy to some extent.

Posted at 10:29 PM | Comments Off on __ on the past

I try to be sanguine about political news, and keep my distance (as in: not get emotionally tied to outcomes)…but I have to confess I did not see Biden and DJT agreeing to having two debates.

Posted at 9:17 PM | 1 Comment »

The other day I recommended to the Guru that he read an article in the New Yorker, and I told him the title. A bit later he asked if I was sure it was in the New Yorker, as he couldn’t find it. Surprising…he’s a guy who knows how to find stuff on the web.

After the dust settled, I found the article by searching the author, and it turned out the title was totally different on the web. Howizzat?

Posted at 10:18 PM | Comments Off on Hrrrrumph

Here in North America, gardenias are non-native plants, so maybe I shouldn’t enjoy them so much; however, the heavenly scent cannot be overlooked…over-smelled?

Posted at 9:08 PM | Comments Off on In the moment

The gardenias are out. The best thing is to stand by them, close my eyes, and inhale.

Posted at 8:59 PM | Comments Off on Heavenly