Musings

On our recent trip to Seattle, we managed to see the younger nephew graduate from HS…before we tested positive for Covid. All this time being so careful since it arrived on our shores, and this highly transmissible variant got us when we were far from home.

We had mild congestion and snottiness, took the antiviral pills, got better, and finally tested negative. This was our basement quarantine room, and we had generous hosts who let us stay although we were infectious. We were very lucky, and very glad we finally recovered and could return home.

And, today we received a large shipment of N-95 masks, the best quality available (unless you have complex breathing equipment)…because anything else is a joke to this variant. Remember: N-95’s are only 95% effective, and that’s if they are properly sealed to your face.

Posted at 7:57 PM | 3 Comments »

Yesterday, I managed to skip the most demanding…topic…that I keep in mind when I walk: inhale through nose ONLY. ONLY. It is not instinctive; it is not easy to maintain. And yet: very important (to not tickle your vagus nerve…better to keep it quiescent).

Often, I post photos of organic subjects. Not always. Like today. Pure material culture. Functional, manufactured objects. Features. Parts of larger systems. Vroom. Whoosh.

Posted at 7:03 PM | Comments Off on Mental?

One year ago we were train-spotting in Missouri (among other things). What have I been up to? Mostly being a homebody.

Posted at 8:03 PM | Comments Off on Long year

I went out just a few minutes ago, well after dark, because I needed a photo. This is the sky…dark on the ground, but magic above (with the camera’s computational powers).

Posted at 8:58 PM | Comments Off on Light in the dark

Today’s new vocab: dunkelflaute. However, this is a pink dogwood. Most are white; I recall reading some years ago that the dogwoods are susceptible to a virus and the breeders haven’t come up with a resistant pink dogwood. It seems like that still may be true as there are fewer and fewer pink dogwoods in our neighborhood. And none are young trees. [I admit that’s a very local, spatially biased observation.]

Oh: dunkelflaute (German). It’s usually translated as dark doldrums, or meteorologically: anticyclonic gloom. It’s when renewable energy can’t be generated (e.g., overcast days for solar panels, or still days for wind turbines).

Posted at 4:53 PM | Comments Off on Doldrums

Proof I’m out of practice in taking computational photos…. Beyond being Out Of Focus, it’s busy and not particularly interesting. However, it’s probably slightly better than a cart of weeds and sticks, which I was contemplating using (and neglected to take).

Posted at 6:36 PM | Comments Off on OOF

A viburnum. In bloom.

No malicious cyber tools here.

Apparently They may attack the energy grid with malware. They is the GRU, and perhaps additional groups.

Posted at 10:16 PM | Comments Off on Smell the flowers

There were two guys who were doing whatever this was planted on a tripod for, but they weren’t paying attention to this old lady walking down the sidewalk, so I was able to sneak a pic of their technology. This’s called a prism, and I didn’t know Pentax makes them, but that’s because I haven’t used a total station in…what?…two decades? Three?

Fact: I trained back in the Jurassic age (meaning before laser total stations like the guys had), rather uncommonly, on a theodolite and not a transit. I soon learned the latter, too. Both involved a lot of careful twisting with both hands, very systematically.

Posted at 8:27 PM | Comments Off on I’m leveling with you

Seems like a good name for this brilliant rainbowed sun-ray….

Posted at 9:28 PM | Comments Off on Digital sundog?

A lovely viburnum corymb. I read that Ötzi the Chalcolithic Iceman had arrows with shafts of viburnum and dogwood.

Posted at 9:24 PM | Comments Off on Minutia