NASA website axes a pledge to land a woman and a person of color on the moon
File under “sad but no longer surprising.” I will be surprised if co-President Musk doesn’t kill Artemis entirely in order to focus on his Mars obsession.
Finished reading: The Eagle’s Shadow 📚. Though this was Jame Branch Cabell’s first published novel, it comes comparatively late in the reading order of the Biography of Manuel, so I’m just getting to it (for the second or third time, I forget). It is a somewhat slight comic novel along traditional “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl” lines, complicated by a bit of comic business including multiple wills and a number of Lichfield personalities (who you will have met in other of his books, if you’ve been reading the whole set). I have the 1929 Storisende Edition (#1138 of 1590 numbered copies) which, in addition to being a physically lovely book, contains an appendix reprinting letters from the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW. The bulk of these letters, from the novel’s first 1904 publication, deplore the awful vulgarity and profanity of the heroine (she says “Damn you!” in one pivotal scene) and mostly do not believe a well brought-up woman would even know that sort of language.
“Visitor”
Olympus E-M10 IV, Meike 25mm f/1.8 lens with Viltrox 250 macro lens, 1/320s, ISO 100. Along Eugene’s Ridgeline Trail.
The bear case on big generative AI. I think he may be overindexing on DeepSeek, but the general point (that it is very unlikely all the investment in data centers and power generation can ever pay off) strikes me as at least reasonable. Of course, I’m a complete GenAI skeptic.
“Contemplation”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/9, 2s, ISO 500. Salmon Creek Falls.
Personally I hope Gov. Polis keeps the portrait, finds a Sharpie, and draws a toothbrush moustache on it.
It’s spring. Even the leopard slugs are out smelling the flowers.
Olympus E-M10 IV, Meike 25mm f/1.8 lens, 1/100s, ISO 160. Along Eugene’s Ridgeline Trail.
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
Lots of people (including Congressfolks on both sides of the aisle) are shocked & appalled that the administration would include a journalist in a secret war meeting. It’s pretty much what I expect of this clown car administration.
Didn’t finish: The In-Between 📚. I’m interested in the subject (end-of-life care), and more so as I get older. Despite which, I gave up on this 10% in. The author’s backstory is perhaps more fascinating to her than to other people, and this is also a great example of why authors should not read their own audiobooks. I might have stuck with it if read by a professional narrator, but her voice and flatness just made it unlistenable. I might try again some day on a print copy.
“Inside of a Skunk”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro lens, f/7.1, 1/40s, ISO 500. Along Whispering Spruce Trail.
“Coltsfoot”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro lens, f/9, 1/40s, ISO 800. Along Saint Perpetua Trail.
Finished: The Last Wild Men of Borneo 📚. It’s a pretty meandering book, going from art collecting to the loss of native culture to protest movements to the mysterious disappearance of one of the main characters (about which there is not really any information). OK as a background audiobook.
“Bad Hair Day”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro lens, f/10, 1/60s, ISO 1600. Near Salmon Creek Falls.
“Vampire fungus”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro lens, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 640. Along Amanda’s Trail near Yachats.
“Splash!”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 100-400 f/5.6-6.3 lens + MC-20 teleconverter @ 800mm, f/14, 1/40s, ISO 200. Shot from Amanda’s Trail near Yachats.
“Skunk Season”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 14-42 kit lens @ 42mm, f/5.6, 1/25s, ISO 800. Cape Perpetua, Giant Spruce Trail.
“Laziness is our Middle Name”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 100-400 f/5.6-6.3 lens + MC-20 teleconverter @ 684mm, f/14, 1/40s, ISO 124. Shot from Amanda’s Trail near Yachats.
The latest from the Congressional Ass-Kissing Caucus. I hope all of these bozos end up at the top of the ex-Congressman list in a couple of years.
10 1/2 mile hike took me a ridiculous 6 hours. The fact that I shot 300 photos probably has something to do with that.
A Mysterious Startup Is Developing a New Form of Solar Geoengineering
I don’t think we are very many years from some small government or large billionaire pulling the trigger on large-scale geoengineering. Whether that will be a good thing I have very little idea.