Finished The Rivet in Grandfather’s Neck. This is part of a longish-term project of working through the entire Biography of Manuel. These days James Branch Cabell is rather obscure, but I enjoy his writing, and I enjoy his normal topics of honor and loyalty and love and chivalry, as well as the metaphysical organization of his curious universe. Plus he has a large vocabulary; I generally need to look up words from his books, a pleasure I rarely get these days (today I learned what a lambrequin is). As a bonus, my copy is a 1928 hardcover, and century-old books just feel and smell like real books to me, in a way that electronic copies simply do not. 📚
Federal board orders USDA to temporarily reinstate dismissed probationary workers
A 45-day reprieve for Forest Service employees (among others), whose firing is a huge threat to public lands in the PNW. I’m happy to see this, though it seems like a tenuous win at best.
Good Planet Sharp Cheddar Olive Oil Cheese Slices - Not even remotely sharp cheddar, but not bad as vegan cheese slices go, and definitely healthier than the usual coconut-oil based products. Pretty far into “ultraprocessed” territory though.
Democracy.io - the easiest way to email your Representative and Senators. I just sent a note requesting a “no” vote on any so-called “Clean” CR that does not assert Congressional rights to determine what money is spent.
RestoredCDC. A snapshot of the Centers for Disease Control website from before it was vandalized by little Donnie, Robbie, and Elon.
It’s always nice to see the internet route around damage.
We already knew that there are more bacterial cells in our body than human cells. Now it turns out that our human cells are full of plastic shards.
Just how much of me is me, anyhow?
(More seriously, the apparent correlation between plastic accumulation and dementia is a bit alarming).
Internet nostalgia + VC + AI = profit?
I’m skeptical but not surprised. We’re at the point where we’re going to see a lot of “what was tried before, BUT WITH AI” startups.
Meanwhile, the coming unicorn crash looms over us all.
Thank you Al Green.
Remember back in the 60s when we used to dream about the day when the government needed to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber? Now you can buy a t-shirt to support the Ukranian defense against the Russian invaders.
People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Madam, we’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.
(probably apocryphally) attributed to both Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw
Trump Reveals Tariffs Plan to Ruin American Farmers’ Lives
I don’t always agree with TNR, but they do have a knack for writing headlines with zing.
Scientists Just Created a ‘Woolly Mouse’ With Mammoth-Like Fur
“These mice are massively adorable,” says Colossal cofounder and CEO Ben Lamm. “They are significantly cuter than we anticipated, which probably means that our first-generation mammoths will also be equally as cute.”
“Snow Queen”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/7.1, 1/100s, ISO 800. Along the Youngs Rock trail. First wildflowers of the season!
“The Pom-pom Tree”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/16, 1/125s, ISO 1000. Along the Youngs Rock trail.
Depressing news about local public lands: U.S. Forest Service firings across Oregon having serious impacts on people, places and things and Executive order sparks controversy over Oregon’s forests. I hike around 100 miles a month these days. Looks like that’s going to just keep getting harder to do.
The era of pettiness is in full swing
Nobody knows exactly how long ago a marbled and tender boneless short-loin steak came to be known across the United States as a New York strip. Everybody agrees, though, that the nomenclature wasn’t the least bit controversial until last Friday, when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas proposed a new name: the Texas strip. (via NYT)
“Willow Flowers”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/16, 1/125s, ISO 2000. Along the Youngs Rock trail.
I was out hiking before dawn, and had to change my headlamp battery. In the dark, no moon, under trees, in the rain. That’s when I was reminded that the Nitecore UT27 has a glow-in-the-dark battery compartment. It’s nice to see this sort of product design touch. Engineering isn’t dead yet.