“Here Comes the Shroom”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/16, 1/15s, ISO 500. Along the Larison Creek Trail.
“Middle North Falls”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/22, 1/2.5s, ISO 200. Silver Falls State Park.
Ah, Eugene
EUGENE, Ore. – Eugene police responded this morning to 911 reports of a man yelling and doing Tai Chi while appearing to wade deeper into the Willamette River, according to the Eugene Police Department.
(Partially) Escaping Big Tech
In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I did a lot of work in the Microsoft ecosystem, including subcontracting that put a substantial amount of my code in MS Office products (I’m sure it’s all gone now). Since then, I’ve gotten progressively more disillusioned with the big tech companies. I moved from Microsoft to Apple, and then to Linux. Lately I’ve been reducing my dependence on Google as much as possible, since it seems that their politics do not align well with my own.
It’s hard to distentangle from these companies, though. In particular my phone still runs Android, which (though I find it a better alternative to iOS) still sticks me firmly to Google. I’ve looked at FOSS alternatives but so far none of them seem to be good enough for my day-to-day use (I primarily need texting and GPS-enabled hiking maps), though Purism might be getting close.
I suspect the problem is that I’m just in too small of a niche. Most people who’ve gotten as fed up as I have are probably living off-grid in the woods.
Lab-grown caviar (if they succeed). I’m skeptical that there’s enough overlap between vegetarians and potential caviar eaters to make this a viable business.
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. 📚
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.
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.
“Pine Twig”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/11, 1/40s, ISO 6400. Shot along the Youngs Rock trail.
“Cone”
Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1000. Shot along the Youngs Rock trail.
