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.

The competition for “biggest suckup in Congress” is heating up.

“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.

If progressives don’t refer to this as the Trump Slump, they’re missing a good bet.

Finished The Quotable Lewis. I ran across this one in our local St. Vinnie’s thrift store and snapped it up; Lewis has long been one of my favorite writers. I wasn’t disappointed. The 625 pages of quotes here kept me thinking and contented for many an evening. Also found more CSL titles to hunt! 📚

“Elegant Sunburst Lichen”

Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/13, 1/125s, ISO 320. Found at the base of Youngs Rock. No color post-processing in this image!

(Turns out they can survive 18 months in space!)

“Moon Point”

Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/13, 1/160s, ISO 200. Shot from Youngs Rock Trail.

Scheduling a service call with Xfinity may be slightly less painful that a root canal. But I’m not sure about that. If we had any other high-speed internet available we’d drop these guys like a hot rock.

“Baby tree”

Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/5.6, 1/100s, ISO 6400. Shot from Youngs Rock Trail.

Finished The Lost Painting (on audio, but I’m making the rules in this blog, and I say it counts as a book). I know nothing about art history, so this was only mildly interesting, which made it perfect for background listening. Felt a bit padded but still a reasonably good story. 📚

On Saturday, the number of active lawsuits in federal courts challenging administration actions reached 100.

This would be better news if only I trusted the Roberts Court to rule in favor of freedom, common sense, and the Constitution. Or the Trump administration to follow Supreme Court rulings.

“Not Dead Yet”

Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/5.0, 1/1000s, ISO 200. Shot from Youngs Rock Trail.

“I suppose you’re all wondering why I called you here today”

Olympus E-M10 IV, M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro @ f/4.0, 1/125s, ISO 4000.