Cirsium discolor...

Cirsium discolor...  Complete with soldier beetles and a bumblebee.  I know from personal experience just how difficult it is to get a closeup like this.  Hats off to the photographer, Robert Klips!  Via BPOD, of course...

“Wil can fly!” update...

“Wil can fly!” update...  At this writing, the pledges total $7,942 – over the halfway mark and headed for two thirds.  They've got thirteen days to go.  If they keep getting pledges at the rate of the past few days, they're going to make it easily!

Road trip!

Road trip!  We made the trip down to Salt Lake City yesterday evening, to have dinner with our friends Doug & Dee W.  We ate at the Red Iguana, which is becoming a tradition for us much as the Fish Market used to be in San Diego.  Through a series of coincidences, we've actually been seeing Doug & Dee more often since we moved than we used to in San Diego :)

Great company, lots of entertaining stories (ask Dee about her dad, if you know her!), and delicious food.  As I told Doug last night, that's a hard combination to beat!

Weird sighting there (by Debbie): at a table near us, a young man was seated.  On his belt he wore a hanger that held a role of duct tape.  On his chair back was a sort of backpack, with lots of small spring clamps and clothes pins attached to it, along with a walkie-talkie, a pair of screwdrivers, a pair of pliers,  a ball of string, and a few other things we couldn't identify.  We couldn't figure out what that collection of stuff might be for, and I forgot to ask him on the way out, as I'd intended.  Any ideas?

“Wil can fly!” update...

“Wil can fly!” update...  Almost halfway there!

First-person P-51 video...

First-person P-51 video...  Awesome!  A flight is at right; pre-flight videos here...

What can you possibly do...

What can you possibly do ... to deter people like this?  The only plausible solutions are those that kill them.  The lefties like to call that war-mongering, and the libertarians like to call it interventionism.  Neither has any believable alternative, just variations on themes for delaying the inevitable confrontation. If history has taught us anything at all (a thoroughly debatable proposition, that), it has taught us that all such delays increase the cost in both blood and treasure – and immeasurably increase the risks...

Photo of the day...

Photo of the day...  That's Popocatepetl volcano in the background, and the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Church of Our Lady of Remedies) in the foreground.  Both are in central Mexico.

Yard progress...

Yard progress...  We spent the entire day working in the yard today.  It was such a lovely spring day that I just couldn't stand the idea of working in the barn.  So I got a good start on a project I couldn't tackle last summer: cleaning up years of deadfall from the willows, cottonwoods, and box elders growing along the canal.  Some of this is hand saw and lopper sort of work, but much of it was chainsaw – and I don't like using a chainsaw without someone there to call for help if needed.  I've never actually needed someone to call for help, but it's very comforting to know that someone could.

The work we did today involved a large cottonwood branch (about 18" diameter) that had cracked and fallen across the canal, extending about 40' into the edge of our lawn.  It looks like this happened at least 10 years ago, as there were substantial new branches off the big branch that clearly grew out after the big branch fell.  However, the big branch was slowly but surely making its way toward the ground, as the now-dead branches propping it up died and rotted.  Another couple of years and I'd have this big log right on the lawn.

So I chopped it up into about 30" long logs, using the chainsaw I bought last year: a Stihl MS 461 R.  I'd only used it once before, almost a year ago, when Debbie was up here for a visit (she was my safety person).  Today I broke it out, topped off all the fluid levels, and tried to start it.  On the fourth pull, it fired up – very nice.  Then I took it out to the broken limb, climbed into all my safety gear (helmet, face shield, ear protectors, Kevlar gloves and chaps) and went to work.  In very short order I had that entire 40' long branch cut to bits, along with all the big branches from it.  Compared with chainsaws I've used in the past, this one is both light and powerful, and the controls are simple and obvious.  It's so light that working with my arms straight out or even elevated is not a problem.  The anti-kickback brake is completely unobtrusive, but still works great.  The rocker claws make cutting big logs very easy.  It's a sweet machine, even better than the Husqvarna chainsaw I had in Jamul.

Unfortunately for me, once I that monster branch all cut up, I had to load it on the tractor and haul it to my log pile.  That was a bunch of work, and now I'm feeling it in all my muscles :)

The world seems to have...

The world seems to have ... an unlimited supply of crazy people.  And they're in competition with each other!

Watching this video gave me an idea.  What if ... political candidates were required to fly a challenging course (like the one shown in this video) in a wingsuit?  Would that not simultaneously (a) reduce the number of empty suit candidates, and (b) reduce the number of candidates that survive until election?  Not a bad thing, right?

Over 58,000 replica dog tags...

Over 58,000 replica dog tags...  This is an art installation at the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago.  It does not (yet) have a permanent home.  Each replica dog tag is stamped with the name of a soldier or civilian who was killed in Vietnam, or died as a result of service in Vietnam.

Seeing this brings to mind once again the amazing reduction in the lethality (for Americans) of war over the past couple hundred years.  The Vietnam war was ongoing in my youth, and I served (not in combat, thank goodness) in the Navy at the end of it.  I knew several people who died in Vietnam; mainly fellow high school students.  In WWII, the big war of my parents' generation, over 400,000 Americans died.  That's almost eight times the number of dead as in Vietnam, and remember that America's population grew by leaps and bounds between WWII and Vietnam, so proportionally it's an even bigger jump.  Now in the War on Terror (including the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War), total American deaths are around 6,700 – a fraction of those in the Vietnam War, and again, America's population has grown significantly between the Vietnam War and the War on Terror.  I didn't know anyone personally who died in the War on Terror, though I do know a few people who lost family members.

The cost in American blood of a war is falling fast.  I have mixed reactions to that.  On the one hand, I can't help but celebrate the fact that fewer Americans are killed in wars.  On the other hand, the lower cost makes it easier (politically) to start a war...

FBI snake oil...

FBI snake oil...  The FBI has admitted that over 95% of the testimony it has given on hair analysis is flawed and is without a scientific basis.  There have been a number of such admissions over the years, mainly involving techniques that include a high degree of subjectivity: lie detectors, bite analysis, phrenology, psychological profiling, blood spatter analysis, and much more.

I think the proclivity for this sort of thing is baked into our criminal justice system.  The law enforcement folks have a very large incentive to get a conviction.  They (quite naturally) often develop a belief about the guilt of a suspect.  But to get a conviction, they have to provide convincing evidence – and something like hair analysis, with its veneer of scientific underpinnings, sounds good to a jury...

Pendulum clock...

Pendulum clock ... that keeps time to within 5/8ths of a second in 100 days – based on a 250 year old design by John Harrison.  I read a biography of Harrison last year (fascinating!).  He never built a clock with this design, but he was ridiculed preemptively, toward the end of his life.  This is a complete vindication.

Earthflow...

Earthflow...  This is a phenomenon I'd not heard of before.  The video at right is spectacular, showing a recent (April 1st) earthflow in Penza Oblast, Russia (see map at left).

Whoever made the video was amazingly close to this, and far braver (or crazier) than I am!

Fast weather changes...

Fast weather changes...  On Wednesday – just three days ago – we had 7 inches of snow on the ground.  This afternoon it's 65°F here, and I just mowed the lawn (first time this year).  It's a stunningly gorgeous day outside...

“Will can fly!” update...

“Will can fly!” update...  Nikki Lawrence (Wil's mom) writes:

...to see all the cool articles and news segments for "Wil Can Fly"!  We are so excited that his message is reaching so many people.  We have had people from China, India, and Israel comment on how this message has touched their hearts.  So amazing that this little 18-month old has touched so many people!

Love you all,  Nikki

http://www.liftbump.com/2015/04/53351-little-boy-takes-flight-show-world-possibilities-kids-syndrome-endless/

http://www.boredpanda.com/down-syndrome-wil-can-fly-photography-adam-lawrence/

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/18-month-syndrome-flies-life-photographs/story?id=30388814

http://www.good4utah.com/story/d/story/father-uses-photos-of-flying-son-to-raise-awarenes/24216/zVde5zHRaEqpFzi-adtv6A

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1286&sid=34183618
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/braden-s-thompson/dad-takes-adorable-photos-of-son-flying-to-raise-awareness-for-down-syndrome_b_6899088.html

http://www.slrlounge.com/wil-can-fly-kickstarter-down-syndrome/

http://www.demilked.com/downs-syndrome-wil-can-fly-alam-lawrence/

Oh and the Today show and CNN contacted Alan today about doing something.....freaking awesome!

As of this morning, their Kickstarter project has reached $3,481 of their $12,500 goal – and they're halfway through the signup period...

Barn progress: the hatch and hoist...

Barn progress: the hatch and hoist... The barn's second floor is almost 14 feet above the first floor, accessed via a long, narrow flight of stairs.  While it's possible to carry many heavy things up those stairs, it's certainly no fun.  If you have something large, long, or awkwardly shaped, it may not even be possible.  So when we were designing the barn, I had the builders put a 4' x 10' “hatch” in the ceiling of the first floor (which is also the floor of the second floor).

My builder made a couple of doors designed to open like a clam shell.  They sit in a frame, and weigh about 30 pounds apiece (they're made of steel-faced foam).  I installed big strap hinges on them, and an eye-bolt connected to a rope, pulley, and cleat system that lets me easily open and secure the hatch doors.  Then I installed a half-ton electric hoist above the center of the hatch, with a 4x6 spreader to share the hoist's load across six trusses.  The last step, just completed, was to wire the hoist into my second floor electrical subpanel.  I made a test run with a load of about 500 pounds – worked great!

Left-to-right below: the hatches opened wide, a close up of the hoist, and the hatches closed.

Barn progress...

Barn progress...  I forgot to mention this a few days ago: I got an 8" grinder, mainly for sharpening woodworking tools (it's much easier than hand sharpening!).  Like almost all the other gear I've been getting, it came as a kit, with bags of nuts and bolts, and odd-looking machined or formed metal parts.  Unlike most of these kits, it didn't come with directions!  I was able to figure it all out, though...

Snowy flowers...

Snowy flowers...  From our yard a couple of days ago, when we had snow.  It's all melted now...

If Hillary is your champion...

If Hillary is your champion ... you don't need an adversary.  Dave Carter must read...

Pluto and Charon...

Pluto and Charon...  The New Horizons mission is approaching; the fly-by is on July 14th.  Charon looks big and very close to Pluto in this photo.  I suspect that's because Charon is substantially closer to the spacecraft than Pluto is...