Paradise blossoms...

Paradise blossoms...  These are all from our yard, today and yesterday.  The most surprising ones to me are the wild roses, 25 feet in the air, blooming after climbing our choke cherries (last photo)...

Skyrmion memory?

Skyrmion memory?  I know very little about skyrmions; just what I've gleaned from a few articles read over the past year.  I can't help but think of magnetic bubbles (which were also used for computer memories) when I read about them, though they're not at all the same thing.  This morning I read of some recent advances with skyrmions, including some potential mechanisms to use them for computer memory. 

Human ingenuity seems to have no bounds...

Progress in Paradise...

Progress in Paradise...  Debbie is starting to back off on the pain medication.  This took a lot longer than either of us expected, but we're taking that as meaning she's on the mend.  She's got nearly full use of her right (injured) arm back, and all the swelling at various places in it is nearly gone.  She's got a lot of bruising, though, and it continues to “evolve” daily.  Her injured knee is still too painful to bend at all – almost certainly the meniscus tear – and she still can't put any weight on it at all.  Today we're going to try to get her in the shower, for the first time in 9 days.  We're both looking forward to that :)

Yesterday I kept busy with little things.  First thing in the morning, while it was still cool, I leveled a few square yards of soil near the house, where we trenched last year to get water, gas, and network to the shed.  This is the area where our air conditioner's compressor is mounted, and it's getting warm enough that we would like to have that working again.  After leveling, I set four 18" square pavers in place to make a square yard base for the compressor.  Then I set the compressor itself on top of the pavers.  Early next week our HVAC guy (another of the wonderful contractors I found last year) will be here to reconnect it all, and recharge the refrigerant.

After I finished with that, I tackled a window screen and screen door in our bedroom.  These both had falling-apart screen material in them, not at all cat-proof (and Jahar, our Savannah cat, lives in our bedroom).  I replaced all that with pet-proof screen, plus installed new wheels in the screen door.  This took a trip to Home Depot, of course.  If there was anything that I wished was closer to us, it would be Home Depot :)

Just after lunch, a truck driver (with a comically stereotypical Mexican accent) called to warn me he was about to arrive.  He was delivering my new log splitter – a 30 ton model that attaches to my tractor's 3 point hitch, and (more importantly) uses the tractor's hydraulics.  The thing weighs 550 pounds, so we needed my tractor's fork lift to get it out of the truck.  We had another little challenge first, though.  The log splitter was laying sideways on a double-sized pallet, twice as long as it was wide.  It was sitting cross-wise in his truck.  Between the log splitter and the trailer's door was another pallet (not mine) with 1,500 pounds of paper products on it.  The driver wanted me to offload that pallet that was in the way so he could roll my pallet to the back.  My tractor can't lift quite 1,500 pounds, though – it's limit is 1,250.  We tried, but it wouldn't budge.  The driver thought we were stuck until I pointed out that we could rotate my pallet (so it was oriented long ways), then move the little pallet alongside and behind it with his pallet jack.  It took me some talking before he got the idea, then he was smacking himself in the head for missing something so obvious.  The scene was like something out of an implausible Hollywood comedy.  Once we maneuvered the little pallet out of the way, offloading mine was a breeze – and now yet another project sits in my barn.  Why is this another project?  Well, because of course it's a kit – and in addition, I have to get custom hydraulic hoses made up to fit my tractor.  Of course.

All you equipment manufacturers out there: it wouldn't offend me at all if you were to deliver the stuff I buy ready to use.  Not one bit...

This could be us and our dogs...

This could be us and our dogs...  It is a bit like this for us right now, with Mo'i (our 16 year old field spaniel)...

Dramatic takeoff of Boeing 787-9...

Dramatic takeoff of Boeing 787-9...  First sent to me by friend, former colleague, and Idaho-mogul-of-everything Doug S., then by most of my other three friends.  Also found on every news outlet on the Internet.

I want a ride on this airplane, please...

Next time you consider letting a kid touch you...

Next time you consider letting a kid touch you ... remember the photo at right.  That's the result of culturing the bacteria and fungus found on a kid's hand (an 8 year old boy who had been playing outside).  Seriously.

I don't actually know if the result of culturing the hand print of an adult would be any better.  But I'd prefer to think so :)

Paradise forecast...

Paradise forecast...  It's looking like some warm and beautiful weather for the next 10 days (at least):

Philae found?

Philae found?  Maybe.  Excellent summary of the search, and the “candidate” for Philae seen in the second and third photos at right (all three photos are of the same area; click to embiggen)...

Excellent book!

Excellent book!  Just finished The Martian, by Andy Weir, last night.  It's like the love child of Heinlein and a nerdette.  The science and technology are all plausible.  The central character in the book chews his way through a seemingly never-ending series of existential threats, using nothing but the material at hands, his will, and a not-insignificant amount of pure American-style cleverness.  I couldn't put it down!

I hope that Andy is working on another book...

Debbie update...

Debbie update...  We just heard back from her orthopedist after he had a chance to review her knee MRI.  There's a clear diagnosis: a posterior horn medial meniscus tear.  The orthopedist unequivocally recommended surgery for her tear (they vary quite a bit).  We're in the process of getting that set up right now.

This is actually a bit of a relief for us.  The meniscus tear, in the grand scheme of things, is far from the worst sorts of injury that can happen to a knee.  Debbie's already experienced one of the worst: a tibial plateau fracture, and a bad one at that.  Generally surgery to repair meniscus tears is arthroscopic, low risk, and fast recovery.  We're hoping that hers will fall into that category. 

Also, there's quite likely a bit of a bonus for Debbie in this surgery.  When she had her tibial plateau fracture surgery (two and a half years ago), the surgeon “installed” a significant quantity of very expensive hardware – a fancy plate and a half dozen or so titanium screws.  She could never bring herself to schedule a surgery just to remove that hardware, so she's been clanking around with it (well, it doesn't really clank) ever since.  We're going to see if it can be removed at the same time the meniscus repair is done.

Phone just rang, and she has an appointment with a knee specialist next Thursday...

Precipitation in Paradise...

Precipitation in Paradise...  We had a surprise thunderstorm last night.  The forecast was for overcast, but we got a bit more than that – four tenths of an inch more, to be precise!  Our backyard is now once again a mud bowl, and it will take a few days to dry out.  Meanwhile, we have more rain actually forecast for this afternoon.

A couple of months ago, the locals with long experience here were worried about a drought.  Now they're worried about their hay rotting in the sopping fields.  Crop dusters (both fixed wing and helicopter) are having a boom time here, as many fields are too wet for a tractor spraying rig to traverse them.  I also saw a fantastical machine the other day (too far away to get a photo): a spraying machine with around a 100' wide spray boom, all running on the sort of giant balloon tires you see on dune buggies, but scaled way up.  Those tires spread the weight of the rig over quite a large ground area, and he wasn't sinking into the muck at all.  The photo at right will give you the general idea, but the one I saw was much larger...

Visual perspectives...

Visual perspectives...  Via my pistol-packing mama...

There's something similar that I hope to do in my retirement: capture natural sounds that we cannot hear because they are too low or too high in frequency, or their modulation is too low or too high in frequency.  I'd also like to develop a phase-array microphone that will let me accurately point a camera at the source of a sound (especially for birds).  Way back in the early '80s I briefly played around with these notions, but the compute power available then made it impractical.  Today the compute power in my iPhone is more than adequate!  Digital audio capture and electronic phase delay has also gotten much easier and cheaper than it used to be.  I think the most challenging aspect of these projects today will be the digital signal processing (software), not the hardware...

Yet another way to choose where to retire...

Yet another way to choose where to retire...  I didn't have this information when we chose Cache County, Utah – but it's nice to have the affirmation anyway.  The map shows UFO sightings per capita, and Cache County basically doesn't have any.  I read that as the population here being a bit more grounded than in many other places.  Northern California, Oregon, Maine, and Washington state: I'm looking at you...

“I say we should ban cows and human farting.”

“I say we should ban cows and human farting.”  So says friend and former colleague Simon M. in his sarcastic reaction to the news about the EPA proposing to regulate methane, carbon dioxide, and other “climate change inducing” chemicals from commercial airliners.

His comment relates to the fact that cow farts and human farts are also sources of methane, and therefore potentially subject to EPA regulation as well.  Mandated Beano, anyone?  I suspect my wife would approve :)

Aircraft engines produce (primarily) nitrogen, water vapor, and carbon dioxide as exhaust gas components.  There isn't much room to make the engines more efficient, as commercial pressure from high fuel prices has done wonders there already.  Nitrogen isn't a concern with respect to climate change.  Carbon dioxide is the main thing the EPA is proposing to regulate.  The EPA does not propose regulating water vapor emissions, despite the fact that water vapor is dozens of times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide is.

So lets think about this for a moment.  The EPA tells commercial aircraft manufacturers that they must reduce the carbon dioxide emissions.  What mechanisms do the manufacturers have available to them?  The most obvious one is to switch to fuels that have more of their energy in hydrogen, rather than carbon – which will have the effect of increasing water vapor emissions.  Which, remember, are far worse for climate change than carbon dioxide is.

Now does this make sense in any universe?  Sure it does!  In the universe of the loony politicians!

The only other choices are to switch to exotic fuels that don't have carbon in them (very, very expensive), or to slow down the aircraft (because overall fuel consumption goes down non-linearly with speed, thus reducing emissions).

Shakespeare wrote (in Henry the Sixth) “The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.”  I think his priorities were slightly off – first should have been the environmentalist wackos, then the lawyers (which has the knock-on effect of getting most politicians as well)...

Paradise progress...

Paradise progress...  Debbie's still doing fine.  We've got a followup appointment with her orthopedist in two weeks, and we're both hoping that the level of pain and sensitivity has gone way down by then.

Today has been a day of chores and running around for me.  Mostly little things, but I did get the screen replaced in the screen door of our kitchen.  Replacement was necessitated by Race running straight through the old one to get outside, as though it wasn't even there.  One second we had a nice, taut screen door; the next second the screen was flapping in the breeze and Race was a mere dot in the corner of the yard.  Sigh.  I ran to Home Depot, got some “pet proof” screen and an expanded metal grille for the bottom half of the door.  I spent the best part of the day removing the screen door, cleaning out all the old screen (the rubber spline had become one with the frame), stretching and splining the new screen, installing the grille, and finally reinstalling the door. Every single step of the way something went wrong, of course.  There was much Navy-learned language employed; the box elder bugs all ran away and the dogs were blushing.

Palliative care...

Palliative care ... is prescribed for the U.S.:

WASHINGTON—Saying there were no other options remaining and that continued intervention would only prolong the nation’s suffering, experts concluded Tuesday that the best course of action is to keep the United States as comfortable as possible until the end.

According to those familiar with its condition, the country’s long, painful decline over the past several decades has made it clear that the most compassionate choice at this juncture is to do whatever is possible to ensure America is at ease during its last moments.

It's one of those times where The Onion doesn't really seem like satire...

I had conversations like this many times...

I had conversations like this many times...  I once worked for a company named Stac Electronics.  At one point the company hired a new CEO (J.T., for insiders).  Read today's Dilbert strip:

This brought back instant memories, and for me, some laughter.  That CEO – who was running a software company – had technical expertise that was over-matched by any randomly-selected decomposing aardvark.  I was, at the time, the company's chief technical officer.  After my first few attempts to have a meaningful conversation with him (my boss!) about anything I did, I gave up.  Then I started entertaining myself at his expense, by trying to see just how nonsensical a conversation I could have without him picking up on it.

I never found the limit.  He resigned (for other reasons) before he had any clue what I was doing...

Methinks...

Methinks ... there is more than a grain of truth in this image...

Paradise update...

Paradise update...  We're back from getting Debbie's knee MRI.  It wasn't fun :(  She's happy to be back home, in bed, her Savannah cat (Jahar) by her side...

Paradise Progress...

Paradise Progress...  Debbie is doing just fine.  She's not happy about being black-and-blue, or in pain, or not being able to even hobble around – but she's showing signs of improvement (pain is subsiding, she's eating better, and the swelling is going down all over).  I'd post some photos of the black-and-blue, but I'm being threatened with all sorts of horrible punishments if I even think about that very hard.  Tomorrow she goes in for an MRI of her knee.  This is the same knee she broke over two years ago, and we want to make sure there's no cartilage or ligament damage.

Yesterday and today I made great progress repairing the damage to our back yard from all the hectic trenching we did last fall to get services (gas, water, electricity, network) to the shed.  I've been holding off until the ground dried out enough for me to run the tractor over the back lawn without leaving deep ruts.  I've been doing a lot of shovel work, using the forklift to replace concrete slabs back from where we'd removed them, and the loader to move small mountains of soil around to fill in trenches.  Today I finished everything I can immediately do with the tractor.  Tomorrow I'll start the finish leveling by hand, with shovel and rake.  I'm guessing I've got two or three days of work on that, and then I'll be planting grass seed.

Now that the back yard has dried out, and isn't a giant bowl of mud, we're letting the dogs run around back there.  They love it – an acre of nice green grass all to themselves!

I picked up my new glasses today.  I can see again – hurray!