Imagine something this attractive, yet so close to Washington, D.C. Seems unlikely, doesn't it?
Saturday, August 29, 2015
The pistol-packing, Macified mama...
The pistol-packing, Macified mama ... has some beautiful flowers in her garden!
Imagine something this attractive, yet so close to Washington, D.C. Seems unlikely, doesn't it?
Imagine something this attractive, yet so close to Washington, D.C. Seems unlikely, doesn't it?
Morning in Paradise...
Morning in Paradise... Miki, Race and I took our usual morning walk. We had a little more adventure than usual, though. As we were walking past a mowed-down barley field, we saw a vole behaving very oddly, about 10 feet away off to my left. It was jumping up and down, as though it were trying to escape a predator nipping at it's heels, but no predator was visible to us. The two dogs immediately starting bouncing at the end of their leashes, snapping jaws just a couple feet from the vole, who kept jumping around and acting generally nuts. I was struggling to keep the dogs from dragging me, while at the same time watching the crazy vole.
With no warning at all, a medium-sized hawk suddenly stooped down, nailing the vole in one claw. Miki immediately ran behind me, stuck his cowardly little field spaniel head between my legs, and started barking like mad. Race pulled even harder toward the hawk and immediately entered full-on insane mode. Border collie spittle was flying in all directions, and I was being inexorably dragged toward the hawk – who didn't seem particularly perturbed by any of these goings-on. He puffed himself up and spread his wings, but when that didn't scare Race off he just took off with the vole impaled on his claw. As the hawk flew away, Miki came out from behind me and claimed all the credit for scaring off the hawk.
Dogs.
Yesterday evening we took a drive just before sunset to see if we could spot some wildlife up the Blacksmith Fork canyon, toward Hardware Ranch. Boy, howdy, did we see some wildlife, especially deer! Lots of fawns, including several sets of twins. We also saw blue herons, a couple falcons, some larger hawks, and three or four bazillion swallows. As we drove back toward home, a larger-than-usual moon, nearly full, hung low in the sky behind us. Very enjoyable, that drive was...
Tonight we're going to the Trout & Berry Days dinner at the Paradise Town park. The video at right was taken at last year's event, by a Scottish tourist; it's quite funny, but captures the spirit of the event nicely. We're going to the dinner with our friends Bruce and June N., the couple who were our realtors when when we were searching for our new home last year...
With no warning at all, a medium-sized hawk suddenly stooped down, nailing the vole in one claw. Miki immediately ran behind me, stuck his cowardly little field spaniel head between my legs, and started barking like mad. Race pulled even harder toward the hawk and immediately entered full-on insane mode. Border collie spittle was flying in all directions, and I was being inexorably dragged toward the hawk – who didn't seem particularly perturbed by any of these goings-on. He puffed himself up and spread his wings, but when that didn't scare Race off he just took off with the vole impaled on his claw. As the hawk flew away, Miki came out from behind me and claimed all the credit for scaring off the hawk.
Dogs.
Yesterday evening we took a drive just before sunset to see if we could spot some wildlife up the Blacksmith Fork canyon, toward Hardware Ranch. Boy, howdy, did we see some wildlife, especially deer! Lots of fawns, including several sets of twins. We also saw blue herons, a couple falcons, some larger hawks, and three or four bazillion swallows. As we drove back toward home, a larger-than-usual moon, nearly full, hung low in the sky behind us. Very enjoyable, that drive was...
Friday, August 28, 2015
My Uncle Donald...
Progress in Paradise...
Progress in Paradise... Miki, Race, and I took a shorter-than-usual walk this morning, because we had to leave early to take Debbie to her physical therapy. The walk was beautiful, though. The air here is clean again, about normal for fall – there's no sign of the awful smoke we had last week, from fires several hundred miles away. Some photos from along the way this morning, just after sunrise over the Wasatch Mountains so the shadows are long:
Debbie's physical therapy went well. Wess G., her therapist, seems happy with her progress. He recommended that she try a couple sessions of “water therapy” next week, so we signed up for that. As he describes it, the water therapy is basically a giant, deep bathtub with a treadmill inside. The treadmill can be raised and lowered to any depth within the little pool. This allows the physical therapist to raise or lower the amount of weight your feet and legs are feeling. When the treadmill is low (deep in the water), the water is buoying you up so that very little of your weight is felt. When the treadmill is high (shallow in the water), more of your weight is felt. Should be interesting.
Early this afternoon we drove up to Zollinger's Tree Farm. Several people here have recommended it to us, and we need several things pretty soon. Top of my list: some weeping willows to plug “holes” in the trees along the irrigation canal that runs through our property. As soon as I drove in, I could see that this was my kind of nursery. There are no Home Depot-style displays of merchandise. Instead, there are simple display beds for the retail inventory. I got out of my truck and started walking around, and just a few minutes later a fellow came up and introduced himself as Ron (and I found out later that's Ron Zollinger, third generation owner of the nursery).
We spent a very pleasant hour or so wandering around looking at the inventory that might meet our needs. First success: he had three good-sized (about 12' tall, 8' diameter) weeping willows, all balled up and ready to go. They're tagged for us, and will be delivered and planted in mid-September. Second success: I need ground cover to go around our shed, 200 lineal feet of 8 foot wide ground. He recommended a prostrate sumac that has very dark green shiny leaves, an attractive informal form, and the ability to shade out any weed known to mankind. It's also easy to prune, grows very quickly to its mature size of 8' to 10' diameter, stays under 2' tall, and is hardy as hell. He didn't have enough for me in stock, so he's going to scrounge around for some more. Third success: I asked him for advice on a tree I love – quaking aspen. He recommended against putting any of them in (and he's stopped carrying them), because the valley's population is being decimated by the combination of a borer and a fungus that the quaking aspen are susceptible to. When I asked him if there was any tree that was similar in appearance but without these problems, he recommended paper birch. Then he told me he had five big ones in inventory that were a little beat up from being on display a bit too long, and offered to let me have them at a great price (and it was irresistible!) but still with their normal guarantee (they'll replace any tree that isn't thriving). He thinks it will take a year or two for them to recover once they're established in a new location. Fourth success: I started describing some of the landscaping challenges we have around the house, and he stopped me with this offer – given that I was buying a crapload of trees from him, he'd come out and scope out our place, and dispense some advice and perhaps landscape design, and waive his usual fee. Win! He'll be out to our place next week, and then we'll know a lot more. That was an afternoon very well spent!
Early this morning, while we were at Debbie's physical therapy, the portable generator I'd ordered a month ago finally arrived. The freight company just set it down next to our driveway, without requiring a signature at all. The box was a little dinged up, so I was worried about what I'd find when I opened it up. I needn't have worried; it was packed well and was in perfect shape. Naturally it was a kit, so late this afternoon I put it all together and fired it up. The engine started in seconds, with an electric starter. The 120 V outlet showed on my meter as 121 V, with the nominal 60 Hz frequency at 59.9 Hz, both measurements with no load. I plugged in an air compressor that draws 6 amps, and both measurements remained the same. The electronic controls appear to be pretty darned good :) So now we've got a little bit of backup power for the first time.
We also have a project underway to put in propane-fueled backup generators, a 32KW model for the house and a 22KW model for the shed. The propane tanks we're installing will give us 4 days of run time on the house, and 2 on the barn, at full rating. We will normally be running at far below that, so in reality we'll have more like a week of run time. The propane tanks will be installed next week some time, and the generators should be installed before the middle of September. We'll be ready for the outages that winter typically brings.
Last night we had dinner at a neighbor's home: Gary and Elaine S., who live across Highway 165 from us. We feasted on fish they caught last week in Alaska, and fresh vegetables from another neighbor's garden. The company was great, especially the funny stories we heard about Gary's misadventures as a young man.
This afternoon, we feasted on more sweet corn and beets from Tim D.'s garden. Once again, I ate the beets along with all the greens – so good, they were. Past tense, unfortunately...
Debbie's physical therapy went well. Wess G., her therapist, seems happy with her progress. He recommended that she try a couple sessions of “water therapy” next week, so we signed up for that. As he describes it, the water therapy is basically a giant, deep bathtub with a treadmill inside. The treadmill can be raised and lowered to any depth within the little pool. This allows the physical therapist to raise or lower the amount of weight your feet and legs are feeling. When the treadmill is low (deep in the water), the water is buoying you up so that very little of your weight is felt. When the treadmill is high (shallow in the water), more of your weight is felt. Should be interesting.
Early this afternoon we drove up to Zollinger's Tree Farm. Several people here have recommended it to us, and we need several things pretty soon. Top of my list: some weeping willows to plug “holes” in the trees along the irrigation canal that runs through our property. As soon as I drove in, I could see that this was my kind of nursery. There are no Home Depot-style displays of merchandise. Instead, there are simple display beds for the retail inventory. I got out of my truck and started walking around, and just a few minutes later a fellow came up and introduced himself as Ron (and I found out later that's Ron Zollinger, third generation owner of the nursery).
We spent a very pleasant hour or so wandering around looking at the inventory that might meet our needs. First success: he had three good-sized (about 12' tall, 8' diameter) weeping willows, all balled up and ready to go. They're tagged for us, and will be delivered and planted in mid-September. Second success: I need ground cover to go around our shed, 200 lineal feet of 8 foot wide ground. He recommended a prostrate sumac that has very dark green shiny leaves, an attractive informal form, and the ability to shade out any weed known to mankind. It's also easy to prune, grows very quickly to its mature size of 8' to 10' diameter, stays under 2' tall, and is hardy as hell. He didn't have enough for me in stock, so he's going to scrounge around for some more. Third success: I asked him for advice on a tree I love – quaking aspen. He recommended against putting any of them in (and he's stopped carrying them), because the valley's population is being decimated by the combination of a borer and a fungus that the quaking aspen are susceptible to. When I asked him if there was any tree that was similar in appearance but without these problems, he recommended paper birch. Then he told me he had five big ones in inventory that were a little beat up from being on display a bit too long, and offered to let me have them at a great price (and it was irresistible!) but still with their normal guarantee (they'll replace any tree that isn't thriving). He thinks it will take a year or two for them to recover once they're established in a new location. Fourth success: I started describing some of the landscaping challenges we have around the house, and he stopped me with this offer – given that I was buying a crapload of trees from him, he'd come out and scope out our place, and dispense some advice and perhaps landscape design, and waive his usual fee. Win! He'll be out to our place next week, and then we'll know a lot more. That was an afternoon very well spent!
We also have a project underway to put in propane-fueled backup generators, a 32KW model for the house and a 22KW model for the shed. The propane tanks we're installing will give us 4 days of run time on the house, and 2 on the barn, at full rating. We will normally be running at far below that, so in reality we'll have more like a week of run time. The propane tanks will be installed next week some time, and the generators should be installed before the middle of September. We'll be ready for the outages that winter typically brings.
Last night we had dinner at a neighbor's home: Gary and Elaine S., who live across Highway 165 from us. We feasted on fish they caught last week in Alaska, and fresh vegetables from another neighbor's garden. The company was great, especially the funny stories we heard about Gary's misadventures as a young man.
This afternoon, we feasted on more sweet corn and beets from Tim D.'s garden. Once again, I ate the beets along with all the greens – so good, they were. Past tense, unfortunately...
Some branches of science are rife with fraud...
Some branches of science are rife with fraud ... and political bias. Climate science is just one of them. I'm saying this more bluntly than most writers will, but I have no patience for such shenanigans. Deliberate misrepresentation and cheating in science studies is fraud. Period. The perpetrators should be drummed out of the field to find new careers as burger flippers. But only with close and careful supervision...
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Morning in Paradise...
Morning in Paradise... Miki, Race, and I took our usual morning walk, getting back before sunrise again. The air was back to its normal clarity, which sure was nice to see. I posed the dogs a few times near the recently-harvested barley field; they weren't all that thrilled to have to stop hunting voles :) We saw dozens of hawks this morning, including a half-dozen or so that were standing guard on recent kills. We also saw a hawk take vengeance on a crow that was harassing him, right over our heads. The crow made a tactical error in diving right after a close fly-by of the hawk – and the hawk instantly took advantage, diving on the crow and breaking his left wing. The crow started squawking, and fell in a spiral to the ground about 25' off to my left. The hawk was on him within seconds, and immediately started chowing down on the still-squawking crow. The crow was dead within a minute or so, but the hawk still looked very satisfied a few minutes later when we walked toward home.
If you're gonna mess with a hawk, just be prepared for the consequences of an error...
Yesterday we received a shipment that Debbie has been especially anticipating: a bronze sculpture of a mountain lion. It's now displayed in our cat room (aka “living room”), where it's one of a dozen or so pieces of feline-themed art. It's positioned so that you see it as you walk through our front door, which is kind of cool...
If you're gonna mess with a hawk, just be prepared for the consequences of an error...
Big acquisition in Cache County...
Big acquisition in Cache County... The LeGrand Johnson company is a big employer in Cache County, and a major construction firm. They work on everything from homes to roads. They did the excavation work for our shed, and paved our driveway. Our friend and neighbor, Tim D., worked there for many years before he retired as their paving supervisor. It was a family-owned business, well-known and respected by locals.
Now comes the news that LeGrand Johnson has been acquired by Summit Materials, a much larger conglomerate that went public earlier this year. The Summit management says that not much will change, but ... that's what the acquiring company's management always says in such a situation :) Locals are watching with concern, as the LeGrand Johnson company is such a large and important part of the business community here...
Now comes the news that LeGrand Johnson has been acquired by Summit Materials, a much larger conglomerate that went public earlier this year. The Summit management says that not much will change, but ... that's what the acquiring company's management always says in such a situation :) Locals are watching with concern, as the LeGrand Johnson company is such a large and important part of the business community here...
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Race misses his new friend...
Ceres, closer yet...
The people who take advantage like this...
The people who take advantage like this ... don't deserve having air to breath. I would support extreme punishments for such people, such as making them involuntary medical experiment subjects (without pain medication), using them for military target practice, or forcing them to listen to rap music. Or we could use them to extinguish wildfires. Or feed them to predators in the zoo. Pain and suffering should be involved, don't you think?
Yet another Big Government fail...
Yet another Big Government fail... Why on earth would anyone want Big Government involved in their health care, when you know things like this are going to happen?
Optical coherence tomography...
The OCT device uses computational tomography, a fancy way of saying that it makes heavy use of computing power to present the 3D images in a usable way. I was amazed that the sophisticated laser and other optics, along with a powerful computer and fancy software, could all be purchased for under $50,000. Even though I'm a technology guy myself, I still can't quite wrap my brain around the incredibly rapid advances. I wouldn't have guessed you could buy this capability for under a half million dollars. At the rate this seems to be going, you'll probably be able to do it on your iPhone 8, with a $10 laser/lens attachment, using voice control :)
Tea trees and toenails...
Tea trees and toenails... For 40 years – since I spent six months in the Philippines while in the U.S. Navy – I've been battling a persistent toenail fungus. Twice over the past 20 years I've taken a course of Lamisil (generic: terbafine), which did a magnificent job of wiping out the fungus. Unfortunately, within six months of finishing each course the fungus returned. Lamisil accumulates in the liver, so it's not something you can just keep taking. Medicine offers no better solution.
So for the past 10 years or so, every time I go in for a physical I ask the doctor if there are any post-Lamisil treatments for toenail fungus. A little over a month ago, I asked my new GP that question, and got an answer I didn't expect. She told me that a recent Mayo Clinic study had shown that Australian tea tree oil, applied directly to the toenails twice a day, was just as effective as Lamisil – without any of Lamisil's problems. It was safe to use continuously.
I couldn't find a reference to the Mayo Clinic study that my doctor referred to in an online search, but I did find a little information. It wasn't particularly optimistic. Though I couldn't help being skeptical of it, I bought myself a little bottle of that tea tree oil the same day, and I've been applying it religiously ever since.
I'm happy (and a little surprised) to report that it seems to be working. It is certainly true that my toenails are in far better condition now than at any time other than during my two courses of Lamisil. What appears to be the case is that my toenails are growing in totally free of any fungal infection, and the affected parts are no longer infected (though they are, of course, still damaged by previous infection). It looks like within a few weeks my toenails will be completely clear. The only side-effect I've noticed is that our Savannah cat steers well clear of my feet – he doesn't like the smell of the tea tree oil :)
So for the past 10 years or so, every time I go in for a physical I ask the doctor if there are any post-Lamisil treatments for toenail fungus. A little over a month ago, I asked my new GP that question, and got an answer I didn't expect. She told me that a recent Mayo Clinic study had shown that Australian tea tree oil, applied directly to the toenails twice a day, was just as effective as Lamisil – without any of Lamisil's problems. It was safe to use continuously.
I couldn't find a reference to the Mayo Clinic study that my doctor referred to in an online search, but I did find a little information. It wasn't particularly optimistic. Though I couldn't help being skeptical of it, I bought myself a little bottle of that tea tree oil the same day, and I've been applying it religiously ever since.
I'm happy (and a little surprised) to report that it seems to be working. It is certainly true that my toenails are in far better condition now than at any time other than during my two courses of Lamisil. What appears to be the case is that my toenails are growing in totally free of any fungal infection, and the affected parts are no longer infected (though they are, of course, still damaged by previous infection). It looks like within a few weeks my toenails will be completely clear. The only side-effect I've noticed is that our Savannah cat steers well clear of my feet – he doesn't like the smell of the tea tree oil :)
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Vole Paradise Lost...
The major change we saw on today's walk is that the fields of barley have all been harvested, and their stalks cut and baled for straw. Aside from the obvious visual aspect (all those beautiful stalks of barley gone!), several hundred acres of prime vole habitat have just disappeared. Voles are not our favorite pest, so we're quite ok with that :) The dogs were reveling in the newly exposed voles – as the fat voles waddled from place to place wondering what the hell happened to them, the dogs practically pulled me across the fields trying to get to them. Race actually did get one, by darting from the road into the edge of the field, snapping up a vole, crushing it and swallowing it before I could even say “No!”. That dog is fast! He looked quite satisfied with himself when he was finished swallowing.
On the way back down I spotted some motion off to our right, in a clump of sunflowers. Neither dog saw a thing. It was a big striped skunk, and he was not inclined to tolerate our presence. As he stamped his little skunk feet and pouted, I skedaddled on down the road before he decided to make me a target!
Birds of various kinds have taken ownership of these barley fields. Sparrows and goldfinches were scavenging uncollected barley grains. Crows and magpies were doing the same, but they also appeared to be interested in the voles scampering around for cover. Each big field had several hawks perched around them, and we saw two hawks guarding kills – one vole and one weasel. We also saw a lone, confused seagull walking around as if to ask the other birds “What are you all so excited about? I don’t see anything here...”
It sure felt good to be out walking again...
My friend and neighbor Tim D. called us last night, just as we were tucking ourselves into bed. He's doing volunteer work at the Logan Temple early this morning (he has to be there at 4 am), and that meant he wouldn't be able to move his hand lines (irrigation) this morning. You could tell he was embarrassed to ask, but he wanted to know if I'd be willing to shut off the water for him, so nothing got over-watered. I told him I'd move the hand lines for him, and naturally he tried to talk me out of it. This, from the guy who spent a good part of last fall helping me dig trenches!
Monday, August 24, 2015
Buddhist monks and poblano...
Buddhist monks and poblano ... but not at the same time, unfortunately. Debbie and I drove down to Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon, as planned, to meet with my brother Scott's friend, Chook the Buddhist monk. We drove down and found the temple where we were to meet him without any problem. But ... Chook wasn't answering his phone, and we had no idea what he looked like! So I went into the temple, found someone who could speak English, and then we together searched for Chook the monk from Virginia Beach. Everyone there was amused by my search, but the temple's “abbot” actually managed to find him – in an ongoing ceremony that was running late. Fifteen minutes or so later, the ceremony finished and Chook came out to meet us.
When I'd called him earlier in the day, we planned to take him out for a meal at the Red Iguana, our favorite Utah Mexican food restaurant that has a great vegetarian menu. But Chook informed us that there were some celebrations planned for the evening that he had not known about – a surprise party, sort of, where he was the man of the hour. He couldn't say “no” to that, so unfortunately we only had 20 or 30 minutes to talk with him. Meeting him and his fellow monks (and their abbot) was interesting. They were all very friendly, and even jolly – lots of good humor was on display, jokes were cracked, funny stories told. The two monks there from Virginia Beach both know my brother Scott. The first thing they said upon meeting me was “But you don’t look anything at all like Scott!” I explained to them that my siblings and I all had grave doubts about the alleged shared genetic relationship, and they got a good laugh from that. I had a chance to thank Chook for being a good friend to my brother, which I'd wanted to do.
But then we had to go on to our meal without Chook, something he should regret for the rest of his life. The food at the Red Iguana is really something extraordinary. Debbie and I heard about their special yesterday – a steak and shrimp in poblano sauce – and just put down our menus and said “That!” After we got it, we were very glad we did, for it was food for the gods. Debbie followed that up with arroz con leche (a milky, cinnamony rice pudding), and I had a chocolate flan (a firm, slightly sweet custard with caramel sauce, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream). Both were excellent, but I think I like the traditional flan better. We went home with very happy tummies.
The drive home wasn't so pleasant, though. As we approached Ogden, the traffic on Interstate 15 came to a complete stop. We were directed off the highway to a detour through downtown Ogden. Our assumption was that there was an accident, though we didn't see anything. Today that was confirmed: there was an accident that killed a man and his daughter, and gravely injured his wife and another child. Very sad...
When I'd called him earlier in the day, we planned to take him out for a meal at the Red Iguana, our favorite Utah Mexican food restaurant that has a great vegetarian menu. But Chook informed us that there were some celebrations planned for the evening that he had not known about – a surprise party, sort of, where he was the man of the hour. He couldn't say “no” to that, so unfortunately we only had 20 or 30 minutes to talk with him. Meeting him and his fellow monks (and their abbot) was interesting. They were all very friendly, and even jolly – lots of good humor was on display, jokes were cracked, funny stories told. The two monks there from Virginia Beach both know my brother Scott. The first thing they said upon meeting me was “But you don’t look anything at all like Scott!” I explained to them that my siblings and I all had grave doubts about the alleged shared genetic relationship, and they got a good laugh from that. I had a chance to thank Chook for being a good friend to my brother, which I'd wanted to do.
But then we had to go on to our meal without Chook, something he should regret for the rest of his life. The food at the Red Iguana is really something extraordinary. Debbie and I heard about their special yesterday – a steak and shrimp in poblano sauce – and just put down our menus and said “That!” After we got it, we were very glad we did, for it was food for the gods. Debbie followed that up with arroz con leche (a milky, cinnamony rice pudding), and I had a chocolate flan (a firm, slightly sweet custard with caramel sauce, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream). Both were excellent, but I think I like the traditional flan better. We went home with very happy tummies.
The drive home wasn't so pleasant, though. As we approached Ogden, the traffic on Interstate 15 came to a complete stop. We were directed off the highway to a detour through downtown Ogden. Our assumption was that there was an accident, though we didn't see anything. Today that was confirmed: there was an accident that killed a man and his daughter, and gravely injured his wife and another child. Very sad...
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Geek: great debugging stories...
Geek: great debugging stories... A nice collection of links to great debugging stories, hosted on GitHub. A couple of my favorites are in here, like the 500 mile email and the JVM having multi-second GC pauses (which we actually had, years earlier, on an electronic stock trading platform). I haven't read all of these yet, but those I've sampled are all interesting (but geekly!) reads...
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