Coffee and Cholesterol?

I still have fun with Science X Newsletter. Of course there are a lot of articles way over my head, starting with anything mentioning quarks or going into way technical jargon without explanations of what they're talking about. Obviously those aren't meant for me. And many are the kind that confirm what a few seconds thought will confirm as obvious, while even others beg the question, "Yeah, OK, but have you even considered ________ ?" What's almost a painful waste of time and energy is reading that melting glaciers, with the resulting rivers being responsible for some large area's prime source of water, will be endangering their water supply after they are gone. It's almost too obvious to bother studying. OK, maybe if they're looking for numbers to plug in, but the bare facts, DUH!!! A is what produces B, almost everything uses B, A goes away, there's no B left. HELLO !!!

Or there was one on bees, showing that bringing in domestic populations result in declining wild bee populations in an area. Here's where the "have you considered____?" comes in. If there are domestic bees, that means agriculture of some kind. That usually means, these days, chemicals are likely being used as the easy way to get rid of weeds or pests (meaning insects), and those are likely to be harmful to bees. We're already looking at colony collapse in domestic bees. What are the odds the small changes in domestic populations who survived the chemicals in the last 20 years or so have mutated from inadvertent  selective breeding, and their offspring are a bit better at dealing with the poisons we spread while wild bees, not so much? Is anybody looking at that as their next  question to ask?

There are always some new things to learn. For example, an ice sheet split off from Antarctica, described as the size of Chicago, and we can suddenly see the previously inaccessible sea floor and its denizens. There are some interesting new-to-us critters down there!

Of course there are other discoveries that in my opinion are badly over-hyped, like a far away galaxy that is judged to have been like ours but did this scary other thing instead. OK, so what are we talking, 8 billion years ago? One? Pardon my Alfred E. Newman, but at that time scale, "What, me worry"?  Somebody just had to put "Frightening" in the study title. Must have needed more attention, eh? Grants hard to get these days?

While those above are not likely to affect me, there was one I did take note of. As a senior citizen, I try to keep abreast of practices for my own good health. I count carbs, for example, and try not to keep eating too late in the day when a swig of water might achieve the same results of satisfying me. I take recommended pills, and a few extra on my own that I believe help me, like some B vitamins and a little extra C. I try to avoid too much sun on my skin, though I suspect that ship sailed decades ago. Oops. It fully accounts for that one speedy cataract which blinded one eye. (The replacement lens is perfect.) I'm slowly losing weight, and while I'll never be slim, there's 70 pounds I'm not toting around any more. Apparently I've traded those in for lumps and wrinkles. (Sighhhhh) Some would call that "interesting". I have other words for it.

Now I never would have thought of coffee as having any connection to cholesterol. Would you? Unless  you add fatty things to it to make it taste better or perhaps less acid in the stomach, it's pretty hard to believe. There were reassuring studies a while back showing that 2 or 3 cups in the morning are good for our cardiac health. Cool! I'll still keep it to one cup though. But what the heck were they talking about with cholesterol?

No it's not actually in the coffee, but there are some chemicals in coffee that get your body to produce more of the worst kinds of it, the diterpenes cafestol and kahweol. (Just rolls off the tongue, right?) That doesn't quite jibe with the heart health info, though, so I read on. They were studying different methods of producing the drink itself. It turns out that coffeemakers which have paper filters are pretty good at - ahem - filtering out the chemicals that produce cholesterol, Other kinds of filters, or none at all, don't do that. Only the paper ones. There is some kind of affinity there.

Now since I drink instant coffee, I decided to take those chemical names and google whether they are in instant, and should I be concerned? It turns out most processes for making instant coffee use paper filters. So I mostly shouldn't worry. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether the stuff I buy uses that process or some other. So I'm getting a supply of paper filters in the larder. I'll be working on a way to make sure my instant brew goes through a paper filter to clear out whatever of those chemicals might still be in it before I drink it. I figure mix powder and hot water first, then pour it through a paper filter lined mug, pull out the filter and toss it. 

I'll have paper towels or a dish rag handy of course. If you don't anticipate drips and spills during that process, you just haven't met me! 

And then of course, there'll be the cocoa to deal with... afterwards. No way I'm filtering that out! I don't care how many studies might find something less than ideal in cocoa! It's already sugarless, and I have powdered milk to add. No point in getting totally fanatical about it, now is there?

Careful What You Wish For

 Of course, wishing for something isn't going to bring it to you, make it real. Sometimes it's just an enjoyable fantasy, like an exotic vacation getaway or winning a large lottery jackpot, where reality would bring complications into your life. Other times it's something more grounded in reality, something small, practical, something where it coming true isn't likely to turn into a disaster, like having a nice bit of weather for an outdoor party, or a timely phone chat with a friend when your schedules mesh.

One seldom has to really be careful about their wishes because wishes have no real power. Even so, sometimes those wishes happen to come true, but in the most unfortunate ways, because of course they do. Life is just like that. Murphy's Law, and all that.

Now you know I just happen to have a story about a wish coming true.

Let's go back just a few years, when covid vaccinations were finally available, and we seniors were #2 in line to get them. Of course we did, and loved being able to travel again. We headed north a couple weeks earlier than normal, before the summer travel rush was on, and had some great experiences in national parks before arriving at our usual summer destination. We got to see family and friends again, though still keeping social distancing most of the time. Before heading south again for one fast long-haul trip, we had one last outdoor bonfire party.

Arriving home, I was exhausted unloading the car. Shortly afterwards, I had a fever and felt sick for the first time in years. I had covid! After warning everybody I knew I'd had close contact with, I took my positive test to the ER and got Paxlovid to help fight it. In a couple weeks I felt normal again, though still waiting on a negative test, and feeling cooped up that extra week, now that brain fog was clearing. 

Fast forward another couple years and I caught covid a second time, despite masking, distancing, and keeping up vaccinations as often as offered. I didn't actually feel sick this time like the first, but repeated the ER visit and asked for Paxlovid again. This time it wasn't covered, and I declined paying the price of over a grand for it. I seemed to be having a milder case anyway.

But there was one thing. I shortly realized I had lost both my sense of taste and smell.  Well over a year later I started tasting things again. But they were different. Certain things were blocked, like whatever it is in fresh tomatoes that makes me hate them. I actually loved to gobble up tomatoes! I still do, in fact. As time passed, more flavors came back... mostly.

But the nose stubbornly refused to come back. Aside from pregnancy, when everything edible smelled like rotted garbage in a puddle of chemicals, I had what I referred to as my mother's nose, the most sensitive one in the family, something I totally enjoyed. I would smell something burning before the smoke detectors went off, for example. I could tell what in the refrigerator was spoiled, smell flowers and freshly mown grass, lake algae in a most pleasant way when others around me were repelled. 

Now two things above all I missed. There is a wild white or yellow spiked flower called sweet clover, and every year in late summer when they bloomed it was the same instant revelation that this was the thing I had been missing all year since last summer, and had even forgotten existed until I suddenly smelled it again. The other thing I haven't smelled for years due to our snowbird travels, but I call it the smell of fall, where plants have begun to fill the  air with tannins after a frost, as they prepare for winter. It had been a notice to me of every fall bringing the best things in childhood, returning to school, birthdays, leaves changing colors and playing in piles of them, Halloween on the horizon, south-migrating flocks of birds overhead, and the end of mosquitoes for months, the very best part!

After the second bout of covid, I had none of that any more. I also couldn't tell you if foods had spoiled or were still safe to eat, whether something was burning in the oven, or even if it wasn't and wonderful aromas filled the house - for other people. I couldn't tell whether I stunk, or clothes needed washing without obvious dirt on them, or whether anybody had farted quietly. (Loud farts I heard, but still couldn't smell.) There was a noxious leak on the floor behind the toilet in the bathroom I don't use that a guest had to point out to us. It had to get fixed twice because I assumed the plumber did the complete job the first time.

In my many reading wanderings, I started finding stories from people with long covid. At first it was a battle with their doctors to get their condition recognized, and named. Early on, those sickest had the easiest fight with acknowledgment. Later less severe things got mentioned, including some people who'd lost smell and taste, though it didn't seem to stir the medical community to name it as long covid, or to research it, much less find solutions. After all, we could still move around fairly normally, go to work, interact with others. We just weren't enjoying some of the basic small pleasures in life, boo hoo hoo ... yawn. There are really sick folks out there (so get over yourselves!) seemed to be the attitudes, and I do understand them, after how burned out so many medical professionals were. It simply wasn't helpful for us.

Last summer things started to change. The newest shots came out, different ones that were supposed to be able to adapt to the mutations that were coming at us more frequently. Steve and I got ours right at summers end, to best protect us from being indoors with others who might be incubating who knows what next. Now I almost never feel a sore arm from any shots, and I didn't this time either. They say the worse your arm feels, the better your immune system is working. They were saying it a lot back then, so I was asking myself whether I'd know if it was working, or I just had a lousy immune system. But within a couple weeks I started tasting my food! I concluded this different shot somehow found some reservoir of the virus in my taste buds and nailed the little pests. So.... why not my nose?

Around then hints were coming out that losing taste and smell were being considered a kind of long covid. Well, that's helpful, I guess. Much more recently I was reading a study that stopped "maybe-ing" the idea, and just declared it flat out. I officially had long covid. At last, a name!

OK, and so....? 

It went on to talk about some kind of surgery to deal with the lack of smell. Hmmm, something to think about. How much do I want smell back? But I also put that diagnosis in my personal health record, with clarification of which symptom(s).  A few days later a similar study claimed those particular symptoms tended to go away after around 2 years. OK, so scratch surgery then, or at least wait a bit more to see what happens. But why the delay with the nose?

I'm looking forward to summer, watching my flowers come up with all their blooms. I have no idea if the ones that bloomed here on bushes last summer have any fragrance. I'm also looking forward to cut grass smell, now that we're back living with an actual lawn instead of a rock bed, and not having to depend on Steve's nose to clear out the fridge since his never was that sensitive the way mine was. I found myself wishing my nose would come back into use soon if that two-year thing was true.

Then I walked into one particular room in the house and without thinking, out popped "Boy it stinks in here!" Then it hit me what just happened. Sure there was some cleaning up to do, but it felt like a celebration! The nose was coming back, "blessing" me with the most obnoxious stench in the house, because that's the way some wishes get granted, the ugliest, nastiest way possible. 

So far it's still the strong things, but that's how taste came back too: not dependably, not fully even now, but no longer absent. I know what burned on the stove a couple days back. I now know how awful the large waste basket under the kitchen sink stinks after food scraps collect because it holds over a full week's worth, and the bags have to be purchased for that, unlike the small wastebaskets which hold smaller free bags from shopping and get emptied every few days. I can smell fresh baked pizza, and my sap sago grated cheese. I know the eggs are good and the week-long opened package of brats is too. Someday I might smell coffee again, but I've been drinking it for years now without needing to enjoy it, and plan to continue. Laundry will get done more often too along with other household chores.

It's not just sanitation issues or food spoilage issues that will be improved. There is one major health issue  for me as well. I should soon be able to smell cigarette smoke. I need to avoid it, because after more than 40 years of second hand smoke, it affects my cardiac rhythms. I'm looking forward to being able, again, to be three feet outside somebody's front door and tell if they smoke in the house. I can chose not to go in.

After this morning I can finally tell you that the antiperspirant I chose arbitrarily over a year ago is actually quite pleasant smelling. Lucky me! 

Luckier you! I'll be sure to use it every day again.

When The Claim Of Fraud Is The Fraud

I'd gotten the warning just a couple days ago. Apparently there's an increase in fraudsters spending our money out there. But even worse, there's an increase in people pretending to be your financial system's safeguards - under whatever terms they use to fool you - claiming you've had possible fraudulent activity on your account and you need to verify if expenditures on your account are real or not.

Of course, in the process of finding out, you'd have to give them your pertinent data like account numbers, birth date, maybe social security number, even sometimes passwords. No problem, lots of people think, because they're the real good guys, right? 

Steve just got one of those calls. Supposedly there were two charges on his account that didn't seem to be his. Could he verify? Luckily, I'd remembered the warning, and stopped him. In turn, he called the REAL people connected with his financial institution, talked to them, and found out the bogus charges did in fact exist, and took care of them. 

Safely!

They even had an idea of what online activity may have precipitated the fraud. He'd tried to buy something that was a REALLY good deal, found his card was mysteriously "rejected", but now the information was in somebody else's hands. They've been stopped on their end. We're going in person to get him a new card in a few minutes so it won't happen again.

When I read the warning, it was in the context of mistrust of the unvetted DOGE youngsters who'd helped themselves to access of all our Social Security information. It coincides with an uptick in fraudulent charges in our financial systems. (We do have those mostly direct deposited, after all.) So far the two have not been connected, but it was time to send out warnings. Steve's financial institution believes they've got the culprits for this time. But who else might they have shared it with? Thus, new card, new number, ASAP.

What it boils down to, should you get a "possible fraud alert" of any kind, hang up. Then call the number on your card or in your phone directory that you know is genuine, and go from there.

"TOO MUCH WRONG TOO LITTLE CARDBOARD"

That was, we both agreed, the very best of the many protest signs we passed.

It was Sunday afternoon, we were on our way to the grocery store, and protesters were spread out thickly all along the  sidewalks on the Hwy 8 bridge over the river connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin. They couldn’t have had a nicer day for it. The sun was out, there was little wind, and nearly all the more than 7 inches snow from a few days before had melted in the high 50s temperature.

I hadn’t heard about the protest, but somebody had spread the word to well over 100 people, not bad turnout for the two small towns, one on each side of the river. As we crossed the bridge, slowly enough to read a majority of the signs, I honked my support repeatedly. The first honks seemed to surprise them, but as we passed more and more, still honking, smiling, and waving, our appreciation of them was well received.

Messages were eclectic. There were calls to impeach Musk, reminders that this was OUR LAND, support for our veterans who were losing their jobs, support for Ukraine, and so many more I hadn’t time to read safely while driving. Whatever they said, we were for. All were home made, a very few on poles but the rest held in both hands. They were held high, low, shaking or still. Demonstrators were in small groups or rows of singles. Anybody wishing to cross on the bridge had room to do so, as all were polite. When room ran out along the bridge, groups stretched out into the two small towns.

When Steve and I returned from the store, the group was just giving signs of breaking up. I honked for them while heading back into Minnesota as well, and was again well received. Steve tried to get some photos as we passed but looking at his phone later, nothing had turned out. We’re going to have to get him some practice with that. I would have liked video even more.

I hope they  do it again, and spread the word better. I’ll ask around of the obvious groups to see what I can find out so I can join next time. There’s still lots of cardboard in the house from last year’s move, and paint from various projects. I could share with whoever thought there wasn’t enough, though we still think that was the best sign over all. It was also the biggest. If I can find out who she was, I’ll have to ask if she minds if I “’steal” the theme.

 

 

So, Bitcoin?

Trump is buying into Bitcoin for the country (aka himself ) And will be convincing you that's how you can make a fortune.  From the man who bankrupted three casinos, sells out the country to Putin and Musk, you believe getting involved with bitcoin is going to make you a fortune?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hah !!!!!!!!!!!

Snowblind

We got hit with the big storm of the season. Or at least we hope it's the big one. It's Minnesota after all, and I have vivid memories from back in the early 80s  of white-out freeway conditions on April 15th. I know the day because I'd brought my taxes to work in hopes of low business from the snow giving me time to work on them during the day as they were due to hit the post office before midnight. As it turned out, white-out conditions in morning rush hour freeway traffic resulted in a huge pileup with me sitting nose deep in a huge drift in the center median for a couple hours. My car missed all the others in the pileup, just got stuck in the middle. I had plenty of time to finish taxes! After a couple hours some helpful folks who were getting other cars unstuck finally made it to my car and realized a certain maiden in distress could use a good assist back upon the pavement.

The nearest measurement for snowfall yesterday was west, about 5 miles away, indicating a total of 7.3 inches. Wet, sticky, heavy snow. The further east, the more the system dumped, so we may have gotten just a bit more. It blew hard as it landed, socking in both our storm doors. I wasn't about to push them harder than I had to in order to decide more pushing would only result in broken glass. No need to test it barring an emergency. Did I mention it was heavy and wet? It actually still is, 24 hours later. Just not barring the front door.

I called my youngest son, asking if he'd stop after work and dig part of us out. We're expecting nice thawing temperatures next week for several days, so the rest of it should go away by itself, but I figured having a door we could open, cleared steps and sidewalk, and the half of the parking pad where the car sat would be just fine. Even so he got paid extra for the job. He also was smart enough to make sure, after getting into his own driveway first, that he shoveled enough before heading our way that he could reliably get back in his own again after he finished ours.

I asked him to check the garbage can thoroughly plowed in alongside the street. We had heard plows go up and down several times, but I'd gotten up early that morning and never heard the garbage truck. I wasn't able to get out of the house all day and only had glimpses up and down the street to reinforce my conclusion that none of the cans had been emptied. But I wasn't sure I trusted my judgment. He peeked in and informed me I was correct, it was still full of the garbage I'd set out before the snow, or even the rain preceding it had arrived. 

All the cans on the street were plowed in, but just after 5 AM this morning, a full day late, all were emptied. The arms extending from the truck to dump them never put them back in the precise spot they were picked up from, so many of them were tipped somewhat from being set on less than flat piles of the snow that had surrounded them. Ours wasn't in a bad position, and by the time things warmed up around noon and I finally emerged, it was not a chore to bring it half way over shoveled pavement toward where the management requires it be stored so everybody can pretend such things are not a necessary part of life here. Out of sight, and apparently that means it doesn't stink either.  The second half was forcing the can inches at a time across and over deep wet snow that was starting to compact enough to be impossible but not yet melting out of the way. The route was next to the stairs and porch so all the snow removed from those was added to its route. I think those last 15 feet took ten minutes, some of which  involved lifting, some of which was kicking it into a different angle than it wanted to go in. My arms ached by the time I finished that last short stint. I hadn't asked my son to shovel it because all was grass underneath, and he already had enough the night before to do.

What was odd  when I finally went back in the house was the snow blindness. I had been outside for a while with everything covered in fresh snow, sun shining on it and bouncing back from every angle of every snowflake, white magnified by white boosted by sunlight. Once inside, there was still light pouring in the multitude of windows, but many of those had blinds partly angled for privacy, and just a couple opened enough for a view of the weather while we enjoyed our morning. It wasn't dark by any means. What it all was now was red. The snow outside was even pink seen from the house after coming in, even with full sunshine on it. It took quite a while for true colors to emerge again, white to become white, grey to be grey, and the darkest bits of the interior to go from red to black to their usual colors.

I got called to my job a bit later in the afternoon, and entering that house I was again snow blind, but there it meant everything was simply very dark. Only the usual reds in that house were red, though they were still black first. I had to haul a couple things out to the car in the afternoon and each time returning to that house normal snow blindness returned briefly. By the time I was in for the day at home, sun still shining on still fresh snow, I hardly noticed anything but how wet my shoes were as I kicked them off to put on the rubber mat.

Don't ask me how tired I was by then.

Signs Of Sprung

Nope, not a typo. No misspelling. I would ordinarily welcome this changing season as spring, but.....  Lots of "buts".

I could write tomes on the current political crap in this country, huge numbers of hard working government employees kicked out their doors,  services to be cut back or mangled by inadequate staffing or institutional memory, loss of our country's respect in the world (well earned), etc. Let's just call the federal government "sprung" and move on, eh?

The weather has been pretty OK for the season, though they've changed our local forecast for tonight from 1 - 2 inches of snow to 8 - 10 tonight, and who knows how much more tomorrow? I had debated setting the garbage bin out curbside tonight knowing a plow would make a bank around it, but went ahead while the forrcast was still topped off at 2 inches. It needs dumping, and I wanted to be back inside for the day before the rain leading the incoming system got serious.

For all not familiar with ice fishing, just be aware that all the ice houses are off the local lakes now, with no tales of  sinking into the lakes anywhere locally. One car down in the metro area made the news repeatedly when it went through the ice early in the season, and finally got pulled out just days ago before too many fines could be leveled. Ice houses left too long would get fines too, but cars get extra ones for the many chemicals added to whatever lake they sink into: gas, oil, brake fluid, radiator fluid, washer fluid... and that's just the body of the car. Who knows what was inside? (At least it didn't include humans.)

Aside from the large piles from plows, the snow left a week ago.  Puddles sunk into thawed-enough ground a couple days ago, bunnies decorated the brown grass with black pebbles as they searched for early season edibles while waiting for anything green to pop. Squirrels run through treetops like children through new playgrounds.  A pair of deer strolled between homes across the street this morning. 

All sounds right on schedule, right? 

I pulled down the two suet feeders this weekend , threw the suet in the garbage, and sterilized the wire racks. I've never thought to do that last part before. But this isn't a normal year. Normal has been sprung, like the formerly perfect winding coil on a fine old watch.

It's the birds.

 Now I know you'll by now have heard about the bird flu in chickens... and turkeys, and ducks, and cows, and mice, and cats, and.....  

Let's take cats. A good friend has 4, kept inside at all times. The family has believed they are fully protected against the disease that is highly fatal in domestic cats. One way to transfer it is through the feces of sick animals. So if you happen to walk through rodent or bird droppings,  you can possibly track it in. Mice clean up grains left by chickens and the feed of other flu victims, and have lots of ways you've never thought of to enter your house. The virus is also now thought to be windborne. So we had a  long chat about protecting their beloved pets. Chats always work, right?

I tried.

Crows, vultures, lots of furry animals  are cleaners out in the environment. We often know them better as carrion eaters. Virus in, virus out, doing whatever damage it will on its way depending on how the animal fends it off. We know cows are otherwise unaffected but spread it in their raw milk. Many other critters just aren't studied for it yet.

The thing that most says spring to me are the annual northward migrations. For about 2 weeks now the trumpeter swans have been heading through, though more are sticking around here for the summer each year. So big, so white against all the vegetation, so graceful, and honking like a kid's toy trumpet. This year they even arrived ahead of Canada geese, usually the first arrivals. But the first geese were honking out on the local lake two mornings ago. It's still fully iced over, and the geese have gone on. What has arrived north so far looks fat and healthy.

Hard on all their "heels" (or wings) are reports of large numbers of migrating birds' flu deaths coming in from areas they have flown though. Heading up the Atlantic coast, dead gulls scattered all over. Sandhill cranes dead in clumps here of 30, there 40, somewhere else estimated around 100. The sandhills which arrive in eastern MN and western WI come from southeastern wintering grounds, unlike the western ones which famously come up to stop over on the Platte River in Nebraska in huge numbers after wintering in places like Arizona. I'm not following that area. Different sandhills.

We don't normally see the cranes here until the first days of April. I won't know how the ones specific to this area have fared for a while yet. But as soon as I learned the news on the ones heading our general direction, that's when I went out to take down the feeders. No sense in courting a conglomeration of birds, even the songbirds. Nor squirrels, much as I cussed them out when they were digging out my new bulbs last fall. If they can get it, being rodents, they can spread it.

I'm heartbroken for all the cranes in advance of knowing how their numbers will be affected this year. But rather than looking forward to this coming season, for me it's been sprung, in the worst way.

Claiming "Woke" Is The Cause For Firing Is No Excuse

I listened to Rachel Maddow earlier this week. She was filling us in on the results of various national polls - reputable ones - on how many of us were happy with the avalanche of changes tRump/Leon are ramming through our government. The ratings - meaning how contented we Americans are - have the Deadly Duo well below half of us feeling they're a good thing. It held true as an over-all assessment. It held true in every single separate category. I'd feel better about us if I thought our opinions held enough weight to foster change.

For anybody paying attention, it's no surprise. Need I list them all? You know, alienating other countries in so many ways who've long been our friends, tearing apart out institutions without even a thought as to the damage being done, ignoring our Constitution.  Anybody thinking about visiting our National Parks this summer while they're severely understaffed? Think long lines, filthy restrooms, few to no rangers to separate the idiots from the bears or bison or hot springs or the edges of very tall cliffs. That may be your idea of a good time, but not mine. How about our nuclear workers taking a "long break", nobody to regulate temperatures, safeguard secrets and materials? Is that your feel-good budget cut? Those are just a couple that got immediate outspoken reaction to push against the layoffs. I'd feel better again, but somehow lots of those firings happened with no way to contact the workers to call them back.

Oops.

In other national news I've been catching up on, there was a leadershiplchange at the Pentagon. It seems Hegseth is very much against "wokeism". If that's too new a word for you, just think of anti-woke as being pro male white Christian nationalism. If you're looking for a government job, anybody female, dark skinned, of any other religion or none, having any kind of disability at all, no matter how well educated, capable, or trained for the position, need not apply, or should prepare to be let go. This includes anyone in the LGBTQ community. Wimmen just gotta stay home and  raise babies, doncha know. Lots and lots of babies, especially white ones of course. Jewish? No. Islamic? No. Agnostic/atheistic/wiccan? Well, you get the picture.

In the full spirit of unapologetic anti-wokism, a (black) 4 star general was fired as head of the Pentagon and replaced with a (white) 3 star one. No word on an actual reason why, just a photo of each and reference to Hegseth's prejudices - without actually labeling them as such.

There are ways one can increase their hire-ability with this administration. First, grovel. Be loyal to Herr tRump (first) and Herr Leon second. (Oh, by the way, don't wipe your boogers off on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. It's currently out for restoration after 4-year-old X did that... on camera, after around 10 minutes of mining his nose for them. It remains to be seen exactly how welcomed he will be back in the Oval, but since his Daddy seems to wear him like protection from assassinations, I expect some accommodations will be made.)

Next, be white except when a token black person is required. For those times when a female is required, be sure to be young, pretty, thin, sexy without flaunting it -before the cameras at least. Then be willing to tell the most up-to-date lies with full sincerity, even if you were telling the opposite ones an hour earlier. Who keeps track? It will show your thoughtfulness to keep an extra work wardrobe handy for when you are unable to dodge thrown ketchup bottles so you can deny such events as being rumors spread by the opposition.  Finally, keep a discrete supply of wet wipes on hand. They're for your lips. All the necessary ass-kissing for an administrative position leaves stains.

"Well, Duh!" Science Studies

Have you ever run into one of those? You know, the kind where what they find is so obvious, you just have to shake your head, roll your eyes, and wonder how on earth somebody found it worth studying to find this "particular something" out? We're not talking quantum physics here, which can go straight through my brain and leave absolutely no mark whatsoever. Things like quarks might as well not even exist as far as I'm concerned. If you think you understand them, you go ahead and play with them.

OK, I confess, I'm being snarky here. I've been inspired.

If you follow me, you know I'm a science nerd, and more so now that I have lots of free time. Today I ran into two of those "Well, Duh!" studies. Why doesn't everybody on the planet know these things? I grew up knowing them, even before going to school.

Then I decided to try to be fair. Both concern water, and not everyone lives in water-rich habitats. OK. That's one. Another concerns trees, and I guess there are people out there who have never opened their brains while walking under them (or possibly never had them to walk under) since that's how I learned what their instruments in their study told them. I'm on the fence about being "fair" on that one in calling their "discovery" obvious.

But it is. 

That one was about trees and urban cooling on our heating planet. When it's hot, you walk under one, and it feels cool, sometimes more than others. It's not just the shade, though that helps, but you can get shade from a building too, and still feel hot. The difference is that trees lose water through their leaves in a process called transpiration, the water cools as it evaporates, and the temperature lowers... as long as the tree has some water in it to spare, of course. So the big conclusion was trees in urban areas will cool them - and you - better if you give them water.

Well, duh! 

Let me just add that failing to water them as it gets hot can result in dead or at least sickly trees. Somebody want to study that one too, or can I just get credit for it now and we can move on? I've seen it in Minnesota, land of 14,000 lakes. I've also seen it in recent extra-hot summers in the Phoenix area where by the end of summer the roads become trails past dead trees and even cactus which have been ignored by absentee homeowners, or at least not given water. Dead saguaro break your heart - well, mine, anyway. Anything that takes over a hundred years to get its first branch should be respected.

The second study involved why skiers get sunburned. Well, let's see: the sun? They don't ski at night? OK, I'm being silly. But I learned this as a child. It helped that all my ancestors, since they moved out of Africa tens of thousands of years ago and adapted to their new location, came from northern Europe. Places like Britain, Scotland, Sweden. For me "getting a tan" is just wishful thinking. Skin cancer runs in the family, and people were starting to figure out why. I grew up on a resort but was never allowed in the water until mid afternoon when the sun was lower, and never allowed to stay long. One of the reasons given, one I was repeatedly given, was that the sun reflected up off the water and I'd get even more burned then than anywhere else or any time else. Sun screen became a must as soon as it was on the market.

What does this have to do with skiing? It's not like I ever skied, and I avoided the super-cold weather whenever possible. Warmer, snowman weather I could tolerate when properly bundled up, which I also had to be for sledding, an outdoor activity one could do cheaply, even using cardboard for your sled, unlike skiing. But being bundled up meant little access for sun to burn your skin. However, the minute I read the purpose of the study, I knew the exact answer. And indeed, it was the study's conclusion.

I knew the sun bounced up off the water, so you'd get it from both directions during summer water activities. What the study discovered was - wait for it - that snow, especially fresh clean snow - was water too!

WELL, DUH !!!!!!!

Beam Me Up, Scotty, Transparent Aluminum Is REAL !!!

 All you Star Trek movie fans, do you remember when the Enterprise dropped down on earth in order to pick up a pair of humpback whales? They had to go back in time since none existed on the planet any more, and the earth was to be destroyed unless a probe detected real whale song?

So how do you transport whales in a starship? You build them an aquarium made of transparent aluminum, of course. There was an interesting discussion in the movie about Scotty giving away the formula that didn't yet exist, when a big part of their mission was not to change history, and practical Scotty simply asked how anybody knew that this wasn't how it was "discovered"? This was after, of course, Scotty found that the computers of the time didn't work on voice command and he'd have to actually type!

(Computer, meet Alexa. Two centuries early.) 

There were a lot of funny scenes in the movie where Spock, recently reanimated and retrained on Vulcan, is introduced to Earth and humans and does his unique best to blend in.

Of course some of the fun of the movie was all of us knowing there was no such thing as transparent aluminum. How could there be? It was impossible, something yanked out of the writer's imagination to make space travel seem possible, ignore that it can't be real and move on in the plot.

Except, it's recently been produced!

It is an oxide, TAIOx. So far it's been an extremely complicated process, requiring large vats of dangerous acids, lasers, vacuum chambers... not your basic household supplies and equipment. But  it is transparent aluminum.

Now there's a new process, much simpler, made by a pair of Filipino scientists in Ateneo de Manila University.which makes dot sized transparent "windows" in an aluminum strip. The newer process is called "droplet-scale anodization," and is also much more environmentally friendly, cutting down on chemical waste and energy use.

There are a lot of ideas for where it would be extremely useful, though nobody has seriously mentioned spaceship windows and whale sized aquariums - or not that I'm aware of. But a girl can still dream, right?

So beam me up, Scotty! I'll grab Steve and pull him along, and we'll enjoy some of that 23rd century medicine and a little space travel. Good times!

Foxes v. Wolves

One of the intriguing things about reading science articles over the years from various sources designed for an eclectic audience, both in terms of interests and levels of science education, is sometimes one gets to put together new and old information and make a left turn, if you will.

For many years the main source for reading about science in my world was Discover Magazine. (Scientific American had gotten too expensive and required too much educational background.) It has a wide range of topics - fields if you will - and articles range from paragraphs to several pages. Occasionally something sticks with me for years, then comes back from another angle.

These days those other angles can be PBS sources like "Nova" and "Nature", or other TV network offerings like the Blue Planet series. Of course there are all other kinds of cross connections out there. Some stand out. Others don't, or perhaps a detail does but its source is mislaid in my mental map. I'm pretty sure I can connect what I just read with a much older source, well over a decade back. Both just caught my attention and for the same basic reason: I'm a dog lover.

Today's source is my current favorite "brain food", Science X Newsletter. I get it online on weekdays. All kinds of things pop up on there, and I can easily spend two or three hours a day with it. (It's why I'm getting behind on TV!) The following is the introductory paragraph which caused me to read the full article:

"Simulation shows wolves had time to self-domesticate and evolve into dogs  A team of mathematicians and statisticians from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the University of Tennessee and Valparaiso University, all in the U.S., has found new evidence that wolves had ample time to self-domesticate and evolve into modern dogs. In their study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group developed a computer simulation showing the evolution process."

 What caught my eye was their conclusions were based on a supposed time frame of 15,000 years for the process to take place. I had to wonder if that was based on assumptions going into the study, or looking at the more practical work of actually breeding for selected traits leading to domestication. Yes, it says computers, but what was the input? GIGO? Does it assume absolutely no input from humans, even though it suggests the presence of humans are why wolves changed on their own?

My questioning is because I had read years earlier of domestication changes happening with purposefully breeding foxes, which if memory serves correctly was written about in Discover Magazine. My Way Back Machine is rusted so I can't pin it down more than that. The sheer novelty of domesticating foxes stuck all those years. The method used was picking from each new generation the kit(s) with the most baby-like features - for foxes - for breeding the next generation. Pointy features, like muzzles and ears, were selected against, so noses shortened and rounded, ears flopped. Friendlier behaviors were also part of the mix selected for. Succeeding generations quite shortly had evolved into versions of foxes suitable for domestic pets, as different from their ancestors as dogs from wolves. It didn't take very many generations for the change, as I recall, and certainly nothing remotely like 15,000 years. This was one person's project. 

Of course, the difference raises questions about how wolves really were domesticated into dogs. Did they self-domesticate, or how strong was the hand of humans in bringing about the change? Was it a combination? Did it really take 15,000 year? Or maybe 15 generations? Is there an intrinsic difference between the two species that allows change in one to happen way faster than in the other? Did those looking at wolf evolution ever hear about the fox breeding results?

     *     *     *     *

How about totally different species? We know, for example, that there were woolly mammoths and  mastodons in North America when humans were first known to be here. While our arrival date is debated and currently stretching farther back than first believed, it's not disputed that we hunted them in groups, for food at least, likely using other parts in other ways because we're clever that way. Just not clever enough to avoid making them extinct. We recently discovered an "elephant graveyard" of fossils of earlier relatives in northern Florida predating humans by a very long time. (Lucky them?)

Let's head to the other side of the globe, where two kinds of elephants remain. The smaller one is commonly domesticated. Has anybody asked when and how that happened? For example, was the now domesticated variety formerly larger? Wilder? Did long ago humans have a hand in shaping them? Are we still?

Look at horses. How much of their differences are evolutionary differences and how much are because clever ancestors found different needs/wants from them and bred for those, the same as we do today, sometimes with the result of over-breeding race horses to the point where legs no longer reliably survive racing?

We know we can do it, have done it, forcing adaptions on wild animals changing them to be "ours". Just how far has it spread?

Planning To Fly? Lucky You, Have Fun! ...Uhhh, Planning To Land?

 Anybody counting? There was the crash on January 29 over the Patomac. 67 lost souls, as they put it. Those included some of our top figure skaters and their families, just to break your hearts a little more.

Then a Lear Jet dives into a neighborhood, 7 dead, 19 injured on the ground. The jet was an ambulance flight, a tragic oxymoron.

Following that was a plane fire in Houston causing everybody to evacuate via stairs or slides. They were lucky, sort of.

In Chicago a plane and an aircraft tug collide, critically injuring the driver.

A Japanese plane hit a Delta plane's tail at Seattle-Tacoma.

Next a plane crashes down on sea ice outside of Nome, Alaska, killing 10.

A landing plane slides off the runway into the tail of a parked one in Scottsdale, AZ, killing one, injuring 3. 

That last one happened yesterday. 8 major problems, the majority fatal for a total of (checks math) 84 dead, in just 13 days. I hate to turn on the news these days, wondering who and where for the next crash.

Admittedly we don't know yet how each of them was caused. We won't for a while as it often takes a year or more to check out all the possibilities. Still, more than one "incident" every two days since tRump took office - total coincidence, obviously. Could have happened under Biden. Though it didn't.

But hey, if it makes you all feel better, tRump got rid of all those unnecessary DEI hires in the FCC almost as soon as he took office. Fewer air traffic controllers "distracting each other" while our planes take off and land, eh? Has to be a good thing because he said it would, right? Think of all the money saved.

Still planning to fly?

Need a good lawyer for your will? Sorry, I used to know a really good one, but he died. Not in a plane, but from cancer some years back. Quieter times then.

Hey, "Woman Within", What Don't You Get?

Dear "Woman Within",

 First, I've loved your catalog over the years for a number of reasons. Your clothes are comfy, as soon as you realize they are sized larger than the market in general does. For example, your 1X is their 3X. It's flattering,  There is room in the sleeves for baggy arms, the kind we older folk get after losing weight. Those droops never quite go away, do they?

When I hit your sales, which are the only way I shop your catalog, the prices are decent. Not super, but decent. The colors match other items with the same color name, closely enough that one could suspect a single dye lot. On the whole, similar types of colors blend with others nicely, and prints work with solids perfectly. 

Your seven day knits are so comfy, soft, and wrinkle free. Unless I've been very sloppy, I really can wear them seven days, provided I fold them over a chair or something. No wrinkles!

However, there have been some changes. Some are on me. I moved, and now you are sending catalogs to four different addresses. Only one is correct, the one you last sent clothes to. The rest are a waste of paper, time, expense, and the patience of people who live at those addresses. Perhaps your marketing research shows that you get a new customer from, say, a hundred catalogs erroneously mailed out. Even so, your system needs fine tuning.

My lifestyle has changed a bit. Not  just to a different climate, which resulted in my latest order a few months ago, when for the first time in my life I ordered a down parka. On sale, of course. Still quite expensive even so, of course. I realize much of your sales tactics occur when I - or every customer - calls in their order. I have to try to be patient and not rude the the poor employee who is required to offer temptation after temptation, bonuses if we buy X, extra Y if we buy two more, discounts ("Today only!" for every day) if we add Z to our purchase. Your employee is allowed no common sense response to me, the customer, saying I only have $_____ budget at the moment and cannot afford X,Y, or Z, much less anything else, even if  it is free! Before we hang up, there is always that next offer you are sure I won't, can't refuse. 

Surprise! I can. And do. You''re predictable, and I'm ready. Sometimes even patient. Sometimes grumpy however.

But there has been another change recently, and this one is totally on you guys. I recently ordered some more seven-day knits, the long pants with both elastic and drawstrings in their waistbands. I love those - in principal - because the drawstrings stand up to years of use, and I can continue to wear pants I've shrunk out of or which may have lost elastic integrity in the laundry, thanks to those drawstrings, long after when other pants would have to have been tossed or donated. Seriously, I used to use old diaper pins, to keep big pants up, but everybody is into disposable diapers these days, so new pins are hard to find.

However... your quality has just dropped on those. I never had to worry about stitching, for example. The machines they were sewn on had a kind of lock stitch so a single pulled thread didn't pull far, and didn't keep unraveling. New cheaper machines, guys? New contractors? I can no longer simply transfer pants to hanger fresh from the dryer. I have to examine all the seams, and most often, mend a couple. This means both time and a purchase of color-matching thread.

ANNOYING!!!! 

On top of that, a tiny catch in the fabric itself now also leads to a long thread pulling out, leaving a hole which itself will ravel more. I used to live in cactus country, and that never happened. Now? A merest bump snags.

EVEN MORE ANNOYING!!!

I still have shorts from your former seven day knits from years ago, my very first purchase. They no longer fit by 3 sizes, and the fabric is not so smooth, but they hold together beautifully, and with those good drawstrings have been converted to the most comfortable jammy bottoms I've ever found. I couldn't possibly do that with anything from this newest lot of long pants, bought end of last winter, and mostly sitting in a closet until recent cool weather. Every one has running snags somewhere! The old ones get the same kind of use and care, and their much aged integrity still holds just fine.

If you want my business again, prove you've brought your quality back to its former level. You won't accomplish that by sending me a new catalog every week, or by combining yours with several other companies' worth of throw-away paper. The local composting center doesn't really need all that extra volume, and that's where it all will be going. Unread. Unloved. Undog-eared. Untempting.

Meanwhile, I'll be spending whatever spare time I can find working on mending my NEW pants from last spring. And hunting for somebody else's really warm sweatpants with drawstrings and POCKETS, which don't break or unravel threads every time I look at them! 

That money could have been yours.

Respectfully..... sort of.

If It Weren't For Good Neighbors....

...I wouldn't be writing this. I wouldn't be home yet. I'd still be stuck in a snow drift the next street over blocking everybody else wanting to get home or get away.  And if it weren't for good neighbors, I wouldn't have any neighbors at all.

Well, there were a few who turned their backs, but then again, I wouldn't have been able to help somebody in the same position myself. So I won't denigrate them. We all are, after all, retirees, and some are fitter than others.

It snowed yesterday afternoon.  It was a cold snow, not a warm sticky snow. Then today it started blowing.  It carried the snow across the well frozen lake, up on to shore, into drifts along the road along the shore, then up the streets lined with our homes all the way up the slope to the county road.

The plow had cleared our streets in the morning. It was less than two inches, so they hadn't been back again... yet. It was before the wind took its first deep breath and started gathering everything loose it could move from the lake, a gift if you will, helping keep lawns covered, protected against more cold weather to come, and more snow after that, with no thaw in sight yet for a while. Not all gifts are quite universally welcomed however.

I decided to pick up the mail on my way home from work. I could have parked at home and walked the block through yards each way, but the wind is harsh, its chill biting. So I parked by the mailboxes, walked in for a silly little unwanted catalog, and started the car down that street again, anticipating a full U turn to our street and back to home.

The drift just didn't look that deep. It had no tracks running through it to give perspective. It had accumulated right where the down slope ended and land flattened out, so anticipating slowing for my upcoming, possibly slick  turn, I slowed just a bit too much, and bottomed out in the snowdrift. 

Forward? Spin. Backwards? Spin. Slower? Faster? Spin, spin, and spin. Not an inch of movement. Nobody was visible, and I had no clue whom to call.  Steve couldn't help, Paul was at work for several hours yet, no local towing company in my phone, and 911 seemed like overkill. So I honked my horn about 6 times in rapid succession. It took about one minute for people in winter gear to come out, see the problem, and send those over who could help, first one, then a second, then four. By then others were watching to see if they were needed - or just observe the show - but with some rocking by all four in one direction to gain a couple inches, then everybody walking around the car to help in the other direction, nobody had too much to do and everybody's contribution helped. 

There were discussions as to whether the bags of salt I carried would help (no) and how slowly to hit the gas and when to stop. One person slipped and fell, but fortunately when the car was moving away from her. She cheerfully insisted she was just fine, stood up and got back to the business of helping.

One neighbor popped into their car, looked my way at the activity, and chose the other direction to get out of there in. We were making headway so I had no problem with their choice, and as I stated, not everybody is capable of pushing cars through snowbanks on slick surfaces. I get it, and mentally wished them luck.

As I finally got some momentum forward I got encouraging yells not to slow, to keep going. Another twenty feet and I was on pavement again, looking at choosing which direction I'd turn in about three more seconds to get home. I first started to turn where the car leaving ahead of me went, but they'd gone straight into a nice drift. Luckily they'd had a higher and heavier car, and plowed straight through. 

I wouldn't make it if I tried. This was already drifted across and higher than what I just had gotten out of. Since I had the temporary luxury of pavement, I looked the other direction while slowly backing up, and had clear road till almost the end of that block. I figured I'd just keep the speed up through that and should make it just fine, fingers crossed that nobody else was making the silly decision to turn into that drift from the other direction. 

They weren't, I kept my speed, and had pavement again just in time to slow to turn to head up the hill to the county road, again on plain dark pavement. From there it was clear through to my parking spot.

I have no idea just who those neighbors are. I had my windows down  for communication during the forward/back process and yelled our a very sincere "Thank you" as I finally got clear of that drift. I trust they understand why I didn't stick around for more sociable contact, and hope they heard me clearly as  I left. 

Steve had pizza waiting when I got home, even having no idea exactly when that would be. I'm de-stressing under a lap blanket and determining not to go anywhere again for any reason until Monday. Mail? In can wait. Garbage? It can pile up at the door in bags till it goes out. Recyclables as well. Groceries? Stocked. Bills? Paid electronically. The squirrels have their nests, and after watching three of them run through treetops a couple days ago, know they are sure to be snugly curled up inside with tails across their tender noses. For us there'll be TV, internet, books, and each other, safe, and together.

All thanks to good neighbors.

A Record Iceberg Broke, And I have Questions

You may never have heard of A23a, but it's the world's largest iceberg, broken off from Antarctica way back in 1986. You may well wonder why it's still in existence after all these years. That's not typical. They tend to drift towards the equator, whether coming from north or south polar regions, breaking up and melting along the way in warmer waters. This one got hung up on sea bottom for 30 years, finally breaking free in 2020. Ocean forces sometimes kept it spinning, not making much progress north to warmer waters, so it has largely stayed intact. It's now heading for South Georgia, not to be confused for any of the other places on the globe with Georgia in their names. While it lost a much smaller piece previously, the newest one to break is about 12 miles long, or 31 square miles. The big piece is about 42 times bigger. Both are now full of fractures, and may well continue breaking up fairly quickly, especially compared to its history. Or perhaps not. We can't tell yet.

Where it's headed towards is a major feeding ground for seals and penguins, which makes it a problem. That is, if it stays together and doesn't break up rapidly. Other major ones heading that way have grounded, impacting the area with high mortality.

It isn't known how both will behave on their renewed journeys. Will they continue on their paths uninterrupted now, or still be subject to currents pushing them around on various directions, breaking them up further in our warmer seas before they reach the vulnerable populations of birds and seals? 

What I would like to know is this: if people were to embed large amounts of explosives in the cracks they now sport and set them off, would the resulting pieces melt much faster and cause fewer deaths? One thought is that with enough breaks between chunks, there would be gaps the animals could navigate to fish and come up for air between.

Or would there be a multitude of unintended consequences from the (presumably) many new smaller chunks on their way that such action would cause more harm than possible good?

I do seriously doubt anybody would take that idea seriously. There will be a contingent who feel the need to study how these huge icebergs melt and break up under current warming conditions, especially now that we have figured out that ocean water is coming in under them and melting the ones we thought were resting on land from the bottom. There will be those simply not willing to go to the work and expense of trying it, period, and there will be those who simply don't care about the penguins and seals and whether a new huge iceberg or two cause huge new levels of mortality to a place few of us think about anyway, except maybe from some fun movies we've watched years ago.

Still, I do wonder.

For the source of this info:   https://phys.org/news/2025-01-major-chunk-world-biggest-iceberg.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Stupidity Epidemic? Or What?

I realize I'm starting to sound a bit disgruntled with how much "normal" service levels are degrading in my regular life. It's not limited to prescription refills however. Yesterday is a case in point.

Months ago I got one of those notices in the mail for free warranty work on (another) part of my car... my 2013 model car. I'm not even going to bother asking why it took them this long to figure out there was a problem with the ABS braking system. I mean, 12 years? How many crashes did it take to figure it out? Basically I don't put myself in situations, whenever possible, that I need to brake that hard. I'm told when you use it, it kind of jerks you to a stop so you don't just go sliding/skidding down the road. I'm taking their word for it. That should tell you how often I (never) use it. 

And yes, I realize that in winter it's especially important to avoid skidding, which is why I drive the way I do and don't rely on the car's gadgets to get me out of a bind. So, late January, I finally called for an appointment to get the free work done. My work hours had finally settled down enough that such appointments could be made and kept. It also helped that because it's late January, the super cold wind chills while I stand and hold my hatch door up while store staff loads groceries into my car. Brrrrrrrrr! I figured so long as I'm doing one thing I should do both, and maybe check on a third to find out why my car is leaking or burning oil. That's not a guarantee to immediately fix whatever, just find out a cost and then decide.

The car dealership is over a 70 mile round trip. (The one 12 miles away closed years ago.) I love that they have a large, enclosed, warm drive-through bay to wait in while they check you in and make sure what you asked for over the phone is what you really wanted. This is where the "fun" happens, and a little honesty pokes out through the frustration one employee has with another employee who didn't quite get their job done correctly.

My hatch door got opened, and heads and hands poked around in exploration while they tried to figure out what the exact problem was. Nevermind that I'd already told them, both over the phone and  again just then in person, that the hydraulics which hold it open no longer work due to AZ dry heat wreaking havoc on rubber over a dozen years. You can see it on the gaskets on the doors too, or how fast wiper blades fall apart. The employees seemed, however, to be taking an extraordinarily long time sussing that out. This is where the climate control while I sit in my car with the doors open is really appreciated.

What I finally heard is that they were trying, by looking and poking all around, to find the electrical parts which allow me to raise and close my hatch door from the front seat. 

Uhhhh, seriously? On a cheap little 2013 hatchback? They were maybe on the market back when it was made, but were only in high end cars when they first came out. My then $15,000 car was and is a far cry from high end. Dependable as heck, just not high end. And as one employee who returned to me with the "news" complained, they already had my VIN on record, both for the warranty work and for me being a repeat customer from previous warranty work, all they'd had to do would have been look it up and find out what parts comprised the hatch door parts that held it open until some hand physically pulled it back down! THERE WERE NO ELECTRONICS TO FIND, MUCH LESS REPLACE !!!

The result of their not checking before I drove in is that the needed parts were not on hand.  My ABS braking system now works, I'm told, not that I plan to check it. But my hatch still needs me to hold it open while stuff goes in/out. Or, once I get home, putting Steve's sturdy walking stick's rubber tip down on the floor and the top in a little recess in the door where fingers normally go for a grip while it gets opened or closed. So long as nobody jostles the stick bottom, it's possible for me, all alone, to pull all the groceries - or whatever - out before removing the stick and letting it drop. As in SLAM! and be sure your head and hands are not still in the way! The last grocery loader, despite being warned, got a shock at how fast it dropped last week once I let go, finally sure he was out of the way. 

Who knew his semi-sleepy eyes could open that wide? Ahh, to be so young, so much to still discover!

Anyway, they ordered parts at the dealership, guaranteed to be there today. Just no telling what time today, so don't bother making an appointment till tomorrow. With my work schedule that means Friday afternoon. There were a couple more "little" things to fix while I'm there, including the source of the oil leak, which turned out to be much cheaper than a replacement engine. I did decline their offer to replace a wiper blade for me - which still works I noted  - as well as the cabin air filter.  It's dirty, but the first couple times I just pull it out, whack it hard two or three times against something like a wastebasket to clear 90% of the dirt out and replace it behind the glove box. Easy peasy. All in all, the bill will be something around $800, but I'm good with that. Like I said, cheaper than a new engine, and a new guarantee of no longer getting bopped on the head for using the hatch. That actually started - very intermittently - a year ago, and just got really bad in the winter weather. But I've lost count of how many head bonks I've gotten, and am heartily tired of having to go hold it open in wind chill temps to get groceries loaded, or of people, even after being warned it needs to be held, finding out the hard way in their rush that I wasn't exaggerating.

But boy, they better have the correct parts Friday when I arrive this time!

Rx Refill? Say What?

 You've read the previous one on this topic. This is the addendum, same topic, same pills.

So... like me you might think a refill promised to be filled on a Thursday afternoon would actually be ready...late Saturday morning. Right?

Wrong!

I'd called in a grocery order to be picked up by 11:00, and picked it up outside by 11:00. Of course this meant I had to exit the car and physically hold the hatch door up while he put my items in the large bags I'd brought. Note that this included a request, once he'd loaded 5 loaves of bread in one, to please not put the jars on top of them! I might have worded that better, because he left the already loaded ones in place on top of the bread, but started a new bag with the next bunches of jars. (And he wondered why I asked him if he was new in this job!) I had already explained to him that I needed to hold the hatch up the whole time he was in/out of the car, and why. So once I verified he was all finished loading, I let go. You should have seen his eyes pop at how fast it dropped! (Yep, he's new. And young.)

BTW, it's going to the dealership Tuesday to get both that fixed and some warranty work completed. The car is a 2013 model and still is cashing in on new warranty work notices. This one is something  on the ABS braking system. I wouldn't know they needed work, since I almost never have to brake hard, keeping plenty of space between me and whatever is ahead. I only wish the hydraulics on the hatch were a warranty item. The bill should be... interesting. My luck, come spring they'll decide to cover those.

Since the weather was cold enough that I had no worries about frozen items thawing in the car, I then drove to the pharmacy side entrance and went in for that pick-up. A short wait later I found out they still weren't ready. However they were "in the cue", so please feel free to do more shopping and come back. (Anybody tell these characters that the shopping there ain't free? No matter how much I'd love to feel it's free while shopping?) So I went and picked up the pizza we plan to bribe Paul with to come over tonight with his tools and drill three holes for Steve's newest project. Then I picked up what Steve needed to use those holes for. It's a good thing it's as cold as it is because when I returned to the pharmacy, the line was another 20 minutes long, even with three people handling the counter. Still, I told myself it was better than waiting till March 16!

My pills were finally ready by then. In fact I got the call while waiting in that second line. When I get home I'm going to need to read the fine print on my Part D Medicare new plan. I just switched companies. I have never yet finished buying enough meds in a year that I ran through the deductible period and started getting actual coverage for meds, which in its own way is a good thing. But there must be some kind of a hitch, because today's Rx was no charge!

That can't be what she meant when she told me to "feel free to go shopping...."!

Refill... Maybe

 It was time on one of my pills. I had enough left to get me through next Tuesday. This is Thursday, and late January - though these posts are dated so you could see that for yourselves. But it becomes relevant.

Ever since we've moved here it's been a fight with the store's system. It's automated, and its first priority is not filling pill orders, but instead not bothering the human staff. Usually these lines are set up so one calls in, says or punches in the number on the label, and you get an automated reply that it will be two or three days. It's a national system, and usually worked smoothly for us, whichever state we lived in, whichever state we called to refill from. We were snowbirds for a dozen years, after all.

These guys haven't been "normal" since we got here. In a bitter stroke of humor we still got reminder calls from our AZ pharmacy that we were now permitted to refill A, B, and G, or this time maybe D and L, just press the pound button. Of course they'd be ready in three days... in AZ! 

No thanks. No, really!

First, the bottle numbers did not transfer across all those state lines. We needed a human who could check out us, our history from AZ, and the computers would have had the information on dosage, number of refills, how many to take, insurance coverage, and everything else needed. For six months we had to figure out how to get through the automated system to reach a "Human". "Representative". "Pharmacist". "Real Person". ("Long string of loud cuss words!") Nope, blocked every time. But there was an app....

Hey, stupid machine, I don't do apps. My little flip phone isn't made for apps. I'm not made for apps.

We had to literally drive the 12.2 miles to the pharmacy to show them the old bottle at the counter to get a refill. Since they were originally prescribed at different times, they refilled at different times. Lots of trips. Gradually, we each had "only" three refill dates in each 90 day period. Various bottles had a different number of pills left, and we didn't waste them, but could call in several orders now at once.

Except....

The new orders still came across with AZ numbers on the bottles, despite informing our pharmacy this was a permanent relocation, XYZ just a few miles away was our new doctor authorizing them. So we still had to fight with the automated system. I finally got tired of yelling at a stupid machine and was relieved to discover that I could get a human if I claimed I was wishing to "transfer a prescription". Some genius in the company figured out their machine couldn't handle that complicated chore, nor could their app.

Eventually despite getting a human on the line, we were hearing we were out of refills. Say what? It seems our Arizona clinic quit authorizing them! With all the struggles to get the things, and despite having informed the new pharmacy that XYZ was our new doctor, they kept sending the requests to AZ. And perfectly properly, the doc there, not having seen nor heard from us for oh so many months, put their foot down and stopped authorizing refills. Meanwhile the MN authorizations were all there in the local pharmacy records, just ignored.

Having at long last gotten all that straightened out in the last couple months, you might think everything was smooth sailing.

Come on, would I be writing this is it were?

Finally having bottles with numbers on them in the local system, I made the call in this morning for my latest needed refill. The number was accepted. Great! My order will be ready to pick on on March 16.

WTF? MARCH?

You better believe I punched  "2" for "No, I can't frigging wait that bleeping long!" The machine immediately offered me the ability to pick them up tomorrow after 4 PM. 

This time I punched "1" for "yes, that's fine." When I head over to pick them up, I plan on mentioning the details of the call to whoever waits on me at the counter. By then it just might seem funny. Well, unless their other 2043 customers calling in refill orders today got the same glitch.

ROTFLMAO !!! You Thought I Was Going To Answer The Phone?

Oh My, how optimistic of you. Or perhaps obligated. Even maybe delusional?

But don't take it personally. I have no idea who you were or why you would call. But let me explain.

I'd just gotten into the car and got it started. My PCA client was just getting in, and I was taking them to an appointment they couldn't miss or be late for, with about a three minute window of error, best case. I don't do blue tooth, so there was no way to speak while driving and be legal in this state. That applies to everybody who calls while I'm driving, of course.

But today was extra special. Now, it had warmed up to 14 below by this time - I checked a bit later -  and the sun was finally out, though still low enough straight in front of me to still blind me, so no leeway for visibility adjustments. I did hear your phone call, as did my client. But it's still more complicated than that.

First, I had my knit driving gloves on because the steering wheel and other controls were still much too cold to touch with bare skin. I do have ski gloves along, but those are even clunkier when driving and I try to save wearing those for situations with even more risk of frostbite. At that moment they were inside my purse. It happened to be on the seat behind me, even if I wanted to get to them, which I didn't. And no, my phone wasn't in there at that time.

I didn't know exactly where my phone was when you called. I was well bundled, in multiple layers, knowing the car would in no way be anything resembling "warm" even once I'd finished delivering my client and got back to my home parking spot to head inside. Now that outer layer was my new down coat. Being new, it's still pretty stiff, and the huge plastic zipper even more so in the cold, as well as being under extra wide flaps with huge buttons. Maybe in a couple more years it will be easier to crinkle up and move around in, but right now it's a bit of a pain, even requiring assistance getting in and out of some days, even doubling down on that at current temperatures.

Under that layer is a polar fleece top, one I've treasured for over a dozen years, snuggly warm, but in general adding more bulk to my layers. Inside that is a knit shirt with a warm collar because that's one spot the other layers tend to not quite cover. 

Below that is a fairly new, thick, warm pair of sweat pants, and while irrelevant to the story, some really tall and snug wool socks, a brand you'd recognize as made for the outdoor working man in weather like today's is. Including other necessary pieces of wardrobe, I was pretty well encased, still able to drive safely, not inclined to exerting myself for extraneous movements with all the bundling, like hunting for a phone. It's difficult enough to reach down and push hard on the seat belt release even after I stop, (whatever happened to release levers on seat belts?)  and since I was going to continue driving for some miles, that was not about to happen. Not till I got home again.

However, unlocking that seatbelt would have been a necessary part of answering my phone.  I wasn't exactly sure where said phone was warmly snuggled at that moment. Now that unwieldy down coat has two very nice pockets, closed securely against loss of contents by big, plastic, stiff zippers. The polar fleece under that has a wide, low pouch, stretching across my whole front and covering from navel to hem. It sits, of course, very snuggly under the down coat under the seatbelt. While the shirt with the collar has no pockets, it and the other layers are long enough to cover the two pockets in the sweat pants, since I particularly look, long and hard, for women's sweat pants which have pockets on the sides of the hips, as these did. I liked them so much I bought two pair at the same time. Pockets are a treasure in sweatpants.

So to sum it up for you, my phone could easily have been in any of the five pockets, in any of four stacked layers, all of which were under a not-to-be-disturbed seat belt for at least 20 minutes. While I was busy driving. While the car was still very cold.  While my errand was quite time-sensitive. When my hands were prevented from even sensing, should I have hunted, which of those pockets might actually hold something, much less determine if that something was shaped like a phone. And which, even if they were capable of locating the phone, would in no way have been able to pull it out and open it up and touch the correct button to answer it and do it legally.

And you thought I was going to answer your call? 

Oh! My! God!!!!!!! Seriously????

Ever consider a different job than telemarketing? After all, I did find my phone to check that number later, though I'm not telling you which pocket.  It might have been an important call. It still wouldn't have been answered... then. But by now, surely.

Now this has been fun, but I'm going to go warm up with a lap robe before lunch. It should be three degrees warmer then for my next driving errand. 

Go ahead and try your luck calling then too if you wish. I'll hear the ring. I can use another laugh.

Recovering

 We think it was a bit of food poisoning.  Yes, we know the norovirus is going around, but this didn't have the same symptoms. and for once in a rare while, we'd just eaten the same supper. After a couple days, some internet research provided more information that fit both what we'd eaten and our symptoms, so we know what to avoid and better how to treat it next time.

Of course, a purge didn't cure what ailed us. Even the weight loss is sure to be temporary, darn it! Our energy was low, and the extra cold temperatures with worse on the way kept us inactive, as well as a bit pessimistic about the immediate future. Our guts weren't exactly in shape to recharge our energy, and there was nowhere that needed us to get there. The Vikes - as expected because they're the Vikes - were out of the playoffs so that distraction was gone, but the house was clean and with no more entertaining to be done, stayed that way.

Much of our energy was devoted to catching up on the sleep which we'd been too uncomfortable to do earlier. Some reading was done... so long as it wasn't too complicated. The science and political stuff I like to dive into seemed to be blending together into either incomprehensible or repetitious mush for a few days, and a lot of TV reruns took over for distractions. Some favorites on the tube had new episodes, and we both made progress handling the new system of remotes so things responded better to forced new habits. We even had a new one arrive in the mail after the old one refused to change the volume, in either direction. If they didn't  work, or we didn't work them correctly, "OFF" was a frequent option, with a little more shut-eye welcomed, provided a few more layers were piled on. Thicker, warmer layers were located, rather than pushing the thermostat higher, since the latest bill had arrived and took an extra hundred out of the monthly budget. Next month looks to do the same, if the forecasts are accurate, before we can hope for relief. 

Today the plan is to resume old habits. First will be getting out of the house and, provided the car works at these new low temperatures of -17 now and -26 tomorrow, go back to work. Otherwise I'll be taking more time off, since this car has no tank heater, never did, and we have no idea what its tolerance for the super cold is. We do know for sure that the hydraulics for the back hatch are fubar in the cold, and they require replacement as soon as I can both schedule the work and get the car to the dealership. I also can't open the oil tank even with pliers in this cold. I just bought a crescent wrench last week hoping its larger size would give more leverage, but it's been too cold to check. On the plus side, my client does have alternate transportation provided by others who live in a world with garages if my car refuses to budge for a few days, so I won't be leaving them in the lurch. And Steve hasn't heard yet about scheduling his surgery, though our hopes were raised for that happening soon a couple weeks ago.

Will we be watching the inauguration on TV today? I'm sure that we each have "a thing" that needs attention elsewhere, whether or not the car works. Perhaps two. Steve called in a grocery order plus some meds to be refilled, so we're really hoping the car runs at least today. The house has power so we can cook something we'll feel like eating, as that's still a bit iffy occasionally while our systems are trying to reset themselves, and no sense trying to disrupt them further for politics today. Additionally, soon my brain needs to be in good working order to work over the phone with the person who gave me a present that needs to be installed - whatever that means, aside from needing my best alert brain - into either my laptop or the TV - I'm not sure of which yet. The jargon will be  unfamiliar to me while second nature to their generation, always intimidating. So yes, I'm sure we'll have a thing somewhere else to be done at the time that needs our attention instead. We're neither of us 100% yet, so no point pushing our recovery, right?

Meanwhile, I need coffee, and a bit of protein and some carbs. Those are in abundant supply. We stocked the house up with plans to have to figure out - again - how to deal with MN winters. Mostly it was by pretending for a few months that outside doesn't exist.

If You Had To Flee In A Hurry

The California wildfires are, luckily for us here in sub-zero (at the moment) Minnesota, far away and unlikely in our near future. However, there are always circumstance which could make having to leave home in a huge emergency our only option for survival. I'm sure you all can think of something that would drive you out of your own home to save your lives.

As Steve and I watched the coverage, we spent some time thinking about what needed to go with us. What's irreplaceable? What's possible, given age and health?

A presupposition to having any choice at all is that we'd be awake and dressed for whatever weather is outside. If that weren't so, there's very little point in making further plans. Imagine waking up to a house fire when one needs 5 minutes to dress, find shoes, and maybe locate the car keys... this time. Oh, and where's the wallet or purse which carries your credit cards and IDs? After arriving in MN during our move last year with most of our important documents packed with the rest of our possessions and sitting 1800 miles away, the importance of having certain ones of those at hand was driven home. You need the car, the car needs gas, gas needs money in some form. For a bed to sleep in, you either need somebody who'll take you in, or again, money, as well as ID if a motel is your answer.

Since we're not in a location that suggests disasters can happen at any moment, a go-bag isn't sitting by the door waiting to be used. Were wildfires close, that would change and the must-have list would change. If we had floods forecast, or earthquakes likely, or major rioting happening, they'd be packed and ready... enough. Some would already be in the car.

But assume the very unexpected nightmare was imminent. Minutes only were allowed. What has to be taken with you?

We came up with two things for each of us. First, our laptops. Charging cables would be optional, as they're replaceable. But our lives are on those laptops, from family photos to information on contacting other people to medical info to financial info. For some of us, cell phones would be just as important, but those are usually in the same places and fit in a pocket or purse on our pass through.

The second thing, for us with our health histories and the variety of medications that keep our quality of life as good as possible at our ages, would be grabbing all those meds to take as well. While our pharmacies do keep records of what we need and when, that doesn't mean one can wait perhaps 5 days to find one far enough from whatever made us flee, yet also be quickly accessible as well as in a network to track our history and have a supply on hand  that insurance can cover on an emergency basis.  Steve would have to grab a large bag of his bottles, not too far from where his laptop sits. I'd have to raid my organized stockpile in the bathroom (which I'd be sure to have used by then) and dump them in a bag to bring along. There are always extra bags nearby, so not a big deal. I could even dump out the wastebasket liner and fill it with meds as a last resort. Who cares at that point if litter is left behind? Somebody's going to come in behind me and tsk tsk how dirty my dirt is?

This scenario is one time I think we're lucky that my allergies took over, forcing us not to keep pets that would need to be rounded up and removed, with all the chaos they'd likely be going through at the same time. That's a likely recipe for tragedy, either theirs as they hid, or ours as we stayed too long and searched.

With more warning, more time, more things could be salvaged. But those are just things. The loss would hurt. But we would recover. I already have secondary lists for "in case". But we know now what is most important, after each other.  We have a plan.

Do you?

Car Maintenance In The Time Of Frostbite

It's January in Minnesota, and even the southern part of the state is getting some below zero readings on their thermometers, and worse with factoring in wind chill. Yes, we returned north to that, even while hoping climate change might take effect locally a wee bit speedier in honor of our arrival.

January does not mean staying home, cocooned away in some warm building, reading, watching TV, sunbathing.....  Wait! What? I said Minnesota, not southern Florida!

Since one still gets out and about, despite all best intentions, the car has to be taken care of just like the rest of the year. Only now it's a nasty job. For a lot of things I try to remain independent, though I haven't changed a tire since I retired (the first time. The second is out somewhere in the future.) One thing I have to keep an eye on is my oil level for the engine. It has started either leaking or burning oil. It's likely I'm burning it since the car doesn't leave greasy puddles... unless I make them while pouring oil. Oops.

Adaptations have had to be made, given what I can/can't do these days without difficulty exacerbated by pain. Once the hood release is pulled, I need to work it up over my shoulder to hold it without raising the arm, thus transferring the weight over to my torso and legs. I can shift its position bit by bit so I'm now able to reach and release the thingy which holds the hood up for me. (Yes, I'm sure it has a name. I am not going to bother to look it up.) It pulls off by going sideways, then I guide it down to fit in a notch in the frame. Easy peasy as long as my arms don't have to hold the weight simultaneously.

In fact shifting the strength requirement to my legs instead of arms is how tires get changed, stepping/jumping on the lug wrench to move it in the right direction. But that's not what's getting done now. In fact this car came new with no jack, lug wrench, or spare! Guess who's been lucky for a dozen years! These days tire changes mean buying a new set, needed twice now in its life. I let the tire company have all that fun.

Back to the engine oil, I keep bottles in the hatch. Periodically I check the dip stick and add what's needed. When it's warm outside, the process works well. My hands don't have the strength to twist open and remove the plug so I can add oil, but I thought I'd taken care of that when it was warm. Unfortunately, that's exactly what I did - solved the problem as it presented in warm weather. To do that I had to get a small pliers to grip the top ridge of the plug to twist it by, and borrowed one of my jewelry tools to do the job. Perfect! Except when it's zero outside. No way in Pluto's heat-deprived hell was that going to work in a sub-zero morning, and I knew by the time I'd given up trying that oil was definitely needed before driving to Minneapolis and back for a doctor's appointment for Steve.

I had to find a different way to add oil. So of course I did. After all, what measures oil levels has to connect directly to the oil supply, right? I already knew the dip stick moved easily, since it just told me how much oil I needed. I'd add it there!

Luckily we have a (new) set of funnels in a variety of mostly-unnecessary sizes. I dug through to find the one with the smallest bottom to fit - hopefully - into the narrow tube the dipstick used. It actually went in, enough to hold it straight in the tube instead of falling out. Of course its top was correspondingly small, holding about three tablespoons of oil while it slowly drained down.

Very slowly.

In below zero wind chill.

With no room for padded gloves added to my hands to still fit in the space while the oil drained down. Brrrr.....

Still slowly.

For all 8 refills.

Since that was all my hands could tolerate, it will get repeated tomorrow. Maybe even again until I know enough has spread out all over to lubricate the engine. I figure that the "again" might wait till the weekend. It will be warmer then. 

They promised. 

The "heat" might come with snow. So the lingering job will likely be wet as well. But I probably can avoid frostbite... maybe... if I decide I'm willing to risk getting dirty oil and other miscellaneous under-the-hood car dirt on my new down coat.

Maybe I should have bought it in black.

Next time. Though I do have a dirty old denim coat with great pockets that could get slathered in automotive grease/dirt and I wouldn't give it a second thought. It's great for, say, working outside in 40 degrees. Unfortunately those would have to be above zero.

Sighhhhhh.........

So What's With The Glut Of UFO Nonsense?

 I will be sticking with "nonsense" in this post. Most of the stories I'm seeing could, perhaps would, have been front page on the "rags" next to check out counters. I don't even notice if those exist anymore, and if they're still at the counters, I ignore whatever the covers blare at potential customers. Even if they're so ridiculous they might make me laugh, it's a hard no. Call it mental censorship.

But suddenly the stories are all over the place. Let's start a couple years back with pilots supposedly having video from their cockpits of "TicTac" like UFOs following their planes, suddenly making right angle turns at speed, dropping into the water of the ocean without slowing or splashing. If one could believe them, they'd be amazing, some kind of technology way above us at this point. But... CGI. It exists. I haven't the skills to duplicate that kind of video, but I've seen it in theaters. You likely have as well.

There are alleged brown skulls that have the huge eye holes in the face that would do any alien-party role player in Roswell, New Mexico proud to wear... except it wouldn't fit over their heads. Thank goodness there's flimsy plastic white ones for sale there, eh? Meanwhile, I look at those photos and think "movie prop." Any human with the skill set and a streak of mischief could have manufactured one. So, proof of nothing alien, unless you judge the mindset of such a designer/manufacturer to be "alien" - to you at least. Maybe not even so alien if making it came with the right price tag. I bet they could do T-Rex skulls too, or super giant King Kong ones. Heck, I'm sure they already have. We've seen those movies too.

It used to be the stories were about abductions and surgeries to find out the internal anatomy of helpless victims. Somehow those folks always managed to arrive back on earth, a "big chunk of weird", but somehow scar free and with a deep thirst for whatever was served in the local bar... on somebody else's tab of course, since telling long stories is thirsty work.

The flavor of the stories has morphed again. The most recent ones are alleged to be from some previous administration's has-been, spouting secrets about how jets at 40,000 feet are stopped and held stationary for a bit before being safely released to continue to wherever. Or our moon walking astronauts either never arrived but the "proof" was set up by resident moon aliens who somehow knew how to get all the details right, or our astronauts did arrive and were being observed by aliens while hiking around on the moon. No doubt those aliens were waiting to see what was going to happen to the neighborhood now that some "wrong color" new neighbors were starting to show up with big reflective heads, and wondering how they'd affect property values. Was it time for them to move further out to the suburbs... of Mars?

Conspiracy theories abound around these stories. Maybe they're waiting for us to overheat this planet and make it perfect for their next colony? Or they're in league with (pick an enemy, real or fever dream) and will reveal themselves as they start to round us up for dinner - theirs, not ours. Maybe they have the "fix" for what makes us (fill in the blank with your favorite flaw) and with enough study will step up and rescue the deserving of us from the flawed rest of us. Note that nobody ever manages to come up with a reason for them wanting to rescue us. I figure that last is just our own desperation and unwillingness to change speaking.

I suggest a more plausible conspiracy. The actual humans who wish to take control of the entire planet have figured out that fear, especially irrational amorphous fear, can make us do just about anything. We'll attack anybody "other", align with whatever silly improbably hope seems to be offered, believe almost anything without question. All this combined would prompt a vast majority of us to cede our own thought processes to a leader, do whatever is "required", and enable such a professed hero/leader to do whatever the hell they want to whomever the hell they want for as long as they just keep us afraid and make promises for improvement.

If you have trouble accepting that concept, tell me how recent elections around the world are NOT proof it's already being done. No aliens necessary, of course. Sorry if that spoiled it for you.