Trump 2025

I have been observing the actions of Mr. Trump and other Republicans in power and writing to my Republican representative when I notice something particularly egregious to my sensibilities, but generally I am taking the long view. Mr. Trump does not possess a particularly long attention span and does not read much, hence his history of chaotic, impulsive comments and proclamations. If one reads a list of his executive orders one finds a few good ones such as advocating for more healthcare pricing transparency, and a few truly bad ones like advocating for the burning of more coal. Yet the media tends to pick and choose what they headline in order to sensationalize their perspective, so it is more informative to me to pay attention to what members within the same party say to one another. To that end the local government here in Warren is predominantly Republican like in Washington, and I witness as much disagreement among them as in any group of people. So acquiring power is much easier than governing, and we shall see how all this settles out. In general the devil is in the details and actually implementing laws and proclamations is more complicated than making them. In the meantime continue to resist what offends you and do what is right for the planet and the future generations.

Rim Rock

Took these pics today at the CCC site about 10 miles from here near the Allegheny reservoir. The overlook was built atop a natural cliff formation, with stairs leading through the rocks to a trail that descends to the water a mile and a half away. The snow and cold are predicted to be the last of the season, although one never knows in this part of the world. The temperature has fluctuated between freezing and shortsleeves for over a month, but temperatures are expected to be 50*F-70*F for the next week, so the worst seems to be over. These late snows would really test my patience were I not able to go south for months during the winter. Fortunately,summers in Warren are close to ideal with temperatures rarely above 85*F and rarely below 65*F, and low to moderate rain amounts.

House Finch

The house finches have rebuilt their nest in the corner of our side porch again this year, after sucessfully raising two broods there last year.It is a sheltered corner out of the rain and we use the front door in order to give them their privacy. They seem to be calmer this year than last, so likely have learned that we pose no threat, but they still prefer that we do not use that porch while they raise their young. They had to contend with some agressive grackles who tore the nest apart a couple times before the female settled in with eggs about a week ago. Now the male feeds the female during the incubation and will help feed the young after they hatch.He also defends the nest against threats-including other finches-but unfortunately he cannot distinquish living birds from his own reflection. I had to cover the mirror to keep the poor guy from thrashing against it repeatedly. >UPDATE APRIL 27th> The nestlings fledged this week after a few days of the parents encouraging them to leave by calling them from outside of the porch. We did not see them fly as we have other years, but the nest is empty today and the parents are still nearby where they will continue to feed the young for about two weeks. APRIL 28> The parents-or a different pair whom I had seen in the yard a week ago- have built a new nest under the porch, so this will be the second brood so far this year. JUNE 3> The second brood fledged today, which was two birds. A third had fallen from the nest and died. JUNE 5> A third nest was built on the 4th, but quickly torn apart by another pair of finches defending the territory. I assume that the successful nesting birds are the defenders?

The Southwest

Beth and I returned from the southwest last week after six weeks of travel. Those of you who have been there know that the USA west of the Mississippi presents a completly different landscape than the east, and I prefer the southwest in winter for its warmth and lack of rain. People here in Warren tell us that February was a particularly cold, snowy and icy month, so we are glad we missed it. The pics (click to enlarge) depict various places, including the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, and the dog is one of many 'reservation' dogs that wander the Navaho land.They are essentially community dogs, friendly, and accept handouts from passerby. We fed several of them during our travels. The copper mine is in Cliffton, Arizona and covers about 80 square miles. You can get a sense of scale by the trucks being loaded on one of the distant 'steps', but this is just one small portion of the mine that stretches for miles.The self portrait is at Canyon de Chelly in AZ We stayed mostly at AirBBs and are already making plans for next year, probably staying 2 weeks at a time at each location before moving on.

Broken Down Cars May 2025

Whenever Beth and I take a road trip, we record the makes of the cars we see broken down beside the highway. We update after every trip and will continue to do so as we travel...As of the date in the title the totals were : Chevrolet/GMC -152 Ford- 84 Dodge/Jeep- 79 Honda/Acura-40 Nissan/Infiniti-30 Toyota/Lexus- 30 Kia/Hyundai-19 Subaru-10 VW-9 Mazda- 10 Mitsubishi-5 BMW-6 Suzuki-3 Volvo-1 Also 8 unidentified vehicles of which we could not determine the manufacturer. This is by no means a scientifically accurate indication of the reliability of these brands, because we do not know the age and maintenance records of the broken cars and other important information. But generally speaking, foreign cars have a much better reliability record than domestic vehicles, and that pattern shows up in our informal observations.

Winter Scenes

I sometimes drive around the forest and take short walks to pass time, and here are a few pictures to document those miles...Ice fishing at Allegany State park in New York, the Loleta dam near Marionville,PA built by the CCC almost 100 years ago,some icicles along Minister Creek road,and a Pileated woodpecker on a tree in the Kellotville campground. Also in that campground were some 3 dozen robins, likely first year birds that stayed over the winter; young robins often do not migrate as far as older birds.

CoVid revisited

"If the Huanan market was the site of origin of the transmission chains that led to the COVID-19 pandemic, then the common ancestor of market-associated viral genotypes should be equivalent to the common ancestor of the pandemic, given appropriate sampling. To test this hypothesis, we assessed intra-sample variation of the SARS-CoV-2 environmental genomes from the Huanan market, assigned market sequences to virus lineages, and performed phylodynamic inference to compare the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 within the market to its genetic diversity globally. As detailed below, we found that the MRCA of market-associated genomes was equivalent to the MRCA of the larger pandemic." CELL-volume #187, issue #19 Which means that the covid virus originated near the market( after humans were infected after shoveling bat quano in a cave previously ) and all the associated mis- and dis- information was unnecessary.Any genetic engineering the Wuhan lab may have done( 'gain of fuction' research, which scientists sometimes do to create viruses that may be more virulent so that they can get ahead of potential natural mutations) and which subsequently may have escaped is an unfortunate risk that scientists sometimes do. Such work is also performed in the U.S. and may have been responsible for Lyme disease escaping from a lab off the east coast. Looking back from the perspective of almost 5 years, Beth and I marvel that so much ignorance and bitterness still exists, and that anti-vaccine men like Mr.Kennedy will soon be in charge of the U.S. Department of Health... One 2022 Australian study found that "The average weekly death rate during the study period was 19.8 per 100,000 people for the unvaccinated and 4.7, 2.6, and 1.8 per 100,000 for those who had received a single dose, two doses, or three or more doses, respectively." My cynicism applauds their contributions to the 'Darwin Awards' that celebrate the stupidest ways that people die, but children suffer from the foibles of their parents, and my sympathies go to them. I am fully aware of the misuses of power and how money and politics can corrupt the best intentions, but the scientific method is the best defense humans have against the flaws of human nature; the next four years will be a profound test of Truth and Reality and those of us willing to defend the higher aspects of civilization. Those who seek only to preserve power and the fortunes of their particular tribe will do a disservice not only to the human race but to the entire planet.