This winter and spring has been hard and depressing. We aren’t out of the woods yet with Covid (more on that below). The day before the War started we lost our dear puppy Stella. We got to say goodbye and she passed away more or less on her own terms though it was a bt rough in the last few ours as we held her. The that war that was supposed to end in 3 days. I started helping my friend John Aravosis on his YouTube daily live summaries until the Bucha Massacre made that too difficult to process. I occasionally help out - and have donated some $$ to his friend in Ukraine who is feeding several who need it. My Cyclothymia cycle seems to be milder - but I stay low longer than I used to and then not as manic in between. April and May have seen record rains. And then I stepped in a hole about 6 weeks ago and sprained the muscle just above my buttock on the right side. Its healing and I am finally trying to get 5-10K worth of steps in. And then we just had a Covid scare this weekend.
My work productivity went way down. Fortunately my waiting clients know how lucky they are and are doing their best to let me work when I can. I am actually getting inspired to try new ideas thanks to this type of support. My key making for other maker project is now underway. As is the Glass Flute project, thanks to a new connection with a downtown Seattle hot shop under the Monorail.
Despite the inflation and the economy we’ve been okay - thanks to both of us now incredible getting Social Security. Last year I almost took a loss on paper thanks to our accountant using every possible deduction like the big corporations use. Since I stopped taking orders except on a case by case basis I didn’t get the usual pile of prepaid orders that keep me awake at night and I caught up with my queue finally. The new system is much better for my mental health. Its nice to get a tax refund once in a while!
Covid is still with us. In fact its a bit more dangerous now with the relaxation of mask mandates, opening up of restaurants, concerts, schools etc. - and the total lack of support for monitoring thanks to the Republicans especially the most effective one in that party Joe Manchin. Timing-wise it feels like the time before vaccines were even possible except in the trials combined with July last year when everyone relaxed, especially in Southern Oregon when we passed through it after visiting friends (all vaccinated and recently tested) in Mendocino. We could tell it was going to be bad. restaurants full of people elbow to ebow, no ventilation, and not a mask in sight. We didn’t eat at any of these. 3-4 weeks later that part of the world was the top global hot spot for Delta.
Watch tonight’s episode of the PBS Newshour - starting at 32 minutes in. Also read Katelyn’s latest which says much of the same thing in detail. On TikTok follow @LaughterinLight - she’s very good. I posted the links below. Bottom lines:
Mask and Social Distance as before. Use an excellent N95 mask that fits tight. I use Moldex2200N95 which are a bit tight and hard to breath through - but are the preferred mask in my dusty workshop (especially when I start working glass!).
DO NOT go to the Movies, Concerts, Conferences, Fly on Airplanes, etc. where everyone is crammed together and only a few are masked - and sometimes hassled for wearing one.
Get your Shots including Boosters. Even though the current and soon to arrive variants have a greater proclivity to ignore vaccine or infection acquired immunity, the T-cells created seem to be what keeps many of the new infections from having the worst outcomes though that is predictably changing for the worse. Like the flu we will need annual or semiannual boosters as we have done for years with Influenza.
I am thinking of going back to Curbside Delivery. I have fortunately gotten all caught up medical and dental, except for a few things I can postpone until the dip.
Sorry to be a drag - bit its still bad out there. Now we get to combine it with Putin’s insanity and his potentially global reaction to Finland joining Nato. We might get a warning when his missile are on their way to Bangor but when they arrive we will only know about it for a few milliseconds of brightness before we literally evaporate and are blown away into oblivion. Why wait for the long agony of Mass Extinction and Climate Change by the end of this century? Vlad himself may be dying from Leukemia or hopefully a fast acting Pancreatic Cancer (I wish this on that man, frankly) and might decide to volley his nukes so the rest of us die with him. We’ll get the End of the World over and done with some 78 years sooner. The Oligarchs in their vast underground bunkers along with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in their spaceships above will be the only ones left. If you haven’t watched the movie “Don’t Look Up” do so. The very end is the best part, featuring Ms. Streep.
Well now for some random fun. This cracked me up the other day - go on YouTube and watch the True Facts episode “The Platypus Conspiracy”. I recently gave a talk on one of my research projects in paleontology. It was the 50 Year Update.
Yes in my sorry state I got somewhat addicted to TikTok. I still do Facebook but less and less writing on it (I do all of that here) and I otherwise avoid Instagram and Twitter almost entirely. All of these platforms have evil effects on society - TikTok being one of the worst in terms of shortening everyone’s attention spans. Someone in Hollywood needs to do a modern version of the movie “Being There” but using TikTok as what the main character likes to watch rather than Television. None of the SNL cast would do it for me (I Love Kate McKinnon’s artistry). If he was still around and young enough Tim Conway would be my preferred actor for this role. Suggestions? If you are a screenwriter or want to be - go ahead and run with this idea.
Usually I follow only some 30 or 40 folks on TikTok but sometimes click on the “For You” toggle which means you get all the “Make it Big”, “Oh No!”, “You’re Not in Uniform” etc. posts but occasionally you discover some great content creators - this was how I discovered John Aravovis, Malcontent News (he’s in Seattle), LaughterinLight, and Xenasolo who reports from Lviv every morning at 11 Pacific time. All are great in keeping us informed of what is going on.
My latest discovery is an artist who basically has recreated a kind of “Geometric Chuck” which is a multi-axis drawing device. Two of these sold as toys you will be familiar with: the Spirograph and the Hoot Nanny Magic Designer. The ornamental turners of the 18th and 19th centuries came up with very complex 30-40 or more axis Geo Chucks that were used to engrave the complex patterns that one used to see on the backs of paper money and bank drafts. There is a modern revival of such tooling - check out the Society of Ornamental Turners, Ornamental Turners Internationa and the Plumier Foundation. Search for @gandyworks on TikTok. I’ve been wanting to build a similar machine for years and I will be studying his machinery in detail!
There are a number of good paleo, astronomical, mycological etc. sites. Also ones for the latest Mars rover with its drone, as well as the JWST which will blow our minds in July when they release the first scientific photos in all their rendered and colorized detail. A few locally derived ones include the Nudibranch Nerd as well as Harbor Wild Watch. Check out the latter’s videos from Salt Creek west of Port Angeles. I am headed out to do some paleo there later this week and will probably check out the tidepools just before. M friend Jim Goedert and I have a scientific collecting permit for the fossils there all the way to the end of 2023 - and they would probably extend that further. Paleo takes time, especially when the fossil-bearing matrix is embedded in lava flows!
I am starting to nod off. I think I took my pills earlier - yes. Today I was impressed by the bite of a Douglas Squirrel who I wanted to befriend. Three times - fortunately the heavy glove with its dried out leather protected me from any puncture but it was like suddenly squeezing my fingers in a very sharp vice at 7000 PSI (yes that is what they say). My finger still hurts from the pressure. Dot the Squirrel got legally exiled to the forests at the top of our property. He was back within the hour - it it may be I am dealing with Dot, Dotty, Dotburger, Dotham and the one with only 7 inked dots from when I try to label him with 9 “Dotcutus” as in 7 of 9. We saw Bullock’s Orioles as well as Western Tanagers at the bird feeders for the very first time and over 35 different species here just today. Nancy removed herself from the over the weekend upstairs quarantining after she woke up with a fever on Saturday (this kept her out of a 737 headed east and she is home all week). We have a potential camping overnight arranged at the Valley of the Rogue next month as well as a 2 hour concert in Ashland with our friends “Wake the Dead”. Its worth the risk and we’ll get some “Boeing Suits” or the equivalent which will isolate us from the audience and band and hopefully BA2 through 5 will be behind us. The garden is going in slowly. But surely. I doubt if we will have a Heat Dome this summer. Instead Junuary all the way until January. I might convert our radiant floors to electric, given the cost of heating oil. This will be the trend as it can be offset by photovoltaic and wind. There is room in the boiler room to install a hot water heater and the newer ones are certainly efficient enough for the required BTUs. The oil one is efficient and could be run on biodiesel except that nobody delivers that and soon there will be nobody delivering heating oil as it costs over $6/gallon. We use about 2 gallons in the peak of winter, 3 if we are in a big chill. The wood scraps from my workshop not to mention the trees we’ve planted and then cut down when necessary heat the house adequately especially when the power goes out.
Enough for tonight. I gotta be off to get the oil changed in my car early. I’ll send the usually unedited version out tonight - then look for the edited version with photos etc. and new posts soon.
IMPORTANT COVID LINKS. On the last, fast forward until 32 minutes into the program.
https://www.tiktok.com/@laughterinlight
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