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distortions.net

I'm Ryan M. Tech geek. Avgeek. California Native plant gardener. All photos on this blog, unless stated otherwise, are mine. Cameras: Fujifilm X-T5 and X100V. Views are my own.

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Yellow-rumped warblers are still actively hunting in our backyard, especially in the afternoons when …

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Our milkweed are literally popping up now. This is their third year #Milkweed #Yarden #NativePlants

Several milkweed stems with young vertical leaves are popped out of the ground. They have very thick stems despite being only a few inches high. There’s a trunk drip line visible and a 1/4-incu line with an emitter in view.

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The two avocado trees (type A & B) are in full bloom & the bees are going to town. …

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Today the yellow-skinned New Century asian pear is in full bloom. It is just in time to help …

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My wife seeded these tomatoes indoors February 1st 😍 #Gardening #Yarden

Four juvenile tomato plants, about 6-8” tall, in medium compostable pots green to teas leaves. Some leaves are narrower than others as they’re all different varieties

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In the central valley, it’s very much Iris and California Poppy Season/ #YardenA giant Iris flower, very purple or indigo, with orange in their petal center, stands among bright orange clusters of California Poppy that are not quite open for the day. A coil of hose and a trigger sprayer is on the ground below the iris.

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After over a year of being fallowed (b/c life), our crop rows are now dressed with compost & …

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Natural compost, years in the making. Mostly thanks to worms & other decomposers. Time to …

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Now blooming: Type-B “Bacon” Avocado tree. I think this is the male flower. We also have a Type-A …

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At work earlier this week, a smol fren made me jealous #FenceLizard

A brown and tan fence lizard is spread out, eyes slightly closed & chin on a wood chip, sunning itself on a gravel surface. Its spiked spine is quite visible giving the lizard a fierce though calm aura

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A Yellow-rumped Warbler was on the lookout for insects in our ‘lil nectarine tree. It was a very …

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Another daffodil #Daffodil #BloomScrolling #Yarden

A daffodil with white petals and a yellow to orange central trumpet. It’s planted in a yard with bark, gravel and river cobble. It’s sunset where a rear fence is in sun but the ground is not.

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A few glimpses of wildfire-oriented aircraft in the last weeks here near Chico, CA. They’re out …

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Our backyard right now with purple flowering ceanothus. The bright green shrubs are elderberries …

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House Finch showing their spring colors #HouseFinch #BirdPhotography #Birds #Yarden #Fujifilm #SOoC

A house finch, with bright red upper body, perched on an at-capacity yellow seed feeder. Its chest is facing the camera but its head is cocked to the left, as if it is eyeing the seed port. Some one out peanuts in the bottom feeder tray

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Our “Hosui” Asian Pear tree is now blooming #HomeOrchard #Yarden #BloomScrolling

Two white open Asian pear flowers with red anthers on a young tree above a rocky path. There’s tree has several visible flower buds. There are blooming yellow daffodils in the background along with a narrow elderberry shrub and a bird bath.

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#SilentSunday #BurneyFallsMcArthur-Burney Falls flows mightily with two primary falls in the center with whitewater fed by Burney Creek and multiple smaller falls -- mostly coming from groundwater. The sun shines at the top of the falls and where their water crashes into a pool. A dozen or so people enjoy the falls from a sunny rock shore. Conifers frame the entireity of the photo, with a bit of grass on the right.

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Yesterday, Manzanitas, Daffodils, and just barely visible on the left, sage, show their spring …

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Somewhere near the North Fork Clackamas River on the Mount Hood National Forest in May, 2018 …

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This is my accidental winter moss garden. Our rear fence and winter-happy native shrubs (ceanothus …

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Backyard Daffodil #BloomScrolling #Daffodil #Yarden

A bright yellow daffodil is illuminated by the sun, though its interior is in shadow of itself. The flat leaves kind of curve in and out of sun. It’s planted in a mulched area and there’s blurred gravel behind it.

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#SilentSunday

#DeathValleyNPOvercast skies, with a ribbon of blue breaking through, let some sun break through to highlight rugged mountains, brown with patche sof red, that obliquely frame the photo. Dark green shrubs, maybe mesquite, dot the landscape from near the photographer and into the distance. Some of the closer mountains have layers of dark and light rock. Those closer mountains are shadowed by clouds.

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Back in March, 2024, we went to Death Valley. It was nowhere close to this year’s reported …

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Yesterday, at the refuge, a Bald Eagle was soaring in a thermal. I’m going to miss the winter …

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Our nectarine’s first bloom. It’s in popcorn mode so hopefully most of the buds delay bloom until …

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Washing machine hose replacement day, due to a leak at the washer’s hot water fitting. They were… …

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"Öffentliche Kunst / Public art"

Vancouver, December 2025 #FotoVorschlag

#Vancouver #Fujfilm #SOoC

At night, an artistic weather vain with one end as metal outlines of clocks or maybe wheels and spokes. The other end looks like a couple of paddles. It's all lit up with purpose. It does spin but no motion can be seen from the photo. Behind it are three lit up stars, probably christmas decorations for the waterfront. Lights across the harbor can be seen.

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The Red-shouldered Hawk again visited our backyard at sunrise. Meanwhile, White-crowned sparrows are …

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'Negative space' #FotoVorschlag

At Berlin Tempelhof airport, December 5, 2023. #Berlin #Germany …

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June, 2022: Munich’s Palace of Justice with the Neptune Fountain #Munich #Germany #Fujifilm #SOoC

The rear of the Neptune Fountain, with Neptune's rear end prominent in front of the Palace of Justice. It's a nice blue but cloudy day, and the sky with clouds reflect in the palace's oversized windows. The copper and glass dome reaches toward the sky.

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I have a lot of ladder angst. So pole pruners are a revelation. I’m very happy that I finally …

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It is almost asparagus season! Last year we had enough for a snack. Perhaps this year we’ll have a …

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Finally, I got a telephoto of the hawk hanging out around our backyard. Looks like a Red-shouldered …

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I wasn’t home but a hawk visited our backyard this morning AND the eggplant seeds sprouted (talk …

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“I ONLY HAVE ONE LEG, COME AT ME!” - Western Meadowlark #WesternMeadowLark

#Birds #BirdPhotography …

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Last night's rising moon, near the horizon, through a whole lot of atmosphere and some wispy clouds …

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My wife started seeds today. Lots of peppers, tomatoes, and Japanese eggplant. Spring is coming.

A seed starter tray with a grow lamp turned on. A thermometer reads 70.5° in front of the tray

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Today I juiced & heat pasteurized about 20 pounds of backyard mandarins for breakfast juice. …

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Today we stumbled across some magnificent Sandhill Cranes. These badasses were right off the side of …

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I better prune my fruit trees & grapes today. The trees are already a few weeks away from …

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At the refuge yesterday, we spotted a Bald Eagle nest and suddenly both eagles swooped down and flew …

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A moment of calm.

Lesser Goldfinch at the refuge today #LesserGoldFinch #Birds #BirdPhotography …

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Tule fog is back in time for the geomagnetic storm. I shouldn’t of jinxed myself earlier #NorCal …

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This Orange-crowned Warbler was flitting between our backyard nectarine and grapevines, snatching …

: Short Flight Factor 777-2 v. 2 for X-Plane 12 Review Wherein Ryan mostly gripes but then recommends other aircraft without those gripes #Aviation …

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Nass geworden (Got Wet) #FotoVorschlag #VancouverAt Stanley Park, Vancouver, with copper sculpture of modestly dressed, cross legged, senior lady, with bunned hair and big sun glasses, that has had her nails painted violet and looks like she's crying because of the rain drops

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May 2, 2025: Lufthansa B747-8 (D-ABYM) SFO-FRA (Frankfurt, Germany)
#HumpDay #B747 #Aviation #AvGeek …

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December 14, 2025: Emirates A380-8 (A6-EUF), SFO-DXB (Dubai), using 28R  #ThickTailTuesday #A6EUF …

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‘Kartonagen’ (Cardboard boxes) #FotoVorschlag #CatA orange cat is in a box outside a dumpster on blacktop. It is upside-down and open with korean lettering on it along with a tree graphic.

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#SilentSunday #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm

Dozens of blackbirds are evenly perched in four leafless, dormant trees against a hazy blue sky. Some of the birds may be starlings as they more brown than black,

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Today we went to Black Butte Lake and the pelicans were there! This is at the forebay, where a whole …

: FlightFactor’s 777 version 2 for X-Plane 12 Gets Simulated Twice

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December 27, 2025: this American Bushtit was perched for an unusually long time, perhaps soaking in …

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This morning, my wife caught early sunlight slowly lighting up our citrus trees #Yarden #HomeOrchard …

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December 17, 2025: At sunrise, a container ship and a helicopter that's coming in for a landing on …

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December 17, 2025: Sunset over Thurlow Street in Vancouver #Vancouver #StreetPhotography #Fujifilm …

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Today most people will be back at my work. So to celebrate the return of needless office …

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The backyard was crowded with hummingbirds enjoying our planted native shrubs, so what the heck. …

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December 6, 2023: Am Flakturm im Volkspark Humboldthain, Berlin #SilentSunday

#Berlin #Fujifilm …

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May 2, 2025: San Francisco, Geary and Powell streets just south of Union Square #StreetPhotography …

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Last weekend, I caught a Northern Harrier in flight. Though the view finder, I only knew it was some …

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In 2025, I made big indulgent updates to my XPlane 12 FlyWithLua scripts that add multi-button …

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After all that happened in 2025, I’m side-eyeing 2026 like this Towhee side-eyed the space above …

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Back to work! It should continue to be quiet until next week. I got nothing done these last days and …

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My home seismometer managed to clearly detect the M5 earthquake near Susanville. I definitely didn’t …

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A view from yesterday toward Goat Mountain in Northern California’s Interior Coast Range …

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Our “Bacon” Avocado tree produced fruit for the first time this year. “Bacon” varieties have very …

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I'm not a fan of business or private jets but I like this photo of one taking off from SFO on …

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In Vancouver today, the sun came out and provided some great morning light at the waterfront …

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Lions Gate Bridge today. The rain was near continuous but it didn’t stop us walking nearly 11 miles …

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Yesterday evening: Seaplanes at Vancouver Harbor #Seaplanes #Aviation #Vancouver #NightPhotography …

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Establishing shot. #Vancouver #MarineBuilding

The Marine Building with its glass curves, its top half lit by sun, against a blue sky and partly cloudy skies. The streets are busy and the trees have no leaves.

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Today’s ride to Vancouver, a visit that’ll arguably be mainly for the food in downtown/west end/east …

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Today (12/14/2025)! Look at those slats! And the condensation. United 777-2 (N796UA) taking off …

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Rumors are true! The sun still exists (where I live, we’ve been covered in tule fog for literal …

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Bauzten, December 2023 #Bautzen #StreetPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoC

A night scene with warm lights glowing off the cobble streets & three story apartments, with lights strung across the street. Wreaths hang at the center of each light strand. Silhouettes of people with long shadows are walking down the pedestrian friendly street.

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December 15, 2023: at Frankfurt Airport, Germany, a human for scale is behind a United 777-300 …

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January 20, 2023: Delta 757-200 (N723TW) taxiing to depart on 28L to JFK with the Berkeley hills in …

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May 3, 2025: United 737 Max 8 (N37348) landing at SFO from Kona, Hawaii

#B38M #SFO #Aviation …

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I had to reimage my RaspberryShake because I lost its password (🤪). It went well! Here’s how it felt …

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Qatar A350-1000 (A7-ANQ) landing at SFO from Doha and a United 787-9 (N17963) starting its takeoff …

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Here’s Japan’s ~M7.6 earthquake signal from my home seismometer #Earthquake #RaspberryShake

A seismograph showing a strong seismic signal between Japan and Northern California

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Today’s West Canada (near Southeast Alaska) M7 earthquake was clearly recorded on my RaspberryShake …

: X-Plane 12.3 and Little NavMap: Using Historical Weather A classic “How-to” on use of X-Plane 12.3’s historical weather with Little NavMap …

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Sunset tonight #Sunset #CAWx

High altitude clouds reflect bright orange to light pink of s sunset beyond dry gravelly area with an overhanging tree, a fence, and an elevated freeway where the guardrails & a car is silhouetted.

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A raven. #Raven #BirdPhotography #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoCA photo of a raven from the front, as its perched on the tip of a bare branch. Its stark black feathers stand out agaist a blue sky. Its beak is slightly open, almost as if it's saying something. There's a glint in its left eye.

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Classic Black Phoebe! They’re always on the tip of objects close to the ground, searching for its …

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#SilentSunday #SacramentoWildlifeRefugeA lone cottonwood, in yellow fall colors, stands in a calm pond, perfectly mirroring the tree's trunk and lower branches. It is a foggy day and much of the pond grass is brown. A line of trees bounders the pond and the foggy sky.

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A Cooper’s Hawk appears to acknowledge my presence in its hunting grounds
#CoopersHawk #Birds …

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Snow Geese have swarmed the Sacramento Valley. Some of the darker geese in the second photo are …

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From a few weekends ago: this bird was exceedingly far from me and so was mysterious to me until I …

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Backyard Hooded Oriole alert! #HoodedOriole #BirdPhotography #Yarden #Fujifilm #CropToZoom #SOoC

Atop a wooden stake is perched a Hooded Oriole, looking to the left, with its bright orange body, black kerchief, wings with black and white stripes, and a somewhat visible cape of brown with black spots. Its tail is black. The background is just off white blur.A front facing Hooded Oriole perched on a Ceanothus branch with many green leaves. Its black kerchief is prominent.

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There were some nice post-storm rainbows yesterday afternoon #Rainbows #CAWx

A double rainbow beyond a residential street lined with utility polls, wood fencing, and green ground cover. The main rainbow has its bottom obscured by a cloud & there’s some visible rainfall in the distance.

A view out of a car of a double rainbow, including a very bright main rainbow that disappears into stratus above, over a furrowed field. The sun is barely illuminating some lower cloud tops.

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A Say’s Phoebe at Black Butte Reservoir, California

#SaysPhoebe #Birds #BirdPhotography …

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This basking serpent committed the most natural of acts just before #GopherSnake #ReptilePhotography …

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We went out to Black Butte Reservoir (west of Chico, CA) today and I finally photographed a Rock …

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We were gifted some daffodil bulbs! The instructions recommended seven inches deep, but I only have …

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Got a few bird photos from the backyard today. A Yellow Rumped Warbler and a White-Crowned Sparrow. …

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United B777-222 (N223UA) SYD-SFO, on approach to SFO, May 3, 2025 #B772 #N223UA #PlaneSpotting …

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Sunday, Bake Day! My wife just made a massive batch of traditional (more or less) chocolate chip …

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I don’t know what kind of spider this is, but it was pretty daring to be out in the open at Point …

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Here are some random through-the-glass-slider photos of a few of the migratory songbirds finding …

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Watched: Game of Thrones S8E5, The Bells 🍿

I literally got a few heart-rate alerts on that episode! …

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A thistle on the Tomales Bay Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore last month #BloomScrolling …

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Here is a contented White Crown Sparrow gorging on seeds from a plant I haven’t identified. …

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Bull Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore. I had some trouble focusing, but I like the meal hanging …

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BLEP. #Blep #Deer #WildlifePhotography #PointReyesNationalSeashore #Fujifilm #SOoCA partial body shot of a young deer, looking to the right, with its tongue sticking out: BLEP. The background is all blur of brown vegetation, with a bit of green. The young deer has debris on its back, probably grass seeds. Its neck and head seem a bit small for its body. Poor thing.

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There are two Ravens at the Point Reyes Lighthouse. And apparently they’re celebrities among the …

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I am not yet furloughed so I’m thankful for that. So here is a stack of snickerdoodles.

Two stacked cooling racks with well baked, cinnamon covered round & flat browned snickerdoodle cookies. It’s all placed on a wooden cutting board.

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Here’s a proud scrub jay with a tasty treat in its beak #WesternScrubJay #Birds …

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MADE IN CANADA

A new unweathered pallet stenciled on the side, in red, “MADE IN CANADA”. It is on the top of other old pallets and is in front of a storage container.

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The White Crowns are back! #WhiteCrown #Birds

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Here are a few more photos of the Point Reyes Lighthouse from a few days ago …

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#GreatBlueHeron #Birds #PointReyesNationalSeashore #Fujifilm #SOoC

A Great Blue Heron, wings spread out, appears to be aggressively stumbling through water, making a small splash with its right foot. It looks very awkward.

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Yesterday, Point Reyes was mostly overcast. Today the clouds burned off by 10am.

Point Reyes …

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At Point Reyes National Seashore this morning, we wandered along the Tomales Bay trail. After lunch, …

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At Redwood National and State Parks, last July, this bat was probably sick. It’s sad to see a …

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We got the flu and covid vaccines today. No issues at the CVS in town. We did not want to take any …

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The first storm of Fall over the California Northern Coast Range means I should be hearing the song …

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Update: Voting is over and Azurite lost.

Here’s a photo of Azurite with smaller amounts of Malachite …

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My wife discovered another, smaller avocado fruit in our “Bacon” avocado tree. So that’s two! Very …

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A Nuttal’s woodpecker visited our front yard Toyon yesterday! #Yarden #NuttalsWoodpecker #Birds

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Update on check engine light: loose gas cap! 😅

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Grumble. We all know the check engine light is just a catch-all these days. Probably an emissions …

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Goodyear Blimp reg. N3A just passed by. They’re headed to a college football game at Eugene, OR from …

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Adult California Gull and their chicks at the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary last July …

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Brown Pelicans occupying an island at the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary back in July …

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Last time I was in Mendocino County, for the first time I finally saw the Stellar’s Jay. The …

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Monday. Here’s a Song Sparrow #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SOoC

A close-up very round brown-red Song Sparrow is hanging out at the stem of a fennel plant, looking just off axis of the camera lens. Its chest is white with speckles.

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It’s the backyard Asian Pear harvest! Yellow are New Century variety and the brown skinned are the …

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Our cultivated California native seedy grapes are ready. The two plants mostly feed Northern …

: Randomized Albums in Track Order on Sonos (and Jellyfin) A solution for Sonos, and other music player software, to generate M3U playlist files with shuffled …

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Small lizard friend at work today

A small lizard is standing with its forelegs extended on a slab of unknown material surrounded by dry dirt and scattered twigs.

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Kīlauea is erupting, and at night it is mesmerizing: www.youtube.com/watch

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It’s been a few months & Return to Office is still exhausting

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Sorry to those that are squeamish about spiders, but this Western Spotted Orbweaver was just asking …

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I think this is the last nectarine harvest. About 6 pounds. The shield bugs were showing up and …

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Black Saddlebags spotted on my walk just now #BlackSaddlebags #Insects #InsectPhotography

A black saddlebag insect on Russian thistle(?). The insect has clear long rectangular black areas on its wings.

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Here’s our Northern California seismograph for the M8.8 earthquake at Kamchatka. Impressive. Took …

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Another nectarine harvest. This time, 4 pounds. Smelling more fragrant this time! A few came off …

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#RedSidedGarterSnake #Snakes #SnakePhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOCA Red-sided garter snake is amidst grass and forbs, with its head facing the camera and its body resting in a U-shape such that part of the snake wraps around to comes towards the camera. The snake has red and dark grey patterned sides with beige stripes along the bottom and top. The snake's upper head is red with large eyes. Its mouth is beige.

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Trail on the Trillium Falls Trail at Redwood National and State Parks #FootPathFriday #RedwoodsNP …

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#WhiteTailedKite #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

A White-tailed kite, soaring above under overcast skies, is gliding away from the camera, showing its belly and an eye. It has a mostly white body with its wings fading to grey. Its neck has a rust-red collar.

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#Wrensday #MarshWren #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

A tiny Marsh Wren, kind of far from the photographer, is perched on a reed, just below a fluffy cat-tail head. The Marsh Wren is looking to the right, with its near vertical short tail just visible behind the reed. It is within a sea of other cat tails, all with fluffy stuff hanging off them.

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#Rabbit #RabbitPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

A relaxed brown little rabbit, in profile view, sits on a path in front of some thorny berry bushes.

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Redwoods, likely grown together, on the Trillium Falls Trail at Redwood National and State Parks …

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Our lone Mexicola avocado! Maybe this’ll be its first fruit to make it to maturity? It’s a long …

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#GreaterYellowLegs #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

A Greater Yellowlegs shorebird has a small fish or minnow hanging from its beak. The bird is mostly grey with black vertical markings here and there, especially on its wings. Its eyes are very dark and its legs are orange yellow. It is standing alone in a very shallow pond on an overcast day.

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Started our Nectarine harvest. Last year they got bug infested but not this year. So far. One branch …

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#SilentSunday #GreatEgret #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

Far in the foggy distance, a hoard of bright white Great Egrets commune atop very tall trees. This is likely a rookery. They can be seen near each other and sometimes there are further away introverted egrets. The trunks of the trees are just visible below the egrets resting in the canopy.

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#GreatEgret #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

A very close Great Egreg stands tall in a pond, both black legs visible, looking to the right. Its yellow eyes and closed orange beak stand out. The Egret has traces of brown sludge on its neck and tail. Its reflection is in the pond, though it is slightly obscured by some extremely blurry vegetation.

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Outdoor backyard irrigation system fixed & weeds removed. That’s it for outdoors stuff! #Yarden …

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That’s a beak-full. Took some time for them to swallow the whole fish. #GreatEgret #Birds …

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Who wants grubs? #AmericanRobin #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

An American Robin has a beak full of grubs! It is very close to the camera, perhaps standing on a gravel path. It is looking away from the camera, standing tall and proud. The robin has a gray back and red chest and belly.

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“Bruh!” (as captioned by a friend) #BlackCappedChickadee #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 …

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Fortunately a small 50-acre wildfire, north of Orland CA, in Stony Creek, is under control, but …

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Since you all love Swallows, here’s one that’s comfy on the outside of their nest box #TreeSwallow …

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#TreeSwallow #Birds #BirdPhotography #NorCalCoast2025 #Fujifilm #SoOC

A tree swallow peaks out from a bird box hole. It has a blue head and a white chin. The bird box is on a post. Behind the bird box is blurred out vegetation.

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#SilentSunday

Set against a blurred background, a perfectly in-focus single horizontal & curved grass head with seeds.

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A duo of juvenile Northern Mockingbirds in our elderberry & ceanothus bushes #BirdPhotography …

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Juvenile Northern Mockingbird enjoying our backyard bounty of Elderberries #NorthernMockingbird …

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Happy mulch watering day to those that celebrate it

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A California Towhee taking the bridge to a singing perch #CaliforniaTowhee #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge …

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I was watching fire tanker aircraft land at San Bernardino (KSBD) on runway 24, which has no …

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Comcast is simplifying its Xfinity internet plans and dropping data caps:

The plans will include …

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If you’re an AvGeek, here’s some freshly available self-care thanks to Cockpit Casual …

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In case you wondered why there are roadless areas on Forest Service land, Zeke Lunder has a good …

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Overnight, an unusual but small M3.6 earthquake happened north of us in Redding, Ca. Crystal clear …

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Return to Office is surprisingly exhausting.

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#SilentSunday A silhouette of a small sitting ground squirrel on the left margin of a brightly lit dirt path surrounded by tall grass and shrubs. A second, smaller squirrel watches the first from the path’s right edge. The background features blurred trees and rooftops.

#GroundSquirrel #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

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In my backyard, a juvenile scrub jay has been tearing pieces of green tree tape and caching them. …

: Switching Network Tips on US Mobile

Potential best practices for US Mobile subscribers switching their network (e.g., from Dark Star to …

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Day 3 of the Micro.blog June Photo Challenge: Shadow

L-188 Electra, operated by AirSpray, at Chico, …

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We’ve a bumper crop of volunteer Holy Basil plants and we’re extremely pleased #Yarden Young Holy Basil plants growing in a garden with a drip irrigation system. Orange pin flags are placed at almost each plant. The ground has soil with small rocks and other organic matter.

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Day 2: Curve

Lufthansa 747-800 (D-ABYH) at SFO, departing for Frankfurt

#MBJune #B748 #DABYH …

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Our lone volunteer backyard sunflower bloomed yesterday #Sunflowers #BloomScrolling #Fujifilm #SOoC A vibrant yellow sunflower in full bloom with green leaves and a blurred background.

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Today we suspended shade cloth over the avocado trees. The trees will now survive 100°F+ …

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#SilentSunday #Sunset #Fujifilm #SOoC a boat view, but with no boat visible, of a sunset over the Pacific ocean with a 98% clear sky and gentle waves, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere. To the right, an island can be seen on the horizon. It is either Maui, Moloka’i, or Lana’i

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Yarden pool season has begun. Rubber ducks (and more elsewhere) serve as life rafts for insects. …

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Black and white photo of a cityscape featuring Coit Tower atop a hill with residential buildings in the foreground. People are walking and standing around a street with a stop sign. A SF Police Department motorcycle witha copy leaning against it and a parked pickup truck are visible. Palm trees and other greenery standout starkly against the bright hard surfaces.

#StreetPhotography #SanFrancisco #BlackAndWhite #Fujifilm #SOoC

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October 2023 at Chico Municipal Airport: BAE 146-200s, Reg. C-GRNT and N908AS. Owned by AirSpray. I …

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Iberia A330-2 & ITA A330-9

An Iberia A330 twin engine aircraft is landing over a runway with a blue ITA A330-9 plane positioned in the foreground, lined up and ready for takeoff. The background is a hazy sky. The foreground has calm San Francisco bay waters.

#WidebodyWednesday #PlaneSpotting #Aviation #AvGeek #SFO #ECMLB …

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Alternate angle of today’s surprise Fence lizard.

#FenceLizard #Fujifilm #SOoC A brown striped Fence lizard stares straight at the camera with sharp black eyes. It’s on a cement pad with a bit of moisture in front of it. There’s an out of focus hose crossing the photo frame to the left.

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A surprise today when a large Fence lizard took advantage of water under a spigot backflow preventer …

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Preparing for takeoff May 1, 2025: Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 flying SFO-FRA and United Boeing 777-2 …

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Family photo of Mount St. Helens (foreground) and Mount Rainier (background). Probably on a flight …

: Tips for Porting out of T-Mobile (mid-May 2025)

T-Mobile raised prices on their "uncarrier” plans that, in plain language, originally claimed prices …

:

Bruce Lee Memorial in Chinatown, San Francisco A black and white photo: a group of people stand in front of a mural depicting Bruce Lee’s face and a dragon showing its tongue on a brick wall behind a Chinatown bakery. The mural is partially obscured by the crowd listening to a tour guide. A sign for Commercial Street is visible behind the crowd. The photo is soft.

#BruceLee #StreetArt #ChinaTown #SanFrancisco …

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The Northern Mockingbird pair are mostly absent from their nest. I guess the ambient temperature is …

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First year our milkweed has bloomed!

#Milkweed #BloomScrolling #Yarden #Fujifilm #SOoCA close-up of pale pink and white Milkweed flowers with green leaves in the background. The flowers have a star-like shape and clustered arrangement.

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These compound eyes! Close-up of a western black horsefly with detailed compound eyes and a hairy body, resting on a surface.

#WesternBlackHorsefly #Insect #InsectPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoC

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This Western Black Horsefly rested in our front yard this morning #WesternBlackHorsefly #Insect …

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This morning in California after the rain #CaWx #California A serene landscape featuring a field of tall, golden grass under a clear blue sky. The sun is rising on the horizon, casting a warm glow across the scene. Distant towering clouds can be seen at the horizon. Tree branches frame the image from the top.

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There are at least two Northern Mockingbird eggs in the nest! The momma bird went off for a snack …

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#PrairieCreekRedwoodsSP #California #SilentSunday Sunlight filters through towering conifer trees in a lush, green coastal rain forest.

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June 2022: Narrow-gauge steam train from Kurort Oybin to Teufelsmühle (south of Zittau) A vintage black steam locomotive on narrow gage railway tracks at a station in Kurort Oybin. A person in uniform walks along the platform. Surrounding landscape includes lush green trees and hills under a cloudy sky.

A group of people rides on an open-air vintage steam train through a lush, green forest. The train is producing smoke, and passengers are seated on wooden benches. Sunlight filters through the trees, creating a serene and picturesque scene.

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Our (male?) Northern Mockingbird is still actively inspecting and improving the nest in our grapes …

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Double-crested Cormorant flying very low over the San Francisco Bay at Anza Fisherman’s Park …

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A foraging Bewick’s Wren A small Wren, poking its beak about a piece of dead wood, is well camouflaged among dense tree branches. #Wrensday #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm

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A claw machine house on Grant Avenue in San Francisco #BlackAndWhite #SanFrancisco #Photography …

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A Northern Mockingbird has decided to build a nest on the grape vines growing under the outer edge …

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#SilentSunday #FujifilmA black and white photo of a San Francisco city intersection with the front end of a bus, traffic lights, and overhead wires. In the background, the Transamerica Pyramid and the Catholic church Saint Francis of Assisi with pointed spires are visible. Pedestrians walk along a sidewalk.

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Hawaiian A330-243 (N391HA) HNL-SFO on May 3rd, 2025, south of arrival runways #N391HA #A332 #AvGeek …

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Me getting Dim Sum for breakfast in San FranciscoA man wearing a hat, KN95 mask, and camera stands in a small takeout Dim Sum restaurant. The floor has a checkered tile pattern with WATCH YOUR STEP tape on the threshold. There's a digital ordering kiosk, a TV on the wall.

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Whimbrels! From near San Francisco Intl. Airport #Whimbrel #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm A group of Wimbrels wading in shallow water. The brown birds have long, thick bills and are standing or preening on a Bay low tide muddy area

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Bayfront Park. 📍

A bumblebee enjoying a carpet of asters (probably invasive capeweed 😕) at Bayfront …

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TIL the Houston Rockets have a game at the Golden State Warriors tomorrow in SF. This is the team’s …

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Hah. I went to load Ritchie Roesch’s “PRO Negative 160C” film sim recipe to my Fujifilm X-T5 just to …

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Backyard native flower status: Pink and white California roses and Elderberry. There appear to be …

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Backyard trees have decent fruit set. New Century Asian Pears, Hosui Asian Pears, and a Nectarine Green leaves and an unripe, small unripe green New Century Asian Pear fruit growing on a tree branch with a cloudy sky in the background.

A young tree with small, green Hosui Asian Pear fruits growing among glossy green leaves. The tree is supported by a stake. The background is a blurred garden setting.

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From a few weekends ago, Tree Swallows racing through the skies above Black Butte Lake. …

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Cool orange headed beetles on our milkweed today A pair of small beetles with orange heads and dark bodies are clinging to the stem of a green Milkweed leaves. A smaller beetle is atop the larger beetle. The background is softly blurred. #Beetles #InsectPhotography #Milkweed …

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From this morning, a Cranefly on a Milkweed leaf #Cranefly #Milkweed #NativePlants #Yarden A close-up of a crane fly is on a green leaf surrounded by blurred foliage. Craneflies are really weird looking.

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Colorado's outdoor companies are buckling under Trump trade war:

“I’m the U.S. manufacturer using …

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Ospreys are amazing. Last week, before our eyes, one plunged into Black Butte lake and caught a …

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You got this  #WrensDay #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifim #SOoC

A small Bewick's Wren is perched on a winter naked Willow branch. This Wren, for once, isn't singing but is squat against the branch, looking out. It has a really long narrow and dark tail and white stripes on its head. Its body is mostly gray.

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At Black Butte Lake this last Saturday, we were treated by a flying formation of American White …

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Useful FastMail Rules that rely on Headers by @jsonbecker

Mail rules on Fastmail that make my life …

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Yesterday: Damselfly and a Mosquito at Black Butte Lake #Damselfly #BlackButteLake #Fujifilm #SOoC A blue damselfly resting on a rock surrounded by wet, sandy ground with small pebbles and a mosquito to its left. Both are surrounded by wet brown muddy muck.

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Spectacular day at Black Butte Lake today A single tree stands atop a grassy hill in the distance, framed by lush green trees in the foreground. Below is a body of water reflecting the greenery. The sky is bright blue with large, fluffy clouds.#BlackButteLake #Fujifilm #SOoC

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Okay, dilapidated front yard sprinkler valve assembly is removed and system capped off. The water …

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My latest project is to remove one entire unused sprinkler valve assembly. Took a bit of care …

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Dad and Son Crash Underwater Drone Into Unexploded World War II Bomb | PetaPixel:

The cops asked …

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Bushtit! A small gray-brown Bushtit is on a tree branch surrounded by green leaves and twigs. It has a rather active pose, like it’s in the process of turning around.#Bushtit #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

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Towhees are all the rage right now, so here’s one busy looking for food at the Refuge’s parking area …

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AirlineReporter has a JFK to Singapore flight report up! World’s longest flight.

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Loggerhead shrike from the Refuge the other weekend #LoggerheadShrike #Birds #BirdPhotography …

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Flew from Orland-Haigh Field (O37) to San Francisco International in the Beaver, and ATC told me to …

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X-Plane 12.2 beta is out and it’s nice. It fixes dark cockpits, greatly improves atmospherics, …

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For the first time, I repaired a sliding glass door screen today. The old synthetic one had weakened …

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I was feeling left out, so please enjoy the Black-Necked Stilts in lieu of penguins. …

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I finally have a #Wrensday post, thanks to this constantly singing Bewick’s WrenA small bird with a brownish body and patterned tail perches on a nearly vertical slender, bare tree branch against a clear blue sky. #BewicksWren …

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Another photo from the Refuge this last SaturdayA flock of birds flying in a clear sky, featuring white egrets (2 total) and dark white-faced ibises (12 total) with long, curved beaks. #GreatEgret #WhiteFacedIbis #Birds #BirdPhotography …

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I once again commit to only Fork food. That is all.

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A photo directly below and looking up at a perched and sunning Turkey Vulture. Its wings are open and its red bare skin head is clearly visible above its wings. It has some weird downy feathers surrounding its beak. #TurkeyVulture #Birds #BirdWatching #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

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CalFire has a pretty neat Fire Fighting Aircraft Recognition Guide including radio frequencies and a …

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American Bushtit at the refuge yesterday. What an acrobatic fuzzball! An American Bushtit, with a light orange head and gray fuzz-ball of a body, is upside down, hanging on a young Willow tree branch full of golden catkins against a clear blue sky. #AmericanBushtit #Birds …

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What's new in GraphicConverter? macOS SHORTCUTS have been added! I thought they were going to wait …

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On the Waihe’e Ridge Trail on Maui in 2021 #SilentSunday A sunlit tropical forest trail surrounded by tall thin trees and dense green foliage, with dappled sunlight on the dirt path.

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Yesterday, I shot at the refuge using Ritchie Roesch’s “Emulsion ’86, a Fujifilm X-T5 (X-Trans V) …

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Western Fence lizard basking in the sun at the Refuge today #WesternFenceLizard …

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Two Eurasian Collared Doves enjoying this evening #EurasianCollaredDoves #Birds #BirdWatching …

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Random unexplained photo of a very narrow part of our backyard #BloomScrolling #Ceanothus …

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It’s quite warm and pleasant in California. Running the whole house fan in the evenings is glorious.

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Ceanothus and Asian Pear #BloomScrolling A Ceanothus bush with abundant clusters of small blue flowers and green leaves, situated in front of a wooden fence. The ground around the tree is covered with mulch and branches.A close-up of an Asian Pear branch with several small white flower buds and green leaves. One closed bud is being broken into by a European honey bee. Its butt is sticking out, surrounded by tightly closed flower pedals. The background is out of focus with greenery and a clear blue sky.Close-up of Asian Pear white blossoms on a tree branch with a blurred background, featuring clear blue sky and foliage.White blossoms with noticeably pink stamens on an Asian Pear branch with a bokeh background.

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#SilentSunday #DeathValleyNP #MosaicCanyon #Fujifilm #SOoCA rocky desert valley and wash with sparse vegetation and hikers in the distance, surrounded by layered, red to gray rugged mountains and canyon walls.

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I guess both of my Asian Pear trees have a fungal infection. These black spots certainly do not …

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Flew my hot-rod DHC-2 Beaver to the gravel strip at Lake Pillsbury. My landing was awful as I …

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DOGE Federal Worker Layoffs Are Causing Trauma – and Costing the Government | US News Opinion

The …

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Super-duper niche but: if you fly X-Plane 12 with the Thranda DHC-2 Beaver with a Yawman Arrow …

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Last Friday, this coyote had plenty of rabbits and birds to consider but instead wanted to check us …

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Whoops #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #GreatBlueHeron #Birds A great blue heron in flight, captured from the back, with its wings spread wide. It’s blurry because the photographer wasn’t ready. The background is a grassy field under a partly cloudy sky.

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The U.S. egg industry has forced us to find egg alternatives. Vegans know! For breading sweet …

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#SilentSunday Snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains with Mount Tom under a clear blue sky, with a valley and sparse trees in the foreground. The peaks are just lit by the setting sun.

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My simple X-Plane 12 FlyWithLua scripts that enable aircraft specific multi-button functionality for …

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A Northern Harrier from yesterday’s visit to the refuge #NorthernHarrier #Birds #BirdWatching …

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What luck at the refuge today! Among many others, we were treated to Northern Flickers, an Egret …

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The Albums app for iOS can now save Quick Collections to Apple Music playlists. Now my Sonos …

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Here’s my first clear keeper ever of an American Bushtit. Such a smoll borb!A small American Bushtit perched on a tree branch among twigs and young willow leaves, set against a bright blue sky.

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Flew the Beaver VFR from Orland Haigh Field (O37) to Round Valley (O09) this morning. Middle Eel …

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Up an hour early and heating the house an hour early. DST feels like a DOGE thing

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The Seattle Times: Trump’s Forest Service firings killed dreams, left big holes to fill in WA …

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From SFGate: ‘There is literally no one’: Forest service in Lake Tahoe is gutted …

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Mount Lassen from Brokeoff Mountain, October 2019. The trail up Brokeoff is arduous with a massive …

: A fired biologist criticizes Elon Musk for valuing nature only in monetary terms and lacking …

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Manky1’s Dash 8 Q400 aircraft for X-Plane just got a major update!

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#SilentSunday #UbehebeCrater #DeathValleyNP #Fujifilm #SOoC A view of a large, steep-walled volcanic crater with multi-colored rock layers, mainly red to yellow. The floor is covered with sparse vegetation and a mix of sandy and rocky terrain. The sky is overcast, adding a muted tone to the scene.

: Can One Use an LLM to Defeat the Evil Robots?

Llama 3.2 prompt using Ollama: “I am required to send five bullets of last week’s work …

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I adore our random bunch of daffodils that grew unbidden under a manzanita in the front yard …

: Trump and Musk plan to close 164 Interior Department offices, severely impacting local economies and …

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When you’re not used to landing tail draggers (DHC–2 Beaver in this case), physics gives you the …

: The post emphasizes the importance of the go-around procedure in aviation for safety, contrasting it …

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When California Went to War Over Eggs | Smithsonian

The scramble for eggs drew entrepreneurs to an …

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Guidance on OPM Saturday Email | National Federation of Federal Employees

NFFE believes this email …

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Our backyard Nectarine is now in full bloom! #NectarineTree #Yarden #HomeOrchard #BloomScrolling …

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A few weeks steady at $8.98 for a dozen eggs.

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I’m going to learn to fly this de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (developed by Thranda for X-Plane …

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This Black Phoebe chirped it up while catching insects mid-air in our backyard today. This is the …

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First bloom of our nectarine #Yarden #HomeOrchard A close-up of a budding nectarine tree branch with clusters of pink blossoms against a blurred background of a metal shed.

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Welcome to Superb Owl Sunday. Though I’ll throw an Eagle in too. #SuperbOwl #SuperbEagle …

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Backyard nectarine is at first pink #Yarden #HomeOrchard A close-up of a tree branch with a single pink flower bud about to bloom. The background features more branches, a wooden fence, a metal shed, and a partly cloudy sky.

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. #SilentSunday #Fujifilm #SOoCA far off coyote trots across a sloping coastal meadow with many white flowers, framed by a calm Pacific Ocean and few scattered clouds.

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Lewis’s Woodpecker (spotted Saturday) #LewissWoodpecker #BlackButteReservoir #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoCA Lewis’s Woodpecker, with a red eye liner, a black head, and a chest fading from gray to pink, is peaking out, half-way exposed, on the branch of a tree with bare, tangled branches against a clear blue sky.

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Went out to Burris Creek today, west of Black Butte Lake. For the first time we saw Lewis’s …

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Well, it’s a fine photo but I’m not going to try any harder. It’s cold and windy out there and this …

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It’s been years but managed to boot up an old QNAP TS-251. Last firmware was from 2023. If I decide …

: Central Ducted Fujitsu Heat Pump: Use the Wall Thermostat Sensor instead of the Air Handler's Sensor

If you have a central ducted Fujitsu Heat Pump with a wired remote control unit (wall thermostat), …

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Today I finally photographed one of several Orange-crowned Warblers that use our backyard as a …

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The resident Scrub Jay had herself a vigorous bath on this fine California day #WesternScrubJay …

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I’m stoked that our asparagus bed, now in its third home over the last ten years, is beginning to …

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For the A330-900 Neo by X-Plane aircraft developer Toliss, I wrote a FlyWithLua script that enables …

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My top 2024 albums per the Albums app. This is not a full dataset though as I used Tidal until they …

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2024 was an off year for travel as I didn’t once make it to a major airport. I only stopped in …

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If you fly X-Plane 12 with the Yawman Arrow Controller, check out my basic aircraft specific …

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Today: Downy Woodpecker skillfully foraging at the Pine Creek Unit of the refuge #DownyWoodpecker …

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Snow sculptures from a very wintery Berlin in early December 2023 A snowman with three snowballs is displayed on a pedestal in front of a store. It has a stick for arms and a simple face. There’s a small signpost behind it, and a card rack is visible to the side. A store front is behind the snowman. A small snowman stands in the snow with stick arms, closed eyes made from twigs, and a leaf for a mouth. In the background, there is a large out of place rock formation. The surrounding area is snowy with trees in the distance.

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Last Sunday, we witnessed a Western Meadowlark in a meadow! 😲🫣 #WesternMeadowLark …

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Poor Great Horned Owls have no privacy in the winter #GreatHornedOwls #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge …

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A soggy juvenile Bald Eagle at the Refuge today! #BaldEagle #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge …

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Last Sunday: an American Kestrel. Just look at that face! 🤩 #AmericanKestrel …

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Stereotypical Black-necked Stilts at the refuge yesterday #BlackNeckedStilts …

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The Snow Geese cannot be missed right now at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Also not to be …

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When my wireless network goes on the fritz, adding another WiFi node fixes it. Then I remove it a …

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Only 9am and already there’s an inch of rain for the day! Gotta pump the closed basin in our …

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Overnight rain total was 1.25”. That’s quite good for the Sacramento Valley! #CaWx

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Marsh Wren! #WrensDay #MarshWren #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoC 🪶 A Marsh Wren is perched on a tall green reed, singing with its beak open. The background is a blurred natural setting with trees.

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Some ducks had a bad hair day yesterday on account of the wind. These may have been Mergansers …

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The new Dawn dish soap scent is… intense. And therefore bad. Didn’t they think of the poor oil …

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~M5.7 earthquake just happened southeast of Reno, NV. I did not feel it but of course my Raspberry …

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A stunning clear day today. Here’s Mt. Lassen from the Black Butte Dam. Quite the change from burn …

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A nice, if breezy, day at Black Butte Reservoir. It was not great for bird watching… unless you …

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A fire pit at a Christmas Market in Berlin, 2023 #Berlin #Travel #Fujifilm #SOoC People warming their hands around a fire pit with glowing logs.

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USGS reports a M6.6 off Cape Mendocino. Here’s my seismograph curtesy of Raspberry Shake. Be sure to …

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well that was an earthquake that I felt. Thought I was losing it for a moment #CAWx #Earthquake

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Berlin, December 2023. Looking across the Spree toward the Berlin Cathedral #Berlin #Travel …

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Frankfurt Airport train station on December 4, 2023 #Travel #Trains #EDDF #Fujifilm #SOoC A modern train station with a sleek, white train on the left platform. Passengers are walking and waiting near platforms 6 and 7. The scene is well-lit with a reflective ceiling and digital displays showing platform information. The photograph must be shooting from an escalator.

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On this day in 2023, we began our trip to Germany. We flew KSFO-EDDF (Frankfurt) on United 777-3 …

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A random San Francisco photo, looking south down Main Street from Market Street. January 2023. …

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A very grim story - it doesn’t candy coat the great human tragedy of airplane crashes: “Chaos in the …

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Our first frost! And so the birds are having a lousy morning (re)discovering frozen water #Birds 🪶 A pair of small birds, one with a red head, perched on the edge of a birdbath against a wooden fence background.

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November 26 and we’ve already heard Last Christmas.

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I nearly forgot to show-off this Ruby-crowned Kinglet that foraged in our backyard today. It loved …

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Big storm coming, the air is thick with smoke, so all the ag piles must be burning 🤢 glad we’ve an …

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Yawman Arrow is celebrating MSFS2024’s release with a sale on their fantastically portable …

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More big birds from yesterday: a White Egret, a Red Tailed Hawk, and an Air India 777-2 VT-AEG …

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Today’s best birds at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge includes a Bald Eagle, a Belted Kingfisher …

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“We have about the same number of federal employees than we had in the 1960s, even though the …

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Tankless Water Heater citric acid flush day! About 1.5lb citric acid to 3.5 gallons of water. Long …

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Big X-Plane 12 beta release! ATC now support SIDs, STARs, and the AIRAC cycle is now 2402, iirc …

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X-Crafts, an X-Plane Aircraft developer, is trying to list all actively maintained X-Plane 11 and 12 …

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House Finches are gorging on shriveled up elderberries in our backyard A small bird with red undercarriage and head perched among branches with dark shriveled elderberries, partially obscured by a blurred blue tarp. The bird’s beak is stained by the berries.

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A Lesser Gold Finch gorging on sweet basil seeds in our backyard A small bird with grey and yellow plumage perched on dry, brown stems with wilted leaves, amidst a few green sweet basil leaves. The bird has a beak full of black seeds. A small yellow-bellied bird with a beak full of seeds is perched among dry plants and foliage. An orange pin flag is partially visible among the greenery in the background.

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As previously mentioned, there was a circus behind us from last Friday through Monday. And its final …

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A circus came to town for the weekend. Behind us. The City got an earful from us and our neighbors …

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I just donated to Rose Yee to #KickLaMalfaOut

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Welcome back, small yellow bird! #Birds #WarblerOrNot #BirdWatching #Fujifilm #SOoC 🪶A small yellow bird is perched upside-down on a grape vine, pecking at a cluster of shriveled red grapes against a backdrop of green and orange leaves. A white metal trellis supports the vine.

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As today is the International Day of the Controller, here’s a photo to celebrate their astonishing …

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We voted! I voted the Not a Loser or a Sucker Veteran slate. Oh, and for democracy and actual …

:

Big thank you to Hawaiian Airlines for being compassionate and generously refunding our …

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Bidwell Park has goats! Under the watchful eye of a Great Pyrenees, they’re chowing down on the …

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But for the cost, this new lens is tempting. PetaPixel: The Familiar Fujifilm XF 500mm f/5.6 Brings …

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Today we made a quick visit to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. There’s no missing the White …

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It’s a nice 69°F outside in NorCal but the air quality is gnarly because of agriculture/large …

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A (western?) toad left this dropping literally at our front door. It’s full of pillbugs …

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Inspector Woodpecker was quite enthusiastic about this eucalyptus #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge …

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Here’s to a fine Sunday morning flying an Embraer E-175 from KSEA to KPHX (Seattle to Phoenix). Mt. …

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At the refuge, the only newcomers are white crowns and white fronted geese. But I only photographed …

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XPlane 12’s boat update is fun but IMHO a sailboat just down SFO’s runway 28R is taking it too far …

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It’s great that XPlane lets aircraft devs bypass native modeling but that means other native …

:

For now, here’s an urban Black Phoebe #BlackPhoebe #Birds #BirdWatching A small bird is perched on a tree branch amidst dense green foliage. The bird has a black head, back, and wings with a light-colored belly. Dappled sunlight filters through the leaves.

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Geese & White Crowns are back. Soon as the weather stays cooler, I hope to be out at the refuges …

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Yikes. Dresden’s Carola Bridge collapsed in their early morning hours. Apparently a tram had just …

:

I got the latest iOS 18 developer beta and its Home app can download PG&E energy use data & …

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Today, our roofers repaired a set of joined eaves that had been a leaky but exterior only problem …

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My wife enjoyed sunset at Laguna Beach this last FridaySunset at a beach, with a large group of people gathered on the grass and along the shore. Silhouettes of people, palm trees, and a distant island are visible against a colorful sky with shades of orange, pink, and purple.

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My modern need to vanquish all notifications and icon badges has bled into World of Warcraft, where …

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Today, my wife (on a business trip) photographed the Southwest “Missouri One” livery at Sacramento …

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I’ve had Grado SR–125 headphones for almost 20 years now. I’ve neglected them the last ten years. …

:

Spam texts are getting feisty

A text exchange shows two messages: the first suggests a trip to Hawaii in October with a thinking emoji, and the second questions why the person hasn't responded.

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In World of Warcraft’s War Within, I have made it to Dornogal. My Druid hasn’t died yet. Not sure if …

:

FlightFactor 777v2 Release is “Imminent”

The FlightFactor 777v2 has been in development for a …

:

I just learned about Follower Dungeons in World of Warcraft. Being able to now play the game solo, …

:

Got the new Covid vaccine tonight

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Asian pears are ready for fresh eating! The yellow ones are New Century and the brown ones are …

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Last Sunday, caught this Navy E6-B bird flying west of the refuge. Apparently they were on a west …

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Saw a bad-ass Tarantula-hawk Wasp at the refuge. I haven’t seen tarantulas around these parts, …

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Rabbits all day at the refuge this pleasant summer morning #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Rabbits A wildlife scene featuring a jackrabbit with large ears sitting on a trail, framed between two hiking trail signs. There’s lots of tall, dry grass and on the horizon, a clump of trees.

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In X-Plane 12, flew from KLAX to KJFK in the classic 747-200. I came in hot and then a bit low, but …

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My RaspberryShake detected the M7.1 earthquake from super early this morning Pacific time. Here’s …

:

It’s really disappointing that Amazon can’t be bothered to make reasonable delivery schedules in my …

:

Well, I cannot help but be excited that Tim Walz is a Geographer and a GIS practitioner.

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If you have a Yawman Arrow Controller, X-Plane 12, and the Felis 747-200, here’s my amateur-hour …

:

Smoke from thr Park Fire has, for the first time, obviously made it to the surface of the west side …

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Plex is nice. Random album radio FTW. Even better that I can augment my local library by adding …

:

The temperatures are in the 70s and it is quite overcast with clouds and smoke. So we took advantage …

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I guess this is one way Scrubjays cool themselves off? All splayed & fluffed out with its beak …

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A better view of the Park Fire pyrocumulous from the other side of the Sacramento Valley. #ParkFire …

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Park Fire from way across the west Sacramento Valley near Orland ☹️ #ParkFire #CAWx A suburban street scene featuring a gas station, several vehicles, and an American flag on a pole. The clear blue sky is contrasted by pyrocumulus clouds in the background. A red curb in the foreground reads “NO PARKING FIRE LANE.” Trees

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Today’s Sonos app update restores most local library functionality. Here I go with app and firmware …

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At Medford, Oregon airport, two fire fighter tanker aircraft on final approach on July 17, 2024. A …

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Apple moving drivers away from kernel space to user space on macOS suddenly makes sense. #macOS

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With all the CrowdStrike insanity, glad I’m off work today. But hoping my org didn’t get hit too …

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Today I’m at Medford just for the evening. So here’s a photo straight out of the camera of tanker …

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So my spouse noticed her Kindle Lock Screen is now trying to sell Large Language Model slop 😖 A Kindle screen displaying the cover of a book titled “The Science of Sleep.” The cover features a stylized landscape with mountains, a crescent moon, and stars under the title. Below the image, a button labeled “Read now” is present. There’s a subtitle the looks vaguely like “ullocking the secceltes fon resttfulll nights”

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Finally, alternatives to Lithium batteries are on the market.

Undecided with Matt Ferrell: Solid …

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Monsoonal moisture is invading the Northern Sacramento Valley. There are high level clouds now. …

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If you like Watch Duty, the free (!) iOS app Calamity goes beyond wildfires into major airport …

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The highly unusual multi-day extreme heat of over 110°F took a huge toll on our Asian pears and …

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SFGate has a good round-up of the latest at KSFO (San Francisco International Airport): "Why the …

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Rabbit at the refuge yesterday. #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Rabbit A small rabbit sits in the shade on a sunlit dirt path, surrounded by dry vegetation and a smidge of greenery in the background.

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Today, before the heat got too extreme, we visited a nearby wildlife refuge. Here’s a Heron, King …

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Good morning from the westside of the North Sacramento Valley where, at 06:00, it was 79°F at 31% …

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It is 19:00 and the outdoor temperature is finally dropping. The high was 113°F at 7% relative …

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Today I learned how to use BareBones Edit with Git. It is real easy. I’m such a nerd.

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I’m watering the front yard plants tonight because knuckleheads gotta set off fireworks. I must say …

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In my part of the N. Sacramento Valley, 85 degrees F this morning. The humidity is 20% and it’ll …

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Internet has been great all morning. Condition Green. Thanks for being good sports over my rants!

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I connected my RaspberryPi ADSB receiver to Ethernet and turned off WiFi. It gained an impressive …

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Maybe my getting stormy today over a few week’s of progressively worse internet speeds dislodged an …

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I sure hope my streaming services don’t use IP addresses alone to determine a household. ‘Cuz my IP …

: Comcast/Xfinity Internet Woes

Comcast/Xfinity internet at my home has some kind of network issue that sure feels like throttling. …

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U.S. land management agencies losing Chevron deference will be madness. Generally judges accept that …

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How about some American White Pelicans doing some formation flying last weekend. They were real far …

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Fujifilm just released firmware updates that include, for some models, the Reala Ace film …

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A different kind of common bird one can see from the nearby refuge. An Air Tractor. The heat shimmer …

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Here’s that Northern Harrier, a bit distant & blurred in the center of this photo, that I …

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We saw a Double Crested Cormorant at the wildlife refuge today. Not shown here, but there was also a …

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A helicopter has been flying a lot over my town so I looked up their previous flights. Okay… guess I …

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On PetaPixel: Scientists Capture Never-Before-Seen Footage of Deep-Sea Squid Cradling Huge Eggs

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Windows 11’s File Explorer’s Forward and Back buttons randomly not working is quite the …

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Stories on California ghost towns are always entertaining. The latest one is from SF Gate: It was …

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I received a new kind of spam text message today: “Hey, is this Ryan?” Guess spammers/scammers are …

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Our resident scrub jays didn’t have much of a green thumb this year. Or they did a great job eating …

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Our avocado tree seems to be producing now. But I won’t bet on any of the fruit making it to …

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Just as most non-native plants stop flowering in time for summer, the California Fuchsias have just …

: Paramount+'s Strategy is Baffling

Paramount+ still has nothing to watch once a season of Star Trek is over. Paramount cancelled Star …

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Marestail weeds are impossible to pull out of compacted ground. I’m avoiding herbicide so I’ve …

: The Flight Simulator Navigation Data Economy

Flight Simulation has quite the economy surrounding it. I’m not particularly fond of the navigation …

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The Capay Unit refuge was bustling today. Here’s a Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar and a Black …

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Sonos Ace headphones are not for me since all I ever wanted from such a thing was to transfer my …

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Western Wood-Pewee! A first for us. Spotted at the Pine Creek Unit of the #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge …

: Windows 11 Thoughts

I have Windows 11 on my work PC now.

What does not work for me:

  1. File Explorer's simplified …

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It is hilarious to me, but not surprising, that my AirPods only work properly with the web-based …

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It is super cool that Flame Skimmer dragonflies are spending time in our backyard. This one was …

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Lots of Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies feasting on purple thistle flower nectar at a wildlife …

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 From last weekend at the refuge: a Bullock's Oriole in a Willow tree. #BullocksOriole #Birds …

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NO Pedestrians Beyond This Point: Black Phoebe enforced #Birds #Fujifilm #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge

A Black Phoebe is perched at the top right corner of a road sign is posted among greenery indicating NO PEDESTRIANS BEYOND THIS POINT, with a natural, lush background. A dirt road peaks into view.

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At the refuge yesterday, pretty certain I saw and photographed a Western Kingbird vomit up a stone …

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Sometimes unintentional photos are the best. Today at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge south …

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Aurora in Northern California ☺️ Good night, folks! A night sky with visible stars and vibrant aurora borealis streaks above silhouetted foliage.

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Tonight with aurora potential in Northern California, there’s opportunity to run three cameras …

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As I understand the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, it being upside-down in the trees is pretty typical. …

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This is a vicious scam. Chase Bank needs to fix that app prompt ASAP to make it clear they’re …

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One of very many Western Blue Birds at Lynch Canyon Open Space Park, Northern California. Lots of …

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In Tonopah, NV, they have a Hometown Pizza and two classy looking hotels 📷 #MBApr A street view showing a small town with historical buildings, including the Mizpah Hotel and the Belvada Hotel, cars on the road, and various business signs under a partly cloudy sky.

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On our hike last Saturday, a few drifting swarms of bugs were along the trail. Probably mosquitoes …

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One year ago today: spotted three of the California Condor community in flight at Pinnacles National …

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On today’s 3 mile hike at the Lynch Canyon Open Space Park in California ‘s North Bay, we were …

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Poor critter lost its tail! This was also the first lizard I’ve seen this year so it has had a rough …

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I’ve had a lot of gardening to do with sharp implements so finally got my TDAP booster. I’m ready …

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I think this is the “Big Al” Allosaurus skeleton at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, MT. Nice …

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I love the layers of light in this photo of me taking photos in the desert near Death Valley 📷 …

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Compared to my old Intel 16” MacBook Pro, this M3 14” MBP is dreamy. As everyone reports, the …

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I’d love to be this solo seagull flying sapphire blue skies 📷 #MBApr A seagull in flight against a clear blue sky, with focus on the bird’s underwing and head visible.

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Death Valley’s Telescope Peak from Furnace Creek. It is the park’s tallest mountain at 11,043 feet …

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Mid-March 2024 at the Donner Summit rest area (east-bound). I suppose once the building was dug out, …

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We’re planting only one row this year. Just tomatoes, various peppers, basil, and an overwintered …

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The new The Libertines album “All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade” is solid if you like Britpop

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A slightly early birthday present to me: a Sonos Move 2. Sounds very good! It’ll be great keeping me …

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Neighbor’s gas mower they use every year: won’t start. My electric mower I start every couple of …

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Got off work just in time to find out Congressman LaMalfa voted against aid for Ukraine. 😩 …

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Here is a random Death Valley vista. They’re all stunning no matter my mood 📷 #MBApr A desert landscape with eroded hills, winding roads, and a backdrop of mountains under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

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Definitely looking forward to the absolute transcendence that is homegrown nectarines! Our two Asian …

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Gotta have a bit of the flâneur spirit to partake in street photography. Or you’d miss a random …

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Today I lucked out and saw a small Painted Lady butterfly delighting in our clover. My X-T5 camera …

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A gorgeous Barrel Cactus from Joshua Tree National Park 📷 #MBApr A colorful cactus with pink spines and yellow flowers amidst rocky terrain.

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My spouse took a page from Korean cuisine and made a nice gochujang-based BBQ sauce for tonight’s …

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In X-Plane 12, I finally managed to get the 747-200 (modeled by Felis) up to cruise with only minor …

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I installed my first Sharkbite plumbing fixture and it’s kinda magic how easy & low stress it …

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Uncovered a historical artifact while cutting back the lavender. Guess AT&T hasn’t needed this …

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Perfect day in California for yard work. So much to do. I can’t believe this young of the year mix …

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A few weeks ago, we spotted a Bald Eagle high in the sky. It appeared to have nesting material or …

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A narrow gauge steam train engine at Oybin, Saxony, Germany. June 2022. 📷 #MBApr A vintage black steam narrow-gage locomotive with the number 991760-0 on a railroad track with steam coming out, a conductor standing by, and forested hills in the background. There are also additional railroad tracks to the left. Steam comes out of its front.

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Last December, in Berlin, we went to the Ritter Sport store and bought what seemed like every …

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I was way more interested in the sunspot. Used the reverse binoculars projection method to aid in …

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The occasional donut or two may not be genuinely super-duper essential to my well-being but they’re …

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Here’s a windy 2019 August day at Coyote Point, just south of San Francisco International Airport. …

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Death Valley National Park can seem incredibly (and perhaps dangerously) serene 📷 #MBApr A dirt road cutting through a desolate desert landscape with no vegetation, under a clear blue sky with a few thin but opaque clouds.

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Last weekend, fresh foliage adorn our stalwart oaks of Northern California. The interior coast …

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A M4.8 earthquake northeast of Chico just happened. I didn’t feel it. But my Raspberry Shake REALLY …

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Ever played with Guinness themed cards at Lassen National Park? Eight years ago, we did! 📷 #MBApr A concrete bench top view of a hand of playing cards being held over a deck of Guinness-themed goose playing cards. The hand revealed includes a mix of hearts, clubs, and diamonds, with a focus on a Jack of clubs and a six of clubs prominently displayed. One card has a goose saying “My goodness, my Guinness.” Another shows Saint James Gate, “Home of Guinness”, opening up to a gaggle of animals including a Tucan, pelican, and kangaroo. There is a green suited man wearing a monocle.

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Pear flowers! This year our two Asian pear trees bloomed simultaneously. Good bet they cross …

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Absolutely massive earthquake in Taiwan. Detected by my Raspberry Shake seismometer. It was …

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I’m going to try participating in micro.blog’s April photo challenge. So each day in April I’ll post …

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Flying Swallows are tough to photograph. They are speedy! Here’s an assortment of Cliff Swallows …

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I never appreciated how electric ovens do not exhaust heat like gas ovens. This new oven of ours …

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My watch today basically told me to breathe. There was no good reason for the surge of adrenaline at …

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 7

This is the last post in this Death Valley photo log. After the short hike at Mosaic Canyon, it …

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 6

This is a slightly shorter post today for just Mosaic Canyon.

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 5

Most of the second full day at Death Valley! 

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 4

Following the lake at Badwater, we went reversed course to the north.

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 3

Continuing from the Stove-Pipe Wells village, we went to an actual Stove-Pipe Well just to the …

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For the first time both our Asian pear trees are in full bloom! They can pollinate each other so …

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 2

Tonight I’ve a quick post of our drive into Death Valley.

: Death Valley Road Trip Part 1

We had been talking about visiting Death Valley for many years. We finally did it! Here is the first …

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Rainbow Canyon near Death Valley

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At Death Valley, a Crow Apparently Begs

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Passed through Tonopah 🤡 😬 A roadside view of the Clown Motel with colorful clown figures on the sign and the building’s facade, under a partly cloudy sky. A colorful roadside motel attraction with clown motifs, including a large clown sign, against a backdrop of barren hills. The building features a welcome sign and a museum label, with festive clown murals and decorations with a red and yellow exterior.

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The wind was far calmer today at Death Valley, so here’s a Desert Sunflower without motion blur …

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Meanwhile, yesterday, somewhere in Death Valley #DeathValley #Fujifilm A scenic view of a desert landscape with rolling hills in the foreground and a valley with mountains in the background, under a partly cloudy sky. The valley has a salt flat.

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I’m trying the Tidal music streaming service. So far I really like the mixes they make based on the …

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Conical perforated metal strainers are pretty great for pulpy food compared to fine mesh wire …

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Daylight Saving Time means more energy use. The heat pump works harder w/hour longer low temps …

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Our full bloom nectarine tree Branches of pink nectarine blossoms against a blue sky with bokeh clouds.

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We were barely tolerated by a pair of nesting Osprey at the refuge today. 😬#Osprey #BirdPhotography …

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Yesterday I picked up our wine club box at the New Clairvaux winery in Vina, CA. Couldn’t beat the …

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Our front yard Ceanothus bushes are nearly in full bloom. They are very popular with all sorts of …

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A Glossy Ibis at the refuge yesterday #GlossyIbis #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge A glossy ibis in flight against a clear blue sky. It has metallic blue wings and a slight metallic red color. Its bill is long, slender, and curved. Its legs are pointed straight back.

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Spotted a stunning American Kestrel at the refuge today #Birds #BirdWatching #AmericanKestrel A blue and orange kestrel perched on a leafing Willow branch against a clear blue sky.

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Lagunitas IPNA is very good for a hoppy non-alcoholic beer. It’s has non-generic, tasty hops (citrus …

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Some photos my awesome wife took at the airports she traveled through for a work trip. A319s and a …

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Sun and rain! Thunderstorms are trying to develop. Maybe they’ll amount ri something on the east …

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Today, our nectarine had its first bloom #BloomScrolling A close-up of a pink nectarine blossom on a tree branch with buds and a bright blue sky in the background.

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We think this is a Loggerhead Shrike, though could also easily be a Northern Shrike. Either way, …

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Black Necked Stilts at the Sacramento Refuge yesterday with the Sutter Buttes looming beyond #Birds …

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Northern California is in full almond bloom. Our backyard fruit trees are on the precipice of …

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Gorgeous day at the Refuge. #Fujifilm A person in a wide-brimmed hat and plaid shirt standing by a pond and looking through a camera at a landscape with distant snow-capped mountains and blue sky with wispy clouds. Slightly reflective pond surrounded by grasses and bare trees with snow-capped mountains in the background under a blue sky with wispy clouds.

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“‘Like sending bees to war’: the deadly truth behind your almond milk obsession” …

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A Golden-crowned Sparrow 🪶 #BirdPhotography #GoldenCrownedSparrow #Fujifilm A Gold Crown Sparrow, mostly brown but with a gold stripe on its head, is perched on a bare tree branch, with green vegetation and other branches blurred in the background.

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This rainy President’s Day, I’m getting used to the Yawman Arrow Controller by flying …

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If the sun can keep breaking through the clouds today, we may see some thunderstorms in the northern …

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On our induction stove, just a regular silicon mat under heavy cookware is good to protect the …

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Near Chico, CA, we just accumulated 2” of rain and this mockingbird has seen quite enough A western mockingbird perched on a vine-under a shelter of a white metal overhang with green vegetation and rain visibly falling in the background.

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Local Raley’s grocery has non-alcoholic beer imported from Germany. It’s good as hoped. Malty, which …

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Today, finally saw a Spotted Towhee at the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge - Pine Creek …

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A quick storm today for the N. Sacramento Valley. I missed this in the forecast. We’ll actually …

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The weather has been so damp that there’s been hardly any good time to prune. Since we’re finally …

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Turns out a 2023 model year dishwasher is quite the upgrade to a 2003 model year dishwasher. Oh the …

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I’ve never seen an installed anti-tip bracket for a slide-in oven/stove until I installed one …

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We’re getting a new dishwasher tomorrow. Whoever installed the old one I’m removing…. WTAF with the …

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Just had my first flight with the Yawman Arrow flight simulator controller. It is so nice. I’m …

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Compared to German Non-Alcoholic (NA) beer, Sierra Nevada Brewery’s NA Trail Pass beer is fine. The …

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Here’s a Western Meadow Lark photobombing a White Crown Sparrow. Or was it the other way? …

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A ravenous Orange Crowned Warbler! #Birds #OrangeCrownedWarbler #fujifilm 🪶An Orange Crowned Warbler perched on a dormant grape vine, beak agape, lunging toward a dried up grape cluster. The warbler looks light yellow.

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Here’s a surprise flock of American White Pelicans flying north along the Sacramento River near …

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Germany has great non-alcoholic beer and they seem quite popular there. More than you’d expect! …

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A Western Blue Bird living its best life. First time we’ve seen them feasting on our cultivated …

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Some birds spotted today at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge: a Bald Eagle, a Merlin, and a …

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Here’s my RaspberryShake’s recording of the M7.5 earthquake at Japan. #RaspberryShake #Earthquake …

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#SilentSunday A tranquil wetland scene with dry, reedy plants protruding from the water and a single red and white fishing bobber visible among the stalks. The bobber reflects in the placid water below.

: COVID Sucks (Stay Fully Vaccinated )

Glad I’m fully vaccinated as my post-Germany COVID symptoms/disease could be lots worse. Took …

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#SilentSunday #Deutschland #Berlin A person bundled in winter clothing and a small dog patiently looking up to that person on a snow-covered path in a park with trees, a bench, and a trash can covered in grafiti. It is snowing.

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A Hooded Crow harasses a generally unflappable Kestrel at Berlin Tempelhof. #Fujifilm #Birds …

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After two weeks in Germany, Fujifilm’s new XApp was ace for geotags and JPEG transfers to my …

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#SilentSunday #Tempelhof #Berlin #AvGeek A snowy landscape with runway direction signs reading “27” with an arrow pointing left and “09” with an arrow pointing right, indicating runway headings at an airport. The background features a flat horizon with the sun trying to shine through an overcast sky and distant buildings. There’s a crow sitting on a bench in the foreground.

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I’ve been waiting for this compact flight simulator controller for over a year. I’m pretty excited …

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Love getting out of the bus at the departure stand. Returning today to SFO from Germany. #Travel …

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Guten Morgen! Yesterday, after arriving at Frankfurt, Germany, we had lunch with jet-lag friendly …

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My 3-year old 777-300 ride tonight to Frankfurt. SFO gate G9 has decent views of that gate’s …

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On PetaPixel:

“Science Explains The Rainbows That Appear in Hummingbirds’ Wings” …

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#SilentSunday It is night in the city where there’s a five story building where the front is only lit up. Small li windows reveal shops are along the dark street. There are a few red unlit Chinese New Year lanterns strung across the street.

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Yellow-Rumped Warbler was on the backyard cultivated Native California Grapes just long enough for …

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Here’s the turkey that appeared out of a hollow at Point Reyes National Seashore (years ago) and …

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Orange-crowned Warblers are back, feasting on dried out grapes. We’ve also observed Yellow-Rumped …

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Snow Geese are back in Northern California. It’s nice living in a fly-way. #SnowGeese #Birds …

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Walnut trees in Northern California right now. 20 foot or so spaced rows of walnut trees with their bright yellow fall foliage.

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We had a distinguished visitor in our backyard today, hunting at our feeder. This is a Cooper’s Hawk …

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Good morning. The time changed so I’m now technically up an hour early but I got the usual hours of …

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I’m still amazed how the beta blocker Propranolol means I no longer have a physical tachycardic …

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The Orange-crowned Warbler(s) is/are back! They found our cultivated native California grapes a few …

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KCIC (Chico Municipal) had an open house yesterday. Two BAE-146s, C-GRNT and N908AS, are stored …

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Orland, CA government is pretty decent: “Groundwater recharge sites in Glenn County help provide …

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I guess it’s good that the lost Budgie (parakeet) keeps returning to our bird friendly backyard. The …

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I may have a breakthrough with my anxiety. A beta blocker. Forces my brain to stop being an …

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Good morning from California, where Fall is finally reasserting itself.

A backyard with a weather station and native plants. Early morning sunlight is reflecting off the bottoms of low clouds, resulting in a bright orange glow.

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Some wildlife at the Red Bluff Recreation Area (managed by the Mendocino National Forest). Lots of …

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Happy new water year! According to WeatherCat software, my wx station recorded a total of 27.91” for …

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Someone lost a parakeet or a small parrot 🙁😳 #BirdsOfMastodon #NotFromAroundHere A bird with a green body and yellow head perched on an elderberry branch. It has black markings on its wings and tail. There are elderberries behind it.

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Three episodes into Silo on Apple TV+ and I’m loving it. https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/125988

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About time Apple Music shows are available in Apple Podcasts. Now, imagine this, I can resume …

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In Northern California’s Fall, our whole house fan really shines. We can bring in cooler air at …

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Got out to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge this morning. The White Fronted Geese are here …

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Covid 💉✅ Flu 💉✅

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At KSFO, just outside BART, is a pretty great view of the west side of G terminal. It’s easy to miss …

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From the KSFO Terminal 2 Sky Terrace. I didn’t have my telephoto lens so I embraced the glass panes. …

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Covid booster and flu shots scheduled for next Friday! 🎉

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We sometimes spoil our resident scrub jays with sunflower heads loaded with seeds. A juvenile Western Scrubjay looks down at a seed-filled sunflower head that’s on the ground. It is framed by a gravel pathway and some dry grass. Gray down is still on the bird’s back.

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So long, Google Chrome. The last straw has come.

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I finally deleted my Twitter account. Even having an inactive account felt icky. And really really …

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Lots of people with Covid at my workplace. I think the worst I’ve seen.

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Today: A Coopers Hawk at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. #CoopersHawk #BirdWatching #BirdPhotography …

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Gray Buckeye Butterfly today at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. #Fujifilm #GrayBuckeye #Butterfly Gray Buckeye butterfly among weeds with tinier yellow flowers. The butterfly has three eyes on each wing. It is orange, brown, gray and white with a fuzzy body.

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Weather was nice today! Summer is waning and so I guess outdoor photography season can begin. Here …

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Here’s a reminder that Fujifilm’s X RAW Studio stores its camera profiles at

~/Library/Application …

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Hooray, season 5 of Matt Groening’s Disenchantment is out!

I’m always surprised now when Netflix …

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I’ve been learning ArcGIS Pro cartography and I like what I’m finding. However the interface is like …

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I managed to write an ugly Python script that converts MesoWest (via Synoptic download; nice people …

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Everyone should wash their watch bands more often, no matter the watch!

Apple Watch bands are …

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“Potentially historic summer storm event to unfold in SoCal this weekend as weakening Hurricane …

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The clouds didn’t clear this morning so much of yesterday’s heat couldn’t radiate to space and it’s …

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Sigh. Appears there’s another big fire on the Mendocino NF. Plume over Mount Linn. Slide Fire @ 1.5 …

: macOS WeatherCat and Meteobridge with any Supported Wx Station

I figured out how to have WeatherCat work with my Meteobridge that connects to my Ambient weather …

:

Session 3 of Only Murders in the Building is out on Hulu!

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A female Oriole having a nice evening Mantis snack in our backyard tonight. A female yellow and gray Oriole with a praying mantis in its beak. It is mostly yellow on the underside and gray on its wings. It is perched on top of a blue wire tomato cage with a tomato plant pushing through the top.

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Syrah grapes in Vina, California, at the New Clairvaux Winery are looking great! #California …

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Drip line auto sprinkler diaphragm replace after it started leaking. Hope it clears leak checks …

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Mercury News: “We may be the last maskers’: California COVID cases are rising. “

I’m still wearing a …

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New The Clientele album! I Am Not There Anymore by The Clientele https://album.link/us/i/1678797674

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Huge cooldown for Northern California this week. I’m about to get a lot less cranky 😂

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Nice! Photomator and Pixelmator Now Support Fujifilm Compressed RAW: …

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“Abortion bans and restrictions are known to increase infant deaths, maternal deaths, and maternal …

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This morning, House Finches were breakfasting on ripe elderberries in our backyard. #HouseFinch …

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Much as I dislike that my heat-pump requires a proprietary communicating thermostat, I do like that …

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Delta 767 (N1604R) SFO-JFK and flock of Brown Pelicans. #AvGeek #B767 #PlaneSpotting …

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In more expected bird behavior, on the infill shores of the San Francisco Bay, here’s a Willet (a …

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Back from a relaxing day of plane spotting at SFO. Here’s a series of aircraft landing and preparing …

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Some real dinosaur stuff happened today at Bay Front Park just south of SFO. This Great Blue Heron …

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Volunteer Sunflowers in the backyard. The scrub jays garden really well. I continue to be impressed …

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Out of an abundance of caution, early this morning I’m watering my front yard native plants in case …

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My #RaspberryShake detected the M6.9 in the vicinity of the Tonga Islands. #EarthquakeMastodon

A map and seismogram showing the Tonga earthquake. The RaspberryShake station is RE49D.

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Suppose it will only be a matter of time before the Justices are on the receiving end of their …

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In preparation for the heat in California, added a ton of shade for some sensitive trees. That side …

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It sure is easy to rise in FlightRadar24’s ADS-B rankings! I guess most people don’t even try to get …

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The new Rachio hose timer works well. Currently, it has fairly simple operation with basic App …

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Perfect morning in California to cool the mass of the house off with our whole house fan. Normally …

: X-Plane 12 performance on a M2 Max Mac Studio

It turns out that Austin Meyer, founder of Laminar and creator of X-Plane, uses a Mac Studio as his …

:

I was watching BigJet TV’s Paris Airshow Preview and didn’t notice one of my E-175 gears didn’t …

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Using Migration Assistant via thunderbolt is insanely fast.

Migration Assistant dialog showing 612 MB/s transfer speed.

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I’ve been very patient with my M1 Mac Mini. But now I have an M2 Mac Studio on the way. Flight …

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Offline Apple Maps. FINALLY. #WWDC2023

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Little NavMap, open source flight simulation flight planning software, is pretty great. I should …

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Canceled YouTube Premium due to Google’s decision to once again allow election lies. Too bad they …

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macOS Universal Control is so very good when I’m multitasking between my Mac Mini and my …

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I’m slowly getting the canopies of my shrubs off the ground. Mostly to reduce outdoor cats hiding …

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Ash Throated Fly Catcher.

Ash throated fly catcher looking somewhere to the right. It has a black head with gray, white, and rust red on the wings. It is perched upon a high branch. They have cool spikes for hair.

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The new Fujifilm XApp is a vast improvement for transferring photos to a smartphone on the fly. But …

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Air Tractor N802WW was overflying rice fields this morning. I think they were practicing seeding the …

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It is a few degrees warmer outside but 10% less relative humidity. The whole house fan made it more …

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Our native plants are going to love this storm! #CaWX

Doppler radar view of a south heading storm with lots of high intensity returns and lightning.

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I hope the PR hype for the new Fujifilm mobile app is worth it! Seems promising and I like its new …

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Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl OBT01 is on its way back to Long Beach. No idea what it is doing out and …

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My ADSB receiver (plane tracker) has been doing quite well under adverse conditions of its testing …

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Here is a Black-necked Stilt from the #SacramentoNationalWildlifeRefuge #BlackNeckedStilt …

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We visited the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and it was busy with all sorts of creatures. Gray …

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Found my old Raspberry Pi 3 and finally got it set up as an ADSB feeder (aircraft tracker). Are …

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Got sick of ArcGIS Pro 3.1’s Export Layout not saving export settings per Layout. So Export settings …

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Woodpecker granaries are really neat. This one was right on a trail at Pinnacles NP. We did see an …

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With the family today, we had whole glazed ham with scalloped potatoes (the potatoes are a Kenji …

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71°F at 06:23 in the North Sacramento Valley. 18°F warmer than yesterday this time. 😬

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I neglected to post that our cultivated native California roses (Rosa californica) are blooming. …

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3am today: Another quake, another shake alert. M5.2 and I didn’t feel it. #RaspberryShake

A map showing the quake at lake almanor and the seismograph.

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Earthquake east of Chico near Susanville! People in Chico felt it but not here in Orland. Very clear …

: Ortho4XP on macOS Ventura

Ortho4XP has some code that’s been deprecated in the latest Python 3 Shapely and Numpy. …

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Last weekend: just a taste of the views you can have at Pinnacles National Park, California, if you …

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Last weekend: in its most happiest habitat, predominantly here are Yellow Monkeyflowers within …

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I’ve learned a bit about repairing hose bibs and turns out it’s pretty easy. I’m kind of looking …

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Ash-throated flycatcher was also a new bird for us at Pinnacles National Park. Ash-throated flycatcher looking toward the horizon! It is perched on a bare branch against a blue sky. It’s a slender bird with a gray chest and belly and a dark gray head. Its wings are brown with white bars that curve down. Its brown tail is very narrow.

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Went to Pinnacles National Park on Friday and we were treated to soaring and resting California …

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American Gold Finch digging for sunflower seeds the other day. #AmericanGoldFinch #Birds #Fujifilm

The American Gold Finch, peering into a bird feeder hole, has a black cap and, besides it’s wings, an all light yellow body. Only the front edge of its right wing is visible and it is mostly black with some white patches. The bird is partially obscured by a vertical transparent bird feeder with a blurry (bokeh) green vegetation background.

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We’ve been monitoring a nest over the last two months. We saw nothing but the tip of tail feathers …

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Our native plant garden in the front yard. It looks unmaintained but I swear it is! Nearly …

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And now a female Bullock’s Oriole has shown up in our backyard. What luck. #BullocksOriole #Birds

A female Bullock’s Oriole is perched at the edge of a bird bath that’s in front of an elderberry bush. The bird has a fully gray back with white bars on its exposed right wing. Its upper chest is yellow-orange. Her head is orange from the eyes down to the chest though there’s a strip of black below it’s chin. The bird has black around its eyes and has a gray cap.

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Here’s yesterday’s Bullock’s Oriole looking right at the camera. #BullocksOriole #Birds A Bullock’s Oriole sits in a violet flowering Ceanothus bush, looking straight ahead. It has an orange chest and orange cheeks. Its head is mostly orange, but it has black on top. The cute bird has black eyeliner and a black chin, creating a cool triangular pattern that nearly looks angry. You can just barely see its right wing. Its wing is black with white on the bottom.

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Bullock’s Oriole in our backyard Ceanothus. This is our first backyard Oriole! Wow. …

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Ladybug larvas were later than normal this year but geez do they have a feast now!

Several ladybug larvae, kind of a rectangular bug with mostly black with orange stripes, are gorging on aphids on a sage.

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We planted our vegetable and herb seedlings today. Our home compost has turned out real nice. Took …

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Present me is very thankful that past me connected all the commons in our newer irrigation box. So I …

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I experienced weirdness with my HomeKit Thread network the other day after updating to the latest …

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We’re now a one car household. Feels good! My poor Golf has been barely driven since I started …

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My #RaspberryShake caught the M 4.4 Cobb, CA earthquake early this morning. I did not feel it here …

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First Cedar Waxwing ever in our backyard! They have a creepy high pitched song.

This Cedar Waxwing has a black mask that extends from its eyes to its chin, with a crest of feathers on its head. Its wings and tail are brown with yellow and white accents, and its tail has a bright yellow tip. The Cedar Waxwing's most distinctive feature is its red-tipped wings. It’s on a budding tree with a blue sky.

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Sorry, I’m not selling my X100V. I’ve had it since Sep 2021, and I only had to wait 2 months to get …

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Spotted our first Marsh Wren today at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. That vertical tail is …

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It has been a week. Today, introvert me gets what it needs and now I’m alone for a bit. Always …

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Annie the Cat taking in a big dose of sunlight (again, but cuter this time). I hope she shakes her …

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Photographed our first Downy woodpecker today. #Birds #BirdWatching #DownyWoodpecker #Fujifilm

A petite Downy woodpecker with a black and white striped head and a black and white body that's kind of fluffy. It's foraging on a tree trunk. There's a twig in front of its face.

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Here’s Annie the Cat enjoying some fresh air. She’s been sick but we’re fighting through it. …

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Our young “New Century” Asian Pear tree is in full bloom. Our “Hosui” Asian Pear isn’t mature enough …

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Not long from now is Summer. Better get our fresh baked sourdough fix while we can!

a golden elongated loaf of sourdough with slightly blurred kitchen racks that have many implements upon it

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I went to Shasta Dam today for a work thing. I think I overheard they may have opened a controlled …

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Just got some pea sized hail in Orland, CA. #CaWX

Floating hail in a small pool of water at the bottom of a down spout.

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DPReview.com to close. I loath Amazon even more now. I wish DPReview employees the very best. The …

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European Honeybees were all over our manzanitas yesterday. A European Honeybee on pink-white clusters of bell shaped manzanita flowers. The stems are rust red and the leaves are bright green, shaped like perfect smooth leaves

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Korean Air 777-3 HL7204 from ICN on approach to SFO on January 21, 2023. #AvGeek #PlaneSpotting …

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I’m getting more sore that MS still don’t have a macOS Bedrock edition. Surely the market is bigger …

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1.5 inches of rain so far today in Orland, CA. 😬#CaWX

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I didn’t lose an hour of sleep but I sure did lose a precious hour of weekend daytime activities.

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First bloom of our a front yard Ceanothus today. So many more to come. So. Many.

Bright small violet flowers with bokeh of green shrubs (coyote bush) in the background.

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The iOS Parcel app doesn’t write expected delivery dates to an iCloud calendar but only to a local …

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The iOS Parcel app doesn’t write expected delivery dates to an iCloud calendar but only to a local …

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And here’s a rabbit at the Northern California refuge. Normally they’re at a full run. #Rabbit

A brown rabbit sits on the edge of a road. Brown grass lines the edge of the road. The rabbit's long ears are missing their very tips.

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Northern Flickers have evaded my best efforts to photograph them. So this photo from today at a …

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Last week I nearly missed this Great Blue Heron at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. #Birds …

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We just hit 1 inch of rain today in the North Sacramento Valley. 😳

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For several years I was in a “I hate hops in beer” phase. After having tons of not hoppy beer in …

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Here’s the Bald Eagle from last week’s headshot in all its glory. The wildlife refuges in California …

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Snow Geese from last weekend. #Birds #BirdWatching #SnowGeese

Snow geese, white with black wing tips, take flight in the foreground while a linear group look on in the background. They're in an area with some tall grass and the sky is blue gray.

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Spotted a Bald Eagle today!

A Bald Eagle, white head blazing, peering down through a eucalyptus tree canopy

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X-Plane Official now has a Discord. I didn’t expect that development. Hopefully it’s well moderated. …

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macOS Ventura settings and notifications (STILL getting unfixable log-in item notifications …

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Overnight, as often it does, a slight breeze developed in the west side of the North Sacramento …

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A hard freeze likely tonight and tomorrow night in the North Sacramento Valley. Hopefully a light …

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Finished reading: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️… and now starting there …

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This was one of two batches of mandarins juiced today for this week’s breakfast 😋

a pile of halved mandarins, cut side up, on a red cutting board.

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I hate the MacOS login items notification that when clicked doesn’t tell me jack and furthermore the …

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A few “better” photos of last night’s brief snow around 1 am last night in Orland, CA. Around 1:15 …

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Snow in Orland, CA. Wow. #CAWx

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Just a few degrees lower and Orland, CA could get snow tonight. Raining right now at 39°F. Doppler …

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I juiced & pasteurized two liters worth of mandarins today. The mandarins still on the tree …

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In X-Plane 12.04 Beta 2 I’m following United 2376 (777-2, EWR-SFO) in an A340-6. I’m barely keeping …

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I spied a Spotted Towhee today by the Sacramento River. #Birds #BirdWatching #SpottedTowhee …

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The Western Blue Birds have already discovered the new piles of grape vine trimmings that still have …

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Finally pruned the bird feeding native California grapes (cultivated of course). Only had a few more …

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On January 20 at SFO, 2023. Eva Air 777-3 Reg. B-16731 arrives from Taipei with Japan Airlines 777-3 …

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Western Blue Birds have been in the neighborhood for a while now. Today they finally found our …

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Just flying an A340-600 from San Francisco International into Norman Y. Mineta San Jose …

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I’m done with 1Password. I'm tired of the 1Password 8 Safari extension breaking. The app itself is …

:

Another #Caturday about to pop down into history.

A black and white cat attempts to stand completely on top of an iPhone. The iPhone has a red case on so it as outlined in red. She is on a blue couch.

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I updated my iOS/macO Shortcut that takes a photo with geotag & date (preferably with timezone) …

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I must admit I’m going to miss certain key people & orgs on Twitter no longer showing up in …

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My first listen to Everything Is by Neutral Milk Hotel - released yesterday. Very short. …

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Why companies use Okta device verification for accounts that rarely need to be used is mind …

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On the celebrated day of the last ever delivery of a new 747, here’s a throw back to 2005. The lone …

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Here’s a quick & dirty iOS Shortcut that takes a photo with full geotag, date metadata …

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Alaska follows up on using boxed water with this is good news:

No more plastic cups for Alaska …

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A Bufflehead south of the active SFO runways 28L/28R. They’re fun to watch foraging. A Bufflehead bobbing out of the water with ripples flowing away. The Bufflehead has a white rear head, chest, belly. Its forehead, chin, and back are black. Its head appears misshapen like a bullhead

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Thanks to my library, currently reading: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik 📚

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On BigJetTV first class+ members only live stream (part 3) on YouTube, just watched an insane …

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UA59 777-322 from Frankfurt landing at San Francisco on 1/20/2023United 777-322 landing at SFO with some smoking rubber. The plane is flared against the Oakland hills and, in front, a calm bay. #B77W #PlaneSpotting #avgeek …

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I love that people regularly share what music they’re excited about on mastodon. I rarely saw that …

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Black-necked Stilt near the City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary. What a pose! Black-necked stilt facing the camera with its legs nearly crossed. It has a white belly, chest, and neck. It’s black long beak, forehead, eyes, and rear feathers is stark against the calm low tide bay waters

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Got lists set up in Mastodon. Much better than a deluge in my main timeline. @ivory@tapbots.social …

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Emirates A380 preparing to take off from SFO to Dubai on 1/20/2023 during golden hour #avgeek …

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Here’s an Emirates A380 turning right onto SFO runway 28R on January 20, 2023. I’m fully impressed …

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Lunar New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. #LunarNewYear #SanFrancisco #Fujifilm

a sparkling bottle rocket shooting anive the dark street with red lanterns suspended above.

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Great Egret on the San Francisco Bay Trail just south of The City Of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary. …

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My first time at Bayshore for SFO plane spotting.

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I’d love to be able to customize my autofocus boxes. www.dpreview.com

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This is super exciting - the Yawman Arrow controller for flight simulation has been (finally) …

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Indisputably confirmed Yellow Rumped Warbler at yesterday’s visit to the Sacramento National …

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What luck today. Photographed a juvenile Bald Eagle (second year?) at the Sacramento National …

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OMG this is insane. Pea sized hail & the backyard is just flooded here in Orland. Lightening …

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I really enjoy flying the Toliss A340 in X-Plane 12. This is on approach to Oakland International. …

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Now that the latest wave of rain is done, 1.6 inches of rain today. Highest daily total so far I …

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0.6 inches/hour now in my backyard😳 #cawx

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Annie Creek is flowing! 0.4 inches/hour right now. The back yard is ponding hard.

A narrow 3/4 inch gravel faux creek draining a downspout to the road. there's native vegetation surrounding the creek asking with wood chips. A residential street is in the background along with a bright red VW Golf.Ponding in a backyard with crop rows and various stone fruit trees with no leaves. It is not yet flooded Annie the patio cement.

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My partner only looked at cat, bird, and wildfire posts on Twitter using Tweetbot. Its permanent …

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1.2” yesterday in Orland. CA. #cawx

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Love to see Stony Creek flowing in the main channel and out into its braids. I never saw it flow in …

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Last night an RV and car caught fire behind us. As far as I know, no one was injured. Here are …

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RV and car caught fire behind us in an empty lot. We’re pretty sure it was abandoned. Ambulance left …

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In my N. Sac Valley backyard, got 0.44” from 17:00-19:00 today. Winds are beginning to gust over 20 …

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There’s potential for large impacts from weather in California over the next week or so. We just …

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Red Tail Hawk from yesterday’s bird watching at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. It’s not …

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The Fujifilm X-T5 can output to HIEF (.HIF) with 10-bit color. That gives more room for minor …

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While bird watching yesterday, a M5.3 earthquake occurred south of Rio Dell. My RaspberryShake felt …

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Snow Mountain in the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California still has snow and seems it …

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Spotted a Belted Kingfisher today! #kingfisher #birdsFemale Kingfisher looking down into a canal for prey. She has a patch of rust color on her belly. Her head is two-thirds dark gray and one-third white. Her back is gray. She has spiky feathers at the crest of her head.

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The Annie Cat in her new favorite sleeping place #caturday

Black and white cat loaf (legs under her body) between a red and gray pillow on a cozy comforter

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Okay I’m glad the brunt of the atmospheric river missed the North Sacramento Valley. Geez.

Gerry …

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I’m happy to see there’s still snow on the peaks of the interior Northern California Coast Range. …

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In X-Plane 12, the KJFK RNAV Z Runway 13L approach is lot of fun. Watch a real-world YouTube video …

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May 2016 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. In late 2017 this 747-400 went out of service. …

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Our thrice delayed trip to Germany has this year’s three of my top four aviation photos — from SFO …

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Randomly thinking about my first A340-600 flight in 2013 SFO-Munich. I love that plane - especially …

: ginger bread people with snow balls, Lindtt chocolayes, all in a red and white basket.

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Some flyover photos from 12/24: United 777-200 LHR-SFO at 37,000 ft; Emirates A380-800 DXB-SFO at …

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Yesterday: Red-winged Black Birds at the local wildlife refuge. Likely some Starlings in there too.

dozens of black birds in a bare tree top

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I’m rather impressed with how popular #caturday is on Mastodon.

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Our cat’s 2nd preferred winter sleeping area. #caturday

a tuxedo cat loafing in the middle of random objects including a Python refebcd book, a box, and a basket

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Snow Geese flying overhead at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. #fujifilm

3 snow geeze flying above in triangular formation below cloudy skies. they have white bodies with black wing tips

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Just had a leak detector go off. This time a toilet water line started leaking at its connector to …

:

Here’s a Red Tail Hawk from today’s visit to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.

underside of a mottled red tail hawk, soaring in a cloudy sky.

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Chef’s treat: caramel scrapings from the pan!

caramel drippings on a silicone sheet with the candy thermometer near by.

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Done. Just need to salt the caramel in 30 minutes.

a parchment lined pan of fresh poured caramel. The pan is atop a grate and a cuttingboard.

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Almost done making the caramel. Just needs to hit 250°F

a candy thermometer in a 4 qt sauce pan of almost done caramel colored caramel. At about 230°F

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I’m going to make caramel today. Alton Brown’s Dark Caramel recipe never fails. Though I prefer a …

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The 2013 Dresden Christmas Market. Guaranteed to make you cheerful no matter how cold it is.

dark evening at the Dresden Christmas Market with a lit up buildings, trees, the tops of sales shacks and a crowd of people

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A ravenous Yellow Rumped Warbler visited our grapes again. Eat up, little bird!

a grey bird with yellow patches investigates a clump of dessicated grapes

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My RaspberryShake detected the M6.4 earthquake in Ferndale, CA. Sounds like a lot of important …

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Frankfurt International last June. I knew there’d be no shortage of 747s there but was still …

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This Yellow Rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) is yet another bird feasting on our raisins. Yesterday’s Ruby …

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Tried the first “Phat Tyre” ale I bottled. It’s good! The batch can use one more week to bottle …

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Black Butte peak and Black Butte butte. Mostly greenstone/metabasalt at the snowy peak and basalt at …

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Ruby Crowned Kinglet (update on 12/17: more likely a Orange-crowned Warbler, as the Kinglet has bars …

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Today’s moon.

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Relatively rare morning where my car door was slightly stuck due to frost.

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I am super excited to now have the XF70-300mm telephoto lens. I’ll no longer feel crazy constrained …

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Western Mockingbird foraging for raisins in our backyard.

grey and white mockingbird under bunches of raisins

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Pizza night!

a hand with a pizza cutter slicing a thick crust pizza with salami, shallot, olives, cheese, and tomato sauce.

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Rain in California. You got to love it after months of hazy blue sky.

Rain drops dripping from an awning and a grape vine with dark, almost black, dessicated grapes. Vibrant native vegetation is slightly blurred in the background.

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#Caturday

Standing black & white tuxedo cat, head tilted down but eyes looking up in a super serious pose.

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Extremely interesting to watch KSFO operations with a stiff wind from the south. All the approaches …

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Beer is bottled and now to hope nothing got contaminated during the process. This is so much work. …

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Bottling day tomorrow! Bottles are now washed and will drain & dry overnight. It’s Phat Tyre Ale …

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My account on mastodon.sdf.org straight up vanished during their database upgrades that were meant …

:

A quick Mars + the Moon shot

mars and the moon in a dark sky. mars looks like a star to the bottom left of the full extremely bright moon

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I set up my MBP’s Hazel to sync the latest Fujifilm X RAW Studio camera profiles from my Mac Mini. …

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First roast of the winter!

medium rare sliced roast beef with caramelized brussels sprouts and golden brown, crispy popovers

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Yellow Rumped Warbler in the grapes this time!

a warbler with slight yellow on the chest. Sits on a grape vine amidst red and green grspe leaves, it looks to the camera.

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Got a Kinglet in one place for a few moments!

a small yellow Kinglet bird with white eyeliner abd white wing bars. it is peering at a cluster of grapes amongst grape leaves.

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Close up of the pea sized hail and frost. The hail didn’t melt overnight!

pea sized hail on bark with a frosty seedling. A finger for scale.

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First major frosty morning here.

within a residential area, frost on a roof, car, and the ground with palm trees in the distance

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Pea sized hail in Orland!!

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Some kind of Kinglet, maybe a Ruby Crown Kinglet, in the grapes this time. Was moving fast as birds …

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It’s hilarious to me that it’s easier for me to use the Sonos app to listen to the latest Apple …

:

Western Mockingbird enjoying a desiccated grape in our backyard.

black, gray and white mockingbird in the shadow of a senescing grape plant with a dessicated grape in its beak.

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Oops. Didn’t quite get the focus right. Still looks delicious. And was. Left over cranberry sauce + …

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Fujifilm X Raw Studio is very snappy with the X-T5 camera. Hardly any wait for reprocessing lossless …

:

#caturday

A black and white cat laying in a blue & grey striped wool bed against a sliding glass door. She has white under the nose and a white chest. Her black fur is somewhat rusty at the haunches.

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In the Micro.Blog app, I’d love to be able to selectively disable cross-posting sites instead of all …

:

Gorgeous day today in Northern California. This is from the same place where we saw the Northern …

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Northern Flickers galore on the trail today. Managed to photograph one.

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My contribution to Thanksgiving is cleaning up the kitchen after major steps are completed by my …

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WiFi tethering with the X-T5 looks like a game changer for around the house photos. I’ve got my Mac …

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The 5 Ghz WiFi setting to transfer from X-T5 to the Fujifilm iOS app is surprisingly usable with …

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Backyard House Sparrows - 84mm equivalent & cropped to zoom, using those X-T5 40 Megapixels! I …

:

Put the ale into secondary fermentation this morning and my sample is at 5% ABV! 🍺 🙌

A gravity measuring device in a tube vessel with amber beer. The meniscus is at 1.010.

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Good news. The X Raw Studio config files (~/Library/App Support/com.fujifilm.denji) for the Fujifilm …

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Here’s me on the Snyder Creek trail gazing at the talus field, but still wanting to be out of there …

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Back in September we visited Glacier National Park. We didn't take the Going to the Sun Road, but …

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Been over a week since putting in 1 Gbps powerline adapters and it’s perfectly fine for basic Mac …

:

I’ve snagged a Fujifilm X-T5 — it’ll be delivered Tuesday. I haven’t had a camera with …

:

I’m apparently harvesting Mastodon accounts tonight.

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I’ve had good success with an old 200 Mbps powerline adapter, so I’ve finally splurged on a gigabit …

:

Had my gas & electric company switch our home from gas heat to electric heat service (we now …

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Phat Tyre Ale is now fermenting. A couple of mistakes were made but nothing critical (probably). …

:

Funky moonrise tonight.

Orangish moonrise over houses on a dark street.

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I just turned the compost and wow those soaking rains bring the FATTEST volunteer earthworms into …

:

Went to New Clairvaux Vineyard (home of Trappist-Cistercian monks) to pick up our first wine club …

:

Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Narwhal Imperial Stout is really good.

: Thoughts on Heat Pump Heating

The weather chilled enough that our new Fujitsu 36LMAS heat pump is fully operational transferring …

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Going to try Northern Brewer's Phat Tyre Ale Extract Beer Recipe Kit this Winter. Will be the first …

:

Fujifilm X Raw Studio for macOS crashed on launch the last few weeks. Worked fine with other user …

:

0.34” of rain today! Finally, the rainy season has begun in California. 🤞

:

So Slate is suddenly increasing their subscription from $59 a year to $119. And I can’t find the …

:

Go away, Bolsonaro.

:

Region appropriate milkweed seeds sown today. Hope we get enough rain to avoid regular irrigation …

:

I’m slowly understanding Mastodon and I’m sure happy that I chose micro.blog a while …

:

Replaced a leaky toilet valve this morning. Now that have had quite enough low grade anxiety & I …

:

More signs of Fall with flocks of birds migrating overhead.

an arrow formation of birds fluing through a blue sky with wispy clouds

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And here I thought we had a neighbor operating a wood stove for heat. Ugh.

share.watchduty.org

Barn …

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Thumbs up on Apple’s Shared Photo Library. We set it up to start with photos starting on 10/24, …

:

Found European Fanta at World Market yesterday, and it goes very well with pizza. Fanta being …

:

Software documentation is usually neglected. So I’m super impressed that ToLiSS has already …

:

It’s the time of the year where every two weeks I prune the front yard native plants back. I fill …

:

I hope M2 Mac Minis are announced this week. X-Plane 12 goes over energy budget of my 2019 MBP …

:

I replaced our two bedroom smoke detectors. The new ones have sealed 10 year batteries so no flimsy …

:

This is great for X-Plane quick view key bindings: Get a UI Numpad using macOS Accessibility (Easily …

:

Shedding of a mantis on our rosemary plant.upside down mantis shedding hanging off a rosemary branch.

:

I now always get way inside my head when signing a mail-in ballot. It didn’t used to be this way.

:

Cleared out the pepper plants that were vigorously revived from rain ~18 days ago & put some …

:

Mantis in our happiest avocado tree.

:

The whole house fan is really nice. It actually cools off the mass of the house so its temperature …

:

That’s a lot of Rice A Roni 😬

:

Part of the HVAC replacement project included removing the decrepit swamp cooler. The eyesore & …

:

Heat pump installed and initial impression is it is amazingly quiet compared to the old traditional …

:

Snagged the best plane spotting spot at KSEA’s N terminal.

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Mount Rainier and in the far distance, likely Mount Adams. Flying east from KSEA to KMSO

:

787s at KSEA. I’m on board that E175 from earlier today & now going to KMSO

787s - BA58 and Japan airlines 787

:

I appreciate that we’ll be on this exact E175 later today for a connecting flight to MSO

Alaska airlines E175

:

I’ve been enjoying X-Plane 12 Early Release (now beta 3) even if my MacBook Pro (x86) frame rates …

:

The very first storm of meteorological Fall and White Crown birds have already descended upon our …

:

In California, our baking season has begun. Inaugurated with Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

:

Today at the Orland Flea Market.

:

To no one in particular… Please remember to wipe your smart phone camera lenses off before taking …

:

My @raspishake detected the M4.4 earthquake out of Santa Rosa, CA. Too far for me to feel though.

:

Today the weather was very nice and we had to make molè. An indulgent start of heavy comfort food …

:

Our volunteer conifers seem happy. First year they’ve developed cones‽ 🌱🌲

:

Used to be ddclient for dynamic DNS updates required 

web-skip=’IP Address:’
when checking the web …

:

Covid booster ✅ Flu shot ✅

:

06:54 AM and was 82°F & rising in the backyard here in Orland, CA. Amazing.

screenshot of my backyard weather station data

:

beestat says it’s too hot for the A/C to keep up. It’s also a Smart Day / which means we need save …

:

Got a proposal back from a contractor. It includes a ducted mini split which is a new concept to me …

:

Pacific Gas & Electric SmartDay today and I bet tomorrow, too. Between 1600-2100, we’ll be …

:

For the next week, ~record hot temperatures! Once again, time to protect our Hosui Asian Pear’s …

:

Had a standoff tonight. White had just rolled the double sixes.

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Seems the first contractor I asked for an estimate from for a heat pump ghosted me. Takes a lot out …

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Hope this leaf bursting bud on the central leader of my young Asian pear tree survives today’s max …

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Smoke from the Six Rivers Lightning Complex earlier this morning creeping in towards our home in the …

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We’re very happy with Trader Joe’s Bavarian Bratwurst. Pretty close to Nürnberger style but much …

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For All Mankind finale was a heck of a roller coaster. Woah.

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Our home heat and air conditioning is 18 years old. We were planning on replacing it with a heat …

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Guess my endless tweaks to my drip schedules with the Rachio sprinkler controller are paying off. We …

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These backyard figs look good but they’re not sweet. We dried them out and plan on using them in a …

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M4.3 earthquake SE of Orovolle, CA occurred at 18:41 Pacific. I didn’t feel it. @raspishake …

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Super happy with our peppers this year. Best harvest ever (and much more to pick). Mostly serranos …

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Based on my spreadsheet, it’s time to replace our ~20 year old A/C & nat gas heater with a new …

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Introverts that have to go to the office at least once a week find fridays amazing. Or at least I …

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Peppers & tomatoes (fortunately many of the delicious fruit do not have end rot) are ripening …

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Hot air balloons behind our house this last Saturday. Not common at all & a delight to see.

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From early June: rain over Munich’s Olympiapark.

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All is not great in our garden though. We still have a heck of a time with end rot on our tomatoes …

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Pepper garden update🌱

garden path with ripening peppers on both sides and a glorious sunflower at the end of the trail

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How the Yurok Tribe is bringing back the California Condor - On ArsTechnica

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With insanity at European airports I’m thankful our early June trip to Germany was nearly flawless. …

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Beetle killed trees in Saxony, Germany.

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On my Mac Mini I have NetNewsWire pulling Tweets by specific users. Meanwhile, I’ve set my eero to …

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Earlier in June: on a trail to Oybin, Saxony, Germany. Saxony has the best sandstone.

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Earlier this month: When in Munich, you must ride the catfish?

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Before our trip to Germany, I pruned the first big leaves off a sunflower because they were shading …

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6/12: in a forest southwest of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany.

mountain biker crossing a stream under forest cover

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Gray Hairstreak butterfly on one of our pepper plants.

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6/14: Minerals under ultraviolet light at the Freiberg Mineral Exhibition.

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6/14: Freiberg Mineral Exhibition at Freudenstein Castle. An exquisite collection.

lit mineral specimens in a dark hall with two people enjoying the sights

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I emergency bought a Ratio 6 coffee maker after my old Ninja broke. Best of all, and I didn’t know …

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June 6 in Munich.

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June 6, 2022: the higher regional court building in Munich (Oberlandesgericht München).

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Germany trip recap: some 787-9 photos while boarding FRA-DEN. I love it when boarding is at a stand …

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Our peppers exploded. Best yields ever. Already we roasted some shishitos to go with quesadillas. 🌱

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We concluded our trip to Germany. It ended nicely despite the current upheaval of travel. Best …

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Hello my first ever 787 flight! 🛫EDDF🛬KDEN🥳

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I’m thrilled with this view of Frankfurt International from my hotel room. Great place to end this …

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Countryside of Saxony, Germany. Barley fields!

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Obligatory photo of surfers at the Eisbachwelle in Munich’s English Garden.

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Eurasian Coots in the Pagodenburger See at the Schloss Nymphenburg in Munich.

A nesting coot in the lake and a coot on the shore foraging for food.

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Gorgeous dragonfly in the backyard today. Lucked out with the lighting.

bright red and orange dragonfly on the tip of a sunflower stalk.

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Been trying to get to Germany to visit very good friends the last three years. Might actually happen …

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A very comfy Eurasian Collared Dove. Glad our backyard can be a refuge from the neighborhood outdoor …

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So I’ll not fly MSFS 2020 again with it bugging out & turning me straight to the airport at …

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Peppers are on the way! 🌱

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A few more photos of the #EdwardFire in Orland, CA today. Fortunately our house was never in danger. …

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Elderberries are ripening already. And there’s so many more in the hopper! 🌱

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One front yard clump California Fuchsias is blooming. This one is always a month ahead of the …

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I do not love it when Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 inexplicably drops my entire approach flight …

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Backyard is looking good. Peppers & tomatoes are flowering. The elderberries are still …

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Our grapes are getting plump real fast. And our volunteer conifers are super happy. They grew …

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Baby “Bacon” variety avocados! Latest date I’ve seen berries on this tree. Let’s see if they’ll …

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Probably going to have a bumper crop of figs this year! Last year was meager. 🌱🌳

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Spotted a Hooded Oriole in the front yard as we we started an after lunch walk. What luck. A first!

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More of this rain please.

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Our front yard Toyon (first photo) and Yarrow (2nd photo) are blooming. Just the California …

:

Been several years & usually I’m behind on WiFi tech so figured it was time replace the old eero …

:

Mockingbirds are going to have an amazing late summer of grapes from our cultivated California …

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Pineapple guavas have been blooming for a few weeks now. The Mockingbirds love munching on the …

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Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore, California. Last March.

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Spring.

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Wild California Grape flowers.

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Area scrub jays have really got the hang of our feeder. Although, recently one jay tried to peck at …

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Our homemade Bulgogi fries. Inspired by a food show that had a terrible implementation of this idea. …

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Here’s a magenta flower from one of our cultivated California Wild Roses.

magenta rose with yellow center and luscious foliage behind

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The Annie Cat.

black and white cat peering intensely over a table top

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So far, max gust of 40 mph at my backyard today. And that weather station isn’t ideally located.

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The Annie Cat in a bag.

black and white cat peering out of a paper bag

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Today was the first taste of the Bravarian Hefeweizen home-brew and it is an unqualified success. …

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California Scrub-Jays carefully inspecting our just planted peppers and tomatoes🌱

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Happy I got the last batch of beer fermented before this upcoming insane heat wave. We’re …

:

Good morning, Waffle! 🧇

a just cooked golden brown waffle being extracted from the waffle maker

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Colors balance shift is a key part of Film recipes so my Shortcut would fail to match as white …

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Hefeweizen bottling day. Here’s my factory. This’ll be the last brew until winter as I don’t use …

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Avocado flowers! 🌱🌳

understated avocado flowers with barely any sepals. two flies are enjoying the plant.ladybugs enjoying the avocado tree.

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Assassin bugs are bad ass. They seem to be more common than ever in our yards. They’re also not …

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Lessons learned: in MSFS 2020, never change flight phases if flight plan is manually input to FMS. …

:

Finally got to the season two, episode two of Picard 😳 what a great premise

:

Only 4% of Flight Simulator players have completed an Instrument Landing System landing‽ Clearly I’m …

:

Poppies (1st photo) are now in full bloom and clarkias (2nd) are about to do the same. 🌱

front yard landscape with golden poppiesmagenta clarkia flowers

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Recent mornings, our cultivated native California grape leaf tips have droplets of water. Apparently …

: chocolate chip cookies on a cooking rack with a spatula looming behind them

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Now in bloom in our backyard: cultivated California Wild Roses (pic 1) and Elderberry (2). Still …

: Latest Shortcuts for macOS Has Vast Improvements

What's new in Shortcuts in iOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3:

“End If” and “End Repeat” can now be dragged in …

:

Here goes my second brew - a simple Bavarian Hefeweizen. With way warmer than normal temperatures I …

:

Eurasian Collared Dove drinking party.

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Potatoe croquettes for lunch today. Great use of leftover mashed potatoes.

plated golden brown croquettes with one cut open, revealing fluffy white potatoes and chives

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Citrus gummies are a great way to use backyard citrus. We made Meyer lemon with Valencia orange …

: macOS Shortcuts, Logger for Shortcuts, Shortcuts Temporary Files, and Hazel

Logger for Shortcuts provided me exactly the information to figure out how to get Hazel to properly …

:

From last Monday near Tomales Point in beautiful California, a genus Arctia moth caterpillar on …

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Raspberry Shakes do great science in the challenging conditions of Haiti: When a seismic network …

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I’ve been playing Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on the Xbox Series S. I’m surprised at how it …

:

From last Monday, a very loud acorn woodpecker at the Point Reyes National seashore visitor center.

red headed & black body acorn woodpecker laughing atop a light pole against a clear blue sky

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From last Monday, the Pacific Ocean and Tonalite rock at Tomales Point.

white with specks of dark minerals in tonalite rock against the blue ocean

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Peppers and two tomato seedlings are making great progress. We’ll likely be hardening them off in a …

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More Point Reyes National Seashore photos from last Monday: bumble hovering near a flower, elk, and …

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Yesterday, at Point Reyes National Seashore on the Tomales Point Trail, this hunting coyote could …

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The freeze we got a few weeks ago, down to 28°F, did no clear harm to our plants. Mandarin, …

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Front yard is looking really nice. I’ve been trying to rein it in with lots of pruning. I know our …

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After weeks of warmer than normal weather, weather swung the other way and we had freezing temps for …

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We’re slowly preparing the backyard crop rows for planting. We just pulled all the weeds & …

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Harvested our first homegrown Valencia orange this year. So very sweet. Even the pith isn’t bitter. …

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The Annie Cat.

a tuxedo cat vertically stretching on a seat back

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Veggie sushi for dinner tonight.

cutting rolls of sushi on a blue cuttingboardplated sushi

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Gilias were the first annual flowers to bloom in our yard. Can you believe these are just as or more …

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First bloom for our Valencia orange tree. About three weeks early compared to 2020 & 2021. 🌱🌳

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Ladybug larva gorging on aphids gorging on sage. And nearby, a bright orange ladybug pupa. 🐞 🌱

side view of black with orange spots ladybug larva on safe lead.top view of black with orange spots ladybug larva on sage leaf.bright orange ladybug pupa on dead sage leaves

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Honey bee approaching a nectarine flower. 🌳🌱

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Our New Century Asian Pear tree, seeing as it’s already showy as heck, will be glorious in a few …

:

Our cultivated native grapes are leaking water from pruning cuts, and that is normal. But …

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Today I noticed my cultivated native grapevines we’re leaking water where I recently pruned them. A …

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Here’s three more flowering cultivated native plants from the front yard: sage, then manzanita, then …

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… and here’s a lovely jumping spider hanging out on a manzanita leaf that’s surrounded by a creeping …

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Sure feels & looks like spring in our front yard. I think this is an assassin bug on a newly …

:

…. and here is our new (this year) New Century Asian Pear about ready to burst. 🌱🌳

white flower buds

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Our Nectarine is very close to blooming. This is its second year in the ground here. 🌱🌳

pink tip on a nectarine flower bud

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California Towhee from this morning. First sighting ever in the backyard but have seen these around …

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Almond bloom season is already upon us 😒. You can’t avoid it in most of California.

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Okay, for once in my life I managed to replace a key home feature without any frigg’n drama. Kitchen …

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Thanks to a Honeywell leak detector, at 22:30 we woke to an extraordinarily loud beeping from under …

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Took a walk around a small lake today and saw: 1) turtles sunning on a log; 2) a western meadow …

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Audio calls where I have to talk are literally bad for my health hah. The two heart rate peaks after …

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I looked out into the backyard just in time to see a Nuttall’s Woodpecker investigating our …

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We started our peppers today: ancho, jalapeño, serrano, shishito, santa fe, and two tomatoes. Trying …

:

Did a bit of pruning of the apricot today. Doesn’t look like much but I removed lots of suckers and …

:

If you’re new to Apple Music, because reasons, you may follow me. …

: Dynamic Range Priority Added to "What was my Fujifilm Recipe?" macOS 12 Shortcut

I’ve updated my “What was my Fujifilm Recipe?” macOS 12 Shortcut. It now includes …

:

The Annie Cat successfully catting this past afternoon.

:

: Managing Anxiety

My doctor increased my dose of an anxiety med. Took three weeks to feel the effects of that but once …

:

A few different birds & a landscape from today’s nature walk. One vulture and one 777.

: macOS Shortcut: What's my Fujifilm Focal Length?

Since I now have the TCL-X100II attachment and I make ample use of the Digital Teleconverter …

:

I pay for 800 Mbps down and 15 Mbps up. Xfinity/Comcast over-provisions my download a ton. Recently …

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House Sparrows on the feeder and a reddening House Finch waiting its turn on top of the pole.

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The front yard Manzanitas (1st photo) and Coyote Bushes (2nd) are flowering. Next up are the …

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Today I had to remove a trespassing & bird harassing “Happy Birthday To You” balloon from our …

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Last night’s roast beef dinner. Sunday night came early! 🤭

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Random aircraft photo of mine from 2005 at Incheon International Airport, Republic of South Korea. …

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Today we moved our lemon grass over a few feet to give our new Asian pear tree some room. Then we …

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On Twitter, Matt Roberts, an atmospheric science student, showed a spike in atmospheric pressure at …

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Honey bees are apparently feeding on bird seed dust. Never seen this behavior before. More photos on …

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On today’s walk, there was a very photogenic & easy-going Black Phoebe. This one did not want to …

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My favorite person made cinnamon rolls today for tomorrow morning and another weekend (raw rolls …

:

In the great valley of California, one learns to appreciate winter clouds after summer’s constant …

:

A very frosty morning today. My weather station read a low of 29°F just after midnight.

frosty sagefrosty crop rowsfrosty cilantro

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I planted two Asian pear trees today. A New Century (1st photo) and a Hosui (2nd photo). They’re …

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We’re ending the year with disco fries. Everyone, have a good start to 2022.

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One more photo of today’s aebleskiver making.

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Aebleskiver day!

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After a few years of iPhone night mode, high ISO photography (as high as 12800) with my X100V is …

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Last night. Winter views like this make slogging through summer worth it.

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As is annual tradition, made caramel the other day. Every batch is unique. Compared to last year, …

:

Christmas Soup is a before Christmas tradition for us. Easy and so very tasty.

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😬 this backgammon game ended more intensely than expected. I won 🙌

:

Has anyone figured out the rhyme or reason behind Fujifilm cameras expiring smart phone-provided …

:

I really enjoyed Hawkeye. A lot of fun. Hailee Steinfeld is great as Kate Bishop (… and Emily …

:

I had rain gage issues the last big rain & wind storm. A mast pole was slightly loose so I …

:

Listening to last week’s Accidental Tech Podcast– I’m befuddled by Marco …

:

“What was my Fujifilm Recipe?” macOS Shortcut update: exiftool now preserves the …

:

I didn’t feel the M 6.2 - 38km W of Petrolia, CA earthquake in Orland but it was easily recorded on …

:

Had homemade Korean pancakes (jeon) tonight. Filled with leftover banchan used in last night’s …

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Whole wheat waffles… smothered with definitely very healthy butter and maple syrup.

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Success! First try of Hank’s Hefeweizen home brew and it is exactly what a Hefeweizen should be: …

:

Wind and rain today in California.

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Soggy House Finch.

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Soggy house finches and house sparrows (maybe a fox sparrow too) sheltering on grape vines from the …

:

Installed two of three Caseta switches. The 3rd end of run circuit neutral is miswired somewhere as …

:

Caseta dimmer switches are easier since they don’t care about hot versus load wires. But the jokers …

:

I’m getting really good at installing Caseta switches. A no-contact voltage tester pen is key for …

:

First beer I ever brewed is now bottled and will be carbonating for a few weeks. I tasted it and it …

:

Finished reading: The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett 📚 ★★★★

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Beer bottle label graveyard. Tomorrow is bottling day.

fragments of sheared beer labels

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Moravian star - the most festive our house gets on the exterior.

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Our front yard cultivated native fuchsias are still blooming. All summer, with minimal added water, …

:

The household chef making sandwich melts. I was just trying out the Kodak T-Max 400 film “recipe” …

:

Mushrooms!

:

Mural at La Corona Mexican Restaurant, Orland, CA.

: Better B&W Recipe Detection and exif Keywords added to macOS "What was my Fujifilm Recipe" Shortcut

I know that many people choose Fujifilm cameras for black and white photography. I hadn’t …

:

Shortcuts for macOS really makes me want to say many oaths 🤬

:

Turkey Milanese. A great use of leftover white meat.

Golden brown fries turkey

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Turkey Pho (well, inspired by Pho).

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Stuffing waffles for post-Thanksgiving breakfast is now 100% a tradition.

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My partner in crime sure does know how to cook a golden, juicy bird.

symmetrical golden brown turkey parts

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Earlier this month In Lahaina, Maui, two Java Sparrows (Padda oryzivora) silently discussing the two …

:

For the first time, tried a very simple beer brewing. This is Hank’s Hefeweizen. I’m fermenting in …

:

From Maui earlier this month: Waihe’e Ridge Trail. A very popular choice these days. It’s in …

:

Was trying to take a casual picture of The Annie Cat and…

:

Finished reading: Champion by Marie Lu 📚 I read this one pretty dang fast! I returned it to the …

:

From Maui earlier this month: a few more early mornings with Haleakala.

sun peaking out from the peak of haleakalaan amazing pink dawn

: macOS 12 Shortcut: What was my Fujifilm Recipe?

Screen Shot 2021 11 24 at 12 32 51 PM

NOTE: the link to this Shortcut, and then its changelog, is at the end of this page.

About

I’ve …

:

From Maui earlier this month: sunset on a boat. While we mostly enjoyed the sunset cruise, we …

:

With macOS 12.0.1 Shortcuts’ Run Shell Script, Shortcuts often crashes when reading stdout text. …

: From Maui: Sea Turtle Part Photos

Here’s a collection of sea turtle parts while on Maui earlier this month. I made ample use of …

:

Saw a beautiful orchid today.

:

From the left: Jupiter, Moon, Saturn. Then just the moon.

jupiter, half moon, saturnhalf-ish moon

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Haleakala as the morning sun peaks over. Then crepuscular rays! The first time I ever noticed them.

Sunrise just occurring at a silohetted Haleakala, a sudden mova of brightness.pinkish bands of light with intervals of dark sky, haleakspa silohetted.

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Dragon’s Teeth at Kapalua, Hawaii.

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Playing with Bulb on my X100V. 7 second exposure of Haleakala at nautical dawn. So cool that I can …

:

Sunrises and Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii never get old.

sun rises over Haleakala volcano

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I didn’t get why people include grain in their digital photos, thinking it is an anachronistic …

: Current Slate of Fujifilm Film Simulations

I’ve got a slate of six Film Simulations from Fuji X Weekly loaded on my X100V. Fuji X Weekly’s Film …

:

Closer look at a senescing apricot leaf compared to a still green leaf.

yellow heart shaped apricot leaf in front of a green leaf

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Our apricot is almost ready to overwinter. The nectarine at the bottom left is being a bit stubborn. …

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Perfect field weather today.

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Sourdough biscuits for breakfast today. With the X100V, learning manual focus & judicious …

:

We’ve got patty melts and a cat tonight, but no Aurora.

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Oh hello there! 👋

upside down mantis in california buckwheat

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I love not spending tons of time processing RAW by using Fujifilm X100V’s Film Simulations. …

:

My current drip system is an aging hodgepodge with uneven tree watering. I just got a bunch of new …

:

Fridge water dispenser started leaking. Its valve refuses to completely close. This has been an on …

:

This little backyard lizard lives underneath that cinder block.

juvenile lizard sunning on a cinder block

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Chocolate chip with walnut cookie connections.

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Turkey taquitos. Fried. Meaning delicious.

browned fried taquitos on a grid rack

:

So much rain and soon far too much in too few days. 1” total so far this month.

water dripping off a silohette of grapes. water drops are reflecting things and are in focus.

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This morning after 0.55” rain. The clouds cleared out astonishingly fast.

:

No rest for birds this time of the year. Here’s a Yellow Rumped Warbler (lower right) and Lesser …

:

We got the JJ Covid-19 vaccination very early this year so of course we just went and got Pfizer …

:

Our cat utilizing all her available space.

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I don’t do sports but I have a backyard.

rainy day in a landscaped backyard

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Bird bath mirror.

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First measurable precipitation of the 2022 water year in Orland, CA! 🎉

:

As a follow up, I’ve updated an older Fujifilm Get Film Simulation iOS Shortcut to now include ACROS …

:

There’s a thoughtful post on Fuji X Weekly. After spending several weeks with a X100V, I’m in …

:

Cooler weather = bread baking season. My partner made Sourdough specifically for stuffing. Excellent …

:

Ethereal light shafts in a coastal forest (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in California). From …

:

Perma-loc splice is an okay fix for drip tape punctured by fighting cats. Please keep your cats …

:

Of all the animals we see in our backyard, the western toad is our favorite. It was very loud …

:

Hygge in the neighborhood. Hygge is part of today’s micro.blog challenge.

:

M6.9 earthquake in Alaska registered on my RaspberryShake.

:

There’s now a Thai restaurant where I live! Pretty decent for a small town.

:

Last night’s constellation of the moon, Venus, and street light at one of the bridges over I-5.

waxing crescent moon, venus, street light, and a car driving up a bridge. black and white photo.

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I wouldn’t feel safe flying in that biplane! Almost as bad as a helicopter.

:

Celebrated mom’s birthday today with chicken fried steak (one of her favorites)! A great day.

:

Albums queue syncing between my iOS devices is effing amazing. Start a queue of albums on my iPhone, …

:

A Feijoa sellowiana of ours got very stressed this summer because of a clogged irrigation emitter. …

:

At just about Civil Twilight tonight.

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Here’s our resident Western Toad that’s likely en route to the compost pile. And yes, that’s toad …

:

Spice in the form of home grown assorted peppers. Turned these fine frozen specimens into hot sauce …

:

Our street is nicely obscured from the front yard by cultivated native California plants. They …

:

I don’t consider this Fujifilm X100V a toy but it sure brings me a lot of joy. Most photos I’ve …

:

Sharp looking (spotted bird?) grasshopper! It was resting in our California buckwheat.

:

A little bit of excitement at an over crossing today.

:

Our first backyard Spotted Towhee!

:

A majority onion tarte tartin. This tarte literally has the flavors of French Onion soup but this is …

:

September 22, 2021: full moon after dark.

:

Our replacement rear fence got finishing touches today. Very excited to no longer have a very old …

:

Just got this year’s flu shot! 💉

:

I just tried Fastmail’s and 1Password’s Masked email. It’s pretty great especially since it worked …

:

Preying Mantis in our California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). They sure do keep two eyes on …

:

Sunflower seeds ready to be eaten by backyard birds. Bet the scrub jays will cache them all.

sunflower seeds in a dried out sunflower head.

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I was not a fan of this Black Widow that was in my very well sorted irrigation parts bin earlier …

:

I’ve installed valves to isolate our crop rows so we can have slightly better control of what rows …

:

California fuchsias still blooming, and that makes our hummingbirds very pleased.

blooming red fuchsia flowershummingbird hovering above our driveway

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Now that I’m adding to our compost pile at night, our resident Western Toad can be seen hard at …

:

My partner’s new iPhone 13 Mini setup with no fuss. Phew. Coming from an XR, she is super excited …

:

Here’s my annual “elderberries are breaking summer dormancy” post.

:

Before and after: California grape leaves.

green, live grape leafa collection of fallen grape leaves

:

I had one last use of Dropbox with a iOS Shortcut. Now that iOS 15 supports file operations anywhere …

:

Quick temp fence repair. Someone long ago didn’t set the fence posts in concrete so they’ll all …

:

Long time followers know I cannot not take the opportunity to photograph a mantis.

:

If you use recent Fujifilm camera (e.g. X100V), they have neat film simulations. I’ve made a iOS 15 …

:

Last night the clouds and last light of the sun put on a good show.

orange and pink light off the bottom of clouds

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Korean Fried Cauliflower.

:

Cooler weather today meant I could finally cleanup the backyard garden. I can’t believe how hardy …

:

Good morning! The weather in Northern California is starting to feel like fall. 😍

:

I got a new stand-alone camera. I had forgotten just how powerful choosing your own f-stop is. Makes …

:

Being up when it is dark now means we get to see The Infinity Toad.

:

I kept thinking that my elderberries are late waking up from summer dormancy but my log shows they …

:

A Katydid visited and rested with us today.

:

Autumn.

:

Got 0.29” rain last night here in California 🤗 I’m quite happy that our rain gage survived the …

:

California fuchsias and hidden mantis in the front yard this morning.

:

Grapes are now turning to raisins but the birds still love them.

:

Mockingbird.

:

Really cool hearing a Spritualized song on Ted Lasso.

:

Our first grosbeak sighting! This is a Black-headed Grosbeak. It is eating our cultivated California …

:

I see Instagram is phasing me out as a user with their future requirement for date of birth. I can …

:

If you live in California, please vote no on the recall of Governor Newsom. There’s literally …

:

Mockingbirds enjoying our grapes (these cultivated California native grapes are for the birds!).

:

Mockingbirds love our cultivated native grapes 🥰 It’s the best seeing them swallow a large grape …

:

Homegrown Fantasia nectarines are amazing, even when still firm. Hope I can keep the tree that’s …

:

Still many small earthquakes occurring south of Black Butte mountain on the Mendocino NF. Impressive …

:

On 7/31, six small <= M3.0 quakes ocurred on the Mendocino NF near Rocky Basin Creek. All within …

:

My @raspishake captured the M8.2 Alaska earthquake. And then some. Wow.

:

So there’s been a cluster of small shallow quakes in a central part of the Mendocino National Forest …

:

We started pickling two almost full pint jars of Santa Fe peppers today. Turns out they’re not great …

:

We made our first batch of hot sauce the other weekend. Two pounds worth of home grown peppers made …

:

It’s our first smoky day of the summer. The automatic air filtration device agrees with a bright LED …

:

We have harvested around 6 pounds of peppers and there’s probably another pound on our plants. They …

:

I love fixing cracked main drip line tubing and a bad pressure regulator seal in 100°F weather. I …

:

M5.1 earthquake south of Eureka, CA registered nicely on my RaspberryShake @raspishake though I …

:

As far as I can find my county has a paltry 40% of its population fully vaccinated. That is very …

:

So many ripe Serranos & other varieties. This is hands down our best year for peppers. It has …

:

Volunteer sunflower from this morning. It took advantage of an emitter and I’m a sucker for known …

:

Wow big seismic signal from near Tahoe and also the Central Valley‽ Recorded by my #RaspberryShake …

:

Edible garden update: we continue to harvest lots of red & ripe peppers for hot sauce. The …

:

Had a really good Independence Day fried chicken with a slaw based on real garlic aioli & ripe …

:

I like Sierra Nevada’s Summer Break. Citrusy as expected and not too hoppy. It’s very refreshing. …

:

The Annie Cat hoping neighbors don’t ruin her sleepy time with obnoxious fireworks this July 4.

:

Because of Safari’s new clearly bad UI changes, I’m not installing the public iOS and MacOS betas. …

:

Tried Spotify again after a few years and it still is terrible for managing and listening to actual …

:

Yesterday’s max temperature at my Orland, CA station was 115°F.

weather station chart from MesoWest showing States and a graph of weather measurements

:

View of the backyard before we shelter indoors from the heat the rest of the day.

Trees. Tomatoes, peppers, and a house with grapevines along a porch overhang. Deep blue morning sky.

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Covered up the avocados again in advance of today’s 110°F weather. Every time we do this it gets …

:

Our peppers are now rapidly ripening. And they are crazy hot 🤤! 🌱

santa fe peppers ripening on a plantred ripe thai, santa fe, serrano, and jalepeno peppers on a cutting board

:

Windows 11 requires UEFI firmware. I use VMWare Fusion 12 Player (free) for Windows 10. Seems only …

:

The lapins cherry we planted last November is dead. It only grew a few leaves. Super bummed. Stark …

:

Last Monday, on the Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon, we were lucky to see Spotted Towhees. …

:

Last Sunday at Hoover Dam. Yes, Lake Meade is visibly very low (look at that bathtub ring!) and …

:

No surprise why I spent today processing raw photos. Cool that Carrot Weather can report on my …

:

Big Horn Sheep seen from the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon NP last Monday. The young one hopped …

:

40 tomatoes harvested today at just over 7 pounds. During cooler weather a few weeks back they …

:

My first flight on a 737-MAX8. Yeah I’m a commercial aviation geek and it’s great to be back in the …

:

Went to the Grand Canyon yesterday. Over 250 photos to sort through but here’s two photos from the …

:

20 months since my last flight. Happily flying on a 737-7H4.

:

Does anyone else get yearly free download speed increases from Comcast/Xfinity or are they giving …

:

Six pounds of tomatoes harvested today. Total of 12 pounds this season. Ants have started aphid …

: Pandoc now available for M1 Macs via Homebrew

The amazing document converter, Pandoc, is finally available from Homebrew for M1 Macs! So …

:

We harvested 2.5 pounds of tomatoes today. Almost 6 pounds total so far this season. We can’t use …

:

We have a crazy amount of tomatoes ripening all at once — this is just one plant. We have three …

:

I can hardly wait for Shortcuts on MacOS. That’s my favorite announcement from WWDC. Automator never …

:

First ripe backyard garden tomato of the year. 🌱🍅 There’ll be many more to come!

:

Cultivated California buckwheat (front yard) flowers being buzzed by a honeybee.

white buckwheat flowers

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These Santa Fe peppers are prolific! They seem to be more resistant to disease than jalapeños. 🌱

:

I’ve always loved listening to entire albums, as is evidence by my iOS Shortcut to randomize …

:

One variety of Cultivated California Fuchsias are full bloom in the front yard. This clump …

:

This beneficial little mantis (and other excellent insects) is why we don’t use insecticide in our …

:

One day at 111°F in my sunny backyard and another at 105°F, and my Logitech Circle View doorbell has …

:

Finished reading: City of Saints and Madmen (Ambergris, #1) by Jeff VanderMeer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📚

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Our fennel plants are managing fine in this 105°F+ heat. 🌱 a growing fennel plant

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Ooof. Though I have a suspicion my weather station measures higher than it should. It topped out at …

:

That time of the year where we temporarily shade the avocado trees as they have a hard time taking …

:

Front yard cultivated California Buckwheat & a few butterflies (Coliadinae?). 🌱 attached white and yellow butterflies on a bed of white buckwheat flowers

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Happy to say this sap sucking Leptoglossus zonatus is no longer suckling our tomato plants. 🌱

sap sucking bug on a ripening tomatocaught Leptoglossus zonatus in gloves showing its zigzag markings

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These jalapeños decided they had enough being outdoors and came right off the plant during …

:

Not sure why the M4.2 Lake Tahoe earthquake event isn’t showing up in the RaspberryShake app but my …

:

Our oldest jalapeños are starting to ripen to red. We can’t get delicious ripe peppers from the …

:

Front yard Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is flowering now. Small pollinators are rejoicing. Maybe …

:

Serrano & Santa Fe peppers are doing great and just a few dozen tomatoes with end rot. Jalapeños …

:

Partner made Boston cream pie (dessert after an amazing ribeye). 🤤

:

First bloom of cultivated California fuchsias. The California buckwheat is about to start feeding …

:

My partner uses my Apple ID for apps and her own for iCloud. When I changed my Apple ID email, her …

:

I just changed my Apple ID email address. That was scary. I think everything is fine? Took a bit of …

:

Western redbud has to share soil with a bird planted sunflower.

:

I think we are having a bumper crop of figs this year. Oh and we did find some tomatoes with end rot …

:

Front yard California fuchsias (or maybe the buckwheat or the toyon) are next to flower. Our …

:

YesPlz #129 nailed our preferred roast (medium-ish). First time with YesPlz. Was well balanced and …

:

I created a shuffle albums Shortcut a while back. It’s now retired for the iOS Albums app. It’s …

:

With the latest iOS, if a martini is in my face, Apple Watch unlocks my phone 🤗

:

Ensalada Hybrid Tomatoes are doing extremely well in Orland, CA. No sign of end rot or any disease. …

:

Santa Fe pepper flower and a young Santa Fe pepper. We did get a bit of bacterial spot (?) on the …

:

Got a new work truck today. Looking forward to breaking it in next week. Hope it handles as well as …

:

Pineapple Guavas (Feijoa sellowiana) are flowering. Perhaps this year they’ll fruit.

pink flower petals with red filaments and yellow anthers

:

Our cultivated native California Grapes are coming along very nicely. Same can’t be said for our new …

:

California Corn Lilies contrast with a burned Forest. There’s possibly shallow groundwater below …

:

A Shooting Star (Primula) flower in the August Complex burn area about 1/4 mile north below the …

:

iNaturalist hasn’t confirmed but these purple flowers appear to be Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) near …

:

Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) from near the summit of Black Butte in California’s …

:

M4.7 earthquake near Truckee, CA on May 6 at 21:35 was recorded on my #RaspberryShake. I did not …

:

Finally had a chance to visit the summit of Black Butte on the Mendocino NF. About time. A …

:

First bloom of the peppers. Serranos in this case. 🌱

white serrano pepper flowers and a deep red ladybug on a leaf

:

When the gusty winds are trying to uproot the top heavy tomatoes, one must get creative to save …

:

Can’t wait for For All Mankind season 3. Ridiculously good 2nd season 😳

:

Fairly rare earthquake (M3.0) in Chico, CA today at 11:26PDT. The #RaspberryShake managed to record …

:

I’ve thinned at least a dozen nectarines off this young tree. This “Fantasia” Nectarine is …

:

Japan — was that you, M6.8‽ #RaspberryShake

:

Tomatoes are incoming! 🌱

:

Cultivated California Wild Grapes are looking great after a heavy prune. I always forget to take …

:

Biiig kitten stretch!

:

And here’s the follow-up @raspishake graphic of the M3.7 at Lake Tahoe.

:

I really enjoy how Shadow and Bone (on Netflix) has integrated Six of Crows. Very smart.

:

The M3.8 Earthquake near Incline Village, CA at 15:33 UTC/08:33 PDT isn’t yet on the RaspberryShake …

:

Peppers and tomatoes got their second Jobes fertilization today in advance of likely rain. We really …

:

Going to be starting Shadow and Bone on Netflix today. Really good books by Leigh Bardugo.

:

M6.5 Tonga earthquake registered on my #RaspberryShake - first non-local earthquake I’ve seen …

:

My #RaspberryShake detected a M3.9 earthquake in the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone just northwest of …

:

Might be a Copestylum mexicanum (Mexican cactus fly). If so, it is fittingly on a cultivated …

:

I just noticed there was another small M2.8 earthquake near Willows, CA last night. This was also …

:

Now that is a clear, unambiguous seismic signal! M3.7 near Willows, CA. I didn’t feel it. …

:

Our back porch grapes look awesome this year! The fullest they’ve ever been.

grapes vining below a porch coverdeveloping clumps of grape flowers

: The humble shrub that’s predicting a terrible fire season

The humble shrub that’s predicting a terrible fire season.

I like the rust color of dried out …

:

Peppers and tomatoes garden update: tomatoes are flowering and peppers are finally growing …

:

Our mandarin tree is in full bloom. 🌱🌳

:

While adding 1/2 GPH drip to the backyard Ceanothus plants, spotted this glorious lizard doing its …

: MeteoBridge Email Weather Alerts & FastMail

MeteoBridge reports my weather station data to all sorts of services. To be rid of IFTTT, I finally …

:

The “Fantasia” nectarines are coming along. First ever crop. We’ve had to thin a dozen or so because …

: iOS Shortcut: RaspberryShake Helicorder 24 Hour PDT Plot

I’ve a RaspberryShake that serves up helicorder plots. By default, they’re in UTC. My brain isn’t …

:

Front yard update. Poppies are now blooming, joining the creeping sage and the Ceanothus (California …

:

Backyard Elderberries are seeking pollinators.

yellow elderberry flowers against elderberry leaves

:

Our “Bacon” Avocado tree is blooming basically right on time as compared to last year on April 11th. …

:

It’s been well over a year since since we last saw lizards in our backyard. I blame outdoor cats. …

:

This seems like a legit earthquake signal. Happened in the middle of the night April 2nd so cultural …

:

I just hooked up one more drip line to the little Antelco eZyvalve valve box. I think I’m done for …

:

Spring mornings in our front yard. Sage and Ceanothus are in full bloom. 💚🌱

sage (light purple) and ceanothus (violet) flowers.

:

Our native California grapes have been very busy over the last week! 🌱

:

This morning, two Northern Mockingbirds briefly hung out on our backyard patio. It seems super rare …

:

We planted all our indoor pepper and tomato starts. The Serranos looked most distressed prior to …

: iOS Shortcut: RaspberryShake Helicorder 24 Hour Plot

I rapidly made a iOS 14 Shortcut that automatically pulls the last 24 hours of helicorder plots from …

:

I just installed this Antelco eZyvalve 4 Zone Valve Box. I’m very pleased so far. We’ll see how …

:

I used the Controller app to create an automation that triggers upon press of my Logitech doorbell …

:

Ceanothus (California lilac) is magnificently blooming. 🌱

:

Row Crop irrigation kit from Drip Depot installed. Really pleased with this so far. I need to stake …

:

Currently reading: 1Q84 (Vintage International) by Haruki Murakami 📚

:

Finished reading: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin ★★★★★ 📚. I honestly could barely put …

:

J&J Vaccine ✅ thanks, quick call list!!

:

The nectarine is about to start shedding its flowers. Leaves are growing. Since it is pretty young …

:

A slow, rolling bloom for the apricot this year. It didn’t fruit at all last year. Here’s hoping for …

:

In-flight water drops.

drops of water

:

Twitter Feeds in the latest NetNewsWire 6 beta are great. The key is to be really choosy.

:

The monster alligator lizard in the shed still lives! Maybe 6 inches long. Been well over a year …

: Facebook/Instagram Harvests Location Metadata Before Stripping for Posts

I always expected this: Facebook/Instagram harvests photo location metadata before removing it for …

:

Took a Potensic D58 drone photo today of the backyard (bottom photo) to compare against January 2020 …

:

We’re finally eating our backyard Valencia oranges. Sooo good. 🍊🌳🌱

valencia orange in a handsliced valencias on a plate

:

We got some pea-sized hail today!

:

Currently reading: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 📚

:

I finished reading: The Power by Naomi Alderman ★★★★★ 📚

:

How it started (Mar 2020) and how it’s going (Mar 2021) in the backyard. All lawn is removed! Garden …

:

Sunday dinner: Sous vide Arm Roast followed by Boston Cream Pie.

roasted brussel sprouts, popovers, medium rare arm roast, au jousboston cream pie - yellow cake

:

Slowly preparing the backyard garden rows over the past few months 😅 Almost time to plant the …

:

This is quite the year for catchweed (aka bedstraw aka genus Galium). It is everywhere! It even …

:

Our “Bacon” Avocado flower buds are developing nicely. Also, the fig is waking up. 🌱🌳

avocado flower budsfig showing leaf growth

:

First apricot bloom. Hopefully, as in past years, far more will follow. Figure this flower puts …

:

The front yard blue oak has awakened! 🌱

:

This should be my last nectarine flower photo. This year. 🌳🌱

pink to magenta nectarine flower

:

Easiest way to deal with (perhaps) hundreds of mandarins once ripe: juice them. These have …

:

The nectarine is up and at ‘em with many glorious blooms. 🌱🌳

:

Pompasetting nectarine.

:

Not my favourite 3/4”-minus gravel as the rocks definitely didn’t come from rivers with their …

:

One of these days I’ll paint the PVC pipe to hide my poor PVC cementing job and a few barcodes. 🌱

:

First bloom today of our nectarine! 🌳 🌱

:

In 2012 our baby kitten (aka The Annie Cat) was just as clumsy as she is today (though she is more …

:

A banana slug from a 2010 trip to Jug Handle State Reserve, California (the north coast).

:

Got a warm spell in California so now I expect the nectarine to bloom any day now. The local almond …

:

There are so many colors in a landslide. This slide complex is at Bar Creek on the Mendocino NF, …

:

Currently reading: The Power by Naomi Alderman 📚

:

Started prepping the garden rows today. Great weather and perfect soil moisture. Was surprised how …

:

I’m experimenting with HomeKit Automations converted to Shortcuts. This one, when a Home member …

:

This morning: the most symmetrical Dutch baby we’ve ever had.

top-down view of dutch baby in cast ironoblique view of symmetrical dutch baby in cast iron

:

I finished reading The child finder by Rene Denfeld ★★★★ 📚

:

The peppers and tomatoes are still alive and growing fast. The tomatoes might get root bound sooner …

:

Today, at home, the spice drawer was cleaned out and organized.

:

The Fantasia nectarine (planted Jan 2020) is still in swollen bud stage. Has been for days. It’s …

:

Look, I put a pressure gauge on the new hose bibb! I must be an erudite of irrigation systems. 🙃

water pressure gauge on new hose bibb.pressure gauge showing a reading of about 50 PSI.

:

Korean cheese buldak for dinner tonight. Chicken in a hot chili sauce covered with mozzarella 🌶🌶🌶🌶 😋 …

:

Mount Lassen’s reflection upon Juniper Lake in summer of 2016.

an evening orange glow on mt lassen as it reflects off a tree lined lake

:

I pressure checked the new hose bibb this morning; it had a slow leak at the valve threads & PVC …

:

Front yard update: the manzanitas are in full bloom! The poppies are trying to take over. Waiting on …

:

I installed a new hose spigot on an old PVC waterline today. I’m trying to have the patience to give …

:

Have compassion for your neighborhood birbs and borbs. They may help you relax a bit as you gaze at …

:

Someday we’ll figure out how to make rice noodles right. Did a bunch of experiments today and almost …

:

Hello, probably Spruce. Put on some good growth this year, yeah? You weren’t invited, you’re kind of …

:

Got to make the rock rings around the citrus trees larger so drip emitters can be moved back for …

:

Happy Lunar New Year 🧧

:

Sporg! A pipe to nowhere 😋

:

A cozy sleeping machine. Yeah she’s awake. She can sense when the camera comes out to give the stink …

:

Currently reading: The child finder by Rene Denfeld 📚

:

Energy makes growing peppers & tomatoes in the winter possible. Got lots of jalapeños, serranos, …

:

I finished City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab ★★★★ 📚

:

Mud Creek, CA south of Mt. Shasta after a pretty intense debris flow in 2014. The deposits are muddy …

:

Got a lot of hope for these little peppers and tomatoes! 🌱

:

For Sunday breakfast, my partner made rösti with Swiss cheese in the middle and a sunny-side up egg …

:

We’re craving Manzanita flower blooms in the front yard. Almost there… 🌱

:

Beef tenderloin filets getting the royal treatment of butter basting. Cooked to medium rare.

:

Our first front yard daffodil flower of 2021. Bloomed about two weeks later than last year (Jan 24, …

:

Apple Photos thinks eating campfire roasted marshmallows off a metal stick is a sport. I agree.

:

Pets are the best since they always find new unexpected ways to delight, unknowingly helping their …

:

Back in 2013 we half-heartedly grew corn. We got so excited over the seemingly nice looking ears of …

:

Cats are pros at comfort.

:

Currently reading: City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab 📚

:

I finished The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. I’m sooo looking forward to the next …

:

A screensaver with the best most relaxing photos and a nice hot morning beverage to start the day.

:

Close up of a Meyer Lemon still on the tree. 😋

:

Tomato sprouts all day today! Peppers should be next. 🌱

:

Lemon grass is overwintering nicely. This time we dug up the plant to include roots. Last year we …

:

We have a lot of citrus in the backyard: mandarins, Meyer lemons, and Valencias. This means it is …

:

Gorgeous today at Burris Creek in Northern California.

:

White Crown borb soaking in the warmth of a cinder block & preening outside the slider.

:

Here’s my iOS Shortcut that uses ShellFish App to show all journals over the years written “On This …

:

Secure ShellFish for iOS is wonderful. Its shortcut functions allowed me to create a Shortcut that …

:

Last year we successfully grew peppers by direct sowing mid-Spring. Today we’re starting plants from …

:

Dutch baby for breakfast. It is really great with Meyer lemons (from the backyard tree; which is …

:

Today was a very, very good day. 🇺🇸

:

Possibly a Cooper’s Hawk casing out bird feeder and really freaking out the House Sparrows and White …

:

Pruned the apricot today. I only kind of know what I’m doing. It looks about right to me. Every year …

: Statement from President-elect Biden on Religious Freedom Day

Statement from President-elect Biden on Religious Freedom Day:

Today, Religious Freedom Day, is a …

:

My partner is making beef salami but this time with added pork fat and more spices— the last batch …

: A Peaceable Washington D.C. in 2015

I’ve been looking through photos of my work trip to Washington D.C. in 2015. Insurrection against …

:

Currently reading: Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker 📚

:

Bibimbap!!

:

Lesser Gold Finch picking at raisins that are softened from the rain and dew.

:

Finished reading: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor ★★★★★ – pretty dang original! 📚

:

I’m team pocket universe. It’s bigger inside. Spoilers in this linked article. Star Trek: …

: Installed Logitech Circle View Doorbell Chime-Kit and Hardware Doorbell Chime

Why did I decide to install the chime-kit and doorbell chime after I installed the Logitech doorbell …

:

Logitech Circle View Doorbell and new transformer w/junction box successfully installed! I replaced …

:

I routed the new doorbell wire from the garage, along the foundation tucked under the sheathing, …

:

Backlit senescing cultivated hybridized California grapes (“Roger’s Red”). So far the Northern …

: Logitech Circle View Doorbell Initial Thoughts

Got a Logitech Circle View doorbell. I haven’t mounted it yet but I’m already pretty happy with it …

:

Apple is successfully getting me to put HomePod Minis all over my house. Bought one, liked it for my …

:

I installed a Lutron Caseta in-wall dimmer switch for the hallway today. Before it was wired as a …

:

Currently reading: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor 📚

: Earthquake M 3.8 - 16km ESE of Willows, CA

Earthquake M 3.8 - 16km ESE of Willows, CA: well, I heard a quick shifting/crack-like sound from the …

:

Finished reading: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman ★★★★★ 📚

:

Annual chest freezer de-icing, cleaning, inventory, and organizing. This year it’s especially …

:

We had a lot of left over brisket so some went into disco fries.

:

Tonight’s brisket prepared by my partner using Sous Vide for literally fork tender meat and then …

: My New Markdown Editing and Preview Apps

MultiMarkdown Composer and Marked 2 fit my Markdown needs perfectly. One key item is that I can drag …

: Automating Deselection and Unchecking of Twitter Interests - EvilTester.com

Automating Deselection and Unchecking of Twitter Interests - EvilTester.com: The final JavaScript …

:

I like Apple Fitness+. HIIT workouts are accessible for a newbie. The trainers make me feel at ease …

:

The preceding sunset was way more picturesque than Jupiter and Saturn 😜

:

Here’s Jupiter and Saturn through a pair of high powered 9x63 binoculars.

:

A benefit of not having anyone over for Christmas dinner is we can do wild, special food …

:

The front yard California fuchsias (Epilobium canum) are still flowering and providing forage to the …

:

And here’s the final caramel. They’re perfect. 🤗

:

Annual caramel making. These seem 👌and perfectly plastic. Here’s a series of photos showing sugar …

:

Black Phoebe! These flycatchers are elusive in our backyard.

:

Unidentified hummingbird enjoying rosemary flowers today. Maybe a Black Chin. Doesn’t seem to have …

:

Split Pea Soup made with a ham hock! Love the cold season 🥰

:

Just watched the latest Star Trek: Discovery. Did not expect these twists! 😲Helps I don’t watch the …

:

House Sparrows frenetically bathing under the mandarin this morning.

three house sparrows in a shallow birdbath with one sparrow waiting its turn. all under a mandarin tree with ripening oranges.

:

Giant exhale.

:

Front yard: today and April 19. I cleaned up a lot of it today. This yard of cultivated native …

:

Pulling out grass from the cultivated native sage is exhausting. At least I’m perfumed with sage …

:

Currently reading: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman 📚

:

The Annie Cat maximizing sunlight.

black and white cat on a perch taking in a sun beam

:

Last year this was not our view into the backyard from the house. Now we regularly see White Crowns, …

:

New bird in our backyard! Yellow-rumped Warbler. A pair was feasting on our cultivated California …

:

Finished reading: Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer ★★★★☆📚

:

December 2nd, 2013: at the Dresden Christmas Market.

:

Partner made Naan today (along with Turkey Tikka Masala).

cooking naan on a baking steelbatch of naanTurkey tikka masala

: macOS Big Sur TimeMachine and Bootable External Drives

If you have any bootable APFS containers on an external drive, macOS Big Sur will not allow you to …

:

Stuffing waffles. So crispy & savory.

stuffing waffles

:

Mandarins and Meyer Lemons are ripening nicely. Maybe one more month until the Mandarins are sweet …

:

Leftovers 🎉. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

:

Alice’s Restaurant, a Thanksgiving tradition: music.apple.com

:

The makings of Thanksgiving dinner for a couple is bread for stuffing and Turkey stock for just …

:

Pecan Squares instead of Peacan Pie. And as we’re not having Thanksgiving with anyone, dessert is a …

:

Sunset during our isolation vacation at the North Coast of California.

:

Fox Sparrows (?) enjoying the cultivated California Grape raisins. We’ve also perhaps identified …

: New M1 Mac Mini on the way

I bought a new M1 Mac Mini, 8gb RAM with 1 TB SSD for home server duties and testing software (like …

:

Cistus × purpureus (Purple-flowered Rock-rose)

:

We brought ribeyes and a cast-iron with us (and the rest of what’s on the plate. Yeah that’s canned …

:

Hot chocolate on the North Coast of California.

:

Moonlight over the Pacific. Above the moon, Jupiter and then Saturn.

:

Sundown at Trinidad, California. We’re hunkered down here for a few nights, completely …

:

Good morning. This morning’s sun rise almost makes up for my neighbor being obsessive with their …

:

I’m very thankful that my family is supportive of not getting together for Thanksgiving and very …

:

I tested my journaling workflow in Big Sur on a secondary Mac and it worked. So I couldn’t …

: The Results of the 2020 Home Orchard Fixed Daily Watering Experiment

This last orchard growing season, I watered using daily fixed schedules that took into account …

:

Joint Statement by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris On Diwali, the …

:

Toad in our bird bath tonight. That’s a first. We usually empty the baths to keep mosquitoes at bay …

: Planted a New Cherry Tree Today

I planted a replacement Lapins Cherry today. Bought it from Stark Bro’s and it has a great …

:

Pumpkin pie! And rump roast. Sunday is the best.

:

The rainy season in California is right around the corner, so I just cleaned the rain gage & …

:

Today’s celebratory homemade sourdough loaf and Prosecco

:

Tearing up here. Biden & Harris wins.

:

Since November 2nd I’ve stayed away from Twitter & Instagram. Feels kind of nice. Getting some …

:

I’m looking forward to winter. Summer was far too long.

Furnace burners at full flame

:

I accidentally trashed my Windows 10 Virtual Machine and thought it was a total loss with no backup. …

:

For today and a while after the election, Twitter & Instagram apps are removed from my devices. …

:

Dark-Eyed Junco (Oregon) in the backyard! Had to photograph it through binoculars.

dark eyed junco

:

Northern Mockingbird in our backyard. They’re not nearly as brave as the scrub jays but they’re …

:

Got two volunteer conifer seedlings in the backyard — their needles are roundish and pointy, not in …

:

PowerPhotos is worth the cost alone for trashing duplicate photos in a MacOS/iCloud Photo Library. …

:

Started reading: Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer 📚

:

TBH, Fall is grilling season here.

:

A happy scrub jay feasting on some big bird seeds.

scrub jay eating bird seed on the ground

:

Gorgeous loaf of homemade sourdough.

:

Tore out the bark beetle infested Lapins Cherry today. It was half dead by beetles girdling it. In …

:

Our dropped off California ballots were collected and accepted. I get very anxious when signing — …

:

On iPhone 12: I love the telephoto lens so I’ll wait for the 2.5x camera or better to migrate down …

:

Saved this gorgeous western alligator lizard this morning from a murderous outdoor cat. It was cold, …

: Siri Shortcut for Meteobridge Weather Report

If you have a weather station with Meteobridge, I’ve made a iOS Siri Shortcut so Siri can tell you …

:

Backyard cultivated native elderberries decided summer is over! Yay!

:

My typical workflow: here’s a thing I need to do. Hm. That seems more difficult than expected. …

:

Just voted🇺🇸

:

The Annie Cat has seasons. She only uses the wool bed during the cold season.

:

Lemongrass came back this year after dying back over winter (we also took cuttings over winter and …

:

Franciscan Assemblage. Mendocino NF. ❤️

:

Been a few years since we first wanted to mulch the backyard. Weather got nice so here we go with 10 …

:

We made roasted hot pepper sauce recently. A mix of jalapeños, anaheims, serranos and yellow wax …

:

For iOS 14 Shortcuts, seems the volume control function for AirPlay devices is only reliable after …

:

Coconut-Gochujang Glazed Chicken With Broccoli is pretty good. We added Gochugaru (Korean pepper …

:

Tess of the Road was excellent so now reading where it all started: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman 📚

:

Billions of almonds waiting to be hulled.

:

Western Toad finally makes a reappearance in the backyard and it has GROWN. Wish I had something for …

:

The Annie Cat is so displeased that the game controller isn’t working right.

:

Excellent sourdough shape, crumb, and pretty good flavor (48 hour refrigerator proof).

:

Accidentally scrolled to the bottom of Sunlit app credits 😉

:

Today’s obligatory wildfire smoke scene. Halide app made it dead easy to override auto white …

:

Winds started after midnight here and dramatically warmed the air from ~75 to ~87°F. Likely …

:

Blue Jay yelling at everything this afternoon. Maybe it’s angry at the wildfire smoke.

:

Can confirm.

:

Oof.

:

Good morning: light of sunrise reflecting off the smoke.

:

Today starts an oppressive heat wave. At least the humidity is low. The smoke from California fires …

:

A scrub jay checking out the new bird feeder. Birds haven’t taken to it yet. They’re still eating …

:

Finished The City We Became (great book) and now currently reading: Tess of the Road by Rachel …

:

August Complex smoke this afternoon. Silver lining is the smoke cooled the air temperature down …

:

:

Our trio of Scrub Jays are leaving almond hulls behind. Maybe they’re giving us gifts for providing …

:

We love this homemade smoked beef salami — could use a bit more paprika but great first try.

:

A day of discovery making salami for the first time with a smoker we were given. Smells and looks …

: Kimchi-Brined Fried Chicken

Kimchi-Brined Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe by J. Kenji López-Alt is an excellent recipe — those …

:

Still currently reading: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin – and enjoying it! Making me …

:

Large ash flake that landed in my safe backyard — over a dozen miles away from the August Complex on …

:

Nothing but pleasant emotions with a view like this. I wish this were my backyard but so glad I had …

:

Overcome a poorly seasoned cast iron pan by cooking lots of fatty things like Guanciale.

:

The Annie Cat is not always relentless at being judgy. Sometimes she looks borderline benevolent.

:

Here’s some hope that our trio of Scrub Jays will eat our cultivated California native grapes.

:

Frosty garden grown hot peppers (from the freezer) about to become hot sauce. We harvest over the …

:

In mid-2016 we discovered this graceful Silk Moth at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA.

:

I dislike Instagram’s new suggested posts. It is a new source of anxiety in that I might see …

:

This last week was insane and that is why I posted the Sourdough Dashi Scallion Pancakes twice for …

: VMware Fusion 12 Player

It is pretty awesome that VMware Fusion Player is replacing VMware Fusion Standard and Player is …

:

This perch is pretty much The Annie Cat’s summer home during the day.

:

Sourdough Dashi Scallion Pancakes from last weekend had some serious crunch. A bit salty but very …

:

Wish I could change today’s cooler smokey summer day to a rainy winter day. The August Complex fires …

:

Metallic ribbon and a fake bird of prey truly keeps the birds away from our figs.

:

Falafel on a grid.

:

This western milkweed bug stuffing itself into the eye of the Brown Turkey Fig is decidedly not …

:

Likely the plume of the Doe Fire on the Mendocino National Forest.

:

Currently reading: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. I’ve had this book on library hold …

:

Read Gideon the Ninth by Tamsym Muir. ★★★★☆

The novel meandered a bit but was thoroughly enjoyable. …

:

These Sourdough Dashi Scallion crepes were not stationary for long.

:

Unusual weather in NorCal but it is keeping daytime temps cooler than yesterday. The overnight low …

:

The cultivated native plants likely needed some morning water for this California heatwave. It’s …

:

The Annie Cat in silhouette.

:

Peppers among peppers. Nachos for dinner tonight. The red jalapeño and yellow wax peppers were home …

:

With the incoming heatwave in California, we will filter out direct sunlight to help keep these …

:

West Point Light House on the Puget Sound. During a trip to visit friends Mid–2016.

:

SFO, August 2009: when 747s were still fairly popular for long haul transport. I’ve never flown on …

:

Looking out at set of creepy toothy, grinning windows (dormers?) from Dom St. Petri in Bautzen, …

:

So much Regina Spektor in my playlist lately.

:

The Annie Cat is black-and-white and loves self-scritching her mouth and cheeks (don’t all cats?)

:

Another Bee’s eye view. Gorging on a Gilia. Early 2017.

:

Hummingbirds love these cultivated native California fuchsias so here’s their bird’s eye view of …

:

Daytripping in mid-October can result in this view of Mount Lassen from Brokeoff Mountain. 2019.

:

Fissures bisect land in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness. The massive landslide is moving to …

:

A quaternary lava flow at ʻĀhihi-Kīnaʻu Natural Area Reserve on Maui. Haleakalā is in the …

:

Currently reading: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsym Muir 📚

:

There was (and must still be) absolute peace in the Haleakala erosional crater. Late 2018. 

:

A bug that we call the European honeybee, enjoying cultivated native California sage flowers. 2017. …

:

Jellyfish floating in an aquarium at the Birch Aquarium, La Jolla, CA in 2004. #mbaug

:

I can’t say if it’s related but I haven’t received any mail for four days now. I can say that’s …

:

What used to be Up at Coyote Point just south of SFO. #mbaug

:

Mantis on the cherry tree.

… and peppers! Though ants are trying to farm aphids on them.

:

Cultivated native California grapes. Seedy & thick skinned but good to eat. Since the birds …

:

Bulgogi.

Beef Bulgogi (asada cut) hot off the grill.

:

Today’s harvest. Brown turkey figs and a small ripe jalapeño.

: Orange Grove Update

This year, our Mandarin orange will provide plenty to eat in January. We’re lucky it’s not alternate …

:

The lemon grass coming in strong. It came back from last year’s planting and a cutting we took.

:

Change your AC and/or furnace filter with high flow MERV-8 every three months or sooner if you’ve …

:

Here’s a drooping Brown Turkey fig — means it’s perfectly sweet & tender for eating. Don’t wait …

:

Brown Turkey figs are rapidly ripening. Patiently waiting for them to start drooping as a sign of …

:

The birds aren’t eating the grapes, so we might as well. 😋

:

Here’s an adjusted/“developed” version of NEOWISE (see the original straight from Night Mode)

:

Anaheim pepper with a surprise mantis for scale. Then a jalapeño. Just popped out of nowhere while I …

: Garden Update

Experimental pepper garden update: Cayenne, jalapeño, Anaheim, Hungarian wax. We will ripen all …

:

Scrub jay!

:

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) at 04:17. Very cool. The last quarter moon washed it out a lot. iPhone 11 …

:

Watering the front yard and this hummingbird was really curious about the water and I swear the bird …

:

Our cultivated native California grapes are ripening! The birds will hopefully soon find them. Or …

:

Our peppers are doing okay despite the very late seeding. Just a bit of brown rot initially but some …

:

Somewhere around Tehachapi, CA.

:

The last two days of 110°F heat has also resulted in our cultivated native California grapes turning …

:

110°F yesterday and today. The avocados we planted 2-3 years ago transpire water more than they can …

:

Scrub Jay patiently waiting for the grapes to ripen.

:

The makings of Chai ice cream (admittedly without the tea).

:

Upon a recent update to VMware Fusion 11.5.5, sound began crackling in Windows 10. For some reason …

:

So many Brown Turkey Figs!

:

Leafhopper Assassin with a meal.

:

Hummingbird enjoying succulent flowers.

:

Shooting Star or Primula hendersonii (maybe) at Hidden Lakes, Lassen National Forest last Friday …

: Sous Vide Filet Mignon, Medium Rare

We set the Filet Mignon into the water bath (in a bag of course, air displaced by water so water …

:

Tostones or patacones (made whenever we find green plantains at SavMor, which isn’t often). 😋

: Hidden Lakes, Lassen National Forest

We went on a hike to the Hidden Lakes in the Caribou Wilderness on the Lassen National Forest. It …

:

Volunteer tomato is flowering. Who knows what kind of fruit this might grow (if pollinated). So too …

:

[Crispy Cheese and Kimchi-Topped Skillet …

: Keep MacBook from Sleeping with Lid Down

The MacOS app Amphetamine is pretty slick. As promised, it keeps my MacBook Air awake even if the …

:

The California Buckwheat is now blooming — cool hot pink anthers!

:

The toyon is in full bloom and it is impossible to photograph its flowers without pollinators. A …

:

Today’s front yard Poppies and Clarkias.

:

I finally got around to messing with iStat Menu's Time menu and I’m sold. Having a calendar and …

:

Cultivated native California grapes are coming along quite well.

:

... made from the left over Bulgogi the next day, Bibimbap! Crisped up the white rice a bit too.

:

Homemade Bulgogi.

:

If only I could have got closer to this gorgeous blue dragonfly in the front yard. This super crop …

:

Inaugural cook on the Baking Steel Mini Griddle. We love the original size for pizza, cooking lots …

:

The Annie Cat in a box.

:

Bee butt on the first understated blooms of our cultivated Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia).

: Upgraded to 16" MBP ❤️

Since 2010, I have always had a 13” Mac laptop — now I’m on a 16” MacBook Pro and I love it. I …

:

An unidentified grasshopper of some kind on our cultivated native California wild rose. Genus …

:

Why must Apple hide three finger drag on their touch pads under Accessibility? It’s my favorite …

:

Lunchtime snack: Sweet Cherries fresh from the backyard tree.

:

Freshly churned strawberry ice cream.

:

Lunch today: Chuck Roast (left over) Sandwich. Cooked on Baking Steel.

:

chuck roast (left over) sandwiches on homemade sourdough. The Baking Steel is pretty great as a …

:

Cherry tree update: almost dark red! (and then they’re hopefully ripe and sweet; had two today and …

:

The backyard native California grapes are about done flowering and beginning to swell.

:

Metallic flagging and a fake hawk to discourage birds from the cherries. The blue jays are smart and …

:

Our sweet cherries are looking tastier everyday.

:

Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) flowers.

:

Cherries on the bark beetle-caused malnourished, unshaded branches (to right) are blushing fast (May …

:

Just found out that MacOS Catalina’s new shell (zsh) doesn’t require me to remove spaces from file …

:

Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana) flower bud. These flowers are going to be huge.

:

Turns out native California grape flowers ate definitely not showy but are well loved by small …

:

I think these are as showy as native California grape flowers get. Will report back.

:

Backyard elderberry in full bloom. Fence behind it is six feet tall.

: Fruit Tree Irrigation: an Experiment

For several years I’ve watered my fruit trees using a Generation 2 Rachio controller and their …

:

Wild California Grapes are coming along — these are the flowers buds.

:

Front yard Clarkia update: nearly full bloom. Hoping the white lined sphinx moth caterpillars show …

:

For Earth Day, bees on the elderberry and the avocado.

:

This HUGE bumble bee really wants the Toyon flowers to open up! Been buzzing around for several …

:

Today’s Clarkias and Poppies.

:

Homemade Naan atop a piping hot Baking Steel.

:

First bloom of our backyard California wild roses (Rosa Californica)!

:

Today, first time in weeks flour and sugar could be bought 🥳 go King Arthur flour!

:

Snakefly hunting insects on a bed of elderberry flowers.

:

Warmer than usual weather means Peppers are rapidly sprouting. We direct seeded this year as an …

:

I can never remember brackets or parentheses for Markdown links!

:

Yarrow is now in bloom and the carpet beetles are gorging themselves on pollen.

:

Seen at lunch: iNaturalist guesses this is a Leafhopper Assassin bug on our California grape. …

:

Today we donated all our U.S. stimulus money to the local food bank.

:

The swarm in our little blue oak is getting a new home.

:

With [Watchsmith](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/watchsmith/id1483088503), I get a hamburger when my …

:

Never knew my penchant for buying cleaning supplies weeks in advance of running out would be useful …

:

When your yards are a pollen and nectar paradise, this can happen. Time to get in touch with a local …

:

Bee butt on a front yard Gilia 🐝

:

This western toad is why I carefully cut back the parsley. I knew it was in there somewhere. I …

:

Got to pay attention to notice avocado flowers. Our “Bacon” Avocado tree is flowering. Our …

:

Falafel soft tacos tonight since we had dry chickpeas, the herb garden was begging for it, and we …

:

Think we might get cherries in mid to late May! A few tree branches have extremely undersized leaves …

:

Got a few Apricot fruits to set... in a few weeks they may drop as the tree balances its energy.

:

First elderberry flowers in the backyard.

:

Our (majority) whole wheat crust pizza.

:

🐞

:

Apple delayed shipment of 2020 MacBook Air. Understandable. Buyer’s remorse came fast and furious so …

:

Home fried sweet potato chips. Because we didn’t use the potato in a Massaman curry last week (had …

:

I’m experimenting with Meteobridge Templates and Siri Shortcuts so Siri can tell me about the …

:

Newly emerged ladybug 🐞

:

Future native California grapes.🐞🐝

:

Was prepping the vegetable garden bed and had to dodge lots of ladybugs.

:

We had been planning a May trip to Germany for a few years. We’re cancelling it. We're patiently …

:

Front yard (mostly) native garden update.

:

Good morning! Here’s Orion’s Belt of Ladybugs on white clover.

:

Yellow Dal w/Garlic & Brown Basmati and make ahead veggie enchiladas all at once.

:

Our local grocery store’s distributor ran out of eggs by the dozen. 😕

:

What do you need this morning? Bee butt on Gilia flowers and Baby Blue Eyes.

:

Realized we can keep our front door open with closed screen because there shouldn’t be door to door …

:

Takeout from a local Orland, CA restaurant. Even in rural California, online takeout is available! …

:

I’d say nationwide telework went very well this last week. Only had a few hours of repeat VPN …

:

“Hey Siri, play some music.” “Okay, let’s kick things off with Widespread Panic.” 😳

:

Working from home today - nationwide stress test of VPN.

:

It’s high time we start taking photos behind the flowers. Apricot flower.

: Sous Vide London Broil (Beef)

We had a two pound London Broil in the freezer chest and nowhere to go because of SARS-CoV-2. Might …

:

Glad lots of people are learning about public library eBooks. My library in rural California has had …

:

Not going anywhere unless necessary so time to try Sous Vide London Broil. Just under two pounds of …

:

Cherry tree in full bloom.

:

At the USDA, I’m not allowed to telework as I haven’t been personally affected by SARS-CoV-2. I’m …

:

There’s a retirement party this Saturday. Could be up to 100 people. So far it’s not postponed or …

:

This morning’s view out the backyard window. The California Lilacs (purple!) are out of control. …

:

A successful section of our vegetative fence line screen. Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), California …

:

Wow first earthquake I’ve experienced in a very long time. Off Cape Mendocino. It was a slow roll. …

:

Sunset over the Pacific. Two versions, no filter, just different exposure settings. iPhone 11 Pro …

:

Gray Whale spouts (center photo) off the coast of Northern California.

:

Western toad hanging out in one of our irrigation boxes. We have a wildlife ramp in there for this …

: A Very Good Overcomplicated Journal Workflow

Our journal workflow is probably more complicated than it needs to be. There’s room to optimize this …

:

European honeybee on a California Lilac (Ceanothus). 🐝

:

Our front yarden sage plants (first two photos) and all the Ceanothus are now flowering.

:

Our apricot had its first bloom today. A few weeks ahead last year. This tree has rarely yielded …

:

Our cherry tree had its first bloom today.

:

There are many **vision**s brewing in these caskets at [Moksa Brewery](https://moksabrewing.com).

:

Alcohol dreaming to escape their bottles. Later, I had a dry gin martini on the rocks.

:

Ember leaping from a pepper roasting over a gas flame.

: 2020 Spring: Blooms to Come

Here in the Northern Sacramento Valley of California, the blooming seems to be happening all at once …

:

And here’s a California gilia.

:

First front yard California poppy bloom of the year.

:

We love this red curry paste. Fortify it with fresh lemon grass! 🌶🌶🌶🥵

:

Glad I’m not below that cherry picker.

:

Our cherry tree’s super close **together** buds are opening up! Soon flower buds will rapidly drop …

:

This horse won’t escape… though I feel jumping the fence is easily within its abilities.

:

In 2010: Plenty of limestone & marble rock hurdles in the Marble Wilderness, Klamath National …

:

Double

:

Experimenting with our first bird feeding station. Suet with seed for a variety of birds.

:

The dull spectacle of me trying to figure out the kitchen sink’s plumbing. My iPhone is a handy …

:

Progress. Nectarine is growing!

:

A tan greywacke sandstone from the Northern California Coast Range (Franciscan Assemblage bedrock). …

:

The pull to “like” on Twitter is impressive. I’m doing my best to refrain but my finger has a mind …

:

Never for want of space in California’s Central Valley. Those grapes will be waking up soon.

:

Hard to oppose California’s almond bloom! ❤️ Our apricot will bloom mid March and the cherry late …

:

One of two Valencia oranges from the backyard tree 😋

:

Not cool. Whoever installed the kitchen sink didn’t use plumbers putty or silicone so now the under …

:

Bees seem to never **rest** when manzanitas are blooming. I gave up trying to photograph them.

: House Wiring is an Adventure

I finished installing some new switches today. Worst thing I found in the existing wiring that I …

:

Use of ladders require good balance. I barely have that and dislike them immensely despite their …

: Mid-February 2020 Update: Home Orchard and Native Plants

It has been 19 days since it last rained here. The outdoor temperatures have been in the mid-70s. …

:

Warmth and a marshmallow on the Carrizo Plain in 2010.

:

Late last year in New York I saw many a High Rise including this curvy one.

:

During the cold season, Annie has an enormous attachment to her heated bed.

:

November 2010: The Carrizo Plain National Monument. A great spot for geology students to explore …

:

This morning’s view of Northern California’s interior coast range. Cameo by a Tractor Supply sign.

:

I. Uh. Well.

:

During a lull of the wind.

:

I want a cavern full of juke boxes playing All You Need is Love.

:

The Prisoner is wild and genius.

:

The transparent rectangular thing is the push on connector I wrote about earlier. Really nice; way …

:

Quite a contrast! Old switches in bottom photo, new Caseta switches in top. I finally got to use a …

:

Last August I went to Coyote Point just south of the main approach to SFO. Coyote Point is famous …

:

The California native plant garden is very green right now and soon there will be plenty of flowers. …

:

Wildlife scaring and killing outdoor cats like to hide under our native ceanothus. I regularly scare …

:

Love it when I can spot Mt. Lassen and Brokeoff Mountain from the valley.

:

Sweet mandarins reflecting a whole lot of red showing just how ripe they are. Picked last Saturday …

:

No sight distance through the evergreen toyon. It’s very happy. So is our manzanita — getting ready …

:

Planted more asparagus today. They came with white asparagus sprouts. Looks like freaky white worms …

:

My attempt at an open vase pruned apricot tree 🌳 📷

: Backyard Relaxation

Relaxing can mean accomplishing things. The backyard always offers things to accomplish! …

:

I would very much love it if MacOS Catalina stopped logging me out of some anonymous Apple ID …

: Tree Chilling Hours and a Bad Bug

We’re around 770 chilling hours this season — almost 100 more than last year at this time. We hope …

:

Asparagus is weird. Finally moved the crowns to a place we can regularly irrigate.

:

Previous home owners did not ground the ceiling fan! Such an easy fix for a bit more safety. Did …

:

Upgraded from (down/up) 175/6 Mbps to 300/11 Mbps soon as I hit the “order” button. $1 less, too. No …

:

When a ceiling fan announces that it absolutely wants to be replaced, this happens.

:

The beetles really tore up our Lapins cherry tree this last year. It is almost girdled. If we’re …

:

:

Yesterday’s planted nectarine began life here in a rather peculiar way:

:

Going to punt this fan replacement job to another weekend. This nest of wires needs a day I can be …

:

Our 2-year old plum died so now we’re trying a “Fantasia” nectarine. 400-500 chill hours is doable …

:

Left to right: Moon and Orion (partial; got the belt!)

:

Frosty morning in the yarden 🐝

:

Our Elderberries coming back after they scorched in the summer heat last year. Resilient native …

:

Yesterday we spent some time taking a mental break at Burris Creek near Black Butte Lake, CA.

:

We’re trying to propagate lemon grass after dividing canes from our outdoor plant (hope it …

:

I disturbed this overwintering ladybug while cleaning up this past year’s Holy Basil growth.

:

Our Mandarin tree 🌳 is ready for as-needed harvest!

:

ImperfectFoods is trying to sell people on the produce I get at my rural grocery store: smaller, …

:

This is a nightmare.

: Caseta & Dimming LEDs

I replaced a Caseta dimmer switch with the non-dimming version as I’m installing a ceiling fan …

:

Dealing with house wiring that makes me go “WTF THEY THINKING?” Don’t DIY if you don’t want to take …

:

I am really into For All Mankind.

:

Unearthed and powered up a Raspberry Pi 3. Took a bit of time to remember how I configured it for …

:

Cut down this years’ California fuchsias yesterday to encourage & release a new year of growth.

:

I’m pleased that MacOS 10.15’s Photos app reconstructs Live Photos from exported .heic and .mov …

:

I love Shortcuts. There goes a tedious repetitive task to oblivion!!📱

:

Side mirror view: tumbleweed on a front bumper.

:

Dancy Mandarins are so very close to perfect ripeness. Need to blush a bit more toward red.

:

A very good Mantis.

:

Never fails. This infernal badged Sys Prefs issue is so far the most annoying MacOS Catalina issue …

:

My favorite around-the-home power tool. Okay, besides my electric drill/driver.

:

An indoor aloe succulent growing a flower stalk.

:

A colorful sunrise and a fresh coat of snow on Snow Mountain, NorCal. I love my iPhone 11 Pro. No …

: Color Stages of Caramel

I use Alton Brown’s dark caramel recipe with some minor modifications to suit taste. First, the …

:

Front yarden update: California Buckwheat’s dead flowers are showy red and the Blue Oak has decided …

:

To HomePod: “How’s the timer?” HomePod: “The timer is cancelled.” 🙀🤷‍♂️📱

:

The [iRobot Braava m6 has a threshold …

:

Dear iPadOS notes: I’d love a default where a new single Notes window launches when I tap your …

: Nest Cam vs HomeKit Secure Video

There’s been some frustration with the current state of HomeKit Secure Video, but coming from a very …

:

Test from MarsEdit - does RichText convert to MarkDown? Does it bold? Who needs Italians when they …

:

Sometimes my Sonos goes out of sync with the HomePod. The HomePod appears to then go through a …

:

Just cracked open the homemade boozy eggnog that’s been aging since September 8 2019. It’s …

:

Birds gorging on sweet basil seeds.

:

The birds are gorging on seeds in our front and backyard gardens. So happy to provide them …

:

I didn’t end up with even one permission prompt after installing MacOS Catalina & launching …

:

So MacOS Catalina’s SideCar feature requires the Mac user and target iPad to be signed in to the …

:

HomeBrew and SuperDuper! just released MacOS Catalina support so I suppose I will try to upgrade …

:

  1. Valencia sloooowly ripening & 2) mandarins rapidly coloring but still a month out from peak …

:

These Extra-crispy Parmesan-crusted roasted potatoes by J. Kenji López-Alt are pretty great.

:

So my iPhone has started detecting The Annie Cat as a focus area!

:

One more month until these mandarins are perfectly sweet. Patience!

:

Armillaria mellea. Honey mushroom 🥾

:

Very pleased that HomeKit Secure Video streams live video on the LAN. No more stream to cloud and …

:

I finally got a HomePod and I’m impressed that it can accurately hear me mumble across the room …

: Full Random Albums Playlist Shortcut (Apple Music)

I love listening to full albums. But often I’m not in the right mood to choose them. So a long time …

:

Looking toward Saint John Mountain from near Fouts Springs, CA. Chaparral plants.

:

Pleased that my HomeKit devices still worked from the Home app during a big Comcast (Xfinity) & …

:

Visited some tree frogs in the forest today. Pseudacris sierra.

:

Old iPad Pro 9.7” just got replaced by an iPad Pro 11”. I did not expect to be impressed by the …

:

I have some anxiety over the iOS 13 Reminders upgrade button. If I upgrade, then my partner has to …

:

The Prisoner, episode 10, “Hammer into Anvil” — soo good.

:

Today’s sourdough with a side of Annie Cat stare.

: Shared Photo Libraries

All these years Apple still has no way to share entire photo libraries with family. The shared …

: Tree says “It's not fall, but spring!”, Other Tree says “FALL!”

The Lapins Cherry has some confused or mutated buds. It’s probably nothing to worry about. The …

:

A very good lake. 🥾

:

Also in bloom! Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat).

:

Front yard native plants currently in bloom: Epilobium canum (California Fuchsia; red flowers adored …

:

Only those with broken circadian rhythms get an hour extra of sleep going to standard time.

:

We’re starting to get some color on our Mandarins. These should be perfectly sweet by end of …

:

In the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness on the Mendocino National Forest via the Ides Cove trail: A …

:

19 trick-or-treater’s. Half last year. Fortunately, we’re stuck with good candy and not the milk …

:

Yesterday: Mount Shasta from near Mount Linn. 🥾

: iTunes Match to Apple Music

My new iPhone refused to access old iTunes Match music, perhaps as a result of my unsubscribing from …

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Barely photographed a bee on our holy basil. They were extremely shy and did not loiter. 🐝

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The Annie Cat waiting patiently for the nighttime brushing routine to begin.

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Western toads in the backyard 🐝😍

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A little more than halfway through The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater and I don’t want it to end.

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So the Shortcuts widget syncs the same shortcuts & order on iPad and iPhone. Too bad, as I have …

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Cooler weather means it’s time to check your tire pressure! A bit low as they need 32 PSI.

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Trees & rocks. 🥾

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🤦‍♂️📱 iPadOS 13.1.3

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Mount Lassen. 🥾

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I neglected to post a photo of Lassen National Park’s Brokeoff Mountain. The hike to its summit was …

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I love a sun-dappled wet meadow with accenting volcanic rocks! Yesterday, on the trail to Brokeoff …

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Today: Mount Lassen from Brokeoff Mountain.🥾

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A front yard native garden update! Fuchsias & Cal Buckwheat are still flowering. Coyote bushes …

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Thankful Apple still allows a different iTunes account for app purchases as Apple STILL provides no …

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Praying Mantis on the grapevine. 🐝

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Patecones are 👌🍴

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Worth the tens cents for the bag. 🐈

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Flu shot season!

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Apple knew what they were doing delaying Deep Fusion photography feature in iPhone 11. After I saw …

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The Annie Cat enjoying her heated bed that comes out every fall. 🐈

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Another very good Praying Mantis hanging out in my front yard. 🐝

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Oh cool. The exercise trigger for iOS 13.1.2 Shortcuts finally started working today.

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This Preying Mantis (or others like her) has been hanging out on one of our California wild grape …

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Using iOS 13 shortcuts & iPad home screen widget to set audio output to my airplay capable Sonos …

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California Wild Rose (Rosa californica) flowers are incredibly fragile. This backyard plant became …

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This “Beauty” Japanese plum has been quite temperamental. No idea if it should be defoliated by now …

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My new favorite watch face, from WatchOS 6, is Solar Dial. I’m often outdoors for work so at a …

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Good morning!

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Piano repair in Flatiron.

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This crisp very low IBU Montauk Summer Ale is what I needed this warm late summer evening on Long …

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Love how Mott Street in China Town (Manhattan) curves out of sight like a movie set.

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I wanted all of the knishes.

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Gorgeous day on the Brooklyn Bridge. Walked from Penn Station to Atlantic Terminal. Knishes, Lotus …

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JFK, New York. Scene from last night: a traffic jam in the hourly garage. Was treated to a horn …

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Snow Mountain and St. John mountain are looking pretty good after yesterday’s rain.

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The audio sync feature on Apple’s tvOS 13 is 👌 Also, here’s a🌈 🌈

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My almost 2 year old plum is so fickle. It’s senescing early. After digging into the soil, I think …

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Urban prescribed fire 🔥. Provides volunteer fire department training and reduces city blight & …

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Epilobium canum (California Fuchsia) keeping pollinators, including hummingbirds, happy.

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Mantis enjoying the accommodations of our little Blue Oak.

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Anna’s Hummingbirds fighting over native fuchsias!

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HomeKit is great because it doesn’t require internet for day to day operations. Internet goes down, …

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Ecobee 3 lite seems nice but had to change its default 0.5°f “Cool Differential Temp” to 1°f. We …

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Bye bye Nest Thermostat Gen 1. Hello ecobee3 lite! I revised the Nest’s fancy screws to avoid …

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Almond harvest season.

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Can’t wait to replace the 1st gen Nest Thermostat with this Ecobee3 Lite. A Friday project.

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Going to be jealous of that iPhone 11’s 📱grown up front camera! About time it has near parity to the …

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The package only had to go from one end of the state to another. Instead, it first went across the …

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Tonight’s homemade pizza 🍕

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Preparing to move away from Nest (Google) to Ecobee this week. Just used a spare thermostat wire and …

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Eucalyptus plantation near Corning. This was supposed to be for a sustainable biofuels project.