This morning, I noticed an olive-green ball cap hanging from the latch on my neighbor’s mailbox (see photo). Because a ball cap can be part of the standard uniform worn by Kitsap County sheriff’s deputies, it made me wonder how the cap and its owner got separated and also hope nothing serious happened in the process.
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Condemnation of Caesar Chavez (1927 – 1993) has been swift and universal following the news this week that he sexually abused girls and young women during the 1960’s and 1970’s. States, organizations, and political leaders are participating in the backlash by removing (or calling for the removal of) his name from places and events that publicly honor him. His family has issued a statement that wishes for peace and healing for the survivors. The one thing no one can do though is to cover up, rename, or paper over the fact that Chavez was publicly honored on a USPS stamp (see screen capture).
Continue readingThis post’s title refers to a slim paperback, written by Ronald J. Glaser, MD, that offers a plan for winning the war against cancer, our most terrifying foe. I have never read the book and don’t remember when or how I got a copy. Today, I took a closer look at it after getting the saddest news there is about D. J., a close friend from Treasure Island.
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It’s Tuesday evening and I’m still thinking about something unusual I did this past Sunday. A friend and I attended a showing of James Hood’s Beautifica in the planetarium at Pierce College (see screen capture). We got the tickets a few weeks ago. While it’s a bit of a drive from Bremerton to the Science Dome in Lakewood, the reward far outweighed the effort.
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Tagged Beautifica, Lakewood, Pierce College, Science Dome
“Your tail’s wet.” That’s what I tell the Mud Cat (aka Tide) when she returns for breakfast after an early patrol of her Mud Bay territory on a rainy morning. Given it’s the first week of March, I find myself saying those words often. This morning wasn’t any different. Somehow, like a lot of cats, she manages to stay mostly dry, but her tail doesn’t.
There’s teamwork involved in drying her tail off. A couple of passes by me with the closest dish towel and a bit of flag waving on her part quickly restore it to its fluffy glory (see photo). (Try that with a wet dog.) Then it’s time for catfood, a hug, and a long catnap. Is that fair? At this point we’ve both been up for about an hour. Why don’t I get to go back to bed too?
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Tide
They are noisy sharp-eyed scavengers. I’m talking about glaucous‑winged gulls, the most common gull species found in Dyes Inlet. It doesn’t take much to attract a curious and seemingly always-hungry crowd of them — just toss out a few gull-sized chunks of day-old bread on the shore of Mud Bay and the birds appear in seconds (see photo).
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You can tell I’m bored when I’m writing about whether to open a piece of junk mail (see screen capture) that arrived a week ago. The USPS uses a more professional term — marketing mail — and that’s likely what it is. But are there enough outward clues to decide whether it is worth opening?
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The insulation upgrade to my 50-year-old house was completed on January 6th. So far, I don’t have enough data to know if I’m going to save significantly on heating costs. This week’s cold weather would be a great test of whether the upgrade is making the house more comfortable except there’s no good way to measure that.
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Last week Washington state Democrats introduced companion bills in the Senate (see screen capture) and House that propose to tax high earners. Dubbed the “millionaires” tax, the legislation imposes a 9.9 percent tax on annual earnings above $1 million. Although “millionaires” tax is a catchy term, it won’t apply for long, not because the tax will be overturned by a voter or legal challenge, but because of some fine print in the bills.
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The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replicate human intelligence is growing rapidly. New applications for AI keep being found, and current AI technology keeps being improved. I have a suggestion for online newspaper publishers: work with computer scientists to develop AI algorithms that can be more widely used to screen reader comments (see flow diagram).
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