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jeffc, to sandiego
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

Putting up the Ant Signal! (It's like the Bat Signal but, well, you know...) Can anyone identify the species?

It was at a nature preserve in San Diego county. The ants were brown, about 7mm long, and fast-moving.

@futurebird? You may be my only hope!

A macro image of the ants: large-ish head, narrow body, gaster is bigger than the head.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@jeffc

Those are harvester ants, genus Pogonomyrmex or Veromesor

These ants collect seeds and have deep nest with pancake shaped chambers.

The photos are little blurry for an exact species, but @alexwild knows those ants out west better than I do...

jeffc,
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

@futurebird
@alexwild Thanks! Sorry about the blur: they were moving fast!

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

You know, the Weather Channel running a tight loop of stories about a line of severe thunderstorms complete with tornadoes, and a storm tracker reporter driving around live in the middle of it, might not be the best choice for an airport waiting area. Just a thought.

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

Shout out to the folks: thanks for the fantastic tech support!

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

"What do you mean, 'causal anomaly'?"

"We build your lab. It discovers time travel, but the researchers change the past so the lab doesn't get built. So it perpetually half-exists."

"Fine, I'll get someone else to build it."

"Anything you build there will collide with your half-lab."

"Then I want a contract contingency: if you don't build my lab, you must build my lab. It'll be another half-lab out of phase with the first. I'll have a whole lab between the two."

jeffc, to Russia
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

What am I missing here? None of this makes sense politically, strategically, or any other way.

Let's start with Russia wanting nukes in space but "It would not be to drop a weapon on Earth but to possibly use on satellites."

Why would you use a nuke against satellites? Space is big and satellites are generally delicate. You might incinerate some nearby ones, but that's about it. I could see nukes for an EMP attack, maybe, but satellites?

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-plans-brief-lawmakers-house-chairman-warns/story?id=107232293

jeffc,
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

Then there's this:

"I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat," Turner said.

Why would declassification be necessary for this discussion? Don't we discuss secret things with our allies now? (Am I missing something about groups like Five Eyes?)

#Russia #MikeTurner

jeffc,
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

The only way I can make nukes vs. satellites make sense is if Russia's trying to make something like SDI (a.k.a. "Star Wars") under Regan, where a nuclear explosion pumps X-ray lasers, but shooting at satellites and instead of ICBMs. I remember an article years ago mentioning that the USSR had advanced X-ray optics. The article said the technology might be useful for X-ray lithography.

jeffc, to superbowl
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

What was that NFL statement with the sped-up voice and obscured audio?

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

Something I've been mulling lately: when I hear "You're muted," is the real message, "This software needs UI improvement"?

#UserInterface #VideoCalls

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

We were just looking through the family tree of Edward III in my old Riverside Shakespeare. (Yes, this sort of thing comes up in dinner conversation around here.)

The legend says "*Executed, **Murdered."

And there sure are a lot of asterisks next to names in this family tree.

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

Dear maker of tools,

I realize my tool is your product, and you have a desire to keep your product "fresh." Please understand that "fresh" is not a quality I, your customer, normally need in tools.

You see, my world of things roughly divides into "tools" and "toys."

Toys are for learning and fun. Refresh away!

Tools are for working. Refreshing one means I have to figure out how to use it again, which slows down work, which keeps me from learning and fun. Refresh with care.

jeffc, to climate
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

So @axios picked up the California lawsuit against oil companies. https://www.axios.com/2023/09/18/california-newsom-oil-climate-lawsuit

At the bottom of the article, Growth Energy, a trade association, placed an ad, in a very similar format to the article, warning that the price of the 15% ethanol / 85% gasoline mix might increase.

I guess the game is afoot.

Screenshot of Growth Energy ad: Made with American biofuels, E15 (UNL88) delivers savings at the pump Since 2019, American drivers have enjoyed year-round access to lower-cost, lower-carbon E15 (UNL88). The challenge: Without action, those fuel savings could vanish from gas stations next summer.

jeffc, to sandiego
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

I spotted this home-built coffee-vending rig at the Cardiff Farmer's Market. It's a trike conversion. The builder (in the t-shirt at left) showed me the fresh and grey water tanks, pump, plumbing, and refill hookup.

Great coffee, too!

jeffc, to climate
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

"It may well be warmer than any time in the last 125,000 years."

Gift link.

https://wapo.st/3PNQb8V

christopherd,
@christopherd@mastodon.nz avatar

@jeffc Thank you for the gift link!

jeffc,
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

@NorCal_Lynne
You're welcome!

jeffc, to Ukraine
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

First Belarus gets tactical nukes. Then (according to the NYT) Belarus state media announced Lukashenko negotiated the deal to turn the Wagner around when they were 125 miles from Moscow, and Russia agreed to the deal.

Is this a shift in power from Putin to Lukashenko?

jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar
jeffc, to random
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

Get the Navi-Gator, the nav/comm for the New Nomad lifestyle!

  • Track floods, fires, droughts, heatwaves, slimes, contamination, plagues, and more!
  • Multiple navigation modes: no satellites needed!
  • Crowd-sourced route updates
  • 500km Intermesh range
  • Light in your pack or saddlebag
  • Tough as a Tennessee gator

You have to know the weather to dodge the weather. Navi-Gator.

11/12

jeffc,
@jeffc@mastodon.online avatar

The strandbeests stood, uncomplaining.

The sun might destroy them, or the rising water might claim them.

Still, they waited.

Whatever happened would remove the burden of separate existence. It would return them to the Whole from which their creation had cleaved them.

From the Whole they were born, and to the Whole they would return.

So they waited.

12/12

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