@douglasvb@mastodon.social
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douglasvb

@douglasvb@mastodon.social

I mostly post about #DinkeyCreek, the #Sierra, #Monterey, #beavers, #forests, and #meadows. Quite fond of #motorcycles, #scuba diving, #nudibranchs, #hiking, 4x4ing/rock crawling, seeing new places, #AmateurRadio, retro technology, #trains, and cats.

Temporarily embarrassed Oregonian living somewhere much too dry.

All opinions are my own.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

ai6yr, to Canada

'That looks terrifying': Residents of Cranberry Portage share brushes with wildfire amid evacuation. Massive out-of-control wildfire near Flin Flon forced residents to evacuate Saturday https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cranberry-portage-residents-evacuate-1.7202198

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr at this rate most of Western Canada is going to burn in the next year or two ๐Ÿ˜ฌ

ai6yr, to random

What in the world from Disney is advertising Bluetooth around here?!?!

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr is there a Disney theme park entry bracelet or pass somewhere in the house?

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr so the app is leaking the Bluetooth from your phone? Interesting. Probably allows your phone to be tracked back to you more easily in public where businesses have those Bluetooth tracking devices setup.

douglasvb, to Toyota
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

I caught the start of a #rodent nest in my #Toyota #Tacoma engine bay. They were using the insulation from the underside of the plastic engine cover and stuffing it between the intake runners and the top of the engine.

What are people using as rodent deterrents these days?

The start of a rats nest
The start of a rats nest

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@bosquebill when I'm gone for work, it could sit a week or two. Not much I can do about that.

I think I'll try one of those ultrasonic things with the flashing lights under the hood. Plus snap traps under the vehicle. Hopefully I don't catch anything unintended ๐Ÿ˜ฌ

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@deewani @bosquebill I've got some snap traps deployed now. I think I've got roof rats based on some video from a few months back of a pair near the fence line. I'm pretty sure those two were killed by the neighbor's traps (they got two not too long after the video).

It's possible the rats did that nest a month or two back and aren't around anymore.

It'll be interesting to see if I get anything in the traps.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@deewani @bosquebill that's a good resource! I didn't know about it before.

From what I've observed at our previous rental house a few blocks away, these rats usually pass through in the spring and are usually gone by summer. So hopefully I won't get any more trouble, especially with traps I'll keep set.

ai6yr, to random

Cloud vs. cloud free areas in Southern California near Los Angeles at the moment... Not sure how the aurora is doing.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr hmm I'm going to have to drive an hour to get out of the fog up here in Monterey. Maybe I'll try getting up early to go see it.

DemocracySpot, to photography
@DemocracySpot@mstdn.social avatar

๐Ÿ“ท Casualty.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@DemocracySpot I dislike those acorn lights because of all of the light pollution they generate. Sure, they look cute... But they contribute to blowing out the night sky.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@DemocracySpot but it's a really interesting photo! I dig the composition.

AkaSci, to random
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org avatar

Incoming! A severe G4 Geomagnetic Storm is expected to arrive around 02:00 UTC Friday night / Saturday morning.

At least 5 Coronal Mass Ejections took place over the past 24 hours, directed towards Earth. These originated from a large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster (NOAA region 3664).

There is potential for disruption of communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations.

And bright auroras as far south as Alabama!

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
1/n

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@AkaSci oo that's promising for me! I'll see about driving out away from the coastal fog.

ZachWeinersmith, to random
@ZachWeinersmith@mastodon.social avatar

Hey language-learners, what's your tip for improving your ear? I can read French pretty well, with a glossary, and I can write it OK, but my hearing is garbage.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ZachWeinersmith have you gotten your hearing checked recently?

No, really.

It's possible you're starting to have hearing issues and the first symptoms are trouble understanding a foreign language.

ai6yr, to hiking

Hiking Safety Tip For The Evening / or maybe dating advice for guys who like older women?

Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men attracts cougars

https://mountainlion.org/2010/06/24/ck-cologne-attracts-cougars-no-not-those-cougars-actual-cats/

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr wow I wonder if that would work better than the normal smell attractants we use for our game cameras to get big kitties to come visit!

MLE_online, to random
@MLE_online@social.afront.org avatar

A lot of the condos around here seem to be in a perpetual state of remodelment, month after month, year after year. I wonder if anyone even lives in them, or if they are just being purchased by investor after investor, each flipping the condo to the next investor.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@MLE_online there's an apartment complex near us that's been being renovated for the last six years. It has to be some sort of tax scam.

douglasvb, to animals
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

Oliver was a big jerk and decided it was his time to shine at 330am. For about an hour he was running around the house to various different windows and batting at the blinds. There was a neighborhood kitty outside that he had to make sure knew that this is HIS house and there's no more room for stray cats here. Never mind that Oliver was a stray who showed up and came inside after being invited by our two since passed elderly kitties.

๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿ™„

elaterite, (edited ) to Trains
@elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

It's alive!

A week ago today, Friday, at the Northern Nevada Railroad in Ely, Nevada, it was a rare--gloriously steamy day due to rain and high humidity.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@elaterite did you ever get to meet Dirt before he passed away? I'm looking forward to seeing DJ when we get out there. We've got an orange cat ourselves but our orange boy doesn't get to play around in railroad shops ๐Ÿ˜…

douglasvb, to random
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

sigh I've got a faint positive test today. So either I got it from my wife and mother in law who both had it last week or I picked it up while traveling.

I'm not feeling very bad. Just congested.

This is the first time I've had COVID as far as I'm aware since the start of the pandemic.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

I managed to get out of the house for a couple hours each day this weekend. Each time wiped me out. Last night I had a hard time sleeping. This morning I've got a headache and in general I ache.

I'm thinking I'll be working from home again today although they want me back in the office.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

I managed to be on my feet for about 12 hours yesterday with only routine bouts of nausea and fatigue plus some weird sensations in the skin on my face.

I'm taking it easy today and am working slowly on things. I've still got brain fog and some fatigue. No more congestion.

The immuno compromised partner of one of my students just got (not from me) so it's definitely active here on the peninsula.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

Ugh my brain isn't working very well this morning. This recovery isn't very fun.

My primary issues are 1) not being able to review technical documents, 2) forgetting the occasional word, 3) moving slowly in general with getting things done.

At least I'm able to run meetings, teach classes, and meet with students but I can't get them feedback on their work. And I've had to ask the editor of a journal I'm an associate editor for to temporarily take over several editorial duties.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

Well if I want it, my doctor has prescribed a five day course of Medrol. He said some of his patients have found that to be useful in speeding up recovery from brain fog.

Now I have to decide if I want to do that or not.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

I'm feeling pretty decent this morning. Let's see how I do with reviewing a master's thesis draft. recovery kinda sucks.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

And now I'm wide awake and can't fall asleep. But hey at least I had a good half a day of my brain cooperating to get things done that needed doing.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

I ended up sleeping most of Saturday. Sunday I felt pretty good and I was able to work on my truck for several hours, and went to Costco. Today I woke up with a headache and brain fog. This is pretty annoying.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr it's not very fun. I've got stuff to do but I'm unable to do much of it. But I've still got to keep plugging away because there's no one to cover for me and student timelines don't change.

The only way I was able to get my since deceased colleague coverage was him literally going to the hospital with a brain tumor. So that's how things are going at my office.

douglasvb,
@douglasvb@mastodon.social avatar

Every day it's a bit better but I'm still having issues doing more complex editing that requires developing new things. Or just in general, new things are challenging.

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