Well, the wretched cat is back. It was gone for a week, and now it's back. Its absence corresponded with the next door neighbors being gone, so maybe it's theirs. Every neighborhood has a "difficult" household so we can't talk to them. They won't answer the door, don't respond to emails, they're incommunicado. They also drive too fast. Anyway, it's stalking the quail and the turkeys. Not happy about this.
Last Sunday (!) we went to Costco. We were out of many things. We drove through the new development that's going in, Mead Works. It's going to be an enormous thing, 1,400 homes. There is a range in size of house, but all lots are small. They're not making dirt anymore. They're also not putting in any more roads.
The turkeys have decided to poop on the driveway. Jim bought a pressure washer for the back deck. The Bradford Pear leaves stain the deck. It's too hard on Jim's hands to use the scrub brush anymore. It's electric, it's not very noisy. But it gets the poop up.
We're back to riding at the lake. We'd been riding another trail to regain the fitness lost in the car while driving up here. It was not so bad, the really steep section was ridden without issue. The lake is still lovely.
This is crazy talking. From Variety we learn, "Amazon is considering a potential reboot of the Donald Trump-hosted reality competition show “The Apprentice” for its Prime Video streamer, according to a report late Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal. But the newspaper added that instead of the President at the helm, it would be his son, Donald Trump Jr." It's amazing how much Bezos will humble himself to the Orange Cheeto and how much money he is willing to lose in the process.
Here is a First World problem. Google is installing a 4gb AI agent on machines running Chrome. I don't have it on my machine, so I'm not that excited about it. What pisses me off, is that they didn't ask for permission, no one knows what it's doing there (I would guess spying) and if you delete it, they put it back. You can get it off if it offends you, and you can prevent them from putting it back. I really and truly resent this belief that even though we bought the hardware, they decide what runs on it. Anyway, this is an understandable description of how to repel boarders.
The surveillance state is expanding. Are you aware of the Flock cameras? They are license plate readers, and they are everywhere. Allegedly they are to keep us safe. I think it's plain old spying and over time, they will keep the data forever, and it allows them to track people's movements. Currently ICE uses the data to track down dangerous undocumented gardeners to deport them. This article is good.
Josh Hawley is pushing a bill that would require websites to verify the age of a user. Additionally, he wants to ban VPNs, because surely hiding your location must be nefarious. The push back to this, is that now they have private information on everybody. I personally believe it is the job of the parents to supervise their kids' online life, and not the government. You can read more about this here.
Why does Utah need a 62 square mile data center that will require more than twice Utah's current total electrical consumption? Why does the country, for that matter? The Box Elder city council approved this over the objections of the citizens. They told the people to sit down, shut up and quit being whiners. I hope they get recalled. Anyway, examine this graphic.
This seems sinister to me. Between the Flock cameras, facial recognition photos, digital IDs, and all of the other data collection, they have to have somewhere to store the data. Sort of feels like 1984.
I don't know if the Strait is open or closed. We may or may not be at war. Main stream media is doing their usual job of poor coverage. They are hampered by an opaque administration, but perhaps they could get out in the field.
Putin asked Zelenskyy for a cease fire for the April 9 parade in Moscow. Z. said yes, that night Putin bombed the crap out of Ukraine with drones and ballistic missiles. There were a lot of deaths caused. I hope they bomb the parade. Ukraine can reach Moscow now, they've done it before.
So, on this happy note, I think I will quit typing.
I'd like to encourage you to have your Bradford Pear removed. This is from AI, but there are many sources of similar info:
ReplyDeleteYou should remove a Bradford pear tree primarily due to its structural instability, invasive nature, and negative ecological impact.
Structural Hazard: The trees have narrow branch crotches and weak unions, making them prone to splitting and falling during storms, snow, or ice. This poses a significant risk to people, vehicles, and property.
Invasive Spread: Once pollinated by bees, they produce fruit that birds eat and disperse widely. These seeds grow into "Callery pears," which form dense, thorny thickets that crowd out native vegetation.
Ecological Damage: The trees provide little to no food for native insects and birds, creating "food deserts" in local ecosystems. They also bloom early, shading out native plants before they can establish.
Nuisance Odor: The white spring blossoms emit a strong, foul smell often described as resembling rotting fish or urine, which can be offensive to neighbors and residents.
I hope the cat gets gone for good soon. It's a beautiful cat, but outdoor cats are a real problem for birds and other wildlife. My mother's cat is a terrible menace. I can't even believe how many critters he's killed in his lifetime, and yet, she feels that to force him to stay inside full-time would be cruel. I'll tell you what's cruel: seeing (and worse, hearing) a baby rabbit killed on your patio. Cleaning up a half-eaten dove on your screened porch. These both happened to me while visiting my mother. I love her, but this is one thing we deeply disagree on.
You can get a Super Soaker Kid's Gun, fill it with water, and harmlessly deter the offending Cat, he won't return after a few squirts. I agree with everything you're concerned about, it's all quite Sinister and very Big Brother-ish Orwellian 1984 Style shit.
ReplyDeleteI would be tempted to put a bell on the cat's collar. At least the birds would get some warning that a predator is stalking them.
ReplyDeleteA friend recently did a 24 hour trip with 2-stops to change flights going abroad and he said the airports are using AI to take passenger pictures, scan passports, baggage tags and plane tickets at the check-in counter, baggage drop-off counter and upon entering the plane. Everything must match, otherwise an agent is brought in. The lines are long everywhere. People are being tracked aggressively. This seems invasive.
I know the world is not safe but is this the answer?
Big Brother is watching. They're going to build a big data center in one of the small towns out here and people aren't happy. The energy consumption on our already unreliable electric grid, the water consumption draining people's wells, the fucking light pollution at night. What are these city councils going to do when there's no water for the citizens.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever considered motion activated sprinklers? TBH. We"d be trying a live trap. I would put him in a cage and wait for the neighbor to come to me. If they didn't. I would drop him off at a rescue.
ReplyDeleteIQ45 has taken credit for the 3 day cease fire between Russia and Ukraine, though as you note there the cease fire has been totally ignored by Putin. I do hope he is at the parade, rather than hiding in his bunker.
ReplyDeleteIt does worry me that tech companies are wanting proof of age, etc. It won't solve the scams that perpetuate but will allow techs to amass our personal information. Big brother is truly watching us.
My daughter's cat, now about 20, deaf, memory going ( walks around the house shouting trying to find you as she. forgot!) is very good at dissuading rabbits from eating daughter's veggies..and occasionally presents her with evidence..
ReplyDeleteShe doesn't bother wandering further than the garden though!
If you are really concerned about the cat, you could try to trap it when it comes onto your property, and take it to animal control. But that's a declaration of war!
ReplyDeleteYes, those flowers are a type of quince. We have a similar plant in our garden.
The UK has a law that requires certain websites to verify a user's age. I had to do it not long ago -- I can't even remember why -- and it used my computer's camera to photograph me. Creepy! Allegedly the picture is promptly deleted, but who knows.