Autumn Joy Sedum
Early September, beginning to colour 
Meet Thalia Grace, who made her chrysalis on Littlest*Grand's 2nd birthday and hatched out today!
Hers was the chrysalis showing in yesterday's front page photo! 
Later in September, colour deepening
World’s biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland [Click]
ReplyDeleteGo Iceland!
Delete
ReplyDeleteChina property market rocked as giant Evergrande struggles to repay $300bn debts [Click] So the China real estate crash long anticipate seems to have begun.
The problem is that money is a lot easier to manage than buildings of all sorts. Material assets, as opposed to numbers, have to be serviced, repaired and cleaned if they are to be useful. Extending and legally supporting the exclusive use of material assets (man-made and natural) is based on the assumption that ownership results in nurture and care. So, in granting private property rights, the community is counting on individuals laboring to maintain the environment in a productive condition. Now the assumptions have been proved wrong. The evidence of error litters the landscape in the form of abandoned factories, abandoned vehicles, derelict neighborhoods, rotting mobile homes, eroded fields, dried up rivers and mountains of debris. Every stinking dump is evidence that the theory of private property has failed. Capitalizing assets just hides the debris. The problem is ownership, not who or how many engages in it. Ownership is static. It does not go anywhere. Shipshape but sunk at the dock. The advantage of a democratic organization is that, at least, the doers are not stymied by the stick-in-the-muds who, ironically, do not like to get their hands dirty. I'm inclined to suggest that we actually need both kinds: the doers and the admirers, the builders and the sidewalk inspectors. But too many gawkers are a problem.
DeleteCovid cases among children are surging in the US as students head back to school [Click] “Infections in children are highest in areas with low vaccination rates and where schools don’t follow CDC mask guidelines. . .Children’s hospitals are straining under the spike in cases.”
ReplyDeleteNewly-found ancient human rewrites story of evolution [Click] “Nesher Ramla Homo was the direct ancestor of Neanderthals.”
ReplyDelete‘Havana Syndrome’ and the mystery of the “microwaves.” [Click] If it is in fact microwaves, a Faraday cage (wire mesh helmet) should block it very nicely. I think it could be connected to a recording device as well.
ReplyDeleteWeapons charges added for Madera man previously charged for Capitol breach [Click] “Martin has a prior conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms. If convicted, Martin faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.” Gee; that’s dialing it right up there. BTW, Madera is about a twenty minute drive from here. Wonder if he has had his Covid vaccination. . .
ReplyDeleteYikes! Too close to home. Ban that guy from the grocery store.
DeleteHe will have his meals delivered through the slot in the door for quite some time, I hope.
DeleteDOJ sues Texas over 6 week abortion ban, calling it unconstitutional
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/biden-administration-texas-abortion-law/index.html
Merrick Garland noted the justice department is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the Texas abortion law, out of concern for private citizens acting as “bounty hunters” to ensure the statute is respected.
Delete“The department of justice has a duty to defend the Constitution of the United States and to uphold the rule of law,” the attorney general said at his press conference.
“Today, we fulfill that duty by filing the lawsuit I have just described.”
That sounds me like they are going to use the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Well, we should have access to the full text of the complaint very soon.
I haven’t read it yet, but here is the complaint [Click]
DeleteI don't see mention of the KKK law, but they sure rang in a lot of other stuff.
DeleteThank you!!
DeleteIt kills me that we could have had Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court instead of DT's Bozos!
I seems the Supes are so overworked they can't get their work done during the day; about time we gave them a little more help. Thirteen sounds like a nice number.
DeleteThe KKK act applies to individuals. The DOJ is suing the State of Texas. I think the crucial part of the complaint is the citation of previous decisions holding that private actors could be viewed as agents of the state.
DeletePoint well taken, Bill. The private actors acting under color of authority would face prosecution under the KKK Act.
Delete2021 Ig Nobel prizes awarded [Click] I will see if I can locate a full listing.
ReplyDeleteHere’s the complete list [Click]
Delete“We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us.”
ReplyDelete— President Biden, in an address to the nation, speaking directly to the unvaccinated.
Biden to Announce Sweeping New Vaccine Mandates [Click] Rather striking.
DeleteA Vermeer Restoration Reveals a Cupid [Click]
ReplyDeleteInvestigating the technology of the direct air [carbon dioxide] capture plant in Iceland in the first link of the day, their "filters" seem to be made of some sort of [probably proprietary] solid-state adsorbent material. That's good. I see that large parts of the eastern US (in addition to several western states) are underlain by basalts. In addition to removal of CO2 from the atmosphere (great--we need that) it can also be made into liquid motor fuels (diesel and gasoline), which would be approximately carbon neutral, so a good intermediate step and a huge improvement over petroleum based motor fuels (while using existing highly developed engine technology and transportation facilities).
ReplyDeleteVERMONT 9 SEPT 2021
ReplyDelete29,588-29,436= 152 (official count 101)
I think that is largely because they added 50 from previous days.
One new death. (283)
3181 active cases (+21)
30 (-2) in hospital, 7(0) in ICU
455,345-454,407 = 938 more tested
26,124-25,994 = 1130 more Recovered (88.3%) (+.0)
highest rate was 95.8%
Positivity rate up to 3.0%