Open Thread WE 17 AUG 22 ~ voyaging


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If buildings could talk, this one would be tripping.
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Welcome to today's open thread. I am traveling today, so please take this as an opportunity to
develop interesting notions. Someone(s) try to act as the host and post away. It's for fun.

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Credits

Mural by Danaé Brissonnet, Montréal

https://www.danaebrissonnet.com

“These days I’m intrigued with exploring the ways in which I nourish myself… the who and what I let inside.”

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Lookout's picture

Safe travels, and a successful trip, QMS.
I'm headed out this AM to mow a bit. I've got the bulk done but need to dress up the trails and a couple of other areas.

There's always the household chores. I'm washing a load now to hang out before mowing while I wait for the grass to dry up some. Noticed they are calling for rain for Texas in the near term and I hope our friends there get some relief.

It has been nice and mild here for August. They're predicting highs in the 80's for the rest of the month. Been giving the AC a rest most of the time except late afternoon, but opening up a night. It is nice to wake up to the natural sounds of the woods...birdsong and such.

I like your trippy building but it is too busy for me to want to spend time there. Simple and plain is calming to me. We washed our deck last week and I want to get some sealer on them, but rain is forecast almost every afternoon. They're calling for 3-4" for the remainder of August. Now I'm not complaining. I would rather have rain than not.

So I hope everyone has a good day, and thanks for the OT!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

QMS. Hope your travels are relaxing and refreshing.

Thanks for the rain wishes Lookout. Here's a video that shows how bad this heat/drought is for the Hill Country. It was filmed a month ago, so it's even worse now. I'm hoping the trees make it through this summer, they appear to be very stressed.

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@randtntx to go to Fredericksburg the first weekend of September. We won't be taking our usual scenic drives, huh?
Hell, east Texas is bone dry. People are losing trees in their yards! My brother lost 2 enormous oaks.
Take care, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp . If they were huge oaks, they were old. I really hate to hear that they didn't make it.

As long as humans keep ramping up the heat, we will continue to kill the trees. And that is just our inadvertent killing (due to global warming). The elephant in the room is the regular onslaught against forests that humans have been carrying out forever, that continues unabated, and that in turn helps drive global temperature rise. It's a vicious circle and it drives me nuts (Acorns, pecans....sorry).

Anyway, you will probably still have a nice drive up to Fredericksburg. As long as we don't get a year's worth of rain in one fell swoop on your weekend, you will be OK.
We're planning a drive up to the Leakey area in Real County to stop by Garner State Park and possibly Lost Maples towards the end of October. I love the Hill Country and it breaks my heart to see it go. For people as old as the hills (like me) there are places we love that we have had to watch be transformed and made sick by this accelerated climate catastrophe. Ugh.

This is not a happy article, but it has some nice pictures for those who haven't seen the Texas Hill Country area. It's a story that could possibly have a happy ending? I'll hope for that.
https://www.texasobserver.org/roy-creek-canyon-hill-country/

Have a good one otc, and take care.

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@on the cusp .What a tragedy!
Well, we might go to the bat tunnel park, but I doubt the Lady Bird park will be lush and lovely.
It will likely be too hot to walk that mile hike to Enchanted Rock. It may be days of listening to music. Silk purse out of a sow's ear vacation. We try never to complain. Just getting there, the gorgeous views as we drive, are worth it. Our favorite part of Texas.
Thanks for the article.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

dystopian's picture

@randtntx Hey Rand, Thanks for this... neat vid.

That is my town with the dry spillway at the park pond It is much worse now. Wells that are 50' deep are going dry. His pronunciation of Sabinal is not like anyone that lives along that river here, or in the town of the same name 20 miles south. It may be proper correct by the book, it is not what anyone here uses, much like if you tried to pronounce the towns of Ganado or Refugio by the book instead of how the local Texans pronounce them.

Great to see how he covered the dying trees, particularly at Lost Maples SNA. My wife and I have hiked it a hundred times. It hurts to see it, hundreds of big dead trees, old trees. Shady areas we would stop along the trail are not shady now.

Near beginning though when he keeps saying the Cypress are dying as he is along the Sabinal River at Utopia, that is not correct. When in severe drought as soon as the roots tap out of water table, they turn as if it is November when they go dormant annually. So yes the Cypress are turning, but they are not dying yet. Plenty of other stuff is though. Pecans and Maples you expect, but when Junipers and Hackberries are dying, it is dire.

Thanks again for the vid R

If any of you ever end up lost half way between Lost Maples and Garner, PM me for a contact and cold one.

take care all!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian . I'm glad to learn that though, it makes me feel better. Hopefully they'll be around for years to come, they are an incredible tree.

Funny about the pronunciation of some names in TX. It seems to me there are an unusual number of names where the pronunciation diverges sharply from what would be expected given the spelling. It makes things more confusing because we have Spanish words, German words, Polish words, Native American words, and who-knows-what as well. It seems to me that people couldn't decide how to pronounce things so they made a mish-mash of the word and randomly chose how to say it. Pedernales Falls is pronounced per-denales, there's no 'R' there in the spelling of the first syllable... so what the heck?

We would enjoy getting lost in Lost Maples and having a cold one with you! Thanks for the offer. I offer the same to you should you find yourself wandering around in Bexar county (another word that is often difficult for non-locals to know how to say).
Take good care, it looks like we might have some rain on the way today. Hope the same is true for you.

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dystopian's picture

@randtntx Hey Rand, I used to live in Bexar Co., 86-89, mostly in SAT itself. You could often find me at Mitchell Lake or Brackenridge Park with binocs and camera. If I head that way, I will make contact. Am presently in the most sedentary phase of my life ever though. Wink

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian but I've never been to Mitchel Lake. I've been meaning to go for quite a while now. Once the weather cools off, we may use up a morning and take a look at it.

You say; "If I head that way, I will make contact".... sounds good! We should keep it in mind. Perhaps a C99 meet in some nice outdoor space could be planned. I think some have mentioned it before. No strenuous activities necessary. We could all bring our own chairs...and coolers. Smile

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BTW the Kyiv Independent is a propaganda arm of the government.

So much freedom!

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@humphrey this includes accepting Food from Russian aid workers.

I'd say "unbelievable" but nothing is unbelievable anymore.

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NYCVG

enhydra lutris's picture

(QMS Version, of course), safe travels and all that. Have fun.

Had to run out for blood draws and stuff yestidday and gotta go back today, but I should be back before too long. Between the labs and high temps yesterday I got behind on chores and to-dos, and it will be hot again today, hope the same thing doesn't happen, 'cause I got stuff I have to get done in order to make dinner tonight.

presented with the obligatory hat tip to uncle Bo.

Everybody be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

don't know the purpose of your tripping, but even if it is for work, I hope you find a way to enjoy it!
Unless I can come up with something in the interim, I am 17 long, hot, days away from a road trip. Seems forever away. I am already planning the packing in my head.
The only interesting headline I read today was Liz Cheney's defeat. I did sense Rs would rally for Trump. They almost always stick together in a crunch time.
I have been enjoying my evening, sitting on the porch, net surfing, having a few beers, while my Dear One slaves away in the kitchen. I mean, does it get any better than that?
90% rain tomorrow. I heard thunder in the distance. The brown grass is crunching under our feet. This is extremely dire.
We will survive until we don't.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

The flights out to MSP and back were surprisingly efficient, tho wicked expensive.
The memorial service was refreshingly casual, bittersweet stories shared, with lots of
memories and love spread around. Overall, it was a good send-off. Glad we went.

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@QMS . A good send off is a very good thing. Sharing memories with people you care about. It matters. I'm glad you're glad you went.

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I am so sorry about your loss of a family member.
Glad you connected with others to uplift the sad occasion.
So sorry, friend.
I haven't flown in country in several years. Last time I flew was Houston to San Antonio. The cost for round trip exceeded what a round trip to Paris or London would have cost. The US wants us on the road, I guess.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981