Something profound

A neighbor was just diagnosed with untreatable advanced cancer. She took the news more philosophically than most would have. Someone told her she was "very brave". Her reply was: "We'll see."

Happy Fourth of July

It's a personal tradition to read the Declaration of Independence every Fourth of July. 

A few of the reasons for the revolution seem to jump out at me more and more every year:

"For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For ... altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For ... declaring themselves invested with power ..."

What's going to happen in California?

Have you been wondering why bankrupt California is making no attempt whatsoever to trim their 26 billion dollar deficit? (They've actually ADDED two billion to their proposed budget since May.)

They know there's no way our Democratic president, Democratic senate and Democratic house are going to risk losing their 55 Democratic electoral votes.

The federal government is going to bail them out. You heard it here first.

Bend over, subjects, here it comes again.

Women are by nature Democrats.

I base this on observations of my wife in her wildflower garden. If it were up to me, whichever flowers thrived in our soil and microclimate would be the ones I'd want. But laissez-faire Libertarianism is not for her. She feels a compulsion to mercilessly uproot anything healthy and lush lest it "take over". Species that struggle to survive, however, are pampered. Success is punished and weakness is subsidized. It's the American economic system in microcosm. As a result, the "wildflower garden" is mostly bare dirt with a few struggling, scraggly flowers and a lot of opportunistic weeds. Like I said, the American economic system in microcosm.

Gear that belongs in the Garbage: Hydration systems

"Hydration systems". That's kind of like calling the floor a "horizontal walking surface".

I bought a Blackhawk Hydrastorm years ago, and the bite tube leaked so badly that I gave it away. I was recently issued a Camelback, and it seemed to be of higher quality, so I took it with me on a ten-day trip through the Grand Canyon. It was inconvenient to fill and clean, but at least it was comfortable to carry. 

On the last day, the mouthpiece snapped off and all the water poured out. If that had happened in the middle of a ten-mile backcountry hike in that hot, arid country it would have caused an extremis situation. I left it in a trash can at the airport on the way home.

Pop bottles are lighter, more durable, easier to fill, and they're free. If you absolutely have to spend money, use a Platypus bottle.

Cowbird Egg in a Phoebe Nest

Cowbirds are parasitic. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and let someone else do the parenting, at least until after college. 

I held my camera over my head to snap this pic, and didn't realize until I reviewed it later that there was a cowbird egg in there. 

Pack ice and 'bergs off Greenland

Flew a great-circle route from London to Boston today. South of Greenland, there was pack ice and icebergs to the horizon in every direction. Incredible blues and whites, the pic doesn't even give a hint of it. The water was clear enough to see even the underwater parts of some of the 'bergs. Global warming in action, but at least it looks nice.