Good morning!!!!

[KilroyJC]

38 outside this AM, heading towards lower 50's. Rain expected within the next few hours. I am trying to beat that with one more run to the back forty to get some split oak. I managed to get a few split loads and the log splitter back to the house yesterday. Man, I like splitting in place. Less mess and there is something about being in the woods. I look to be about half-way through the tree. More chain sawing is required.

Nothing else on the agenda today, and that is a good thing.

Hope all have a great day.

This is the first year we didn’t split in the driveway — MAJOR improvement overall. and Loading/unloading splits is far easier than rounds.

 

[KilroyJC]

43 going to a rainy 56. Need it.

Happy Birthday to your young mom, Kil.

Ken, glad your son is developing some driving skills. Such an exciting time for a young guy. I saw the first of the year mega-sized flock of blackbirds flying around yesterday. I'm always mesmerized by how they seemingly turn all at once, undulating like a school of fish. Who is the leader and how do they all react simultaneously?

Buppies, I heard this morning that the Matt's Run fire in the James River Face Wilderness is over 10,000 acres. Hope they get the most out of this rain storm. Our local guy says 2.5 inches.

Did my dump run/river hike and grocery shopping trip yesterday...I picked out the final Thanksgiving dinner ingredients, since my wife is still staying with her mom at the nursing home. Good news is they are likely to release her mom to go back to her apartment today. But she has not fully recovered, so my wife may need to stay there some. At least it's a more comfortable place for them both.

Not sure how much time I've got in the space after it gets light but before the rain shows, but I'll do some messing around outside.

Thank you!

 

[KilroyJC]

Good Morning
It’s 29 with a high in the 40’s.
Partially cloudy now, rain starts around noon and continues through the night, a multi inch event.

Yesterday, I sold my “spare” Prius, after realizing that none of my family wanted it. I didn’t realize that a Prius was like politics, there is now middle ground, you love them or wouldn’t get caught dead in one.
Surprisingly I sold it to a dealer for more than twice what was offered as a trade in on the Plug in. I really didn’t want to be tortured by tire kickers, this was effortless, sent them the VIN and some pictures, they made me an offer which I accepted, I dropped it and the title off and picked up a check.

My wife picked me up and we went to a “foreign” Costco, which was a zoo, the parking situation should have tipped us off. I find it annoying that no 2 stores are laid out the same, it was a big pain to find anything. We decided that after getting the essentials, we were out of there and would go to our familiar store after the holidays. We did have lunch at Mission BBQ, which didn’t disappoint.

Then had to drive up to Allentown to the avionics shop to bring them some parts. They are making good progress, new panel is powder coated and looks great.

View attachment 833123

Had zoom Oddfellows meeting to end the day. Had to fight Zoe for my spot in bed, but at least she warmed it up for me.

Today starts with breakfast with the professor, then move hay from the hay shed to the barn, trying preserve the hay in the loft for winter or unplanned inclement weather when I don’t want to be outside moving bales.

Zoom meeting with County for park that is also a grass airport with mostly antique planes at 1:00, then lunch, then a little Freeform time until my meeting with the zoning hearing board at 6 to get a variance for the size of the in-law suite I want to build for us to move into so my youngest son and wife can have our house and hopefully start a family.

So while I will have some unstructured time, the day is pretty well spoken for.

On the subject of birthdays, none of the “milestone” birthdays had any effect on me like 30,50,60,65, etc, but for some reason when I turned 70, it dawned on me that I was getting old, and my friends were dying from natural causes rather than accidents or lifestyle. Fortunately subsequent birthdays haven’t brought any other news flashes, so I’ll just keep moving forward.

I guess as long as I still play in a rock and roll band, get all the chores done and fly people around, I can’t be that old…….

You have to grow old — you don’t have to *grow up*…

 

[KilroyJC]

Good Morning!

God has given us another chance to get it right (or at least not screw up too badly).
50.9 F and raining since 1AM, only going up a couple degrees.

Replacement phone and new SIMs arrived, so most of day was on tech support lines, i Ayers perused with minor putterings. Took mom out to dinner again for Birthday because why not?

today is chiro, then pee in bottle for tax job in January. Wife never lets me down a couple of milligrams of methylene blue dye before pee tests — no sensayuma

rain means after morning runaround the Dave converts to energy conservation — hot tub/sauna are high probability options.

I hope everyone has a happy healthy safe blessed day!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Eye starting to clear from cataract surgery today. Haleluya!
Friend called said his wife has colon cancer and 2 old friends died last week...old age is not easy. Prayers for my good friend Zane please.
Looking forward to getting back to daily things being more normal.
At 70 yrs (soon) I feel I'm staring old age in the face.

Sorry about friends wife. My oldest sister died of colon cancer, early 60s.

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, 28 going up to 48 and cloudy, calling for up to 2" of rain today.
This will impact tractor work planned for tomorrow.
Have the day off so will only spend 3 hours at the day job today, too much to do.

Prayers for Zane Scotty, getting old is hard.

Nothing done yesterday, today Dr. and shopping for veggies.

Was hoping to start clearing out more of the back area, still some downed trees and rocks back there, Flail doesn't like those. Once it's clear I will be able to keep it clean. Can see the mountains (ok, it's really a ridge) for about 180 degrees through the trees now from back deck.
New neighbor has been around last few weekends, but no signs of house building, so view is still intact for a bit longer:

 

[scootr]

43º going to 79º. A bright sunny days predicted through Thanksgiving. I'll be wearing sunglasses for my new eyes. Seeing and feeling much better today. Lots of work to catch up on. Thanks for prayers.
Hope you all have a great day.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

39° and expecting lots of rain. Forgot to pick up pies at Costco, so will do that this morning.

 

[wngsprd]

I asked AI my question about blackbird synchronous flying maneuvers...in a nutshell, it said "swarm intelligence"...that by a bird just simply keeping pace with its 6 closest birds, the whole flock takes on a swarm intelligence...

Here's the full answer:

That’s a very interesting question. Flocking blackbirds are a fascinating phenomenon that has puzzled scientists and observers for a long time. There are different theories and explanations for how these birds can move in such synchronous ways, but one of the most widely accepted ones is based on the concept of swarm intelligence1.

Swarm intelligence is the collective behavior of a group of individuals that emerges from simple rules and local interactions. It is often seen in nature, such as in ant colonies, bee hives, fish schools, and bird flocks. Swarm intelligence allows these groups to achieve complex tasks and adapt to changing environments without any central coordination or communication1.

In the case of flocking blackbirds, researchers have found that each bird follows a few simple rules, such as:

• Stay close to your neighbors, but not too close
• Align your direction and speed with your neighbors
• Avoid predators and obstacles

By following these rules, each bird can coordinate its movements with the rest of the flock, creating stunning patterns and shapes in the sky. However, each bird does not need to pay attention to the whole flock, but only to its six closest neighbors2. This way, the information and adjustments can spread quickly and efficiently throughout the flock, allowing them to react to external threats or opportunities in a matter of seconds2.

Some of the benefits of flocking behavior for blackbirds include:

• Increased safety from predators, as they can confuse or deter them with their large numbers and rapid maneuvers
• Enhanced foraging efficiency, as they can share information and resources with each other
• Improved thermoregulation, as they can keep warm by huddling together in cold weather

Flocking blackbirds are an amazing example of how simple rules can lead to complex and intelligent behavior. They demonstrate the power and beauty of nature’s self-organization and adaptation. I hope this answer helps you understand more about this topic. If you want to learn more, you can check out the links I provided in my response. Thank you for your curiosity.

 

[wngsprd]

39° and expecting lots of rain. Forgot to pick up pies at Costco, so will do that this morning.

Sounds good. /they had some nice looking apple pies and pumkin pies the other day.

I'm gonna fry some apples and make a trifle with them and strawberries that was in the Costco magazine...it will surprise my wife since I'm not a cook or a baker...but take on random culinary projects from time to time.