Category Archives: General

General, Social Commentary

Second Cativersary

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[Christmas-morning update]

Merry Christmas (and other holidays) to all of my readers.

[From yesterday]

On this day two years ago, on Christmas Eve, we adopted the kittens.

We originally thought they were sisters, but a few weeks later we discovered that Ashe and Ember were sister and brother. He was the dark kitten who fell down the stairs. He was the runt of the litter, but he’s now outgrown his sister, weighing 15 pounds to her 13. She still scraps with him, though.

They’ve turned out to be pretty good cats, very social and almost too friendly. Ashe likes to lounge on my lap after painfully kneading my right upper leg, but only at my desk. Ember likes to lie on Patricia’s desk while she’s trying to work. He also likes to help out in the kitchen, but he’s not as helpful as he thinks he is. Anyway, here are the Christmas kittens, at age two.

They’ve both obviously grown a lot. Stretched out, he’s almost three feet long, from ears to tail. I didn’t have to put him in that position. They’re both characters.

Business, General, Space, Technology and Society

Yesterday’s Launch

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We drove up to Lompoc yesterday to watch not just the launch, but the landing. We had clear skies for both events. When I saw the boosters land from the Falcon Heavy flight in Florida, I didn’t see them until they were almost down, but yesterday, we could see the deorbit burn, and then follow it all the way down to the pad. After entry, it dropped like a rock until it arrived near the pad, then rapidly decelerated and set down. We weren’t as close as we wanted to be, but it was on a hill by Vandenberg Village that gave us an unobstructed view. Despite the distance, the sonic boom of the booster coming in was impressive but, unlike the ones in Florida, where I was much closer and heard a pair of triple booms, I only heard a single one. I suspect the other two were too weak to carry as far.

[Update a while later]

Interestingly, this story doesn’t even mention the landing, even though it was historic. I think it was the first time they’ve landed there in the day time.

[Friday-afternoon update]

Here’s video of the landing.

[Bumped]

General, History, Law, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

Thanksgiving

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James Lileks’ obligatory essay.

I am not just today, but always thankful that I was born in this Republic, and for the opportunities that we will continue to have to preserve it. Speaking of which, Sidney Powell delivered the Kraken for Thanksgiving.

[Update a couple minutes later]

Also in my home state of Michigan which is, apropo of nothing other than the Lion’s loss today, having a very bad football season.

General, General Science, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Heat Wave

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Looks like the next week and a half will be one of those times we wish we had A/C in coastal California. It was warm last night (temperature has been below seventy every morning when we get up, but it was 73 this morning). Can’t really justify the expense and electricity of central air, but maybe we’ll finally be motivated to get a window or portable unit for the bedroom.

[Noon update]

People are talking about split units in comments. No way we’d spend that kind of money, particularly when we have no use for a heat pump. We just need something to keep the bedroom cool to sleep at night.

[Saturday-morning update]

Well, so far, so good. It never got below 74 in the house, but we slept well. If it gets no worse than that, we’ll be OK. The worst thing about Santa Anas is that when the wind comes from the east, we can hear the sound of the 405 freeway, which is about a mile away. Otherwise, the neighborhood is quiet, because despite being half a block from a major thoroughfare to the west, the sound is blocked by a dune that our place is at the bottom of.