A new study, using tooth enamel, has determined that T. rexes were warm blooded, with a body temp close to ours.


https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/t-rex-was-as-warm-blooded-as-humans-new-study-finds/

Kind of makes this old comic obsolete ;o)

RIP Peter Max.

Edit- a more thorough biography: his website!

I have incorrectly attributed the Yellow Submarine artwork to him, due to its similarities, as well as the “Screaming Yellow Zonkers” boxes. I liked his style, of course, and as did many in those times I used to doodle the bright, psychedelic patterns he was famous for. *sigh* long time gone, now.

First the dryer threw a belt (previous post). Easy enough fix except for fighting with the tensioner and improvising a clip.

Second was our dishwasher: a roller axel broke in the top rack adjuster last Friday evening. I was able to sleuth out the part number and get the kit overnighted so that I could repair this the next morning. I would not normally pay for the delivery but I missed Amazon’s cut off by mere minutes. Happily the overnight fee was only $2.99, but the part had a coupon for $2.10. A win! I followed an online video for replacing this assembly and got it back together in about an hour.

The third- the Sync3 touchscreen in our new/used car blanked. After trying several suggested remedies, resets and a battery disconnect, and even a trip to the dealer to be told they could do a diagnostic, in September, I settled on updating the device. Ford can tell you if you need an update using your VIN and checking their database: it was last done in March and now overdue (apparently the system was not set for automatic updates). The fix required a 32GB USB stick formatted in exFAT with an MBR partition (so said the webpage) with the appropriate files on it. It worked! The process took half an hour with the car idling the whole time out in the driveway.

Let’s hope all things stay running now :o)

Three for Fun-


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—

Took me a second as well!

That’s what I heard outdoors at around 12:30 this morning: leaves/branches coming down softly. I didn’t know a tree had fallen against the house, though, until I got up at 5:30 and saw leaves outside my roof window!



I’ve been watching this tree for a few years, worrying that it might blow down in a storm and damage the roof or break windows. It was too tall and close to the house for me to take down safely, and I mentally added it to my list for “professional tree removal.” Welp, worry no more! And there wasn’t even a wind last night, the base collapsed in on itself and it fell: insects, I imagine.


As seen from the backyard in a June photo.

So I spent around five hours in nasty heat and humidity getting this off the house and blueberry cages.


A lot of work was done with a manual telescoping 16’ pole saw (which sucked because it doesn’t lock correctly). Then I backed the truck up a narrow path to the fence and stood on the tailgate with another tool, my pole saw attachment on my trimmer base, to finish things off. The sawhorses marked the path edge next to the new septic tank; I did not want to drive over this.

Debris cleanup will commence Sunday morning!

It’s been just over two years since I retired, and today I finished a project started soon thereafter: running a patch cable from an upstairs bedroom female to female wall plate down to the basement multiport switch. The cable was in the basement, near the outside wall entry point, waiting for me to string it past joists and over pipes. Done.

Unrelated meme things-


Yep! My first encounter with the word ‘island’ was in a Bugs Bunny comic when I was maybe six. I pronounced it ‘is-land,’ of course :o) Later I remember thinking ‘Yosemite’ was pronounced ‘Yo-sem-ite.’ Kids…


Wisdom.


A Thanksgiving favorite, complete with the ridges from the can.


Human Grade… Soylent Green anyone?

Ruminations

I may have mentioned we’re dropping our Paramount+ subscription this month. It’s a cheap enough service at $90/year, but that’s more than I wish to spend right now. We have access to Prime, Criterion, TCM, and a questionable Jellyfin account ;o) So I’ve been bingeing as the month runs down: Star Trek movies of all things. These are presented starting with a two minute commercial cluster and then commercial free. Heh, I started with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (I had seen a clip in an FB reel), and went back to Star Trek, the Movie (a movie I once described as every trekkie’s wet dream), and have now completed the series through V.

After the movies I hop onto LJ and DW and either post or just read/reply with Spotify playing in the background. Here I am :o)

Otherwise-

I had my annual skin cancer screening this week. I do this because I had so, so many sunburns back in the tanning lotion days. I passed, happily, but in trying to get positioned on the exam table I must have pulled a muscle in my lower back. Nothing immediate, but by the next day I could hardly stand without fear of a spasm. I’m better this evening.

The clothes dryer threw its belt yesterday. Luckily I had a spare that I had purchased in 2020. Easy peasy except a sheet metal clip went awol. Improvised…

I completed adding an extra wire above the fence and under the top electric wire in an effort to discourage the deer. Upon finishing I realized, from looking at hoofy landing prints, that the deer had hopped the top electric wire to get in. I raised the top wire a couple of more inches.

Tonight, when checking the garden (between rain drops as it’s been wet all day), I spooked a young woodchuck who was outside the fence. The electric fence should keep this little fellow out… should. They are destructive critters and indiscriminate in their ravaging forays.

Enough- pics!


Classic!


Had I not seen Pulp Fiction recently I would not have known where the ref was from.


I assume this is linguistically accurate, with added cats!

Edit- here’s the original!




Goodnight!

I was in the side yard yesterday, with the pup, when I looked toward the garden and saw a doe looking back at me: from inside the garden! I went out the gate and stopped to (1) assess how to get her out, and (2) take her pic. I got the pic as she turned away-





Enlarged (click to see original full size)

As I headed up the side of the garden to see if she needed help getting out she turned and bolted out through the space between the fence top and the electric wire.


Did I say bolted? She glided, tilted on her side, through that 16” gap, tilted back and performed a perfect quadrupedal landing, barely causing any wiggle of fence or wire! Oh, I wish I could have caught that on video: so impressive! I can’t even be mad at her for eating a couple of green tomatoes :D

*sigh* At least I understand how she got in. I’ll string another wire across that space.

There were five fawns in the front yard this evening, gamboling about, and two does, watching carefully. Then two young bucks with velvety antlers strode through, and one of the fawns ran off with them (this has happened before) :D Such fun to watch.


This one headed for the birdbath for a drink.

It’s been lovely here, having the deer about (when not in the garden). Fawns rest close to the house, just outside the pup’s fenced yard, or out at the edge of the stone wall separating the front yard from the street. Adults walk through regularly.


Peekaboo!

And something else appeared here the other day… snails! I only knew of land snails hereabouts when I found a shell about twenty years ago, but never saw any here at home. On Wednesday I was putting back up a beach umbrella I had taken down due to strong winds the previous night, and I saw small spots on the fabric… whoa!




Impressive!

What fun :o)

I spent a lot of time in May, last year, shoring up the garden against intruders; other than mice and chipmunks no critters gained entry. The major effort was made to dissuade deer and rabbits, and all was well until a week or so ago.


It appeared that the local young bunny, kitten, actually, got in and sampled the green beans *nibble nibble* Only a small animal could maneuver behind the electric wires, climb the 8” wire mesh barrier, and wriggle through the 2x4” wire fence, and then just eat some tips off the plants.

Or so I thought. I applied Repels-All critter repellent at the garden’s edge and on and around the beans. I did not see any more damage after that…

While spraying fungicide yesterday evening I noticed a tomato plant with nibbled tips: too high for any rabbit!





Deer! A deer had gotten into the garden, either by leaping over the 5’ electric wire above the 4’ fence (unlikely) or jumping a gap over the 4’ gates (quite plausible). *sigh* At least they didn’t savage the plants! In looking at the bean plant photo I can see what may also be a hoof print.


One of two gates I strung a heavy wire across to discourage intruders. Here’s hoping!

I took the EcoSport out today to do errands; I was almost out of brandy, and needed other things as well. I put on Sirius, our trial ends next month, but I couldn’t find a decent song on any of their stations. I did find a preset among the FM stations entitled Wave (or something similar) and that had some great New Wave selections: The Jam, OMD, and Blondie among them :o)

I topped the tank- six gallons at $3.79/gal; by this afternoon the price had risen to $3.85/gal. Yup. I then went to the local Hammerbarn to pick up mosquito dunks (larvae poison, Bti) and ant baits. Off to Wallyword after that for Sure-Jell pectin and some honey to put up blueberry jam (we’ve had a fantastic harvest of blueberries this year). Grabbed some JIF Extra Crunchy peanut butter on impulse (same aisle as the honey). Then hit the packie.

Heh, this was my first time out driving in about a month. And I may be going out again this coming week to get a large filling replaced that I flossed out.

One for fun!