Not a bit suprised. In my opinion, too many Americans are still just blaming one person for this mess we've unleashed on the world. It goes way deeper than that.

the mockups of the hammond location on wolf lake by the illinois/indiana state line are pretty funny if you know the reality of the area. There's another proposed site near me, in Portage, Indiana, about 10 miles into the Indiana Dunes National Park, that is literally across a boat channel from Cleveland Cliffs steel mill -- one of the most god-awful stinky mills I've ever seen. Good luck with that proposal. They'd have to shut down the mill if winds were out of the NNE. The portage location is accessible by the south shore railroad commuter line though.... goes right by it.

@Daniel as if there is only 1 std out there too! smh My rule of thumb during the "scourge" was to ASSUME that people were HIV positive and contagious and DIDN'T KNOW IT, which took the judgement out of things. Didn't get laid much but oh well.

@AndyD said in Faunascrolling--what's visiting where you are?: I had to search, anticipating some toilet humour The creeper was on the tree the same time a nuthatch was, so at first I thought I was seeing two nuthatches; they have similar tree-climbing movements. Nuthatches move down a tree head first, though, and the one bird was only going upwards and then flying off and coming back. I finally got out my binoculars and got a better look at both of them and realized one was a newbie to my yard. Apparently my area is part of its winter habitat. Oh, and we have had a ton of woodpeckers, too. Northern flicker and a couple of red-bellied woodpeckers. [image: 64995061-720px.jpg] I used to feed the birds during but stopped many years ago. On a whim I picked up a feeder at Costco a couple of weeks ago. It was on a closeout at my warehouse for $25. https://www.costco.com/p/-/solar-smart-bird-feeder/4000314026 Biggest problem for me is feeder placement. There aren't many places a) where I can get a wifi signal in the yard and b) where the squirrels can't get to the feeder. Lots of trees and shrubs and those rodents are so clever when it comes to figuring out ways to jump up, down, or sideways to get to the seed. If you haven't seen them, check out Mark Rober's series on squirrels. Here's the first one: Link to video

Great work, Cindy!

I've liked Robert Reich since he was Labor Secretary. He's given me no reason to change that opinion. Big Al

@AndyD said in Bloomscrolling--what's in bloom where you are?: [image: 1770898692854-20260212_120237-resized.jpg] Spring is here, and after 44days of overcast rain we are forecast sun on Saturday My snowdrops finally started blooming this past week, about three weeks later than they did the last couple of (very warm) winters. I was afraid my chives might not have made it through our extended deep freeze, but they are coming up.

I kept replacing my Casio FE-10 watches until they were no longer made. Perfect combination of thin with big enough display to wear while tuning/working. I purchased and returned quite a few others after the last one broke - searching for something that was comfortable enough and ended up with https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61ZncdOkOEL._AC_SY500_.jpg I did get a magnetic wrap band for it to cut down on the buckle discomfort while working.

Thank you wtg!

@Mark Like everything these days it seems to be complicated. Not all tariffs fall under this ruling. NPR had kind of a good overview. They note that tariffs haven't been good for the administration politically. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/20/nx-s1-5677609/tariffs-economy-trump-supreme-court Trump just said the ruling is a disgrace but he has a backup plan. Don't know if that will be to ignore the court, or to figure out a way to re-characterize the now-forbidden tariffs so they fall under the national security umbrella. Like so much in the last year, it will be way more painful and disruptive than it needs to be, I'm sure.

The race is on to see who the AI chatbots say has the biggest ****!

Jon I'm sending you to sit on the naughty stairs, you naughty boy

Oh, and I'm glad to hear that Canadian businesses are actually seeing some benefits from what's gone on with tariffs. Bit of a silver lining. Costco stores in the US carry a number of products made or grown in Canada. Indian food products and some vegetables come to mind immediately. We try to buy Canadian when we can! Oh, and sorry (once again) for the orange man....

@wtg Thanks, Nero Wolfe looks interesting; copyright-banned over here but the archive link works. I'm currently watching House (MD) starring Hugh Lawrie. On series 2 episode 4. So that's 26 out of 176 seen. It's 20 years old and is fresh to rewatch. Incidentally in the first series he is shown in his home with a Sohmer piano. Laurie does play well of course.

Our niece and nephew-in-law bought a house on Madeira (Portugal) and are renovating it. It’s an adventure!

@ShiroKuro Beautiful. Thanks....

So, I was on my phone and a text from the Estate popped up followed by one from my cousin. She sent me an advance because my brother and I have to have received the same amount in advances by law. This means a) my brother needed or wanted more money in advances than me, making me the more responsible one-- and... b) the final accounting went to the probate attorney's office earlier in the week. Long story short, it will probably happen in March. Now that it's winding up, I'm kind of freaking out about the decision of the home to buy. It's a big decision and I haven't done this before. You'd think I'd be ready but I'm not-- there's so much to know-- and you hear so many stories. I'm going to have a talk with my sister-in-law and drag all the variables and figures on the table. I've always thought and continue to think this wouldn't be half as stressful if I weren't living with a drug addled grifter with a personality straight out of hell. His karma is coming.

Was watching a UK vlogger's latest video about a recent 3-day trip to NYC. He went to see Death Becomes Her on Broadway. A glass of wine during intermission (in a take-home branded cup): $32!