@rustyfingers Yea, I never knew they needed regular pruning to keep them in top form. I just have a couple of them in pots and am trying to follow her instructions. They’re doing pretty well.

wtg
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Bloomscrolling--what's in bloom where you are? -
Only the best people on the benchA fired Justice Department attorney has provided Congress with a trove of emails and text messages to corroborate his claims that a controversial Trump judicial nominee — top DOJ official Emil Bove — crudely discussed defying court orders.
The newly-released messages reinforce claims by whistleblower Erez Reuveni that Bove played a key role in a decision by Trump administration immigration officials to turn scores of Venezuelan immigrants over to El Salvador’s government despite a U.S. judge’s order not to do so.
The messages show increasing alarm among Justice Department lawyers that the administration had in fact defied court orders and that some officials — including a prominent DOJ lawyer brought on by the Trump administration — could face sanctions for misleading the courts..https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/10/emil-bove-whistleblower-documents-00446225
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Puppy !@AndyD You should be able to upload your video to YouTube if you have a gmail account. Just do a search for instructions on how to do it from whatever device you are using to take the video.
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How smell guides our inner worldA better understanding of human smell is emerging as scientists interrogate its fundamental elements: the odor molecules that enter your nose and the individual neurons that translate them into perception in your brain.
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Bloomscrolling--what's in bloom where you are?There are lots of videos on pruning lavender. I kinda like this one:
Link to video -
Texas FloodsAt 4:22 a.m. on Friday, as Texas' Hill Country began to flood, a firefighter in Ingram – just upstream from Kerrville – asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to alert nearby residents, according to audio obtained by ABC affiliate KSAT. But Kerr County officials took nearly six hours to heed this call.
"The Guadalupe Schumacher sign is underwater on State Highway 39," the firefighter said in the dispatch audio. "Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents, asking them to find higher ground or stay home?"
"Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor," a Kerr County Sheriff's Office dispatcher replied.
The first alert didn't come through Kerr County's CodeRED system until 90 minutes later. Some messages didn't arrive until after 10 a.m. By then, hundreds of people had been swept away by the floodwaters.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/kerr-county-officials-waited-90-minutes-send-emergency/story?id=123631023
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Bloomscrolling--what's in bloom where you are?What a magnificent tree!
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Field trip! For Andy, at leastThe Bayeux Tapestry is going to be in London next year.
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The dictator protection programTrump’s latest letter, imposing a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, marks a new departure, and I think merits a special bulletin. After all, it’s both evil and megalomaniacal.
Notice that Trump barely even pretends that there’s an economic justification for this action. This is all about punishing Brazil for putting Jair Bolsonaro on trial.
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Lithuanian space techWhy little Lithuania has big plans for space tech
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2ezl7xqyo
I've always wanted to be a space cadet. Maybe this is my chance.
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Rain event in Chicago last nightYou can also purchase a NOAA weather radio to receive alerts. It’s affordable, doesn’t rely on cell service, and will wake you up in the event of an emergency overnight.
We had a tornado warning in the middle of the night some years ago and the alert on our phones didn't wake us up. The town didn't sound the sirens because of some screw-up. Nothing happened in our town but there was significant damage not very far away.
I think I'm going to buy a NOAA radio. Cheap insurance.
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Rain event in Chicago last nightI touched base with him and he's OK. He confirmed what I thought I remembered, that they had done some major flood control projects to deal with issues that had come up in previous rain events.
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Rain event in Chicago last nightHere's the 1987 event:
https://abc7chicago.com/historic-flooding-chicago-1987-floods-record-rainfall/251251/
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Rain event in Chicago last nightNothing like the Texas rain, but even urban areas like ours can be subject to some pretty good downpours.
All of this happened well southeast of Casa wtg; we just got some drizzle.
Hope @kluurs is ok; his house is pretty much in the area that was hardest hit.
Some areas of the city got over 5 inches of rain in 90 minutes. I saw individual reports of an inch of rain in 15 minutes. Flooded basements and viaducts in some areas.
We've lived through a couple of torrential rainstorms. One was in 1987, I think - 9 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Streets around us flooded but our house and basement were dry. One in 2008 that was close to 7 inches in 24 hours. And the really nasty one was in 2011 - almost 7 inches in 2 hours. Our basement stairwell filled up with water. The four inch drain in the stairwell couldn't take the water away fast enough. Our basement is unfinished. Water leaked in around the door but it was not a big deal to clean up. No real damage.
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Texas Floods@AndyD - here's an overview of the situation. Explains a lot.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/texas-floods-growth-kerr-county-camp-mystic/
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Texas FloodsNot sure how the various law enforcement and fire protection agencies work in a rural area like this one in Texas.
It does seem like some of the government entities in that area have figured out cost effective ways to build a warning system without having to spend a million dollars.
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Texas Floods@AndyD said in Texas Floods:
Would some sort of warning siren system along the river area be feasible?
It was discussed as long ago as 2016. It didn't happen.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deadly-texas-floods-one-town-warning-siren-rcna217202
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Texas FloodsTeam from Mexico helping.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/mexico-firefighters-texas-flooding-search-rescue
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Higher ed programs guttedNot sure, but I think these are new programs under consideration:
https://www.in.gov/che/files/Info-A-Status-of-Programs-2025-6-AA-and-Q-Version-2.pdf
This is the list of programs that are being consolidated, eliminated, or on their way to being eliminated:
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Best analysis I have seen on the big bill.Finally had a chance to read the whole thing. Well worth the time. Thanks for posting it, @Mik