(via Laurie Garrett’s twitter feed)
Respite Open Thread: Well, That’s One Reason to Clean Out the Garage…Post + Comments (103)
This post is in: Nature & Respite
(via Laurie Garrett’s twitter feed)
Respite Open Thread: Well, That’s One Reason to Clean Out the Garage…Post + Comments (103)
This post is in: Nature & Respite, Open Threads
But I needed this:
Yes–it’s four years old, and everyone youtube-savvier than me has already seen it, but it’s still wicked awesome, and a temporary escape from all of that from which we crave escape.
And if we’re going to respite, let’s respite hard. Have some bonus Tikka:
And how about a redwing blackbird harassing a great blue heron at my local pond:
Over to y’all. Open thread.
This post is in: Nature & Respite, Open Threads
This made me grin…a lot:
These are wretched times to be sure. But I am amazed and so grateful to all the incredibly inventive folks who have gone to enormous lengths to share a bit of joy amidst the gloom.
What else? How about some swans (and, in an in-joke for the 02138 set, a cygnet society)*:
And finally, bonus Tikka, here preparing to give a vastly more useful update on epidemic concerns than the shitgibbon ever could:
And now, oh jackalteriat: the thread is open.
This post is in: Nature & Respite
I will do whatever this fox tells me to. pic.twitter.com/vgN3yerYY9
— Miss Demeanor (@Gwynnion) May 15, 2020
snow leopards against surveillance https://t.co/5YqrWXDFd6
— ?? y’all doin stunts n shows ?? (@atypewritersing) May 16, 2020
'The only reason to have a backyard is that we could feed crows regularly and they could bring us gifts.' – @larsonchristina
— James "Stay In. Make Masks. Test People" Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) May 16, 2020
HUMANS LIKE THE SHINY THINGS THAT THEY GIVE EACH OTHER. HERE IS A BOTTLECAP FOR MY HUMAN COLLEAGUE.
— James "Stay In. Make Masks. Test People" Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) May 16, 2020
We have (what I assume, from the dawn noises every morning) a family of crows nesting near our yard. But we also have coyotes (and possibly raccoons) in the neighborhood, and everything I might feed a crow would also be attractive to them, so I restrain myself.
Bonus urban interaction: We’re doing hands-off food delivery now. When the Spousal Unit opened the front door this evening to retrieve the pre-scheduled order from my favorite Indian restaurant, a squirrel had torn through the paper sack and was trying to unwrap the aluminium foil from my papadum…
Late Night Respite Open Thread: We Are All ConnectedPost + Comments (36)
by TaMara| 44 Comments
This post is in: Something Good Open Thread, I Will Cut You If You Muddy This Thread
Not to step on Anne Laurie – but this is probably the only chance I’ll have of participating in this thread before falling sound asleep. ??
I just finished watching this and I feel so much better. I highly recommend it.
As for me, I am doing much better and well past 14 days without symptoms. That being said, the fatigue is fierce and while I can do a lot, I am nowhere near able to do what I could a month ago. Yesterday it was walking the dogs and move a rosebush, and then I was done for the day. I am doing what I can to rebuild my strength each day – a little time on the spin cycle, lots of stretching to counteract all the couch time. I am now (finally) scheduled for my antibodies test – after being thwarted at every turn trying to get a Covid-19 test. There were some scary days, but I as I said before, so grateful for the mild version I seemed to have ridden out. I can’t imagine how much worse it could have been.
Here’s a photo of Bixby enjoying himself on a beautiful spring morning:
Bad photo, but love how he’s just in mid-stride, not a care in the world. The entire time I was sick, he was glued to my hip. And let me tell you, when you are tired and oxygen-deprived, trying to move a damn 160 lb dog out of your way is impossible. LOL
There is a lot of crap going on and so much I want to rage about, but I figure we can all use a bit of respite and I need to keep my blood pressure down. So..
Respite open thread. Tell me something good.
Respite Open Thread: Becoming, Michelle ObamaPost + Comments (44)
by Adam L Silverman| 41 Comments
This post is in: Not Politics, Open Threads, Science & Technology, Silverman on Security, Space
The real “Steve Austin”, test pilot Bruce Peterson, was born in 1933 and was from Washburn, North Dakota. Peterson joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1954 through the naval cadet program and became a 2nd lieutenant. He went on to accumulate an extensive academic engineering background from the University of California (UCLA) and California Polytechnic State University. During his academic career at UCLA, Peterson also worked as an aircraft assembler for Douglas Aircraft Company. Peterson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Poly in 1960.
In August, 1960, Peterson joined NASA’s flight test program as an engineer at the Dryden Flight Test Center. In 1962, he graduated from the prestigious Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and transferred to flight testing.
But it was his 16th test flight on May 10, 1967 in the Northrop M2-F2 that solidified Peterson’s place in pop culture history. Peterson was attempting a landing in the M2-F2 when the aircraft entered a series of side-to-side oscillations seen in the famous film of his crash.
In the intro to “The Six Million Dollar Man”, pilot Steve Austin is heard to say, “I’ve got a blowout, damper three!” Austin goes on to say in the script, “Pitch is out. I Can’t hold altitude. Correction, alpha hold is off. Trim selectors- emergency!” And then the final famous line, “Flight Com, I can’t hold it! She’s breaking up! She’s breaking…”
In real life, test pilot Peterson says just prior to the crash, “Boy, there’s some glitches…” “Get that chopper out of the way!” “That chopper’s gonna get me I’m afraid!” Peterson was concerned about the proximity of a helicopter during his landing approach and, when he entered a series of oscillations in the essentially wing-less lifting body, the aircraft became uncontrollable. After impact, the M2-F2 rolled violently six times, the dramatic visual seen in the video. The rest is a matter of aviation, and television, history.
Peterson sustained serious injuries from the crash including the eventual loss of vision in his right eye from a staph infection, but it did not stop him from continuing his successful flight test career. Even without six million dollars’ worth of bionics, Peterson went on to fly nearly 6,000 total flight hours in 70 different aircraft. He was an early flight test engineer on fly-by-wire advanced flight control systems and went on to work for Northrop on the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber program. Bruce Peterson died after a long illness on May 1, 2006 at 72.
Much more at the link.
Open thread!
We Can Rebuild Him… The Actual Origins of the Six Million Dollar ManPost + Comments (41)
This post is in: Nature & Respite
Don’t forget to be like this sea lion and go for regular walks ????? pic.twitter.com/jsjFjb74Ik
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 9, 2020
WATCH: Two penguins take a walk in a nearby forest with their caretakers pic.twitter.com/FMkPgSDwKc
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
I hope the dog is actually enjoying this, which has to be the most ridiculously British clip of the week:
A man was spotted cycling down empty streets in London with his pet dog strapped to his back pic.twitter.com/7ZozZmLANV
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 9, 2020
Respite Open Thread: Proper Exercise Remains ImportantPost + Comments (71)