62F and grey outside. Never really rained yesterday, just got everything wet.
Today looks to be the same.
The log roller on my bucket trap looks undisturbed in my video cam picture. I bet no rats…
nick
added- no rats in any traps. wife didn’t hear any activity last night either. One trap in the garage was tripped, but empty, so I know they are still around.
47F and overcast. Light misty drizzle. Wet grass.
Lawn guys blowing leaves woke me up. Still feeling a bit under the weather.
Gotta check the new rat trap. Lots of activity last night. I really need a camera up there, because I can’t understand what I’m hearing. Unless rats like to just play ‘chase’ and tear back and forth, it doesn’t make sense.
n
How on earth does someone become a “pet marijuana tycoon”?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5344427/Black-Dahlia-mansion-sold-5m.html
DON’T click that link by the way. Very gruesome shots of the murdered girl as you scroll down.
Can we draw any conclusions about where we are in the fall of the empire from the fact that a guy who sells marijuana infused supplements for DOGS can buy a $5M home?
RBT thought the most likely scenario was a long slow decline, and I’ve gotta say, it certainly feels like we’ve already stepped onto the ski slope. I think we have a lot more ‘peak decadence’, ‘peak perversity’, and ‘peak violence’ still to come.
We’ve already got bread and circuses. We’ve already got half the country on some form of dole. We’ve already got barbarians inside the gates. We’ve already got waning influence over our far flung possessions and juniors. What else is left in the checklist?
nick
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-01/clark-county-coroner-refuses-release-vegas-shooter-coroners-report-despite-court
“The shooter’s body was cremated Dec. 21. How can the autopsy report not be ‘finalized’ when the body was cremated more than five weeks ago?”
and
“The newly unsealed documents – which were unsealed by court order after journalists at the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media sued – revealed that the FBI is seeking a “person of interest” named Douglas Haig. Haig’s name had not previously been connected to the shooting. What’s more, according to what’s been widely cited as his LinkedIn page, Haig had “DOD Top Secret clearance” and worked for top weapons manufacturers and specialized in Military Ammunition, as we pointed out.”
Biggest mass shooting in recent US history. Still more questions than answers, and now, verifiably unusual behavior on the part of the investigators.
Meanwhile in DC, more circus distracticus from the FBI, DOJ, and various other parties.
[this is where OFD chimes in that we need to get our own house in order, and focus inward for a while…(our being the USA)]
And this is where I remind everyone that we need to get OUR (meaning individually) houses in order.
No matter the truth or un-truths coming out of DC, weakness, division, infighting in the halls of government is NOT good for us on the world stage. Bad actors are looking to find their advantage in all this.
No matter the truth or un-truth coming out of Vegas, (and no Virginia, they didn’t cremate the body of “the shooter”, they cremated the body found at the scene) the fact that serious people can entertain the idea that this was a setup, or a covert op (gone right or wrong), and the appearance is of official coverup or incompetence, is further evidence of the crumbling of our social fabric. That isn’t good.
So keep stacking, keep meeting people, keep working on skills, keep teaching the next generation.
n
I did spend a minute or two looking at the full moon last night. After early poor conditions with haze and clouds, the air cleared and the moon looked pretty good. It didn’t seem especially big, or special but was a good bright full moon.
Grabbed the binos early this morning and got a good look before it sank below our trees. Kids looked but were not impressed. Two eclipses in the same year, the end days MUST be here….
Haven’t reviewed any of the SOTU address yet. Might skip it entirely. I usually like primary sources as the press is very selective in what they hear and report. We’ll see.
In a funny coincidence yesterday I was listening to youtube while I was driving. YT recommended a bunch of Jordan Peterson’s online lectures to me (and a ton of clip shows featuring him.) So I listened. He did one on Marxism and post modernism that was very interesting. He does a lot of digression and story telling and is very engaging. Anyway, he was relating some research on morality, and specifically some research involving RATS. Turns out, they play. Young rats like to wrestle and engage in ‘rough and tumble’ play. The researcher drew several conclusions about rat social structure and behaviour, but the most unlikely bit was that RATS LAUGH. He says they ‘giggle’ when tickled with a pencil eraser. He claims it’s ultrasonic, and you have to slow down a recording to hear it, but I think that MY RATS have learned to make an audible sound when laughing. AND THEY LAUGH AT ME. Wife says that just means it’s time to drop a match and walk away [or move to another house.] I must say that I don’t like thinking about giggling rats when I’m introducing them to Mr Shovel….
nick
So quickly does time fly. One month of 2018 already gone.
40F and clear this morning. Beautifully clear last night. Looked at the full moon thru binoculars with the 6 yo. She walked 20 feet across the yard “so it would be even bigger.”
I’ve got a pickup in College Station so I’ll be off the air most of the morning. Talk amongst yourselves…
nick
(is this the beginning of the great unraveling? Finally some people being ‘exited’ from the FBI, financials going nuts, and maybe people realizing that crypto won’t pull us out of this. I don’t want my trip this morning to turn into a PA road trip story….)
Whooo, cold this am. Currently 39F and damp. Clear skies so maybe it will warm up. Yesterday fooled me. It was shirtsleeves weather by the afternoon, and I was buying seeds at Lowes while picking up the rat traps. Time to get the garden started! Well, maybe not quite yet 🙁
nick
59F and 99%RH this morning in Houston. Drizzle, grey, and squishy saturated ground. Localized heavy rain yesterday led to flood watch and flash flood warnings. Ah, life in a swamp….
n
It has been a long week. Busy weekend of work and family ahead too, but at least the weather should be a bit better.
53F and mostly clear in Houston today. I took a look at my citrus trees and they don’t look good. Between the cold and being covered, all the leaves are pretty much shrunken and dried. I guess I’ll see if they recover in a few more weeks. I certainly hope so. The grapefruit I got this year is delicious.
It feels like we’re wrapping up winter, and getting ready for spring. I got the last of the Christmas stuff down and put away (didn’t want to do it wet). It’s unlikely we’ll have more sub-freezing temperatures. The yard and garden are brown and a mess, but we’ll soon see what we can get started on. I might just throw down some native wildflowers in the front yard flower beds.
This definitely feels like a time of transition… both in the natural world, in society, and personally. Transitional times are tricky. They are a time when the smallest influences can lead to big changes. I think they call for conservatism, balance, a ‘centeredness’, and being prepared to move in any direction either defensively or to take advantage of opportunity.
This is a good time to take a step back from daily strife, and re-evaluate where you are, where you want to be, and your plan for getting there. If there ever was a time to position yourself to move freely in any direction, this is certainly it.
nick