Adventure, Daily Bread, Photography
Daily Bread for 1.14.24: The Mysteries
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 2. Sunrise is 7:22 and sunset 4:45 for 9h 22m 36s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 13.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1952, NBC‘s long-running morning news program Today debuts.
The vision came to Krystle Wright in a dream: a bird’s-eye view of BASE jumpers in flight over a stark desert landscape. When she awoke, the adventure photographer resolved to make that vision into reality. And with that, the dream turned into an obsession — one that led her on a four-and-a-half-year journey of failed attempts, uncooperative weather, disappointments and inward examination. The Mysteries follows a tenacious, and perhaps crazy, quest to chase down an elusive image and provides a glimpse into the kind of singular passion that drives people to reach their goals, regardless of what stands in the way.
See also krystlewright.com and Krystle J. Wright on Instagram.
Volcano erupts near Reykjavik forcing evacuation of residents:
A volcano has erupted north of the south-western Icelandic town of Grindavik near the site of a previous eruption in December, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said. Seismic activity had intensified overnight and residents of Grindavik were evacuated at about 3am (0300 GMT) on Sunday, the Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported. “A crack has opened up on both sides of the dikes that have begun to be built north of Grindavik,” the MetOffice wrote. Live images showed jets of glowing orange lava spewing up against the dark winter sky. This is Iceland’s fifth volcanic eruption in two years, the previous eruption occurring on 18 December in the same region south-west of the capital Reykjavik.
Daily Bread, Music
Daily Bread for 1.13.24: You’ve Never Heard Instruments Like This Before
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will be windy, with a windchill advisory, and a high of 25. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset 4:44 for 9h 20m 59s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 6.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1888, the National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
You’ve Never Heard Instruments Like This Before:
If you’re a fan of the cinematic universe, this is a Great Big Story for you! These strange devices are used in big budget cinematic scores and video games like Cyberpunk 2077. A small team of dedicated engineers called @somasynths based in Warsaw, Poland and led by sound visionary @vladkreimer3176 are hard at work creating beautiful hand-made musical instruments. But you won’t get any old tune out of them, in fact, it’s quite hard to control what comes out of them most of the time. They create harsh shrieks and noises, yet they’re loved by musicians all over the world. Here’s why Vlad’s unusual approach to music creation is catching on…
Footage captures the moment an earthquake in Japan [1.1.24] rocks a car park:
America, Daily Bread, Economy, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 1.12.24: Federal Reserve Officials at Wisconsin Forum Discuss Inflation Fight
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be snowy, with significant snowfall, and a high of 31. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset 4:43 for 9h 19m 26s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1991, an act of Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
Joe Schulz reports Inflation is coming down, but there’s a long way to go, Fed tells Wisconsin banking officials (‘Efforts to combat inflation haven’t caused a spike in unemployment’):
Ron Feldman, first vice president and chief operating officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said the declining rate is encouraging, but it’s still short of the central bank’s goal of bringing inflation down to 2 percent.
“A lot of progress (has been) made on inflation, not at the point at which we are comfortable because we are not at our target,” he said. “We’re likely maybe near a peak (in terms of interest rates), but we’re not at the point at which we can sort of say, ‘We know exactly what we’re going to do.'”
Feldman said projections from the Fed show inflation is expected to continue to come down slowly through 2024, and it’s expected to return to the goal of 2 percent in 2026. During that time, he said unemployment is expected to hover around 4.1 percent.
Feldman also said the Fed may begin lowering interest rates as inflation gets closer to the 2 percent target, but said it’s still too early to know when that will happen.
“If things continue the way they’re going, there’s gonna be some decreases,” he said. “But when those happen, how those happen, and if they happen at all are going to be dependent on the data that comes in.”
Porcupine crossing: Rodent stops ski slope traffic:
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Feline ASMR
by JOHN ADAMS •
Via Camera Loving Cat Loudly Crunches on Treats (‘A little cat named Luna stared right into the camera and loudly crunched down on some yummy treats as her human filmed her noisy ASMR snacktime’).
Daily Bread, Elections, Legislature, Politics, Recall, Speaker Vos, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 1.11.24: Conservative Activists Launch Recall Effort Against Speaker Vos
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 31. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset 4:41 for 9h 17m 56s of daytime. The moon is new with none of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1964, Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
Anya Van Wagtendonk reports Recall effort launched against Vos (‘Conservative opponents of the powerful Assembly speaker hope to force a recall election in June’):
Conservative activists have launched a recall effort against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, citing his criticisms of former President Donald Trump and what they describe as an insufficiently right-wing record.
Matthew Snorek, a resident of Union Grove in Racine County, filed the petition to the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Wednesday. Vos, R-Rochester, has represented parts of Racine County in the state Assembly since 2005.
In the complaint, Snorek alleges Vos “is blocking fair elections in WI” and pointed to Vos not contributing to efforts by a small bloc of right-wing Assembly members to impeach Meagan Wolfe, the state’s top election administrator.
“Wisconsin must move ‘Forward’ without Robin Vos in power,” the complaint reads.
In a statement, Vos called the recall “a waste of time, resources and effort.”
….
Snorek’s petition will need to get about 7,000 signatures — calculated as a quarter of votes cast in Vos’ Assembly district in the 2022 gubernatorial race — in order to force a recall election. Organizers are aiming for an election date in June.
Mouse secretly filmed tidying man’s shed every night:
City, Daily Bread, Local Government, School District
Daily Bread for 1.10.24: Leopards.Do.Not.Change.Their.Spots.
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 32. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:40 for 9h 16m 29s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 1.1% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1946, the United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
If Whitewater ever needed a refresher on special interests in the city, here’s a maxim worth remembering:
Leopards do not change their spots.
If a Getty Images photo of a leopard doesn’t convince (and honest to goodness it should), here are two posts relevant & material to this very topic —
Whitewater’s Residents Have a Front Row Seat to the Special Interest Method:
Special Interests Would Rather Not Be Seen. Ideally, they will put their operatives and catspaws on boards and commissions without much attention. For elected positions, they’ll look for districts with no one else running. Districts like that are a golden opportunity to run candidates wholly devoted to them but so objectionable to ordinary residents that those types of candidates could never win otherwise.
Special Interests Typically Speak (Deceptively) in the Language of Good Government:
Typically (but not always), special interests speak deceptively in the language of good government. They will ask for cooperation, partnerships, collaboration, openness, and transparency. To get close, they will speak the language and make the sounds of those they seek to manipulate.
Their technique is effective with well-intentioned people who assume (mistakenly) that everyone else is well-intentioned.
There are other approaches special-interest men will try, if they’re denied their unjustified requests. They may express outrage (how dare you?! insane! outrageous!). This outrage has both a cause and an intended effect. The cause is, most often, an insult to their excessive sense of entitlement. It hurts them that others do not see them as special, gifted, or better than others. So they squeal and shriek when someone reminds them that they aren’t what they think they are, or they don’t deserve an extra portion of dessert, etc.
This expressed outrage often works an effect favorable to the special-interest types: others simply back down to avoid a confrontation.
If speaking in the language of good government doesn’t work, and if outrage doesn’t work, they may try to show how they are, in their view, more deserving than others. They will not do so themselves, however; they will find a catspaw who will praise how deserving they are in grandiose terms (how much these types supposedly love, care, or feel). These claims will not be measurable (one person’s love against another, for example). Indeed, how could they be? Nonetheless, grandiosity will be their starting point.
Where they are, commentary & criticism will follow. Neither will stop until they do.
What is the smallest country in the world? Here’s its area:
City, Culture, Daily Bread, Local Government, School District, Technology
Daily Bread for 1.9.24: Awry Comes at You Fast
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be snowy with a high of 34. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:39 for 9h 15m 07s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 4.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s city hall and schools are closed today. Play responsibly.
On this day in 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco.
Yesterday’s post included a video of the successful launch of a private lunar lander (see US firm launches moon lander to space). Not long afterward, that mission went awry. Kenneth Chang reports American Company’s Spacecraft Malfunctions on Its Way to the Moon (‘After a flawless launch to orbit, the privately built robotic Peregrine lander is unlikely to reach the lunar surface because of a failure in its propulsion system’):
The first NASA-financed commercial mission to send a robotic spacecraft to the surface of the moon will most likely not be able to make it there.
The lunar lander, named Peregrine and built by Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, encountered problems shortly after it lifted off early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the rocket, a brand-new design named Vulcan, was flawless, successfully sending Peregrine on its journey.
But a failure in the lander’s propulsion system depleted its propellant and most likely ended the mission’s original lunar ambitions.
“The team is working to try and stabilize the loss, but given the situation, we have prioritized maximizing the science and data we can capture,” Astrobotic said in a statement. “We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.”
And there we are: awry comes at you fast. Foresight allows the avoidance of many problems, yet not all. For the unavoidable remainder, it’s “what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.”
Whitewater, historically, has never been adept at either foresight or alternative missions.
We can do much better.
South Korea passes bill to ban dog meat industry:
City, Daily Bread, Energy, Solar, Waste Digesters
Daily Bread for 1.8.24: Wisconsin’s Largest Solar Park Opens
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 36. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:38 for 9h 13m 48s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 10.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Planning Board meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1982, in the United States, AT&T agrees to the Breakup of the Bell System, divesting itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
Joe Schulz reports Wisconsin’s largest solar park is now fully operational, featuring 830K panels (‘Badger Hollow project will provide enough energy to power 90K homes’):
The largest solar project in Wisconsin history is now fully operational in Iowa County, its developers announced Thursday.
The second phase of the Badger Hollow Solar Park began powering homes and businesses last month. The first phase came online in December 2021.
Badger Hollow is a partnership of We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service and Madison Gas and Electric. The utilities say the 830,000-panel site will generate 300 megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power roughly 90,000 homes.
Officials say the panels used also capture solar energy on both sides, which could prove useful in the winter when the sun reflects off snow and onto the panels.
Some years ago, a former city manager in this town insisted that a waste digester, with the importation of manure into Whitewater, would be the ‘greenest’ possible project. He was wrong. After multiple expensive studies found the proposal lacking, the city abandoned a project it should never have considered.
When that municipal manager left, he insisted that ten years hence he would be proved right. He will never be proved right, as wrong cannot be made right. Twice since FREE WHITEWATER began publishing in 2007 efforts for a digester have been turned back. Whitewater will never be a place for the importation of other communities’ animal and human waste.
Those looking at green projects will find them in other forms of energy production, including smaller solar projects for this city.
US firm launches moon lander to space:
Music
Monday Music: Affelaye, Cold Open
by JOHN ADAMS •
Adventure, Cycling, Daily Bread
Daily Bread for 1.7.24: Blanco en Botella’s Re-Discover: One day trip on a gravel bike
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 35. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:37 for 9h 12m 33s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 17.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1610, Galileo writes of his observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following night.
Family Dog Eats Nearly $4,000:
Animals, Daily Bread, Good Ideas
Daily Bread for 1.6.24: A Capybara Spa Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Saturday in Whitewater will see flurries in the morning then cloudy skies with a high of 34. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:36 for 9h 11m 21s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 27.1% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in his State of the Union address.
The largest rodent in the world is a Capybara—and they are VERY cute. Native to South America, these semi-aquatic gentle giants are known for their peaceful, sociable personalities. But there’s something special about the Capybaras in Japan’s Izu Shaboten Zoo – here they live a pampered life, drawing crowds of people to see them.
Spending winter days relaxing in their personal onsen (hot bath), eating fruit they relish their time in the warm waters—an activity that has become a tradition in about 20 zoos across Japan since its accidental discovery in 1982. The Izu Shaboten Zoo, where we find ourselves in today’s Great Big Story, is particularly famous for this practice – sit back, relax and get cosy with these cute Capybaras.
Stunning auroras seen during Hurtigruten Coastal Express astronomy voyage:
America, Daily Bread, Economy, Employment
Daily Bread for 1.5.24: National Job Growth Remains Strong
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 35. Sunrise is 7:25 and sunset 4:35 for 9h 10m 13s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 35.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Community Development Authority will hold a Visioning & Planning Workshop at 11:30 AM.
On this day in 1781, Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by former American general, and traitor to our people, Benedict Arnold.
Talmon Joseph Smith reports U.S. Job Growth Remains Strong (‘The labor market showed continued resiliency in December, with employers adding 216,000 jobs last month, a sign that economic growth remains vigorous’):
The labor market ended the year with a bang.
Employers added 216,000 jobs in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, surpassing the expectations of economists.It was the 36th consecutive month of gains.
Altogether, the U.S. economy added roughly 2.7 million jobs over the past year. That’s a smaller gain than in 2021 or 2022, during the economy’s initial resurgence from the pandemic lockdowns. Yet the gains of 2023 are still stronger than those in the late 2010s.
The numbers are buoying expectations of what has been called a soft landing — in which the economy is able to avoid significant job loss while shifting into a calmer, more sustainable gear, after the years of disorienting volatility that began with the arrival of Covid-19 roughly four years ago.
Many experts caution that data for December is notoriously hard to calculate in any year because of the hiring churn caused by the holiday season.
The unemployment rate, based on a survey of households, was unchanged at 3.7 percent.
Average hourly earnings for workers — a common measure of wage gains — rose 0.4 percent from the previous month and were up 4.1 percent from December 2022.
Layoffs remain near record lows, beneath prepandemic levels.
A mixture of economic data in the past couple of months that appears neither too hot nor too cold has given a lift to both investors and policymakers at the Federal Reserve, who have been pleasantly surprised at the continuing balance between falling inflation and sustainable growth.
Freakishly Smart Falcons Run These [Falkland] Islands (‘The success of wild striated caracaras in a test suggests that the intellects of more bird species may be underestimated’):
Cats
Friday Catblogging: The World’s Deadliest Cat
by JOHN ADAMS •
View this post on Instagram
Justine McDaniel reports The world’s deadliest cat is deceptively cute. Meet Gaia:
She weighs less than three pounds, she makes you go aww, and she’s one of the best killers on the planet.
Gaia, an 8-month-old black-footed cat, is the newest resident at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. She’s part of an effort to conserve her at-risk breed — a pint-size powerhouse species whose hunting prowess makes it the world’s deadliest cat.
Adorably big-eyed and smaller than a house cat, black-footed cats are far more successful at hunting than lions. They can jump up to five feet in the air and 6½ feet in distance; they kill eight to 14 meals per night and can eat 3,000 rodents a year.
“They’re considered the fierce cat,” said Bob Cisneros, Hogle Zoo’s associate director of animal care, who described kitten Gaia as a “mighty warrior.”
“These guys are voracious hunters,” he said.
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