These flowers outside our front door inspire me to smile every morning.
April 2025
Suspicious.
Nope, this email doesn’t look suspicious at all.
Just for fun I did a search* on the phone number shown in the screenshot. Someone has gone out of their way to make sure the number comes up as a number one search result on Google. They’ve done this by opening a bunch of random Blogger.com accounts and pasting the number on a post, tying it to various entities that have tech leaning names.
I hope folks reading this realize that Google’s search results have really gone down the toilet and should not be trusted for accuracy. “But the algorithm!”
The same search on DuckDuckGo yields NONE of the blogger.com entries, which is a bit more encouraging, but it does lead to sites requiring payment for further information.
What I find most fascinating is that, at least to me, the email is blatantly a scam of some sort, but that so many people still fall for this sort of thing. I don’t want people to fall for these scams, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of initiative in the general public to foster some educational initiatives around these things.
When the “Information Highway” was picking up steam in the late 1990s I was excited about the exchange of information, after all, I had been engaged in the whole Internet thing for over a decade at that point.
I just didn’t think it would become such a source of disinformation.
*I refuse to use the term “googling” or “google it” when referring to a search activity. Google is an advertising company with shady practices when it comes to presenting honest search results. The faster “googling” falls out of the public lexicon, the better.
Hints.
Mother Nature continues to be on the extra dry side in 2025. I snapped this photo right after sunset because it was the first hint of anything other than a few clouds we’ve had since the beginning of the year. I posted it on the local Storm Chasers group saying, “there’s hope!”
I worry about thunderstorms they’re predicting for north of us later this week. With it being so dry, one wild lightning strike and there’s a good potential for a wild fire.
Let’s hope Mother Nature decides to mix in some precipitation soon.
A Subscription Economy Is Bad.
I also enjoy Jared Henderson’s content. In this video he outlines why a subscription economy is bad, and why we do not want to go into a world where we don’t own anything.
Music.
On Saturday night Earl and I went to see Reveille, the gay men’s chorus here in Tucson. It was our first time seeing the group. They were celebrating their 30th anniversary. The show was appropriately called XXX.
Roman numerals do their thing.
Prior to the festivities, Mayor Regina Romero gave a speech and presented the chorus with an official proclamation celebrating the anniversary. It was the first time I had seen the mayor in person. She is well spoken and seemed genuinely interested in the contributions of music from the group.
Overall the show was very good. My (aging) musician ears appreciated the melodies and harmonies, and even though the chorus advertises “any singing skill level as a requirement”, I would say they all sounded quite good. The chorus was joined in the second act by the Arizona Women’s Choir, who was also quite good.
I look forward to their fall shows later this year.
Video: Prepping for Storm Chasing
I put together my first “look at the forecast” video as I start getting ready for my storm chasing adventure in mid May.
Riverrock.
I have always enjoyed most of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural designs. Earl and I have toured by Taliesin, his home and studio in Wisconsin, and Taliesin West, his home and studio here in Arizona. In fact, we’ll probably be making a trip to Taliesin West soon because now I feel inspired.
I was happy to stumble across this article. “Final Usonian home” by Frank Lloyd Wright was completed earlier this year. Some modifications have to be made “under the skin” to bring the design into compliance with modern codes, but otherwise it’s true to the original design.
Creative Space.
As mentioned in my previous post, I am trying out a new (to me) camera in preparation for my storm chasing road trip coming up in May. I took this photo of the area just to the left of my main desktop monitor. I think it captures my vibe pretty well.
“The Daily Stoic” and the accompanying “The Daily Stoic Journal” are both parts of my morning routine. The wire bound journal is also part of the same routine.
And c’mon, everyone that knows Janeway knows she would be an excellent president. There’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Janeway.
Caturday.
I recently purchased a used Sony RX100 Mark V camera to add to the capture devices I use for my video and photographic adventures. Truman was a little confused that I wasn’t using my iPhone to snap his photo this morning. Unfortunately, since I was capturing photos instead of video, I was unable to get the rumble of his purrs as his favorite human (the one that dispenses the treats) paid him the attention a feline deserves.
Starlink.
Last night I was headed out after dark to meet Earl for a bite to eat. He and his trainer had gone to the movies to see a picture I wasn’t interested in (it was the latest vampire movie). They had a good time. I met Earl at a sports bar adjacent to the local theater.
On my way out something in the sky immediately caught my eye. I was excited to see a Starlink Train making its way to the satellites’ final position.
Not a bad photo for being snapped through the windshield of the car while stopped in the middle of the road.
As I was putting together this blog entry I found this website for tracking when Starling satellites may appear in the overhead skies. Sure enough, I timed last night’s pass just right.
There are nearly 4,800 Starlink satellites in orbit as I type this. The plan is to have as many as 42,000 satellites orbiting the Earth, providing a global communication network.
I worry about sky pollution and I have concerns about the impact of these satellites on astronomical observation activities. But I have to admit, seeing those satellites march across the sky is pretty awesome.
