Beautiful. That’s an impressive wingspan.

That’s a lot of tiny bones in what looks like a pretty short neck (at least from the outside). Also interesting how the blood flow works. You mentioned a little bit about that before, so I got curious and found this:

Also, it has recently been discovered that in the owl neck, one of the major arteries feeding the brain passes through bony holes in the vertebrae. These hollow cavities are approximately 10 times larger in diameter than the vertebral artery travelling through it. The extra space … creates a set of cushioning air pockets that allow the artery to move around when twisted.

Blood vessels at the base of the head, just under the jaw bone, can also act as contractile blood reservoirs, allowing owls to pool blood to meet the energy needs of their large brains and eyes, while they rotate their heads.

I would read that. It’s interesting to learn how other cultures see things. And I think learning about the not-so-pretty side of things isn’t anything to shy away from, personally. As long as it’s done tactfully, it’s a good way to get more context and learn how to interact with the world around us.

Like illegal timber cutting. It can be hard to appreciate how harmful that can be until you see it, and compare it to how a healthy forest looks. Or vultures, you have to learn about how they were hunted to extinction to really appreciate how neat it is to have them back. Or how wolves help keep Yellowstone healthy.

Plus there’s plenty of cute stuff around here to balance out the negatives.

Revenue pressure was even brought down to the level of nurses – some of whom say they have been pushed to charge for the smallest of items from Kleenexes to batteries. One 2022 email, obtained by the Guardian, shows a supervisor at Parkview DeKalb telling nurses that she had reviewed their charts for the week and found they had “missed” $50,000 in charges as a team. The following year, managers told staff to be more stringent about how many linen towels they handed out to patients – an initiative they termed “linen stewardship”.

…

This fiscal year it found roughly $140m to pour into capital projects across greater Fort Wayne – investments that, a Moody’s report from July noted, will help further its goal of regional expansion.

Also mentioned in the article…some hospitals have their own private police forces.

Beetle banks are particularly good at harbouring predatory beneficial insects such as ground beetles, ladybirds and spiders. When in close proximity to crops, the invertebrates will eat nearby pests.

Broad- and fine-leaved grasses can provide different functions within beetle banks. For example, tussock-forming grasses are important as overwintering sites for invertebrates, and herbs can be added for greater diversity.

I’d never heard of beetle banks before. Interesting article, definitely worth a read.

Aww. Looks like her fur is standing on end. But she’s pretty brave, getting so close to the Ungeheuer (monster). Nice to see her exploring her new home.

Here you go. Courtesy of Courthouse News.

I love that view, especially at night. Crazy how different (and barren) it used to look.

It’s a lot, but the sandwiches are huge. NYC is the only place I’ve been where the sandwiches are usually big enough for 2-3 people.

It’s also one of the cheaper cities to eat as a tourist. No need for restaurants, just grab a sandwich that lasts all day. Or cheap street food, or something from a hole in the wall. I love it there.

Yeah. Those keys on the piano are E and F. You can see those notes in the sheet music for the title track. Those long rows of notes are a bunch of E’s and F’s.

If you hit the play button in the bottom left corner, you can hear a computer-generated version of the song. Real version here.

I started learning a little about music theory. I’ve been interested for a while, but always thought I wouldn’t be able to understand it. But it’s doable, a little at a time.

And I’ve been going outside more. I spend too much time in front of the computer. It’s nice to have fresh air and read, listen to music, or just take in the surroundings.

And the newer threads (from the last 1-2 years) often just aren’t that helpful. Lots of people who don’t know what they’re talking about, or comment just to say they have the same problem.

I can usually get a helpful answer by trying a couple search engines or just fighting with Google, but it takes longer than it should sometimes.

Good posture also helps you breathe better, which can help you feel more energized and concentrate better. Your diaphragm doesn’t work right when you sit hunched over, so your breath gets more shallow.

If you ever need to talk a lot for work or some other reason, good posture is essential so your voice sounds good and doesn’t get tired too easily.

And it helps strengthen your core, which is good for balance and other things.

I like his earlier stuff when I’m in the mood for psychological horror. Carrie, The Shining, Cujo, Pet Sematary, The Green Mile.

The Dark Tower wasn’t for me. I agree with the other person who thought it was a slog.

Lisey’s Story is OK. I like the idea of it, but it’s taking me a while to finish it.

The Mr. Mercedes trilogy is a nice, fluffy read if you like detective stories.

Pünktchen is a very cute and fitting name.

Und doch verbleibt er die flauschige Zicke die ich immer lieben werde.

I love this sentence and your translation “sir floofs-a-lot.” He looks too cute to be a jerk, but I guess appearances can be deceiving :)

And wealthy or well-connected. If you’re poor, you don’t necessarily have much of a chance.

The link is a long read, but interesting. The story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 for supposedly setting a fire that killed his three kids.

In December, 2004, questions about the scientific evidence in the Willingham case began to surface. Maurice Possley and Steve Mills, of the Chicago Tribune, had published an investigative series on flaws in forensic science; upon learning of Hurst’s report, Possley and Mills asked three fire experts, including John Lentini, to examine the original investigation. The experts concurred with Hurst’s report. Nearly two years later, the Innocence Project commissioned Lentini and three other top fire investigators to conduct an independent review of the arson evidence in the Willingham case. The panel concluded that “each and every one” of the indicators of arson had been “scientifically proven to be invalid.”

Beautiful! What city is that near? And do you know if the mountains are always that red?

Facebook’s machine translation isn’t great. There’s nothing here that’s even remotely close to the word for “machete.” But the translator might have lost its mind because “Kauz” was misspelled (there’s no “t” in it). And sometimes unique names make the computer go crazy.

I couldn’t find any info about this particular owl, but my best guess would be some kind of conservation program. There are quite a few of those (for all kinds of animals) in the German-speaking countries.

This particular place is a nature park and raptor rescue near Frankfurt. Very cute little owl!

You get told it’s just pneumonia, but it keeps coming back for years.

Eventually someone figures it out and says you have mesothelioma. You travel the country for a few years, looking for treatment wherever you can. It costs everything you have.

Somewhere along the way, you have to put down $120,000 in cash for a surgery that gives you a few more years. But your last years are still mostly pain and exhaustion.

I wish my uncle hadn’t died the way he did.

For me, it would have to be something nice, but not so interesting that I want to stay awake (Ariadne auf Naxos). Or something I’ve heard a million times (The Magic Flute).

Beethoven has always been calming for me, so maybe Fidelio too.

If you’re looking for beautiful music, maybe Tosca or Rusalka.

There are others that I wouldn’t necessarily fall asleep to, like Don Carlo, Pagliacci, Rigoletto, or La Traviata. This is a pretty good list of some of the best known operas.