#seven lakes basin

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #35

Sep 20-27 2024

President Biden and Vice-President Harris announced new actions to curb gun violence at the one year anniversary of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The Office is the first ever White House office to deal with the issue of guns and has been overseen by the Vice-President. President Biden signed a new Executive Order aimed at combatting the emerging threat of machinegun conversion devices. These devices allow the conversion of semi-automatic firearms to a rate of fire that can match military machineguns, up to 20 bullets in one second. The EO also targets the threat of 3-D printed guns. The EO also addresses active schooler drills at schools. While almost every school conducts them there is little uniformity in how they are carried out, and no consensus on the most effective version of a drill. President Biden's EO directions the development of a research based active shooter drills, which maximize both student physical and mental safety.

President Biden celebrated the one year anniversary of the American Climate Corps and announced new Climate Corp programs. The Climate Corps has seen 15,000 young people connected to well paid jobs in clean energy and climate resilience jobs across America. The EPA and AmeriCorps announced a new Environmental Justice Climate Corps program which will connect 250 American Climate Corps members with local communities and over the next 3 help them achieve environmental justice projects. In addition HUD announced it will be the 8th federal agency to partner with the Climate Corp, opening the door to its involvement in Housing. Since its launch the American Climate Corp has inspired 14 states to launch their own state level version of the program, most recently just this week the New Jersey Climate Corps.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced that 4.2 million small business owners and self-employed people get their health insurance through the ACA marketplace. Up from 1.4 million ten years ago when President Obama and then Vice-President Biden rolled out the marketplaces. The self-employed are 3 times as likely as other Americans to use the marketplaces for their insurance, one out of every 5 getting coverage there. The ACA passed by President Obama, defended and expanded by President Biden, has freed millions of Americans to start their own businesses without fear of losing health coverage for them and their families.

The Departments of Transportation and Labor pressed freight railroad companies to close the gap and offer paid sick time to all their employees. Since 2022 under President Biden's leadership the number of Class I freight railroad employees who have access to paid sick days increased from 5% to 90%. Now the Biden-Harris Administration is pushing to finish the job and get coverage to the last 10%.

The EPA announced $965 million to help school districts buy clean energy buses. This comes on top of the 3 billion the EPA has already spent to bring clean energy buses to America's schools. So far the EPA has helped replace 8,700 school buses, across 1,300 school districts in all 50 states, DC, tribal nations, and US Territories. 95% of these buses are zero-emission, battery-electric. The clean bus program is responsible for over 2/3rds of the electric school buses on the road today.

The Biden-Harris Administration took another step forward in its historic efforts to protect the Colorado River System by signing 5 water conservation agreements with local water authorities in California and Arizona. The two short term agreements will conserve over 717,000 acre-feet of water by 2026. Collectively adding 10 feet to Lake Mead’s elevation by 2026. The Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 40 million people and fuels hydropower resources in seven U.S. states.

The Department of The Interior announced $254 million to help support local parks, the largest such investment in history. The money will go to 54 projects across 24 states hoping to redevelopment or create new parks.

HHS announced $1.5 billion to help combat opioid addiction and prevent opioid overdose deaths. The money will support state and tribal governments and help pay for mobile clinics, naloxone kits, and treatment centers. This comes as nationwide overdose rates drop for the first time since 2020, thanks to strong investment in harm reduction efforts by the Biden-Harris team.

The Department of Agriculture announced it'll spend $466.5 million in food assistance and development worldwide this year. Through its McGovern-Dole Program, the United States is the largest donor to global school feeding programs. The USDA will help feed 1.2 million children in Angola, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Laos, Malawi and Rwanda. Through its Food for Progress the USDA will help support 200,000 farmers in Benin, Cambodia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Tunisia shift to climate-smart agriculture boosting food security in those nations and the wider region.

At a meeting at the UN First Lady Jill Biden announced a partnership between USAID and UNICEF to end childhood exposer to lead worldwide. Lead exposure kills 1.5 million people each year, mostly in the developing world.

The Senate approved the appointment of Byron Conway to a federal judgeship in Wisconsin. This makes the 213th federal judge that President Biden has appointed.

[myjourneythroughfilm]

Seven Lakes Basin Camera: Nikon OneTouch Film: Kodak Portra 400

[paganimagevault]

Miscellaneous Hungarian archaeological items from the migration era, from the Urals to the Carpathians 9th-10th C. CE. Sources can be found on my blog, link at bottom.

The Magyars, as a nation, seem to have originated in the region of the Urals and Volga and their original territory covered a large amount of what is European Russia today. This region was known as Magna Hungaria or Ancient Hungary in the Middle Ages. In the 13th century Christian monks tried unsuccessfully to convert the Pagan inhabitants of Ancient Hungary, who they noted spoke the same language as the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin (will post more on this later). Now genetics show they were related too. Some of the Hungarians in the Carpathian region were found to be direct family members of these Uralic-based Hungarians according to this genetic study below. I grabbed some highlights of genetics article here and included some archaeological image finds:

"Two recent articles have investigated the Y-haplogroup variability of Hungarian conquerors describing the conqueror’s elite population as heterogenous, with significant proportion of European, Finno-Permic, Caucasian and Siberian (or East Eurasian) paternal lineages. Fóthi et al. have claimed that the Hungarian conquerors originated from three distant sources: Inner Asia (Lake Baikal – Altai Mountains), Western Siberia – Southern Urals (Finno-Ugric peoples) and the Black Sea – Northern Caucasus (Northern Caucasian Turks, Alans, and Eastern Europeans). Both studies pointed out the presence of the Y-haplogroup N-Z1936 (also known as N3a4-Z1936 under N-Tat/M46), which is frequent among Finno-Ugric speaking peoples.

...The genetic connection of Uyelgi cemetery in the Trans-Ural and 10th century Hungarian conquerors in the Carpathian Basin is supposed by close maternal relationships of the following individuals: Uyelgi3 from Kurgan 28 of the youngest horizon and three Hungarian conquerors from Karos II cemetery have identical U4d2 mitogenome haplotype (Supplementary Fig. S4p). Furthermore, the mtDNA A12a lineage of Hconq3 (30-40 years old woman from Harta cemetery dated to the first half of 10th century AD) is an ancestor of the mtDNA lineage of Uyelgi7 (from Kurgan 30 of the youngest horizon of the cemetery) based on the A12a haplogroup tree (see Supplementary Fig. S4a).

The mentioned graves from Uylegi show the characteristic of the Srostki culture, where the gilt silver mounts with plant ornaments were typical, and which was disseminated from the Siberian Minusinsk Depression and the Altai region through the Baraba Steppe and North-Kazakhstan to the Trans-Ural region (Fig. 1).

The connection of Uyelgi cemetery and Hungarian conquerors is visible on the N1a1a1a1a branch of the tree of haplogroup N1a1 too, that was prevalent among the ancient Hungarians (Fig. 5). Here seven Hungarian conqueror samples from cemeteries Kenézlő-Fazekaszug, Orosháza-Görbicstanya and Karos-Eperjesszög clustered together on one branch, while the five Uyelgi samples from the earliest and latest horizons are located together next to this branch.

Majority of Uyelgi males belonged to Y chromosome haplogroup N, and according to combined STR, SNP and Network analyses they belong to the same subclade within N-M46 (also known as N-tat and N1a1-M46 in ISOGG 14.255). N-M46 nowadays is a geographically widely distributed paternal lineage from East of Siberia to Scandinavia. One of its subclades is N-Z1936 (also known as N3a4 and N1a1a1a1a2 in ISOGG 14.255), which is prominent among Uralic speaking populations, probably originated from the Ural region as well and mainly distributed from the West of Ural Mountains to Scandinavia (Finland). Seven samples of Uyelgi site most probably belong to N-Y24365 (also known as N-B545 and N1a1a1a1a2a1c2 in ISOGG 14.255) under N-Z1936, a specific subclade that can be found almost exclusively in todays’ Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Hungary (ISOGG, Yfull)."

-Early Medieval Genetic Data from Ural Region Evaluated in the Light of Archaeological Evidence of Ancient Hungarians

[rjzimmerman]

President Biden was good at many things, including an amazing ability to fiddle-fuck around and slow walk important projects. Hence, we're stuck, again, with the right-wing MAGA cult and its leader that will delay again important actions, such as allocation of water from the Colorado River.

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

The Biden administration on Wednesday released four alternatives to address the drought-stricken Colorado River’s water shortages, giving seven states, 30 tribes and the 40 million people who rely on the river a taste of how the vital waterway will be managed in the coming decades. 

But the announcement offers little in the way of hard details, with a draft environmental impact statement analyzing the impacts of the Department of Interior’s proposed alternatives pushed back to next year. The states, meanwhile, remain divided over the path forward to deal with shortages on the river. Over the past year, the seven Colorado River Basin states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming—along with tribes and the federal governments have been in negotiations over the “Post-2026 Operations” for the river that will dictate how to deal with water shortages. The river’s current drought guidelines, drafted in 2007, will expire at the end of 2026. 

“We continue to support and encourage all partners as they work toward another consensus agreement that will both protect the long-term stability of the Colorado River Basin and meet the needs of all communities,” said Laura Daniel-Davis, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Interior. “The alternatives we have put forth today establish a robust and fair framework for a Basin-wide agreement. As this process moves forward, the Biden-Harris administration has laid the foundation to ensure that these future guidelines and strategies can withstand any uncertainty ahead, and ultimately provide greater stability to the 40 million water users and the public throughout the Colorado River Basin.” 

The river that enabled the Southwest’s rapid growth and vital agricultural production has seen its flows diminished roughly 20 percent over the past two decades by a megadrought. Climate change and years of overuse of the river’s resources have led the system’s massive reservoirs—lakes Mead and Powell—to fall to just a third of their capacities. That prompted steep cuts in allocations of the river’s water to Arizona, California and Nevada, and tense negotiations over its future. Further declines at the reservoirs could cause their respective dams to reach minimum power pool, where they can no longer generate electricity, or dead pool, when the water drops too low to flow through the concrete dams’ plumbing.

The Colorado River Basin is regulatorily split in two. The Upper Basin consists of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. The Lower Basin is composed of Arizona, California and Nevada, which historically has used more of the river. Under the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which divided up the river’s resources and is the bedrock document for how it is governed, the Upper Basin is required to allow the Lower Basin states’ allocation of water to flow downstream before it can use its half of the river. If the Upper Basin fails to send the required amount of water, its own allocation could be cut. 

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

The Inexhaustible / 尽きざるもの and the Lance of Ruin / 破裂の槍

The Inexhaustible is a sacred bow tied to the Crest of Indech, guarded by The Immovable at Lake Teutates. In Japanese, this weapon is instead called 尽きざるもの (rōmaji: tsukizarumono), meaning "something unending" or "something inexhaustible". This is one of five weapons in the game that, in both the original Japanese and all subsequent translations, seemingly are just generic names, rather than being named after something specific. However, all of these weapons, in fact, indirectly make reference to mythological objects and concepts. In the case of The Inexhaustible, it is derived from the coire ansic, the cauldron of The Dagda and one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann alongside the Spear of Lugh. Originally residing in the city of Muirias, the coire ansic—translated as either "the un-dry cauldron" or "the Cauldron of Plenty"—was capable of healing and reviving any to enter its basin. It was also said to be incapable of leaving someone unsatisfied: it would produce an unlimited amount of food so everyone present can eat their fill. There's even an article about The Dagda that specifically describes the coire ansic as "inexhaustible," though that was written in 2021. In Japanese sources, The Dagda's cauldron has been described as "なくならない食料庫" (rōmaji: nakunaranai shokuryо̄ko), meaning "a food storage that can't be used up." Though the wording is different, it still means the same thing: inexhaustible.

There is one other weapon with an indirect reference to Irish mythology: the Lance of Ruin, the Hero's Relic tied to the Crest of Gautier. In Japanese, the name is 破裂の槍 (rōmaji: haretsu no yari); the Japanese character の (no) is both a means of indicating possession (like the English of) or to change the preceding noun into a modifier of the anteceding noun. As such, 破裂の槍 could be read as "Lance of Explosions/Ruptures" or "Explosion/Rupture Lance" To further define the Japanese 破裂, it can refer to when something splits or bursts due to internal pressure, not necessarily a huge blast like our word "explosion" suggests. This lance is most likely named after the legendary Gáe Bulg[a], the spear of the Ulster hero Cú Chulainn. It is carved from the bones of a sea monster, and could only used in a convoluted set-up: the spear must be set for use in a stream by another, then caught and casted by the user's toes. When the Gáe Bulg[a] pierces, the tip splits into countless barbs that fill the body. In some stories, a specific number of barbs is given; this can be as little as seven to a total of thirty. The barbs are so numerous that the spear must be cut out from the target. Though the exact meaning of bulga in Gáe Bulg[a] is uncertain, one theory is that it comes from the Old Irish bolc, meaning "notch" or "breach", in reference to the speartip's splitting. This interpretation of the name is frequently translated into Japanese as 破裂する槍 (rōmaji: haretsusuru yari): "Rupturing Lance". This rendering is even used as an attack for the Gae Bulg's appearance in Granblue Fantasy, localized as "Burst Spear.

The combat art for the Lance of Ruin, Ruptured Sky initially seems disconnected to the Gáe Bulg[a] beyond using the word "ruptured." The same can be said for the Japanese name, as 裂空 (rōmaji: rekkū) carries the same meaning. However, the name loosely references what seems to be an instant of misinformation pervading Japanese records of Irish mythology. In every Japanese article regarding the Gáe Bulg[a] examined for this post, it is said that when the spear is thrown, the blade would burst into a rain of arrowheads. This is contrasted by ritual-like use of the Gáe Bulg[a] always involving the spear being cast, and numerous English-or-Irish-written articles read for this post that make no mention of this. After inspecting the history of the Japanese Wikipedia article, it seems that from the conception of the page, elements of this claim were present; the earliest version, published on January 9th, 2004, reads as follows:

"ゲイボルグ（Gaybolg）は、ケルト神話の英雄ク・ホリン（クーフーリン、cu chulainn）の持つ魔法の投槍。

ひとたび投げれば多数の穂先が降り注ぎ、必ず敵に命中するといわれる。"

"Gaybolg is a magic javelin owned by the hero Cu Chulainn in Celtic mythology.

It is said that, when thrown, a great number of spearheads fall like rain, and they always strike the enemy."

Given the timing, it's suspected that this article was made in reaction to the visual novel Fate/stay night, which released a demo in October of 2003 and the full release on January 30th of 2004. In the game, Cú Chulainn appears as a character alongside the Gáe Bolg. One of the lance's most powerful attacks has him leap into the air and hurl it at the target; as quoted on the Type-Moon wikia, it is the “attack that unleashes countless darts at the enemy” and "It distorts space to create a 'tapestry of action' that splits into numerous spearheads that pours down over the enemy." The wording is rather damning of the original Wikipedia article. That being said, Fate series fans contacted during the making of this post claim that no such description of the weapon is within Fate/stay night itself. That initial Wikipedia article was still likely influenced by the visual novel, creating a very similar situation to what happened with Genealogy of the Holy War's Ichii-bal in the West.

So if you ever encounter the Gáe Bulg[a] in Japanese media that associates it with air (or why Ruptured Sky is effective against Fliers), now you know to thank the Fate series and the fellow that created the Japanese Wikipedia article for establishing this trend. It's almost ironic that Genealogy of the Holy War's Gae Bolg is instead associated with the earth.

This was a segment from a larger document reviewing the name of most every weapon and item in Three Houses and Three Hopes. Click Here to read it in full.

[charlesandmartine]

Saturday 23rd November 2024

Hughenden, Qld, not to be confused with the Tudor pile in Buckinghamshire once inhabited by Benjamin Disraelie, former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland, is a small town, population 1,113, built on the banks of the Flinders River in Flinders Shire. Originally home to the Jirandali people's for 11,000 years when it was known as Mokana. The Americans had a munitions dump in Torrens Creek not far from here in WW2. That was before they realised or knew of the dangers of bush fires. Inevitably, there was one which they thought they had put out. They all dashed back to camp for doughnuts, and the whole thing went up again, causing 12 huge explosions and craters 20 feet deep. I guess that unearthed a few fossils! This, after all, is also home to Hughie, the seven metre tall skeletal Muttaburrasaurus. Strangely enough, it's not just the Americans who have had difficulties in the fire department. Walking along the High St yesterday, shop after shop and most hotels, have all burnt down at one time or another, or indeed in synchrony. It's the dry timber in which they are constructed and kitchens, apparently. They almost seem to demonstrate a pride in these events, like keeping some form of morbid score! Oh, ours has burnt down more times than yours!

It was a nice thought as we planned our day to take a leisurely stroll along the Flinders River bank. What could be more pleasant on a hot day to feel the breeze across the water. That presupposes that there is water in the river. In our case, tidy as it was with a flat dried mud basin with no supermarket trollies or rusty bicycles poking through, the river was bone dry with tinder dry parched grassy banks. We perambulated, however, as though it was flowing as it shall undoubtedly do in a few weeks' time. Before we reached the empty road bridge, there was a causeway bravely striking a direct footpath across the riverbed, normally obscured in the wet season. Tempted across this thoroughfare to the far bank we continued on along a footpath, which led us to one of the defining features of this town, the coolabah tree. This had a barrier placed around it to isolate it whilst its health improves, because this isn't any coolabah tree, this is the one that both William Landsborough in 1862 and Frederick Walker in 1861 carved their mark whilst searching for Burke and Wills. Yep, still lost.

This certainly is a very tidy town, with many instances of street art. Even the public conveniences are painted with murals, making a sharp contrast with the personalised graffiti often seen on UK public toilets. Wide streets abound, so wide it can be quite confusing as to where you are expected to drive. And these are very quiet roads with so little traffic. You wonder if they were planning for an expansion of the town that never happened and is still unlikely to occur. Shaded verandahed shops in the high street are for sale or rental. Shops such as butchers and bakers. This is not a good sign, and yet building plots are for sale wedged between prefabricated homes.

It was something of a lazy afternoon reading and resting in the sunshine before nipping out for some Coopers Pale Ale from the drive-through BottleO which we unashamedly consumed whilst the parakeets, butcher birds and cockatoos screeched their way through sunset.

Busy day tomorrow; it's off to the lakes. Just got to finish a bottle of SB tonight and watch a film.

ps. This town even has a Bowling Club

pps. With the dark skies, we've been trying to identify the Southern Cross constellation, and we think we've spotted it. Firstly, it is very odd not to see the Plough. Secondly, the Cross doesn't stand out so well, especially on a dark sky, because there are too many other stars visible.

ppps. We can easily spot Orion with his belt.

[mykneeshurt]

Mister Morgan - Chapter 6

Arthur Morgan x F!reader

All warnings are on the title page

Chapter seven

A Few Weeks later

Taking a long drag of a cigarette you looked out across Flat Iron Lake, the sun was setting and the sky emitted a gorgeous orange and pink hue. You felt like you were fitting in well with this gang of outlaws, Karen had taken a particular shine to you, she finally found another woman who could keep up with her drinking. Much to Sean’s envy, he was definitely sweet on Karen not that he would admit it.

You’d grown particularly close to Charles as you’d both go out hunting together to get away from camp, a quiet man who didn’t say too much but that’s how you liked it. He taught you how to use a bow and arrow and your tracking skills were getting better each time you ventured out. Charles would let you vent to him when you felt overwhelmed by the camp atmosphere, which could be tense at times courtesy of Dutch and his master plans as well as Miss Grimshaw barking her orders.

Arthur slid his hand in around your waist and pulled you close placing a tender peck on your forehead. ‘You ok sweetheart? Lookin’ a lil lost.’

“I’m fine Arthur, just having a breather from Pearson. I swear that man doesn’t know what seasoning is.”

“Yeah probably not.” He chuckled. You didn’t get to spend much time with Arthur due to how busy camp was so you’ sneak away to have a quick kiss and quiet moment to yourselves when you could. “He asks me to help him cook, so I do, then shouts at me.” You rolled your eyes. “And if I have to hear one more story about the pissin’ Navy again I’ll cry.”

Arthur laughed “you’re doin well, Grimshaw is impressed with how much you help out. Charles is even more impressed at how well you’re picking up huntin’ and trackin’.”

“I used to hunt with my father sometimes, not a huge fan of it but needs to be done. Quite the marksman when I wanna be.” You winked. Arthur raised an eyebrow and smiled. You knew he was competitive and he enjoyed having friendly competitions with you. “I’ll bare that in mind” he smiled. Letting out a big sigh you gave Arthur a quick kiss on the cheek before trailing your hand down his arm to his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. “I best get back to that insufferable oaf” you said pulling a face. Arthur nodded and returned the squeeze on your hand.

After an agonising hour persuading Pearson to let you add Oregano and Thyme to the stew it was finally ready. Much to Pearson’s dismay you received a lot of compliments about adding the extra herbs to enhance the flavour. “No hard feelings Pearson.” You said as you bumped his shoulder. He huffed “guess not, it is good. You can wash up though.”

“Yes dear” you sighed sarcastically. You got up to take the bowls over to the wash bucket. Which was empty. Perfect you thought. Another chore that wasn’t done today. You took the bucket to the lake to fill, after filling it you hobbled back to camp.

Sean rushed over seeing you were struggling “here, let me take dat. Don’t wan t’ see a lady strugglin’” his thick Irish accent was music to your ears. “You know me da always used to say …” You cut him off quickly, slamming your hand to his mouth. “No Sean, not your da” you laughed. Sean had a habit of always bringing absurd stories of his father up during conversation, it always took a lot of energy to keep up with those stories. Energy you didn’t have tonight.

You emptied the water into the tin basin and began washing, other members of the gang were already sat by one of the fires having a drink. Arthur poked his head around the back of the wagon “there you are, wondered where you got to.”

“Missin’ me were you? I won’t be long I’m almost finished.” You reassured. Arthur smiled and walked over to help you finish the dishes, “what did you get up too today? You were gone when I woke up this mornin’” you asked.

“Aw Dutch got us scouting out these two families down here, the Braithwaites and Greys. Somethin’ about a family feud between the two and a pot of gold. I dunno. One of Dutch’s plans again” he shrugged. “We’re goin’ back into Rhodes in the mornin’, says he’s got a meetin’ with Sheriff Grey” he rolled his eyes.

You looked up and grimaced.“Just be careful? Nothing good ever comes from meddlin’.” Arthur placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze “Course darlin’.” With two of you doing the dishes they were finished in no time.

You both walked over to the fire where Javier was singing with his guitar, he had a beautiful voice. As you sat down on the log Arthur handed you a beer and sat next to you but not too close that people would start asking questions. The fire seemingly danced along in time to Javier strumming the guitar strings, you found yourself zoning out staring into the flames. It was only when Micah opened his mouth did you snap back to reality. “I see the O’Driscoll whore is still with us” he sneered.

“You shut your mouth!” Arthur growled.

“I’m just sayin’. How can we trust her? Really? She spent years with the O’Driscolls and suddenly she’s welcome? Don’t recall you acceptin’ Kieron so easy Morgan. Is it cause she sucks your dick?” Arthur flew up out of his seat, muscles trembling with pure rage ready to punch Micah.

Placing your hand on his arm you gripped him tightly and pulled him to sit back down while you stared right at Micah. Arthur responded to your touch and lowered himself back onto the log. “Enough Micah” Dutch bellowed “she has pulled more than her weight around here, now you would do right by keepin’ your mouth shut.”

You weren’t sure what to make of Dutch, everyone seemed to gravitate towards him hanging off every word he said. He was charismatic, you’d give him that, but something about him didn’t sit right with you. Micah backed off and went back to his tent.

Javier, Charles and Karen all asked if you were ok and agreed Micah was a dick. You reassured them all you were fine and it would take more than a few comments to upset you. Smiling you reached for another beer before taking a swig “I’m gonna go for a walk, I won’t be long.”

The air in Lemoyne was thick and sticky, the only relief you got was at night when the humidity seemed to lessen. You sat down on the sand and dipped your toes in the lake to cool off, the stars were beautiful, gleaming down on you. The muffled noise of camp was the perfect ambiance to enjoy your beer too, sometimes you needed some space on your own to de-compress.

You heard soft footsteps coming up behind you “mind if I join you?” You smiled at the sound of Arthurs voice it brought a comfort to you, one you hadn’t felt since your father was alive. You patted the sand next you. Arthur sat down straightening out his one leg and resting his arm on the other bent leg, he looked out across the lake the brow of his hat hiding his face. “Arthur I’m fine” you reassured “will take more than that pissant making some comments to upset me.”

He reached over and held your hand giving it a firm squeeze ‘I know, I know. I just … I don’t like when women get spoken to like that. Let alone you.” You turned to face him somewhat surprised at his response. “Let alone me?” you repeated confused.

He finally turned his head to face you “especially you” he grinned. You could sense where this conversation was going “oh, especially me? Hmmm ok” you flashed him a cheeky smile. Placing a hand on his thigh you repositioned yourself to kneel in front of him.

He reached up and grabbed the nape of his neck blushing “yeah, well I guess I’m kinda fond of you. Care about you n’all.” You flicked his hat off onto the floor, the moonlight illuminated his face, his blue eyes fixed on yours, his cheeks were still burning red.

“I like you too Arthur, quite a lot actually.” With one hand on his thigh you brought your other to his face cradling his cheek and ran your fingers gently over the scars peeking through his thick stubble. You both lent in at the same time and met each other’s lips in a passionate kiss, he brought his hand to the nape of your neck cradling the bottom of your head.

The two of you got lost in each other’s embrace, he smelt so good, tobacco, sage and a hint of soap. He broke off from your lips and trailed kisses down your jaw onto your neck and onto your collarbone. He let out a muffled groan against your skin which made your stomach drop in pure anticipation, he nipped gently at your neck as he worked his way back up to your lips.

You untucked his shirt and slowly worked your hand up his bare torso making sure to feel every inch of skin, every scar, and every crevice of his muscles. He let out a sigh against your lips “goddamn”. The pure need in his voice was ecstasy to you, you could feel how tense his body was how he needed you right now. “Mmmmm …” you let out a groan of your own “not now cowboy” you teased. You could see the pure sexual frustration flash across his face as he let out an exasperated sigh. “You’ll be the death of me woman” he said biting his lip. You placed your hand on your chest and fluttered your eyelashes “who lil ol me?”

“Yes you!” Arthur laughed, as you went to get up he pulled by you down onto his lap “give it a minute” he cooed. You bit the inside of your cheek. “You just taste so good. I can’t wait to taste the rest of you.”

Your heart stopped. Your stomach dropped. Flustered wasn’t the word to describe how you felt at those words. He lent in and pulled your head back to rest on his shoulder exposing your neck. He slowly trailed his hand up your torso to your throat and applied pressure. He groaned in your ear ever so softly. You felt yourself tense, he did too, he moved his other hand to your lips and brushed his thumb over them gently. “I respect you, I ain gonna do nothin till you tell me I can. When that time comes, I know you’ll be a good girl for me” he purred.

With that he slid you off his knee and got to his feet and offered you his hand. You were completely speechless smiling ear to ear and a deep colour of crimson. Taking his hand you stood up, Arthur took your hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on your knuckles. “Two can play at that game” he whispered. Your insides tightened. “Let’s get back darlin’ they’re gonna wonder where we are.” He flashed you a wicked grin. Holding hands you walked back to camp, Javier still singing around the campfire. “I’ll …. Um, I’ll see you in the morning Arthur” you blushed. “Night darlin’” he winked.

The morning sun peeked through the flap in your tent rousing you from your sleep. The men had already left camp to head into Rhodes. “Ah there you are!” It was Kieron, you knew him from when he was with the O’Driscolls. “Mornin’ Kieron” you smiled warmly “what can I help you with?”

“Do you have any Burdock? Need to make some medicine for the horses, I ran out n you can never have enough.”

“Sorry Kieron I don’t, I’m happy to go find you some though. Any excuse to get out of here, I know where some grows.” Kieron smiled and carried on tending to the horses.

Saddling up Taliesin you set out into Scarlett Medows, enjoying the freedom from Miss Grimshaws endless tasks as well as Pearson and Sadies endless arguments. There was a small shack by the lake where the Burdock grew, it was close enough to camp that it shouldn’t take too long.

Riding along the dirt track you replayed the previous night with Arthur over and over, enjoying the feeling all over again. It didn’t take long to get to the Burdock patch, jumping down you gathered as much as you could fit into your satchel. There wasn’t a cloud in sight and the morning sun grew more hot, would be a sin to waste weather like this.

You pulled out your book and sat against a rock to read. Before you knew it time had passed and it was coming up to midday. Miss Grimshaw was going to lose her shit “chores to be done miss!” Her voice echoed in your head. You got up and dusted yourself off, hauled yourself onto Taliesin and set off back to camp.

A man in the distance shouted your name. You didn’t recognise his voice, turning round on your saddle your heart dropped. It was an O’Driscoll. “You know Colm is missin you dearly. Wants us to bring you back.” Two more men appeared from behind a rock and stood in-front of you.

Your chest began to feel tight, it was hard to breath. “Think you should come with us, save us some trouble.” Your hand twitched, slowly reaching down to your volcanic pistol which was lying dormant in its holster. You pulled the pistol out and managed to get a lucky head shot on one of them. “Fuckin bitch!”

Taliesin bucked which sent you crashing to the floor, you landed in a heap as Taliesin galloped off into the distance. As you looked up you saw the butt of a rifle coming to meet your face. The blunt force didn’t knock you unconscious by some divine miracle, but it made everything hazy and blurry. Their muffled voices above you sounded angry but panicked. Shaking from the pure adrenaline pumping through your body you lifted up your pistol and shot again, hitting one in the stomach.

The last O’Driscoll pounced on you his hands around your neck trying to squeeze the very life from you. You couldn’t reach the knife you kept stowed in your boot, you tried to scream until your throat was hoarse with pain. Darkness started to take hold as you gasped for air when a distant shot rang out and the O’Driscoll collapsed onto you. You let out a scream so powerful your vocal cords gave out. A scream of pure fear and frustration. The muffled noise of horse hooves approached, you tried desperately to cling to consciousness, but to no avail. As you drifted into darkness you could only hold out hope that the person approaching wasn’t another O’Driscoll.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Tyre Nichols’ brutal beating (AP) Authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by five Memphis police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother. The video is filled with violent moments showing the officers, who are also Black, chasing and pummeling Nichols and leaving him on the pavement propped against a squad car as they fist-bump and celebrate their actions. The footage emerged one day after the officers were charged with murder in Nichols’ death. The chilling images of another Black man dying at the hands of police renewed tough questions about how fatal encounters with law enforcement continue even after repeated calls for change. Protesters gathered for mostly peaceful demonstrations in multiple cities, including Memphis.

As the Colorado River Shrinks, Washington Prepares to Spread the Pain (NYT) The seven states that rely on water from the shrinking Colorado River are unlikely to agree to voluntarily make deep reductions in their water use, negotiators say, which would force the federal government to impose cuts for the first time in the water supply for 40 million Americans. The Interior Department had asked the states to voluntarily come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to collectively cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado. The demand for those cuts, on a scale without parallel in American history, was prompted by precipitous declines in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which provide water and electricity for Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Drought, climate change and population growth have caused water levels in the lakes to plummet. “Think of the Colorado River Basin as a slow-motion disaster,” said Kevin Moran, who directs state and federal water policy advocacy at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re really at a moment of reckoning.” Negotiators say the odds of a voluntary agreement appear slim. It would be the second time in six months that the Colorado River states, which also include Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, have missed a deadline for consensus on cuts sought by the Biden administration to avoid a catastrophic failure of the river system.

Parenting worries (Pew Research Center) In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid reports of a growing youth mental health crisis, four-in-ten U.S. parents with children younger than 18 say they are extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point. In fact, mental health concerns top the list of parental worries, followed by 35% who are similarly concerned about their children being bullied, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. These items trump parents’ concerns about certain physical threats to their children, the dangers of drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy and getting in trouble with the police. In a nod to the adage about family life that parenting is the hardest job in the world, most parents (62%) say being a parent has been at least somewhat harder than they expected, with about a quarter (26%) saying it’s been a lot harder. This is especially true of mothers, 30% of whom say being a parent has been a lot harder than they expected (compared with 20% of fathers).

How to fix a howitzer: US offers help line to Ukraine troops (AP) On the front lines in Ukraine, a soldier was having trouble firing his 155 mm howitzer gun. So, he turned to a team of Americans on the other end of his phone line for help. “What do I do?” he asked the U.S. military team member, miles away at a base in southeastern Poland. “What are my options?” Using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms, a rapidly growing group of U.S. and allied troops and contractors are providing real-time maintenance advice—usually speaking through interpreters—to Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. In a quick response, the U.S. team member told the Ukrainian to remove the gun’s breech at the rear of the howitzer, and manually prime the firing pin so the gun could fire. He did it and it worked. The exchange is part of an expanding U.S. military help line aimed at providing repair advice to Ukrainian forces in the heat of battle. As the U.S. and other allies send more and increasingly complex and high-tech weapons to Ukraine, demands are spiking. And since no U.S. or other NATO nations will send troops into the country to provide hands-on assistance—amid worries about being drawn into a direct conflict with Russia—they’ve turned to virtual chatrooms.

Facing hardest election yet, Turkey’s Erdogan woos voters with ‘good news’ (Washington Post) Facing a difficult election in just a few months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unleashed a wave of public spending—to help the millions in his country reeling from economic hardship, and to ensure their votes go his way. The enticements—aimed at students, working people and business owners, commuters and others—have included tax relief, cheap loans, energy subsidies and even pledges not to raise road and bridge tolls. Their rapid rollout has highlighted the electoral stakes for Erdogan, a popular leader who has dominated Turkey’s politics for two decades and assumed a pivotal mediating role during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Despite his stature, at home and abroad, he finds himself more vulnerable to opposition challenge than ever before, as a public battered by historically high inflation is, in many quarters, clamoring for change. “The economy is eating into his base,” said Berk Esen, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Sabanci University. The president and his ruling Justice and Development Party have suffered an erosion of popular support during a long economic crisis marked by spiking household prices and the collapse of the currency.

Business empire of Asia’s richest man hit by sell-off after fraud report (Washington Post) Shares of the Adani Group, the Indian energy and infrastructure conglomerate headed by one of the world’s richest men, Gautam Adani, plummeted Friday after a U.S. research firm published extensive allegations of fraud that rocked business circles in the world’s fifth-largest economy. The sell-off, which triggered Indian markets to halt trading on several Adani subsidiaries, came three days after Hindenburg Research, a short-seller firm based in New York, published a lengthy report that accused Adani of, among other things, artificially boosting his share prices over several decades by using a network of overseas shell companies linked to his family members. The firm said it believed Adani companies were dangerously indebted and its stock prices were overvalued by more than 80 percent. By the end of Friday, shares in Adani Enterprises, the group’s umbrella holding company, fell by more than 18 percent, while several other subsidiaries, including Adani’s renewable energy and electricity transmission businesses, fell by 20 percent. The seven publicly traded Adani companies lost roughly a combined $50 billion in market capitalization this week, according to Bloomberg News. The Hindenburg report and resulting stock collapse has dented the image of India’s leading business titan, a self-made billionaire. Until this week, Adani’s net worth seemed to grow exponentially, rising from $9 billion in 2020 to $127 billion in December, making him at one point the world’s second-richest person.

U.S. general warns troops that war with China is possible in two years (Washington Post) China could be at war with the United States two years from now, a top Air Force general predicted in a bombastic and unusual memo to troops under his command, asserting a shorter timeline before potential conflict than other senior U.S. defense officials. Gen. Michael A. Minihan, who as head of Air Mobility Command oversees the service’s fleet of transport and refueling aircraft, warned personnel to speed their preparations for a potential conflict, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aspirations and the possibility that Americans will not be paying attention until it is too late. “I hope I am wrong,” Minihan wrote. “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.” A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that Minihan’s comments “are not representative of the department’s view on China.”

Holiday trips within China surge after lifting of COVID curbs (Reuters) Lunar New Year holiday trips inside China surged 74% from last year after authorities scrapped COVID-19 curbs that had stifled travel for three years, media reported on Saturday. The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year in China, when huge numbers of people working in prosperous coastal cities head to their hometowns and villages for family reunions. But for three years people were told not to travel during the holiday, with those who insisted facing the risk of snap lockdowns, multiple COVID tests, quarantine and even admonishment by their work units. An estimated 226 million domestic trips were made by all means including plane during the holiday week that ended on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing government figures.

Jerusalem attacks (AP) A Palestinian gunman opened fire in east Jerusalem on Saturday, wounding at least two people, less than a day after another assailant killed seven outside a synagogue in the deadliest attack in the city since 2008. Police shot the attacker, but there was no immediate word on his condition. Saturday’s events raised the possibility of even greater conflagration in one of the bloodiest months in Israel and the occupied West Bank in several years. On Friday, a Palestinian gunman killed at least seven people in a Jewish settlement with a large ultra-Orthodox population in east Jerusalem, including a 70-year-old woman. The events pose pivotal test for Israel’s new far-right government. Its firebrand minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has presented himself as an enforcer of law and order and grabbed headlines for his promises to take even stronger action against the Palestinians.

Wheelchair users in Africa await pope (AP) When Pope Francis arrives in Congo and South Sudan next week, thousands of people will take special note of a gesture more grounded than the sign of the cross. Watching from their wheelchairs, they will relate to the way he uses his. The pope, who began using a wheelchair last year, is visiting two countries where years of conflict have disabled many, and yet they are among the world’s most difficult places to find accessibility and understanding. His visit is heartening Catholics and non-Catholics alike. “We know that it’s a suffering, but it also comforts us to see a grand personality like the pope using a wheelchair,” said Paul Mitemberezi, a market vendor in Goma, at the heart of the eastern Congo region threatened by dozens of armed groups. “Sometimes it gives us the courage to hope that this isn’t the end of the world and one can survive.” Mitemberezi, a Catholic and a father, has been disabled since he was 3 because of polio. Francis has insisted that his mobility limitations don’t affect his ability to be pope, saying “You lead with your head, not your knee.” He has lamented how today’s “throwaway culture” wrongly marginalizes disabled people. He makes it a point to visit places serving the disabled during his foreign trips, and routinely spends time greeting wheelchair users at the end of his general audiences.

Washboards (WSJ) The Columbus Washboard Company is the last manufacturer of washboards in America, having successfully navigated the past 128 years and deftly avoiding the washing machine-related doom that befell its once rivals. They sell 11,000 washboards a year, with one model going for $27.49, down from a million boards per year in the 1940s when the craft peaked. Their utter domination of the market is in no small part thanks to folk music, where percussionists account for about 40 percent of their sales.

[cosmiccerebellum]

Sea lamprey facts (cause scronkle)

The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a parasitic lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is sometimes referred to as the "vampire fish".

The sea lamprey has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, round and sucker-like, and as wide or wider than the head; sharp teeth are arranged in many concentric circular rows.

Its mouth is jawless, round and sucker-like, and as wide or wider than the head; sharp teeth are arranged in many concentric circular rows.

There are seven branchial or gill-like openings behind the eye. Sea lampreys are olive or brown-yellow on the dorsal and lateral part of the body, with some black marblings, with lighter coloration on the belly. Adults can reach a length of up to 120 cm (47 in) and a body weight up to 2.3 kg (5.1 lb).

The etymology of the genus name Petromyzon is from petro- "stone" and myzon "sucking"; marinus is Latin for "of the sea".

The species is found in the northern and western Atlantic Ocean along the shores of Europe and North America, in the western Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and as an invasive species in the shores of the Great Lakes.

They have been found at depths up to 4000 meters and can tolerate temperatures of 1–20 °C (34–68 °F).

In North America, they are native to the Connecticut River basin in the United States.

The largest European populations of sea lampreys are located throughout the southwestern areas of Europe (north-central Portugal, north-northwest of Spain, and west–southwest of France).These countries also support the main fisheries of the species.

Sea lampreys are anadromous; from their lake or sea habitats, they migrate up rivers to spawn. Females deposit a large number of eggs in nests made by males in the substrate of streams with moderately strong current. Spawning is followed by the death of the adults. Larvae burrow in the sand and silt bottom in quiet water downstream from spawning areas and filter-feed on plankton and detritus.

After several years in freshwater habitats, the larvae undergo a metamorphosis that allows young, post-metamorphic lampreys to migrate to the sea or lakes, and start the adult hematophagous method of feeding

The lamprey uses its suction cup-like mouth to attach itself to the skin of a fish and rasps away tissue with its sharp, probing tongue and keratinized teeth. A fluid produced in the lamprey's mouth, called lamphredin prevents the victim's blood from clotting. Victims typically die from excessive blood loss or infection. After one year of hematophagous feeding, lampreys return to the river to spawn and die, a year and a half after the completion of metamorphosis

Lampreys are considered a delicacy in some parts of Europe, and are seasonally available in France, Spain, and Portugal. They are served pickled in Finland.

Due to its lifecycle that switches between fresh and salt water, the sea lamprey is adapted to tolerate a wide range of salinities. Cell membranes on the surface of the gills are major contributors to ionoregulation. Changes in membrane composition influence the movement of different ions across the membrane, changing amounts of components to change the membranes' environment.

the larvae are called ammocoetes

Lampreys also maintain acid-base homeostasis. When introduced to higher levels of acids, they are able to excrete excess acids at higher rates than most other saltwater fishes, and in much shorter times, with the majority of the transfer of ions occurring at the gill surface.

The lamprey genome may serve as a model for developmental biology and evolution studies involving transposition of repetitive sequences. The lamprey genome undergoes drastic rearrangements during early embryogenesis in which about 20% of the germline DNA from somatic tissues is shed. The genome is highly repetitive. About 35% of the current genome assembly is composed of repetitive elements with high sequence identity.

Sea lampreys are considered a pest in the Great Lakes region. The species is native to the inland Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain in New York and Vermont. Whether it is native to Lake Ontario, where it was first noticed in the 1830s, or whether it was introduced through the Erie Canal which opened in 1825 is not clear.

[quantumcartography]

Listen, I've lived in the Great Lakes region my whole life. The great lakes basin accounts for 80% of freshwater in North America and has a surface area of 94,000 square miles or around 250,000 square kilometers. That's about the surface area of the United Kingdom. It's got enough water in it to cover North America with 5ft of water. And it has the SECOND most freshwater in the world after Lake Baikal.

Lake Baikal has a surface area of 12,000 square miles or around 31,000 square kilometers and has MORE WATER than the Great Lakes. You could fit SEVEN Lake Baikals in the Great Lakes. It's got a full 200 cubic miles more than the Great Lakes. I fucking love Lake Baikal and it terrifies me.

Do y’all ever think about how absolutely bananas Lake Baikal is? It’s the world’s largest lake by volume. It’s the world’s deepest lake. It’s the world’s oldest lake. It contains nearly a quarter of the planet’s surface freshwater. It’s a rift lake, caused by the earth’s crust literally coming apart at the seams. It would be deeper than the Mariana Trench except the bottom is covered in a sediment layer that is miles deep. There are trains that have sunk to the bottom because Russia tried to build a railroad over the ice. The entire lake surface freezes for half the year. The lake is a focal point of multiple indigenous cultures. The lake has its own species of seal, which is the only exclusively freshwater pinniped in the world. There are unique ice formations formed by convection from the depths of the lake. There are 330 inflowing rivers.

I dunno, Lake Baikal sure is a thing.

[myjourneythroughfilm]

Seven Lakes Basin Camera: Nikon OneTouch Film: Kodak Portra 400

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Mother Jones:

The state of Utah has come up with its share of boondoggles over the years, but one of the more enduring is the Uinta Basin Railway. The proposed 88-mile rail line would link the oil fields of the remote Uinta Basin region of eastern Utah to national rail lines so that up to 350,000 barrels of waxy crude oil could be transported to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The railway would allow oil companies to quadruple production in the basin and would be the biggest rail infrastructure project the US has seen since the 1970s.

But in all likelihood, the Uinta Basin Railway will never get built. The Uinta Basin is hemmed in by the soaring peaks of the Wasatch Mountains to the west and the Uinta Mountains to the north. Running an oil train through the mountains would be both dangerous and exorbitantly expensive, especially as the world is trying to scale back the use of fossil fuels. That’s why the railway’s indefatigable promoters, including the state’s congressional delegation, will probably fail to get the train on the tracks. However, they have succeeded in one thing: providing an activist Supreme Court the opportunity to take a whack at the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of the nation’s oldest environmental laws.

Enacted in 1970, NEPA requires federal agencies to consider the environmental and public health effects of such things as highway construction, oil drilling, and pipeline construction on public land. Big polluting industries, particularly oil and gas companies, hate NEPA for giving the public a vehicle to obstruct dirty development projects. They’ve been trying to undermine it for years, including during the last Trump administration.

Last week, when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, former Solicitor General Paul Clement channeled those corporate complaints when he told the justices that NEPA “is designed to inform government decision-making, not paralyze it.” The statute, he argued, had become a “roadblock,” obstructing the railway and other worthy infrastructure projects through excessive environmental analysis. “NEPA is adding a juicy litigation target for project opponents,” Clement told the court.  

But NEPA has almost nothing to do with why the Uinta Basin Railway won’t get built. “The court is doing the dirty work for all of these industries that are interested in changing our environmental laws,” Sam Sankar, a senior vice president at Earthjustice, said in a press briefing on the case, noting that Congress already had streamlined the NEPA process last year. Earthjustice is representing environmental groups that are parties in the case. “The fact that the court took this case means that it’s just issuing policy decisions from the bench, not deciding cases.”

The idea of building a railway from the Uinta Basin to refineries in Salt Lake City or elsewhere has been kicking around for more than 25 years. As I explained in 2022, the basin is home to Utah’s largest, though still modest, oil and gas fields:

Locked inside the basin’s sandstone layers are anywhere between 50 and 321 billion barrels of conventional oil, plus an estimated 14 to 15 billion barrels of tar sands, the largest such reserves in the US. The basin also lies atop a massive geological marvel known as the Green River Formation that stretches into Colorado and Wyoming and contains an estimated 3 trillion barrels of oil shale. In 2012, the US Government Accountability Office reported to Congress that if even half of the formation’s unconventional oil was recoverable, it would “be equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.”

Wildcat speculators, big oil companies, and state officials alike have been salivating over the Uinta Basin’s rich oil deposits for years, yet they’ve never been able to fully exploit them. The oil in the basin is a waxy crude that must be heated to 115 degrees to remain liquid, a problem that ruled out an earlier attempt to build a pipeline. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, a quasi-governmental organization consisting of the major oil-, gas-, and coal-producing counties in Utah, has received $28 million in public funding to plan and promote the railway as a way around this obstacle. The coalition is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court case.

“We don’t have a freeway into the Uinta Basin,” Mike McKee, the coalition’s former executive director, told me back in 2022. “It’s just that we have high mountains around us, so it’s been challenging.”

Of course, there is no major highway from the basin for the same reason that the railway has never been built: The current two-lane road from Salt Lake City crests a peak that’s almost 10,000 feet above sea level, which is too high for a train to go over. So the current railway plan calls for tunneling through the mountain. But going through it may be just as treacherous as going over it. Inside the unstable mountain rock are pockets of explosive methane and other gases, not all of which have been mapped.

None of this deterred the Seven County coalition from notifying the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) in 2019 that it intended to apply for a permit for the railway. The following year, the board started the environmental review process, including taking comments from the public.

In December 2021, the STB found that the railway’s transportation merits outweighed its significant environmental effects. It approved the railway, despite noting that the hazards from tunneling “could potentially cause injury or death,” both in the railway’s construction and operation. It recommended that the coalition conduct some geoengineering studies, which it had not done.

[theghostpinesmusic]

Desolation Wilderness (2/4)

My route for this loop wasn't exactly set in stone, but before leaving Klamath Falls I'd estimated that I'd be covering between forty and forty-five miles over the four days I'd packed food for. Even taking Desolation Wilderness's aggressive topography into consideration, that isn't a particular intense distance for me...in theory. The problem was the six-hour drive on each side of the hike, which was going to make it so that I could only reasonably expect to cover six or seven miles on the first day (after driving in) and the last day (before driving out). That left me with something on the order of thirty miles to cover over days two and three.

It was a good thing I got plenty of sleep at Lake Of The Woods.

I got up a bit late in spite of the long day ahead of me, mostly so that I didn't have to break down camp in the pre-sunrise cold. I ate breakfast on the shore of the lake, in the sun. Somewhere in there the wind picked back up to borderline apocalyptic levels, but I enjoyed the morning light on Pyramid Peak anyway.

From Lake Of The Woods, I had about a mile's walk before Lake Aloha came into full view to the west.

If you already know anything about Desolation Wilderness, you know Lake Aloha, as it's sort of the centerpiece (geographically and aesthetically) of the area. If you don't know anything about Desolation Wilderness other than what I've told you so far, Lake Aloha's weirdness is almost impossible to capture with words or photos.

The lake fills the aptly-named Desolation Valley, which nestles between the Crystal Range to the west, the Cracked Crag massif to the east, and Mosquito Pass and its environs to the north, but it does so sporadically, broken by weird, mutant islands of granite and darker rocks and the occasional bunch of pine trees that have managed to straggle along at 8500 of elevation. It's a really, really striking sight.

And you get to enjoy that sight for a long time. The trail follows the east shore of Lake Aloha for a fun-at-first-then-interminable two miles, while the sun pounds into your brain and heats the bright-white basin. It's an experience. I mean, I'd recommend it. But bring sunscreen.

When Lindsey and I had been here previously, we had turned west at the north end of Lake Aloha and climbed Mosquito Pass, then descended to camp at Clyde Lake. I was playing it somewhat fast and loose this time around (rare for me), and at the last second I decided to change things up and head east at the same intersection. At that point, I still didn't entirely trust the clear, non-smoky skies, and I thought that if I got to Dick's Pass that day instead of the next day, I would have a better chance of seeing the view from there under blue skies.

The eastern turn leads to a brief descent before the trail flattens out and winds you past Heather Lake and then Susie Lake. This is a really picturesque area, as you're transitioning between the rocks and cliffs of Desolation Valley into the slightly less aggressive topography south of Dick's Peak. However, I remembered this as being one of the most striking portions of our 2022 hike, and this time around it was...fine, I guess? I think this might be a section of trail that's much more arresting if you experience it traveling east to west instead of from west to east. If/when I go back someday, I'll test that theory out and report back.

Eventually, I reached the beautiful and peaceful Gilmore Lake, a spot that would be an ideal place to set up a camp if I wasn't always getting there in the late morning. I stopped for a well-deserved snack and some water...and then suddenly decided to climb Mount Tallac, I guess?

Lindsey and I had considered this on our last trip before the wildfire upended our plans: Mount Tallac, one of the destination high points along Lake Tahoe itself, has a connector trail from its summit straight down to Gilmore Lake. It's more than a bit of a detour: it's about two miles one-way, and requires fifteen hundred feet of climbing. I guessed I could get there and back in about two hours if I left my backpack behind in some bushes, and I had two hours to spare. Why not?

It was awesome.

First off, the climb up is, as you might expect for a trail that climbs a third of a mile in two miles, stiff and unrelenting. But after carrying a backpack for the last day-and-a-half, I felt fast and unencumbered, so, at first at least, this didn't bother me. Second, the trail climbs through a surprisingly-located tall-grass meadow, as the view of the Gilmore Lake basin and beyond opens up wider and wider behind you.

As I neared the top of what seemed like an endless, oddly vertical meadow, the tip-top of rocky Mount Tallac finally came into view, crowned by some yellow wildflower that I couldn't identify.

The last few hundred feet were a really satisfying semi-scramble up the aforementioned rocky heap. And then, suddenly, all of enormous Lake Tahoe stretching out below.

It was huge and crazy and stretched out across most of the horizon, and that's coming from a guy who already spends a lot of time being blown away by the scale and beauty of Crater Lake.

The summit was populated by a lot of climbers, most of which seemed to have come up via the dayhike route from the Mount Tallac trailhead. I spent awhile up there, drinking some water from a Nalgene I'd slung over my shoulder with some paracord and eating some chocolate I'd carried up in my pocket. I spent some time chatting with a golden mantled ground squirrel, and I like to imagine that we're friends now.

Then I bombed back down the entire goddamn mountain I'd just climbed because, you know, miles to go before I sleep and all that: there was, at least, still Dick's Pass to climb before I could actually camp by water.

After getting back Gilmore Lake, gathering up my gear, and strapping my pack back on (and wow, did that suck), I set out to almost immediately regain all the elevation I'd just lost: Mount Tallac is, at least according to my own creative reading of the topo map, part of the same ridgeline as Dick's Peak. I had gone from 8300 feet at Gilmore Lake to 9700 feet at the summit of Tallac, then back down to 8300 feet, and now it would be back up to 9300 feet to reach the top of Dick's Pass.

It certainly wasn't the dumbest detour I've ever taken, but it was one of the prettiest.

I'll be honest: late in the day, having already climbed over half a mile in elevation, and exposed to the pounding sun, I had a hard time climbing up the pass. I was definitely traveling much slower than my usual pace by the time the trail deposited me at a T-intersection. Did I turn left and add Dick's Peak to my list of summits? Or turn right and head for the lake?

The route to the top of Dick's Peak is (reportedly) a class three-ish scramble, and though that's typically right on the edge of my own risk tolerance, I could see the route from the intersection and it looked to be on the safe side of dangerous (if that makes sense). It would be another hour or two digression though, and I was already tired. After a few minutes' consideration, I turned right and headed for the lake.

Maybe next time.

It turned out to be the right decision, because it turned out that there was two-hundred-fifty more feet of climbing to the top of the pass, and by the time I topped out, there was literally no energy left in my body. I don't think I would have made it to the top of the peak. The wind, which had persisted pretty much throughout the entire day, was absolutely cranking at the top of the pass, but I forced myself to wrap up in my windshell and take a break.

I sat down on the exact same rock I'd sat on two years before, when the view of Desolation Valley and its environs had been hidden behind a noxious cloud of what had been, mere hours before, California pine forest. Back then, the lack of view from the pass had been the emotional nadir of the entire trip. Now, looking out under clear skies at the route I'd taken to the top of the pass from Lake Aloha that day, I felt more of the weight of that nightmare lifting.

After taking a single picture to commemorate the occasion, I sat there alone for a long time.

Starting down the back side of the pass, I had another occasion to be glad I hadn't tried climbing Dick's Peak first: the descent to Dick's Lake was steep, and it banged around my already-sore legs significantly. The descent felt never-ending, Dick's Lake in sight the whole time but never seeming to get any closer. Somewhere in there, I got frustrated for the first time in the trip, every misplaced plant of a trekking pole and every toe stubbed on a protruding rock making me more and more annoyed. I knew I was probably just tired, so I pushed on through it until I finally reached the lake.

Once again, it was busier than I'd expected it to be during a weekday. Once again, the only spot I could find that was open was the spot Lindsey and I had used last time. It had been a bit uneven and too-small for two people back then, but it was just the right size for one person...and there was no ash cloud this time.

I set the tent up in a howling wind that seemed funneled toward me and the other nearby campers on purpose by the mountain looming over us. I had hoped to reprise my polar-plunge-style escapades from the night before in Dick's Lake, but in such a wind I wasn't sure how I'd stay warm after getting soaked. There were a few kids taking turns diving into the lake off of a tall rock across the way, but they were kids and I was not.

I'd become uncomfortably cold pretty much immediately once I'd stopped hiking, so instead of engaging in extracurriculars I rushed through my evening routine as fast as I could, focused on getting wrapped up in my quilt and falling asleep as fast as possible. Because of the wind, it took a bit longer to cook dinner than usual, though, so I was able to take a few more night photos while I was waiting.

Once again, the moon was bright enough to drown out most of the stars, but it was a beautiful night in spite of the wind, which had apparently decided to blow nonstop until the sun exploded.

The noise of the tent fly and walls flapping in the wind was so goddamn loud all night long in spite of my best efforts to secure them tightly. At one point in my backpacking career, this cacophony would have kept me awake all night and left me exhausted in the morning. But in the last few years, I've camped in similar conditions often enough that apparently I...just don't hear it anymore? Maybe it was that, or maybe I was just worn out from my sixteen-mile, 3500 foot elevation day, but I fell asleep almost immediately and only woke up a few times throughout the night, when the wind bore down on the tent enough that the poles threatened to bend inward.

The next day I'd have to cover a similar distance to stay on schedule, but I would be passing through much friendly terrain in the process. Supposedly.

[beardedmrbean]

Authorities in Nigeria have said 281 inmates escaped after devastating floods brought down a prison’s walls in the country's northeast.

A major dam collapsed on September 10, unleashing severe flooding that left 30 people dead and over a million displaced, and prompted evacuations across the state of Borno.

The floods in Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram militants in the Lake Chad basin, started following heavy rainfall that has also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger, all part of Africa’s Sahel region that usually receives little rain.

Officers attempted to evacuate the city of Maiduguri's main prison last week when they found out that the prisoners had escaped, Umar Abubakar, spokesperson for the Nigeria Correctional Services said in a statement Sunday night.

“The floods brought down the walls of the correctional facilities including the Medium Security Custodial Centre, as well as the staff quarters in the city,” Abubakar said.

Security personnel were able to recapture seven of the inmates and an operation is still ongoing to locate the rest, he said.

The collapse caused some of the state’s worst flooding since the same dam collapsed 30 years ago. The state government said the dam was at capacity due to unusually high rains.

The deluge threatens not only the health and safety of the displaced but puts a strain on aid agencies and government resources, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian crisis.

In the last two weeks of August, more than 1.5 million people were displaced across 12 countries in West and Central Africa due to floods, and about 465 have been killed, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office.

Over the weekend, an additional 50,000 people were displaced in northeastern Nigeria as the floods intensified, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday.

“The situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is increasingly dire, as the compounding effects of conflict, displacement and climate change take a severe toll on vulnerable populations,” said Hassane Hamadou, NRC’s Central and West Africa regional director.

The floods in West Africa come at a time of flooding in Europe after days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region.

Two years ago, heavy flooding in Nigeria killed more than 600 people across the country.

West Africa has experienced some of the heaviest flooding in decades this year, affecting over 2.3 million people, a threefold increase from 2023, according to the UN.

[whitepolaris]

Holes, Cracks, and Lost Forests, Oh My!

Were the west-moving pioneers so busy looking at Fort Rock that they failed to see another nearby wonder? Hole in the Ground, nearly eight miles from Fort Rock, is another mystery of nature.

Hole in the Ground is a nearly perfect circular formation, and early surveyors were probably amazed to find that it was 5,250 feet in circumference, nearly a perfect mile. The rim of the hole rises 200 feet above the ground level of the plain surrounding it. From the highest point on the rim, it drops more than 150 feet below the desert outside (a 350-foot total drop) to a gently sloping basin-shaped floor. The basin is slightly off-center, as if something big plowed into the ground some time ago. Because of its size and shape, settlers and early geologists believed that it had been the site of a meteorite strike. After they understood meteor strikes better, geologists looked for microscopic pieces of glass or iron but did not find any. They eventually decided that Hole in the Ground was created by a series of violent volcanic eruptions.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago, a small volcano began erupting. Like much larger Mount Mazama, this volcano threw out debris, including multiton boulders, which landed more than two miles away. When the eruptions ended a few days later, the volcano left behind an empty cone, which collapsed under its own weight. Unlike Crater Lake, this did not fill up with water, but sat empty, like a vast bowl.

Hole in the Ground is located in the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest (www.fs.fed.us/r6/centralorgon_. There is a signed turnoff from Highway 31 to Hole in the Ground. The crater is only about four miles away.

Crack in the Ground is located about thirty miles away from Hole in the Ground, just north of the town of Christmas Valley, and if you believe in ley lines (theoretical alignments of geographic places), Fort Rock is located on the line between the two places. Both North Americans had a few of the later pioneers believed that supernatural beings or giants carved out a two-mile-long, seventy-foot-deep trench through the hard bedrock. They could not tell how long ago the crack formed, but it seemed recent to them because the stone looked barely weathered. During many hot summers, settlers held picnics in the bottom of the narrow crevasse. The temperature inside was generally twenty degrees cooler than outside of the crack, and they made ice cream, using snow at the bottom, which did not melt until the late summer.

Formations like the crack are usually formed by water erosion and go from high grounds to a lower drainage. This particular crack was formed by a volcanic eruption that included several underground lava flows. The lava hollowed out a tunnel-like space, and after the eruptions ceased the ground settled, moved, and opened the crack.

It is relatively easy to find the Crack in the Ground. Drive east through the town of Christmas Valley. At the outer edge of town, there is a northbound gravel road with a simple sign saying "Crack in the Ground." This road leads about seven miles north, ending at a porting lot. A short trail from the portable toilet in the parking lot leads east to the crack, which is marked by a metal stand and guest book. There used to be a two-mile-long trail through the bottom of the crack, but it was blocked by rock fall a few years ago. It is now possible to walk only partway through the crack.

About eight miles northeast of Christmas Valley, the early pioneers found a five-square-mile forest of Ponderosa pines. It is the only large stand of trees for several miles in any direction, and there are no other Ponderosa pines for more than thirty miles. With typical pioneer humor, they said the trees must have walked there and gotten lost, and called it the Lost Forest.

Again, science stepped in to solve a weird mystery. The reason Ponderosa pines do not exist in the Fort Rock basin these days is lack of water. Today it rains only about nine inches a year in the Fort Rock basin, and a Ponderosa pine needs at least seventeen inches a year to survive, much less thrive. Geologists believe that there was a large Ponderosa pine forest in the valley when there was more rain. It did out as the rainfall decreased, except for the Lost Forest stand.

Scientists examined the soils under the forest and found that the surface is a loose, sandy material. Below that is a layer of volcanic ash and other materials that is so compacted that water cannot penetrate it. Unfortunately, recent development in the area threatens to drain off the water, and the Lost Forest may soon be truly lost forever. The best way to see the forest-while you still can-is to head northeast of Christmas Valley, toward Sand Rock, which overlooks the basin where the forest formed.

[libraryofcirclaria]

Ancondria

Library of Circlaria

Earlier Blog Posts

Article Written: 20 April 1451

Dominating the Southern Hemsiphere and extending from the tropical belt South of the Equator through the South Pole, Ancondria is divided into seven regions: the Great Ancondrian Peninsula, the Great Basin of Edom, the Mountains of the West, the Great Northern Escarpments, the Great Ancondrian River Basin, the Great Southern Escarpments, and the Great Ancondrian Arctic Plateau.

The Great Ancondrian Peninsula

Starting in the Northeasternmost region of the great landmass of Ancondria and extending far South into the temperate zone of the Southern hemisphere, the average elevation of the Great Ancondrian Peninsula is about 3600 feet above sea level. Spanning the center of the Peninsula stands the Northeast Ridges, which reach heights of around 15'000 feet. The feet of these summits, surrounding the edges of the Peninsula, are occupied by lush rainforests and jungles. The belt of land surrounding the Ridges between the rainforests and the highlands is occupied by open grasslands known for incredibly fertile soil. The ancient Ancondrian city of Silba is located in the Great Round Plateau in the South of the Peninsula and experiences four regular seasons.

The Great Basin of Edom

With the exception of the Five Noble Mountains in the center, a region boasting of lush forests, grasslands, and a natural spring circulation-filtering system, as well as being home to the ruins of the great ancient city of Edom, the Great Basin of Edom is a desert almost completely lacking of vegetation. The climate here is warm in the winter months and scalding in the summer months, while there is almost no rain. Countless research studies and examinations suggest that the Basin was once a lush grassland boasting of countless species of flora, fauna, and trees, including the yew tree. The yew tree was believed to have been used by the ancient Great Society of Edom in order to help propel it into a global society, which appears to have been the society responsible for sending the first humans to the Circlarian Realm. However, genetic over-engineering and soil depletion resulted in the downgrade of the yield of the yew tree, the desertification of the Basin, and the collapse of ancient Edomian society as a whole.

The Mountains of the West

Variable climate regions envelop the Mountains of the West, which boast some of the world's tallest peaks, which extend up to heights of 35'000 feet. The area is covered in forests and grasslands, and lakes. However, there are also rainforest regions in the lower sections, and glaciers in the higher regions. The area is home to most of the settled clans and is known for clan rivalries, some of which have seen the involvement of the Kingdom of Gyrosak and the Congress of Circlaria in recent decades.

The Great Northern Escarpment

These cliffs tower over the beginnings of the Great Ancondrian River Basin below by about 3000 feet, and are dotted in countless places by entrances to caves hollowed out by now-extinct lothars (ancient reptilian birds). Accompanied by wide ledges jutting out over the cliff, these places have since been converted into dwellings occupied by Ancondrian clans.

The Great Ancondrian River Basin

Dozens of tributaries fed by snow-melts from the West Circlarian Ridges lining the Circlarian Coast of Ancondria to the West feed into the Great Ancondrian River, which flows through the center of the Basin from West-to-East along the boundary between the tropical and temperate belts. The floor of the Basin, itself meets the West Circlarian Ridges at about 3000 feet above sea level and runs in a gradual slope down to about 600 feet above sea level on the Circlarian side, where the River pours out over the well-known Magnificant Drapes. This region has some of the most fertile soil in the world and is home to thousands of Ancondrian clans, both migratory and settled.

The Great Southern Escarpment

Unlike the North, the Great Southern Escarpment has no ledges or caves, but is instead, effectively, a smooth and impenetrable "wall," making it a seemingly impossible feat for those who have dared to explore. Furthermore, the top of this cliff stands 6000 feet above sea level, and marks the beginning of the Great Antarctic Plateau. One interesting feature, however, is that during the Spring and Summer Months, snowmelt rains over the wall in the form of an ever-changing network of waterfalls which feed into the tributaries.

The Great Antarctic Plateau

Proving even more hostile than the Great Basin of Edom to the North, the Great Antarctic Plateau, presenting a cold and wintry desert wasteland year-round, is the only part of Ancondria left untouched by its native population. In fact, there is almost no life here, save for several species of bird and beast. Recently, scientific expeditions from Circlarian establishments have built encampments in various locations throughout the region, but doing so has required preparations for harsh conditions.

Early History

The human species of Juno Minor originated in the Great River Basin and migrated over the Northern Escarpment into the Mountains of the West and the Great Basin of Edom, which was lush and green at the time. Around 22'000 years ago, traveling clans discovered the Five Noble Mountains and its natural water filtration system, and established a permanent settlement. This settlement eventually became the ancient city of Edom and would govern all of Ancondria through a hierarchy of Elder Councils consisting of elders from the thousands of clans. Edom became a center of culture, philosophy, politics (which lay the original groundwork for the balance of power), medicine, spellfire study, and science. Governing by Councils and Mandates, the Great Society of Edom began harnessing the power of the yew tree and the lothar species, the latter of which provided a useful mode of transportation and also a tool for war. Over the next six thousand years, the Society prospered and began to expand its influence beyond Ancondria, exploring and settling first the thousands of tiny islands surrounding the landmass with this island group known today as the Grand Archipelago. The Great Society of Edom would then expand its influence to every landmass in the Circlarian Realm in the Northern Hemisphere.

Such advancements came with the genetic engineering of yew trees to produce greater seed yields in order to meet exploding demand. However, such early forms of genetic engineering came at a cost, depleting the soil of the Great Basin of Edom and leading to its desertification. With yew-tree-based technologies supporting the domestication of lothars and critical infrastructures, the collapse of the yew tree population eventually led to the collapse of the Great Society of Edom, itself, around 16'000 years ago. The clans would continue to govern themselves, surviving in their environments across the land, but the population experienced a gradual decline in the millennia that followed.

Recent History

An airship carrying a crew of scientists from the Early Republic of Retun, which as attempting to map the Grand Archipelago Southwest of the Mid-Westerlies, was temporarily blown off-course in a storm in 1263, which led the airship to drift within sight of the ancient landmass of Ancondria. A photographer by the name of Jason Witts captured the towering Northeast Ridges of the Peninsula of Ancondria, but mistook their snowy peaks for clouds. The photograph did not become the subject of wide speculation until it was cross-examined by Professor William Tarp from Cabotton University, who realized these "clouds" were mountains and began a string of investigations which discovered that there was some significant landmass not yet charted in modern maps. In the summer of 1268, a team of explorers in five grand airships flew in the direction that the photograph was taken, and came upon the landmass of Ancondria. News of the existence of the large continent in the Southern Hemisphere spread quickly throughout the Circlarian Realm, and before long, all the standing maritime powers send countless expeditions to explore, map, and establish permanent settlements in Ancondria.

The Federal Estates of Retun established two settlements in the region surrounding Silba in 1281, and then established a permanent embassy in 1299. In 1304, an international deal was signed, granting the area surrounding Silba from the Northeastward Silba River to the Silba South Meridian as territory for the Federal Estates, and the remaining surrounding territory to the International Cooperation of the Congress of Circlaria. The land belonging to the Federal Estates was officially named the Retunian Domain of Ancondria. After the 1309 Revolution, the territory occupied by the Federal Estates was, henceforth, territory of the Independent Commonwealth State of Retun.

The Independent Commonwealth State of Retun had control over the Retunian Domain of Ancondria with its boundaries set by the deal until 1370. In 1370, after having signed deals and compromises after the Esurchian War, the section of land extending from the Silba River to the East Silba Parallel was handed over to the Esurchians as an act of consolation toward them. In the remaining Retunian territories, local clans and businesses turned against the Commonwealth after decades of corrupt business practices and began boycotting them. In December 1375, the remaining territories was ceded by the Commonwealth to the sphere of International Cooperation. In 1380, in order to gain leverage in Ancondrian diplomacy, the Esurchians seceded their territories to the International Cooperation, so that all territory surrounding Silba was now under International Cooperation jurisdiction.

Clans and Congress of Circlaria entities continue to trade and function mutually throughout Ancondria, although there has been recent abrasion between the Congress and local Ancondrian entities in the Mountains of the West while Commonwealth influence has all but diminished. However, numerous educational institutions continue to conduct field studies of the ancient past while Ancondrians continue to visit and trade with Circlarians to this day.