I've been gone from BSky for a while. A month hiking in the desert West, often completely out of cell range. For my penance, here's some pictures from our week long Grand Canyon hike. Including one of the true builders of the canyon: coxklosek.com/BobCoxAuthor...

No one I know has been Raptured yet today. So ... either I know a lot of ungodly people, OR the Rapture has been postponed for technical reasons. Oh well, next time.

If there's a Federal shutdown this October, it will annoy me personally - as I have reservations at the Grand Canyon National Park. I'll take the mild annoyance in exchange for the opportunity for the D's to take a stand at last. Forth now and fear no darkness!

Well, the Supremes have just given ICE all the powers of the Gestapo, save for the power to execute people without any process or hearings. That ruling will be a few weeks away.

We are in a masterclass whose lesson is "Power is EVERYTHING".

The Trumpettes are in some ways more advanced than the Nazis in 1933. They ginned up crises (Reichstag fire) and then declared emergencies. Now, the new way is to just declare an emergency that the media doesn't dare denounce - because doing so would be "partisan", and dangerous.

So if Nat Guard is sent to Chicago, Mayor, Council, & Supt of Police should prohibit any cooperation. Ticket/tow illegally parked vehicles. Arrest drivers who run lights for with reckless driving (potential jail time). Step into a street - jaywalking ticket.

This is exactly true. Cities and states need to be ready for attempted military takeovers. Including security plans for governors and mayors against being "arrested" for some vaguely define "crimes". talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/citie...

People (like me) moan about how Trump's team is damaging the nation. Of course, that is the point of their actions. They've said so. Break the American nation, induce fear with paralysis, establish a new and vicious order. So what if the nation is lesser and weaker? But it will be THEIR nation.

I feel sorry for all the Nigerian princes who have lost their livelihoods to AI generated scams.

It just struck me that among my limited acquaintance, I know 3 people supporting deadbeat kids. Not 20-somethings who still haven't figure life out. 40-somethings where the odds of figuring life out have dropped to the negligible level. THREE! How common is this, anyway?

Today's crop of brow figs. Lots of eating to do. 4-1/4 pounds = 1.9 kg

What we need is AI controlled anti mosquito laser beams for my porch. That would be a lot more useful to me than any LLM chat bot.

ICE spokes-entity: “as with any facility, ICE has plans in case of emergency, including a hurricane plan.” It's really an easy to understand plan: "Let them die." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Some plant that I liked.

This article makes clear that MAGA’s goal is a totalizing state where there is no expertise allowed - that would be an independent source of truth. Medicine, science - must die MAGA can rule. www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

"Thanks" to the Dragon Bravo fire devastating the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, our backpacking trip there (3 nights) has been canceled. Now we have backpacking reservations for the South Rim Royal Arch loop (6 nights), for mid-October.

Looking up estate management terms. I found a new word: Ademption: When a specific gift named in the will is no longer part of the testator's estate at the time of their death, perhaps because it was sold or destroyed. What a great word! I'll find a lot of use for it in everyday persiflage.

I've decided that volume 2 "Quantum Ignition: Powering Up" is DONE. Ran it through spell/grammar check, made 3 changes. No more!! On to editing and slightly reordering volume 3 "QI: War of the Anas". Must bitch-slap myself into doing the labor.

This non-political article is well worth reading - a "tornado" of bats every night. www.texasstandard.org/stories/brac...

It's very possible we are crazy. Earlier, we got bookings for 4 nights below the South Rim at the Grand Canyon. NOW -- we have 3 more nights below the North Rim -- just 4 days after coming up from the first hike. North Bass trail. It's isolated. www.nps.gov/grca/planyou...

How does it end? The fever break? Only with a national scale catastrophe. What form that will take, I can't predict. How long it will take, I can't predict. But it will come. Biden was the attempt to return to business as usual. And his attempt failed, even before he personally failed.

A sort of fireworks pic from yesterday. Processed a lot.

Today my wife turns 35, for the Nth time, where I’m legally not allowed to disclose the value of N.

Some flower pictures my wife took in the last few days. www.coxklosek.com/Photos/Calla...

Email opens with a job offer from a French company. Start date "will be the next Monday". Googling the company name, it's a ticket selling outfit. I don't think I'll accept this offer. For some vague reason, this doesn't smell quite right. Perhaps it's the stench of rotting spam filling the room.

Last night I dreamed I was cuddling with a baby elephant up against me. It was very pleasant.

I’ve finished major rewrites of the two parts of my third novel. And merged them into one file, along with a timeline of the events across the trilogy (spanning about 400 years). 130,000 words. Feel like I’m making progress. Still a lot of editing to do. At least two passes through.

My 2¢ comments on the Trump Iran bombings: 1) The President has no legal authority to attack another country under anything resembling these circumstances. 2) We have no significant interests in the region that justify in any sense (practical, moral, or legal) this action. 3) It's fracking stoopid.

Some young babydoll sheep acquired by friends. Too cute for words.

Okay. I finally finished the 5th major rewrite of the first half of “The War of the Anas”. The second half is already first-drafted. Next up - edit the second half to fit with the first and incorporate ideas I’ve had recently.

We got our backcountry reservations for the Grand Canyon! Plus campground sites to bracket the hiking days. Next up - apply for the Wave lottery.

This is hilarious. Want to make a quick $1000 (in crypto) being a seat filler for Trump? washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/tlg/d/wa...

The nation tried to commit suicide once before. Seems like we’re working on it again.

Truly an amazing article. I say this as a long time programmer. These DOGE guys are incompetent preening borderline sociopaths. www.propublica.org/article/insi...

I'm nearing the end of my 5th rewrite of my third novel (Quantum Ignition - War of the Anas). I thought I had mapped it all out in my head. But now I'm at a crucial scene and find I can't just write it. I've got to outline the details because it's the confrontation between Ana Lilli and Ana Ao.

Grand Canyon backcountry permit lottery for October dates has been run. I didn't get a time slot for reserving a backpacking itinerary. But Gosia did. Slots are released for days June 4-17. The big winners get June 4. Gosia got June 13, which is much better than no slot.

Also known as the TACO special.

Harvard gets a declaration that the admin is acting illegally. But next year they can simply deny new visas and stop all renewals.

A colt wandered through our campsite. It tried to take a bite of our firewood.

On the beach in the wind. Not many people around.

The US Constitution has failed. But what next?

Mathematicians are taking over! The new Pope has a degree in math. And now the new President of Romania is a mathematician. The Golden Age is approaching!!

As 8647 is prime, it on many web pages listing such numbers, President Trump will today sign an Executive Order declaring that 8647 is composite and shall be removed from all such lists immediately. In addition, all software that generates such lists shall be modified to exclude 8647. OR ELSE.

A Path Forward to Save American Bio-Medical Research talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-pat...

Interested in Abstract Photography? The 14th Annual Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit is now online. You can view and vote for your favorite! (Subtle Nudge - my wife's entry has chopsticks.) showsubmit.com/gallery/nvac...

Just a friendly CBP two hour interrogation of an American citizen about his political views. wapo.st/3GT4WVy

Not to mention than most Christian groups do not consider Mormons to be Christian at all. They only tolerate them because Mormons are reliable political allies. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

For my adult life, Republicans have veered ever closer to worshipping their Presidents. Nixon - had a kind of cult of "strength" Ford - none Reagan - closer to a real cult GHW Bush - no cult, just a competent conservative GW Bush - engineered a religious cult Trump - OMFG, he can do no wrong

Whatever else happens in 2025, I can approve of a Pope named Bob.