Coffee and Provocation

US Abortions by Race

About two-thirds of all legal abortions are to non-white women. The Republicans ending Roe are racists, as well as fascists. They’re not going to adopt all those non-white children. I say this as a white father of adopted non-white children who KNOWS who these Republicans are.

Better Camera Trap Deer Pictures
From Field &Stream comes 13 tips to getting better camera-trap deer pictures:  “One of Ted’s favorite tricks is to simply jam a stick in a logging road, or at the junction of several deer trails, and train a camera on it. Before he walks off, Ted spits on his palm, and rubs it up and down the stick. ‘Every buck that walks down that road or trail is gonna stop and smell that stick,’ he says. ‘I’ve got tons of pics of them not only sniffing that stick, but licking it themselves and returning to do so whenever they’re on that trail.’” (Thanks Lucas M!)

The Author of Bambi Was an Avid Hunter

Austro-Hungarian author Felix Salten, the author of Bambi, was an avid hunter, and the first English translation of Bambi was done by Whittaker Chambers 1928. Whittaker Chamber was a Soviet spy who later flipped and informed on other spy, including Alger Hiss. A Prothonotary Warbler and Richard Nixon turn up in that story, as I recount here.

Your E-Car's Electric Use
From the US Department of Energy: "Electric vehicles can be charged at power draws comparable to various household appliances. Most electric vehicles charging at home on a 240-volt level 2 charger will draw about 7,200 watts or less. For comparison, a typical electric furnace draws about 10,000 watts and a water heater uses 4,500 watts."

An Illegitimate Supreme Court
Five out of nine Supreme Court Justices were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote. A sixth is married to one of the chief architects and cheer-leaders for the violent January 6th insurrection.

Minority Fascism
The highest election support the Nazi Party ever received in elections was 37.3%. Their support dropped to 33.1% in the next election 5 months later.

20 Million Lives Saved
Covid-19 vaccines prevented nearly 20 million deaths in a year, study estimates.

Cutting Plastic Wrapping

Spray-on and rinse-off fruit coatings will save fruit and cut litter.

$22 An Hour Minimum Wage

The city of Austin, Texas has raised the minimum wage for public employees to $22 an hour.   The Austin Chronicle notes that "data from the Human Resources Department shows that from May 8, 2021, through May 21, 2022, the vacancy rate among all civilian city positions has been 15.7%. The peak vacancy rate this year was 17.5%; last year, it was 12.3%, and the year before that it was 11.5%. The vacancy rates among sworn positions at Police, Fire, and Emergency Med­ical Services were likewise problematic: 12% for police, 9% for fire, and a staggering 23% for EMS."

The New Silk Road

The stuff you and I order from Amazon has traveled more of the world than we ever will.

Returning the Favor

Red Kites collected in Spain in the 1990s for release in the UK have flourished to the point that UK Red Kites are now being collected to boost the dwindling stock in Spain.

The Danger of Deep Fakes
"Deep fakes" are getting terrifyingly good -- and will no doubt show up in political and economic chicanery. The mayor of Berlin held a 15-minute video call with a deep fake of Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko before the fake veered off on topics that triggered suspicion.

Long May She Live

Termite queens live longer than any other insect, and some scientists think they can live as long as 20 years.

Do You Even Lift?

The strongest insect in the world is Horned Dung Beetle that can lift over 1,100 times its body weight which equals to an average person lifting 2 fully loaded 18 wheel trucks above their heads.