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“We have about the same number of federal employees than we had in the 1960s, even though the government does and spends a lot more now. As a percentage of the total population, the federal workforce is at historic lows” from Some basic math about cutting government - by Don Moynihan

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Tankless Water Heater citric acid flush day! About 1.5lb citric acid to 3.5 gallons of water. Long ago I did the math to get the right pH and now I just trust it 😆⚖️A tankless water heater maintenance setup is shown. Two hoses are connected to the heater, with their ends immersed in a bucket filled with almost 4 gallons of water and 1.5lbs of citric acid crystals. An electric sump pump is in the bucket, connected to a power cord. The setup is on a concrete floor.

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Big X-Plane 12 beta release! ATC now support SIDs, STARs, and the AIRAC cycle is now 2402, iirc updated from 1801. There’s lots more.. What’s new in X-Plane 12.1.3? #XPlane #FlightSim

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X-Crafts, an X-Plane Aircraft developer, is trying to list all actively maintained X-Plane 11 and 12 add-ons at one webpage #XPlane #FlightSim

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House Finches are gorging on shriveled up elderberries in our backyard A small bird with red undercarriage and head perched among branches with dark shriveled elderberries, partially obscured by a blurred blue tarp. The bird’s beak is stained by the berries.

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A Lesser Gold Finch gorging on sweet basil seeds in our backyard A small bird with grey and yellow plumage perched on dry, brown stems with wilted leaves, amidst a few green sweet basil leaves. The bird has a beak full of black seeds. A small yellow-bellied bird with a beak full of seeds is perched among dry plants and foliage. An orange pin flag is partially visible among the greenery in the background.

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As previously mentioned, there was a circus behind us from last Friday through Monday. And its final act (for us, twice a day) was a loud explosion from the “The huuuuuman caaaanonbaaaall”. Here’s that canon…. Me thinks there’s nothing actually explosive happening 😹A large cannon painted with an American flag design is mounted on a trailer. It has a trashcan cover strapped to its opening. There is a bicycle strapped to the trailer, and the scene includes dry grass and some Michelobe Ultra beer bottles and litter on the ground. It’s an overcast day.

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A circus came to town for the weekend. Behind us. The City got an earful from us and our neighbors as we only found out when the tent was being pitched. Now all I can think of is the announcement “The huuuuuman caaaanonbaaaall” Circus tent with blue and red swirl designs, set up on a dry, grassy area. Nearby, there’s a portable generator and several trailers in the background under a cirrus-laden sky.

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I just donated to Rose Yee to #KickLaMalfaOut

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Welcome back, small yellow bird! #Birds #WarblerOrNot #BirdWatching #Fujifilm #SOoC 🪶A small yellow bird is perched upside-down on a grape vine, pecking at a cluster of shriveled red grapes against a backdrop of green and orange leaves. A white metal trellis supports the vine.

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As today is the International Day of the Controller, here’s a photo to celebrate their astonishing work. #SFO #KSFO #AvGeek View of the San Francisco International airport with a prominent torch-shaped control tower and surrounding buildings, by the bay water. A Southwest purple and red plane is taking off in the sky. Hills are visible in the background.

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We voted! I voted the Not a Loser or a Sucker Veteran slate. Oh, and for democracy and actual freedom. A short haired white male is inserting sealed ballots into a locked white ballot drop box. It’s on a porch outside a public building.

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Big thank you to Hawaiian Airlines for being compassionate and generously refunding our non-refundable airfare 💕

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Bidwell Park has goats! Under the watchful eye of a Great Pyrenees, they’re chowing down on the poison oak & vinca choked understory just southwest of the Chico Nature Center. #BidwellPark #Goats #Fujifilm #SOoC One white goat is very close, looking blankly towards the camera. Beyond, many goats graze in a wooded area, surrounded by a wire fence. Leaves cover the ground, and tall trees fill the background. A peaceful wooded area with tall trees and dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves. A large white dog, probably a Great Pyrenees, protector of the goats, sleeps on the ground in front of a wooden fence.

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But for the cost, this new lens is tempting. PetaPixel: The Familiar Fujifilm XF 500mm f/5.6 Brings Portable Super-Tele Photography to the X Series

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Today we made a quick visit to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. There’s no missing the White Fronted Geese now and there’s still plenty of dragonflies but there’s no significant population of migratory songbirds yet #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #BirdWatching #Dragonfly #Fujifilm #SOoC A dragonfly with transparent wings featuring dark patterns rests on a vertical reed, set against a background of dry, intertwined reeds. A large flock of White Fronted geese rests im a wetland area surrounded by water and tall grasses. The landscape includes trees and distant rice hulling silos under a clear blue sky.

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It’s a nice 69°F outside in NorCal but the air quality is gnarly because of agriculture/large property owner pile burning. #CaWxThis image displays a PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI) reading with two channels: Channel A at 143 and Channel B at 138. Below the readings is a PM2.5 AQI history bar graph, showing varying colors from green (better air) to red.

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A (western?) toad left this dropping literally at our front door. It’s full of pillbugs (roly-polies)! A small, segmented brown animal dropping on a concrete surface with a human finger pointing at it for scale. The dropping is full of pill bugs.

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Inspector Woodpecker was quite enthusiastic about this eucalyptus #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #NorthernFlicker #Fujifilm #SooCA black and white woodpecker is perched on the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, surrounded by green foliage.

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Here’s to a fine Sunday morning flying an Embraer E-175 from KSEA to KPHX (Seattle to Phoenix). Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens loom large. #XPlane12 #XCrafts #E175 #FlightSim

An Embraer 175 in American Eagle livery flies past Mount Ranier with Mount St. Helens looming in the background. It's a somewhat overcast day but blue, sunny skies above the clouds.