Geese & White Crowns are back. Soon as the weather stays cooler, I hope to be out at the refuges on weekends. And that should mean photos to share! 🤞

Yikes. Dresden’s Carola Bridge collapsed in their early morning hours. Apparently a tram had just crossed it and no one was on the bridge. And soon floods may begin. Here’s the bridge back in 2009 with a tram passing over. #Carolabrücke A busy riverside promenade with numerous people walking and socializing. Several street lamps, a parking sign, and a no-stopping sign are visible along the cobblestone walkway. There is a river with the concrete pier Carola Bridge. A church is visible beyond the far shore.

I got the latest iOS 18 developer beta and its Home app can download PG&E energy use data & make it nicely accessible along with comparisons. The interface showing comparisons needs work but it is better than PG&E’s web charts though the iOS charts do not show cost (yet?) The image shows a smartphone screen with Home app displaying electricity usage. The app section titled “Electricity Usage” shows a bar chart of electricity consumption over the past year. A call-out over the current month shows a daily average of 23kWh. Below the chart are verbose definitions about energy use and how electricity is measured.

Today, our roofers repaired a set of joined eaves that had been a leaky but exterior only problem for years. It finally got bad enough with the sheathing sagging that I committed to getting it fixed this dry season. That sheathing was pretty rotted Looking up through a partially deconstructed eave at a L shaped exterior wall join with exposed beams and a red door beneath it. The sky is visible through the gaps in the beams. The support beams are casting shadows. A metal ladder is leaning against the building because of repair work.

My wife enjoyed sunset at Laguna Beach this last FridaySunset at a beach, with a large group of people gathered on the grass and along the shore. Silhouettes of people, palm trees, and a distant island are visible against a colorful sky with shades of orange, pink, and purple.

My modern need to vanquish all notifications and icon badges has bled into World of Warcraft, where I can’t ignore any quests. Over 10 years ago I didn’t care #WoW

Today, my wife (on a business trip) photographed the Southwest “Missouri One” livery at Sacramento International #AvGeek #N280WN #PlaneSpotting #KSMF A view out an airport terminal window with a clear view of the tarmac and a jet bridge. Ground crew and equipment surround a Southwest Airlines plane in Missouri One livery near a jet bridge. The sky is clear blue.

I’ve had Grado SR–125 headphones for almost 20 years now. I’ve neglected them the last ten years. Their second set of L cushions were disintegrating, so I splurged on official G cushions. They’re so good. They fit entirely over my ears instead of sitting along the edges (that made my ears ache pretty fast). #Gradolabs

Spam texts are getting feisty

A text exchange shows two messages: the first suggests a trip to Hawaii in October with a thinking emoji, and the second questions why the person hasn't responded.

In World of Warcraft’s War Within, I have made it to Dornogal. My Druid hasn’t died yet. Not sure if that means I’m badass or that first part of the game is purposefully easy to solo 🤔 Enjoying it so far #WoW

FlightFactor 777v2 Release is “Imminent”

The FlightFactor 777v2 has been in development for a staggering period of time

I say this as someone that doesn’t want to interact with fake people, I think they spent way too much time on the crew simulation. #XPlane12 #FlightSim #AvGeek

I just learned about Follower Dungeons in World of Warcraft. Being able to now play the game solo, at my own pace, is very tempting. I’m happy to see WoW is available for Macs #WoW #macOS

Got the new Covid vaccine tonight

Asian pears are ready for fresh eating! The yellow ones are New Century and the brown ones are Hosui. Our nectarines were hammered by the heat and recently got bug infested. But we harvested what we could & cooked them down. #HomeOrchard #AsianPears A collection of yellow and brown Asian pears placed in a clear plastic bowl.

Last Sunday, caught this Navy E6-B bird flying west of the refuge. Apparently they were on a west coast tour. #E6B #AvGeek A small white airplane flying against a clear blue sky. It is a four engine jet.

Saw a bad-ass Tarantula-hawk Wasp at the refuge. I haven’t seen tarantulas around these parts, though. #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Pepsis #TarantulaHawkWasp A black bodied and orange-winged Tarantula-hawk wasp with long orange antennae walking on a rocky dirt surface.

Rabbits all day at the refuge this pleasant summer morning #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Rabbits A wildlife scene featuring a jackrabbit with large ears sitting on a trail, framed between two hiking trail signs. There’s lots of tall, dry grass and on the horizon, a clump of trees.

In X-Plane 12, flew from KLAX to KJFK in the classic 747-200. I came in hot and then a bit low, but everyone got off the plane in short order so guess everyone’s happy 😅  #XPlane12 #FlightSim #YawmanArrowA 747-200 in classic United tulip livery on approach to KFJ 31L. There are three red and one white PAPI lights, indicating the aircraft is a bit low. The plane is flying over some water, with the runway rapidly approaching. Manhattan skyscrapers can be seen in the distance. It's a partly cloudy day.

My RaspberryShake detected the M7.1 earthquake from super early this morning Pacific time. Here’s the USGS link: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000nith/executive

#RaspberryShake #Earthquake #CitizenScience #Japan

A seismopgraph of the 7.1 earthquake off the coast of Southern Japan. Shows a strong, though kind of fuzzy signal that starts strong compared to background and slowly fades out.

It’s really disappointing that Amazon can’t be bothered to make reasonable delivery schedules in my own nick of the woods. It’s not a new problem! UPS is unionized & they do fine.

On Geekwire: “Driven away: Overloaded by Amazon, rural delivery companies reach the end of the road”