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What good news pokes its head up amist the carnage of war, disease, and falling Dow? Last weekend was spent at the state beach at Pt. Mugu. It was 104 when we turned down Kanan Dube Road and 75 at the beach. It was so cool that we were in jackets before sundown. The coolocean breeze is one of the many good things. There was no tsunami with zombies riding on top of the wave. Breakfast was slowly cooked over the morning campfire. And top of those glad tidings a giant flea that can grow up to half an inch was found on a Mountain Bever. I don’t think they cover the bever like fleas on a dog. What if a solar flare changed there genes and they grew to 30 feet tall? At least that would make a good movie title, “Attack of the Giant Mountain Bever Fleas.” It would open in 3D.

There were a couple of articles about dinosaurs with feathers and how that some theropods had grow smaller and smaller and learned to glide and climb and to even fly . When the meteor hit they were able to survive. Is the chicken closely related to the TRex? Now that has nothing to do with the shape of the moon. Apparently when it was more liquid the tides of the Earth’s oceans caused it to be shaped a bit like a lemon. Now back to what came first the chicken or the dinosaur? If we continue to try to get bigger and bigger and more meaty chickens might we not wake up to man eating pre TRexes? Also there is a danger of extinction for the Pangolin. It seems that their meat is consider a real delicacy in China. By the way the Pangoin is also known as the Scaley Anteater. Finally could all these have combined to cause the DOW to drop a lot today?  

Have read about elephants having a keen sense of smell and that some bats navigate using polarized light. There was also an article about whether or not dogs were really jealous of other dogs. Now back to mammoths and mastodons. Just got back from the Mammoth region and did not see any of the creatures there. It seems that the two species had different eating habits.Mammoths were grazers eating more grass and mastodons ate branches and leaves. And it seems they didn’t roam around much. That made me feel a bit better. Also the San Diego Zoo announced the birth of a rare Black Rhino. I don’t think there has been a study of whether or not there was jealousy display among or between the mammoths and mastodons. And it’s good to know that all bats aren’t blind.

From the New York times comes an article that states that qcetaminophen is no better than a placebo for back pain. I was interested as for the first time in my 75+ years I tweaked my back a few weeks ago. The article did state that patients who thought it worked should keep taking it. Next week there may be a new study saying how great it is. Am not sure what “tweaked” means but it didn’t feel good. President Putin gave a 4 hour domestic speech or interview where he spoke of a Russia that included much of the Ukraine including Odessa. There is an Odessa in west Texas but I don’t think he meant that or the nearby Midland. Keep safe and have a great Wednesday evening or perhaps a great Thursday morning.

Just took an online quiz and learned that the Bastille was stormed to find more ammunition. Any way I join the French in celebration. Other exciting news includes a possible reevaluation of Pluto’s status as a real planet. That could be a boon to future tourist visits. Oh, there is a dispute between the descendants of John Wayne and Duke University over the use of Duke. I feel that is less important than the status of Pluto. 900,000,000 light years away could be the boundary of the Milky Way. It seems that scientists have discovered the light from Red Giant stars. This means the Milky Way is much larger than we thought. I remember being awe struck by the Milkey Way as seen on the plains of Eastern New Mexico. Also the candy bar goes nicely with a Dr. Pepper.

Amist all the chaos that seems to cover the Earth like a fog in the forrest, there were some good events. The two contenders for the Afghan presidency have agreed to a complete ballot recount and even pubically hugged each other. And Brazil had the joy of not having Argentia win the World Cup , even though that did not bring happiness to Argentina. Porpoises are being attacked by dolphins in Cardigan Bay. What is next? It is probably not related to these attacks but New Zealand has a problem with rats and stoats. When there is a heavy fall seeds in a forest then the rats have a zillion babies and the stoats which are weasels then have a million babies and after they eat the rats they start eating the native flightless birds. I hope the stoats don’t start attacking people. It is a cloudy and beautiful day here in Eagle Rock. I took a nice walk and did not see either rats or stoats. It even rained a few scattered drops. Have the best Bastille Day ever.

Happy 4th. Way back in Tatum we used to celebrate at my grandparents house which was at the edge of town. There were two roads to their house, one of which was sometimes blocked by a barbed wire gate. That was to keep people from sneaking in the rodeo without paying. Anyway we always had fried chicken, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, water mellon and hand-churned ice cream. I don”t remember many fireworks. This brings me to the Goldilocks planet. It seems that the first planet thought to be sort of earth-like was not a planet but a sun spot. Glad I did’t buy a ticket to travel there. And even if it was a planet and there were intelligent creatures they would probably not celebrate the 4th or have pecan pie.

Is there much good news on the international front? Well, the leader of China is visiting South instead of North Korea. And North Korea is going to have their internal airline start flying for the first time in several years. Have not seen any shirtless pictures of Putin on the net. Can you imagine George Washington shirtless on the boat crossing the river? Anyway I really enjoy watching that historical movie about the 4th, Independence Day. Was that really based on actual events the government is trying to keep secret from us? Have a wonderful 4th and keep on the safe side of the fireworks.