Diary

I have found a book that I think is worth reading but am not far along enough in it to say much about it yet. In the meantime, I didn't want you to worry that I have dementia and have wandered off into the woods and been eaten by coyotes. As you might expect, I've been doing my regular season-change tasks and have mailed in my income tax forms. I think that the snow is more or less over, and I installed my summer tires. One of the problems in doing this yourself is that if the car has been examined by mechanics, they often over-torque the wheel lug nuts. In Vermont, you have to have your car inspected annually, and I took mine in in January. The lug nuts were so tight that I had to buy a special tool to loosen them. I will also plant some tomato seeds indoors soon. I probably won't have to cut the grass for at least another month.

As usual, I am keeping my eyes out for the local fauna. I also try to notice annual changes, though I'm not systematic about it. Deer are coming through the yard more often now. There is also a large, fluffy skunk that I see at night that almost seems friendly. I haven't seen any bobcats or foxes for quite a while. I think that I may have reduced the local mouse population slightly by blocking them out of the house and shed. They are still present in the woods, but their density may be lower near the house now. Small predators obviously know where their food is, and are probably less interested in this location now. I'm getting a little tired of the squirrels, because there are so many of them. But they can be fun to watch. I can lie in bed in the morning and see them coming down from the treetops. There are still lots of acorns on the ground, so they have plenty to eat. It can also be interesting to watch the birds, because they have different diets. The chickadees and tufted titmice are omnivores and begin eating insects now. The goldfinches completely disappear now because they are exclusively vegetarian and seek seeds in open fields. I also get a few red-bellied woodpeckers, which are omnivores and prefer seeds to suet.

I've done a little stargazing just to make sure that the mount is properly aligned. This telescope isn't that powerful, but you can always get a good view of the moon when it's up, even during the day. Sometimes it's so bright at night that I have to use a filter with the eyepiece to see the details.

I am gradually meeting some of the neighbors, but this takes years in Vermont, especially if you live in the woods. Native Vermonters are not exactly warm and fuzzy, but many out-of-staters, previously known as "flatlander bastards," live here now. I was discussing this term recently with a native Vermonter at the food coop in Middlebury. She said that her husband is from Maine and thinks that's pretty stupid, because the mountains here aren't that tall. They're taller in New York, New Hampshire and Maine, and they're nothing compared to the Rockies, Cascades or Sierra Nevadas. Still, I like the fact that the behavior of Vermonters is generally less affected than that of city dwellers. They are down to earth in a way that makes it easier for them to have unpretentious interactions with others, though their aesthetic sensibilities may be a little limited.

Because of the war with Iran, the Trump administration seems to be collapsing at an accelerating rate. What is amazing is that he managed to do this much damage in slightly over a year. It would be a lot better if the Democratic Party had more competent leaders, though it does appear that generational changes are gradually occurring now. While there are many potentially good female politicians, you have to remember that we are just stupid primates, and humans are predisposed to respond more to alpha males. I think that a new cadre of angry male Democrats is gradually taking shape, and it actually may not take much effort to convince younger voters that they've been hoodwinked by the Republicans. In this atmosphere, I've been thinking of ways to memorialize the Trump administration. One idea is to charge Trump and members of his administration with crimes against humanity. Those found guilty might be publicly executed by hanging. They might be buried in a mass grave in the soil near the Washington Monument without embalmment or coffins. Then a giant pyramid could be built on top of them. But, partly to be eco-friendly and partly as a lesson to future Americans, the pyramid would be made of papier-mâché. After the bodies have been given time to rot, the pyramid could be removed and recycled. Potentially it could be cut into small pieces and sold to tourists. The area would then be fenced off for health reasons and to keep out grave robbers, such as Neo-Nazis in search of trophies. It would eventually be a small field covered with grass. One potential name for the site might be The Stupid Dictator Memorial.  

Diary

I seem to have reached another drought in finding books that I want to read. I started on a Vivian Maier biography but am underwhelmed and am giving up. I still find Maier quite interesting, and the problem is that her life was sort of unique and doesn't fit the standard categories that people associate with fame. It really is a fluke that she was ever discovered, and there is no evidence that she expected to become famous. The underlying story is that her grandmother, Eugenie, became pregnant by a farmhand in France and moved to the U.S., leaving behind her daughter, Marie. Marie later came to the U.S. and got married, but was completely dysfunctional throughout her life, married badly and never took proper care of her children. She took Vivian back to France with her for a few years, which seems to have influenced Vivian's identity. From what I've read, Vivian and her brother were completely neglected, but their grandmother, Eugenie, probably influenced Vivian considerably. Eugenie worked for many years as a cook for extremely wealthy families at their gigantic mansions on the East Coast. Somehow, Vivian internalized the idea that really rich people were important and that photography was a high-status endeavor. The problem is that Vivian's immediate family was so dysfunctional that she got little direction or support and ended up drifting for the remainder of her life. She had almost no contact with family members for decades, but, working as a nanny, some of her maternal instincts were probably satisfied. She seemed to bond with one family in Highland Park, Illinois, but when the children grew up she left and got another job. Some of the accounts of Maier from people who knew her then seem a little contrived. It seems likely that some of her former employers may have airbrushed their impressions of her after she became famous. The underlying facts seem to indicate that she was a marginalized low-income person who was usually ignored. The main problem, I think, is that she had no friends, did not remain in contact with relatives, and never gave a written or verbal account of her conception of her life to anyone. There is plenty of evidence that she had some psychiatric issues. She was definitely a hoarder. Why would she take thousands of photographs and not print most of them? Why were many of her rolls of photographic negatives never opened? While, on the one hand, she did seem to have a life strategy and enjoyed taking photographs, she seemed, outside her work as a nanny, to be a very poorly-adjusted recluse carrying enormous psychological baggage from her earlier life. In my view, Maier really was a top-notch photographer, and I don't mind that people have capitalized on her financially, but there does seem to me to be a deeply tragic underlying story that may already be slightly inaccessible.

The temperatures have been fluctuating here, but it is generally warming up. My telescope is set up and I may do some stargazing soon. I made a full circuit on the Cadwell Trail yesterday (it was flooded earlier), and the birds are returning. There were more beer cans behind the Congregational Church in Pittsford last week. I had told the Recreation and Police Departments about it, and they ignored me, so I went to the Pittsford Town Office and left a note. I will no longer be picking up beer cans there and will just avoid that portion of the trail if they start building up again. Part of the problem is that the Congregational Church is near the two liquor stores in Pittsford.

I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing about Donald Trump. The good news is that I don't see how he can extract himself from this mess of his own making. What is really amazing is that Republicans still generally support him. Of course, this has partly to do with big money and cronyism, but I am dumbfounded that people voluntarily support a stupid criminal with dementia who doesn't have the slightest idea what he's doing. If people were rational, there would be a day of reckoning about the Trump phenomenon, but it currently looks as if more inflation and a weaker economy may be necessary first.

Oxymorons

Summer school, and jumbo shrimp, of course.

Friendly fire, famous poet, common sense,

and, until very recently, safe sex.

Blind date, sure thing, amicable divorce.

 

Also, there's loyal opposition,

social security, deliberate speed.

How about dysfunctional family?

Eyes blackened, hearts crushed, the damn thing functions.

Some things we say should coat our tongues with ash.

Drug-Free School Zone? No way: it's our money

our children toke, snort and shoot up while we

vote against higher property taxes.

Want a one-word oxymoron? Prepay.

Money's—forgive me—rich in such mischief:

trust officer, debt service, common thief—

these phrases all want to have it both ways

and sag in the middle like decrepit beds.

Religious freedom—doesn't that sound good?

And some assisted living when you're old

and in our cryptic dreams the many dead

swirl like a fitful snow. We'll wake and not

think of our living wills or property.

We'll want some breakfast. Our memories

will be our real estate, all that we've got.

—William Matthews

Diary

Because I've been writing on this blog for twelve years, some of my current views are slightly different from what I wrote originally. I don't want to take the time to do complete updates, and, in any case my views aren't all that different now. I did, however, update my thoughts on randomness and determinism in 2024. I am still interested in how to think about determinism, and have been finding some of the writings on that, which I've discussed, to be a little incomplete. Sabine Hossenfelder thinks primarily as a physicist and sometimes becomes a little overwhelmed by the enormity of understanding that we live in a deterministic universe. Robert Sapolsky seems to think of it biologically and emphasizes sympathy for those who are unable to control their negative behaviors. Kathryn Paige Harden's view seems to be similar to Sapolsky's, but is slightly more positive and looks at the situation in terms of the luck of having good genes. Robert Plomin's view is similar to Harden's, and in his case he emphasizes the luck of being, say, a good student. These views are probably fine, but I find it confusing to discuss determinism using language that seems to imply that things might have been otherwise. It seems likely that nothing could have been at all different. Though E.O. Wilson also seemed to be a determinist, I don't think that he was interested in it the same way as the others and was more concerned about saving the biosphere. What I have been thinking for several years now is how we might use our improved biological knowledge to redesign some of our systems. As I've said, and I apologize for bringing it up again, Donald Trump is such a defective person, and we've known this for ten years, that you have to question why he was reelected when it was known that his second term was likely to be chaotic and destructive. It is more than a little obvious now that he has a markedly poor understanding of many of the complex issues that he is supposed to be addressing. There is currently enough knowledge in the field of psychiatry that it would have been a simple matter to bar Trump from office if the appropriate rules and laws had been in place. This is why I think that the views of Vinod Goel could be useful in a legislative context. Technically, Goel may not be a complete determinist, but, through his emphasis on reason, he provides a method for dealing with some intractable social and political problems through the use of reason.

There has been a shockingly swift change to early spring here. A few days ago, there was over a foot of snow on the ground. Then it became quite warm, and now most of it has melted; there are currently flood warnings in the region. I'm looking forward to hiking again. I moved the bird feeders up into trees in case the bears come out – that could happen very soon. There are still spilled seeds on the ground, and a raven and a turkey came over to eat them. The woodpeckers, goldfinches, chickadees, etc. are eating seeds and suet at the new locations.

I've been reading The Oldest Rocks on Earth, by Simon Lamb. It is very well-written and describes his geological research over the course of his career. It is amazing to me that some very significant ideas, such as plate tectonics, were not discovered until the 1960's. I don't think I'll write about the book, because it is somewhat technical and would not appeal to all readers. There is a newer biography of Vivian Maier out now, which is said to describe her life in greater detail than the one I read earlier, and I plan to write about that at some point. 

Theme Song of the Day

Another good song by John Prine from Bruised Orange. I bought this album in 1978.