iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

We don't get to see a lot of black walnuts down here. The wood was really popular (I guess is still is). But don't ever make the mistake of sitting (or camping) under one in the Fall. Those things (nuts inside a husk) are nearly the size of a baseball and they're 60 feet in the air. They hurt. 🤠

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Ambassador Greg Delawie @gregdelawie.bsky.social · 17h

As my English friends say, disgraceful. Speaking of which, the Brits locked up the guys that cut down the Sycamore Gap tree (aka The Robin Hood tree) for 4 years. We may have to wait, but justice is coming.

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Reposted by Don Brown

No shock that Republican thugs attacked an American nurse.

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"Since then, Sheffield has operated a private equity company.[2] Sheffield is a major donor to Donald Trump's presidential campaigns.[2][3]" Surprise, surprise, surprise! (There really should be a Gomer Pyle emoji.)

Bryan Sheffield - Wikipedia

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Hmm. I wonder if they'll pay you in company script? "The website does not state how much construction would cost or how long it would take to build, but it does say it would not be permanent." "The company is owned by Kit Sheffield, a relative...of Bryan Sheffield, an American businessman..." 👇

Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 15h

I thought that one might be popular. But I learned yesterday (from AL dot com) that Blue Cross has 80+% of the insurance market, here in Alabama. (You don't need to watch the video. It's just where I got the info.) Guess what happens? They don't pay doctors as much as in other states.

youtu.be

Another healthcare crunch: Few insurance options

YouTube video by Down in Alabama

Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 19h

Note to self: Corporate Death Penalty "Companies suggested as deserving the corporate death penalty include Eli Lilly & Company, Equifax, Unocal Corporation, and Wells Fargo." Which company would you choose? SpaceX? Oracle? BlackRock? Exxon? UnitedHealth?

Judicial dissolution - Wikipedia

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

“For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” Truly, there is nothing new under the Sun.

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JJ in DC @jjindc.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

🧊✈️ These are all ICE flights 👀

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I bet the words "Kenya Space Agency" weren't on your bingo card today. 🤠 “This is an isolated event,” the Kenya Space Agency said in early 2025. Not exactly." "A study for the U.S. (FAA) concluded that by 2035, debris from SpaceX satellites alone could kill or injure someone every two years."

nytimes.com

A Ton of Space Junk Tumbles Unpredictably to Earth Every Week (Gift Article)

Flaming chunks of metal crash into homes, farms and parking lots. Who’s to blame? And who pays for the damage?

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Amanda for Alabama HQ @amandaforalabama.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

If Robert Aderholt won’t face me on the debate stage—and won’t face the people he was elected to represent—we’ll bring the conversation directly to his doorstep. Help us take this fight across AL-04: chip in $15 today or sign up to volunteer at amandaforalabama.com.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In Austin, a 9-year-old watched ICE detain and drive away with his mother, leaving community members to scramble to find him care. Senate Republicans just blocked a bill that would bar ICE from making arrests at school bus stops. Their cruelty is endless.

commondreams.org

'It Has to Stop': Community Members Condemn ICE Arrests at Bus Stops After GOP Blocks Bill to Protect Kids | Common Dreams

Republicans in the US Senate blocked a bill to protect school bus stops from ICE arrests, leading to outrage in Pennsylv

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And so it starts. Fall is coming. The leaves are just turning but they’ve already started falling. Baby does are running around everywhere. Mornings are finally cooling down. Nikon D7500 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR 62mm F8@1.6 seconds ISO 400 Polarizer DSB_6219.JPG ©Don Brown 2026 #photography

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You have a compelling argument.. But I still don't have the expertise to argue with the scientists dedicated to this subject. You might. But I don't.

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...thing as a free lunch. If we want roads, schools and air traffic control we have to pay taxes. And I'll guarantee you there is someone smarter than you out there trying to make sure *you* pay taxes instead of them. You can't change how smart you are. But you can change how truthful you are.

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Well, the price of eggs came down (after the bird flu had run its course). Does that make up for the price of gas? Under Biden, wages were rising faster than prices (for a period of time). How about now? There are six ways to Sunday to mess around with *your* money. There is still no such...

You would think, after 45 years of "cutting taxes", I'd be paying nothing in taxes. But I'm not. And you aren't either. (Psssst! *Somebody* will have to pay off our debt. With *taxes*.) Remember when Donald Trump promised to lower prices? What happened? The economy was *horrible*. (Oct '24)

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...Republicans have been riding for all it's worth. Seriously. Republicans have been "cutting (my) taxes" for 45 years. Except they never cut *my* taxes. I get "refunds" almost every year. But I don't get wealthier. Rich people do. But you don't. (I'm not complaining. My life is *good*)

Distribution of wealth - Wikipedia

All of the politicians you hear today talking about prices being too high and that they'd lower them? They're lying. Or they're stupid. One or the other. Either way, you don't want them running your country. But the bigger lie is that they will lower your taxes. That's a 45-year old lie...

Ronald Reagan - Wikipedia

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...about "truth"...and what to "believe"... Do you know why politicians lie? Because, if they told you the truth you wouldn't elect them. Well, okay, you might elect a guy that doesn't lie to you after you've been burned by a guy that did lie to you. Once. Then it's back to the liars.

Jimmy Carter - Wikipedia

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A spy agency wants to know the truth...so they can keep it a secret? So they can lie to people? I find it fascinating. No? And then there's the Christian part of me. Not to make you uneasy or anything but I do go to church. I do believe. Or as I like to say, I *choose* to believe. Talk...

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...remember me writing about it in my blog. So, I've known about it for decades. And for the late-comers, I was an air traffic controller. If you'll think about it, we have an "interesting" relationship to truth. “And Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free” – John 8:32

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Bible Quote Carving - CIA

...picture of this. You'd think, with all the money we spend on the CIA, they could come up with a better picture. (But perhaps they don't want one.) I've always been fascinated by it -- a biblical quotation about truth in the lobby of a spy agency about "truth". Some of you (weirdos) might....

cia.gov

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I must be getting old. My mind (or maybe my conscience) keeps pushing me towards the serious subject. I thought maybe this trait would go away with time. I'm much too serious, too much of the time. But no, it seems to be getting worse. For instance, I spent an hour searching for a better pic...

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The organ music rack reflects the stained-glass window in the North transept of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Griffin, GA. The music rack for the church organ is made of Plexiglas so the organist ...

Well, that wasn't too bad of a wait. Of course, I have almost 1,000 pictures waiting for me to edit but...I have my priorities. 🤠 It's the best thing about being an amateur photographer -- the ability to say "no". But good things do happen when you say "yes". At least to the right things.

flic.kr

Organ Reflection

Thanks for the article. I hate to argue with folks that do this for a living....scientists. It's a tough choice. But it sounds like a bad decision. I'm assuming that nobody is importing barred owls and it's a natural event. (With the knowledge that we're the ones changing the environment.)

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Who? (Sorry. Couldn't resist. 🤠) Who wants to get rid of barred owls? Washington State? Forest Service?

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A banner day. All 3 of my games in less than 5 mins. No good goes unpunished. (Do them anyway.) Martini Hour might start late. I have a deed to do. Wordle 1,933 4/6 🟩🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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I don't know whether or not anyone in the U.S. Government can explain Pine Gap to the Current Occupant at the White House or not... But Shoebridge has my attention. I met a guy that had been there, the other day. He was surprised I knew what it was. I can't imagine why. 🤠

Pine Gap (TV series) - Wikipedia

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Birds Of Prey (1973) helicopter action highlights

Who cares how bad the TV is? I never forgot the flying. Dollars to doughnuts the pilot flew Loaches in Vietnam.

youtube.com

YouTube video by Zac Yates

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Today was a bust so here’s a picture from yesterday…a piece of unblemished sky, away from Elon’s rocket. Yes, that’s a star in the top left. 40 minutes before sunrise. Nikon D7500 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR 52mm F8@10 seconds ISO 400 GND filter DSB_4408.JPG ©Don Brown 2026 #photography

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Reposted by Don Brown

Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 26/09/2026

Good morning, Mr, @girmayzahilay.bsky.social. Doesn’t it violate King County’s rules to have ICE obscure its loading of migrants from the Boeing Field livestream like this? And can you please find out if the migrants have been on buses on the tarmac all night after yesterday’s plane (N468AW) broke?

A screenshot of the livestream view of Boeing Field’s ICE camera, showing two large buses obscuring the loading area in front of N455AW

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Sounds delightful. Sounds like progress. It sounds like somebody that knows how to make the world better for the next generation. You may not remember polluted rivers, smoggy skies and the lack of wildlife. I do. We can do better. We have in the past. We can do it again. But not with the GOP.

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Reposted by Don Brown

Amanda for Alabama HQ @amandaforalabama.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

On the road for #AL04! 🚗 Join me on the campaign trail this weekend! Help us keep the momentum going—chip in $15 or sign up to volunteer today at amandaforalabama.com!

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Reposted by Don Brown

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Was talking with somebody last night about whether today's plutocrats were objectively "worse" than original Gilded Age. Them: "Well, what are your examples?" Me: "Big three: Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg. "Then Ellisons, Kochs, Singer, Schwarzman. Princelings like Lutnick, Uihlein. No contest."

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

(Exposure data) Nikon D7500 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR 44mm F8@13 seconds ISO 400 GND filter DSB_4393.JPG ©Don Brown 2026 The first paper I came across. "...soot particles lingering in the upper atmosphere are 540 times more effective at altering climate than ground-based soot emissions..."

physicsworld.com

Soot from rocket launches is polluting Earth's upper atmosphere – Physics World

Problem set to worsen as launch numbers increase, say UCL researchers

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

...this ain't our first rodeo. Innovation always outruns regulation and corporations will gladly take the profits and leave the pollution for someone else to clean up. That’d be you — the taxpayers. So, accordingly, I object.

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Don Brown @gettheflick.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It only takes two seconds to Google up a scientific paper already warning of the global implications of rocket pollution. I don’t know what the upper atmospheric equivalent of the Cuyahoga River catching fire might be... "..., so much so that it caught fire at least 14 times..."