iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Trying to soak up every drop of Oregon sunshine before our blue skies become just a memory.

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I think my compost-unloading technique needs some work!

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No Planet B Photography @noplanetbphoto.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#Bird of the Day: Least Grebe (LEGR) In my region, the Pied-billed Grebe is the most unassuming looking of grebe, but the LEGR, found in Central & South America & the Caribbean, is even smaller & perhaps even more unassuming. Its most striking feature is a bright yellow eye; a white wing patch is

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Reposted by Kris Gates

Earlier this summer, I got to spend sometime with a Northern Gannet breeding colony or several thousand #seabirds #BirdoftheDay #birdphotography #birds #bird #nikon #birdlovers #birdlife #photography #art #animal #🪶 #ukbirding #ECK #noplanetbphotography #Scotland www.noplanetbphotography.art

Large seabird of the Atlantic with long, pointed bill, wings, and tail. Adults bright white with cream-colored head and black wingtips. Takes several years to reach adult plumage; juveniles are all sooty-brown and slowly acquire more white as they mature. Nests in enormous colonies on cliffs in the North Atlantic. Spends most of its life at sea, although often fairly close to land, so they are often visible from shore or on whale watching boats. Dives torpedolike into the ocean for fish. Gathers in large feeding flocks, but sometimes solitary.

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Recommend. 2026 by Thomas Levenson: A Pox on Fools (the true believers, grifters and cynics who convinced us to reject vaccines). Vaccine rejection kills people. Vaccine disinformation spreads unnecessary suffering and death.

Book cover: THOMAS LEVENSON
A POX ON FOOLS
THE TRUE BELIEVERS, GRIFTERS, AND CYNICS WHO CONVINCED US TO REJECT VACCINES
*BRIMMING WITH RIGHTEOUS NGER, THIS BOOK SHOULD FURIATE YOU FOR ALL THE GHT REASONS, AND ARM YOU TAKE ON THE GRIFTERS AND AR WAR AGAINST SCIENCE." AM RUTHERFORD

between 1950 and 1970 saw a radical transtormation in what it meant to be a child or a parent, as the tull suite of vaccines became available to ward off the most common scourges and killers of the very young. The first polio vaccine was licensed in 1955.
The measles vaccine arrived in 1963;49 mumps in 1967, rubella in 1969. (The chicken pox shot was a bit of a laggard, but made it into the regular immunization schedule in 1995.)
These inventions, along with that other revolutionary ad-vance, antibiotic drugs, have made childhood radically different in the last half-century than it was for all prior human history. In 1800 in the United States almost half of all newborns would be dead before their fifth birthday.5º By 1870, just before the germ-theory revolution, that number was still over three in ten. By 1950 death came for just four out of each 100 young children.
Then the complete catalogue of vaccines took effect, until by the turn of the millennium US child mortality below the age of five from all causes fell below 1 percent. Worldwide, the measles shot alone has saved at least 93 million people over the last half-century."' For families in wealthy nations and increasingly in the rest of the world, this has been an unprecedented gift of time-for children to grow up, to see one's kids finish school, raise families of their own—anything one might choose to do with a life.

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#Bird of the Day: Song Sparrow (SOSP) Being a fledgling is risky business! Not only are you just learning how to forage for food and avoid predators, but your immature and incomplete plumage make you a clumsy flyer. Many birds develop their wing feathers before their tail feathers, as

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Ready for tomorrow’s sign-waving for Janelle Bynum, the incumbent Democrat for OR-5. We need to hold on to every Dem seat— and our Governorship! To fight Trump’s chaos, we must vote blue.

A sign reading

NO MAGA for Oregon
VOTE BYNUM
VOTE KOTEK
VOTE BLUE

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If it looks like a racist tyrant and quacks like a racist tyrant....

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39 at the weekly corner protest. Used my Free Speech = Free Country sign today. Great driver responses & weather. Spent time talking to a troubled young man originally from Ukraine about his life. He seemed like he needed a listener. At one point he called me a “credible source of information”. 😊

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More fun with quince! A batch of quince marmalade. This fruit has so much natural pectin that it sets like a dream. Again, love that color change.

Grated quince, water and lemon juice, with a bit of candied grapefruit peel.

The fruit is now softened, sugar and vanilla beans added.

Simmered to reduce about 40 minutes. It gradually deepens to a pink shade.

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We read a novel by a Japanese author this month for book group, so I’m contributing some Asian-inspired cookies to our shared meal: Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies made with pork lard and Honey-Tahini Cookies. Both on a tantalizing mix of savory and sweet. 🍽️

Wire rack of baked cookies studded with dark chocolate chips.

Wire rack of layered, flat cookies, golden brown and coated in sesame seeds

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Woohoo! Load 2, this one for the flower beds. Feeling very lucky I wasn’t doing this fall chore in the rain this year. Time to hit the showers and then have some lunch!

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A friend brought me two bags of quince from her daughter’s tree. Yay! A batch of honey-poached quince with vanilla. This fruit has such a unique, fragrant flavor, and I love how it turns a rosy color as it cooks. 🍽️

Fuzzy quinces. You know they’re ripe when your kitchen smells like vanilla!

This is the time consuming part. Peel, core and section. Poach in a sweetened liquid for about 2 hours.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

#Bird of the Day: Lark Sparrow (LASP) During a recent long weekend in southern Oregon, a few of us headed out early one morning to explore Emigrant Lake, an artificial lake/reservoir surrounded by mature oaks and scrubland. The water level was quite low and we didn’t see waterbirds except for a

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Reposted by Kris Gates

Raskin made a holy shit observation on MS Now this afternoon: Since taking office, Trump has made a million dollars per hour for himself. Every hour, he has made more than twice the president’s annual salary.

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Reposted by Kris Gates

SaraKateW @sarakatew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Does anybody want to short notice do a guest post on a niche bird blog and newsletter? I feel like I might not be able to get a bird of the day for a couple of days, and I only have one guest post in the bank. skwbotd@gmail.com. Blog in bio.

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Kris Gates @krismgates.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#Bird of the Day: Keel-billed Toucan (KBTO) The national bird of Belize, this bird is instantly recognizable to birders & “normal people”. For USians*, we have a collective cultural memory of Toucan Sam, the mascot for Froot Loops, his role since 1963. The sales gimmick is: Sam, with his huge nose,

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Kris Gates @krismgates.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I didn't realize a cybertruck could be even more cringe.

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Kris Gates @krismgates.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I’ll sleep well tonight! A load of composted horse manure spread onto the vegetable garden. Hoping for another load for the flower beds.

Small trailer full of composted horse manure and some shovels.

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Reposted by Kris Gates

KFF @kff.org · 23/09/2026

Our new nationally representative survey of 4,688 women and 1,148 men ages 18–64 finds health care costs remain a major barrier for women, specifically — causing everything from delayed care to rationed medications to cuts in spending on basic needs: on.kff.org/4y4XIn2

KFF graphic titled “Cost shapes everyday health decisions,” that shows data from the 2026 Women’s Health Survey. It shows donut charts below text that says: In the last year, because of cost, women ages 18 to 64: 42% delayed or postponed care they needed; 31% skipped or postponed a recommended medical test or treatment; 27% did not fill a prescription; 17% cut pills in half or skipped doses of medication; 25% spent less money on basic needs.

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Kris Gates @krismgates.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#Bird of the Day: Cedar Waxwings (CEWA) Birdwatchers, like farmers, are especially attuned to the seasons. We’re in the midst of fall migration here, when millions of birds pass through on their southward journeys & we’re all encouraged to turn off outdoor lights for birds’ safer nighttime travels.

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Reposted by Kris Gates

670rv @670rv.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Fawn at dusk, Ashland Cemetery. White-tailed deer.

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Reposted by Kris Gates

bsky.app/profile/greg...

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Fawn at dusk, Ashland Cemetery. White-tailed deer.

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Reposted by Kris Gates

Here's some unsolicited advice for my Democratic friends - in office and running. Think twice before hiring consultants who are cozying up to private equity, signing up to defend prediction markets, or telling candidates to not say what they actually feel about the big AI companies.

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Jennifer N. Victor @jenvictor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

We now have a regime that not only spreads false conspiracies that endanger public health but also makes accurate counting & reporting of negative effects on public health harder, if not impossible. Are we tired of Trump's "winning"? Are we sick of Kennedy's lies? Vote like our health depends on it.

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Reposted by Kris Gates

If you want a sober view of why the federal government was so vulnerable to DOGE’s draconian efforts, what’s been lost, and how we might rebuild, read this donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-system...

donmoynihan.substack.com

The System for Using Evidence to Improve Federal Programs Has Been Gutted

Here’s How We Fix It

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