:(

A mix-up over bioengineered tomato seeds sparked fears about spread of GMO crops

This has got to stop--we're killing ourselves for convenience

Survey finds that 60 firms are responsible for half of world’s plastic pollution

And I'm just as guilty of creating demand as others...I've got to stop buying plastics.

Sanity

Maryland's 'Freedom to Read' act bans book censorship in libraries, bolsters rights amid national debate

Yay!

NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet

I've actually joined a book club at work

 Amazingly enough, in all my years of reading and being a librarian, I have never been in a book club. It's with co-workers from the hospital. Our first book is Nicholas Sparks' The Wish. I've never read any of his books or seen the movies. Any opinions on his writing?

Beautiful and informative and # 17

Of the 50 species this new book from the University of Kentucky Press, I have only seen two: whooping cranes and red-headed woodpeckers. At the rate things are going, I may never see any of the others that are in Kentucky at least part of the year. Since 1970, 3 billion birds have been lost in the US and Canada. The author writes that that means nearly 30% of the birds that used to live in the two countries have disappeared. 😥 Many of these are very colourful. The bill was very intesting. I just hope it doesn't become a historical catalogue. The bird on the cover is a painted bunting. I've heard of them, at least, but many of the others were new to me, so I learned a lot from it.

Citation: Williams, Matt. Endangered and Disappearing Birds of Appalachia and the Southeast. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2024. 248 pp.

Oh, and that's book 17 for 2024!

Sometimes I wonder why people do the things they do...

Four things made me sad when I went to the Chinoe Kroger for cat treats. In order of sadness, they are:

1. One man was sitting in a BMW cocked across a handicapped spot without any placard. Now granted, the car was standing, not parked, so it was ambiguous as to whether he should be there, but still...
2. A giant truck was stretched halfway into a handicapped spot and halfway over the line into a regular spot. It was parked that way. If it had a placard, it may have been on the driver-side dash rather than the rearview mirror, which is fine per the law, I just couldn't see. But regardless of that, folks, if you can't park your humongous truck correctly, don't buy one. Or at least park at the edge of the lot.
3. When I came out, there was a small cart straddling the other handicapped space next to mine and also a regular space, so no one could park. At first I got in the car and turned it on. Then I turned it off, got out of the car, and walked the 10 steps to the cart corral. Now, it's possible the person who used the handicapped spot did it, and couldn't make it to the corral, but if that's the case, put it next to the sign. And no one walking by had bothered to take it to the corral or into the store. My faith in humanity is waning.
4. Saddest of all (but before that last bit), the lady ahead of me in the fast lane and I chatted about cats because she'd seen my treats. Her order came to $74.01. She gave the cashier a hundred-dollar bill and a penny. He hit the button without putting that in. And then he fumbled for a minute or two, finally pulling out some random change. She tried to explain that he'd given her the wrong change (although she didn't say it was $26 even), and he just directed her to the customer service desk. It is the main aspect of his job, but he couldn't make change--not because he was stupid, I think, but because he'd never been taught to, and that's just sad. I've cashiered many times. It just boggles my mind that many today honestly can't do it if they don't type in the right amount and let the register tell them how much to give the customer. He didn't really seem embarrassed, just inconvenienced. He was probably about 24 or 25 years old. We have done such a disservice to students in the last couple of decades. Don't even get me started on cursive.

My journey so far...

In November 2021 I was at my highest weight in my life with a BMI of 58.1 kg/m², had just gone into a 4x in women's clothing, and was miserable. My liver specialist had just added another diuretic because despite being on Lasix, my feet and ankles swelled horribly. I lost 20 lbs. of water weight that month. You heard me. 20 lbs just from fluid retention.

In December I got with a weight management doctor at the University of Kentucky. She put me on Ozempic at that time, which helped with my appetite, and while I was somewhat sketchy about when I ate well and didn't, and my weight fluctuated, overall I went down, sitting at the 60 lbs. total loss mark for awhile, going up and down 10 lbs. Last October I had to go off the Ozempic (which I'm actually on because of my diabetes--the weight-loss version is Wegovy), which was impossible to find. I tried _ten_ pharmacies. I was off for a month. My blood sugar soared. She then put me on Mounjaro, a different drug in the same class for diabetes (the weight-loss version is called Kepbound). What I found was that for me, the Mounjaro has been more effective with appetite with fewer side effects. I went down to 60 lbs lighter total.

Anyway, due to being off the meds and the holidays, I wound up soaring back up to the 40-lb loss mark in January. I managed to lose 10 lbs before my surgery in late February. Since then, I am officially 70 lbs lighter than my original high weight, according to the records at my doctor's office last week. That's mainly because I've been eating much better, I was home with my roommate's cooking, and have reduced my use of the vending machines at work, which is a real struggle because I stress eat at work.

So why is this all important? I desperately meed a knee replacement. Not only are imy knee joints bone on bone, my left patella is even shifted completely out of alignment. But understandably, my knee specialist [lthe same orthopaedist who did my rotator cuff surgery] is concerned about my weight. He won't do a surgery if the BMI is above 45, and prefers it to be under 40. My current BMI is 44.15 kg/m²--greatly reduced from what it was, but in the danger zone still.

However, when I did the calculations the other day, I am about 27 lbs from reaching a BMI of 39.9. We think that's doable. So we're starting to talk about doing the surgeries and I got a pamphlet on what to expect from them at my request. I am excited about the possibilty of reduced pain and greater mobility. Also, if I can do that, I will have officially lost over 100 lbs and have a total BMI reduction of 18.2 kg/m². It obviously won't happen tomorrow, but that gives me some time to prepare for the surgeries.

It was never about looking good, it is about health, and for that matter losing weight actually ages your face and makes you saggier, but I really want to do these surgeries and be more mobile. I'm only 57, too young to be as decrepit as I am. I've had trouble with my knees since high school. It's time to help them. Oh, and here are the obligatory photos. The first one is from September 2021. The other one is from yesterday. PS Shoutout to Dr. Stephanie Rose [women's health/weight management] of UK and Dr. Janak Talwalkar [orthopaedic surgeon] of Baptist. They've both helped me tremendously.

PS Both of those shirts are 3X, and the pants on the second picture are 3X. 70 lbs and I'm still in that size for the most part. Women's clothes are weird. But I was going into 4X and I think I'll be able to transition to 2X soon...I have one pair of pants already. And of course the shirt is mainly due to my bosom. :)  

[Update: I gave blood today and got a shirt for donating. They didn't have any in size 3X, so I took a 2X because I figured I might be able to wear it in the future. When I got home, I tried it on. I won't say that the line is perfect in terms of the cloth's drape, but I can wear it, and it's comfortable, even if it shows my belly roll a bit. I'm a little proud of myself. I could be doing better in my eating, but I'm apparently doing some things well.]

Something to remember

The monkey is from my therapist, a reminder to calm 'monkey chatter' when I'm anxious. The post-it was given to me by my supervisor the day before my surgery when I had a massive panic attack. I need to remember to be mindful. It works for autism meltdowns, too, I'm sure.

Totally unrelated, my to-be-read pile of library books

 I did get some reading done on Belle Brezing, the famous Lexington, KY madam today.

Well, that could have gone better...

So I was really disappointed today. Seven years of keeping up with the 2024 eclipse, making sure I was off work, getting glasses and solar filters over a month ago, planning for things like sunscreen and a tripod, and researching settings that would allow me to take pictures on my cellphone--all gone to nought due to the weather. It was fairly clear this morning, but then it clouded up a little ahead of the eclipse and got worse while it was going on. A couple of hours after the thing was done, it was bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  First is the sky during the eclipse. Then is the sky afterwards, and the black with a tiny orange bit is the best I could do with the few seconds I had a couple of times to try to get a picture with my solar filter on. I did look up once (without the glasses) and caught a glance at the sun with the moon almost covering that was being filtered by the clouds, and that was beautiful. But otherwise, the whole thing was a dud. I would have liked to see totality, but I would have had to drive to Indiana or Paducah, and I have major driving anxiety, so I just couldn't do it, plus I hadn't prepared. Post-surgery, I thought I wouldn't be driving yet, as it's been just a bit over five weeks.

Cloudy, cloudy

After the eclipse was over

Well, I tried

So, there you have it. It did get fairly dark and windy, and the birds sang like it was morning. That was pretty nice.

Once I came in, I waited till the end looking for a break in the clouds to no avail. Then I just climbed into bed, threw a couple of pillows in frustration, and I was really upset. I realise now that it was my autism that basically had me hyperfocusing on the whole thing and then melting down when it didn't go to plan. I am still new to the concept of a meltdown, but it perfectly explains my behaviour at times of my life when I couldn't deal with stimuli, emotions, or especially frustration.

I did try to watch the NASA coverage and got to see this (I think it's from Maine, although I also saw the one from Kerrville, TX), but the running commentary over it just annoyed me to no end, so I only watched it on and off. Here's a snip of that:

I just wish I'd been able to see it in person. :( The next one I might see won't happen till I'm 78, in 2045. [There is one in 2044, but it'll just hit Canada and three northern Midwest states]. Here is the path in 2045:

I may have to live out of sheer spite to see a total solar eclipse, therefor, although I will have to travel to do so because while it goes coast-to-coast in the US, it does not go near Kentucky in terms of totality.

Hey!

Click on Google's Doodle for today...you won't be disappointed. It looks like this:

Eclipse Day!!!!

When it's 7 1/2 hours till the spectacle of an eclipse and you're off work, but you wake up early anyway because you're just that excited.

Sixteen

I'm going to count this even though it's very short.

16. Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper.

It's delightful.

Again, here's hoping

I have sunscreen for both face and body, a chair, a tripod, my cell phone (not the best camera, but still), a solar filter for the camera, and I've tested my eclipse glasses. All I need now is good weather.

If you are in Lexington today or tomorrow morning, I do have three extra glasses. Eclipse glasses are pretty much good for three years, so they won't make it 20 years till the next good one. Just message me or comment if you want one if you can come over here and get them.

Here's hoping

*fingers crossed*

WARNING for you all in Lexington

UK issues warning after campus libraries accidentally handed out fake eclipse glasses

I'm intrigued

I was looking up a historical figure (James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, a Scottish general who was hanged, beheaded, and quartered for supporting Charles I during the War of the Three Kingdoms in 1650)--Battlefield Band has a song called 'Montrose'. Going down that rabbit hole, I found a book by John Buchan [novelist and former Governor General of Canada] called Witch Wood, which sounded promising and put it in as an interlibrary loan request with the Lexington public library. Montrose only makes a small appearance in it, but the story sounded compelling, the story of a clergyman who discovers Scottish witchcraft/paganism being practised and suffers from ensuing politics in the 17th century. It'll probably come from the University of Kentucky, as their library has it. I have a UK library card, but for residents of Kentucky, they expire after a year, and mine is likely expired. The thing I'm most interested in is that in the over 300-page story, a lot of the dialogue is in Scots, which I am interested in, having a lot of Scottish ancestry.

Almost time!!!

[CAVEAT: Some of the information on this post has been gleaned from reading various articles regarding eclipse safety. I'm not a medical person. Don't assume I'm right, although I do truly believe it's a good summation. Make sure you make your own informed choices by reading reputable articles. And if all else fails, view the eclipse indirectly by creating a shadow through a pinhole. Be safe]

On February 26, 1979, when I was 11, our seventh-grade teachers took us outside for the solar eclipse with pinhole cameras. It was total in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, but partial in the Mojave desert, where I lived at Edwards Air Force Base. It captivated me, even though we missed totality. I have always wanted to see a total solar eclipse.. It's one of two things on my bucket list, and the other is seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

In 2017 I really wanted to go to Western Kentucky to see the totality, but my driving anxiety wouldn't allow for it any more than it will this year. For that matter, with the surgery, I didn't even think I'd be driving yet. I remember they handed out glasses at work and those of us could go out to the parking lot got to view the spectacle. We weren't in totality, but it was about 95% coverage, which was still pretty cool but not really that much of a difference in the light or anything. At that time, I had already looked up the 2024 eclipse, swore I took off, and hoped I could travel three hours into totality by going to Indiana or some such place.

But you know, clouds appear everywhere. I didn't want to spend a lot of money to get somewhere only to see nothing. I still don't know if the weather will work for us, as we have scattered thunderstorms in the forecast. I took off from work because in my current job it is busy when the eclipse is supposed to happen I wouldn't have been able to go outside. I'm going to watch it from my own yard, or perhaps the park near here. I have my glasses for me and my solar filter for my phone camera (do not take pictures without one). You will regret it. My roommate does not plan on participating. He's of the old belief, along with certain peoples such as the Hopi and Navajo, that it's a time to go inside and avoid the eclipse altogether, whether solar or lunar. Monday's eclipse will be about 96% coverage in Lexington. Be sure you get authentic glasses or use a pinhole in paper, cardboard, or aluminium foil to view the shadow of the moon over the sun. That's how we did it during the 1979 eclipse, casting a shadow on the light stucco walls of our school. It was still great, and safe. If you're near trees, watching the shadows through the leaves is also fun.

Glasses should definitely say ISO 12312-2 and be printed on them. Use a reputable company's glasses, such as those on this website here. I got some from Amazon and they are Celestron, a maker of telescopes on the approved list. But since anyone could print that, be sure, while inside, you try out the glasses and see absolutely nothing. Then try outside during a normal day and you should see only really bright reflections of the sun, like in a mirror--nothing else. The solar filter I have for my camera I didn't research, but later found out is compliant. It's called VisiSolar. Again, if in doubt, use the pinhole method, as it is safer. Also, if in the path of totality and you do get to take your glasses off for a couple of minutes while the sun is completely covered so you can see the corona, be sure to put them on very soon. The totality time varies. In Mexico it will be over four minutes; in Maine it'll be two. Any sun shining through as the moon moves from covering the sun can damage the eyes. Unlike sunburn, you can't feel pain in your eyes as there are no pain receptors in the retina, and you can't tell how badly you've damaged it. Do not look through magnifying instruments such as telescopes or binoculars without the solar filters meant for them. Be safe.

Still, if you take precautions, it'll be fun, weather permitting. If you can't see it due to the weather, be sure to check out livestreams on the Internet such as NASA's.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington is expected to see a partial eclipse between 1:51 p.m. and 4:24 p.m. The eclipse is expected to be at its peak around 3:09 p.m.

Enjoy!!!