The Wordsmith's Forge

I'm glad to see that someone  is thinking about putting the Umbrella up so we don't get creamed by space rocks. 

Bear in mind that:

1) The farther away an Earth-threatening object is, the easier it is to prevent from hitting.  A small change of angle at a great distance will add up to a very wide miss.  At closer range, much greater change of direction is required to miss.

2) It is much easier to divert an object in motion than to stop it, and if it is large enough to do serious damage, also easier than destroying it.  That usually means you want to bump it from the side nearer Earth, so that it moves away.

3) You must avoid hitting the Earth and the Moon.  (See Thundarr the Barbarian.)  Sadly that makes the target much bigger, because the object has to go outside the territory occupied by what is basically a binary planet system, necessitating a bigger change of direction.  And don't let it near the LaGrange points either (including the Earth/Moon and Earth/Sun sets).  That makes early identification and interception essential.  Forget Hollywood's last-minute salvation attempts.  This is a problem to solve with math and copious explosives.

This newsletter talks about fire vulnerability in California homes.

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The government has released reports on the infrastructure of each state in relation to the recent Jobs Plan.  Most states got C or C- grades.  None got higher than a C+ and there were multiple states with D or D- grades.  The4 government has done a piss-poor job of maintaining basic infrastructure over wide areas.  As they attempt to repair and replace the worst parts -- which is a good idea and urgently needed -- sooner or later someone in a position of actual power is going to notice the massive maintenance debt bedeviling most cities, and realize that the huge infrastructure bill just passed is a drop in the bucket of what's needed.  Regrettably the plan is likely to make matters worse.

Today is mostly sunny, mild, and almost calm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen sparrows, house finches, grackles, mourning doves, and a brown thrasher.

I picked up sticks along the driveway and dumped them in the firepit.  We may be able to burn tonight.  I also want to go back out and spray weeds, which I haven't been able to do because of wind.

Lilacs and cherries are blooming.

EDIT 4/16/21 -- I sprayed weeds along the north edge of the driveway, the south lot, and forest garden.

EDIT 4/16/21 -- We burned off the firepit.

A friend asked me about how to lower, rather than raise, property value in search of a lower assessment and thus lower taxes and purchase costs.

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