(For a complete list of all posts, more than 2,900, see Archives, Complete)

• The bear cam is back (6/22/2018) - They’re back. The Alaskan brown bears at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska. More accurately, the bear cam is live again. There’s a note that the bears appear mostly in July and August, but there was one there when I... Read More ›
• So you think you could outrun a lava flow (6/22/2018) - Photographer Ken Boyer captured this unbelievable scene as lava gushed from Kilauea’s Fissure 8 on June 15, 2018. If you were thinking you could easily outrun those creeping flows we’ve been seeing in the news, you’ve another think coming. And... Read More ›
• Free the children, lock up Sessions (6/20/2018) - I’ve never condoned illegal immigration. But trying to discourage it by separating children from their parents is unconscionable. Those children are guilty only of having parents. When I first heard about this practice, I was immediately reminded of Nazis breaking... Read More ›
• Father’s Day 2018 (6/17/2018) - Best wishes to all the dads out there!
• Teen stuns ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges (6/13/2018) - Do you remember back in 2009 when Susan Boyle blew the lid off “Britain’s Got Talent”? She sang “I Dreamed a Dream” and the judges jaws dropped. Well, last night on “America’s Got Talent,” a painfully awkward 13-year-old girl named Courtney... Read More ›
• ‘I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky’ (6/10/2018) - I came across this photo recently on Erik Stensland’s website. His gallery is in Estes Park, Colo., and he specializes in photographing Rocky Mountain National Park. There are many more equally spectacular photos on his website, Images of RMNP, and... Read More ›
• My thoughts exactly (6/8/2018) - Seriously, this is exactly what I first thought after hearing about the Supreme Court’s recent decision (the one allowing an evangelical Christian baker to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple). I took it as permission for... Read More ›
• A browser called Brave (6/7/2018) - We’ve all struggled with browsers, ad blockers, cookies, caches, etc. in an effort to protect our privacy on the internet. And some of us are more concerned than others. I, for example, boycott Facebook and Twitter except for my blog... Read More ›
• Pied Type, WordPress and the GDPR (6/3/2018) - In recent months we’ve heard a lot about internet privacy and privacy violations. Most notable, perhaps, was the Facebook data “leak” and related Congressional hearings. Then late last month came Europe’s GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation. It protects the... Read More ›
• ‘Batboy’ Jake a big hit at the ballpark (6/2/2018) - Here’s a burst of sunshine for your weekend: Jake the Diamond Dog. No politics here, unless maybe you don’t like dogs. (I don’t trust people who don’t like dogs.) Come on now, everybody smile! I borrowed this from Ronni Bennett’s Time... Read More ›
• Schadenfreude and Roseanne Barr (5/31/2018) - Yep, too much schadenfreude. On my part, that is. And I feel a bit guilty about it. But only a little bit. I was appalled last fall by ABC’s decision to bring back the “Roseanne” show. I’ve never liked Roseanne... Read More ›
• Memorial Day 2018 (5/28/2018) - ~ REMEMBER ~ All gave some … Some gave all
• And the games continue (5/27/2018) - Friday the Memorial Day “games” began at the entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park. Cars lined up bumper to bumper waiting to get through the toll plazas. So today I looked somewhat farther south (160 miles or so) … and... Read More ›
• Denver men claim world’s tallest waffle stack (5/27/2018) - A group of Denver men calling themselves the Denver Collective Assembly have claimed the Guinness Book of Records title for world’s tallest waffle stack. Yesterday their 67-centimeter stack beat the previous record of 51 centimeters. Official certification from Guinness is... Read More ›
• Let the games begin (5/25/2018) - It’s a brilliant sunny day, with the high temperature in Denver to be in the 80s, and a three-day holiday weekend lies ahead. I’m delighted to be here at home with my air conditioning and not out trying to get... Read More ›
• There’s action on Trail Ridge Road (5/22/2018) - Trail Ridge Road, which reaches elevations above 12,000 feet as it crosses through Rocky Mountain National Park, traditionally opens on Memorial Day Weekend. But in the mountains Nature always has the last word, and although the road crews are hard... Read More ›
• Another school shooting, more thoughts and prayers (5/22/2018) -   If America’s leaders won’t act for the good of the country, it’s time to elect new leaders!  
• Estes Park webcam collection grows by four (5/21/2018) - Yesterday I added four new Estes Park, Colo., webcams to my collection. All four are live streaming, although you have to look closely at the tips of branches or the clouds to tell. (The “live” tag in the upper left... Read More ›
• The latest internet ‘dress’ is yanny vs laurel (5/16/2018) - A few years ago the internet blew up with What color is this dress? White and gold or blue and black? Now the question is What do you hear? “Yanny” or “laurel”? Apparently it depends on what frequencies you hear... Read More ›
• Hope springs … (5/14/2018) -   … however briefly
• Yes, of course Grandma is still gaming (5/11/2018) - Hard to believe it’s been a year since I bored you with my adventures as the Gaming Grandma. But I’ve been too busy gaming to bother writing about it for the two or three readers who might be interested. I... Read More ›
• Will issues verbal thrashing of Mike Pence (5/10/2018) - For a lesson in how to wield the English language, check out George Will’s column in the Washington Post. You needn’t agree that “Trump is no longer the worst person in government” to enjoy — or choke on — Will’s use... Read More ›
• ‘Be Best’? (5/9/2018) - I’m among those who don’t understand what Melania Trump means with her “Be Best” campaign. My first thought was that since English is her second language, maybe she just missed the mark and means “Be the Best” or “Be Your... Read More ›
• A tiny typographic tantrum (5/5/2018) - An item in the Washington Post yesterday caught my attention … and annoyed me on several counts. It’s a discussion of single spacing vs. double spacing at the end of a sentence. All the emphasis seems to be on readability,... Read More ›
• I learned a new word today (4/30/2018) - (Yes, it’s a real word. I looked it up. And not surprisingly, it’s been discussed more than once in the last year. But I’d managed to remain ignorant until I saw this cartoon this morning.)  
• Just another fish/shark/osprey story (4/27/2018) - Florida photographer Doc Jon thought he’d photographed an osprey in flight some 400 feet above the beach. He had. And having tried to pick birds from the sky with my own camera lens, I know how difficult that can be.... Read More ›
• Koi caught in Colorado (4/24/2018) - (Updated April 25) A local newscast just showed an osprey nest in Boulder, Colo., and noted there is a webcam there. I didn’t realize there were ospreys in the area, much less a webcam watching their activities. So I looked... Read More ›
• Spring in Colorado (4/24/2018) - Yesterday it was sunny and warm. About 70°. I took the dog for a walk. This morning it is cloudy with a snow/rain mix. Temp is 35°. The yard man cancelled my first mowing. Yea, Spring.
• Hey there, it’s Earth Day (4/22/2018) - Earth Day is important, you know. Me and all my amphibian cousins will be among the first to disappear if you humans don’t clean up your act and protect our planet. So do your part, okay? … ribbit … Thanks for... Read More ›
• Sony announces winners from 2018 photo competition (4/21/2018) - Winners of the Sony World Photography Contest were announced last month and finalists this month. Several publications have assembled extensive galleries of the top photographs in a variety of categories. These two appealed to me immediately, but there are many... Read More ›
• Comey: Trump ‘morally unfit to be president’ (4/16/2018) - Last night, on live TV, George Stephanopoulos interviewed former FBI Director James Comey. And despite my personal boycott of most political news, I watched. Although my opinion of Comey has shifted several times, I generally like and trust both men... Read More ›
• Yoga with a friend (4/11/2018) - It’s a video. Click the picture.
• Respite (4/5/2018) - This is an untitled photograph from Erik Stensland’s Facebook page. Stensland is a professional photographer based in Estes Park, Colorado, and his photos of Rocky Mountain National Park are favorites of mine. In order not to contribute to a concentration... Read More ›
• Sinclair Broadcast Group responds to criticism (4/4/2018) - The Sinclair Broadcast Group responded to its critics (see “Sinclair Broadcast group shoots self in foot“) with this press release. Frankly, I think they missed the point. Or more likely, they chose to step gingerly around it. PR people are... Read More ›
• Sinclair Broadcast Group shoots self in foot (4/3/2018) - You might have heard this weekend that Sinclair Broadcast Group required all of its local news anchors to read a script about biased and fake news. That meant almost 200 tv stations across the country issued the same statement. I... Read More ›
• Monday morning chuckle (4/2/2018) -  
• Hmm … (3/27/2018) -
• March for Our Lives offers hope for the future (3/24/2018) -   From out of the darkness Our future will come If we leave the past behind We’ll fly beyond the sun From “Hope for the Future” by Paul McCartney   I’m so proud of these young people!     More... Read More ›
• Facebook lack of privacy is old, old news (3/21/2018) -   I hate to be an “I told you so,” so I won’t be. I’ll just reprint something I wrote back in 2011: ____________________ The Federal Trade Commission has finally taken Facebook to task. Now, because of previous violations of... Read More ›
• Webcam page gets new look (3/18/2018) - Just a note for those readers who visit my webcam page. I’ve redesigned it to make it, I hope, more user-friendly. It still needs some work, but that will have to come another day.
• Happy St. Patrick’s Day (3/17/2018) -
• Another beautiful wind map (3/16/2018) - Several weeks ago I published an item about my favorite wind map — live wind currents swirling across a map of the United States in an endless, ever-changing piece of abstract art. In searching for its URL, I found another wind... Read More ›
• #Enough won’t be enough (3/15/2018) - The media yesterday were full of pictures and stories about students across the country walking out of class in remembrance of the seventeen killed in Parkland, Fla., two weeks ago. There were marches, prayer vigils, moments of silence, gatherings at... Read More ›
• Ad astra, Stephen Hawking (3/14/2018) -   Stephen William Hawking January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018 There is little more I can say about this man about whom so much has been said. One of Earth’s most brilliant minds now belongs to the Universe. May he... Read More ›
• My Heart Soars (3/13/2018) -   The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, speaks to me. The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me. The faintness of... Read More ›
• Happy International Women’s Day (3/8/2018) -
• Yup, it’s windy (3/5/2018) - Ho hum, just another early spring day in Denver. The sun is shining brightly, but the wind is howling around the house at 30-40 mph. A temperature of 36° makes it decidedly unpleasant outside. I’ve posted this wind map before... Read More ›
• Rare yellow cardinal living in Alabama (2/26/2018) - Charlie Stephenson, in Alabaster, Alabama, first noticed this yellow cardinal at her backyard feeder in January. To keep crowds of curious people from gathering around her home, she is not revealing her exact address. Researchers say the unusual coloring on... Read More ›
• GOP supports (their own) gun-free zones (2/24/2018) - A number of Republicans, while denouncing gun-free zones for others, enforce a few for themselves. An article on Alternet notes five places that Republicans, for their own personal safety, maintain and enjoy the protection of gun-free zones: 1. The White House.... Read More ›
• Unexpected sources (2/20/2018) - It was cold and snowing yesterday, and I spent the afternoon playing video games. Some Assassin’s Creed: Origins, a bit of Warframe, but mostly Civilization VI. The latter is full of historical references and quotations. With real-world headlines in the back... Read More ›
• Stoic (2/18/2018) - Estes Park, CO, photographer Erik Stensland published this untitled photo on his Facebook page on February 10. A study of strength, winter beauty, solitude. Certainly as arresting as any sweeping landscape and perhaps even more thought-provoking … As it happened,... Read More ›
• Holy halfpipe, Batman! (2/14/2018) - Hope everyone was watching last night when Shaun White won Olympic gold in the men’s halfpipe. He was crying, I was crying. Seemed like everyone was crying. I’m not going into all the details about what it took for him... Read More ›
• At last, something to cheer about (2/9/2018) - This week Elon Musk’s company SpaceX successfully launched the world’s most powerful rocket and put his personal Tesla roadster into space, complete with the dummy “Starman” at the wheel. Shades of P.T. Barnum. But, WOW! Just like the old days... Read More ›
• Samoas and Thin Mints and Trefoils, oh my! (2/8/2018) - An enterprising San Diego Girl Scout recently sold more than 300 boxes of her cookies in six hours by positioning herself outside a marijuana dispensary. While the Scouts and authorities discuss the legality and propriety of her action, I can’t... Read More ›
• Fly Eagles fly! (2/2/2018) - The Pats remind me of a guy I knew in high school. He cheated his way through everything and everybody knew it. I kept thinking it would catch up with him some day, but it never did.   Feb. 4... Read More ›
• Today is the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (1/22/2018) - Every woman’s right to choose was guaranteed by the Roe v. Wade decision 45 years ago. Celebrate your freedom to choose. Respect the right of others to choose.
• Time to march again! (1/16/2018) - Remember the Women’s March on Washington a year ago? Millions of men and women around the world marched in a show of unity for women and against Donald Trump. Photos poured in from events across the US and Europe and... Read More ›
• Weeping for America (1/13/2018) - Speaking for me yesterday: Philip Kennicott of the Washington Post. In “What did the men with Donald Trump do when he spoke of ‘shithole countries’?” Kennicott tells of weeping, first when he read about the woman in Baltimore who was put out... Read More ›
• Oprah for president? No. Just no. (1/10/2018) - All the talk about Oprah running for president is … distressing. It’s exactly the sort of thing I’ve been fearing — the idea that if Trump can be president, so can any other wealthy celebrity. Both Oprah and Dwayne “The... Read More ›
• Welcome 2018 (1/1/2018) - I’m not superstitious … … but it can’t hurt
• Goodbye 2017 (12/31/2017) - “I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.” — Cornel West
• Nature’s finest moments … or not (12/30/2017) - The winners of the 2017 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been announced and these are just a few of my favorites. Don’t miss the rest of them, and all the finalists, on the CWPA website. The overall winner was that... Read More ›
• Retrospection (12/28/2017) -
• Wishing you happiness and peace (12/25/2017) - Wherever this finds you today, I wish you and your loved ones all the peace and happiness of this holiday season. Merry Christmas! 🎄  
• Dreaming of a white christmas (12/24/2017) - We got about two inches of snow last night. And it’s supposed to stay really cold today — it’s only 18° right now. Trouble is, it’s also bright and sunny. Here in Denver that means even if it stays well... Read More ›
• Peril and patriotism (12/22/2017) - This time of year the media like to post galleries of “the year in pictures” — their collections of the best photojournalism from throughout the year. I always enjoy the great photography, but after going through several galleries, the photos... Read More ›
• New streaming webcam for Estes Park fans (12/21/2017) - Yesterday I stumbled across a new (to me, anyway) webcam in Estes Park. It’s so typical of Estes, with mountains, rustic cabins, etc. But the best part by far is that it’s live and streaming. I watched and enjoyed birds... Read More ›
• My fight against robocallers and telemarketers (12/19/2017) - (Note: If you use an iPhone, this probably won’t help you.) I doubt there’s a single person among my readers who hasn’t been annoyed by robocallers, telemarketers, scammers, etc., who use our own phones (that we pay for) against us.... Read More ›
• ‘Gutterman’ decoration fools passersby (12/18/2017) - This story cames from Nampa, Idaho.
• Pai ridicules the effort to preserve net neutrality (12/15/2017) - This is a video that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai put out yesterday before the agency voted today to remove net neutrality rules. I don’t know what his intent was, but it seems to me he’s ridiculing those who’ve been fighting... Read More ›
• Thank you, Alabama (12/13/2017) - Normally I wouldn’t care one iota about the results of a senatorial race in another state. But I cared a great deal about the race in Alabama between Republican Roy Moore, an accused child molester whose long record of impropriety... Read More ›
• Another Word of the Year: ‘feminism’ (12/12/2017) - Two weeks ago, Dictionary.com announced that its Word of the Year was complicit. Today another dictionary, Merriam-Webster, announced its Word of the Year: feminism. As with complicit, the selection of feminism was based on the number of people who looked up... Read More ›
• My new hero (12/8/2017) - In Ventura County, Calif., with the Thomas Fire raging just feet away, a man pulled over to rescue a frightened wild rabbit. Remarkably, he succeeded. Wish I could give him a hug.  
• Why I wouldn’t live in Los Angeles (12/7/2017) - Today was the first time I’d seen this video of Thanksgiving traffic on “the 405” in Los Angeles. (I’ve never lived anyplace where people preface a highway number with “the.” Me and mine would say “I-405.”) Traffic like this would... Read More ›
• All I want for Christmas (12/6/2017) - I can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don’t be late
• It’s your internet … for now (11/29/2017) - Net neutrality is at stake. Please call and/or write to your representatives in Washington and tell them how important your internet access is to you. Tell them how unfair it would be for the FCC to allow the big telecommunications... Read More ›
• Dictionary.com announces Word of the Year (11/28/2017) - I’d like to think all my readers are already well aware of the meaning of complicit. And yet Dictionary.com declared it their Word of the Year because of the number of people who looked it up this year. The curiosity... Read More ›
• Cat Baloo and Harvey too (11/25/2017) - Baloo, the cat, and his buddy Harvey are rescues, and they go everywhere together. That includes hiking and camping in Colorado with their humans, Cynthia Bennett and her boyfriend. Don’t miss the full story and many more delightful photos on... Read More ›
• From Australia, a heartwarming story (11/23/2017) - When the dying patient, en route to palliative care for the last time, expressed a wish to “just be at the beach,” Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedic Graeme Cooper took action. He and partner Danielle Kellan drove the patient to... Read More ›
• It’s Thanksgiving 2017 (11/23/2017) - Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone!  
• Bacon lattice turkey — seriously? (11/21/2017) - We’re doing Thanksgiving a day early this year because my daughter-in-law has to work Thursday. And she’s making it easy on herself by bringing in most of the food from a local restaurant. I don’t know how they’ll prepare the... Read More ›
• Of permanence and change (11/20/2017) - I just read that the Georgia Dome in Atlanta was imploded this morning, and I experienced a familiar but still indescribable feeling … something about a big, concrete and steel structure, normally considered a permanent thing, being erased. Not so... Read More ›
• Titanic small by today’s standards (11/19/2017) - Browsing the internet this morning, I came across an article about the Titanic and began wondering how that magnificent ship compared to today’s modern cruise ships, sizewise. Over the years, after reading many stories and books and seeing several movies,... Read More ›
• Et tu, Al? (11/17/2017) - For weeks I’ve watched with mixed feelings as more and more women speak out about sexual harassment from notable men in entertainment, broadcasting, and politics. I celebrate their bravery in being willing to speak up, and I despair that so... Read More ›
• Veterans Day 2017 (11/11/2017) -
• Ball handling, wasp style (11/9/2017) - These photos are from a series by Malaysian photographer Lim Choo. In them, wasps appear to be blowing bubbles or playing baseball, or something similar. However, they are actually gathering drops of water from their nest and flicking them away... Read More ›
• This is my heart (11/4/2017) - Come, let me show you my favorite place in the world …
• Walmart: Just another shooting (11/3/2017) - By now you may have heard about the Walmart shooting here in Thornton, CO, Wednesday evening. And one or two of you might even have remembered I live here. But that particular Walmart is six miles away, so I wasn’t... Read More ›
• Still my favorite jack-o’-lantern (10/30/2017) -
• There’s a new shingles vaccine (10/25/2017) - The Food and Drug Administration has just approved a new shingles vaccine, Shingrix, reports the Washington Post. It is said to provide much greater protection than Zostavax, the shingles vaccine that was approved a decade ago. The FDA is recommending... Read More ›
• Tiny hands, tiny heart (10/19/2017) -   His tiny hands match his tiny, tiny heart.
• Oh joy, the Christmas season has begun (10/15/2017) - Ugh! Well, it’s official and will be snowballing from now till the first of the year. I saw my first Christmas-themed commercial this morning. I can’t tell you who the sponsor was; I was too busy changing the channel. And... Read More ›
• Walk, don’t run, in this hallway (10/12/2017) - Tired of people running down their hallway (supposedly), Casa Ceramica, a tile company in Manchester, UK, installed this optical illusion floor. It also happens to be a great attention-getting device. A company representative said “the inspiration was to create an... Read More ›
• Mysterious cloud appears on Denver radar (10/6/2017) - First came the mystery: Then came the explanation. But I can’t embed it so you’ll have to click on the picture to watch the video on the Weather Channel: Or see video in the comments below.
• Please get your flu shot (10/4/2017) - Got my flu shot today. One of the high dose vaccines for seniors. If you haven’t gotten your shot yet, schedule it right now. Even if you aren’t interested in protecting yourself, do it for me and the other senior... Read More ›
• If they’d been armed … (10/4/2017) - I’ve already had my say on this subject. Far too many times. Congress and the NRA can go peddle their excuses somewhere else.
• USAF Lt Gen Silveria urges ‘civil discourse’ or ‘get out’ (9/30/2017) - Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the US Air Force Academy, addressed the cadets this week on the issue of hate and racism. All Americans should hear this. It’s solid, level-headed advice for the whole country. This, by the way,... Read More ›
• A gorgeous fall day? (9/30/2017) - It’s a spectacular autumn day here in Denver, so I thought I’d take a look around the high country via webcam. Was both startled and bemused when I encountered the scene above (looking north from Ward, CO).
• Pikas losing the battle with climate change (9/29/2017) - This cute little guy is an American pika, spotted this month in Rocky Mountain National Park by Estes Park photographer Erik Stensland. Pikas are about the size of hamsters and look a lot like mice but are actually related to... Read More ›
• NFL: They did it to themselves (9/27/2017) - This time that deflated football is not Tom Brady’s fault. It’s the fault of many National Football League players. It all started in 2016, when San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained seated during the playing of the national anthem. He said... Read More ›