Life + Outdoors
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Spark Birds
Those of us who are besotted with birds can often trace our interest back to one particular bird, our “spark bird.” Seeing that bird ignited a fascination with the species that’s impacted our lives in myriad ways, from where we live to what we do for a living and how we spend our free time […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Sea Palm Crime
My brief crime spree included breaking and entering, grand larceny, vandalism, attempted murder, wire fraud, resisting arrest and, finally, indecent exposure. However, as a criminal, I have a line I will not cross. This gives me a sense of moral superiority over regular low-life criminals. That line is: I will not harvest sea palm (Postelsia […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Daily Dose of Awe
One of my favorite outdoor activities is running in Sue-meg State Park. I start on Patrick’s Point Drive; the stretch of road between the two beautiful wooden signs marking the turnoff and the entrance station is like a red carpet laid out by the park’s welcoming committee. Past the entrance station, I turn left at […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Nicotine: Not So Benign
Smokers trying to quit say they feel like they’re giving up a friend.” Scott Leishow, professor at the College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University Even since the 1950s, when the link between smoking and lung cancer was firmly established (despite the protestations from Big Tobacco), there’s been no question about the harmful effects of […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Cat Has Made Some Resolutions
Good morning. Well, good pre-dawn. Here, let me bat your face to help you wake up. That’s probably as much as your weak human eyes will adjust to the dark but that’s OK. We can talk while I press my full weight on your chest. While you were out celebrating with what smells like the […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Puzzles December 28, 2023
The Journal would like to wish David Levinson Wilk, our crossword puzzler of many years, a happy retirement and welcome aboard Matt Jones.
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Winter Planting for Future Color
Now that a real rainy season has returned to Humboldt County, it’s time to think about the new gardening year. Winter is nearly here, and while the days can be gray and dreary, there’s still plenty of color to admire in the landscape. As I drive around town, I notice the trees that still have […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Awesome Dumbbell Nebula
Charles Messier (1730-1817) was a French comet hunter. Today, scattered around the globe, hundreds of amateur astronomers follow his lead every night, each striving to be the first to discover a fuzzy, luminous patch that (a) turns out to be moving against the background stars, that is, a comet; and (b) is subsequently named after […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
We Need to Stop AI Before it Replaces Tech CEOs Like Me
Let me start by saying nobody is a bigger believer in technology and innovation than I am. But just like you, average person, I sometimes sit in my aqua-bubble fallout shelter at the bottom of the ocean and wonder if we’ve gone too far. After watching the first 12 minutes of I Robot, I invested […]