Month: October 2025

best day to plant a tree

Today!

Sequoia sempervirens stump supporting a young tree
Sequoia sempervirens stump supporting a young tree
Live Oak, quercus virginiana, Sadler Point, St. Johns River, Jacksonville, Florida

Historic Tragedy
Live oaks have dense, hard, and strong wood which is resistant to weather, water, and mechanical strain. The massive, low, curved branches and sweeping stems were useless for straight-grained, driedlumber as made from other trees. But the natural growth pattern of live oak made the perfect structural components for wooden sailing ships. Live oak forests first seen by Europeans were storm pruned,extensive, and contained many massive individual trees. Commerce and wars of the 1700’s generated demand for this premium wood for ship hull ribs, knees, and support parts. The old growth live oak forests were decimated by European nations, colonists, and early acts of our new nation.–Dr. Kim D. Coder, Professor of Tree Biology & Health Care / University Hill Fellow/University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources

Grok vs. Gemini

My daughter is in Nassau, the National Hurricane Center is working with partial staff secondary to the government shutdown. I thought I’d inquire of Gemini (Google AI) what threat Hurricane Melissa posed to the Bahamas. When I was posing the question yesterday morning, Melissa had already made a mess of Jamaica and was chewing on Cuba. Gemini’s answer is below:

Gemini’s answer, as they say, double check… So, I asked Grok
Grok’s response.

Does Grok has ongoing training? Grok 1, Gemini 0

大猩猩 Dà xīngxīng

1949年，艾伦·沙弗先生（Mr. Alan Schafer）建造了一个简陋的18×36英尺的啤酒摊，名为“
国境之南啤酒仓库
”（South of the Border Beer Depot
）。由于它毗邻禁止售卖酒精饮料的北卡罗来纳州各县，生意非常兴隆。几年后，又增加了一个可容纳10人的烧烤架，生意更名为“国境之南汽车餐厅
”（South of the Border Drive-In）。
1954年，沙弗先生增加了20间汽车旅馆房间。用于扩建的材料被运往“（北卡罗来纳州）国境之南的沙弗项目”（Schafer Project South of the (North Carolina) Border）。沙弗先生将他的生意名称缩短为“国境之南”（South of the Border）。
生意稳步扩展，引进了从墨西哥进口的墨西哥小玩意和许多庸俗（kitsch）物品。这个地方本身也开始扩展，增加了鸡尾酒廊、加油站和纪念品商店。1962年，“国境之南”扩展到销售烟花，这可能利用了烟花在北卡罗来纳州非法的机会。1964年，有消息宣布I-95公路的路线将直接经过“国境之南”，该设施将靠近两个出口，并能在高速公路上看到。到20世纪60年代中期，“国境之南”已经扩展到包括理发店、药店、杂货店、邮局、一个完整的户外卡丁车赛道以及其他户外休闲设施，还有一个104英尺（32米）高的吉祥物佩德罗（Pedro）的形象。

emma marries

happiness abounds.
Patricia

I made a partial list of qualities that are core Emma:
Able
Adventurous
Artistic
Brave
Capable
Charismatic
Cheerful
Compassionate
Generous
Helpful
Hard-working
Inquisitive
Kind
Loyal
Proficient
Ready
Resilient
Smart
Spartan
Strong
Throughout her life Emma has elevated the lives of those in her vicinity. It is something Emma does.
My time with Patricia has me thinking that she and Emma are made of similar material.
Love each other, help each other and inspire us to do the same.
We love you.

giants

Statue of Mr. Nelson Mandela is at 3051 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
at the Embassy of South Africa
Statue of Mr. Winston Churchill is at 3100 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
British Embassy, across the street from President Mandela.

I enjoy the interaction.