tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192610252024-03-07T02:57:45.122-06:00Partial Perspective VortexCommunication Against My Better JudgementAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.comBlogger337125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-29296030452119917822023-05-01T15:20:00.003-05:002023-05-01T15:21:47.023-05:00The Neighborhood SquirrelsAfter shelling its pecan, a contented fox squirrel prepares to eat.
Two years ago to this day, I made my first friend among my neighborhood’s fox squirrels. Most of the others became friends soon after. In this case “friend” means they’ve decided to trust me enough to take nuts from between my fingers, or, in some cases, from a short distance (personalities vary).
For the preceding twenty five Chris W. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16048129463812713541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-29871494200963953352021-01-09T19:16:00.008-06:002021-01-19T09:20:39.827-06:00Authoritarian FollowersDr. Bob Altemeyer, a retired professor of psychology at the University of Manitoba, devoted forty years to studying authoritarianism, and literally wrote the book on it in 2006 (highly recommended, and conveniently free). Much shorter, and directly addressing recent years, his 2016 post Donald Trump and Authoritarian Followers deserves a fresh look¹. (Those who’ve read it can skip this post; Chris W. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16048129463812713541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-6850133419120334752015-01-17T15:17:00.003-06:002015-01-17T18:04:54.060-06:00Spectacular SpaceX Video of Falcon 9 Recovery ExperimentRocket explosions are always spectacular and, provided no one is harmed, something to see if you appreciate the flash, bang, crash of it all. Therefore, I duly provide a link to a Spaceflight Now article that includes the video released by SpaceX of their attempt to propulsively land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket that successfully sent supplies to the International Space Station last Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-11717477199293842812014-01-16T09:20:00.000-06:002014-01-16T09:23:33.771-06:00Squirrels Removed, Owls ReturnScreech owl cam’ viewers will be pleased to know that, although there's nothing to view yet, with the removal of the squirrels, the owls are checking out the nest box with increasing frequency. (Yeah, I'll probably graph it, but not at the moment.)
I have to hope that they won't actually begin nesting until March, as has been the case most years, because I still have to integrate a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-10511154427320350632014-01-05T07:32:00.000-06:002014-01-05T07:32:06.320-06:00Removing Squirrels from the Owl BoxOne unpleasant chore done: I've removed three very nice fox squirrels from the owl box. It always makes me feel like a bully and a scoundrel, but if the owls are going to nest in the box, the squirrels have to go. It's likely they'll be back in about a week, but the process of making the owl box feel like a dangerous place to be a squirrel is underway. In the meantime, when the owls poke their Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-4686148463259740202013-11-29T21:28:00.000-06:002021-01-16T09:40:52.695-06:00The Silent (Unthinking, Well-Educated) Majority“Both the allegiance and socialization processes cause the educated to believe that what America does is right. Public opinion polls show the nonthinking results. In late spring 1966, just before the United States began bombing Hanoi and Haiphong in North Vietnam, Americans split 50-50 as to whether we should bomb these targets. After the bombing began, 85 percent favored the bombing while only Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-57388681583448137582013-03-15T17:23:00.002-05:002013-03-15T17:32:18.189-05:00Screech Owl Cam’ Attic Views AddedI’ve added live views from the attic camera to the Eastern Screech Owl Nest Box Cam’ main page. (If you don’t see the “attic” views listed among the other views, you may need to reload the page a time or two to get a current version of the page.)
Since we’re currently waiting for the hatching of the first egg (literally any hour now, if last year’s first egg time-to-hatch period is Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-61056782442981160752013-03-12T14:25:00.002-05:002013-03-12T14:26:43.440-05:00The Return of The Screech Owl Nest Box Cam’With my thanks to everyone who helped make it possible, I’d like to announce that Chris’ Eastern Screech Owl Nest Box Cam’ is back from the dead and has even returned to its old home.
To the best of my knowledge, the first egg has not yet hatched (I’m guessing it will tomorrow), so, while I couldn’t share two weeks of brooding, I will be able to share all four weeks of owlet raising.
Tell your Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-36720779010558389192013-03-09T15:53:00.000-06:002013-03-09T16:32:54.426-06:00Owl Cam' Situation ReportFriday morning, I spoke about the owl cam' situation with a very pleasant member of the staff of the President's Office at the The University of Texas at Austin. The person knew exactly who I was from the start of the conversation, so the owl cam' must, as they confirmed, be getting some attention in the President's Office. I asked about the status of the situation, but learned only that the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-58472281307752757012013-03-04T11:51:00.002-06:002013-03-04T11:56:30.271-06:00Screech Owl Cam’ Returns to DisappearedThe web server hosting the screech owl cam’ is non-responsive again, so we’re right back where we were yesterday.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-2599008173019254632013-03-04T10:14:00.000-06:002013-03-04T10:51:13.952-06:00Screech Owl Cam’ Host Returns, But Not The Cam’The web server used by my eastern screech owl cam’ has returned without explanation. However, I remain locked-out of the machine, and therefore cannot make the cam’ operational. Make of that what you will. It may mean nothing except that someone remembered that the machine has other important roles, like sending training reminders to campus researchers (just one of my many valuable services). (I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-1700239051077360532013-03-03T04:23:00.000-06:002013-03-03T06:13:28.385-06:00Screech Owl Cam’ Once Disabled, Now DisappearedAn email received last night alerted me to a new development regarding my disabled eastern screech owl cam’: it has now been disappeared, as well. Where there was a web server still offering the content accumulated over the last 13 years (and the embarassment of days old “live” images from this year), now there is nothing at all. And still not a word of communication from whoever is responsible. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-43546404487429158892013-03-02T04:11:00.001-06:002013-03-02T04:12:30.503-06:00What I Told BaggyWrinkle About the Owl Cam’Reader/viewer BaggyWrinkle asked a good question about encouraging the restoration of the owl nest box cam’ in a comment about my previous post. I replied, but neither the comment nor the reply are displayed by default by Blogger (maybe that can be fixed, but I haven’t found the right setting). So, let me take this opportunity to hang a lantern on my reply to BaggyWrinkle.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-63428178679040494502013-02-28T18:14:00.001-06:002013-03-01T04:39:40.554-06:00Screech Owl Cam’ is DownMy ability to update my eastern screech owl nest box camera web site was disabled around 10:15 AM this morning, and my access to the relevant machine also disabled, for reasons that have not been communicated to me. While the machine’s web server is still operating, there is no way to update the pages there to communicate this situation to viewers. Posting here is the best I can manage.
To the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-84180408082961223922013-02-13T15:08:00.001-06:002013-02-13T15:09:48.805-06:00Egg no. 1 of 2013The first egg of 2013 was laid sometime this morning, about five weeks ahead of last year’s schedule. Expect the Nest Box Cam’ page to be fully updated later today.
Also, I’ve seen Chris Cooley’s work on the new “Owl Nest Box” app for iPhone and (and, new for this year, iPad). It’s looking good, but work is still underway. Regrettably, quickly making last year’s app available on the App Store Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-85089793885198160722013-02-11T05:07:00.003-06:002013-02-11T05:07:54.652-06:00Owl Cam’ Goes Live for Pre-Nesting ActivityOwl Cam’ viewers can now witness the current pre-nesting behavior. With an owl consistently spending the day in the nest box, I’ve fired-up the nest box cam’, even though nesting may still be some weeks away, and have modestly improved the main page, primarily with the simple addition of the small, five minute, time-lapse movie from 12 hours earlier (it sits directly beneath the current fiveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-68403320500688775282013-02-07T22:24:00.001-06:002013-02-07T22:29:33.523-06:00How Owls Turn Their Heads Without Tearing ArteriesThanks to Ruth F. for this article on an aspect of vertebrate physiology that I'd never even considered: How Owls Spin Their Heads Without Tearing Arteries.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-82029696936811110672013-02-04T00:44:00.002-06:002013-02-04T02:03:47.910-06:00Hum… Try, Try AgainThe microphone in the nest box has been a source of maddening frustration ever since I installed it years ago. The problem has been a humming noise that comes and goes on a period ranging from hours to months, thereby making systematic debugging of the setup impossible. At its worst, the hum drowns out virtually all of the sounds the mic is supposed to be capturing in the nest box, and, more thanAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-49075804675403646422013-01-28T00:32:00.000-06:002013-01-28T01:28:48.878-06:00Keeping Squirrels out of Owl Nest BoxesI've been lucky this year and had no problems with squirrels in my screech owl nest box. Significantly, I think I know why.
Upper-left: Screech owl nest box in gray.Middle: Fox squirrel nest box in green.
Though I've seen fox squirrels taking an interest in my squirrel nest box at various times, for lack of built-in video cameras or other instrumentation, I remained unclear as to what, if Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-73865074324996300092013-01-06T22:10:00.001-06:002013-01-07T04:46:23.248-06:00The Best Screech Owl Photo I Never Showed YouReaders with long memories may recall my mentioning that I'd setup an experiment during the last week of my 2012 screech owl nesting. The experiment was a home-brew motion sensitive trigger for my digital SLR camera, with trigger and SLR mounted such that they could catch the adults as they flew back and forth from the nest box. (You can see the sensor in the photos; it's the white plastic thing Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-6681276187013433802013-01-04T14:26:00.000-06:002013-01-04T14:26:47.222-06:00Mme. Owl Spends the Day in the Next BoxMme. Owl, in a move that I hope has nothing to do with impending eggs (it’d be about 10 weeks too early for eggs around here), spent the entire day of January 2nd, 2013, in the nest box, starting at 6:28 AM CST and ending at 6:01 PM CST. The movie below shows all of the portions that triggered automatic recording. (In future, I will allow movement in more of the nest box to trigger recording.)
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-27335955095270852632012-12-31T18:39:00.000-06:002012-12-31T20:52:03.578-06:00May 3, 2012: A Most Unusual Food DeliveryWhat makes this food delivery unusual? First it happened during the day. Second, it was a whole mouse (wondered where my bold bird feeder mice went to). Third, Mme. Owl was spending daytime outside the nest due to the heat, but showed-up, called to her mate, and eventually he arrived with this mouse, still in daylight, a time when screech owls especially do not want to be seen. So this is one of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-49629090553264737432012-12-30T17:37:00.003-06:002012-12-30T17:46:55.713-06:00December 29/30 Mme. Owl Visits AgainMme. Owl visits the nest box once again, complete with egg depression work. Not sure what more to say, except that, if all of these visits start to look the same, the frequency of them is well worth observing and recording. Also, at some point, we should witness the male owl call to his mate from the nest site, as part of, what I believe to be, the start of the mating ritual (“See: I found you a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-91948854715866173532012-12-29T20:56:00.000-06:002012-12-30T04:23:07.395-06:00December 28/29 Nest Site PreparationMme. Owl stopped by the nest box at 6:04 AM CST to do a little nest site prep. That consists, as usual, of kicking around the bedding material to make a depression for the eggs she’ll eventually lay. Another means to the same end, not seen here, is for the female to push the bedding material around using her breast like the blade of a bulldozer. That behavior, however, may be reserved for looser Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19261025.post-23684266988376193982012-12-28T06:56:00.000-06:002012-12-28T06:56:30.052-06:00December 27/28 Mouse WithdrawalWhichever of the owls (I suspect Mme. Owl) deposited the mouse in the nest box last night (December 26/27) was back tonight to make the withdrawal. Think of it as getting dinner from the leftovers in the fridge.
<!---->December 28, 2012, 3:14 AM CST29.6 MB MPEG-4 movie.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17874730776766584329noreply@blogger.com0