Goldfinches are no longer bright yellow

Friday the 13th  started at 4 a.m. when I woke up.  The light on the electric blanket control was blinking.  That's not good.  I'd used the blanket when I went to bed to warm it up but that was hours ago and the blanket goes off automatically after two hours. I could have left it til morning I suppose but it bugged me.  I checked the connection into the blanket.  That was solid.  I checked the other end of the cord into the wall socket.  That looked good too.   I disconnected it from a surge protector and put it directly into the outlet.  The controls stopped blinking and I could turn the blanket on and off.  Must be the surge protector.  

However before I could get to sleep again the septic system alarm started buzzing.  I got up and noticed the blanket controls was blinking again.  First things first.   Unplugged the septic alarm and then the electric blanket.  The Excavating company opens at 7 a.m. and I got there about 7:30.  I'd picked up their bill in the mail yesterday and had planned on going over to pay it today anyway.    Septic Guy Dave who had fixed it a week ago was in the office.  He gave me a tutorial about how septic systems work and what might be going wrong w/ mine.  None of his scenarios seemed probable  - he and his partner had checked everything before they left the first time.  He said not to worry, he would be out in the afternoon.   

Back home I signed on to my computer to check e-mail.  Nope - that wasn't working either.  Fortunately I'd listened to the news on the radio this morning and knew Microsoft had issues.  E-mails could wait, though it got me to thinking how engrained technology has become in our lives.

I busied myself around the house and, as I was walking through the foyer, I noticed a truck outside.  Too early for the Septic guys.  Besides, this truck had 'Xcel' printed on the side.  Oh ... As I said Xcel Electric had sent me another bill going back to January.  When I called they said it was a key-in error.  Now they had a rep parked right in front of the outside electrical backboard.  I walked out and the person inside rolled down the driver's side window.  "Everything OK?"  I asked.  "Yes, just trying to do something on my computer." was the tech's answer. I decided not to ask more questions - it was cold outside and I had other things to worry about.

Tonight my septic system is again working - Dave said the float they installed went bad so they replaced it again.  Microsoft must have fixed their issues since my e-mail is now filled w/ new messages.  I tried the electric blanket again but it went back into blinking mode.  Will steal another off one of the other beds.   As for Xcel - the tech left after a short time.  Hope she figured out whatever she needed to know.  As for me, I'm going to bed before Friday the 13th can surprise me again.

Sunrise Contrail

Rain yesterday but pretty sure there was snow overnight.  When I went out to feed the birds, there were clumps of snowflakes here and there on the grass and some at the edges of the platform feeder.  However, I treat First Snow like Death.  In my mind, you haven't really died if there isn't an obit in the paper and we really haven't had a season's First Snow if I didn't see snowflakes in the air.

The temps are chilly again reminding me that it's a good time to make my first crockpot of chili for the season.  I wanted to see if I could improve on my standard recipe so asked my friends what they put in their chili.  We all do the same basics but they suggested trying a little oregano, a little tomato paste (to boost the tomato flavor), and I added a few pieces of pepperoni.  I have added chocolate in the past but didn't have any that wasn't flavored on-hand.  (Fairly sure even the dog might not eat mint-flavored chili.) This crockpot of chili will last me the rest of the week - first a bowl of chili w/ Fritos, cheese, and sour cream.  Following days will be chili w/ pasta, chili on a baked potato, open faced chili sandwich, chili on eggs.  Friend Nancy actually puts it on salads.  That might be a step too far for me.

Arrowwood in Autumn

 

Monday morning was the County's Board of Canvass for the November 3rd election.  They go through all of the paperwork from each of the municipalities in the county to make sure the count is correct before certifying our results to the state.  It's a public meeting so I decided to sit through at least a portion of it.   My municipality is the first one audited and the only mistake found was I forgot to put down the time when I left that night.  I'd entered it for everyone else but since my name goes in a section above the rest of the names, I must have forgotten.  Not a big mistake and easily verified by the times entered for everyone else.  The canvassing continued town by town.   Then came the paperwork for the Town of Buck Thorn.   Technically, the rest of this paragraph is gossip.  I can't swear to it's veracity so I've changed the town's name for this blog post.  The Town of Buck Thorn hadn't been using it's tabulator machine since 2020 arguing that they don't feel it would do an accurate count.  (No proof has been offered to show that.)   Buck Thorn's town board pointed to the portion of state law that states a municipality doesn't have to use a mechanical counter if they have less than 1,000 people.  Like all of our rural municipalities, Buck Thorn is much smaller.  However, another part of state law requires a mechanical option for a disabled person to mark a ballot.   All of the county's tabulators come w/ the ability to switch to Special Mode which will allow a person to put a blank ballot in and through an attached controller paddle have the machine mark it for the voter.  It took the Fed's coming in two years ago to require the Town of Buck Thorn to have their tabulator set up and turned on.   However, the County Clerk was contacted when a voter was told by Buck Thorn poll workers that they couldn't put their marked ballot through the machine.  They either had to have it counted, by hand, at the end of the night or put a blank ballot in the tabulator and use the Special Mode to let the machine mark it.  <Big Sigh>  Next election in April is for town boards and clerks.  Maybe the Town of Buck Thorn will be under 'new management' after that.  

As I sat observing the Canvass I noticed a brown envelope included in most of the clear bags of ballots submitted by each municipality.  The brown envelope contains spoiled ballots.  A voter voted for someone they didn't mean to, they voted for too many candidates for an office, they circled/put a big 'X' through, or underlined a candidate's name instead of filling in the oval next to their name.  The voter can ask the Election Chief Inspector to have a new ballot.  The 'spoiled' ballot is put in a brown envelope which, while it wasn't counted, is placed in a sealed bag w/ the rest of the ballots.  I felt regret that the Town of Buck Thorn wouldn't at least run ballots through their tabulator so some errors could be caught and fixed by the voter.    The poll workers can always hand count ballots afterwards if that is what they want to do.

A Sky to Wake Up To

 

At the beginning of 2026, I started an experiment. Google AI is like a black box—questions go in, answers comes out. What happens in between? How accurate is it? Does it learn? Do answers change over time? In physics, one way to investigate a black-box problem is to remove a variable and observe the results. So I eliminated one: the initial question. By Googling exactly the same question every day, I should be able to detect changes in AI’s answers. Choosing a controversial question would reveal whether AI developed a bias. I chose the question: “How stupid is Trump?” Every day, I Googled it exactly the same way.

Multiple times during the year, AI didn’t answer the question. Instead, it went directly to a news clip. This happened when the president himself had called someone “stupid” within the previous 24 hours. AI used the immediacy of the terms ‘Trump’+‘stupid’ in conjunction to override the intent of my sentence. I admit, realizing how often the president himself called people “stupid” assuaged any guilt I felt about using the same pejorative. Among his targets: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (February), Somali Americans (March), Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Barrett (April), journalist Rachel Scott (May), journalist Kristin Welker (June), Pres. Biden (August). In October, there was even a news clip of the president exclaiming to his audience, “I could say the stupidest things and you’d still clap.”

When AI did answer my question, it used a Pro vs. Con format to create the appearance of a balanced response. I checked articles following the AI synopsis. The majority asserted that the president lacks intelligence so AI doesn't appear to weight it’s response. I wondered whether it would use the same Pro/Con approach for everyone. I changed the question to: “How stupid is Neil deGrasse Tyson?” AI responded with a definitive: “No, Neil deGrasse Tyson is not stupid.” ...Hmm... I tried again: “How stupid is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth?” AI didn’t call him dumb, but it’s response was only a two-line answer pointing out his lack of qualifications and operationally incompetent actions.

AI doesn’t appear to consider morality when evaluating intelligence. In a ‘Pro Intelligent’ section of its response, AI described the president as a “consummate con man who preys on his base’s concerns while manipulating their emotions”. Other times, also in the ‘Pro’ section, AI described the president’s actions as “diabolically shrewd”; characterized his provocative statements as “a wall of sound designed to distract from controversies”; described his exploitation of cultural flash points as strategically effective; and noted that labeling people with nicknames—“Low IQ Jeffries”, “Dumbocrats” —was an effective way to dominate news cycles. Talking like a school yard bully or supervillain wannabe does not demonstrate the intelligence expected of a statesman.

My opinion is AI simulates the appearance of reasoning without synthesizing the evidence into an independent conclusion. Consider that in 2026 President Trump started a war with Iran claiming it would end “as soon as I want it to end.” Alienated allies by imposing high tariffs, which ultimately were adjudicated to be illegal and had to be paid back. In childish pique, renamed Lake Ontario and threatened to raze the Kennedy Center if his own name wasn’t added. Continues to insist that he won the 2020 presidential election. These are just a few examples – nowhere near a comprehensive list. After a year, Google AI did no more than arrange/rearrange arguments for either side of the question. If AI were truly a form of ‘superintelligence’ the answer should be obvious:         Incredibly.

Whip on watch

On Saturdays the library is open from 10 - 2.  The Village was having Veteran's Day festivities on Saturday and all of the usual volunteers were busy so I went in to man the front desk.  I used to do this shift all of the time but back when I did it, we were open only two hours.  The librarian was reconsidering the longer hours and asked me to make a spreadsheet broken out by the four hours we ae open.  Whoever is working a Saturday could put hashmarks on it when a patron entered and the Librarian could have an idea if the longer hours were worth it.  I was surprised to see another car in the parking lot and when I walked in the back door heard a "Hello" shouted from the front.  It was Friend Barb!   The Friends of the Library were having a book sale this morning and they had opened up the library - just for the sale - an hour earlier.  Nice to have someone else around to talk to. Barb and I caught up quickly on life but then people started coming in and we were busy.  I made the spreadsheet (along w/ an accompanying graph of course) and she went back and forth from the book room in the Village Hall to the library where we have the children's books for sale  There were people making copies, picking up library books and looking for sale books, using the computers, etc.  About one o'clock things slowed down quickly.  Technically, the Friends Book Sale ended at that time.  Barb started straightening up by putting away extra tables and books into the back  book room.  One lady came in at the very end and was very talkative.  She didn't seem to understand, despite Barb's subtle hint, that technically the book sale had been over for an hour and the library was closing now also.  Twenty minutes after two, Barb and I were in our cars and driving out of the library parking lot.  I think Saturday library duty is OK if it's a cold/snowy/rainy day but on a crisp sunny Autumn day, being cooped up, even in the library, is just wrong.

Looking through the Window

 

Once the rainy spell of weather was over the sky cleared allowing night time temperatures to drop below freezing.  I brought in the two garden poles and the Mjolnir rock.  I'd left them out so Sister Connie could see where I put them but  they might be hurt by the freeze/thaw cycles of Autumn.   Now that most of the foliage has fallen I also saw the pink pail I left in Whip's outside run so she could have water.  Brought that in too.

I slept on my new flannel sheets.  Mid winter last year I'd order bright red ones (every Northerner gets a bit tired of the color white that time of year).  They were pretty.  They gave off a prodigious amount of fluff though and by the time I put them away for the season last spring, they already had a small hole in one corner.  This year was way worse.  Every time I washed them I'd find a new hole and eventually a rip that bloomed into a three foot hole just by my making the bed.  The two things I did wrong were to believe Amazon reviews and not buy Lands End.  They may be pricy but they are better quality.  Not sure what to do w/ the old red sheets - they aren't even in good enough shape to add to the rag shelf.

When I woke up a deer was standing outside my bedroom looking in.  She still had frost on her back so assume she slept nearby and was looking around for breakfast.  Seems she was attracted by the red berries still hanging on my Highbush Cranberry.  She felt comfortable enough to munch even with the dog barking inside the house.  I certainly don't begrudge her the berries.  Wish she left the ends of the twigs.  However the bush has been doing well over the years so let her have a moment to eat in relative peace.  Hunting season will come soon enough.

The Swamp

On election day, I prop the garage door open, remove the inside cover over the doggy door so Whip can get to her outside run while I'm gone.  This election was forecast to be rainy all day.  Decided if the cats found their way outside too it was acceptable.  Afterall, both cats had been on accidental sleep-overs outside and both had stuck close to home.

I removed the cover from the doggy door and pushed open the flaps to make sure there was no impediment to Whip getting outside.  The four inch gap between the inside flap and the outside flap was filled w/ dried leaves.  Bet some little creature had thought adding some extra insulation would make that space an excellent winter home.  I brushed the dried leaves outside.  Hope the critter gets the idea that they need to look elsewhere.

When I got home from the election, inside my house were two cats, one dog, and no accidents on the floor.  Perfect.  Wednesday morning I got the call from the excavators that they would be at my place soon to fix the sewer.  I'd pretty much dumped stuff  when I'd walked in the night before.  For some reason I was concerned what guys-who-crawl-into-sewers would think of my housekeeping.  I quickly walked around the house straightening up.  When I pulled the cover on the love seat taut, a field mouse fell out.  <High Pitched Squeal> (From me, not the mouse which was quite dead.)  Figured sometime on Tuesday, Dunder and the mouse met.  My cats don't need to bring their kills inside to prove they are earning their keep - think they are just showing off.  Anyway, I got out a winter glove, picked up the mouse, and tossed it outside.  Later saw a crow fly off w/ it (or one like it).

Sunshine?

I learned it takes a village to fix a sewer system.  As I said, my sewer alarm went off fleetingly before Sister Connie came at the end of October.  I checked the sewer filter, pinched a finger while putting the concrete cover back in place, and the alarm had mysteriously stopped.  Since I was about to have company plus go into the hospital for a procedure plus get ready for midterm elections, I put off figuring out what might have caused the alarm until later. However, the morning after I got home from my procedure the alarm went off again and didn't stop.  I remembered from the plumber who had originally installed my system that I had approximately a week after the alarm before I'd better have the system pumped.  (He told me that and to never dump dead bodies into the septic system.)

The alarm is set off by a float in the septic system warning the first compartment is filling up w/ effluent and in danger of backing up into the house. (Yuck)  I'd just had the system pumped on it's regular 3 year cycle last year so I knew there was some bigger issue.   I called the Sewer Sucker company.  They came out the next day.  The worker sucked each compartment separately, cleaned all of the filters, and reported the system looked good (so to speak). The alarm though was still going off. He said there was no electrical current reaching the pump and suggested calling an electrician.

Found an electrical company who could come out by the end of the week.  Nice guy who thought maybe I'd had a lightning strike nearby.  He showed me the charred looking electrical connection.  He thought the Sewer Sucker company would fix bad pumps and/or defective floats but after calling his own company was told those kind of companies don't do that work anymore and neither do electricians.   The electrician fixed the charred electrical connection but the alarm was still going off.  He suggested calling an excavating firm.  

Called a local excavating firm who got back to me within a day.  Unfortunately that day was election day and I was pretty busy.  The caller said they don't work on septic electrical systems in the rain but Friday might be a dry day and they would come out then.  I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before the election - looked like I would be in for more truncated sleep nights until this got fixed.  The next day after the election I got a call  from the excavating company.  It looked like a few hours of dry weather.  Could they come out to fix my system?  (Need they ask?)  Super nice fellows who told me more than once they were soooo happy I'd had the system sucked ahead of time.  They thought my problem was a failing 20 year old pump and float.  They replaced them, tested the alarm system which now is quiet and only shines a green light,  and drove off w/ my thanks.  Talking w/ them I also found out, since it's only me here, after the system is sucked out it may take as long as a month before the systems fills enough to activate the pump again.  Sounds like it takes a village to fill my system too.

Cleaning up after Harvest

Actually had a good time at the election.  Chief Inspector Andy and I stayed the entire time- 6:30 am. until 10 p.m.   We add continuity to the day and both of us are up on the election rules.   Other poll workers worked half days.  Allows them to stay sharp and hopefully happy to work other elections in the future.    I think we had 80% turnout.  More so than any other election, after voting, people wanted to stick around and talk w/ their neighbors.  I'm not sure if it was because it was a rainy day or it's that time of year or they were just happy to be able to talk w/ someone in-person.   I was asked by one of the poll workers if we should break up some of these gab sessions - they could be loud - but decided against it.  No one was talking politics, they weren't restricting the flow of voters, and these people were relaxing in their own town hall.  If they leave w/ a warm feeling about coming to vote, I'm all for it.  Only had one lady ask me how tabulators switch votes.  She'd read on Facebook that it happened in Tennessee.  I'd read up on that case so explained how the Tennessee's voting machines work and how ours are different.  I explained the checks and balances we maintain to keep that from happening.  She actually seemed to like hearing about how election prep works.  Go figure.

Facebook appears to be the area's gossip nucleus.  Andy and I knew there would be a registered write-in for Sheriff.  I hadn't expected the groundswell it had become (via Facebook).  We've never had so many write-in's for an office - not to mention that everyone spelled the name essentially correct.  Fortunately, Andy and I had planned out in advance an efficient way to count ballots and write-ins at the end of the day.  With just a little bit of pre-planning everything went smoothly.

When a ballot is successfully read by the tabulator it falls into the belly of the machine w/ a ringing noise.   The voter only sees a fleeting message "VOTE CAST"  for verification.  They often look over at the poll workers wondering if they need to do anything else.  We can't see the screen in front of them but we had people listening for any alarms.  We were able to assure them we'd heard the 'ding' of their ballot dropping after it was successfully read.   Andy started saying "Every time the bell rings, a politician gets his wings."    OK - so after a long day we get a little slap-happy.

Headed South

It was a gloomy and rainy weekend.  I was bummed.  Monday, however, there were things to do.  Nothing like work to get you out of a funk.  I called all of the poll workers that will be on duty tomorrow and reminded them Election Day was nigh.  I drove into the village and picked up stuff for sandwiches tomorrow plus a latte that I put into the refrigerator - will warm it up in the morning.  I paid any outstanding bills and picked up my mail.  Stopped in at the library to drop off the carrying case, Connie's picture choice was in.  I'm keeping the picture on the wall for the six weeks it's checked out.  It's pretty there and the colors complement the room.  Called Xcel Energy.  If you remember they hadn't billed me since April of last year when the solar panels were installed.  I'd finally gotten a bill in September covering that time frame and paid it.  The bill I picked up on Friday though said it covered from the beginning of this year to November.  Sounded like double billing to me.  Wasn't sure how to explain what all went on to the Xcel Help Desk person but she was pretty on the ball.  Once I pointed out the issue she downloaded everything from the billing department about the account and saw a note that someone had mistyped a number and they had to recalculate a portion of the bill.  I was surprised they would be keying in anything but, as I said, the billing department had issues w/ my account.  The Help Desk person said it looked like things should be back to normal now and apologized profusely (even though it wasn't her fault).   Hopefully she's right and the rest of the bills will be just monthly.  Then I got a call from the electrician I'd called on Friday.  They had thought it would be Wednesday before they could get back to me but he was free today so He came out to see what was up w/ my septic system.  He said it almost looked like a lightening strike cause parts of the pump were charred.  I'm not sure about that but he fixed the outlet in the septic pump.  The pump and the float (which also doesn't seem to be working) have to be fixed by someone else - they said excavating companies did that sort of work (wouldn't have guess that).  I called a local one and they took my info and said they would get back to me.  

Around 5 p.m. I went down to the Town Hall.  Set it up as much as possible - some documents and the tabulator remain under lock and key until tomorrow morning.  Chief Inspector Andy filled me in on the training class the County Clerk had held while I was in the hospital.  We went over logistics.  Town Clerk Chris stopped by to make sure we would have everything we needed.  Some town clerks actually work elections.  Fortunately, we have enough poll workers that our clerk is free during the day and only needs to show up after polls close.  Anyway, I'm feeling a bit more upbeat.  Think tomorrow will go well.

Michael and Rebecca

I stopped off to pick up a paper.  Usually I do that either on Wednesday afternoon when they first come out of Thursday night before going in for library duty.  So I was late picking one up but I didn't expect there would be NO papers.  I asked the lady behind the counter if they had anymore.  She looked toward where they usually are stacked and seemed surprised too.  "Guess there must have been something really interesting in this edition."  was her reply.  Made me smile.  Just before an election the paper runs not only a sample of what the ballot will look like but often has a write-up about referenda on the ballot and interviews w/ candidates.   Hopefully this means people are taking an interest in learning about the issues before voting!  Always a good thing.  As for me, I know how I plan to vote but will check out the paper at the library on Monday.  Extra info about this election can't hurt.

I was still in bed when Whip came in and started licking my face.  Her internal clock doesn't recognize these one hour time changes.  I went around the house resetting clocks and calendars.  I'd be OK w/ staying on Sun time (i.e. Noon is when the sun is at it's zenith) but it seems even that is an issue politicians can't agree on - neither state nor federal.  Now that the plants are overwintering in Sleipnir, they need watering once a month.  I usually do it on the first of the month.  Kinda forgot that I'm not suppose to lift anything more than 10 lbs. but I don't think a plastic sprinkling can filled w/ water actually goes over that limitation.  Anyway, got that done.  Whip stayed close to me all afternoon.  I've said it before, every dog is a support animal.

Semi's on Halloween

 

Checked my heart rhythm.  I had persistent A-fib which doesn't have as high a success rate after an ablation as the non-persistent kind.  However, I'm still in a good rhythm.  

It's the Night of the Spooky Semi.  Thursday night, well after dark, Whip let me know there was something going on outside.  When I let her out she just sat looking down the driveway.  There at the end were two bright lights beaming right at me.  We walked out together and could make out it was a semi, in Neighbor Dearhamer's field,  pointed across the road towards me.  No one at the wheel - just the lights.  In the morning the semi was gone - only to return again the next night.  Again lights pointed down my driveway but no one at the wheel.  Early this overcast and drizzly morning the semi was still in the field ... but ... there were now two of them.  Both pointed toward my place and no one in either of them.  Oooh - spooky.  Sorry, that's as scary as I can make it.  Pretty sure someone is filling them up w/ grain and carting it off during the day.  Nothing more than that .... hopefully.

Raspberry Leaves

 Septic system alarm started again on Thursday morning and wouldn't shut off.  I unplugged it and called the Sewer Sucker Company.   I'd just had them out last year but I needed some idea about what was setting off the alarm.   The truck appeared bright and early this morning.  I explained the problem and he sucked all three bins but said there wasn't an issue in anyone of them.  He cleaned both filters.  They weren't the problem either.  He asked me to bring out a hair dryer.  That turned out to be the problem.  No power to the pump that sends effluent out to the mound to filter out through sand and gravel.  The alarm was going off because there was no power to the pump, not because the sewer floats were setting it off.  Sewer Sucker Guy was extremely nice and helpful but this, he said, is something for an electrician.  I made a check out for his services and he was on his way.  I put a call into my go-to electrician company and then bopped down to the library to catch the last portion of a training session Librarian Trevor had scheduled for today.  When I got back home, I realized I was really tired.  Covered up w/ a throw on the sofa and didn't wake until afternoon.  Hadn't received a call back from the electrician so tried again (still just leave a message) and checked on-line.  The business had new management, the electrician I knew had retired, and reviews on the website said they often ignored messages or didn't return phone calls.  Great.  Called around and I think I found a company that will come out later next week.  W/ everything sucked out, I should be OK til then.

Connie and Dunder finally making friends

 

Sister Connie took my hospital release instructions seriously.  She parked her car in front of the garage so I wouldn't be able to drive,  gathered up Whip for the morning constitutional and made me breakfast.  Just like me she doesn't like runny eggs so no issues.  After that, even though it was a chilly day we took Jormungandr out to see the sights.   Checked out where the other Yggdrasil's have been planted; around the backside of Gorgeous Gorge; past the plum tree copse; over Bifrost and out to the new trails in the back 80.  Then we took off past the right-of-way to connect up to Neighbor Blake's trails.  Whip and I try to always take a late October romp through there before the November hiatus for hunting.  We popped out of the woods at the gravel pit; circled around Turtle Head pond before going back home.  Connie and Whip hugged each other the entire time even though, I swear, I went slow - well - slower than usual.

Tonight Connie drove us over to Churchtown for supper with Brother Russell and Sister-in-Law Donna.  Tomorrow, though, I have my road privileges back!