August 30, 2015

just a heads up. du'er nralieghliberal coming to town in feb.

he is giving a speech about tomatoes, and his book, "epic tomatoes", at the botanic gardens.
i have been bugging him to do a book signing at my farm. he hasnt given me a firm answer on that.
but at any rate, it seems like a good excuse for a get together.

stay tuned.

August 28, 2015

talk about your squee.

new snow leopard cubs at brookfield zoo, a truly outstanding institution.
take a minute to watch the video.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-snow-leopard-brookfield-zoo-20150828-story.html

August 23, 2015

what night time temps will shut off tomato blossoming?

finally starting to get tomatoes. what a shitty season. such a cold wet spring.
as usual, i want the fall to stay away. with the talk of el nino, i was hoping i would catch a break. but they are predicting at least 3 nights next week w lows in the 50's. i am in a little bit of a microclimate here, because of the lake, and also because my hugelpiles create a little warmth. might save me this time.

but, what is the trigger? when should i start to cry?

August 21, 2015

say her name. rekia boyd

Rekia Boyd's Bloody Hair Shown to Police as Activists Take Over Meeting

BRONZEVILLE — A Chicago Police Board hearing shut down early after activists took control of the room, chanting and calling for the firing of Chicago Police Officer Dante Servin, who shot and killed an unarmed black woman in 2012.

"What if it was your son or your daughter?" the brother of the slain woman, 22-year-old Rekia Boyd, asked the police board during the 7:30 p.m. hearing at police headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., Thursday night.

The activists, who represented the Black Youth Project 100, organized the rally to put pressure on police to fire Servin. Activists representing the #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHerName movements, which call for an end to police violence against people of color, especially women of color, were also present at the event.

Servin was off duty when he shot into a group of people standing in an alley near Douglas Park, killing 22-year-old Rekia Boyd, in 2012. Servin said he shot after he saw another person in the alley — later identified as Antonio Cross — pull a gun, but no weapon was recovered, and prosecutors said Cross had a cellphone.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150820/bronzeville/black-lives-matter-protesters-take-over-hearing-for-rekia-boyds-killer

way to go, peeps. sending them running. i love it.

August 21, 2015

well the numbers come down today.

meeting w my forensic accountant this afternoon. damn this mess is expensive.
but i will have peace of mind that things are fair. which is all i really want here.

he is threatening to retire early, something i never thought he would do however much he talked about it. but now it would hurt me, so it is a good idea to him.
he is saying he plans to work as long as the kids need support. only one is in college now, but the other 3 either have plans to do so, or at least certainly could and would do great.
i am happy for that, tho he is doing his best to wreck my relationships with them. he is the sugar daddy, and i am the old mom who needs help these days. easy peasy for him.

anyway, we will soon see what i have to give up to keep my farm. glad i broke down and spent the money to get a good detailed accounting. especially since this has dragged on for a year and a half now. he is liquidating assets left and right.

and no, trolls, he does not love me dearly. he has not given me everything. he is an extremely unstable person who has either loved me dearly or hated my guts, depending on the entrails of chickens or something. alignment of the planets. who knows.
classic corner office psychopath. like most of you. except for the ones who are basement psychopaths.
enjoy.

August 4, 2015

A Psychologist as Warden? Jail and Mental Illness Intersect in Chicago

CHICAGO — Nneka Jones Tapia, who runs the sprawling Cook County Jail here, has an indelible childhood memory of police officers pounding on the aluminum walls of the family’s double-wide trailer home in North Carolina, riffling through cupboards and drawers, and arresting her father on charges of selling marijuana.

Dr. Jones Tapia, then 8, had to call her mother home from work.

Over the next several years, other relatives, including two brothers, and a number of friends also spent time in jail. She says she might have ended up there, too.

Instead, she became fascinated by psychology and earned a doctorate. She began working at Cook County Jail in 2006, and this spring became its unlikely warden when she was promoted to executive director — one of the first clinical psychologists to run a jail, underscoring how much the country’s prisons have become holding centers for the mentally ill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/us/a-psychologist-as-warden-jail-and-mental-illness-intersect-in-chicago.html?ref=topics&_r=0

August 4, 2015

interesting article about picky eating in children.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmcquaid/2015/08/03/study-ties-picky-eating-in-preschoolers-to-anxiety-depression-adhd-and-family-problems/

i wonder if this strikes a cord w anyone else. my most troubled kid was a crazy picky eater. still that way. puts worcesteshire sauce on everything to.this.day.

July 23, 2015

Rice revolution? New rice could help feed world, fight climate change.

A new strain of rice produces more and larger grains and reduces methane emissions from rice farming, perhaps the largest human-based source of the greenhouse gas. But it's genetically modified, which could lead to a backlash.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0722/Rice-revolution-New-rice-could-help-feed-world-fight-climate-change#

imho, people who reject all things gm are anti-science and little better than the anti-evolution crowd.

July 21, 2015

City fires investigator who found cops at fault in shootings

A Chicago investigator who determined that several civilian shootings by police officers were unjustified was fired after resisting orders to reverse those findings, according to internal records of his agency obtained by WBEZ.

Scott M. Ando, chief administrator of the city’s Independent Police Review Authority, informed its staff in a July 9 email that the agency no longer employed supervising investigator Lorenzo Davis, 65, a former Chicago police commander. IPRA investigates police-brutality complaints and recommends any punishment.

Davis’s termination came less than two weeks after top IPRA officials, evaluating Davis’s job performance, accused him of “a clear bias against the police” and called him “the only supervisor at IPRA who resists making requested changes as directed by management in order to reflect the correct finding with respect to OIS,” as officer-involved shootings are known in the agency.

Since its 2007 creation, IPRA has investigated nearly 400 civilian shootings by police and found one to be unjustified.

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/news/city-fires-investigator-who-found-cops-fault-shootings-112423


1 in 400 shootings unjustified? i'm thinking that one was one that was everywhere in the news.
man am i sick of cops.

July 19, 2015

hey cheeseheads, a little help? natural monuments in wis.

looking for images for a graphic design job.
need suggestions for natural beauty in wisconsin, preferably northern. madeline island has popped up, and lots of great shots available.
but looking for other suggestions.

also interested in great public art.

can you help?