Also missing is Himalayan Blackberries, which are everywhere in the Pacific Northwest. The canes of Himalayan blackberry can grow ten feet tall and over twenty feet long in a single year. Instead of ripping them to shreds, as this article’s headline suggests, it shreds you. RoundUp-type herbicides don’t affect it, you…

In 2010, the Oregon Department of Agriculture banned the propagation, transport or sale of English and Irish ivy in Oregon. The ban includes ivy grown indoors, on patios and in floral arrangements as well. It can be seen covering trees much like Kudzu in the south.

Not exactly true. in 1945, one balloon landed near the coast of Oregon, perhaps 100 miles from my house. This incendiary bomb was discovered intact. A group assembled, it was likely disturbed by a child, and it exploded, killing five children and one adult.

Yep, I’m arm chair quarterbacking here, however, I’m also drawing upon 40 years of engineering experience and a near lifelong interest in aviation.

Yep,it was reported this morning the balloon was initially detected over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, crossed over into Canada, and then into Montana.

The F22 which shot down the balloon with a missile is also equipped with a 20mm Gatling gun. The hard part would be putting just a few holes in the balloon as the gun fires about 100 rounds per second. That’s roughly 30 rounds in the literal and proverbial “blink of an eye.”

Thanks for the positive comments!

Not exactly. Tethered barrage balloons were used in WWI and WWII to thwart low-level attacks. Last spring there was talk about deploying them in Ukraine.

They should have taken it down in sparsely-populated Montana or in the wide-open corn and wheat fields of the Midwest by shooting it down with a few rounds of bullets into the balloon, letting it descend intact. Instead, they used a missile, causing “ rapid disassembly” on impact with the water and the subsequent…

Agreed on one of the niches you mentioned, sort-of.

Former employee (known as a Blue-Badge) and thrice former contract “worker” (known as a Green-Badge/second-class citizen/expendable) here, who was recently let go.

Yes, I cannot believe nothing important happened in that 10-year gap. Besides Bill’s injury recovery and Frank getting sick, there had to be at least one marauder attack or the “Nazi Guv’mint” poking around.

I’ll be mighty pissed if Amazon pulls the plug on Echo deices and Alexa. I was an early adopter and still own the original Echo along with four Dots of various generations, plus an Anker Echo clone.

How about doing an article on apps which map signal strength in 3D? Are there any free or fremium apps like this?

Yuck. The old linear design was much simpler than the new, highly-cluttered design. Have you ever heard of white space?

I got my refurb Echo Dot yesterday and played with it for a few hours. When done, I started leaning toward returning it. Perhaps many others have had the same thought and that’s why they appear to have a glut of refurbs at lower prices. I have to admit, I bought it on impulse, so I did not do my usual due diligence.

I got my refurb Echo Dot yesterday and played with it for a few hours. When done, I started leaning toward returning…

What I need is the ability to digitize my family’s 8mm movie film from the 50s and 60s. This cannot be done by conventional means as the film is very brittle. When I tried to run the film through a projector years ago, it shattered into pieces as it tried to bend through the 180-degree turn in the film path which all…

I read elsewhere this clip is from an advertisement.

I live in Portland, Ore. and have tried a couple FM transmitters.

I live in Portland, Ore. and have tried a couple FM transmitters.

Been there, done that four years ago while attempting to go from the road up a driveway cut at 23MPH.