Wordless Wednesday: How the Squirrel Defeats the Bird Feeder

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmBi1_fB6taRq3zlAxUI7k_pVMCYB0mMuBOFfOf1OK2ScPrY7yA0GM-ngMRiflNOYpVBDxyDNyFnudRe7QRf11LdtfeRAVQA1lNl5C-kg_cBpuEFrgL8o6mUTVFbBCohBfBnIfaiuNGqD/s1600/squirrel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmBi1_fB6taRq3zlAxUI7k_pVMCYB0mMuBOFfOf1OK2ScPrY7yA0GM-ngMRiflNOYpVBDxyDNyFnudRe7QRf11LdtfeRAVQA1lNl5C-kg_cBpuEFrgL8o6mUTVFbBCohBfBnIfaiuNGqD/s1600/squirrel2.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><br />

Wordless Wednesday: How the Squirrel Defeats the Bird Feeder

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Wordless Wednesday: A Photo of Dessert

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJCNm7fRcn4BOH9_4FlY0-3ENB1JsQsF-sZiMIbmYJaV7C0qPjojDr5gh1YnjWAs4IZLQbIg9rwcgFyeZzgGviLr3jjsm4UWmRLtoHjvQVJDaJpm26GryOVXqH4Lyw1XHvp3qYJLmkfqA/s1600/dessert-photo5718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJCNm7fRcn4BOH9_4FlY0-3ENB1JsQsF-sZiMIbmYJaV7C0qPjojDr5gh1YnjWAs4IZLQbIg9rwcgFyeZzgGviLr3jjsm4UWmRLtoHjvQVJDaJpm26GryOVXqH4Lyw1XHvp3qYJLmkfqA/s1600/dessert-photo5718.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />

Wordless Wednesday: A Photo of Dessert

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Goodbye, Sunshine

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gQR-nzXWy6a0yX4TLhD8zTwNAdSQ1jZ3tkcH1fpMgjm8K2JJSexdeEQ2Woz-SK1omouSRSdbVuTETdoc1hyphenhyphen5piZaZsNF2Ma5ykRqNkjWO7Inh2aaxrWecZOszNj2lDTqOMInMcIiVkcv/s1600/in-n-out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gQR-nzXWy6a0yX4TLhD8zTwNAdSQ1jZ3tkcH1fpMgjm8K2JJSexdeEQ2Woz-SK1omouSRSdbVuTETdoc1hyphenhyphen5piZaZsNF2Ma5ykRqNkjWO7Inh2aaxrWecZOszNj2lDTqOMInMcIiVkcv/s640/in-n-out.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In-N-Out Burger, Carlsbad, California</td></tr></tbody></table>After a glorious sunny morning in Del Mar, California, yesterday, the six of us checked out of our motel and headed north. We stopped just up the freeway in Carlsbad for our last cultural experience: lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We seem to agree that it's a good burger -- though maybe not quite up to the hype and poetry that it sometimes inspires.<div><br /></div><div>By the time we drove up to our airport hotel near LAX, we had lost the good weather: fog or smog now obscured the blue skies we had enjoyed for 10 days. We said our goodbyes to each other and to California in the evening, preparing to fly back to our separate homes early in the morning. It was still dark when the shuttle dropped us at the airport this morning, so I don't know what the LA weather is today.<div><br /></div><div>We arrived back in Ann Arbor happy with our experience of on-time flights and good luck with lines in the airports. As soon as we got home we had to shovel the snow out of our driveway and get over to Whole Foods to stock up the house in anticipation of a predicted storm that's supposed to drop more and more snow (though the predictions are currently being moderated). So many people had the same idea that there were empty shelves and depleted supplies at the store. But we're ready for whatever storm comes our way tomorrow.<br /><br /></div></div>

Goodbye, Sunshine

In-N-Out Burger, Carlsbad, CaliforniaAfter a glorious sunny morning in Del Mar, California, yesterday, the six of us checked out of our motel and headed north. We stopped just up the freeway in Carlsbad for our last cultural experience: lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We seem to agree that it's a good bur…

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Happy New Year

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunset on the first evening of the year in Del Mar, California:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSiZks55AzDto4r_607Bxdl0UybnEHcugTbEvxKdPIO7hABeV1E55J8W2mVRCieICaYKZB32swK3zVr3kWEqP7HCn924WjuHhYWpqSKo8UbpCbgB9ooH9c1dzdRoS8FGkLgjlaJA5WOT_/s1600/happy_new_year+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSiZks55AzDto4r_607Bxdl0UybnEHcugTbEvxKdPIO7hABeV1E55J8W2mVRCieICaYKZB32swK3zVr3kWEqP7HCn924WjuHhYWpqSKo8UbpCbgB9ooH9c1dzdRoS8FGkLgjlaJA5WOT_/s400/happy_new_year+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDrbA8T7ib5pgCm3i-T0EGmjcESlm-nWkmHBEoJ_KS7Lq6kqISy48dxooXitBKx8hQDK3FHl45sn6BephjLQd0BlrIFm0jE8zTv5iZUIbr8_C8rQlpO_eHueGDtTrAIrQE8rkH7IdNDr2/s1600/happy_new_year+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDrbA8T7ib5pgCm3i-T0EGmjcESlm-nWkmHBEoJ_KS7Lq6kqISy48dxooXitBKx8hQDK3FHl45sn6BephjLQd0BlrIFm0jE8zTv5iZUIbr8_C8rQlpO_eHueGDtTrAIrQE8rkH7IdNDr2/s400/happy_new_year+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1A5MULBDm2f6JyzKdYVqk-CKOO7jcFrgtMr3eb87Pc4ccy13AvDyCzN_lUQ8IcdEWiLSdhQp4Na6lioHCB6DcJMwvkJizNRuo-l0ON_1VaKBXnJtG0eUlsMpvldiNoS_ehLsXMN1vMFA/s1600/happy_new_year+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1A5MULBDm2f6JyzKdYVqk-CKOO7jcFrgtMr3eb87Pc4ccy13AvDyCzN_lUQ8IcdEWiLSdhQp4Na6lioHCB6DcJMwvkJizNRuo-l0ON_1VaKBXnJtG0eUlsMpvldiNoS_ehLsXMN1vMFA/s400/happy_new_year+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL7meS3apURERXN-Ws4i1onBhikgvmtnmyBWKwiG1KDwRMSG1gdQO9NJXXYR-VeOZTStZpgh-3BtXW6pIARa62Kyu0FZvNy_1bpXSQTJdz3gOBoY6OpxSspSE7pJAK2KS1KycoD2WvwKj/s1600/happy_new_year+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBL7meS3apURERXN-Ws4i1onBhikgvmtnmyBWKwiG1KDwRMSG1gdQO9NJXXYR-VeOZTStZpgh-3BtXW6pIARa62Kyu0FZvNy_1bpXSQTJdz3gOBoY6OpxSspSE7pJAK2KS1KycoD2WvwKj/s400/happy_new_year+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBv1ZfI1vwv5opJqwUYWR7opKH-ZVZlq-PXl5EDuVttbv3vivgv92Zk95PQt07gGS9iA5CwLcYQHy2Qk5_LbnoY4s9QtvttIohJ6Cal2ij-RzyH6_xPfQNJmemORWUM1hqKsrViO-4IcW/s1600/happy_new_year+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBv1ZfI1vwv5opJqwUYWR7opKH-ZVZlq-PXl5EDuVttbv3vivgv92Zk95PQt07gGS9iA5CwLcYQHy2Qk5_LbnoY4s9QtvttIohJ6Cal2ij-RzyH6_xPfQNJmemORWUM1hqKsrViO-4IcW/s400/happy_new_year+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjLL7t-LeYNIlmQ0sFem0a8PPcqi_sWsyRiVeq_mBVDCTyGqLQgoKC0XqEB1n4ReMUzOQSe39549SSKzN4NPQhgIcrAWprIlLlZ8gK_z1PjfYKk1YCX3_20JY97tCXQQfjZtG9Hw2Bgv5/s1600/happy_new_year+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjLL7t-LeYNIlmQ0sFem0a8PPcqi_sWsyRiVeq_mBVDCTyGqLQgoKC0XqEB1n4ReMUzOQSe39549SSKzN4NPQhgIcrAWprIlLlZ8gK_z1PjfYKk1YCX3_20JY97tCXQQfjZtG9Hw2Bgv5/s640/happy_new_year+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... and dinner at Barbarella in La Jolla<br />(behind the bar a sculpture by Nikki de Saint Phalle)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />

Happy New Year

Sunset on the first evening of the year in Del Mar, California:... and dinner at Barbarella in La Jolla(behind the bar a sculpture by Nikki de Saint Phalle)…

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Fajitas!

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GR7OI3iXla017IWz1-lOTo4Q7wL9jS0FHHrRwpDxRkCryVtapsKthhIjcSU45YEtgEMkRFiXyVsSpXbmFe5KHjRLd6dBj6hQQAXEmqo_z3fHygjUedp6m-kJ-dqLjMv_P4zMnZVahJJC/s1600/del_mar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GR7OI3iXla017IWz1-lOTo4Q7wL9jS0FHHrRwpDxRkCryVtapsKthhIjcSU45YEtgEMkRFiXyVsSpXbmFe5KHjRLd6dBj6hQQAXEmqo_z3fHygjUedp6m-kJ-dqLjMv_P4zMnZVahJJC/s640/del_mar+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At En Fuego, Del Mar, California<br />The delicious aroma of fresh warm chips and hot salsa!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />

Fajitas!

At En Fuego, Del Mar, CaliforniaThe delicious aroma of fresh warm chips and hot salsa!…

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Guacamole

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj549R7LCpSZxFMKqpUtmebw6T84QIvk8YiVMm90sT7KsiWqBrN5og9NmDBiC0oLEOJbgpKlncb5ZkWUGkCm3EGNJdw0HSgW3PzeEhXyX66qVQwq9mOUy1VMJ5kVJbZoF_hbW2tlO9dJ30N/s1600/guac5311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj549R7LCpSZxFMKqpUtmebw6T84QIvk8YiVMm90sT7KsiWqBrN5og9NmDBiC0oLEOJbgpKlncb5ZkWUGkCm3EGNJdw0HSgW3PzeEhXyX66qVQwq9mOUy1VMJ5kVJbZoF_hbW2tlO9dJ30N/s640/guac5311.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At <a href="http://www.rosamexicano.com/index.php">Rosa Mexicano</a> (that's a glove that the guacamole chef used to keep it pure)</td></tr></tbody></table>After a beautiful day at the Getty Center, we had a delicious dinner: crab enchiladas, duck in tortillas, fish tacos, carne asada, salmon in mole, shrimp skewers. Some of us found it a little too hot. I loved my duck!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuErfM_T2NUHo9q9xmZsmsKFG9_Suj2ifFGzzO6V6a7U-rzlPifQA4MIlWgVdjQpT1F5wBM8XjXu-qhXARo3pra4TYaOBs-oGV-8UNI_55IhuyvfilAbrUcuHLLFy_YGrBaxkexpeEpucb/s1600/guac5314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuErfM_T2NUHo9q9xmZsmsKFG9_Suj2ifFGzzO6V6a7U-rzlPifQA4MIlWgVdjQpT1F5wBM8XjXu-qhXARo3pra4TYaOBs-oGV-8UNI_55IhuyvfilAbrUcuHLLFy_YGrBaxkexpeEpucb/s400/guac5314.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />

Guacamole

At Rosa Mexicano (that's a glove that the guacamole chef used to keep it pure)After a beautiful day at the Getty Center, we had a delicious dinner: crab enchiladas, duck in tortillas, fish tacos, carne asada, salmon in mole, shrimp skewers. Some of us found it a little too hot. I loved my duck!…

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Poverty in America

A few things have been making me think about hunger and poverty in America. First, I've recently evaluated many appeals for charitable contributions and decided among them and written checks. This included several organizations that help homeless and hungry people, particularly our local food bank, social work organizations, and homeless shelter.<br /><br />Also recently I've read a number of articles about the working poor people and also the unemployed in our country. For example, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/11/09/too-much-of-too-little/">an article in the <i>Washington Post</i></a> about the relationship of poor diet and obesity in extremely poor people, "Too much of too little A diet fueled by food stamps is making South Texans obese but leaving them hungry."<br /><br />One particularly interesting article in the <i>Atlantic</i> was "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/the-past-and-future-of-americas-social-contract/282511/">The Past and Future of America's Social Contract</a>" by Josh Freedman and Michael Lind. The authors describe the historic progression from an American social contract beginning in the New Deal. For many years, employers provided a number of social services (especially health care and retirement income). We have moved on, say the authors, to a more modern "low-wage" social contract, in which workers earn little but are supposedly helped by lower-priced goods: often imported, often sold at Wal-Mart.<br /><br />They write: <br /><blockquote>"It is true that tax credits and cheap goods have boosted the standard of living for otherwise impoverished workers. Yet, according to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, which takes into account wage subsidies and additional costs like taxes and medical costs, almost 10 percent of the total working population still lives in poverty. This includes roughly 5 million Americans who work full-time, year-round. </blockquote><blockquote>"A key reason for this is that the low-wage social contract does not do much to help families in the areas they need most. Clothing, food, and other items found at Wal-Mart might be cheap for low-wage workers. But other necessary services—health care, daycare, eldercare, and college—have simultaneously become less affordable and more important as most mothers work outside of the home and the wage premium for college remains high. In 1960, the average family spent about $12,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars on childcare, education, and healthcare over the course of 17 years raising a child. Four decades later, the average family spends almost $63,000 per child. Medical out-of-pocket expenses now push more people below the poverty line than tax credits can lift above it."</blockquote>The authors believe that "we need to shift once again to a system more suited to the current economy and needs of workers and citizens." They believe that the government should supply the services that are essential and out of the reach of the poorest Americans, and suggest starting "by raising the federal minimum wage closer to a true living wage and expanding public early education, both of which are widely popular proposals."<br /><br />Sadly, I don't see that our current government is likely to embark on a program of this sort. I see too much hostility to workers and poor people on the part of legislators -- in fact, too much contempt for the poor, the unemployed, and others who are simply unfortunate. Cuts in food assistance from the federal government are one of the worst insults, as there seems to be acceptance for the idea that poor people don't even deserve to eat.<br /><br />Some of our politicians seem more heartless than the "let them eat cake" caricature of Marie Antoinette. <a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2013/12/bread-sugar-coffee.html">My recent reading</a> of <i>Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution</i> brought to mind a variety of parallels between modern times, especially in America, and various events in that era. I'm not sophisticated enough to write about such parallels, but my reading made me think about "aristocratic" attitudes towards poor people here. I have no real hope of things getting better. I'm aware that I should be writing upbeat things about the wonderful holiday season, but this is what's on my mind. <br /><br /><i>Note: I'm also posting this on my other blog, maetravels.blogspot.com</i>

Poverty in America

A few things have been making me think about hunger and poverty in America. First, I've recently evaluated many appeals for charitable contributions and decided among them and written checks. This included several organizations that help homeless and hungry people, particularly our local food bank, …

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