stuff

I love this vintage lens.

I talked with the HOA president (he joined the HOA after the disaster of the wall replacement). I asked Karen what she thought about my running for the
"oh hell no!"
I didn't even finish the question.
"What about in the interest of if you want something done right..."
"oh hell no!"

Maybe I won't do something stupid?

Beautiful day, beautiful trees, and I passed my security exam. They gamified the class (made the class like a game), which was cool, until the end when it was still security and still boring. It was better than the last security class. 

One of the new babies in the neighborhood that I've been photographing has this look like he's judging you .... and you are lacking. He has an amazing face, but very judgmental. I mentioned this to his father and he burst out laughing .... and agreed. Even the child's grandfather agrees that the child looks like he is judging you and you are not up to standard. Today I got a picture of him smiling. 

Azerbaijan is looking to increase gas exports to Europe in response to Russia's invasion. The European Commission president said Azerbaijan is a "key partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels." There are talks to expand their pipeline. They will double their exports to Europe. It will take years, but Russia has lost the European market. 

Africa now contributes 3% of the earth's greenhouse gas emissions from energy and industrial sources (the precise percentage depends on the source and the specifics). If they develop all the gas currently in their pipeline they'll go up to 3.5%. But, remember, we are hoping this is offset by Russia losing their market. Money would move from Russia to sub-Saharan Africa. 

According to the British Minsitry of Defense, Russia is severely undermanned for the battles for Kherson. Authorities loyal to Russia are no longer in Kherson. Ukraine has the tanks and equipment left by Russian troops. The Russians doubled Ukraine's firepower. 

Ukraine amazed us all with their use of drones. Now that Russia is using Iranian drums, they are pioneering techniques to fight drones. It isn't always so easy to find the drones because on radar they seem like birds but the military is shooting down >70% of them. This is good for the rest of us, because drones will probably be a bigger part of modern conflict and we might need their expertise. There is a key flaw - the Iranian drones sound like chainsaws when they fly. Three policemen shot down a drone with their rifles when they heard it. 

Ukraine has been putting out information on social media on how Russian soldiers can safely surrender. They'll even be listed as captured so they can continue to be paid. There is a video of a Russian soldier questioned about his treatment. Were you beaten? No. They weren't beaten. They were chastised. They were fed. They got to call home. 

Serbia is winning Russian talent. Up to one million Russians are estimated to have left. Serbia has tariff-free trade with the EU. A lot of Russians are moving there, allowing them to maintain business ties with the west AND not get drafted. Serbia now has tens of thousands of Russian engineers, programmers, entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists.