Author Archives: makielb

Something about this diagram that appealed to me, other than I have read all of the books mentioned. We met our friends Mike and Linda for breakfast this morning. I highly recommend Avalon Cafe in downtown Ann Arbor for a nice breakfast, brunch or lunch. After breakfast Susan and I walked around downtown. Yes, it’sContinue reading “A cold spring day in Ann Arbor”

It seems that editorial cartoonists always hit the high points of the week. How can Thomas possibly be involved in any rulings in the future? Supposedly, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is refocusing its invading forces to the far east of Ukraine. The Russian casualties are mounting with dead, wounded, captured and defections all increasing.Continue reading “The world, and escaping it”

The current status of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Not a lot changing, but the Ukrainians seem to been holding their own. The current situation of SARS-CoV-2. The new Omicron BA-2 variant is now in Michigan and Washtenaw County. Now for some bird humor and birds. That is a slippery slope. It took me aboutContinue reading “Birds and more”

We spent the afternoon at Dexter-Huron Metropark west of Ann Arbor. We were searching for early spring wild flowers, but had to settle for mostly insects. Midges and stoneflies dominated what we saw. This stonefly (Plecoptera) was particularly abundant (waiting for identification) and the largest of what we saw. My favorite midge with feathery antennae.Continue reading “A visit to the Huron River”

Spring is here. Stay positive and remember it’s not summer. Hot and cold, rain and snow, sun and more daylight. For me, I am looking forward to bird migration and the appearance of wildflowers and insects. But I am also aware that we are still seeing the tremendous problems that the world is experiencing. TheContinue reading “Spring, a war, a virus and writing”

A report in The New York Times yesterday showed places inKiev that have been bombed by the Russians. A new type of “trash” that has been building up over the past two years. It is a rare day that we do not see a face mask on a walk. We spent a wonderful sunny andContinue reading “Nan Weston in March and more”

The past weeks pandemic statistics. However, this picture might be changing soon. A new variant had appeared. The new variant is a genetic recombination of delta and omicron and has been found in at least 20 people in Denmark, France and the Netherlands. Recent changes in Asia (compared to the US) show a dramatic riseContinue reading “A pandemic, a war and a writer”

This is how I feel about time change. While I am retired, I have very strong circadian rhythms and hate time change. Back in the 1970s I co-authored a paper on circadian rhythms, for which I did all of the surgeries involved with collecting the data. we got up early tody so that we couldContinue reading “Ann Arbor – time change”

The other day we listened to Terry Gross’ interview of David Sipress who draws cartoons for the New Yorker. This particular cartoon was mentioned, as he drew Gross with a skirt, which she pointed out that she never wears. A cartoon that I stumbled across today reminded me of the situation in Ann Arbor theseContinue reading “A day filled with humor and snow”

The price of gas and the situation in Ukraine is a gift for editorial cartoonists. Over the past ten days we have driven very few miles, opting to walking whenever possible. My cousin asked about family in Poland. The simple answer is that my ancestors and some cousins live on both sides of the Polish-UkrainianContinue reading “Ukraine invasion, Ann Arbor and the pandemic”