<p>From my one and only trip out East. This is from a foggy fall morning at Camden Harbor, Maine. </p><p><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a> <a href="/tags/dew/" rel="tag">#Dew</a> <a href="/tags/fog/" rel="tag">#Fog</a> <a href="/tags/photography/" rel="tag">#Photography</a> <a href="/tags/darktable/" rel="tag">#Darktable</a></p>
maine
Ended up shoveling snow twice today. It looks like we might have gotten 6 inches/15 cm of snow in a 5 hour stretch. It was cold enough I developed icicles on my facial hair.<br><br>The forecast claims we're due for roughly the same amount on Sunday. At least on Sunday we don't need to go anywhere by car and can take our time with the shoveling.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/snowstorm/" rel="tag">#snowstorm</a> <a href="/tags/snow/" rel="tag">#snow</a><br>
Finally broke down and turned on the furnace this morning. It wasn't the coldest night we've had this fall, and the heat pump and wood stove do an admirable job, but there was a creeping chill in the house that needed to be exorcised.<br><br>I'd also put off cleaning the filter, which I finally got around to doing.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/fall/" rel="tag">#fall</a> <a href="/tags/heating/" rel="tag">#heating</a><br>
Something to know about Maine is that according to Wikipedia the population is around 1.4 million, placing it 42nd out of 50 in terms of population among US states. Average population density is a bit over 41 per square mile (the NYC area tends to have over 10,000 per square mile, by contrast). According to the 2010 census (again from Wikipedia), 94.4% of people here are (non-Hispanic) white.<br><br>Doing the arithmetic, there are roughly 78,400 non-white people in this state. Under the assumption that the targets of certain federal agencies are not white, wouldn't searching Maine be a waste of resources? Unless those resources were not in fact intended to efficiently find people with unfavored immigration statuses, say. You don't go looking for needles in one of the biggest haystacks.<br><br>To be clear I am not saying other places should be trageted. I am saying that the facts speak to ulterior motives.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/uspol/" rel="tag">#uspol</a><br>
Bracing for -20℃ temperatures tonight. The temperature is dropping pretty rapidly now.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a> <a href="/tags/cold/" rel="tag">#cold</a> <a href="/tags/weather/" rel="tag">#weather</a><br>
<p>My sentiments exactly. Graham Platner's past comments reek of misogyny and entitlement. Someone responded to one of my earlier comments with, "Don't you believe in redemption?" In general, yes. In this case? He's got more work to do. <a href="/tags/politics/" rel="tag">#Politics</a> <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a> <a href="/tags/democrats/" rel="tag">#Democrats</a> <a href="/tags/democracy/" rel="tag">#Democracy</a> <a href="/tags/senate/" rel="tag">#Senate</a> <a href="/tags/progressive/" rel="tag">#Progressive</a> <a href="/tags/us/" rel="tag">#US</a> <a href="/tags/uspol/" rel="tag">#USpol</a> <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2025/11/19/why-is-graham-platner-getting-a-free-pass-opinion/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.pressherald.com/2025/11/19/why-is-graham-platner-getting-a-free-pass-opinion/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.pressherald.com/2025/11/19</span><span class="invisible">/why-is-graham-platner-getting-a-free-pass-opinion/</span></a></p>
<p>So, I signed up for "alerts" from the <a href="/tags/mainedepartmentofagriculture/" rel="tag">#MaineDepartmentOfAgriculture</a>, and they sent me an update about <a href="/tags/birdflu/" rel="tag">#BirdFlu</a> here in <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a>. Oh boy... It's here.</p><p>SITUATIONAL REPORT: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza [<a href="/tags/hpai/" rel="tag">#HPAI</a>]</p><p>Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025</p><p>Prepared by: Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry</p><p>Current Situation: The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (<a href="/tags/dacf/" rel="tag">#DACF</a>), and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (<a href="/tags/mdifw/" rel="tag">#MDIFW</a>) are urging agricultural stakeholders to take precautions following recent confirmations of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in multiple wild birds in York and Cumberland Counties. While no cases have been detected in domestic flocks since March 2024, the virus remains in the environment."</p><p>Recent HPAI Activity</p><p> - MDIFW confirmed HPAI in multiple <a href="/tags/wildbirds/" rel="tag">#WildBirds</a>, including Canada geese, red-tailed hawks, and a great horned owl.<br> - Cases have been reported in Kennebunk, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick, South Portland, and York.<br> - Four New England states have reported recent HPAI cases in domesticated <a href="/tags/poultry/" rel="tag">#poultry</a>.<br> - Officials have raised the risk level and strongly encourage <a href="/tags/flock/" rel="tag">#flock</a> owners to implement strict <a href="/tags/biosecurity/" rel="tag">#biosecurity</a> measures.<br> - While HPAI has the ability to infect people and cows, there are no known infected persons or dairy herds in Maine and New England.</p><p>Biosecurity and Flock Protection Measures</p><p>To minimize the risk of HPAI transmission, all commercial and backyard poultry owners are urged to:</p><p> - Keep birds indoors or in enclosed outdoor spaces to limit contact with wild birds.<br> - Maintain strict biosecurity, including sanitizing equipment, wearing clean clothing, and washing hands before and after handling birds.<br> - Avoid equipment sharing and disinfect tools between uses.<br> - Provide clean drinking water from municipal or well sources—avoid surface water that may be contaminated.<br> - Store feed securely to prevent access by wild birds and <a href="/tags/rodents/" rel="tag">#rodents</a>.<br> - Minimize farm visits and avoid areas where birds congregate.<br> - Monitor flocks for signs of illness and report any unusual cases.</p><p>Signs of HPAI in Birds</p><p> - Sudden death without prior symptoms<br> - Decreased energy and appetite<br> - Drop in egg production or misshapen eggs<br> - Swelling and discoloration of head, comb, wattles, and legs<br> - Nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing, or diarrhea<br> - Neurological symptoms such as incoordination</p><p>Reporting Sick or Dead Birds</p><p> - Dead or sick wild birds should be reported to MDIFW at (207) 287-8000 or via the online wildlife disease reporting form.<br> - Three or more dead birds in a localized area are of particular concern for statewide surveillance efforts.<br> - If you handle dead birds, use gloves and masks, dispose of birds properly, and wash hands immediately afterward.<br> - Sick or dead domestic poultry should be reported to USDA, 866-536-7593.</p><p>Public Health and Food Safety Considerations</p><p>"The human health risk from HPAI remains low, but precautions should be taken:</p><p> - Avoid contact with sick or dead birds and use personal protective equipment (PPE) if exposure is necessary.<br> - Cook poultry, eggs, and beef to safe internal temperatures to eliminate bacteria and viruses.<br> - Choose pasteurized milk and dairy products for added safety.<br> - Monitor for respiratory symptoms if exposed to potentially infected birds or environments.</p><p>Source:<br><a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDACF/bulletins/3d1cb0a" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDACF/bulletins/3d1cb0a"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">content.govdelivery.com/accoun</span><span class="invisible">ts/MEDACF/bulletins/3d1cb0a</span></a><br><a href="/tags/hpainews/" rel="tag">#HPAINews</a> <a href="/tags/avianinfluenza/" rel="tag">#AvianInfluenza</a> <a href="/tags/newengland/" rel="tag">#NewEngland</a> <a href="/tags/birdflu/" rel="tag">#BirdFlu</a></p>
Every (*) winter I fall 0 or 1 times while walking on ice. This winter it'll be 1 time.<br><br>I am thankful to say I feel better having fallen. I'm of an age and condition where every joint cracks and pops and clicks and grinds. Somehow the fall popped a whole bunch at the same time. I feel like I've had a really good stretch.<br><br>Please don't fall on ice instead of stretching.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/ice/" rel="tag">#ice</a><br><br>(*) Slight exaggeration; I'm sure there are years when I've fallen more than one time. But I like the pattern so I pretend it's universal, and it's close to being true. After falling once I'm 10x more careful from then onward.<br>
Saw a monarch butterfly in the yard a couple days ago. Hadn't had a chance to see any up close yet this year.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/monarch/" rel="tag">#monarch</a> <a href="/tags/butterflies/" rel="tag">#butterflies</a><br>
I used to be into punk music in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president. Lately I've been gravitating to punk music again (looking at you <a href="https://thegubs.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow">The Gubs</a> <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/punk/" rel="tag">#punk</a>). Funny how that works.<br>
Did some back of the envelope math and I'm guessing we've moved several tons of snow after this last storm clearing the two driveways and a path to the propane tanks. All with various forms of shovel. No wonder I'm tired.<br><br>(10 feet x 20 feet x 1 foot deep x 10 pounds per cubic foot = 2,000 pounds = 1 ton, and that's only the short driveway)<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a><br>
Edited 1y ago
We had a bit of snow over the weekend (roughly a foot? on top of what was already down), and then two days of winds gusting as high as 25 mph (guess). The snow pack is blue-ish and topped with waves. It's reached the point where we'll need to use snow shoes to walk in it.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a> <a href="/tags/snowstorm/" rel="tag">#snowstorm</a> <a href="/tags/snow/" rel="tag">#snow</a><br>
AQI (PM 2.5) is 155 (unhealthy) where I am, the result of wildfire smoke blown south from Canada.<br><br>Inside, the AQI is 8 (good), because we run air filters continuously and actively manage the air inside the house. We picked up this habit because of the COVID pandemic. The latter is ongoing, and wildfire smoke looks like it'll be a problem every summer for the foreseeable future, so here we are.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/canada/" rel="tag">#Canada</a> <a href="/tags/wildfires/" rel="tag">#wildfires</a> <a href="/tags/airquality/" rel="tag">#AirQuality</a> <a href="/tags/covid/" rel="tag">#COVID</a> <a href="/tags/covidisairborne/" rel="tag">#COVIDIsAirborne</a><br>
Edited 254d ago
Looks like we got about 3 inches of snow overnight and there's still a fair number of fluffy snowflakes falling. I ended up shoveling the driveway this morning before I even had my coffee.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a><br>
I felt this M 3.9 earthquake earlier.<br><br><a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/at00sqr6q8/executive" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/at00sqr6q8/executive"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquake</span><span class="invisible">s/eventpage/at00sqr6q8/executive</span></a><br><br><a href="/tags/earthquake/" rel="tag">#earthquake</a> <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a><br>
<p>I'm pretty sure some records were broken here in southern <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a>. 😓 🥵 </p><p><a href="/tags/climatechange/" rel="tag">#ClimateChange</a> <a href="/tags/climatediary/" rel="tag">#ClimateDiary</a> <a href="/tags/climatediarymaine/" rel="tag">#ClimateDiaryMaine</a> <a href="/tags/globalheating/" rel="tag">#GlobalHeating</a> <a href="/tags/recordheat/" rel="tag">#RecordHeat</a> <a href="/tags/mainewx/" rel="tag">#MaineWx</a></p>
Edited 305d ago
Spent about 2 hours working outside in 22°F temperatures with a 11°F windchill. Brisk! My toes are all that really got cold so it looks like I'm layering socks next time I do this.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a><br>
-3°F last night. Glad I did the work I needed to do outside yesterday.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/winter/" rel="tag">#winter</a><br>
<p>Hey <a href="/tags/california/" rel="tag">#California</a> <a href="/tags/oregon/" rel="tag">#Oregon</a> <a href="/tags/washingtonstate/" rel="tag">#WashingtonState</a> <a href="/tags/minnesota/" rel="tag">#Minnesota</a> <a href="/tags/newyork/" rel="tag">#NewYork</a> <a href="/tags/vermont/" rel="tag">#Vermont</a> <a href="/tags/massachusetts/" rel="tag">#Massachusetts</a> <a href="/tags/rhodeisland/" rel="tag">#RhodeIsland</a> <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a> and <a href="/tags/connecticut/" rel="tag">#Connecticut</a> We could form a contiguous nation with Canada. Think of it. Universal Health Care. Cheaper education. Higher alcohol content beer. Real maple syrup. No MAGAs. </p><p>Instead of 51st state, let’s start thinking 11th-20th Provinces!</p>
We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech<br><p>Healthcare exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn<br><br>Maine’s exchange, CoverME.gov, sent information on drug prescriptions and dosages to Google through an analytics tool. It also sent the names of doctors and hospitals that people had previously visited.<br></p>Google is an illegal monopoly, losing three different antitrust cases in the US over the last few years. None of us should be sending them data anymore, let alone state-run services.<br><br><a href="https://themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2025/06/17/we-caught-4-more-states-sharing-personal-health-data-with-big-tech" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2025/06/17/we-caught-4-more-states-sharing-personal-health-data-with-big-tech"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2025/</span><span class="invisible">06/17/we-caught-4-more-states-sharing-personal-health-data-with-big-tech</span></a><br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/surveillance/" rel="tag">#surveillance</a> <a href="/tags/healthcare/" rel="tag">#healthcare</a> <a href="/tags/healthdata/" rel="tag">#HealthData</a> <a href="/tags/bigtech/" rel="tag">#BigTech</a> <a href="/tags/illegalmonopoly/" rel="tag">#IllegalMonopoly</a><br>
<p>Shall I go lobstering in <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a>? I think that sounds fun.</p>
<p>Two Transgender Girls, Six Federal Agencies. How Trump Is Trying to Pressure Maine Into Obedience.<br>—</p><p>Maine said it wouldn’t break state law to follow President Donald Trump’s order barring transgender girls from playing girls’ sports. Then came a barrage of investigations and threats targeting the state’s federal funding.</p><p><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/maine-trump-janet-mills-transgender-girls-sports-education-social-security?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.propublica.org/article/maine-trump-janet-mills-transgender-girls-sports-education-social-security?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.propublica.org/article/mai</span><span class="invisible">ne-trump-janet-mills-transgender-girls-sports-education-social-security?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/news/" rel="tag">#News</a> <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#Maine</a> <a href="/tags/trump/" rel="tag">#Trump</a> <a href="/tags/trans/" rel="tag">#Trans</a> <a href="/tags/sports/" rel="tag">#Sports</a> <a href="/tags/girls/" rel="tag">#Girls</a> <a href="/tags/uspolitics/" rel="tag">#USPolitics</a> <a href="/tags/government/" rel="tag">#Government</a> <a href="/tags/lgbtq/" rel="tag">#LGBTQ</a> <a href="/tags/transrights/" rel="tag">#TransRights</a></p>
Rain just started where I am in York county <a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> It's windy but nothing unusual yet.<br><br><a href="https://cunnin.me/users/technodad/statuses/114789996771597151" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="cunnin.me/users/technodad/statuses/114789996771597151"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cunnin.me/users/technodad/stat</span><span class="invisible">uses/114789996771597151</span></a><br><br><br>
First decent snowfall of the year that's stuck. I've done some shoveling and will have to do more tonight and tomorrow morning more than likely.<br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/weather/" rel="tag">#weather</a> <a href="/tags/snow/" rel="tag">#snow</a><br>
I live not too far from these folks and their farm is amazing. They've won awards from the Maine Cheese Guild. Their CSA is well worth it, if that's your thing, and their goats and lambs are very cute.<br><br><a href="https://threecharmfarm.net/csa/" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>threecharmfarm.net/csa/</a><br><br><a href="/tags/maine/" rel="tag">#maine</a> <a href="/tags/threecharmfarm/" rel="tag">#ThreeCharmFarm</a> <a href="/tags/csa/" rel="tag">#CSA</a> <a href="/tags/goat/" rel="tag">#goat</a> <a href="/tags/cheese/" rel="tag">#cheese</a> <a href="/tags/mainecheeseguild/" rel="tag">#MaineCheeseGuild</a><br>