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 Items to fit into your overhead compartment |
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Carrion Luggage  Native to the Americas, the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) travels widely in search of sustenance. While usually foraging alone, it relies on other individuals of its species for companionship and mutual protection. Sometimes misunderstood, sometimes feared, sometimes shunned, it nevertheless performs an important role in the ecosystem. This scavenger bird is a marvel of efficiency. Rather than expend energy flapping its wings, it instead locates uplifting columns of air, and spirals within them in order to glide to greater heights. This behavior has been mistaken for opportunism, interpreted as if it is circling doomed terrestrial animals destined to be its next meal. In truth, the vulture takes advantage of these thermals to gain the altitude needed glide longer distances, flying not out of necessity, but for the joy of it. It also avoids the exertion necessary to capture live prey, preferring instead to feast upon that which is already dead. In this behavior, it resembles many humans. It is not what most of us would consider to be a pretty bird. While its habits are often off-putting, or even disgusting, to members of more fastidious species, the turkey vulture helps to keep the environment from being clogged with detritus. Hence its Latin binomial, which translates to English as "golden purifier." I rarely know where the winds will take me next, or what I might find there. The journey is the destination. |
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I'm linking to Lifehacker today. Yeah, yeah, I know. Bear with me. Let me guess: 1) You're 2) getting 3) money 4) for 5) this. Quality power tools are an investment, and if you take proper care of them, they’ll last a long time. It's been a while since I bought power tools, so I'm not even sure which brands can be trusted, these days. But power tools have seen a lot of advancement in recent years. While your old warhorses might still perform their core function well enough, if your drills, saws, and other power tools are five years old or older, it’s time to consider upgrading to a more modern version, for a range of reasons. Seriously, this strikes me less as helpful advice and more as a tool companies paying for an ad that looks like an article. And, indeed, they mention some brands by name in the article. But let's see what they come up with: Advances in battery technology I suppose this is fair enough. But if you've purchased a battery-powered tool of any kind, hopefully you're aware that the battery isn't going to last forever, regardless. Such tools are going to need to be replaced sooner than corded ones, in general. Improved ergonomics This feels like a stretch. Get it? Ergonomics? Stretch? No? No. I'll be here all week. And yeah, it's looking more and more like a paid ad. More powerful motors Uh huh. If it was, and remains, adequate for what you need it for, are you just upgrading because you're a Manly Man Who Must Have More Power? Better safety features Seems to me that the best safety feature is familiarity (provided one doesn't get complacent). Smart technology Until it can do the job on its own, I'm not interested. I really didn't have much else to say, today. Just that stealth advertising sucks. |
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