Oh, poop!

A little clarification is in order.  A while back Mr. Beagles asked about earthworms, and how could they be both good and bad for the soil.  The answer is easy: they're good for the soil.  But there is more to it than that; I was talking about the ecosystem of deep forests, in which the earthworms aren't so good from what I've read.  It has to do with how leaf litter slowly decomposes, providing nutrients for the trees and other plant life.  The earthworms break down the material too quickly and it's becoming an issue in the hardwood forests of Minnesota.

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For a while I was thinking that Mr. Beagles' antipathy towards China, or Red China as opposed to the fine folks in Taiwan, was a quirk based on years of government and conservative propaganda.  Even if it was only a gut feeling I didn't put much store in it.  And I was wrong, as is often the case when I get distracted by certain accomplishments and fail to notice the dark underside of political reality.  There is a serious cost being paid by the citizens of China which has not gotten much coverage until recently.  I've known that the Chinese are very racist in their own way; if you're not Han you're nothing but it's gone further than that.  The Washington Post had a recent piece about the ethnic cleansing going on in China, and it's scary how they are using their high-tech tools and AI to achieve their goal.  Their methods could easily be adopted by other nations and we should keep a keen eye out for that sort of thing.  And I should pay more attention to Mr. Beagles' gut; it's keeping me honest.  But it can be a lot work, disagreeing with what he says but not being sure of why I disagree.  Keeps me on my toes, though.

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I'm not a big fan of cats although some people are, and there's nothing wrong with that.  But there may be a real benefit to cat ownership if you don't mind parasites.  It seems that the parasite found in cat poop can make you a better businessman or entrepreneur; it has to do with risk-taking.  I've never thought of cat owners being particularly keen on risk taking, but there you are.  What a world we live in.

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Another entry in the logo contest for the Space Force has shown up, this one by Milton Glaser, the famous graphic designer and illustrator.  It may be the best one yet.