Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Rachel Remnants Rainstorm

As of about 10:30 Arizona time (UTC-7), Tropical Depression Rachel remnants are parked northwest of us, near Las Vegas, NV. Rachel crossed the Baja peninsula as a tropical storm but quickly diminished to a depression as it moved north-northeastward to it’s present position.

We have been getting rain on and off since yesterday afternoon with some heavy showers. I took this (clickable) photo from our front door at about 10:48 AM during some of the moderate rainfall.

It has also been quite windy with perceived gusts of up to 35mph or so. So far, the worst has just been mild flooding which quickly runs off into the Casandro wash just south of our location. I expect that the catch basin behind Casandro Dam is getting quite a bit of runoff from the wash west and southwest of us.

Thus far, we are high and dry inside our little home in the desert. We don’t expect any of the really heavy stuff which, according to the radar map, is west and northwest of us along the Colorado River basin.

Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
— Acts 14:17 (NIV)

11 Oct 2026 by Arizona Current Events Environment 0

Acquisition of a New Camera Lens

I’ve been acquiring some new (to me) lenses for the Canon R-10 mirrorless camera. One used lens arrived today in seemingly like new condition. It is a Canon RF-16-28mm F2.8 IS STM lens. I tried out the lens for what it is supposed to do best which is wide-angle shots, close-ups, astro photography and panoramas. Other than astro which I have yet to attempt, all were very nice results.

The image above is looking west from our RV driveway showing the tops of our Paloverde and Mesquite trees, some clouds and the sun. The sunburst is clean, the clouds hold detail, and the desert trees read as Wickenburg rather than a generic blue sky. The nine-blade aperture on this lens makes a nice 18-point star when the sun is small in the frame.

I am overall pleased with the new lens and will be using it for more of what it does best in the future.

The image below is the lens. I haven’t seen lenses in the past that come with a stowed position on the zoom ring, but this one does have that and the camera puts up a message to select a valid zoom selection. Those choices appear on the right side of the barrel in the image. The zoom select is in the stow position in the image. Click on either image to enlarge.

09 Oct 2026 by Arizona Notions Photography Technobabble 0

Seventeenth Retirement Anniversary

Seventeen years ago yesterday, I departed the workplace for the last time as an employee. Seventeen years ago today, I received my first/last pension payment. I say first/last because ten years prior to this retirement, I had retired for the first time and had been receiving a pension from that employment. But, enough about finances – we have missed neither the daily grind nor the commute.

Last year, I listed some milestones after retirement and haven’t much else to list since that time except for a bout with esophageal cancer, which, praise God, is in remission now. The chemo and radiation took care of the problem with help from above, of course. The Damsel was key to getting through all of this. Her help with the regimen of the side effects of treatment were as important as the treatment itself and the prayers.

So today is the first day of the rest of our retirement years, which, hopefully, will see good health and more traveling. And more astrophotography. And whatever suits us.

Clickable Image: Harvest Moon of September 26th, 2026

01 Oct 2026 by Astronomy Photography 0

Meet Sheba

Sheba – Maltese/Chihuahua Mix

We’re now officially in Foster-to-adopt status for this little one. “Bathsheba,” named after the Biblical character – David’s Wife and Solomon’s mother – Sheba for short. She is a Maltese/Chihuahua mix and is just under three months old.

We brought her home today and she is getting used to her new digs and our other dog Tucker. We think she will adapt well, judging from her first reactions to the new environment. She is learning well and seems to be happy.

She will need a lot of patience and TLC over the next few weeks and months, since she is newly experiencing almost everything: house, people, other dog, the desert outside and myriad new things for her.

26 Sep 2026 by Arizona Critters Family 0

2026 Autumnal Equinox

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Astronomical autumn begins at 00:05 UTC on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 — that’s 5:05 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, September 22 here in Arizona. As you may know, most of Arizona stays on MST year around. Some of the reservations still do DST.

May this fall find y’all to be happy and healthy as we transition to our cooler months. God bless and stay armed, stay safe and stay alert.

Cap’n Bob and Damsel. 💖💖

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—2 Corinthians 13:14

22 Sep 2026 by Arizona Environment Technobabble 0

Blogiversary 21

For an incredible 21 years, “Cap’n Bob and the Damsel” has been navigating the vast digital sea, and we owe every single milestone of this journey to you, our wonderful readers. Whether you’ve been on board since our very first post back in 2005 or just recently dropped anchor in our comments section, your unwavering support, lively discussions, and shared enthusiasm have been the wind in our sails. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading, laughing, and growing alongside us through two decades of blogging -— here’s to celebrating the past and looking forward to many more adventures together!

22 Sep 2026 by Blogosphere Cyberspace 0

Artificial Intelligence and
 the Resistance Thereto

Now that researchers in the US have made significant advances in Artificial Intelligence, there are hysterical cries about AI “destroying humanity.” What’s up with all of the crazy predictions?

The short version: most of those predictions are not about today’s chatbots turning into Skynet next Tuesday. They are about a hypothetical later system—something much more capable and autonomous than current models—getting goals that don’t stay lined up with human survival, then being competent enough to act on them. That idea is old, loud, and wildly contested.

As you might expect, the loudest opposition to AI is from the political left, who seem to want to destroy everything that President Trump is for. Moreover, they seem to want to destroy America, the Constitution, Christianity, the Family Unit and anything else that is normal and good about the country, AI destroying us is just the latest bullshit scam akin to Y2K, Covid19, etc.

Be sure to get out and vote this November. Stop the crazies from taking over. Stay armed, watch your six and pray.

Artificial Intelligence – a look into some of the terms being used.

Stage Meaning Status (2026)
ANI — Artificial Narrow Intelligence Good at specific tasks. Can be superhuman at chess, translation, or protein folding and still helpless outside that box. This is almost everything deployed today.
AGI — Artificial General Intelligence Roughly human-level across most cognitive work: learn new domains, transfer skills, handle messy real-world tasks. Contested. Some lab leaders say “we’re there or close.” Most researchers and independent tests say not yet.
ASI — Artificial Superintelligence Clearly beyond the best humans, and in stronger definitions beyond large teams of experts, across nearly all mental work. Still hypothetical.

Clickable image above from ChatGPT. Table from Grok.

And this from Cartoonist Gary Varvel:

15 Sep 2026 by Cyberspace Notions Technobabble Whacko Politics 0

Categories

Archives