Jim Alwine
@jimalwine
Virologist, Retired UPenn Professor, avid defender of facts, scientific research, vaccines and public health. Bicyclist, hiker, grandfather, writer, owned by two dachshunds and bass player for the Herpetic Legion.
It’s been quite a summer for the bacteriophage model hanging in the entry hall (bacteriophage are viruses that infect bacteria). First a cardinal made a nest in it and after they left a western screech owl decided it was a good place to hang out during the hot days.
Tucson friends this is a picture from the Jean Talon market in little Italy in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
This is Lola our long hair dachshund, she is a sweet diva. And like Jack she can teach a lesson in relaxation in soft fuzzy places.
This is Jack, our black and Tan dachshund, now he is blank, tan and white as he is 13 yo. He is, in his mind, the largest dog ever. He did once charge and chase a coyote out of the yard with terrifying barking. And he has a lesson: sometimes forget the coyotes and relax in a soft fuzzy place.
One thing I miss living in Tucson is the spring appearance of the bleeding hearts. But cactus flowers are pretty special.
I went to the music store to get new strings for my bass and found this 5-string Fender Jazz bass that had just been traded in. What was I supposed to do? I’ve wanted a five string for a long time. I had to confess to my wife that I bought yet another bass….it plays so well.
The vultures were abounding on today’s walk. Seemed like a meeting of RFKJr and his HHS staff.
As we find it hard to relax in the times we live in, Lola, the long hair dachshund, shows us how it’s done.
The March 14 pictures of the day included this one of snowdrops emerging from the snow. One of my favorite signs of spring when I lived in PA.
It didn’t start out looking like a good Tucson sunrise, but you have to wait for it.
Americans come to their senses. But get ready, this hellishly insane and unethical experiment is underway.
Honoring my southern heritage I am having Blackeyed Peas to bring good luck in the new year. I fear that the luck we need against the regime is far more than the poor beans can provide…but what the hell, every little bit helps.
A Tucson Christmas, the Javelina on bicycle sculpture on the bike path at Kolb and Sabino Canyon is festively decorated. I particulaly like the Rudolph nose.
could be a sprinkle, certainly not a dollop or two or three. In this vain, one would hope that a smidge of sadness would be quite small and a smidge of happiness quite large. So happy holidays and always give a smidge of kindness, which is a very large amount.
has become the Department of Ill-health and Human Disservices. We are all in danger and must combat Kennedy’s misinformation and ill will.
We were sailing on that boat two year ago in French Polynesia, the island is Bora Bora. It’s hard to believe how much has changed since then. We may sail away again.
Happy thought for the day: The saguaro cacti are budding and blooming in the Sonoran Desert springtime.
Today 70 years ago a group of school children would be vaccinated with the new Salk polio vaccine by Dr. Charles Hawkins, a country doctor in the small town of Spring Grove, PA. It was a great day, a liberation day, because there had been so much
This was a favorite time when I lived in PA, with snow and ice still on the ground the snowdrops pushed through. Right now I could use some spiritual snowdrops pushing through the dystopian darkness.
look at how badly the measles outbreak is being handled. But never fear they have cod liver oil for you. Resist, complain to your senators and Reps. An ominous sunrise in Tucson today, sort of hemorrhagic.
This is the SS United States, after thirty years of rusting in Philadelphia it is being towed away to Alabama where it will be prepared to be sunk as an artificial reef, a feeding ground for fish. It was once the way to cross the Atlantic, it still hold the title for
2-20-25 Sunrise over the Rincon Mountains, Tucson, AZ. No matter how bad it gets a good sunrise offers renewal.
It has been dry in the Sonoran desert this winter, the usual winter rains have not materialized. The ocotillos are not covered with the tiny green leaves they get when it rains…yet they have bloomed. They will get their seeds made and their DNA to the next generation. Life goes on.