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Wed, May 14, 2025

1:41pm EDT

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Carrion Luggage

by Robert Waltz

Rated: 18+ · Book · Opinion · #2336646

Items to fit into your overhead compartment

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.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Wordsmitty ✍️

37 minutes ago
In response to "Please Pasta Salt"

Unless he can prove that it improves washing off those salt rings, he's failed the most important aspect of science.

Wordsmitty ✍️

a day ago
In response to "The Drive to Innovate"

I like the addition of Giphys. You've made us expect some in future entries.

I wonder if anyone is doing a study of taxi crashes compared to the new driverless ones? Also, how slow will traffic be once cars all follow the rules and laws of the road like speed limits and stopping at stop signs? We need to stop investing in cars and invest in teleportation technology.

1 Like

Robert Waltz

a day ago
In response to "The Drive to Innovate"

Sum1

- first of all, it's usually the young punks complaining about how slow us old farts are. Nice switch.

Second, while I generally agree with you, one aspect of automation in automobiles that exists right now, with fairly mature technology, is obstacle detection / adaptive cruise control. My Subaru is a 2017 model, mid-range cost, and it possesses this tech. Obviously, not all vehicles have that, but it does slow you down when you're coming up behind a slowpoke and you're maybe fiddling with the AC or something. Point is, the technology exists to mitigate what you're talking about, but yes, a hybrid situation with some human drivers and some robots could lead to chaos if not managed properly—especially when you add in the human tendency to test robots' limits in a way they'd never think of doing with a fellow human.

2 Like

Sum1

a day ago
In response to "The Drive to Innovate"

Your title for this reminded me or working at Motorola. They (Senior Management & those in the company who advertise our products) always say 'We Innovate' to make it safer for the general public. Yeah, Motorola Inovates alrightl If a company has a product that is a bit better than what Motorola is making, that company is purchased. Some innovation.

Having just returned from a trip south, I can tell you that your comments are spot on. The way people drive makes me shudder. Drivers 'might' look my way before pulling out, or just plain pull out in front of me. There were several times I had to brake hard to avoid an accident. Driving home from Memphis yesterday, we were just north of Springfield Illinois when a young man was cruising in the left lane on I-55, at about 60 mph. And this is what I see or think of concerning AV's. IF they are programmed to travel at the speed limit, there may be quite a few accidents initially,. Why? People don't drive at the speed limit. I tend to travel at about 73 mph in a 70 mph zone. Why so slow? Gas Mileage. I get better gas mileage at that speed that anything above it. Plus, there's no need for me to travel any faster. That young guy doing about 60 in a 70 mph area? I can equate him to an AV. People might not realize how slow the actual speed limit is and fail to see the vehicle traveling at that speed. Rear end collisions may increase, passengers in the AV might be killed if the vehicle is not programmed to quickly compensate for the sudden impact. I'm not for AV's, I'm not against them either. Right now, I'm playing a 'wait and see' game. I see a lot of good with AV's (getting those who are not very attentive off the road, maybe). It's just going to take a lot, (and I do mean a lot) of programming for them to work well.

3 Like

tj wanderlust-words-in-motion

a day ago
In response to "Carbon Copy"

There are some tough choices, and I'd be hard pressed to argue, but you make a strong point.

1 Like

Stik to My Own Beat

May 11, 2025 at 12:30pm
In response to "Journey's End"

I've been mulling this over for a bit. Ultimately, I'm not entirely sure it's propaganda. I think it's in Business Insider because that outlet is aiming to fill the void left by BuzzFeed news (attracting a younger audience while still being fairly analytical). Thus, this piece is more about establishing a connection with a new demographic. Younger Millennials and Gen Z have been pushed a particular message about travel, one that's more superficial and escapist than we've seen in decades past. Even setting intentions for travel can feel inauthentic. I think this piece is trying to address the reality of ignoring this artifice in making the decision to travel (solo).

1 Like

Robert Waltz

May 10, 2025 at 5:20pm
In response to "You Are What You Don't Eat"

Rainy Day Sox