the mellow tigger's musings

How about a palate cleanser from the day's big news? I've got 2 related items that are actually very good news, rather than just a little bit good.

1. Fossil fuels dropped to only 49.2% of USA electricity production.
   

   Fossil fuels just hit a record low in the US electricity mix last month, while solar and wind soared to all-time highs, according to fresh data from global energy think tank Ember. In March 2025, fossil fuels accounted for less than 50% – 49.2% – of electricity generated for the first month on record. This beats the previous monthly record low of 51% set in April 2024.
   
   - https://electrek.co/2025/04/04/first-month-on-record-fossil-fuels-drop-below-50-of-us-power-mix/

2. Fossil fuels dropped to only about 60% of electricity supplied worldwide.
   

   Renewables and nuclear provided 40.9% of the world’s power generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s, according to a new global energy think tank Ember report. Renewables added a record 858 TWh in 2024, 49% more than the previous high in 2022. Solar was the largest contributor for the third year running, adding 474 TWh to reach a share of 6.9%. Solar was the fastest-growing power source (+29%) for the 20th year in a row.
   
   - https://electrek.co/2025/04/07/world-surges-past-40-percent-clean-power-in-record-renewable-boom/

Sure, I quibble with the inclusion of nuclear fission in the non-fossil-fuel category. New fissile material will not be created by nature in any meaningful time frame, therefore it is another non-renewable resource of limited quantity on Earth.

Still, though, eliminating carbon output into the atmosphere remains my top political concern, so both of these items are truly great news.

There's too much going on in the world and in my area of it, so today I'll share only Good News.

The first week of school has ended, and the pace of work is finally slowing. The high point was a long ticket where the phone caller said, "Don't leave me!" as I tried to exit politely after solving the main issue for them. By the end of the call, I helped a 75-year-old woman with signing up for her very first course at the university. It's a nice reminder that I, too, might someday return to college.

I've had a broken screen on my Pixel 4a phone for several years. A few days ago, it finally started causing problems when it wouldn't recognize touches on the screen to unlock it. I need it a few times each day for multifactor authentication at work. Today, since I didn't work due to USA holiday, I rode the bus to Best Buy in Roseville to buy a new Pixel 9 and switch my phone SIM card to it. It's up and running again, although not everything is reconnected. Among the first things to reconnect was the multifactor authentication. It was an expensive purchase but definitely an improvement over my last phone. Bonus 1: I learned that there's a single bus route (no transfers!) that goes straight from my area to that distant shopping area. Bonus 2: I saw during the round trip not just 1 but 2 people in masks!

The big news is this: Researchers might have found what causes the clots by SARS-CoV-2. I mentioned last year that the spike protein seemed to be the culprit, but it wasn't clear why. Now, this new research says that "fibrin binds to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, forming proinflammatory blood clots that drive systemic thromboinflammation and neuropathology in COVID-19." That's really big news. If they know the mechanism, then they can find counteracting agents. There's a lot more to that study, but I'm still exhausted and can't really follow it at the moment. I'm hoping to learn if it's the S1 or the S2 protein, or both together, that causes the clots. Still, though... this discovery is very good news.

Thanks to the rain, the fireworks are not as bad as usual for this July 4th holiday in the USA. I was still awake until almost 3am last night, hearing both fireworks and sirens everywhere. I caught up this afternoon on about 2 hours of that lost sleep, but I need a few more hours. Rain tonight will be scattered, so the noise may keep me up again.

I didn't post earlier, but I completed the painting on my house. The part that I will do, anyway. The quality looks only "okay" right now. I need to buy some Goo Gone like foeclan suggested, to see if I can loosen up all of the tape that's still stuck around the windows. But the painting is done. Now, I need to find a company who can paint the rest of the house. I probably shouldn't wait another year for that repair. Those eaves obviously need it now. The bright turquoise is growing on me. Now, I like it even better than the previously dark navy blue.

And the yard needs work. I've started reclaiming it, but it needs a lot more work.

After several weeks, workers finally finished installing the upgraded storm drain in the alley directly behind my house. They poured concrete instead of laying asphalt, and they finally added dirt back in around the sides after it dried. They also added grass seeds, which I don't want, so I threw out some more clover seed, and we'll see which takes over. I vote for clover. Anyway, I'm glad to see this improvement. To thank the government for this service, I just now signed up as an official volunteer to keep it clear of debris. This program has several sponsors, but I think I first learned about it through the city of Minneapolis. I'm not yet finding a way to link directly to "my" drain, but you can zoom around this Adopt-A-Drain map to see the kind of participation they have from other citizens. It's a nice idea, and it's sort of a citizen science issue too. They want regular recurring data about what is cleaned up, how much (in gallons or pounds), and how long it took to clean (in minutes). Here's the photo of the new drain.

Unrelated to all of that, I wanted to report some other minor good news. I realized yesterday that the box of wine in my fridge is probably a few months old. Which is okay, as such things go, since it's not fine wine to begin with. But then I realized that it means I have not been drinking to get to sleep. When did that change happen? I'm beginning to think that it's thanks to using the Corsi-Rosenthal box to get to sleep at night. There's more to that story.

My database administrator, from the mainframe programming job I had when I first moved to Minnesota a quarter-century ago, gave me one of those Amazon Echo spheres as a birthday or Christmas present. I had to go check my emails to remember, but I ordered an Amazon Smart Plug in mid-March this year. With it connected to the air filter, I can crawl into bed and say "Alexa, turn on plug 1 for 1 hour." This gentle noise from the fan helps me get to sleep, and it doesn't run all night either. Apparently the noise is very effective, because I have been sleeping better by not having to listen to arguments and gunfire as I'm trying to fall to sleep. I hadn't noticed this effective change, until I realized that old box of wine was probably bought around the same time. I'm sure that's good news for my liver.