Family

I got my shingles and flu vaccines! We'll see how I feel tomorrow. 

I did take a silly-ish shot but then tonight, on our walk, I saw deer. I did not have the right lens for wildlife - manual, only 80mm, Lensbaby. This deer allowed two bicycles to go right by, but was too nervous about Samuel. The nice kids on the bicycles tried to not get in my shot, not having any idea that I was looking forward to seeing if the deer would stay and I could get a shot of them going by. Once they went by I thanked them and told them they made the shot. 

One of the lovely things about the family I married into is that they pass cars down. Someone gets a new car, someone else in the family gets a nice used car. Alternatively, when I had a car accident and needed a car, someone gave me mine and then they got a new car. 

Fuji has released a new camera and my brother-in-law contacted me to see if I was getting it. Now I'm selling him my current camera and getting the new one. His wife is ok with his buying a camera because it is from me. Karen is ok with my selling him my camera and getting a new one, because it is him. 

Haha!

Winter is approaching. Russia and Ukrainian militaries are trained to fight in the cold, but Ukraine has better winter clothing and equipment from NATO. Russia makes its soldiers buy their own bulletproof vests. There will be fewer daylight hours, so Ukraine is requesting night vision goggles and thermal imagers. 

Russia is preparing to try to draft Ukrainians in occupied territories and force them to fight Ukraine. That doesn't sound like the stupidest idea ever, no not at all. No way would that lead to desertion and mutiny. Please, by all means, give the people you just conquered guns.

Ukraine is already mocking Russia with a video of a Russian soldier surrendering to a drone. 

Ukraine has a global donation program that includes "Army of Drones." It asks international donors for consumer drones and money to buy other drones. Mark Hamill has been promoting it as an ambassador. "Right now is the best time for everyone to come together and help Ukraine stand up in this war with the evil empire." 

Russia tried to get all the Ukrainians in Kherson to go to Russia. This included trying to get patients in the children's hospital. The staff had been resisting the Russians the entire time. When occupation authorities came to the hospital they found that every single patient (including 10 perfectly healthy kids) was in intensive care or intubated and thus could not be safely transferred. "They did everything to pretend those children could not be transported. They used every trick they knew." 

Civil servants working for Russia in Nova Kakhovka, the second-largest city in the Kherson region, have left. 

Poland and Ukraine have history and it has been ugly. With the Russian invasion, Ukraine has thanked Poland for taking its people in and named the Polish city of Rzeszow "savior city" for its role with refugees and aid. In a dramatic shift, aid was offered eagerly and spontaneously.