Hellebore buds

One of my hellebores has TWO flower buds. I have loads of little sprouts growing. Life!!! (Let's just ignore that it is January 10.)

I enjoyed the pre-work for tomorrow's class. Lots of different theories about leadership and when different approaches are useful. 

Everyone supports Ukraine and everyone's support is giving Ukraine the edge. There is a WSJ article about a computer programmer getting a call from the Ukrainian front lines. Their recon drone was down, could he get them a new one? Programmer texts friend in the Netherlands. Frend in the Netherlands finds one on eBay and has it shipped to Poland. Another volunteer sends it east to Lviv where the programmer drives it across the border. Within a week the recon team had a new drone. Drones allow Ukraine to use its artillery more effectively. That computer programmer has a crowdfund named after his DOG. It has raised ~$700k. There are hundreds of crowdfunds providing vital equipment to the Ukrainian front line from encrypted radios to internet terminals. It is informal, decentralized, and hard for Russia to stop, just like Ukraine's command structure. What drives the programmer? The things Russia put his grandmother and great-grandmother through. The guy from the Netherlands? Mad because Russia shot down a passenger jet in 2014 and lying about it. Making enemies and influencing people. 


Russian artillery is down nearly 75% in some places. The US doesn't know why but thinks it bodes ill for Russia. 


The US is going to train Ukrainians in Oklahoma. We are providing Patriot air defense systems. Germany announced it would provide a Patriot battery. Battery? What? "Each Patriot battery consists of a truck-mounted launching system with eight launchers that can hold up to four missile interceptors each, a ground radar, a control station and a generator." They have to use the word battery, they can't say "system?" The Patriot SYSTEMS are fabulous, Russia is totally freaked, but they take a lot of well trained people to operate and maintain them and, training them as quickly as possible, will still take months. Why are we doing it? Because Russia is attacking heat and electricity and internet in winter. 


Canada promised $500 m Canadian to Ukraine. In addition, they are now buying a missile system from the US for Ukraine for $406 million.