Author: Rich Horner
How These Essays Get Made (and many of my other writings)
June 13, 2026 Someone asked me recently how I go about putting these essays together. I thought it was worth sharing, because the process itself is part of the story. It starts with a conversation — usually with Gemini. The reason I landed on Gemini first is simple: I use Google almost exclusively on my…
Margot, our lovely Frangipani
June 12, 2026 The Frangipani is a tropical shrub or small tree that wouldn’t survive our winters, so every fall I load her up in the bucket of my tractor and haul her to the outbuilding, set her on dollies, and wheel her through the door. She barely fit last year, so this winter I’ll…
Oil Dependency: 1 – Realistically Reducing Our Dependence
June 12, 2026 Three essays in, one thing is clear: the Strait of Hormuz crisis is not the story. It is the opening chapter. The real story is what the world does next — how we produce energy, store it, and whether we can loosen oil’s grip on everything from our commute to our food…
Strait of Hormuz: What Comes Next
June 9, 2026 If Iran agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a return to normal shipping will not happen overnight. Even with a diplomatic breakthrough, the global energy supply chain will take months to normalize — and retail gas prices will experience a slow, frustrating decline rather than a sudden drop. A full return…
Osprey Families on East Beach
June 9, 2026 Soon to Fledge The first nest, at the intersection of East Beach Boulevard and Shearwater, looks like it could fledge any day now. Three chicks, all looking strong and healthy — when I was there, one of the parents had brought in a nice sized fish and was feeding all three. They…
Week 1 of June – A Medley of images
Natures Beauty I have combined the bits and pieces of the week. There are images from Whitehead Wildlife Mgt, Tuxachanie Trail, Ward Bayou, our back yard & Cedar Hammock Rd. I think it works. Each image is labeled and tells its own small story. Click any image to view full size and browse the gallery.…
Week 4 Status Report: Tracking Progress, Tuning the Engine, and Fighting the Thermostat
June 6, 2026 Week 4 Status Report: Tracking Progress, Tuning the Engine, and Fighting the Thermostat We have officially closed the books on Week 4 of my 39-session radiation marathon. Because of the Memorial Day holiday, this was a short four-day treatment week, but it delivered some of the most fascinating clinical clarity I’ve had…
Strait of Hormuz: How Long Can the Reserves Last
June 5, 2026 As of June 2026, with the Strait of Hormuz now closed for twelve weeks, the question of how long major economies can sustain themselves on stored oil has moved from theoretical to urgent. The answer varies significantly depending on where you live. How Long Would Reserves Last? China is currently the best-positioned…
Strait of Hormuz: How the World Stores Its Emergency Oil
The world’s largest oil stockpiles — held by China, the United States, and Japan — are so massive that storing them in standard above-ground tanks is largely impractical. These strategic volumes are measured in hundreds of millions of barrels. To put that in perspective, one barrel equals 42 gallons, meaning China’s estimated 1.4 billion barrel…
So, Anyway…
By John Cleese Genre: Humorous Memoir / Autobiography Audio Length: ~9 hours Narrated by: John Cleese (Crucial for this specific title) 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis Instead of focusing on the global mega-fame of Monty Python, Cleese takes a surprisingly deliberate, chronological approach to his early life. The book tracks his childhood as an awkward, unusually tall…
