Latest Entries »

Celtic Charm

Charm

🎵

I’m, what promise do you need?

Ai

Ai generated emotionally expressive fillers.

I think the most critical ethical concern is the simulation of empathy. Because AI systems cannot genuinely feel or care, there is a profound risk that using them for bereavement support can lead to emotional manipulation or create a false sense of connection, leaving people even more vulnerable when they realize the true nature of their interaction. It touches on the authenticity of human relationships and the responsibilities of those who build these tools.

Emotional Bonds and transfer.

My mother the car, Sit Com circa 1970s. Van Dyke….

Of course that’s always been true…

Take everything with a little bit of salt.

Goodbye June 2026. It was nice knowing you.

Environment Canada air quality…

July 4 the 2026 evening

post: Merritt BC

British Columbia Air Quality

no alerts 6:34 Saturday July 4th 2026

Air

Tiff Lightbox, drunken noodles, July 10th 2026

Don’t forget the 50/50 draw.

America Argentina, 2025 starts July 10th, 83 minutes, English, Spanish.

Noodles

June gone but not forgotten, Tiff 50…

Eighteenth Year Bass Coast Tickets, July 10th-13th 2026

Geophysical data

Contributed:

A fascinating, foundational piece of how resource management and public science work. The short answer is **yes, absolutely**—a vast amount of geophysical data and mineral exploration information eventually makes its way into government hands and becomes a public resource.The mechanism behind how private exploration data becomes a public asset comes down to a mix of legal mandates, tax structures, and industry regulations.Here is exactly how that data lifecycle works:

## 1. The “Assessment Work” Mandate

In Canada, subsurface mineral rights are largely owned by the Crown (managed by provincial and territorial governments). When a mining or exploration company stakes a mineral claim, they don’t own the land outright; they hold the exclusive right to explore it.To keep that claim valid year after year, the company must prove they are actually doing work. They do this by submitting detailed technical reports to the provincial government (such as the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation in BC). These are called **Assessment Reports**. * **What’s included:** Raw geophysical survey data (airborne magnetics, radiometrics, gravity), geochemical sampling results, geological maps, and drill hole logs.

* **The Confidentiality Buffer:**

To protect the company’s competitive edge while they spend money on the ground, the government keeps this data confidential for a limited time (typically 1 to 3 years, depending on the jurisdiction). * **The Public Release:** Once that confidentiality window expires, the government publishes the reports. Anyone—from a competitor to an academic researcher—can access them for free.## 2. Public Repositories & Geoscience ToolsOnce the data is released, provincial and federal geological surveys compile, standardize, and map it.

* **Geoscience Data Repositories:**

Federal bodies like the **Geological Survey of Canada (GSC)** maintain vast databases like the *Geoscience Data Repository for Geophysical Data*, which holds data from over 1,100 major surveys.

* **Digital Core Libraries:**

Governments even step in to preserve physical data. For instance, initiatives like the **Canadian Digital Core Library** are actively digitizing and scanning millions of meters of physical drill cores stored in government warehouses so the data can be analyzed using advanced computing and AI.## 3. Stock Exchange Disclosures (NI 43-101)Information also enters the public domain through financial regulations. Publicly traded exploration companies must comply with strict disclosure rules, such as

**National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101)**.

When a company makes a discovery, finds promising geophysical anomalies, or updates its resource estimates, it is legally required to file a comprehensive technical report on **SEDAR+**. These reports are completely public and contain heavy technical and geophysical data to ensure investors aren’t being misled.

### The Big Picture Strategy

This system creates a continuous loop. The government uses the data handed over by mining companies to update its regional geological maps. They then provide these highly detailed, large-scale baseline maps *back* to the public for free.This de-risks early-stage exploration, ensuring that a company doesn’t spend millions re-flying a geophysical survey over ground that was already thoroughly mapped decades prior. It turns private commercial data into a permanent national scientific archive.

July sky

File Photo KDG
Sky watchers rock

Summer skies, long days, look up the best is coming soon..

Canada Day strawberry moon.

Bright and happy Canada Day moon

So, we took this photo of the moon early AM on July 1st 2026…

May luck be your lady in our 159th year.

A Strawberry lady.

Well, it’s rugged, at rest, and at peace with you… Canada 159
Generated photo KDG

There have been numbers of bear related discourses over time through our local naturalist society registered or otherwise. One formal presentation in 2019 was billed in this writing below, thanks to Francis.

You can contact the registered society at this link. They are always interested in natural interlopers especially photos.

History of  Merritt Nicola

Naturalist Society Meetings

Bears and all …

Everyone loves hearing about Grizzly Bears and the presentation by Francis Iredale is especially worth attending. He has been involved in research and radio-tracking of Grizzlies in the southern Chilcotins for many years. The population status and success of this marginal population of Grizzlies is of great concern. These bears spend much time in the high elevation alpine areas and have lifestyles that are somewhat different to those better-known Grizzlies on the BC coast. Not to be missed!

Source Nicola Naturalists

Editor’s Note: we are not the registered society our mandate at kevingriffiths.ca is broader than that…

Have a safe Canada Day.

And a Natural forth coming year in our confederation. 159 onto 160.

Lord of the rings

Concept photo archaeology

I was taken by the ice mummy Otzi lately. That 5 Millennium frozen hunter with bow seemed surreal when thinking of my generational timeline with its limited connection to physical contributes.

The assertion that someone loved and was connected to that individual and tattooed his arthritis toned joints in either a prescription of charcoal for inflammation relief or perhaps a prayer to the maker for relief. This maybe including a measure of penance; it captivatvates my sense of wonder.

Archaeology doesn’t find old bones alone but finds us over and over again.

Iraq

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-discovery-ancient-iraqi-fortress-2149841

Earthquake…

Discriptive condition

Hati under Donald Trump

During Donald Trump’s first term (2017–2021), the administration’s interactions with the Republic of Haiti were primarily defined by strict immigration enforcement, the unwinding of humanitarian protections, diplomatic friction caused by controversial rhetoric, and navigating Haiti’s deep political instability.The key areas of interaction include:

### 1. The Attempt to Terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

The most impactful policy interaction involved Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which had protected roughly 50,000–60,000 Haitian nationals from deportation following the catastrophic 2010 Haiti earthquake. * **The Directive:** In May 2017, the administration granted a brief six-month extension with explicit warnings for Haitians to prepare to leave. In November 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially announced the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation, arguing that the country’s post-earthquake conditions had sufficiently improved. * **The Legal Battle:** The termination was immediately met with lawsuits. In October 2018, a federal judge issued an injunction (*Ramos v. Nielsen*), blocking the administration from ending the protections. The judge cited potential violations of administrative procedures and raised questions about racial animus behind the decision. Though the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals eventually reversed this injunction in late 2020, ongoing legal maneuvers ensured that TPS protections for Haitians remained active throughout the entirety of Trump’s first term.

### 2. Diplomatic Friction and Rhetoric

Bilateral relations were heavily strained by private remarks from President Trump that leaked to the public. * **The 2018 Comments:** During an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers in January 2018 regarding immigration reform, Trump reportedly referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and certain African nations as “shithole countries” and questioned why the U.S. should accept more immigrants from Haiti. * **The Fallout:** The comments sparked an immediate international backlash. The Haitian government formally summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Port-au-Prince to protest the remarks, calling them “racist” and “insulting.” Domestically, a group of Haitian-American State Department diplomats authored an open letter expressing deep heartbreak and frustration. Trump denied using that exact derogatory language but maintained that Haiti was an undeniably poor and troubled country.

### 3. Diplomatic Relations and Political Instability

On the diplomatic front, the administration worked primarily with Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, whose term was marked by massive anti-corruption protests, economic collapse, and allegations of authoritarian overreach. * **The “America First” Approach:** The administration largely dialed back the heavy-handed, multi-billion-dollar nation-building and humanitarian aid frameworks of previous administrations, prioritizing regional stability, counter-narcotics enforcement, and containing migration waves. * **Support for Moïse:** Despite growing domestic calls within Haiti for Moïse to step down, the Trump State Department continued to recognize his legitimacy and pushed for parliamentary elections to resolve the political gridlock. However, the administration also issued sharp warnings to Moïse regarding his rule by decree after parliament dissolved in 2020.

### 4. Passing the Global Fragility Act (2019)

A significant legislative interaction occurred in late 2019 when President Trump signed the bipartisan **Global Fragility Act** into law. This initiative aimed to reshape how the U.S. deployed diplomatic, security, and development tools in conflict-prone regions. Haiti was later chosen as a primary target country under this framework, intended to bolster local civil society and prevent complete state collapse, though the actual implementation of the strategy fell to subsequent administrations.

Where earthquakes happen?

Earthquakes are sudden, violent shakes of the Earth’s surface caused by the release of built-up energy in the lithosphere—the planet’s rigid outer crust. This energy accumulates over long periods as massive slabs of rock, known as tectonic plates, continuously grind past, collide with, or pull away from each other. When the friction holding these plates in place is finally overcome, the rock fractures along a fault line, sending shockwaves called seismic waves radiating outward in all directions. It is these vibrations that trigger the ground rolling and violent jolts capable of bringing down modern infrastructure.Geographically, earthquakes are not distributed randomly; they overwhelmingly occur along the boundaries where these tectonic plates meet. The most seismically active zone on Earth is the Circum-Pacific Belt, frequently called the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped horse path looping around the Pacific Ocean where plates actively collide and subduct under one another. Another prominent danger zone is the Alpide Belt, which stretches from the Atlantic Mediterranean through southern Asia and into Indonesia. While earthquakes can technically occur anywhere if stress builds up within a stable plate interior, communities situated directly on active fault lines bear the highest risk of facing a catastrophic disaster.Over the last ten years (2016–2026), tectonic activity has claimed hundreds of thousands of human lives, with four specific disaster areas proving to be the absolute deadliest. The most devastating by far occurred along the **Turkey–Syria border** in February 2023, where a massive double-quake sequence killed over 60,000 people and destroyed entire cities. The second most lethal region was **Myanmar**, where a catastrophic magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in March 2025, claiming over 5,400 lives. It is followed closely by **Sulawesi, Indonesia**, where a 2018 earthquake triggered a devastating localized tsunami and liquefaction that killed more than 4,300 people. Finally, the **Haitian Peninsula** suffered yet another humanitarian crisis in August 2021 when a magnitude 7.2 quake struck the southwestern region of the country, resulting in the loss of over 2,200 lives.

Historical trama

You are likely thinking of one of a few legendary, cataclysmic events that completely reshaped northern China during the imperial eras. If we look back almost exactly a millennium ago, two massive earthquakes stand out for their sheer devastation of the population:
### The 1038 Dingxiang Earthquake (Shanxi Province)
Striking on January 9, 1038, during the Song Dynasty, this magnitude 7.25 earthquake hit the Xinzhou and Dingxiang regions of northern China. Because the local population heavily relied on homes built from unreinforced rammed earth or carved out of the fragile loess soil cliffs, the ground shaking caused instant, widespread collapses. Historical records note that at least **32,300 people perished**, tens of thousands were injured, and over 50,000 livestock were lost, completely crippling the regional economy.
### The 1303 Hongdong Earthquake (Shanxi Province)
If your timeline is a bit more flexible, the massive **1303 Hongdong earthquake** (occurring roughly 720 years ago during the Yuan Dynasty) is widely considered one of the absolute deadliest in human history.
* **The Scale:** Estimated to be a massive magnitude 7.6 to 8.0, it ruptured nearly 60 miles of the Huoshan fault zone.

* **The Devastation:**

It killed between **170,000 and 270,000 people**. In the cities of Hongdong and Zhaocheng, every single school, temple, and official building was leveled, wiping out more than half of the urban population.

* **The Landscape Shift:

** The shaking was so violent that it triggered massive loess landslides, caused the ground to liquefy into miniature mud-rivers, and literally flattened hills, altering the topography of the Shanxi Rift System for centuries to come.

*(Note: If you are thinking of the single deadliest day in human history, that belongs to the **1556 Shaanxi earthquake**, which hit the neighboring province about 470 years ago and claimed an estimated 830,000 lives due to the total collapse of cliff-side cave dwellings.)*: Earthquake…

Britsh Columbia building regulations EP

The last of me is the best of me…

The best of me, some spent, or was it lent.

A path perplexed on finding what’ is.

Wind and tease to provoke.

Knowledge gained “says me more, I adore!”

No you beast, I decline your second wind.

What I am I give to those I know and find..

As I am, the best of me to you I pledge

And my peace is all I cost….

KDG

File Photo KDG

Michel row home

Michael j. Fox named companion of the order of Canada.

“loud and proud”

TGIF-Classical class.

Kevin Griffiths

Concept photo

Congratulations to my namesake on more performances…

IZIMR ODA ORCHASTRASI

Stinging nettle and…

Careful

The Nicola  Naturalist Society Incorporated was done in November of 2010 and has functioned under a stable and comprehensive membership for 16 years here in Merritt. Not to be confused with my naturalist blog. That reports a lot of the things from it or journalizes it.

The naturalists of Merritt are very industrious bunch.

As of this date of writing, the regular meetings are closed down until September and membership renewal or membership begins in September. And there’s a possibility that they will be meeting the second Thursday of the month instead of the 3rd.