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What are all those spiders doing in my garden?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

If Miss Muffet in the children’s nursery rhyme had known more about garden spiders, she might not have been so frightened. Spiders are beneficial garden inhabitants that are much more interested in feeding on insects rather than bothering humans. You might think of them as an eight-legged pest control service operating in your garden.Grass spiders spin funnel-shaped webs and wait for insects to walk or fly into them. Courtesy of PixnioSpiders are not insects; they are arthropods belonging to the order Araneae in the class Arachnida. In addition to the number of legs, they differ from insects in that they have only two body parts and they lack wings and antennae. They also have six to eight eyes, often arranged in two rows.Although most spiders do produce venom and have jaws ending in fangs, few can bite through human skin. The only exceptions common in California are the widow spiders, which spend most of their time hiding and rarely attack humans unless provoked. Spiders basic...

Bay Area man accused of killing roommate, dog

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

Novato police booked a homicide suspect early Saturday after a shooting in the Hamilton area.The crime happened at about 4:30 p.m. Friday on Martin Drive in the Lanham Village neighborhood, according to the Novato Police Department. Police, responding to reports about gunfire, found a man and a dog who had been shot to death on the back porch of a residence.Police detained two men at the residence and identified one of them — Paul Henry Dwight, 65 — as the suspected killer. Investigators determined that Dwight and the dead man were roommates who had had a dispute over their housing arrangements.Investigators booked Dwight into the Marin County Jail at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of murder and animal cruelty. He is being held without a bail amount while the investigation continues.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Emeryville: One shot during attempted armed robbery in Bank of America parking lot Crime and Public Safety | Milpitas man charg...

Why does Hollister cat steal eyeglass cleaning cloths and leave them in odd places?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

DEAR JOAN: We have a 16 year-old Manx cat named Pumpkin, who started really entertaining us about a year ago.We keep two small eyeglass cloths in a basket on our kitchen island. During the night, about 80% of the time, she moves one or both of them to various locations in the kitchen. Quite often, she jumps up on the island, then jumps down carrying a cloth, then goes to a step stool at a desk on the opposite counter.The cloth is then deposited on or near the computer mouse. Occasionally, the second cloth will be near the first one. At other times, one of them will be on the rung of a kitchen stool, on the floor or any one of numerous places she decides to place it.She recently started moving the cloth during the day when we are at work. This seems to be a well thought out activity for Pumpkin. Can you share some insight as to why?— Sue and Rick Solano, HollisterDEAR SUE AND RICK: Cats enjoy taking objects and carrying them around. Because the mysterious cloth relocation happe...

TasteFood: When life gives you stone fruit, make a crisp

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

I am a glutton when it comes to summer stone fruit. There is a window of time when nectarines, peaches, apricots and plums run rampant at the market. Mottled in vibrant swaths of purple, crimson and orange, their flesh is a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and winey flavors. I could eat them all day long, but then my stomach would hurt.When these fruity gifts are abundant, I usually overshop. It is an issue. My kitchen counters are lined with bowls and platters piled with fruit. So it’s no surprise that, even in my house, all the fruit can’t be eaten at their peak of ripeness. Some pieces become a little too ripe, buried at the bottom of the bowl, or even passed over for the newest batch from the market. As mentioned, I have indulgence issues.This is an opportunity to make a crisp. It’s the dessert equivalent to a homey vegetable soup. Gather up all the ripe, somewhat passed fruit (as you might with vegetables for a soup), cut and chop, and spread a thick layer in a...

Travel+Leisure’s ‘World’s Best Awards’ spotlights 5 California resorts

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

Resorts and hotels star on Travel + Leisure’s recently released “World’s Best Awards” list. The awards, which include categories for hotels, resorts, cruise ships, cities and more, are based on the opinions of nearly 165,00 readers.For the resort category, they were asked to rate not only the beauty of the property, but its location, service and food. So it’s not surprising that the top 15 are situated in some of the nation’s most picturesque places. There are Nantucket and Cape Cod splendors, California wine country inns and skier-loved mountain lodges.Five California hotels took honors on the list, starting with Napa Valley’s Stanly Ranch at No. 2. The Auberge Resorts Collection property opened last year on a historic 712-acre estate. Also open just a year, Healdsburg’s The Madrona (No. 13) has transformed a 19th century mansion and carriage house into a 21st century boutique hotel. Forestville’s serene Farmhouse Inn came in at...

Wish You Were Here: Roasting marshmallows atop a Guatemala volcano

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

We may have spent lockdown as armchair travelers, but our readers have made up for that with recent travels to destinations around the world. They’ve strolled Australian beaches, explored England’s naval history in Portsmouth and traipsed around Brazil. And they’ve shared their adventures — and helpful travel tips — along the way.Today, an adventuresome Fremont couple is sharing their recent foray in Central America.Wish You Were HereGUATEMALA: Fremont residents Joe Samagond and Mona Shah visited Guatemala this May on a trip that included “charming colonial Antigua and Tikal National Park, home to scores of pre-Columbian Mayan ruins,” Joe says. “We explored the Actún Can Caves — ‘Cave of the Serpent’ — hidden in limestone bedrock beneath the sacred ruins of Petén. And we climbed the scorched rock of Pacaya Volcano, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and last erupted in 2021, and roasted marshmall...

Nothing artificial about the future of AI, but who decides its intelligent use in health care?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

A majority of Americans would feel “uncomfortable” with their doctor relying on AI in their medical care, according to recent polling, but despite those misgivings it is likely you have already encountered the results of artificial intelligence in your doctor’s office or local pharmacy.The true extent of its use “is a bit dependent on how one defines AI,” said Lloyd B. Minor, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, but he said some uses have been around for years.Most large health care providers already use automated systems that verify dosage amounts for medications and flag possible drug interactions for doctors, nurses and pharmacists.“There’s no question that has reduced medication errors, because of the checking that goes on in the background through applications of AI and machine learning,” Minor said.Hundreds of devices enabled with AI technologies have been approved by the FDA in recent years, mostly in the fields o...

Hiker rescued from cliff by Sonoma County helicopter

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

(BCN) -- A helicopter was required to rescue a Sonoma County hiker Sunday who climbed a steep cliff face in Jenner and realized they couldn't get back down. San Mateo woman kidnapped in Mexico found safe The Sonoma Sheriff's Office said it received a call at approximately 1 p.m. about a hiker stranded on a coastal cliff. The sheriff's office sent its "Henry-1" helicopter to the rescue. The crew located the climber and decided the safest and most efficient way of rescuing the victim would be to utilize their 100 foot-long line and a "horse collar" rescue device. A paramedic used the line to successfully perform the rescue. The victim was brought to a nearby beach where awaiting fire and medical personnel were staged.

Stock market today: Wall Street opens mixed ahead of more earnings reports

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

Wall Street is off to a mixed start Monday as stocks worldwide stall following the latest signal that the world’s second-largest economy is flagging. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% in early trading, coming off its seventh winning week in the last nine. The Dow was just barely lower, while gains for several tech giants helped push the Nasdaq composite up 0.3%. Global markets slipped after China reported weaker economic growth for the spring than economists expected. Several big banks kicked off the reporting season for U.S. companies last week. Bank of America, Netflix and Tesla report this week.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.With earnings season ready to kick into high gear this week, Wall Street ticked lower early Monday after China reported weaker growth than forecast in the last quarter. Future for the S&P 500 inched down 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. Wall Street’s expectations are low yet again heading into earnings ...

¿Qué alimentos contienen aspartame? El edulcorante considerado “posible carcinógeno”

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:50:10 GMT

La Agencia Internacional de Investigación sobre el Cáncer de la Organización Mundial de la Salud anunció el jueves que el edulcorante artificial aspartame, que se encuentra comúnmente en Diet Coke y otros alimentos sin azúcar, es un posible carcinógeno.Sin embargo, un segundo grupo de la OMS, el Comité de Expertos en Aditivos Alimentarios, no cambió su umbral para la cantidad diaria de aspartame que es seguro consumir: 40 miligramos por kilogramo de peso corporal para adultos que pesan alrededor de 154 libras. Sumado, esa es la cantidad en alrededor de 14 latas de Coca-Cola Light. La Administración de Medicamentos y Alimentos (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés) tiene un límite diario ligeramente más alto de 50 miligramos por kilogramo de peso corporal para un adulto que pesa alrededor de 132 libras.“Es una ligera advertencia para las personas, pero no es ‘no consumir’”, dijo Barry Popkin, profesor de nutrición en la Escuela de Salud Pública Global Gillings de la Universidad de Car...