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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2020)
6B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 COFFEE BREAK New feelings for longtime friend are not reciprocated DEAR ABBY: My longtime friend “Bonnie” and I have been reconnecting during COVID, mostly via text and video chat- ting. She’s recently moved back to my area (she’s in the military), so we spent a weekend together helping her move in. It was exhausting and stressful, and her drinking concerned me. I know drinking is prevalent in the mil- itary, and as a relatively high- ranking offi cer, she’s under a lot of pressure all the time. I’m more aware of it because my sister is a recovering addict. I’m a queer lady. Bonnie is gay, and over the last couple months I’ve been nursing a crush on her. She’s very supportive of my artwork, and over the years has been the one doing the work to DEAR keep our friendship alive despite our ABBY lives going in dif- ferent directions. I told her I had a crush on her during the stressful moving weekend and asked her to please not tell me about all the girls she texts. She responded that she does not return those feelings for me. But we talk on the phone for hours at night, and she calls me “Baby” sometimes. She also tells me I’m sexually magnetic. Our lives are intertwined enough that both our parents think we’re dating, and Bonnie frequently says things like, “My neighbor thinks we’re dating.” How do I keep both our friend- ship and my sanity? — CRUSHING DEAR CRUSHING: Regard- less of what others might think, you and Bonnie are NOT dating, and she has told you plainly that she’s not physically attracted to you. She was honest with you, I’ll give her marks for that. Whether she’s being honest with herself, however, is anyone’s guess. My advice is to stop allowing her to monopolize as much of your time as she has been. It isn’t good for you because it keeps you from looking for a companion who can reciprocate your feelings. If you continue as things are, you will only subject yourself to more of the confusion you are feeling now. DEAR ABBY: My wife of 46 years keeps telling me about her deprived childhood. Everybody else had a color TV; theirs was a black-and-white. Granny didn’t have a dryer; she had to use a clothesline. They didn’t have a car, and when they fi nally got one, it was a used car. Finally, they had a new car, but it was stolen two weeks later. All the other girls had ballet lessons; all the other girls were in Brownies. When Granny fi nally signed her up, it was too late. My wife had to get a used Brownie uniform that didn’t fi t, and they put her in a troop with Girl Scouts much older. She always wanted a swing-set, but never got one. Is there counseling and group therapy for this self-pity condi- tion? I’m laughing to myself and my tears are getting into my beer. — HAD IT ROUGH, TOO DEAR HAD IT: I would like to think your wife has it a lot better now, but to be married to someone as insensitive as you appear to be can hardly be an upper. Go pour yourself another pilsner before your tears dilute this one and bring you down fur- ther, Laughing Boy. NEWS OF THE WEIRD EO Media Group Right up to a body more than 52 feet long. The results suggest at that size, Otodus mega- lodon likely had a head about 15 feet long, a dorsal fi n approximately 5.3 feet tall and a tail almost 13 feet tall. “The reconstruction You’re going to need a bigger boat — a much bigger boat BRISTOL, England — Paleontologists with the University of Bristol, England, have unveiled the true size of the pre- historic mega-shark megalodon. Today, the most fear- some living shark is the Great White. Adults can exceed 20 feet in length and bite with a force of two tons. The University of Bristol in a press release Sept. 3 announced new research estimating the Great White’s fossil rela- tive was more than twice that long and could bite with a force of 10 tons. The massive predator — and star of a share of B movies — lived from 23 million to around three million years ago. The fossils of megalodon are mostly huge trian- gular cutting teeth bigger than a human hand. Jack Cooper, who completed his mas- ters courses in palaeo- biology at the Univer- sity of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, and col- leagues made close com- parisons to a diversity of living relatives with eco- logical and physiolog- ical similarities to meg- alodon, according to the press release, and used a number of mathematical methods to pin down the size and proportions of this monster. Shark expert Dr. Catalina Pimiento from Swansea University and professor Mike Benton, a palaeontologist at Bristol, supervised the project. • At freeway exit • Fuel • Restaurant • Clean bathrooms • Convenience Store • Interesting Gifts • Food to go • Bus Terminal • Barber Shop • Showers • Shorepower electric • LPG • Dump Station • 4 hotels adjacent • 1 mile from downtown Illustration by Oliver E. Demuth Paleontologists with the University of Bristol, England, on Sept. 3 published their research determining the size of the extinct mega-shark megalodon at more than 50 feet long. Professor Humberto Ferrón of Bristol also collaborated. The journal Scientifi c Reports published the research. “I have always been mad about sharks,” Cooper said in the press release. “As an under- graduate, I have worked and dived with Great whites in South Africa – protected by a steel cage of course. It’s that sense of danger, but also that sharks are such beautiful and well-adapted ani- mals, that makes them so attractive to study.” “Megalodon,” he con- tinued, “was actually the very animal that inspired me to pursue paleon- tology in the fi rst place at just 6 years old.” Previously the fossil shark, known formally as Otodus megalodon, was compared with the Great White. Cooper and his col- leagues, for the fi rst time, expanded this analysis to include fi ve modern sharks. Pimiento said in the press release that megalodon is not a direct ancestor of the Great White but is equally related to makos, the salmon shark and porbeagle shark. “We pooled detailed measurements of all fi ve to make predictions about megalodon,” he said. Benton explained the team fi rst had to test whether these fi ve modern sharks changed proportions as they grew to adulthood. “If, for example, they had been like humans, where babies have big heads and short legs,” he said according to the press release, “we would have had some diffi cul- ties in projecting the adult proportions for such a huge extinct shark.” He said they were sur- prised and relieved to dis- cover the babies of all these modern predatory sharks start out as little adults and don’t change in proportion as they get larger. Cooper added this meant they could take the growth curves of the fi ve weather modern forms and project the overall shape as they get larger and larger. Astoria Longview St. Helens 55/87 58/91 Condon 56/94 57/88 50/89 SAT SUN MON Sunshine and very warm Mostly sunny; very warm Mostly cloudy 89 42 87 45 83 35 Eugene 6 6 9 50/89 90 46 89 51 80 42 4 6 10 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 6 6 47 85 47 Comfort Index™ 8 79 38 6 8 10 6 ALMANAC NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Tuesday Low Tuesday High: 106° Low: 14° Wettest: 3.20” 68° 36° 72° 41° 75° 36° 0.00 0.00 0.17 2.99 7.26 0.00 0.00 0.18 13.06 11.09 0.00 0.00 0.20 25.31 15.31 PRECIPITATION (inches) Tuesday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY 15% NW at 4 to 8 mph 11.8 0.20 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 13% of capacity 30% of capacity 47% of capacity 57% of capacity 21% of capacity 16% of capacity Medford Long Creek High: 92° Low: 28° Wettest: none On Sept. 10, 1976, Kathleen became the fi rst tropical storm to hit Southern California in 37 years. The storm killed fi ve people and caused $160 million in damage. SUN & MOON THU. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset 6:25 a.m. 7:12 p.m. 11:39 p.m. 2:48 p.m. 583 cfs 52 cfs 94 cfs 46 cfs 82 cfs 31 cfs Last Sep 10 New Sep 17 First Sep 23 Beaver Marsh 53/93 FRI. 6:26 a.m. 7:10 p.m. none 3:47 p.m. Full Oct 1 Burns Jordan Valley Paisley Frenchglen 50/89 City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Hi/Lo/W 65/51/pc 91/51/s 88/55/s 64/51/pc 90/43/s 66/52/pc 89/49/s 88/48/s 89/50/s 89/49/s 96/57/s 91/57/s 90/50/s 89/53/s 84/48/s 95/57/s 88/45/s 87/39/s Hi/Lo/W 64/52/pc 93/52/s 91/59/s 66/51/pc 90/44/s 63/52/pc 85/50/s 89/50/s 90/50/s 86/49/s 96/56/s 93/58/s 91/55/s 92/57/s 85/51/s 95/55/s 89/45/s 88/42/s Grand View Arock 47/92 45/90 49/91 Klamath Falls 41/88 Lakeview 38/87 McDermitt Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs. SAT. Diamond 54/87 Fields 56/98 FRI. Boise 50/85 47/88 45/87 Medford Brookings 50/94 54/88 56/97 51/64 Juntura 37/90 Silver Lake Chiloquin Grants Pass Ontario 46/89 50/89 49/88 RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY REGIONAL CITIES MOON PHASES STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday) Grande Ronde at Troy Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder Burnt River near Unity Umatilla River near Gibbon Minam River at Minam Powder River near Richland OREGON WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Thermal, Calif. Dakota Hill, Colo. Charlotte, Mich. 50/86 48/88 Roseburg 55/83 Brothers 56/92 Coos Bay Huntington 52/85 51/91 Oakridge Council 46/88 51/90 Seneca Bend TUESDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin 53/89 51/92 Elkton Powers 48/89 39/87 John Day 44/93 Sisters Florence 50/61 Halfway Granite 45/81 Baker City 49/66 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. Monument 54/93 Redmond 53/85 81 41 46/89 51/89 51/89 Corvallis Enterprise 47/85 48/89 Newport 49/62 87 50 Elgin 48/89 La Grande 57/89 53/94 Idanha Salem FRI 46 89 46 60/91 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg Lewiston 54/92 Hood River 56/92 Sunny and very warm La Grande Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Walla Walla 52/95 Vancouver 52/86 Clear 6 515 Campbell Street Baker City 541-523-4318 Kennewick 51/84 TONIGHT 6 Take out and Catering is Available. LAWN & GARDEN • TOOLS • BUILDING MATERIALS • AUTOMOTIVE • HOME & HARDWARE • ELECTRICAL & HEATING • PLUMBING • PAINT & ACCESSORIES • BEST COMFORT HEATERS SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY FORM (in Sept flyer) Try the SHIP TO STORE feature at millershomecenter.com 3815 Pocahontas Road, Baker City 541-523-6404 3109 May Lane, La Grande 541-963-3113 Maupin Comfort Index™ 6 am to 12 am Daily Enter Sweepstakes in the Store 50/65 TIllamook 39 87 40 Old Fashioned Hospitality AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION 49/69 Baker City of the size of megalodon body parts represents a fundamental step towards a better understanding of the physiology of this giant,” according to the press release, “and the intrinsic factors that may have made it prone to extinction.” City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla FRI. SAT. ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Hi/Lo/W 92/56/s 84/50/s 88/43/s 98/57/s 62/48/pc 83/47/s 89/49/s 95/54/s 92/58/s 88/55/s 83/54/pc 93/47/s 93/53/s 89/50/s 88/56/s 94/58/s 87/44/s 91/63/s Hi/Lo/W 93/57/s 83/51/s 89/48/s 97/55/s 60/49/pc 81/49/s 91/50/s 94/53/s 93/57/s 85/55/s 79/54/pc 95/48/s 88/53/s 86/50/s 87/56/pc 95/58/s 88/47/s 91/62/s Sunny and pleasant Sunny and warm Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice 64 42 83 45 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Sunny and pleasant Plenty of sunshine 76 47 89 48 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Sunny and warm Sunny and warm 71 37 83 39 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Sunny and warm Sunny and hot 84 48 92 59 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Sunny and warm Sunny and warm 87 40 89 46