Where I've been and what I've learned along the way…
Welcome!
Remain calm, be kind, and carry on regardless!
You've reached the online journal of Richard Rathe — online since 2004! In this iteration I'm trying a few new ideas: minimal markup, working with mostly plain text, and moving beyond the timeline. Some refer to this as a Digital Garden. I call it BLIS (BLog It Simple). Find me online…
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Food for Thought
The way to fight back is to function.
Karim Wasfi
Featured Photo
Birds, Florida, Swallow_Tailed_Kite
Social Media (Mastodon)
John Carlos Baez (@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz)
Mar 07, 2026
Manet's famous painting Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère never appealed to me. But now I realize its genius, and my spine tingles every time I see it.
The perspective looks all wrong. You're staring straight at this barmaid, but her reflection in the mirror is way off to right. Even worse, her reflection is facing a guy who doesn't appear in the main view!
But in 2000, a researcher showed this perspective is actually possible!!! To prove it, he did a photographic reconstruction of this scene. Check it out in my next post.
This blows my mind.
(1/3)
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
California Galleries Plants Travel
2025
We recently visited the Bristlecone Pines within Inyo National Forest in the White Mountains of Eastern California. While there we took a five hour hike on the Methuselah Trail amongst some of the oldest trees in the world!
Road Trip West 3, Petrified Forest
Birds Flowers Galleries History Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
The next day I had a three hour drive to my next destination—Petrified Forest National Park. The southern entrance is less used than the north but two of he major hiking trails are there: Crystal Forest & Blue Mesa. Unfortunately there is no trail to Newspaper Rock—a major Petroglyph site. It was cold and windy, but apparently I came at a good time to see the many desert flowers in bloom. 🙂
Road Trip West 2, New Mexico
Flowers History Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
I established my campsite and went for a walk about an hour before sunset. It was a magical time to be out in the desert. Some of the rocks are volcanic in origin. I did not realize it, but I could see the southern tip of these features in the middle distance (see below).
This was my 30th trip to the Everglades—different from all the others in several respects. First I was trying out new equipment (a sit-inside folding kayak). Second, I planned to just camp on a desert island, read, and take it easy. Third, I left from the Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island because the actual Ranger Station was closed for long-awaited hurricane repairs. I was also alone as there were no takers to join me this year.
Road Trip West 1, Westward Bound
Birds Flowers History Road_Trip_2026 Travel
2026
I was called to California for a family wedding. The first part of my journey took me through several southern states, the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, & Arizona. I left about two in the afternoon so I arrived in Pitcher Plant territory after dark. Fortunately I knew where there was a patch just off the shoulder of a county road.
Minibook Publishing Tool
Books How_To Projects Technology
2026
I first encountered this delightful self-publishing format while visiting family in Sacramento. The city has many older neighborhoods with small houses and small yards. The locals take great pride in their sidewalk-facing gardens, including pro-social embellishments like little library boxes and such. One house had a dispenser with these little pamphlets. I was impressed and intrigued.
Ephesus Ruins in Turkey (Gallery)
Galleries Hdr History Panoramas Travel Turkey_2016
2016
Richard Rathe 2016 (HDR, History, Panoramas)
The Rational History of Present Illness
Medicine Medinfo
2017
The History of Present Illness (HPI) has not changed appreciably since the introduction of the Problem-Oriented Medical Record in 1968. Until recently most medical documentation was created via dictation or handwritten notes. Narrative was the natural format for the HPI. This is no longer true in the era of online forms and computer-generated text.
Natural Selection in the Nest!
Birds Nature
2018
Yesterday we kayaked over to the EgretRookery on Little Lake Santa Fe. There were at least ten great egrets sitting on nests and one nest had a raucous bunch of chicks (3 or 4). Then we noticed there was a much smaller chick on the edge and its siblings were attacking it! After a minute or two we watched the little guy fall sixty feet into the water…
Mono Lake
Birds California Galleries Travel
2025
This is my second trip to Mono Lake and the good news is it hasn't changed much. In fact, the water level has stabilized (it was drying up) after agressive water management action by California. A large amount of water had already been drained for watering lawns and golf courses in Los Angeles. We visited the Tufa State Reserve on a sunny afternoon and saw many cool plants and birds.
Yucatan Maya Trip
Hdr History Travel
2009
First on our list was Uxmal, my personal favorite! Located in the gently rolling Puuc Hills, it is one of several significant Late Classic Mayan centers in that area. The so-called Pyramid of the Magician dominates the modern entrance to the site. The main temple entrance takes the form of a huge mouth, still intimidating even today. The pyramid was actually built in five stages, each covering older parts of the structure.
White Rim Trail 2018
Camping Canyonlands Galleries Hdr History Travel Video
2018
I recently returned from a backcountry bike trip on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park near MoabUtah. We were a mixed group of twelve riders with three high ground clearance support vehicles coming after us. We started near the Island in the Sky Visitor Center and camped four nights along the trail.
Oru Coast XT Folding Kayak (Review)
Boats Camping Reviews Technology
2025
Oru kayaks started out small. The first one I saw in a sporting goods store several years ago looked like a toy. Since then they have developed several larger, more serious designs. Here is a summary of my experience with the Coast XT, their longest and most ambitious model—a 16ft sea kayak that weighs in at 32 pounds.
RFK Jr's Inverted Food Pyramid as Propaganda
Commentary
2026
The history of the food pyramid is complicated (see my analysis from 2004). There hasn't been an official one for maybe twenty years. I grew up with it and I think it is a sound idea, but very political with respect to what foods go where. It may be a coincidence, but anyone who is familiar with the old pyramid will recognize this one as an inverted echo. There are many other ways to lay out these ideas graphically, the choice of an inverted triangle is not subtle. I think it's propaganda for the following reasons:
BWCA Fire & Canoe Trip 2011
Birds Bwca Galleries History Travel Video
2011
Just back from a challenging trip to the BWCA with my friend Ross. We had intended to start on the Sawbill Trail, but were told to evacuate just as we got to the entry point due to the rapidly expanding Pagami Creek Fire. (Satellite photos show this plume forming in less than two hours!)
Lake Superior Sea Caves
Apostle_Islands Galleries Hdr History Panoramas Photography Travel Video
2022
Over the past eight years I’ve walked along the Lakeshore Trail to admire the Cliffs and Sea Caves from above.
Desert Solitaire (Review)
Books Reviews
Edward Abbey (1968)
I had the good fortune to pick up this paperback copy of Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey for reading material on my Recent Everglades Trip. It is an excellent book for both the stories and the perspective on our National Park System (of which the Everglades is a part). With all the tent time I read most of it by the end of the trip.
The Paria River begins up by Bryce Canyon and flows south through Grand Staircase Escalante and the Vermilion CliffsArizona. Just before it empties into the Colorado River it flows thru a deep slot canyon and this is where we hiked.
Duluth Panoramic Postcards (1914)
Bookhouse History Panoramas
L. P. Gallagher (1914)
I came across these rolled-up postcards (yes, they have a place for a stamp and address on the back!) in an old collection of regular postcards that had nothing to do with Duluth or Minnesota. After some research by friends and family we came up with approximate dates. Based on the early automobiles and horse-carts we dated the downtown view before 1920 (Full-Res Image).
Maps of My Everglades Trips
Everglades Galleries Travel
2026
Detailed maps of the thirty trips I've taken since the year 2000…
Hammock Camping Guide
Camping Hammocks How_To Reviews
2025
There are various configurations of campinghammocks that I'll outline below. Most are gathered with single tie-on points at each end. Some have integrated bug nets. Complete packages come with both nets & rainflies. After a brief survey of the different types, I go on to propose my criteria for the Ideal Hammock.
There is No ‘I’ in AI
Commentary Technology
2026
My Critique of: Your Voice, Your Choice — A Guest Post by Claude Sonnet 4.5
The ELIZA Effect is a tendency to project human traits—such as experience, semantic comprehension or empathy—onto rudimentary computer programs having a textual interface.
Good Morning Doctor!
Books History Medicine
W.A. Rohlf (1938)
This little book was conceived neither as a medical history nor as a technical discussion of surgery. It is instead a story of people, of friends with whom I have shared joy and sorrow, in short, bits of the day-to-day drama which is the life of a country doctor. Many of the incidents are trivial, in one sense of the word, yet each has had in it something which appealed to me enough to make me remember it as a highlight in my forty-five years as a country doctor.
You've reached the online journal of Richard Rathe — online since 2004! In this iteration I'm trying a few new ideas: minimal markup, working with mostly plain text, and moving beyond the timeline. Some refer to this as a 
