Meet Swifty, iPigeon.institute’s latest rescue (not a pigeon).

Today, as I was walking in downtown LA, I had stopped on the sidewalk to do something (I forget what it was), and as I was finishing up, I looked down in front of me, and I saw a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest. I wasn’t sure if it was alive, or not, so I nudged it, and it spread its wings, to regain its balance. I was excited to find it was alive, and I picked the baby bird up, and continued along my way. 

At first, I thought that the baby was a falcon, since it had a sharp beak and sharp claws that dug in to my fingers, as I held it, and I felt a bit of trepidation about what I was doing - saving a future predator of pigeons, but, I figured, it’s a baby, and I’ll take care of it anyways, since I like caring for birds. 

Swifty, as I first found him.

Once I got home, I was eager to find out what falcon babies looked like, if they looked like this bird, or not, and then I asked ChatGPT about the bird, with a photo upload included in the query. 

Asking ChatGPT about the baby bird I found. 

At first, funnily enough, ChatGPT thought that the bird was a baby pigeon, but I pressed on, in asking it again, with a different photo, since the bird is obviously not a pigeon. This time, the photo was clearer on the features of the head of the bird, and ChatGPT identified it as a swift, not a predator, but an insectivore, meaning that it only eats insects. 

I spent some time learning about swifts, and how to feed them, which was my primary interest with the bird, since, at this stage, the baby is still fluffy with fuzz and pin feathers, and it cannot feed itself. Swifts are very interesting birds, in that they are capable of flying for up to 10 months at a time, nonstop. They are purported to be resolutely destined for the wild, where they spend most of their time in flight, catching insects, for food. Google’s AI-assisted search says that Chimney Swifts breed in North America and migrate to the Amazon basin. What an exciting life!

Swifty, up close, on his first day here.

Now that Swifty had gotten some water in him, he’s brighter-eyed, and more active. He’s an adventurous one, at times, and he climbed out of a shallow bowl and blanket that I had placed him in, earlier, to explore his surroundings a bit. Perhaps it was his adventurous spirit that got him grounded, whereupon I found him on the sidewalk, although there was a loop of string around his foot, possibly from the nest. The string wasn’t tight around him, though, and I removed it, once I found out it was a string - it looked like dusty debris, at first. It’ll be an interesting few weeks, or so, with Swifty, hopefully (I purchased food for him that’s coming tomorrow morning). He isn’t making gestures, yet, of being hungry, although he would obviously be hungry. Perhaps, after a good night’s rest, he’ll wake up with a hearty appetite. He did make some screeching noises, earlier, so I could tell that his condition is improving, over time, even though he hadn’t eaten since at least this afternoon, when I found him. 

Swifty fan art.

Product Review: Nike Wildhorse 10 Trail Running Shoes.

 

Nike Wildhorse 10 shoes.

Out in downtown LA, going out and feeding pigeons, and all, I encounter all sorts of challenging terrain. This being the case, I like to have good, supportive footwear to help me power through my outings. It was time for a new pair of shoes for me, recently, so I went online to check out the Nike website and see what was new. I found several different shoes that piqued my interest, and I checked my bank account, and I found out that I had more money in my bank than I’d expected. I thought, “oh, goody! I can splurge,” and I ventured on, within the catalog of shoes online, and I let my imagination roam a bit more freely. 

I’d previously tried out high end casual / running shoes like the Vapormax flyknit shoe, which features shoes on top of bubbles of air, as the soles, and, while nice, I wanted to try something new. I didn’t feel like spending $220 (they are currently $187.97, on the store’s website) for shoes, and I’d already tried them out. I had been wearing the Joyride sneakers, which feature foam balls in the soles, for cushioning, and they’re also casual running shoes, but here, I had an opportunity to branch out in to fancier shoes with more features. 

The main attraction to the Wildhorse 10 shoe ($165), in Nike’s trail running series, is that it has a springy ReactX foam midsole that is purported to return energy to the wearer, along with a grippy outsole design that provides for sure footing in all types of trail terrain, whether it be uphill, wet, or over various types of ground. 

My Wildhorse 10 shoe outsoles. Clearly, this is a shoe for serious trail runners.

Upon first trying out the shoes, after receiving them on Monday, after I ordered them on a Sunday (impressive - Nike used a custom courier to deliver the shoes within 1 day), I could definitely feel a spring in my heels, upon trying to bounce and walk around a little bit. It’s unlike other shoe experiences I recall, since it’s foam, instead of air, that’s being used as the cushion. I felt that there was a lot of design input that went in to making the shoe, and it’s got a legacy of design behind it (Nike skipped #9 in the Wildhorse series, and went to version 10, from 8, but there are internet articles that talk about previous iterations of the Wildhorse series). The ReactX foam is truly “responsive,” as it’s termed, and I could definitely see how this model of shoe would assist me and keep me comfortable on future daily hikes out to feed the pigeons around town.

The shoe comes in a good variety of many different color options to choose from, and there’s men’s and women’s versions of the shoe, as well. I chose the funky pink neon, white, black, and light blue version, because I like bright colors. I could foresee keeping the shoes clean as being a chore, as I’d have to watch how I move and handle the shoes, when wearing them, so that they don’t get scuffs or stains on them. Even so, I unfortunately spilled some soy sauce on one of the shoes, on my first day wearing them out, and I nearly freaked out, but I had some water with me, and I gave it a quick rinse, and once I got to a water fountain, I was able to rub out the stain completely, with a little bit of soap, so the fabric is a little bit forgiving. 

All in all, I feel like like the trail running series fits my lifestyle and fashion choices, and I got a compliment on the shoes, on the first day I wore them, which was nice. I ordered a complementary set of shorts and a tank top that matches the color of the shoes. I’d highly recommend the shoes, as a luxury novelty, for the bouncy soles, as well as for active lifestyle trail running (walking, in my case) types, when the shoes can be afforded, financially. 

First long distance outing thoughts and reflections:

Now, I’m sure that many of you who came across this page and article could debate the point, as to whether or not 18+ miles is considered “long” distance, but I’m just saying… for convenience’s sake. My standard daily goal is 10,000 steps, which comes out to about 5 miles, or so, and here, I put in some dedicated hours at the track, to see if I would suddenly become more skilled and adept at running, given my new, specially designed for trail running: Wildhorse 10 Nike shoes. 

When I showed up to Los Angeles State Historic Park, neighboring Chinatown, DTLA - my nearest metropolitan-scale nature and dirt trail park, there was a huge soundstage and concert installation for what ended up being a college students’ progressive trance music show, with anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 young people attending. I was dismayed that I wouldn’t be able to run the track, because of the concert, but there was a small straightaway of dirt and rocky track stretching from the entrance of the park to the concert gates, maybe 1,000 feet or so. I eventually shook off the anxiety about pacing the track, back and forth, for hours on end, and I “just did it,” in my Nikes. Everyone was paying attention to their own stuff, and the anxiety was all in my head, I reasoned. I mean, I looked different - in jogging clothes, whereas most people who showed up were young adults, dressed in black, grouped up in small to mid-size groups, mostly Asian people, and the restrooms straddled the side of the track / road, and most people’s attention was on using the restroom and gathering with friends before entering the show. There was a 2-3 hours’ long procession of a non-stop flow of pedestrian foot traffic entering the show and park grounds. All extraneous information, here, perhaps, although I did stay for much of the show, to listen to the music, since I was at the concert, anyways, practically.

As I mentioned earlier, 18 miles is probably a cut and dry, simple prospect, but I smoke cigarettes, and I don’t commonly run, although perhaps, with these shoes, I’ll turn showing up to the park a habit. Now, for me, the day’s 18 miles ended up being pretty easy, on my end, for that matter. Granted, I only walked the track, but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t want to be running back and forth on such a short track, when there were countless young concertgoers just several feet away from me. I already did my standard 10,000 steps, or so, earlier in the day, and I felt that I could get several hours in, of walking, and I thought that maybe I would work myself up to running, a bit, but that never materialized, on this day. 

I tracked my steps, today, using the “Jring,” a bargain-priced Amazon and Alibaba importer and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) generic smart ring product, that ostensibly is taken on, by various companies, in branding or reselling the ring. It’s a good ring, but higher-priced smart rings purportedly hold a charge for longer. I got the ring through my Amazon Vine product reviews job.

To my credit, this day’s 18 miles ended up being easy-peasy for me, as well, especially since it was just walking. I’d been known to do 12-20 mile walking days in former years, on a consistent, daily basis, since I had a dog that I walked around, everywhere, with me. That was the notable characterization of the extended walking exercise slot of time that I pulled off, later on in the day and evening - that it was simple, and I would credit the shoes, with their bounciness (responsiveness) and cushiony ReactX foam midsoles, as that I was aided by the shoes’ technological upgrades, by Nike. It felt like the shoes really made things easier on me, in going a longer distance, once again, after having a long stretch of time in which I was only doing 10,000 steps a day, now, customarily. I feel that I can show up at the park and get in to the trail running lifestyle, become an avid regular runner, and improve my health, while I’m at it; ostensibly, I would favor purchasing new and fancy shoes on a regular basis, and I’d set aside funds to meet those ends every couple or few months, or so, rather than letting the shoes age and wear out, completely. I could pass down the shoes to the less fortunate folks, surrounding where I live, and brighten someone’s day, as well, in doing so. It was a nice feeling, and a good day, with a concert to accompany my afternoon-through-night time walk in the park. 

New, for Summer 2025: Sophoria (Caliphoria), the latest iPigeon.institute fragrance release.

 The past several weeks have been busy, as far as trying out my purchases in fragrance ingredients, and I’d been allocating a hefty portion of my budget to stocking up on new and former favorite aroma compounds and oils. It wasn’t until this morning that I experimented with my latest haul, in trying on several of my latest purchases neat, but I was very pleased with the rich and exotic sensuous outcomes that zero developing, and I felt that I’d laid the grounds for a new product release, after making use of my recent selections in ingredients. I call it Sophoria (or, Caliphoria). Here’s some of the preliminary work that I did, with ChatGPT:

Fragrance notes:

• Jasmine petals in a milk bath (to capture jasminlactone and lactonic softness)
• Split coconut with ocean mist (for the unexpected coconut nuance)
• Twisted pine or cypress branch (terpenes: delta-3-carene, ocimene)
• Sliced yuzu and bergamot (touches of bright citrus)
• Vanilla bean and benzoin resin drop on driftwood or stone
• Glossy blackcurrants on dewy green leaves (blackcurrant bud absolute)
• Champaca flower or gold-tinted tropical bloom (exotic floral soul)
• Cashmere woods delicately grounds the fragrance (cashmeran)

I didn’t even request to include a pigeon in the marketing image, but ChatGPT threw one in there, for good measure, and I happen to like it.

First impressions:

I tried a second run of applying the ingredients neat, once again, later on, during the same day, although not with as much of the special, homemade vanilla extract (I say “special,” because it was given a very particular course of extraction and processing, far different from creating an absolute). I won’t expand upon the details of that process, just yet, and I was lacking the cashmeran, from my supplies, amongst the ingredients that I’d brought out with me. It came off as a bit cloying, without the edginess of the special vanilla extract, and, lacking the moodiness that comes with a bit of cashmeran, added. 

The first time around, additionally, I had also done second and third rounds of neat application, for some of the ingredients that got buried in the mix, during the initial application, and I felt that I’d done well in balancing things out, for applying them in neat fashion, rather than that I would try to concoct a liquid composition of it - a full bottle, of whatever size it may have otherwise been. The smell was more compelling, the first time around, and I had a good day with it, in essence. 

There were some notable seeming side effects of mood-lifting/stabilization, almost stimulation, as well as seeming nootropic effects, as I was more motivated to create higher-quality work, at my job.