• 05:02 The Southern Food and Beverage Museum tinyurl.com/64pnkk #
• 18:09 The Left is choking on its own organizational structure tinyurl.com/6nvhlx #
• 19:25 New Orleans Tweet-up anyone? #
• 19:52 "I hate writing. I love having written." (Attributed to several sources) #
• 21:06 "Jim Henson Knew His Place!" tinyurl.com/29ov4p #

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Bloggers Blog has a fascinating article about the Associated Press and its attempt to thwart fair use. I'm pleased to see that many other bloggers -- including some very high-profile ones -- have taken the same stance I have and simply boycotted AP. There are even hints that AP may back off.

Tags: activism, blogging, news
Current Mood: busy

Poll #1218502
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Well ???

Tags: marx brothers

According to this article, wildlife has returned to the area of the Chernobyl meltdown. Interestingly, the wildlife seems to be thriving in conditions that remain inimical to human life. I am intrigued that a human accident has created a place where other creatures can live in relative safety, but humans cannot.

We should, I think, take that as a warning.

Tags: nature, news, science
Current Mood: busy

I recently stumbled across an old favorite: the splendid Girl Genius graphic series is now online in full color. Hardcopy books are also available. There is a PayPal button for donations; donors also gain access to computer wallpaper.

Girl Genius tells the story of Agatha, a quirky young woman with an interest in all things mechanical. Agatha turns out to be a Spark -- a genius with the gift for mad science and other mental mayhem. She's a wonderful role model for women scientists and girls who want to grow up to be one. Most highly recommended.

Tags: art, cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, networking, reading, science fiction
Current Mood: busy

I have a favorite band name

The Anderson Council

So, how many music geeks get the joke?

bearleyport has a savvy post discussing the terminology of a "500 year flood," largely based on some things attributed to David Kopaska-Merkel. Many of those observations parallel my own experiences with geology and sociodynamics.

Tags: environment, networking
Current Mood: busy

I did the Out and Back trail at Kickapoo again, following the route I'd taken by accident on purpose out to the overlook, which is an excellent place to have a sandwich.  A lovely view, shade, a good place to catch the breeze, and barely any obvious sign of humanity.  (The "lake" itself is a former strip mine hole, but it doesn't look bad.)  There are a couple of telephone poles visible, and a couple of bits of mowed grass in the far distance.  Then I walked to the trail intersection where I thought I'd fallen off the official trail last week, and discovered that it only goes a few hundred feet to the river (which I hadn't even realized I was next to last week) and ends.  I still don't know what happened to the trail markers.  When I finished that loop, I was starting to feel quite tired, even though I had walked less than 5 miles by that time, so I took a bit of a short cut, which got me as expected back to the very unhelpfully marked intersection, and back to my car.  This is the first time in a long time that I've done longish walks on back to back days, but the weather is unseasonably nice, the terrain I was walking over both days is pretty flat, and darn it I thought I was in better shape than this, I shouldn't be so tired!

The butterfly population does seem to finally be picking up; not lots, but there were definitely butterflies around.  Still lots of dragonflies.  But the dominant insect species (and the major problem with enjoying the day) was mosquitoes.  I can't remember when I've been so plagued by mosquitoes, and that's with applying DEET at the start of the trip and applying more at my lunch stop.  Those huge numbers of dragonflies are not doing their jobs, I tell you!

Tags: nature, walks

Latest news on POEtry Without Apology is that the anthology is in progress but still won't be out for a while yet. However, the cover artist is Kiriko Moth, whose art gallery is visible here.

Tags: art, poetry
Current Mood: busy

This guy says what I've been trying to say, only better.

Bob Herbert | Cause for Alarm
Bob Herbert of The New York Times says, "The symbols of patriotism - bumper stickers and those flags the size of baseball fields - have taken the place of the hard work and sacrifice required to keep a great nation great. You know that matters have gotten out of hand when, as we learned this week, American instructors at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, gave classes on torture techniques used by the Communists to extract false testimony from American prisoners during the Korean War."

Tags: news, politics
Current Mood: busy