Tattooed Teachers

Semi-interesting post over at the Freakonomics blog about the possibility that college professors who have tattoos could be more successful than their non-ink-stained counterparts. I’m pretty skeptical about the relevance of the study cited in the post, as are most of the commenters. If nothing else, showing male undergrads photos of tattooed female models* is,… Continue reading Tattooed Teachers

Conversation

Scene: Master bedroom, this morning Her: That’s not the same shirt you were just wearing. Him: No, I decided that other one looks like a clown shirt. Her: What?! Him: Well, those wide vertical stripes make it look like a clown shirt. Her: So, you’re never going to wear that shirt again? Him: Well, not… Continue reading Conversation

The Dance of [Unintentional] Mystery

Today’s “Close to Home” cartoon hits, well, close to home. However, in our case the caption is wrong. In our case, the neighbors would be saying, “The Siegmunds aren’t being tormented by wasps after all; they’re practicing the rumba.” Or the cha cha…or the foxtrot…or, well, you get the idea. Sometimes it’s hard to tell… Continue reading The Dance of [Unintentional] Mystery

The baddest geek in the ‘Bucks

So, I stumbled across this – a mock-up of an add-on iPhone QWERTY keyboard – and while it’s somewhat interesting in concept, it’s still far from an ideal solution for those who can’t seem to master the phone’s tiny virtual keyboard. But it made me wonder whether the iPhone plays well with the dockable keyboard*… Continue reading The baddest geek in the ‘Bucks

Barn Swallows: Winning the battle, losing the war

As you may recall, I was successful in convincing the local barn swallows that our porches were sub-optimal for nest placement. That battle was messy and frustrating for both sides, as battles always are, and neither side emerged feeling entirely satisfied with the outcome. During the aftermath, it became obvious that barn swallows are masters… Continue reading Barn Swallows: Winning the battle, losing the war

Dos Burros

There are two burros pastured about a quarter mile from our house. Every so often, something will set them off – a rattlesnake, a coyote, perhaps even each other – and we’ll hear their braying all around the neighborhood. I took a photo of them a year or two back, when we were in the… Continue reading Dos Burros

Random Thursday – The Friday the 13th Edition

Can’t believe it’s already Friday. Seems like yesterday it was only, well, Thursday. Anyway, before we get too cocky, don’t forget that it’s only three days until Monday. I’m sorry, but if you’re intentionally running your sprinkler system on an established lawn in the middle of a West Texas August afternoon, you’re either ignorant or… Continue reading Random Thursday – The Friday the 13th Edition

These jeans rock

I found these in the pocket of my new stone-washed Wranglers this morning. I guess it proves that the jeans really were stone-washed, but as Debbie astutely observed, it’s a good thing they weren’t acid-washed. *rimshot*

Isolated Thunderstorms and Targeted Destruction

In this part of the country, “isolated thunderstorms” is weather-speak for “you’ll get rain approximately at the same time the devil goes ice skating in Hades.” Except for tonight, when our neighborhood found itself squarely in the cross hairs of one of those isolated incidents. We got a nice rain, which was greatly appreciated since… Continue reading Isolated Thunderstorms and Targeted Destruction