Our weird winter weather continues today as we awoke to some of the thickest fog I can recall around here. It wasn’t quite as bad as the Tule fog in Bakersfield (which is so thick that cautious drivers stop at intersections with windows rolled down to listen for cross-traffic), but it still slowed down traffic… Continue reading More Fog
“The intricate economics of terrorism”
Loretta Napoleoni is an economist, journalist, political activist, and author. Her professional specialty is in the financing of terrorist activity, and how mainstream economic activity is affected by that financing. I found [via Bruce Schneier’s blog] the following video of a speech given at the 2009 TEDGlobal Conference, and it’s quite fascinating. In a relatively… Continue reading “The intricate economics of terrorism”
Ballroom Dancing in West Texas
[Updated May, 2018] I’m leaving this post up as historical documentation, but be aware that many things I’ve described are no longer accurate due to the inevitability of change as time passes. Since I no longer live in West Texas, I don’t think I’m qualified to keep all of this up-to-date. Reader/dancer beware! [Updated January,… Continue reading Ballroom Dancing in West Texas
New Gallery Images
I’ve uploaded a couple of new images to the Gallery, including a larger version of this one: This may just be one of my all time favorite images, and it’s derived from the most mundane of settings.
Random Thursday
Lots to marvel about on the web today. I say, let’s get to it. But first…check out the Vintage Ad Browser. Type in a search term (say, “Buick” or, if you want to see the ugliest Mustang ever built, “1980 Ford Mustang”) and enjoy the results (or prepare to weep if you try the Mustang… Continue reading Random Thursday
Caged Weed
If you think tumbleweeds are mild-mannered critters with no agenda, you’ve got another think coming. You cannot begin to imagine the epic struggle it took to corral this one. (Word to the wise: never get between a lone tumbleweed and its herd.) Of course, the difficult decision is now what to do with this one.… Continue reading Caged Weed
Rediscovering Country
One of the unanticipated benefits of taking up ballroom dancing is the expansion of our appreciation of different types of music. While we’ve acquired the habit of judging all music we hear by the American Bandstandesque criterion of being “easy to dance to” (something that’s admittedly distracting when it occurs at church), we’ve also found… Continue reading Rediscovering Country
Book Review: “Under the Dome”
Is it just me, or has Stephen King gotten grosser in his old(er) age? I confess that it’s been a long time since I read one of his books (Pet Sematary? The Tommyknockers?) but having recently completed the 18,000 pages* of his latest novel, Under the Dome, I confess that I was shocked – shocked,… Continue reading Book Review: “Under the Dome”
Blogging will continue until morale improves
What…are you still here? You must have the patience of Job. You do realize, don’t you, that I killed off the Gazette? And not just once, but at least fifty times, and that was just last week. Darn thing keeps coming back to life, though. Rob Zombie would be proud. I’m glad that one of… Continue reading Blogging will continue until morale improves
A New Year “Crane” for Good Luck
According to Asian tradition, the crane is a bird of good luck and long life, and further, if you fold one thousand origami cranes you’ll be granted a wish. If a picture is worth a thousand words, is a photo of a great egret* equivalent to folding a thousand pieces of paper? I obviously can’t… Continue reading A New Year “Crane” for Good Luck