The effects of the ongoing drought are depressingly evident throughout the Hill Country of Texas. We traveled from Midland to Fredericksburg last weekend, and brown was the dominant theme for the countryside. Except for a brief oasis-like hint of green around San Angelo (thanks to some very isolated recent downpours), the countryside was distressed beyond… Continue reading Drought and the San Saba River
Dill Effects
The last few times I’ve gone to the supermarket, I’ve bought Central Market’s “Herb Garden Spring Mix” instead of lettuce for our salads. It contains a wide variety of greens and a few different herbs, but the most distinctive flavor of the mix comes from bits of fresh dill. And every time I take a… Continue reading Dill Effects
Seal Coating and Bicyclists
Drinking and driving don’t mix; neither do seal coating and bicycling.
Fact Checking Rick Perry’s Political Foes
Herein follows one of the few partisan political posts you’ll find on the Gazette. Read at your own risk. Now that Rick Perry has officially announced his candidacy for president, we can expect name-calling, finger-pointing, distortions, innuendos, rationalizations, and outright lies to rain down from his opponents – in other words, a typical presidential campaign.… Continue reading Fact Checking Rick Perry’s Political Foes
Sliding Into Place
This is for anyone who’s ever struggled to parallel park, as if we needed yet another reason to feel inadequate. This attempt set the world record for tightest parallel parking (is there anything for which a world record can’t be established?), said record measured by the clearance between vehicles. This attempt was 26cm. However,… Continue reading Sliding Into Place
Beginning of the End
It’s T minus 12 days and counting before I start the new job, and I’m swinging wildly between “oh boy…this is going to be so cool!” and “oh no…what have I done!” I suppose that’s natural. According to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, a change in your line of work is only slightly less… Continue reading Beginning of the End
Pomegranate Update (Yes, another one. Gimme a break.)
You’re probably growing weary of pomegranate updates, but given everything I have going on right now, this is about all I can come up with. Plus, I think it’s pretty great how a tree we gave up for dead is now thriving as a bush. The photos below don’t map exactly, but they’re pretty close,… Continue reading Pomegranate Update (Yes, another one. Gimme a break.)
Taking the Fork
When you come to a fork in the road, take it. – Yogi Berra, Philosopher Funny, isn’t it, how life-changing events often begin with the smallest thing. In this case, it was a casual remark by my wife about the difficulty her employer was having finding qualified people to fill some job vacancies. Those vacancies were… Continue reading Taking the Fork
Goose Update
Remember our neighborhood’s one-legged goose? I’m pleased to report that he/she/it appears to have effectively adapted to its unipedal status, as evidenced by this photo taken yesterday evening: The bird at right is the goose in question, and as we watched the trio feeding along the bank, it was doing the one-foot-hop with ease. It’s… Continue reading Goose Update
Movie Review: “Cowboys and Aliens”
Note: This review contains no plot spoilers. We went to see the highly anticipated (well, by us, anyway) Cowboys and Aliens this afternoon, despite the lukewarm review in this morning’s newspaper. I don’t necessarily ignore movie reviews, but I have found that I often disagree with professional critics when it comes to science fiction. Perhaps… Continue reading Movie Review: “Cowboys and Aliens”