It shouldn't surprise anyone that knows me... But. I took myself down to the polls on Saturday and cast my ballot for America. And contrary to the signs I have been seeing scattered around the county, I cast my vote for the version of America that I think is embodied in the Obama presidency.…
I've been reading Jason Kottke's blog for as long as I can remember. Sometimes his posts resonate, sometimes I just skim on by. His post about John Lennon's Poster resonated. Peter Dean is a big Beatles fan. And so he set out to reproduce exactly -- from photographic evidence only --…
http://www.youtube.com/embed/U9G8XREyG0Q
Every day I look around in disbelief, remembering how surprised I was when spring began. I’m still busy being surprised by spring. I’ll be ready for fall by February, always behind the season and pretty certain I’ll never catch up. via Falling Behind the Season - Verlyn Klinkenborg. I always…
Hummingbird Update It seems the cold front that blew through this past weekend was the signal most of the hummingbirds in the backyard were waiting for to head on south. Since Sunday I have only seen the few birds that were here all summer. I won't complain, but it was…
Wednesday’s presidential debate promises sharp contrasts. One candidate wants to repeal Obamacare, one candidate invented it. One opposed the auto industry bailout, one takes credit for it. One doubts the scientific consensus about climate change, one believes in it. One wants to “voucherize” Medicare, one wants to save it. One…
I was playing a bit this morning...And learning Adobe Premier Elements at the same time...
On Tuesday morning as I was running through my emails and feeds I lost connectivity with the internets...Not the way I wanted to start a day. After going to the equipment cabinet in the bedroom closet and trying the unplug all, replug all, hit reset, try three times...I called AT&T.…
The hummingbirds continue to entertain us each day. We have never had the numbers we are seeing this year. Here are a few shots I took last week at one of the back feeder's
This morning is a new experience for me. I brought the old laptop out on the back porch to start uninstalling old software...While working on that I was able to read email, listen to public radio, watch the hummingbirds fight over the feeders, and now...Write on this blog. This could…
A few weeks back my five-year old laptop began to show signs that it wouldn't be with us much longer. The images on the screen would develop a flicker... Then the lower third of the screen would lighten until it was impossible to see. A good whack would straighten it out, but I could…
I just saw the Space Shuttle Endeavour pass over my house on it's way toward Houston. I didn't even know it was going to be passing through the area. Wish I would have had my camera out as it passed by...There won't be another chance to see one in the air....
Just in case you didn't know...I lean progressive on the political scales. I try not to let my political rants take over this blog these days. I did that in the George W. Bush years and it was a pain. So pardon the following politcal rant ... I am a…
When I pulled up my blog this afternoon I opened the stats tab just to see what's up. I don't do it all that often, but, when I do it always strikes me as funny what shows up as the top post... It's always the same. Every time it's my post from…
The past week at the bird feeders (nectar feeders for hummingbirds) have been a load of fun. It seems the number of Ruby Throats has gone up exponentially. The battles being fought to control the feeding rights are unending. We have three feeders set up right now and the traffic is continuous from sunup till sundown.…
Watching President Clinton's speech last night, I was as impressed as I always am when President Clinton starts to explain the Democratic point of view. Every time someone would say about President Bush that he was someone they would like to have a beer with, I would remember listening to…
Yesterday when I woke up and opened the windows I noticed a change...There was no dew on the windows. It's been months since the windows were clear first thing in the morning. When I walked outside it felt different...Could be we are getting that preview of what's to come. When…
I used to drive by this site and not know the significance. Good news! An amazing prairie remnant has been found in Deer Park. It is called the College Park Prairie, named after an adjacent elementary school. This is a 53-acre prairie pothole remnant with a full complement of pimple…
Temperature 97.9 °F Feels Like 116 °F That's what it says on the Weather Underground page for my place right now. I spent 2+ hours this morning riding the John Deer around the yard today and it was hot. But right now... Three hours later... It's just ridiculous. Now, granted, feels like 116° beats…
There’s something about Texas – if I didn’t live here, I wouldn’t live here. Juanita Jean sum's up all of my frustrations with my native state and then some... She goes on to lay out why: We have 248 kinds of snakes in Texas and 246 of them will kill…
Yesterday the postwoman put the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated in the mailbox by the road. When I looked at the cover I was reminded of the differences in growing seasons in this country of ours. In great beauty the cover displayed heirloom tomatoes... On the day that I brought…
To promote the importance of our state’s special sense of place, the Texas Legislature has designated October 14-20 as Native Plant Week. Local communities throughout Texas are planning events for the public to foster the use of native plants in the landscape. Wildflower walks, tours of native plant gardens, educational…
When I was at the PRX site the other day listening to Mary Gauthier I stumbled across this "In Search of a Song" program: Enjoy!
I had Winamp playing yesterday as I fiddled around on the computer when Mary Gauthier came on playing her song "Sugar Cane". That led me to a Google search for a video of the song to post here. What I found was even better...Two hours of interviews she did with…
Heat...Heat...Heat...That's what summer in Texas is all about. It's 10am and this was just on the Weather Underground... the small print under the temperature...The heat index. It already feels like 108°. This time last week I was beginning to feel like I had been transported to the Emerald Isle... Outside my…
Stupid? Arrogant? Crazy? Whoa, wait, isn’t that already the motto of the Republican Party? via Juanita Jean's | Truman Demands Romney Release His Tax Returns. A drop quote to love...
We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it. – George Bernard Shaw The above quotation popped up in an email today and did just what it was supposed to do...It made me stop and think about what it said. George Bernard Shaw (Photo credit:…
Now that the Supreme Court has declared the ACA to be constitutional I find most people still don't know what is in the law... I don't really know. My wife doesn't understand it. I know most of the folks I talk to don't. From the comments and email I get,…
I always knew that red state Texas was stingy. Governor Perry has spent most of his decade in office turning down federal money to help the poor. But this paragraph really spelled out the extent of Texas stinginess. The biggest losers are Medicaid and the poor. Very quietly, the Affordable Care Act…
Yes it does... Mitt Romney may have joked yesterday that the White House was “not sleeping real well” last night. But a lot of people tonight and in the future will sleep a lot better for this result. Young people, people with pre-existing conditions and mainly people who through the…
