There are a lot of things on my mind at the moment, but I haven't found time to post when I've felt the inclination. Hence no posts!
However, there is a lot going on in my head. I'm thinking about a trip to Arizona this Easter Break for birdwatching, Crime and Punishment (just finished this, and definitely want to comment on it), wild weather, Holy Week, Anglicanism's internal struggles, so and and so forth. Did you know that last Sunday was the Feast of the Annunciation? Libby and I celebrated joyfully on Monday by breaking our Lenten fast. Last weekend Bishop Ackerman of the diocese of Quincy came out - that was pretty neat. Our newest nephew was baptized, and Libby and I are his godparents. We've been busier than average!
All that has to take a quick (very quick) breath for this: the cover art of the new Harry Potter novels is here. Check out the different versions here: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/index.php?articleID=9653. There are three versions: the UK kids' version, the UK adults' version and the American version. The UK adults' version tells us nothing we didn't already know, but the other two have some tantalizing info.
American version:
What is that broken down structure where Harry is standing? Is it the gateway to death from the Hall of Mysteries? I wouldn't be surprised. What is that thing around his neck?
UK version:
Dobby, why are you riding on Harry's back, carrying the sword of Gryffindor? Is it you? If it is, are you going to kill Voldemort? Wouldn't that be Lord of the Ringish if the little Gollum creature ends it all? He's also the most insignificant creature in some ways, so it might not be surprising.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Something You May Not Want to Know
There is a fellow named Schmidt who has produced a pain index for different stinging insects of the order Hymenoptera. Apparently he has been stung by most of them, and did us the good service of rating the severity of the pain. On this scale, the honeybee is a 2.0, between the sweat bee (1.0) and the bullet ant (4.0+).
Here's the scale on Wikipedia.
The most painful stinging insect in the United States is apparently the Tarantula Hawk. I think I've seen those before, mainly in the local deserts. Fortunately they're not aggressive at all. Here's how one researcher described the pain: ""To me, the pain is like an electric wand that hits you, inducing an immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations. The pain for me lasted only about three minutes, during which time the sting area was insensitive to touch, i.e., a pencil point poked near the sting resulted only in a dull deep pressure pain." (From DesertUsa).
You should also check out descriptions of the Bullet Ant's Sting from Wikipedia.
Here's the scale on Wikipedia.
The most painful stinging insect in the United States is apparently the Tarantula Hawk. I think I've seen those before, mainly in the local deserts. Fortunately they're not aggressive at all. Here's how one researcher described the pain: ""To me, the pain is like an electric wand that hits you, inducing an immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations. The pain for me lasted only about three minutes, during which time the sting area was insensitive to touch, i.e., a pencil point poked near the sting resulted only in a dull deep pressure pain." (From DesertUsa).
You should also check out descriptions of the Bullet Ant's Sting from Wikipedia.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Ironic
Jonathan and I have been very irresponsible. We've been driving a car with its registration expired. We didn't mean to at first. The little sticker and bill never came in the mail. And even after we realized that we'd have to take the initiative to get it taken care of, we kept forgetting about it.
But when you're living with a secret like that, things happen. You start to notice all the cars with the pretty blue 2007 tags and feel a little down. And you notice the cars like you, with the old red tags, and think, "At least I'm not the only one." But mostly, you notice cops. And hope they don't notice you.
Well, our guilty consciences finally got the best of us. We knew that we'd have to go to the DMV to take care of it, but we'd have to go on a Saturday because of work. And it's only open one Saturday a month from 8:00-12:00. Tomorrow is that Saturday. So, for a while now, we've been planning on spending tomorrow morning at the DMV making retribution for our sin. And I was really looking forward to it--to having a clean conscience. And we'd made it without any cops catching us!
Until this morning.
On my way to work, I saw the lights in my rear-view mirror and I didn't have to think very long about why I was getting pulled over. It was the red tags.
I felt like my situation belonged in that Alanis Morissette song "Ironic." I mean, I got pulled over for having expired tags the DAY before I was going to fix it.
And THEN: this afternoon I went to get a smog check in preparation for tomorrow morning. I went to a place in Santa Ana called Auto Check. All they do is smog checks, so they're really quick. Turns out they can also renew registration! What a great service! So I ended up getting it all taken care of in 15 minutes. Oh, and the lady there had a nice smile, and offered me a free soda. I just wanted to hug her.
So, no DMV for us....but we will be showing up to court to take care of a ticket I got for something that was months overdue, but would be taken care of just hours later.
Your sins will find you out!
But when you're living with a secret like that, things happen. You start to notice all the cars with the pretty blue 2007 tags and feel a little down. And you notice the cars like you, with the old red tags, and think, "At least I'm not the only one." But mostly, you notice cops. And hope they don't notice you.
Well, our guilty consciences finally got the best of us. We knew that we'd have to go to the DMV to take care of it, but we'd have to go on a Saturday because of work. And it's only open one Saturday a month from 8:00-12:00. Tomorrow is that Saturday. So, for a while now, we've been planning on spending tomorrow morning at the DMV making retribution for our sin. And I was really looking forward to it--to having a clean conscience. And we'd made it without any cops catching us!
Until this morning.
On my way to work, I saw the lights in my rear-view mirror and I didn't have to think very long about why I was getting pulled over. It was the red tags.
I felt like my situation belonged in that Alanis Morissette song "Ironic." I mean, I got pulled over for having expired tags the DAY before I was going to fix it.
And THEN: this afternoon I went to get a smog check in preparation for tomorrow morning. I went to a place in Santa Ana called Auto Check. All they do is smog checks, so they're really quick. Turns out they can also renew registration! What a great service! So I ended up getting it all taken care of in 15 minutes. Oh, and the lady there had a nice smile, and offered me a free soda. I just wanted to hug her.
So, no DMV for us....but we will be showing up to court to take care of a ticket I got for something that was months overdue, but would be taken care of just hours later.
Your sins will find you out!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Spring Fever
Spring has hit really hard and fast here in Southern California. The last couple of days, temperatures have been in the 90s, and that's way above average for March. The result?
Every tree is budding. Flowers are blooming, pollen is thick in the air, and the birds are coming. Spring is my favorite season for birding, and Libby and I have been struck with the particular form of Spring Fever that affects Birders.
We're not so bad, really, we went to Santa Barbara the weekend before last, and the only interesting bird we saw was a California Thrasher. This weekend we're not planning on birding, either. But in the last few weeks, we've seen a lot of really fun birds!
Four weekends ago we went to Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary and had two new birds: Fox Sparrow and Lewis Woodpeckers (the woodpeckers were actually at the gate to Black Star Canyon).
The weekend after that, we went to Bonnelli Regional Park and had a more than 50 bird day. Our new species were Painted Redstart and Swamp Sparrow, and the Painted Redstart was really neat. It's a strikingly beautiful little bird, well worth the trip to San Dimas and the entrance fee to the Park. Click on the link to see somebody else's really nice pictures. The Redstart is a Mexican species that extends into New Mexico and Arizona, so it's a pretty rare bird around here.
Last weekend we had a great time birding with Biola's ornithology class. They went to Tucker, so we went back, too, and we had a great day for Sparrows. There were Lincoln's, Fox, and Song all at the same feeders (that was a really helpful lesson for me on striped sparrows) plus white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows, too. The Lincoln's was a new bird for us, but the highlight of the trip was when Rafe Payne saw a Lawrence's Goldfinch across Modjeska Creek from the feeders. We would never have seen that without him, and we were so grateful and really excited by it. The Lawrence's is a bird Libby and I have been wanting to see ever since we started birding. It's also an interesting bird because it's a real wanderer, and so it's hard to go somewhere where it's a sure thing you'll see it.
For me personally, Spring Birding Fever also means that I can't help but wander down to the creek on my way to and from work every day. Last year there were probably 5 or 6 species of migrating warblers that used the trees and bushes down there, plus orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, etc.
Every tree is budding. Flowers are blooming, pollen is thick in the air, and the birds are coming. Spring is my favorite season for birding, and Libby and I have been struck with the particular form of Spring Fever that affects Birders.
We're not so bad, really, we went to Santa Barbara the weekend before last, and the only interesting bird we saw was a California Thrasher. This weekend we're not planning on birding, either. But in the last few weeks, we've seen a lot of really fun birds!
Four weekends ago we went to Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary and had two new birds: Fox Sparrow and Lewis Woodpeckers (the woodpeckers were actually at the gate to Black Star Canyon).
The weekend after that, we went to Bonnelli Regional Park and had a more than 50 bird day. Our new species were Painted Redstart and Swamp Sparrow, and the Painted Redstart was really neat. It's a strikingly beautiful little bird, well worth the trip to San Dimas and the entrance fee to the Park. Click on the link to see somebody else's really nice pictures. The Redstart is a Mexican species that extends into New Mexico and Arizona, so it's a pretty rare bird around here.
Last weekend we had a great time birding with Biola's ornithology class. They went to Tucker, so we went back, too, and we had a great day for Sparrows. There were Lincoln's, Fox, and Song all at the same feeders (that was a really helpful lesson for me on striped sparrows) plus white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows, too. The Lincoln's was a new bird for us, but the highlight of the trip was when Rafe Payne saw a Lawrence's Goldfinch across Modjeska Creek from the feeders. We would never have seen that without him, and we were so grateful and really excited by it. The Lawrence's is a bird Libby and I have been wanting to see ever since we started birding. It's also an interesting bird because it's a real wanderer, and so it's hard to go somewhere where it's a sure thing you'll see it.
For me personally, Spring Birding Fever also means that I can't help but wander down to the creek on my way to and from work every day. Last year there were probably 5 or 6 species of migrating warblers that used the trees and bushes down there, plus orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, etc.
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