crates | November 9, 2009
I was wondering why people were staring at me at the Mississippi visitor’s center last summer after I had pulled off Interstate 10. I checked my zipper, nope…wiped my nose, nope nothing there, then I realized that I was wearing two pairs of glasses, one low down on my nose and the other right above [...]
crates | October 24, 2009
When I reached the beach on my walk two Sundays ago, I saw a large black body out in the water, then a great fin protruding above the surface. At first I was confused as to what I was seeing, then everything clicked into place, and I realized that I was watching a pod of [...]
crates | October 23, 2009
I was reading the paper today, and when I got to the funny papers (comics), I found an odd thing. I kept seeing the same references to volunteerism and community service in many of the strips. Below is a summary of what I found: Garfield: “Today I volunteered to help clean up the city park.” [...]
crates | July 12, 2009
I am reading The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers for the second time and have been struck again by just how much I like and admire his novels. I have read and re-read his books since discovering them years ago, and they never fail to entertain and enthrall me. Every time that [...]
crates | July 1, 2009
Here’s some birds I saw in Panama. The page and plate numbers refer to the Birds of Panama. Common Name Scientific Name Panama Area (P=Panama City; T=Bocas;B=Boquete Pl.no. Page no. Egret, Great Casmerodius albus P, T 2 69 Egret, Cattle Bubulcus i. ibis P, T 2 71 Heron, Great Blue Ardea h. herodias P, [...]
crates | May 1, 2009
I was talking to a person about the flower, Trillium ovatum, mentioning how it was blooming in the woodlands now, and they mentioned how it occurred in both white and purple colors. I said that it was my impression that the flowers were white when it first bloomed, but that some turned purple after it [...]
crates | April 23, 2009
We are sentient beings. As conscious entities we often look for meaning in what at first appears to be an uncaring universe. This seems to be the way we are, constantly seeking for meaning that relates to our own lives. Religion and philosophy are attempts to render meaning to our lives. People of long ago, [...]
crates | April 21, 2009
I read an article in the paper today which got me thinking. Apparently back in 1999 the federal government enacted a law banning videos that show cruelty to animals. The law was especially designed to limit the sale of tapes of fights between pit bulls and “crush videos” that show women crushing to death small [...]
crates | April 20, 2009
Spring is marching on here. A couple of days ago my feet were slipping on the front steps, and for a brief flash I thought there was frost. Further examination revealed that there was a thin, slippery layer of what appeared to be yellow flour. As I walked to my car I could see a [...]
crates | April 4, 2009
About 12,900 years ago, most of the large megafauna of the New World disappeared. This included the Mammoth, Mastodons, giant ground sloths, saber tooth tigers, camels, horses and many others. This happened very rapidly and has been a source of speculation amongst scientists. Most of the speculation has fallen into one of the following [...]