Hurray for delays

The launch of the space shuttle Discovery has been delayed from May until July. New launch window is between July 13 and 30. Since I will be in Melbourne Beach the weekend of the 18th ... I might finally get to see it!

*great big geek cheer*

Penguins and Buffalo do not live on the same continent

Unless that continent is the US.

Baltimore residents! You can come out of your houses now. The herd of escaped buffalo has been brought under control. Repeat, the buffalo are under control. Go about your business.




I have a theory that any story becomes funny with the addition of penguins. So far, I'm right. Slide show of penguins going through airport security in Denver.

A Charming Compliment

Over the last few years I've amassed a modest collection of old books on etiquette and charm. One of my favorites is Margery Wilson's The Woman You Want to Be, published in 1942. Apparently it was a hugely popular book at the time (mine is a 14th edition), but it seems to be mostly forgotten today. Google yields very little about it. I picked this one up at a book sale in Ithaca about ten years ago, and was totally charmed by it. Since then I've learned a little bit about Ms. Wilson. She was a silent film actress and director, one of the first women directors in Hollywood. After her career in film, she wrote a number of advice books. The most popular seems to have been TWYWTB. There's a mention in the front of the book of the "Margery Wilson Institute," which I think was a charm school. After I bought this book, I hunted down her other books on Ebay, and I think I've got them all now. Every now and then I reread bits and pieces of TWYWTB, in hopes that maybe I'll internalize some of her advice and become lovely and charming.

So, without further ado, I give you the passage that caught my eye this evening.

A CHARMING COMPLIMENT. The gracious woman never says, "You look lovely in that hat!" -- which gives the hat a lot of credit. With charming tact and greater truth, if the hat is becoming, she says, "That hat looks lovely on you," which implies that the wearer makes the hat effective. From this remark alone you can govern hundreds of expressions in your daily conversation that will add to your pleasing effect on others, who in turn will call you charming. Will it be flattery? I do not think so. Do you know that every human being feels a sense of failure at some point? Thus, no matter what glittering circumstances surround the individual she struggles secretly or openly with a sense of inferiority. When you lift this feeling from her, even temporarily, you help her back to self-approval -- you help her back to full possession of her powers. This is a noble thing to do.

How blissful are your bovines?

The California Supreme Court has declined a lawsuit from an animal rights group over those "happy cow" ads we know and love. PETA says that the California Milk Advisory Board is falsely advertising that California cows are happy.

Happy Cow Lawsuit turned down

"The animal rights group said it may never be known whether cows are happy, but said cows live in deplorable conditions, are repeatedly milked and impregnated before being slaughtered."

The question of whether cows are happy is an important one indeed. Would you rather eat cheerful cheese or drink melancholy milk? I did a little research on google and I think I may have resolved the question for good. This picture speaks for itself.

Knitting pictures moved to new section

Update: I've moved knitting photos to a new area. Use the "Knitting Gallery" link in the right column. The newest addition to the gallery is the Balmoral Thistle dinner cloth. Clicking on the thumbnail below will take you to the gallery.

Whale-Dolphin hybrid gives birth to bouncing baby Wholphin

I've heard of Ligers, Tigons, and Zorses, but who knew there was such a thing as a Wholphin?

The female calf was born December 23 at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, but the announcement was not made until this week. The mother is half bottlenose dolphin, half false killer whale (which is not an Orca). Apparently the calf is already as big as a full size bottlenose dolphin, and she has coloration similar to false killer whales. I want to see!

In other zoological news, Quentin Wheeler, formerly of Cornell (hey, I remember him), has named three new beetle species after George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. The article doesn't say, but I heard the new species are members of the family Freepublicitae. Hmmm, I should contact my friend Mike Engel and see if he'll put me on his (very long) list for naming new hymenoptera species. I think I'd made a good parasitic wasp.

Sakura!




It's spring, and I'm itching to see a good show. Here's the upcoming lineup at the 930 Club. Lots of geezer rock coming up there. And here's what's cooking at the Birchmere. Any recommendations?

It's very late Friday night, and I'm watching the Pope's funeral on Tivo. I recorded it on CNN, which I'm regretting now. The Mass is very moving, and I have to listen to intermittent inane commentary from Christiane Amanpour and some others whose names I didn't catch. Intrusion aside, I don't mind their explanations of the liturgy, especially since their expert on the air is Archbishop Gregory (from Atlanta, I think). There were a few stupid political comments I could have done without. I wish I would have written them down so I could complain properly. Lesson learned. Next time the Pope dies, I will watch it on CSPAN.

Because it's fun to find stuff with your name on it

We spent Saturday afternoon in Florida driving around St Lucie County, looking for interesting signs. Lingering hurricane damage meant we had a lot fewer signs to choose from, but I still found some good ones.

Is there anything more fun than an early spring baseball game? While I was in Florida, we caught the last spring training game for the Washington Nationals at Spacecoast Stadium. They were still trying to get rid of Expos gear in the gift shop for dirt cheap prices, and I would have helped them out with that, but I don't look good in red. So I got a cute new Nationals Spring Training hat. I admit, I'm a baseball idiot. Me: "We have a guy on third." Nicole: "No we don't." Me: "Who's that guy, then?" Nicole: "That's the third base coach." Who knew there were third base coaches? But even a baseball idiot has to admit, there's nothing like sitting in a sunny Florida stadium, just a few feet from third base, smelling the fresh cut grass, watching a guy change the numbers on the score board by hand, and eating a hot dog. Major league games are never like this back home. It could even get a girl to like baseball.

I'm currently on vacation in Melbourne Beach, Florida. I can't come to the blog right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.