Hoppy Bun-O-Ween!

Happy Halloween folks! Here's Disapprove-O-Lantern 2.0 in action. The original turned to mush, and is now a gigantic furry mass in my yard recycling container. Ugh.

Curiomanic Tidbit
I was reading the latest issue of Natural History yesterday, and I found a tasty little tidbit that combines several of my random fact interests: science, etymology, and ancient Rome. Here it is in context:

Population displacements and conflict over shared surface and groundwater resources are bound to exacerbate international turmoil. It is no coincidence that the word "rival" derives from the Latin word for "one living on the opposite bank of a stream from another."
Blue planet blues, by Eleanor J. Sterling, Natural History, November 2007, p. 31.

Good word! I really appreciate that word now. Mmmm, tastes good!

Arachno-Bhangra

Here’s a video a classmate shot so we could practice our Bhangra routine at home. Luckily, I was on the other side of the room for the second half of the routine which I didn’t really know. I actually did better than I thought I did, but it did confirm my suspicion that I look a bit like a spastic spider when I dance.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins

One of my favorite Suess books is The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. I used to read it over and over and over. I loved looking at each new hat and figuring out just how it had gotten more fantastic.

It's really too bad we're not much of a hat wearing society anymore.

That could change, you know, if we put our heads together. Nyuk nyuk.

A gal I know is a modern day milliner selling her hats on etsy. Check them out! The hats would make Bartholomew Cubbins proud, and they won't break the bank. Very reasonable indeed, for one of a kind works of art!

Brady Is An Official Through Hiker!

My little tiny brother Brady made it to the end of the Appalachian Trail! He started in Springfield, GA on April 8, and made it to the top of Mt. Katahdin on October 17. That's 2175 miles folks. On foot.

CONGRATULATIONS BRADY!

Brady's next task is cheering the Red Sox to another World Series Victory.

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam!

Last night Michael and I went to see Monty Python's Spamalot at The Paramount. It was awesome! You can see some clips here. My favorite numbers were He Is Not Dead Yet and The Song That Goes Like This. The best scene among many great scenes was the castle of the Taunting French Guards. Getting to go see shows like this makes me love living in a city, even though I miss Camden.

And speaking of Camden, I was surprised to see a picture of the Camden Opera House pop up on Boing Boing today!

Environmental Blog Action Day

Today is an environmental Blog Action Day. Try to post something related to saving the environment!

Consider the Library Use Value Calculator from the Maine State Library. Think of how using the library is actually an environmental act! Checking out a book instead of buying it is recycling. Using a database from home instead of driving to the library is very energy efficient.

Lazy Fall Cleanup

Bijou helped me with the extra catnip harvest Saturday.
Then I cleaned out the Bewick's Wrens' nesting box.
It was pretty interesting to see the different layers of nesting material. I don't know if you can see it in the pictures, but the dark layers are Bijou's fur, and the white puff and layers are JoJo's fur.

Disapprove-O-Lantern

It's been a long time since I've carved a pumpkin. This year I decided to carve the scariest thing I know: Rabbit Disapproval. It was a beautiful day today, and I sat outside and enjoyed the texture and color of the pumpkin excavation experience.



I took the Disapproving Rabbits logo, and applied it to my pumpkin.
Some artful carving, and I have disapproval.
I'm thinking I could add some LED lights for eyes to add a sinister look. (DRAMATIZATION)

We're Not So Special

We humans like to think we're different from other animals. In 1960, Jane Goodall (my hero!) broke the tool-use barrier by discovering that chimpanzees use and make tools.

Well it's not just us primates anymore! Now it has been proven that crows not only use tools, but make them and keep them! Way to go crows!

Bike Goddess

I'm very proud of myself -- I biked about 17 miles yesterday, and I'm not sore! I usually only bike to the gym and back for a total of about 1.5 miles, but I guess all of my other exercise means I'm in pretty good shape! It's nice to have some bio-feedback reminding me I'm being such a good girl.

I biked up to the Shoreline Library (where I work) to get a flu shot and exchange some books. Then I headed home with a stop by Lowes to pick up a few odds and ends. Eco-friendly errands!

Thanks to Rick the Teen Master, I was able to plan out a fairly level route by using the USA Track and Field website. It's great! You can plot a route, and a cutaway map will show you your elevation change. It's a great way to avoid unnecessary hills. I also have a copy of the King County Bicycling Guidemap, but many of the small bike paths I discovered aren't on it, so I'm pretty disappointed in it.