New barn

To refer to this building as a barn may be a bit generous. We'll work out a proper name for it in time. Until then we'll use the awkward "combine building" name.

The building became necessary when my dad and brother got a combine that was too tall and the header too wide to fit in any of our existing buildings. A plan was hatched to get a new building that would eliminate the old building that houses the wheat trucks and a couple of horse drawn corn wagons and get a new building in it's place that would house everything. But one builder came back with plans for a building that still managed to be too small for the combine. Others came back with prices way too high for Dad's comfort. So, while at the Kansas State Fair, Mom and Dad found someone who sold buildings like you see here. It's a kit that you put together yourself. You and 7 of your closest friends. It has no front or sides, but it fits the combine perfectly. That would be more obvious if the header was attached. 

The windows are highly reflective.

Grammie

A week ago last Friday I got the first call. Grammie was being moved to Hospice care. This didn't involve moving her. Not again. She'd been moved too many times in the last few years to different kinds of care: assisted living, hospital, nursing home, back to assisted living, Alzheimers ward, back to the nursing home, it got to where every time I'd go home I'd have to find out where she was all over again. But this wasn't a move. It was just a different caretaker paying attention. And many people have come back out of hospice care. Still, I shoved a few extra things in the car before going to Yummy's.

The next night I got the second call. She wasn't processing calories. Her kidneys had shut down. No feeding tube or IV would help. They couldn't give her the Parkinson's medication. Rather than try to convince the airlines to give me bereavement rates, if they still offer that, then fly out, get picked up, and all that, I decided it would be just as fast and much easier to just drive. So Sunday morning I got a sleeping bag and took off in the car.

Monday at 9:30 in the morning I got back to the farm. A shower and a shave and then Dad and I went to visit his mother. When I went into her room I didn't recognize which of the elderly women was her. The woman whose bed was where I'd last seen Grammie's had her hair, formerly curly, brushed straight back and her mouth wide open. Her eyes were mostly closed. Her every breath was something she had to insist on taking. I talked to her for a bit. At one point her lower jaw worked up and down rapidly. Perhaps she heard me. Perhaps she was trying to talk. Perhaps it was the Parkinson's or just a twitch.

One grandkid had already come, said her peace, and gone home. Another was coming with his son the next day. A sister; more grandkids coming later still; a daughter shuttling back and forth. Word was out. There was barely a corner you could turn or a face you could see where someone wasn't offering condolences. What do you say? Eventually I figured out what I was feeling was a mixture of regret and relief with the relief taking up more space than one really wants to admit to ones self. "Thank you. It was hardly sudden. We've had plenty of time to say goodbye. There's regret, but also relief that she won't have to fight her own mind and body much longer."

Wednesday morning The Muffin Man was awakened by a cardinal tapping on his bedroom window. This was more remarkable because he was in a basement bedroom with a fence over the fire escape. Still escapable for people, but hard for creatures to get in. He took that for a sign. She was saying goodbye even if her body was still gonna keep running.

That day The Muffin Man and I went to see her again. We stayed longer. We each talked to her about the farm, about work, we talked to each other about work trying to figure out the questions that would help her understand if she could hear us. But we didn't get the jaw movements or even the staring that some others reported.

One of the great grandkids, The Muffin Man's kid, gets the grand tour of the pastures. Look! Cow bones! Railroad spikes! A shotgun shell! The dugout of an old settler's homestead! Not sure how many of those you'll get through airport security.

Thanksgiving was suddenly expanded. From 5 to 15 or more.
"What can I bring?"
"Wine."
"What else?"
"Two wines."
Another turkey was bought. Naturally The Muffin Man was drafted for rolls and desserts. I was already gathering ingredients to make the pie Grammie was best known for (details later this week). The Muffin Man showed me how I screwed it up last year.

At Thanksgiving dinner people started asking questions that others had been asking for days. I didn't realize until we were dropping Grandma off at the assisted living place what that meant. As we left my Mom told some people on the sidewalk that Grammie had passed last night. My Dad had gotten the call between 2:30 and 3 in the morning. They waited until sunrise to pass the news along. I got missed. So had my bother. He found out on Facebook.

Grandma is 6 months younger than Grammie. She's been using Grammie as someone to measure against for years. As Grammie's condition deteriorated in the last year or so Grandma's has, too. We need to help her see she's not Grammie. Otherwise we may be doing this again in 6 months.

We went coffin shopping on Black Friday. Strangely, no door buster discounts.
Flowers, crypts, forms, pallbearers? yes: 6 of them for 15 ft, 3 songs, burial then service, death certificates? 6? 15? more? they arranged it all and gave Dad the bill. Got that much liquid? Yep, thanks. Gotta meet the preacher. Mom? No, the other preacher. She needs Grammie stories. And we need to fill out this slideshow another grandkid made with a few more pictures so they can play it before the service. And there's a video tape that someone digitized to show at the dinner.

The viewing was Friday night. I saw people I hadn't seen in decades.
My bother and I - "Gee, Mrs. Ray hasn't aged a day since we were in grade school."
My uncle - "Gee, Mrs. Ray hasn't aged a day since we were in grade school."
"Hello, Justin's Mom. I haven't seen you since Justin blew up his wrist 17 years ago? How is that healing up, anyway?"
"Hello old shop teacher. Somehow I've gone from being a shop teacher major to making medical books. Please don't tell my old english teachers. They'd have a stroke. All of them."
"Dude, Ibid, when were the glasses in that picture of you ever in style?" "I was 7. I didn't get to make those decisions." "Ah. What's your excuse now?"

Saturday morning it was raining. Third rain of the summer. It stopped long enough to allow us to bury Grammie. I wore her late-husband's shoes. The great grandkids had jewelry and bolo ties he'd made long ago. Six pall bearers is just right. Mom talks. People pray. It's cold. See you at the church.

At the church there's even more people unseen in ages.
"What's this video of? Can we kill the sound? It's nice to see that lady without being reminded how shrill and crabby she was."
"She looks bad." "Yep, for 36 years that I know of."
"She's still cute despite the extra 20 years and grey hair."
"Maybe it's a video of their 50's anniversary."
"Why does that whole branch of the family look like enforcers for one of the less classy mobs?"
"Hey, the last three grandkids! Doing well for arriving at 3 this morning."
"That video was shot in this room. The camera was about 15 ft this way."
"Didn't this room have an air hockey table?"  "Yes, in much the same way you used to have hair."
"I saw you at the service! I didn't recognize you with those sunglasses and huge floppy hat."
"The video is definitely from the 80s. No other era would tolerate those clothes."
"I have a 3 liter bottle of wine." "Then we're coming to your place."

The next morning I got in the car and pointed it east.

Grammie and 7 of her 8 (eventually 9) grandkids.
(left to right: J, Fleischmann, Bother, Cake, Grammie, CA, Woodwinds, Ibid, The Muffin Man)

Back

I left Kansas yesterday morning at about 7:30 am Central Time and got home a bit after 1:30 pm Eastern Time (1 hour ahead). So... 29 hours to get home as opposed to the 25 hours to get to Kansas which shows how much I've aged since I used to do the trip in 21 hours.

Car naps and non-hotel sleep made up for the extra time. Still, I'm going to bed now. Come back tomorrow.

AFK

My 92+ year old grandmother has taken a turn for the worse. So I'm in Kansas to deal with family stuff. I may be here for days or weeks. Expect irregular updates.

Friday Links: November 18

Game: 3 Slices - Make as much red fall away as you can with only 3 cuts. [link]

History of hookworms in The South. [link]

A tree house for adults. [link]

A zoomable, panable copy of the first map to use the name America. [link]

How to get raccoons to feed on your body without getting hurt. [link]

A sunken bridge. [link]

The recovery of Gabriel Gifford's brain. [link]

"To Make Small Beer" - George Washington's beer recipe. [link]

Real turkeys are making a comeback, but they're still damn expensive compared to the big flavorless ones. [link]

Cute little white kiwi has surgery. [link]

Carved axe handle. [link]

Guns from an airplane buried in the muck since WWII still fire. [link]

"The Doors" singing the theme to "Reading Rainbow". [link]

Super hydrophobic spray-on stuff.


Attn: Avengers - Do not do any of this stuff. [link]

The Oomphalapompatronium


Long, long ago, when I was in a university far, far away...
The internet was still a new creation and e-mail a novelty. That's when I saw the beginning of this project. It's Star Wars redone in animated ASCII art. Years later and he's still only up to "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" [link]


Remember when Reagan tried to have ketchup classified as a vegetable so they could cut costs on school lunches? Congress is trying to do the same to keep pizza on the menu. [link]
I understand that Obama is trying to make school lunches healthier. However, having eaten school lunches I remember that pizza was one of the few things served that could be identified as a specific food. Pizza day was the only day that we could look forward to lunch and, to a lesser extent, school. I know that's not why the GOP is trying to block this. They're blocking it because Obama proposed it.

Lessons learned from watching kids play video games. [link]
It cracked me up, but that could just be because I played the games and I've watched neighbor kids play games.

Iran launched a monkey into space. They don't talk about the mission because it failed. The nature of the failure is unknown. [link]

A blog that shows the creativeness of people during the recent Thailand flood. [link]

I've been programming since I was 8. You know, back when BASIC came on absolutely everything. If you want to take it up today you need to be a bit more driven. This kid wanted to learn how to make iPad apps and talks about his quest. [link]

Drug developed to get rid of fat in chimps. [link]
Dr Who fans shouldn't be scared off by the copious use of the word "adipose".

Feed words into this and it builds them into a tree showing how they connect to "philosophy" on Wikipedia. [link]

$30 billion per year is given to people who are already millionaires. [link]

2011 National Geographic photo contest entries. [link]

The woman who does the voice behind many airports and train stations. [link]

NASA needs astronauts. And I need better eyes to apply. [link]

Find the right drink for the right music genre. [link]

In the tl;dr category we have the shredding of a quack anti-vaccine "documentary". I got about 1/3rd of the way through. It's well done, but preaching to the choir. [link]

“If you suddenly think Stephen Colbert is truly right wing, that’s when I would worry.” An article about the study of sarcasm. [link]

Crocheted pots

As you know, Yummy has a guerrilla gardening group here in DC. Winter is kind of a dead time for the group, but we're preparing for next spring. We're crocheting pots to plant things in and hang around the city.

Here's my first three pots.

The first one is the long one in the lower right. I didn't know how to crochet so I took the one stitch Yummy showed me and started trying to make a rectangle that I could bring around into a pocket. But it kept getting narrower and narrower. So I made it into a cone type thing. We could probably grow a carrot in there.

The one in the lower left was the second attempt. Knowing now that I couldn't turn around worth a crap I created a design that just allowed me to go around and around and around. I tried to make the bottom flat and almost succeeded. The first four rows were flat, but then it went a bit pointy toward the middle. If you flip it over it looks like a green fez. I still need to add something to hang it with.

The one on the top took the longest. I made a long chain along the bottom and then started running around that chain. At about 1/3rd and 2/3rds the way along the back I reached through and hooked the front. This divided it into three pockets. When I finished with the pockets I did another row along the top where I'd do two stitches that connect to the pocket and then a chain of three that wasn't and repeated that all the way along. That created a row of holes. Then another row on top just for strength. Finally a really long chain. The idea being that I could put this on a chain link fence by running the chain back and forth through the holes to sew the basket to the fence.

Have more that I'm working on. I'll post them as they finish. And Yummy's baskets, too, as soon as I have good pictures of them.

Sod Off Wednesday: November 16

After the cats kept us up several nights in a row and damaged Yummy's couch we had to tell them to sod off. They're in a no kill shelter demanding to be let out of their pens instead of out of her bathroom.

Movie Review: Immortals

You've probably seen one of the versions of "Clash of the Titans". "Immortals" deals with the same people but in a different story. Theseus, son of Zeus (although that's not expressly said in this movie), stands as the one person capable of leading the people of Greece against the oncoming horde of King Hyperion. More importantly, they have to keep King Hyperion from releasing the Titans from their prison inside Mount Tartarus. Only when the Titans have been released can Zeus and the rest of the gods looking down from Mount Olympus interfere directly.

Part of how much you're going to like this movie will depend on how you think the Greek gods should look. This Zeus played Apollo in "Clash of the Titans" so he's god some kind of god look. But your idea of whether Zeus should look like John Hurt, Liam Neeson, or someone from the cast of a show on the CW¹ will influence how you look at the movie.

What this movie really has going for it is that you get to see the gods fight. Not that crashing of waves that Poseidon does so well. I mean actually getting in and getting bloody. Zeus gets to let out his inner Thor.

And I don't know what else to say about this movie. I'm not planning on getting it on DVD. I'm not telling people they need to go see it. It's a good action movie. And it looks like they may be setting up for a sequel that I'll definitely want to see.

If this is your kind of movie, then you'll enjoy it. How terribly useful.


¹ Sorry, Luke Evans, but you don't yet have a name and face that people can say "OH! HIM!" about.

Book Review: The Time Hoppers

My copy of "The Time Hoppers" was printed in 1967 and looks it. Mostly the dust jacket looks 44 years old. It's brittle and falling apart and probably wasn't ever as strong as modern dust jackets.

The book isn't, as one might judge from the title, about people having adventures in time. It's actually about a bureaucrat in a rather miserable future that has been given the unenviable task of stopping people from fleeing into the past.

The whole of society is broken up into different levels. Not castes. In castes there's no ability to move to a different casts. In this world you can work your way up or get demoted back down. And your level determines what job you have and what living arrangements you suffer through. But there aren't enough jobs to go around. Still, you do get an allowance of food, bathing water, clean air, and a bit of spending money even if you're unemployed. If the government controls all the jobs and who gets the jobs then it's not really your fault if you're not employed. With this in mind, can you blame people for wanting to jump back to a time between the 1970s and 2100s?

Back then a bunch of people showed up and were questioned by authorities. Some gave their proper names and when they came from. Others didn't. But all that was several hundred years ago. Now people have started vanishing. The people at level 1 want it stopped. More precisely, they want the person sending people back stopped so they can take over the time travel equipment. But an investigation into the known jumpers who haven't left yet could cause a paradox that would alter history and removed those currently in power.

Our main character (Quellen) is a level 7 government employee. Not really powerful, but someone with a good job and a position of some responsibility. He no longer has roommates, but his 10 ft x 10 ft apartment isn't exactly the good life. So he's managed to get himself a not at all legal plot of land in Africa as a getaway. His underling knows and has been blackmailing Quellen. And he has the job of finding the time machine and it's operator without disrupting hundreds, if not thousands, of years of history.

It's a fairly short book and an easy read. It's good, but not great. If you're a science fiction reader then I suggest you grab a copy if you see one.

Friday Links: 11/11/11

Jennifer Lopez to produce and possibly star in a "Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego?" live action movie. [link]

From Simon Pegg's Twitter feed: [link]

AOL lives? And somehow has 3.5 million dial-up subscribers. [link]

Creepy film tricks.


Soon those with brown eyes should be able to get laser surgery to get your color changed to blue. [link]

Games: Pursuit of Hat - Rip off your limbs and make them trigger buttons in order that lets you get back to your hat. [link]

Video of a plane making a belly landing. [link]

A brief retelling of the building of the heads on Mt Rushmore. [link]

Pictures of women with drinking problems. [link]

What percent of the population does Congress fall in? [link]

Designed, but not yet sold bee hive for your home. [link]

Strange way for a cat to chase a laser.


Video games: The only art form where you get punished for being bad at it.


CGI is great and popular, but animatronics lives on.


Pictures of a baby reenacting classic movie scenes. [link]

10 food preparation myths. [link]

A bunch of other common misconceptions. [link]

Cat induced kernel panic. [link]

Blah blah blah dialog. I'm more interested in seeing how this guy forms the bamboo. [link]

Interesting cabin designs. [link]

Video: Metachaos - another good title would be "WTF". Or "Some Seriously Freaky Shit". [link]

Video: Explosive Breach of Condit Dam. [link]
note: behind dams there tends to be a lot of sediment settling at the bottom of the resulting lake. Much of what you see is that dirt being washed down stream.

Game: Run, Jesus, Run - you have 10 seconds to complete the game while getting an 8-bit Jesus to do all of the Jesus stuff. [link]

Nifty ring. [link]

The story of an old musical instrument designed to play over the early telephone system. [link]

Nature wants to eat you: pictures and brief descriptions of terrifying creatures. [link]

etc.

The cats mentioned a few days ago are back in Yummy's bathroom. Brain has been neutered. Both cats have been flea dipped and their ears cleaned of mites.
When she took them back she was told that the no-kill shelter wouldn't have space for 6-8 weeks. That's been updated. They can be dropped off Monday.

I just got back inside from doing work on Yummy's backyard. I didn't mean it like that, pervert. No, there's these two trees out back that have vines growing on them. One is English Ivy, which we don't mind. The other is unknown, but it drops seeds all over the yard and we have to keep trying to kill them off so they don't throttle the garden or just look really ugly. I took limb nippers and a saw and removed all the vines for a four inch gap all the way around both trunks. I had to remove them all because the trunks of both vines are identical. I can't separate the two so only the disliked vine dies.

Said during video games:
"John Lennon was wrong. Happiness is the gooey remains of some soldier you just dropped a grenade on." - Me

(M [in 1st grade] is playing Quest for Glory 1)
M: I kept running out of money, so I broke into the old lady's house and stole all her jewelry.
Dad: Good girl. Did you get a good price for your loot?
M: No, I think the fence cheated me.

Sod Off Wednesday: November 9

"Sod off."
"No, you sod off."
"No, you!"
"You!"
"Make me!"
"'K!"

I really need to start dragging my good camera around with me more.

Book Review: Rejiggering the Thingamajig

I recently finished reading "Rejiggering the Thingamajig and other stories" by Eric James Stone. I got it at the Nebula Awards Weekend in DC several months ago and got him to sign it.

One of the stories I'd read before. You can read it here.

Another you can listen to here.

I gotta tell ya, I like the book. There wasn't really a dud in the book. Pretty much all of them are amusing.

"Resonance" could be adapted into a movie without too much effort. There's an X-prize sort of contest to build the first space elevator and get a vessel into space. There's sabotage and attacks by eco-terrorists, lawsuits by eco-lawyers, host nations that have turned hostile, and a matter of days to get around all the problems before the main character goes bankrupt and his company is forced to close.

There's story about a short warrior and a 7 ft "wizard" that would make for a good D&D one shot game. The characters are fun enough that I really want to see more stories with them. The author says that he's got a book with them in it planned.

I recommend getting this book. And if you happen to run into Eric James Stone you'll want to ask him for his business card. There's another story on the back.

Addition: Eric James Stone was here and e-mailed me. WOO!

Left behind kitties

Pinky (rear) and Blue (front)

We spent part of this weekend dealing with some cats that one of Yummy's neighbors had left behind when he moved.

Pinky and Blue are a couple of the most clever house cats you're gonna come across. This last month or two we'd often find them wandering around outside and the back door of the house wide open. Blue had taken to jumping up on the kitchen counter and opening the door. Granted, the door handle was one of those designed for disabled or elderly people to use instead of the more usual door knob style, but it was still more than we tend to expect from our cats. It became a real problem with the cops were called to his house because another neighbor called after seeing the door wide open and nobody home.

The owner of the cats was being forced to move. He ranked among the recently unemployed and couldn't afford his own place. And his new roommates didn't want his cats around. His original plan was to release them. He backpedaled a bit when Yummy shot him a look. He changed his answer to "I'll take them to a shelter." So it was with much annoyance that we went to work in the backyard and found Pinky wandering about cold, hungry, and looking for attention. The jerk left them behind after all!!!

Yummy had almost talked herself into keeping Pinky. Her current cat, Seamus, would be displeased. He already throws fits when Pinky comes up on the roof behind Yummy's apartment and peeks in the window. But just before we went inside Blue showed up. No. No no no. Too many cats. We have to find them homes.

We had to be sure that the neighbor was really gone. His apartment was strange. A hallway split the apartment between the front and back of the house. Meaning he had to leave the part of his apartment with the kitchen and bathroom, go into the hallway, and then go back into the part of the apartment with the bedroom. And there was no furniture anywhere to be seen. However, in the kitchen he did have a nice radiator with a compartment in the middle. Presumably, you put your food in there to keep it warm until the rest of dinner is ready. I'd never seen one of those before. Makes me want radiators in my place.

The cats spent the night in Yummy's bathroom. Food, water, rugs to lay on, relative warmth, and a pissed off Seamus on the other side of the door made for a better situation than house cat fur in November weather, no familiar food source, a missing person, and hostile strays.

Pinky (left) and the Brain (right)

Yummy has rescued enough cats now that she has some idea what needs to be done and what services various shelters provide. Unfortunately, most of the shelters are overbooked. The Humane Society said we'd need an appointment to bring the cats in and that there was a 6 to 8 week wait for space. But when they called we were already driving the cats to BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter) [link].

There were tears while dropping them off. It wasn't helped when the woman admitting them asked Yummy why she couldn't keep them longer. After all, we'd asked that if it seemed that the cats were going to be put down instead of adopted if they'd call and let us take the cats back. Why not take them back now? But eventually we were able to explain that Yummy has a cat that doesn't like company and a couple of birds that drew the rapt attention of the new cats.

The cats were renamed. They're not siblings, but they were kittens together and are very close. They could be housed separately, but it would be preferred if they were housed together. We renamed them Pinky and Brain from the cartoon in the hopes that the name would encourage someone to take them together. We've seen in some other shelters that a good name can make the difference between this cat or that cat being adopted, and sometimes if they get adopted at all. A cat named Trogdor went pretty fast compared to a very similar cat named Boots. The last cat we took to a shelter was all black. Instead of Shadow we called him Lamont Cranston after the civilian name of The Shadow in the old radio shows.

That night Yummy found a note downstairs addressed to the lady on the third floor with the birds. It wanted to know if we'd taken his cats to a shelter for him. Yummy called him. It turns out he had called around and got much the same answers that we were getting. There's no room anywhere, and places that have room are likely to put the cats down if they can't turn them out quickly. Only Yummy's history let her know about some places he didn't know. He had left some food with the people in the apartment below his and asked them to feed the cats. But they grew concerned when the cats weren't coming back. He'd come to get them because he was going to try the shelters closer to where he'd moved to. Virginia somewhere, I think. So if BARCS calls and needs us to take the cats back we'll try again with the extra shelters available between Baltimore and somewhere Virginia.

If you're in the general Maryland area and want a couple of healthy, young cats (less than a year old) give BARCS a call. Pinky is a girl and has been spayed. Blue/Brain is a boy and hadn't been neutered. They're very clever and very curious. They like to inspect everything. Blue/Brain is very affectionate and will get right up in your business. Pinky is friendly, but a bit skittish. Once she gets to know you she's friendly enough and it doesn't take her long to decide she knows you.

Update: 2:00 PM - Yummy has been told she needs to get the cats by 6:00 tonight or they're being put to sleep. If you or someone you know wants one please let us know so we can get them a home quickly.

Update: 7:12 PM - Yummy has the cats at her place. A no-kill place will take them, but it'll be a couple of  weeks. They're pissing her cat off. Tonight they'll go in the bathroom. That's where they'll spend most of the time until they go to the shelter. If you know anyone who might want a cat or two, please get them in touch.

Friday Links: November 4

Doctor Who fan service:
David Tennant and the cast and crew of Doctor Who lipsyncing to "500 Miles" by The Pretenders.


Why movies don't have sonic screwdrivers. (and why the writers took it away from Doctors 5-8)


Pumpkin carving... WITH SCIENCE!


Long ago the world was ruled by huge reptilian mathematicians - the Pythagasaurus.


A voice from the 1%. Short version: dude, why aren't you taxing me MORE? Long version: [link]

Steam powered bike. [link]

The UN estimates that the global population reached 7 billion people Monday. This video talks about that and illustrates how we got there. [link]
The audio NPR report is similar enough that you don't need both the video and the radio version.

Eliza (1966) and Siri (2011) having a chat. [link]

The eulogy given by Steve Jobs' sister. [link]

Pictures of the construction of the Statue of Liberty. [link]

Best Buy has a dilemma. If they win this case it means their customer service is crap. But if they claim their customer service is great they don't have a legal leg to stand on. [link]

Game: Orange Gravity. Manipulate gravity to get the orange to eat the lemons. [link]

Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? Brontoburgers! [link]

Game: Absorption - help the detective through the vaguely Portal-ish maze to escape the evil Dr Badcharacter. [link]

After a veteran got his skull cracked by police at an Occupy Wallstreet gathering a whole bunch more veterans have been showing up. [link]

In related news, the police are trying to figure out how to deal with the 60's style protesters while not coming off as 60's style police. [link]

Game show host falls into a giggle loop. [link]

If you don't know what a giggle loop is you need to watch this.


Mastodon bone indicates that they may have been hunted by people before people were thought to have been in North America. So that story about early Americans crossing the frozen Bering Strait? It seems that anyone who crossed then found people here before them. [link]

Heidi Klum's Halloween costume. [link]

Literary jack-o-lanterns. [link]

The last of the B53 nukes have been dismantled. [link]

Those of you living inside the orbit of the moon may want to duck next week. [link]

Read about Elizabeth Warren, the woman responsible for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how she made too many enemies to be made head of that bureau. [link]

Pediatric medicine poster

I created this poster for consideration to be used to advertise our pediatric medicine book. The art was used in a few other layouts, but was ultimately rejected.
Yes, the word "resuscitation" was made more visible than shown here.

Sod Off Wednesday: November 2

As of yesterday, November 1, we in Washington DC no longer have to give a damn about the "no parking on (insert day) due to street cleaning" anymore. So the parking police can sod off!

Don't eat the "don't eat the bear"