Hi, Cassandra. Hi, Martooni. bc, my thoughts are with you and your elder one.

A # 1 seed?

A # 1 seed?

He is not resigning from Dalai Lama but the official posts of the Tibetan government-in exile in India.

Highly amusing, Captain. But illogical.

I always enjoy seeing wildlife well photographed in its natural habitat. Here in Oklahoma we have those road gators, water lurkers, and cord snakes as well as leather fish.

Thanks for the BPH descriptions. I look forward to the pictures. Y'all are going to force me into baking a pie yet, with all this pie talk.

This may be the finest portfolio of Florida wildlife that I've ever seen.

I'd say the Right's reaction is basically foot-stomping that Obama wouldn't play by the standard mudslinging rulebook.

But whadda I know?

Wow, those Leather Fish look an awful lot like these Leather Bats: http://tinyurl.com/3a8c95

bc,
Good luck with the surgery. Earn lots of Good Dad Points.

Mr. Kurtz's column explains how the conservative pundits have used a lack of context regarding sound bites from Sen. Obam's speech. These folks are using this technique, again, to make their point that Sen. Obama hasn't diatanced himself from Rev. Wright. I respecfully disagree and thought that the speech was important enough to show, in its entirety, to my students.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100587.html/

Hey, yello! Glad to have you back. What was the coolest thing that you did on your voyage?

Amazing that you found the rare Cord Snake. Rat snakes are easy by comparison (they're long, beautiful, and hang around in trees so they're relatively easy to see and very hard to accidentally step on).

That's a beautiful Bismarckia hammock (Bizzies, if you're on good terms with them).

My dear mom seems to have absorbed the right-wing version of Pastor Wright. She's decided that Obama hung out with a horrible bigot and shouldn't be president. An odd outcome for a woman who skipped school a few days before high school graduation with two friends (one black). When they weren't served at a restaurant, they staged an impromptu sit-in and called New York Daily News, which oligingly sent a photographer.

Todays Gene Pool is the best so far. Some of the posts have actually been funny.

All that I could think of when I read this article was our swim coach admonishing us: "Elbows high"! Competitive swimming was the hardest sport I ever engaged in. I remember seing this fellow from SU break a minute in the 100 breaststroke. He seemed to stay beneath the surface forever.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/fashion/20fitness.html

And in the "oops" department...

"A gossipy book by two ex-concierges at Chicago's luxurious Four Seasons Hotel has been pulled after publisher Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Random House, Inc., learned that the authors were legally banned from writing about their experiences. 'Despite previous and repeated inquiries made by Three Rivers Press, we recently learned that Abigail Hart and Nancy Callahan did not disclose that they had signed confidentiality agreements with their former employer, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts,' publicist Katie Wainwright told The Associated Press on Thursday march 20, 2008."

*rolling my eyes*

Joining the chorus of blessings and well wishers for you and your child today, bc. It would be so much easier on parents if we could have the surgeries/shots/treatments for our little ones, but we can't, so we must let them have the hurt. Then, we gather up our son or daughter and bring them home, and do whatever we can for them, mostly just BE THERE because that's what parents do.

I'll be honest enough to say that many a time I've prayed a "deal" with God if only, if only my child/children would be all right when it's all over.

Thanks for noticing I was gone, jack. I kept a daily blog diary, but didn't have much time to boodle:

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/search/label/london

The most impressive place would have to be a tie between Windsor Castle and the British Museum. To paraphrase Steve Martin, they've got a lot of really old cr@p there. Same goes for the British Museum.

The unexpectedly pleasant surprise was a British farce called "The 39 Steps" VERY loosely based on the book and movies of the same name. Side-splittingly hilarious.

Biggest disappointment was not getting into the British Museum Reading Room. They were having a blockbuster exhibit of Chinese terra cotta warriors. Since I saw the original site in Xian last summer (dang I am one jaded world traveler), it wouldn't have been worth £12 to see, even if tickets had been available.

I'm going to start uploading the cream of my 800+ pictures this weekend. At the next BPH I'll bore everyone with a 2 hour slide show of blurry pictures of my thumb.

Joel love the pictures of the Florida wildlife, reminded me of this creature I used to see often in my neighbourhood when I was young.

http://www.1976design.com/blog/archive/2004/09/27/shoes-on-a-wire/

bc!!!

best wishes.

did I miss another BPH? Doh.

I always enjoyed the fact that, when they planted the natural woods'zee areas around Columbia MD, no one suggested to those planting the trees that it would look better if the trees wheren't lined up like soldiers. I guess the company that handled the trees in Columbia can do palms, as well.

While I'm here I must say that I never thought of bc as an actual parent. :) Some of his stuff in the previous boodles has been so funny, I wasn't sure if I wasn't reading Robin Williams.

Quietly sitting here, looking forward to the BPH pictures and hoping to see you all in person(s) some day.

The hammock is nice JA, but the rest just looks likew old tires & boots....maybe I need new glasses. I read the link to the WSJ opinion piece, and decided: well, they're entitled to their own opinion, makes no difference to me.

Wow, this is cool (I knew that Yuengling was the first brewery back in business after the 18th amendment repeal (or so I've been told, but)):

After the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933, Yuengling sent a truckload of "Winner Beer" to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in appreciation, which arrived the day the amendment was repealed - particularly notable since Yuengling beer takes almost three weeks to brew and age.

The day you can drink legally in the U.S. you get sent a truckload of Yuengling. I'm getting thirsty.

bc - good wishes to you and your sweet daughter. Please let us know how she's doing.

I noticed you were gone too, yello. Glad you had a wonderful time.

I had a sort of BPH last night here in Tidewater with several girlfriends (the hubby calls them my "runnin buddies") that I go out with every couple of months for a margarita or two. There is only one other woman in the group who hails from the left side of the political spectrum and she wasn't there (I think she bailed for good reason now). WHEW! Demoralizing, to say the least. Only one of them is really far righty, the rest are sort of center right, but they were all overwhelmingly against Obama. I asked if they had watched his speech and since they hadn't, asked if they really could make a judgment...got nowhere with that. It was ugly. The hubby and I are afraid that he's toast with John Q. Public. Sigh.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I've been depressed all day.

I'm glad the REAL BPH was a happier event!

Martooni - loved the poem. Very sweet.

Breaks one's heart to see so many wild creatures that ought, by rights, be gathered together and sent to a happier place.

Speaking of happier places, Obama's speech certainly took me to one. What I found impressive is not just that it was moving, but that it was also brilliant.

Far from being an example of the empty rhetoric some accuse Obama of, this speech contained the kind of profound analytical thinking sorely missing in so many public pronouncements. Obama, and I must assume these thoughts are mostly his, has revealed himself to be scary smart.

This is the kind of speech that should be studied and discussed by everyone. It represents the best kind of subtle and nuanced thinking. This speech transcends this campaign. Win or lose, Obama has made the world a better place.

bc - hope all goes well. I fully understand that when your own child is involved, there is no such thing as minor surgery.

um, dmd, check out my 12:30

My most humble apologies omni.

Is OK dmd. I hid the url with tinyurl so as not to give any clues. Just goes to show great minds think alike. But I do take a little pride in my superior Google Image Search skilz (heh heh)

There RD goes again, saying what I was thinking, but just can't express as succinctly and eloquently! Dang him.

The Iowa Electronic Markets still lean heavily toward Obama getting the nomination and less heavily toward Obama winning the election. But McCain's catching up, lately.

Joel,
While all these wildlife photos show great promise, don't get carried away tracking some other indigenous species. You do not want to run across the two-headed brown trout.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bama

This may irretrievably doom his campaign!

I understand omni, I just came back from lunch and realized Joel's pictures reminded me of the things I used to see on the telephone lines.

Here is a bizarre animal story that I am sure will see a lot of airplay over the next few days. A truck with some cows overturned on the highway just outside Toronto this morning. Unfortunately one cow was hurt and one had to be shot (not a lot of cow experts in the city).

There is video attached to the story, but fair warning it is difficult seeing the steer so spooked and resisting attempts to corral him, it also ends with the sound of the gunfire in the background.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080320/cattle_highway_080320/20080320/?hub=TorontoHome

Maybe he should change his name to Nobama

Joel, remind me to explain how you can enter the picture HTML code and type in a little ALT text again for the visually impaired. The humor in those pictures are too good.

IMG_1134 (the current alt text)= "gator" does a great impression of an unfurled truck tire along roadside.

IMG_1072 (Wily "gator" not only submerges partially under water, but also manages to look JUST like a truck tire).

IMG_1069 (The wild cord snake looks just like a white birch-pattern cord. Which is sucky camoflague for Florida, actually.).

IMG_1073 (The leather-fish is ideally designed to engulf your foot whole, and then lace up so it can't escape.)

IMG_1073 (the leather-fish's solemate, washed up on a green bank with castoff sock stomaches).

IMG_1078 (Palm trees, lined up in rows, with short-thick trunks and oversized crowns, kind of like 80's rock hairdos.)

'Afternoon, Boodle.

I am sore distressed to learn that at the BPH last night I missed:
(a) mo (hugs! again with the hugging!)
(b) WaistcoatTim (I used to wear vests all the time back in my riverboat gambler days...but that's a story for another day)
(c) raspberry pie.

Not necessarily in that order. Unfortunately I had to leave early as my son the sous chef was cooking dinner for us last night (London broil), which was quite excellent, and there would have been he11 to pay if I'd missed it. Unbeknownst to my wife and me, cooking dinner for us was a two-part deal. We were unaware of the second part, which was that he had decided to invite over six or eight friends for their own dinner party out on the deck, where he cooked chicken, shrimp and hot dogs for them all. If he had only asked permission first. Ah well. Kids. Whaddaya gonna do? 'Mongst the guests were two young ladies: Megan, a blond, and Justine, a Hispanic beauty with dark hair and...um...an appealing mein. I was surprised to learn from my son that he had in fact dated the blonde for a while. I suggested to him that the brunette had a certain...appeal. He grunted. I don't know what that means. We'll see.

BTW, I can report that the bruschetta at McCormick & Schmicks, which has a balsamic glaze, is outa freakin' sight. I could have had six orders. You gotta try it.

I mourn deeply that I missed the raspberry pie; indeed, I am nearly inconsolable. I admit it may not be manly to admit this, but I nearly cried myself to sleep over this. *sniff* The sacrifices we make for our children. The ungrateful b@st@rd.

Obama's speech was directed to adults, which is why Mr. Kristol and the WSJ Editorial Board couldn't comprehend what he was saying.

What was the impact of his speech? I think he ended up impressing Democrats who were (or still are) leaning toward Clinton. Republicans, not so much.

Nearly forgot: Joel, I suspect you may have mis-identified the Florida Cord Snake. To me it looks like it might instead be the dealy Gaboon Bungee, a member of the Windshield Viper family of serpents.

Oh, and I DEMAND BPH PHOTOS! NOW! AT ONCE! PRONTO!

Well, I have nothing witty or cute to add. As a Floridian, I am deeply saddened by the impending demise of the highly endangered Florida Panther, due to loss of their habitat and fragmented habitat. The black bears in our state will soon be gone too. Our wolves out west are being gunned down. You could have used the space you wasted on rubbish, to show real wildlife that are in peril. But then, that would have served a purpose, can't have that!

the kit is hilarious. well done.

kim, i hear you because i grew in a very conservative home (politically and otherwise). i grew up reading the national review and still read it online to find out what they're thinking and saying.

the obama speech was truly thoughtful, honest, and brilliant. it deserves all the credit it has been given and helps him with the media and "the elite," which is very important. it probably does not help him with the white working and middle class demographic in the remaining primaries, and maybe only marginally helps with independents. what that means is anybody's guess, especially since there's a month before the next primary.

I still like Florida despite the abundance of trash.

Pix are good but properly disposing the trash is even better.

Go green. BTW, my newsletter this month is all about how our organization is promoting GREEN through IT advances. Also a tribute to that Irish dude.

Just gimme a sec, CowTown. Gotta tell my boss I'm going home with a visual problem...

I'm visualizing myself editing and posting photos.
(with apologies to bc for stealing his BPH joke)

:-)

Thanks again bc. I just sent off an e-mail to Joel. Hope it doesn't get got up as spam. I used the book title as the subject, so hopefully...

oops, signed my real name and not my handle. JA, that was me sent the e-mail at 3:03 PM.

'Mudge, I'm sorry I didn't get you a slice of pie before you left. But there are more berries in the freezer--another time?

You know, I think of you sometimes when I'm cooking and wonder how you'd improve the dish. Like the other night when I was making my Usin' Up the @#$*& 'Maters pasta sauce. Sauteed red peppers, onions, garlic with sweet Italian sausage with diced tomatoes added at the last instant (canned at this time of year) topped with a bit of Parm.

My house in Florida backed up to a grove of scrub pines. One day a gopher turtle snuck into my yard and drove my dog crazy. I picked up the turtle and took him deep into the woods. On the way back I noticed some slowly decaying girlie magazines. I left the wild stapled beavers where they were.

Omni, got it. Thanks.

Mudge, the Gaboon Bungee is a subspecies (phylogenetics say) of the Cord snake.

I wonder if under Obama's health care proposals Ms. Siskind will be able to get a humour transplant?

This is one of the all time great kits.

Joel, I noticed one serious omission to the wildlife parade . I believe it to be endemic to all of North America, the Platyhelminthes Pera Plasticum

http://tinyurl.com/2jkyjz

dr, good catch, my dog has a mission in life to scare away all the Platyhelinthes Pera Plasticum from our neighbourhood.

dmd, if your neighborhood is like mine, you have a daunting task ahead of you. Those things multiple like...like...plastic bags!

Ohmygosh, I just noticed the comment. Joel, you worked for Horace Greeley? I hope you realized you can't top Mudge on stories of yore.

Kim - thanks for the nice compliment!

Taking off for the in-laws in Lancaster County. Last visit to that house. An era ends. I have been going up there with my growing family for twenty years. The in-laws have lived there for 44 years. How things will work when they move down to Myrtle Beach next month is still, as they say, unclear.

What I do know is that there are a lot of heavy boxes up there waiting for me to move.

Happy Easter to you all.

OK, my take on the Obama speech on race and the reactions to it. It was a heartening, thoughtful discussion on how we got where we are, and why we still have miles to go. Anyone with a reasonably open mind had to have been impressed. The folks on the right (most of them, at least) still think it should have been all about an apology for hanging with his pastor who has indeed spouted some venom. What, the Right thinks everything is OK in race relations? They were the ones who have helped exacerbate the problem, in part beginning with Nixon's "Southern Strategy". They don't talk about those among them who had pastors who were thinly veiled white supremacists.

Reverent Wright is angry, and he has a right to be. I don't condone some of the things he's said, but like Obama I understand why he said them. Rev. Wright (and I) grew up at a time when racism and overt segregation were still very much in the fabric of the country. When my grandfather moved down to Montgomery County, MD in 1960, there was still a country bar just up the road that had a sign for the Colored entrance. African-Americans could buy booze, but they weren't welcome to sit at the bar.

The Civil Rights movement, the affirmative action, the bussing, school desegregation, all rocked the boat for those comfortable with the status quo. The politicians saw the wedge, and helped spilt things apart, realizing that the Great Society was a Democratic Party mantra, and those who didn't buy into it could find a home among the Republicans.

The Right then proceeds to say that there are no real divides, it's just economics and motivation. Those who don't rise up in the world are just shukin' and jiven'. There aren't any barriers to getting ahead but, Oh, don't mind my banker who's still red-lining your neighborhood. And let's make sure to keep taxes low so we don't have any money to spend on better schools and teachers. Oh, and Reverend Wright, you should be happy with where you've gotten to. No cause for you to be angry about the past. Institutional segregation? Nah, never happens.

Senator Obama is trying to help build some of the bridges that the Right has torn down. They can't stand it because it knaws at their bastions. Mr. Obama, give them some more. They need the medicine. We all do.

Thank-you. End of rant.

I recognize those gators... in fact, I have one with a white stripe down its side strung up on the swingset out back. What's particularly interesting about it is that there appear to be markings that resemble the word "GOODYEAR" and "35 psi".

Since we're on the topic of inflatables not of the party sheep variety, I just spent the last hour and a half blowing up a giant multi-colored egg.

I wanted to use explosives, but Mrs. M hid all my blasting caps and I had to resort to lung-power. As a heavy smoker who also breathes in several pounds of fine sawdust every week (not to mention all the fun fumes from lacquer and such), I can say this was most definitely not a fun exercise.

At first I thought I'd be able to inflate it down at the corner gas station, but $5 later, it was only half inflated and I realized that if I went all the way with it, I'd never get it back out of the van. So I took it home to finish the old fashioned way (lung power) and when I'm almost done, my two working brain cells realize that the thing won't fit through the door and I would have to release much of my work to the wind.

Imagine the mailman's surprise as he rounded the corner to find a long-haired leaping gnome sitting on the porch breathing heavily into the nether parts of a giant vinyl egg and swearing profusely.

The things we do for our kids and spouses...

i'm giggling over here 'tooni! good thing i'm in my office alone! now THAT'S love! esp considering you are actually going to put that monstrosity on display in front of your house!

HEY GUYS! another wonderful BPH. our waitress was less than wonderful - i think we managed to completely confuse her... MUDGE! i can't believe i missed you! i was so distraught that i almost couldn't drink my first beer with all the sobbing! ... almost...

Theresa Siskind, I think that you have not really given enough thought to your posting:

(1) Exactly how much detailed wildlife photography do you expect from a reporter on a political beat?

(2) Note the cartoon at the top. You may derive from this, the notion that this blog has an element of humor to it.

(3) Pictures of endangered animals in their native habitat require intrusions on that habitat. This should be as rare as possible and is the territory of knowledgeable professionals, not eager dilletantes (Joel is a smart guy, but not a professional wildlife biologist). For this kind of material, I suggest you pursue Joel's blog posting ('Kit') and article ('paid work') from the past week or so, about Kate Kendall and the grizzly bear population project. It combined politics (John McCain) with wildlife biology. Also, check out Joel's pictures from yesterday, which show a number of animals that you might find more charismatic.

(4) Which do you think is a more compelling illustration of the injuries from pollution and habitat loss: pictures of healthy animals in their native habitat, or pictures of the cr@p that people thoughtlessly strew all about themselves without even a thought to how unpleasant it makes their own environment? Humorless ranting on this subject may satisfy your soul, but at the cost of alienating the people who actually make the mess, thus failing to persuade any relevant person to choose your preferred path. Humorous ranting, on the other hand, persuades polluters to engage with the topic, and thus provides an opportunity to reach the intransigent.

This joke has now been dissected. I pronounce it dead.

Kim-do not despair! Frostdaddy, Ma Frostbitten, Frostsisses #1 & #2, Bro Frostinlaw, and Frostniece #2, are all committed to Obama. You are not the lone exception to Tidewater VA Right Wing Nutitude.

I didn't read contemporaneous coverage of King's "I Have A Dream" speech, since I was two years old at the time, but I'm willing to bet it had plenty of critics-and not all of them bigoted blowhards. Hope someone smarter than I takes a look at that, hmm, JA?

Another weird stingray-related death.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032001993.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Thank you ScienceTim for that humorless dissection. BTW, the 2008 Storytelling day topic is about dreams, which is just odly ironic because this morning I woke up dreaming about Aesop's fable of the lion and the mighty little superhero mouse. I have no clue why. !Ay Caramba!

Frostbitten, you just complimented and challenged Joel in one sentence. Wow.

Dude, you're in for it now, you've been double dog-dared.

I liked that last sentence: "Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites," said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. "They do not attack people."

Already the coverup of the obvious facts has begun. We're being targeted by an transoceanic terrorist force, but THEY want to keep it quiet. Get your tinfoil hats and chest guards out!

I think Theresa Siskind is being premature and overly pessimistic. The Florida Panthers are only four points back from eighth place Philadelphia and there are several games left in the regular season.

I learned an important lesson today. You can be late for a protest demonstration but if you're late for a protest march you get left behind.
Oh well, I've already seen the Chinese Embassy. It was nice to walk into a tavern (Canada's oldest) I haven't been to in 15 years and have my drinks set up before I reached the bar. Too bad I had to change the order to a small beer and send back the scotch but I was driving.

I don't know how to break this to Joel (gently, I suppose), but Firestone has recalled one of those alligators. (And don't anyone try to cook one of them--they taste kinda rubbery, like escargot; contrary to rumor they don't taste like chicken. And don't even get me started on the steel-belted ones, even though they are a good source of iron.)

Which brings me to my next thought: why do they call them "poachers"? More often than not, they are beer-batterers and deep-fryers. Only the Brits would serve a poached alligator.

All right, it's time to run for...my truck. Later, dudes and dudesses. I have to get home in time to wire my brain for the next installment of "Lost." (According to the preview, tonight Evangeline Lilly reveals her long-held secret attraction to overweight 61-year-old curmudgeons.) (Hey, I can dream, can't I? Gimme some slack here.)

Oh, I almost forgot: Note to Maggie O'D: last night I watched that installment of "In Treatment" we were talking about at the BPH. To answer your question, the actor playing Alex's dad was a fairly well known actor named Glynn Turman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0877270/) who has done a lot of good work going all the way back to "Mod Squad" and "White Shadow" and "Paper Chase" days.

In that installment at the end, the father asks Paul if he (the father) "killed" Alex (i.e. was responsible for his death), and Paul says "No, you aren't responsible." But me, I'm not so sure it's all that clear. What do you think? I'm inclined to think that yes, he had a lot to do with it.

Wilbrod, I think that quote in your 5:54 also describes my middle daughter.

Here's a pic from last night's BPH of BC dressed as a Renaissance Florentine monk.

http://orage.mjp.brown.edu/mjp/images/FraBart/Savonarola.jpg

SonofCarl... you CRACK ME UP.

Politally correct reviews and comments are as useless as most of the retroic we get from most of the press!!

Platyhelminthes Pera Plasticum is the main reason I finally switched recently to reusable grocery bags. When we walk to the beach there is a stretch of main road with brush along the edge. This area is carpeted in fast food containers and other litter. I don't understand how people can throw stuff out their car windows without a thought as to where it ends up.

Hello Scotty, still waiting for pictures from last night.

Photographing a well-attired nature does not a political correspondent make. I did get a boot out of 'em, though.

Here's a Florida panther picture--for Theresa. The rest of you have been duly informed:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/images/panther-florida.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/florida-panthers345.html&h=100&w=124&sz=35&tbnid=r1SR1PH5oagJ:&tbnh=100&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DFlorida%2Bpanther&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=2

If you're having flu like symptoms take them seriously please. The MN Dept. of Health is investigating the deaths of two area men. Not mentioned in the press release is that the wife of the older man is in the hospital with similar symptoms.

http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/flu032008.html

After I got all the pie and cookies out of the camera, I was finally able to craft...

http://www.monkeyview.net/id/2480/k_bph/

Thanks again to one and all for a delightful BPH!!

:-)

Great pictures, snuke. I just want to announce again that I will be attending the matinee show of Happy Birthday Wanda June on Saturday. If any other boodlers are attending let me know and I will keep any eye out. Even though I only rate a 65% on the Weingarten facial recognition test.

Mudge

Evidently I've missed an episode. I did not know Alex was dead. I saw the episode with his father, but did not see all of it. I like that show. It is hard for me to keep up with it. I fall asleep every time. And not because it's boring, but because I'm tired.

bc
I hope everything goes well for you and your child. I will keep you and your family in prayer.

The pictures are odd, but good, JA. The trash does look like animals.

Time for bed. It's has been a long day. Still pondering the cleaning up, but perhaps tomorrow will be the day. Good night, boodle. Sweet dreams.

Scotty

Great pictures! Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. And that pie, looks so good.

Welcome back, yello. I, too, noticed you were absent.

All the best to your eldest, bc. Hope it's not too painful.

Those are fine pics, scotty. It was great to meet kbertocci in person instead of just these here electrons and to chat with College Parkian. As always, it was a pleasure to visit with the rest of my imaginary friends.

Raysmom's pie was an excellent and tasty addition to celebrate both pi day and kbert's visit to our fair city. Many thanks to all!

(By the way, I don't think our waitress understands English all that well.)

Enjoyed the pictures S'nuke. Thanks for posting them. I would love to get to a BPH someday. bc, hope all is well.

Well apparently someone(s) snooped into Obama's passport file three times between January and now. And the State Dept. just got around to letting him know today. This could be a rather big story. Is there anyone in government (besides our boodlers) who is at all competent or honest?

Remember who's in charge, Bad Sneakers. It's Mr. "We do not Torture."

Does every American have a few loose screws.

First it was Bush and now its Achenblog.

This is sad. I just hope that it is not a virus that will travel around the world and get ME.

Jim Cole, what are you objecting to?

I do agree most of what Joel linked to was barely worth reading, but that was kind of his point-- not enough people in the media really tackled Obama's speech's content head-on.

Kristoff at least had real testimony from white people who sat in on Wright's sermons on a regular basis. He did his homework on the issue, instead of endlessly parrotting his opinion based on lack of research. He gave further context to the Wright controversy, whether Wright really is as fringe and hateful as portrayed.

I knew Wright wasn't, because I'm not in my own cultural bubble where everybody who doesn't think, talk, or act like me is Anti-American.

This really right-wing guy who will vote McCain or some fringe candidate respects Obama. He explains why he is dismayed by the open malice endorsed as "Republican."

http://www.civilcommotion.com/index.php?p=3900

I didn't think ebnut's comment was politically correct, either (snicker).

How about we honestly respond to things, and forget political correctness?

I don't mean borrowing slogans or sayings from the hatemongers, who indeed have made hate without reason "politically correct."

Oh, you better run if you don't want to catch the humor virus, Robert James.

A quality take on Obama's speech, even if it is a bit elliptic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/opinion/20cohen.html?em&ex=1206158400&en=f37f26e473175c8d&ei=5087%0A

Surveys have shown that four out of five doctors are aware of the Achenblog loose-screw virus; unfortunately for Mr. James, it is not now, nor has it ever been, confined to Mr. Bush and the Achenblog. Philosophers often cite it as "the human condition", and it is often speculated that the virus integrated into the human genome prior to the establishment of the species.

Speaking of humor, loved Joel's comment about the Dalai Lama taking up golf. I can picture him on the 18th green, lining up a putt with his robes rippling in the breeze and possibly screwing up the shot.

Tomorrow is Friday! Oh how I love Fridays and not just cause I can wear jeans to work.

Good evening, all.

My oldest is fine and resting well now. She's sore and still a little groggy from the anesthesia, but doing quite well under the circumstances. She's just like her old man in some ways - when the nurse said not to look at the wound because "it's kind of gross," what's the first thing she does? "It's *interesting,*" she says. That's my girl. Even our own bodies are science experiments (in my case, experiments Gone Very Much Awry).

Thanks to all of you for your good thoughts and best wishes for my daughter today - I *know* they helped.

Love Joel's pics from the Florida Natural Landfill Preserve.

bc
Vintage

I cannot believe that other, more cinematically inclined, boodlers have not already posted this Dalai Lama golf related link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViiB_dE3Lhs

bc, so glad to hear that everything went well for the girl.

Loved the BPH pictures, it's always fun to see other people enjoying themselves.

We made it up the mountain without problem and I'm ready to drop into bed.

G'night all.

Couldn't find a transcript, but here's a synopsis with quotes of the best lines-

In the film 'Caddyshack,' the golf course groundskeeper played by Bill Murray describes how he caddied for the Dalai Lama. An excerpt: 'I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one -- big hitter, the Lama-- long, into a 10,000-foot crevice, right at the base of this glacier. ... So we finish the 18th and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, 'Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.' And he says, 'Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.' So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.'

Quoted from 10 things you might not know about the Dalai Lama at:
http://www.chinatownconnection.com/dalai-lama-interesting-facts.htm

I hit one of those gators on the freeway in my '70 deLuxe Beetle. D@*m gator nearly ripped off the driver's side running board and the jack receptacle.

Sigh of relief for BC's dott, and glad I didn't even know to worry about Slyness and the trip up the mountain.

Toodles boodle. Stay well.

Frosti, last night after a trip to the movie store to get our little one a movie, my husband tossed a movie at me and said "greatest movie ever!", I looked down and read Caddyshack and started laughing.

My husband left the room and I looked closer and saw that something was off in the pictures and then I noticed that the price sticker was covering something a quick inspection revealed it to be the II after Caddyshack.

I pointed this out to my husband and he decided he best course of action would be to offer the movie to the guys he plays hockey with Wednesday nights.

When I inquired on how that went today I found out the the movie was passed around in the locker room - there were no takers but the general consensus that Caddyshack II was the "worst film ever".

Good news, bc. I've had to sign the necessary form in order that the staff would be held harmless in case they accidently sent me off while under the knife. It's a far different matter to do so for your child. I bid you good night and wishes for a peaceful respite from the affairs of the day.

Very sheepish-finally followed Joel's link to the youtube video I just linked. Also sheepish that after saying toodles I am still here. Obviously it really is time for bed. (Really, honestly I do read the kits. Will now go back to slavishly following all links before typing diddly squat.)

I was always bit disappointed in the direction of Mr. Loggins' musical direction after he split with Jim Messina. I never liked the song "I'm Alright", but after seeing Caddyshack, always chuckle at the mental image of the dancing groundhog when I hear that ditty played. Hasn't Jim Messina's daughter made the country charts a couple of times?

Joel's "modest" claims regarding Obama's speech finally pushed me to listen to it in its entirety. He's right; it is the most remarkable speech I have ever heard.

Theresa Siskind,
Achenbach is probably up to something, and since he's been lurking in SW Florida, I wouldn't put it past him to be looking into, if not at, panthers. Conservation of these animals has been fraught with difficulty, and a newly published genetic analysis (check New Scientist) appears to confirm the long-prevailing belief that the population had been severely inbred, down to perhaps six animals at one point. Habitat conservation efforts have not come easily, but there have been some decent deals in recent years.

bc... glad to hear the kiddo made it out okay.

Mine has still never forgiven me for the outpatient eye surgery she had when she was almost 3... but ever since, she doesn't trust me or Mrs. M as far as she can kick us.

The brochure said they would use sharks with lasers, so I figured all would be okay. Whatever they did, her eyes are fine, but the attitude just keeps going downhill and I'm thinking they shorted us on the sharks and used Young Republicans instead.

Young Republicans with PowerPoint(tm) presentations and flag pins on their lapels.

That, or she's almost 6 going on 16.

I'm doomed.

But I will *not* cut my hair.

Even if I get the blues for Christmas.

Note to self - put Caddyshack in netflix queue. I've been meaning to for the longest time. I know it's a failing in me that I have never seen it and I feel really bad about it.

bc - what jack said.

Oh Wilbrod, thank you for your 9:42 link, it really makes me feel better to be reminded that not everyone on the right side of the spectrum marches to the beat.
I read Andrew Sullivan's blog a lot, so I know that not every righty has drunk the kool-aid, but as I've said in the past, living in southern VA makes me afraid that my perspective is skewed.

Loved the BPH pics. Dadgumit (is that how you spell that?) I'm going to find a way to make the 4 hour trip next time. The hope of raspberry pie is a powerful incentive. Not that seeing all of my imaginary friends is not an incentive, but, come on, RASPBERRY PIE!

Mudge - I hope you're not undergoing Evangeline withdrawal...I read Liz Kelly's "Lost" stuff and she hates Evangeline Lilly. She's just plain mean about her. I like the whole Jack-Kate-Sawyer storyline. That's probably a failing in me, too, but there you go. I thought it was a fun episode, maybe Michael isn't all bad.

Good night all.

And speaking of hair, if I were to let mine down and let the wind have at it, Joel's famous fly-away do (or is that doo?) would have some serious competition.

Just sayin'. Not looking for a doo-off or a fly-away kerfuffle or anything.

Kim: gummit. The tidewater accent could lead to verbal and auditory confusion with gummint.

jack - criminy, thanks. I don't want any gummint/gummit confusion down here. Some folks are known to pack heat in public places 'round here.

Scotty, great pictures as always.

I have to mention that the functional and attractive scarf I was wearing was crafted by our own mostlylurking--I was very happy to have it when the wind was blowing in DC this week.

I'm back home in Florida, so, Joel, it's safe for you to return to DC now...

Just found out yesterday, too late to do anything about it, that even though my favorite celebrity (JA) wasn't in town to be stalked by me on my vacation, my second favorite celebrity, Russell Crowe, WAS there--darn it, missed opportunity.

Now I really have to go to sleep.

i enjoyed the bph pictures. glad y'all had fun.

Kim, I can understand that feeling. The Rom Paul voters indicate that there's a pretty widespread sense of protest.

I don't think either party now really captures the values of most voters, but the Republican party even worse than most. I know quite a few who have decided to cross over to Democrat-- not because they want McCain to win-- he's pretty old, you know.

Rather, they are fed up with the hijacking of the Republican party-- lack of financial conservatism unmasked once Clinton left office, and an extreme agenda that has worsened ever since the "Contract on America" days.

The Democrats have always had a coalition between very diverse interests, many on the extreme fringe and that can turn off potential voters, but it certainly beats what has happened with the Republican party, IMO.

They just don't represent the average Republican voter anymore.

Great pictures. I skimmed over JA's so fast at work, especially the "snake", that I didn't realize they were jokes till much, much later tonight. Cassandra's comment made me go back and look at them again.

The BPH pics are wonderful as always. kb, I realized on the last pic of you, that it looked like you were wearing the scarf I made. Awww - now I feel like I was at the BPH too. When dr visited, I had just started it and I wasn't at all sure I was doing it right - so it's got lots of Boodle connections. Very sweet of you to mention it - glad it's come in handy. Good to know you're back home.

Great pictures, Scotty. Looks like everyone had fun. The raspberry pie looks yummy!

CP, you are a splitting image of my Swedish friend! She wore her hair the same way. She could be your long lost twin.

Rev. Wright had a photo op with President Clinton.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080321/pl_nm/usa_politics_clinton_wright_dc

A real high-flier of a preacher, no? It's a shame that the man at the core of the controversy hasn't said much about this at all.

Great pictures, Scotty!

CP, I am verklempt that you chose to lead the Pi Day book with my post. And that everyone won. Good decision!

Morning Boodle and a Happy Good Friday to all!

bc,
Glad all went well.

kb,
Sorry I missed you. We're going to have to intersect some other time and place.

cassandra,
Thanks for noticing.

I'm downloading from my camera the 960 or so pictures I took in London over six days. When you're trying to get the Queen's herald flying over Windsor Castle just so, you have to take a lot of shots. Then I have the monumental task of photoshopping in blue skies into all the pictures. I'm convinced that's how the postcard printers do it.

Then I can move on to my wife's camera. But she didn't even fill up one memory card. Piker.

yellojkt;

There's a Photoshop tool called "magic lasso" that works wonders for transplanting foregrounds and backgrounds and such. Or so I'm told...

*TGIF-and-other-expressions-of-relief Grover waves* :-)

Good morning, friends. I'm so glad everything went well, bc. Tell your daughter hello for me.

Kbert, your'e exactly as I pictured you. I hope you enjoyed yourself. One day, one day.

I'm still comtemplating the cleaning issue. This is dragging out too long. I need to make a decision and get on with it. This is so unlike me. I don't know what the problem is, but I'll have no more or it. To clean or not to clean, that is the question. Let me see, do I want to answer that? Let me think about it.

The g-girl will be here today, so cleaning may go out the window. Schools are closed here for spring break. She's bringing her sister too. We may just hang out at the playground.

Slyness, Mudge, Martooni, Scotty, where are you people? Up, up, up, and good morning to all. *waving*

It is cold here. I hope the plants and flowers don't die. I had to turn the heat on this morning. Have a good day, folks, and enjoy your long weekend, if that is the case.

Is there snow in the mountains, Slyness?

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

*faxin' cassandra a leaf blower to help make the cleaning go a little faster*

:-)

I knew I shouldn't have bothered to read Krauthammer... *SIGH*

I'm up now, Cassandra, we tend to sleep late in the mountains. No snow today, which is fine by me.

I never read Krauthammer, for a reason. Gerson reviews a book I may have to read, however.

Frosti, you don't have to worry about us coming up the mountain. The trip is 106 miles or so, and is on interstate highway for about 2/3's of the way. The road up the mountain, about 6.5 miles, is being widened to 4 lanes, and that's an adventure. It will be just wonderful when it's done. I hope that will occur in this century. The engineering involved in moving mountains is impressive.

scotty

I started to read it, but I said, nah, why make the day bad over a guy that gets paid to be an idiot. You know what I'm saying? I can turn around in this small rural area that I live in and see more stuff that will pull at my heart and make me sad, and for me, has much greater worth, than reading someone blowing air from you know where.

Cassandra, you are funny! Very windy here today, gusts up to 50 mph can be expected. But it's Friday with an Easter brunch at daughter's house to look forward to. We are also charged with talking to other daughter's fiance about the wedding. He's balking at the size of the reception (around 100). "S" will be the one to do the talking as he isn't emotionally invested and we think a guy to guy talk will be more effective. Wish us luck!

Scotty, saw The Hammer's subject matter this morning, so read Jonathan Yardley's re-review on Styron, instead. Styon being a Virginian, and all. In fact, I have one of his books, still. The Hammer is somewhat interesting, along with the other folks on Inside Washington.

Must go to library and pick out a Faulkner, maybe The Sound and The Fury?

Scotty, the pictures help. For a time, I was part of a Tidewater newspaper's forum, fancy name for chat room, back then. We would meet occasionally, and it was fun, I know you all enjoy the camaraderie, (and the pie!).

bc so good to hear all went well.

The birds are singing and the sky is blue, nice start for this week-end.

Morning boodle! Grouchy coffee deprived waves. Up before dawn making and taking mayoral phone calls. Why do people seek higher office? Of course they have more help than a tiny town mayor, but still.

Could Richardson endorsing Obama be a precursor to being Barack's running mate? I hope so. That's been my dream ticket since before Richardson abandoned his on prez campaign.

SCC: own prez campaign

Hi Cassandra,
You will like this column by Michael Gerson on Good Friday:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032003023.html

He mentions Simone Weil, the French mystic and activist. She wrote beautifully and truthfully about many things, including science and faith.

I do not have the sources, but I wrote these two quotes down more than 25 years ago in a class about science and the humanities:

"An atheist may be simply one whose faith and love are focused primarily on the impersonal aspects of God."

"Science does not speak; however, scientists do."

Good Friday to all; I am grateful for so many gifts to me in my life. However, this is a day to think on suffering in the world. So many people, including children -- dear and precious children --, suffer mightily. May we find ways to take our plenty and our ease and be generous in spirit and body toward others.

TGIF, everyone! Spring break beckons on the other side of 3.00 today, and I already have a list-o-stuff that I have to complete during our 5 day respite.

DGB -- your pi-math reverie is perfect to lead off stories about Pi. When TBG has a moment, she will post a link to the Pi booklet so boodlers far and wide may enjoy a round-up of pi-ness. Recipes too, including Vintage Lady's grasshopper pie, which would have been perfect for March 17.

Rainforest, I have been called many things but never Swedish. The idea of a ginger-freckled Swede among the land of tall, lanky, blondish people makes me laugh. A doppleganger for me! I have been told that every 10th Norwegian is reddish, but seldom heard tale of redheaded Swedes.

And for the record, KB and I did not talk knitting so much. Bikes, books, children, and the general bravery of camping solo. We, like Whitman, contain multitudes. We did, however, admire Mostlylurking's deft handiwork. The simple scarf-let worn by KB is mostlylurking's work. Wow. Small world, knitted closer by digital-community.

I make a small prediction:

A certain presidential campaign will have stern words with Mr. Billingsley.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/comics/king_curtis.html?name=Curtis

:-)

Mornin' Boodle. A fine Good Friday/TGIF to all *waves*. Hoping to bail this place early this afternoon. Had to work last Saturday, Monday night and Wednesday night so a little comp time is in order. Thanks for the BPH pics. You guys were DEFINITLY having more fun than I was Wednesday evening. Well, gotta get with it. My junior planner is bailing for greener (i.e., more bucks) pastures as of today, so now we're going to be short staff as well.

Scottynuke, thanks for the photos. Now I'm hungry.

What good fortune to see Patrick Stewart as Macbeth!!!

At the Brooklyn Academy of Music last night,
such monstrous deeds!
Yet, at his finest moment, when the Thane paused
"We shall proceed no further in this business"
and the Lady mocked him for a coward,
the loose screw virus got me, for as he swore
"I dare do all that become a man; who dares do is none"
I whispered, yeah and go where no man has gone before!

*faxin' Raysmom the fax machine so she can fax CowTown a slice o' pie*

:-)

*very very very very jellus grin to DNA Girl*

:-)

SCC :-(

"I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none"

Scotty N!

I had a serious conversation with someone about server co-location and "blast zones"

Have we all lost our marbles?

DM

Gov. Richardson has endorsed Sen. Obama. It'll be interesting to see if this starts to attract more endorsements, and whether dthe Clinton campaign will comment.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/?hpid=topnews

Even more regrets that I couldn't attend the BPH, after seeing the pics.

Scotty, you captured the essence of Raysmom's lovely pies, and even lovelier hands. But you stopped there. The rest of the bodaciously beautiful boodle babes were captured in all of their resplendant glory. Perhaps I've laid it on a little thick, but I'm such a sucker for such outrageously hot women.

Um, I think that the only close-up picture of hands were mine.

I thought it was blackberry pie.

And... sorry to break it to you folks, but Good Friday is more than a month away. April 25, to be exact.

But you just go ahead and practice your strange, Western religion.

:-)

Ivan Dixon has passed on.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-dixon20mar20,0,208233.story

Ivan Dixon = Kinchloe. A great actor and director.

DNA Girl.. I am SO glad you found the boodle and have learned to click "submit."

I assume there were other folks who enjoyed your talents before we did, but I'm happy we're the lucky ones now. Thanks!

Good morning, all.

DNA Girl, it must have been great to see Stewart in Macbeth. Tell me, did he pull the "Picard Maneuver" at any point?

I finally took in the entirety of Obama's speech as well, and I'm pretty sure that it will be considered a landmark in the '08 Presidential campaign, and possibly in American History.

bc

Don;

There was indeed a picture of Raysmom, bc and I, but she and I appear half-asleep, which of course was impossible amid all the hilarity.

DM;

Um, wrong kinda nukes... :-O

:-)

Greetings to you, TBG: my Good Friday is totally interrupted with work-for-money. But, dear Greek-bearing-gifts-in-a-good way, I can observe this a month from now. Thanks!

To DNA Girl, and all the rest of us: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Poetry_Day

Start crankin' out the Rhymes, and watch your meter.

And it looks like Sgt. James 'Kinch' Kinchloe finally managed to escape Stalag 13. RIP Kinch.

SN,

I know, If we get hit by a big one, I am pretty sure that I wouldn't be worrying where my servers were.

I'm pretty sure that I would be hedging my bets and finding a church.

Not to divert anyone from the Boodle, but Dana Milbank's chat this morning is a hoot! The bee's knee's. The cat's pajamas. A stitch.

CP quotes-

"An atheist may be simply one whose faith and love are focused primarily on the impersonal aspects of God."

As an atheist myself, I prefer the following-

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." ‑ 1 Corinthians 13:11

Isn't the Passover is one month away due to the leap year?

SciTim, sorry 'bout the mistaken identity of your hands. I was lead astray by the photo's caption. No offense intended. *My* grubby mitts could never be mistaken for a women's. Even our good friend Pat could tell the difference. Speaking of whom, I haven't seen him 'round the ranch lately.

Pi Day booklet is available!

http://tbgboodler.blogspot.com/

You can download the PDF and either print two-sided (if your printer will do that) or print out the even pages, flip them over in the printer and then print the odds.

Thanks to CP for compiling the entries. Enjoy!

Here's a decent description of Goold's production of Macbeth:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/theater/reviews/15macb.html

FYI, looks like it's going to broadway for a fairly long run:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/115565.html

TBG, you're sweet :-)

bc, Macbeth almost outmaneuvered Picard, constantly donning and doffing jackets and vests (thankfully none were hung with bloody tools)

His hands were tugging
when not stabbing or scrubbing
Bloody stains all over

Nice pictures Scotty. Great commentary.

Good Friday is a holiday here, and sleeping in has lost none of its charm. On to coffee.

Slyness, I love when you say that you've gone up the mountian. It, and your once posted photo of your retreat, makes me think of very good things.

yj, I await your photos. Now I will have proper time to persue them without feeling guilty.

IT'S SNOWING AGAIN IN FLYOVER LAND! Oh, God, why? Why us? What did we do to anger You? We're making our mortgage payments. We haven't contributed to any "bubbles." Our politicians can't afford hookers. Please show us mercy!

Having been reminded a couple times that I might like to tell people about when I have public science-speaking events coming up: on April 20, at 8:00PM, I will be speaking about "A New EPOCh of Extrasolar Planet Exploration" at the University of Maryland Observatory Open House ( http://www.astro.umd.edu/openhouse/ ). A dull title, I know, because I never have been good with titles. But the subject still is cool. I have never actually been to the site, so don't ask me for details. Directions are available from the Observatory web page. It's on Metzerott Road, in College Park, MD.

Actually, I do believe it's Raysmom's hands disassembling the pie, while *Tim's hands are disassembiling the cookie bag.

:-)

s'nuke,

My photoshop skilz are still pretty lam3. I have tried the magic lasso with mixed success. I have been doing some cut and paste type things over at the Dowd Report, mostly putting Hillary's or Obama's head on movie posters. So far my favorite ones are the Saw IV parody:

http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-trap.html

And Madame Strangelove:

http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/03/madame-strangelove.html

I crack myself up each time I see it.

Oh my, a BPH opportunity in my back yard. We could meet at College Perk for tapas and light refreshments, then scoot over to SciTim's presentation.

Shall we?

daiwanian, this may (or may not) help you clarify the date of Passover and why it is a month behind Easter this year:

"If you pay attention to the dates of Easter and Passover from year to year, you will notice that although they usually fall within a week or so of each other, on occasion Passover falls about a month after (Gregorian) Easter. At the present time, this happens in in the 3rd, 11th, and 14th years of the Metonoic Cycle (i.e., when the Golden Number equals 3, 11, or 14). The reason for this discrepancy is the fact that although the Metonic Cycle is very good, it is not perfect (as we've seen in this course). In particular, it is a little off if you use it to predict the length of the tropical year. So, over the centuries the date of the vernal equinox, as predicted by the Metonic Cycle, has been drifting to later and later dates. So, the rule for Passover, which was originally intended to track the vernal equinox, has gotten a few days off. In ancient times this was never a problem since Passover was set by actual observations of the Moon and of the vernal equinox. However, after Hillel II standardized the Hebrew calendar in the 4th century, actual observations of celestial events no longer played a part in the determination of the date of Passover. The Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 brought the Western Church back into conformity with astronomical events, hence the discrepancy.

"Similarly, you will notice that in many years Gregorian Easter (the one marked on all calendars) differs from Julian (Orthodox) Easter, sometimes by a week, sometimes by a month. Again, this is due to the different rules of calculation. A major difference is that Orthodox Easter uses the old Julian calendar for calculation, and the date of the Vernal Equinox is slipping later and later on the Julian calendar relative to the Gregorian calendar (and to astronomical fact). Also, the date of Paschal Full Moon for the Julian calculation is about 4 days later than that for the Gregorian calculation. At present, in 5 out of 19 years in the Metonic Cycle--the years when the Golden Number equals 3, 8, 11, 14 and 19--Orthodox Easter occurs a month after Gregorian Easter. In three of these years, Passover also falls a month after Gregorian Easter (see above)."

from http://quasar.as.utexas.edu/BillInfo/ReligiousCalendars.html

Yeah, it hurts my head, too. Me, I just look it up.

And speaking of head-hurting, here's a WaPo headline now running that could have run on any day in the last half century (or more): "Inflation Hits Poor Hardest." We've known that for I-don't-know-how-long, alas.

'Morning, Cassandra, Scotty (great pix, BTW) and everyone.

Kim, an episode of "Lost" without a certain E.L. is like a day without sunshine, far as I'm concerned. As for Ms. Kelly, her taste in women is like ...well, my taste in men, I guess: highly unreliable. My taste in women, however, is somewhere beyond exquisite and possibly as far as "sublime." After all, I love all you women of the Boodle, don't I?

(What I also mean is, somebody explain Sawyer to me. I just don't get the whole unshaven, ratty-hair grunge bad-boy thing.)

I think that time works for me; might be out of town, though. If so, I'm in.

Speaking of "Lost," did anyone else see that picture of 'Karl' about halfway down in today's Celebritology (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2008/03/lost_dueling_analyses_meet_kev.html) and have a little Burns/Smithers conversation with yourself?

BURNS: "Why, he looks just like that fellow who's always walking and standing -

SMITHERS: "Joel Achenbach, sir?"

BURNS: - yes, Joel Achenbach!"

It's kind of creepy. It makes me glad I don't watch the show.

The song says: "On a clear day, you can see forever..." Well, at least 7 billion light years...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/science/space/21bangw.html

Thanks, Mudge.

The pi day booklet is lovely
so I'm sorry to be nit-picky
But sometimes a period (after DNA) can be
a decimal point and, like a stitch, timely

Perhaps I was too clever by 3.141592653589793...
with my pi recipe
For none were wont to see
DNA(3). A(1) base(4) 'n'(1) sugar(5), phosphate(9) etc...

---------
Original post:

DNA.

A base 'n' sugar, phosphate

do create

sweet and spicy flavored

all-color'd

biology chemistry pie


PS: sorry about the bit o'cheating at the 12th decimal place
---------

PPS: Can you tell I'm taking the day off...

k-guy

Ouch, that 10:50 hurt.

cowtown

You cracked me up. I'm still laughing at your 11:07 comment.

CP

Thanks for the link.

Okay, since DNA Girl has broken the ice on corrections to the great pi day booklet, the formatting of mine was slightly off as well.

DNA Girl: great 9:47

yellojkt: very true on anglo overcast. Look at the bright side - nice even lighting for foreground subjects.

For those of us that believe, Good Friday is a special day. It is time to thank, praise, and honor, the Son of God, Christ Jesus. We should do this every day, but especially on this day because He gave his life for us, and for that sin that does so easily beset us, as the Apostle Paul describes it.

I thank you Lord Jesus for my life, and for dying for me on the Cross. I ask that you would bless my friends here to know you, and that in knowing you, they love you and their fellowman.

Happy Easter everyone.

The g-girl is here, but still sick. I don't have her medication, but I'm going to get it as soon as she wakes up. Her mother forgot it. I've called my grandsons, but did not get an answer. I don't know if they're in school or not. I will try again later. I might see them if they're out of school. If so, there is no need to clean until later.

Don't you just love it when things come together?

The foreground lighting benefit is outweighed by the excessive contrast when taking landscape shots (like castles and cathedrals). There's not enough light on the subject and the relatively bright diffuse light from a mildly overcast day causes the picture to be underexposed. I really need to learn some exposure correction tricks for my camera.

Alas, I can neither confirm nor deny the ownership of the hands, as Web(non)sense is blocking my access to the pictures.

*Belatedly faxing a slice of pie to Cow Town*

And, speaking of hands, I have noticed a few guys on television sporting French manicures. Why do I not find this attractive?

I'm really, really hesitant to ask this, but...what is a French manicure?

(Oh, jeez, I just know I'm gonna pay for this.)

A French manicure is where the tips of the nails are painted white, with the remainder of the nail clear-coated. But perhaps someone who has actually had one cold explain it better ;)

Wilbrodog, you need to write a letter to the editor, or something...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/03/21/dog.blog/index.html

:-)

SCC: could

Here you go Mudge: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1049/548223851_9c7b302ee8.jpg

The dog blog article didn't make one reference to the classic New Yorker "On the internet no one knows you're a dog" cartoon. Amazing.

One blogger I read has a cat with a blog more popular than hers. All the other cat bloggers love to leave comments.

http://psychokitty.blogspot.com/

I'm not a cat person, whether they blog or not.

Psycho kitty
Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Ignorance is bliss, which explains why the rest of you are enjoying yourselves, while I am not. More the pity our species is not endangered.

Hey, CP, we might try to make it for Tim's talk. Is there any decent tapas around College Park? Plase pray tell. Jaleo is great, but can get a bit pricey, and of course it's in Bethesda.

"I'm not an athiest. How can you not believe in something that doesn't exist? That's way too convoluted for me."

======== A. Whitney Brown

Theresa, "ignorance" has nothing to do with it: the rest of us are enjoying ourselves because unrelenting negativity is not enjoyable.

Take comfort in the fact that each of us, at a deeply personal level, is absolutely endangered, and each of us will die, if not sooner, then later. Does that help?

If not, and with all due respect, go put a sock in it.

Hi everyone!

Theresa - just go somewhere else then.

Mudge - it's inexplicable about the bad boy, grungy thing, it is what it is...or something like that. I would say, however, that not just anyone can pull it off. Sawyer definitely does...

CowTown - your 11:07 - funny, funny!

Thanks for the pi day booklet, TBG, it's very nice of you and CP to do all of that work.

Gotta stop boodling...I'm having 12 people over for Easter dinner and my dining room table has about 4000 pictures on it. I am in the middle of the great picture re-organization project and I'm in trouble.
When the pictures started spilling over into the 3rd dresser drawer, I knew I had to do something drastic.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. Happy Easter.

Hey, Theresa's still here! Hi, Theresa! Most of the people who dislike the Boodle seem to throw their insults and leave. Maybe if you keep reading our silliness, it'll amuse you eventually? You're welcome to hang out, but I'm a bit confused by your "ignorance" statement. The Boodle is one of the most well-informed groups I know. And there's no lack of caring for the state of the world, either. A genuine question for you: do you believe that all humor is inappropriate when the world is in bad shape? (Of course, that would mean that all humor is always inappropriate.)

"I'm not an athiest. How can you not believe in something that doesn't exist? That's way too convoluted for me."

Um, not much of a speller, either.

If ignorance is bliss, I must be the happiest person in the world.

New kit. I think

I'm not sure if I mis-read her, bia, but I think Theresa called us all "ignorant." Perhaps I have it wrong, but that was my reading.

Uh...men are getting THAT done to their nails? Like...guys? My very own gender? These are presumably straight guys? And you've seen this on TV, Raysmom? Okayyyyyy........

I'm perfectly willing to take your word about Sawyer, Kim. I've seen it before and still don't get it, and probably never will. But OK. And in the same vein Liz Kelly will just have to accept MY word on it about E.L. (I wonder if Liz is simply unable to separate E.L. from the character she plays?)

Word has passed that we drones in Your Feral Gummint are getting an early out today for Easter, so for those of you who are about to depart for the weekend, bon voyage and have a good one. Me, I gotta put in another two hours or so.

'gidday boodle. CowTown, I'm with you. This winter is NOT a quitter, March 21 or not. It's not snowing today but we are freezing our family jewels off.
Anybodies knows the secret incantations for the precipitation of Spring?

SCC Anybodies? What the heck is that?

You know what I find distinctly unfunny? The sentiment that it is a pity that our species is not endangered. I note that there were 174,000 hits on Google for the search "breed like rats", so you'll have lots of company elsewhere.

oooooeeeeewwww, French manicures look so trashy on women one can only imagine what kind of trailer park outside of Marseilles spawned them in the first place.

That should take care of the trolls who come by to complain of how PC we are, but I really do hate them-the manicures, that is. I'm pretty agnostic on the French and suppose tornadoes need somewhere to go thus trailer parks are at least necessary. French manicures on men, not so much.

Oh, and welcome Theresa. What bia said X 2. If were weren't all so darn serious, thoughtful, and concerned about the state of the world we wouldn't need the boodle. Lighten up and hang out a while.

Theresa, some us choose to believe that the glass is half-full.

Your Observation as to whether Schrodinger's Cat is alive or dead is purely Relative to you (though it matters a great deal to the Cat, obviously).

Me, I'll always be a Friend of Wigner, no matter what.

bc

RANT ALERT * RANT ALERT *

I just read Charles Krauthlamerwhatever's column in today's WaPo. He ends his diatribe with: "Why did you give $22,500 just two years ago to a church run by a man of the past who infects the younger generation with precisely the racial attitudes and animus you say you have come unto us to transcend?"

I've read variations on this in other columns: How could you expose impressionalbe young people to the bad thoughts presented by Rev. Wright? Now they're "infected." How does that work? I remember my fourth grade nun solemnly informing us "impressionable" 10-year-olds that our Protestant (or other non-Catholic) friends could expect no greater reward than Limbo after they died. I knew right then that she was full of ##$%@^, and I didn't need some half-wit right wing pundit to tell me!

So, Obama's sin was in "supporting" the "infection" of impressionable youth! Next thing, they'll be playing POOL!

END RANT

new kit!! Please repost your rant CowTown, I like it.

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