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June 29, 2007
Friday Feathers - Favorites
Here are a few photos I took recently of a Hummingbird perched on an antenna.
Regardless of the sugar water and red plants readily available for ingestion, this particular Hummingbird chose instead to stay where it was. The bird would rarely show up at the feeder or the plants, and the only time I managed to get a shot of it was when it sunned itself up on the roof of the house.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (4)
June 26, 2007
It's time to retire the helpful hat
The city is hot and humid today. It's one of those days when you'd like to stuff what feels like your Pillsbury Dough Boy self into the nearest refrigeration unit. As I walked back from the store, I caught sight of an elderly woman who was walking slowly with a cane, busy talking to the air while crossing a side street. She was headed in the direction of a busy street to the left of her, angling toward oncoming traffic. As I stood at the corner waiting for the traffic light to change, I saw another woman watching also -- I thought perhaps she was with the woman with the cane. As I saw the one woman walk past and stand next to me on the corner, I realized that wasn't the case.
Both of us had our eyes locked onto the woman with the cane as she proceeded to walk right into the street and into the path of oncoming traffic. Whether it was the heat of the day or dementia or disorientation, the woman with the cane was flirting with danger. She shuffled toward us at this point, and we both thought for a second that she was going to stand at the corner; she didn't. She kept on going and passed in front of me, right into the lane where cars were flying past.
With horrific visions rapidly filling my brain I called out and tried to stop her. She stopped, turned around and faced me, and like Tiger Woods swinging a golf club, she hit my arm with her cane and then proceeded to smash it across my kneecaps while screaming obscenities.
To say I was temporarily stunned is putting it mildly.
The woman standing next to me said "Oh my god!" when the woman hit me with her cane. When I stopped asking myself questions such as "Did she just do what I think she did?" and "Who was it that said it's good to be nice and helpful?" I made a mental note of "Damn, I'll never do THAT again." Then I did what any other person would do after trying to save someone from imminent danger and possible death:
I laughed.
As I watched the woman proceed up the busy street while strolling alongside the traffic, my knees suddenly beckoned to me by bellowing out in a sing-songy, guess-who's-awake indication that something was awry in their neck o' the woods. I'll live, and I really hope that the woman with the cane does too.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (5)
June 22, 2007
Friday Feathers
I managed to get some photographs of juvenile American Robin chicks in their nest, which was well hidden in a shrub. This was a first for me, as the nests I've come across in my photographic pursuits have all been empty.
Not long after taking this photograph, I watched as the juveniles were frightened right out of their nest, falling to the ground and scurrying in every direction. Perched up on a nearby tree branch, their parents came swooping down in a ballistic frenzy, literally screaming and flying around in circles and hovering close by in an effort to keep an eye on them. There was nothing I could do but observe as the parents looked after their young and let nature run its course.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (4)
June 20, 2007
Why did the turtle cross the road and other turtle tales
Turtle causes New Jersey highway wreck - WNBC
Mr. Tibbs played drain plug and Where oh where has Bertha gone? - Steve @ Not a Nerd
I was so wrong about turtle porn - cmonks @ Utter Wonder
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (2)
Dusting My Brain: a kind of definition
Look at all the gunk up there. Who needs it? How much cleaner it would be if we took a moment to sweep a little bit, beat the rugs, and consign a bunch of effluvia to the dumpster. Then we could start a new day with a sparkling fresh brain! How great would that be? Let's see ...
Were I to attempt to define the expression I use as my blog's title, Dusting My Brain, this would be it, as written by the always amusing, very funny Fortune Magazine columnist Stanley Bing.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (4)
Oh yes that's me
You're Taiwan!
Despite enormous setbacks, including the fact that most people refuse to
recognize who you are or even that you exist at all, you've built yourself into quite a
productive person. You've got a little trouble maintaining a sense of personal order,
but through the mess, you're still very industrious and have a small but pivotal impact on
almost everyone you know, and even people you don't. You make a whole lot of stuff.
Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid
Posted by me, of course!
June 15, 2007
Friday Feathers
The Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) lives high up in trees, rarely coming to the ground and is often heard before seen.
It has extra long feathers on top of its head (crest), which the bird raises when alert or agitated. Frequently stuffs its nest with a collection of fur, feathers, string and snakeskins.
Posted by me, of course!
June 8, 2007
Friday Feathers - Flubs
Freezing the flight of my feathered friends is something that I really need to practice more often. One day this Northern Mockingbird provided many opportunities to do just that. The mockingbird's wings and tail have a white patch that's visible only when expanded, and it makes photos of this bird a bit more interesting.
Obtaining photos that were 100 percent in-focus and freezing the motion wasn't in the cards the day I shot this bird. As is often the case, I didn't have my tripod with me and was hand-holding the hefty zoom lens. Camera shake was inevitable.
In the set below, the photo on the right is in focus but there was something about it that didn't have me jumping for joy. I think it has something to do with the expansion of one wing and not both.
In this last set, the photo on the left is sharp but did I really want a photo of the back of the bird? Sure it's a good photo in that you get to see the wings and tail spread out, but other than that, I don't know.
In the photo on the right, the bird's face is in focus but everything else is a bit fuzzy. *shrug*
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (7)
June 4, 2007
Note to "Alfred"
Alvast bedankt to you too. See below.
****************************
Squip,
Ik wil je verjaardag niet vergeten.
Kun je voor mij je verjaardag op mijn online kalender invullen? Dan vergeet ik je verjaardag niet.
Klik hier en vul je verjaardag in.
Alvast bedankt,
alfred
Babelfish Translation:
I do not want forget you anniversary. Can you me fill in your anniversary on
my online calendar? Then I do not forget your anniversary. Click here and fills
in you anniversary. In advance thanks, alfred
****************************
I can't respond to this simply because I don't know who you are. The only "Alfred" I know of is Bruce Wayne's (aka Batman) loyal butler. Therefore, as much as I'd like to help you out, I cannot do so until you email me with information as to who you really are. :-)
Posted by me, of course!
It Pays to be a Geek
New York's highest paid state employee is not its governor. NY Governor Eliot Spitzer earns $179,000 a year, while Alain Kaloyeros, VP and Chief Administrative Officer of the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and a Professor of Nanoscience earns $666,995 a year.
Kaloyeros is a colorful figure with a penchant for high-powered sports cars. Several years ago, his stable of vehicles included a Porsche Boxster with a license plate that read "GEEK." - WNBC.com
Posted by me, of course!
Man Eats 59.5 Hot Dogs
Joey Chestnut of San Jose, 23, shattered the record held by Takeru Kobayashi of Japan. Chestnut downed the 59-plus hot dogs and buns during the Southwest Regional Hot Dog Eating Championship at the Arizona Mills Mall in suburban Tempe. Kobayashi's old record of 53.75 hot dogs was set last year at Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Coney Island in New York. Chestnut won a free trip to New York, a year's supply of hot dogs and a $250 gift card to the mall.
I like hot dogs... in fact I LOVE hot dogs, but I don't love them THAT much. In fact, the idea of eating 59 and a half of them makes me want to, you know, barf.
Posted by me, of course!
June 1, 2007
Authors' Corner
Congrats to Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle's Tech Blog on the publication of his first book,
Microsoft Windows Vista: A Quick Reference Guide to Mastering All That is Vista!
Last week I mentioned that Pat aka The Gray Monk not only has a book out [Out of Time] but also has three eStories up on Amazon Shorts.
Pat is currently offering the readers of DMB a FREE copy of his book, Out of Time in exchange for a permalink on your blog. If you're interested, email me and I'll send you the images and code (see how it looks in the sidebar on the left.)
Posted by me, of course!
Friday Feathers
The female Scarlet Tanager is a drab, greenish-yellow bird with olive wings, tail and has dark eyes. The common name "Tanager" comes from a South American Tupi Indian word meaning "any small, brightly colored bird."
The male Scarlet Tanager sheds (molts) its bright red plumage in the Fall, appearing more like the female.
This is a tropical-looking bird that prefers mature woodlands, where it hunts for insects high in the tops of trees. It arrives late in Spring and leaves early in the Fall.
Posted by me, of course!
Ancestry.com's Military Collection
Ancestry.com's U.S. Military Collection offers the opportunity to look up military records for free until June 6.
Search through enlightening historical documents from every major U.S. war from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam, including draft registration cards, veterans' gravesites, soldier pension indexes, enlistment records, muster rolls and much more.
My grandfather was a Navy man and my father was an Army man. I found some interesting information when I dug further into the records. I had no idea my family's name history and origin was North German and Dutch. I was under the impression my family name was 100 percent German; it's the Dutch part that took me by surprise.
Posted by me, of course!