TMNT Rock

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Today when I was hiking with Rachael on Serpent's Trail, I thought I saw what looked like a ninja turtle in the face of one of the cliffs. This could be just because it's the birthday of a friend who used to be crazy about the ninja turtles, but it could also just be because my mind is a little off like that...

Here's what was actually there:

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Here is what I saw:

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Sherwood Park Vacuum Machine

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I want this guy to take a quick detour through my yard.

I live less than a block away... it wouldn't even take 5 minutes.

I'd pay him more for that 5 minute detour than he'll make all morning 

driving that "Harper Turbo Vac" contraption around Sherwood Park.

I'd even give him a beer. Make that a six-pack of beer...

A park vacuum. What a good idea!

The finished product.

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Seagull Flies Off With Video Camera

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If you haven't seen this clip of a seagull making a video of his flight yet, it will make you smile. This is the kind of launch video we have to look forward to once the space shuttle mission is complete.

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Sunday Links June 19th, 2011

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200 Year Old Condoms?  

An article about a pair of condoms from the early 1800's found between the pages of an old accounting book. 

Inspirational Story

I'm not the kind of person who is interested at all in the Miss America competition. That said, I did find this story about how the 2011 Miss Alabama survived a horrific car accident to return to the competion to be an inspiring one.


Whole Foods Parking Lot

Do you have a Whole Foods in your town? When I watch this, it just brings back memories of the one that I frequented in Monterey: Getting Real In the Whole Foods Parking Lot. I'm not saying that it's not corny and cheesy, but I'm corny and cheesy, so I enjoyed it.


Bobcats on the loose!

I like bobcats and have always felt lucky when I spot one in the wild. So naturally I enjoyed this newsclip about a woman who has a family of bobcats living in the front yard. Thanks to my aunt Sandy for posting this clip.


Movie of the Week:

This weekend Rachael and I watched "Which Way Home," about child immigrants who, for many different reasons, try to make their way from South and Central America into the United States. The movie allows the viewers to get to know the children well and to follow their individual journeys. It tells its story well and left me feeling sad for the children who fight against harrowing obstacles and against all odds to find a better life and often, their parents who left them behind when they made the trip to the U.S. themselves.



This American Life - Father's Day Edition:
 

This American Life is one of my favorite programs. This week's Father's Day episode was an especially poignant one. It approaches the subject of fatherhood from many different angles. A program that may inspire a few tears, a few smiles, and some head shaking.


Fukushima is "much worse than you think."

Al Jazeera published this article on the Fukushima disaster. It states that scientists believe that the catastrophe is far worse than governments worldwide are letting on.  A quote from the article:

"According to Gundersen, the exposed reactors and fuel cores are continuing to release microns of caesium, strontium, and plutonium isotopes. These are referred to as 'hot particles'. 'We are discovering hot particles everywhere in Japan, even in Tokyo,' he said. 'Scientists are finding these everywhere. Over the last 90 days these hot particles have continued to fall and are being deposited in high concentrations. A lot of people are picking these up in car engine air filters.' Radioactive air filters from cars in Fukushima prefecture and Tokyo are now common, and Gundersen says his sources are finding radioactive air filters in the greater Seattle area of the US as well."

Scary stuff.

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Good Grand Junction Articles

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There have been a couple of articles in The Daily Sentinel here in Grand Junction over the last week that I have really enjoyed. The first was one in last Sunday's Lifestyle Section entitled "Under the Bleachers: Think you know JUCO? OMG. No!" The article perfectly captures what it's really like to be a teenager at a sporting event. It is well written, extremely humorous, and made us laugh several times as we were reading it.

The second article, in today's paper, described how Lincoln Park in Grand Junction was an extremely popular campground in the 1920's. According to this article by Kathy Jordan, the campgrounds charged 25 cents per car for one night, and had 7000 visitors in 1925. She points out in her article that back in the 1920s, Grand Junction was a full day's drive from Denver and Salt Lake City (the perfect place to spend the night). The camp was also used as a Federal Emergency Relief Family Camp under a program that was instituted during the Depression. A good read if you're interested in the local history of Grand Junction.

Another article that I enjoyed simply because I hadn't yet heard the news was this one about a family of Golden Eagles nesting in the Colorado National Monument, close enough to a trail that they can be seen with binoculars. I'm going to have to go check them out very soon.

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Cats and Dogs

The cats were introduced to Hannah Banana today.

This was Purr-Bot's initial reaction.

Layla's first response.

She watched Hannah like a hawk after that.

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Two and a Half Brain Cells

My friend Scott Russell created this today. It's brilliant.
Sheen, Qaddafi and Gov. Scott Walker- Peas in a pod.


Who said it? Maummar or Charlie?

Humpday Humor

Star Wars Subway Car - Improv Everywhere

http://improveverywhere.com/2010/07/14/star-wars-subway-car/

Steamy!

The rain was so cold and I was pedaling so fast that when I got to work my rain gear was steaming!

Eddie Izzard does Church of England

If you've never seen this bit... it's worth seeing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjcuZ-LiSY

Gecko at the post office

New Hookah

Got a new hookah to replace the one that shattered in the move to Louisiana.
My neighbors are giving me strange looks :-)

Mysterious Bee Disappearances Solved

Talking to my mother today on the phone, we got onto the topic of the disappearance of about a third of the honeybee population in the U.S. and the white-nose syndrome that is plaguing the bats of the New England states. She said: "Well, I know the answer to why the bees have been disappearing... it's simple... alien abductions."

Of Course! Why didn't I think of that sooner?

Pacific Grove Good Old Days Parade

Promoting the Xtra Cycle. More gas efficient than your Prius!

Who knew that Jaws was eco-conscious?
(And apparently more sophisticated on the evolutionary ladder
than previously believed.)

I think I saw this outfit last Friday night at the Mucky Duck...


What a rabble rouser

One of the undisputed stars of the show... a dog riding a skateboard!

Here is a short video of the dog on the skateboard.
My batteries died during the next shot.

Political Science and Purr-Bot

Mike and Purr-Bot learning about how the world works.
(I think Purr-Bot already knows. He's just checking up on us.)

Jessica the Domesticated Hippo

Watch this video and enjoy an endearing clip about Jessica, who is one very unusual hippo.

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=3379

Hail! Hail! Hail!

You don't often stop to think about how far your nose sticks out from under the edge of your bicycle helmet until you're riding to work on a cloudy morning and suddenly you find yourself riding uphill in an unexpected hailstorm. My nose sticks out about half an inch.

Cat's Diet Plan

At least one of my cats, when placed on a reasonable diet, will resort to eating a nearly full canister of fish food.

Picnics! (and harlots)

Today I taught a listening class today all about picnics. We discussed the differences between a picnic in the mountains and a picnic at the ocean using good pictures that I had downloaded from the internet. The students listened to sentences and filled in missing words, then they listened to a passage and tried to take notes and recreate the original article in their own words. It was a fun class.

Now I'll meet with the other instructors to discuss the classes we taught, and then I have to go for my Air Force run on the exercise trail along the ocean. It's a gorgeous day here today. I'm looking forward to getting outside.

I learned something interesting when I was trying to find out if the Arabic word that I discovered yesterday that translates "unchaste woman" could also literally mean harlot, whore, or prostitute (I think you'll agree that in English an unchaste woman isn't necessarily any one of the others - although a spurned lover might call her these things). I learned that the word "harlot", as it was originally used, could describe a man with no fixed occupation. Hmmm... from an Air Force language instructor to a harlot... I can't wait to add that line to my resume'!

Mr. Mc D Rap

A fun video that I just spotted on a friend's blog.

Try this the next time you go to McDonalds!

Mr. Mc D Rap


Oh... and here are a couple of other videos that came up with that one :-)

Mc D Counter-Rap

Mc D's Guitar