Les chats du biologique

Yeah, that’s probably nonsense, but I had to pass this one along. When preparing to shoot the illustrating image for the previous post, I was doing lighting and pose tests. Kaylee (the one in the back) will hold still and can even be convinced to look interested with the right approach – obviously not this one – while Little Girl (the pressure is on to switch her name to “Zoe” read more

Book review: The Selfish Gene

When this book was first published, I was 10 years old, in that directionless, awkward stage between playing Bionic Man and shooting Stormtroopers with my blaster, so if you want to consider this review ill-timed that’s fine with me. There is likely nothing I say here that hasn’t been said before, but that’s probably true of the entire blog anyway. I also need to note that the read more

A whooshing noise high overhead

Following links just now, I began reading a post on what Vanessa Williams discovered about her DNA. The money quote:

My DNA breaks down as follows: I’m 23% from Ghana, 17% from the British Isles, 15% from Cameroon, 12% Finnish, 11% Southern European, 7% Togo, 6% Benin, 5% Senegal and 4% Portuguese.

Now, I can’t wait to go to Ghana and Cameroon and Togo and Senegal — it’s a great opportunity read more

Lessons learned


Almost two weeks ago, I spotted a couple of curious caterpillars on the undersides of some redbud leaves, right alongside the porch. Getting a good view of them required a particular angle, and I slid my legs off the porch into some deep weeds under the tree to crouch underneath my subjects. Soon afterward, I developed a sharp stinging sensation in my calf, similar to a honeybee read more

Okay, wait

After finishing that previous post, I just went out to survey the yard for other subjects and checked on the Argiope. The encased male was missing from the web already, curiously, but while I was looking to see if his carcass had been discarded underneath, found a male conspicuously at the edge of the web again.


Now I’m confused. Another suitor already making his move even read more

Could be worse


I know, even more arthropods, but that’s how it goes.

I’ve been keeping an eye on an Argiope spider in the dog fennel plants, probably a juvenile A. aurantia, sometimes known as a black-and-yellow argiope, or garden spider. These are the ones that grow fairly large, up to 8cm or more in leg spread, that throw orb webs with a white zigzag in the center across tall weeds read more

Not what I envisioned


I had an idea this evening as I was doing a routine check on my resident photo subjects, and returned to pursue it when the moon was the right height, but couldn’t bring the reality close enough to my imagination. The grey spot in the background is a waxing gibbous moon in the sky, rendered into a pentagon by using a macro lens with a five-bladed aperture – this is what read more

But how? Part 10: Uncertainty

Walkabout podcast – But how? Part 10

It’s admittedly been a while since the last ‘But how?‘ post, and the reason is, I’ve been having trouble finding further topics that fit the goal (which is demonstrating how a secular worldview answers more than what religion is often claimed to do.) So read more

Sleep tight

If you’re arachnophobic, this post isn’t for you, unless you’re determined to get over it or just realize that it’s only pics on your monitor. I’ve done my part in warning you and am now absolved of all legal liability and suchlike.

A few weeks back while hunting bugs at night for The Girlfriend’s Younger Sprog (long story,) I caught a flash of reflected light read more

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