I was over at the neighborhood pond today doing a few tests, and had a great egret (Ardea alba) spooked by one of the ubiquitous dog-walkers fly over close to my position, then continually stalk closer. I would credit this to my amazing abilities to remain unseen, had I not been far from motionless in plain sight and talking to The Girlfriend on the phone during the egret’s
Category: Random
Who am I kidding?
As Hurricane Ian passed through the area, we fared pretty well overall – we’re far enough inland and, even though it passed closer than all predictions up until less than a day ahead of time, it had lost most of its energy by the time it hit central NC. We heard gusting winds from time to time, but not terribly fierce, and all that dropped in the yard were small branches (and acorns
Curious origins
Back when I was young and impressionable (as opposed to now when I’m old and cynical,) The Six Million Dollar Man debuted, and like many kids of that time, I was hooked. Not only did I make it a point not to miss an episode, my friend and I ripped around doing great feats of strength with items that gave the barest impression of being heavy and/or sturdy (and only occasionally running
Not doing that again
When doing that otter video, it obviously needed some kind of peppy, frivolous, ottery background music, which I don’t think I have available anywhere in my music collection, so I went searching through the royalty-free offerings online. It took about 20 minutes of listening to clips before I located the one that I wanted to use, but then there was an issue: it was only 105
That could be it
Chris Corlew wrote in a recent article on Cracked:
I think all artists could benefit from doing “catch and release” stuff from time to time. Write a poem no one ever hears, sketch a picture no one ever sees, compose a song no one ever sings. Kinda like a Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala. Practice your craft for craft’s sake.
Yeah. That’s what I’m doing. That makes it
Just because, part 49
I was down at the lake the other day doing some tests, which you’ll hear more about eventually, and noticed that there appeared to have been a mass emigration from the waters recently. Along the lake edges, the sand would suddenly hop away at my approach – not all of it, mind you, just certain select and very small portions. I had the long lens affixed and was reluctant to change it
Odd memories, part 26
This is one of those that, I suspect, most of those hearing don’t really believe, but at one time I had proof. Not that that means a lot, since I think it’s vanished now, but a select handful of people got to hear it.
While I was in my late teens I became an uncle for the first time, and before my niece was talking, she was talking. By that I mean, she uttered absolute gibberish,
It’s overcast and rainy, so no showers
Got a glimpse of a star the other night, but other than that, it’s not the time to be trying to view a meteor shower, much less three of them. I’m not sure why I even post about them anymore.
Worse, it’s still hot as hell during the day – the rain comes in the evenings, but even then it doesn’t really cool anything off, the largest part of the reason why there have been
BIAB: You’ve been…
I don’t actually care if you’ve seen either or both of these videos before – they deserve another look if you have, and if you haven’t, I’m pleased to introduce you to them.
Okay, the chances are fairly good that you’d already heard that one I’ve known about it for a few years and I don’t even do the social media horseshit
Topspin
In table tennis (at least,) there’s a common technique where, when you return a volley, you snap the paddle laterally and introduce spin to the ball, which causes it to bounce erratically when it hits the table on your opponent’s side, hopefully causing them to miss the return. Topspin generally means the bounce will be very low and the ball even accelerates usually,