Atlantis Shuttle Launch trip

Our first Painted Bunting!

We've been hoping to see one for years, and today was the day!

I've always had a thing for otters...

Except that I don't like seafood, I think I wouldn't mind being one.

They always seem so fun-loving.

Cape Canaveral

Utopia

Luckenbach

Luckenbach

Won't you come into my parlor?

Not quite my commute, but looks like fun!

I'm Spartacus?

Bearly there

Well, the new year has bearly started, and I'm still not writing stuff. Oh well.

Via Lawdog, this video of voiceovers of animals by BBC chaps.

I laughed until I cried.

Meowy Christmas...

Europe vs. the USA

I've heard that the essential difference between Europeans and Americans is that Americans think a hundred years is a long time, and Europeans think a hundred miles is a long distance.

I can't think of an easy way to demonstrate the time aspect, but this graphic of Europe superimposed over a map of the US sure illustrates the distance part of it.

Grab the red dot to drag the map around.

Time lapse of eclipse

I wish we had had clear skies last night. Getting up at 0130 for nothing was a bit of a downer.

Here's the full eclipse:

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

A GIGGLE with the GOATS Jingle Bells Holiday Performance

Ladybug games...

Lost Maples, Campfire, and Garner

Today's moment of relaxation.

Remind me not to fly this airline in Africa...

Can I keep him, huh?

Epic cat leap.

Not one of ours...

Poor Dad?

Rich Dad!

Celebrate Bandera

A man and his dog...and tie-die.

She scares me

Cloudy misty morning

Nothing original from me

But this guy's work is amazing!

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Astronaut views

Wow. Just wow.

Requiescat in Pace, Cat

From Amy:

Dixie Lily, my grumpy little calico, is gone, two days after her 18th birthday.

I brought her home 2 weeks after her birth, snatching her from the future psychopaths who were torturing her. They were throwing her in the air and trying to hit her little kitty body with rocks before she fell, uncaught on the asphalt street.

Though she lived a long life in comfort, she never forgave the strange two-legged species who gave her her horrible start in life. She complained, right up to the end, whenever we touched her and if her food was late. And there must have been a cat present at her stoning because she hated other cats but loved the attention of the dogs.

This morning, she took her breakfast, same as always - "just the gravy from a packet of food, please. I'll have some dry food later" - then returned to the warmth of the driveway for a nap.

And that's where we found her when we came home. A nice peaceful end to make up for her violent beginning. She is buried next to Cyrano, our sweet black stub-tailed kitty. We miss them both.

Mmmmmm, corn

Doe and little bear.

Kids these days...

Launching a girl...

Headlights...

Pool Party

Tale of the game cam ....

My folks got me a game camera with infrared for my birthday.

I hooked it up, and got some great daytime shots of wildlife.

And some shots of one of our cats.



However, the nighttime shots were coming as either pitch blackness, or pitch blackness with a couple of glowing eyes.



So I took the old unit back to Bass Pro. After a bit of finagling, I walked out with a replacement unit, and put it out last night.

Reeee-sult!



Now we'll see if we really have a mountain lion wandering about.

And one cute porker...

Drinking the bath water ...

Seen at the Fountain...

I feel like a wimp now...

Warning: tear jerker

For all the camouflage people...

Movie stars just get younger and younger. Iron Baby!

Laura and Chad

My brother Bruce walked his oldest daughter down the aisle this weekend in Milwaukee.

Her husband is a very nice man.

The Reedy boys and patriarch took a moment for a photo op.

Myst

Black as night

Sleeping Dogs...

Beauty buried in the sand.

Found on a beach walk near Rockport...

(click to view full size)

Duck!

Gull with a contrail

Missing

Our llamas...

I need me some of these...

From Crankylitprof:

Zombies

I admit it, I get a kick out of reading zombie stories. World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (seriously), and my favorite, Monster Hunter International.

I was recently introduced to a game called Plants vs. Zombies.

It's a gas! Funny, and fun.

Amy and I have it on our iPhones, and we've been tapping away like made whenever we have five minutes to spare.

Don't try it, it's worse than crack:

Oh, the shame. . .

San Antonio drivers tops in Texas for cell phone-related crashes

"SAN ANTONIO - Texas drivers using cells phones are causing thousands of accidents, some of them deadly. The problem is particularly bad here in San Antonio. . . "

"The interchange at IH-10 and Loop 1604 is just one of the places you're most likely to be struck by a driver distracted by their cell phone. "

Great.

That's on our daily commute.

I think we may start a new feature, "Commute of shame," featuring photos of some of the people we see texting, talking, putting on makeup, and generally not paying more than a fraction of attention to their driving, while cruising along at 70+ on IH-10.

Tee Vee

Ever wondered what newspeople did during commercial breaks?

I wonder if this is unique?

From Matt G:

Voting

I love that the voting location nearest me is accessed by a long, bumpy, dirt road.

Keeps the posers out. (grin)

Nathan and Nicole have the cutest little bear!

Brigid

Brigid is a great writer and photographer visiting the homeland. Nice place.

Dodging a bullet

I read Breda just about every day, and this post sends chills down my spine.

Freezing, and pipes.

They don't mix.

At least I had a nice view while I worked.

Drat that iron in the water!

2009 recap

The year in Fail.

Warning: Foul language, some sex, and lots of extreme stupidity.

Catnip.

Amy's new nickname.

Huh. That's weird.

Amy and I were walking down a tiny street in the backwoods of Texas, and found a silver coin in the dirt. We took it home and cleaned it up. Here's what we found:

It's a Suriname Guilder, or 100 cent coin. Suriname is a small country on the northwest corner of South America. 70% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the CIA site.

Now we have one of their dollars. Crap.

Videos of the day

Amy found a couple of video gems this morning. These almost made me split my sides laughing.

First, a little background video for those of you who don't know Jason Mraz. This is "I'm Yours," one of his best known songs:

Now, here is cover of that song done by a young boy on a ukelele:

And just because I found it hilarious, the babbling baby (with translations):

Pearl Harbor

I spent much of my childhood in Hawaii. I thought nothing of climbing around in and on pillboxes set into hillsides. I visited the Arizona memorial, but I didn't really understand what it was about.

I understand now, and remember.

Whatever this cat is on . . .

I want some! (But no cockroach, thank you)