tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43977855949446788762024-03-05T20:14:52.410-08:00Dogs Were BarkingMJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-85444571918517680232011-06-25T17:07:00.000-07:002011-07-09T01:57:56.620-07:00The Scourge of The Rodents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Update: My boss totally caught the hawk back on the light: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis85NR4AiIG-bnA6kLcopuN46SxjhEgIX3_tc6U87CUMn7XgNKqrmaJ-mXvhno7OrPAM_j1vDGF9i7CURQAqCPdIqS_RWJeaedklaZUevU7qKQI4qcENPIYycK5qQOIEo21Rp6pHhwzrE/s1600/hawk1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis85NR4AiIG-bnA6kLcopuN46SxjhEgIX3_tc6U87CUMn7XgNKqrmaJ-mXvhno7OrPAM_j1vDGF9i7CURQAqCPdIqS_RWJeaedklaZUevU7qKQI4qcENPIYycK5qQOIEo21Rp6pHhwzrE/s320/hawk1.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-9l9Hi2V0ataBhqQjo8-RvXjUwj4o-szpyLgb8PJSByOzoiTcdlajHXgfMVydR5_fSRoxtmJrup9EYwLEbQEEY2k0HRU2YaT6YgzMUDU8MyTEGvt_fWgQleZCrEyzbosAsSmO4aO6ew/s1600/hawk3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-9l9Hi2V0ataBhqQjo8-RvXjUwj4o-szpyLgb8PJSByOzoiTcdlajHXgfMVydR5_fSRoxtmJrup9EYwLEbQEEY2k0HRU2YaT6YgzMUDU8MyTEGvt_fWgQleZCrEyzbosAsSmO4aO6ew/s320/hawk3.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
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Recently I noticed on the path between the employee parking lot and the main lot a dead field rat. It looked rather gruesomely killed, as it was missing it's head. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdMxNrM5ibj7JaW0X9JpYvK1UORVn4_9_wh_PpGN9-GsSxIps0a551sA_M95gfjO5IWv2zif8-G3NlF-Imtorhr5UWGx5i_I3uICRFGKJSXdfcL34BmjZSTDETDGwxABT0Omqh5BEZSM/s1600/foodsmall1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdMxNrM5ibj7JaW0X9JpYvK1UORVn4_9_wh_PpGN9-GsSxIps0a551sA_M95gfjO5IWv2zif8-G3NlF-Imtorhr5UWGx5i_I3uICRFGKJSXdfcL34BmjZSTDETDGwxABT0Omqh5BEZSM/s320/foodsmall1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">"ICHABOD!!!!"</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Now, I started wondering why there would possibly be a headless rat lying in a parking lot median. A while ago (while catching the bee swarm, actually) I saw a pair of sharp-shinned hawks passing food to each other on top of a lightpost. One of the hawks had successfully caught some rodent and passed it off to its mate, who took it home to the nest in a nearby redwood tree.<br />
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The lightpost was directly above where I now found the headless rat. 'Well,' I thought to myself, 'I guess someone dropped dinner and was nervous about landing to pick it up.' Case closed.<br />
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Today I noticed the gruesome scene had been added to. There were two more bodies that <i>definitely had</i> <i>not</i> been there this morning.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO-CqfNVGDJGodP4nau4MSV9UL4Zt8P1wEHT62AuyDT7l05aTrzBv5U4k_9Rq0df6IlbgjawKQvx759WVBmzbWW1-ayn4aLWTCnqbk9kBwDc9X4s6AtCox2vwKNLGEK_IXqXxEr5prz0/s1600/foodsmall2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO-CqfNVGDJGodP4nau4MSV9UL4Zt8P1wEHT62AuyDT7l05aTrzBv5U4k_9Rq0df6IlbgjawKQvx759WVBmzbWW1-ayn4aLWTCnqbk9kBwDc9X4s6AtCox2vwKNLGEK_IXqXxEr5prz0/s400/foodsmall2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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The first squirrel had at least almost been finished, but the other one, again, was just missing a head. I started to suspect a cult. Maybe some weird hawk cult involving the ritual sacrifice of small rodents.<br />
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'Man,' I thought, 'these hawks really suck at passing food between them.' When I had seen them do it before it looked like a pretty slick operation. Now I was starting to wonder about them. I looked up at the light, trying to imagine the scene... and suddenly I saw a little head poking out looking at me!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWHFOlKNR4R96WvZLls3lBalaksc8_GBDzObyC8EM6dJzSYucMO5zgvWx-TvYKPXyV04P23bHyIR9Z1xhwBAcXhekoOXbhC458LoH5uDVeVEgAnuXLlBZmqYuLefkAQQX5I9J_nRBmA/s1600/annoyed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vWHFOlKNR4R96WvZLls3lBalaksc8_GBDzObyC8EM6dJzSYucMO5zgvWx-TvYKPXyV04P23bHyIR9Z1xhwBAcXhekoOXbhC458LoH5uDVeVEgAnuXLlBZmqYuLefkAQQX5I9J_nRBmA/s640/annoyed.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
A very curious, annoyed juvenile hawk was camped out on top of the light sneaking a peek at me! Aha! Someone is a sloppy eater and dropped his last meal before finishing.<br />
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I was sure it was a juvenile because it was all just sort of a dirty mottled brown, no distinctive markings of an adult. He paced back and forth a bit, like he wanted to come down and get his squirrel but was too scared.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCpD4tgKj-zG7SIufIxS_Jt-IpN_r4B_C6gseJtkAy6bJjcIgfZ9VcHHBdrtSaom_Tr-zq5Q7eRyM0w9_8yRYsjLMdfm6ZycqDc93hGATc8tyzQ7P6shsiReRe2lPjj4C_WSQYGHfH8c/s1600/annoyed2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCpD4tgKj-zG7SIufIxS_Jt-IpN_r4B_C6gseJtkAy6bJjcIgfZ9VcHHBdrtSaom_Tr-zq5Q7eRyM0w9_8yRYsjLMdfm6ZycqDc93hGATc8tyzQ7P6shsiReRe2lPjj4C_WSQYGHfH8c/s400/annoyed2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I think after watching his parents land on the light so often he was curious and flew to it, and decided he liked hanging out there. Unfortunately, his sloppy eating habits are kind of freaking out my fellow employees.MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-3539422422496640822011-04-10T17:26:00.000-07:002011-04-10T17:26:08.518-07:00Artichoke Bug UpdateMore arthropodic assistance to give us a bumper crop of artichokes this year.<br />
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First, a wasp going to town on aphids. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhbMyAy3bWZx-cuvyiKwZK9qGbObsguMWUK5AwsijIl0IWA_tt-5R9CJyo-XXPuyuEQzIlSEGyZu2yNMZdvN1ZJlkmhLmRmwMOAG0OWXcIufGKSkdzfSGsaTlIQxNsK8u5BMmBoxHgaE/s1600/waspgood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhbMyAy3bWZx-cuvyiKwZK9qGbObsguMWUK5AwsijIl0IWA_tt-5R9CJyo-XXPuyuEQzIlSEGyZu2yNMZdvN1ZJlkmhLmRmwMOAG0OWXcIufGKSkdzfSGsaTlIQxNsK8u5BMmBoxHgaE/s640/waspgood.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><br />
And second, a beautiful jumping spider sitting in wait on the stalk. She is huge! About an inch or so.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrHYm1cVPp0Xr5iEYyoUjOFvEFMfdpXbvUTKnWcabC6kMyoxOsbNCPGvme314rLjFOlq2DIyKKywaPHp3jZk19BSm3DzrVuCNnmnLRijEwJ1axtovWUvXnUuCUZMrtFNG0CWpx1EJ6LU/s1600/spiderclose.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrHYm1cVPp0Xr5iEYyoUjOFvEFMfdpXbvUTKnWcabC6kMyoxOsbNCPGvme314rLjFOlq2DIyKKywaPHp3jZk19BSm3DzrVuCNnmnLRijEwJ1axtovWUvXnUuCUZMrtFNG0CWpx1EJ6LU/s400/spiderclose.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Astute observers will notice I flipped the picture. The spider is easier to recognize this way but I'll note she usually sits facing the ground.<br />
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<div style="color: #073763; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you, bugs!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">yes, I know, spiders aren't bugs. I know wasps aren't even bugs in the hemiptera sense. I don't care.</span> </span></div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-39303199324225187302011-04-10T17:11:00.000-07:002011-04-10T17:11:33.514-07:00You Know It's TimeI procrastinate my fair share, sure. And I leave my truck messy on occasion. I was walking to my truck from work today and happened to glance at a truck parked near mine.<br />
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Here is how you know for sure that it has been way too long since you cleaned out the bed of your pickup:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHr39UQX7ouZB0oF1VaXs_H9qov0n281bVqnmldvGhujfsCS9hEuNiEox-X99mbBITowf0x_-Xo_Sfi74Lcqk8f2RCxjkBMJa4IIdf1R2Q-Uhr-gx5ph6KfQG6nvIHbBtoAVtmdUvuMqk/s1600/Truckweed+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHr39UQX7ouZB0oF1VaXs_H9qov0n281bVqnmldvGhujfsCS9hEuNiEox-X99mbBITowf0x_-Xo_Sfi74Lcqk8f2RCxjkBMJa4IIdf1R2Q-Uhr-gx5ph6KfQG6nvIHbBtoAVtmdUvuMqk/s400/Truckweed+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
At first I thought that someone had thrown a plant in there. But no, that's a big-ass weed growing in the busted up bags of soil in the bed of that truck. Those bags have been like that so long that a dandelion seed blew in there and sprouted! And is now huge!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_6xSYGrcvvyDW1yojiry2lLd5OkJKeXKxnDXkQKO-BRqBp4fnQpMPIAM3nGoVW2TJZ1lyNFHocpBP8r8L6xJSgiPyrHdO26ADwl9LDi0X1YsikokdD-6m_MRakMZEJB2lvtLkjri884/s1600/Truckweed+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_6xSYGrcvvyDW1yojiry2lLd5OkJKeXKxnDXkQKO-BRqBp4fnQpMPIAM3nGoVW2TJZ1lyNFHocpBP8r8L6xJSgiPyrHdO26ADwl9LDi0X1YsikokdD-6m_MRakMZEJB2lvtLkjri884/s400/Truckweed+002.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Time to clean, man.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Hope he doesn't get busted for having a bag of weed in his truck.</div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-16287791300945938612011-04-03T16:52:00.000-07:002011-04-03T16:52:05.146-07:00It's Like Nothing's ChangedI saw that recently <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/04/03/2011-04-03_muslims_burn_effigy_of_obama_in_afghanistan.html">some whack-job burned a copy of the Quran. Then some other whack-job (who also happens to be the president of Afghanistan) got his people all pissed off about it.</a> Unable to travel to Florida and kill the book-burner, the angry mob turned on some local UN officials, and killed them instead. 24 people, to be precise. Who had nothing to do with any of it. Because, damn it, someone's gettin' killed! <br />
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Of course, this makes me think of one thing, and one thing only!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/MIaORknS1Dk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-60878311811809707962011-03-30T20:21:00.000-07:002011-03-30T20:21:19.888-07:00More wildlife of the buggy kindAnts have been putting their livestock out to pasture on our artichokes. Every artichoke I cut off is full of aphids and ants. Can't something be done? Won't someone save us?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGWPvTQtvnl2aG-vYSKSUzvHfWHOsJ3vEKU0sU18DuuwDffN61Rslg049AFuOTZPyDA3YO2W35C-vAJ5dItRHO13u1FHM5nbKxBKTTfwlMAKVpfp7PJxi08QenP6u96OfLhlKuRMPy24/s1600/bandit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGWPvTQtvnl2aG-vYSKSUzvHfWHOsJ3vEKU0sU18DuuwDffN61Rslg049AFuOTZPyDA3YO2W35C-vAJ5dItRHO13u1FHM5nbKxBKTTfwlMAKVpfp7PJxi08QenP6u96OfLhlKuRMPy24/s1600/bandit.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enter The Beetles</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBksaWS4Rf4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Just when you thought it would never be safe to enjoy the delicious artichokes again, along come a pair of beetles devouring every aphid in their path. Thanks, amigos.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_1508686188"></span><span id="goog_1508686189"></span></div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-78226605274672843222011-03-23T12:46:00.000-07:002011-03-30T20:23:53.261-07:00Mushrooms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We used to have a walnut tree out front, that died pretty much when we moved here. It only produced a little bit, and then passed away. It was cut down, leaving only a little micro-stump in the front lawn. After it died it's roots are being eagerly devoured by a mycelium, which fruited like mad with the late spring rain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8_51cvyA37F2CzWYddvu6cgstSVRr3L6ZCXDl5aj1cTV2wqa6GtPIwKxIuih_NfHlQVbxduXQZrxa7gxz3RF-J-vovCrQedqhhxzBejEiF6PwG8kx-gb36aYSAKWuWnTfmd46-KhsBg/s1600/IMG_1216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8_51cvyA37F2CzWYddvu6cgstSVRr3L6ZCXDl5aj1cTV2wqa6GtPIwKxIuih_NfHlQVbxduXQZrxa7gxz3RF-J-vovCrQedqhhxzBejEiF6PwG8kx-gb36aYSAKWuWnTfmd46-KhsBg/s400/IMG_1216.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You can see the poor stump, and tell where the roots were by the lines of mushrooms. I had lines of mushrooms running through the backyard, too. I actually dug until I found old roots there, and deduced that before I moved in there was a similar tree cut down in the backyard.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteYpoX_LokkCxVelCZDCxEm8zHpPZcVGbTsUSw0Q3ZyZFoliE3WPl_QA0msNdduC2SEHGa1AopapImCwoVJONCwuTq9McRjwSyhjDFlLCd0oe5EqE0nn_Y9MIljgNKuWpjw326mJqnFs/s1600/IMG_1218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteYpoX_LokkCxVelCZDCxEm8zHpPZcVGbTsUSw0Q3ZyZFoliE3WPl_QA0msNdduC2SEHGa1AopapImCwoVJONCwuTq9McRjwSyhjDFlLCd0oe5EqE0nn_Y9MIljgNKuWpjw326mJqnFs/s320/IMG_1218.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
On a hike in the Muir Woods during the rainy season we had some good luck with the mushrooms.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgzzECwm6ZEIX_kfS7G3ehuxId_8h8PdN5IiTgkwPziYsgjLW3i_bL4YcGltjQwy5eLXtM9k69mnAQzPsFNiaxTNu-p8pBywkbcMdtjxOTWW7GJwmL42dDPgS9rQ981X8hnqTOklzugc/s1600/IMG_2742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgzzECwm6ZEIX_kfS7G3ehuxId_8h8PdN5IiTgkwPziYsgjLW3i_bL4YcGltjQwy5eLXtM9k69mnAQzPsFNiaxTNu-p8pBywkbcMdtjxOTWW7GJwmL42dDPgS9rQ981X8hnqTOklzugc/s320/IMG_2742.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I love the colors on this one. Maybe a hygrocybe.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLO0M_eCkF-ALqp8QzxWp8e2isTrC6u7hIqABSUC9bQFEWsYf08qjUEmwaow5X3HA8Ku0244UWzTwxnLvWlQo77yarNKfhSauVqS7Vj-xm281JVLrZdERLplCxxK1410wgTRloze0aOTg/s1600/IMG_2743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLO0M_eCkF-ALqp8QzxWp8e2isTrC6u7hIqABSUC9bQFEWsYf08qjUEmwaow5X3HA8Ku0244UWzTwxnLvWlQo77yarNKfhSauVqS7Vj-xm281JVLrZdERLplCxxK1410wgTRloze0aOTg/s320/IMG_2743.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Some kind of coral fungus<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_Nj0BBYgxljNfHSHSKsWlnIYn-UAaHBKrOSiLsqFGloXrJl-J8v88LdYVUl7djzX3SRvD6PUeZAhjJl0NeXUZ6gN7v-9-egAt6vmIOO5sVdXVSOwopxZmpo1GU-U-SQPFl3r8OIm9fs/s1600/IMG_2744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_Nj0BBYgxljNfHSHSKsWlnIYn-UAaHBKrOSiLsqFGloXrJl-J8v88LdYVUl7djzX3SRvD6PUeZAhjJl0NeXUZ6gN7v-9-egAt6vmIOO5sVdXVSOwopxZmpo1GU-U-SQPFl3r8OIm9fs/s320/IMG_2744.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> An amanita. I think amanita aspera<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtZjI8BR-KJlHyCKhHE2BwmY1HHOcSdWrn7YvV4FrR9Q_8Aiifgg9ZgxiyG2tWi6mfWksC2xxoitvnrq3ztkovZkdzphW3r_0TfoO6i6rIww3WgBDikYxuFMgi_N14PK7DnxNOYop7bM/s1600/IMG_2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtZjI8BR-KJlHyCKhHE2BwmY1HHOcSdWrn7YvV4FrR9Q_8Aiifgg9ZgxiyG2tWi6mfWksC2xxoitvnrq3ztkovZkdzphW3r_0TfoO6i6rIww3WgBDikYxuFMgi_N14PK7DnxNOYop7bM/s320/IMG_2756.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Another great coral fungus<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2m0Pow4QccaYcdVumcJPOe1jpvboeO5T7pYVhonrRlbHL3us1EG6exz2VxvCT211dfCqRUiRM82UlU53K2lG21aRpB4tuU30H3RsEWCxOH2V00zdfZ8zqiSLEW11e-byW_OuvD0hE0A/s1600/IMG_2758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2m0Pow4QccaYcdVumcJPOe1jpvboeO5T7pYVhonrRlbHL3us1EG6exz2VxvCT211dfCqRUiRM82UlU53K2lG21aRpB4tuU30H3RsEWCxOH2V00zdfZ8zqiSLEW11e-byW_OuvD0hE0A/s400/IMG_2758.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Stinkhorn, maybe?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLnaZBTGsiE965IxEMry0aKiMJ8qgGaCNE67T4iBeio27C5nGJk-9swyOYjFhMQE_t73gusSN23V4cYoQM9dk6ogN-GEYaHKPumVk65Jk8EnzKojW0XLQjAhwUS_YeUK3nSX8fla4exM/s1600/IMG_2760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLnaZBTGsiE965IxEMry0aKiMJ8qgGaCNE67T4iBeio27C5nGJk-9swyOYjFhMQE_t73gusSN23V4cYoQM9dk6ogN-GEYaHKPumVk65Jk8EnzKojW0XLQjAhwUS_YeUK3nSX8fla4exM/s320/IMG_2760.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> This is just a great picture. Love the black on green. Cortinarius Violaceus, I think.<br />
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more below... <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0W-0nZKewOg8HDx6i7HRPAA9P8aR1bgwOIWkcw-RrszkeYcKbjN5bp00-QswS-1BT-HlHo2noIweW2-dmih-GfyV0xg4Oqg63SvJAJjkPcQuWxkxbIRmIWhbod53kxZz9F1JrmP1MMT0/s1600/IMG_2769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0W-0nZKewOg8HDx6i7HRPAA9P8aR1bgwOIWkcw-RrszkeYcKbjN5bp00-QswS-1BT-HlHo2noIweW2-dmih-GfyV0xg4Oqg63SvJAJjkPcQuWxkxbIRmIWhbod53kxZz9F1JrmP1MMT0/s320/IMG_2769.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Not sure here. Maybe a honey mushroom? I love that you can see the mycelium eating the log, all white and moldy.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsLUchz3dwVqf1R2G9SOQfpd19YahtrXzZd6kkMJ7ZTz9QUUnZBwDBMyQ5eEmJpqxn7Hh_HYc8u_t3sUsVsCC0LlSK_Y9lYrgV5Datual4iGULOYYNIKaEi5BIaDLsHGV5T7tJM0i1HY/s1600/IMG_2773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsLUchz3dwVqf1R2G9SOQfpd19YahtrXzZd6kkMJ7ZTz9QUUnZBwDBMyQ5eEmJpqxn7Hh_HYc8u_t3sUsVsCC0LlSK_Y9lYrgV5Datual4iGULOYYNIKaEi5BIaDLsHGV5T7tJM0i1HY/s320/IMG_2773.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">No idea on these either. I think more hygrocybes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzoNL6NMk63YaQTCKzSVhStD77tmUlBK9gtJJ8xs5ahgwMxjiQUyvdSkx9ZS1pQMq_MOVt3SX-jpj7eQAE3ziGIiJax6f6-_5GMB61NINUwaMSGxg9oDQWdjfTMWWSC1YOGQL1AvToug/s1600/IMG_2775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzoNL6NMk63YaQTCKzSVhStD77tmUlBK9gtJJ8xs5ahgwMxjiQUyvdSkx9ZS1pQMq_MOVt3SX-jpj7eQAE3ziGIiJax6f6-_5GMB61NINUwaMSGxg9oDQWdjfTMWWSC1YOGQL1AvToug/s400/IMG_2775.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Some kind of bolete, maybe, or a slippery jack. I like how the cap is all textured. Notice no gills on the underside.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxPoaAJOaN8IYP8mFz8SMbhHFDcc9QLc2JO629WQR7GhBhAju405fS4m7mRbjb7TsJ3sPFuA28QWQ5g6p3ltZKnCxV130R7aiFEgI7Zy5Ty2nCKDfH2CVJ0esqFWGPES20UEF9hYhkl8/s1600/IMG_2779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxPoaAJOaN8IYP8mFz8SMbhHFDcc9QLc2JO629WQR7GhBhAju405fS4m7mRbjb7TsJ3sPFuA28QWQ5g6p3ltZKnCxV130R7aiFEgI7Zy5Ty2nCKDfH2CVJ0esqFWGPES20UEF9hYhkl8/s400/IMG_2779.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">An amazing shelf fungus. I often think these are the prettiest of the mushrooms.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdlXMOkxcb_mhvHJwFZwSmrNcY_CwWSGOtOpQIzatfucwOG1Jii70bubWw0DEouwIXH0nTE3GVtvoLPneVs8ADItx8n02JelE3ZrCN_6zss3H_7EF0VPZ2Icpa46rVI-Bpg9AZw0vg6I/s1600/IMG_2794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdlXMOkxcb_mhvHJwFZwSmrNcY_CwWSGOtOpQIzatfucwOG1Jii70bubWw0DEouwIXH0nTE3GVtvoLPneVs8ADItx8n02JelE3ZrCN_6zss3H_7EF0VPZ2Icpa46rVI-Bpg9AZw0vg6I/s640/IMG_2794.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">If mushrooms had zombies they would look like this</div><div style="text-align: center;">(a helvella, I think) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUaCaFngc3H_lbaBfuQBfcVvZ03onQr23ceZiA2UGXRlqoTkB9QFYASM3R27SASgll9ENR_qei6cxfC-X8xpJjggokMXBmg8W-IBsx-WkAlQweERtTkBu6Ikx5x14sSZbpFth5TK99Woo/s1600/IMG_2796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUaCaFngc3H_lbaBfuQBfcVvZ03onQr23ceZiA2UGXRlqoTkB9QFYASM3R27SASgll9ENR_qei6cxfC-X8xpJjggokMXBmg8W-IBsx-WkAlQweERtTkBu6Ikx5x14sSZbpFth5TK99Woo/s640/IMG_2796.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Or this</div><div style="text-align: center;">(another helvella?)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yh816lf8QUjHCTyE7ctK9Ai6aYg21bj9kPPtcVuIkMN-p-OIQnu1c_HhQad2Zqj7EHRjKXRBts-NFOHAdRgqKEcxZklLvZ2uT_ydxOhaOgaOa9fnzGmxdTe4iag1InhjWRw9ylg336c/s1600/IMG_2798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yh816lf8QUjHCTyE7ctK9Ai6aYg21bj9kPPtcVuIkMN-p-OIQnu1c_HhQad2Zqj7EHRjKXRBts-NFOHAdRgqKEcxZklLvZ2uT_ydxOhaOgaOa9fnzGmxdTe4iag1InhjWRw9ylg336c/s320/IMG_2798.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These look all fuzzy. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiiSZ2reIAAo4Uz5hN7ObOjqDB5dFLWZa029xIgVN8_DGLmdmcrWpv4YvzEDAavuoLZefDsB0SeBrUFFygWlY6VtlO6cp2mjk_7LI5KSX-mAOFtImYzltxZ3Y58HeyX9S3faCgffJsJs/s1600/IMG_2799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiiSZ2reIAAo4Uz5hN7ObOjqDB5dFLWZa029xIgVN8_DGLmdmcrWpv4YvzEDAavuoLZefDsB0SeBrUFFygWlY6VtlO6cp2mjk_7LI5KSX-mAOFtImYzltxZ3Y58HeyX9S3faCgffJsJs/s320/IMG_2799.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have no idea what this is. All I know is that it's a little too old to be lifting up it's skirt like that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the best parts about living on the west coast in the temperate rainforest area has been all the mushrooms out here. Years ago I hiked the pacific northwest coast from California to Canada (not the <i>whole</i> coast - a bit here and a bit there), and saw more mushrooms than I ever knew existed. After seeing both a blue mushroom and a bright purple mushroom on the same day, I was hooked. I bought a book and have been in love ever since.</div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-89798498352819738052011-03-18T01:01:00.000-07:002011-03-18T01:17:00.890-07:00For all the women in my life,<span style="font-size: x-large;">Sorry you have to put up with crap like this</span>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxjzi1T8D5xCg8yx1J7mSMKtzLyDCdGkvcEcxslox9Y4IzlnMU5zsiR4IYdbKtZoo6E6W2ZFfwqSo6kkKsG1xNl23lwxHfkbm4abJ-qZ3mhioX_WCN7TbWHZ3vmzjV3WCqTzptEoduZo/s1600/nonseq.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxjzi1T8D5xCg8yx1J7mSMKtzLyDCdGkvcEcxslox9Y4IzlnMU5zsiR4IYdbKtZoo6E6W2ZFfwqSo6kkKsG1xNl23lwxHfkbm4abJ-qZ3mhioX_WCN7TbWHZ3vmzjV3WCqTzptEoduZo/s1600/nonseq.com.jpg" /></a></div><br />
For added fun, <a href="http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2011/03/13/">check out the comments</a>.<br />
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My favorite one is when someone quotes something sexist from Star Trek:<br />
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<blockquote><a href="http://www.gocomics.com/people/index/40545">Nabuquduriuzhur</a> said, <i>4 days ago</i><br />
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Remember what Nomad said about Uhura <br />
Spock: that unit is a woman. <br />
Nomad: a mass of conflicting impulses.</blockquote><br />
A close second, though is this one: <br />
<blockquote><br />
<a href="http://www.gocomics.com/people/index/81620">twright64</a> said, <i>4 days ago</i> <br />
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“Girl logic” was forever set when the very fitst(sic) one of them took dietary advice from a talking snake. </blockquote>Bam! Way to drop original sin! Not only are women illogical, let's all remember that they doomed us to a world with pain and suffering by defying god. Thank you, Christianity (and Islam and Judaism, to be fair), for blaming <span style="font-size: large;"><b>every single one</b> <span style="font-size: small;">of the world's problems on women.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> <br />
I feel compelled to keep reading these comments. It's like a terrible accident on the highway of equality, and I can't stop rubbernecking:<br />
<blockquote><div class="meta"><a href="http://www.gocomics.com/people/index/33983">dtroutma</a> said, <i>4 days ago</i> </div><br />
Would “girl logic” be putting time in a bottle— of Olay?</blockquote>Nice! The youth/make-up angle! Way to think inside the box!<br />
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What hurts the most is there are some women who see no problem with this sort of thing. There should be a feminist version of an Uncle Tom. I propose "Aunt Schlafly"<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Schlafly"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_USpVUi3-TZSXu2QzBBiZAntHmOuVXOL0nePcmVw3Rx3xdVHABWlkyjuOSD0r_d1fIGkRy0U4FCJkqnTe1-joxZb0U4oa3Dui5s-PXmehO3NuNGgXLQxrSWem6_okzBgEjbdWQ6Kc1CI/s320/schlafly%252C%252Bphyllis.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Here's another one that was in the paper the same day:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisANXqvoBfMCKk38tJdETV_acp2UWEpw-t-JMFeEl07-CSylvejVkT0eVp2j-GlgIudcVl-jxlMd_eF_iJERZ_H7Yv5Zj4fsUnYJJCAi1gD3n1_B52QX-84MeG__2ifYQC0nTED5B6LUo/s1600/dustin.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisANXqvoBfMCKk38tJdETV_acp2UWEpw-t-JMFeEl07-CSylvejVkT0eVp2j-GlgIudcVl-jxlMd_eF_iJERZ_H7Yv5Zj4fsUnYJJCAi1gD3n1_B52QX-84MeG__2ifYQC0nTED5B6LUo/s640/dustin.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Those wacky women! Judging men so quickly, yet always taking so much time with the clothes. They are so illogical. And emotional. And hysterical. Unlike the guys who wrote this strip. They're just douchebags. It's the strangest thing, though. My wife is always waiting on me to get ready when we go out. Maybe I should tell her to stop bucking the stereotype.<br />
<br />
The saddest thing is, I bet the authors think they have very reasonable attitudes towards women.<br />
<br />
Unsurprisingly, <a href="http://xkcd.com/385/">XKCD sums this up nicely</a>, with fewer words and actual humor.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIzfcCXGBL1FH-oa8vuPkiK7ChLJNL0-04Nh73aH6iKol0DHCX9UnbU9zqSLVh6q5VDK_TE9szYxipfBTD-SFJ-GZVhADoMulhD5ypGVw-yw_qGJXBBdstq8hIcsKHNiz0DPdN2nXjso/s1600/how_it_works.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIzfcCXGBL1FH-oa8vuPkiK7ChLJNL0-04Nh73aH6iKol0DHCX9UnbU9zqSLVh6q5VDK_TE9szYxipfBTD-SFJ-GZVhADoMulhD5ypGVw-yw_qGJXBBdstq8hIcsKHNiz0DPdN2nXjso/s320/how_it_works.png" width="320" /></a></div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-71748176592911715372011-03-16T12:19:00.000-07:002011-03-16T16:29:12.893-07:00Baby spiders, slug porn, and other household wildlife.There is a big beautiful orb weaver who lives in the window above the utility sink in the garage. She is ancient, for a spider. I first noticed her in the summer of 2009, right after we first moved in to the house. She built this beautiful web in the window, which took up the whole window. A very nice "typical" spider web, an evenly spaced spiral across a network of support threads. You can't really see the web, but here she is. I wish I could find a better old picture. I might have to check the wife's computer.:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhid22BTDI2dDouR7dINR-3l_BW53cmEGolyW7z2QN5Hg9CMafHRSF2QfIUB8IRKD8GHUxJzzjANEuAawxX3fb_5WDu_Km015bfDEUrOtkPfYMZ8OAAmlYGG2dXWVrR9dHWwnEGsjJybG8/s1600/spiderwidow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhid22BTDI2dDouR7dINR-3l_BW53cmEGolyW7z2QN5Hg9CMafHRSF2QfIUB8IRKD8GHUxJzzjANEuAawxX3fb_5WDu_Km015bfDEUrOtkPfYMZ8OAAmlYGG2dXWVrR9dHWwnEGsjJybG8/s640/spiderwidow.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This picture was taken in June of 2010.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
Here she is in March 2011:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXG2ymZU2hzOxy8QljJh6VEuFs1Ary0rjbN5z0oRTwWJsOaWN7jsg9VC1DK-rwotGFAiznthIketri4DGkAMlNDNSd2HsgInOlNhA3lM7VVWh7u3886-C9UJCd3YacsFAwwT6kQu2JyY/s1600/oldmama1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXG2ymZU2hzOxy8QljJh6VEuFs1Ary0rjbN5z0oRTwWJsOaWN7jsg9VC1DK-rwotGFAiznthIketri4DGkAMlNDNSd2HsgInOlNhA3lM7VVWh7u3886-C9UJCd3YacsFAwwT6kQu2JyY/s320/oldmama1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Hiding up in the corner.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh8YT5P5Yi0A7oA9vm5g02rOcpd89etJ6RpwDAKuspf90mNyFaVCqeBHyNiz4Ecc4r6VMaRPCD5bYL94AiumJ_RL3fJJgh8Eg58Y_8JwGlm3rqiqj8SGS6K04kvvF3IQEzehFUTTZ_K4/s1600/oldmama2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh8YT5P5Yi0A7oA9vm5g02rOcpd89etJ6RpwDAKuspf90mNyFaVCqeBHyNiz4Ecc4r6VMaRPCD5bYL94AiumJ_RL3fJJgh8Eg58Y_8JwGlm3rqiqj8SGS6K04kvvF3IQEzehFUTTZ_K4/s400/oldmama2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>She looks like a bulldog here. <br />
<br />
Anyway, there are several more spiders that live in the window. I love them. I have never seen any other bugs in the garage. Why? Because of the spiders, of course. They are fat and happy in their window. One in particular got fatter and happier, and laid/spun/whatever an egg sack, which hatched last week. The rate of attrition amongst the babies was pretty high. I think some got eaten by their siblings, but I could be wrong. There are still a bunch of the little gals, though.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbNttRoE1DE-VBZ0wm0q8cEQt-PrqkHgfMDGYtJB9JptKj0tYmjshM5VZbmUtOjUu6dhDC0E2op7sBnMd-LC_47HJ2vFzpCpeJ_k7M217MzjxIFjgq8aKhnRjFjOEEUsx7dpWUX6Iris/s1600/babyspider.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbNttRoE1DE-VBZ0wm0q8cEQt-PrqkHgfMDGYtJB9JptKj0tYmjshM5VZbmUtOjUu6dhDC0E2op7sBnMd-LC_47HJ2vFzpCpeJ_k7M217MzjxIFjgq8aKhnRjFjOEEUsx7dpWUX6Iris/s640/babyspider.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>The ones with legs sticking out are spiders. Everything else is just old dead bugs left in the web. I don't know what kind of spiders they are. They have this messy web in the corner behind the hand-towel. But they stay off the towel, so I leave them alone. Mostly.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/00u1gbqOiXU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<br />
While we are on the whole wildlife theme, here's a salamander that was hanging out on the front step one evening. I saw it when I came home from work. It was after a big rain, and it was just chilling.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4PpSW0X_dhpo7VarduVV9YqwM8LHRC1_ujW6nMHWHTNac_S_04ablGcgNkmoZtm2YEt2TWEB6p_53BQYjSLL2vKfUsCZXWGY_1FyYEWc-SGPqX8rpiamvAzuu5ie-OZBHxyt2nQ0JVCY/s1600/arboreal+salamander+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4PpSW0X_dhpo7VarduVV9YqwM8LHRC1_ujW6nMHWHTNac_S_04ablGcgNkmoZtm2YEt2TWEB6p_53BQYjSLL2vKfUsCZXWGY_1FyYEWc-SGPqX8rpiamvAzuu5ie-OZBHxyt2nQ0JVCY/s640/arboreal+salamander+%25283%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Arboreal Salamander</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Aneides Lubugris</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And what post on wildlife would be complete without slugporn?</span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes, that's right, slugporn.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are two randy banana slugs (<a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=536">In Butano State Park</a>) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFD9Ov98zTTGl_Xrp-peEoEjOTnkd6P-58q4efd9Vk8EWcVCy0YddanJkMLVBWS63UQPjCUmUnVMgOiyVdI6xmyu34jdbVuVrd_2IxhAcwQBmCqJEx-xDD-y8F72o7nPbTHykIIyMato/s1600/slugmate2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFD9Ov98zTTGl_Xrp-peEoEjOTnkd6P-58q4efd9Vk8EWcVCy0YddanJkMLVBWS63UQPjCUmUnVMgOiyVdI6xmyu34jdbVuVrd_2IxhAcwQBmCqJEx-xDD-y8F72o7nPbTHykIIyMato/s640/slugmate2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Those lumpy things sticking out of the right side of either head are slug penises. Yes, slugs, the original dick-heads. They are hemaphrodites, so both are packing a package, if you know what I mean. They curl up around each other</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/GeCsgwG-gow?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the pic below you can see the vagina (also located on the head) of the upper left slug opening up, with the lower slug about to do his business. Don't confuse the vagina for the breathing hole (properly called a pneumostome) on the back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_kfwQUNKfW8mePphKgF9wJ61dm92Z0ENEp4S6f6xmS0PABgYB94OqkgvgG4ZeKkU_l97JdFuQfvuAh5dT-uXcYKgvI0nAyiIeZ_HsvTYmJ5BuSRfj_oPwD6o9_rk0mqf1IUWS0jrfbI/s1600/slugmate4label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_kfwQUNKfW8mePphKgF9wJ61dm92Z0ENEp4S6f6xmS0PABgYB94OqkgvgG4ZeKkU_l97JdFuQfvuAh5dT-uXcYKgvI0nAyiIeZ_HsvTYmJ5BuSRfj_oPwD6o9_rk0mqf1IUWS0jrfbI/s640/slugmate4label.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">And consummation. Was it good for you?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeM6x_P47cRHH0kC1P51xNjA5OfMNsq_SfroTDpcB8RyrdRZZhb0TGNA_LQX8xRE5X_5Pd2QVp66DLq1gaf-Nf1a9n-dMJ6dACCmXCqKzuBSTPIRHrcFMGp40hIgMDz7iAIVmul3p5WQc/s1600/slugmate3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeM6x_P47cRHH0kC1P51xNjA5OfMNsq_SfroTDpcB8RyrdRZZhb0TGNA_LQX8xRE5X_5Pd2QVp66DLq1gaf-Nf1a9n-dMJ6dACCmXCqKzuBSTPIRHrcFMGp40hIgMDz7iAIVmul3p5WQc/s320/slugmate3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Soon they will crawl away and each will lay a little clutch of eggs in some damp spot of the forest floor.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vX07j9SDFcc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">UPDATE:<br />
The big Mama spider found a husband, and has started making her own egg sack. He's much smaller (sexual dimorphism is HUGE in orb weavers) but she's letting him stay on the web and she's now laying some eggs. And while this is beautiful, it's also sad, because after she spends all that energy making eggs and watching her babies, she will crawl to a dark little corner and die. How's that for bittersweet?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMsR4Mlb1e4zDBy8ILGKfSNrvNSu1RW0Z2O1D3gisWjQQODeR4kmA26-EShimIlLd-89S9zTzgIA4I3Zq5ZCpGvpxQuyre2KJbqOnbYM7TkR2UJ48fLG2Tge4qg4gHjLgRf9wV67MTAQ/s1600/dadspider.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMsR4Mlb1e4zDBy8ILGKfSNrvNSu1RW0Z2O1D3gisWjQQODeR4kmA26-EShimIlLd-89S9zTzgIA4I3Zq5ZCpGvpxQuyre2KJbqOnbYM7TkR2UJ48fLG2Tge4qg4gHjLgRf9wV67MTAQ/s640/dadspider.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> You can see dad on the upper right here.<br />
He's much smaller but still looks like an orb weaver. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZ_uGTfiR0-TImYZTd8YGCQY8UvnKAVbpU6qiiwJ708SNYQK3kpeAkkx2NaWtSOhAaXyLFVWWM06_dx9YwLhdeBexb32ehHQfsyMLy9D0TZuHYqz9UbNkRRqoiX3guDao-Lo1ijvVcLs/s1600/eggsack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZ_uGTfiR0-TImYZTd8YGCQY8UvnKAVbpU6qiiwJ708SNYQK3kpeAkkx2NaWtSOhAaXyLFVWWM06_dx9YwLhdeBexb32ehHQfsyMLy9D0TZuHYqz9UbNkRRqoiX3guDao-Lo1ijvVcLs/s640/eggsack.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">She looks like she's eating her own egg sack</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-3369382247509691872011-03-12T15:21:00.000-08:002011-03-12T16:05:47.373-08:00The best is the worst and the worst is 7th?In light of the Teachers Union-busting going on in Wisconsin, I got into a discussion with my boss the other day about teacher salaries and the quality of education. Do higher teacher salaries result in better education? He said that California pays its teachers the most (true, sort of) and has one of the crappier education ranking in the country (also true, sort of.) He said he wouldn't mind the high salary if we actually got better education as a result. Do teacher's salaries reflect improved education results?<br />
<br />
So we did some looking. California has the <a href="http://teacherportal.com/teacher-salaries-by-state">highest average teacher salary</a>. However, California also has one of the highest costs of living. In adjusted salary, that is, adjusted for cost of living, <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5610332/public_teacher_salaries_us_state_rankings.html?cat=4">Illinois actually has the highest teacher salaries</a> (California was 17th).<br />
<br />
There seems to be no generally agreed upon criteria for exactly how to rank public schools, but the most common way is using standardized test scores from 4th and 8th grade. <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/statecomparisons/">You can play with the various rankings here</a>. California was definitely in the lower tier (30th according to one synthesis). Illinois is also in the lower tier, for that matter (38th, same synthesis). We discovered, like many before us, that teacher salaries are not the defining factor in educational achievement.<br />
<br />
But I did find this web site, while I was looking for state rankings in education. They popped up first in a search for "education rank by state" on teh google (no quotes used in actual search). They had this nice interactive map where you could look at each state, and at the bottom a rank of all 50 states + DC:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Report_Card_on_American_education"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgZ487_U0JctP7WMDc76OGtrRjRug6TvaBDDJ1WUoRY0mhAYyFij08ukwtINfgOmBgIiWkL3teH3re7qn7y0O8JO6hqEHi1ieqGA5vky6Gdjr3HItwe47YMItZHv-uMlPeGi3J9jY0ns/s400/AlecTop.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
That's funny. I thought Stephen was the religious, conservative one, and Alec was the liberal one.<br />
<br />
What do they really want?<br />
<blockquote><h1>Our Mission</h1>The mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council is...<br />
<br />
...to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America's state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.</blockquote><br />
Ha! Exactly the sorts of principles you want in education - limited government, free market, and federalism! Let's git us some capitalism in the schools and get rid of federal standards. Let the states decide for themselves!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-PxfFXxx2VI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
What could possibly go wrong?<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">You keep using that word "non-partisan"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Here's the board of directors, a non-partisan group of... well, of republicans. How they can be "non-partisan" when every single one of them is Republican is beyond me. I thought that was actually the definition of partisan.<br />
<blockquote><br />
<div align="center"><img alt="" border="0" height="196" src="http://www.alec.org/AM/Images//Ellington.jpg" width="134" /></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="4"><tbody>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"> <b><span style="color: #005daa;">National Chairman</span></b> </div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><b> Rep. Noble Ellington,</b> Louisiana</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><b><span style="color: #005daa;">First Vice Chairman </span></b></div></td> <td><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><b><span style="color: #005daa;">Second Vice Chairman</span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="center"><b>Rep. Dave Frizzell,</b> Indiana </div></td> <td><div align="center"><b>Rep. John Piscopo,</b> Connecticut </div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><b><span style="color: #005daa;">Treasurer</span></b> </div></td> <td><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"> <b><span style="color: #005daa;">Secretary</span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="center"><b>Rep. Linda Upmeyer,</b> Iowa </div></td> <td><div align="center"><b>Rep. Liston Barfield,</b> South Carolina</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"> <b><span style="color: #005daa;">Immediate Past Chairman</span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><b> Rep. Tom Craddick,</b> Texas</div></td> </tr>
</tbody> </table><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="4"><tbody>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><b> <span style="color: #005daa;">Board Members</span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Curt Bramble,</b> Utah</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Rep. Steve McDaniel</b>, Tennessee</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"><b> Rep. Harold Brubaker,</b> North Carolina</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Rep. Ray Merrick,</b> Kansas</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Jim Buck,</b> Indiana</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Bill Raggio,</b> Nevada</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Kent Cravens,</b> New Mexico</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Dean Rhoads,</b> Nevada</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Rep. Jim Ellington,</b> Mississippi</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Chip Rogers,</b> Georgia</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Billy Hewes III,</b> Mississippi</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. William Seitz,</b> Ohio</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Spkr. Bill Howell</b>, Virginia</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Rep. Curry Todd,</b> Tennessee</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Owen Johnson,</b> New York</div></td> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Susan Wagle,</b> Kansas</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="left"> <b>Sen. Michael Lamoureux,</b> Arkansas</div></td> <td><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></blockquote>Yup, every single one is a Republican. A republican who feels that the free market approach is the best approach to education. I think we should just say to hell with it and throw hospitals and prisons in, too. Oh, and the police and fire department. You don't pay, no cops for you. Plus, think about how much more well run the fire department would be if they had a profit motive, instead of a humanitarian one.<br />
<br />
But I didn't even get to the best part. They rate the states by education achievement. Then they give each state a grade based on education reform the state is planning. Presumably an "A+" means awesome reforms and an "F" means terrible reforms. Here's their list:<br />
<blockquote><br />
<table><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2"><div align="center"> <b>Final Performance Rank</b></div><div align="center"><br />
</div></td> <td><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><br />
</div></td> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"> <b>Education Reform Grade</b></div><div align="center"><br />
</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td><div align="center">Vermont<br />
Massachusetts<br />
Florida<br />
New Hampshire<br />
New York<br />
Pennsylvania<br />
Kansas<br />
Texas<br />
Montana<br />
New Jersey<br />
Alaska<br />
Virginia<br />
Indiana<br />
Maine<br />
Hawaii<br />
Washington<br />
Colorado<br />
Nevada<br />
Delaware<br />
Maryland<br />
Wisconsin<br />
Idaho<br />
Minnesota<br />
North Dakota<br />
Rhode Island<br />
District of Columbia<br />
Georgia<br />
Wyoming<br />
Connecticut<br />
California<br />
Iowa<br />
Oregon<br />
Nebraska<br />
Missouri<br />
Ohio<br />
Tennessee<br />
Kentucky<br />
Illinois<br />
South Dakota<br />
Alabama<br />
North Carolina<br />
Utah<br />
Oklahoma<br />
Arkansas<br />
Arizona<br />
Mississippi<br />
Louisiana<br />
New Mexico<br />
Michigan<br />
West Virginia<br />
South Carolina</div></td> <td>1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14<br />
15<br />
16<br />
17<br />
18<br />
19<br />
20<br />
21<br />
22<br />
23<br />
24<br />
25<br />
26<br />
27<br />
28<br />
29<br />
30<br />
31<br />
32<br />
33<br />
34<br />
35<br />
36<br />
37<br />
38<br />
39<br />
40<br />
41<br />
42<br />
43<br />
44<br />
45<br />
46<br />
47<br />
48<br />
49<br />
50<br />
51</td> <td> </td> <td><div align="center">Florida<br />
Colorado<br />
Louisiana<br />
Minnesota<br />
Missouri<br />
New Mexico<br />
South Carolina<br />
Arizona<br />
Arkansas<br />
Idaho<br />
Michigan<br />
Ohio<br />
Indiana<br />
Kentucky<br />
Utah<br />
Washington<br />
Alabama<br />
Alaska<br />
California<br />
Delaware<br />
District of Columbia<br />
Georgia<br />
Hawaii<br />
Illinois<br />
Iowa<br />
Maryland<br />
Massachusetts<br />
Nevada<br />
New Hampshire<br />
New Jersey<br />
North Carolina<br />
Oklahoma<br />
Oregon<br />
Pennsylvania<br />
South Dakota<br />
Texas<br />
West Virginia<br />
Wisconsin<br />
Wyoming<br />
Connecticut<br />
Virginia<br />
Kansas<br />
Maine<br />
Mississippi<br />
Montana<br />
New York<br />
Nebraska<br />
North Dakota<br />
Rhode Island<br />
Tennessee<br />
Vermont</div></td> <td>B+<br />
B<br />
B<br />
B<br />
B<br />
B<br />
B<br />
B-<br />
B-<br />
B-<br />
B-<br />
B-<br />
C+<br />
C+<br />
C+<br />
C+<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C<br />
C-<br />
C-<br />
D+<br />
D+<br />
D+<br />
D+<br />
D+<br />
D<br />
D<br />
D<br />
D<br />
D</td></tr>
</tbody></table></blockquote><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Last is first?</span> </div><br />
Something just jumped out at me when I looked at this list. Vermont has, according to ALEC, the best schools in the country. Yet they get the worst grade for education reform. What's going on here? What do they mean education reform? This doesn't make any sense.<br />
<br />
So I clicked on Vermont, and<a href="http://www.alec.org/am/pdf/education/2010_reportcard/state_pdfs/vt2010.pdf"> got this PDF</a>, which sums up their complaints about Vermont's school system.<br />
<ol><li>Vermont doesn't have charter schools. </li>
<li>Vermont makes you go to the school that is in your district. </li>
<li>Vermont has strict homeschooling regulations. </li>
<li>Vermont does not allow alternative teacher certification (state certification only). </li>
<li>They are given an "F" in "identifying high quality teachers", </li>
<li>a "D" in "retaining effective teachers" </li>
<li>and another "F" in "removing ineffective teachers". </li>
</ol>In other words, you can't homeschool your kid if you aren't qualified, and you can't get qualified through some dubious "alternative" certification. Like, say, some whack-job fundamentalist homeschooling course. Really they are complaining that fundies can't homeschool their kids and teach them a bunch of crap that isn't true. Plus their teachers probably teach real(ish) history, and real biology, and sex ed, and don't pray in school. All of which is bad.<br />
<br />
If Vermont sucks so bad at choosing their teachers, why do they have the best education scores? According to ALEC's own website, they base the ranking on:<br />
<blockquote>...[T]he overall 2009 scores for low-income children (non-<br />
ELL and/or non-IEP) and their gains/losses on National Assessment<br />
of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth- and eighth-grade<br />
reading and mathematics exams from 2003 to 2009.</blockquote>Seems like a pretty reasonable way to rank education systems. If the poor kids are doing better, you are higher on the list. As the rich kids always do better than the poor kids, they are doing better too.<br />
<br />
It defies logic that the state with the best education is ranked the worst for education practices. It seems to me that what Vermont is doing is good, as it is working.<br />
<br />
Look at New Mexico, my home state. Consistently horrible rankings in education, yet it gets the 6th best grade for reforms. South Carolina is dead last in education, but gets the 7th best grade for reform? What the hell? Louisiana is ranked 47th on low-income children performance but got the 3rd best grade? These states have sucked education-wise for years.<br />
<br />
In fact, five of the top 10 grade recipients are in the bottom 10 of the education ranking . Of the 10 best schools, only 1 (Florida) is even in the top 25 of ALEC's reform list. It's almost like to get a good grade you have to be a shitty school. Wait a minute...<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It all makes sense!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I get it! The problem with Vermont is that its <b>low-income kids are doing well</b>! In the eyes of ALEC, that's no good. How will we keep poor people ignorant</span> </span>if we educate them? Then they might wonder why they are so poor in the first place. </div>MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-34767377762817182572010-12-04T10:54:00.000-08:002010-12-06T20:29:02.598-08:00Human TraditionIt's the holiday season. I love the winter holidays. It's this time of year that we take part in one of the oldest of traditions:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Observation Of The Fact That The North Pole </b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>(or South Pole if you are below the equator) </b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Is Pointing As Far Away From The Sun As It Can Point.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfSy5oOTKOkj_SAR_dhJxQo9sjlpPUssSEZVtOKtJ4-oetK3Gp0CRE8RK50LkNRTcuVXsM57bHsIWVip3C02jT3SQnkUwfSLKHgGSeu1FDvgTZhY2Yrd1aaRM-c1DTmrSZy-YCz6jBK8/s1600/sosltice.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfSy5oOTKOkj_SAR_dhJxQo9sjlpPUssSEZVtOKtJ4-oetK3Gp0CRE8RK50LkNRTcuVXsM57bHsIWVip3C02jT3SQnkUwfSLKHgGSeu1FDvgTZhY2Yrd1aaRM-c1DTmrSZy-YCz6jBK8/s1600/sosltice.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Reverse for you crazy Antipodeans)</div><br />
Yes, yes, Christmas, shmistmas. Hanukkah, whatever. Yule... well, actually, I love Yule. Yule can stay. Yule is the christmas tree (on fire) and spiked apple cider and roasted goat. Not that we always roast a goat for Christmas. It's more the idea of roasted goat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7boc_B6NDwgsThkP8Uz38qU4RaOtS-n57gO2t3hiAT72h_kvxXuX1ibVNOkvGAPKQ1_twrFbUwclOEitLwBd3174MRKSVBs8MpPMy22f5VJJkF7TPtgIhAOCZh03gtMunLTcsI86xd8/s1600/yule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7boc_B6NDwgsThkP8Uz38qU4RaOtS-n57gO2t3hiAT72h_kvxXuX1ibVNOkvGAPKQ1_twrFbUwclOEitLwBd3174MRKSVBs8MpPMy22f5VJJkF7TPtgIhAOCZh03gtMunLTcsI86xd8/s320/yule.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Yule Tree burning</div><br />
Yule is cool because you enjoy your tree, and then you burn that sucker!<br />
<br />
To be fair, I love Christmas and Hanukkah, too. I love all the winter solstice holidays. Love them. I think it's cool that we (as humans) have always made a celebration out of the longest night of the year. People have been doing this for a long, long time.<br />
<br />
How long is that? How long have we known which night was the longest? Did the babylonians have a solstice holdiay?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGPxdX4DH8GXSjXx6636HouqVJgmCk2H2jaNZGhrH65i7rovKWCpMzCXbcied0W-uGaz6vV_XX3hDLDGycC8b9wCwSRZJx2zEgcoXuc7TqYp-1y8yrHL_cT76XKHRlHt1O-rZHW13O7A/s1600/ziggurat1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGPxdX4DH8GXSjXx6636HouqVJgmCk2H2jaNZGhrH65i7rovKWCpMzCXbcied0W-uGaz6vV_XX3hDLDGycC8b9wCwSRZJx2zEgcoXuc7TqYp-1y8yrHL_cT76XKHRlHt1O-rZHW13O7A/s320/ziggurat1.gif" width="320" /></a></div>It turns out they did. In a celebration that lasted for 10 days, although later Persians made it 12 days...<br />
Now that I think about it, good old pagan Yule lasts 12 days, too. I'm sensing a theme here.<br />
<br />
Some of the huge ancient buildings we built are designed to line up with the solstices and equinoxes. Most of them, actually, from all around the world, throughout all of mankind's history.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4UidPgZThvIhqeUBjGr4l8XIIwHFj0q8MnO0GdCtIAJySoyPUYv2QBCACAqJWQNnfjNZlVQm7PFN_fvf3nkScPla6LQH9lX26qEB-xxVlSNQJuXDwbdogpV7yJ99vFnTaUGSDLBcSdg/s1600/799px-Newgrange.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4UidPgZThvIhqeUBjGr4l8XIIwHFj0q8MnO0GdCtIAJySoyPUYv2QBCACAqJWQNnfjNZlVQm7PFN_fvf3nkScPla6LQH9lX26qEB-xxVlSNQJuXDwbdogpV7yJ99vFnTaUGSDLBcSdg/s320/799px-Newgrange.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>This building is like 5000 years old. And it was built to line up with the winter solstice. <br />
<br />
If this celebration is so ubiquitous, it would seem that our observation of the Solstice is much older than any recorded history. It seems likely that we figured out how to predict the seasons a long, long time before we settled down into villages and came up with a formal written method.<br />
<br />
That is what is so cool. We have been participating in this celebration for thousands of years. For all of recorded history we have been doing this. Probably longer. In ancient Egypt people looked forward to the coming holiday season right about now, honoring the virgin birth of the sun. Yes, really, that's where you got it from. You know who you are...<br />
<br />
<br />
Over 2000 years ago, some poor Roman dude was wondering what little gift to buy his wife for Saturnalia.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZ1BFtQ4yfWegxLEWZsk0t6uwnokToci20eMqFVohVwjmwd0rpGNvVYemPkaJ8Tp3plNYBwPIe0tHlrIqAWW2JHCJ3sroiUFryL2u2PneSPQoKtnl4rwRcQc8epMneMbgNw32rLV5TvQ/s1600/roman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZ1BFtQ4yfWegxLEWZsk0t6uwnokToci20eMqFVohVwjmwd0rpGNvVYemPkaJ8Tp3plNYBwPIe0tHlrIqAWW2JHCJ3sroiUFryL2u2PneSPQoKtnl4rwRcQc8epMneMbgNw32rLV5TvQ/s320/roman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
There are very few things that are part of our shared human heritage anymore. For maybe 100,000 years we have been roaming about the world, forming different cultures along the way. Taking part in this celebration reminds me that we are all one thing, one people. Humans.<br />
<br />
And that to me is amazing and beautiful.<br />
<br />
That, and the presents.MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-65430210099162174512010-11-05T17:51:00.000-07:002010-12-06T20:28:17.678-08:00The Greenhouse Effect is older than your great-grandpaAlmost 200 years ago (in 1824), a scientist named Joseph Fourier figured out that CO2 and certain other gases trap heat in what is commonly called the "greenhouse effect."<br />
<br />
The idea is simple: the sun radiates heat. That heat warms the earth. Some of that warmth is radiated back into space. Part of that radiated warmth is absorbed by CO2 and other greenhouse gases and radiated right back to the earth.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkN0eDpWxD0ROD3P9obxYOUW8lqdIzmzMwMdICY7NE0t7AxKilJ360EcNuxE7VMHEM6CRXqWYkoFo32cupjpd6rWZMMukdimwF-zh0Tim6pZNmK2-FspvH0AmsNefCGjwEgF0L0Re1iZs/s1600/greenhouse_effect1-14494704_std1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkN0eDpWxD0ROD3P9obxYOUW8lqdIzmzMwMdICY7NE0t7AxKilJ360EcNuxE7VMHEM6CRXqWYkoFo32cupjpd6rWZMMukdimwF-zh0Tim6pZNmK2-FspvH0AmsNefCGjwEgF0L0Re1iZs/s1600/greenhouse_effect1-14494704_std1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
All pretty straightforward.<br />
<br />
<br />
Over 150 years ago (in 1858) a scientist named John Tyndall proved it through experimentation, with an ingenious mechanism (that I think looks a bit like a Rube Goldberg device):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-FQuV8D1tHzBmw9UI-sF0AVBFqcT1FaQ4dpvO6PDh6qwSdFXXmSroh0-rHNIDjZJifVYsMP865D-7hV-7pko2Qrz0JZd2ZkTVgtIHpo3eKpHsvBGi62xDFJME-H0-MyJF2tArHYSQ68/s1600/tyndallgas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-FQuV8D1tHzBmw9UI-sF0AVBFqcT1FaQ4dpvO6PDh6qwSdFXXmSroh0-rHNIDjZJifVYsMP865D-7hV-7pko2Qrz0JZd2ZkTVgtIHpo3eKpHsvBGi62xDFJME-H0-MyJF2tArHYSQ68/s640/tyndallgas.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Since then, there have been thousands more observations and experiments, all confirming and refining the initial discovery.<br />
<br />
For a pretty amazing demonstration of this, watch this video:<br />
<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SeYfl45X1wo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SeYfl45X1wo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
The point of all this is that the greenhouse effect was discovered <b>186 years ago</b>, and has existed pretty much unchanged since then.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The idea behind global warming is older than certain other ideas we have:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRVgbOdZjGam5KNvc2lIlsTF9i5S14avqfCNEiTZFqxZH-AI3mntUvI8-W9AqEnluTvQeUYWJq1wJtQ-gjgYkSA7HyMytG4NZXq-DK-b3ni7eJ1gEtYMhLuFoo8AyNoCwODjgnSZ_7js/s1600/germs+mosaic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRVgbOdZjGam5KNvc2lIlsTF9i5S14avqfCNEiTZFqxZH-AI3mntUvI8-W9AqEnluTvQeUYWJq1wJtQ-gjgYkSA7HyMytG4NZXq-DK-b3ni7eJ1gEtYMhLuFoo8AyNoCwODjgnSZ_7js/s320/germs+mosaic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Germs Make You Sick</span> - We knew CO2 warmed up the planet before we knew that you should wash your hands after you take a crap. When we discovered the greenhouse effect, doctors were still operating on patients with dirt-encrusted fingernails, and thought you got sick because you had too much of the wrong kind of blood.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHA8Jkuik58uV1FiGUz2Lh2T6imVT9p21vDc4wjH0OunE0WMaEysma2-ALDxj4rqbSUKIaqtu8iKJyC4J7iPur3ipkufR1DGIg74NOlAiToyWs_nFxQNYhy0IzICyEzuh_fEhsCB3Z408/s1600/Slavery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHA8Jkuik58uV1FiGUz2Lh2T6imVT9p21vDc4wjH0OunE0WMaEysma2-ALDxj4rqbSUKIaqtu8iKJyC4J7iPur3ipkufR1DGIg74NOlAiToyWs_nFxQNYhy0IzICyEzuh_fEhsCB3Z408/s320/Slavery.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-size: large;">Slavery Is Wrong</span> - Back when we first discovered the greenhouse effect, and indeed even when it was first proven in a lab, slavery was still legal in the United States, and the Civil War had yet to be fought.<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Mormons</span> - Joseph Smith had not yet published the Book of Mormon when Fourier published his ideas about greenhouse gasses.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Republicans</span> - That's right. I find it ironic that global warming due to greenhouse gases was discovered 30 years before the Republican party was formed. You'd think if anything the greenhouse effect wouldn't believe in the Republican party, not vice-versa.<br />
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So please, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/04/rove-climate-is-gone/">as we enter a new round of denying reality</a>, let us remember that global warming due to the greenhouse effect has been a known fact of life for 186 years.<br />
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186 YEARS, for dog's sake! It's not going anywhere.MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4397785594944678876.post-8548415806218945792010-10-30T14:24:00.000-07:002010-12-06T20:28:43.217-08:00It's my first time, so be gentleI always toyed with the idea of writing down stuff over the course of the day, and this seemed like a natural format for it. It is hard to actually get up the nerve to post something that is obviously attributable to me. It opens you up to a whole world of criticism. Thankfully I can bask in my own anonymity with the reassurance that really no one gives that much of a shit about this. I suppose I will look upon this as liberating.<br />
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A blog to me always seemed a little bit masturbatory. Perhaps self-indulgent, or self-aggrandizing, or whatever. No getting around that. I was reading Mark Twain's new autobiography last night and was really amused by his vanity in his own affairs. Specifically his take on the egregious wrongs and malicious misinformation spread about some of his dealings by the newspapers of the day. The book contained reprints of said newspaper articles, and quite frankly I think Mr. Clemens might have overreacted just a bit. The articles weren't really that mean, or full of lies. They just left out some information he wanted put in. Point being, it's hard to have some perspective when it's your own words and deeds being criticized.<br />
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This first post was inspired by <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/10/america_has_no_atheists.php">reading about a governor of Georgia, who was mentioned on another blog.</a> One Lester Maddox, who was famous in his day for his opposition to the Civil Rights act, and his blatant racism. He kept a barrel of axe handles in his restaurant to use on any non-whites that tried to enter. Seriously. This was less than 50 years ago.<br />
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Here he is politely asking a black person to leave his restaurant. He's the guy with the gun pointed at the black guy. I don't know who the asshole with the axe handle is.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQIVjoluiW_RC_VyfCL57P6kf3_nSdxHSYWpK4xsdsMbZKNW7d2bX-gfS17eg7seQ7WDlFRkTIiQPa_cBQ2e2XfNtlZC3XetRJH0hwVEDxqulfKKYikFtncFaMBhWWLXWYp8uar8xvwE/s1600/maddox+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQIVjoluiW_RC_VyfCL57P6kf3_nSdxHSYWpK4xsdsMbZKNW7d2bX-gfS17eg7seQ7WDlFRkTIiQPa_cBQ2e2XfNtlZC3XetRJH0hwVEDxqulfKKYikFtncFaMBhWWLXWYp8uar8xvwE/s640/maddox+gun.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Oh, never mind. I found out who that guy with the axe handle is. It's his son, little Lester Jr. How cute. The family that hates together, race-baits together.<br />
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He also hated Communitst, Socialists, Progressives of all types.<br />
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I bring this up because it stands in marked contrast to this idea pushed lately by the conservative side of things that they were somehow always in support of civil rights, and were champions of social justice.<br />
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Cue America's favorite historical revisionist:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDj0DV54w4g5hPwyO4257M9TlKHi7VN2OuYXdg542-VRmkXK6zycSyKK2uqnkz8M0i6s7hTTS2lIFE3OiYNNgDMPRRVGb_k8ItayOoy55DPkYV7gxYqFlfD5RNiBc3XojPFIM8WUZqJRo/s1600/Glenn-Beck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDj0DV54w4g5hPwyO4257M9TlKHi7VN2OuYXdg542-VRmkXK6zycSyKK2uqnkz8M0i6s7hTTS2lIFE3OiYNNgDMPRRVGb_k8ItayOoy55DPkYV7gxYqFlfD5RNiBc3XojPFIM8WUZqJRo/s320/Glenn-Beck.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><blockquote>"This will be a moment when we reclaim the civil rights movement. It has been so distorted and turned upside-down. It's an abomination, what has happened...We are on the right side of history. We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties and damn it, we will reclaim the civil rights moment(sic). We will take that movement because we were the people that did it in the first place!"</blockquote> -Glenn Beck on his radio show, May 26<br />
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What a load of crap! The previously mentioned racist douchebag, Georgia's Governor Maddox, marched on Atlanta carrying a sign saying:<br />
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Sounds like something Glenn Beck could get behind. What was this socialist, communist, godless, unAmerican threat? Why, the Civil Rights Act, of course. And the civil rights movement.<br />
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In 1965 Maddox described the Civil Rights Act in the following terms.<br />
<blockquote>"...The unGodly and unAmerican Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by the U.S. Congress, signed by President Johnson, and supported and inspired by deadly and bloody communism."</blockquote>He also said it is "a sin against God, a crime against man, and is unconstitutional."<br />
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Now if Glenn Beck conservatives were the ones who supported the Civil Rights Act, and the Civil Rights Act was supported by communists, well, you see where I'm going with this.<br />
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Amusingly enough, Maddox was a democrat. However, he was most definitely a social conservative. He espoused all their current talking points - capitalism, private property, freedom, and of course America! More importantly, he is against all the right things: ethnic minorities, religious minorities, sexual minorities, and the government trampling on his constitutional, god-given rights.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nrQbbHSdsZ3Q-xcrXqyMqbvjryTrv-h9_nWo0Yy5ngFohvXqZF1EXqafLlMCwmAOvV176O_wRq9l4cW-D7LI2v1Q60Zs2S_h-gvthDK1B3wKMcLPiwz5Qq6ePBEGqU9m2k5W4ed_jTI/s1600/9-12_demonstration_advice_from_communists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nrQbbHSdsZ3Q-xcrXqyMqbvjryTrv-h9_nWo0Yy5ngFohvXqZF1EXqafLlMCwmAOvV176O_wRq9l4cW-D7LI2v1Q60Zs2S_h-gvthDK1B3wKMcLPiwz5Qq6ePBEGqU9m2k5W4ed_jTI/s320/9-12_demonstration_advice_from_communists.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
There has always been this group of social conservatives who hate the evil communists and socialists. These people have been around as long as there have been communism, and socialism. They also tend to hate on the evil immigrant <i>du jour</i>, and also minority religions. <br />
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These people always say the same things. It's mind-boggling sometimes to read a quote from the 1850's and the 1910's and the 1950's and two weeks ago and be unable to tell the difference. Except that sometimes it's Irish and sometimes it's Italian and sometimes it's Mexican. Sometimes it's Catholics and sometimes it's Mormons and sadly it's pretty much always Jews. And now Muslims (who says we aren't a melting pot).<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Religion</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>In 1871 the Pope was a crocodile! Out to get America! Save us! Save us from the Catholics! The pope will eat our children!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSjsiNW8rfz8mYbHCcwcbZJxiFCRMsXp1AdoFVn-hU55Cyc_ez7ItaKrJxPS2-sYVCmC85J2SghQZpbvok_oFvsIej11ED_EwKiK0D-FCGxSFcuJ3M8XHJQZRDbChyphenhyphen3nqDRmuE5IFnjM/s1600/american_river_ganges_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSjsiNW8rfz8mYbHCcwcbZJxiFCRMsXp1AdoFVn-hU55Cyc_ez7ItaKrJxPS2-sYVCmC85J2SghQZpbvok_oFvsIej11ED_EwKiK0D-FCGxSFcuJ3M8XHJQZRDbChyphenhyphen3nqDRmuE5IFnjM/s1600/american_river_ganges_a.jpg" /></a></div>I actually like the artistic juxtaposition of that silly hat with a crocodile. <br />
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Now it's those evil Muslims<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCOMulELrDEw2wBSOtmqzdIXJurU7pQJC5O4AhNtLjJ__cgmMxbKAfx9cNJ0yGhByZh-RNn3MfBm_rKMrZdkH4mQlr-C42mY5Twwy_pTxa6tQH_CZmorgmhOoPzUpBFB3pURMiF-ddhs/s1600/islam+enemy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCOMulELrDEw2wBSOtmqzdIXJurU7pQJC5O4AhNtLjJ__cgmMxbKAfx9cNJ0yGhByZh-RNn3MfBm_rKMrZdkH4mQlr-C42mY5Twwy_pTxa6tQH_CZmorgmhOoPzUpBFB3pURMiF-ddhs/s320/islam+enemy.png" width="320" /></a></div>That person on the right is such an idiot that his boogeyman circuit in his brain has shorted out. Somehow he is conflating the Nazi's SS with Islam in order to get the extra-super-mega evil "I-SS-lam" You'd think he could work evolution and Mexicans in there somehow, too.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_1321989744"></span><span id="goog_1321989745"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Civil Rights</span></div>At this moment this group of social conservatives is trying to deny civil rights to gay and lesbian couples.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbaQ13L9SATXYMzPJZMsDuRdloTjOZDGTBP3nR6EU4uY2jEifIH2inU8lcc2RVcH3hRjzXeoVHPXxiVTNkFwF3TgiI3mCmL4x4Jc3wsKUh8JBLqVo8RkRY9spyMZO7HB8Kdj0vzJVVRo/s1600/gay+solution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbaQ13L9SATXYMzPJZMsDuRdloTjOZDGTBP3nR6EU4uY2jEifIH2inU8lcc2RVcH3hRjzXeoVHPXxiVTNkFwF3TgiI3mCmL4x4Jc3wsKUh8JBLqVo8RkRY9spyMZO7HB8Kdj0vzJVVRo/s400/gay+solution.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>That's just fucked up. We can thank the National Organization for Marriage for that one. Them and the Bible. Sorry, folks, they aren't making that quote up.<br />
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These are the <b>exact same</b> <b>people</b> who warned us in the '50's:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8jT8weElZG2DeyjikRcJKiPJEl_J4bGcmkbxgsV7qVUlTfd6bOgSgutMiCCvz7k4j3LIjjLiAqom8T9UK7_EM8JWHqdnv9zKDNzEFKgPH2Oxm_QgOi8ykn6Llx1FDANOAeVCucSqrek/s1600/racemixingiscommunism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8jT8weElZG2DeyjikRcJKiPJEl_J4bGcmkbxgsV7qVUlTfd6bOgSgutMiCCvz7k4j3LIjjLiAqom8T9UK7_EM8JWHqdnv9zKDNzEFKgPH2Oxm_QgOi8ykn6Llx1FDANOAeVCucSqrek/s400/racemixingiscommunism.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>AAAAHHHH!!!! Blacks and Whites are getting married! Rampant Communism! Slippery Slope!<br />
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Last year Rep. Steve King of Iowa called gay-marriage "socialism". Same-sex marriage is, he said, "a purely socialist concept." Way to keep the boogeyman alive, Steve. Are you sure it isn't communism? Or Islam? Or something the Nazi's would do?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Immigration</span></div>In the good old days of 1889 it was those damn Irish that just wouldn't assimilate. That and they were all drunks who looked like monkeys.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPfQ-AOrINyM9hoMKFfFjcx0Agfe-7KKaxm8sBUgIqXGqrHGoetbIt6IlyisfkNWE6eIQL9vz-vpu5WJmV-iq79IjyvpUWmxyK5B9jYMxBc3EJzd3NVZaJsWPnNBVXpcpIpMxxf3n9fo/s1600/irish-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPfQ-AOrINyM9hoMKFfFjcx0Agfe-7KKaxm8sBUgIqXGqrHGoetbIt6IlyisfkNWE6eIQL9vz-vpu5WJmV-iq79IjyvpUWmxyK5B9jYMxBc3EJzd3NVZaJsWPnNBVXpcpIpMxxf3n9fo/s1600/irish-12.jpg" /></a></div>In case you missed it, at the bottom it reads "The mortar of assimilation - and the one element that won't mix"<br />
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Yeah, those damn Irish will never blend into American society! Right? Right? <br />
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In 1907 social conservatives in Congress formed the Dillingham Commision to investigate the problem of immigration. It reported it's findings back to Congress, leading to some of the restrictive immigration policies of the teens and twenties. And no, not the Chinese Exclusion Act. That was already there, keeping out the Yellow Horde since 1882. I mean those other racist immigration laws.<br />
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People of Slavic origin (which is most of eastern Europe and the former USSR) were described as possessing a fanaticism "in religion, carelessness as to the business virtues of punctuality and often honesty, [and were prone to] periods of besotted drunkenness [and] unexpected cruelty."<br />
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Southern Italians, depicted as illiterate, poverty stricken and dependent on charity, embodied "excitable, impulsive, highly imaginative, impracticable [qualities and had] little adaptability to highly organized society"<br />
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Those damn drunken lying Czechs! Those cruel Poles! Those lazy Southern Italians. They'll end up on Welfare! They'll never assimilate! They can't adapt to organized American society!<br />
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I'm sensing a trend... <br />
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In the 1950's Sen. McCarran, a Democrat from Nevada, had this to say about immigrants:<br />
<blockquote>"I believe that this nation is the last hope of Western civilization and if this oasis of the world shall be overrun, perverted, contaminated or destroyed, then the last flickering light of humanity will be extinguished. I take no issue with those who would praise the contributions which have been made to our society by people of many races, of varied creeds and colors. America is indeed a joining together of many streams which go to form a mighty river which we call the American way. However, we have in the United States today hard-core, indigestible blocs which have not become integrated into the American way of life, but which, on the contrary are its deadly enemies. Today, as never before, untold millions are storming our gates for admission and those gates are cracking under the strain. The solution of the problems of Europe and Asia will not come through a transplanting of those problems en masse to the United States.... I do not intend to become prophetic, but if the enemies of this legislation succeed in riddling it to pieces, or in amending it beyond recognition, they will have contributed more to promote this nation's downfall than any other group since we achieved our independence as a nation." (Senator Pat McCarran, Cong. Rec., March 2, 1953, p. 1518.)</blockquote>If we let those Europeans and Asians in, it will destroy America! It will be our downfall!<br />
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Swap "Mexico and Islam" for "Europe and Asia", and you see what I mean. It sounds familiar.<br />
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This is actually one of the classic conservative xenophobic dodges: "Sure, back in the old days being a melting pot was a good thing, when <i>our</i> families immigrated. <i>Our</i> ancestors were diverse, but they were <i>real Americans</i>. <i>Now</i> it's different. <i>These</i> immigrants are different. <i>They</i> won't integrate. <i>They</i> won't assimilate. <i>They</i> won't learn the language. <i>They</i> take all the good jobs and send the money back to <i>their</i> countries."<br />
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Whatever happened to those "hard-core, indigestible blocs (of immigrants) which have not become integrated...but are [America]'s deadly enemies"? Oh, right. They all got jobs and bought houses and had kids and integrated, and now no one cares about the Yellow Menace and the Slavic Hordes.MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00033310680352043403noreply@blogger.com0