Wednesday, February 21, 2007


this photo is part eleventy-seven in my effort to force you to watch the ridiculous british programming I'm addicted to. I mean, how could you resist seeing what brought about the looks on those little faces.....


From the most recent edition of Top Gear. Not as wonderful as the caravan trip, but pretty fantastic....especially in comparison to the rubbish we're served.

go here for part 1, but do it quickly, as the beeb is taking down these links as soon as they come up. (unlike the past, when they didn't care a whit, and the TG videos were among the most popular. C'mon beeb, either put the whole bits up on your site, make them available for sale, or let us watch via youtube.)

isgreetings from memphis! I arrived right on time, and stepped out of the airport into sunshine and mild temps. quite different from earlier in the week: I've heard it was everything from 18 and snowing, to rainy and windy.

I'm already in conference overload and I've only been in town 8 hours. I made the (somewhat) wise decision to stay within my perdiem and book a room at a springhill suites about a half mile from the conference hotel...good because I can get out of the crowd, bad because, well I got out of the crowd and haven't gone back. But i think i can get away with that because it is first day.

I like memphis, but the downtown area is somewhat bleak. I'm about a 10-15 minute walk from the conference, but will be taking the car, at least in the evening. I'm not sure I'd like to make the trek at 2 am. Daytime, no problem.

we might head over to graceland tomorrow. Believe it or not, I've never been!

Monday, February 19, 2007

i am off to memphis for a conference wednesday, and i am sooooo behind in everything. I couldn't even bring myself to do the wash this weekend, which means I am going to be going full tilt for the next couple of days.

I'm happy about this trip for a couple of reasons including: seeing Mony, who's making the trek from nashvegas, and because I may just thaw out while I'm there. looking at the noaa forecast, I see highs in the 60s, and maybe into the 70s by the end of the week. Much better than my current temp of 10.

Friday, February 16, 2007

our time waster for today: get your very own aristocratic title.



My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Grace Lady Joan the Expensive of Herring-le-hole
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title


How did it know?

Which reminds me of something. Everytime we pulled out a thermos (TM), my father would say "how do it know?" Took me years to find out it was the punchline of an old joke. Some use kids, some use cavemen, some use blondes, and still others have tidied it up, taken out the bad grammar, and tell it this way:

"Three guys are sitting around discussing the greatest invention ever. First guy says, "That's easy; the automobile. It opened up society and changed our way of life. Offshoots such as the truck changed distribution, the development of cities, rural areas, and suburbs."

Second guy says. "No, it was the telephone. It revolutionized communications, made anyone accessible to anyone else, anywhere in the world. It created the template for all future communications media, changed business, social interaction, and created entire industries."

Third guy says, "Nope. The Thermos bottle."

The other two are incredulous. "Thermos bottle? How do you figure? Are you nuts?"

Third guy nods with conviction, "Thermos bottle: You put hot things in; they stay hot. You put cold things in; they stay cold."

"Yeah, so?"

"Ah! But how does it know?"

I must say, I prefer "how do it know???"

And I think the sign guy at Trader Joes knows the joke, too. Unfortunately he doesn't know punctuation!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007


let's see, when i left you last I was on my way to austin. Where it was reported to be 75 degrees. It might have been, but by the time I arrived it was barely 50, and stayed there.

But that was the only downside to the jaunt. Mark had a wonderful shoot, I ate some great tex-mex, saw my friends, and found a pair of jeans. What could be better?

Of course I took far too many photos....I won't bore you with all, but here's a taste from the Jon Dee Graham Show that Mark was filming.


Here's JDG with Andrew Duplantis on bass, and John Chipman playing drums. And there's Mark, too.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007


Hard to believe, but Joe Ely is turning 60!








there's great story about his CD and book here.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

OMG! I made a mistake. I thought I'd included this in that last post, too. Ooops. This is the real prize winner. If that ten second spot is golden, this is platinum.

I didn't watch the superbowl this year, and I understand I didn't miss much in the way of ads. Except for this one.



PS---congrats to CBS. They obviously understand that youtube is the best free advertising they could ever hope for.

Monday, February 05, 2007




I fear it'll be eons before I see a sight like this again. It's now 13 degrees, with a "feels like" of four below. That's -4, in case you think you're seeing things.

I've just been reminded that our usual high today is in the mid-40s.

Good thing I'm off to austin on Thursday. It's to be in the 70's thurs and fri, dipping down to the 60s for the weekend. Gads, I'll have to bring a jacket.....

Sunday, February 04, 2007



let's try those photos again!

Yikes! Look what just came in the mail?

"The National Weather Service has issued a WIND CHILL ADVISORY for Montgomery County. Extremely cold air mass now in place over the region and expected to remain through mid-week. As the night time temperatures dip into the single digits, wind chill values are expected to drop below 0 and in some cases, may reach as low as -10 on Tuesday.

Frostbite and hypothermia can occur on any exposed skin within 30 minutes. The elderly are especially at risk during a WIND CHILL ADVISORY. Please check on elderly neighbors.

Some precautions you can take include:

Avoid prolonged exposure to the cold and wind. Stay indoors if possible.

Wear layered clothing. Each layer of clothing traps a small amount of air that helps insulate the body from the outside cold and wind. The top layers will cut down on the penetration of the wind, allowing the lower layers to trap heat, thus lowering the amount of heat that the wind can carry away from the body.

Wear a hat, since half of your body heat can be lost through your head.

If traveling, carry a fully charged cell phone. Let others know your travel plans. Pack extra clothes or sleeping bags inside your vehicle. If you become stranded, stay inside your vehicle and out of the wind.

Make sure your vehicle is in good working order. Keep the gasoline tank full for emergency use and to keep ice from forming inside your gas tank.

Pets are also at risk during a WIND CHILL ADVISORY."

Yes, I know you know what to do in the case of cold, but I found it interesting. Especially since I just put my boulder pictures on ofoto. (i mean kodak gallery. I hate that name!)
here's a sample:
Yes, you see nothing. Thanks Blogger. I have declined all your upgrade invites to date. I guess this is your way of telling me to get a move on. Maybe I will....

Friday, February 02, 2007

The furry forecaster has spoken....



Punxatawny Phil says we'll have an early spring. Which will be welcome, considering DC's highs next week will be about 20.

Being that I've done this story far too many times in the past 20-odd years, I can tell you (almost without checking my notes) that Punxsutawney Phil had seen his shadow every year since 1999. He and his predecessors have seen their shadows 96 times, or about 80 percent of the time, since 1887, according to the Groundhog Club. Only 15 times has the groundhog not seen his shadow...which may lead you to ask what happened the other 9 times. No one knows, those results weren't recorded. And they must have been pretty early, as we can track down just about anything on the interweb these days.

Of course those other forecasters aren't seeing things phil's way. Yup, the noaa boys (and girls) say el nino is dissipating, clearing the way for colder weather the rest of the winter.