Not Eggsactly

This oak parasite looks like an egg at first sight. Put it in a nest with other like-spotted eggs and the deception is even greater. But closer inspection reveals the illusion.

What are you believing that you haven't really studied?

The Great Mystery Excavation

I've finally been able to see and take pictures of Angel's excavated archeological find. You can see the size and shape by the pictures. I don't see any nostril holes as you'd see in a bird beak, plus the four grooved length of the piece doesn't really look beak-like.

So any forensic help would be appreciated. The broken tip has been re-attached after these photos were taken, so it's a little crooked looking.

You can e-mail me at wordydave@sbcglobal.net. Thanks.

Choices

Your daily diet of planetary existence is rife with decision-making. Think what you will, deny any affinity, argue blue blazes --- it is a truism of universal proportions: Your waking hours are a continuous string of choices. Sleeping --- now that's a different story.

Helpless

"A dear friend of mine who was quite a lover of the chase, told me the following story: 'Rising early one morning,' he said, 'I heard the baying of a score of deerhounds in pursuit of their quarry. Looking away to a broad, open field in front of me, I saw a young fawn making its way across, and giving signs, moreover, that its race was well-nigh run. Reaching the rails of the enclosure, it leaped over and crouched within ten feet from where I stood. A moment later two of the hounds came over, when the fawn ran in my direction and pushed its head between my legs. I lifted the little thing to my breast, and, swinging round and round, fought off the dogs. I felt, just then, that all the dogs in the West could not, and should not capture that fawn after its weakness had appealed to my strength.' So is it, when human helplessness appeals to Almighty God. Well do I remember when the hounds of sin were after my soul, until, at last, I ran into the arms of Almighty God." -- A. C. DIXON 1854-1925

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Beware of eight year old snapshooter on the loose!

Angel wanted to take closeups of some toys she bought today, so I gave her a 30 second tutorial on how to set the camera for no flash and macro mode, and she started shooting. First indoors, then outside. Amazingly, a lot of her pictures looked like something I'd take. But after she's seen thousands of photos I've taken, I think she is a bit biased and trained in good composition techniques.



As God's creatures, we tend to imitate what we see --- for better or worse.

Before Antibiotics

There was a time in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles when NOT wearing a protective mask to prevent a spreading flu virus would cost you up to $100 or some time in jail.

Over 60,000 were infected just in California. The year? 1918. The cure? Lemonade.

Thanks to David Middlecamp's blog, The Vault, for these articles. And thank the Lord for modern medicine. As much as we have to complain about, medical technology isn't one of them.

Being Taxed To Death

One province in China is forcing their population to buy more cigarettes --- or else. If purchase quotas aren't met, fines equal to one month's pay will be levied, according to Telegraph.co.uk:

"The edict, issued by officials in Hubei province in central China, threatens to fine officials who "fail to meet their targets" or are caught smoking rival brands manufactured in neighbouring provinces.

"Even local schools have been issued with a smoking quota for teachers, while one village was ordered to purchase 400 cartons of cigarettes a year for its officials, according to the local government's website."

Up to 10% of China's tax revenue is from cigarette sales. With the economy dropping, boosting cigarette sales will add to the government coffers.


The World Health Organization provides the following 2002 statistics:

* About 67% of men smoke, and 4% of women.
* Among youths, about a third of male teens smoke and nearly 8% of females.
* One of every three cigarettes consumed worldwide is smoked in China.
* Smoking will kill about a third of all young Chinese men alive (under 30 years).
* About 3,000 people die every day in China due to smoking.
* There are more than 300 million Chinese smokers - more than the entire US population. They consume an estimated 1.7 trillion cigarettes per year - or 3 million cigarettes every minute.
* China is the world's largest tobacco producer, accounting for about a quarter of the global tobacco leaf production.
* China used to be closed to tobacco multinationals. But in the last two decades, with the opening up of the Chinese economy, multinationals have been aggressively fighting for a piece of the Chinese market, seen as a "prize" market.
* In 1990, 68% of male physicians were smokers and 65% of teachers.
* Smoking contributes to four of the five leading causes of death in China today.
* In 1993, WHO estimated that while China gained $5 billion in tobacco taxes, the country lost $7.8 billion in productivity and additional health care costs.
* A study in Minhang district found smokers spent an average of 60% of their personal income and 17% of household income on cigarettes.
* In Hong Kong, tobacco companies spent an estimated $63 million on all forms or advertising and promotion in 1995.

ATTENTION: Be careful that you don't get trampled as thousands of American trial lawyers catch flights for this lawsuit haven on the other side of the world.

Checking In

When the work week wrings you out, the creative writing juices pretty much dry up. Not that they were ever overflowing anyway.

Yesterday was Barb's birthday. We were invited to Liz and Ryan's to enjoy Angel, Annabel, and Max. Stephanie and Henry came over, too, and we ate a Baskin-Robbins green chocolate mint cake and watched Survivor Man eat old salmon and get burned out of his shelter. Barb opened her gifts. Angel had found a flattened metal whistle at school and cut it apart and flattened it again to make a Mickey Mouse eared do-dad that we'll glue a magnet to for the frig. Pretty creative gal.




It was back home early - we had to be at work this morning at 6:00.

Complacency

Spring is being upstaged today as sneaky summer temps creep down the valley. We're expecting a high of 95 degrees tomorrow or Tuesday. Get out those t-shirts and shorts - for a few days at least.

Shock can be good. Water in the face - a dive into a cold pool - a near miss on the road - back to reality and appreciation for all that is normal.

This red rose shocks my complacency for viewing God's creation with blinders on most of the time. Shame on me!

Hey, Big Spender!

Uncle Sam is getting an ear full today, now that his new nickname is Big Spender. Hundreds of Tea Party protests (not the "dozens" reported on CBS radio news at 4 p.m.) were staged throughout the country as taxpayers vented and voiced their opinion on runaway government spending. Maybe there was one in your town, too. Maybe you attended. Maybe you don't mind being labeled as one of the right wingers who may end up in a clandestine militia group which is bent on overthrowing the USA.

My guess is that even if you didn't stand up and carry a sign, you were there in spirit - part of the silent majority.

That silence will turn to shouting come November 2010.

Sacrosanctity Lost

It was only a matter of time on the slippery slope to the depths of depravity that the fast food gang joined the marketable sex ad campaign. In sync with the porn craze, all things on the 'soft' side of triple X are becoming mainstream. In an America that once protected itself and especially its kids from in-your-face and gratuitious perversion, the tide has now turned, and all things sexual are beaching like huge dead (albeit, very perfumed) whales.

God tells us, "Woe unto him who calls evil good and good evil." Isaiah 5:20

Living On the Edge

Safety wasn't the number one priority in 1905 college football, and it hadn't improved much by 1923.

"In 1923 at Iowa State, Jack Trice, their first black football player wrote, 'My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family & self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will. My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about the field tomorrow. Every time the ball is snapped, I will be trying to do more than my part. On all defensive plays I must break through the opponents' line and stop the play in their territory. Beware of mass interference. Fight low, with your eyes open and toward the play. Watch out for crossbacks and reverse end runs. Be on your toes every minute if you expect to make good. Jack.' He died from injuries suffered in the game."

The Wow Factor

Those of us who live and work in the Asphalt Jungles of America can't wait to get out of town and head for the wide outdoors, breathe in some relatively cleaner air, and fill our heads with the wonder of God's creation (as fallen as it is, it's still beautiful).

Poppy lovers of the world, this is your time to visit your local poppy fields!

You'll see a million of them at Hwy 49 and Electra Road, just south of Jackson, CA. Or if you can't make it, a few pictures may help quench your thirst.

ESC Hype

That's 'Embryonic Stem Cell Hype' for most of us who only read headlines and never hear about the details.

Here are a couple of well-written pieces that might clear up some of your questions.

Behind the Beauty

This is the sure way to ruin a perfectly good picture - add a spider or two.