Monday, August 01, 2011

Hummingbird Moth on Bee Balm. LOL!

54 comments:

  1. The hurrier I go the behinder I get
    and all the while Howard Dean is still first.

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  2. A pretty easy weekend at the hospital, relatively speaking. I definitely feel better than usual, but will still be going to bed soon. On the way home I saw some more of those ibises--two large flocks foraging--that I saw before. Lacking binoculars I couldn't see details, but I could make out the ruddy and glossy green plumage. Must be white-faced ibises:

    http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_ABNGE02020.aspx

    I got a home telephone problem fixed--loose connections on the wall phone in the garage.

    listener--an air conditioner isn't an absolute necessity hereabouts, but it comes pretty darn close. Of a summer day the humidity is low (say 16% or so), but hot is still hot. Where I grew up air conditioners were of no use at all, but dehumidifiers certainly were.

    Miyoko said we had some thunder and rain today! Not in Coalinga (where I was working), though. That's about 65-70 miles away and over a range of hills.

    Oh yes, I recognized the time and place of the HD photo. Indeed, I have a video of it. And though I pine for what might have been, and would back him again, I am quite sure he has passed his political "use by" date. More's the pity.

    Re my joke about letting out that the injury was due to a prenuptial straightening out of relationships, OF COURSE the bride to be would have to be agreed to the joke!

    Cat! WOW! First and second prizes both? So now you have passed the personalized rejection notice stage? You're on your way!

    I'm sorry to say that I don't know beans about poetry, so I can't offer valid criticism. But I can say that I enjoyed them both. Made me think of "Aura Lee." (The tune of "Love Me Tender, Love Me Sweet" by Elvis:

    "Aura Lee, the bird may flee, the willow's golden hair,
    Swing through winter fitfully, on the stormy air;
    But if I, thy blue eyes see, gloom will soon depart;
    For to me, sweet Aura Lee is sunshine through the heart."

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  3. I don't think we have hummingbird moths out here. It looks impressive!

    Gonna try and snag myself a certain pocket slide rule on eBay tomorrow; if the price goes up out of reason I will probably buy a similar one from a vintage scientific instrument dealer in Ohio.

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  4. Good luck sniping that slide rule! Let us know!

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  5. I discovered that there are automated sniping programs. I know that the one I am looking at today doesn't usually bring a high price, probably because it is rebranded and the manufacturer is not easy to discern.

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  6. At least someone is trying to throw us a bone:

    While the framework of the new deficit reduction plan does not call for new taxes, Democrats see the new congressional committee being formed as a vehicle for gaining more revenue through reform of the tax code.

    Boehner, who is seeking to bring anti-tax Tea Party members on board, said on Sunday the framework agreement made it effectively "impossible" to use it to raise taxes.

    The White House sees the issue otherwise. If tax reform does not succeed in the new committee, President Barack Obama will allow tax cuts put forward by former President George W. Bush to expire in 2013, White House officials said.

    White House senior adviser David Plouffe insisted that new tax revenues were on the table.

    "I think that's the case the president's going to make, that if we're going to do additional deficit reduction in the fall, it should be tax reform, closing loopholes for the wealthy and big corporations," he told NBC's "Today" show.


    http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-close-deal-avoid-default-004006145.html

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  7. It seems like only Bernie Sanders gets it.
    We need to support more Independent voices!

    Why Americans are so angry:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/why-americans-are-so-angr_b_913393.html?ref=fb&src=sp

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  8. Lol! I first read your comment on pic five as: What a gorgeous guy!

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  9. listener, thank you for the very kind words of praise and encouragement. ♥

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  10. "The hurrier I go the behinder I get "

    Reminds me of the old saying, more haste less speed. It's true, too.

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  11. Ha! Well, that too.

    I thought maybe the shotgun certification was just a new formality, but they are in CONSTANT danger because the ice has melted so much that the polar bears are more concentrated along the coast and more hungry. Counting the days until he's out of there. At least 9 more to go.

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  12. I feel just as hopeless as I felt the day after Bush was re-elected.

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  13. Thanks, Alan♥ One doesn't have to know about poetry to enjoy it. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And, what a comparison! Thank you!

    As to rain: This afternoon everyone ran about madly closing windows at the sound of approaching thunder. Nothing much happened and nothing much happened, then there was some pretty, silver rain for a couple of minutes...and that was it. Most unsatisfactory.

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  14. Yeah, *grin* hummingbird moth intrigued me too.

    How can you have a pocket slide rule? I thought by their nature slide rules had to be long?

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  15. I hear you, Susan. The main difference now is that there are more people in Washington who are willing and able to articulate what's screwed up than there were then. The problem is that they're ineffective. The danger is that the Tea Partiers will become encouraged and make a big push to elect their reps while those who are sane will become so discouraged that they don't work to elect good people. We could be in far worse shape if that happens. This feels scarier than the 60's when folks dropped out and took acid because with the threat of nuclear annihilation they felt helpless and like there was no tomorrow. The pain of now is that there is tomorrow. We may need a new revolution, without the acid this time.

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  16. Don't forget "sincere" and "greatly deserved"! :-)

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  17. "I do not like the words "constant threat of polar bears" ~ the rest was bad enough! "

    Well, you know how the press like to sensationalize. I don't think you should worry about him. That is, I don't think you need to up your worry level. *hug*

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  18. You're probably right that only Bernie gets it. He's a good man.

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  19. Suggestions?
    I got my dress back from the seamstress and ... she adjusted it to be the perfect length and she did a beautiful job. Only trouble is that there isn't room for my, em, top portion, to fit into the dress. She said I'd need a "push up" but she didn't say I would also be rendered flat chested...! I haven't even found yet an undergarment that will fit okay and not just be flattened out too. There is a real chance that I am going to have to find a different dress to wear to the wedding...with 12 days to go and way insufficient funds. On Wednesday I will be going local-shop looking. But I'm bummed.

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  20. Ah, but this isn't a post from "the press." This is from the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Son's employer, and very likely written by Son himself.

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  21. Son is up at the very top of Alaska in the Jago River Delta. (Google it!) He's about 150 miles east of the Colville River, which area he was near when, at age 18, he was lost overnight on the Arctic Ocean and found himself between a mother Grizzly and her twin cubs. I think I'm just gonna feel this way until he's home. Which, BTW, involves 7 (seven) plane flights two days before his brother's wedding.

    What could possibly go wrong? LOL!

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  22. *sigh* What indeed.

    It doesn't happen very often, but I think you just made me glad not to have children. *wry grin*

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  23. listener, that's terrible!!!

    Since I'm flush, I'd be happy to help out in the moola(sp?) department. Even if I weren't flush I'd be happy to help out. I can't believe she did that! If nothing else, you ought to be able to get your money back.

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  24. Yeah, I can imagine!

    It has its moments, that's for sure. But I greatly prefer the sort of sacrificial parenting in which there is just cause to be concerned for their well being than the sort of sacrificial parenting in which your child thinks ill of you for unjust reasons.

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  25. To clarify: NOT that I'd prefer my kids to be in danger to them just being mad at me. But the former is a cleaner sort of pain than the latter.

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  26. Oh Cat, that is so kind of you. But I'll just use a credit card. But it's just so annoying and not good timing. I'd love to get my money back, but the truth is that she did what she told me she was going to do; I just didn't have any reference in life to realise it would mean THIS! Argh.

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  27. Voting has begun.

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  28. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 06:37:00 PM

    listener ~~ Do you really think your son wrote it? To someone who used to be in PR, it sounds very much like PR. Which is part of where the press gets its sensationalism.

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  29. Recorded vote has begun. We'll know in 15 minutes.

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  30. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 06:53:00 PM

    I'm finished with jury duty. Maybe for the rest of my life. And I got my new Blackberry activated (now I just have to figure out how to use it.) And I got some parade money into the bank and a couple of parade checks into the mailbox.

    On jury duty, I was one of the jurors called into a courtroom for possible jury service. The outcome ws weird. Of the 14 of us originally seated in the jury box, they took the four nearest the judge and let the rest of us go. Other than the geometry, I can't see anything the ones they did anad didn't take had in common. Did they excuse all the lawyers? Well, not quite. One of the ones they took has an attorney's license, although he is currently working as a librarian.

    And with that, I'm off for a nap. With that 8:30 starting time, I didn't get much more than 4 hours sleep last night.

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  31. It's rather infuriating to be watching the vote on C-SPAN and hearing on the floor a lot of laughing among people who are apparently near the C-SPAN microphone.

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  32. Renee, with all the experiences you've had, I think you could *teach* the dark arts!

    I bristled as I read your message. How unconscionable of that women to single-handedly screw up your ability to scratch out a living in this horrible economy. How about you take *her* job, because she ought to be fired.

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  33. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 06:58:00 PM

    Yes. The Republicans' attempt to hold the country hostage has largely failed. Not entirely -- they did get something. But nothing like what they expected.

    And it's good to be reminded that the Bush tax cuts can simply be allowed to expire in 2013. We didn't really want an across-the-board tax increae with the economy what it is, but I'm expecteing growth to be back on track in the next couple of years.

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  34. Most of the Dems are waiting for the Repubs to vote first. If the remaining Dem votes all went to Nay it would fail.

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  35. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has come to vote.

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  36. The vote is 268 Yea, 181 Nay, 3 not voting

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  37. The Dems were split down the middle. Blah.

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  38. Rest well, good and faithful citizen!

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  39. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 09:06:00 PM

    Cat ~~ There are tricks. One of them is to have the numbers very, very close together. I *think* this limits the precisioin (as distinct from accuracy) of your calculations, but Alan will know more about that.

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  40. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 09:13:00 PM

    Renee ~~ No, I don't think voodoo is the answer. Hacking, maybe.

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  41. Well, I just checked and Rep. Peter Welch, D-VT voted NAY.

    I feel relieved by that. I know Pat Leahy is going to vote YEA, not because he likes the bill but because Default is unthinkable. Even so, the direction this sets us in is so off course that I cringe.

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  42. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 09:19:00 PM

    Thanks. Had a nice nap and feel suprpisingly rested.

    While I was in bed Penny learned that her sister and brother-in-law from Connecticut are in town. She knew they were coming for a national trading-card show this coming weekend, but her sister had apparently not been aware of plans to arrive today. So I probably won't be seeing Penny a lot this week.

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  43. Incase you want to see how your Congresscritter voted:

    http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll690.xml

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  44. Sorry, Renee. Once or twice I've been involved with back stage stuff. Sucks. Big time. Never found anyway to fix it either. Just moving on. One of the times I got too close to someone bound on a power play. I wasn't even aware of it, but she saw me as a threat, and did her best to wreck my reputation in that group. She pretty much succeeded. Four or five women did come to me and told me what had been said, but there wasn't any fixing of it. Hope this somehow turns out better for you.

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  45. Yep. What listener said!

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  46. Thanks everybody. Apparently there are a number of changes coming down due to new leadership at the school. She told me in June that I'm not the only one being affected by this. I don't know how much control H has here, but she is definitely being a "just doing my job" coward about all this.

    The whole thing is kind of throwing a damper on our anniversary.

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  47. Speaking of which: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (24) TO RENEE AND DEMETRIUS!!

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  48. Holy smokes! I knew August First was important for some reason.

    Happy Anniversary, R&D♥

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  49. "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has come to vote.
    "

    The News Hour reported and showed that Rep. Giffords got a bipartisan standing ovation when she voted. That moved me to tears. Sometimes one's faith in humanity is restored, if only for a little while.

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  50. It's nice when a nap helps. sometimes it doesn't, but when it does the feeling of refreshment is quite invigorating.

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  51. Bill Thomasson8/01/2011 11:50:00 PM

    Happy Anniversary!

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  52. Meant to post this earlier today, but my computer crashed, and my brain crashed and, well, you know how it is.

    http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=Renee

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  53. Thanks, everybody.

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  54. From her Facebook page
    By Denise F on Aug 2, 2011 6:04 PM EDT
    Randi Rhodes

    Debt bill: Breathe... Next to nothing happens until 2013 - including the triggers. Anything evil that comes out of the 'super committee' still needs to pass congress (including a Dem senate) and be signed by Obama. Beyond that, the winners of the next election will ultimately be the budget-setters, as they always are. SO VOTE!

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