Well, it works! He's French!

And, of course, he's a civil servant. -

A man with an unusually tiny brain managed to live an entirely normal life despite his condition, caused by a fluid buildup in his skull, French researchers reported on Thursday.

Scans of the 44-year-old man's brain showed that a huge fluid-filled chamber called a ventricle took up most of the room in his skull, leaving little more than a thin sheet of actual brain tissue.

"He was a married father of two children, and worked as a civil servant," Dr. Lionel Feuillet and colleagues at the Universite de la Mediterranee in Marseille wrote in a letter to the Lancet medical journal.

I suspect this is a fake story intended as a bit of product placement for the new Simpsons movie. Nobody could really live with this little brain.

What a Day!

Woody got me up early, and wouldn't let me get back to sleep this morning. Also, this was the first day in a week where it wasn't 95 out. So, I got a lot done.
Went to the grocery store
Made breakfast
-Breakfast-
Cleaned up from breakfast
Went out and got a car safety inspection
Went to the self-service car wash
Bought dog food at Petsmart
Bought the new Harry Potter book at B&N (That's funny? Winnie now has a complete set of 7 1'st editions.)
Ran a load of washing.
Walked the young dogs down to the beach (about 3/4mi round trip)
Walked the old dogs around the neighborhood (about 3/4mi round trip)
Fed the dogs
-Lunch-
Cleared the backyard of dog pooh
Vacuumed upstairs
Cleaned the upstairs bath
Dusted upstairs
Vacuumed downstairs.
Ran two more loads of wash.
Hang two loads of wash outside.
Took down and folded one load of wash.
Went shopping for clothes (no luck)
Made a second grocery run.
Made hors d'oeuvres (well, baguette w/ spreadable cheese and Merlot)
Made dinner
-Dinner- (including the consumption of 3/4 bottle of Ravenswood Merlot)
Cleaned up after dinner
Dried the last load of wash
Folded the last two loads of wash

Mikey is now seriously tired.

Homer Erectus

Which one is the fertility symbol?

Stunts to publicise the forthcoming Simpsons filmhave begun in earnest. A 180ft image of Homer Simpson waving a doughnut aloft as appeared adjacent to the ancient Cerne Abbas giant, the 17th Century chalk fertility symbol in Dorset. Though Homer is drawn in biodegradeable paint, local pagans aren't amused, saying that the proximity of Homer is disrespectful. Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for the Pagan Federation adds that they'll be doing some "rain magic" to wash it away (which surely shouldn't be necessary given the current weather).

American Vacations - 3

Another thing about American vacations - a lot of them are spent visiting family.

When I take vacation days and visit my parents, I'm traveling 1550 miles as the crow flies. (Try using this handy dandy distance calculator.) This is the same distance as from London to Istanbul. I'm betting most Europeans can drop in on their parents a little more conveniently than that.

Visiting my daughter in Minneapolis would be a little better (1039 miles, about the same as London - Riga, Latvia), but it will be much worse when she moves back to L.A. (2342 miles, about the same as London to Timbuktu, Mali).

So don't bother comparing American travel to a London to Paris jaunt (213 miles). I driven that far to go shopping.

American Vacations - 2

I wrote some time ago about how Americans aren't guaranteed a vacation. Who knew I was in the vanguard when it comes to simply not taking them?

Many Americans seem to eschew traditional vacations — a trend that has some experts worried that workers are not getting away from their jobs to relax and recharge, both physically and mentally.

The reasons vary, from having too few vacation days available to lacking money for travel. But in some cases, it seems, many people just aren't getting into the habit of getting away.

A recent study by Orbitz, the online travel company, found a drop in the number of people taking three-week or two-week vacations and an increase in those taking a week or less. One-third of respondents said they took five or fewer days of vacation in the past year.

Well, I do take all of my days, but usually this means a big block at Christmas, spent at home.

...it can be difficult for working couples to coordinate time off, and that some people worry that they'll fall hopelessly behind at work if they take even a few days off. There's also technology that can keep some people connected to their jobs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — creating the sense they can never get away.

The first is true. The last is not. I often wonder if they'd even notice if I left for a month. Maybe they'd prefer it that way.

One Down

One less presidential candidate:

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore has withdrawn from the race for president.

In the e-mail, Gilmore said it has become apparent that the combination of his late start and the frontloaded nature of the primary schedule make it impractical for him to continue to pursue the nomination.

That's silly. The frontloaded campaign has no impact if you have supporters. He didn't. He was an embarrassment as Virginia Attorney General and as Governor. Good riddance.

That's Got to Smart

Look at the picture. Click on the picture to see the larger version. Note where the end of the bull's left horn is at. Can you say "ouch?"

Darwin is apparently still on vacation.

Darwin Takes a Holiday

Sometimes even those that need to be sorted out of the gene pool get lucky. Damn.

BEND, Ore. — Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.

Destination: Idaho.

With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast — he could turn a spigot, release water and rise — Couch headed into the Oregon sky.

Nearly nine hours later, the 47-year-old gas station owner came back to earth in a farmer's field near Union, short of Idaho but about 193 miles from home.

Wedding Day

Erin, please tell me yours will be nothing like this.

Neighborhood Birds

On Wednesday, with all of the traffic going down to the beach, somebody managed to run over a possum right across the street from us. It was vaguely funny watching people cringe away from the little furry corpse as they walked down to see the fireworks that evening. Especially one kid who was being a total whiny pain to his parents, then turns around, sees it, and screams. I wonder how many people tripped over the damn thing going home in the dark?

The next morning we had the clean-up crew out here taking care of it. Coragyps atratus - Black Vulture. Unusual to see vultures in our yards, and when you do it's usually a Turkey vulture.

Robert Heinlein 100th Anniversary

Robert Anson Heinlein was born 100 years ago today in Butler, Missouri. He attended the United States Naval Academy, but was disability retired a few years later. Struggling to make a decent living, he stumbled across writing, and the rest is histories. Or, histories. Future ones.

I came across my first Heinlein book in about the 8'th grade in the school library. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I was hooked. I read everything of his I could find in that library, and the town library.

The intro pages always said "author of Stranger in a Strange Land", but that title was never on the shelves. I didn't see it in any of the stores, either. Finally, on a summer break after 9'th grade, in Toronto, I came on a copy, and bought it. Thank god my parents had darn little interest in what I was reading. Was there ever any other "literature" that was more subversive to the general social order?

My favorite series of stories had to center on the life of Lazarus Long. so, even though his passing 20 years ago saddens me, I still wonder every time I see the names Sperling or Weatheral in the newspaper. Is there someone out there who approaches a stranger as slips into the conversation "life is short..."

But Officer, my Prius will save the planet!

Al Gore's whole family is very up on saving the planet. His son drives a hybrid Prius, don't you know!
A

l Gore's son was pulled over for speeding on a California freeway early Wednesday and arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs, authorities said.

Al Gore III, 24, was driving a blue Toyota Prius about 100 mph south on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over by sheriff's deputies who said they smelled marijuana, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

The deputies searched the car and found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, Amormino said.

"He does not have a prescription for any of those drugs," Amormino said.

Gore was being held in the men's central jail in Santa Ana on $20,000 bail.

There's a little more at the LA Times.

UPDATE:

Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday he's glad his son is safe and getting treatment a day after the 24-year-old was arrested in California on suspicion of illegally possessing marijuana and prescription drugs.

Why are these people always going into treatment only after they've been arrested or otherwise publicly humiliated?

Coleman Bridge Opening

Back in May I filmed an opening of the bridge. It is one of the largest swing span bridges in the world, so it is kind of interesting.

British Occupy Williamsburg!

Or so must have said the headlines in 1781 when Lord Cornwallis arrived. This weekend in Williamsburg, the re-enactors were there in their red coats. Regular "townie" re-enactors had to have passes to get by the military checkpoints, and I saw a couple arrested and led away for not having the proper papers.

The video includes an artillery demonstration. They didn't quite get off a shot every 15 seconds, but I think they made it in 20.

Another nice weekend

It's been another nice weekend. Fourth of July here, is by tradition, hot, muggy, and nearly unbearable. I hate to jinx it, but I wonder if it could actually be nice this year? The forecast calls for 88 degrees on Wednesday. It was 83 today, while I mowed.