Mockingbird got skillz, too
I once saw this footage from the BBC about the lyre bird, and how it can mimick just about any sound. Check this out, and pay special attention around 1:53 or so...yes, that's a camera shutter. I was reminded of this as I was listening to a mockingbird in our back yard this morning, when I could swear he did a perfect impression of our former neighbor, whistling over the fence at our dog. It must have been just beyond the reach of this bird's range to also nail the insane barking that would ensue...oh well, you can't do it all.
Posted on September 26, 2008 11:05:48 AM EDT
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What's Stuck in Our Craws, Anyway?
Browsing Gristmill today, I came across a link to this interview with Frank Luntz embedded in a blurb generally about how he speaks with a forked tongue and can't possibly have anything meaningful to say. Okay, I get that this guy has been on the wrong side of many, many important debates of the last twenty years, helping to market a message whose only interest is preserving the status quo. There, there's my password; I get it, I'm an environmentalist too. Having said all that, it occurred to me that Gristmill itself is a pretty good example of one of Luntz's main points: environmentalists are pit bulls. Take a look at any of Joseph Romm's entries, and you'll see what I mean. Most of the language is the same sort of divisive, Us vs. Them aggression that we've come to love (sarcasm here, in case you missed it) and expect from the voice of the status quo. Sure, it's motivation is likely a bit different; it's probably borne out of fear of what will happen to us/Earth/life-as-we-...
Posted on September 24, 2008 12:23:15 AM EDT
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Bumper Sticker Watch: "Euthinze a Liberal"
It's clear. It's concise. It's exactly what this country needs to unite the two halves of the population and bring us back to the table to compromise. Very constructive. And, to stoop to that guy's own level: It's too bad he didn't pay attention to the red squiggly line under "Euthinze." Or maybe, like John McCain, he doesn't know how to use a computer, and only fumbled through one time so he could make this useful and important statement on a homemade bumper sticker. I can almost hear Sally Struthers: "For just 13 cents a day, you too can help a Southern Republican get the education he so desperately needs." Hell, even my spell-checker is going ape-shit over "Euthinze" as I type this. Sheesh.
Posted on September 12, 2008 8:06:30 PM EDT
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HOW we come together
Colin @No Impact Man has an interesting post today, all about the ways in which we use things - technology, coal-fired power plants, apples, etc. - and how those choices can affect whether these things enrich or degrade our lives. He starts out pretty general, making the point that anything, no matter how ostensibly bad for us it seems, could be good if it serves an enriching purpose with a higher value than the damage it causes. However, it's the last half of this post (and, the embedded video) that's really the most important part to me. I'm not going to rehash his post - inevitably, his version will be better - but I'd like to build on it. I've been thinking quite a bit lately about my own involvement in various movements to improve the environment, rebase the economy on regional trade, reduce the adverse impact our lives have on the planet and its people, and so forth. Basically, my involvement to date has been to read a lot, digest the information and form some opinions about what we should be striving ...
Posted on September 10, 2008 3:43:59 PM EDT
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I -Heart- My Head Lamp
Yeah, this is just a cheesy ode-to-a-product post. Get over it. I love my headlamp, that I got for Christmas from my brother-in-law last year. It's similar to this one, though the specific model isn't important. What's important is what it allows me to do with less stress in my life, which is just about everything having to do with darkness (physical darkness, not like fighting the agents of evil or anything). I use my headlamp all the time for coffee roasting, grilling, and reading - the red LED setting is particularly nice to read by when I don't want to keep Emily awake. When the circumstances call for it, I've been known to use it for wiring, plumbing, and task lighting when I'm running my table saw. I even use it to take out the trash at times. I didn't buy it, but if I had it would be the best $20 or less I'd ever spent. Sure, it makes me look like a dork. Whatever. Some things are worth that, and this is one of them. So, Lucas, if you're reading, thanks for the headlamp.
Posted on September 9, 2008 1:28:25 PM EDT
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Republicans: What About Kid Energy?
The Republican party seems intent to frame the debate about energy - the security of our supply, its renewable-ness, etc - around gas prices. They claim that we should be pulling out all the stoppers to keep the power grid juiced up, and claim to support an "all of the above" attitude to energy production. In reality, they've been using this refrain as a wedge to demand that offshore oil drilling in the U.S. be opened up. Incidentally all this oil would be sold on the world market, not reserved for our own use, so while it's debatable how much it would help gas prices, it's a sure-thing that it would improve the profits of the oil companies that are already wallowing in money. If it's true that they're interested in all comers as it relates to energy production, let's put it to the test: Let's hook up electrical generators to treadmills and stationary bikes, put them in the gyms of our public schools, and make children generate the electricity we use! Hell, I can remember my mom saying time and again that ...
Posted on September 3, 2008 2:38:16 PM EDT
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