The US Forest Service’s Passport In Time program is an excellent way to get involved in history. Throughout the year at sites across the nation, projects ranging from archaeological digs to preservation to documentation are available for you to volunteer your services. Usually no special skills are required, but sometimes they’re looking for photographers and other hobbyists. Sometimes they provide food & lodging, other times you camp near or on site. Whatever the project, you’ll find these a great way to spend your vacations. In 1994, I spent a week excavating a late Anasazi/Mogollon pueblo located on the very top of a mesa (“Pueblo de la Mesa”) and was there with my hands in the dirt when the team found a number of things that got them and us volunteers very excited.

Weblog Wannabe made Kestrel’s Nest a poetry subject over the weekend. She claims the poem is the “corniest ever”:

The Kestrel’s nest I saw
It was beige with purple streaks
Didn’t see an egg

The once was a woman named Firda
whose weblog had a yellow bird-a
She’s an [email whore](mailto:firda@cbn.net.id?subject=Feedin’ your email habit…)
(so she likes to implore)
Just call her a “wannabe” nerd-a.

The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument that looks like the neck of a guitar. It’s got 10 or 12 strings and is played by tapping the string against the fret. Since there’s no strumming of strings, both hands are free to play at the same time. With a range spanning the low note of a bass guitar through the high range of a normal guitar, one person can produce a rich wall of music.

Using the The Noel Smith-Wenkle Salary Negotiation Method will help you get paid what you’re worth the next time you’re negotiating for a salary.

I love it when Father & Son in Red Meat go to the movies. Here’s another. And another. And another. And one last one for good measure.

You know, I was watching the New Year’s Celebration in Paris pretty closely, but I don’t remember seeing Space Ghost there. Maybe Peter Jennings missed that part. (Created by Hen Solo, who has a fine set of Space Ghost, Freakaziod, and chicken pages. Requires RealPlayer G2.)

Do you love pickles? If so, maybe these earrings are for you. If you’re not sure about your feelings for pickles, maybe this peck of perfectly plausible pickle facts will help you decide. “Good pickles have an audible crunch at 10 paces. This can be measured at “crunch-off” using the “scientific” device known as the Audible Crunch Meter. Pickles that can be heard at only one pace are known as denture dills. "

After a string of 70 degree sunny days, the seeds in the garden are all starting to show their greens. Lettuces and turnips, carrots and chards. Already I’ve got a dozen or so varieties planted, and it’s nearly time to plant the rest. The long promised online tour of the house is nearly complete, and I’ll follow that with a well-documented online garden.

K.E.S.T.R.E.L. : Kinetic Electronic Soldier Trained for Repair and Efficient Learning. Another fine toy from the Shuttlecocks.

Mom always said don’t play ball in the house! Poor NASA… they’re having such a hard time of things lately. NEAR Shoemaker is making pretty movies, so all’s not lost.