My digital camera is full of pictures I’ve wanted to share with you but couldn’t. When I upgraded my laptop’s OS to Windows 2000, the camera stopped responding to its software. Polaroid told me they don’t support W2K with their older cameras, but did helpfully suggest I buy a new camera. Chris’ computer at home has Windows 98, but at some point I lost my original software CD-ROM, and couldn’t install. So, I’ve been taking pictures of sunsets and gardens and chickens and flowers and have just had to leave them on the camera. Then last night I found the CD-ROM, so you can expect pictures again. I’ll try to spread them out so as not to overwhelm you. Meanwhile, the weather over the weekend was finally nice enough to do some garding. I put in a bed and a half of broccoli, a bed of cabbage, a bed of cauliflower, half a bed of brussels sprouts, and a bed of lettuces. Each bed is 16 square feet, so that’s a fine start. Hopefully it won’t turn hot too fast and give these fellows a chance to grow big and strong. And, the 25 feet of peas I planted a while back are doing splendidly. Last year I had about 210 square feet of garden space. This year I’m putting 475. I plant using the intensive square-foot gardening method, so that’s a lot of plants. A lot. Probably enough to sell enough to pay for everything, feed Chris and I all year, and stuff the freezer. All grown completely organically. It’s practice for some day when I’ve got a working small-scale organic farm.

Confessions of a Gymnopilus Spectabilis Eater. Speaking of mushrooms, I’ve not found any morels yet this spring. They’re supposed to be mighty uncommon around these parts, but I’m holding out hope just the same. Because they’re mighty tasty.

Run toward the volcano, nothing. I’m in the volcano.

My college (sometimes literal) partner in crime, Jason Stiffler. We really need to get together for some Fritos and bean dip.

The mainstream Athens newspaper has what looks to be a nearly complete listing of Athens-related websites, including those for local businesses and organizations. They’ve put me in there, too, under “People And Society – Personal Web Pages”. Neat-o!

Yesterday the US government banned the import of most European meat and animal products on the heels of Foot and Mouth being confirmed in France. The radio news last night (it must have been NPR) mentioned cheeses and hams being banned as well, but that’s not what CNN is reporting. They claim that soft unpasturized cheeses are banned, but most had been already (sniff… so sad). Hard cheeses, presumably including unpasturized parmesian and similar cheeses, and cured meats such as prosciutto are still allowed. I hope it stays that way, too. I’ve gotten passable at making my own hard cheeses, but I’m still a ways off from making my own prosciutto.

Hey Dad, want to move to Virginia?

Here’s a CNN headline today: Mir spotted in skies over India. The article is full of alarmist hype, though it’d be hard for the average lay person to spot it. “Astronomers spotted Russia’s Mir space station hurtling over the skies of India on Monday and said the aging craft is expected to be visible to the naked eye in New Delhi for the next three nights. " This kind of reporting makes me angry. The paths of all orbiting satellites are well known. REgular readers of this weblog know how to predict when Mir, the International Space Station, and orbiting shuttles, and other major bodies will pass over their heads. Mir orbits the earth several times a day (I don’t remember how many times offhand – twenty?), passing over much of the earth as it does so. Reporting this as news, much less making it a leading headline, is nothing more than an attempt to induce panic, and as much of a champion for freedom of speech as I am, it seems to me this is akin to the old “yelling fire in a crowded theater” bit.

The fine community at Metafilter have jumped all over me when I pointed out the CNN Mir story. This caught me by surprise, so I tried to justify my position further.

Yesderday and the day before (should I be writing this?), I intentionaly TiVO’d and subsequently watched the Teletubbies. I could go on with excuses why I did such a thing (Chris had never seen it, I was hoping to catch the episode where they dance the twist for twenty minutes [I won’t even try to explain how I know about that episode. Yes, I’ve seen it.], the baby sun is strangely soothing, etc.), but I won’t. The truth is, I like it. And not because I’ve got the mind of a small child (though it helps), but because of the production aspects. Everything from the set itself to the movements of the tubbies to the editing of the video strikes me as something done exactly right for the intended target audience (i.e., not me). Many of my lingering questions were answered by Secrets of the Teletubbies, thoughtfully posted on RandomWalks. I didn’t know that the trumpet voice was Trillian (the really good looking American astrophysics student Arthur Dent utterly failed to get along with at a party in a flat in Islington). Incidentally, when I was an astrophysics student, nobody came up to me and said “Hey Doll, why don’t you talk to me. I’m from a different planet.” Though I did have a roommate with the two arms and the one head who called himself Phil. But somehow, i digressed…