Back on 06 January, I posted the first half of my trips to visit family up and down (literally) the east coast. I promised that I would, on the next day, post the second half. So here it is nineteen days later, and I realized that I had let down my loyal fan. Er, fans. Both. So, without further ado, here is the second half of my travelogue (with pictures (and parenthetical statements inserted where apropos)): Read the rest of this entry ?
Archive for the ‘bird’ Category
Where Have I Been?
6 January, 2010As the three or four regular readers have noticed, I’ve been away. I haven’t been completely out of touch with computers, but I was actually on vacation. Well, visiting relatives, but close enough.
First, we went to Florida. We left at oh-four-hundred (what’s the ‘oh’ stand for? oh, shit, it’s early!). Our first stop was the shoulder of I-81. When it was still dark. Why? So I could photograph my dashboard. No, I’m not kidding: Read the rest of this entry ?
My Evening Commute and a Big Bird
30 August, 2009I really must complement the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. I commute on I-81 and, despite the replacement of no less than 6 bridges between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, plus some other bridge work, the only major delays I have experienced have been the idiots who speed in the work areas and create accidents. The traffic is sometimes slow, but the major backups are rare. The lower speeds (frequently 35 to 45 miles an hour) does let me watch bumper stickers. Read the rest of this entry ?
Thursday Gourmet: Chicken With Wine, Onions and Grapes
16 July, 2009My freezer is chock full of chicken. Well, not chock full, but there are at least five packages of chicken breast fillets in there. What to do, what to do, what to do? Read the rest of this entry ?
A Day Out With The (((Wife))). With Pictures.
14 April, 2009(((Wife))) and I had something unusual on Monday: shared days off. So we loaded up the ice chest (home-made bread, some hard salami, aged cheddar, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted and fresh red pepper (just basic stuff)) and headed to a foreign country. Well, not a foreign country, just New Jersey. To Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area.
We saw three horseshoe crabs. Dead, but we still saw three:
Woo Meets Creationism
6 February, 2009As a kid, I was really into dinosaurs. I planned to be a palaeontologist. I tried to picture the world inhabited by the Chinle fauna. Or the late Cretaceous of Eastern Montana. I tried to imagine the world if dinosaurs were still around.
As an adult, and looking at my car insurance premiums, I’m real glad that, other than avian theropods, there are no dinosaurs. Hitting a whitetail is bad enough; hitting an Apatasaurus would be really bad. Mountain lions and grizzly bears see humans as possible food; working a forest fire with Utahraptors in the area would be damn close to suicidal. Though, Calvin’s dreams of T-Rexes flying F4 Phantoms? Could be interesting. (Though it would make Julia’s education a lot easier (and a lot more prosaic).) Read the rest of this entry ?
A Few Vacation Photos
30 December, 2008As promised, here are some of the photos from our family vacation down to the inlaws in Florida: Read the rest of this entry ?
Yea Tho’ I Drive Through the Valley of Christians . . . .
29 December, 2008(((Wife)), (((Boy))), (((Girl))) and I had a wonderful (for the most part) holiday with (((Wife)))’s family down in Florida. We drove down Monday night into Tuesday morning, spent the 24th at the Magic Kingdom (with a fantastic meal at the Crystal Palace restaurant), enjoyed Christmas day at the in-laws, visited Epcot on Friday, and had a huge meal at the Cheesecake Factory and went for a boat ride on Saturday and drove home on Sunday. The drive down and back is an easy one: I-81 to I-77 to I-26 to I-95 to I-4 (and the reverse for the trip home) and just under 1,100 miles (about 18 hours (including stops for meals)). Here are a few observations from our trip: Read the rest of this entry ?
The Importance of Sex in Education
29 November, 2008Sometimes I think that I have way too many conversations with theists. Actually, I think I just have way too many contacts with theists. Unfortunately, I live in the United States of America, so theists of the fundogelical bent are all too common. Fortunately, I live in the United States where, by law (if not by actual practice) I have equal rights despite my non-belief.
One of the biggest problems in America is poor education (and it is also one of the reasons that fundamentalist, dominionist, evangelical Christianity is so prevalent here). Our science curricula is, if taught well, mediocre. If taught by the Book, it is execrable. A conversation with a friend of mine, a born-again Christian, reinforced this a few days ago. Read the rest of this entry ?
A Trip With (((Wife)))
13 October, 2008Living with (((Wife))) is a trip. Sometimes, however, we actually get to go on a trip. Our days off clash. The price of gas is up. Tuition for (((Boy))) is up. (((Girl))) wants clothes and shoes. And shoes. Did I mention shoes? Today, thanks to Columbus Day, we shared a day off and, thanks to burning trees in Oregon, we could afford a day trip.
(((Billy))) The Atheist 
