Back Yard Birds

The people across the street, whose yard is a wild, tangled mess, are stealing our birds. They’re throwing peanuts, sunflower seeds, and mixed bird seed all over. Why just yesterday when walking Barley, I saw 7 different species pigging out. I’m a little miffed because they were in our yard, eating our seed. They all seemed to disappear after I put a pile of Belgian Biscuit Malt on the ground. Even the squirrels won’t eat it. I’ve gotten rid of the Biscuit, and replaced it with more sunflower seeds, but they won’t come back.

In response to an article a friend sent me yesterday, I’ve decided to post two completely useless posts that do nothing but list stuff in my yard. It may have some insights, but I can’t help but sense that its a parody itself. Regardless, here’s a list of the birds that have visited so far this year.

  • Varied Thrush
  • Rufus Sided Tohee
  • Common Flicker
  • Mountain Chickadee
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • American Crow
  • American Robin
  • House Finch
  • House Sparrow
  • Junco
  • Scrub Jay
  • Stellar’s Jay
  • White Crowned Sparrow
  • Unknown Warbler
  • European Starling
  • Dodo
  • House Wren
  • Red Breasted Nuthatch
  • Other unknown

So take that.

Chemistry Problem

OK chemistry head(s), here’s a problem. A correct answer will result in a free beer, plus the benefit that the secret will reveal.

Let us say we want to make a 3.5% solution from common (unscented) household bleach. We only need a small volume, say 200mL. What is the appropriate mixture of bleach and water to get this solution?

Big steps

I’ve registered to take the GRE and will be applying to Portland State University and the Geography Master’s program. It may take while though, since I’ll continue to work full time. Now to solicit letters of recommendation.

And I think we’re decided on what to do after Michelle graduates. She deserves something fun.

Zip – Rip

Today my zip disk died. Big deal? Well, yeah it is. The disk was 10 years old. I got it when we purchased our Zip drive way back in 1994 to compliment our nearly full Performa 600 HD. Each disk increased our storage capacity by another 90%. The drive was amazing, and this disk went with me through high school, college, and finally died at work.

The problem is, I’m not sure what burial best befits removeable magnetic storage media. CDs you can break, microwave, etc. Hard Drives you can Drop from the 7th floor of your dorm, then take it appart and play with the plates. I tried to open the casing but hurt my finger.

Liberal Quaker

Several years ago I took an online test to see which faith best matched my outlook on religion, spirituality and the divine. I took a snapshot of the results, and stumbled upon them yesterday. Out of curiosity, I checked to see if the site was still there, and if anything had changed.

Well, very little had changed in 6 years, but the number 1 match now seems to be liberal quaker. A quick look at what defines liberal quaker is like a brief look at a list of unfinished projects. Its all kind of wishy-washy, but in a non-condemning, non-excluding kind of way.
Belief-O-Matic results
One artist's conception

Although the quaker oats guy is a slightly misconceived notion, I thought it would be funny to celebrate my new found religion of circumstance with a photoshop.

What didn’t change were the 3 religions that least fit my results. In decreasing order of match: Orthodox Judaism, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic. No surprises there.

Oh No… Coastal Erosion

Louisiana has looked to claymation character Mr. Bill to help drum up its citizen’s awareness of coastal erosion. This is a serious problem, and it is hoped that Mr. Bill will help bring a familiar face to the cause. A wetlands consultant says of Mr. Bill and his new Estuary bound friends:“These are fun characters, and I think kids will be able to relate to them..”

Its certainly true that a mixed environment of fresh and saltwater was instrumental in my development.