Windows Vista

See screen shots of the new windows vista.

Around the Neighborhood

Eventually the sun came out, making it a pleasant day.

This view is looking west toward Boulder. The fog is from sublimating snow.

After getting removed from the couch, Kelly found a pillow that had fallen off the couch to be her new bed. I guess the floor is just too hard for a little dog.

Lights Out

We've got another bad storm tonight. Already there is over a foot of fresh snow on the ground. We also had a brief power outage. Something about the dark Kelly didn't like. We first noticed this when we heard the Christmas tree starting to shake. Curled below it was a little black dog.

Dog Toys

There is something about a squeaky that is oh so satisfying to a dog. If we're not catering to her wishes, she'll grab a critter and start squeezing. And after a long day of chasing (and not catching) squirrels, nothing relieves her frustration better than her toys.

Faux fur jackets produced in China for Macy's made with Dog fur

Another case of the inhumane treatment of animals in China. This last week, Macy's discovered that two styles of Sean John hooded jackets advertised as featuring faux fur actually were made from dog fur. Also see here. The jackets, made in China, where labeled as containing fur from Raccoons and Coyotes. Tests by the Humane Society of the United States determined that the fur was actually from a species of dog called a "raccoon dog." It is know in the industry that fur sourced from China comes from domestic dogs and cats, which are killed in gruesome ways. It is estimated that two million cats and dogs are killed in China by fur traders each year and that generally the clothing industry turns a blind eye on the practice.

The Humane Society is calling on Congress to amend the Dog and Cat Protection Act, which bans the sale of dog or cat fur in the United States, to also ban the sale of raccoon dog fur.

Missionary to the Frozen Northern Wastelands

Yesterday Kelly was granted the title "Missionary to the Frozen Wastelands" by the Maximum Leader K T Cat. In honor of this Kelly will refrain from chasing cats and focus exclusively on the squirrels. More about the Feline Theocracy can be found here.

Merry Christmas

The blowing snow left a nice cornice on the cars.

By thursday the streets where a mess from people driving through the deep snow. That evening a front loader was brought in to pack and smooth the street. The excess snow became a huge pile of snow on the corner of our yard.

With the street cleared there was still about twelve feet between the cars in the drive and the street to be cleared.

Kelly helped out by keeping the couch warm.

Outing

The blizzard warning was extended until 1 pm. Here's our house this morning.

The drifts in font of the house are deeper than the dog.

Of course the enemy was out

and Kelly had to guard the yard.

But Kelly seemed to enjoy the snow.

Even More Snow

Well we're up to 32" of snow. Here's some photos from the local fox affiliate. I've put them here because they don't have perm-links.

A couple of happy dogs and an unhappy kitty.

A very unhappy kitty!

Even More Snow

Took the little dog out this evening. Was greated by the sight of a stranded car in the middle of the road. The snow drifts were so deep that Kelly had to leap to move forward. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow.

Lots of Snow Today!!!!

We'll we're getting a blizzard today. You know it is bad when the snow is traveling horizontally. The little black dog is quite perturbed that she doesn't have any sunshine to lounge in; unlike her Southern California friends. She just sits forlornly at the door waiting for the sun to return.

Scientific Republican

A new magazine brought to you from the makers of MAD!

Which says basically the same thing as this 2005 cartoon from Tom Tomorrow.

After all, human reproduction is just a theory!

Our new chair

We recently replaced our old futon with a a small sofa and chair. Kelly immediately claimed the sofa as one of her sleeping spots, but ignored the chair until tonight. Out of the blue she jumped up on the chair after being out in the back yard and tracked mud over it.

Online Etiquette

On December 14 David Pogue has a thoughtful blog entry (may require NYT registration) which ponders the lack of civility in cyberspace discussions. What struck him hardest is the level of hostility directed to complete strangers.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

We visited the Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Naples Florida. Its contains the largest stand of ancient bald cypress left in North America.

Many of the trees hosted epiphytes. I learned that they aren't parasites, but take nutrients from falling organic debris.

This guy is a southeastern Lubber grasshopper. I'm told they don't fly but instead smell bad to ward off predators.

We also saw lots of Kelly's nemesis, the Gray Squirrel.

Florida Everglades

Bald Cypress knees.

American Alligator. These guys were all over the place. The longest we saw was around 10 feet. This guy let me get pretty close - I was still in a car, thankfully I have an adequate zoom on my camera.

Unidentified bird mucking about the swamp.

These guys can move fast when they want to.

Rabbit Mountain

Today we went for a hike at Rabbit Mountain. Didn't see any rabbits, but saw a Red Fox and heard Coyotes calling. Most of the snow had melted, turning the trail into a soup of sticky mud. We had a very dirty dog by the time we got back to the car.

A very tired little black doggie back at home with a full tummy.

Squirrels are the enemy

It has warmed up considerably the last few days and the squirrels have come out to forage. The little black dog was beside herself on our walk, trying to climb trees and fences to get at the enemy.

Snowshoeing w/ Kelly

A couple weekends ago we all went up to the Indian Peaks Wilderness for an afternoon of snowshoeing. Kelly immediately took to the snow. The cold didn't phase her a bit.

When we got back to the car she slept all the way home.


It was great how her feet spread out like four mini snowshoes.

When the snow got crusty, she'd dig in with her claws - making natural crampons.

Blogging from Tampa

Posts have been light because I'm in Tampa for Super Computing this week. Kelly is back in Colorado.

Wit and wisdom(?) of Donald Rumsfeld

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."

Makes my brain hurt. More can be found here.

Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead.

One down, two to go!

Vote!

Vote today for the party that nauseates you less.

Denver Blizzard

Early this morning we got another winter storm. The worst of it is hitting south of Denver and in the mountains. Here near Boulder we've gotten about 4 inches. The worst hit are seeing around a foot. The snow is wet heavy goop and the ground is warm so the streets are starting to flood.

The rest of the week is expected to be warm, so there should be little evidence of the storm by the weekend.

Korea (Part 7) Seoul Airport

Airport looks like a space ship.

The interior is not unlike SFO's international terminal.


The duty free shop.