During my father’s tour of duty at the Pentagon, a two-plus year rotation in which we lived in civilian housing and I attended public school, I got a rare taste of American pie. Prior to this, and afterwards until Dad retired, I knew only the cloistered and comfortable life of a military brat on bases …
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St. Mary’s Glacier
On Father’s Day I was given the opportunity to pick what I wanted to do for the day, so I picked a hike in the mountains. We decided to go to St. Mary’s Glacier in Clear Creek County near the community of Alice. It’s not a tough trail, only 1-1/2 to 2 miles round trip. …
Absurdistan
Gloom and doom about the growth of nanny-state policies in Great Britain has been an ongoing theme here as regular readers know. Here is one more installment in our continuing series that comes from The Times. Gerard Baker uses the refusal of the British Advertising Standards Authority to allow some egg commercials to run on …
Not Buying It
Steve got worked up over this piece in yesterday’s NY Times on Freegans, a movement I had not heard of. As he is very busy, he asked one of us to take it on. From the article: “The site, which provides information and listings for the small but growing subculture of anticonsumerists who call themselves …
Earliest Gunshot Victim in the New World
The NY Times and LA Times both carried pieces on a gunshot wound found in an Incan burial near Lima, Peru that dates to the 1530s, the period of the Spanish conquest. According to them, it is the earliest documented gunshot wound found in the New World, likely administered by one of the conquistadores. These …
California Looms
The New West Net, an online news service dedicated to coverage of the Rocky Mountain states, recently had an opinion piece by Christian Probasco on the effect that nanny-state legislation in California may have on neighboring states in the West. What concerns the author is that California is a trendsetter. From the article: “California is …
McLoughlin!
My old friend John McLoughlin, zoologist, evolutionist, novelist, and artist, came down to visit from his hideout in the northern mountains to visit Magdalena (always referred to as “Down Among the Wild Men”) for the first time in 23 years. He brought his three daughters and his grandson, and a fine time was had by …
Don Herbert, RIP
The NY Times brings us the sad news of the death of Don Herbert, early television’s “Mr. Wizard.” The geek in me is proud to admit that “Watch Mr. Wizard” was one of my favorite shows as a kid. In my book it ranked right up there with “Sky King” and “Rin Tin Tin.”
Oviraptors, Aplomados and Avantis
Around the web. Darren reports on a new giant Oviraptor— basically your near- Tyrranosaur- sized bird. And yes, it was probably feathered. Carel gives us some welcome news about the return of the Aplomado falcon, with a gorgeous painting of a falcon “working” a fire as well. The Armendariz Ranch is in the southern part …
Bully Whippets
Mary, Patrick, Matt, and Reid all tipped me to this fascinating NYT science piece on so- called “bully whippets”. Thses stout over- muscled dogs are what happens when you inbreed too much seeking a single character, in this case speed. When the whippets are heterozygous for a certain gene they are fast, but when they …