Are You Smarter Than a Macchiato?

In this totally unscientific "test," if you can find the man in the coffee beans within 3 seconds, the right side of your brain is better developed than the average person's. If it takes between 3 seconds and 1 minute, you're normal (whatever that is). If it takes between 1 minute and 3 minutes, your right brain is underdeveloped and functioning slowly. And...if you're sitting there thinking, "There's a man in this picture?" then you need to quit drinking so much coffee and buy a Sudoku book to strengthen that gray matter. Me, I found the man rather quickly but I can't get him to take my latte order. *sigh*

Can't Wait

Quintessential Solitude

If loneliness is defined as "destitute of sympathetic or friendly companionship" this story should also be included in the dictionary entry. For over 15 years, a solitary whale call has been tracked at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the Northeast Pacific. Its vocalization frequency and migration pattern do not match any known living whale species. Is it simply lost, forever separated from its own kind or is it the last of a dying species?

The calls were first noticed in 1989 and tracked since 1992 by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and later by the U.S. Navy and NOAA. While they're certain the calls are that of a whale, its frequency is unique. Blue whales emit a call at a frequency of 15-20 Hz, fin whales' calls are at 20 Hz and humpbacks are much higher. Lonely Whale's calls are at 52 Hz. You can listen to its vocalizations here.

At first, scientists speculated that the whale was a hybrid or that the calls were that of an injured whale whose vocalizations were distorted by illness - unlikely considering the 15 year monitoring time. Whatever the reason, Lonely Whale is getting older as evidenced by its deepening vocalizations over the past few years. Still, it continues to call out for others like it. Some species of whales can live for up to 75 years so this poor creature's unfortunate solitude and search for companionship may be a long and fruitless quest.

While environmentalists and political pundits could make a statement on this story as a sad marker of what we're doing to the planet and the consequences of mankind's actions, what remains is that somewhere out there in the Northeast Pacific is a creature wandering hopefully in search of its own kind -- whose mournful calls will most likely go unanswered.

And Now...For No Reason Whatsoever: Sam

Here's a picture of my sweet and freakishly intelligent dog Sam. As you can see, he's very concerned about the current tension between Serbians and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Why can't we all just get along? Peace out.

One Last Thing About the "Golden Compass"

Very thought-provoking article about the "Golden Compass" controversy by Jonathan D'Ambrosio on the Roger Ebert site. Bravo, Mr. D'Ambrosio! This is far better than anything I could have written and it hits the nail on the head precisely.

Ok, Now I've Seen It All...Or Have I...?

Wonder if there's anyone I know in this.

Haikus Are Easy

Saw this on a t-shirt at threadless.com and it cracked me up. Slogan by Rolf Nelson.

Praline Pecan Crunch

Happy 2008! Several people have requested this recipe so here 'tis:

Praline Pecan Crunch

1 16-oz box Quaker Oats Oatmeal Squares

2 cups pecan pieces

½ cup light corn syrup

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 250°. Lightly coat a 13x9" pan with cooking spray. Mix cereal with pecan pieces in the prepared pan. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, mix corn syrup, butter and brown sugar. Heat over low fire until starting to bubble. Add vanilla and baking soda and remove from heat. Mixture will bubble and foam. Pour over cereal and pecans and mix to coat. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Spread on cookie sheet to harden. Break up when cooled.

For guilt-free snacking, just remove the butter, the corn syrup, the nuts....oh hell, just eat the damn stuff. It's the holidays!!!