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!!!

Gouda Tidings We Bring

Is It Over Yet?

Last Minute Gift

Just can't figure out what to give Grandma and you're running out of time? Here's a quick and easy idea for a gift made from something you probably already have around the house.

Maxi Bedroom Slippers!!! You need 4 to make a pair. Two of them get laid out to make the foot part and the other two get wrapped around the toe area to form the top. Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part. Decorate the tops with cheery holiday bows or buttons.

They're soft and hygenic, feature non-slip grip strips on the sole and have a built in deodorant feature. They're also disposable, biodegradeable, and no more bending over to wipe up spills! Three convenient sizes: Regular, Light Day, and Get out the Sandbags.**


**Yes, this is a joke but I just couldn't resist.

Ever Feel Like This?

Christmas is like this picture for me. It sneaks up and bites me on the leg. Usually higher. I do own a calendar so I *should* be prepared, but somehow, every year, I find myself at the mall the weekend before. I think maybe it's become a mental block for me because, like Charlie Brown, I'm disgusted by the over commercialization of the holiday. I say "over" because I'm all for some commercialization. What would life be like if not for the 12-foot tall inflatable yard snowmen or the decorations that look like Walt Disney just vomited all over your window? Most young folks would probably never hear Bing Crosby's voice if it weren't piped through the p.a. system at Old Navy. It's just become too much when decorations go up the day after Halloween in all its technicolor glory. On December 26th, goodwill towards men comes to a screeching halt at 75% savings. By December 27th, flip-flops and sunscreen displays are assembled right next to Santa hats and fake snow. Good grief.

In any case, this blogger wishes all of you (even to the two of you who unsubscribed...grr) a very Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year with as little commercialization as possible.*

*The preceding good wish was brought to you by the good people at oldnavy.com, where shipping is always $5.

Don't Say I Never Got You Anything

From me to you. Merry Christmas. Turn up your volume.

Stargazing This Week

One August night, many years ago, my older sister announced that WE (I don't remember volunteering but who knows) were going to get up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. It was supposed to be spectacular that year and she wanted to see meteors! Who could refuse the invitation to sneak out of the house with your sister in the middle of the night, in our pajamas, to watch stars falling from the heavens? I remember the hot summer night, and groggily climbing on top of my dad's truck hood, leaning on the windshield to lie in wait for the big show. I felt happy and conspiratorial and probably watched her face more than I did the sky. I did see many meteors that night though, each of us trying to top each other's tally. By sunrise, I was satisfied that I had seen pretty close to the number she saw. I was thrilled to be equal with her! Later, after we came inside she told me she also saw two fireballs. Grrr...Oh well. We never snuck outside to watch meteor showers again but I'll always remember lying on that hood in the middle of the night with my sister. Not saying a word...just watching the heavens.

This week is the annual Geminid Meteor Shower, which in recent decades has surpassed the Perseid Meteor Shower in showy visibility, even if you live near big cities like L.A. This year is supposed to be...spectacular. If you're lucky, and depending on your location, you can see around 80 meteors per hour -- best visibility will be after 10 p.m. on Dec. 14.

Put on your pajamas. Call your sister.

Why Technology Is Like Your Mother...and That Episode of Star Trek With The Planet Eater

Most times, I really love being with my mom. She's always there when you need her, she's reliable, understanding, generous and I learn something new from her almost every time I see her. But sometimes, I just want to strangle her. C'mon, you know what I mean. Technology is like that. For example, I just recently switched from Comcast to ATT U-Verse. Without getting into the long, sordid story of why I gave the kick in the pants to Comcast (because I'm being medicated for high blood pressure and I'm not supposed to get riled up), I'll just say that I've been happy - generally - with U-Verse. In addition to digital TV, you also get your internet upgraded to a "fiber optic" system which is supposed to be better than DSL...blahblahblah. Ok, fine. Well....yesterday, when I clicked "receive" on my e-mail, the server downloaded 17,000 e-mails into my Inbox. No need to rub your eyes, yes...I said, 17,000...beginning in March 2005 to the present. After screaming several choice expletives, I checked my e-mail options and no, I did not check the box that said "keep a copy on the server."

Now, we all know that everything we send via our computers is saved somewhere, but where was this coming from? A call to ATT got me transferred to "Tier 2 Support" (Tier 1 was clueless) and a 4-digit "password." The guy was totally perplexed. His suggestion was to go ahead and let the server download all 17,000 e-mails (some multiple copies) and delete them. Anyone want to guess what that does to your computer? Freeze city. And of course, every time you stop a download and try again, it starts all over again. This happened FOUR times. Yes, I deleted 5-10 thousand e-mail messages manually FOUR times - because when you hit "select all," your computer just throws up its hands and lapses into a coma. Also, if you get U-Verse, you should know that you get a wireless modem which ROAMS, looking for a connection and sometimes, there is a disconnect, requiring - you guessed it - having to RE-DOWNLOAD the entire thing AGAIN. All I needed was to complete the gargantuan download so I could delete it and send it into the Internet Black Hole Vortex of Death - God willing. Remember that episode of Star Trek, The Doomsday Machine, where the football field-sized log was scooping up planets and Commodore Decker ends up flying into it, thereby destroying it? Yes, you do. I just needed to empty all those forgotten messages into the gaping maw of Deletion. I just couldn't do it because the damn connection couldn't handle it.

Finally, I was able to reach a different techie at ATT (Robert) who still couldn't clarify for me WHY this happened, but was able to delete the behemoth on his end - at the server. He hinted that it was probably a backup function of a downloaded tool gone awry. So while its intentions were good, I ended up having to destroy the monster created to protect me - like the Doomsday Machine. Oh, and Robert is my new BFF. he he As to how technology is like my mother....I still love my computer, but honestly...sometimes I get the urge to strangle.

"Is This The Library? Where Are You Located?"

Cool library facade in Kansas City. Residents were asked to nominate books that were representative of their city. The community choices were then made into ginormous replicas.

No more excuses about not being able to find the library to take care of fines.

More photos here and also of a temporary front in Cardiff.