Senator Robert C. Byrd

Robert C. Byrd -- road-builder, astronomer, mountaineer. Bacon-man. Man of pork. The Pork Lion of West (by golly!) Virginia.

I have nothing significant to say.

In 2007, the Princeton Review ranked West Virginia University libraries 5th best of 366 college libraries surveyed. Don't know if Byrd assisted. I would bet so.

I'm sure Byrd fully understood the importance of siting a radio telescope facility in an isolated, radio-free zone, and was more than pleased to discover W.V. fit the bill handily.

I'm totally serious.

I'm thinking of a federal agency's training center near Shepherdstown.

Apart from helping prevent overcrowding of the Washington metro area, Byrd kept his fingers in an enormous array of Senate business.

And I need to revisit a spectacular radio telescope that I saw when brand-new before it closes in perhaps 2016. It should have been enough to make me want to be an astronomer/physicist, but the tropical vegetation was somehow more persuasive.

"The senator greeted the kids with hugs, as though they were his granddaughters."

Explains so much, doesn't it? When I saw the news of his passing this morning, I actually felt like a grandfather had died.

We spend a lot of our vacation time in West Virginia. From their roots with the CCC through their fabulous support today, the state parks there are possibly the best in the country.

Senator Byrd will be missed.

I remember those highways, Joel.

Unfortunately he didn't do much about Route 50 (I think), which gets down to two lanes in the mountains and often feels like one lane about to slide off the mountain when you're crawling through night fog.

The thing about Byrd is... he was approaching middle age when he was first elected to the US Senate.

The Lovely Mrs. byoolin, who once worked at The Senator Robert C. Byrd National Technology Center (in the days before Wheeling Jesuit's grounds also included the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies across the street), said, "he was so kick-a** I thought he'd live for another 20 years."

Byoo -- funny, as always.

HUGE thunder over me now. AND, dark, dark skies.

If you don't want the rain, CqP, you can fax it to me, we need it around here. Thanks!

And oodles and boodles of rain.

Oh wow... something is definitely rolling in. Dark and WINDY. Please rain...

It's rumbling and raining in Bethesda. Just hope not to lose power, especially in this heat.

So, now that SCOTUS has allowed all of us to pack heat whenever and wherever we want, I'm gonna practice ducking. Too many people in this country with HUGE anger management issues.

Whatta country, eh?

Hope Brag's all set for a long siege... Brazil's up 2-0 over Chile.

We do not have rain here. Instead, it appears that we have been immersed in some sort of gigantic pool, and the building would flood if we were to open the doors.

Hey folks. Got a new handle, in honor of the World Cup, and to lose the actual name at the request of the wife. I think it is very fitting.

Sincerely, used to be steveboyington

Baldinho, eh? Is it apt, top-of-head wise?

*L* Very nice, baldinho... :-)

And in honor of the new handle, Brazil goes up 3-0. Brag is hopefully barricading the door at this point.

And yes, it was Robinho that scored!!! *L*

Smashing header baldinho!

Back on kit for a moment:
This is based on Census Bureau data.

In 1979, the per capita income of West Virginia was 84% of the national average and ranked 43rd out of the 50 states. By 2007, it had fallen to 76% of the national average and ranked 49th out of the 50 states.

I shudder to think what condition West Virginia would be in today had Senator Byrd not funneled so many federal tax dollars its way. And for all that money, West Virginia still lost ground in terms of its citizens' abilities to earn income.

I for one wish that elderly Senators in frail health would resign rather than die in office:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062803059.html?hpid=topnews
Especially the Democrats...sorry if that sounds harsh...

Not really, Seasea. The same goes for Republicans and also vice presidents.

I was sad to see this kit,just upon figuring the Sen. Byrd has passed away.I have driven across and through most of West by god and the roads truely are wonderful. Route 79 is a beautiful road,up 1 mountain and down the next with breathtaking scenery everywhere.It was a real pleasure traveling it.I also had the privilege and meeting Sen. Byrd twice and enjoyed listening to him talk and oh boy could he talk. But he also listened and laughed and offered advice and he made you feel like you and he were buddies.

When I first moved to West Virginia,I went to the local Apple Butter Festival in Berkeley Springs.I stopped by the Democratic booth and spoke with the local state senator. He told me, if i ever have a question about the state or ever wanted to write to our senators in DC,please feel free.I wrote to both Sen. Byrd and Sen. Rockefeller about various things, how much i liked living here,how beautiful it was,questions about our goverment. I got the standard response from both with the stamped signature. But after travelling our state roads, I wrote a letter to Senator Byrd about how wonderful our roads were and darn if I didn't get a hand written response from Senator Byrd. I have that letter still to this day.The man cared very much about our state. And he was very proud of our Wild and Wonderful west Virginia roads.

Since West Virginia is almost heaven you are already there Senator Byrd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWzeInQaUk4

tysonsara1 - I added an answer to your engine/generator question at the end of the previous comments. But others here are much more knowledgeable than I about the subject.

There are many many times when I watch the Senate and think "Please please puleeze can't we get rid of all these wrinkled old white guys and get somebody new? Then I remember Senators like Sam Ervin and Everett Dirksen and I moderate my stance to "most of these wrinkled old white guys."

Hi! Everyone!

@Slyness- What's for dinner?

@-ftb- Just move to wherever ScienceTim is and you should be fine- last time I checked guns and water don't play well together.

kguy1, I'm sorry to say that Sam Ervin was among those old white guys who opposed civil rights. I was given a book on his humor, compiled after Watergate, and it was clear from that his record wasn't much better than Byrd's. (I think he was savvy enough not to join the KKK, but still.) But he came around, and thank God he was where he was in 1974.

Geekdottir! How wonderful. Welcome. We love slyness.

Senator Byrd was an institution in and of himself. He was not perfect by any means, but his dedication to tangible improvements for his state was impressive. I believe he also truly changed his heart over time, something not all older Southern white males were able to do. I too have enjoyed West Virginia's excellent roads and hospitality, and am glad to give him credit.

Howdy geekdottir!

About 10 seconds after my last post (2:37 PM) the power went out and just came back on. This is very unusual for us. Good thing we were already planning dinner prepared on the grill.

What'd I miss?

Geekdottir! Nice to meet you!

I should hope that when I am remembered that people can acknowledge I changed and grew, for the better, over time. I like to think that I didn't come from such an unworthy starting point as Senators Byrd and Ervin , but who knows how anyone's past will stand up to future expectations for good thoughts and deeds.

As two new culverts are being installed on the road in front of the Post Office in Our Fair City this week, after much more effort than one would think necessary to get the state hwy department to do what it rightfully should have done several years ago, I marvel at Senator Byrd's accomplishments with respect to ribbons of pavement.

I'd like to note that Daniel Inouye (D-HI) takes over as the senate's President pro tempore. No spring chicken there either, with a much more grueling commute.

Please pardon my lapse in manners in my last two comments.

Welcome Geekdottir!

Welcome Geekdottir, how nice that you've joined us here.

kguy, whenever I see the senators going on and on, I wish there was a mandatory IQ test!

Trying to get the fish cooked on the grill before the t-storm hits around 6 -ish.

Geekdottir! Thanks for the advice, but I fear it won't really matter. There will be no safe places, really.

The temperature now says 79. Where'd *that* come from??? I wonder if I will have to put on a sweater. . . . .

Nah. . . . .

Ordered some books from Amazon today, including one for a friend for our birthdays coming up in August (20 days apart, and she's older (*snort*)). She wanted "Hitler's Empire" and I wanted "Don Quixote" -- I so wish I could read that in the original Spanish, but that's not one of my languages, alas. Ah, well.

That would be spring shoyu chicken for the WWII hero.

Thinking of the older Southern generation, Sen. Ervin was not progressive when the civil rights issues came to a head, but scarcely anyone in the region was. I had the pleasure to see him in person in 1974. After him, Jesse Helms, who was sort of the anti-Robert Byrd. Fortunately, North Carolina's economy was moving ahead anyway, leaving Helms behind. West Virginia, for a variety of reasons, was less fortunate and very much needed its Byrd.

Not that the rest of the country doesn't benefit from the vast West Virginia diaspora.

I am proud to say that God will not have to hold me responsible for Jesse Helms, because I never voted for him.

Yes, Dave, we have lots of folks from West Virginia in this part of NC. Straight shot down I-77, you see. I don't know how well they have fared in the current economy.

One of my most vivid memories is of a fire that occurred shortly before Mr. T and I were married. He was one of the first on the scene, because he happened to be in the area. A young mother, two preschoolers, and an infant died; the family was from West Virginia. The fire started when one of the preschoolers got hold of a lighter.

Geekdottir, I told you about supper already. Chicken salad, corn on the cob, green beans from our garden. Why did you let me forget to snap the beans till after 5?

Thanks for the generous welcome to her, folks. She has heard me giggling so often that she had to investigate for herself.

Ah, it must be summer. Can I come over for dinner, slyness?

I think that change in mindset is something to be commended.

Enjoying Joel's kit and the comments about Sen. Byrd. I knew of him only from an amendment we (along with many other industries and countries) fought to have repealed. It was, I believe, a case of unexpected consequences that resulted in quite the uproar, possible trade ramifications etc. Until today how I thought of him was very much linked to that and I appreciate getting the broader picture.

Some of our attempts at "Pork" haven't really worked out as planned, Ooops :-)

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/820390--from-fountains-to-gardens-to-buried-hydrants-it-s-a-new-world-in-the-near-north

I forgot, Welcome geekdottir.

Slyness do you have room for one more, that sound wonderful.

bia... I didn't get to completely backboodle when I got back from the beach. I suppose you got your A/C back in working condition? Hope you cooled off quickly.

Sorta kinda, TBG. We've got freon added to the old unit for the downstairs, waiting for parts and replacement units to arrive from the home warranty company. So, still sleeping in the living room, but happy to be able to use heat-producing appliances and close nighttime curtains. I would expect the parts to arrive soon, but I don't want to risk fainting by holding my breath. If saving lots of money through the home warranty were as convenient as just paying the repair guy, it wouldn't be fair, right?

The one interaction I had with one of Sen. Byrd's projects was when I had just started working for one of the New England states DOT. I got a tour of a recently-built bridge on a rural road. I think it serviced only about 4 houses. Single lane.

It had a nice new timber deck. The funding came from a federal program to restore/promote timber in bridge building, with an emphasis on locally-grown species.

Of course, the specification was written so that the preferred "locally-grown species" were native to West Virginia, or at least that area. None of the timber in the New England bridge came from New England.

Sen. Byrd was clever in those appropriations bills.

My guess is the recent surge in strength of the He Man Obama-Haters Club will ensure that Sen. Byrd's seat goes to the GOP whenever it gets to voting.

Thanks for the welcome everyone. ^_^

@Slyness you didn't ask me to remind you! Not that I would have remembered even if you had... Next time I'll snap them and we can call it even, k?

dmd, come when you can, there's plenty. I'll get more corn before you arrive.

Even, Geekdottir. Did you read the last kit, about the spill? Great photos.

Hi, Geekdottir!

Dirksen and Ervin seemed as old as the hills to me, but Dirksen was 73 when he died, and Ervin retired in 1974 when he was 78. Mere youngsters compared to Byrd (and Thurmond and Helms).

Welcome Geekdottir!

Ervin was a year behind my dad at UNC-Chapel Hill. I remember him talking about knowing Ervin as a student. I wish I had his yearbooks still, they were wonderful to ponder. Fewer students, more info about each. And so many of them became people we read about in the news. I suppose my mother got rid of them when she moved out of her house.

Geekdottir!! *what-took-you-so-long Grover waves* :-)

Hotlanta isn't being very welcoming to Strasburg -- 1 K the first two innings, but he's keeping the Braves off the scoreboard, with more than a little help from Willingham throwing a guy out at home and a double-play ball. :-)

The Nats are on ESPN2 nationally, I do believe...

I don't think I've got anything on Senator Byrd. It's gonna seem strange not to have him around anymore, though. Quite an institution.

If anybody wants to check out the photo album from my buddy Rob's bicycle mega-trek (he's going from Las Vegas to Atlanta by way of Death Valley & Canada, I think he started in April) there are some pretty good pics here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rwhirsch/Rob2010Cycle#

He figures he'll be in Saskatoon for Canada Day. Headed east from there.

Strikes are nice, but grounders, flies, and sharply struck double-play balls for outs and no runs make me just as happy. Happier, even.

Well, that's too bad. He'll miss a really good meal in Calgary. Hee hee.

Strasburg has 2 Ks now, but is keeping the pitch count down -- 46 through 4 innings.

Bob.. your friend Rob is taking the long way, I see. Great pictures... thanks for sharing! Keep us posted on his progress. He looks like he's having fun.

Yeah, I should have been on top of this earlier. He's already been to Jasper, I'm not sure if he went through Calgary or Edmonton. Presumably not both.

99-mph high cheese gets Strasburg his third K.

The cornbread was terrific with the ham and navy bean soup. A taste of the south, all right-- without the thunderstorms (knock on wood).

And two more Ks to strike out the side!! Still only 61 pitches through 5 innings.

You should check out the pics from some of his other trips ( http://picasaweb.google.com/rwhirsch ). There's some great stuff. He do get around!

Geekdottir! Great to see you!

slyness, add fresh sliced tomatoes to that dinner and you'd have a meal we had many, many times growing up. It still sounds great and I'm sure it still tastes great!

73 pitches and 7 K through 6 innings against a really hot team. Yowza!

Bob, your friend's photos are amazing. I am so jealous, altho' not about the bike riding part ;-). I'm almost afraid to check out his other trips for fear my jealousy will turn to envy.

And the defense lets Strasburg down... Should have been an easy double-play and got fumbled by Desmond.

And then Morgan throws to the wrong base and takes away a possible double play on a deep fly to center. *SIGHHHH*

Sigh... Well, let's see if the bats can come alive and get Strasburg a no-decision, and most importantly, get some other Nats pitcher and the team a win.

I ain't gonna hold my breath.

It's the first time I watched this Strasburskinovitch guy. He's good even if he looks a young 18. His curve ball wasn't working and his fastball was -meh- at best yet he managed to limit the damage. You got a live one out there.

What amazes me in the Byrd/Thurmond/etc history is that a 88/89/90 etc year old would decide to be a candidate for a 6 years term. Who do they think they are?

I deplanted one tree and planted 3 today. I'm getting too old for that kind of work in the hot burning sun.

That's a game. Gotta get some bats, and gotta get those make-able outs. Easy, right?

And please feel welcome geekdottir.

I'm heading for Saskatoon, Drinkwater and Moose Breath later this summer. I'm quivering in anticipation.

Didn't George Burns (several years in advance) sign a contract to perform in London on his 100th birthday? He wasn't able to keep the date, but by golly he fully intended to. And very probably would have if he hadn't gotten injured in the bathtub fall.

Very dangerous, the bathing facilities.

Seems to me the VLP could have lent a paw in taking the tree down, shriek.

Welcome, geekdottir!

I think the old white man thing worked against Arlen Specter. I figured time to vote in a younger, pro-choice liberal while we had the chance.

Got home from work and went out with my visiting cousin, I just got home. She grew up here but has lived in a small upstate town for around 50 years. We had gyros for dinner, she looking out the window at the (light, for me; heavy for her) traffic out the window and she commented, "All that gas and they don't want us to drill anyplace we can!"

We almost never discuss politics, it's at her house my dogz listen to Rush. I didn't say anything but she then said, "Well, it would be better if there were fewer cars on the road," a tacit concession to our differences.

Have a good night, all. It thundered here, but only rained for a disappointingly short time.

Quivering in anticipation better suits Moose Drool, SK shriek.

As a general rule the VLP is useless unless you wish to put a large dog or poacher under control. I can't say for its poacher handling ability but the large dog thing he has it down path.
Today he managed to surprise a cat that has been ambushing our birds for a while. The cat was obsessed with a couple of cardinals and forgot to check its 6 O'clock. Hopefully the cat will remember the hot, foetid breath of the hellhound beast briefly breathing on its neck.

Do they have a drum reconditioning facility in Moose Drool SK?

If not, they otta.

Another Byrdish project is Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, quite a worthy project.

When Sam Ervin was a student, UNC-Chapel Hill would have been a fairly intimate place, what with a much smaller student body than today and the town being rather isolated. The "academical village" stuff was obsolete by the 1970s, though the Chapel Hill Telephone Company could make it feel that way.

Then I should go to Moose Drool. A good friend has property near Moose jaw, I'll update him on the looks of his property.

It is just south of Moose Jaw. Go well. God's speed!

Why am I not surprised, Yoki?

Welcome aboard, geekdottir. We've heard so much about you, we feel we already know you. Those are perhaps the scariest words a kid can hear from friends of his or her parents.

And bob-s, I have a new biking hero. What great places and wonderful pictures.

More evidence that the Republicans are idiots:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062805129.html?hpid=topnews
But they keep getting elected...so I suppose the joke's on us, if only it were funny...

Did I say how glad I am to see the Western Boodle Contingent growing? We've got seasea, me, dr, engelmann, bh, LAlurker (aka a bunch of other names) and now shrink2; pretty soon it won't be weird when we post late in the EDT.

Good night, Boodle dear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNGzltK_tlc

Seasea, the way the GOP sees it today, using the language of today, the problem is that Thurgood Marshall just wasn't a REAL American, a hard-working American. He didn't love freedom enough. He wanted to mooch off the rest of us. You know how it goes nowadays. He just wasn't like you and me.... he was probably a socialist.

And goodnight, baldinho.

I would have liked it if Kagan could have said: "So, Senators, if I'm understanding your point correctly you are saying that this committee and the august body of the Senate at large made a grievous error when they confirmed Marshall in 1967. A failure you are reluctant to repeat because you feel I could be the next Thurgood Marshall. Well, damn Senator. That's the nicest left-handed compliment I've ever been given."

Left-handed compliment indeed, cowhand!! :-)

Even after a tough loss, Strasburg impresses, taking the blame. When you earn kudos from Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones, that's a good sign. Too bad Atlanta's hitting phenom Heyward was headed for the DL lst night, him versus Strasburg would have been a great matchup to watch.

Since I'm at home on my own computer (jes sayin'), let me say that Tea Party darling Sharron Angle is an e-mail spammer of the worst kind. Seriously. I have it on the best authority that she's somehow obtained work e-mail addresses for people who couldn't possible vote for her (for a number of reasons), and she's using a morphing sender address to get past the usual spam blockers. Not that her cr@p gets read or anything, but it's obvious she's begging for money. No wonder she's hiding from the media. *repeated eye rolls*

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/us/politics/29angle.html

And somebody please tell Ms. Kang to write an op-ed if she wants to perpetuate the myth of cell phones & cancer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062805231.html

She should at least be honest about just wanting to lead with the same scaremongering studies (and play down any real science that disagrees) by using the current kefuffle between the S.F. city council and the telecom industry as a news hook. *shaking my head*

But wait, I'm on vacation, dagnabit!!! Time to go have some fun with NukeSpawn and NukeSpouse!! I'm sure y'all can handle the World Cup commentary without me today (although the Iberian Imbroglio will sure be interesting)!! *humming-"On-The-Road-Again"-and-firing-up-the-GPS Grover waves* :-)

Scotty, you all have a good time today. I hope you have something delightfully fun planned!

Morning, all. Mr. T and I have gotten into the habit of walking early, so pleasant on summer morns. We'll see how it works in February.

Dave, I think there were fewer than a hundred students in my dad's class at UNC in 1918. I recall several women, but of course most were men.

Thanks for the warm welcome to the Geekdottir. She justified her existance yesterday by having the father of a friend solder a flashdrive back together for Mr. T and retrieving the important files on it. Her skills continue to amaze me.

Hi Cassandra! Hope you're feeling well today and aren't too hot.

For geekdottir:
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3343

seasea,
For Republicans, bashing Thurgood Marshall is good politics. He's still a prime specimen of what an evil Democratic Justice.

At the other end of the political spectrum, maybe San Francisco can demand that an autism warning form be signed by anyone seeking childhood vaccinations for their kids.

I can't find the news story, but evidently a recent bit of social science research indicates that well-educated people are as prone as anyone else to prefer ideology to reality. The Wall Street Journal's opinion pages were onto something.

Dave, it would be nice for those fine Senators to take the time to tell us just what about Thurgood Marshall made him an activist judge. Was it being for civil rights? Or, was it equality for women?

I just am stupid there. I have an honest hankering to know.

The Post ran their stock market report with a header of "Stocks tumble on global economic worries." It seems like they have used that one about a dozen times in the past quarter. My concern is that, come Friday, we will start to see the affects of the Republican Senators' blockade of the last unemployment/stimulus extension.

From a purely economic vantage point, this is really really dumb. What I am afraid of is that we will absolutely crush the non-profits and support structures that are already underfunded and over utilized.

I am still reeling from the George Will explanation this past weekend of those "so smart" Senators. We are encouraging people to sit on their duff and not look for work? Sure. Most of the work is paying below poverty levels, so do you think that the unemployment benefits are better, Mr. Will? More to the point, this economy needs the money flooding into the consumer base.

You take one to two percent out of the consumer spending and there goes the recovery. There is no credit for small businesses. There is barely enough business for so many folks. For many of us, our rainy day fund is long gone.

As Paul Krugman and Ravi Bahtra have said, we have watched the largest redistribution of wealth to America's very rich in the past decade and this is the icing on the cake. With Will's help and 41% of the US Senate, we demonize the people at the bottom.

I have news for many of the supporters of those 41 Senators those very bad people are you, too.

Top of the morning from very beautiful Eastern Oregon, where the antelope really do roam.

As a lefty in more ways than one, I think left handed compliments are just fine. That whole sinister/dirty thing is so over, except for the billions of people who have no toilet paper.

Say, from time to time I see references to shared photos. Is there a boodleratchick cork board? I'll put up my junk-pile email to get the address if there is.

It's official -- the air conditioning in the condo is not working (I *though* it was a little too warm in here). The technicians have been called, but, well, don't know when they'll get here. It ain't gonna be a good day, I can tell. But at least this is the last 90 degree day for awhile. Not that 80 isn't warm. . . .

*getting all cranky, so will bid adieu*

SCC: *thought*

*even more cranky now*

Bless you, ftb, I hope they show up in the next ten minutes!

When Elderdottir's HVAC system completely died, I was designated to condo sit while the new system was installed. Got rather warm before they were done. It was an all-day event.

Hop on a plane up here ftb, amazing day, cool, blue skies, no pollution!! This will only last to the weekend, limited time offer before summer returns :-)

Hey Shrink is another leftie - this boodle seems to have a high percentage of lefties. Course we all know lefties are smarter - dunking and running back to work.

I think elderly Senators should make an attempt to groom their own replacements. Granted, sometimes this might fail, but it also might sometimes succeed. I see McCain's failure to do this as a flaw. But I'm open to being convinced otherwise. Said protege might fail; or even assume the mantle prematurely.

The NYT is reporting this morning that BP is making "contingency" plans to collect the oil from the Deepwater Horizon well in the event the relief wells "don't work."

I generally hate conspiracy theorists, but since the beginning of this ordeal, I have always been surprised at the idea that BP would willingly abandon such a productive "asset"--notwithstanding any public criticism.

At the rate that this well is thought to be producing, it's north of $1 billion gross to them annually and maybe as much as $2.5 billion if it could produce 100K bbl/day. I find it hard to believe that they're just going to walk away from that amount of money.

Be on the lookout over the next few week for plans that emphasize collection of the oil and de-emphasize capping the well.

russianthistle,
The Republican distaste for Marshall comes down to his long and successful career with the NAACP, using the courts to end segregation, end lynching, and provide non-white people equality before the law. It's easy to forget the NAACP's accomplishments, and how thoroughly the organization was detested by southern whites.

And Marshall commented about the original Constitution having been defective because it accommodated slavery, until the post Civil War amendments. Wingnuts who think the original constitution was just fine are thriving right now. Marshall isn't welcome here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060404918.html

Editorial at New Scientist: "Stop uncontrolled experiments on autistic children":
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627662.300-stop-uncontrolled-experiments-on-autistic-children.html

And some Gulf sea turtle eggs are coming to Florida's Atlantic coast:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/article1105596.ece

shrink,
antelopes are neat. They have a tendency to sneak up on you from the rear, just to see what's going on.

When one moves out West and first becomes acquainted with an indigenous animal that can run that fast, one wonders, why? Word is the American prairies used to have cheetahs.

Lefties on the boodle? *Raising my left hand* I'm another!

New Kit. Houston.

Thanks for the welcome everyone, I feel like I should be replying to everyone individually, but that would be such a long comment that no one would read it.

@slyness I told you yesterday that I'd looked at the oil spill articles! now all of achenblog knows exactly where I got my memory. ;-) The photos were great.

@yellojkt I'm actually not too worried about you guys and gals knowing about me- slyness has excellent taste in friends. Though she does have a tendency to brag on me, so I do hope you guys and gals don't think I'm 7 feet tall and destined to win a Nobel Peace Prize. ^_^

@DNA_Girl Thanks for the link, I love Sinfest but hadn't seen that one before! It's amazing how many really strange problems a reboot will fix.