They Found Wood

I was reading the news this morning and saw there has been a confirmed siting of an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). Well how about that? Apparenly no one has 'officially' seen one of these creatures in sixty years, but I bet the locals will tell you the science geeks are foolish because they have never stopped seeing them.

The siting was in eastern Arkansas near the Louisiana border. The last official siting in 1944 was very nearby, in Louisiana. Another interesting note was this is the sixth bird, according to the article, that has become extinct since 1880.

Read the article Here

At any rate, why the hell am I writing about a woodpecker in eastern Arkansas? I can't really answer that one. It just seemed like a good thing to write about, and I've liked woodpeckers since Woody.

Now that's a piece of news you won't hear every day, and you must admit, I am one hundred percent and teeee-totally dedicated to providing the most random postings on the planet.

An Apple Today Keeps Windows Away

Before reading this posting skip it and read the one below, it's the preview....

Done yet?

Ok now?

Good. So you know the lightning basically raped my PC, and that I've got a new computer, and by the title you've probably figured out the new one is a Mac. Good job. I bought an Apple PowerBook G4 without the Superdrive (I can't burn DVDs). I figured I'd get the combo drive and save an extra couple of hundred bucks and live without 20 more gigs. I've got 60 gigs of memory, 512 MB of ram, and a 1.5 GHz processor on a 12 in screen. Not a bad deal, and I don't have to complain about how much I loathe that other company, and you don't have to put up with my rantings.

I found out I will probably be an uncle in around two weeks or so. Now that's the best news I've had. WOW. I don't know really much to say about it except the feeling is exciting, overwhelming and....damn, I'm getting old.

Brodie (new cat) is still doing wonderfully. Too wonderfully between 5 and 7 AM I may add. He's rambunctious, friendly, and very vocal. We got him a few new toys and he absolutely goes ape over catnip. What the hell is in catnip that makes cats act like their on crack? In fact, that's what they ought to call it, Cracknip. You heard it here first.

So between now and next time I'll work on getting some pics of Brodie, updating on the rest of the stuff I've missed out on posting, and keep watching the Braves. I can't believe I haven't said anything about the Braves! I'm a huge MLB fan despite the greedy bastards who play the game, I can't help it. Go Braves, Go Red Sox, damn the Yankees, and the rest will be just fine.

A Flash Of Light In The Middle Of The Night - Oh Shit

It was a very blustery, loud and thunder-filled night. Living on the 3rd floor of the apartment complex every sound seems to be amplified; there was the thunder, the tree brushing against the window, and of course the rain pelting the building. On top of all the noise there was the lightning flashes. FLASH, and them BOOOOOM over and over. It was one such flash that has kept me from posting to DavidBlog for quite some time.

It was very similar to the sound a light bulb makes when it has lit for its last time and burns out, only 20 times louder, and immediately followed by the most deafening thunder clap I've ever heard. We were both awake. After a few seconds A whispers to me that she heard something shatter. I told her that was nonsense, nothing shattered, it was just the thunder. She persisted and I insisted and in the end we both ended up falling back asleep between thunderclaps until the next morning at around 7 am.

At that early point in the morning A had already been up and getting ready to go to her work. I on the other hand was enjoying a little shuteye after a night of broken sleep - a luxury I have with night shift work. She busts the bedroom door open faster than Kramer and tells me to "GET in the den RIGHT NOW." I knew what was coming. When I got to the den I surveyed a scene that makes one say "Awhh shit." Maybe it was the drywall that was all over the floor, no maybe it was the big holes running up and down the ceiling and walls, or maybe it was the fact that my telephone, my tv, my computer, and my cable modem were fried, and my entire apartment was without power that made me use the 'Awwhh shit' phrase. Whatever it was, by the time I got all the fuses back to where they were supposed to be I realized my computer was toast, my kitchen power was screwed, my telephone would remain busy, and my TV only lights up half way.

That's the bad news.

The good news is the end result reminds me somewhat of the intended effect of a naturally started forest fire - out with the old. Since that crappy poopy lightning strike I have purchased a new computer, and a new phone. The TV will come later because it still works. I'm stoked about my computer and will tell you all about it in the next posting (which will be here in a few minutes). It has been so long since I've posted I wanted to provide an explanation other than the lame 'well it's been awhile hasn't it?" blog opener. So, there you have it. And chances are if you've made it this far you've already read about the computer and the phone, and my upcoming vacation, and......you get the picture.

A B-day, A Bike Ride, And A New Roommate

The last party I went to quite like this one was maybe when I was around four or five years old. But then again, it was a four year old's birthday party. A's cousin was the Birthday girl. It was at a place that was set up like a big farm. There were horses, ponies, train rides (ok it was a tractor with little buggies behind it), one big ass hog (800 - 1000 lbs!), a bunch of ducks, rabbits, and two or three turtles. Then there was cake, and ice cream, and along with that automatically comes 20 screaming, hyper, having a blast 3 - 5 year olds. I tell you what, if I was four years old I would have been in heaven. It was an awesome place for a party. I even found myself standing beside the cooler after a few minutes, only it was full of Cokes and Kool-Aid. Old habits die hard I guess.

After the party we came home and I went for a ride. Being the perfect day for a ride it was warm but not at all hot - actually a bit cool since it was around 6 pm before I got started. My usual spot was crowded with herds of indoorsman suffering from Spring fever. It's amazing how people forget about how refreshing it is to be outside on a nice day. On any lazy summer day the place would have been lonely, but on an exceptionally nice Spring day (today) it was slammed. Sad really, but bittersweet to know there are a lot of people out there who still prefer the outdoors to the tube, even if only for a few Spring days. I was riding along a section of the trail that was meandering through a field in between two lakes and heading into a woodsy section. Just as I passed under a few trees a gnat slapped right onto my eyeball and lit onto my contact lens. Great. I stopped in an attempt to free the bug from my eyeball, but in so doing I inadvertently removed my contact. There I was, covered in mud, hands shaking from riding so hard, out of breath, and I am holding a dirty contact - with a gnat on it - on a mud covered finger. I ditched the contact and turned around, rode a wider gravel road trail that loops back around to the trail head and stumbled over to my car and drove home - with one eye. Yes, it was a perfect day for a ride.

So you're wondering about the new roommate? He's furry, has white paws, stays up late, and talks really weird. We picked up our new cat from the local Animal Shelter Saturday afternoon. He's honestly the most affectionate cat I've ever been around, it can be at times almost annoying, but he's cool as shit. He likes to play rough, bounce around, and has been in trouble already. He actually responds when you call him....can you believe it? Cats don't do that? His name is Brodie, but we're not sure if we're going to change it or not. Let's see if Brodie knows how to pay rent.....doubt it.

All in all it was a good weekend. And as always it was way too short for me to already be writing about how the weekend went. So in the words of a good friend of mine...."Thanks for stopping by San Diaaago."