Gorgeous Bug of the Day. Actually, not a bug at all, but a lepidopteran. There are clearer photos of Agriopodes fallax on the web, but this admittedly fuzzier one better does the colors justice. Kind of reminds me of a mint chocolate chip ice cream bar with wings.

Stress of the Season. No link on this one, but the job search continues to be difficult. Got another turn-down on a project proposal I've been trying to push through for 18 months. There will be more attempts at some point; sometimes I think I'm a cross between a bulldog and a bulldog ant. For now, I'm seriously pursuing some alternatives. As a friend pointed out: "Bugs are everywhere."

Other news of the week: Not much, really. I think this is called "hurry up and wait mode". I've changed my traveling schedule to increase my time at MSU from two days to three each week, so I'm now planning to make the long, long drive on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays through the end of April. Mostly, I'm trying to get an article under way with Cathy while helping Dave (back at WMU) polish another. It's a bit intimidating to be writing a review article in a field to which I'm very, very new. (It's not a critique of anyone else's work, really; more of an attempt to blend and reconcile some research models and assumptions that are taken for granted until they conflict with each other.) I'm trying to be meticulous while realizing that it's impossible for me to avoid accidentally leaving something out. This really isn't something that should cause too much anxiety; I figure that if we do leave anything out, the reviewers will eventually tell us what it was. :-)