And more potpourri ....

Haven't been around blogspace much, for no particular reason. Our 16-year-old nephew spent a week with us recently, which was both an eye-opening experience and a lot of fun. This is normally a low-junk-food residence, but I'm still finishing off the last of the ice cream bars and the Frosted Sugar Bombs and all sorts of good stuff that accompanies a visit from a much younger relative.

Went wasping today. I don't know if that's supposed to be a verb, but it should be. There's just something about a big flowering shrub full of huge stinging Hymenoptera that makes me want to grab a net and wreak mayhem. Actually, we're targeting some of these critters for our general survey, so there's some justification for this. At least that's what I keep telling myself when I'm chasing a gigantic Dolichovespula around the inside of my net with a centrifuge tube filled with 100% ethanol. Maybe I should bow to both self-preservation and hedonism, mix the ethanol with my iced espresso instead of using it as a weapon, and leave the big bugs alone.

On a more somber note: I was really sorry to hear this news. As it happens, my cute little plush Heimlich was sitting on my desk as I read the obit. I still remember being able to crack up my niece by quoting the line, "Loooook at me ... I'm a be-YOO-ti-ful butterfly!"

On a cheerier note: Maybe this is old news, but I 've been playing this little ditty obsessively all evening while surfing. (Note: Do not navigate to this site if you are offended by exploding F-bombs.)

More later, since a number of interesting things are in the works ....