Here’s something you don’t get to see everyday: Pandora, actually sitting up rather than lying down:
The reason she’s so intent is because I had just fed her a bit of medium rare steak, and was slicing off another piece at that moment.
Hurry Poop
These words of wisdom were scrawled on MrMoonPie’s refrigerator:
In response I heartily suggest the mixing of a shot of espresso* into a bowl of quick cook oatmeal**. Believe me when I tell you that it will most definitely hurry poop.
* Caffeine can stimulate accelerated peristalsis in the digestive tract, so that your intestines push out more waste faster. Doctors, back me up on this.
** Oatmeal is loaded with fiber, which, as you may know, makes you poop.
Moth in Cup
I have no idea how this moth got into my room, but it flew up right up to my left arm, slow and calm as you please — so I trapped it in a plastic cup, and got this photo before letting it out the window.
Mayon Building up to Explosive Eruption?
Before anything else, kudos to Estan for the amazing photos of the lava flows currently pouring down the slopes of Mayon Volcano:
(Mt. Mayon eruption, uploaded by estan.)
Mayon Volcano has been undergoing an effusive eruption in recent weeks, with lava flowing down its slopes into the surrounding area since mid-July. Ash columns emerging from the cone have now prompted PHIVOLCS to go to Alert Level 4, meaning an explosive eruption is imminent, and evacuation of the nearby population has begun.
News items on the situation from Inquirer, Sun Star, BBC. I really like this photo showing the locals watching lava right where it’s flowing into the danger zone. Trust Pinoys to go rushing to a dangerous lava flow to make usi (rubberneck).
And here’s a lovely news gem from Fox: Mayon Volcano is in Indonesia!
Yes, the Associated Press text says “Philippines,” and any Filipino will tell you that it’s in the Philippines, and a simple glance at the news will tell you the same; but somehow whoever adds the headlines and categorizes incoming wire stories wasn’t paying attention and gave it that headline and filed it under Indonesia. Way to go, Fox News! (Mark noticed too.)
Update: After several hours, Fox finally corrected the headline. Our long national nightmare is over.
DC Metafilter Meetup
Jessamyn was in DC for a visit, so local MeFites got together for a meetup at Palace of Wonders Argonaut on H St NE. (Palace of Wonders turned out to be closed, so Argonaut served as backup venue. Careful clicking, the sites are Flash-based with sound.)
The last photo is in the back of MrMoonPie and EvilTiff’s car, of me and hugsnkisses just after I discovered that she is actually nedrichards’ sibling, a fact which tickled me pink. It’s a Small Web After All. What were we doing in the back seat of the car? Well, riding to the Metro, of course. That’s all.
More photos here. I must say, Metafilter users are remarkably photogenic. Fun day, fun company, fun meetup, and so-so calamari. We now close the weekend with this video of MrMoonPie transitioning from a robotlike dance (?) to a one-handed demonstration of the Numa Numa.
Pandora With Halo
Yeah, yeah, I know, five days in a row with nothing but linklog. I’ve been rather busy, and will probably continue to be swamped all summer. But just to break the flood of linklog posts for now, I offer you this photo of Pandora with a saintly halo:
(It’s the lamp shining on the wall at the far end of the room behind her. But doesn’t she look beatific?)
Line Numbers in TextWrangler
My text editor of choice on Mac OS X is TextWrangler. For free, TextWrangler gives you a basic text editor with all the standard functions, plus a robust set of extra features: syntax highlighting, FTP/SFTP editing, and loads of internet-smart text manipulation features like email quoting and unquoting, and the magical Zap Gremlins.
I had just one major annoyance with TextWrangler when I began using it: the profound hidden-ness of a Line Numbers gutter. First-time TextWrangler users with no BBEdit experience will search the standard Preferences panel and View menu in vain for a “Show Line Numbers” option. Rather, one must hunt for the somewhat less intuitive dialog under Edit > Text Options to find “Line Numbers” as first in a series of “Display” checkboxes. Alternatively, as illustrated above, the “Text Options” button in the toolbar (a cryptic set of UI elements which tell you nothing about themselves till you roll over for a tooltip) drops down a menu which includes a Line Numbers toggle. The option does not persist to the next session.
DC Heat Wave 2006: Part 2!
Just when we thought it had gotten as hot as it would get, it gets hotter this week, as the heat wave that has been killing people and baking much of the nation now heads for the East Coast. Warming Warnings are up, so here are a few tips on how to handle the coming inferno like a pro:*
- Avoid water. That way you sweat less and stay less sticky. Instead, drink a diuretic, like Coke.
- Get out in the sun a lot. It’ll make the shade feel cooler.
- Dress with lots of heavy layers while you’re out in the sun, to block its deadly ultraviolet rays.
- Turn off that air conditioner. You’re just lowering your tolerance for heat, and burning precious fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming and makes the world even hotter.
- If you start feeling faint or dizzy while out in the sun, run around real fast and jump up and down as hard as you can to tell your body that it can beat the heat.
- Avoid sunscreen, which can cause skin cancer in high amounts.
More from CapitalWeather. Me, I’m seriously considering purchasing a Thobe.
* I’m joking. Please don’t follow these tips.
Morris Park, The Bronx
Rusty handrail and old bridge sign at the Morris Park subway stop on the 5 Line, in the Bronx, NY:
Office Chair Assembly Timelapse
Here is a timelapse video of me assembling a discount executive leather office chair I ordered from OfficeMax. It took me about ten minutes to realize partway through the process that I had put the arm rests on backward. In this video I am wearing my favorite batik house pants.