kidsmoke

Damn. I want him for my team!

Even as we speak, these records are being written in the dank basements of fundamentalist churches. Geology is a fascinating subject. Any thoughts of going back to school and pursuing your passion? You're a young pup yet. That fellow on the insurance commercials doesn't seem too bad. Sounds like fascinating work, Anthony, but I'm not even sure where to begin with questions since I know so little about this line of work. Does it involve a lot of considerations of seismic response, living as you do in southern CA?

Paleontology was never my strong subject, but I'll keep this idea under advisement. Also architecture. Meanwhile, the powers-that-be have decreed that is is unfeasible and also unethical to clone a Neanderthal. So you won;t have to worry about that.

That's such a fun interview, and so relaxed.

I do love that parody. Darth Nixon.

That's fine, Oil Can. It's more the self-promotional stuff we're trying to quash.

So true, Chinese Apple. But it's a great ride when it happens!

Thanks everybody. It was a good day with many very sweet moments!

I've been through that stretch of Texas, Tweedling, and I can attest to its utter flatitude. Didn't get to see a sunrise or sunset, but I remember you could see for miles and miles in any direction. I'd love to see a sunrise there. I think there are ways to create helium artificially, or to extract it from air, but they are prohibitively expensive.

Always the jealous ones with their comments!

*Donald Duck voice* "What? Just trying to get my share before it's all gone!"

So hey, science-types (and others), how concerned are you about the depletion of the world's helium reserves? People generally assume that helium is somehow extracted from our air, but it is actually pumped from underground. It is created by natural radioactive decay and can't be artificially created. One of the world's primary sites of helium reserves is in an underground geological formation about 15 miles NW of Amarillo, TX. Supplies are rapidly disappearing! It is believed that there are about 11 billion cubic feet remaining at the TX facility, less than half of what was once there. The

You could play with it in photoshop & colorize it, Crow.

I hope the city will have the good sense to preserve that property.

That's a good one!

Buster got the straw and his stitches out today so he looks a bit more normal, but he still has a lot of healing to do. I was surprised they took the stitches out because the wound, while much smaller, still gapes open. The bottom wound, between his eyes, still weeps fluid a little. (They told my husband, who picked him up, that this was to be expected & we should just keep it clean.) But I think I'm going to call tomorrow and get some info on the wound highest up on his head, which is at least 1/4th-inch open at its widest. Does anybody have any experience with something like this? It see

I spoke too soon on the weather! We've had freezing temps for many nights now...I heard some visitor from DC on the news the other night, complaining that he'd visited southern CA hoping for some nice, warm weather but it was actually colder than in DC!

Oh! I knew that face looked familiar but I couldn't quite place it! Hi Deb! Actually I've seen Glenn's cousin, and he looked nothing like Ashton Kutcher. As tall as Glenn though, maybe taller.

This is great, and I spotted a VC'er in here!

Sounds like a lovely birthday, Anthony! Happy Birthday to you!

We're still working on a good nickname. A friend suggested "Big Gulp" but I think Buster's too little for that. What do y'all think of "Slurpee"? In other news, Buster got a big hunk of shaved turkey today, with an antibiotic pill tucked inside. The other dogs were like, "WTF? Where's mine?!!" My daughter Alissa was sitting with Buster this morning, as I tried to read. The following conversation ensued: Alissa: "If you look into the straw you can see between the skin layers. It's all red and stuff." Me: "Leave the poor dog alone." Alissa: "Don't blow in it though because it makes him itc

Our little dog Buster, who has the sweetest of dispositions but possibly one of the dog world's smaller brains, cannot be persuaded to leave the local wildlife alone. Yesterday he apparently had a skirmish with either a raccoon or a cornered opossum. Here's before & after: Pre-skirmish: Post-skirmish: The vet had to put in a drain to prevent infection between the layers of his skin. My daughter has taken to calling him Draino, but I prefer Frankendog. You don't even want to know what it cost to have him outfitted with a straw sticking out of his head. (We could have probably done t

I don't know about "Best Ever" but I could watch this for hours...what a great cast! Harry's attempted magic tricks in this episode are priceless...especially the one following the "money shoes" bit (9:56). "Rats!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9q_MmG4Dpk

I knew I liked you! It's a great birthdate, isn't it? Produces wonderful people. Exactly! Or even Halloween. My experience of ice fishing is almost completely limited to cartoons about it. Do you build the little icehouses over the cut hole? Sounds to me as if it would be a chilly endeavor, but I know Lotti would say that just means you haven't had enough of the schnapps. There is (are?) schnapps involved, yes? Well at least you have your friend's birthday to be happy about! PS - Diane, I'd understand if you were tempted to use the fish from NoJ's ice fishing thusly-> Fro

I don't know about the rest of the country (midwest blizzards & all) but one reason I love January is that here in southern California it brings some of the most glorious weather of the year. Today is postcard-perfect brilliant blue skies with billowing stacks of cumulus clouds, and a surprisingly warm sun that has our normally indoor dogs wanting to lie out and bask in the sun with an old rib bone. Dog heaven. Also I'm a January birthday, so I'm predisposed to like the month, which also contains my husband's birthday and those of my two sons...only my daughter missed this month...she's