Changing the subject

Because who really wants to think about mouse poop any more than necessary?

The best-laid schemes

There are mice in my garage. I picked up a big bag of grass seed and the bottom fell out. Little furry bodies fled, their plans for a life of luxury foiled.

So I'm thinking: Ech, there's a cleaning job. Then I'm thinking: Urgh, hantavirus.

Happily, the CDC has a whole hantavirus site, with clean-up tips.

My plan to clean yesterday was foiled by lack of bleach. Today it's raining. Maybe tomorrow.

Yeah. Tomorrow.

What I'm Reading:"Come Back to Afghanistan" by Said Hyder Akbar

The subtitle of this book is "A California Teenager's Story." Said Hyder Akbar grew up in the Bay Area, the son of Afghans who fled their country when the Taliban took over. After 9/11, his father was tapped to work in the new government. Said joined him on his summer vacations from high school, first in Kabul, then in Kunar province, taking along recording equipment courtesy of the radio show "This American Life."

This is a unusual and interesting perspective of the troubles facing Afghanistan and is well-written. The author mixes stories of his adventures, his naivete and his excitement with a perceptive outline of the history and political situation.

This is a good book to read if you want to understand something more about Afghanistan than what you will find in the newspapers. It will give you a feel for the place and a sympathy for the people and is entertaining, to boot.

Faux fur

Miss Sophie is lucky she has floppy ears and not ones that stick up or she might end up like this chow in China. As it is, I'm planning to offer her up as a practice dog to a show-poodle groomer. She's gonna hate me.

(I see the chow's owner has one of those portable dog dishes with an attached water bottle. Kind of a clever design.)
(Photos pirated from The China Daily. How dare I? Alas!)

Watching the detectives

While walking around Washington Park yesterday, I noticed they've got pumps running to drain Grasmere Lake, which left me with Elvis Costello stuck in my head all day. I wasn't going to post this photo (it's not all that fascinating), but when I put my iPod on shuffle this morning, guess which song came up?

So here it is. My understanding is that they're draining the lake to clear out some of the sludge and trash and restore the crumbling retaining walls around it. There was talk about installing a liner in it, too, to prevent excessive water loss, but I think they decided that was too expensive.

It's a lovely, large lake, and I'll be happy when it's all tidied up and full of water again. Miss Sophie, too, who likes to swim there.

I like fractals

I kept looking at that photo of lichen I posted the other day, trying to think of what it reminded me of. Oh yeah, fractals! Mandelbrot sets! Cool math stuff I don't understand at all, but it sure is pretty. Hats off to you if you do understand them.

Mmmmm, dessert

There was chocolate, too.

O Pioneers!

The not-so-distant echo-y sounds of a game announcer and the warbling of the national anthem drew me DU-ward on my walk today. The University of Denver (DU, pronounced "duh" by some) loves its sports, especially hockey (national champs!), but also lacrosse. Nice playing field they've got, with a decent crowd in the stands. You can buy a ticket for the bleachers, or just amble around the perimeter.

Wine and creampuffs make book group fun

Junks and fungus

On San Francisco Bay, a pair of junks make their way toward the Chinese New Year celebrations last Saturday. It sounded like they were shooting off cannons, too, but it was hard to tell for sure.
On Mount Tamalpais, fungus grows on a manzanita branch. In China I used to eat fungus that looked like this. "Cloud-ear fungus" they called it. (A darker kind is called "wood-ear fungus.") It didn't taste like much, and the texture was unpleasant. Better to leave it on the branch.
(Later: I shouldn't spout off without researching. That fungus is really lichen, though I'm not sure what kind. Possibly Platismatia glauca. But it looks like some of the fungus I ate. Really. Lichen is a symbiotic combination of fungus and algae. Who knew?)

Knick knack paddy whack

Market day

A lovely day at the farmers market outside San Francisco's Ferry Building gives me a taste of the spring yet to come in Denver.

Most tempting were the flowering branches everywhere. Only the logistics of flying home with them prevented me from purchasing an armful.



I am a killer of houseplants. I would feel doubly guilty killing one of these:

From a distance

The view of San Francisco from Mount Tamalpais. (Click on the picture to see it larger. The city is visible in the hazy distance.)

What I'm Reading:"The Broom of the System" by David Foster Wallace

I read David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest," which had its moments of brilliance, but was ultimately disappointing considering the huge investment of time it required. But that was a few years ago, so I'm giving him another shot. He's very McSweeneyian (if you know what I mean, and if you don't, that's OK), and also reminds me of Douglas Coupland a little. The writing is engaging, but like "Infinite Jest," he throws out a lot of characters and story threads whose trajectory isn't immediately apparent. And may never be. Well, I'm just along for the ride, and it's not a tome this time, so I'm less invested in a payoff.

What I'm watching: A throwback to a bygone era of punk, "updated" with a touch of grunge.

Ironic or earnest? I have no idea.

Loafing

My latest output from the No-Knead Bread recipe.