Argh.

It’s 32° — with a wind chill of 19° — and, yes, it’s snowing.

More photos here.

The FishCams are up and running again.

Alas, our yellow tang, Banana, died overnight. You can add him to the long list of fish that have died in last two months, as conditions in our tank have evolved and we’ve learned (read: Becky has learned) what the hell we’re doing. :)

Becky is becoming a very knowledgable aquarist, but sadly, a number of good fish have been lost along the way… only one fish has survived from our original 13. Anyway, here is a list of the current occupants of our tank:

• 12 turbo snails (just added 8 today; they eat algae)
• 3 striped damselfish
• 2 cerith snails
• 1 red-legged hermit crab (just added today)
• 1 bumble-bee snail? (haven’t seen it in a while)
• 1 mandarin (the only survivor from our original batch)
• 1 orange goby (can’t find a link)

Here’s a labeled version of the primary FishCam, showing the sorts of things that you’ll typically see:

Again, here’s the link to the live FishCams.

Never tell a guest blogger not to put it up his nose.

:)

Moments ago, the Detroit Lions drafted former USC superstar Mike Williams with the #10 pick in the NFL Draft.

The pick was characterized as a “good value,” which seems quite true considering that Williams might very well have been the #1 pick if the NFL had allowed him to enter the draft last year… and also would almost certainly have been higher than #10 if the NCAA had allowed him to come back to school after the NFL rejected him, because then he would have had another year to showcase his amazing talents while playing for the undefeated national champion Trojans, who would have been so scary-good that they might have beaten Notre Dame by 62 instead of 31, and might have scored triple-digits against Oklahoma. :)

Anyway, congrats to Mike, Becky’s former academic tutee, on being drafted in the Top 10. And congrats to Chris, my fellow Notre Dame 1L and a Michigan native, who just officially became a Mike Williams fan. :) Fight on, Chris! Hehe.

Brendan’s blogging may be light for the next week or so because he has law school finals. Although finals would not typically deter his blogging, the headache he will have after I beat him for blogging instead of studying probably will. So, guest bloggers, please feel free to post about anything, except popcorn.

I am used to Apple being attacked by PC lemmings and Michael Dell. However, a recent attack by an environmentalist group during Apple’s annual share-holder meeting has me really scratching my head.

I mean honestly, the company is run by a man who makes tree huggers look like pansies.

Vegan Jobs was quick to rebut the group’s claims, and pointed out they were targeting Apple specifically because of the prominence of the iPod.

Today, however, the group shot back, dropping a number of their rebutted claims, trying desperately to spin a remaining few. One of the group’s contentions is that because of the non-user-servicable battery used in iPods and the fact that a small amount of lead is used in the manufacturing process, iPods were likely to end up in landfills, contaminating the environment. Nevermind that Apple is working to reduce or remove the small amount of lead already, but this group actually claims consumers are more likely to THROW THEIR iPOD AWAY than take advantage of Apple or third party battery replacement programs. Cause when I shell out a couple hundred bucks for an iPod, I’m just gonna chuck it and buy a new one rather than paying (at most) $30 to replace the battery.

The NFL Draft is today, starting at 11:00 AM. Where will Mike Williams go? He seems to be in the #6-7 range in most mock drafts.

In a new report released by the CDC, researchers have found that the risks of obesity have been seriously overinflated (haha!) In fact, while some previous studies have claimed that obesity causes more than 400,000 deaths per year, this research whittles that number down to less than 30,000.

I’ve always been skeptical of America’s fat hysteria, mostly because of my great uncle, a Catholic priest (Right Reverend Monsigneur if you want to be technical) who was like a grandfather to me. Since I’ve known him, Father Casey has never weighed less than 230 pounds. In fact, at 86, he still weighs about 250. He’s a big guy, one of the old school peasant stock. His wrists are like my ankles.

He also smoked cigars for more than 20 years. My parents enjoyed trying to find him exotic flavors and brands. In fact, when I was a child, I remember sitting on his lap and stealing his cigars just to look at them and smell them.

Point is, according to medical science, his lifestyle should have taken years off of his life. Aside from having his knees replaced, the man has been in perfect health since he had appendicitis in his twenties. If an obese ex-smoker can make it to 86, and be told by a cardiologist that he has the cardiovascular system of a 30-year-old, something doesn’t add up.

As Father Casey likes to say, “A lot of doctors have told me to lose weight through the years, but they’re all dead and I’m still here.”

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The Pistons and Pacers players involved in last November’s brawl will go on trial starting August 1, beginning with Ron Artest.

A forecast high of 39° with a mix of rain and snow… on April 23?

As Alan Gunn would say, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Rabid Bobcat Jumps CT Fed Slammer Worker in Mom’s Cellar
Deranged Feline Perp Shot by DEP Cops

We’re not so accustomed to the Wild Kingdom stuff back in This neck of the woods…guess we better get Used to it though…Bears are relocating to the ‘Burbs in increasing numbers, I See by the Papers…and come to think of it just Yesterday a rather Cruel-looking Crow was giving me the ould Beady Eyeball right there in Downtown Newington…“Nevermore”… :)

April 22, 2005

By JESSE LEAVENWORTH, Courant Staff Writer
 
LITCHFIELD —

…Laboratory tests showed the male cat was rabid, [state conservation officer Paul] Hilli said. Bill Winn, who was bitten and scratched by the cat, is receiving shots to prevent rabies. [That’s gotta Hurt too, from what I’ve heard / ~ the guestblogger]

…Bill Winn has the wounds to show that he did, in fact, have a scrap with Connecticut’s biggest cat (some people claim they have seen mountain lions or cougars in Connecticut, but state biologists say the sightings are highly doubtful). Bobcats, which can weigh up to 40 pounds, are most prevalent in the state’s Northwest corner.

Winn, 56, who works at the federal prison in Danbury, lives next door to his mother on Headquarters Road in the Milton section of Litchfield. His mother called him early on April 15, saying she heard something growling and banging around in the basement.

“I haven’t gotten out of the bed that fast in years,” Orcelia Winn said Thursday. “At first, I thought it was two animals fighting. It was a great deal of racket.”

Bill Winn went to his mother’s house about 7 a.m., thinking that maybe a raccoon had gotten in through a window his mother left open to air out the basement. He went down carrying a broom. At the bottom of the stairs, about 10 feet away under the heating oil tank was the head of a large cat, Winn said. It was looking right at him in an unfriendly way.

…The cat sank its teeth into Winn’s left knee and started shredding his pants with its teeth and claws. Winn managed to sit on the cellar steps facing the cat and repeatedly kicked it with his right foot. He eventually kicked it away, got up and slammed the cellar door before the bobcat could jump at him again.

…[Conservation officers later] descended into the basement. The cat snarled and growled at them.

“It wasn’t happy that we were there,” Hilli said.

…because of its unusual aggressiveness, they decided it had to be killed…

…The lesson other homeowners should take from her family’s experience, [Mrs. Orcelia] Winn said, is: “Don’t leave your windows open.”

Rmmph.

Whole Thing.

On Sunday, there will be a subtle, penumbral lunar eclipse. But it’s more fun to think of it as a solar eclipse on the Moon.

Brooke has revealed her class schedule for next semester:

F**king Over Poor People
How to Bill 500 Hours a Week
Legal Ways to Kill Endangered Species
Ambulance Chasing 101
How to Strangle Puppies and Make Babies Cry

Heh.

About my schedule…

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Let sleeping cats lie:


Sasha.

Butter.

Awwww!

I didn’t want Toby to be left out of the pictorial, but when I tried to take a picture of her sleeping, she woke up.