We just couldn't resist posting this image of one of America's oldest novelties: wind-up chattering teeth.
Somewhere in the dusty corners of your memory you recall seeing a pair of these work their silly magic in a cartoon, or comedy routine.
Search "chattering teeth" and you'll find several sites from which you can purchase one of these timeless gags.
teeth, novelty, gag, chattering teeth, chatter
This timeline provides a rather amusing perspective on the history of the Internet.
My 2nd favorite of the landmarks along the continuum: 1996 - AOL begins its efforts to make sure that no human being on planet earth is without an AOL sign-up disk.
We think you'll enjoy the site too.
Internet History, humor,
Science Daily has more news about the intact baby mammoth recently discovered in Siberia. Don't get sidetracked or bedazzled by all the adds for fossil ivory.
Further interesting discussion is here at Anthropology.net, including mention of a Russian biologist's efforts to create a "Pleistocene Park" - where cloned mammoths would presumably roam were scientists successful in extracting intact DNA and replicating these Ice Age beasts.
baby mammoth, Siberia, fossil, permafrost, Pleistocene
The Clog Almanac recently called your attention to Smurf Houses available in Turkey. Now you can contemplate a functional, lived-in Hobbit House in Wales.
Quite a remarkable site really, plus commentary, advice, and house plans for you to peruse if you are so inclined. Don't I wish Bilbo or Frodo could comment on the place?
house plans, Hobbit, Wales, sustainable construction, architecture, Bilbo, Frodo, Tolkien
Time to start a new occasional post at The Clog Almanac.
Henceforth, under the heading Surf's Up!, this site will provide links to a sometimes motley assortment of web- and blog-sites that have caught our eye; courted our fancy; sparked our interest; engaged our minds; tickled our funny-bones; piqued our conscience; challenged our perceptions; won our admiration; garnered our praise; or made us exclaim "Thats' cool!"
In nowise will we try to slip in items that might tug at your heartstrings; try your patience; test your patriotism; question your devotion; break your will; ruin your reputation; harm your self-esteem; steal your identity; or make you exclaim "That's gross!"
Pacific Ocean Trash Vortex - You've been to the beach and seen all that trash that has washed up from God knows where. Greenpeace knows from where, for the Pacific Ocean, anyway. Visit the link to view a remarkable animation that shows the fate of all that trash we humans cast into the sea...and where it ends up, eventually.
American Television Theme Songs - Someone had to compile them. From "The Addams Family" and "Beavis and Butthead", to "Mighty Mouse", "Underdog" and "Yogi Bear", this website has a gracious plenty, ready for you to right-click and download.
Visuwords - An utterly unique dictionary/thesaurus that lets you look at words in a visual-spatial context of related words and synonyms. It's dynamic and quite enjoyable to experiment with. Type in your favorite word, and Presto! magic happens; you find your word among a free-wheeling 3-D net of synonomies, derivatives, and associated words that you can drag around and reconfigure to your heart's content. Great tool if you're writing and need to find a word that expresses that precious sliver of nuance that suddenly escapes you.
surf, surf's up, Greenpeace, trash, Pacific Ocean, television theme, Yogi; Addams, Mighty Mouse, dictionary, thesaurus, 3-D
I worked in the yard of Clog House Est. 1935 this weekend. Just the basics - mowed the lawn, trimmed a hedge, pulled a few weeds here and there. I also trimmed four crape myrtles that are in full bloom along the long sunny side of the property - shearing heavy clusters of developing fruits from straining branches with two thoughts in mind: Removing the clusters of capsules would let the trees devote energy back into flowering and thus prolong the blooming season; and, lightening the weight of the branches would make them less likely to split or break when laden with rain during the frequent summer storms. I had to work between intermittent lightning storms and rain showers to accomplish what little I did. Still, it is pleasing to look out upon that portion of the yard that is newly mown and trimmed. The whole "our human ancestors evolved in open grassland country so we yearn for open spaces where we can detect approaching dangers" explanation, and all that.
But I'm not of the "no blade of grass where it doesn't belong" set. There are portions of the yard that I leave wild. Some would say I've let little out of the way corners go to ruin and to the weeds. These spots are anything but. They are little preserves for butterflies and other insects. Many common "weeds" in this north central Florida landscape are host to the larvae of butterfly species. I let them grow and flower in my little preserves to invite butterflies to breed in my yard.
I've planted and transplanted species that attract butterflies in one of the larger "wild" areas that we call the "butterfly garden", and have begun to put out little concrete and stone pedestals and architectural elements. Here you will find native purple passion flower twining up a trellis and feeding a host of frittilary caterpillars; yellow sunflowers of various sizes rising from the tall grasses; purple and white Echinacea coneflowers, a cassia shrub that will be an explosion of yellow blossoms in a couple of months, parsley for the swallowtails; Sida rhombifolia for the checkerspots; black-eyed susans; two or three milkweed species; a red-flowered lantana; coral bean (also a hummingbird attractor); a dwarf pomegranate shrub; and various wild vetch species. The entire wild jumble of blooming plants and grasses is bordered by a tall bank of pink, white, and yellow four-o'clocks whose colorful blossoms fill the evening air with a lovely perfume, and which attract various hawk moths at night.
I think what I like best about the butterfly garden is that it attracts the eye and interest of the Clog-wife. Each morning she gets to survey the scene for new blooms and new surprises as she leaves on the morning dog-walk. My big black cat likes that garden too, and can be found lurking among the flowers early in the morning.
butterflies gardening, Florida, plants
Italian police raided a mosque in Perugia and found acid, cyanide, remote explosive detonators, films and internet evidence that the facility was used to conduct training activities according to this BBC report, and this article in the Sydney Morning Herald. It appears the investigation stemmed from intelligence that suggested that leaders and others at the mosque had connections to the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM).
Perugia, Italy, mosque, terrorism, Morocco
Here's an attempt at crafting a "FavIcon" for the Clog Almanac. Just a brief and simple Photoshop experiment for now. The rub:
Tree: clog almanacs were made from wooden staves. Paleobotanist by training, urban forester by profession, trees are my business.
CA: abbreviation for this site's title - the Clog Almanac.
CA: first two letters of CALL, my epithet.
I saw and heard a few birds today as I went about my business in Gainesville, FL.
Mockingbird - singing for all he was worth from the dead top of an American Holly tree in a nearly completed luxury subdivision (the tree will be gone when that lot is built upon).
Mississippi Kite - soaring far overhead in company with an osprey, the latter one of a pair that roosts in a tall communications tower in downtown Gainesville near my office. These birds are done nesting here - soon they'll depart for other climes.
Osprey - the pair referred to above calling and wheeling above the city; one of them whooping and stooping - perhaps trying to entice their fledgelings to flight, from their nest-tower?
Bob-white Quail - surprising calls overheard emanating from a yet-to-be-developed acreage near a rather built-out suburban area.
In no-wise have I seen great flocks of birds like those reported in times past - over a billion passenger pigeons in one single flock by Audubon, for instance, or for the 1.5 billion birds at one time claimed by this Planet Earth video clip.
Simply amazing video, that.
quail, osprey, fish hawk, mockingbird, Audubon, Mississippi kite, Florida birds, birding, bird video
You learn something every day. I never thought I'd learn this:
1. Rich people make love in their own private submarines.
2. Dolphins like to watch rich people make love in their own private submarines.
It's all here.
US Submarines (quoted in the link above) manufactures luxury personal underwater craft and living spaces. Money quote from the FAQ at their website:With 2300 megayachts operational around the world, some costing in excess of $150 million, the stakes in the game of one upmanship are rising. Some yacht owners like the idea of having a larger and more unique toy.
Take 'er down, Scotty!
luxury submarine, personal submarine, dolphin, deep ocean, US Submarines
I wasn't aware that Leonardo da Vinci sketched cats.
Many of the familiar poses of my present-day feline companion "Buffalo" are illustrated in the accompanying image. I am a little puzzled though, that many of the figures look quite like other animals.
These are but studies, perhaps concentrating on overall form and pose. Still, among these images I see a few ferret- and rat-like creatures. Perhaps a few hundred years' breeding has transformed the cat's appearance to the more familiar one borne by those inscrutable aloof pets that have bent us to their unfathomable wills.
Visit this website to see many other da Vinci sketches.
No sketches of cats would be complete without the word-pictures so playfully composed by T.S. Eliot in his collection of poems "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", the entirety of which you can happily read here.
Eliot's own cat, named Jellylorum, is one of the characters in his collection, of course.
da Vinci, Leonardo, cats, Buffalo, T.S. Eliot, sketches
Idahoan that I am, I love potatoes. A favorite weekend breakfast at Clog-House, Est. 1935 includes this wondrous staple, home-fried with diced onion, in my oft-used and well-seasoned 9" cast iron skillet.
The simple trick to producing golden-brown home fries that are thoroughly cooked is to half-cook the potatoes before slicing, dicing and frying. This may be accomplished by boiling or microwaving. The latter method is quicker, requires less energy, and keeps the summer kitchen cooler.
Peeling the spuds beforehand is a matter of preference. I don't mind the taste of Irish potato skins; cooked red potato skins leave a disagreeable bitter aftertaste , and have a curious propensity to stick to the roof of the mouth.
The onion carmelizes while cooking, and imparts a flavor that truly enhances that of the fried potato. Some cooks also like to add chopped bell pepper, or minced garlic. Others fold in a palmfull of chopped fresh parsley or chives in the last seconds of cooking. If you want to go overboard, try tossing in some peeled and chopped apples and a pat of butter.
Use a very well-seasoned, pre-heated cast iron skillet, as I do, or a good-quality non-stick pan. The potatoes won't stick and you can drastically reduce the amount of frying oil required.
potato, home fries, fried potatoes, recipe, Idaho potato
A day of intermittent rains kept me indoors most of the day. I spent a considerable bit of time proofreading pages of L. Frank Baum's The Emerald City of OZ for Project Gutenberg. It was quite interesting reading, and before I knew it I'd proofed 75 pages. The simple language and imagery are very engaging.
Uncle Henry and Aunt Em accompany Dorothy to the enchanted land in this volume. We learn that the name of the Tin Woodman is Nick Chopper, and that the Cowardly Lion has a companion, Hungry Tiger. Dorothy is a Princess in Oz, and the characters we've come to love are all present. Toto Too.
Oz, Emerald City, Cowardly Lion, Toto, Frank Baum
Todays' Friday Mashup unites a painter, a photographer, and a pioneer, each of whom died on a July 13.
1954 Frida Kahlo - Mexican painter/wife of artist Diego Rivera
Check out the Tate Modern's great Kahlo web exhibition that includes a film clip, timeline, 360-degree photo tour of The Blue House, and numerous details of Kahlo's life and art.
1946 Alfred Stieglitz - American photographer/husband of artist Georgia O'Keefe
Read the concise Stieglitz biography compiled for his induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame.
1890 John C. Fremont - American soldier/explorer/first Republican presidential candidate
Fremont mapped extensively along the Oregon Trail. His route brought him through present-day Boise, Idaho, my home town, which he described here.
John C. Fremont, Frida Kahlo, Alfred Stieglitz, Boise, Idaho, Oregon Trail
Oh great, as if forest fires driving tourists out of Greece wasn't enough, now we learn that London is sinking at the rate of 1-2mm per year.
London, sinking, subsidence
The National Association of Realtors reports that in May 2007 the median single-family home price in the U.S. was about US$230,000. Of course, such a home typically includes an expanse of driveway and a one-, two-, maybe three-car garage.
Good luck finding a place to garage your car in Manhattan. You might have to shell out a quarter-million dollars or more if you want to park your Prius or bakfiet there. Yes, you read it correctly - $225 thousand. Not that Manhattan, but the other Manhattan, where office space can rent for upwards of $200/square foot.
Sheesh. Paying more for a space to garage your car than the median price of a single-family home. Is this what capitalism is all about?
Manhattan, parking, real estate, garage, Prius, bakfiet
Here are links to a smattering of Texas newspapers which ran stories remembering Lady Bird Johnson. Remarks by local people are found in a number of the articles.
El Paso Times
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Southeast Texas Record
Dallas Morning News
Houston Chronicle
Brownsville Herald
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
San Antonio Express-News - with a priest's account of her last moments/last rites.
I turned six years old in Mineral Wells, Texas, in 1964. "Lady Bird" and "LBJ" became part and parcel of my vocabulary then, and there.
Lady Bird, LBJ, last rites
The Dutch bicycled an average of 1.5 miles a day for every man woman or child in the country last year. Bicycling is taken seriously there - and its not all pleasure-riding either:
- Since 2002 Dutch citizens have been entitled a tax deduction of up to $950 for the purchase of a two-wheeler used to commute to work.
- There has been rise in the popularity of "bakfiets" - a hybrid between a wheelbarrow and a bicycle capable of hauling loads up to 175 pounds. [In this country, bakfiets have begun popping up in trendy cities like Vancouver, home of Rain City Bikes, and Portland, Oregon.][Update, 11:47 p.m. - I'm now informed that one can find/purchase Dutch bicycles and bakfiets in St. Augustine.]
Now for some simple calculations:
- The U.S. population presently stands at just over 302,300,000. If every person in the U.S. bicycled 1.5 miles a day we'd have ridden over 453 million miles in a year.
- 453 million miles translates to about 22,672,500 gallons of gasoline (20 mpg).
- 22,672,500 gallons of gasoline produces about 453 million pounds of carbon dioxide when burned (the apparent paradox is explained here).
Summary: If every person in the U.S. bicycled 1.5 miles a day to work, shop, dine out, or visit friends, this country would conserve roughly 22,672,500 gallons of gasoline, and would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 453 million pounds, over the course of a year.
bakfiet, bicycle, Holland, fuel economy, carbon dioxide
Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson is dead.
Some of you know her as the "mother" of the 1965 Highway Beautification Bill, which she so tirelessly helped push through, establishing herself as one of the "first ladies" to take a deliberate role in legislative activities on a national scale.
Read the moving remarks made by President Lyndon Johnson at the signing of the bill here, or here.
Ever wondered how the lovely roadside wildflowers you see traveling America's byways got established? State departments of transportation have seeded roadsides since the bill was passed. The Clog Almanac commented on this topic in this post.
Sweet irony that the Honorable John W. Gardner was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare at the time of the address and bill's adoption.
Lady Bird, Lyndon Johnson, highway beautification, wildflowers
Flooding in the Hunan Province of China has forced 2 billion mice from islands in Dongting Lake to seek higher ground. The mice have invaded human turf in 22 counties around the lake. Locals are building walls and ditches to stave off the assault.
Upside: People have killed more than 2 million of the rodents with clubs, garden implements, traps, poisons, and well, about any other way they can contrive.
Downside: at least 1000 cats in the town of Lujiao have made the ultimate sacrifice after eating mice that had ingested poison. [Just when the cats were needed most - Murphy's law of unintended consequences?]
Flooding and landslides have killed well over 300 people in Central China in recent weeks. Chinese officials and local residents fear disease outbreaks will result from the rodent invasion.
The BBC article linked above makes no mention of rats, snakes, spiders, ants, centipedes, monkeys, or any other creature, just in case you were wondering.
China, floods, mouse invasion, rodent, disease
