Anywho, I digress …

Loosely based on what might have happened. Or not.

Archive for June, 2009

Brainman

Posted by episode81 on June 27, 2009

I just watched Brainman on the Discovery Science Channel.  It is the story of Daniel Tammet, a savant from East London.

Immediately following that show was “Man-made Mammals” about (among other things) the artificial insemination of large mammals.  I can’t put into words what goes on in the first 10 minutes other than to say it involves a male elephant, two men with rubber gloves and a very, very large condom.  The female recipient of the largess was seriously short changed on the delivery mechanism in my opinion.

Anywho, I digress …

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Oh no! Davros is coming!

Posted by episode81 on June 19, 2009

Am I alone in thinking of Davros every time I hear a news item about Iran?  Davros strives to be the Supreme Being.  Doctor Who strives to keep him at bay – it is always a last minute affair.  Don’t worry, we have nothing to fear 😉  Well, Hello Davros!

I have very fond (!) memories of hiding behind the sofa during episodes of Doctor Who.  The one with the huge green maggots was particularly scary … when I was 8.  I have seen those episodes recently. Good grief, how embarrassing!  What was I thinking?

Anywho, I digress …

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Bowls not bowels

Posted by episode81 on June 7, 2009

I like looking at cool stuff, and somewhat surprisingly, they have that at TreeHugger.

I rather like the slide shows.  There is a great picture that I discovered that is beautiful and just plain fascinating.  Look at it (on the left) and try to figure it out.  I love it, but once you know what it is … it is a bit less striking.  So, if you want to know, click on the picture, if not don’t.  I wouldn’t.

Anywho, I digress …

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Rhubarb Pie and Tall Sunflowers

Posted by episode81 on June 1, 2009

I thought it was time for a gardening update.  Oh yes, I have news 🙂  Probably not quite what you think, but news.

Let’s start with the rhubarb.

The first shoots came up really fast.  Woohoo!  Sadly, my rhubarb did not grow very tall.  It kept wilting in the sun, so my faithful Gardening Assistant, erected a very attractive rhubarb  shade from some wooden poles and an old bed-sheet.  It kept the rhubarb from getting sunstroke, but the stalks still wouldn’t grow tall.  The longest one is a little over 8″.  Kind of stumpy for rhubarb.rhubarbundershade-web

My dad grew rhubarb in the back garden when I was growing up.  You wouldn’t expect much success in London, but his rhubarb was perfect.  Three differences to consider:

  1. There isn’t as much sun in London as the SF Bay Area and there are hard frosts in the winter.  I don’t like that, but rhubarb does.
  2. Dad used some pieces of air-conditioning duct to surround the rhubarb and force it to grow tall.  I don’t have any.
  3. There was a rag-and-bone man that regularly came past the house in a horse drawn cart.  Dad would run out and collect any droppings with a bucket and shovel.  He would then parade through the house before depositing his street gold on the rhubarb.  Just in case you think I grew up in the Victorian era, this was the early 70’s!  It should come as no surprise that there is no rag-and-bone man here in Silicon Valley – horse drawn or otherwise.

The rag-and-bone man looked just the way you would expect – old, wizened and kind of shabby.  His call was “Any old bone?”.  My dad would rush out the door with his bucket and shovel and … well, nuff said 😉

Anywho, I digress …

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