Monday, May 25, 2009

Oh, deer

Ground Squirrels: Four down, one to go.

Bunny, with fluffy white tail: Still outstanding.

Now the question remains, what am I going to do with the buck I saw early this morning when I checked the (live) trap next to the wood pile?

-Bitter

Sunday, May 24, 2009

100 Miles of Nowhere, yay

Another tale from 100 Miles of Nowhere.

Bucky the Donkey, Peter, Tom, and Colin going around, around, and around the inner circle at Regents Park, London. 160 laps in all. I tell ya, I couldn't have done it. I think I might have fallen over and died. They make it look so easy!

Enjoy,
-Bitter

100 Miles of Nowhere: Inner Circle, Regents Park, London from Fat Cyclist on Vimeo.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Humming Bird, rescue

We attempted a daring rescue of a baby hummingbird this morning. Happily we got one baby back into the nest, and the mom & dad came back to feed it. Unfortunately, one of the babies died before we noticed. :(

Photos tomorrow.

Oh, and the ground squirrels multiplied into a family of ground squirrels. Which are now living in the wood pile next to the garden.

In the past 24 hours they've eaten all of the leaves and flowers off of all three of my eggplants. Are continuing to eating the leaves off the tomato plants, corn, and are starting in on my parsley and basil.

So far, they don't like the pepper plants, cilantro, or strawberries.

I'm contemplating drop spots. And am planning to break out the 'ol wire cage trap.

-Bitter

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

This Morning

Good nights sleep. Check.

Ate breakfast. Check

Started the pool pump. Check.

Watered the vegetable garden. Check.

Counted the plants ravaged by ground squirrels, one new casualty. (Two tomato plants are growing back. happy day.) Check.

Threw rocks at wood pile. Thought I saw fur. Most likely a squirrel. Check.

Four-wheeled the garbage/recycling cans down the driveway. ( _waaaahooooo!_ ). Check.

Saw snails. Mating. (No pics since this is a family-friendly blog.) Check.

Baby hummingbirds. Still Alive. Check.

Contemplated the future of publishing. Check.

Email freelance editor regarding current WIP. About to do.

Ponder getting up early in the morning every day. Check.

Go eat lunch. In a moment.

-Bitter

Monday, May 18, 2009

My New Favorite Song, and an earthquake

I was jamming out to Amp Radio while driving the other day and I fell in love with my new favorite song and wanted to share it with you.

It took a bit of searching--I didn't know the name--but eventually I found it. I clicked play, wanting to vet the music video before putting up a link, and was just over 4 minutes into the song, the couch started shaking beneath me.

Actually, it was more of a rumble. You know, like one of those massage chairs they have in the mall.

The problem?

Well, the bumpy jitter didn't stop. A moment later, unnerved, I paused the song and listened. Intently. You know, the kind of intent when all your muscles tense up and you're absolutely still and silent, waiting.

Birds were shrieking outside, the house was groaning lightly, but I didn't hear any loud creaks or bangs. Should I move? I glanced up, would something fall and crush me?

Several seconds passed, as I sat, legs outstretched, computer on lap, gazing up at the cathedral ceiling and the an exposed wooden truss directly over my head. Should I move? I listened harder. Did it feel like the shaking was increasing or staying constant?

Constant. Definitely constant.

And then it stopped.

I immediately went to google, but nothing was listed.

So I alternately refreshed google and my 2nd favorite site: the USGS's (US Geological Survey) "Did you feel it?" page.

Since I've moved to So Cal, I've reported on about five or six earthquakes. It's fun to put in your stats, and then check what everyone else reported. It also kind of makes me feel like I'm doing my civic duty, helping some dedicated researcher huddled in a paper-ridden, linoleum tiled office with buzzing florescents overhead, while they puzzle out the next strategy or prediciton.

It turns out the earthquake was near LAX, and was a 4.7. That's the strongest I've felt so far. Of course, I'm over 30 miles away from LAX right now, but still, the 4.7 counts. Doesn't it?

No?

oh.

Well, I've felt the ground shift violently, laterally beneath me. Twice. Does that count?

Good.

Anyway, here's the link (sorry, no embedding allowed) to my current favorite song, Ne-Yo's "Part of the List".

-Bitter

Update: 5/18/09 @ 11:30 pm - An hour after the quake, seismologists revised the quake magnitude from a 5.0 to a 4.7.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

100 Miles of Nowhere, may 23rd


A few weeks ago, Fatty over at Fatcyclist.com announced his 2nd Annual Century, 100 Miles of Nowhere.

Touted as the most ridiculous, far-ranging race, simultaneously covering more ground and less ground than any other race in history. It's an event that you're not going to want to miss.

This year 66% of the entry fee will go toward fighting cancer. Of course, there was no entry fee last year, but that's a story for anther day.

Starting on May 23rd--or before, as demonstrated by the "Jumping the Gun" title holder Neil C.-- keep an eye on Fatty's blog to check out highlights from the event.

If you'd like to buy a t-shirt to commemorate the event, periodically check Fatty's site he'll post a link as soon as Twin Six sets the order page up. Or if you'd rather have a race bib (even if you're not racing) head over to Clay's Livestrong Challenge page. For a $5 donation one of these fabulous bibs can be yours. :) (ps, He'll get your shipping address from the donation form.)

In case you were curious, I've pasted a GPS map of last years route below.

-Bitter

Monday, May 11, 2009

Man, that was tough

Sometimes getting out of a rut is the hardest part.

*exhales sigh of relief*

There. That wasn't so bad. New blog post posted.

On a side note, I have lots of fun and exciting things happening on the writing front. (Re: the current works in progress, yes that was plural.) Happy day. As things progress, I'll keep you posted.

As for now, my lips are sealed.

Moving on, per fabulous recommendations from Howard Taylor, Scalzi, and Anne Sowards, I'm off to see Star Trek tonight.

Instead of the mild interest I had before, I'm actually pretty excited and am looking forward to a good show. And since Anne's facebook review is my favorite, I'm posting it in it's entirety below. Enjoy.

"Anne Sowards just got home from seeing STAR TREK. She enjoyed it so much that not even having her train go out of service, then the next train she took stopping short of her home, and having to take a bus the rest of the way has killed her mood."


Ahhh, life in NYC.
-Bitter

p.s. The Star Trek site is pretty dang cool.