Monthly Archives: July 2010

US/Portugal culture: Protesting

Posted on 30 July 2010 by

The National Organization for Marriage, a group that pulls in significant amounts of money by demonizing and legislating against gays, is conducting a “Summer for Marriage Tour” in the US. Each stop features a handful of NOM members or supporters … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Portugal, USA | 4 Comments

Scenes from Lisboa

Posted on 29 July 2010 by

A few of the things that make Lisboa so charming, at least to my eyes… — The way architectural beauty just pops up where you least expect it. You look up an ordinary street lined with apartment buildings and whoa, … Continue reading →

Posted in life, Portugal | 4 Comments

Sunfish or moonfish?

Posted on 28 July 2010 by

We’re back from Lisboa, where we spent a few days playing tourist. While there, we visited the Oceanário, which has a Mola mola in its giant central tank. Now, we saw this Mola a few years ago, on our first … Continue reading →

Posted in life, science | 18 Comments

Wallpaper Monday

Posted on 26 July 2010 by

We’re sitting in almost 105-degree heat right now (40 C.), so my imagination is conjuring up memories of the cool Oregon coast in summer. Of course, while I lived there I’d rant about the ubiquitous fog and wind and cold … Continue reading →

Posted in wallpaper | 4 Comments

Commuting past the goats

Posted on 23 July 2010 by

I wish I’d had a camera in my car today. I was commuting back home after teaching a Pilates class, and as I went through a highway roundabout I saw a herd of about 50 goats streaming across one of … Continue reading →

Posted in life, Portugal | 6 Comments

Closed due to whale

Posted on 22 July 2010 by

The Cape Town Sailing Academy in Cape Town, South Africa is closed for the next six weeks. Why? Well, they had a little run-in with a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), and their sailboat did not come out the winner. … Continue reading →

Posted in life | 9 Comments

Five-second rule?

Posted on 21 July 2010 by

A Clemson University professor and his students conducted an experiment to test the famous five-second rule — the one that states that if you drop food on the floor and pick it up again within five seconds, it’s still good … Continue reading →

Posted in science | 2 Comments

Cognitive surplus

Posted on 20 July 2010 by

The Intertoobs are chattering about Clay Shirky’s newly released book, Cognitive Surplus. Shirky grew up like most of us in the western world, watching TV after school and on evenings and weekends. His premise is that modern culture has maximized … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | 1 Comment

Wallpaper Monday

Posted on 19 July 2010 by

Hope Valley, in Derbyshire, UK. (Click to download larger versions.) Those rocks in the foreground are just begging to be sat on, with a sack lunch in one hand and a copy of Pride and Prejudice in the other. Derbyshire, … Continue reading →

Posted in wallpaper | 2 Comments

Making music with the solar system

Posted on 17 July 2010 by

I’ve had this in my blog folder forever (which, in modern terms, means about 3.5 months), and since today is hot and everyone in my house is in heat management mode, it seems appropriate to post something about the coolness … Continue reading →

Posted in life, science | 8 Comments