Still no cicadas to report, but I did just see a firefly. I think this is the earliest I've ever seen one—usually they seem to come out around the solstice.
I remember 25th May 1977 well. My dad and I waited in a very, very long line in Torrance, Calif., for some movie he wanted to see, and said I would really like. He had to read the opening crawl to me—something about some rebellion somewhere. I had no idea what it meant. Then I saw the first spaceship—the first one, the little one, not the planet-sized one chasing it—and I was in love.
Yes, 30 years ago today, Star Wars hit the theaters. Wow.
Due to a problem between chair and keyboard, the ParkerCam today will be showing the guy who's working on my house, and later on, either a bookshelf and closed door or a dining room and open door:
Parker will return to the ParkerCam either Sunday afternoon around 4 or Tuesday morning at his regular time. Today, he's at day camp.
Oh. My. God. Via Talking Points Memo:
Staff members of an elementary school [in Murfeesboro, Tenn.,] staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables.
...
During the last night of the trip, staff members convinced the 69 students that there was a gunman on the loose. They were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet. A teacher, disguised in a hooded sweat shirt, even pulled on a locked door.
More here.
Parker and I saw this dude hopping in the brush next to a parking lot. By "saw," I mean Parker got close enough to give him a good sniff (but not close enough to chomp on him), which elicited not more from the bird than a disdainful look and continued pecking at the ground. I think he's a fledgling, though I'm puzzled by his coloring and by the tag on his right leg. Any ideas?
I was about to open a bag of peanuts, but I hesitated. Apparently (assuming the warning message on the bag is credible), the "product was manufactured in a facility where peanuts...are used..."
Well, blow me down, Popeye. Forget those nuts. I'll just have to stay hungry.
I meant to mention one other great thing about San Francisco: Kennedy's Irish Pub and Curry House, at 1040 Columbus Ave., right where the Powell-Mason cable car line ends. It had everything I could ever dream of in a place to park myself for hours: dozens of microbrews, a great bartender (Max McLean), outdoor seating (the back patio overlooks the cable car terminus; the front, busy Columbus Ave. in North Beach), and tasty dal makhani.
I went there Thursday and Friday afternoons, sat in the sun, drank some beer, ate some curry, and fought off some of the most aggressive pigeons I've ever encountered. (Max told me pigeons are a protected species in San Francisco. This is probably not true, but I still hesitated before swatting one off my book. Imagine the scene below with a pigeon perched on the cover, pecking at my naan: that's what I discovered upon returning from the washroom.)
If they only had WiFi, and if Parker had been with me, I might never have come home.
Ah, family. I'm glad I got a chance to unwind with the Ps after my conference. But I do miss my dog.
Tomorrow: or, rather, tonight after 7pm CDT: check out Weather Now for, well, something appropriate to the season.
I realized last night that I forgot to bring some important things to VSLive:
- Business cards. I have about six with me. I have about 200 in my office. Hello, Kinko's?
- A USB cable, required to connect my phone and my camera to my laptop. There's a CompUSA about 100 m from here, fortunately.
It's always something.
Also, a propos of nothing, I got the best pitch from a panhandler today that I've ever heard: "Buddy, can you spare $1,000? I have a payment plan..."