Marc and Morgan’s spot on the web

Another gem this week from Harper’s Weekly update .  I hadn’t heard this story until now.  What a tool.  Lots of other interesting tidbits in there.  Read it.  Now.  And every week.

Check us out.  If you’re impatient, we’re at about the 2 minute mark.  Good times.

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And as long as I’m here, I added a few new photos…to Lola’s album, Sid’s album, and some obligatory kitten pictures.

I’ve been receiving Harper’s weekly review email for some time now and really like the weekly roundup of world news with that special Harper’s tone to it.  Here’s this week’s.  I may start sharing these more often.

Went to enjoy the opening festivities for Artown last night, ended up on the late news.  Trying to capture and retain the video, but for now, it’s on KTVN’s site.

That’s all for now.

It was actually this article that prompted me to post this morning.  It’s fascinating to me that there are still pockets of human beings in the world who don’t know a thing about electricity, running water, cell phones, and the Internet.  Hard to believe that’s still possible in this day and age.

Aside from that, not a lot of news.  Kitty is adapting pretty well to her new surroundings, as are we to her.  We’re all over our bouts with some evil stomach virus (except, perhaps, for visiting Nana who may or may not have it now), and I’ve got a three day weekend with apparently beautiful weather in store.  Hopefully I can finally get the grass cut now that our stretch of rain is over and our garden is booming, including some great progress with my hop plants.

The headline is Burger King profits up 21 percent.

So my question is: Is it due to to high food prices or obese America?

Here is the link to the article (which I have yet to read): Burger King Profits up 21 percent.

I think Reno is known for it’s unstable weather. One day it is 80 and the next day it snows. The wind can be pretty intense. It is just something that I have come to accept and love about Reno. Now, the earthquakes. Well, I am not feeling very comfortable with them.

For those that are not in this area, we have been experiencing some seismic activity around here. To quote someone from the paper, it is very ‘unnerving.’ To think that nature has such a control over an event that could be catastrophic! Nevada is the third highest state for seismic activity. Between some big ones we felt on Thursday and the following afternoon, we had some 150 tremors to follow.

You can miss them if you are driving or walking around or just not paying as close of attention that I devote to it. Sometimes it is probably my imagination as well. And to sound like I sit on my rear all the time, I have felt a number of substantial quakes in the past few days. One that made me run in to Sid’s room while he was napping. Yep, he was sounds asleep. Last night Marc and I were awoken from slumber by a 4.7. Marc went for Sid and I went for Lola, who was sitting up wondering what the heck was going on as books were toppling from her bookshelf. She came back to bed with us. I reluctantly put Sid back in his crib and then laid awake to feel a couple more good sized ones and wonder if I could move away until after it settles. Or maybe it is just something I have taken notice to.

So, I will accept that it could happen and that is that. But I don’t like it and I still think that I feel them all the time. In fact…is that a little rumble now?? Maybe just Cina walking by.

Time for anti-anxiety meds and an updated homeowners insurance policy that covers earthquakes.

Apocalyptic windstorms and

snow on the tulips.  Welcome to Spring in Reno.

Bonus this morning: a little earthquake

Wanted to post this yesterday when, it seemed, the world was so full of bad things I felt compelled to document it.  Things aren’t as bad right now ~ I’m on the back deck with a cold hefeweizen, thinking about what I need to do for a brief camping outing this weekend.  Since we’re working folks, and need to be back on Monday, a quick jaunt over the hill to a campground near Auburn should whet our appetite for outdoor life for the season.

But yesterday, it seemed the future was pretty dark.  Just enough thoughts coming in that made me really pessimistic about our future as a species.  Consider:

• The Tibet/China situation
• Plastic water bottles – Take your pick, filling up landfills or poisoning you, and that’s besides the oil consumption to make them.
• The economy – and by extension, gas prices, beer prices, unemployment, etc.
• Energy drinks – Had a drug/alcohol awareness class.  Absurd amount of caffeine, and kids drink ‘em like soda.  I hope by the time Lola and Sid get to that age, they’ll be off the market.
• The end of the Internet

So, that’s all.  Almost time for dinner and I’ve still got to dig out camping gear in the garage.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my letter to the editor.

I’ve been meaning to post here but lack of anything particularly interesting or time to post has hindered me. So without further delay, I present today’s Marc mind- and link-dump, gathered from my usual ponderings and roamings about the web:

• Morgan splurged and bought me this shirt. Love it.
• Probably due in part to my new subscription to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, I’m looking into 529 plans for both Lola and Sid.
• The site is unresponsive at the moment, but I thought this recent post from Cory Farley especially good. Episodes like this continue to make me embarrassed to be an American.
• Having significantly upgraded our coffee with the burr grinder and french press, now this item has me pondering whether or not to take the next step….
• It’s looking like a good time to be a barfly in downtown Reno. As I told Rayna, I like the *idea* of a nice selection of drinking establishments more than I actually patronize them.
• How awesome would this be for Burning Man?
• Maggie sent this. Can’t decide how funny I think it is.

Well, I think that’s all I’ve got on my mind for now. Time to shave my head, wait for Morgan and Lola to come home from yard sales (it must be spring), and get pumped up for sushi lunch.

Yes, it’s time again for Marc to take to the keyboard, whine about how busy he is and never gets around to updating this site, and tosses up a handful of new pictures for your viewing pleasure.  First, a fun little photo from recent weeks, we’ve been trying to keep the bird feeder out in the front yard filled, then enjoying as various little birds, mourning doves, and sometimes blue birds and quail.  This particular morning, the quail were THICK at the base of the tree picking up remnants…

Since I last wrote here, we: had a nice visit from Nana, had (sorta) two visits from Maggie, celebrated both my birthday (sushi dinner one night, brewed beer, dinner at Silver Peak the actual night) and Lola’s (big party in which the birthday -brewed beer was consumed, Morgan already wrote about it), went in for the big V, trick-or-treated several times (Raley’s, our neighborhood, Riverwalk District), got a new windshield for the van, had the kids’ pictures taken, flew to California and back in a day for work and visited Ray at the same time, and visited an aunt in Vacaville and a friend in Fernley.  Whew.  And I wonder why I never have time to write.  Of course, now that the holidays are virtually upon us, it may be a while again.

Speaking of beer, I had a great shopping trip to BevMo while in Vacaville, picked up a bunch of micros and imports that I can’t get around here.   Also on the horizon, a bottle of Utopias with my name on it, probably this week.

Now, about those pictures…you’ll find new Lola pics in her album, including a couple from when we met up with visiting friends of the family from France in SF, and a couple from her birthday party.  Also a number of new Sidney pictures in his album.  And finally, amazingly, a couple Sidney videos so his page actually has some content.

Until I write again, and really, I’ll try to get out little posts more frequently, this is Dada, signing off.