Well, we never knew until now, but the servers where the Raised By Squirrels website lived, are (were?) in New Orleans. This is just one tiny thing, one non-life-threatening, one completely insignificant thing. But it drives home how freaking huge this is, and how it will affect all of us in ways we can't even begin to predict.
(If anyone's interested, we will continue to update the blog portion of RBS at http://raisedbysquirrels.blogspot.com/)
8.31.2005
My Favorite Medical Museum
Around here, the proposed military base closings are big news. But the one that caught my attention was back in DC, the recommendation to close Walter Reed Medical Center.
It's the home to one of the oddest museums I've ever visited — the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Preserved organs in jars, artifacts of Lincoln's assassination, and Dan Sickle's leg. One of the first places I went to when I first moved to DC (it had recently been featured in the Hartford alt newslweekly), and sadly, never made it back to. Definitely a one-of-a-kind institution. There was talk of moving it down to the Mall; there, I fear, it would be moderninzed and sanitized for public consumption, and lose its weird appeal.
It's the home to one of the oddest museums I've ever visited — the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Preserved organs in jars, artifacts of Lincoln's assassination, and Dan Sickle's leg. One of the first places I went to when I first moved to DC (it had recently been featured in the Hartford alt newslweekly), and sadly, never made it back to. Definitely a one-of-a-kind institution. There was talk of moving it down to the Mall; there, I fear, it would be moderninzed and sanitized for public consumption, and lose its weird appeal.
8.30.2005
go Amonorzo!
Every one in a while, I hit the "next blog" button up there in the Blogger bar. Sadly, 8 times out of 10, it seems to pull up one of those non-blogs, filled with randomly-generated keywords, designed to increase traffic to some sketchy-sounding commercial venture. But eventually I'll hit actual blogs, written by actual people, and around the beginning of August, I came across this one.
As you can see, whoever was setting up the blog, was still in the "this-is-a-test-posting" phase, but what got me was that it was happening right then. I was witnessing the birth of someone's blog! I checked back on the 3rd, and! another new "test" posting! So I commented. Twice. (I decided later that my first post sounded too stern and/or could have used a smiley or something.) But since then, nada. I think I might have frightened him/her off.
Would anyone else want to post a comment? I think we should try to encourage Amonorzo to come back. This site is on my list of blogs I check every day, because now I can't help myself, and I HAVE TO KNOW how it turns out.
As you can see, whoever was setting up the blog, was still in the "this-is-a-test-posting" phase, but what got me was that it was happening right then. I was witnessing the birth of someone's blog! I checked back on the 3rd, and! another new "test" posting! So I commented. Twice. (I decided later that my first post sounded too stern and/or could have used a smiley or something.) But since then, nada. I think I might have frightened him/her off.
Would anyone else want to post a comment? I think we should try to encourage Amonorzo to come back. This site is on my list of blogs I check every day, because now I can't help myself, and I HAVE TO KNOW how it turns out.
8.29.2005
McCauley hot spring
Went on a hike Sunday, up in the Jemez Mountains. Although the volcano that made the Valles Grande Caldera — and the surrounding mountains — hasn't been active for 1.12 million years, there's still enough geothermal activity to create hot springs. We drove north, through Los Alamos, then up into the Jemez, past the Caldera.
The hike starts near the picnic area at Battleship Rock:
This was one of the more prominent rock faces in the canyon formed by the east fork of the Jemez River, which winds through the picnic grounds. The trail starts by the river, then climbs the side of the canyon, for about 3 miles and 500 feet elevation change. We could really see the different layers of rock as the hike progressed — grey pumicey stuff, white, then red sandstone. Lots of obsidian-looking black boulders throughout.
There were intermittent clouds, some sun, and brief showers upon reaching the hot spring.
Despite what the photo shows, there were many other people there, including one woman who told us that the water level used to be much higher. And a couple who hiked in from the Jemez Falls (about 2 miles in the other direction) with their 2 Corgis: Andy, a puppy, who, liked to swim, and Zephyr, his older "brother," who did not:
Not having brought swimsuits, we just soaked our feet. It's probably more accurately called a "warm spring." A little more rain on the hike back down. Here's another view of Battleship Rock, and the cliffs beyond, from the return trip. It's the light ridge about halfway down, right above the treeline:
On the drive out, more rain, making the Caldera look especially otherworldly:
Including this one view that looked like a castle on the Scottish moors, or something. Those little white dots farthest to the right are the visitor center buildings.
Back down the mountains into Los Alamos, we came through the leading edge of the storm, with lightning and hail! Clear again by the time we came off the mesa, and down to the Rio Grande on the way home.
The hike starts near the picnic area at Battleship Rock:
This was one of the more prominent rock faces in the canyon formed by the east fork of the Jemez River, which winds through the picnic grounds. The trail starts by the river, then climbs the side of the canyon, for about 3 miles and 500 feet elevation change. We could really see the different layers of rock as the hike progressed — grey pumicey stuff, white, then red sandstone. Lots of obsidian-looking black boulders throughout.
There were intermittent clouds, some sun, and brief showers upon reaching the hot spring.
Despite what the photo shows, there were many other people there, including one woman who told us that the water level used to be much higher. And a couple who hiked in from the Jemez Falls (about 2 miles in the other direction) with their 2 Corgis: Andy, a puppy, who, liked to swim, and Zephyr, his older "brother," who did not:
Not having brought swimsuits, we just soaked our feet. It's probably more accurately called a "warm spring." A little more rain on the hike back down. Here's another view of Battleship Rock, and the cliffs beyond, from the return trip. It's the light ridge about halfway down, right above the treeline:
On the drive out, more rain, making the Caldera look especially otherworldly:
Including this one view that looked like a castle on the Scottish moors, or something. Those little white dots farthest to the right are the visitor center buildings.
Back down the mountains into Los Alamos, we came through the leading edge of the storm, with lightning and hail! Clear again by the time we came off the mesa, and down to the Rio Grande on the way home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
