22 April 06
Rubber Ducky Washing
Picnic Day was today; there was no rain. I calligraphed certificates for all the junior ducky washers (in the absence of a real oil spill, the vet students had covered the ducks in paint) and we moved along to see the Dachshund races (the Doxie Derby).
Instant replays ruled out any controversy on the part of overzealous doxie owners and there was the usual assortment of sausage dogs—well over half—who wandered off, distracted, never getting to the finish line. The Rec Hall had at least 4,000 people in it while we were there.
On to the baseball, where the Aggies were getting soundly thrashed by Cal State Long Beach, and a trip to the Memorial Union for a cup of tea. It’s so hokey. It’s so fun. It’s so… Davis.
21 April 06
Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Cat
Last month when I did my illustration of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Diego decided to try his paw at monoprinting.
20 April 06
April
Floods? Check. Taxes? Check. Ceanothus? Check. Kingbirds? Check. What’s left? Picnic Day!
Once again drawing about 50,000 people to Davis this Saturday with a good chance of rain, the Doxie Derby followed by the cockroach races and about 400 other events will keep us busy. This year we’re going to try and get both our soil and water tested by volunteers from the department of Land, Air and Water Resources. We have only sampled a tiny portion of it in the six years we’ve been here, but it’s a good portion.
If we don’t get rained on I may do some sketches. And the Aggies are scheduled to play Cal State Long Beach at baseball so we may end up there… Our outing to Raley Field last Sunday was rained out.
19 April 06
Mapping Religion In America
Since the Census Bureau does not collect information on religion, it is often hard to find information on religious affiliation across the United States. The Glenmary Research Center several years ago published a study of religious congregations and membership, and the patterns from this dataset are mapped here as part of a course on the cultural geography of United States and Canada.
(From Slashgeo.)
18 April 06
Good Year for Beavers
We went for a walk this evening. The wind had died down and the sun was setting over the coast range—such a pleasantness after all the rain we’ve been getting.
The creek is still well over its banks, making the eucalyptus trees wonder whether they’re mangroves. The water is turbid and fast, and there were a few lads fishing as we walked across the bridge.
Just before the railway undercrossing, we spotted a beaver swimming around an “island” of willows—normally well up on the bank. There’s so much for them to eat this year. I hope they do well. It’s a splendid thing to see almost in your yard…
18 April 06
Wild One In Phoenix
The Giants just beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-9 in a wild game. At one point the Giants led 7-0, only to fall behind 7-9, and then the Giants caught up and took the lead in the top of the 8th and 9th. Despite having the worst team batting average in the major leagues, and a complete lack of production from Barry Bonds, the Giants are somehow managing to win games at this early point in the season.
16 April 06
The Pandemic Vegetarian Cookbook, Preface
Assumption #1: There will be a pandemic that will disrupt the food supply (and require everyone to stay home for a week or two, entirely self-sufficient. It may be longer.)
Assumption #2: You’re not going to be shooting game in your yard, or squirrels, rabbits, or dogs or cats.
Assumption #3: You’re not willing to sabotage your immune system in order to avert a cytokine storm.
Assumption #4: You’ll have built up a good supply of whole grains and beans. These will keep you going for a good while.
Assumption #5: You’ll organise your entire life around a supply of sauerkraut. (And stored chocolate, rationed in tiny pieces…)
Recipes will follow once I start following different length scenarios. Stay tuned.
16 April 06
Flu Symposium Day
Thanks to the efforts of Pica and many others, the avian flu symposium that the Yolo Audubon Society organized for today was a great success. Over two hundred people packed the Davis Senior Center for five hours worth of presentations and discussions. We can all use education in risk evaluation: even without a human pandemic, people will be reevaluating their interactions with birds, both domestic and wild. It seems quite likely that the high pathogenicity strain of avian flu H5N1 (not as yet mutated into a form capable of causing a pandemic) will arrive in North America shortly, perhaps this summer. Once this virus establishes itself in local bird populations, people will be reacting in sensible (washing hands more thoroughly) and not-so-sensible (in Italy, tens of thousands of poultry farmers are now out of work because people scared of avian flu have stopped eating chicken.)
The last speaker, who spoke about planning in the private sector, provided a link to an excellent mailing list that gives day-by-day reports on avian flu and other infectious diseases. This is ProMED-mail, sponsored by the International Society for Infectious Diseases. There’s a pretty high volume of messages on this list, but it’s fascinating stuff.
14 April 06
Go Ags
The best college team in baseball in the United States is, at the moment, Cal State Fullerton.
They probably have major league scouts crawling all over their dugouts, all the time. We’ve seen them play here at Davis. They are frightening.
The UC Davis Aggies beat them yesterday, 2-1. The first time the Ags have defeated any No. 1 team in any sport, ever..
14 April 06
Lakewood Rabbit
Here’s one of the sketches of the cooperative rabbit (and Federal employee) I saw Tuesday.