Visual Thesaurus

Mapping tools are becoming more useful for educational purposes. visualthesaurus.com has a great word mapping tool. The word for today was harlequin. My favorite related term has to be merry andrew.

I couldn't resist. From Wikipedia:

The following passage from Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848) (describing the period around 1230 c.e.) illustrates its use: "In the church of Paris, and in several other cathedrals of the kingdom, was held the Feast of Fools or madmen.

"The priests and clerks assembled elected a pope, an archbishop, or a bishop, conducted them in great pomp to the church, which they entered dancing, masked, and dressed in the apparel of women, animals, and merry-Andrews; sung infamous songs, and converted the altar into a beaufet, where they ate and drank during the celebration of the holy mysteries; played with dice; burned, instead of incense, the leather of their old sandals; ran about, and leaped from seat to seat, with all the indecent postures with which the merry-Andrews know how to amuse the populace."

There must be a Monty Python connection somewhere!

Summer Heat

It has been hot here. The mountains usually help, but for the last week it has been so warm and humid I dare not even risk the bicycle commute for the thick fog that forms in the mountains during the early morning hours. We have a lot of retirees that don't see as well as they used to. My day-glo vest helps in bright conditions, but when visibility is low I worry. It has been great for the plants though. Above Echinacea purpurea framed in Rudbeckia fulgida.

Seamus is actually generating quite a bit of speed in his walker these days. The dogs have to be on constant look out. One of his favorite activities is to run into them and make them move. It used to be a minor nuisance to Tucker and Bear...but now they scatter when they hear the clacking of plastic toys and smell drool.

The kids make if fun...

Today I had the fun task of teaching 22 kids all about carnivorous plants. Here we walked through the three stages of a Venus Fly trap capturing its prey. The kids were really a joy. They are all participating in the a Summer Enrichment Program at the local community center.

They were remarkably well-behaved considering I had the time slot just after snack, but before recess. I am not sure I would have been so attentive had I had to listen to myself talk :-)

Kudos to the administrators and teachers who run this program essentially on a volunteer basis all summer.

It's is starting to look a lot like Christmas...

Stuck 500 'Prestige' Red Poinsettia cuttings fresh in from Guatemala today. Students will manage them throughout the fall in Greenhouse Operations and then there will be a sale just after Thanksgiving. I actually got to spend time in the greenhouse today :-) ..........don't tell anyone I was having fun.

Patiently waiting....

Attack of the Tomato Killers

Christine has a couple of tomato plants out back and recently, over a couple of days, the plants became about 30% defoliated. The culprit was Manduca quinquemaculata or the Tomato Hornworm. Ultimately it makes a beautiful Hawk moth, but it takes a lot of Solanaceous leaves to accomplish that goal. If you have never had the pleasure of seeing one of these things...they have mass. This one was about 4 inches long and maybe an inch around.

Look at those little appendages designed for shredding tomato leaves :-)

A day to forget...

I was at the Kansas City Airport by 7:30 am for a 9:00 am flight. The flight was overbooked, so I volunteered for a four-hour delay, $400.00 voucher, and free upgrade to first class. Things were actually looking good. After all, there was a Starbucks and I had my laptop...I could work.

Just as the final zone is loading the Delta agent calls my name. Someone didn't show, so I can get on the early flight and instead of the goods I get seat 22A and 2 coupons for a free beer, cocktail, or disposable headphones.

I get to Atlanta. Finally get to Starbucks and the barista is a wise ass. She asks my name for the order and as she writes it on the cup she asks me to spell it. OK, now I am worried "B-U-D-D-Y". Simple order nonfat, no whip, Mocha...what I always get. Well she gets a big laugh from the Atlanta crowd at my expense when she loudly calls out my name.

It was pretty funny and the Mocha tasted fine....no big deal.

So my turbo-prop connector to Asheville is an hour late. We finally board and a thunderstorm breaks out when about half of us are on the plane. They close the ramp due to lightning. We sit without AC for over an hour. Remind me to thank the inventor of deodorant and curse the people who refuse to be part of the 20th century by using the stuff.

We finally takeoff close to 3 hours late. I arrive in Asheville and just as I head towards the parking lot it starts to pour. On top of the rain, I now have to get through a major Interstate Construction site at rush hour.

This would be a perfect post for Travels and Tribulations, if only this had happened to Bullbunky instead of me :-)

Kansas City, MO - Final Day

...and yes that is Stedman Graham. In addition to inventor Doug Hall, a VP from Boeing, and a VP from Toyota; Stedman spoke!

Kansas City, MO - Day 2

OK, every time I travel to a "big city" I feel a bit out of sorts. Lots of bright shiny things (like this sculpture suspended from the lobby ceiling) and lots of dingy, dark, dirty corners. I am not cheap, but even I complain about how much everything costs.

Conventions are designed to separate attendees from their money. From the isolated conference center hotels to the seemingly endless fees attached to everything. Cab rides, airport transfers, and limited eating choices just about do your travel allowance in.


The architecture can be interesting. This is a neat sky walk that leads from my hotel to a mall where I can buy overpriced goods.

Kansas City Bound....

This was the view out the window of my departing flight today. I have a thing about appearances. I just think at the airport this should not be the last thing folks see before they leave our area. Western North Carolina is truly a beautiful place to live and I think our airport should reflect that. I am sure it is a budget thing...but this sign has been in disrepair for over a year now.


Now on a more intersting note, I am reading a book by Victoria Finlay entitled Color: A Natural History of the Palette. Some of you know I am a graphic design enthusiast...no real skill to speak of, but I love the stuff. This book was reviewed in a magazine and I was intrigued and I have not been disappointed.


So many interesting stories, but here is the most bizarre factoid so far. The female cochineal beetle is white on the outside and feasts on Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.). Now if you pop one of this little beetles between your fingers a bright red color is produced. This 'dye' is extremely valuable and there are Prickly Pear farms that are infested with cochineal beetles purposely. In the United States the dye is used in eye shadow and Cherry Coke...among other things :-)

Caveman for a day.

I got to play 'caveman' for a student orientation skit today. It took the makeup artist about two hours to fix me up. She said I was easy because I had many Neanderthal features already and wouldn't require much in the way of prosthetics, but I would need lots of hair :-)

Thinking about walking...

Today Sitting Up, Tomorrow The World...

Christine took this picture of Seamus sitting up on his own today. He can manage the balancing act for about a minute and a half at a time.

Christine has a camera to....

Christine took this picture off the back deck. I know sometimes I mention how nice my bicycle commute into work is, but this gives you a better taste for how magical it can be.

...and what would a blog post be without Seamus :-) Christine took this picture to. That bear and handkerchief size attached blanket is just about his favorite toy/comforter in the world.

Seamus 5 months

Floral Envy and the perfect commute...

My buddy Dr. Jim looks longingly at an Agave in bloom on the NCSU campus.

No pictures from the bicycle commute today, but I left work as one thunderstorm ended and rode home with another following me. I didn't get wet, but there was rain all around me in the mountains. Perfect. There is something about the smell in the air after new rain that is just plain wonderful.

Seamus goes to the Gym

The gym we belong to requires everyone in the family to have a photo ID card. Seamus had his sun glasses on when they took the picture and it just cracks me up. He gets rocked to sleep while Christine works out. I am at once envious of both of them :-)

The Kid Rocks...

Still more plants...

Sedums in a garden I visited while on a business trip to Raleigh, NC.
This pepper flower is fairly typical of Solanaceae species, but the blue anthers on this one are impressive.

Macroni

David and Goliath in the Greenhouse.

In case you couldn't see David in the first picture. Not really sure if an aphid would set off a venus fly trap or not, but he just seemed to be a bold little fellow. Update: I called this aphid a fellow, but it is almost certainly a female.

Pistils and stamens of a cactus flower. I thought the carpels looked like little hands.

Flies ?

Leaf morphology. Escargo Begonia.