08.31.2003/11:56
Old view
"ePodunk post cards are vintage images, dating from the early 1900s. They are not intended to depict current views."

08.31.2003/07:43

Bus Garage
The Whole Foods Market store on Magazine Street in New Orleans is an adaptive re-use of an old city bus facility, and the most fun part might be parking in the old bus garage.

08.31.2003/07:36

High Water
Last night we had dinner at Cypremort Point, LA, on Vermilion Bay which leads to the Gulf of Mexico, with our friends Ed and Shereen. Our share of the wind and water from Tropical Storm Grace brought the level of the canal they use for bay access to heights Ed said he hadn't seen in years.

08.30.2003/11:21
Snit!
"I hate that these people copied my house." But did they?

08.29.2003/18:13
Nadia
Wow! This sure seems like someone it would be neat to know!

08.28.2003/20:31
Suburban bloat
" Unlike people in old-fashioned urban centers who can walk to work, shops, and public transport, those in the spread-out communities cannot walk even if they wanted to because sidewalks and crossings are lacking and homes, schools and workplaces are far apart." So no wonder they're too fat.

08.28.2003/16:33
Just a little Roomba
Brand new advanced models of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners. Nice advances, although I still like my original Roomba and use it regularly; perhaps I'll be a generation skipper and buy the next new model of even more improved Roomba!

08.27.2003/22:43
Fish story
Patagonian toothfish (a.k.a. Chiean sea bass) in the news.

08.27.2003/18:27
Dough-nuts
Krispy Kreme mania: "A lot of people probably think I'm a nut for doing this." Maybe so... but others of us do not.

08.27.2003/18:24
Tomatina
How much fun must this be?

08.27.2003/08:50
Our mascot?
A page all about Myocastor Coypus, better known as the nutria, with sample tracks, map, etc.

08.27.2003/08:40
Good chocolate
Dark chocolate may be good for you.

08.27.2003/08:35
The Cajuns of southeast Asia
The product is called "Cajun Boy Brand Crab Meat." And where do you think this Cajun Boy has been getting this crab meat?

08.26.2003/15:40
Generally speaking...
I have been feeling slightly out of sorts the last couple of days, and I asked Susan if she thought that there might be a health problem called Chronic General Malaise Syndrome. She answered that there was already a term for that condition: hypchondria.

08.26.2003/09:38
Skies for sale
You can buy the sky.

08.25.2003/07:34
The CIA for kids
Your tax dollars at work: The CIA for kids on the web.

08.25.2003/07:31
Rice fight!
Have a rice day!

08.25.2003/07:28
Cyberchurch
"Worshippers will be able to log on to the church's extensive website to watch and listen to the Anglican church service from their PC."

08.24.2003/10:43

Andy Griff
I photographed this bit of sidewalk today to add to the sidewalks page at my New Iberia site.

08.23.2003/21:32
Retouching magic
Amazing portfolio of digital photo retouching. See the finished work, roll mouse over that to see the original. I think I looked at every one, they are very impressive. But they do remind you to look at all presented images everywhere with a proper dose of incredulity. (via Haddock)

08.23.2003/13:30
Attack date nears
With conditions ideal and the distance relatively short, we should expect the invasion of the Martians at any moment.

08.23.2003/09:49
New Zealand view
Interesting paintings depicting New Zealand scenes, some mythologically.

08.23.2003/09:27
Triple relief
We were in the video rental store, looking at the titles. It was Friday afternoon, after work. We were tired.

We pawed a couple of the shiny covers, dispirited.

Then we had a moment of inspiration. If we didn't rent a movie we (1) wouldn't have to wait in the check out line that snaked past the point-of-purchase junk food; (2) would not have to return the video; and (3) would not even have to watch a video.

We left happy, relieved, and uplifted.

08.22.2003/08:32
Spam on my mind
Don't let email spam ruin your life... celebrate it! Or, if you're not wanting to read spam, you can always just read about it.

08.22.2003/08:19
For whom the toll tolls
''I'd rather get lost than pay the $2."

08.22.2003/07:40

Sign with a veiw
If you're not going to spell conventionally, you can at least claim to spell consistently.

08.22.2003/07:38

Louisa bridge
Construction of new high-rise bridge at Louisa, LA. The old bridge has been hit numerous times by barges.

08.21.2003/14:05
Fiction Contest
What kind of writing wins prizes? Depends on the prize! You could win with "They had but one last remaining night together, so they embraced each other as tightly as that two-flavor entwined string cheese that is orange and yellowish-white, the orange probably being a bland Cheddar and the white..."

08.21.2003/13:58
The sky fell
"The Ministry of Defence has admitted the chickens were frightened to death and paid the compensation."

08.21.2003/13:31
Quite a Depp
I think Johnny Depp would make a great Willy Wonka!

08.21.2003/09:32
Another world
The World of Mosses.

08.20.2003/08:13
No sex please, we're donors
California porn star-cum-gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey takes sole possession of the moral high ground in the crowded race by making it clear that there are in fact some things that she will not guarantee to do in return for a big campaign contribution.

08.20.2003/08:02
Baumaus
A page of mouse hole cartoons that contains not one but two uses of the word baumaus.

08.19.2003/08:11
Forever
Friday evening I got a call from my friend Mary Ogus, who lives in Chelsea on 20th St. In the background I could hear the cheering of her neighbors, who were delighted to have just had their power returned.

The reason that Mary had called me first, of all the people she knows, once power had returned and she could use her portable telephone, was to thank me, because a while back I had given her a Russian Forever Flashlight, and she had not had any worries about the run on flashlights and batteries at every corner store in the city. She had hand-cranked the light she had needed to navigate the darkened stairwells of her apartment building. She was truly grateful, as am I that the flashlight did her good.

I have given away maybe a dozen of these over the years to special friends, and have certainly been glad to have mine during hurricane-related power outages here. But I must say that I was inordinately pleased that it had served Mary so well. Sorry about the power outage up there, folks, but Friday was a wonderful day for me!

08.19.2003/07:59
Monotreme
The favorite monotreme of school children everywhere: the duck-billed platypus.

08.19.2003/07:36
The Neanderthal's New Clothes
All the great fashion advances that man has wrought have apparently been achieved in less time than we thought.

08.17.2003/20:17
Puppy orthodontics
Braces for your dog, and other doggie dentistry.

08.17.2003/12:12
Confederate museum
" The Confederate museum alleged that the backers of the Ogden Museum were anti-Confederate and wanted to kick the Confederate collection out. Officials with the UNO Foundation and Ogden Museum have insisted that they never intended to do that."

08.17.2003/10:22
Deserted Farms
Lots of photos of deserted farms in Iceland. "This subject has been my main interest for the last 10 or 12 years (which should tell you that I´m far from being normal!)." Glad to meet you, Nokkvi, none of us are all that normal, either!

08.17.2003/10:14
Single gals
The potentially lonely life of the female rhinoceros hornbill.

08.16.2003/08:52
Gambling ad
"Bet you $20 you won't come in for a new set of tires."

08.16.2003/08:05
Generations
Sites That Are What Their URLs Say They Are Dept.:
blackgrandparents.com

08.16.2003/08:02
Going up
Why take a rocket ship to space when you could just take the elevator?

08.16.2003/07:50
What they were looking for
Here are some of the search phrases that led visitors to Poor Clio (or its affiliate sites) on Friday, August 15, 2003:

-hammock sutra
-Don Lee Keith
-Nephila clavipes
-"do penis enlargement pills work?"
-"nutria rats"
-gruesome rat cartoons
-nutria rat picture
-baby chimney swifts
-l'esprit d'escalier
-Gay American Airlines Promotional Code
-nutria rat

08.15.2003/14:38
Love locks
Interesting problem with love-declaring padlocks.

08.15.2003/07:54
Distant space travel
An exploration of the new propulsion technologies that may be needed in order for us to travel between planets.

08.15.2003/07:45
Theatrical squabble
Snit!

08.14.2003/08:43
Bear facts
If Susan's Optimist Club gave out an award for Most Timely Luncheon Speaking Guest, it might have been offered yesterday when Steven Reagan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist, came to speak about black bears in our area, even in the midst of one being tracked down for possible relocation away from the more urban reaches of his range.

08.14.2003/08:41
Beach mystery
Dead whales in the news.

08.13.2003/22:16
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Reading about this kept me awake into the wee hours, just when I had to get up early the next day to do all sorts of work that is expected of me.

08.13.2003/21:17
Doff your cap
"Contrary to received wisdom a melting of the ice cap would not entail a rise in the level of the oceans." Good thing, since it might be happening with a hundred years.

08.13.2003/14:15
It's open at last!
I had lunch today at Zeus, the new Greek-Lebanese restaurant that opened this week in New Iberia. Truly wonderful hummus, and every table in the place was filled.

We have been circling this place since the beginning of the summer, when we first got word of the plans to open here (this is a spin-off of the excellent Zeus restaurant 20 miles up the road from us in Lafayette). Stalking them, you could say.

Susan has been calling regularly for the opening date, and got within a few hours of a promised opening a couple of weeks ago, only to have a small kitchen fire halt proceedings in the testing phase. Then, Monday, Susan got word that they might open that night but was asked, "Don't tell anybody." She told some people, and all of us who gathered that evening were turned away like starved alley cats, settling for a local Mexican food joint. The place actually finally opened yesterday, but today was the first chance we had to go.

It was worth the wait! This is the kind of thing that causes excitement in a small town like New Iberia. We look forward to many meals there. I may just start storing my credit card next to the Zeus cash register.

08.13.2003/11:19
Babycakes
If you want this, it seems that you can get it.

08.13.2003/11:14
Play Safe
Play Safe Thong Products, "designed for the sexually active woman who chooses to be a responsible partner."

08.13.2003/11:10
Quit whining and start wining
Sorry about all those poor Europeans suffering with the heat, but Yes, yes, yes!

08.13.2003/10:59
Fair about fare?
"It is an insult to me, my staff and the culinary experience we are endeavouring to create at Hustyns." And more.

08.12.2003/22:09
Google calculator
You can do math by simply entering the equation as a Google search.

08.12.2003/10:12
Animal report
Black bear roaming New Iberia.

08.12.2003/08:22
Stand back!
In a true spirit of public service, a blogger takes us through his own experimental journey: Do Penis Enlargement Pills Work? We'll all know in a few weeks!

08.12.2003/08:16
GPS Drawing
Gallery of art and information on how it was accomplished: GPS Drawing, whereby the artist makes an image by traversing space and recording the path taken on GPS.

08.12.2003/08:10
Charity begins at home
"Suer also made himself a paragon of personal charity by pledging as much as $9,000 a year to the local United Way, then paid off the pledges by taking extra payments from the charity."

08.12.2003/08:04
Rail station art
As mass transit system is developed in Phoenix area, locals can look forward not only to improved transportation, but also considerable public art installations.

08.11.2003/07:35
Google hack
Interesting Google hack to navigate to (sort of) random web pages. Note that in the nice frames version, you also get the actual URL of the page as a link. Just in case you find something so fabulous...

08.11.2003/07:26
Looming over the latte
"Beneath its dreamy mantel of snow, Mount Rainier is an active volcano, and it is rotting from the inside out, especially on its western flank, which drains toward population centers."

08.10.2003/23:23
Queasy
Now here is an optical illusion! (via jish)

08.10.2003/20:34
How much for shipping?
What they sell is fairly useful, but what I really like about this site is that they have incorporated an important part of the sales philosophy into the domain name: noshippingfee.com.

08.10.2003/20:30
Summer workshops
Susan Hester Edmunds in the news.

08.9.2003/18:42

Most Valuable Cat
Hello my friend, I am writing you to this because of your profile that I was able to have a view of in my home nation, that you would be a good prospect to take advantage of this opportunity and to provide help to a distinguished royal family.

I am the precious pet cat of Prince M'm Deisha, of the African exile nation of Rhanwa. Prince M'm Deisha and his family have suffered long torments in the pleasing of a terrible revolution that has kept them from any country of the choosing of their own, living in a revolving exile that takes the royal court to whatever sanctuary can be obtained however briefly.

I hope that as you look upon me in this great sadness, you will be able to feel someday the rejoicing to come when Prince M'm Deisha is able to unite his family in some country where more civilization is above us than in the terrible places of his homeland and the violent rebels who are in charge there. This he hopes to do very soon, as he was able, just two days before the last night of the recent revolt in the district known as Ab-Robi, to place in a Swiss bank account the amount of $38US Million.

Unlike so many of the beleaguered men of his kind in Africa, Prince M'm Deisha does not plead for your assistance in recovering this sum. He has his own plans to do this, although it is known by him and his patient family that this may take many, many years and when the opportunity does arrive it may be swift action.

The pressing concern that I come to you with is that Prince M'm Deisha views me as his precious pet and Most Valuable Cat. He is concerned that his Most Valuable Cat is able to recur in the proper lifestyle while the prince himself endures his long sufferings and awaits that distant joyous day in which we are united. From the profile we have been able to view, we are praying upon your good nature in making this to be the case.

This is so much a part of the life of Prince M'm Deisha that he is willing to reward a proper servant to his Most Valuable Cat with 30 PERCENT of the entire $38US Million that will surely come returning into his possession when that special moment does come that he can reclaim it and reunite his fortune and family.

Imagine your delight on that day when Prince M'm Deisha arrives at your home to reclaim his Most Valuable Cat. Walking in, he will see his precious pet, and then turn in grateful thanks to you, saying, "Oh, my friend, I can tell by the reek of the malodorous foods that come from that corner that you have well treated the Most Valuable Cat of Prince M'm Deisha, and I gladly and willingly reward you with 30 PERCENT of the entire $38US Million that I have salvaged from the royal fortune in my war-torn, rebel-infested homeland."

I can tell you that Ocean Whitefish Tuna Feast Gourmet Dinner will make just exactly the malodorous signal that will so delight Prince M'm Deisha in knowing that his Most Valuable Cat has been treated in the proper respect. By serving this each and every day you can very assure yourself of having the proper conditions that will bring about this happy exchange when that day does come that Prince M'm Deisha arrives to claim his Most Valuable Cat and insure to himself that all the while his precious pet has had its proper treatment.

The wait may be long, my friend, but glorious wealth awaits at the end of that time, when Prince M'm Deisha is reunited with his Most Valuable Cat. Please do not turn away from his most truly marvelous opportunity.

08.9.2003/07:35
When good food goes bad
A very useful variant on the periodic table: Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad.

08.9.2003/07:32
Sue Wal-Mart
Attention gals! This may be your chance to sue Wal-Mart!

08.9.2003/07:16
A real mouthful
Nice photo of Janamashtami preparations.

08.8.2003/21:58
Real groaners
From newswriting.com: "Groaners show laziness on the part of writers, disrespect for the folks watching, and a general contempt for lively English."

08.8.2003/09:40
Not tested on animals
The bottle of shampoo that I used this morning had a comforting label message, "Not tested on animals." I could go on: "Not tested on animals. Not tested on humans. In fact, this goo has not been tested at all. You're on your own. We have a wig-making subsidiary, if things go badly awry. The wigs are not tested on animals, either, so if things get a bit itchy under there, try smearing on a bit of the shampoo, which you otherwise won't be needing, to see if it helps the itch. But remember, it hasn't been tested. At all."

08.8.2003/08:36
Old time radio
Listen to dozens of old time radio programs for free online. Includes dramas, musical variety shows, and more.

08.8.2003/08:28
Celebrate the moon
Chinese Moon Festival.

08.8.2003/08:24
Half a dozen degrees
An email-based study confirming six degrees of separation tend to be as much as exist between any two people.

08.7.2003/08:00
What accent?
Hundreds of people from all over the world read the same English paragraph. You can listen; what can you learn? "The speech accent archive demonstrates that accents are systematic rather than merely mistaken speech."

08.7.2003/07:53
Not a dove
Hawk trained to keep Chihuahuas from menacing park visitors is reined in after attacking pigeon. Oh, no, sorry, it was the other way around.

08.7.2003/07:49
Enough for you?
According to this news report, it's hot around here. I had noticed, too.

08.6.2003/07:01
Ghost sites
In meat space, we have ghost towns. In cyber space, we have ghost sites: screen shots that preserve sites that would otherwise be lost, even if not necessarily missed.

08.6.2003/06:52
Mausoleum leak
"I went to the rectory and said, 'Something is wrong with the mausoleum', and they said, 'Yes, bodily fluids are coming out of the tomb.'"

08.6.2003/06:49
Hot spots
SBC's plan to add 6,000 Wi-fi hotspots gives more critical mass to wireless computing movement.

08.5.2003/15:47
Yet another Poor Clio!
One more Poor Clio version for you: Poor Clio Compact. For if you are in a hurry, I suppose, or don't have much space on your computer screen. FYI, it's all CSS, no tables, which is what I suppose we should be doing these days in any case.

08.5.2003/06:46
Potato bugs
"The most universally feared, hated and disgusting creatures on the planet."

08.5.2003/06:35
It is hot enough for you
"The typical hot, humid, windless weather of August makes it probably the most climactically stressful month in Acadiana."

08.5.2003/06:28
Wake-up call
I woke up about six this morning, at the very first light, and listened to the various neighborhood birds come on line vocally. I wondered two things: Do they all wake up at the same time, or do they wake each other up? And second, how would my neighborhood be different if people, too, shouted at the top of their lungs for a while when they first opened their eyes in the morning?

08.4.2003/21:41
The Most!
This is a truly very cool Yahoo! hack, making a captioned cartoon-panel like story (or stories!) out of the day's most e-mailed photos. (via Anita)

08.4.2003/08:49
How much do you think this is worth?
Interesting piece this morning on NPR's Morning Edition about how flea markets are being affected by two current phenomena, neither of which are costing the flea markets customers, but both of which are acting to dry up the supply of items to sell. Ebay gives everyone an easy way to sell their old junk, and TV broadcasts like Antiques Roadshow makes them think that their aunts' old crockery must surely be worth a fortune.

08.4.2003/07:44
What does a Korean look like?
All look same? "The difference is in the eye of the beholder."

08.4.2003/07:40
All toghether, now
Most species of fireflies don't flash in unison. But some do.

08.3.2003/21:21
Pair for the course
Can you be wearing just one pajama? Or must it always be pajamas?

08.3.2003/19:31
Shell shock
Conditions for pecan growers in New Iberia are enough to drive somebody nuts.

08.2.2003/21:59
A fine moment on Broadway
Nice take on the Broadway musical On the Twentieth Century: "It boggles my mind that not only has this delicious show never been revived in any major way, but that practically no one remembers it despite its raft of Tonys and unusually distinguished pedigree."

08.2.2003/21:56
Safety advice
Buckle up!

08.2.2003/21:53
New chocolate
Dark kisses.

08.2.2003/11:15

Smoke stack dream
New Iberia, LA.

08.2.2003/11:15

Coming Soon
Main St., downtown New Iberia, LA.

08.2.2003/11:14

Brick face
Downtown New Iberia, LA.

08.2.2003/11:14

Pepsi can
Church Alley, downtown New Iberia, LA.

08.2.2003/11:13

Bench and Drain
Church Alley, downtown New Iberia, LA.

08.2.2003/11:12

Soldiers
Church Alley, downtown New Iberia, LA.

08.1.2003/22:07
Deep summer
We're into deep summer here in south Louisiana, with no near memory of anything but the heat, too far from anything else in either direction to waste diminished energy contemplating it. There is only the heat, and the weight, and the continual band of sounds. There are animal sounds at night, crickets and frogs; and languid, tentative mammals finally able to stir themselves after hiding themselves from the sun.

It is heat that you push through, wearying and burdensome. It is tiring, so tiring, but it doesn't let you sleep. I cannot sleep.

Now and again, we get a thunderstorm, cooling us for a slight delusional moment with warm wetness in the place of hot dampness. Blazing sun retreats, there is darkness in the day, and the disturbing, powerful crack of lightning. But then clouds move away and the puddles turn to steam.

It is night, there are animal noises, the darkened sidewalks and streets still radiate, still pulse with what they stored through the day. I cannot sleep.

I cannot sleep.

08.1.2003/12:00
Microsoft Works?
Huge list of oxymoronic phrases, humorously twisted to include "government organization" and "tax return."

08.1.2003/11:32
From porn to politics
Porn magnate Larry Flynt says he'd like to run for governor of California.