God in His Wisdom

God, in His wisdom, made the fly.
And then forgot, to tell us why.

-Ogden Nash

(Just in case you had forgotten.)

Sac Saturday

Just a typical weekend in the State Capital, outside the oldest Portuguese Roman Catholic church West of New England (or so says the plaque on the wall.)

Supermarket Tabloid

You do remember standing in line at the supermarket, glancing at The Sun or The Weekly World on the rack, replete with garish cover art and outrageous headlines concerning "George Bush's Secret Android Brother!!!", and you were tempted to take just a peek, don't you?

Now you can do the same thing on the internet, without anyone glancing at you bemused. Just click Sploid and behold!

Global Bovine

Sorry. I just couldn't resist.

(HT: richardb)

North Beach, San Francisco

When I first arrived in the Bay Area, back in 1958, I recall taking a weekend drive over the Bay Bridge (25 cents each way) to San Francsico looking for North Beach. I figured it was on the water, right? With, perhaps, a beach? What did I know?
Anyway, here's a pic from www.pbase.com that illustrates the beauty of North Beach, as well as the importance of the SFFD - all those buildings are made of wood!

Even in Iran

Publius Pundit - Blogging the democratic revolution is a great link for the womens' movement in Iran. It's difficult to understand on many levels.
For instance:
Is democracy possible in Iran?
Does this have anything to do with W's policies?
Are the women demonstrators of Iran cuter than those of Lebanon?
This last question may be the most important. Consider:

Iran:


vs. Beirut:

It's almost as interesting politically as it is scenically. And I like that.

Cream, cream, cream

Our visit to England a few years ago introduced us to clotted cream - a delicious sweet concoction oft used at breakfast. Couldn't find it anywhere here upon our return; internet, sure, but that seemed a bit too much. Yesterday, at Andronico's in Walnut Creek:

TA DAH!



I was duly impressed.

Should I be surprised?

So I learn today that 87% of drivers consider themselves above average in driving skills. Should I worry about the remaining 13%? Who's in that Volvo station wagon with the bumper stickers next to me?
Considering. . .

Baby Names

The Baby Name Wizard's NameVoyager is an absolutely fascinating, historical, fun deal on so many levels. Type in your name, look for your decade of birth, and see if your parents were trendy or atypical. Type in your enemy's name. . . Type in your best friend's name. . . (Warning: works best for European/North American names.) Go to the home page for info on the author and the book. (HT: www.freakonomics.com)