My future virtual gardening software

Warning: this is a thinking out loud post, so it probably won't make much sense

I'm thinking about writing a virtual gardening program, mostly to keep up on my programming skills. (I've been neglecting them woefully.) I'm still trying to figure out what I want.

• I want to be able to plant plants, see them grow over time, maybe see the seasons change.
• I want to see birds, bees, and butterflies arrive.
  
• I want to be able to water my plants, but I don't want to HAVE to water the plants.
  
• I think a 3-d program would be cool, but I don't want to have to support all the modeling, maybe I'll stick with 2-d, kind of cartoony appearance. What would be cool is if I could export to a format that one of the on-line 3D gardens programs use (like http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/virtualgarden_index.shtml), then I could walk around it if I wanted to.
• Grow vegies, maybe be able to pick the fruit and the flowers.
  
• I'd like the option to let the plants seed down, maybe with lame models of how they do that.
• I'd also like the option to speed up or slow down time. Basically from "one day is one day" to "one day = one second". Maybe a pause on this day.
• I'd like to be able to save the garden and load the garden.
• Also maybe take screen shots
• put in rocks, fountains, maybe a bench (the disadvantage is I have to draw all these things, ack!)
• It'd be cool if the plants would sway in the breeze, but I don't know if I'm that dedicated to the graphics.
  
• maybe some nice peaceful nature sounds (birds, crickets, bees, wind).
• I actually really like that I can grow plants in Dogz 4. That's my favorite part of the program. I'll probably end up doing something like that.

I think actually doing all that would take forever. I think I'll start with putting a few plants on the screen and watching them "grow".

Recipe: Chocolate Crazy Cake

I thought I'd post this recipe because it is a good cake recipe that is milk-free for the lactose intolerant and also egg-free (great if you're allergic or if you're out of eggs). The texture is moist, sort of like a bunt cake. I got this recipe out of a cookbook my ward put out.

Chocolate Crazy Cake

3 c flour
2 c sugar
6 T cocoa
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 c oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 T vinegar
2 c. cold water

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, soda. Place in ungreased 9X13 pan. Make 3 wells in dry ingredients. Pour equally in each well oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Pour water over everything. Mix all the ingredients well with a fork. Bake at 350 for 30 to 50 minutes.

Easy Chocolate Mint Cookies Recipe

1 chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup shortening
6 oz chocolate chips (half a bag)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Mix together. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 - 12 minutes, until cookies look slightly under done. Then let finish baking on cookie sheet. These cookies will be slightly crunchy. If you prefer soft cookies, after the cookies have cooled, put them in a plastic bag with a slice of bread overnight, and they will get nice and soft.

Note: if you use a cookie scoop, you will want to break the dough balls in half so they won't take too long to cook. Also, cookies baked with Crisco seem to take longer than cookies using a generic brand.

Cold Remedies 2 - Hot Lemon Lime drink

When ever I feel a sore throat coming on, I drink this drink. I think it tastes great and does a good job cutting through the gunk at the back of my throat. The steam from the cup feels good and it warms me up.

1 c. hot water
2 T. Lemon juice
1 T. Lime juice
2 T. sugar

Mix together and drink.

If you like honey, you can try substituting honey for the sugar. (I don't like honey, so I don't).

My other cold remedy.

Pictures of Scamps my Playful Pup

Here are some pictures I took of Scamps My Playful Pup.

Scamps - what comes in the package.

Scamps - Side view

Scamps - back view

Scamps - bottom view

Scamps - at attention

Here is a movie I made of me giving Scamps some commands. (File is about 600kb). I was about a foot and a half away. I just pointed the camera and gave the commands. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it did.

Review: Fur Real Scamps my playful pup

Yesterday my husband opened Scamps for me to test him out before Christmas and make sure he works. In the 5 minutes I played with Scamps, I had a good impression. My husband wasn't quite as impressed, but it isn't his Christmas present :)

Scamps responded to my commands about half the time (same as most real dogs). It seems to go through moods, where for a while it will obey commands then it decides it wants to play or beg for a treat. A quiet room really is important. It really didn't respond well when my husband tried to give commands and my daughter repeated everything he said. There is a definite mechanical sound when Scamps moves, but I didn't expect anything else. The dog responded to sit, down, drop it, good dog, hey puppy, wanna treat, and go to sleep.

Touch-wise, Scamps is fun to pet, but not really a dog to cuddle. The fur sheds pretty bad too, so I'll brush it after I get it.

My daughter and son both loved it. Although, my 15 month old wanted to carry him around by the ear. (Good thing Scamps is fake.) He did seem to respond well to my daughter's voice. I suspect the voice chip they used is skewed towards a child's voice. My son also really liked the fake bone that came with Scamp. He sat outside the door and screamed for several minutes after we put Scamps away.

I can't wait for Christmas :)

Pictures of Scamp, including a movie are here.

My comparision with other fake dogs is here.

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies

(This recipe is based on this one: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/getrecipe.zsp?id=29043.)

I tried this recipe out yesterday. It tasted great, the cookies were moist and chewy like a brownie and had a great mint flavor. I ended up using 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract because the dough wasn't minty enough for me. Taste the dough after the 1/4 teaspoon and see if you think it needs more.

1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (to taste)
2 eggs
3/4 chopped nuts (optional)
36 cookies Change size or US/metric

35 minutes 25 mins prep

1. Place 3/4 c. chips in clean, dry microwavable bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute then in 30 second increments until chips begin to melt. (It took me 1 minute.)
2. When chips begin to melt stir until smooth.
3. Cool to room temperature.
4. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
5. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, peppermint, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Beat in melted chocolate.
8. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
9. Stir in remaining chips and if desired, nuts.
10. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons on to ungreased baking sheets.
11. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until sides are set but centers are still soft. (It took me 9 minutes in my oven)
12. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.

Updated 12/3/05:
Andes Mint variation
This variation makes the cookies look frosted
Follow recipe above, but omit peppermint extract and chocolate chips. Right as the cookies come out of the oven, place an Andes Mint on top. Wait a few seconds, then swirl the melted mint around with a spoon.

A Comparative Review of Fake Dogs

For Christmas, I got myself Hasbro's Fur Real Scamps my playful pup. It seems like a fun idea, a voice activated dog. When my husband saw it, he asked if it was for me or my daughter. For me of course, although I'll share. My daughter is really too young for it. Ideally, I wanted a fake dog to hold in my lap and pet, that would be happy when I petted it and "hear" when I talked to it oh, and would be soft and fluffy. Basically, that toy doesn't exist, so I got Scamps.

Anyway, in deciding which fake dog I wanted there were a couple of choices: One of the Fur Real dogs, Cold Nose Kisses Amazing Puppies, and Rescue Pets. Here's what I discovered. This is based on what I could glean from looking at them in the store and from websites. I don't actually own any of them except for Scamps, and I've only played with Scamps for about 5 minutes to make sure he works. If you know more and I'm wrong let me know and I'll correct it. (Most of the manufacturers' websites have the commercials so you can see what the dogs are supposed to do. Also check out Amazon.com for user reviews.)

Fur Real's newborn pup ($12)
What they do: Basically you pet them and they whimper, blink at you, and go back to sleep.
Body: fake fur over hard plastic
Manufacturer website: http://www.tigertoys.com/furreal/
Size: These pups are tiny. Approximately the size of beanie babies.
Impressions: If they were softer, I might be more tempted. You can also get a box with 2 puppies in it for $20.

Fur Real's Smoochie ($20)
What they do: Basically you touch it's nose and it's tongue moves and kisses you
Body: fake fur over hard plastic
Manufacturer website: http://www.tigertoys.com/furreal/
Size: small, about the size of a 5 lb dog.
Impressions: very cute. I didn't see any mention that the dog responds when you pet it, which was a big point with me. This model appears to be discontinued. Might find it on clearance though.

Fur Real's Scamps: my playful pup ($40)
What they do: Voice activated. As you play with it more you can "teach" it tricks, basically you say the name of the trick three times and it learns it. You can't teach it a trick that wasn't pre-programmed. It does respond to petting. It barks and can sit, and mouth its toy rope and bone. (It doesn't walk)
Manufacturer website: http://www.tigertoys.com/furreal/
Voice recognition manufacturer: http://www.sensoryinc.com/html/support/faqs.html
Size: about the size of a real larger breed puppy
Impressions: very cute, very expensive. Originally I wanted the black and white border collie looking one. I got the samoyd looking one. (I like "perky" ears, so the golden was out.) Look at them closely in the box to make sure the face is put together well and looks cute. Under the fur you can see the body line where the legs join. This is true on the 2 models I looked at closely, especially bad on the border collie one. (I suspect this depends on the dog, so look through them if you have a choice). I've read some of the dogs don't learn, so I'm tempted to try out my dog early and see if it does because I have a suspicion it might be a defect of the specific dog. Read the instruction manual first. I haven't been this excited for Christmas since I was about 12.
Updated (11/15/05): See my short review based on actually playing with it here.
Pictures of Scamps, including a movie are here.

Cold Nose Friends ($25)
What they do: Basically you squeeze it's paw and it turns on. As you pet it, it barks more and its nose gets cold. It also wags its tail and moves its head.
Body: plush fur. I'm not sure if the body itself is soft since the package was completely enclosed, so I couldn't touch it.
Manufacturer website: http://www.playmatestoys.com/html/amazing_pets/index.html
Size: small, the size you'd expect a non moving stuffed dog to be.
Impressions: very cute. Different breeds. These seem to be sold out online, but they are still available at stores (as of 11/07/05). In all honesty, this was my runner up choice. The main thing that held me back was that I couldn't touch the dog through the packaging to see what it was like.

Rescue Pets ($20)
What they do: They whimper and wag their tails. Motion sensitive, so they can tell when you are petting them.
Body: plush, soft bodies.
Manufacturer website: http://www.rescue-pets.com/
Size: small, about the size you'd expect a stuffed dog to be
Impressions: I couldn't decide if the big eyes were cute or really disturbing. When my pre-school age daughter heard it whimpering, she wanted to cuddle it and make it happy. As far as I can tell, it only whimpers and doesn't make any happy sounds. Go to the website and listen to the sounds the dogs make, because they are identical to the ones the toy makes. I'd prefer if it whimpered then made happy sounds as you petted it. Also, I'm not sure if there is an off switch. If you are shopping for a young child, this is probably your best bet.

Other kinds
Pound Puppies Here Puppy Puppy - size of a pound puppy. I wanted a more realistic looking dog, so these didn't interest me. It comes when you clap and follows its red leash so you can "walk" it. Be aware that almost all dogs that "walk" have wheels on the bottom. Web site: http://www.everythinggirl.com/poundpuppies/poundpuppies.aspx

Pound Puppies Pick Me Up - size of a pound puppy, whimpers, barks and moves its head. I wasn't too interested. See above.

(If you don't need a dog just an animated animal, the Luv Cubs are on sale for about $15 at Toys R Us, that's really good)

Vote for Who? Why local elections are annoying

Today is election day and up for election here in Orem, UT is the mayor's seat and three city council seats. Here's my beef with local elections: it is almost impossible to find out anything about the candidates. In theory, local elections are very important because you are choosing the people who will most directly affect your life, what parks get built, where streetlights go in, etc. But it is hard to find out anything about them without directly contacting the candidates. Being an introvert, I'm very unlikely to do that even in the name of doing my duty. They did have a total of 3 meet the candidate nights, but it is hard to find out when those are going on. The newspaper runs a short article about the candidates, so I found out their occupations and a 2 sentence quote and that is what I based my decision on.

Now in the current race, one of the mayoral candidates and one of the city council members had websites. It was enough for me to decide I didn't like the current mayor due to some of the things he listed as accomplishments and I considered unfortunate events. It was also enough to decide that I did like the city council member.

In this day and age of blogs and low cost web hosting, It would be nice if candidates created a free blog, post a few of his or her views, and let the city/county election commission know where it is. It seems like the candidates are wasting a great chance to let people know what they stand for.

Why I don't C.A.R.E.

Today is election day. One of the big items on the ballot (ok, one of the few items on the ballot) here in Orem, is a request to enact the ZAP tax. To my understanding, the ZAP tax was approved by the state legislature to allow cities to enact a sales tax to support zoos, museums, parks, and the arts. So Orem wants to enact the tax, it's a .01% increase. It was originally packaged as RAP and now as CARE.

I'm opposed. Here's the reason. If the money were going for parks, bike trails, and a children's museum, I'd be much more likely to vote for it. However, there is the looming specter of a new cultural arts center, theater groups, and ballet.

The cultural arts is just one area where I have no interest. I will attend a play or concert basically only if a friend invites me or if someone I know is in it. From what I've seen on the news in other cities (this is just my impression and not based on any facts), cultural arts centers are a major money sink. Construction projects like to go over budget and then what are we going to do with the thing? The fact is there are many theaters with in an hour's drive of Orem, and even some theaters in Orem. Why we need more I don't know. There are plenty of concerts available for free and for fee in Salt Lake City and at BYU.

Of course, some people will argue that all the arguments I just made would equally apply to parks and museums. Honestly, the main difference is that I would use parks and museums and enjoy having them close by. I've been wanting a low cost museum in Orem for quite a while, somewhere to take the kids (besides the mall) that is warm and dry in the winter. Plays/dances/concerts only start at certain times and usually would prefer you leave your kids at home. Hmm... if they built a children's museum with an attached theater, they might get me :)

The other reason I oppose the tax is there is a good possibility there will be an upcoming tax to support road improvements which are obviously needed. I'm not sure how many taxes I want to deal with.

Update: CARE passed. Oh well, maybe we'll get some good bike trails and a children's museum out of it.

Review: Mr Clean Magic Eraser

Product: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
What it is: a sponge that erases dirt and crayon
Where can I get it: I got it at Wal-mart and my friend got hers at Home Depot
Cost: around $2.00 for 2
Rating: 4.5 Stars (out of five, tentative)

My friend told me about the magic eraser and said it was the only product she knew of that got crayon off walls. She wetted one down, gave it to her 3 year olds and had them clean up their own mess. I don't have much crayon on my walls, but it did get marker off my cheap wooden table. It also got scuff marks off my walls and doors, and cleaned the outside of my refrigerator easily (I have one of those textured fridges, so stuff gets caught in the cracks). The local news station's customer protection guy tried it out and said it worked as advertised.

The one thing it doesn't seem to do well is grease. I get these grease spots on my wall, and it did nothing for them, but neither does anything else I've tried, so I'm not too upset. It also doesn't do well if the dirt is thick (thick as in, I really should scrape this off).

Who's that in that Picture

I received an email today in a mailing list I subscribe to talking about riya. It is a service that automatically identifies who is in pictures on your hard drive. It also appears to do some text recognition of words in pictures. This would be so cool, especially with family history photos. Imagine identifying who you know then having the program find them in other family history pictures that aren't labeled, or pictures held by other relatives.

There are two things I would worry about with it 1) keeping my information private. Yes I have information about myself posted on blogs, websites, and other internet venues, but I am careful to be vague about my location. The problem comes in with photos. Suppose I appear in someone else's photos. They don't know who I am. This program, because a friend identifies me by name, identifies me. Potentially a stalker could track me down that way. 2) keeping my children's info private. Someone else who isn't as picky, posts pictures of their kids with my kid identified (say from a school party). Now other pictures where my child appears would be identified perhaps with enough surroundings to identify where my child goes to school.

Now granted, these are only issues assuming someone is willing to spend a lot of time looking for my child in specific, but there are people who deal with issues like that.

I would feel OK using this service if I could control who could see the people I have identified. I wouldn't have a problem releasing pictures of people long dead and for family history I think that would be cool. I think I'll sign up and see if my security concerns are addressed.

Cold Remedies

In honor of my first major cold of autumn, here is my dad's nose drop recipe. This is a super-powered version of the saline spray you get at the drug store. It works great to stop a runny nose. My mother and father both swear that if you start with the drops several times a day as soon as you notice symptoms, the cold will be a lot milder and a lot shorter. Another remedy here.

Nose drops:
1/2 c boiled water
1/8 tsp. salt
2 drops regular chlorine bleach (not the super concentrated kind or the scented kind, just regular old bleach)

mix ingredients together and put into saline nosedrop bottle you can get from the store. Solution will smell like a swimming pool.

Hints:

• To get the top off the saline drop bottle, I use needle nose pliers, rock the dropper part back and forth, and pull really hard.
• optimally, each member of the family should have their own bottle, don't share!
• To use, tilt your head back and put drops down each side of your nose. Try and get the solution into all four sinuses. Some will run down your throat, this is normal.
  
• If your head hurts worse after using these, you might want to use it again. What happens is the gunk in your sinuses gets loosened and moves around. Using it again will help wash it out.
• Right before bed, put drops in twice. Put in the drops, blow your nose, and wait 5 minutes. Then put the drops in again and let them sit there as long as you can. (This is really good for stopping the flow of gunk long enough to fall asleep.) I like to put vicks on my nose after the second set of nose drops, it helps keep me breathing well for most of the night.
  
• Warning: I am not a doctor. Consult with your doctor. Be careful with bleach, it stains and only use a little bit because bleach can be a poison. Just use common sense.
  

Baby's 12 days of Christmas ... Work in Progress

(to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas)

On the first day of Christmas my baby gave to me a slimy baby binky.
On the second day of Christmas my baby gave to me 2 spit-up spots,
On the third day of Christmas my baby gave to me 3 sleepless nights,
On the fourth day of Christmas my baby gave to me 4 blown out diapers,
On the fifth day of Christmas my baby gave to me 5 far flung fries
On the sixth day of Christmas my baby gave to me 6 shattering shrieks,
On the seventh day of Christmas my baby gave to me 7 smashed up O's,
On the eight day of Christmas my baby gave to me 8 dripping bottles,
On the ninth day of Christmas my baby gave to me 9 dirty socks,
On the tenth day of Christmas my baby gave to me 10 toes to tickle,
On the eleventh day of Christmas my baby gave to me 11 minutes to myself,

On the twelfth day of Christmas my baby gave to me 12 toothless grins ... oh come here, you're so cute...you're Mommy's little angel.

Are you related to Calvin Coolidge?

My husband and I went to the Brigham Young University Computer Alumni Association Dinner last week. Dr. Sederberg (one of my favorite professors) gave a talk about some of the cool family history projects he had worked on.

One project allows you to print out a pedigree chart on a 3'X4' piece of paper. This is cool because on a normal chart, for each individual you need 2 spaces for his or her parents. This means very quickly the chart gets huge. But most people have a lot of ancestral lines that end fairly quickly and only a few that go back really far, so the program uses the space from the lines that end sooner to fit lines that go longer. (I'm not sure if that made sense, here's an example). They'll print it out for you too for $20.

The other project allows you to see if you are related to famous historical people. I found out I'm distantly related to Calvin Coolidge, FDR, William Taft (my GGM is his 6 cousin 3 times removed, who knew?) , Brigham Young, Dr. Livingston (I presume), and my husband is fairly closely related to the President of BYU (Hubby's FMMFF = Pres. Samuelson's FMMF) To use it you need an AFN number for your ancestors. You can get by finding your ancestors on FamilySearch.org . (I had to use my great-grandparents because my grandparents, parents, and I are still living, so I couldn't find the AFN number.)

What PDA / Handheld should I buy for reading ebooks?

Well, like anything else, it depends on what you want. My primary purpose in buying a PDA was to read ebooks, so I wanted good screen resolution, good battery life, a memory card slot, and low price. If this is you, I'd suggest the Sony Clie SJ-20 or the Dell Axim x30 312 mhz and wifi.

Things to Consider:

1. What operating system do you want? Palm OS or Windows Mobile. If you are going with Windows Mobile, I'd go with Windows Mobile 2003 SE or newer. If you are used to Windows on your laptop or desktop machine, Palm OS takes a little getting used to, but isn't too bad.
2. Do you want to use your PDA for anything besides reading ebooks? I use mine to check my email and read ebooks. Some people want to play games or use it as an organizer. I used my clie to keep packing lists and shopping lists.
   
3. Do you really need a color screen? Color screens drain the battery faster. If you are mostly reading, black and white is just fine.
4. Do you want Wifi /802.11? Wifi / 802.11 allows your PDA or handheld to communicate wirelessly with email and the internet (assuming you have a wireless router). I use wifi to check my email around the house (no need to boot up the desktop) and to check my RSS feeds. Be aware many websites are not Pocket PC friendly. You can view them on a Pocket PC, but it isn't fun. Some PDAs advertise wireless, but they are actually talking about bluetooth (see below).
   
5. Do you want Bluetooth? I have yet to see a need for bluetooth, but some people might want it to connect a wireless keyboard or their cell phone.
6. What kind of ebooks do you want to read? If you want to read recent releases, check the specifications for the software you want to use and make sure it will run on the PDA you want to buy. The sj20 might be too old and not have enough memory, it depends. I mostly read books in the public domain, so I use Plucker on the Clie and Vade Meecum on the Axim mostly because they are free and open source. Plucker will convert webpages or text files into something the PDA can read. If you want to read the Scriptures, there are additional choices.
   

The Sony Clie SJ-20

• My choice if you don't need wifi
• Runs Palm OS
• Has a black and white screen
• Pros: great battery life (I recharged once a week), great screen resolution, plenty of free programs
• Cons: must use graffiti to enter text, can only support the original Memory Stick and only supports up to 32M additional memory (don't quote me on that, check the manual), Screen is easily scratched
• Many reviews note that the screen is easily cracked, but this seems to happen in the first 6 months or so. If you buy a used one older than that, it probably won't crack.
• Cost: $60 - $100 used (on ebay)

Dell Axim x30 (312 mhz and Wifi)

• My choice if you want Wifi
• Runs Windows Mobile 2003 SE
• Has a color screen
• Check and double check the ebay add to make sure it has WiFi.
• Pros: battery life (I recharge overnight, you can get away with less if you don't use WiFi much), good screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, MP3 Player,
• Cons: stylus is lousy, battery life
• Cost: $200 - $250 used on ebay.
• Remember: the faster the processor, the faster it will eat your battery

Accessories you will need/want:

1. Carrying case. It will protect your PDA if you drop it.
   
2. Screen protector (I've scratched my screen several times on both PDAs before I wised up)
3. Memory card (some PDAs have limits on how big a card they can accept, so check the manual) . The internal memory fills up fast. I have a 64 Meg card for my Axim which is enough for me to store about 20 pictures of my kids, my (limited) MP3 collection, and about 35 ebooks.

A Note on Prices and Ebay
As with anything, be careful when buying. Watch the eBay auctions for awhile so you can tell what price is fair. Read the auction carefully to make sure you are getting all the manuals, CDs, and wires you need. Also, the prices on used PDAs may appear to be the same as new. This is sometimes true. In that case, buy the new. In other cases, the used PDA is coming with a case, memory card, and screen protectors and is a better deal since you don't have to buy these items yourself.

Finally
Don't take my word for anything, research this out yourself :) I like amazon.com and cnet.com for researching. Good luck.

Umm... You realize we can't sing Happy Birthday

In this NY Times article (registration required) it talks about how hard it is to make a legal documentary. One example from the article, your cell phone rings with a ring tone from a popular band. Is it legal to use it in the film? Iffy. The lable owns the copyright and to get permission can cost a lot of money (like $5000 for 6 seconds of a song). Or you want to include a clip from a movie (costs money again, anything after Mickey Mouse's Steam Boat Willie is still under copyright courtesy of Disney). Or you want to include scenes from a birthday party (happy birthday is still under copyright).

The whole extended copyright thing bugs me. Basically, anything copyrighted is copyrighted forever. This creates orphan works, works no one can use because the copyright owner is unknown.

Do I think copyrights and patents are bad? No. It is fair that when someone puts work into something, they should see the benefits from it. But it shouldn't last more than 20 years past the life of the inventor/author.

Buffalo Pal

In this article from the NY Times critics are complaining about a buffalo hunt to take place in Montana. In short:

1. Buffalo live in Yellow Stone, but, as the song implies, "where the buffalo roam", they don't stay put. Also, Yellow Stone can only support so many buffalo before there isn't enough food.
   
2. Buffalo carry a diseas that cattle can catch. Montana could loose it's disease-free status if there is a chance of contagion.
3. To control the buffalo population, Montana is allowing a hunt and trying to make the hunt fair.
   
4. These buffalo aren't afraid of people, thus a hunt isn't really a hunt because the buffalo won't hide (where would something like that hide anyway) and won't run away.
   

Stupid question, but how are they going to learn to avoid people if they aren't hunted?

Having a one ton wild animal that isn't afraid of people seems to be asking for trouble. (Although, it isn't as big a problem as a preditor that isn't afraid of people.) Unless the buffalos' fear leads them to charge unsuspecting tourists, I don't see why there is an issue with making the hunt fair. As far as I can tell, the hunters aren't going to leave rotting carcases about; they are going to eat their kill. Why is this any more of an issue than buying a buffalo steak at the supermarket? I don't know what an alternate would be other than having game wardens shoot the buffalo humanely (and then have a barbeque).

Bean there...

So I was worried about what to do with my pinto beans that are still on the plants. I've just left them outside to mature. They seem to be doing OK so far. Some of the plants are starting to die their natural deaths and their beans are yellowing. Hurray!

Updated (11/15/05): About 3 weeks ago I pulled off all the beans. (Most of the beans were at least yellow at this point.) Then I let them dry in a paper bag then shelled them. I don't have much hope that they will be any good as seed, but they look like normal beans. In the next few weeks I plan to eat them, so I'll find out how they taste.

Moon with flash

Moon with flash
Originally uploaded by rcstanley.

This is a picture my husband took with the flash accidentially on. I think it looks really cool.