Butcher Bird

Northern Shrikes are called butcher birds because of the way they hang their kills on thorns. They are the only predatory songbird. My shrike often visits during squalls. I laughed when it shook the snow off of itself.


Technorati Tags: Northern Shrike, Lanius excubitor, butcher bird
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Want To Know More?

photo: Icicles on Metal Roof detail

I was tagged with two memes this past day. They nicely complement each other, so I invite anyone who would like to join these to do so. I tag all my readers.

Dorothy started a new writing blog, Windsongs of the Heart, which pleases me greatly. Her writing is something I look forward to every week. She is mom to Gretchen, the lovely tortie. She tagged me with the Book Meme. Here are the rules:
1. Grab the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
2. Open it to page 123.
3. Find the first 5 sentences and write them down.
4. Then invite 5 friends to do the same.

The nearest book is Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Spiritual Wisdom from the Science of Change by John Briggs. This book was recommended to me by Sandy Carlson of Writing in Faith and One Single Impression. I am anxious to begin it. The first five six sentences from page 123 are:

To take one example, computer models suggest that it might be possible to heal the hole that our use of fluorocarbons has created in the atmosphere's ozone layer by using a fleet of large planes to spray 50,000 tons of propane or ethane into the South polar sky. Some scientists have theorized the hydrocarbon spray would set off a chemical reaction that could prevent the seasonal destruction of the ozone that protects us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. This would be a clevel technical solution, but would it be a genuinely "rational" one? If we let our new sense of rationality guide us, we see immediately that mechanically piling one technology upon the problems created by other technologies will only perpetuate the mind-set that is destroying our natural world.

If we viewed our environment aesthetically, with this new sense of reason, as well as logically, analytically, and mechanically, wouldn't we want to live in it differently? And wouldn't it, in turn, be able to nourish us more deeply?

Mary Taitt of No Polar Coordinates has sent on the Seven Random Facts Meme. I have done this twice before (here and here). Here are my seven random facts:

1. I'm allergic to Benadryl, bees and some antibiotics.
2. I should carry an Epi-pen at all times but I won't.
3. I have overcome a horror of spiders by photographing them last summer.
4. The inside of my car is a disgusting mess.
5. My new camera is now delayed until May. Bummer.
6. Don't tell Anna, but if ever I need to be cared for, I'm moving into her New Haven home.
7. I want to be a photographer poet instead of a teacher.

I challenge you to participate in these memes. I'm off now to read the responses of others.
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How We Went To See The Logger And Won $155

The Logger, Rusty DeWees (Facebook page here), was at the Barton Memorial Building for a show tonight. Amy had to drive because I have hurt my arm so badly that I cannot. Two big deer jumped into the road in front of us. Amy missed both of them.

The hot pink walls of the auditorium are gone, replaced by this tasteful brown. I think I prefer the hot pink. His comedy is, of course, irreverent and coarse but it was in fun. He insulted every group he could possibly fit into the two hour show.

Here is Rusty playing with his friend whose name I missed because of my hearing problem. But the man was a wonderful fiddler.

Rusty claims to be a drummer but played plastic clothes hangers on a chair since he had forgotten his drums. Soon after this, they held the 50-50 raffle and of all people, Amy won! That was exciting but with my bum arm, I couldn't get a photo quickly enough of her accepting the cash from the Memorial Building president.

Above, Rusty is signing the clothing of a fan who had driven in from New Hampshire. I think about 200 people attended the show at $18 a ticket.

This is a poor photograph of the painted backdrop on the Memorial Building stage. I apologize for the poor quality. It is a view of Crystal lake from the northern end. It had begun raining in the village when we left. Of course, it is snowing up here.

Technorati Tags: Rusty DeWees, The Logger, Barton Memorial Building
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Photo Hunters: I Spy Signs of Spring

Muddy paw (ignore the gesture; he's just a silly kitty) . . .

. . . which Buddy got by actually going outside and sitting in the mud in the sun.

These photos will open full-size in a new window when clicked.

Thank you for visiting.

Click PhotoHunt to view more participants.

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LOL Cat Bible: Lectionary Readings for Palm Sunday

Sunday of the Passion
Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11
Procession with Palms
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16 (Ps. 31:5)
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 26:14—27:66
or Matthew 27:11-54



Matthew 21: 1-4

Jeezus coms tuh grapz heepz an getz ahss

1 An den Jeezus got intuh Bethphage clos ta Jerusalem. Dey werz on a heepz ov salty grapz. Den hee sed go to too kitty jeezezes.
2 He dun toldzem. Goto dem hutz and fine some ass and a fillee; bring herz to me.
3 An if deez gize giv yuh guff. Yo meau. Baybee-Ceiling-Cat Jeebas wantz em. Hee wilz shutz up den.
4 It allz happenz lik hee sed. Lik hee haz seez duh fyoocher an sez so.

Isaiah 50: 4-9

4 teh sovereign Ceiling Cat has given me an instructed tongue,
to know teh word dat sustains teh weary.
him wakens me morning by morning,
wakens mai ear to listen like wun being taught.

5 teh sovereign Ceiling Cat has opened mai ears,
an ai haf no been rebellious;
ai haf no drawn back.

6 ai offered mai back to those who beat me,
mai cheeks to those who pulled owt mai beard;
ai did no hide mai face frum mocking an spitting.

7 becus teh sovereign Ceiling Cat helps me,
ai wil no be disgraced.
therefore haf ai set mai face like flint,
an ai know ai wil no be put to shame.

8 him who vindicates me is near.
who den wil bring charges aginst me?
let us face each other!
who is mai accuser?
let him confront me!

9 it is teh sovereign Ceiling Cat who helps me.
who is him dat wil condemn me?
dey wil awl wear owt like a garment;
teh moths wil eat dem up.

Philippians 2:1-11

Ceiling Cat jr. iz not teh selfish

1 Ifz bein wit teh Ceiling Cat maeks uz happee, an ifz uz feelz all warm and fzuzy cuz he wubs uz, an ifz uz spendz happee play tiemz wit deh Ceiling Cat, an ifz uz feelz all warm and fzuzy toawrdz ohter cats,
2 Tehn uz can maekz mi happee by knot fyting wif ohter cats hoo ar freindz wif teh Ceiling Cat, an try two agrie wif eahc ohter, an wurkz twogehter an stuf. Srsly.
3 Dun bee selfihs, an dun luk in teh meeror and say, "Oh Hai! u iz best lukin wun aroun!" Inzted, luk at ohterz an say, "U iz wey mor awesum tahn mi. J00 r0x0rz."
4 Dun get teh catnipz jus fer urselfz, get sum fer everywunz.
5 U shud tihnk liek teh Baby Jeebus
6 Hoo wuz teh saem as Ceiling Cat, but deesidid knot to stey up dere
7 an maed himzelf jus liek uss, becumin not a Ceiling Cat no mor.
8 An wen everywun foudn out he wuz Ceiling Cat jr. he letz dem getz mad at him, and dey pwnz him.
9 So Ceiling Cat sez to him, "UZ AWESUM! lol" and callz him nice namez,
10 so dat wen we hears hiz nice namez, we givez him all deh cheezburgerz, whether we findz dem in teh sky or on teh ground or in teh cavez,
11 and we all sez, "UZ AWESUM! UZ CEILING CAT JR! CEILING CAT ROX!"

Matthew 26:14—27:34

Judas 2 Pwn Jebuz

14 Then one of the BFz, called Judas Iscaricat, went 2 teh big catz,

15 And sez, I can haz cheezburger, 4 Jebuz? And thay give him teh cheezburger.
16 And now hez lookin 2 pwn Jebuz.

Jebuz Eets Nummies wit His Herd
17 So teh first day of the feast of da flat cookie the BFz came to Jebuz n sez, Where 2 eat feast?
18 And he sez, scratch on window and weez in.
19 And teh BFz did as Jebuz sez; and thay made redy teh passover.
20 So dark out, he sitted wif the BFz.
21 And as thay eated, he sez, Guess what? 1 of youz gonna pwn mee.
22 And thay were sad, and all sez, Not mee. wtf?
23 And he answered and sez, He that lick teh bowl wif me teh same gonna pwn me.
24 Ize gotta do wha Ize gotta do: busted B kitteh who pwns teh Ceilng Cat jr.! better no B borned.
25 Then Judas, which pwned him, answered and sez, scuz plz, is it I? He sez, No Da.

Jebuz Maeks teh Ceiling Cat Din-Din
26 They was eatings, and Jebus took cheezburgrs and give them to his peepz and sez, "Is my body. It has a flavor. U can has it and go NOM NOM NOM."
27 And he took teh cup, sez thks plz, and gives 2 dem, sez, Drink all of it;
28 Dis my blood k?, Soz U can say srry when U bad kittehz.
29 Now I has no milk wif u, till wez all in the ceiling. K?
30 Invisible karaoke over, they went outside 4 2 play.

Peter Can Has Amneesiah
{{verse|31=Then Jebuz sez, Ize has to go bai, and u gonna B like, Wtf? For it sez:
"I pwn teh master, n teh peepz will run leik sissyz."
32 Then, I‘m in your Galilee, back from teh dead.
33 Peter sez, No way.
34 Jesus sez, btw, Guess what? Today u gonna say u no know mee 3 times.
35 Peter sez, No way. BFz will say wtf?

Cheezburger n teh Yard
36 Jebus sez, Oh ya? I’m settin u up. Come wif them to Gethsemane, and tell dem that, Stay, while I go n play.
37 And he took wif him Peter and Zebedee’s kidz, and wus sad.
38 He sez, Ize sad. Stay wif mee.
39 And he went a little farther, and failed, and sez, O my daddy, I no want 2 dies! I can no die?
40 His Bfz, all has pillows asleep, n sez 2 Peter, Wtf?, No could stay with me 1 hour?
41 U suck: teh spirit sez yes, but teh flesh sez no.
42 2 time, sez, O daddy, u want mee dead? k.
43 Bfz still has pillows. No look.
44 Third time, sez same:
45 Then he sez to BFz, Fine sleep. I get pwnd now.
46 K. Get up. I get pwnd now.

Pwnin' n Gethsemane
47 While he sez dat, Judas, shows up wif army of big cats and old peeps.
48 Pwner sez I kiss guy u want. Dats how u know.
49 He came to Jebuz, and sez, Sup? and kissed him.
50 Jebus sez, where u been? And it was bath time.
51 And Jebuz’ BF cut off guys ear!
52 Jesus sez, Bad kitteh. If u use claws u die by claws.
53 Funny irony. If I could ask, Ceiling Cat sez I can has army. LoL
54 But can’t cuz no spose 2?
55 Jebuz sez to big cats, Wtf? Why now?
56 BFz raned away.

Jebuz n teh Beeg Cat Cownsil
57 They took Jebuz to Cataphas at the cat pile.
58 Peter sneeked up behind them 2 see what’s up.
59 Now thay all make up lies against Jebuz, 2 pwn him;
60 Wasn’t working cuz Jebuz good kitteh. Then 2 more liars came,
61 Dis guy sez he can wrek temple and put it back in 3 days.
62 Big cat sez, Oh yeah?
63 Jebuz sez nothing. Big cat sez, tell us if UR Ceiling Cat jr.
64 Jesus sez, fraid so. UR going to see Ceiling Car Jr. poking his head out from hole in ceiling.
65 Then Big cat shaved him.66 They all sez he needs 2 B pwned.
67 Then spitted on him and spanked him68 They sez, if U Ceiling Cat jr. wez couldn’t do dis.

Peter Pwns Jebuz den Weepies
69 Girl sez to Peter, U were wif jebuz.
70 Peter sez, fraid not.
71 He goes out to the porch, another maid sees him, and sez, U were wif Jebuz.
72 And again, Mee not know him.
73 They all sez to Peter, u gotsta B 1 of dem.
74 Wtf? No way!75 And Peter membered teh word of Jebuz, which sez, Today you not know me 3 times. He was sad.

Judus pwns himself. Srsly.
1 So liek iz teh mornins and all teh ppl sez tehy duznt liek Jesus and wantz to kills him;
2 So tehy ties him upp and maed him goes to Pilate.
3 Judas feels teh stoopid and bringes teh moniez back,
4 becuz he iz liek, "I iz stoopid, made invisibul err0r. Jesus iz innucent, k?"
And teh big catz sez "whtevr."
5 So Judas sez "Do not want!" and he trows teh moniez and then killz hisself wiht sum yarn.
6 And teh top cat priestz taik moniez and sez "Do not want, has blud on, yuk".
7 And they arsks sumbody and sez "I can has pooterz feild?" for to bury teh stranger doodz what are deaded in.
8 And some1 fot it gud idea to call field "field of blud". Der.
9 And then what Jeremy, dood who kno what happen before it happen, like humin who kno cheesburgr teim before lolcat do, said wood happen did happen, and they took lots peices silver, what he worth and can has lots of cheezburgrs wiv and what children wot pull lolcat tail of Israel did reckon him worth;
10 and gived them for pooterz feild as Ceiling Cat sayed for to do.

Jebuz gets pwned by Big Catz before Pilate
11 An Jebus stood in front of governor, what is like owner that has the thing for opening catfud tins, and governer said "Is you der big boss cat of der Jews?" And Jebus say "Dat wot u say" *shrug*
12 An when teh big top cat priestz and old doods did say, like, that he pinched the fish, he look all innocent and smooth his whiskers and say nuffin.
13 Den Pilate sayed to hims "Yu not heer wut dey saying aboot yu?"
14 But stil Jebus not say nuffin and amaezd teh govurnor. Srsly.
15 And the govurnor had teh custom of releesing prizunor teh crowd wantid.
16 There wuz teh evul guy naemd Barabbas,
17 And den wen teh crowd wuz gatherd Pilate were asked dem "Yu can haz Barabbas or Jebus."
18 But he knowz it wuz cuz dey wur jelus of teh Jebus dat dey gaev Jebus to hims. Srsly.
19 An when Pilate was sitting in teh uber-litter box of teh juj, his wiefs, liek, sended he dis mesij. An she sez liek "Yu no can haz aneeting too does wif dat cat whu iz free of teh kittunz, srsly, cuz liek i can haz bad nightkitties bout himz, An yah. Srsly."
20 But teh big top cat priestz and ol doodz gived teh crowdz lots of catnips so dey wud asks for teh Barabbas and to hav Jebus exicutid. Srsly.
21 So den teh govurnor askd teh crowd "Wich wun duz yuz want?" Dey sed "Barabbas!"
22 "Wut I do wif Jebus den?" Pilate askd. Den all teh crowd sed "Krucify himz!!"
23 "wai? wut invizibul err0r he do?" Pilate askd, But teh krowd get loudr and keep saying "Krucify himz!!"
24 Pilate getz teh frustraet and teh krowd waz maek uproar, so he washiz hiz handz and sez, "Do not want, I innusint uf himz blud, yuk."
25 Teh krowd sez, "hims blud!! do want!! Feed to our kitties. Srsly."
26 Him releesd Barabbas to angry krowdz, but took awai Jebus'z powerups, giv himz floggingz and giv himz to krowd. Srsly.

Faitur Kittiez Stealz Jebus'z Cheezburgrz. Srsly.
27 Teh govrnur's faitur kittiez taekd Jebuz to teh big littur box and roundid up moar faiter kitties.
28 Dey took moar of Jebus'z cheezburgrz
29 and put teh lime helmetz on himz hed. Den dey giv him big stik and maek fun of himz, sed "King of Joos! Haz many cheezburgrz, us can haz?".
30 Den dey spitz hairbalz at himz and giv him beetdownz wif teh big stik.
31 wen dey finish wif teh beetdownz dey taek teh lime helmetz off and taek himz to teh krucify place. Srsly.

Jebuz getz teh Krucify
32 Den wen dey goez out to teh krucify plaec, teh faitur kittez maed teh dood naemd Simon karry teh cross. Srsly.
33 Den dey go to teh plaec kalld Teh Landz of teh Skullz.
34 At teh skullz plaec, dey gib Jebuz sum yuky winez but he tastid it an sed "do not want, can haz livur juus, yuk." Srsly.

i can has diceplez from LOL Cat Church

March 7th
Oh hai. Iz teh Ceiling Cat Profett. Soemtiems der be bad stufs on teh internets dat go aginst Ceiling Cat, liek dis an yu shud kno, Ceiling Cat DO NOT WANT! Dun folow udda ceiling animuls. Dat bad. Pew! Pew! Pew! Yu gets Ceiling Cat's lazer eyes an yu go to teh eternil stinkee littrbocks. Srsly.

HALP!
We hope to have many other Holy Kitties featured this year.
Please e-mail your photo, caption and link to me at

Get ready now cuz the wild weekend is coming!
Board the Friday Ark at The Modulator
(submit your post here)

Weekend Cat Blogging #145 Mar 15-16
Held right here at the Cat Blogosphere
(see the week’s host to enter your WCB post
in the comments for the weekend roundup)

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos Edition 36 3-16-08
Pet & The Bengal Brats at Pet’s Garden Blog
Optional Theme - Toes Or Claws
(submit your post here)

The Carnival of the Cats #209 - 3-16-08
This, That and the Other Thing — Sunday Evening
(submit your post here)

Visit the Pet Prayer & Praise Blog

Technorati Tags: LOL Cat Church, LOL Cat Bible, Lectionary Readings, Prayer & Praise Blog, Weekend Cat Blogging

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Teacher Potluck Carnival: The Pi Day Edition

Welcome to the Irrational Teacher Potluck Carnival for Pi Day 2008!

Pi Day and Pi Approximation Day are two holidays held to celebrate the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in American date format), due to π being equal to roughly 3.14. Sometimes it is celebrated on March 14 at 1:59 p.m. (commonly known as Pi Minute). If π is truncated to seven decimal places, it becomes 3.1415926, making March 14 at 1:59:26 p.m., Pi Second (or sometimes March 14, 1592 at 6:53:58 a.m.). Pi Approximation Day may be observed on any of several dates, most often July 22 (22/7 (European date format) is a popular approximation of π). March 14 also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday.

The first Pi Day celebration was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, and then consuming fruit pies; the museum has since added pizza pies to its Pi Day menu.[1] The founder of Pi Day, the "Prince of Pi", is Larry Shaw,[2] now retired from the Exploratorium, but still helping out with the celebrations. They have also recently added the first Pi Day celebrations in Second Life.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology often mails out its acceptance letters to be delivered to prospective students on Pi Day.

See Wikipedia, Pi Day, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Day (as of Mar. 14, 2008, 00:26 GMT).

Tomorrow we are celebrating ∏ Day with our ∏ Memorization Contest, a ∏ Day Sudoku, and, of course, pies! Chocolate pudding pie seems to be the kids' favorite, with blueberry and pumpkin coming in second.

But don't worry! Our recipes and education links are very rational. In fact, at least one is green for St. Patrick's Day. All our recipes are circular. Happy Pi Day!

FOOD

Let's start off with St. Pat's Pistachio Cookies. I got this recipe from my weekly mailing from King Arthur Flour. You get green cookies, which is fun! They suggest you use the Jell-o brand of Pistachio pudding for the best color.

I spent this past Saturday making my Apple Crumble Pie from cooks.com. I love pies. They are my favorite breakfast food. But making them? A mess! The crust I make is terrific but makes me too tense. Luckily, our store in the village now has a local frozen organic pie crust available. Amy has used two shells for a two crust pie. Still too much work for me. This apple pie has an easy crumble topping that works beautifully just as the recipe says it will. The crumble topping feels skimpy but trust the recipe and it will work. I love the sheen that the raw apples have with the flour and lemon water mixture. The last photo is of the first piece of pie from the pie tin. The flour and lemon juice mixture made a beautiful gel that was completely natural. Click on the image to see it full size.

Finally, my Amy has granted me permission to publish her "perfected" chocolate chip cookies. What does "perfected" mean? I don't get anymore cookies because she has no need to further test her recipe. She is in search of another recipe to perfect. It had better be something chocolate. Sorry, no photos. I ate the cookies.

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (or just use all regular flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
about 2 cups of toasted walnuts or pecans

Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Mixer

Heat oven to 375° F.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Chill the dough, (I did not do this.)

Scoop cookie onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

EDUCATION

Jean Mosher presents More American Children Educated Online posted at Always in Motion. I read the article and it raises important questions about public funding, for-profit educational corporations, credentials and regulation. We have to be aware of the issues because they could affect us sooner than we know.

With that in mind, consider Mark Monaghan's post The need for eLearning posted at eLearning. If you have not seen this video, you must. It will put the eLearning debate into focus.

Despite a district-wide rule prohibiting cell phones in our schools, students have them. Cell phones have audio, still photo and video capabilities. What would you do if suddenly you appeared on YouTube in a cell phone video? Greg Laden presents Greg Laden's Blog : Teachers Gone Wild posted at Greg Laden's Blog. I think this is another article that you must read.

Are you planning on buying pronunciation software for your students? Eric Koshinsky presents Pronunciation Software to Improve English Pronunciation posted at Teachers Call. There are more criteria to consider than I had ever realized.

That's it for this edition of the Potluck Carnival. Please submit your recipe, story or article for the next carnival here.

HAPPY PI DAY!

moar funny pictures

Teacher Potluck Carnival

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Wordless Wednesday: Snowy-Beaked Mourning Dove

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Thank you for visiting.

Technorati Tags: Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura

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Cats Tuesday: Mouse Awakes

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To visit other participants, visit Gattina

or click Cats on Tuesday

Happy COT!

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Heads or Tails: Curve-Stitching The Green

St. Patrick's Day Mathematics Lesson

Suggested to me by Multicultural Mathematics: Teaching Mathematics from a Global Perspective by David Nelson, George Gheverghese Joseph and Julian Williams

OBJECTIVES:
Develop number sense
Introduce number theory
Practice sums of ten

MATERIALS:
Worksheets
History of the Shamrock
pencils
markers
video about the history of St. Patrick's Day
Richard Phillips: Numbers: Facts, Figures and Fiction
D. G. Wells: The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers

LESSON:
Read History of the Shamrock
Watch "The Story of St. Patrick's Day" video
Curve-stitch a shamrock (St. Patrick's Day worksheet).
Investigate the number 3 with information from Phillips and Wells.

EXTENSION:
What other shapes might you get by using other sums?

LINKS:
Search The Math Forum and enter "curve stitching" in the text field.
Google for more info about: Lissajous Figures, String Art Lissajous. JAVA sites.

To see more Heads or Tails participants, visit Skittles

or click Heads or Tails.
Thank you so much for visiting.

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Photo Hunters: Different Effects

Parallels

Clockwise from top left: color, sepia, black & white, antique

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LOL Cat Bible: Lectionary Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 130 (Ps. 130:5)
Romans 8:6-11
John 11:1-45

These are the verses of today's readings that have been translated:

Psalm 130

1 Dis place wuz teh suck so i wuz like "o hai Ceiling Cat"
2 Den i wuz all like "oi Ceiling Cat dun be afk coz i is lyk askin stufz"
3 Ceiling Cat if u iz all lyk postal cos of invisible error, iz we all fuxored?
4 But Ceiling Cat stil can giv cheezburgr if we sayz u pwn
5 I brb til Ceiling Cat sez i can has cheezburgr
6 Nvm i afk now, lyk idler in helpz room, til Ceiling Cat msg me
7 All kittehs afk waitn 4 cheezburgz cos Ceiling Cat can giv cheezburgr n Ceiling Cat giv cheezburgr to kittehs wiv invisble error
8 Wen Ceiling Cat bak from afk Ceiling Cat wil be all lyk "o hai kittehs, bout dat invisible error, lyk nvm, watevah"

Romans 8: 1-17

Laif an Spirit (teh Invisible Cat)

1 OK so, derz no empty bowlz iff youse chasin teh Ceiling Cat,
2 cuz teh rulez abowtz Invisible Errors and dirtnappin', thai's diffrnt now an Christ Jebus chainjed thems to teh rulez uf teh Spirit.
3 Fur wat judge judy kant duz (shes got week neez), Ceiling Catz did wen he wuz mailin baby kittn Jebus to us, an disguys him inna Invisible Error meatz, so he lookz leik all da utter peepols.
4 So dat wen yu ar chasin teh Ceiling Cat, yu kan be livin by teh Spirit, teh Invisible Cat.
5 Fur deyz who bin chasin meatz duz moar Invisible Errors; but iff dey bin chasin Invisible Catz den dey eated Invisible cheezbrgz, srsly.
6 Iff yu sinful, an chasin meatz, an stuff, dats dirtnappin, but eated Invisible cheezbrgs, dats liek comfy chair an blanket by teh fireplaze.
7 Cauze Invisible Errors maiks Ceiling Cat koff furballz: dose peepul kant obey Ceiling Cat and his rulez.
8 Demz dat chasin meatz, an stuff, maikz big furballz inna Ceiling Cat.
9 You iz nawt chasin meatz iff teh Invisible Cat iz in yur furz, cuz u be livn by teh Spirit. An if sumwon dun hav teh Invisible Cat, he dunno teh Baby Jeebus.
10 An iffn yu no Baby Jebus, youse ded cauz Invisible Error; but ur spirit, liek teh Invisible Catz, is dancin cauz uv goody two-pawz.
11 See cuz Ceiling Cat, he maded Baby Jebus alive aftur he dyd wif teh Invisible Cat. And dat saem Invisible Cat kan maik youse alive too, an givs yu Invisible meatz, see kthxbai.
12 Lissenup, brudder catz, we dun haz to chase affer meatz.
13 Iffn youse liv dat way, an dance wit teh meatz, youse ded: but iffn youse Invisible RAWR atta meatz-chasin, youse not ded.
14 Invisible Cat rulz, srsly, an can maiks u kittnz uv Ceiling Cat.
15 Yu invisible kitty, in yu, it shoodent be fraid; but choo 'dopted Invisible Cat an u can meow-meow, "Abba, Big Daddy Cat."
16 Invisible Cat seez our own invisible kitty, an sez we be kitnz uv Ceiling Cat:
17 An kittnz, den der kittnz; kittnz uv Ceiling Cat, an der kittnz of Jebus; Iffn we getz bit anna poked inna eyez, den webe brudderz poked inna eyez togeddr, RAWR srsly.

John 11: 1-36, 41-43

1 In teh hometown uf Mary, thar wuz a dood, LOLrus, who wuz way sick. All sick liek he ated 2 much cheezburgerz.
2 You no, teh Mry who was liek "Jesus, yur feet totally need 2 be washed." But she had no n4pkinz so then she liek wipes wif hur hair.
3 An the doods sistars went 2 find Jesus, n were liek "This wat kewl dood is all sickn stuff."
4 Jesus liek heard wut they sed he wuz all liek "Dis is for teh glory of Cieling Cat, cuz liek I can has glory."
5 Jesus lieked teh dood n hiz sistars.
6 N he totally took his sweet time getting ready, liek 2 whole days.
7 Then Jesus sayz "Roadtrip 2 Joodea."
8 But hiz peeps were all liek "O Jesus, last time we was ther they was totally not kewl."
9 So Jesus let 'em have it. "I can has travel by day.
10 If I can has travel at night, I can has sprained ankle."
11 Jesus w4s all liek "Mah dood Lolrus has naptime. We go, n wake mah dood."
12 But teh peeps were all liek "If he's nappin this would be way easy."
13 How come for they didn't get it that Jesus wuz talkin bout def ?
14 So Jesus stopped talkin all pretty wif teh metafors n teh similes and he sed "Lolrus is dead n stuff.
15 N I am liek all glad I wuz not der, but I is here, so you can liek beleaf. So, lez go."
16 Then teh peep named Thomas who wuz called teh twin, cuz he all looks liek Jesus, was all liek "Yo, lezgo to be with teh dead Lolrus n we can all be liek ded 2."
17 When Jesus fnally got der he wuz in teh grave for liek three or five days.
18 N teh city wuz all close to teh nayborhood.
19 N lots of doods n jews has came to talk to teh sistars.
20 Then when theys hearded that Jesus was thar, Martha went 2 meet em, but Mary stayed home.
21 So liek Martha saw Jesus n says "You r late,
22 but I no Ceiling Cat will totally listen to you."
23 So Cheesus says "Your dood will has his bucket."
24 Martha was all liek "His bucket will wait in heavun."
25 But Cheesus was all "No no no, I can has a bucket. N if u believe, you 2 can has a bucket."
26 "N liek if u can has bucket, u can no has def, if you can has beleaf in Cheesus. Do you dig ?"
27 Martha totally was liek "I can has beleaf. N I no that you are totally the kitteh of teh Ceiling Cat."
28 So Martha totally went to her sistar and said "Cheesus axed 4 u." Which he totally hadnt.
29 N Mary was all liek "dood!" n ran to Cheesus.
30 He wasnt thar yet,
31 but teh doods n joos wer liek "Lookit her runnin to pray for Lolrus."
32 But when Mary founded Cheesus she was all about "You iz 2 l8."
33 Den Cheesus saweded her cryin an teh Jews dat com wit her wer also cryin and Cheesus wuz all sadz and stufs.
34 "Wer did yu lai him?" Cheesus askeded. "Com here and yu can see too," dey sed bac.
35 Cheesus crieded. Not jus litle teers, no. he crieded big teers. Cuz Lolrus was ded an stufs an everywun luved him, even Cheesus. Cheesus trieded to wipe his teers awai wit his pawz but teh teers kept comin and comin and everywun saweded that as dey were cryin too. Everywun was cryin an sad. Yesh. Srsly. Yu mite criez too! It's okai, cryin is okay. Everywun can criez. Cheesus wepted.
36 An teh Jews sawded this an sed, "See! He luffs hum too!"

41 So they moved teh stone. And Cheesus looked up and sed, "Thanx fur listnin', Ceiling Cat!.
42 I know you heerz me, but dese peeps hangin' round don't belief in me. Ima show 'em."
43 He sed dese tings, den he yelleded: "Oh hai! I upgraded ur Lolrus!".

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

HALP!
We hope to have many other Holy Kitties featured this year.
Please e-mail your photo, caption and link to me at
From LOL Cat Bible:
lolcatbible was mentioned on the Popular Science website! Awesome.

I can haz halp plz? Plz go here.

Get ready now cuz the wild weekend is coming!
Board the Friday Ark at The Modulator
(submit your post here)

Weekend Cat Blogging #144 is being held by
Pet & Tigger at Pet’s Garden Blog
(see this week’s host to enter your WCB
the comments for the weekend roundup)

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos Edition 35 • 03-09-2008 •
Astrid & Kashim & Othello at The Catboys Realm
Optional Theme - LOL Cat Edition
(submit your post here)

The Carnival of the Cats #208 - Sunday evening 3-09-2008
held by Rocky at Artsy-Catsy
(submit your post here)

Visit the Pet Prayer & Praise Blog

Technorati Tags: LOL Cat Church, LOL Cat Bible, Lectionary Readings, Prayer & Praise Blog, Weekend Cat Blogging

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Fractal Friday: Happy Numbers, the Collatz Conjecture, Fractals and a New Godel-Escher-Bach Blog

I ran across an interesting post yesterday from Second Effort blog:

Second Effort: Heads or Tails #28 -- 7 things

OK -- seven numbers: 1, 7, 10, 13, 19, 23, and 28.

These, it turns out, are the first seven "happy numbers"— something I'd never heard of either before undertaking today's assignment.

Here's how they work:
72 = 49
42 + 92 = 97
92 + 72 = 130
12 + 32 + 02 = 10
12 + 02 = 1

Did you get that? Take a number and square it. Break the resulting number into individual digits. Square each digit and add them up. Repeat for the resulting sum... and do so as necessary until (quoting now from the Wikipedia entry) "the number equals 1 (where it will stay), or it loops endlessly in a cycle which does not include 1. Those numbers for which this process ends in 1 are happy numbers, while those that do not end in 1 are unhappy numbers.

I had never heard of Happy Numbers, either. The post reminded me of the Collatz Conjecture. I first heard of this conjecture in Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. Hofstadter calls these numbers Wondrous Numbers.

Take any whole number and apply one of these two rules to it: if the number is even, cut it in half, but if odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1. Whatever number results from this, apply one of the two rules to it. Do this again and again and you will notice something odd happening to the numbers that you get.

Cut The Knot has a fun applet to help you explore what these numbers.

The Wikipedia article about the Collatz Conjecture is detailed and over my head. But at the end is a photo of the Collatz Fractal, which is at the top of this post, by Pokipsy76, who has released the photo into the public domain. Thank you, Pokipsy76.

In 2004 John Allen Paulos, in Who's Counting?: Unsolved Math Mysteries, wrote that the Collatz Conjecture is one of "seven important questions in mathematics that have never been answered." He also wrote that the Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a $1 million reward for its solution. However, Wikipedia says that Paul Erdos offered a $500 prize for its solution and never mentioned the Clay Institute reward. After a brief search at the Clay Institute, I can find no mention that this conjecture is one of its Millenium Problems.

I end this post with a request: If you are interested in joining a Godel, Escher, Bach Blogger Reading Group, please let me know. I have begun reading this book many times but I want to talk about it with other people as I read. Each chapter is very dense. I know that reading it together will be more satisfying and enlightening. I never read a book such as this with the intention of learning everything there is to learn from it. That is unrealistic. I am satisfied with learning one or two things here or there and with being amazed at the knowledge in the book.

Basically this book is about mathematics (Godel), art (Escher) and music (Bach). I have a few ideas for this new group blog and would like to hear your reactions:

• Using Blogger labels, we can group posts by chapter and topics.
• Members of the blog can drop in and out at any time.
• Any member can post about any topic on the book.
• Each chapter of the book would have a unique post with subtopics in each chapter referenced by the chapter label.
• Mathematical intimidation would not be allowed.
• We'd keep the math level as low as we can go so that we don't scare people away.
• The blog would be open to the public so that anyone can read and post comments.
• At some point, we can continue with a new Metamagical Themas group blog.

Want to join? Drop me an e-mail with the subject: Godel-Escher-Bach (click that link and an e-mail message addressed to me with this subject will open in your e-mail client).

Thank you.

Friday Fractal

Technorati Tags: Collatz Conjecture, Happy Numbers, Godel Escher Bach, Douglas Hofstadter, Paul Erdos, John Allen Paulos, fractal art, Clay Institute, Millenium Problems
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A Card From Amelia

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Loads slow but lots of fun! Starring Aaron, Andrew, Dan, Sophie and Scout. See labels on left sidebar if you need to know more about these folks!

Thank you, Amy!
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What Does A Fifty Inch Snowpack Look Like?

According to NOAA, the snowpack where I live was 40-50 inches (102-127 cm) on Monday, March 3. It actually doesn't look unusual to me here at the house. But I thought you might like to see what this snow looks like from outside and inside the house. Click the NOAA link to see what your snowpack depth is. All of the photos in the slide show were taken on Sunday and Monday, March 2 and 3.

The photos, for some reason, are too bright in the slide show. To see the original photos, view my gallery Snowpack.

Technorati Tags: NOAA, snowpack

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Wordless Wednesday: Sophie Chews A . . .

. . . I will not say what she is chewing.
So click here to learn more.

Please click on the photo to view full size in a new window.

Visit more participants by clicking on Wordless Wednesday
Thank you for visiting.

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Heads or Tails: 243: A Map of the Republic of New Netherland << Strange Maps

243 - A Map of the Republic of New Netherland

New Amsterdam never gave way to New York. The Dutch kept the whole of their North American colony out of the hands of the perfidious English, in fact. New Netherland today constitutes a thriving Republic stretching from the Atlantic coast to Québec, dividing New England from the rest of the United States.

This Republik van Nieuw Nederland is the brainchild of Paul Burgess, who’s been fleshing out its allohistorical details since his mid-20s – he’s even devised a pretty cool flag for the Republic, not to mention an anthem (’Onze Patrie’ – ‘Our Fatherland’), names for the baseball teams in the Knickerbocker League, a list of the best places to smuggle goods across the border to the US and even call letters for New Netherland radio stations. And, of course, this map.

Mr. Burgess’ fictional country has its origins in a PoD (Point of Divergence) in the year 1638, when not the irascible Willem Kieft, but the level-headed David Pietersen de Vries is appointed Director-General of the colony. De Vries pushes for colonisation, good relations with the Five Nations tribes, self-government and expansion and consolidation of the borders.

New Netherland achieved independence in 1798, after the ‘old’ Netherlands were overrun by the French. Philip Schuyler, the last Director-General of the colony, became the first Prime Minister of the independent Republic. Influential successors were PMs Maarten van Buren (1820-1856), and the Roosevelts: Theodore (1897-1919), Franklin D. (1930-1945) and Quentin (1948-1965), Theodore’s son.

The Landdag (Parliament) is comprised of the lower House of Burghers and the higher House of Peers.According to the 1980 census, New Netherland measures 71,288 square miles, counts 31,2 million inhabitants and is divided in 13 provinces, one city (New Amsterdam) and one freeport (Philadelphia). Most populous city is the capital, New Amsterdam (7 million). About 85% of the New Netherlanders speak Dutch, 9% English (mainly in Philadelphia, New Haven, Hartford and eastern parts of Vermont and Long Island) and 6% one of the Iroquois languages. READ MORE.

I have no idea how this relates to "Seven" but here 'tis.

I love the map and the history.

To see more Heads or Tails participants, visit Skittles

or click Heads or Tails.
Thank you so much for visiting.

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Cats Tuesday: Charlie Awoke!

Thank you for visiting.

To visit other participants, visit Gattina

or click Cats on Tuesday

Happy COT!

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Whose Effigy Are You?

I have often wondered who this effigy represents. 

It has been hanging on a Barton barn seemingly forever.

Any ideas?

Leave a comment with your ideas!

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