Happy Birthday, Pete.

Other people are better at the tribute thing. Go here to listen to a music stream.

Wow, he's 90 and still singing. Wonder where I'll be, then?

Earthquake

We just had one. The building shook for about two seconds. It was neat.

First one I've felt in... a year or two. I really like the harmless ones.

Sushi

Thank you, Susan!

Kirala. Yum.

I woke up to a really wonderful e-mail (thank you), and right now I don't have a headache. Going to breakfast, Magic Hands, chapel, and my pre-op appt. Anything I don't know before 2 p.m, I hope to find out then.

In between, I'm going to try to work on papers.

In a better frame of mind today. Must be the clothesline. :-)

Bit of playfulness for Friday

I have some friends in the student-family apartments up the block. They've been having some unwanted company, in the form of rats. So after the gory murder of one, they set traps.

These traps--intended to kill the vermin they catch--are baited with organic apples.

(Yes, I have permission to tell this.)

I keep saying I have to break my addiction

...and I just spent an hour teaching a classmate everything I know about blogging.

Turns out to be a lot. And we had a good time. It didn't get my reading done, though!

The best ringtone ever

...went off in class yesterday. (My classmate wasn't being irresponsible--his wife was landing in Utah.)

What was it? "Mercedes Benz," by Janis Joplin. In our Issues in Ministry class. We all got a good laugh.

I've since changed mine. I don't ever bring my phone to school, though.

[still chuckling]

What, you STILL haven't had enough sugar?

David Walker posts this recipe for Chocolate Sparkle Cookies. They sound really good.

Slightly silly civics lesson

I put this up just for fun. But if you want to learn something beyond what your inner third-grader can sing along with, while keeping your hope and commitment intact, go check out Buddhapalian's Thursday Constitution Blogging.

Good stuff.

Happy Birthday to an old friend

Shameless, unsolicited plug:

Today is my friend Bill's birthday. I haven't seen him in a couple years; he lives in Olympia, and is a captivating artist. He does amazing work, mostly with metal. Go check out his stuff.

Boom!

26 years ago, right about exactly now, I was a fourth-grader growing up in Everett, WA. It was a Sunday morning; I was in my parents' bed. We'd been debating getting up for church, and they'd both fallen back asleep. As I remember, the sound was an eerie, disembodied boom, coming from somewhere but not in the house. My mom jerked awake.

"What's that?!"
"It's the cats," mumbled my dad, as he rolled over and went back to sleep.

May 18, 1980, 8:32 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time. We found out very soon that the disembodied boom had been Mount St. Helens, about three hours to the south.

I honor the 57 people who died that day, and all who risked their lives to save others.

Mother Nature is stronger than all of us. Care for this earth.