promising sunshine tomorrow

yay, flowers!

today i spent on my feet in front of a room full of people --- i'm impressed that i can do that actually, although i'm drained at the end --- one more day, but the hard part is over ---

got home to an unusually ecstatic dog and an expressive cat, which is about the most i can expect from him --- found the paphiopedilum beginning to open, too, a first for me --- 

dog and i were impressed with the roses tended by the good men of fire station #15, who also tend to dog's favorite fire truck, "the night train" --- it's the only one he will howl at every time it passes --- he's always hit or miss with his howling at other sirens ---

a dog and pony show

up too early and talking by 8:30, which is not my norm --- trying to make a dull subject ("section 106 compliance") palatable to a semi-sympathetic audience at NPS --- they asked questions, but not too many, and none of them inconvenient --- two more days

a revelation

forty years of marching

the marching abominables, inman park parade

a new medium

i purchased a kindle paperwhite --- and i love it --- i loved my original kindle, which i have had for four years --- it's great, even in direct sunlight, but now it sorta reminds me of my old commodore 64 thirty years ago --- the new one has traded a useless little keyboard for excellent touch-screen technology --- higher resolution and wonderful front lighting that will allow after-dark reading on the balcony!

just starting piketty's capital in the twenty-first century --- they can't keep it in print

i'm still reading old-school books --- some things just don't work on kindle, e.g., sussman's oldest living things in the world, which i got today ---

go, tea-baggers -----

it is positively amazing what people will say out loud, but two people plumbed the depths of dumb in today's news ----

first up, the tea-bagger challenger to the georgia house speaker's re-election with the ultimate indictment of his opponent:

It is my understanding that he has a MARTA card, and thinks that what's good for Atlanta is good for Georgia"

seriously? a MARTA card? and, in nevada, the idiot with the dead-beat cows doesn't even have to complete a sentence:

I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro, . . . .

for inexplicable reasons, some conservative shingdig dis-invited him, which is a real shame, since he is a true spokesman for today's republican party

laura god, it's gonna be a long fun year

the arc of justice might be getting a lot shorter

six georgians have filed a class-action suit in federal court against georgia's goddamned gay-marriage ban, a hateful bit of mendacity ginned up to win the republicans elections in 2004 --- nothing ever made me so angry, or so sad, since it exposed all the hate and fear among so many of my own family and friends, and it has taken a real effort not to be totally bitter

and, no, i won't accept cherry-picked biblical injunctions on this issue anymore than i accept the heritage-not-hate argument from those who would glorify a bunch of murderous, slave-holding, traitors --- one must maintain one's standards

as always, georgia will be dragged forward kicking and screaming

a spectacular easter!

a most excellent morning in the garden, before it filled up with people, followed by an afternoon strewn with bloody  marys and blood-orange mimosas at babs

funeral and eggs

grey and drizzly, inside and out --- a somber visit to fayetteville for the memorial service for my nieces in-laws --- what a mess --- her poor  husband looked a wreck, losing both parents and his sister all at once like that (house fire) is a rough one

 robert's eggs turned out very nicely

rainy friday

lunch with a friend, rainy afternoon at the desk, emails and phone calls and powerpoint ---

and a new orchid blossom!

spring, cont'd.

bright but cool --- frosty morning and nearly noon and only 50 degrees ---

i'm not sure how this came about; they generally don't share the pillow

spring chill coming on

blue sky and sunshine --- and freezing ass cold tonight! it's a little late for that, isn't it?

yay, money!

submitted my first invoice as an independent contractor today, at least as far as this century is concerned ---

dogwood!

a spectacular spring day for the 78th annual dogwood festival

an evening on the thirteenth floor

beautiful people

good conversation and outreach to the straight community

a fine easterly breeze on the balcony

happy friday

busy day for everybody but the dog

and the cat


got the windows washed, groceries shopped for tomorrow

106 club this evening at chai pani in decatur --- excellent company and food, attracitve environment and waitrons --- the mumbai mohitos were ok, too

and all of the cattleyas have now started new shoots, soon to be followed by bloom spikes --- ought to make for a purty wonderful display this summer

getting ready for easter

dog may or may not be pleased with his new look, but i love it --- for the next few months, the house won't be thick with dog hair and dust bunnies --- boo seafus did most of the work, and by the time we were done, there was a half shopping bag of clippings  

one cannot serve both god and mammon

Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.

pope francis, evangelii gaudium, encouraging a turn away from mammon

pay up

taxes and other general business accounting is done for the year ---- with nearly a week to spare! in olden times, i was in the habit of delaying to the last minute, since i generally owed the irs money and might or might not have had it available for ready payment --- the drive-through drop-off at the decatur post office at 11:30 PM on the 15th was a ritual

i've always been glad to do it --- after all, "taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society" ---- it is very sad how many of us have forgotten that --- 

surely

"we should hate ourselves for this one"

socked in

a bolt from the blue

sorta weird day today after my brother texted to tell me that my niece's in-laws had all burned up in a house fire in fayette county --- her husband's parents and sister all presumed dead, although they haven't retrieved all the bodies --- how does that happen unless there's foul play?

update: maybe it was just a case of sleeping without operative smoke alarms --- the cause is still being investigated ---

a color fix

met patti k at abg this afternoon for an hour of talking and smelling and looking --- enough to make one giddy

i'm enjoying a little bus-man's holiday in this excellent time of year

low key evening on the balcony

too low key for guinness

sweetwater creek

in a lot of years, everything would be all leafed out by now --- this year, things are a couple of weeks behind --- it can stay like this indefinitely, as far as i'm concerned