Growin' Blog

Gardenin', fishin', bikin', librarianin'. And migratin'

3.23.2007

Decisions: technical and otherwise

Wow, what to do with all this spare time now that the quarter is over.

Updated Firefox to 2.0.x. Now my bookmark sync, which was barely working before, has gone completely kerplut. So: delicious? Some other online bookmarking tool? Go back to having work versus home bookmark files? Dammit: My life is complicated enough without having to worry about remembering what file is where.

Other decisions involve cramming yet more greenery into the front parkway. It's pretty amazing right now, and I recognize quite a few seedlings that will bring us joy in June and July, but what about August and September? We have little for the dry months. And amazingly enough, there are a few bare spots. So I'm debating moving a few things around, and adding a few new.

Generally it's awfully pleasant being out there right now. The tulips are setting their blossoms. The earliest few have opened. The daffodils are starting to fall over (and I'm oh so tempted to move a few of the random ones into better locations. I was thinking of putting a few into the middle of the daylilly patch that I am trying to make a bit more symmetric.). Money plant seedlings are the easiest to spot right now. I successfully moved a few about three weeks ago, and am seriously tempted to continue that tomorrow. There's also some clumps of forget-me-nots and lambs' ears that could be moved to border other items. Coral pinks that I moved last week seem to be taking. I enjoy those alot, and their foliage stays nice through the dryest part of summer. I'm considering ringing the desert roses with the lambs' ears and edging the bed with the pinks. I wonder how that would work?

Decisions, decisions. What I really should be doing is practicing my characters (汉字). But I'm lazy, and it's spring break, and there's another episode of Battlestar Galactica that's almost downloaded from the iTunes store (darn you Apple and your crippling DRM--it's a good thing I'm spending a gift certificate and not my own money).

3.14.2007

Oh, the fragrance.

NYC subway smell map.

I'm sure this is making the rounds, but I thought I would share it with all my friends back East.

I haven't spent an enormous time in New York, but the subway is far more odoriferous than the Chicago El. Perhaps the underwater portions serve as giant elbow pipes keeping fresh air out of the tunnels, whereas in Chicago the aboveground portions offer more ventilation?

3.08.2007

Daffodill-o-rama

It's still chilly, but the spring flowers are in full swing. Crocusses are finishing up and daffodils are going like gangbusters. There was a bit of a storm the other day, so the early-risers got knocked over. I actually mowed the lawn over the weekend.

We've decided to just put a cover crop over the vegetable beds this summer, as I'M GOING TO FREAKIN' CHINA!! I got funded to spend 2 1/2 months there, and have permission from the mother ship. So it's just about a done deal!!!