Author Archives: Richard

Pond in a Jar – 9

I have to admit it’s really ugly, and I want to dump it and start anew. I even have a jar / bottle being prepared as a replacement. That little plant that sprouted back in the fall of 2023 is pretty much out of control – it’s grown up and out above the water surface. There are stems and dangling rootlets all over the place, Unfortunately, quite a few leaves are turning brown. Yuck. At least most of the green fuzzy stuff is gone.

It’s not something you really want on your desk or windowsill.

But then the light hits it just right, and you see that the darned thing still has plenty of life in it.

There are dozens of teeny swimming things. The big snail seems to have gotten bigger, and there are even a few tiny snails creeping around. And most interestingly, there’s a tiny worm in the muck at the bottom. About a half inch long and a pale green in color, it is most definitely a worm. It waves back and forth independently of any movement of the Jar, and can hide back in the muck when I tap the glass. I’d never have noticed it if it wasn’t right next to the side.

Looks like I’ve got a nice little ecosystem going in there. Hopefully it will look better in the spring.

No photos this time; my phone’s camera isn’t good enough to take decent close ups of the interesting stuff. Maybe in the next update.

Sorry Everybody

Way back in ancient history (20 years ago), George W. Bush was able to win re-election as president. College student James Zetlen was a bit stunned and surprised by this; like many others he could see that Bush was a political naif who was being controlled by Darth Cheney and Emperor Rove. He decided he needed to apologize to the rest of the world. He created a website – SorryEverybody.com – where he posted a photo of himself w/ apology sign, and encouraged people to send in their own photos and apologies. He was overwhelmed with responses and submissions, and got some international press coverage.

Just a few of the hundreds….

It was a cathartic way for people to share their feelings and anxieties about the next four years.

Now that we have an exponentially worse president moving back into the “People’s House”, I’m not seeing anything similar. Not even any talk of performative protests like the “pink pussycat hat” demonstrations of eight years ago.

I suspect I know why.

Continue reading →

Welcome to 2025

In the past, I’ve used the first post of the year to go over the stats from the previous year. But after eleven full years of doing this, things haven’t really changed. I post about the same number of essays, get no significant increase in the number of visits or views, and the same old posts top the “Most Visited” list. And I always make a comment that I’m surprised that I’ve been able to post fairly regularly, and that I’m still going with this thing.

This year, I feel like doing something a bit different.

In the next few months, expect to see a usual post on the Baseball Hall of Fame results, and another “fantasy” game where I play with the Deadball rules. I’ve got five book and one movie reviews lined up, and I’ll probably do another post or two on my Pond in a Jar.

With luck, that will carry me through to the point where I can blather on about a vacation.

But – I’m also starting to feel that this is more of a chore than anything. Look, eleven years and well over 500 posts is a pretty good run for a silly little personal blog that I do for free. Maybe if it brought in some money I’d be more “inspired” to keep it going. If I do decide to pack it in, I will let you know. And I’ll keep the site up for another year at least – those 80 book reviews and 70 movie reviews are still good, right?

By the way, if you care, 2024 saw 57 posts, over 4000 visitors, and over 5000 page views….

Christmas Greetings 2024

I’m going to be honest; I wasn’t planning a holiday post for this year. After ten years – a darned long and fine run, if you ask me – I’d run out of new-ish things to say. The old stuff (which is still valid, as far as I’m concerned) is all there if you check out the “Christmas” tag in the ‘cloud’ over on the right.

But finding myself in a holiday mood this week, I went looking for “Best Christmas Commercials”. Yes, I’ve done them before, but I came across this one from the UK, and I decided I couldn’t not share it:

“Mog the Cat” is the creation of Judith Kerr (2023-2019), and is the star of over two dozen children’s books. From what I gather, Mog has a tendency to get into or cause situations like the one in the advert, but everything always manages to turn out alright in the end.

Here’s hoping you can have an enjoyable holiday with your friends, family, and neighbors – without having to go through a catastrophe first.

BOOK REVIEW: FTL, Y’All!

FTL, Y’All!: Tales From the Age of the $200 Warp Drive
Edited by C. Spike Trotman and Amanda Lafrenais
Iron Circus Comics
Copyright 2018 by Iron Circus Comics

As an “Old Fogey”, I remember when comic books were something you found in the checkout lines at the supermarket, or perhaps in a bookstore or newsstand. They were just “there”; I never had the inclination (or money, or time) to care about them. And that was pretty much what most people thought of them. Sure, we all knew about Superman and Batman (and Archie), but that was thanks to TV. No one ever took them seriously.

Then Art Spiegelman published Maus, and showed quite convincingly that the format could indeed produce works of real merit. Rather suddenly, all the comic geeks demanded to be heard, because there really was some good stuff being done in the medium. Though I have to differ with the term “graphic novel”; most of the works aren’t long enough to be called a novel – “illustrated short story” is better.

I still didn’t get into them, though. Same reasons – didn’t care to. Then a chance pickup of a little sample flyer from Iron Circus Comics piqued my interest, so I thought I’d give their website a look.

FTL, Y’All! is an anthology of stories based on a simple premise. In the near future, plans for a faster-than-light drive appear online. And the parts are all readily available for the cost of around $200, and can be easily assembled without any special skill.

What happens then, when pretty much everyone who wants to can build their own starship?

Continue reading →

On the 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot

It’s the Hot Stove Season, and all I’m seeing in the baseball press is who’s talking to which free agents. That’s boring. There’s something more fun that we can talk about – the Hall of Fame ballot.

Let’s take a look at all the new players on the ballot.

I don’t have a vote, and I doubt I ever will, but I can still have Opinions.

Generally, candidates can be grouped into a couple of classes / ranks. So let’s do that. Continue reading →

Don’t Waste Any Time Mourning – Organize!

Those words were in one of the last writings of labor organizer Joe Hill before his execution in 1915, and have been adapted for use by many activist movements ever since. I know people are still coming to grips with what happened in the most recent election, but when they finally process things, it’s time to do what Hill said. Don’t mourn the end of American democracy, but get organized to fight for it.

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Book Review: The Oxygen Farmer

The Oxygen Farmer
Colin Holmes
CamCat Books
Copyright 2023 by James Colin Holmes

“Mil” Harrison is a stubborn old man. In his seventies, he’s been living on the Moon for half of those years. His job? “Farming” oxygen (getting it out of the lunar regolith) to be used for life support and fuel. He’s got the knowledge that comes with his years to be able to fix most of the physical problems he deals with, the experience to know which rules can be “bypassed” when necessary, and the general respect and collection of favors to be given some slack when he does choose to “bypass” a rule.

While trekking across the lunar surface to collect a part he needs for a repair, he takes a shortcut across an “exclusion zone”. Normally, these are Thou Shalt Not Enter Under The Severest Of Penalties areas. He’s not worried; no one seems to know just why this particular area was given that designation. Then he quite literally stumbles over something that isn’t supposed to be there….. And when he investigates the site – because he can – he finds something really interesting and REALLY dangerous.

Continue reading →

Pond in a Jar – 8

There have been some notable changes since I decided to tweak things a bit. Last time I mentioned adding a teeny bit of eggshell to add some calcium to it (it’s a suggestion to help snails grow). Well, I did. Just the tiniest fragment I could manage. I also added some more water from the source pond, and poked at that green lump at the top with a stick. Since it felt rather solid, I reasoned that it might be restricting water circulation. I pushed it around enough to open a ‘channel’ to the rest of the jar.

The results are in.

Continue reading →