Miscellanea #8

(Miscellanea: A collection of miscellaneous matters; matters of various kinds (Webster’s 1913). Noteworthy tidbits gleaned from all over, sans commentary.)

Condors!
So I finally managed to see the condors in the San Gabriels. After a 1/2 hr wait during which time I seriously doubted that I was in the right place, 2 birds appeared above the ridge and sailed around one of the radio towers before landing…. (LA Birding)

US Postal drops cycling team
The Postal Service announced that it will end its sponsorship of the US Postal Service cycling team at the end of the 2004 season. Despite 5 consecutive Tour de France wins, the USPS has decided to go “in another direction.” (Tour de France 2004)

Basic Pasta Dough
And so the weekend, along with The Great Pasta Experiment of 2004 has come and gone. After the initial mishap with the flour wall breaching and the eggs slithering their way onto the floor, and my near breakdown over the mess, the rest of the weekends pasta project went relatively trouble and accident free…. (In My kitchen)

Study shows ancient coastal life in California
Rubbish dug a generation ago from an oceanside archaeological site first occupied around 8,000 BCE in California (USA) is being re-examined for clues that could bolster the theory some of the first Americans to stream into the New World hugged the Pacific coast, reaping the bounty of the land and the sea…. (Stone Pages Archaeo News)

Whatever happened to Dungeons and Dragons?
In the 1980s millions of teenagers would battle dragons armed with just dice, paper and pens. D&D became part of youth sub-culture but as the game celebrates its 30th birthday - is anyone still playing? (BBC News | UK)

ID card £2,500 penalty threat
People who refuse to register for the government’s planned ID card scheme could face a “civil financial penalty”. (BBC News | UK)

Setting Priorities
This weekend I spent a lot of time thinking about my personal priorities and goals. After listing the top five, I thought about the steps that would be necessary to accomplish these goals. After surveying the list time seems so short - not nearly enough hours in the day…. (Him, Them and Me)

The road to inspiration
Although he came from the ‘Brideshead generation’, Robert Byron’s political instincts were sharp. William Dalrymple acclaims James Knox’s biography of the man who wrote the greatest pre-war travel book…. (The Charlock’s Shade)

London greets Tour chiefs
Tour de France chiefs will meet Mayor of London Ken Livingstone to discuss the possibility of London hosting the race. (BBC Sport | Other Sports | Cycling | World Edition)

The Amazing Spider-Van-Der-Waals Forces
How does a spider stick to the ceiling? According to scientists at the Institute for Technical Zoology and Bionics in Germany, along with a colleague in Switzerland, the spider’s secret is all about the van der Waals force, a kind of interaction between individual molecules within a nanometer of each other…. (WorldChanging)

Rink Notes
One item I missed over the weekend was the news that we might not see NHL players in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy if a labor crisis eats up too much of the 2004-05 regular season. As far as I’m concerned, I’d be happier if the NHL never sent another player to the Olympics ever again….Another news item that leaked concerned the proposal to trim 10 games from the regular season schedule beginning next year…. (Off Wing Opinion)