International Pi Day

Today is International Pi Day!  Yes, Pi Day, that mathematical constant thing you had to remember from high school or college math, 3.14159etcetera.  

Well, today is 3.14.15.  See?  It's Pi.  So celebrate with some pie, for Pi day!  We're having Key Lime Pie.

3.14.15

Ultimate Pi Day | Telus World of Science - Edmonton

This year is dubbed the "Ultimate Pi Day," as the first 10 digits of Pi (3.141592653) will be represented, in day/time format, on March 14, 2015 (3/14/15) at precisely 9:26:53 a.m. for the first time in 100 years.

telusworldofscienceedmonton.ca

Random 5 Friday: 03-13-15

Linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday the Thirteenth!

1. The ATF tried to sneak in a ban on a popular 5.56 ammunition that has been historically EXCLUDED from the LEOPA armor piercing law.  It irritated a LOT of folks.  They posted a "30 days comments window", but then it came out that they had already decided to ban it by dropping the exclusion normally included in their 'guidance manual', which only comes out roughly every 10 years, and requires extensive review prior to release by OMB.  Then they claimed it was only a 'publishing error'...yeah, pull the other one, it plays Jingle Bells.  Now, after serious outrage from Congress over their sneaky behavior, and over 80k public commentary, the ATF has decided to drop their attempt to ban m855 ammo.  Thank God for the internet, or we would have never known of their duplicity and they'd have gotten away with it.

2.  Had an MRI on my left shoulder Tuesday.  Probably an impingement, and general wear and tear in there finally hurting enough to do something about.  Doc says there is a marked weakness on the left resisting having my arm pushed in toward my side.  Might get away with just some cortisone shots, but more likely it will be surgical.  Joy...

3.   We have had some snow, ice and lots of rain here in NTX recently.  It was much needed moisture too.  It has warmed enough to be pleasant, but still not sunny.  I am hoping for some sunshine and warmer weather so I can get back out on the bike.  It has been too long, my poor bike is feeling neglected.

4.  I have found a show on the Beeb (BBC for the uninitiated) that is quite entertaining.  "Sherlock", a modern take on the AC Doyle Sherlock Holmes books.  Well cast, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes, and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit movies) as Dr Watson.  Watson is an MD, and British army veteran of Afghanistan, and Holmes is something of a sociopath by his own admission, and his brother Mycroft a British spymaster.  The scripts are witty, and well done.  So far there are three seasons, but only 3-4 episodes per season.  Season four won't come out until next year.    If you want to see a fun show, that is smartly done, check it out.  You can also find it on DVD at many rental stores.

5.  My thoughts and prayers are with the two officers and their families in Ferguson MO, who were ambushed Wednesday night, as an otherwise peaceful protest was ending, outside the police HQ.

Random 5 Friday! 03/06/15

Linking up with A Rural Journal for the weekly Random 5 Friday.

Yesterday it rained all day, sometimes downpouring.  We need the rain, even though it turns my back yard into a dog-plowed sea of mud.  But we did not need the temps to plummet below 32 while rain still fell.

1.  What we awoke to this morning was around 4" of white fluffy stuff on top of an inch or so of sleet.  Yet it is so unusual down here, it is easy to appreciate its beauty.

2.  Something must've been chasing Peter Cottontail!  Look how far apart the tracks are--nearly the full width of a Honda Civic.  The lack of pursuit tracks lead me to believe the attack was aerial, probably one of the area owls.

3.  Sometimes the Monkeys work hard!  Here two of them are, shoveling our driveway, and our next door neighbor's too.

4.  UPS is being irritating.  They had my package marked out for delivery today, then changed it to delayed inclement weather.  Now I understand the roads were not great at zero-dark-thirty this morning, but it is 37*F and sunny, and even the subdivision streets are clear without the plow.  So we called to ask to be able to go out ourselves, and pick it up at the local hub.  Oh no, they couldn't do that.  So we will have to wait another day for them to get the package across town.

5.  The new Federal Dietary Guidelines (shouldn't that mean they take LESS of OUR hard earned money?) are out.  This time around, cholesterol is good (yay, more eggs!), sugar is evil (well, over-consuming it is a bad idea anyway),eat more plants and less meat (yes, but their reasoning is stupid, touting its lower environmental impact...pesticides anyone?), and the best news of all, your cuppa java is GOOD !  Even if you have 5 a day!

A still life

Daffodils, wishing they were somewhere warmer.

The mighty oak, wearing its armor of ice.

Overindulgence

It seems humans are not the only creatures prone to overindulgence.  Last night, while I was working out, somebody wasn't his usual cheerful self.  I had noticed some scuffling noises from the pantry earlier in the evening, after dinner, but didn't really think much about it.  The dogs often scuffle around there, pushing Cody's empty food bowl in there, looking for missed bits of nasty dry crap.

Dog is always hungry!

I'd had the music up fairly loud while lifting, and DH had commented that Shiloh didn't seem to care for Steppenwolf, but she seemed to settle down when the Man in Black played.  Guess she likes classic country!  Indy seemed restless, but we put that down to the kids playing rough with each other, and yelling over the music, etc.

My favorite place...in the kitchen!

When it was time for dogs to go outside, Indy was being a problem.  He wouldn't sit and wait, and kept trying to bull-rush the door.  Then he got spooky when DH tried to settle him down.  Eventually he went out, and came back in, refusing to wait for his paws to get cleaned of mud.  The kids got involved, and kept saying he looked "funny".  Not haha funny, strange funny.  Monkey3 said his belly looked wrong.

I can trip Mom from this position, I am sneaky.

Indy then lay down in the kitchen, rather submissively, and kept licking his lips.  Monkey3 promptly informed me she thought he was going to puke.  I grabbed a towel, and he bolted to the workout area where we got a hand back on his collar.  Then he began to make the hairball noise... you KNOW what happened next!   (No I did not take a picture of this!)

Upon inspection of the sizable mass of former contents of his stomach, I determined the Monkeys must have given him too many treats!  There were clearly a great many of the pink 'flavored' Milkbones present.  Of course they all vehemently denied over-treating the dog!  But they did all admit they had given him a couple pieces each.  But there was way more than a couple pieces each in that mass of...  stuff.

Police often refer to this as a clue...

Monkey1 however soon solved the mystery of the overstuffed dog.  In the pantry, on its side on the floor, was a formerly almost full box (7#) of Milkbones!  That was the source of the scuffling in the pantry heard earlier!  Somebody, whose name rhymes with Indy, had gotten headfirst (or is that stomach first?) into the box of dog treats, and eaten to his heart's content.  His stomach however, eventually rebelled.  Fortunately the only damage was to his pride, and my pocketbook.

Please Mom, I want some more!