Liquid Graphite Zen Code

Just a quick housekeeping post to let folks know that I’ve added my Twitter feed and journal updates to the main page of my website. You can subscribe to the journal updates there through either RSS (powered by Feedburner) or email. If you run into any problems with the feed… Continue reading

A Profusion of Tiny Leaves

I’ve been fascinated by bonsai trees for over twenty years. I started out buying pre-made bonsais from places like Sam’s Club or Target. Invariably, they all died. After reading a few bonsai books, I understood why and decided to follow the advice of those same books — grow and train my own. I placed seeds in the freezer for a few weeks, like the books said, then planted them in pots at the precise depth the books said — and watched them fail to sprout. I bought junipers, box elders, and other evergreen shrubs from places like Lowes and Home Depot, carefully transferred them to bonsai pots, trimmed them, watered them, did everything the books told me to do. And, invariably, they all died. Continue reading

The Addictive Nature of Birdwatching

I’m not a bird person. It’s not that I don’t like birds. It’s just that I’ve never been very interested in them, beyond pointing out hawks sitting on poles by the highway, or looking for owls in the trees by my old house, or being entranced as a massive flock of unspecified birds wheels left and right, up and down in perfect choreography (which is, if you’ve never seen it, amazingly cool to watch). Continue reading