Photos
08.3.2005/20:44
Click here for photo
81 and 82
Intersection of U.S. Highways 81 and 82, in north Texas.

Photos
08.3.2005/20:44
Click here for photo
Not For Rent
Near Parks, LA.

News
08.2.2005/10:59
It's Alive!
"Recordings of the ivory-billed woodpecker's distinctive double-rap sounds have convinced doubting researchers that the large bird once thought extinct is still living in an east Arkansas swamp."

Sites
08.2.2005/08:12
Return of the good
Oh, boy! They're back!

News
08.2.2005/08:09
Naked or nude?
"Whether the angel is clothed, he said, will be left to divine inspiration."

Sites
08.2.2005/07:30
Perseid time!
Time to get ready for the next big meteor shower.

News
08.1.2005/21:39
Rare beetle
"Some insects, such as the hemlock wooly adelgid, emerald ash borer and Asian longhorn beetle, can wreak havoc on wildlife habitat. However, most ambrosia beetles feed on fungi in dead or dying trees, not healthy ones."

News
07.31.2005/20:39
Wink, wink
"The aged statue of Jesus has been known in the neighborhood over the years as the sleeping statue because both eyes of the full-bodied statue were closed. Now it is being referred to as the winking Jesus."

Sites
07.29.2005/08:13
Shop for knowledge
A botanical education at your local grocery store.

Sites
07.29.2005/08:08
Nothing off color
Colour lovers.

News
07.28.2005/13:52
Pretty placebo
Oh, well.

Photos
07.28.2005/11:47
Click here for photo
Gas Meters
New Orleans, LA.

Drivel
07.28.2005/11:38
Poor Clio Photos
I created this Poor Clio photo viewer as part of a programming exercise to explore the AJAX techniques used to power the random photo display on the Poor Clio main page, and find it handy to poke around the site's photo collection.

News
07.26.2005/16:29
Not yeti
"A laboratory will test hair samples that several residents of Teslin, Yukon, say were left when the large, but so-far mythological creature made a late-night run through their community in early July."

News
07.26.2005/13:47
Museum shuffle
"The report said museums tied more closely to the communities they serve are more likely to be supported by those areas and stimulate creation of local nonprofit organizations to help raise money."

Sites
07.26.2005/13:43
Late to the party?
An also ran.

News
07.24.2005/07:09
School daze
"What they have found has left them reeling."

News
07.22.2005/18:25
Flesh-eating alien problem
"Scott Krause's defense will argue that the defendant believed he was trying to escape man-eating subterranean beings when he ran into Drew Reynolds' truck on Jan. 6, 2004."

News
07.21.2005/21:19
Fischer Random
"The point of Chess960 is to free chess from the yoke of memorization."

Drivel
07.21.2005/15:19
Ephemera
I have many thoughts that are like late spring snow flakes -- they float prettily about but melt to nothing the second they touch anything solid.

News
07.21.2005/15:19
Check it out
"The system has more than 468 stations, most of which have multiple entrances, and during rush hours, the flood of humanity in and out of key stations can be overwhelming."

Sites
07.21.2005/15:07
Red Tide
Harmful Algal Blooms.

Sites
07.20.2005/09:02
Google Moon
Google is now mapping the moon! Be sure to zoom in far enough to see what it is really made of!

Sites
07.19.2005/17:02
The End of the World
"Nine-year-old Joshua Harding didn't plan to miss classes Tuesday at West Monroe Elementary School. Nobody did."

News
07.19.2005/08:32
Map it!
Poor Clio reader Joe, noticing that Google Maps and their ilk are much on the mind around Poor Clio these days, points out this story from the New York Times.

Sites
07.18.2005/20:40
Code of behavior
eRuv: A Street History in Semacode presents multiple layers of absorbing information, including the fact that it is an application of semacode.

News
07.18.2005/11:35
Wasted energy
Oh, well.

News
07.17.2005/21:31
Major hero
Tiger burning bright.

Sites
07.16.2005/08:25
Track the tracking
Take a close look at Charlie's Hurricane Prediction Tracker. It tracks not just what has happened, but what was thought to have been about to happen.

Sites
07.14.2005/20:36
(Mostly) underground images
Wonderful photoblog of daily NYC subway commute.

Sites
07.14.2005/20:21
Movie life
"Plain or even ugly girls can become movie star pretty simply by removing their glasses and rearranging their hair." (see also, this)

News
07.14.2005/18:25
Excitement over a chick
"Lundy is one of only a few places in England where puffins are found and the island's name actually translates as Puffin Island in ancient Norse."

Sites
07.13.2005/21:21
Bleecker Street ett. al.
A nice webcam in Greenwich Village. And, another.

News
07.12.2005/12:21
From the feet up
"Although cobblestone-walking is rooted in centuries of Chinese tradition, no controlled scientific studies had been done to evaluate its potential benefits and effectiveness until recently."

News
07.12.2005/08:35
Have a dip
One of the best storm damage photos ever.

Sites
07.11.2005/09:32
Container madness
Whoa! Here is a big boat.

Sites
07.10.2005/11:37
Teleflip
If you know someone's cell phone number, and that phone can get SMS messages, that's all you need to know to send an SMS message through TeleFlip.

News
07.9.2005/17:34
Parse the Lord
"Prominent Evangelical clergyman uses BlackBerry for worship services."

Sites
07.8.2005/12:57
On Time
One way to get to Area 51.

News
07.8.2005/10:21
Sheepish behavior
"Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned."

News
07.8.2005/08:31
Watch the birdie
"The area has been generating wind power for about 20 years, but nature groups like the Audubon Society and the Center for Biological Diversity are increasing pressure to reduce bird kills and protect nesting grounds."

Drivel
07.7.2005/13:32
London attack
Here is the text of an email that I just received from our friend Morgan (Mike) Deare, of New Iberia and now living in London:

Hi,

Just to let eveyone know that we are ok. We weren't in the centre today and hopefully no one we know was injured. Mary's nephew , Richard, was traveling on the underground, was put off at Victoria Station because of what was believed to be power surges, got on a bus and then got off and began walking because there was a traffic jam. He was on his way to Liverpool Street to catch an overground train when he had a call from work telling him not to go in. He had to walk all the way to Hammersmith where he was able to get a bus home.

Our neighbor had a friend who was on the targeted bus and had just got off and was about 50 yards away when the explosion happened.

Please keep the people of London in your thoughts and prayers, especially those who have lost folks.

Love,

Mike & Mary

News
07.7.2005/12:39
Die-hard fan dies
"Smith's body was on the recliner, his feet crossed and a remote in his hand. He wore black and gold silk pajamas, slippers and a robe. A pack of cigarettes and a beer were at his side, while a high-definition TV played a continuous loop of Steelers highlights."

Sites
07.7.2005/10:25
Region 1
Google images: region1.gif.

Photos
07.7.2005/08:15
Click here for photo
Spent Entertainment Missile
Expended for Independence Day. Country Club Drive, New Iberia, LA.

Photos
07.7.2005/08:14
Click here for photo
Ashes Only
At Cypremort Point State Park.

Photos
07.7.2005/08:14
Click here for photo
Tree at Cypremort Point
At Cypremort Point State Park.

News
07.6.2005/15:59
Big foot
"It's not necessarily the track itself that's significant. It's where it is that's got us all excited."

News
07.5.2005/17:44
You'll flip for this
New dolphin species.

News
07.5.2005/14:12
Poor writing
"States spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars a year on remedial writing instruction for their employees, according to a new report that says the indirect costs of sloppy writing probably hurt taxpayers even more."
(Thanks to Joe for calling this to my attention!)

News
07.3.2005/21:45
The day the music died
Teen killed for iPod.

Sites
07.3.2005/21:29
Frosty Lemon Ice
Yum! I think I will make this soon!

Drivel
07.3.2005/16:48
Side by Side
Those of you who follow such things know that there has been a frenzy of interest in Google Maps. You may also be interested to know that in the web site developer world, there has been particular interest in the last few days as Google has opened up the Google Maps API to allow developers to embed Google Maps into their own sites, and to experiment with various ways of using the maps.

For my part, I have been doing various experimental mini-applications, one of which I will share with you: Poor Clio's Side by Side Google Maps, which shows Google Maps in street view and satellite view side by side, allowing you to move both images by dragging or zooming the left (street maps) image. When loaded, the view defaults to my hometown of New Iberia, LA, but you can enter a zipcode to recenter the map anywhere else that has a valid U.S. zipcode (or at least one in my database!). I may add the ability to center at a street address in a later version.

[Update: On 7.4.2005 input for changing the map is now to enter the name of a U.S. city.]

I created this because I love to browse the Google Maps and found myself always clicking back and forth between street view and satellite view. Now, I can see both at once!

Enjoy!

News
07.3.2005/09:54
Vapor column
Underwater volcano.

Photos
07.2.2005/08:17
Click here for photo
Patriotic Display
Main St., New Iberia, LA.

Photos
07.2.2005/08:16
Click here for photo
Distant Rain
Near Coteau, LA.

News
07.1.2005/12:45
Oops!
I hate it when this happens.

News
06.30.2005/17:01
Fish story
"The fishermen had hoped to sell the fish to environmental groups, which planned to release it to spawn upriver, but it died before it could be handed over and then was chopped up and sold in pieces to villagers as food."

News
06.30.2005/16:57
Snake!
Snake!

Sites
06.30.2005/16:44
Summer treat
My friend Kay has alerted me to astounding achievements in the field of Asian watermelon carving.

News
06.30.2005/07:46
Poor New Orleans
"In the end, they said, they ran out of nuns, not grace."

Sites
06.29.2005/11:38
It's an enigma
Build your own Enigma Machine.

News
06.29.2005/11:33
New Yahoo! Mail
"The new Yahoo Mail incorporates technology from web-mail provider Oddpost, which was acquired by Yahoo in July 2004. The upgrade is expected to deliver the 'most significant overhaul of the Yahoo Mail interface and user experience since its launch in 1997.'"

Sites
06.29.2005/09:30
Google owns the earth
If you haven't downloaded Google Earth yet, you are in for an astounding revelation. Just simply amazing! Highly recommended. Astounding.

Drivel
06.29.2005/08:37
Random shuffle
I've added a new feature to Poor Clio, which you can see on the main page. The random photo at the top of the photo column now refreshes periodically, without the page having to reload. The random thumbnail can be clicked for the enlargement page as is the case with the more "permanent" thumbs of recent photos further down.

This employs AJAX, one of the hot buzzwords among web site programmers these days. AJAX is a short-hand term for Asynchronous Javascript And XML, and essentially uses javascript and XML to allow a page to call back to the server for bits of information (such as a new random thumbnail and link) that can load into a part of the page without making the whole page reload to accommodate it.

In my case, as I am largely a ColdFusion programmer, I utlize ColdFusion scripting to enhance the richness of the application. On the Poor Clio main page with the changing random photos, a javascript timeout periodically calls a function that uses an xmlhttp request to a ColdFusion file, which when called, runs a routine to randomly select a photo to load, and then passes all the code for doing so back to the page through XML.

AJAX is not so much as a new technology as a label put onto a handful of various techniques that have existed for a time but hadn't been put together very often into applicatons. The success of these techniques at Google Maps and a few other places really triggered programmers to think of how these tools can be used. They are most effective where you would like to extract small bits of information at a time from a larger repository of data, as Google Maps does -- or, as the Poor Clio random photo presentation does. Another classic example is a form that provides the city and state automatically when the user types in a zip code. (I have a ColdFusion driven version of this project, which is php-based in the classic demo cited in the prior link, found here.)

Sites
06.27.2005/21:33
The magic of Christmas
Oh, the things they can do with computers these days:

"Does your child become scared of Santa when you want a photo taken? Would you like a happy photo of your child with Santa this year? If you answered yes, then our illusion service - is for you!"

News
06.27.2005/08:06
Meter maids
"The meters started disappearing June 13, when a city contractor began cutting down the poles on Magazine Street. Though 482 will still stand, more than three times that number will be removed from the city, most likely by this fall, the contractor said."

Drivel
06.27.2005/08:02
When the lackey hears the buzzer...
Part of the morning routine around our house is working the Jumble puzzle in The Advocate. Lately, we've added a new exercise: making a sentence out of the four jumbled words. Last week we had, "When the lackey hears the buzzer, he knows something gaudy is afoot." This morning, "The topaz viper retreated to the frigid corner."

Sites
06.26.2005/20:10
Up in the sky
Amazing cloud pix. (via Hot Links)

Sites
06.26.2005/17:34
Isthmus treat
A man, a plan a canal: Panama.

Sites
06.25.2005/17:14
In training
I am just the kind of dweeb who perks up at the prospect of going to a place like this.

Sites
06.25.2005/17:09
Left your wallet where?
10 reasons to go to work naked.

Photos
06.24.2005/12:10
Click here for photo
Sugar Cane Road at Dusk
Near Loreauville, LA.

News
06.24.2005/09:54
The real you
"He has said that I'm his product, the product of Peruvian plastic surgery, and says he molded my body, that he removed fat, and everything."

News
06.24.2005/09:52
Internet at the library
"Overall, 18 percent of libraries offer wireless access and another 21 percent plan to do so within the next year. But many people who depend on libraries for the Internet also do not own computers, let alone laptops."

Sites
06.23.2005/17:09
Wheels in motion
GeoSkating.

Sites
06.23.2005/13:23
Grand indeed
Nice Google Maps view of the Grand Canal in Venice invites scrolling around. Here, also, is a webcam.

Sites
06.23.2005/12:55
High Class Shower Cap
Intriguing photo roundup of English phrases used in China.

Sites
06.22.2005/16:58
Zipcodes
Visually zero in on a zip code.

News
06.22.2005/07:10
One less Winn-Dixie
"Three of the 15 stores to be closed in Louisiana are in Acadiana, including the Pinhook store, one in New Iberia and its only store in Opelousas. One New Iberia location and two in Lafayette will remain."

The Winn-Dixie store where we shop will remain open; the one other store in town, which we refer to as the Fellini Winn-Dixie for its robust range of characters, will close.

News
06.22.2005/00:04
Greenwich House Success Story
"The arc of Mr. Lopez's own narrative was firmly rooted at Greenwich House, a neighborhood music school, which has been situated in a building on a picturesque block on Barrow Street in the West Village since 1914. Practice rooms look out onto flowering dogwood, magnolia and cherry blossom trees."
(A photo I took of the Greenwich House Music School in 2003 can be found here.)

Sites
06.21.2005/14:21
Lost Iguana Resort
Very interesting.

Sites
06.21.2005/12:48
NY Traffic
Amazing real-time map of New York traffic conditions.

News
06.21.2005/11:38
Smells good!
It is fairly interesting that researchers got the results that they did on this test, and fairly interesting as well that they did the research at all.

Photos
06.21.2005/09:14
Click here for photo
Sprayer
On our picnic table.

News
06.21.2005/08:29
Death on the water
"Obviously, his attention went somewhere else, or something, and he ran into one of the pylons."

Sites
06.21.2005/08:13
Map it!
A truly wonderful resource, allowing you to create your own maps: National Atlas.

News
06.19.2005/11:42
Operatic events
"The New Orleans Opera Association's artistic director was fired this month -- for reasons that remain unclear -- by the president of the board of directors, only to be reinstated a few days later by a board that refused to accept its president's action."

News
06.17.2005/22:35
Dial-a-parking-space
"The automated system allows drivers who subscribe to simply dial in from their cell phone, punch in the number assigned to their parking spot, and the required costs -- plus a 25-cent usage fee -- will be billed to their credit card. When leaving, subscribers call back and end the billing cycle."

News
06.16.2005/22:39
Thanks, pal!
Those great friends of yours may be saving your life!

Drivel
06.16.2005/19:22
What I SHOULD Have Said...
I have spent a little bit of time over the last few days re-working my l'esprit d'escalier web site, What I SHOULD Have Said.... Check it out, and maybe you'll be inspired to share your own staircase wit.

Sites
06.16.2005/07:01
Keep cool
"While at LSU I lived for five years in dormitories and apartments without air conditioning," writes my friend Tim, sending me a link. "If only I had thought of this."

News
06.14.2005/20:35
Can't give it away
"Imagine what higher-ups at the Post must have thought when focus-group participants declared they wouldn't accept a Washington Post subscription even if it were free. The main reason (and I'm not making this up): They didn't like the idea of old newspapers piling up in their houses."

Sites
06.14.2005/14:15
XML Me
RSS feeds from U.S. Government sources.

News
06.14.2005/13:51
Bad sign
"Authorities have no indication that alcohol or other drugs were involved in the crash, Lee said. Cell phone records will be checked to determine if the teen had been making a call at the time, he added."

News
06.10.2005/22:00
Gross! Yo!
I swear, I did not make this up.

Drivel
06.9.2005/16:09
Slow recovery
I had abdominal surgery about three weeks ago; the hope was that it would be able to be handled laproscopically, but it turned out that the doctor had to slice into my innards, which turns out to make a dramatic difference where recuperation prospects are concerned. The recovery has been all too slow for my taste (although all is going as well as can be expected, I am grateful to say), and my mobility has been quite limited. I only started driving a bit a couple of days ago, and it's quite uncomfortable for more than about 40 feet, or if I have to turn. Just about any place I would want to go would likely involve some turns.

I have managed to keep up with my work life, thanks to email, pain pills, telephone conferences, the willingness of one or two folks to come to my house to work on things -- and, of course, the fact that much of what I do is done sitting down at a terminal.

Still, there is way too much idle time when I can't bear the discomfort of sitting at the computer any more. I haven't watched too much TV, on which more below, but have done quite a bit of reading, which I might report on later. I also can surf the net lying down in bed, with my iBook.

Susan, of course, has been a marvelous caretaker. I wouldn't want a patient like me, but she has been a cheerful and cheering mate through it all.

What have I learned? I have learned that I only thought I knew how wretched daytime television was. It is really obnoxious. There are a few good movies on from time to time, but for the most part daytime television consists of soap operas and talk shows, on both of which trashy people carp at each other about how awful they are, while we nod in dumbfounded agreement.

I need to get back to a full work schedule, and soon!

News
06.9.2005/16:07
Stormy weather
It begins.

News
06.8.2005/20:54
Sucked in?
"A facility such as the one the parish wants to build cannot be within 10,000 feet of an airport because it would attract birds that could get caught in plane engines."

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