I had a nice day hiking the gorge with (e:Mike) and (e:libertad). They are perfect for each other. I found some really delicious wild grapes. Hiking the gorge is way easier in the fall than in the spring when I am much more out of shape.

There are so many pears this year it is unreal.











The bird sat in the tree with me while I collected them. He kept calling to me every 10 seconds when I went a few feet away. Unless I responsed he would freak out.

The bird freaked out when I left the computer where he was perched to take a shower so I decided I would take it with me.

At first he perched on the curtain rod. I kept splashing him and he freaked out until he jumped on my shoulder and got blasted with the shower. At first he seemed scared and ran down my arms but then it was right back up under the water where he seemed to really enjoy splashing and cleaning his feathers.

When it was time for me to soap up I put him on the soap rack where he preened his feathers. Its amazing how much smaller he looked when wet.

Afterwards, I blow dried him while he sat on my shoulder. It was so cute.

(e:terry) and I were on a bike ride that included squaw island yesterday. When we got there, a giant oil tanker was bring pushed through the canal. I didn't even know giant oil tankers came through here. Nor did I realize just how big the exhaust pipes on those are. You can see it at the end of the video.

Imagine if that thing spilled. The falls would be destroyed forever.







Here is the half of a bikeride worth of tracking data. I forgot to turn it on during the way there.

It takes all my effort to not jump in the river.

I went with mini top shelf bottles so that we could taste more flavors without getting sick. The only glaring exception was the UV cake vodka. Believe or not their is no premium cake vodka that I could find, lol. So I went with the next best thing Faretti Biscotti Famosi liqueur has a recipe based on nuts, fennel, citrus and caramel and which tastes like biscotti.

I am particularly excited about frangelico hazelnut liqueur.

I also finally got the Italian lemon frenetic liqueur I wanted for the last million years.

I thought sidewiki was awesome. I Also know a lot of people that use Google desktop. Not that I ever trusted it.

I love the song. It's witty, playful and full of vengeance. Really there is so no better combination to me.

"The Mariner's Revenge Song"

We are two mariners
Our ship's sole survivors
In this belly of a whale
It's ribs are ceiling beams
It's guts are carpeting
I guess we have some time to kill

You may not remember me
I was a child of three
And you, a lad of eighteen
But, I remember you
And I will relate to you
How our histories interweave
At the time you were
A rake and a roustabout
Spending all your money
On the whores and hounds
(oh, oh)

You had a charming air
All cheap and debonair
My widowed mother found so sweet
And so she took you in
Her sheets still warm with him
Now filled with filth and foul disease
As time wore on you proved
A debt-ridden drunken mess
Leaving my mother
A poor consumptive wretch
(oh, oh)

And then you disappeared
Your gambling arrears
The only thing you left behind
And then the magistrate
Reclaimed our small estate
And my poor mother lost her mind
Then, one day in spring
My dear sweet mother died
But, before she did
I took her hand as she, dying, cried:
(oh, oh)

"Find him, Bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling
Of his grave"

It took me fifteen years
To swallow all my tears
Among the urchins in the street
Until a priory
Took pity and hired me
To keep their vestry nice and neat
But, never once in the employ
Of these holy men
Did I ever, once turn my mind
From the thought of revenge
(oh, oh)

One night I overheard
The prior exchanging words
With a penitent whaler from the sea
The captain of his ship
Who matched you toe to tip
Was known for wanton cruelty
The following day
I shipped to sea
With a privateer
And in the whistle
Of the wind
I could almost hear
(oh, oh)

"Find him, Bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling
Of his grave

There is one thing I must say to you
As you sail across the sea
Always, your mother will watch over you
As you avenge this wicked deed"

And then, that fateful night
We had you in our sight
After twenty months at sea
Your starboard flank abeam
I was getting my muskets clean
When came this rumbling from beneath
The ocean shook
The sky went black
And the captain quailed
And before us grew
The angry jaws
Of a giant whale

(oh..)

Don't know how I survived
The crew all was chewed alive
I must have slipped between his teeth
But, oh, what providence
What divine intelligence
That you should survive
As well as me
It gives my heart great joy
To see your eyes fill with fear
So lean in close
And I will whisper
The last words you'll hear
(oh, oh)

Basra has grown so much in the last month. The dark areas are new growth that haven't bleached yet. All of the new growth is perfectly flat. I wish he could stay outside all year.

At the same time I am ready for winter to freeze the fucking bugs out. I am tired of being covered in ants and spiders. I just face Basra a bath because he was totally coated in ants after eating the pears.