Emus don’t like the snow. A few cold nights are no problem for them. They keep warm by huddling in a sheltered spot, tucking their feet under their plumage. But when snow is on the ground and it’s hard for them to find a dry spot where they can sit to stay warm, they just […]

Richard Barrett – Darmstadtium – Acoustic Guitar (2012) Hoping to warm up a frigid Friday morning with some virtuoso acoustic jazz guitar. Enjoy, and stay warm.

Last night was rough. Around 4:00 PM yesterday, one, maybe two, dogs got into our pasture and attacked the emus and one of the emus (Sidney) jumped the fence and ran away. Then the dog chewed his way through the wire fence of our neighbor’s chicken coop and killed 10 of their 14 birds. We […]

I’d like you to meet Henry … Henry is from Arizona and he moved in with us on Dec. 29. So he has lived with us for three weeks now. He is starting to settle in very nicely and he and our Russian Blue Koklo are getting more and more comfortable with each other. Henry […]

This morning we had the coldest temperatures in over a decade: 8°F (-13°C) and that only 26 hours after a high of 59°F (+15°C). The data below are from our weather stations at the house. At RDU, the low was 9, which breaks the record cold temperatures from 1988 for the day. Of course our […]

2013 was quite the roller-coaster. We experienced loss and sadness as well as some real highlights. We saw our children grow a lot last year, physically (!) and mentally, but we also lost a family member. We traveled quite a lot, but not all of it was for fun. We also lost two of our […]

Today is the last day to support your favorite causes and get the tax credit in April (if you pay taxes in the U.S.) – so do it! Support the people and charities that “fight the good fight!” Her are the charities I supported this year: Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) MSF is an […]

Yesterday we set a temperature record of 78°F (26°C) and I decided to work on my composting project. I had two nice piles of compost from last year that I had turned in early summer. One of the piles I had inoculated with mycorrhizal fungus to see if that has any benefit for the compost. […]

Rest in Peace, Madiba. Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this […]

Last Friday we invited some friends over for our Black Friday Party, and, as usual, good times were had by all. When the whole world goes mad and shoppers storm the malls and discount stores, I like to gather some good friends down by the pond, where we light some fires to keep us warm […]

Last week, Laura and I returned to Paris for the first time in 20 years. Laura flew out during the previous week for work and I followed her on Saturday for a few days of fun in the City of Light. After exploring the city over the weekend (see here), Monday’s primary focus was the […]

Last week, Laura and I returned to Paris for the first time in 20 years. Laura flew out during the previous week for work and I followed her on Saturday for a few days of fun in the City of Light. Saturday evening, we met with several folks from her work for a dinner cruise […]

On this Day Of The Lord 11/12/13, I present to you, dear reader Bohemian Gravity – an a Capella explanation of string theory to the tune of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody by Tim Blais: Notice the Einstein sock puppet at 2:39 And yes, I know that to most of the world it is in fact 12.11.13

Sunday morning at 7:30 we loaded the horses and headed out to Quail Roost Farm for Laura’s and Julia’s first hunter pace event, organized by a local fox hunt club, the Red Mountain Hounds. Since the farm is only a 15 Minute drive away, we were there quite early and had plenty of time to […]

I have always loved the classical piano, perhaps because Beethoven’s Piano Concertos and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition were my introduction to classical music. Now that both my kids play strings instruments, chamber music has become more of a focus for our classical music enjoyment. However when I saw a few weeks ago, that Kirill […]

Happy Friday :) CARAVAN PALACE at the Karlstor Bahnhof Heidelberg Would love to see these guys live one day …

Today I left the house at 6:30 and headed to downtown Durham to for a run, together with 5800 other runners. It was the Bull City Race Fest and I had signed up for the half-marathon – 13.1 miles/21 KM. I knew it was going to be a difficult run for me because last weekend […]

Last night, we went out to a strings concert by the Mallarme Chamber Players with the fantastic violinist Jennifer Curtis and … Dex Romweber (lead guitarist of the Flat Duo Jets). A bit like the Ciompi Quartett, this was another concert that broke down musical barriers and tied a variety of musical traditions together. Complex […]

First installment of “trivia that blows my mind” … yeah, Groucho Marx and Alice Cooper were buddies. Look at them having breakfast … Here is what Alice said recently about his friendship with Groucho: Well Groucho Marx – I grew up on Groucho Marx. The Marx Brothers, every time they were on, I would sit […]

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit!