2. SF voters at last being given chance to express themselves on Hetchy
3. GG Audubon at Pier 94 tomorrow, Saturday 3. Join them
4. The Dungeness Crab Fishery of San Francisco, 3 March 9 am
5. Sutro Stewards events for March
6. Dramatic insect story on isolated Pacific island
7. A fossil Permian forest, intact
8. Thinkwalks: where are existing surface water flows?
9. Legislators' hypocrisy over hunting issue
10. Feedback: hunting issue/industrial solar in Alameda County/et al
11. Knowland Park now know as mountain lion habitat
12. Do not forget that you live in the midst of the animals, horses, cats, sewer rats
13. Rare sighting of a "White Bird" at Sunnyside Conservatory March 9
14. Spring 2012 Urban Watershed Stewardship Grant Program
15. Dismantling the "broke" Postal Service
16. SF West Side Recycled Water Project to be re-sited
17. Hypatia, first woman astronomer
18. Do you want to look capricious?
19. People with easy to remember names advance faster, further
20. Zilch Capital, LLC changing language in marketing and communication
21. Landline number on cell phone
22. Credo - only mobile phone company working to block Keystone XL Pipeline
23. Fence lizard in San Francisco residential area
24. Notes & Queries: Any grammatical rule that is never broken?/More answers than questions?
TWO THOUGHTs FOR TODAY:
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. -William Shakespeare
If only I may grow: firmer, simpler, -- quieter, warmer. -Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the United Nations, Nobel laureate
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1. Call the Mayor's Office!
Yesterday San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as saying restoring Hetch Hetchy is "not worth studying. It's a stupid idea."
Today he authored an op-ed printed in the San Francisco Chronicle claiming restoring Hetch Hetchy "threatens irreparable harm to our economy and our environment." This is palpable nonsense.
Please call his office and tell him why you support restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley.
The Mayor's office number is (415) 554-6141.
Hints for calling:
• Be courteous
• Give your name and where you live (he needs to understand this is both a local and national effort)
• Speak from the heart and stay positive
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2.
A day that's been 98 years in the making....
It's been 98 years since the last Sierra Club Outing to a thriving Hetch Hetchy Valley.
It's been 98 years since John Muir died after having lost his final preservation battle -- stopping the destruction of that valley.
It's been 98 years that you, and environmentalists before you, have fought San Francisco's continued flooding of this national treasure.
And did you know that in those 98 years, San Francisco voters have never been given the chance to reject their city's occupation of a national park?
That's about to change: at 11 am tomorrow morning, I'm filing papers at the S.F. Department of Elections to put an initiative on the ballot requiring the city to develop a plan to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Before I do, I'm asking for 98 supporters of RHH to stand with me by making a contribution today. Whether you give $5 or $500 -- together we can right this wrong.
Media coverage favoring our movement is growing. San Franciscans are learning the truth about the ongoing damage to Yosemite National Park.
Mike Marshall
Executive Director
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/29/4298896/dan-walters-california-legislators.html#storylink=scinlineshare
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3.
WHO: Golden Gate Audubon
WHAT: Volunteer to help with local bird and butterfly habitat
WHERE: Pier 94 in San Francisco
DIRECTIONS: Take Third Street to Cargo Way turn left onto Amador St., an industrial road which turns right. The address is 480 Amador St in San Francisco (a trailer office for a neighbor). Turn into the gravel parking lot before the chain link fence. Just ahead you will see a small light blue sign next to white barriers. This is the entrance to Pier 94.
Public Transit: Use this Pier 94 map.
WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 9:00am-12noon
CONTACT: nweeden@goldengateaudubon.org
NOTES: Please wear close-toed shoes and clothes that you don't mind getting a bit dirty. Bring a water bottle if you have one to minimize trash. We’ll provide instruction, gloves, tools, snacks and water. Join us to view and improve a wetland in San Francisco along the Bay. Activities include learning about the local birds and planting native plants. This is a program called “Together Green Volunteer Days” inspiring people to take action to improve the health of our environment for all of us. If there is heavy rain on this morning we will cancel this event.
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4.
GFNMS Visitor Center and Fisherman in The Classroom
Special Lecture
The Dungeness Crab Fishery of San Francisco
* This special program will be a chance to hear a fisherman and a scientist discuss one of California’s most important fisheries
* Larry Collins, President of The San Francisco crab Boat Owners Association will talk about the challenges of life as a crab fisherman in Central California.
* Peter Kalvass, US Fish and Game Biologist, and Dungeness Crab Expert will discuss the biology and population dynamics of this amazing crustacean.
GFNMS Building, 991 Marine Drive, Presidio, CA 94129
Saturday 3rd March, 9.00 am until noon
Space is limited - Please preregister
To preregister contact Peter Winch, GFNMS Visitor Center Naturalist, pwinch@farallones.org, 415 425 6450
Program made possible by BWET www.oesd.noaa.gov/BWET
Suggested Donation $5 - $10
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5. Sutro Stewards Events for March 2012
Saturday March 3, 9AM–12:30PM
Join the Sutro Stewards as we revisit Woodland Canyon for the first time since the re-opening of the Historic Trail to Stanyan Street in June of 2011. We will offer both habitat and trail work in one of San Francisco's most lush open space areas, home to some truly rare species. This is a great event for first timers who have never visited this area, and our more experienced crew members who know how special this site is. This event is in partnership with the Recreation and Parks Department Natural Areas Program. Food and beverages will be provided for volunteers after our morning of stewardship.
Location and additional information can be found at SutroStewards.org
Wednesday March 7, 10AM–2:00PM
We'll have our propagation expert on hand and begin instruction on preparation and planting techniques.
WE MEET AT THE NURSERY SITE, AT THE VERY END OF JOHNSTONE AT THE NIKE ROAD. Parking is very limited so carpool if possible.
Location and additional information can be found at SutroStewards.org
Saturday March 17, 10AM–2:00PM
We will continue with some remaining site setup as well as plant propagation. We'll have our nursery expert on hand to instruct you with preparation and planting techniques.
WE MEET AT THE NURSERY SITE, AT THE VERY END OF JOHNSTONE AT THE NIKE ROAD. Parking is very limited so carpool if possible.
Location and additional information can be found at SutroStewards.org
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6. Jeff Caldwell:
Hi Jake,
Here is a fascinating "insect" story that I believe may interest at least a portion of your readership:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years
Blows me away in a pleasant sort of way.
(A fascinating story indeed. JS)
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7. A fossil Permian forest, intact
http://inhabitat.com/first-photos-of-298-million-year-old-forest-unveiled/
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8. Where are the existing surface water flows, both known and secret in SF?
Sunday March 4th. Thinkwalks is inaugurating a monthly Secret Creeks and Springs Exploration. These walks are 4 to 5 miles each. This one is to El Polín Spring and Lobos Creek. More walking/discovery and less presenting than on the usual Thinkwalks, and it's FREE.
Meet at Arguello Gate to the Presidio at 10:30, finishes at 1:30.
For more info, map of meeting point and details of the walk, check http://thinkwalks.org/calendar or call walk leader, Joel Pomerantz 415-505-8255
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9.
Dan Walters: California legislators show their hypocrisy over hunting issue - Dan Walters - The Sacramento Bee -- from via SacConnect.us
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10. Feedback
On Mar 1, 2012, at 1:07 PM, Jon Harman wrote:
I don't usually comment about your nature news, but this one is an exception. Take note of the article and photos in the Chronicle today of DFG commissioner Richards lion "hunt". What this kind of hunt involves is: 1. tracking and treeing the lion using dogs (the dogs are bred, trained and run by the people you hire to do the hunt) and 2. Walking over to where the lion is treed, taking out your gun (Richards used a 45 handgun) and executing the lion. To participate in this sort of phony exercise in "manliness" should in my opinion disqualify anyone to be a DFG commissioner.
Thanks for writing, Jon.
The particulars you give, if they portray exactly what happened (that isn't clear from your writing) are contemptible and should, as you say, disqualify anyone from being a Fish & Game commissioner. (In my book he would be disqualified from the human race.)
There are problems with getting rid of commissioners who behave in this manner:
1. Most of the others now serving or who have served in the past are at least this bad, and most have been worse. They are political appointees and are appointed primarily to appease powerful interests. Ethical treatment of animals or serving the public interest is not necessarily what concerns them.
2. Most of the people you and I vote for are hypocrites, as you'd find out if you follow their careers closely, or sit in sessions where they're making decisions. You see up close the difference between their actions and their words. (I don't want to be too hard on politicians; it's built into the profession. They tell us what we want to hear.)
3. Neither you nor I are able to focus on the Fish & Game Commission. They deal with issues that are often complex and nuanced, and following the doings of all the bodies that act in the name of the public is impossible. Good investigative reporting--always scarce--is all but non-existent today. That's why I place a high value on the likes of Eric Mills, who is totally dedicated to animal welfare and has a long track record. He constantly monitors the F&G Commission and other relevant bodies, and he can tell you the people who behave responsibly. Such information is to be cherished.
It's an imperfect world, a hard lesson for me to learn. Better the devil you know.
On Feb 28, 2012, at 2:37 PM, Frank Noto wrote:
Jake,
Re Solar in Alameda - This makes me think we will never shake the fossil fuel economy. The GOP wants to drill everywhere no matter what the cost to the environment, and the ultras want to stop solar energy if it doesn't conform to their perfect standards, or wind energy if it's visible from their beautiful coastal homes. The perfect is the enemy of the good, people!
Frank: There is an excellent argument for locally generated solar, such as one's rooftop. (Not so good in foggy San Francisco.) It avoids the infrastructure and loss of energy in long distance transmission. I invite my readers to give you a more thorough response than I can. Local solar is not perfect, and corporate-dominated massive landscape-eating installations are not good.
I leave it to others to give a more complete response.
Jake - Thanks for your response. I absolutely agee that locally generated solar, such as one's rooftop, is great. And actually people in the industry think fogginess is not a big issue. But prohibiting large solar across the board in areas near urban centers seems to me to be an example of the perfect being the enemy of the good. Naturally I'd object to blanketing hundreds of acres with dense solar in Alameda parks, and there might be other objectionable areas, but a 1-size-fits all ban seems over the top. I will look forward to your readers responses, however.
Jean Oulette:
Hi, Jake -
I'm not privy to all the particulars, and I do think that, on balance, removal of the Klamath dams is a Good Thing. It's also true that the scientific - and sociocultural - evaluation needs to be a transparent process.
From Brown and Caldwell's California Water News, 2/29/12:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/feb/28/klamath-river-dams-fired-federal-adviser-files/
On Feb 28, 2012, at 12:00 PM, Peter Rauch wrote (re How many insects/arthropods can you see in this picture?):
At least six...
You're a better man than I. I can see only three for sure, with other suspicious looking items that I can't make out.
Jake, I say "at least six" (circled in red) because there may be a number of ants (circled in aqua) streaming down the left side of the greenish peduncle that runs NW/SE just to the right of the bee/spider.
So, there is a spider, a bee, three flies (two on/under the right wing of the bee, and one on the right edge of the leftmost branch of flowers (see the markup in the attached photo), and either a wasp's or fly's rear end near the top of the photo. That's six. Then there are the very blurry ants (possibly).
Sorry about the quality of the cut/pasted photo --you should compare the markup locations on that photo with your original photo to better discern the beasts. Peter
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11. Dear Knowland Park Supporters,
Experience Knowland Park from the perspective of a mountain lion! We recently toured the park with a mountain lion scientist who confirmed that these rarely-seen, beautiful creatures are using the park. Read Laura Baker’s blog post about why we ought to care about fencing off ANY habitat used by these top predators who help keep everything else in balance, and why people have little to fear from them—but they have much to fear from us.
And consider how the effort to protect Knowland Park relates to the “Slow Food” movement, which urges that we take time to notice our food and where it comes from, cook for one another, and see food as part of a larger cycle of nature. Is the Zoo’s development project the conservation equivalent of a bacon cheeseburger?
These and other posts are on our website, www.saveknowland.org
We’ve been busy working with our lawyers on the final brief of our legal case. What we’ve learned about the wildlife using the park makes our mission even more critical, and shows why this expansion isn’t about conservation at all. I hope each of you will take just a moment and subscribe to our website newsletter here: http://bit.ly/Atv6B5
And please ‘friend’ us on Facebook and spread the word to other individuals and groups who care about open space, the environment, and wildlife and plant protection.
As always, we need your support—we will have a VERY big legal bill coming with this last response to the Zoo and City. PLEASE do consider making a contribution, either through PayPal on our site or by sending a check to our treasurer, Lee Ann Smith, at 111 Shadow Mountain, Oakland, CA 94605. Checks should be made payable to “CNPS” (California Native Plant Society) and are tax deductible. I can’t tell you how much your support means to us—and I know the mountain lions and other creatures who make their homes in the park would say the same if they could.
Thanks for everything you do to help spread the word about why Knowland Park is worth a fight!
Ruth, Tom, and the Friends of Knowland Park Leadership Team
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12.
Only if Love Should Pierce You
Do not forget that you live in the midst of the animals,
horses, cats, sewer rats
brown as Solomon's woman, terrible
camp with colours flying,
do not forget the dog with harmonies of the unreal
in tongue and tail, nor the green lizard, the blackbird,
the nightingale, viper, drone. Or you are pleased to think
that you live among pure men and virtuous
women who do not touch
the howl of the frog in love, green
as the greenest branch of the blood.
Birds watch you from trees, and the leaves
are aware that the Mind is dead
forever, its remnant savours of burnt
cartilage, rotten plastic; do not forget
to be animal, fit and sinuous,
torrid in violence, wanting everything here
on earth, before the final cry
when the body is cadence of shrivelled memories
and the spirit hastens to the eternal end;
remember that you can be the being of being
only if love should pierce you deep inside.
~ Salvatore Quasimodo ~
(Complete Poems, trans. by Jack Bevan)
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13 A rare sighting of a "White Bird" at the Sunnyside Conservatory on March 9th 8pm.
Legendary SF rock band "It's a Beautiful Day" frontman, and violinist David LaFlamme, with vocalist Linda LaFlamme, complemented by virtuoso mandolinist Phil Lawrence with his accomplished side-men, make a very rare San Francisco appearance to benefit community workshops and events at the Sunnyside Conservatory. $20 donation includes complimentary snacks, and hot and cold drinks. Tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/225321. Sponsored by the Friends of Sunnyside Conservatory. www.sunnysideconservatory.org for more info.
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14. Spring 2012 Urban Watershed Stewardship Grant Program!
The SFPUC's Urban Watershed Management Program has partnered with the City's Community Challenge Grant Program to offer grants for community-based projects which help manage the City's stormwater using green infrastructure. The grants are based on the idea that small actions by San Francisco community members can add up to large benefits for San Francisco's watersheds and sewer infrastructure.
The grants support the design, planning, and construction of low impact design (LID) based stormwater management facilities. Projects harvest rainwater, remove impervious surfaces, or implement other green infrastructure like bioswales and rain gardens. In addition to managing stormwater, projects beautify neighborhoods, provide recreational opportunities, and educate residents about the City‚s water and wastewater systems.
Project guidelines and applications can be found on the City‚s Community Challenge Grant website: http://www.sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=4264 Note that the deadline for submission of applications for the Urban Watershed Stewardship Grant Program is: Friday, March 30, 2012 by 5:00 PM, City Hall, Room 362.
The Community Challenge Grant Program and the SFPUC will also be holding a Grant Application Workshop to describe the programs and answer questions on Wednesday, March 14th from 6-7pm. You must RSVP to attend.
CCG Grant Application Workshop
Wednesday, March 14th from 6 - 7pm
City Hall, Room 370
RSVP to Lanita Henriquez: Lanita.Henriquez@sfgov.org
You can view a list of previously funded projects here: http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=104
If you have additional questions about the Watershed Stewardship Grant Program, please contact Rachel Kraai at RKraai@sfwater.org
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15.
Postal Service broke?
LTE, The New Yorker, January 23, 2012
Angell notes that the post office is "broke". But even though individuals no longer communicate primarily through letters, the post office's central problem is not volume. Mail volume continued to grow through 2006, even as Internet use expanded--the many products we order online are often shipped through the Postal Service. Since 2006, though, Congress has required the post office to prefund a hundred per cent of its retirement and retirement health-care costs, a five-billion-dollar annual burden imposed on no other public or private institution in America. Most state agencies prefund eighty per cent of anticipated retirement expenses, and the industry average in the private sector, for Fortune 1,000 companies, is closer to thirty per cent. But for this absurd requirement, the Postal Service's finances might be in the black.
Representative Gerald E. Connolly
11th Congressional District of Virginia
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
____________________________
http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6a8c34375fab127fcc0cca5c4&id=d1e95ec018&e=1db7110153
Dismantling the Post Office
Modesto Post Office Mural
Photo Credit: Gray Brechin
There is no question that the U.S. Postal Service is in crisis. Though many believe this crisis has beenmanufactured by those seeking to shrink the government, there can be no doubt that the thousands of post offices scheduled for sale, closure, and possibly demolition sit on valuable real estate. More than 1,100 post offices were built during the New Deal, and many are adorned with sculpture, murals, and customized furniture whose fate is uncertain...Read more
University of Rhode Island Mural by Gino Conte
New Deal murals by WPA artist Gino Conte were unveiled recently at the University of Rhode Island. Ironically, construction workers hired under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, a federal jobs program, rediscovered the murals, which had been hidden behind a wall since the 1960s…Read more at ramcigar.com
Living New Deal Project
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16. Proposed RECYCLED WATER PROJECT on SF’s Westside TO MOVE FORWARD AT NEW SITE
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced that the location for a proposed recycled water treatment facility has been moved from its previous location in Golden Gate Park to a space at the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Plant and a portion of the nearby California Army National Guard Armory. The move would re-start the public engagement and environmental review process for San Francisco’s first treatment plant to recycle water for irrigation and other non-drinking purposes.
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17. First woman astronomer
In feedback from my special astronomy edition, John Rusk wrote:
Perhaps you’ve seen it, but if you haven’t rent the Rachel Weisz movie _Agora_ in which she plays Hypatia . I found the most interesting part of the movie the fiction that Hypatia was stumbling towards Kepler’s elliptical orbits at the end of the 4th century. Much more interesting, in fact, than the rather trite portrayal of the strained Christian/pagan relations that formed the movie’s main theme.
I rented the DVD of Agora, and agree with John's assessment. Although the fictionalized account wasn't entirely credible, the gist of it seemed in accord with historical sources, such as cited in Wikipedia. Even though Aristarchus put the Sun at the center of the universe >500 years before, he hadn't figured out elliptical orbits and important details. If the accounts of Hypatia are even approximately correct in that regard, her accomplishment was formidable.
I take pleasure in crediting pioneers in all times, but especially when they are women. Women had the additional burden of being believed because of their gender as well as their breakthrough ideas. It would appear that Hypatia had figured out at some level the truth that Kepler and Copernicus proved >1000 years later, against great odds--and great danger to themselves. JS
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18. A Word A Day
Capricious - Whimsical, impulsive, unpredictable.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Italian capriccio (caprice), literally head with hair standing on end, from capo (head) + riccio (hedgehog).
Do I look capricious?
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19.
(I recently carried an item to the effect that good-looking people find it easier to get good jobs and make more money than plain-looking people. Here's another downer):
From Marketplace
Kai Ryssdal: There's a study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that shows people with easier to pronounce names get ahead more than, you know, those of us without.
They studied law firms and found "lawyers with more easily pronounceable names occupied superior positions within their firm hierarchy." That's independent of name length, unusualness, and foreigness.
My boss's name, by the way? Deborah.
Her boss's name? J.J.
Doesn't get much easier than that now, does it?
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20. From alpha to smart beta
The industry’s language is changing
Feb 18th 2012 | The Economist
Dear investor,
In line with the rest of our industry we are making some changes to the language we use in our marketing and communications. We are writing this letter so we can explain these changes properly. Most importantly, Zilch Capital used to refer to itself as a “hedge fund” but 2008 made it embarrassingly clear we didn’t know how to hedge. At all. So like many others, we have embraced the title of “alternative asset manager”. It’s clunky but ambiguous enough to shield us from criticism next time around.
We know we used to promise “absolute returns” (ie, that you would make money regardless of market conditions) but this pledge has proved impossible to honour. Instead we’re going to give you “risk-adjusted” returns or, failing that, “relative” returns. In years like 2011, when we delivered much less than the S&P 500, you may find that we don’t talk about returns at all.
It is also time to move on from the concept of delivering “alpha”, the skill you’ve paid us such fat fees for. Upon reflection, we have decided that we’re actually much better at giving you “smart beta”. This term is already being touted at industry conferences and we hope shortly to be able to explain what it means. Like our peers we have also started talking a lot about how we are “multi-strategy” and “capital-structure agnostic”, and boasting about the benefits of our “unconstrained” investment approach. This is better than saying we don’t really understand what’s going on.
Some parts of the lexicon will not see style drift. We are still trying to keep alive “two and twenty”, the industry’s shorthand for 2% management fees and 20% performance fees. It is, we’re sure you’ll agree, important to keep up some traditions. Thank you for your continued partnership.
Zilch Capital LLC
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21. News to me
On Mar 2, 2012, at 9:12 AM, ______ wrote:
Cell/Work: XXXXXX (this cellphone number is my old land line number)
How can that happen? I thought cell phones were on entirely different prefixes.
No, at this point you can move your landline number to your cellphone if you want to. And I think you can move just about any landline number to any cellphone, and any cellphone number from one cellphone company to another. This is called "number portability".
But the catch is, they won't let you simply choose a cellphone number. So if you want a special number, you first have to choose it as a landline number (from the available numbers in your area). Then you can move it to a cellphone.
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22.
This is the first--and probably only--time I have endorsed a commercial. Why is self-explanatory. JS
Join The Only Mobile Phone Company Working To Block The Keystone XL Pipeline
If you oppose the Keystone pipeline and the destructive mining and burning of coal, you might be interested to know that only one mobile phone company stands with you—CREDO Mobile.
Consider this: CREDO has provided more than $13 million in grants to environmental groups fighting for the environmental issues you care about—including 350.org, Rainforest Action Network, the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and many more. In contrast, AT&T donated $169,500 to the 2010 campaigns of global-warming deniers in Congress, has given $30,000 since 2006 to House Tea Party Caucus founder Michele Bachmann, who supported the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and gave $462,739 to global-warming denier Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.
Whenever our environment is under assault, we mobilize our members and allies. We fight smart, hard and big. When Big Oil tried to push through approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, CREDO was there with more than a million calls and letters to decision-makers and more than 1,000 of our activists were arrested in dignified protest at the White House. When energy companies try to build outdated, dirty coal-fired power plants, CREDO is there to stop them — with more than 70 plants stopped so far. When the coal industry tried to defeat an EPA rule to limit mercury, a powerful neurotoxin, our members submitted more than 200,000 public comments in support of the rule.
Rebecca Tarbotton, executive director of Rainforest Action Network, sums it all up by saying, "The movement to save the planet has no more reliable ally than CREDO."
Unfortunately, the representatives of Dirty Energy occupy positions of great power in Congress, state legislatures, and the federal courts. The need for vigilance and support is greater now than it has ever been.
For those who care deeply about the environment, the next few years will be pivotal. The movement to halt global warming and protect public health must be larger and stronger or important battles will be lost. You can count on CREDO to stand against global warming in the future just as much as in the past 27 years. Do you think your mobile phone company—indeed any other company—has made that commitment?
Join CREDO Mobile, America’s only progressive phone company, and we’ll give you 25% off your monthly voice plan for one year.*
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23. On Feb 28, 2012, at 2:12 PM, Tom Prete wrote:
Hi, Jake:
I've spotted what I think is the same western fence lizard 3 times, less than 5 blocks from Ocean Beach near a busy street in the Parkside. I don't recall seeing one in SF at all for at least 30 years. Is this as uncommon as I think? I have pics from each time I've seen it
Tom: We see these lizards in some of the city's natural areas, but in residential districts near Ocean Beach sounds not the right habitat. Is it easy to send me a picture I can post, just for positive identification? I will post, and you'll get responses.
Jake: Photo from today attached. It isn't very big in the frame but this was just a quick snapshot. It was on the south-facing wall of Sloat Garden Center, the same location as 2 earlier sightings going back about 3 weeks (all sightngs haveen within about 4 feet of each other). My own suspicion is it was a stowaway in a nursery delivery. Nevertheless, it's there.
I have pics more zoomed in, but i'd have to look for them.
I spent much of my childhood catching these little beauties, so it caught my eye from half a block away.
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24. Notes & Queries, Guardian Weekly
The rules of grammar are not to be broken. Full stop.
Class system ... follow the rules of grammar without exception, except when the exception proves the rule.
Is there any grammatical rule in the English language that is never broken in correct usage?
1) Dashes are hard to break (without creating another dash).
2) Capitalisation after a full stop.
David Tucker, Halle (Saale), Germany
• Yes. Can't think of any but.
Robert Gardiner, Welshman's Reef, Victoria, Australia
• If on Fowler's edicts you're fixated, your utterings may be punctuated: by numerous, infelicitous, pauses; – with unresolved dependent clauses - Fowler's Procrustean Bed's too hard, Seek inspiration from The Bard;
Stand not upon the order of your going / but rather, keep the inspiration flowing.
Noel Bird, Boreen Point, Queensland, Australia
• Broken? In correct usage? An oxymoron.
Jake Sigg, San Francisco, California, US
PS Don't not use no double nor triple negatives in one sentence.
• Since the rules define what is correct, the only correct way to break them is within quotation marks enclosing examples of breakage.
Neville Holmes, Bakery Hill, Victoria, Australia
• Whoever first broke the rule about using the right case form, it wasn't I!
Bernard Burgess, Tenterden, Kent, UK
• Absolutely. After a preposition the -ing form of the verb is always used.
Alexandra Chapman, Paris, France
• How many rules are there? That's how many are never broken in correct usage.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• Modal auxiliary verbs never change their form. Nor do prepositions.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
Turn away from certainty
Why do there seem to be more answers than questions?
If only people would send in answers they want to know the question for...
Doug Nichols, South Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Functional gap
On balance, would our species benefit if organised religions were dispensed with?
Religion has three functions. Firstly, it builds social cohesion (together we built this stone circle/cathedral, etc). Secondly, it is a tool for social control (thou shall not kill, etc). Thirdly, it is an attempt to explain the mystery of the universe (God made the moon, the stars, dinosaurs, etc). If religion was dispensed with, science could, at least superficially, fill the third function, but what about the others?
John Kelly, Shoal Bay, NSW, Australia
• No. Better the devils you know.
Dennis Roddy, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Natural natures
Why are some people more easily moved to tears, e.g. by a film, a piece of music or a funeral, than others? Is the difference in nature or nurture?
Some are lachrymose, while others lack remorse.
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
Matching states
Why don't I ever see baby pigeons?
Because you hardly ever see baby statues.
Masi Latianara, Suva, Fiji
Any answers?
Is there a "Land of the Free and a Home of the Brave"? If so, where is it?
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Are we well-and-truly stuck with the qwerty keyboard?
Donna Samoyloff, Toronto, Canada
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