Marty April 22nd, 2008
The Phillies line-up is amazingly agonizing. One one hand you have the hottest player in baseball, Chase Utley (.364, 9 HR, 18RBI, homers in 5 straight games) and the surprising Pat Burrell (.354, 7HR, 19RBI). On the other hand, you have one of the saddest hitting line-ups out there: the Phillies’ starting line-up has 2 players hitting .250 or under and THREE PLAYERS HITTING UNDER .200 (Bruntlett - .174, Howard - .193, Ruiz - .196). That’s just unforgiveable. Continue Reading »
Marty April 16th, 2008
Some of the most common butterflies in this area are the sulphurs, part of the family Pieridae, which includes most white and yellow butterflies. In the tri-state area, most of the sulphurs (sub-family Coliadinae) are members of four genuses: Colias (Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Pink-Edged Sulphur); Phoebis (Cloudless Sulphur); Pyrisitia (Little Yellow) and Abaeis (Sleepy Orange). Continue Reading »
Marty April 14th, 2008
Some of the most interesting butterflies in these parts are the various species of the genus Polygonia. The two most common species in the NJ-DE-PA area are the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) and Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) butterflies. Both species are very similar on both the dorsal and lateral faces of their bodies, but with subtle differences. Continue Reading »
Marty April 14th, 2008
With spring approaching, it’s getting to be time for the butterflies and odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) to come out to play. My region - the NJ-DE-PA tri-state area - is a great place for both types of insects, but there are many species that are tough to tell apart unless you know what to look for. I’ve put together some ID lessons to help people identify some of the commonly confused species. Continue Reading »
Marty April 13th, 2008
Well, we’re back from our trip to see my nephew for his 3rd birthday. I haven’t gotten to see Caleb as much as I might like over the few years of his life, but we’ve been making a more concerted effort to stay in touch and see the little guy. So, for our trip to Georgia, we made an extended vacation that would allow us some time with him and my sister outside of the ‘group’ visits we’ve had (like the beach where there are 8 families, and too little private time). Continue Reading »
Marty April 1st, 2008
Today are the softball tryouts for our company team - or should I say, teams. We had so many people last year that it was hard to get in the game and assure an at bat - and with more people in the company than last year, we were almost assured of a worse situation. So, we are putting TWO teams out there this year. Hopefully that will mean some increased playing time and more at bats this year.
On a slightly more somber note, I suspect the rate of heart attacks in the city of Philadelphia will increase over the next few weeks, if yesterday’s game was any indication. The Phillies offense did their job, but our bullpen … well, SUCKS. Announcer Larry Anderson had the gumption to say, “Well, the bullpen has been a concern all spring…”. SPRING? Of what - 2002? The bullpen has been the achilles heel, bum rib and sciatica of the team for the last half-dozen years, and they never do anything to solve it. Tom Gordon has the highest possible ERA in the majors (135.01, in case you’re counting) and Ryan Madsen isn’t much better. Brett Myers didn’t pitch horribly - nor did he pitch well - but it’s going to be a long season if he has to be used much. And what was Ruiz thinking throwing to third base when you’ve got 2 men on base, down by 2 in the 9th inning? That’s just bad baseball.
In other news, I worked more on the ZPC project and sent Van over some new files. I’m finally seeing this shaping up to be what I wanted it to be. Cleaning up stray pieces that look bad, adding some flair, etc. I have a little ways to go, but at least it’s acceptable now. Maybe I’m too anal … now, I’m a perfectionist. That’s it.
Marty March 31st, 2008
I finally got out for some birding on Saturday morning at Palmyra Cove. It was a little chilly, and there weren’t any real big migrants there, but I still have a good time. One of the highlights was seeing quite a few Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla) - a species I had seen before but not yet photgraphed. This little casanova was singing his heart out near the beaver pond. Continue Reading »
Marty March 25th, 2008
Late last year, I entered some of my pictures into a contest sponsored by the National Wildlife Refuge Association. I got a notice yesterday that at least one of my photos had been selected as a winner. Continue Reading »
Marty March 25th, 2008
I’m just trying to catch up now from last week - which was an exhausting one. Work has been brisk without being too nuts for much of the beginning of the year - at least, short sprints and pauses that allowed one to recover. But, of course, when my boss took off for the birth of his baby, suddenly everyone needed some help. Continue Reading »
Marty March 18th, 2008
I saw this on the A Passion For Nature blog and thought I’d play along:
Rules
- Pick up the nearest book.*
- Open to page 123.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the next three sentences.
“At the core of all screen (and print, of course) visual design is layout: where and how the features, controls, and content are placed. Layout provides the structure that these elements reside within. Layout provides hierarchy, letting users know what is important and what is less so - a control that is visible at all times is perceived as more important than one that is buried in a drop-down menu.”
Questions:
- Do you know what book my quote comes from?
- Do you want to play ?
Daily Links
* note: I actually had to pick up 3 books: the first didn’t have 5 sentences on page 123, and the second had an image on that page.
