Watch this space for a book review of SCATTER, ADAPT, AND REMEMBER: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, by Annalee Newitz. 

Here’s a link to the book mentioned above. My review is titled ARE WE THERE YET?

I’ve always been a shy guy, something I’ve mostly overcome after many decades of struggle and effort. My dad was charming, yet I could never grasp how he did it, nor even what it was. Perhaps this article would have afforded me a significant shortcut.

How sad, that a nation (Belize) would allow its antiquities, in this case a pyramid 30+ meters tall , to be used for road construction! Story linked here.

(My thanks to Douglas Fisher for sharing this, which is presently found only on Huffington Post, Canada)

I’ve long felt that “vanity” plates, as we call them here in New York State, were a bit of an extravagance, as they cost an extra $30. But I’ve changed my mind. They might serve well as a conversation starter enroute to Merida this fall. (MEXICO was already taken so I had to use a digit instead of a letter; but perhaps it reads even better.) Stay tuned.

Foto by Teledragon, on Photobucket

An article from Britain describes fertility research which has succeeded in developing sperm cells from female tissue.

Mary and I had opportunity to watch a new building arise in the backyard nextdoor to our rental house over the winter. It was almost entirely done by hand. The albañiles (masons) mixed the concrete for floor and mortar by hand, on the ground, with a shovel, and passed it up by bucket. (They brought in a gasoline powered mixer for the second floor and roof, perhaps due to heat making for short set times.) ¶At first we felt invaded, but quickly became entertained by listening to the camaraderie of the laborers – their whistling, singing, joking, and joy.  While the video linked here is not from Yucatan, it captures some of the delight to be seen in such pursuits. It also speaks of human ingenuity in the absence of capital and power equipment.

I’ve only been to the zoo at Centenario park once, and have very few photos from the visit. I don’t recall whether there are any giraffes in the collection. But I recently received a wonderful video ballet of giraffes from a friend, which deserves to be shared. I could say I saw it one day at Centenario park, but nobody would believe me, even if the park were on calle Mulberry. But I promise that you won’t be disappointed if you CLICK HERE. 

(Thanks, Pat!)