My phone just rang. I picked it up and a (maleish) robot voice said, in a breathless, oddly-accented rush: "This is a cruz alert. There is a suspicious object near the main gate. The main gate is closed at this time. Please avoid the main gate ( Read more... )

The good news is that they've found a millipede,illacme plenipes, in San Benito County that hadn't been seen in eighty years. It's a tiny little thing, about as big as a root hair, that lives in an area .8 kilometer square. As this rather (justifiably)chuffed-up article states, its relatives are pretty far-flung (which I'm guessing indicates its ( Read more... )

I forgot to explain why I called it an Elfland for mountain bikes. It wasn't being cute about the ferny brae and all that. Elfland is a former place on the University campus, the forest that used to be where Colleges Nine and Ten are now. It was a handsome stretch of forest on the head of a lovely ravine, where students and tramps and hippies ( Read more... )

As I write this, I am forced to listen to the Monterey television news. Would you like to know an absolutely sure sign you're hearing news from a small town? When at the top of the hour the announcer says "And our top story today, the sanctions that will affect every athlete at Salinas High School ( Read more... )

So binge drinking is the cause of the day. They've introduced a bunch of measures to cut down on binge drinking at the University: draconian anti-partying laws on the part of the city (kids get one warning and the next loud partyu they have they are fined some amount and their landlord is required to evict them) and a campaign on campus to talk ( Read more... )

to North of Infinity III. I said my connection to Canada was I danced at a powwow there 30 years ago, Niagara Falls made me cry, and I have a couple of friends in Canada.

I love email subs.

Also, went to the picket line at the University for a while. It's a big deal. It's huge. All the clerical, technical, food service, and maintenance workers ( Read more... )