Earlier this afternoon, I was working at the reference desk, and a customer called to find out whether we had a copy of the study guide for the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) exam. This is a popular book, but it's hard to keep in stock because (a) it's updated frequently, and (b) people check it out and then fail to bring it ( Read more... )

I did a geomantic reading regarding last Satuday's caving trip, which looked quite favorable. Carcer turned up in the 1st House (the querent) and in both the 4th House (anything subterranean) and the 5th House (recreational activities). Carcer is generally considered an unfavorable Figure, but it is supposed to be favorable for questions ( Read more... )

Deep within the cave lay an "art gallery" containing sculptures molded out of the omnipresent mud. The mud was sufficiently sticky to cling to the walls of the cave. Natural protuberences became the foundations of gargoyle faces, no doubt inspired by an initial touch of pareidolia:


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One of the most striking things about the cave was how easy it was to become disoriented. The spaces within the cave were all irregular and ill-defined. The distinction between "chambers" and "passageways" were often a matter of opinion, and the three-dimensional rectilinear lattice of cuboidal rooms packed neatly together within a structure was ( Read more... )

So, how shall I put that Martial railroad spike to good use?

I've been reciting Psalm 48 (in its entirety) and verses 5 through 13 of Psalm 104 as I sand out all the pitting and corrosion (over and over again, almost like a mantra -- very crude, very "brute force," from a technical perspective, but it does bring the literal meaning of the word " ( Read more... )

Okay, so at the beginning of the month, ladybird97 started a meme called "Club Feb" by posting this:
Every year in February, I post at least one happy thing every day: a funny link, a picture of a cute fuzzy animal, a good thing that's happened to me that day, etc.
I certainly won't make a month-long commitment myself, but this does give me an excuse to post ( Read more... )

I took this (horrifyingly bad) picture of a strange-looking little aircraft -- it looks like it might be an amphibious flying trike -- as I was driving down I-40 (somewhere between Hickory and Winston-Salem), earlier today.


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I just got back from spending the last few days in the suburbs of Washington, DC. While I was there, I went downtown and paid a brief visit to the Freer Gallery of Art and saw, among other things, the exhibition of ancient Chinese funerary bronzes, including this pair of slightly comical-looking tigers.


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I've been interested in the Shakers for years, and recently discovered a CD entitled I Am Filled With Heavenly Treasures by the Enfield Shaker Singers. It's very simple and straightforward choral music, in English, without any instrumental accompaniment. Here is a Adobe Acrobat version of the liner notes, including snippets of the lyrics and ( Read more... )

Does anyone else find this suspicious ( Read more... )