Backyard Action

House sparrow, white crowned sparrow, song sparrow.

Getting them to pose took a bit of work. Birds are so prone to fidgeting. I assure you that no birds were harmed in the making of these photographs.



The Latin name for the American Robin is Turdus migratorius. We can all be grateful our parents didn't name us "turdus".

The Price of Gas

I'm reminded of a quote attributed to the late senator SI Hayakawa who became famous for allegedly saying that rising oil prices (during the gas crisis of the 1970's) do not affect the poor, saying: "the poor don't need gas, because they're not working." Cited in a Washington Post obituary posted here. It would therefore follow that this summer's gas prices won't do the poor any harm either.
I am tempted to write a math problem of this nature.
A young high school drop out is looking for a job. Due to the poor state of the economy and high unemployment the only work she can find is a minimum wage job at McDonald's. The restaurant is 5 miles from her house. She can't take the bus because she has to work a lot of night shifts and the store is in an unsafe neighborhood.
If gas costs $4 a gallon, her car gets 20 mpg, she earns $7.50 an hour, and works 30 hours a week over 4 days, should she take the job?
(a) Yes, and buy lottery tickets with her first paycheck.
(b) No, she should apply for welfare; she will make more and not need to pay for gas or car insurance.
(c) No, she should get pregnant and hope her boyfriend will marry her and support her.
(d) No, she should get pregnant and remain single. The state will support her and her child.
(e) Yes, she should take her first paycheck and buy stock in Amoco.

Sigh.

Tuesday Challenge--Graffiti

From a playground in a Hispanic neighborhood. I like the combination of commissioned, legal graffiti, and the other kind.

Wordless Wednesday

Sands of Time

Here is an excerpt from:
A Psalm of Life
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Lensday--Mother

Sorry folks but I found this prompt a bit trite. So here is a gloomy variation on the theme, from a weathered headstone at a local cemetery.

Fame and Fortune

Kids herded together waiting to take the SAT tests.

Well, actually I managed neither fame nor fortune but still. . . . I've been getting back to posting regularly and was wondering what had happened to my nearly non-existent fan club--I love all three of you--so I looked at the source of some of my recent "hits." As usual most are from Google searches which is after all, interesting. However, I discovered I have garnered a teeny-tiny bit of vicarious fame from an old post about a Tom Chapin song on No Child Left Behind. It turns out that Tom Chapin has a web site and has linked to my 2007 post (which linked his song) on it. I guess this is kind of like returning a compliment. Thank you Tom. I honestly do think your song is great.
My attention has turned again to the issue of school testing lately as my older son it suffering from an excess of tests. As a junior in high school and a serious student, he has more tests than most. In the past 6 weeks, and I'm sure I am missing a few, he has taken the SAT subject tests (calculus, physics and U.S. history), the ACT's, and 2 AP tests (with a third today in AP Physics). He has his SAT scheduled for early June. This is not to mention his high school final exams and so forth.
The poor kid frequently has the deer-in-the-headlights look and we have had to rigorously encourage him to "chill" on numerous occasions. We also spoil him with lots of good food. I don't know who is looking more forward to his summer vacation, his parents or him. I am not "getting" this high stakes testing. How many times does a kid have to prove how smart he is in any 12 month period? Is it really helping the colleges pick the best students or just earning money for the College Board? I can tell you that my son believes the latter. I tend to agree with him. As yet another aside(I seem to specialize in asides) I am nonetheless a proud mom who can boast that his ACT score was off the charts.