Phriday photo quiz #17 -- geography, again! PS: perils of anonymity...

1st of all, Yes, folks, the town in the photograph last Friday was Moab, Utah. =) The first (and emphatic) guesser what right. Ding ding ding ding! =) Nice work, Anonymous. And speedy, too!

This week's quiz: Where was I (generally) when I took this picture, and (extra credit) what is that rock-looking thing on the horizon?

Happy guessing, and please fling your guesses my way--I think I'll hold them for a while so I don't give away the answer too soon.

Thanks, and happy weekend. Traveling next week and not sure what my schedule will be (besides unknowable), so may post less next week. But, plan to tour nearby nature, so EVENtually there will be pics.

biobabbler

P.S.  Anonymous is such a smartie--have you noticed that? =)

P.P.S. Speaking of anonymous smarties, that brings to mind a tragic tale I'd like to share, in the hopes that someone might benefit by resisting similar temptations (NOT an anti-anonymous-contributors-to-biobabbler-commentary--I LOVE comments, and since I myself am anonymous here... hm....well, ANYhow...):

The Price of Bashfulness
(esp. when mixed with self-doubt)

Way back in college, I took a required physics course. Students had the (novel-to-me) option to take it anonymously. That meant you write your student ID # on tests/quizzes vs. your name. This was a big class, hundreds of students, so anonymity was well within reach.

Being naturally (strangely) bashful (as I said, not even my friends will agree re: this about me), and pessimistic about my impending performance (not having particularly enjoyed physics in high school), I snagged that option, and used my number throughout the entire course.

Yay! How clever!

No humiliation if/when I blow some test or quiz, revealing myself to be an intellectual pipsqueak. phew.

And then, 10 weeks later, I get my final grade.

An A+.

?!?

Yeah. In physics. Me, a bio major. An A+.

A few moments of frozen stillness transpire as I stare at incomprehensibly at the report card and my brain processes a) the grade, and b) the implications of having been invisible the whole quarter.

Then I fight the intense urge to tear my hair out and scream "Nooooooooooooo!"

The ONE CLASS I decide to be TOTALLY nameless and faceless, with NO accountability, I get an A+.

Great. There goes my opportunity for a recommendation, or even a subtle, just-between-us congratulatory/approving half-smile from the professor as we pass each other in the hallway.


Clearly, that A+ proved I'm a total genius.

Clearly.

bb

our little physics lesson for the day: a la rhubarb pie...

 
If you think the 2 rhubarb pies you are baking are done, begin to slide rack towards you (with pies filled with boiling custard...) and rack TIPS down of its own accord, the molten pies then start SPEEDING toward you, and you leap out of the way to watch them FLING onto the linoleum (upside down, of course), their contents SHOOTING out across the floor to within inches of the opposite wall...

What you might learn is that the teeny, tiny, painstakenly chopped pieces of rhubarb can slide up to 6.5 feet FURTHER across the floor than the pie plate. Substantially further than all of the custard.

This, at least, is what we learned about mechanical physics today.

And, you?

biobabbler

P.S. Good news is, though, that I have ended the day with grass stains on my pants (meaning I got outside and played). Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes would approve, though my wardrobe does not.

humming bird feeder...

 
Got this from a friend of mine (wildlife biologist--Thanks!! =) ). I've NEVER put one up in my life, but figured I'd try it out.

Truly, those of you who know me and my amazing powers of procrastination, this is a minor miracle.

And I put it close enough to the window that I might get some decent pics for y'all.

We'll see.

Check out the super cool mirror images of the trees, with the sky in between. I assume this is due to convex and concave surfaces, plus the wonders of water, or something? Anyone? Any enlightenment here would be appreciated (all you physics phans).

Anyone has any h-bird feeder advice, I'm all ears. For starters, how often do you change the water? I know mold & bacteria are anathema, so every 2 days? Thoughts? I really want it in the sun so I can see h-bird colors best.

the biobabbler