Give It a Little Tappy...Tap, Tap, Taparoo

Ever have a melody stuck in your head and can't figure out what song it is? Well, you must try The Song Tapper. Basically, it's as easy as tapping the rhythm of the song on your keyboard's spacebar. The site suggests humming out loud so you make sure to tap each syllable you hear. I tried tapping a couple different songs and had my results in less than a minute...each time, my song did show up on the list, if not as the first match. If you are not good at tapping well then, sorry...you might be SOL.

They also give you the option of listening to a midi of your tapped song afterwards. However, at first you may not even recognize the song you tapped! That's because it comes out sounding very monotone; it is only recording the taps themselves. However, if you pay attention to just the rhythm, you can hear it.

One of my tries was "Happy Birthday" (I wanted to pick something with a fairly simple rhythm). If you wish, you can listen to my tapping here. If it doesn't open for you, you might have to right-click and Save As, before opening in an external application.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

While many of us in the United States were still asleep early this morning, there was a total eclipse of the sun visible to some parts of the world stretching from South America eastward to Asia. NASA has a lot of information available on their website, along with pictures and video clips.
Here is a short blurb from NASA:

This year's eclipse is also special because the total phase lasts over 4 minutes at the center of the path. This is quite long for a total solar eclipse since most last just a minute or two. The next total eclipse,on August 1, 2008, will be seen in northern Canada, Greenland, Siberia, Mongolia and northern China. It will last about 2 minutes. The next total eclipse visible from the United States won’t happen until August 21, 2017.

At Exploratorium.edu, you can view an archived webcast of the event in addition to reading a wealth of information regarding the eclipse. There, you can also see an image explaining the narrow path of totality.

Finally, ABC News has a brief slideshow of pictures for viewing here.

Oh, My Little Cockroach, You're So.......Cute??

Uhhhh, I don't think so. I'll never forget the first time I ever saw Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in person. Yes, they were alive. This was during my senior year of college in my Science Education class. If I remember correctly, my friend Amy W. (now Amy K.) was the only one brave enough to actually hold them, while the rest of us just squirmed and winced. I would have to check with Amy to remind me why the cockroaches were in our class in the first place...perhaps one of our group presentations? But, anyway the point is, I never understood how she could actually hold one and not get that creepy-crawly "get-it-off-of-me" feeling!

Why do I bring this up, you ask?? Well, I just found out from my cousin today that there are jewelry designers out there who actually use live cockroaches for women's jewelry. Apparently, after adding decorations, the designers attach the bugs to a little chain to keep it contained to the area of clothing it is clasped to.

Just a note...If any of you out there are looking for a gift for me...this would NOT be a good choice. I don't even like watching them move, let alone feeling them move on my body. Definitely not my cup of tea. If you are a brave soul, you can also watch a short news clip about this "designer jewelry."

And, lastly, if you are crazy enough to be interested in actually buying one, well, knock yourself out. But, it's gonna cost ya.

When Will it REALLY be Spring?

So, it's the first full day of Spring and I'm sitting here wrapped in a blanket with my fuzzy slippers on my feet. Somehow this does not seem right. Weather report says a high of 38° today. Ugghh. Don't get me wrong, though...I understand that the warm weather doesn't start just because it is officially Spring. I know this but I don't like it. Perhaps I should have started my post with "I can't wait for warmer weather"...it may have set a better tone, but I'm not changing it now.

I'm considering looking into hibernation as an option for the future winters. However, I wouldn't need a cave...just my bed will do. I could keep some water and pretzels at my bedside just in case. I still haven't worked out the details of how I will continue to make money though. Any suggestions?

What makes it that much worse though, is that my parents are away for the week in sunny, beautiful, warm, spring-like, Fort Lauderdale where they are visiting my grandparents. I may have been there too if it weren't for Kelli needing someone to stay with her since she can't take off from school. She's got "Senioritis" and I've got warm-weather envy, so we're both being bitter together. You'd be bitter too if you had to get phone calls that embellish the warm sunshine, pool parties, breakfasts out on the lanai, 4:00 cocktails, walks on the beach, and bocci ball playing. These phone calls always end with a plethora of promises of sending the warm weather up North.

Yeah...that's gonna happen.

New Music Posted

I've added music by Dredg, Iron & Wine, Cary Brothers, and Remy Zero to my stickam player. These are songs that have been getting heavy play by me right now. I like my choices...hopefully you will too.

View my player here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

May the Irish hills caress you,
May her lakes and rivers bless you,
May the luck of the Irish enfold you,
May the blessings of St. Patrick uphold you.

For a history of St. Patrick and the holiday, The History Channel website has a good bit of information.

While you are there, you can take an All Things Irish Quiz to test your Irish I.Q!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

(St. Patrick's Day blessing upon you)

New Pictures!

I've put two new photo albums online. Click the links below to view them:

[site closed - photos removed]

• Tommy's 30th Birthday Celebration

• Carol's Bachelorette Party

A Hairy Lobster?

See for yourself...


Yes...a hairy lobster...he's blonde and blind. I've been hearing about this for a few days and I still find it so unbelievable, but yet so interesting. It does make my skin crawl when I look at it, though. If you are so inclined, you can read a short article here.

Roe v. Wade...For Men??

What happens when a man finds out his girlfriend is pregnant after making it clear he didn't want children and being told she couldn't get pregnant to begin with? This is a rising debate as a lawsuit is being prepared by the National Center for Men in defense of a man who is having exactly this problem. See the full article from USA Today.

There are definitely so many factors that play into this that I think it will take some serious looking at. Whatever comes of this will be quite interesting, though. If this case gets some ground, my fear would be...how many men would then try to use this argument to get out of having to pay child support? It will start to become a major "he said, she said" problem too.

Honestly, I think the whole child support system needs to be revamped anyway (as does the welfare system...but that's another story). In defense of the honest men, there are many who are trying to do the right thing in paying child support, but are being taken advantage of. For example, in a situation where the mother is clearly not fit to raise a child, why is it so hard to award custody to the father if he is a good and decent man? I know the argument of the woman having the right because she gave birth...but clearly, after there is a child brought into this world, shouldn't the well-being of that child be of utmost importance? What ends up happening is the unfit mother usually keeps the child and then the father, in a way, gets pulled into providing well over his share of the deal. And, to me, that's just not right.

What it comes down to for me, however, is that this will not, and should not, be an easy decision for the courts to make. I don't yet really know how I feel either way on the issue when there is deceit on the woman's part...which is what is being claimed in the above article. It's a sticky situation, for sure.

What do you think?? Please share your thoughts.

You Gotta Love Little Kids

Today I subbed a half day (PM) for a Kindergarten class. I have been in this classroom before, which was nice because I already knew all the kids. I was interested to see if they would remember me though, since I haven't seen them since January...you never can tell with little ones; it could go either way...they might remember, they might not. When I got there at 11:30 a.m., they had already eaten lunch and were out at recess. So, at 11:45 I went outside to the playground to pick them up. As soon as I walked up to their line, the first boy in the line screamed out my name with this big smile on his face. Wide-eyed, I said, "Oh, you remember me, huh?" He nodded his head 'yes' as the other kids quickly caught on and called out to me too. We then walked inside so I could read-aloud my favorite children's book "Green Eggs & Ham" by Dr. Suess (in celebration of Read Across America/Dr. Suess' March 2nd birthday). I tried not to laugh hysterically as the kids kept telling me so matter-of-factly that the main character in the story was "angry" and "upset" at Sam-I-Am because he kept pushing his green eggs and ham.

Perhaps the funniest thing, though, is how the kids feel no qualms about telling me how their teacher does things...or they tell me how to do something, as if I don't already know. I know this all too well though because my 2nd graders used to do the same thing to the subs that would come in for me. They just don't seem to understand that teachers don't have to do things exactly the same way all the time. However, I realize this is just because they find comfort in their routine...so, I just usually reassure them that everything is okay and then we move on.

I used to think that I didn't want to teach Kindergarten because it is so physically and mentally draining (I've never tied so many shoes and zipped up so many coats in my life!)...but I don't feel that way anymore. I realize how much they are like little sponges and how exciting it would be to play a part in that everyday.