Quality Time

I really hope one of the other Pandacam watchers caught the recent antics on video, because just a few minutes ago, His Chubbiness was climbing around on that log and plank arrangement you can see in the background--and then he faw down go boom, while Mama snoozed away in the foreground. If I can get it, I will of course post it.

As a side note... the particular yard Mama and Baby are playing in is called the "classroom" and is not visible to the public. Baby hasn't gone out on public exhibit yet. Apparently Mama herself will decide when it's time, and haul him out there herself.

You Just Can't Get Good Help Anymore.

Today's earth-shattering news headline:

Snowflakes on Christmas Cards Drawn Wrong.

In pop culture depictions, snowflakes are usually drawn inaccurately, an expert now says. Snowflakes are six-cornered, rather than the four-, five- and eight-cornered crystals typically depicted in children's books, Christmas cards and even in an ad for a science magazine.

Thomas Koop of Bielefeld University in Germany noticed the frosty mistake on a subscription advertisement for the scientific journal Nature that contained octagonal snow crystals in the background.

"Ironically it was entitled '...for anyone who loves science,'" Koop said. Bringing the irony full circle, Koop's commentary on the subject is published in the Dec. 24 issue of Nature.

Snowflakes are made of water molecules that link up via hydrogen bonds. The best and most efficient way to arrange themselves is a hexagonal crystal lattice, Koop explained. So rather than eight sides, snowflakes are bound by physical laws to take on a six-sided shape.

And if that weren't enough, raindrops are also inaccurately depicted.

"The shape of falling rain drops is depicted incorrectly in almost any (children's) book that I know of," Koop said. "Most often, they are drawn in a teardrop-like shape, a kind of pinnacle at the top and round at the bottom."

He added, "However, in reality cloud droplets are spherical because of water's surface tension and falling rain drops are somewhat flattened at the bottom (depending on their fall speed), because of the resistance they feel as they fall through the air (similar to the drag that you feel in your face when you bike)."

Is there nothing sacred anymore?

Was There Ever Such Cute-itude?

Ever? Anywhere in the world?

Mama Bai Yun plays helicopter with baby Yun Zi.

Not To Be Outdone

In the cuteness department that is.

This is Zhen-Zhen, "Yunior's" big sister.

Testing His Teeth

The keepers assure us that he isn't actually eating that bamboo just yet....

Just Whose Brilliant Idea Was This, Anyway?

Timing. Bureaucratic timing.

They're tearing up the streets. Right by the mall. Right before Christmas.

I tried to run an errand today. Have a look at the map. You can see the most direct route from point A to point B--but a crucial street near point A is completely blocked for construction right now. The route I was forced to take is shown (sort of) in green. As you can see, it goes clear off the map in a couple of places.

Why didn't I take some of those in-between streets? Because they don't go through, that's why. Amazing as it may seem, the route I took was indeed the most direct route to my destination.

Adding insult to injury, when I got to point B--they were closed! So after all that, my trip was a complete waste of time.

Good thing I know the streets very, very well.

Can you tell I'm seriously annoyed right about now?

A 17-Pound Bruiser

Trying to escape the keeper's custody during his veterinary exam yesterday .

No Expiration Date On This Kind Of Cute.

And if you look closely, you can even see the little black spot at the tip of his tail.

Brilliant!

Quoted at Wizbang, posted at Brutally Honest, by guest blogger Locutisprime, quoting an e-mail from a friend. (Did you follow all that? S'okay; neither did I.)

To the editor:

I don't understand why the White House is so upset about the two party crashers at Barack Obama's steak dinner the other night.

Is it really appropriate and politically correct to call them party crashers just because they trespassed on Mr. Obama? Does that make them criminals? Isn't that discrimination? Shouldn't they be rewarded for such bold and brave behavior? Maybe they were just trying to feed their family?

I would suggest that it's more appropriate to call them "undocumented guests."

Just because they weren't officially invited doesn't mean they should be treated like criminals. Maybe they should get free health care, free housing, free legal services and free White House green cards so next time they can enter legally. And they should be able to bring all of their relatives and family members, too.

How can Mr. Obama be mad at them just because they crossed over some arbitrary man-made border? They were there only to do the things that regularly invited guests didn't want to do. (Like hang out with Joe Biden.)

How can the White House punish these poor oppressed undocumented visitors?

Abso-freaking-lutely brilliant. Now why, oh why, didn't I think of that??

He's Walking.

And surely, no one needs to ask "who?"

This video was captured about 4 days ago on the live Pandacam:

And...

For the two or three of you on the entire planet who haven't seen this one yet:

I Am Speechless.

His Chubbiness Has A Name Now.

At 104 days old, The Chubster today received his official name, chosen from thousands of suggestions submitted from all over the world.

He is Yun Zi, which means "son of cloud." Quite appropriate, since his mother's name, Bai Yun, means "white cloud."

Steve Wozniak On A Segway.

No, that's not the newest curse.

I just saw it. On the sidewalk in front of Walgreen's. No, really. Honest.

That Was Fun.

I hadn't been to a bonfire on Carmel Beach in YEARS.

Which, of course, means I had forgotten a few things. Such as, to bring a flashlight, because it's DARK down there. Fortunately, Naomi had one, and she lit my way back to the stairs, and up to the street. I took it from there.

Another reminder to self, for next time. Shish-kebab skewers do not make very good marshmallow or hot dog roasters. They're too short.

And vegetarian hot dogs (nice thought anyway, Rebecca) do not roast well. They just kind of turn black on the outside while still staying cool on the inside. They also have a disconcerting tendency to tear, and thus fall right off the skewers into the fire. Next time, it's the real thing, and some bent-out wire coat hangers. Or even a toasting fork.

But the smores were GREAT. I had two of them and decided if I ate any more, it'd be a sugar coma for sure. Right there on the beach.

And a big thank-you to Liz, who couldn't come, but provided the firewood anyway. And the guys at the next bonfire over, who enthusiastically shared their lighter fluid. (I think pyromania is a natural by-product of the Y chromosome.)

And it must be a function of people older than me, to NOT like their toasted marshmallows well-burnt. That's the best part--catching them on fire.

It's Hard Work Being Cute

This must be why His Chubbiness sleeps so much....

(He gets his real official name next Tuesday.)

Look, Ma, Got Teeth!

You really need to go watch the video to get the full effect.

During his weekly veterinary exam, he actually barked at the staff, and then tried to crawl right off the table.

Now, honestly, is there anything at all cuter on the face of this earth?

No Traction.

The poor lil' guy is trying desperately to locomote, but his little back feet just keep slipping out from under.

I reckon if I were trying to crawl on shredded bamboo, I might keep going splat too.





He's trying so hard he's practically standing on his head.

Writers, Start Your Engines.

Yes, it's National Novel Writing Month again already.

Fire up those laptops, and get thee to a local write-in!

Now This Is Just Toooo Funny.

Kind of like FAIL blog for engineering geeks. It's called There, I fixed it, and features photos of epic kludges and jury rigs.

To whet your appetite... here's just one sample:



Hat tip: Lois McMaster Bujold, one of my all-time favorite authors, who did not pay me to link to her site.