Beetles, chickens, reptiles, and stringed instruments

Ho ho ho. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld have slime-mold beetles named after them.

British covert nuke was to use live chickens! (via Electrolite).

Okay, in other news, our house is clean. I contributed by organizing my desk and bookshelf, cleaning the kitchen, and scrubbing the tub.

Alexander took steps today with Sarah holding his hands. He sort of tiptoed across the carpet as she shifted his weight.

We had fun this morning when I played the guitar for him. Sarah asked me not to take it out on the deck.

Oh, yes. Gentle reader, I play the acoustic guitar, and have since fall 2000. Not that I'm getting that great, but I have made up a decent song or two and enjoy playing rhythms as fast as I can. I recently bought myself a glass slide to experiment with. I can't read music well, but I can pick out melodies.

I play once a month at church with my rockin buddies. I am the lead vocal and rhythm guitar. My runner friend Paul plays electric, his wife Stacy sings, Mark plays the bass, Tom is on drums, and Kirsten plays the piano. My wife used to sing before we had Alex. We are all trying to get her to come back. She just needs someone to watch our son at practice and during the service.

We're reading Lemony Snicket II, The Reptile Room. Man, these books are tense. Everything I would say is a spoiler, but for raw fear and unfortunate events, for kids, these are second to nothing I have ever read. A+.