Mary and I are going to spend a few lazy days near a big lake, and we’re also going to hang out for a bit with Iris. She’s been offline for a year and a half, for a good reason. Anyone have any questions, best wishes, etc., that they’d like to pass along?
I might also do a little spider hunting. A Great Lake must have Great Spiders, right?
Tell Iris I miss her and take every opportunity I get to throw rocks at squirrels.
(I always miss them, too.)
Tell her I say and hope things work out for her.
Oooh! I miss Iris!
Please tell her that I care for her and that I still think of her. Her intelligent and interesting contributions to our discussions have always been appreciated, and if/when she ever feels free to resume them I would very much enjoy hearing from her.
In the meantime, I send my very, very best wishes.
Tell Iris I miss her voice, her intellect, the wonderful way she puts words together, her sense of humor, and her attitude, and that I wish her the very best in whatever her endeavors are now. I continue to hope she’ll come back to us, and check the blog periodically for any change, like looking hopefully over a fence in your old neighborhood.
The mildly deranged penguin is currently trying to develop a squirrel-and-spider-proof cheeseboard, but is having problems with the defense against peas and keeps pew pewing herself. Sorry, Iris, that means your delivery of a We Miss You cheese gift might be a bit delayed…
I’d just like to echo what psanity said above. I miss Iris and hope she can return some day.
Duluth doesn’t have Great spiders, it has Superior spiders.
(Also, best wishes to Iris.)
May I suggest you bring has reading material for the trip. Gore Vidal’s novel Duluth.
I recall some very large hairy spiders living the basement (and occasionally visiting the Redhead and me while watching TV) when I lived in Dah YooPee a few decades ago. Good luck with your arachnid hunting.
Tell Iris I miss her
Totally seconded but I have no problem with squirrels, they live all over the place. I often watch one run across the power lines to get to my house.
I’ve missed Iris. Hope all is well with her, or at worst acceptably not-well
Duluth
Have to admit that while I knew the name, I had to use Google Maps to find it. I think Mom was there once.
If you are that close, come up and visit Thunder Bay. I have not been there in a long time but when I was there the Finnish food was great.
Good riddance! Enjoy a few more days!
At least a week or two.
Everyone deserves at least a couple of weeks off, without a certain airline continuing its fine and new tradition of screwing passengers.
I’d love to say that I’d love a sabbatical, but alas, I’d not enjoy such free time.
I actually enjoy mass personal interactions, despite the currently near-toxic environment and do enjoy using my mind to work.
In that PZ and other peers find novel fields to explore, my honest envy!
Saw an interesting article on wasps attacking Asian bees, the bees allow the wasp in, enrobe it and via muscle contractions at a higher frequency, destroy it via overtemperature.
The argument being evolved response, have my opinion there, crosslinking a response to predator or parasite, overheat and kill them. A pheromone was released by the wasp to precipitate it.
OK, simple question, adjust a response, via survival, to a specific predator, survive, can’t figure out how that species survived.
Bills to sarcasimometers, via PZ to me. ;)
I met up with Iris this morning — she’s looking great and doing well. She wants to get back to blogging sometime, but I told her there’s no hurry and her first priority is taking care of herself. I also told her to read this thread to cheer her up sometime.
Hi, Iris!
****hugs**** if you want them.