Sunbird

Birding field trip was very successful! Still working on sorting through my photos, but here are two nice ones of a White-crowned Sparrow who posed cooperatively: Update: I've now sorted through all my photos and will put the best ones up in a new post tomorrow.

I love learning new words! How did you come to learn about "pyrrhic victory"?

@Calderis I'm so sorry you're dealing with that crem. My advice is to keep notes about everything so that if necessary, you can prove with documentation how the lender screwed you over.

I'm going on a group birding field trip tomorrow

Oh ok... I still don't remember it, so I think I probably skimmed it.

Just had to share this ROFL-worthy ATLA meme:

@Briar King Skipped the scene in book 5 because I knew it was there ahead of time. I don't recall a similar scene in Skin Game.

No worries, Wilson.

Sounds like we're all set then! @RippleGylf, since we haven't met before, I have short dark hair and glasses, and today I'm wearing a solid blue dress. And of course I'll have a pizza box and a 2-liter of root beer. See you both in the Cougareat tonight at 7!

@Who Sharded? Most of the Dresden books are like that, but Fool Moon is an outlier and has waaaay more than the others.

It actually took me two tries to finish the Dresden Files... First time around I read book 1 and got partway through book 2 before putting it down because I couldn't handle the excessive F-bombs everywhere. I was sad about it for several years, though, because I loved Dresden as a protagonist, and eventually restarted the series after I had begun college. On my second attempt I made it through all the currently-released books, and I'm very happy that I gave the series another try.

You know you're a Sanderfan when a non-Sanderson fantasy book starts talking about glass daggers and swords, and you are immediately reminded of Vin and her glass daggers.

I think the guy must be mentally disturbed. Normal people cringe at images of animal cruelty, but this guy took photos of his gruesome work and plastered them all over his social media. (No, I haven't seen the photos, and I'm glad I haven't.) He seems to have no capacity for empathy at all. This is all too true... Many times I have heard other birdwatchers say that the best way to get funds for wildlife conservation of any given species is to make it hunt-able. Apparently the government only cares about preserving birds that they can make money off of from hunting permits. Exactly. This isn't the first time in my memory that people have gotten off with a slap on the wrist for killing critically endangered birds. Some idiot shot 2 Whooping Cranes in Texas last year, and he got a fine, community service, and suspended firearm and hunting privileges. No jail time. According to the article I linked, that's only the 2nd time someone's ever been convicted and punished for killing a Whooping Crane, despite the fact that more than 20 of the birds had been shot and killed in the last 5 years before the article was published. That's just as awful! Maybe even worse, since the wildfire could have killed a lot of people too, depending on how far it might've spread. There is a petition online demanding that the university expel the albatross killer. It has over 32,000 signatures already, and I signed it too. That's still not a severe enough punishment; in my opinion, this cremhole deserves at least a decade in prison for such a cruel, senseless, and far-reaching crime.

@Oversleep Similarly, Dan Wells says the most hate mail he gets is for killing a cat in one of the John Cleaver books. Never mind the other murders and the torture he inflicted on human characters; everyone gets bent out of shape over the one cat.

I need a hug. Heard on the news that some sick, twisted, complete cremhole garbage excuse for a human being went into a wildlife refuge in Hawaii and not only slaughtered but also dismembered 15 nesting Laysan Albatrosses, smashing their eggs in addition to the adults. Before the rampage there were only 300 of these birds left in the WORLD. They mate for life and only lay a single egg per year, so it's incredibly difficult for them to repopulate. 50 years will probably pass before the world population of Laysan Albatrosses reaches 300 again. Wanna guess how the perpetrator is being punished? Maximum one year in jail, and his college, New York University, intends to let him continue attending once he's out. I am simultaneously furious and heartbroken beyond words.

Probably more cost effective to just bring a pizza since there are only 3 of us this time. I can get a pepperoni and root beer from Little Caesar's if everyone is ok with that? @RippleGylf Does that sound good?

So it looks like attendees this week will be just me, @little wilson, and @RippleGylf ?

Congrats @Left, @The Flash, @Elenion, and @StrikerEZ on your successes with AP tests!! I have another small batch of hummingbird photos to share Rufous Hummingbirds (2 photos): Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (3 photos): Black-chinned Hummingbird (1 photo): Female hummer that I'm not 100% sure what species she is:

Every year on Peter's birthday, people change their display names to something with "Ookla" in it (For example, I was Ookla the Flighty this year), and figuring out who is posting what becomes a fun puzzle. I don't know exactly how it started, but it's a tradition now. Usually lasts a week or so, until people get bored of it.

What I wanna know is why Zas still has an Ookla username.

That's fantastic, Budgie! Congratulations!!

Hummingbirds I took these pictures on the 4th of July, and they're all of males because the males are the prettiest. XD Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (2 photos): Black-chinned Hummingbirds (2 photos): Rufous Hummingbird (1 photo):

@RippleGylf Looks good for me!

Re: fireworks, I saw a news story about a BYU professor whose house caught on fire and sustained serious damage after a burning firework landed on his roof. It burned out his whole upstairs office and destroyed tons of valuable research materials. Fireworks are fun, but sometimes people are unbelievably stupid with them.

Good luck on your interview!! I hope you get the job, since from your description it sounds like a great fit for you. Also high five for escaping a toxic boss!