it's been almost two years since I posted here

wow. that's a long time.

Remlinger Farm 7/5

Audrey in the strawberry field. It was the end of the season, so there weren't many berries left, but Audrey managed to find a couple for her mouth.

My first blog post to...

My first blog post to my phone using Jott.com. listen

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Vatican Chief Astronomer acknowledges ET

Alf and Mork will be relieved.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004412247_aliens14.html

“Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.”

only a real procrastinator will get it

Great piece from Slate writer Seth Stevenson, but only a real procrastinator will get it. http://www.slate.com/id/2190918/

Rocker Neil Young is singing new tune: Southern Spider-Man

A new species of spider has been named “Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi” in honor of rock star Neil Young (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004409861_spiderman13.html). The spider is indigenous to Alabama. I find quite a bit of irony in that fact-- A spider from the South, Alabama no less, is named after Neil Young. You know, the guy that wrote the song Southern Man. The song that prompted southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd to write the song Sweet Home Alabama to tell ole Neil just what they thought of him.

Well I heard mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow

So I wonder Lynyrd Skynrd might have to say about this. Maybe “we squashes them bugs down here”.

Practice does not make perfect.

I took karate lessons when I was in middle school. Frequently the sensei would say "Practice does not make perfect." It was always when he saw one of the students performing a move sloppily or wrong. As he was kindly correcting the student, he would follow-up with "Perfect practice makes perfect."

I always thought that was sort or profound, and made it a lot of sense. I was only tweleve then, but it still rings true today.

One practices to improve and become better at a skill. Obviously when you start practicing something new -- karate, a musical instrument, mathematics, whatever -- you won't be perfect right from the beginning. You still need to try your hardest to do it correctly when you practice, otherwise your practice won't make you perfect. It will make you be flawed in whatever way you practice imperfectly.

Is there anything you can practice incorrectly, and still become perfect at it? If you can change the "rules of the game" as you go along, then perhaps. But, I think it's unlikely that someone who practices playing the trumpet incorrectly will invent a new kind of jazz.