Two of the butterflies we raised from caterpillars had emerged from their chrysalis this morning when we got up.  How cool is that?  They’re gorgeous.  I’ll try to post pictures later, but they really won’t do them justice since I’m trying to take them through the enclosure.  Here’s someone else’s picture of what they look like if you’re curious.

http://butterflybutterfly.com/images/american%20painted%20lady.JPG

We’ve also finally managed find some garden snails, but they are super tiny.  Piper found them yesterday when she and Tim were looking for pill pugs.  Yes, all of these creatures are currently living in our house.  Theoretically, I guess you would only have one at a time, but we couldn’t find the snails, the butterflies take 2 weeks, and this week is isopods.  You get the idea.  We’re going to have a mass release this weekend and they can all go back to their natural habitats.

Hopefully we’ll have 3 more butterflies in the next few days!

Ok, Ok, I know – I don’t write anything for months and then you get two political rants in a row. I just completed my self-imposed week long news blackout (it was painful) and what is the one of first stories that I see? That a Michigan Federal District Court Judge has ruled illegal the President’s domestic wiretapping program (oh sorry, in Republican speak the “Terrorist Surveillance Program”). It is about time. But that’s not the point of my rant – this is:

“It’s an appallingly bad decision by a district court judge who is very much out of the mainstream,” said David Rivkin, a former associate White House counsel in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. “It is certain to be overturned.”

Of all the power grabs that this administration has made, this quote illustrates the one that I will never forgive. Judges are not supposed to be part of the “mainstream”! Judges must be separate, impartial, just. Decisions in courts of the non-Kangaroo variety must be made based on the facts and the arguments of the opposing attorneys. By waging a propaganda war against the Judicial branch this Administration weakens the legitimacy of our entire government. “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” By belittling the venue that the People use to enact justice, the Republican party is in effect denigrating the Will of the governed. By pursuing a policy of attacking “Activist Judges” who are “out of the mainstream” this government skates ever closer to losing the consent of the governed and thus the just source of its powers.

I haven’t posted a political cartoon in quite a while. But the latest foiled terrorist attempt got me wondering what other items will soon be banned from the cabin. Honestly, I know Chemistry was not my favorite subject in college but even I remember that most compounds that exist in an aqueous solution can usually be dried and reconstituted by adding water. Are airlines not supposed to provide drinks in-flight? No water in the lav? Come on now. So this leads me to my latest subject: Flying the “Friendly” Skies. We have nothing to fear but brassiere itself…

If it wasn’t firmly established before, it certainly is now. I’m hard on kitchen appliances. This probably has something to with the fact that I actually use them. Sometimes I think manufacturers test based on the person who lets them collect dust most of the time. Why am I bringing this up? I have officially killed yet another blender. This wasn’t even an ultra-cheap blender. I turned it on to make pesto yesterday and it didn’t even really start, just died. I haven’t even been what I would call particularly abusive to this one – mainly smoothies. I do have a food processor after all. The one appliance that actually holds up for me through thick and thin. Yeah Cuisinart! Anyhow, I’m pondering a Vitamix. This is an obscenely expensive blender, but I’m pretty sure it can blend trees. I think my longest lasting blender has been around 2 years and they’ve all been relatively frustrating. Might be cheaper in the long run if I can master my inner cheapskate.