The most unusual year I can remember -

[longedge]

- weather/flora/fauna-wise.

Some of the things that stick in my mind because they've been abnormal - wasps, bluebells, cuckoos, cherries, runner-beans, wasps, apples, conkers (horse chestnuts), sweet chestnuts, acorns, wasps, fungi (I've never seen so many, some straight out of a fairy tale), oh and wasps.

Is it just around our way or has it been an unusual summer anywhere else?

[Corey]

No, it's not just you, we had a fairly odd one here. Not too great. Farmer's are kind of miffed, I guess the frost got them this year and signs for next year aren't good either. The times, they are a changing.

Mt. St. Helens going off was definitely not normal either. There were thousands of tiny earthquakes in the last couple months across Washington, Nevada, Oregon...

I also uncovered 2-3 grey hairs this year. I regret to report in one central spot along my temple too, so I guess one can assume I'm soon going to be one of those guys with all dark hair except for a thin white stripe down the temple. GARF! Now that burns me up. Volcanoes I can take but a Ricardo Montalban stripe is *over the line*. I mean sheesh, once the stripe is in I'm going to have to start speaking with a Castillian accent, waxing my calves, hanging out at juice bars. Oh, the humanity.

I think I'll make my catch phrase, "Splendifico" and I'll say it real low and slow like George Takei. Splennnndificoooo... I also plan to master the two handed shake so people will know that I care about them right off the bat. :yes

Oh yeah, scented double gloss business cards too. In fact once the stripe grows in I'm soaking everything I own in Old Spice, including the red RX7 I'll be financing. (Here in Canada it's illegal for anyone with a white stripe down their temple to own anything, especially a red RX7, however they are required to finance one. Not financing a red RX7 once your stripe has grown in is a mandatory 3-5 but there's like a 6 month grace period I've heard)

I'm also going to wear nothing but wool sweaters that smell like soap and carry a large ceramic coffee mug everywhere I go just for looks. Hey, it's starting to sound not too bad now that I see it in print like that. [waves eyebrows]

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[eric_darling]

Well, there were the four major hurricanes (http://www.floridadisaster.org/) that all tortured the coast of Florida this year....

Record rainfall (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/html/wetsept04.shtml) over many parts of the eastern half of the country - including where I live...

Record drought (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040618/news_2n18drought.html) in the west...

But moreover, and besides just these most recent weather trends, are scientists from all over the globe who almost universally agree that emissions from coal burning power plants and vehicles are contributing in a significant way to global warming and thus further disturbances in weather trends. Perhaps the most long-term detrimental impact of the current U.S. administration's all-too-well-cloaked anti-environmental policy (http://www.thinkingpeace.com/pages/Articles/Archive1/arts089.html) (an article which ran last year in Rolling Stone Magazine) will mean much more dangerous problems.

Anyhoo - those who say there's "no such thing" as global warming are just plain ignorant or callous, soulless bastards. Vote tomorrow, people of the US.

[longedge]

Anyhoo - those who say there's "no such thing" as global warming are just plain ignorant or callous, soulless bastards.

I've grown very cynical over the years and don't really believe anything that I'm told especially by 'the Media'. My motto is "Believe that which you know to be true." The evidence for fairly drastic climatic changes has been right in front of our eyes this year though. I just wonder if our winter is going to carry on where the summer left off with some surprises for the kids here who don't know what a proper covering of snow looks like brrrrrr.


I also uncovered 2-3 grey hairs this year.
:lol I suppose that to some extent, change is inevitable though. I gave in gracefully to the spread of grey hairs quite a few years ago. I now experience a strange feeling of looking at my mother (she had silvery white hair) when I look in the mirror. There was a time when I was rather more concerned about the fact that not only was it turning grey, but a lot of it was in my hair brush, the bath, my pillow - in fact anywhere except where it was supposed to be! My colleague who once upon a time used to come up behind me and carefully polish my bald spot now has far less hair than me so it's not all bad - hohum....