Other Winds of Note

Most Americans are familiar with the dry Santa Ana winds of Southern California. They result from the buildup of air pressure in the high-altitude Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. When upper level winds are favorable, this high altitude air mass spills out of the Great Basin and is propelled gravitationally towards the southern California coastline, generally as a northeasterly wind.

Hear are some other famous wind patterns from around the world:

• Chinook - Dry, warm westerly wind of the North American Rocky Mountains.
• Pampero - Northwesterly summer wind of the Andes.
• Puna - Violent winds of the Peruvian Puna district which last for four months.
• Samiel - Suffocating, sand-laden wind of the Sahara and Arabian deserts.
• Bora - Violent and bitter winter wind on the Adriatic Sea.
• Helm - Cold, northeasterly wind in the Vale of Eden.
• Harmattan - Violent and very dry winter wind of the African interior.
• Bise - cold north Alpine wind.
• Williwaw - Violent cold seaward wind associated with the Straits of Magellan.
• Samoor - The south wind of Persia, which ‘softens the strings of lutes’.

Famous Swords: Arondight

In the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot is one of the Knights of the Round Table. In most of the French romances and works, he is characterized as the greatest and most trusted of Arthur's knights, and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories – but Arthur's eventual downfall is also brought about in part by Lancelot, whose affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere destroys the unity of Arthur's court. Sir Lancelot named his legendary sword Arondight.

Today in History - March 9

On March 09, 1074 (934 years ago) all married Roman Catholic priests were excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII.

Our New Neighbors

Recently, we’ve been seeing some small birds fluttering around our hanging plant baskets in the front of our house. We just assumed they were drinking the water that had collected in the baskets. Last night, I was getting one of the baskets down to water it and a bird flew out of the thing when I went to grab it! I carefully took it down, and found the reason why the birds have been hanging around:

To give you some scale, the eggs are slightly larger than jelly beans. I know it’s just a bird’s nest, but this thing amazes us! Just think how many trips those little birds had to make to get all those sticks and straws up into the basket, and then form it into an almost perfectly round nest. I guess they didn’t approve of the shoddy birdhouse I built in the backyard. Or maybe they were just looking for a better location with a nicer view. Anyhow, we’re excited to have some new neighbors.

We were careful not to touch the nest or the eggs, and after we gave the plant some water we cautiously hung the basket back up. I knew the parents were concerned about their new home, because one of them tried to fly back to the basket before I got it all the way hung up!

As it turns out, the nest is right in front of our bedroom window, so later in the spring I’m sure we’ll hear the tiny screeches of baby birds in the morning. I don’t think it will bother us, though, because we’ve got parakeets that love to sing and screech, and we can pretty much tune them out.

We’ll keep a careful eye on our new neighbors, and I’ll let you know when the birdsong starts up!

Famous Swords: Crocea Mors

According to the legends presented by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Julius Caesar’s sword was given the name Crocea Mors (Latin for "Yellow Death"). The British prince Nennius acquired the sword when, during hand-to-hand combat with Caesar, it became lodged in his shield.

The sword killed everyone Nennius struck with it. Nennius died fifteen days after the battle from a head wound inflicted by Caesar, and the sword was buried with him.

Ben Goes Fantasy Fishing

That's right! Today I signed up for ESPN's BASS Challenge Fantasy Fishing. I have to admit I signed up because it sounded completely wacky, but it looks pretty cool. It's no different than Fantasy Golf - you basically pick a team of pros and their tournament performance determines your score. You can change anglers at any time (except during tournaments) if you've got a poor performer. Unfortunately, I signed up late, so I'll be missing the first tournament. The boat above belongs to Kevin VanDam, the star of my team.

I'm still trying to decide if fishing is a sport, and I could be persuaded either way. There's real elements of skill involved, fierce competition, specialized techniques and equipment, big money and sponsorships. On the other hand, there's no high school or NCAA fishing teams (at least as far as I know) so it's kind of an insider's game. You don't have to be physically fit (outside of having enough muscle to lift the fish) and honestly -- couldn't I have a good day and feasibly do just as well as these guys?

I guess it all comes down to the audience. No one wants to watch someone else do something they could do just as well, and these events draw big crowds and lots of viewers. These people have to respect the talent and skill of the competitors, or they wouldn't watch. So the jury's still out.

Anyway, you can get your own Fantasy Fishing team here. If you want to join my group and compete against me, type "fish on!" in the search bar or click here. See you at the lake!

Famous Swords: Gram

In Norse mythology, Sigurd is the central character in the Völsunga saga. Sigurd's sword, Gram, was originally forged by Weyland the Smith for Sigurd's father, Sigmund, who received it in the hall of the Volsung after pulling it out of a log into which the god Odin had stuck it—nobody else could pull it out.

By the time Sigurd received his father's sword it was in pieces. He asked his stepfather Regin (a gifted smither) to reforge it, and the resulting sword was so powerful it clove an anvil in half. Regin then sent Sigurd to kill the dragon Fafnir and recover the treasure that was stolen from Regin's father. Sigurd kills the dragon by digging a pit under a trail that leads to a stream and plunging his sword into the dragon’s heart. Regin, however, corrupted by the cursed gold, plans to kill Sigurd and take the treasure for himself. Sigurd learns of this plot and ends up killing Regin.

Why Women Live Longer

So you know women have a higher life expectancy rate than men, right? Some "experts" might try to tell you that men don't live as long due to one or more of the following reasons:

• Men generally have higher levels of testosterone, insulin, and other anabolics that cause oxidative stress.
• On average, men consume more tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
• Men tend to be more aggressive, and thus more likely to encounter violence.
• Men take more risks when they drive cars or motorcycles.
• Men only have one X-chromosome, which makes them more prone for X-linked hereditary diseases.

Phooey on all that! I've discovered the real reason why women live longer... and here's my evidence:

Famous Swords: Morglay

Sir Bevis of Hampton was a real Anglo-Saxon hero whose strange adventures were told all over England. The famous sword, Morglay, with which he won so many battles, is still kept as a relic in Arundel Castle. He was one of the first to fight against the new forces from Europe that were trying to conquer England.

Morglay, the magic sword that could never be broken, was given to him by Josian, a princess and childhood friend of Bevis whom he later marries. You can click here to read the complete tale of Sir Bevis.

Things to ponder...

I hate forwarding junk emails - so if I receive one and it's got some decent content I usually just post it here. I recently received a list of so-called "ponderisms" from my Supervisor (forwarded, of course) and I thought a couple of them were pretty good.

• How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
• If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
• Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
• Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
• If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?
• Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
• Why does a round pizza come in a square box?