Timber!

Sometimes I wonder if our house is haunted. You'll recall the famous exploding microwave incident. Then a few months ago, I turned on the light and the lightbulb exploded with such force that the glass fixture around the lightbulb ALSO shattered. Fortunately, nobody was injured in either incident.

The most recent one was potentially the worst. I opened the back gate on Thursday evening, coming home from work. And I notice in our back patio some bits of wood.

LOTS of wood. Like about 1/3 of a very tall tree.

We were lucky. The top of the tree segment that came down barely brushed against the roof - it chipped some paint and slightly dented a storm gutter. Another big section came to rest against our french doors - but didn't damage it, just a glancing blow.

Two feet difference and we could have had real damage like a caved-in roof.

Another Difference Between the US and Australia

This morning we went to Manuka to meet some friends for coffee and pastries. Manuka was even more packed than usual on a Sunday morning because a bunch of football fans were in town from Sydney - the Sydney Swans (Aussie rules football) play a couple of "home" games a year in Canberra at Manuka Oval, and today is one of those games.

So we're strolling down the crowded sidewalks, weaving our way thru the coffee-swilling fans and chatting, and I say "oh and there's the Prime Minister."

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, chatting with some guy in front of the bookshop in Manuka. There were a couple of guys nearby with earphones and that was it. Nothing between me and Rudd at all - I passed within three feet of him.

Needless to say, you couldn't stroll by the President in quite such a casual way without passing thru a metal detector at a minimum...

Beware Cars with Bumper Stickers?

This is interesting. A social psychologist William Szlemko at Colorado State University has been studying cars with what he calls "territorial markers" - things like bumper stickers, personalized license plates, and the like.

And he has found that they "not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage -- by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior."

In other words, people with "territorial markers" are more likely to show road rage than those without such signs. While people WITHOUT such things still get mad at the other jerks on the road, but are less likely to show it by flipping somebody off or tailgating them at high speeds for 50 miles.

Pretty interesting. I won't draw any conclusions here - but the next time you see an aggressive or road-raging driver, see if he's got a bumper sticker or a "baby on board" thingie or his own clever personalized license plates. Think of it as science.

Bye Bye, Bo

Rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley has strummed his last chord.

The world will be a slightly quieter - not in a good way - place without him. So long, Bo.