Category: ABQjournal

It’s not just me!

Apparently all my navel gazing might just be “scientific” because, according to yesterday’s ABQjournal, I’m not the only one interested in minutiae.

Click here to read: A Fly’s Mind Not So Simple.

Yes, Los Alamos scientists have been studying how the brain of a common housefly works.

“For decades, researchers have studied how the neurons of flies and other subjects have processed and responded to the world.”

Decades!

Hell, they even took the flies on a little field trip to the woods of Princeton, New Jersey with teeny tiny little electrodes attached to their teeny tiny little heads.

I mean, that’s some good microscopic work!

Now if they could only tell me where all the CalTrain punched numbers go!

The only constant is change

I’m way too late to this party, but that’s ok. Here’s the old news:

The venerable Albuquerque Tribune published its last edition on Saturday, February 23.

Albuquerque’s afternoon paper had been around 86 years. Quite a run, actually.

I always liked the Trib, their comics were way better, at least back in the day. Plus, when I was home after school, but before my folks got home, I could dash out, read the comics, fold it back up right and all was good. I always got the morning Journal after it has been thoroughly read and smudged by both parents and siblings. Kind of a weird memory, I admit.

I found the writing style and layout of the Trib more accessible then the ABQJournal. I admit it was often the “light” news source, but it was my preference.

We may see it again in a different incarnation, but for now, it’s a story that goes quiet.

Goodbye, old friend. Sad to see you go the way of many other dailies that couldn’t make it work in this Internet era.

*sigh*

It’s all good

Ah poor, poor tragically beautiful and misguided Jessica Alba. She’s gone and got herself on the fighting side of my fair New Mexico. Or more specifically, the Duke City.

As reported by Jim Belshaw last week in his ABQJournal opinion piece.

From the article:

“Ms. Alba said: ‘In Albuquerque there’s really only one restaurant that’s pretty good. You can only take Applebee’s and Chili’s so much. Our big day was hanging out at Wal-Mart for five hours. It was like, ‘Yea, Wal-Mart!’ ”’

Ok, fair enough. I embrace the state of my state’s own rasquacheness, however, I found it an odd comment about Albuquerque. I mean, there’s more than THAT to do.

Well, to parrot Paul Harvey, now for the rest of the story…

Seems this young lady was a guest of the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in preparation for her latest movie release, “The Eye“. This was her time in New Mexico to which she was referring.

See, the funny thing is, NMSBVI is located in Alamogordo, not Albuquerque.

Now, I could get my Land of Enchantment up, all in a dander on behalf of BOTH Albuquerque and Alamogordo.

But why? Over the weekend, I talked a lot with my friend about how New Mexico is growing way too fast. Lots of those dang Californians (like me) selling their overvalued houses and buying up less expensive land. And bringing our bad attitude with us.

I figure Ms. Alba did us a favor, right? It’s good PR. Yeah, folks, the state’s largest City has only one, like, good restaurant. And only Wal-Mart for entertainment. That’s right! Who would want to live in a place like *that*, eh? Move along folks, I hear Idaho is fabulous this time of year.

Thanks Jessica! You just keep on being our PR agent. kay?

*Hugs*,

The fine people of New Mexico.

Oh, and here’s some love from Google maps! Enjoy!

Get out and vote

If you are a Democrat, that is. If you are a Republican, you gotta wait until June.

Not gonna tell you how to vote or which way to lean or who I prefer.

Just sayin’, this is an interesting year. Votes count.

So vote, okay?

For my New Mexico friends, this by way of the ABQjournal, how to find your polling place.

Best line of the day**

(**Borrowing heavily from the NewMexiKen playbook, with acknowledgement)

Found in this brief story in the ABQjournal.

Background: a 24-year old man pleads guilty to shooting, from his moving vehicle no less, nine sheep or goats and one dog. That’s, count ’em, three felonies.

Shooting, for no good reason, really. Boredom? Borracho? Both?

“I have no idea what they were thinking, and I would venture a guess that they’re probably wondering what they were thinking then, too,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien said.

That gave me a chuckle over lunch at my desk. Hope it’s true. A little after-the-fact remorse is a good thing, in this case.