The Lemming Regrets ...

Apparently the circumstances are of a technical nature: something to do with a computer and preventive maintenance. Also mentioned by the Lemming: contemplation; a Nero Wolfe novel; and an easy chair.

Meanwhile, the Lemming suggests that readers look on the bright side: the Lemming could have asked Narcissus-X back as a guest blogger.


(Narcissus-X, proffering plenteous provisos. (August 14, 2015)

More — and less — related posts:

• "The Lemming Will Be Back"
  (September 28, 2015)
• "Escape From Klagfinster Poster"
  (September 25, 2015)
• "Island Flight"
  (September 11, 2015)
• "Speak Softly - - -"
  (September 4, 2015)
• "Narcissus-X Proffers Plenteous Provisos"
  (August 14, 2015)

The Lemming Will Be Back

First, the good news. The Lemming will be back.

Maybe that's not good news. It depends on your viewpoint, but the Lemming thing's it's a 'plus.'

Now, not-so-good news. The Lemming needs a vacation. More accurately, the Lemming is taking a vacation. It started several hours ago.

The Lemming shall return. There might even be something ready by Friday. Then again, maybe there won't. That depends on what the Lemming runs into during the next few days.

That didn't come out right. The Lemming doesn't run into things. Not that way. It depends on what the Lemming finds that might conceivably be of some interest.

No, that's too wordy.

The Lemming definitely needs a vacation, and will be back — as soon as the Lemming gets back, and not a minute sooner.

Lemming Tracks: It's Friday?!

For those loyal folks who reasonably expected to see a post this morning: the Lemming offers sincere, contrite, and belated apologies.

There's a very good explanation for why Friday morning's post didn't show up.

The Lemming didn't write it.

At a hastily-arranged meeting, the Lemming explained that today being Friday slipped the Lemming's mind. It's been 'that sort of a week.'

And, let's face it: the Lemming is a bit fuzzy around the head at the best of times.

There will probably be a post ready tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that. Or sometime before next Friday.

At least, that's the plan.



All-too-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks, or, the Lemming Did it Again"
  (July 20, 2012)
• "Friday the Lemming Slept Late"
  (June 29, 2012)
• "Lemming Tracks: A Change in Schedule"
  (May 14, 2012)
• "Where is the Lemming?"
  (February 13, 2012)
• "Lemming Tracks: Change in Schedule"
  (October 3, 2011)

Where is the Lemming?

The Lemming hasn't forgotten about the Monday morning post. It's been deliberately ignored.

Here's why: Life has happened with high frequency over the weekend. Nothing major, just a horde of minor stuff.

So, the 'Monday' post for this blog didn't get done. The same goes for another blog, and that's another topic.

The Lemming plans to get something posted later today.

Top 10 Blog Design Mistakes

"Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes"
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox (October 17, 2005)

"Blogs are a form of website. The thousands of normal website usability guidelines therefore apply to them, as do this year's top ten design mistakes. But weblogs are also a special genre of website; they have unique characteristics and thus distinct usability problems.

"One of a weblog's great benefits is that it essentially frees you from 'Web design.' You write a paragraph, click a button, and it's posted on the Internet. No need for visual design, page design, interaction design, information architecture, or any programming or server maintenance...."

Yes, the Lemming noticed: That page is more than six years old. Back then, we had wood-burning computers: so you might think there's no point in following that link.

Quite a bit has changed since Google launched its Google Personalized Homepage and Correlate. On the other hand, the Lemming thinks folks are still plagued by the usability issues listed on Nielsen's page:

1. No Author Biographies
2. No Author Photo
3. Nondescript Posting Titles
4. Links Don't Say Where They Go
5. Classic Hits are Buried
6. The Calendar is the Only Navigation
7. Irregular Publishing Frequency
8. Mixing Topics
9. Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss
10. Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service

"Weblog Usability..." tells what each point means, and why it's important. If you're willing to overlook slightly-archaic words, like "weblog," the Lemming think you might find a useful reminder on that Alertbox page. Or, not.

Obviously, the Lemming doesn't follow all of Mr. Nielsen's advice: and that's another topic.

There's also a link to Jakob Nielsen's "Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design," which the Lemming also thinks is worth a look.

Allegedly-related posts:

• "Website Design, Smart Writing Techniques, and a Ranting Lemming"
  (November 30, 2011)
• "Psychology of Web Design: Not At All Bad as an Introduction"
  (May 24, 2010)
• "Link List of Resources for Website Designers"
  (November 13, 2009)
• "Are Moods Really Blue? Color, Psychology, and Culture"
  (May 21, 2008)
• "Hiring a Web Guy? Be Careful Who You Hire"
  (March 4, 2008)

Lemming Tracks: New Computer!

My son-in-law got my wife a climbing wall for Christmas - and a new computer for me.

Whee! My wife's in the basement right now - from the sounds of it, probably skittering across the wall. There's a lot of laughter coming up the stairs.

Climbing wall? Basement?? With seven-foot ceilings, it's more of a horizontal than a vertical climb.

The new computer is - a whole lot better than what I was working with. Which was a custom-made job, and quite powerful. Five years ago. When it comes to information technology, a whole lot happens in five years.

The big deal, at the moment, is that the old computer is awaiting a new assignment: and the new one is now on speaking terms with my webcam.

The video feed of which is displayed at Small Town America: Minnesota, "Sauk Centre, Minnesota: near the corner of Ash Street and South 9th."

If you follow that link and don't find live video: remember, I'm in the Central time zone, near the middle of the North American continent. And it's winter.

Under normal conditions, I have the webcam offline for a few hours each evening.

Right now, with a new computer, it's not 'normal conditions,' so I may have run into another, ah, situation.

Top Eight Goofiest Photos, 2010? Quite Likely

"The eight goofiest photos of 2010"
Robert Basler, Oddly Enough (December 13, 2010)

"I am thankful every single day for the photos I get to use in this blog.

"Without them, I would just be another doofus trying to describe goofy stuff in words, and who needs that?

"I'd be like, 'Oh man, you should have seen Hillary's face when Karzai pulled a quarter out of her ear!' Or like, 'Queen Elizabeth was so cheesed off when Prince Charles described that cockroach he found in his haggis!'

"Instead, you get to see this stuff for yourselves. A short guy enjoying the view at a beauty pageant, a workman using a jackhammer with his feet…..."

Like somebody said, 'you can't make this stuff up, folks.'

Well, maybe the haggis thing is exaggerated. Not the photo - that's in the blog. I mean the cockroach. Some of my forebears come from the land of haggis and thistles - and cockroaches are not part of the recipe.

Wait a minute. Prince Charles is an English prince. Maybe returning the Stone of Scone wasn't enough for some overwrought Scot, who expressed himself with a little extra protein for the prince.

Seriously? Robert Basler's got a rare talent for this sort of thing - and this collection could very well be the absolute goofiest photos of the year.

The Lemming thought the photos and commentary were funny. Your experience may vary.

Lemming Tracks: My Take on 'The Future'

The Lemming ran into another one of those 'what the future may be like' articles. There's the usual stuff: and I didn't think it warranted mention.

Besides, I want to brag about what I've done.

I plan to be back in a few hours, with micro-reviews of - whatever I find that's interesting.

Now, about my stuff. Maybe you already know about this blog's link page for posts about 'the future:'

• "The Future: Just Like Today, Only Different"

I started going back through this blog's posts in October, 2009, looking for posts that were about the future, one way or another. That took me all the way back to " 'The Future Isn't What it Used To Be' " (August 22, 2007).

I've been keeping "The Future: Just Like Today, Only Different" updated since then. The two most recent additions:

• Robots (and waldos)
  • "Driverless Van: Nifty Concept; Apparently Works"
    (October 28, 2010)
• "Future" technology
  • "Yves Rossy and His Flying Backpack"
    (October 30, 2010)

The Lemming, as I've discussed before, is "apathetic" only in the sense that I don't keep up with the crisis du jure.

As I point out in that "About the Lemming" page: "Since my priorities don't even come close to the stereotype Starbucks-frequenting, Armani-wearing, New York Times reader, I must be 'apathetic.' "

Also, since I was born during the Truman administration: I've been living in "the future" for quite some time now. It wasn't quite as-advertised. No food riots, the coming ice age didn't, and we still don't have a helicopter in every garage.

Probably just as well, in the case of those personal helicopters. Can you imagine what a traffic jam would be like?

The Future: All Good? All Bad?

The Lemming isn't fashionably pessimistic: I've seen too many 'end of civilization as we know it' predictions fizzle, and know a little too much about the last few billion years of Earth's history to get all that excited about statistical blips from the weather service. More about that in "Change, American Culture, Trilobites, Humanity's History, and the Big Picture," another link page.

The Lemming didn't retain the unreasonably rosy notion of Progress that was fading in my early years. But I didn't buy into the 'and we're all gonna die' attitude that followed it, either.

I mentioned my take on Progress in a post about the Gliese 581 planetary system. (October 4, 2010) And discussed it in a post in another blog: "The Pope, Science, and Technology: My Take," A Catholic Citizen in America (October 30, 2010))

Change Happens

One thing I've noticed, over the last half-century or so: Change happens.

I'm okay with that.

Silly Season

"Silly Season, LFTV, and Howard Leland"
Loonfoot Falls Chronicle-Gazette (August 20, 2010)

"Ever notice how, in August, you're more likely to see news about, say, off street parking or prize beagles on the front page? It's called the silly season. I read a post on Boston.com about this phenomenon: what Miriam Webster online says is 'a period (as late summer) when the mass media often focus on trivial or frivolous matters for lack of major news stories.'..."

This is another shameless plug for another blog. It's not the first time I've done a micro-review on one of my own posts. (August 8, 2010)

That "silly season" post in Loonfoot Falls Chronicle-Gazette is mostly about one of the fictional Minnesota town's more eccentric citizens, Howard Leland.

Now, about what another fellow wrote on Boston.com:

---

"August: The media's Silly Season"
Mark Leccese, Gatekeeper, Boston.com (August 19, 2010)

"Come August, the institutions to which the media devotes most if its time and toil are closed and gone fishin' — the government, the schools, the courts, big business. All that's left is the Red Sox and Tom Brady's unfortunate haircut.

"The British media, for 150 years, have been calling August the Silly Season, defined by Merriam Webster Online as 'a period (as late summer) when the mass media often focus on trivial or frivolous matters for lack of major news stories.'

"Two examples:

"* As of noon on Thursday, Google News listed 2,940 articles — that's right, from 2,940 different news outlets — on Brett Favre reporting to the training camp of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

"* A scant 833 articles from 833 different news outlets reported that Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler has been chosen (through what rigorous screening process I don't know) as a judge on 'American Idol.'

"Here in Boston, the fervor to report every last available detail and every response to the jail suicide of so-called Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff continues with Silly Season abandon...."

There's more. I think it helps if you live in the Boston area: but you'll probably enjoy reading what Mark Leccese has to say even if you've never been east of Kansas City.

The Lemming did, anyway.

And you'll learn a bit more of the phenomenon that's partly responsible for an outsize rat-thing being international news, earlier this month. (August 20, 2010)

Blogetery Shutdown: FBI, Al Qaeda, and a Hapless Employee

"Bomb-making tips, hit list behind Blogetery closure"
CNET (July 19, 2010)

"More details are surfacing about why Blogetery.com, a blogging platform that claimed to service more than 70,000 blogs, was mysteriously booted from the Internet by its Web-hosting company.

"The site was shut down after FBI agents informed executives of Burst.net, Blogetery's Web host, late on July 9 that links to al-Qaeda materials were found on Blogetery's servers, Joe Marr, chief technology officer for Burst.net, told CNET. Sources close to the investigation say that included in those materials were the names of American citizens targeted for assassination by al-Qaeda. Messages from Osama bin Laden and other leaders of the terrorist organization, as well as bomb-making tips, were also allegedly found on the server.

"But Marr said a Burst.net employee erred in telling Blogetery's operator and members of the media that the FBI had ordered it to terminate Blogetery's service. He said Burst.net did that on its own...."

I've enjoyed watching the occasional X-Files, and movies with titles like 'Aliens Stole My Uncle's Brain,' but on the whole I take conspiracy theories with a grain of salt. Several grains, actually.

I read about the Blogetery shutdown last Friday. Those 73,000 blogs had gone offline earlier this month, setting off some - imaginative - speculation.

The CNET article gives a pretty good explanation, I think, of what happened. Essentially, someone got nervous, emulated C3PO in the original Star Wars movie, and gave the order to shut down all the blogs on Blogetery: not just the one with with Al Qaeda's information on it.

I'm inclined to believe that explanation: people can do silly things, when we get excited.

Related posts:

• "Boletery Shutdown, WordPress, Al Qaeda, the FBI, and C3PO"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (July 19, 2010)
• "73,000 WordPress Blogs Go Silent: Blogetery Complies With Federal Demand"
  (July 16, 2010)

Food Allergies Bite - A New Blog About Healthy Food

Food Allergies Bite
"For those of us who can't eat certain foods, aren't all that great at cooking, and don't want to spend a fortune."

From the blog's "About page:

"There are a lot of blogs out there about food allergies and intolerances, so why another one? Because I'm not a very good cook and I'd like to be able to not only pronounce the ingredients that I use, but also afford them. In some cases, I'd settle for being able to find them.

"I figure I'm not the only one like that in the world, so this blog is dedicated to everyone who lives with a limited diet, a limited budget, and limited culinary skill. Trust me when I say that if I can get the recipes featured here to work, than you can, too.

"So what allergies am I going to focus on? Mainly the ones that apply to my family and myself. Most of them aren't, strictly speaking, allergies, as that word has a fairly narrow definition. But they're all foods that someone I know can't eat without extreme distress. A not entirely comprehensive list follows:..."

If you don't have to avoid gluten in what you eat: that's something to be glad about.

If you do have to watch what you eat - and it's not the standard-issue 'cholesterol is bad for you' thing - maybe you've noticed that quite a few how-2 websites and blogs offer detailed information and recipes.

Which involve ingredients whose names you've never heard of before.

And which, probably, you can't find in the grocery.

This is a new blog, written by a frustrated twenty-something woman who has finally had enough of gluten-free geekspeak. She's determined to provide no-nonsense, plain-English insights on what it takes to stay healthy: when you're not an "average" person.

A Serious Diet Meets the Holidays

"Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 99: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Serious Eaters"
Serious Eats (December 25, 2009)

"All right, all right, serious eaters. I am going to dispense with the usual blow-by-blow, bite-by-bite, food-by-food description of all the temptations I've been confronted by this holiday season, because let's face it, you've already heard most of it. And frankly, I'm sure all of you are tempted by the same kinds of things this holiday season.

"Everyone is confronted by too many cookies, too much chocolate, too many baked goods of every stripe imaginable...."

If I'm reading Mr. Levine's profile right, he lives in New York City. America is one of those places where food is quite inexpensive, quite a few people work sitting down, and they have quite a bit of disposable income.

Over-eating and under-exercising are a fairly common problem.

Kudos to Ed Levine, for sharing his experiences on the way down: weigh-wise, that is.

Particularly if you life in the 50 states, you'll probably find reminders of your holiday experiences.

He makes a request, which I'll pass along: "...I'd like you to tell me what you have had the hardest time resisting this holiday season (for me, it's been sugar and spiced nuts)...."

---

A tip of the hat to williamcooks, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this post.

Your Dog Won't Whiz in the Snow? Here are Some Reasons

"Why Won't My Dog Go to the Bathroom in the Snow?"
PetLvr (March 27, 2009)

"Many dogs, particularly small dogs and those with short coats, refuse to do their business in deep snow. When Spring blizzards like the one blanketing my city with over a foot of the white stuff hit, that can make life very difficult for dog owners. Pooch scratches at the door, you go out, Pooch sniffs the snow and scratches to go back in...."

This is a new one to me. But then, I'm not all that familiar with dogs. And the ones I've known tend to be like my son-in-law's: around 65 pounds of sheepdog, fur included.

Turns out, it's not just the cold. Odor and texture make a difference to dogs, as cues that it's time to take care of their business.

The post is fairly short, but there's a fair amount of information and advice there.

Like "...Remember to put a waterproof jacket on thin-coated dogs for walks in the cold, and consider using booties if your dog will keep them on...."

Waterproof jacket? Booties?? Well, not everybody has dogs the size of my son-in-law's. Actually, in town, I think it's a good idea to have a dog that can get an afternoon's exercise by taking a brisk skitter up and down the hall.

Which is another topic.

---

A tip of the hat to PetLvr, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this post.

Lemming Tracks: How Can the Lemming Call Himself "Apathetic"?!

All three posts today show that the Lemming cares - quite a lot - about some things. So how can the Lemming call himself "apathetic"?

This blog's first post discussed its name, and I revisited that topic a few months later. ("Why 'Apathetic Lemming of the North?' " (September 9, 2007)), "Rise of Apathetic Lemming of the North" (July 22, 2007))

A sentence from that first post gives an idea of why the Lemming is, by America's dominant culture's standards, "apathetic:"

"...I am not particularly interested in the great causes some of this continent's coastal cultures: the oppression of the spotted owl, for example...."

Briefly, I care - quite a lot - about people, and about (some) issues. But I don't care intensely, passionately and cluelessly about the 'right' issues. Which makes me a lemming (someone following something other than the dominant culture's approved ideas) and apathetic in the culturally-normative sense (someone who doesn't share the dominant culture's obsessions).

The Lemming Must One of Those Conservative Bloggers We've Been Warned About

I've been labeled as "conservative" - and one of my blogs got placed on a 'best conservative blogs' list. That's okay. Labels are useful things, and America's dominant culture seems to have decided that anybody who's not "liberal," and not "moderate" or "undecided," must be "conservative."

And some of my positions show that I'm obviously conservative.

Others show that I'm obviously liberal.

It's not that I'm inconsistent - or schizophrenic - I'm Catholic. (A Catholic Citizen in America (November 3, 2008))

Yeah, one of those people.

The Lemming, Relevance, and Tomorrow's Posts

Maybe you've read about the late sixties and early seventies, when "relevance" was king. Or queen, Or something. Kings - or anything obviously male - weren't all that "relevant" back then.

I lived through it, got out with most of my neurons intact, and don't ever want to go back.

I like the music, though. Like Alice Cooper's "School's Out," Jefferson Airplane and the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Too bad about Jimmi Hendrix.

As a rule, the Lemming writes posts about fairly neutral things: like interior design, cute animals, humor and - recently - the weird(er) side of high fashion.

But sometimes a topic or three comes up that the Lemming cares about - like today. What can I say? The Lemming is "apathetic" - but some things I do care about.

Tomorrow, though, is another day: and I expect that the Lemming will be back with a more general-interest run on posts.

We'll see.

Today's Un-Groovy, Un-Relevant Posts:

• "Bong Water and an Un-Groovy Minnesota Court"
• "Northwest Flight 188 Overshoots MSP - Time to Reconsider Humans on Flight Crews?"
• "NASA's X-37 Project, New Technologies, and - EEEK! the Military!!"

Related posts:

• "Firebase Earth"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (April 5, 2009)
• "Conservative? Liberal? Democrat? Republican? No, I'm Catholic"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (November 3, 2008)
• "The School, the Woodpile, the Skunk, and the Dynamite: A Small-Town Memory"
  Small Town Dad (May 1, 2008)
• "Who is This Guy? and What's He Doing?"
  (February 27, 2008)
• "EEEK! Guns! Hoplophobia and Foreign Policy"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (December 23, 2007)
• "Why 'Apathetic Lemming of the North?' "
  (September 9, 2007)

Lemming Tracks: All Space, All the Time

All three posts today were about rocket technology or astronomy: specifically, what we're learning about exoplanets and the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.

Looks like the Lemming's in a rut.

Maybe so: but tomorrow's another day, and I expect to find something on other topics. Food, interior design, ostriches, whatever comes up.

If methane found in another hot Jupiter's atmosphere, or a new launch vehicle isn't your cup of tea - maybe you'll like tomorrow's posts.

Hey! I could find something about tea!

The Balance Beam and "Potty Talk" - Parenting in the Real World

"Potty Talk"
The Balance Beam (October 18, 2009)

"Warning: This post may not be suitable for those who have never taken care of small children and/or those with a strong sensory gag reflex.

"Recently, I've regained the privilege of cleaning the soiled underpants of my four-year old son (aka 'Spiderman'). This task includes wiping his similarly smeared derriere of course.

"Lovely, right? My life is so glamorous.

"Oh, Spiderman was fully trained on the correct use of the facilities. In fact, ..."

I've said it before: parenting isn't for wimps.

This is a new blog to me, and looks like a very down-to-earth window on the sort of real-world issues the grown-ups in families face. Nothing big or "glamorous" here - just the sort of thing that needs to be cleared away before the fun side of family life can happen.

The Balance Beam's description/subhead is "Life Balance Strategy, Humor & Random Overshare"

I don't think you'll find "expert" opinions and insights in this blog. What I read of it seemed like common-sense observations and advice from someone who's actually seen kids in their natural habitat.

---

A tip of the hat to BeamingBalance, on BlogCatalog. I ran into her blog in a discussion thread about blog photos there.

Lemming Tracks: Son of New Feature - Reactions; or, Frustration Likes Company

Misery may love company. I'm not so sure about frustration, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one who can't get Blogger's "Reactions" widget to work. At all. (Blogger help search results, reactions)

About seven and a half weeks ago, I noticed the 'reactions' option for blog posts. It looked like a good idea for people who wanted to respond, but didn't have more to say beyond pre-packaged impressions like "cool, cute, funny, interesting, unusual" - which would be appearing at the bottom of this post, if the software worked.

Which it hasn't, to date.

Suggestions: 'Helpful' and Irrelevant

There were some suggestions. One of the more useful involved backing up the widgets, then clicking 'Revert widget templates to default' - sounds intriguing, except that I didn't see a comment that this was useful. Just "1 of 3 people found this answer helpful. Did you?" Without details on how and to what degree it was helpful, showing how to re-set a blog's widgets.

But I wasn't going to undo hours of work setting up widgets that were functional. Not to - maybe - fix a widget that seems to be rather effectively bollixed up.

Then there was the comment that told, quite clearly, how to edit the "Reactions" widget. Which wasn't the issue. Getting the thing to display was.

'Captain's Log: Final Entry'

The last entry in one thread, dated August 11, 2009: "will go over to "How To" and see if anyone has answered the question ." In my present frame of mind, it sounds like the note a rescue party reads, sometimes, attached to the wrecked plane's steering yoke: "Rations gone, out of water. Batteries dead. Will try walking to coast...."

Happily, all I'm losing as what might be a nifty feature for this blog. If it worked.

Related post:

• "Lemming Tracks: A New Feature - Reactions"
  (July 26, 2009)

Blogs About Dogs - Not BAD

The blogosphere's gone to the dogs!

Well, no: but there are quite a number of blogs about dogs out there. I picked a few two years ago today, and these are still there. There's something to say for a blog that lasts that long. Even if posts aren't made all that often, its continued existence hints that someone's interested enough in the subject to keep the thing around - or at least that it's not so bogus that the hosting company deleted it.

Not all dog blogs are created equal, of course.

That shouldn't be all that surprising. Over the last fifteen millennia or so, we've gotten Chow Chows, Dachshunds, Basenji and Whippets from the the basic model. Starting with such a diversity of dogs, it's only natural that blogs about dogs would be a mixed lot. Like these:

• Dogster: For the Love of Dog Blog "The Dogster Dog Blog is committed to tracking every story related to all foods recalls. You can count on us to keep you completely in the nose of every detail."
• Bosco Dog Blog "...A Dog's Life in the City of Minneapolis, MN & now... Austin, TX"
• A Dog Blog tales of two dogs and their battle against canine cancer and megaesophagus. Bubba and Pinche and gone, now, but the blog continues, with stories from other dog owners, and information about these diseases
• Celebrity Dog Blog for those whose day isn't complete without seeing pictures of Jessica Simpson and Daisy, Mischa Barton and Charlie, and other celebrities with their dogs
• Dog Gone Blog "handling out opinions like they Were kibble"
• Funny Dog Pics the title says it all

Museum of [Residential] Architecture [in Victoria]

The Museum of Architecture
TheGrafikMuseum

The Museum of Architecture is a sort of blog, with lots of photos and just enough text to identify the buildings shown. The most recent posts display four good-quality photos each, with links to pages with more information:

• "Andrew Maynard Architects - Anglesea House (Anglesea, Victoria)"
  (July 7, 2009)
• "Nicholas Burns - Johanna House (Johanna beach, Victoria)"
  (Jue 29, 2009)
• "Sean Godsell - Glenburn House (Glenburn, Victoria)"
  (June 22, 2009)
• "Jackson Clements Burrows - Separation Creek House (Victoria)"
  (June 11, 2009)
• "Elenberg Fraser Architecture - Huski Apartments (Victoria)"
  (May 25, 2009)

I was particularly impressed at the consistent format, which includes interior shots: and even more pleased to see links to what appear to be the sources for this blog's information.

The posts do concentrate quite heavily on 'modern' structures. The charm of modernism's stack-of-packing-crates look in architecture has worn a bit thin over the decades: but these buildings were designed by architects who are either skilled at designing attractive large-scale sculptures - or incredibly lucky.

I'll assume that it's skill.

The Architecture Museum, judging from the last few months of posts, displays a rather narrow range of buildings: both in style and location. But, given that limitation, it's a well-crafted and informative blog.

And, a bit of fun for this architecture fan.

Lingo Slinger: Writing by a Writer Who Writes

Lingo Slinger

A writer's blog. LS claims that the blog is: "An eclectic collection of quirky, provocative, edgy, hip fiction and poetry. Selina writes fluid prose that cuts like a knife and often takes the reader where others don't go. Themes such as sex, death, relationships, family, addiction, and life are rampant."

After a quick once-over, I think she's right.

One of those Big Brother services rated Lingo Slinger NC-17, so be warned. And, yes: I recognize that ratings can be useful. I'm still getting over research I did for a post in another blog. Turns out that, according to a Missouri's own MIAC, I may be a dangerous anti-establishment radical. I missed my chance in the sixties, but 'better late than never.'

Anyway: Lingo Slinger is, definitely, a writer's blog. It's not exactly the style I generally read: but that's a matter of taste and perspective.