The All Season Nautical company is offering 101 beginner sailing courses for women only on Cayuga Lake next week.

The cost for non-members is $380, which gets you two days of sailing for ASA certification in Basic Keelboat: “Able to sail a boat of about 20 to 25 feet in length in light to moderate winds and sea conditions in familiar waters without supervision. A preparatory Standard with no auxiliary power or navigation skills required.”

Other courses are open to everyone from June through August.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has live, active feeds from at least six bird nests rigged with cameras in different parts of the US. It doesn’t appear there are any cams here in Ithaca though.

Some images from my favorite, the Texas Barn Owl Cam:

From May 27, IT’S AN OWL ARMY!

From today-

And don’t these Western Bluebirds in Oregon look hungry!

There seems to be an abundance of cardinals in our area, and they’ve got their favorite hangouts. Often one sits on the power line that crosses our driveway and sings songs just for us :O)

I’ve just returned from a trip to Pyramid Mall. On the bus ride out a National Weather Service warning came over the bus radio. It was pleasant enough out that the driver thought NWS was doing a test.

APPARENTLY NOT!

I was in the mall for about 20 minutes and came out to see the sky overcast. The entire ride home was like driving through a mild tornado (and there is a tornado warning, by the way).

Bad news though, for the people of Ithaca: the big tree at the very center of Dewitt Park has toppled from about 3.5 feet from the ground… right onto the tents remaining there from the festival this weekend. It’s a sad sight - I may go out to grab a pic now.

UPDATE: And just like that, the storm has passed but the cleanup will take awhile I’m sure - here’s the Dewitt Park Tree pics.

Last night we caught the tail-end of the parade that kicked off this weekend’s Ithaca Festival. I took a few photos but we showed up too late to jockey for a good viewing position. I actually forgot what day it was, but we heard the sound of beating drums around 7:30 and remembered ahh yes it’s Parade Day! It’s surprising we didn’t hear the crowds gathering sooner, since the parade rounds the corner just a block away.

In just an hour and a half the Commons should start rocking (at least the bellies should be, since the Mirage Belly Dance Troupe is scheduled for noon).

The world of physics jokes is fairly small. You can get a good impression of them by wandering around a physics department and looking for the people who put them up on their doors. For the most part, they’re mostly “in” jokes. For example, one gives a translation table between phrases you commonly find in physics papers (for example, “it can be shown”) and what is “really meant” (”my grad student worked this out, I have no idea if it’s correct”). You basically have to be a professional physicist to find this sort of thing funny.
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The Ithaca Times’ May 25 issue has the cover story Lofty Vision: Will building up rather than out revitalize Ithaca’s downtown? It seems at least one person doesn’t think so, and that’s enough dissent for a cover story. Here’s a snippet:

But everyone does not share the enthusiasm for downtown development. Members of some of the city’s neighborhood associations have concerns, including Sarah Adams, co-chair of the Fall Creek Neighborhood Association and vice president of Historic Ithaca. Adams, a planning board member in the early 1990s (”when Walmart was happening”) has voiced her concern about zoning changes, both passed and proposed, at several city council meetings.

“I believe that the proposed zoning change that increases the height from 60 to 85 feet along the north side of Green Street is ill-conceived and irresponsible,” Adams told the Planning Committee in May.

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