spots!

you can now click on the images to see a larger version!



i have no idea what this plant is, but i shall endeavour to find out. it was nothing special during the summer, but now it is changing colours and those dots have appeared on the leaves, which are just gorgeous.

---

i've moved the first images to smugmug, where i've registered a trial account. i looked at a lot of photo hosting sites, and the organization and features there sound like they'll suit me best. it requires a minimum of effort to set up pricing, and the quality seems to be good (i have samples on order), so i should be up and ready quickly so people who want to can actually order prints (and cards, posters, tshirts [1], mugs, calendars, etc).

[1] the sizing here isn't friendly to us larger people, so i'll have to set up a separate account for this elsewhere, or impress upon the smugmug people that large bodies want nice tshirts too.

so much for "loving thy neighbor"

i learned something new today. washington DC has as part of its legal code a provision that prohibits any referendum that would have the effect of authorizing discrimination against DC residents on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender.

that is awesome.

and fortunate. because the forces of bigotry, hiding behind another "marriage initiative", are busy trying to work against same-sex mariage in DC, since there is clear movement towards recognizing it in the district.

the arguments are... i know i said i'll try to no longer use words like "stupid" as an insult, but what else is it if a christian quotes pontius pilate: "let the people decide". good grief! does this person not know what those people voted on? "stupid" doesn't even cover it.

read this report from a hearing in DC; the unintentional irony can be shoveled with gigantic trowels. what can you say to such people? they don't even know their own religion, their own history, the meaning of words they use:

Another woman patiently explained to me that the 60-odd people who testified against equal rights for gay people [...] did not hate gay people. They just feared gay people, she said. They were not homophobic.

things done today

( click if you are REALLY bored )