Illinois Final Four 1989 t-shirt

Illinois Final Four 1989 t-shirt
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

I'd just like to say that my university's men's college basketball team hasn't lost AT ALL this season. How 'bout yours?

"foohud"

"foohud"
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

in the end, you'll have to ask spinnity for the full story about "foohud". She says that's what the Una Mas guy wrote when she ordered a Foghat burrito. Since then, "foohud" has become a legend.

Surf Scoter, Mountain View

Surf Scoter, Mountain View
Originally uploaded by Bill Walker.

I took another trip back to Shoreline Lake and found this cutie right next to shore

my brother gives birdwalker a facelift

My brother John, despite being utterly preoccupied with little Sarah, found time to (1) suggest Gill Sans as a Tufte-approved font for our birding site, and (2) design a favicon for the site. Thanks, John!

flickr, flickr, flickr

Hey all,

While sitting here at the Blue Rock Shoot in Saratoga (totally free WiFi!) I have decided to plunk down my hard-earned cash on a flickr account. (In the interests of full disclosure, I will add that I was pushed over the edge by the knowledge that my very creative friend Cassidy, originator of the graffiti archaeology movement, has a big presence there.

flickr is far and away the most interesting social networking website I've played with, even though it has the fewest number of people I already know. Something about fact that all the participants are creating and posting photos gives it a very creative feeling.

flickr is also far and away the most aesthetically pleasing photo sharing website I've ever used, even though it doesn't (yet) have the kind of bird photographer community I find at fredmiranda.

Anyway, I'm enjoying posting stuff there and being the recipient of near-instantaneous random acts of positive feedback as people discover my latest uploads. Rather addictive, actually!

New bird photos: Common Goldeneye, Ring-billed Gull

I was out shooting this morning and saw that the Common Goldeneye are starting to do their wacky mating behavoirs. As one bird was showing off I got this picture. Then, a Ring-billed Gull landed right next to me and started screaming. I got this portrait before he flew off again.

birdwalker release notes

Hey all, I updated birdwalker today. Noteworthy changes:

* You can view map versions of any species, trip, county, or state page.

* I created bogus, non-ABA-countable species pages for Dowitcher and Yellowlegs.

* Marked Audubon's Warbler, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Red-shafted Flicker as non-ABA-countable

I'm really digging this map stuff. For example, here's the map of sites I've birded in my home county.

I have a niece!

At 2:29pm Eastern, my sister-in-law Susan gave birth to her first child, Sarah Elise Walker, 7lbs 5oz. Susan, Sarah, and my brother John are all doing fine. May God bless and protect them.

Adam Curry lives

If, back in 1983, you told me that I'd be downloading an independent radio show featuring Adam Curry over my cable TV cable to a 5GB portable music player, I would not have believed you. Nor would I have believed that Adam Curry is automating his website using Userland Frontier. Truth is stranger than fiction.