Those Pesky Neighbors get all the good stuff! Edith (the killdeer — or maybe her offspring — raise a family in their driveway every year) is back. I started posting about her in 2012 and she’s not missed a single year. For once, she didn’t decide to make her nest right in the middle of the driveway so I’m pretty sure barricades aren’t needed this time around.
And they had a visit from the Easter Bunny. For real!
At first, we wondered if maybe a neighbor’s chicken got free and scratched a nice spot in the shade to deposit an egg. But after much discussion, we’re sure it really was the Easter Bunny!
Happy Easter! 🐣
Now you know: Between 2001 and 2021, a stork named Klepetan would fly every year from South Africa to Croatia to mate with another stork, Malena. Malena couldn’t fly due to a gunshot injury. Klepetan would hunt, build her nests, and feed her chicks. Malena died in 2021 of old age.
It’s that time of year again — the one where I’m the person hiring speakers for a conference. Other than this one exception, I secure my favorite brother to speak for clients at events… rather than booking other speakers for an event I manage. I do this biennial 3-day event/expo because I made a friend at a Fortune Global 500 company who trusts me to handle the speaker line-up. In exchange, I get to treat my family to a vacation at the happiest place on earth.
Not my first rodeo, but it will be my last.
My friend will be retiring early 2026, so this will be his last big event… and mine! Negotiating, contracting, and juggling logistics and more for 6 speakers at the same time is like herding cats. It’s time intensive especially before the line-up is locked in, and also why my posts here are currently sporadic.
It’s only bad for a short time…
While the pre-event work is grueling, the event itself is a great time for attendees and speakers. I don’t show up for any sessions — not even to hear my own brother speak — but have been known to join the party hangout in the evenings for a drink and to socialize a bit.
Having finished my work, I’m there to enjoy the park.
My biggest concern this year isn’t what you might think.
Spending 1/2 million dollars of someone else’s money can be stressful, I’ll admit. But, that pressure isn’t nearly as bad as trying to figure out what in the world I’m going to do with a little shithead dog for a week to 10 days that hates every human on earth except for 3.
Now you know: In 2012 a woman discovered that her ex-boyfriend from 12 years ago had been living in her attic for about two weeks. Her adult sons & nephew found him asleep in the back of the attic which caused him to flee. They also saw he had rigged the ceiling vents so he could watch her in her bedroom.
Today’s the one day of the year where you can’t trust your best friend, your inbox, or even your morning coffee. The world turns into a playground of pranks, and survival requires a sharp eye and a sharper sense of humor.
First rule: question everything. That “urgent” work email about a surprise meeting? Check the sender twice. Your partner’s “the dog just chewed up your shoes” remark? Inspect the shoes before you yell at your dog. April 1st is a masterclass in skepticism—consider it free training for the rest of the year.
Survive the foolery!
The best defense against a prank is a good laugh. Half the fun is the chaos, so don’t be the grump who can’t take a joke. If you fall for even a single prank today, plot revenge. Make your caper something that “could” happen (like Hugo chewed up my shoes), but keep it kind, kids. Aim for a chuckle, not a grudge.
Take your time to plot something good.
Now you know: Sustaining the filibuster in US political history has, at various times, involved: preparing a pee bucket, reading the phone book, reciting recipes, and in one most remarkable case, restraining Robert La Follette from hurling a brass spittoon at Joseph Robinson in 1917.
After getting an email touting the new way to express oneself through AI on Apple iPhones and computers, I broke down and gave it a whirl. You have to have an iPhone 16 or newer, or a Mac with an M1 chip or better to use it. My review is certainly a mix —
It sucks for dogs.
The photo below looks nothing like Hugo, in my opinion, of course.
See anyone you know?
Using recent photos of my family members, I think some results are better than others. For example, I can barely see my Mom and Perry in their AI images. (Perry thinks he looks like an old fart you’d find sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons.) I think Ben, Tammy, Jerilyn and Katie are spot on. Mr. Pesky appears to be Puerto Rican and Scott’s hair needs to be darker without red. The only thing about Coco’s image that’s accurate is her nose. Scott said I look like our Aunt Shirley when she was young. 🙂
Have you tried Apple’s app, Image Playground?
If you have, do you like it? It’s only at 3 stars on their App store… and that’s about what I’d give it too.
Now you know: 9-yr-old Jodie Foster was mauled by a lion on the set of Napoleon and Samantha, leaving her with scars on her back & stomach. While being held sideways in its mouth & shook “like a doll”, she saw the crew running off. The lion did drop her when told to, but it left her with lifelong ailurophobia (persistent and excessive fear of cats).
I drove Coco to meet her Mom yesterday and it poured rain on us the entire trip. I don’t know about you, but I HATE driving in the rain.
Traffic was much worse on the way north than it was on my way back home. The way there I was either driving 45 mph or 75 mph. Some drivers forget how much wet blowback they’re going to get when they move to the showoff lane to pass a semi. They just dart out there in front of other cars only to brake once they get there. ARG!
Driving in the rain is dangerous! ☠️
Did you know over 1 million crashes annually are tied to wet weather, with about 4,700 fatalities and 384,000 injuries? A study from the American Meteorological Society found that crash risk doubles during rainy conditions compared to clear weather. Still… there I was… wearing my Queen Nana crown… hauling precious cargo like a boss.
For the record, Coco’s wearing a hat not because it’s all that cold on this spring day, but because she got a haircut she hates.
Same thing happened to me once — I went for a haircut wanting the hair over my ears evened up with the rest of the layers I already had. The beautician heard “trim over ears” to mean shave the sides like a man’s haircut! My buddy, Alisa, took a photo of me with toddler Ben during that time and I still have it. Still to this day when I look at it, all I see are my ears.
Now you know: In 2012 as a man was cleaning out his great-aunt’s home after she died, he found 345 well-preserved comic books in a closet, including Detective Comics No. 27 (first appearance of Batman), Action Comics No. 1 (first appearance of Superman) & Batman No. 1. In total. the collection sold for $3.5m.
