Here’s another great visualization – “The Geography of a Recession”. The map changes colors as unemployment rates rise across the country. The visualization begins with January 2007.

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

Credit: Tim O’Reilly Twitter stream-@timoreilly

http://gizmodo.com/5390014/internet-speeds-and-costs-around-the-world-shown-visually

I have two pyracanthas growing next to the garage. I have them trimmed and shaped in an espalier. I’m surprised. It’s been pretty easy to do. I snip off any branches that attempt to grow perpendicular to the trunk or horizontal branch. No wires or support of any kind. The main trunk supports it all.  The shrubs get full afternoon North Carolina sun and they love it.  I give them one fertilizer stake each year in February.

The pyracantha is a beautiful shrub. It’s covered in white flowers during the Spring then red-orange berries in the fall.  This would be a beautiful specimen if allowed to grow freely without any trimming.

I almost forgot. The shrub is covered in long thorns. They look like sewing machine needles; really thick and long. I was trimming the bush one day when I stepped off the step ladder onto one of the cuttings. The thorn went through my Crocs and into my heel.  Ouch doesn’t begin to describe it.

Last year, I bought two plants from the NC Botanical Garden: A Beautyberry and a Muhly Grass. They were small plants probably 1 qt in size.

The Beautyberry has been a slow grower. It didn’t berry at all last summer but that’s not the case this year. This year it’s loaded with berries. I can see the purple color from across the yard.

The Muhly Grass has two personalities. There’s the smoky, blurry look like that in the photo below. But nothing beats the Muhly in the morning when there’s a light dew covering the feathery fronds. It’s stunning! I’ve tried to get a picture of the dew but the photo never does it justice.

Both enjoy the full NC summer sun and 90 degree temps. I highly recommend them to any Southern gardner.

Here’s an interesting Google Map mashup.  It visually displays the impact a sea level rise might have on a particular location. You can change the amount of sea level rise using the drop down box in the upper left corner.

Here’s a sea rise map for the area I live in:

Sea Rise Map – Jacksonville, NC

According Wikipedia, the Internet brain trust, scientists estimate a 1.3 meter rise over the next 100 years.

Check out these other areas of the world. They’re already at or below sea level today:

Charleston

Lousiana

Florida Keys

Holland

A few weeks ago, we bought a new bird feeder to add to our collection. That makes 6 bird feeders in our backyard. Ever since we put this feeder out, turtle doves have been using it. I have never seen a turtle dove use a bird feeder. They’re usually on the ground in pairs pecking away under the other feeders. I don’t know what it is but they sure do love this feeder.

Maybe we’ll put bird seed in it soon!

I’m a big podcast fan. Podcasts and my iPod is like television and my DVR. I get to subscribe to the shows I really like but watch them at a time that fits my schedule. The same with podcasts. I subscribe and listen to my favorites at my leisure.

For the most part, I listen to podcasts only when I drive. It doesn’t matter where I’m going or the time of day, I perform the same routine every time I get in the car — I start the car, connect the iPod, start the podcast, put on my seatbelt, drive away. If the iPod is not in my purse, I stop the car, go back in the house, and I get it.

My podcast listening week begins with me syncing my iPod on Sunday evening. I subscribe to approximately 10 different podcasts through iTunes. Most of the podcasts are 30 mins long but there’s one or two that hit the hour mark. The podcasts are tech-related but I do subscribe to a few other genres.

There have been occasions where I get to a friday afternoon, driving home from work, and I have no more podcasts to listen to. I’ll be honest. I get this “I just smoked the last cigarette in the pack” feeling. I have to get home. Somehow. So I can sync my iPod, and fill it back up. Whew! In those situations, I will listen to the music on my iPod to fill that void as I drive home. But it’s not the same. I listen to my iPod music all day while I’m at work so I’m really not interested in hearing music when I drive.

Anyway, I found this new podcast. I’ve been listening to it for a month now. (When I find a new podcast, I never blindly subscribe to it. I must listen to two or three shows before I commit to the “subscribe” button). So this new podcast, The Moth, it’s really good. It’s 15 mins of some of the funniest stories you’ll ever hear. Actually the stories cover events you’ve most likely experienced in your life. Some of these events could have been traumatic at the time but funny as all get out when you hear someone else relating their experience.

The storyteller is different each week. I don’t know any them or recognize their name. The storyline is definitely different each week. Actually, the whole podcast has an NPR-ish sound and feel about it.

So. If you like a good laugh and have 15 mins to spare, check out The Moth podcast. You won’t be disappointed.

http://www.themoth.org/podcast

What a funny documentary.