DanT1999

Friday, November 6

1) I woke this morning and panicked a bit when I saw that the clock said it was 7:30 which would make me obscenely late on a day I had to be early… I was relieved when I realized that this clock hadn’t been moved back an hour yet so I wasn’t so late after all…

2) I was just busy today but was glad that I’m almost done with this urgent project I’ve been working on…

3) I had dinner at my favorite restaurant, The Pita Kitchen, which is in Sherman Oaks and where they make the best falafel, while skimming the latest issue of The Economist...

Thursday, November 5

1) The barista in Starbucks named Patrick asked me if I played video games. When I said no he told me that it was strange for a guy with glasses to not be into video games… I’m happy I don’t fit all the stereotypes…

2) I left work later than normal tonight and afterwards stopped at a taco stand to buy tacos to eat for dinner… When I left the counter after paying for my order, the lady behind me looked at me strangely and pointed at the counter and said “Tu cambio”. I realized that I had almost walked away without picking up my change. I smiled in embarrassment and thanked the woman for letting me know…

3) I was under a lot of pressure today working on a project deemed urgent… It was no fun and tomorrow will not be much fun either, but it was nice to forget everything for a while tonight while watching the latest episode of “Flash Forward”...

Wednesday, November 4

1) Traffic has been really bad this week since the time change… It’s miserable, but at least it gives me a chance to admire southern California’s lovely fall foliage (see the photo I took from my car sitting in traffic and yes I’m being a little sarcastic… This place in the photo is actually where I run though I haven’t been running in over a week but will get back to it this weekend)...

2) Someone told me that what I was wearing in one of my photos made me look like Matt Damon… No one had ever told me before that I had in any way resembled Matt Damon…

3) I went to the mall after work today to “window shop” but didn’t see anything at all that I liked… I went to the Apple store and finally got help figuring out how to get music videos to play on my iPod. I just had to change one of the settings, and it was so simple I felt dumb…

(Regulus calendula) I shot this photo in the late afternoon on October 29, 2009 in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. This lively bird was conspicuous because of its constant fluttering in the hillside brush. I was lucky to catch it during a brief moment of stillness.

The ruby-crowned kinglet is commonly found in southern California (as well as throughout the southern United States and Mexico) during the winter months. Although this small, plump olive-colored bird is called “ruby-crowned”, rarely is its ruby crown ever in display. Only the males have it, and it is usually hidden unless the bird is agitated. They eat small insects and their eggs, gleaning food from foliage often among groups including other species of small, insect-eating birds.

(Chondestes grammacus) I shot the photo in the late afternoon on October 21, 2009 near Lake Balboa in Encino, Calfornia. This is my fourth entry about sparrows. Frankly, until a few months ago, I didn’t think all that much of sparrows, but I have really come to appreciate the variation in appearance, size, habitat and behavior among the many different species of sparrows.

Lark sparrows can be recognized by their bold facial pattern consisting of black, reddish-brown and white. This patterning is very similar to a lark though this bird is definitely a sparrow. They prefer open habitats with scattered trees, which describes exactly the place where I saw this bird. They can be found at various times of the year throughout the western two thirds of the United States, in Mexico as well as parts of southern California. Like other sparrows, they eat insects and seeds. One interesting fact I found on allaboutbirds.org is that unlike other songbirds, lark sparrows tend to walk on the ground rather than hop.