» The North Carolina legislature passed the bill that raises the cap on alcohol percentage in beer from a measly 6% to a more robust 15%. Lots of beer enthusiasts, specialty stores and other vendors were behind the effort to get this done, and I'm really happy to hear that the governor signed the bill. Congrats to everyone, raise that bottle of Chimay high!

» Despite that good news, things have been a little dry around here. (heh, dry!) It hasn't rained in a while, and that characteristic humidity has gone out of the air. While that has made for some gorgeous days, things are getting a little sad out in the yard. Nearly every day I've had to water the garden and everything else I've planted that's not a cactus or a yucca. The grass is looking dull, too. While surfing around local news stations' websites for weather info, I came across WRAL's weather blog. It's not bad--they have a recent entry titled "Will it ever rain again?", in the body of which they answer both "well of course it will" and "honestly I don't know". I've been sorta hoping one of the local stations would do one of these ever since I heard about WGN's weather blog. I need be jealous of my Chicago friends no more.

» Seasoned bird people often keep lists of all the species they've spotted in their backyards (or from their backyards--interpretations vary, and distinction does make a difference). I took a quick tally of every species I could remember seeing from my yard (we're going with the more liberal interpretation here, I need all the help I can get) and came up with only about 23. Now, the number of species I can correctly identify is probably not much more than that, but still I think that's not to bad for a total amateur in a (sub)urban yard. Today I saw what I guess is #24--a red-bellied woodpecker.