Behold! The first #tomato of the season. I have conquered #Nature!

@jasod Who does that?

Wikipedia, with the help of lazy journalists everywhere:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_citogenesis_incidents

@jasod I've actually never sold or given away any record in my collection. As a result, you can see that I have some duplicates. Even so, I am missing crucial albums, "Time and a Word", "Fragile", and "Topographic Oceans."

Mostly this is because, when I'm at the record store, I can't remember which albums I have on vinyl, and which on CD.

However, with this photo on my phone, I can fix that.

@jasod The only downside to the full-size edition is that it doesn't fit in any bookcase. I keep it with my vinyl records.

#birdPhotography #birds #wildlife

#Woodpecker Has a Bad Day, a story in 4 acts:

Act 1: Woodpecker arrives (white blob, upper right)
Act 2: Woodpecker examines the menu.
Act 3: Woodpecker drops his lunch (note red circle)
Act 4: Woodpecker loses a fight.

(2023 #Canon EOS M50 with 1980 Canon FD zoom lens 70-210mm 1:4. Distance: 23y. Manual focus, manual aperture, ISO too high, and it was raining. Photos taken in a 10 second period using the M50's drive mode.)

Normally we think of #sunflower #plants as having one giant #flower, but that's not a rule in #nature. Store bought varieties like the Mammoth Sunflower are bred to be tall and have only one flower,, but there are other varieties.

This sunflower was planted by a squirrel from stolen bird seed, and developed one big flower, and 3 smaller flowers. If you think this is somehow four separate plants in the same spot, photo #4 will show you the truth.

(Photos from July 2022)

@jasod Even though it is so big, some pages of the original text are so wide that the book requires fold-outs.

This portion is the Negative Confessions, where the soul has to declare his innocence of 42 different sins before 42 different gods. This includes the sins of "making someone cry", and "filing frivolous lawsuits". (I am not making that up. It's #18 "O Strayer who came forth from Bubastis, I have brought no lawsuits.")

@jasod I forgot to say, if you order this book online, make sure you're getting the big one. It is big. If it's any smaller than this, you won't be able to read the hieroglyphs.

@jasod Raymond Faulkner (1994) Giant sized photographs of the Papyrus of Ani with modern translations underneath each page. I have the 2nd revised edition (1998). It's a bit difficult to find, but I see it on Amazon for around $30 new.

Do NOT, get the translation by E.A. Wallis Budge. It's very easy to find, because it's out of copyright, but it is outdated,. (Unless you're studying the history of English Egyptology, or 19th c. occultism, as this book was very influential in both.)

@jasod I would recommend "Oxford History of Ancient Egypt". It covers a variety of topics, and can be had in paperback for cheap.

Incidentally, that eye of Horus on the cover, I've actually seen that object in real life, at the Kimbell Art Museum in 2003. I show it here in the exhibition catalog.

@jasod Yeah, I don't loan these, not even to family. There's not a lot of demand for these titles, so they do print runs only very rarely, and they stay out of print for years and years.

That thin paperback on top, "Egyptian Readingbook", I got a new copy around 2005 for $12, right after the last print run. Today, on Amazon, a new copy costs $50, and before 2005, I couldn't even find it used for less than $120.

@jasod My keys are even labeled in Ancient Egyptian, because if somebody's going to steal from me, they're going to have to *work* for it.

(Note: Some "liberties" were taken with the hieroglyphs. So don't try too hard to translate them.)

@jasod I may not have a fancy degree, or you know... any qualifications whatsoever... but, I have done some light reading on the subject:

(To save people the trouble of squinting, it's DeBuck, Faulker, Allen, Gardiner, Faulker (again), Shaw, Fischer, and then books of lesser importance.)

#photography #hummingbird #bird #wildlife

I am new at bird photography, but here is one of my better attempts.

She is a ruby throated hummingbird. One of the pictures is a bit blurry,. but I left it in because I love how she's giving me the stink eye.

(Canon EOS M50, zoom lens 15-45mm 1:3.5-6.3)

@jasod My most powerful ability is this: I can completely nullify anyone else's magic just by observing it under scientific conditions.

Tremble before my power!

(2/2) "May we at least know what your species is called?"

"The people."

"Isn't that a bit uncreative?"

"What are you called?"

"Humans."

(flip, flip, flip) "Human: (noun) a bipedal primate, a person. Plural, people."

"Also, we're called Homo sapiens."

(flip, flip, flip) "homo" (flip, flip) "sapio... 'wise man' huh?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds like someone's uncreative *and* full of themselves."

#microfiction

(1/2) "Hello. We are from far away. What do you call this planet?"

"We call it: the #ground."

"The ground? Really?"

"Why? What do you call your planet?"

"Earth."

"Let me consult Webster's."

"Hey! Where'd you get that?"

"Earth: (noun) The solid footing formed by soil. Ground."

"It's also called Terra."

"Now my Latin dictionary."

"What?!"

"Terra: (noun) land, earth, ground. Got anything else?"

"Uh, no."

"Ok, then. Visitors from the other ground, welcome to the ground."

#microfiction