To follow-up once more on our tree situation, things have ended up dragging out a little after it turned out we needed a permit to remove the mulberry tree that is destroying my neighbor's fence. The good news is that the ensuing delay allowed us to consult an arborist about the maple tree that has the ominous looking damage to its bark. While he agreed the tree may have suffered a lightning strike, he told us it is not in any real danger of falling at this point, and we do not have to consider taking it down. This is a huge relief on a number of levels, as the tree keeps our house cool, creates privacy in our backyard, and seems to be home to several bird families. The bad news is, I ran into my neighbor yesterday, and apologized of how long this has taken to resolve, and had to deal with his fairly irrational response, as no matter how I tried to reassure him that the delay was due to being caught in the village bureaucracy, his responses all took the tone of how good a neighbor he has always tried to be (which is certainly true), so he doesn't understand why we were so callously disregarding the plight of his damaged wall and fence. You ever have one of those conversations where you think the other person isn't hearing a word you say? This is how I felt. Hopefully this will all blow over when the tree is finally removed, but in the meantime I feel like I've been on a vacation to CrazyWorld.

R.I.P.: '50s pop singer Eddie Fisher dies at age 82. Thanks Mike Martinez. Papa Organa.

Crazy Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez and Acleacius.
Play:	Heart of Ice. Thanks Jay is Games. Oozy and the Tower of WULU. Shattered Colony.
Stories:	Green Party Senate candidate fatally struck by SUV while biking. 50 years later, Bill Mazeroski and 'best game ever' headed for TV. Thanks Neutronbeam. Fort Lauderdale man's home sold in foreclosure mistake. Thanks Boing Boing.
Science:	First Human-Powered, Wing-Flapping Aircraft Successfully Flown. Cocaine and ecstasy detected in waters of the L'Albufera in Valencia, Spain. Novel X-ray machine is unveiled.
Images:	(LEGO) Thor Is Here!
Media:	The Size of Your Gun Matters. Tantrum FAIL. Daddy! Daddy! Ur hoam! Sniff.
Follow-up:	Heavy metals go untested in Gulf seafood. What is a harvest moon - and why this year's is special?