For models Qosmio, Tecra, Dynabook, Satellite and Portege.

When one of my kids calls out ‘Hey, Mom, come here’ in a cautious voice these days, it usually has to do with a live creature of some kind. Normally, he would have taken care of this with one of his many cameras, but he was on his way to catch the train.

Thanks, Jeff!

Possibly swayed by the compelling nature of this recent incident at LAX , IBM and Lenova this morning announce the voluntary recall of 526,000 laptop batteries.

That’s the name given by U.S. intelligence to the Russian ekranoplan, a behemoth of a plane based in the Caspian Sea during the Cold War. It reportedly had the capacity to carry a staggering 1000 tons, and relied on the ground effect for flight.

Thanks to Google Earth, the folks at The Register have spotted a Chinese Sea Monster. Also discussed is the monstrous Boeing Pelican.

The obligatory video (lengthy) at YouTube is here.

I know my share of people who think the local squirrels are ‘the cutest things’, but now it’s time to rejoice if cities are taking notice of a problem. In Mountain View, they’re becoming agressive, biting small children and leaping into strollers. There is talk of euthanization.

A short list of those who have chased eternal youth with limited success, and in some cases, keen disappointment. No pictures with the article, but that’s why we have Google.

Was it so long ago that we laughed at the idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger in politics?

One should not try to eat fish during this film, and if eating something, make it pizza, which figures in the plot.

A family member carefully deboned our striped bass, which went well with the cucumber/tomato salad and fresh peaches with mascarpone. However, this is a fork-in-mid-air kind of movie, one it is not wise to look away from. I think I need to see it again.

Roast pork, baby bok choy and rice. Great feel-good movie, nothing taxing or too deep, perfect for a Friday evening.

As Pooh would be glad to tell you, late in the afternoon, it helps to have a bite or two, especially if a knee has been twisted the wrong way and still hurts. It would also be helpful at times to be made of plush.

It’s not so much their dropping out of the sky and scaring festival goers, but the real story is not revealed until a few paragraphs in.

So now pigeons are entering banks to deposit fecal matter on customers.

At Banksy’s LA exhibition, an elephant painted like wallpaper is angering animal rights activists, who have demanded that Tai (the elephant) be repainted with child-safe paint.

Elephants, some of them anyway, know a thing or two about art. So far, no report on what their thoughts on the Banksy business might be.

The young med student and a needy mother-to-be listen to the faint sounds of a new life.

And other tricks of the mind from the competitors at the World Memory Championship. Those folks who can tell you the order of a deck of cards in under a minute.

I’m well aware that many people have difficulty getting to sleep. But perhaps an actual class on sleep techniques is not the best solution.

Back in college, I had more than a few professors whose classes would have been excellent for an insomniac. Especially the American history prof who repeated every important fact twice for the benefit of those who were still awake and actually taking notes. In art school, the shrill-voiced teacher of pre-Columbian art would enunciate the mostly unpronouncable names associated with the subject as we leaned against our seatmates and lost consciousness. I still cannot bring myself to look at it in museums.

But what worked for me might not do for someone else. Perhaps with a bit of guidance, an insomniac could take a series of classes, true. But tailored to their particular likes and dislikes in course subjects. And via a computer hookup so they could watch lectures in bed in order that their heads won’t do that annoying drop thing when sitting upright. Professors of these classes would naturally be chosen for their dull, quiet voices with emphasis on droning. Lots of diagramming on low-contrast blackboards.

Just thinking about it makes me want to drift off.

For certain coral reef fish, gender is not a predetermined thing, as it is for most of us.

For a reasonable amount of money, a college student can purchase a pretty good paper. The NYT puts the concept to a test, then submits the results to a few professors.

Some interesting finds: possible intentional misspellings and curious syntax suggesting that the professional writers might hail from foreign countries. The latter might be useful unless the student is not from abroad.

Does your laptop or cell phone make you feel sick? Do you feel strangely warm, dizzy or nauseous around electrical equipment?

Perhaps you have electromagnetic hypersensitivity, the subject of a new study by the University of Essex. People who suffer from EHS find it next to impossible to work at their computers or use mobile phones without distress. Some resort to viewing their monitors with binoculars from a distance.

As we adapt to our high-tech lives, was this bound to happen?

A two-day old Beard Papa is better than no Beard Papa at all.

A new study shows a link between the age of fathers and the probability of autism. Researchers say that gene mutations may be the culprit, although other factors could be involved.

From across the pond, what to do with that creature that just got wiped out (but is relatively intact except for maybe a leg), who has rights to it, which part of the meat to avoid, which animals are illegal to eat and a recipe.

After making our way through the deYoung and SFMOMA on only a light lunch, we happened to pass by Beard Papa. Two of us knew what it was, and after breezing on by, I doubled back. Six vanilla cremes and six chocolates would do for starters.

On the way home, a large amount of filling was inadvertently deposited on a passenger. The driver wisely ate before setting out. One of us declined (he had one for breakfast today). I couldn’t stop laughing. Was it exhaustion? Something in the Beard Papas? I don’t know. Somewhere on 280 I lost consciousness.

I’ve been looking through the decorations a bit early, quite a change from my usual night-before prep.

It was given to my boys when they were very young. Whether it was the color, the unusually loose limbs or the lack of plush, they never played with it.

Going through some old toys stored in what I thought were airtight plastic containers, I was amazed to find a large population of moth-like insects inside. I reached through webs to get to the stuffed animals, many of which have little cocoon-type things on their fur. More than a little creepy. Halloweenish.