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eliza came over today, for some brunch and some hang out time. i had time to go across the street to star market to get some groceries beforehand. she came with presents, a miniature creche shepherd from her france trip and a healthy muffin from her recent baking forays. i made french toast and some sun-dried tomato chicken sausages. later she gave me a ride in her rented zip car (it was my first time being in one) to the harvard natural history museum.

the museum was hosting a few activities in celebration of chinese new year: mandarin-speaking tours of the glass flowers, a screening of a new NOVA special on fossilized flowers discovered in china. however, the program that most interested me was a lecture title "shangri-la: at the heart of a biodiversity hotspot" given by susan kelley, one of harvard herbaria's managers. i arrived just in time and paid the admission ($9) even though i had no interest in visiting the museum. kelley presented a slideshow of the different flowers from the hengduan mountains, an area i have some personal knowledge of having visited there recently. i remember seeing all sorts of high-elevation wildflowers i'd never seen before and was curious to put some names to the plants. hopefully i can post some photos within the coming days.

since there was still a hour before the museum closed and not wanting my admission to go to waste, i did a quick walkthrough. it looked like they did a new paint job inside some of their display cases since my last visit. there was a new permanent insect exhibit, and one about bird eggs. and no tour of the museum can be complete without a glance at the coelacanth and the kronosaur.

it started flurrying by the time i walked home. i spent the rest of the day logging hours on hellgate: london while watching the political coverage on MSNBC and CNN. obama ended up sweeping the night, with resounding wins in nebraska, louisiana, washington, and even the virgin islands. later, in an appearance at the democratic party jefferson jackson fundraising dinner (in which hillary clinton attended as well), he gave another inspiring speech. obama was greeted like a rockstar when he arrived, and the virginian crowd chanted his name and his catchphrases as he talked.

sticky trap fungus gnat tally
trap location fungus gnats   trap location fungus gnats
top left 42   bottom left 11
top right 42   bottom right 14
top center 15