In picture number one you see a young male trying to hang onto the last remnants of his former more natural self (and doing a pretty fine job of it.)  In picture number two you see this same male on the right having fully given in to the more civilized life.  Both these photos are of camping/hiking trips that my dad took with his cousin.  The trips were separated by about 30 years.

Here is a little informative information I ran across in the New Yorker.  It is so off color, Ashlee made me sensor it, so there is a cleaner version below.  Here is the link to the article as it was originally written, so read at your own risk.

The New Yorker
A Guide To Summer Sun Protection
by Zev Borow August 10, 2009

SPF creep has hit the triple digits with Neutrogena’s SPF 100+ sunblock, leading some dermatologists to complain that this is merely a numbers game that confuses consumers.
—The Times.

SPF 4—You’re joking, right? This is some kind of joke? 4? We make this stuff for armadillos. Or maybe you’re one of those “adrenaline junkies” looking for another freakish way to court death. Seriously, people, the sun is deadly. It’s a giant ball of fire, literally, and it will kill you . . . if you let it.
SPF 12—Great for practical jokes, if your idea of funny is making someone think they are protected from the sun’s seriously f*****g powerful and harmful rays when they’re actually not. Bonus: Comes with an “I AM, OR ONE DAY WILL BE, A DANGEROUSLY NEGLECTFUL PARENT” visor.
SPF 30—Perfect for driving all night through a rainstorm.
SPF 50—Acceptable for most summer daytime use if applied correctly, which is to say, ingested orally via four separate SPF “sunshakes,” two in the morning and two after lunch, each made with three parts sunblock lotion to two parts heavy cream. Tip: Another tasty option is our “SPF-egg-white omelette.” No carbs!
SPF 75—Slathering oneself in a good SPF 75 says something to the world. It says, “I don’t mind spending a little extra if it means doing what’s right.” And “Clearly the health of my skin is more important to me than the health of your skin is to you, and, while that is sad, all I can do is lead, because I am a leader.”
SPF 100—This is to SPF 99 and below as excellent heroin is to Capri Sun juice boxes. If you haven’t already, ask yourself: Are you gonna run with the big dogs? Or stay on the porch with the pups?
SPF 125—Remember the first time you were allowed into an airport first-class lounge? Or experienced o**l ***? Add using SPF 125 sunscreen to the list of experiences that you will never forget.
SPF 150—Nothing will make you feel as safe and protected and confident and prepared. Because SPF 150 does something more powerful than just protect you from the sun a hundred times better than the ridiculous, flimsy, paper-thin skin God gave you. SPF 150 actually repels the fear and anxiety and vulnerability and paralyzing paralysis that affects so many of us each and every time we walk outside during daylight hours. It’s patented, and made in Norway, by Norwegians. So say it out loud: The rest of your life starts now.
SPF 175—Ever wanted to have unprotected *** with a p********e in Haiti? Don’t answer. Doesn’t matter. The point is with SPF 175 that’s now an option.
SPF 200—The truth is, most people are never going to need the level of protection this lotion provides. Recently indicted? Not a problem. Being hunted by a pack of rogue genetically mutated polar bears? Have a sandwich. Take a nap. Seriously, make yourself a sandwich, then go take a nap, because there is nothing out there that you have to worry about ever again. The nightmare is over.
SPF 233—Close your eyes. Good. Now imagine a world without poverty and disease, where children of all races and religions join hands and sing old ***** spirituals, a place where the vicious cycles of boom and bust are replaced by never-ending Wonder Wheels of boom . . . and boom. SPF 233 is not inexpensive. But, in the war against the evil that is the sun, can you put a price on freedom? ♦

The space shuttle returned to earth yesterday. Watch the reaction of this unsuspecting golden retriever.

I am mainly writing this to entertain my fellow dermatology residents, but also to share some cultural knowledge that I think is a great idea.  The picture is of Jessica on the left feeding Tricia (the birthday girl) on the right a piece of birthday cake.  Jessica’s family has an interesting tradition. Her husband is Indian, and it is an Indian tradition for every birthday party, that everyone present gets to feed the birthday person a bite of cake and the last person to go gets to smear the cake on their face.  Now that sounds like a great birthday tradition to me, as if we need any excuse to eat a little more cake on our birthdays. Fortunately for Tricia, only Jessica felt obligated to feed her and did not smear her with cake.  Here is another interesting tidbit from Wikipedia about birthday candles.  Enjoy.

Though the exact origin and significance of the candle blowing ritual is unknown, the history of placing candles on top of the cake is well documented. This tradition can be traced to Kinderfest (Kinder is the German word for ‘children’), an 18^th century German birthday celebration for children. A letter written in 1799 by Goethe recounts: “…when it was time for dessert, the prince’s entire livery…carried a generous-size torte with colorful flaming candles – amounting to some fifty candles – that began to melt and threatened to burn down, instead of there being enough room for candles indicating upcoming years, as is the case with children’s festivities of this kind…”. As the excerpt indicates, the tradition at the time was to place candles for each of the individual’s life with some added candles ‘indicating upcoming years’. Candles, being slow-burning, are believed to be symbolic of the passage of time. In fact, they were often used as timekeepers. The origin of birthday cake candles can be further traced back to the 16^th century German tradition of placing tapers on Christmas trees.  This tradition was then brought to North America by German immigrants. By 1927, the Sears Roebuck catalogue offered birthday candles and holders for sale.

This vocal species is not as large as its Alaskan counterpart and no one is sure of the migratory pattern. What is known is that it bites, has thick fur to stay warm in cold climates, does not truly hibernate and sleeps in fits instead, prefers to move on all fours, but if guided can stand on the haunches, when provoked it will growl but not attack like its more wild relative, typically has a pink face and lacks full dental development, prefers well cooked food, and spends more than one season in the care of its parents.

Ursus arctos ssp. sapien

Gas prices are finally coming back down.  Saw this sign from the freeway.