We went to the Richmond NASCAR race again this year. This is the last race of the regular season before the chase begins. Our seats were great and we bought pit passes online before the race. I’ve never been onto the infield before so this was something new. The highlight for me was walking across the track to go back to the grandstands.

On Wednesday night, dinner was on the top of the parking garage outside. It was a great location. At first I thought it might be a bit too hot, but the weather really wasn’t all that bad. As you can see from the picture, we had a great view of the city.

The next one is planned for sometime in the Spring on the west coast.

Having bugs, animals and such eating and generally doing harm to wood structures is pretty common around here. Talking with neighbors, squirrels and porcupines were the most common theories.  One neighbor’s dog recently tangled with a porcupine in the woods between us and had to go the vet.  There are also plenty of squirrels around but they seem too small for the damage.

Now I know. A few days ago I heard wood chewing sounds coming from outside. Through the basement window I saw this guy chewing on a pile of scrap wood. I managed this and another picture before he left. So now I need to figure out what animal this is and if there’s any good ways to stop him.

There is a museum with an outdoor observation deck on the southeast pylon.

The four teams playing were Bemidji State, Miami of Ohio, Boston University and Vermont. I didn’t have a particular rooting interest, though I favored, in order, Vermont, Bemidji State, Miami, BU. Even though my least favored team won, the tournament was still a great time.

The games were much different than Capitals games at the Verizon Center in a lot of good ways. A quick list of what I liked about them:

• the PA volume was adjusted to a reasonable level, vice blaring, and there was no ear-splitting music being pumped out constantly to supposedly “get the fans excited.” If the arena was loud, it was from people cheering, not manufactured excitement.
• each team had a band that played fight songs and led cheers for their fans. Each team had a group of fans there.
• no hockey-clueless suits entertaining clients. These are the ones at NHL games that sit in seats on the glass, come in and out during the game, and incessantly talk to their guests about everything but the game. Sad part in Washington is that some of these people are Capitals owners.
• the speed of the game was a little slower and there were mistakes. I could watch this game and see myself doing some of the things I saw on the ice. Not necessarily as fast-paced and exciting as NHL, but as a rec-hockey player, I could relate to these games.

I set this picture as the header image and plan to leave it there for a time.

Schmap contacted me to get my permission since I had the photo licensed under a creative commons noncommercial license. They recently e-mailed me a link to my photo in the Embarcadero section of their guide. Look in the upper right of the screen and you’ll see it. I give credit to Schmap for checking with me in accordance with the license terms. I’m happy to let them use it since they link to me and it’s fun to have someone resuse your stuff.

Specific details from the zoo’s web site:
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Latin Name Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus
Taxonomy > Chordata > Vertebrata > Aves > Psittaciformes > Loriidae