Life as I see it

Jane Barbe was an American voice actress and singer. She was known as the “Time Lady” for the recordings she made for the Bell System and other phone companies.  By 2000, Barbe’s voice was heard by about 300 million people each week. Through the years, Barbe’s voice became well-known through the phone companies use of her recordings, as well as her messages recorded for customized greetings for various corporations who bought Octel voice mail systems.

Recordings with her voice are also used in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries.

Is that a giant rabbit? 👀 Nope, it’s the Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum)! Weighing up to 35 lbs (15.9 kg), this long-legged rodent is built for speed. In fact, it can run faster than an Olympic sprinter—reaching speeds of up to 45 mph (72 km/h)! Found in parts of central and southern Argentina, this critter inhabits open grasslands where it spends much of its time basking in the Sun and foraging for food. 

You’ve heard of the porcupine, but what about the thin-spined porcupine (Chaetomys subspinosus)? This nocturnal rodent, also known as the bristle-spined rat, is found only in parts of northern and central Brazil. Unlike many other porcupines, this one’s quills are more like bristles than spines. On average, this species weighs around 3 lbs (1.4 kg). It’s herbivorous and dines on leaves, fruit, and nuts!

Did you know? Fireflies aren’t flies at all: they're beetles! Of all of the insects in the world, fireflies are among the few to have evolved an extraordinary language of light. Many fireflies use a system of flashes in some of the same ways we use words: to attract, to say, “Here I am,” even to deceive. They emit light from a tiny organ, called a lantern, on the underside of their abdomen, where a biochemical reaction takes place within specialized cells called photocytes. The reaction releases energy in the form of light.

I have southern relatives who say it’s their culture. I informed them that their parents came here illegally in the 1960’s and 70’s and that they are actually anchor babies. Occasionally on Facebook I’ll ask them if anyone has reported them to ICE yet.

When some of them get loud I’ll remind the gay ones and the ones with inter-racial children about the times they were harassed by the Klan. And I never miss an opportunity to remind the evangelical ones that they are not Christians because they refuse to acknowledge the New Testament and Socialist Jesus.

I have no place in my life for MAGAts. Their lack of self awareness is incredible. They just follow along like sheep and aren’t even aware of all the family members who died fighting Nazis and fighting for unions on the home front.