Feeding frenzy

For today's lunch break, Kel and I sat on the rocky point near our house and watched the local flock of pelicans busily feeding on a school of fish. The pelicans swirl around in flight, checking out the water below, then fold their wings and dive headfirst from dizzying heights. The big splashes in the photo are where pelicans just plunged into the sea.

The two dark shapes in the foreground? Surfers. All I could think while I watched was: What else is feeding on that school of fish?

My Bouchercon joke

Sometimes, you hear a joke you like so much, you keep it to yourself, saving it for a special occasion. I did just that recently with a joke told to me by my Redding, CA, pal Rick Hobbs. I didn't post it on the Internet or e-mail it to my friends. I saved it for the after-hours poker game at Bouchercon.

And now I share it with you:

Two old boys were out hunting when they stumbled upon an enormous sinkhole in the woods. The hole was so deep that they couldn't see the bottom, so naturally they start looking around for something big to throw in there. Over in the bushes, they spot a rusty auto transmission. The two of them lift it and stagger over to the edge and heave the transmission into the hole.

They're both leaning out, listening for the transmission to hit bottom, when they hear an enormous crashing behind them. They wheel around just as a full-grown goat comes charging out of the bushes. The goat runs right between the two startled hunters, goes off the edge and disappears into the hole.

The hunters are dumbfounded. Before they can sort it out, a farmer in overalls ambles out of the woods and says, "Hey, you boys seen a goat?"

The hunters stammer out that they had by God just seen a goat, and that the goat had run right past them and committed suicide in that there sinkhole. Damnedest thing they'd ever seen.

And the farmer says: "Naw, that can't be my goat. My goat is chained to an old transmission."

That's my Bouchercon joke. Feel free to share it. Or save it for a special occasion.

Settling in

Back online after a week away for moving and unpacking and getting a new DSL hookup.

Kel and I love our new place in Santa Cruz. Each day, we've taken breaks from unpacking to explore the neighborhood. Some wonderful cafes and the beaches are great, but my favorite part is sunset on the rocky points that jut into Monterey Bay.

Nice view from up on the points. The other day, we spotted a pod of whales and a couple of sea otters, along with the usual gulls and pelicans and surfers.

You're doing it wrong

A word to bank robbers: Always be sure to arrange your getaway in advance. If you go around after the robbery, offering strangers $1,000 for a ride to the next town, it looks suspicious.

Police say a robber in Capitola, CA, did just that. Worse, he got away with it, at least for now.

Full story here.

Everyone needs an editor

Editors help you watch out for unintended double entendres, such as the one I spotted yesterday painted (twice!) in giant letters on the windows of a uniform store in Redding, CA. Here's what it said:

DICKIE

SCRUBS

35 % OFF!

What a bargain!