Merlin’s favorite times of the year are the fall and spring, simply because that’s when windows can be open and he can watch (and smell) the birds and squirrels that he’d like to be outside chasing. Here, he peers intently at the back yard through the open window right next to my desk earlier this week. Merlin is the one who disappeared for a couple of days after an escape through a screen about two years ago. He doesn’t seem to eager to leave the comforts of home behind after that adventure.

Chappelle is offensive and crude, but what he’s doing is important
Lesson for McCain’s ’08 voters: The lesser of two evils is still evil
If the state didn’t wither away for Marx and Engels, is there really a post-statist era ahead now?
The Alien Observer: I’m not going to change — and you’re not, either
There are lessons for our lives in the joy and innocence of children
Mom of out-of-control teen thug must share blame for ugly arrest
When we sell Jesus like soap, maybe we’re spiritually bankrupt