The 300 or so bulbs we planted last fall have all made their way above ground, and are blooming in waves: first came the scouts, the daffodils, who braved the whipsaw temperature changes and grew tall and straight. Then came the tulips, spreading fat leaves and daring the deer with their bright red petals. (several of these soldiers have fallen to the hungry enemy, their headless stems at attention among the other troops.) Now we’re seeing the crocuses bloom, low to the ground, and the hyacinths, which are taller and fat with the promise of purple blooms. On the side of the house, the tiger lilies are sending their shoots over the dead leaves, and the tulip tree is in full bloom over the front sidewalk. Even Jen’s amaryllis is about to bloom, still in gulag over the back porch.

Forward Progress, or: When Technology Actually Works. I’m using the new version of Eudora, which features a spam filter for incoming mail. You “train” the application by marking junk mail, and it “learns” what your preferences are over the course of a few weeks. I was averaging about 100 spam emails a day (having my address on the website didn’t help) and going through the inbox for one good message among the 99 bad ones was getting to be a drag. Currently, I’m seeing about 30 in my inbox, and the number keeps decreasing each day. Let us all praise the gods of software.

Check it Out. An all-percussion version of Paranoid Android by the UMASS Front Percussion Ensemble. (via Pitchfork)