-- The Bill Smith Tale --

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I'd hoped not to direct any more attention his way, but was compelled this weekend to spend time on the on-again-off-again-on-again Ivorybill chronicles of Florida aquariumist and "magicguy" Bill Smith (of the odd "billismad" URL), so will say a few things for what it's worth to those familiar with his narrative:

I've verified Bill's full name, address, ph. no., birthdate, and other basic info through public sources, so the name "Bill Smith" IS legit despite it's 'John Doe' like quality (for obvious reasons I'll not give out any of these details, so please don't email me for more information than what I state here). And while it is good that certain basic info he's put forth does bear out, obviously many other assertions and certain background info continue to be perplexing and troubling (to say the least) to the credibility of his claims; indeed I've still found no one official who is able to back up any of Bill's purported IBWO activities. [BTW, if you try to access his site, be aware that some in the past complained of trojan adware emanating therefrom; that is not necessarily any fault of Bill's, but just be aware of the possibility --- though most routine protective software probably blocks it.]

I continue to regard the entire affair as a sadly prolonged distraction from the real Ivorybill work being done. BTW, unlike regular publishing, digital self-publishing can be done in short order (sometimes less than a week), so Bill, who first talked of the possibility of a self-published book over two years ago, has the chance to hugely alter my view of things any day now with his publication, as promised, of photos and explanatory text that others can adjudge for authenticity. Any day now... any day now. . . . . . . . .

In other news from the Web, a reader sends in this link to the discovery (and photo) of a new mammal species.

And here ('cuz I love owls), ongoing live webcam of a Great Horned Owl that recently returned to nest for another season on a California university building (coooool!):

http://www.cs.csubak.edu/owlcam/camera.php (of course she's not present at all times, and best to view during daylight hours)

Lastly, for further entertainment, some fine bird photography here:

http://www.birdsbykim.com/
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