A question for the Great Internet Overmind: a group of friends is planning to climb Kilimanjaro (picture credit: Wiki) around Sept. 13-20th, hoping to add a week in Kenya (I’m guessing the Maasai Mara) before and a similar safari in Tanzania (I’m assuming the Serengeti) after.

They’re pretty experienced elsewhere in Africa, so general hints on malaria pills etc. won’t be necessary.  And I’m pretty sure they’re taking the Shira route up the hill, so no need for any advice on the climb itself.  But the rest of the trip is still up in the air.  So:

Anybody have a line on what’s up with the migration at that specific time of year?  Will the various beasties be up north, heading south, what?  Any specific places they (my friends, not the beasts) should know about?  Recommended guides/operators?  Personal reminiscences of Arusha, Amboseli, or Tsavo to share?  If so, drop an email here and share away.  I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

I mention this here because I’ve been invited to tag along.  Not sure if I can make it, but if I do I’ll post pics etc. in this space.  Thanks!

A question for the Great Internet Overmind: a group of friends is planning to climb Kilimanjaro (picture credit: Wiki) around Sept. 13-20th, hoping to add a week in Kenya (I’m guessing the Maasai Mara) before and a similar safari in Tanzania (I’m assuming the Serengeti) after.

They’re pretty experienced elsewhere in Africa, so general hints on malaria pills etc. won’t be necessary.  And I’m pretty sure they’re taking the Shira route up the hill, so no need for any advice on the climb itself.  But the rest of the trip is still up in the air.  So:

Anybody have a line on what’s up with the migration at that specific time of year?  Will the various beasties be up north, heading south, what?  Any specific places they (my friends, not the beasts) should know about?  Recommended guides/operators?  Personal reminiscences of Arusha, Amboseli, or Tsavo to share?  If so, drop an email here and share away.  I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

I mention this here because I’ve been invited to tag along.  Not sure if I can make it, but if I do I’ll post pics etc. in this space.  Thanks!

Longtime visitors have probably noticed a plug for Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought in the left column since shortly after the book was released last fall.  (Granted, this may have been hard to spot under the excessive Trebekistan-flogging that I need to trim — I kinda got carried away.)

Pinker is one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists and linguistic theorists, so if your own brain is remotely interested in itself, it should read his work.  You and your brain might even get along better.

So this morning, the New York Times Book Review asked a bunch of prominent writers which books they’d recommend to the presidential candidates.  Imagine my surprise at seeing the first book Pinker himself mentions:

This is like being in a garage band and finding out that Dave Matthews is recommending your jam tapes.

My appreciation to Prof. Pinker, and I return the recommendation tenfold.  Albeit in a forum one ten-thousandth the size.

Longtime visitors have probably noticed a plug for Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought in the left column since shortly after the book was released last fall.  (Granted, this may have been hard to spot under the excessive Trebekistan-flogging that I need to trim — I kinda got carried away.)

Pinker is one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists and linguistic theorists, so if your own brain is remotely interested in itself, it should read his work.  You and your brain might even get along better.

So this morning, the New York Times Book Review asked a bunch of prominent writers which books they’d recommend to the presidential candidates.  Imagine my surprise at seeing the first book Pinker himself mentions:

This is like being in a garage band and finding out that Dave Matthews is recommending your jam tapes.

My appreciation to Prof. Pinker, and I return the recommendation tenfold.  Albeit in a forum one ten-thousandth the size.

Longtime visitors have probably noticed a plug for Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought in the left column since shortly after the book was released last fall.  (Granted, this may have been hard to spot under the excessive Trebekistan-flogging that I need to trim — I kinda got carried away.)

Pinker is one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists and linguistic theorists, so if your own brain is remotely interested in itself, it should read his work.  You and your brain might even get along better.

So this morning, the New York Times Book Review asked a bunch of prominent writers which books they’d recommend to the presidential candidates.  Imagine my surprise at seeing the first book Pinker himself mentions:

This is like being in a garage band and finding out that Dave Matthews is recommending your jam tapes.

My appreciation to Prof. Pinker, and I return the recommendation tenfold.  Albeit in a forum one ten-thousandth the size.