I spent my first Thanksgiving with Technomancer's family in Texas this year. Since his grandparents and aunt live in a pleasant little housing development with an extensive and well-maintained system of walking trails, and since the weather in the Dallas area does not (always) get ungodly hot this time of year, we have been trying to go on as many walks as possible to burn off the approximately ten billion calories we consumed over the last few days.
Today I went out walking with Technomancer and Technomancer's dad. As usually happens when those two are together, their conversation turned to science and advanced economics. It was very interesting to listen to, but some of it was over my head. I contented myself with enjoying the scenery.
The trails wind through a big swath of land where all the trees have been cleared to make room for power lines, and lots of tall grass has grown up between the towering steel poles. I saw dozens of little yellow butterflies fluttering among the grass, as well as a few squirrels, rabbits and blackbirds--pretty standard nature walk fare.
Then, on the way back, we spotted a roadrunner picking its way through the undergrowth.
This is how the conversation went at that point of the trip:
Technomancer: Greenhouse gases carbon nanotubes sustainable solar power recession austerity measures?
Technomancer's dad: Yes, but fuel cells anthropogenic climate change fiscal cliff insolvency...
(We see the roadrunner and stop.)
Technomancer and Technomancer's dad, simultaneously: Meep meep.
Me: We'd better get out of here before the Acme anvils start falling on us.
Everyone: Laugh, resume highly intellectual conversation.
Awesome.
Also, they served cherry-apple cobbler, peanut butter cookies, and three types of pie for dessert.
I like my in-laws.
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