Today I guest blogged over at In The Pink Texas so that’s where you’ll find me. All three of you.

One of the best things about the Thanksgiving weekend in Austin is the annual release of the KGSR Broadcasts CD. I buy them every year, and they’re usually amazing. While KGSR has yet to match the sheer perfection of Vol. 4 (1996) or Vol. 8 (2000), I can say that after a few days digesting Vol. 14, it comes pretty close.

The set opens with Bruce Robison’s “Virginia” followed by a very cool “Soul Meets Body” by Death Cab for Cutie. The first disc also includes such diverse artists as The Blind Boys of Alabama doing “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” Spoon’s “I Summon You” and Kris Kristofferson’s brilliant and timeless ode to burning the candle at both ends: “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”

Despite the treasures on the first disc, the second is my favorite. It opens with World Party’s “What Does it Mean Now” and goes into “The Pugilist at 59″ by Tom Russell, a song I heard a few times last summer and really liked without catching the title or artist.

KT Tunstall, Alejandro Escovedo, Slaid Cleaves, along with usual suspects Eliza Gilyson, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin make appearances as well. In all there are 38 tracks each capturing a unique performance by a very eclectic mix of artists.

These sell out fast, but you can order them from Waterloo Records for only $20 and all proceeds go to benefit the SIMS foundation.

A barbed wire fence in Orange last week. I never saw a spider, but there were webs on every barb.

Last week’s quiz in the Slate/Treehugger Green Challenge focused on electricity. There was nothing in the quiz that we’re not doing already. Flourescent bulbs - check. Energy Star appliances (either already owned or we’ll get them when we replace things) - check. Unplugging electronics when not in use - check.

There were a few other items that I’ve forgotten, but there was nothing I could pledge to do that I’m not already doing, but while we were in Orange we got flourescent bulbs for my wife’s parents’ house and her grandmother’s house. Her grandmother seemed pleased that we were helping her do what Al Gore said we should.

Here are some other things you can do, according to the results page on my quiz:

• Exchanging three frequently used incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs saves about 150 pounds of CO2 a year per person.
• Unplugging your electronics when they’re not in use or using a power strip to shut them down saves about 500 pounds of CO2 a year per person.
• Unplugging external battery chargers for MP3 players, cell phones, and the like saves 213 pounds of CO2 a year per person.
• Replacing a conventional cordless phone with an Energy Star model saves 13 pounds of CO2 a year per person.
• Replacing a refrigerator that is more than 13 years old saves about 50 pounds of CO2 a year per person, and an average of 650 pounds of CO2 per person over the life of the appliance. Energy Star-rated refrigerators use about half as much energy as models manufactured before 1993. Each year, that comes to about the energy it takes to light the average household for nearly five months. So, if you’re leaving on an old fridge in your basement to store extra food from time to time, you’re adding to your carbon waistline.

So, this week we spread the gospel and reduced our carbon load by 1178 lbs or .12 cars. This brings the total reduction to 6970 lbs or 38% of my original total of 18274 lbs.

For Thanksgiving we packed up the pups and drove to Orange where my in-laws live. It’s about 300 miles from Austin, right where the Louisiana border and the Gulf coast come together.

It was Joey’s first road trip, and we wondered how he would fare. He loves the car and the drive was fine, but he was nervous when we got to my grandmother-in-law’s house. There were a lot of people who all wanted to meet him, which kind of freaked him out, but he rose to the occasion and showed off with some precision peeing in the front yard before going in to inspect the couches. They met with his approval.

Over the next few days, Joey settled in just fine and expanded his fan base to include the golden triangle.

***

Want to make a fast friend by saving a greyhound in Central Texas? Check these pups out. Or go here to find a greyhound near you. You can also go here to find out why greyhounds are running for their lives.

If you have dogs who need proven leadership, go here to find a cat.

This was the view this morning from the end of my in-laws’ street in Orange, TX.

And I’m back. Well, back to this blog if not yet back to Austin. So from Orange, Texas, a rather poppy Friday ten…

1. “Adam’s Song” - Blink 182
2. “Something More Besides You” - Cowboy Junkies
3. “Running Kind” - Darden Smith
4. “Man in Black” - Johnny Cash
5. “Jesus Walks” - Kanye West
6. “Fade Into You” - Mazzy Star
7. “Pinocchio” - Miles Davis
8. “Lucretia My Reflection” - Sisters of Mercy
9. “1979″ - Smashing Pumpkins
10. “Here’s Where the Story Ends” - The Sundays

Meet special guest pup, Petey… 

Petey came to visit yesterday. It was the first time Joey and Phoebe have had canine company, and they seemed to enjoy having a new friend. Even Daphne joined the fun until she grew bored after five minutes.

In the backyard, Petey tried to see if Joey could block his shot…

and then he came inside and ran in circles until he melted and turned into butter.

***

Want to make a fast friend by saving a greyhound in Central Texas? Check these pups out. Or go here to find a greyhound near you. You can also go here to find out why greyhounds are running for their lives.

If you have dogs who need proven leadership, go here to find a cat.

I took this at McKinney Roughs, an LCRA park near Bastrop, in June of 2003. My dad and I often go hiking during the early part of the summer when I’m off from teaching and the heat is still bearable. We explore the parks and trails that aren’t too far from Austin and usually get home by noon.

And, yes, I know it’s Saturday now, and yet it’s still Old Photo Friday.

This is Husky Rescue performing at the 2006 Austin City Limits Festival back in September, and today making an appearance at the bottom of the Friday Random Ten.

1. “Who Loves the Sun” – Velvet Underground
2. “Iron Man” – The Bad Plus *
3. “Prime Directive” – Dave Holland Quintet
4. “Shack” – Medeski, Martin and Wood *
5. “Wedge” – Phish *
6. “Arnold Layne” – Pink Floyd *
7. “Zelao” – Vince Guaraldi
8. “Animals” – Talking Heads *
9. “Confusion is Next (live)” – Sonic Youth *
10. “Summertime Cowboy” – Husky Rescue *

I realize that I have seen seven of these acts (marked with *’s) live, but the Talking Heads, which I saw in ’90, was without David Byrne. Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth split the vocals and put on a great show along with Debbie Harry and the Ramones.