Dear Abby handles small questions, too

DEAR ABBY: My older brother moved from the East Coast to Wyoming 20 years ago, which put him in a different time zone -- two hours behind me. He died in June of last year.
I am planning to get a tattoo memorializing the date and time of my brother's passing, but have reached a dilemma. My brother died June 12 at 11 p.m. in Wyoming, but it was 1 a.m. June 13 here in Connecticut.

Which date should I use? I have asked friends who say I should go with what feels right to me, but others have told me to use the date on his death certificate. Which is correct? -- DAY LATE AND TWO HOURS SHORT

DEAR DAY LATE: The date on your brother's death certificate. However, tattoos are very personal, and if you choose to use the time and date in Connecticut of his passing, no one should criticize you for it

Living with bears XLII

Just for old times' sake.

Wisconsin: Black Bear Spotted Again South of La Crosse

Alaska: Anchorage black bear stirs up trouble

Washington: Karelian bear dogs unleashed in Wash. state to drive off bears

Ohio: ODNR: More than 100 black bear sightings reported last year

Florida: State of the Florida black bear, Well-Fed Bear Released Back Into Wild, FL Black Bear Festival: Big Business Learning About Living in Bear Country

Plat du jour

The truck was unmarked, but I'm assuming this is a Roto-Rooter competitor.

Happy April Fool's Day!

Click here

Plat du jour--guest submission

If this guy were really an expert he'd figure out how to fit in the missing E.

Another one from Joanne.

Semi-random thoughts

● Why do people think that anything other than the lightest color fonts are legible on a black background?

● It's really nice listening to chamber music in a real chamber, not a big concert hall.

● The NY City Ballet is modifying its computer system, allowing its customers to register for more functional accounts. Since I was already in their system somehow, they had some info on me, and it came up on my new account as a separate (but incomplete) address. So I went to delete it, except it wouldn't let me delete it until I completed the missing parts. Then I could delete it. Bad programming.

● I hate it when I press the wrong "home" button and get my browser home page instead of my twitter one.

● My prediction from January about how the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team would do this season was exactly correct. They made it to the NCAA's, where they won one game.

● Why does the world map in a solicitation from Doctors Without Borders have borders on it?

Plat du jour

Living with coyotes XII

Urban coyote attacks on rise, alarming residents

Weekly free associations

1. Road trip :: Movie


2. Pool hall :: Movie


3. Extraordinary :: Effort


4. Jackson :: Pollock


5. Heartfelt :: Thanks


6. Wet :: Spots


7. Strangle :: Choke


8. .com :: .net


9. Touched :: Inspired


10. Insipid :: Dull

HT to Unconscious Mutterings.