Hargrove Family Web Site

Our Official New Look

Hope you like the new look, which we previewed for two years on the Annual Reports. Now, we've officially abandoned the old format, though it is still preserved in past years' pages for historical reasons. The Annual Report pages are a hybrid of the old style and the new. Comments on the style are welcome.

We're also going to try to update the site more often than once a year, adding reports on our travels, for example, as they become available. Then we'll combine the updated into our traditional Annual Report.

Jim's Philosophical Nonsense

In response to virtually no public demand, Jim has created a page for his more obscure ramblings, such as the eternal question of whether there is anything at all. As readers of our Annual Reports know, the answer to this question is "probably not, but just in case..." Jim has decided that this really needs to be taken on faith, something with which he is not intimately familiar. Thus, we have the Axiom of Reality: Reality exists.

This was phrased somewhat better in the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1987), where Spock quotes Kiri-kin-tha’s First Law of Metaphysics: Nothing Unreal Exists.

Jim's formulation is shorter.

April 2005 Trip to Chan Chich

In April, we took a short trip with a group from the American Birding Association to Chan Chich Lodge in Belize, a place we have long wanted to visit. The lodge is located in the middle of the forest, built on the plaza of an old Mayan ruin. The lodge is part of a bold experiment on the part of Barry Bowen, a seventh generation Belizean, to create a self-sustaining operation in the forest while preserving the environment. So far, it seems to be working. More...

Latest Photos

It's getting harder to find spiders that Jim hasn't taken photos of, but he still manages occasionally. Linda found a tiny spider while cleaning out the shelves. We coaxed it into a position to get a decent shot of it.

We have managed, though, to get some nice spider photos in 2005. Since we found new spiders hard to find, we've branched out into dragonflies. Check out these photos.

Or just go the 2005 Photo Gallery for lots of photos.

All About K-Days

History:

The tradition of celebrating KDays, multiples of 1000 days of your life, began in the Hargrove family in 1999, when Jim achieved his 20,000 day milestone . Charles is responsible for pointing out that this was about to come up, and Jim seized on the excuse for a party.

Why Celebrate KDays instead of birthdays?

Of the many reasons for celebrating KDays, besides having a party, three stand out:

There are fewer KDays than birthdays, something that looms larger as the years increase.
The date of a KDay moves around, so you don’t have the boring repetition year after year. As Jim’s birthday falls around Thanksgiving each year, he appreciated this feature immensely. People whose birthdays fall on Christmas, or New Year’s Eve, will appreciate it even more.
You can still celebrate your birthday.

What traditions are associated with KDays?

Giving of presents are definitely not part of KDay.
A card, especially an electronic greeting card, is de rigueur.
Although parties are appropriate, none is required. A day of quiet contemplation is perfectly acceptable, unless the KDay is a noteworthy one, such as 20,000. Then you should have a major blow-out.

Isn’t it hard to figure out when a KDay is coming up?

Fortunately, computers can deal with this little problem rather easily. Click here for a simple calculator .

Do greeting card companies know about this?

Not yet. Spread the word!

What's with this Other Jim Hargrove nonsense?

It started when my brother Bill complained that he had a hard time separating e-mail messages from my father and me. I started signing my e-mail as The Other Jim Hargrove. Now, though I could possibly claim to be the real Jim Hargrove, I find I like the idea of being the other one. As I usually tell people, "There are lots of Jim Hargroves around, but only one who claims to be the other one. "