James just walked. Well, it was four steps unsupported, but where I come from, that counts as walking.

The other night Jenn woke me from a sound sleep to go look at this creature in the garage. She had been doing laundry and looked up and saw this “huge spider” crawling on the wall. I sleepily confirmed it wasn’t a spider and was harmless (thanks, believe it or not, to reading a Dungeons & Dragons adventure when I was in middle school — oh, Gary Gygax, your influence extends in so many directions) and went back to bed.

We apparently have these solifugids breeding somewhere nearby. We found a beaten-up one inside, and didn’t know if it was a scorpion or what. Last night, I figured out what was happening: Dainty little Hanna, who sits politely on the back porch when we let the cats go outside, is bringing them in from the garage to torture and kill.

They’re harmless, and pose no danger to James or the cats (or Jenn). They sure are creepy-looking, though. Ours don’t have the large mandibles that camel spiders have, but are about three to four inches long, including their 10 thick legs.

I’m guessing that Hanna will have cleaned all of them out before the Orkin man next comes around to keep the black widow population from coming back.

Honeycutt target of recall attempt, Graham named new school police chief, Rear Admiral speaks at Hesperia High, DA: Deputy acted in self-defense in shooting, Authorities seek chrome revolver robber, Locksmith assaulted on Camphor Avenue, Topaz Elementary goes back to K-6 in 2008-2009, Board awards Krystal Elementary bid, School police log - April 25, 2008 and other stories.

(Click here for the jump.)

City toughens restrictions on truck and RV parking, County: Red Baron Pizza Hesperia’s cleanest restaurant, Motorist sought after fatal hit and run, Hesperia’s Reyes lands full scholarship, School police log - April 18, 2008 and other stories.

I will be making a return visit to the Lockridge Report on Road Dog Trucking Radio, Sirius channel 147, to talk about the resolution of Hesperia’s trucking ordinance changes. I’ll be on at noon, Pacific time.

This is a few days old, but I never got around to posting it: Liz Phair talked to Billboard magazine about changing record companies, the 15th anniversary re-release of Exile in Guyville, the accompanying documentary and more:

I missed being on an indie. I never wanted to go to a major in the first place, but Matador basically sold me to Capitol, and when they divested, I was left there. It has been a long time since I could do what I wanted. When I was on Capitol, I tried to adapt and make the best of it, but I can honestly say, for the first time in 15 years, I feel creative. I don’t have to start with a mindset that thinks about how to sell the record and works backward.

The re-release was actually ATO’s idea initially, but I did realize that we’d never done the 10th anniversary edition, and it seemed like a good thing to do. I jumped on the idea because I wanted to work on the DVD and revisit the scene that happened around “Guyville” in 1993. I wanted to bring that moment back to life, and it was also a good way for me to establish my independence.

I was recording demos all winter, after taking a few years off, which I needed. The demos were all super cheap, and my friends all lent me their time and got involved. I’m going to start recording in mid-April and hopefully bang this puppy out. I have a strong vision that I can’t quite articulate yet, but I’m hoping it’ll be clear on the album.

That’s the house’s humidifier behind him. It makes living in the desert a lot more bearable.

Classes are canceled today at Virginia Tech, and the day is given over to remembering the events at West AJ and Norris Hall a year ago.

As befits a high-tech school that was on the cutting edge of the Internet before the World Wide Web had even been created, all of the day’s events are Webcast.