What you’ll find if you trace far enough back on ancestry.com… plus, info about two parties tonight

Dimetrodon

Ughhh.  Called in this morning due to an upset stomach.  It’s been bothering me since Wednesday.  I’ll spare everyone the details.

So I’m sitting in bed with the netbook this morning, surfing Wikipedia.  Lately I’ve been reading about the different archeological periods and how life evolved.  It’s quite interesting.  I had a book on dinosaurs when I was 5, and the creature pictured in this post was then classified as a dinosaur.  Turns out it’s not.  In the Permian, the period immediately preceding the age of the dinosaurs, animals that laid eggs on land diverged into two groups.  One group was the sauropsids, which evolved into lizards, snakes, crocodiles, dinosaurs, and birds.

The other group was the synapsids, which evolved over years into a group called the cynodonts, which evolved into mammals.  The handsome fella pictured here was a synapsid, and therefore he may be one of our very earliest ancestors.  The sail on his back was a primitive means of regulating his temperature, marking the beginning of the evolution of warm-blooded animals.

Too bad that, as we evolved, we didn’t retain more of the characteristics of Uncle Dimetrodon.  Having a sail on our backs would have been sweeeeeet.  Think how that would change sports like windsurfing.

All right… Since I’m not feeling well I’m not gonna do a full “Friday update” post, but two things to know about tonight:

It’s time for another Alley Jams party featuring Memphis music at a Downtown location.  This week it’s at Main and Peabody Place, and will feature saxophonist/songwriter Brian “Breeze” Cayolle, and blues artist Preston Shannon.  Vendors start selling at 4:30; music at 5.

Not far down the street, Shelton Clothiers is having the 3rd birthday party for their Pink Pig clothing line.  If you’re wearing the Pig, they’ll serve you award-winning Squeal Street BBQ, beer and wine.  If you don’t own any Pink Pig apparel, they’ll be selling T-shirts for $10, hats for $15, and they’ll give you $10 off any collared knit.

When I get to feeling better I’ll upload pics from last night’s MIFA Feed the Soul party at The Warehouse… best party I’ve ever attended there, and having gone I can’t believe this event hasn’t been on my radar in past years.  Thanks Kris, MIFA and sponsors for a delightful evening.