Middle Age

I think I've officially reached middle age: I got my first pair of bifocals today.  (Actually, I think they're trifocals, but whatev.)  Several people had shared horror stories and warned me that I'd hate them and should go with reading glasses instead, but my problem wasn't just when I was sitting down to read a book.  It's a little odd where there are blurry patches that used to be clear, but that's completely offset by the joy of being able to read a piece of paper in my hand without having to lift up my glasses and hold the paper up to my nose - that was getting r  e  a  l  l  y tiresome.  I'm able to go down stairs without problem (a warning from the doctor) and even drove from the doctor's office to work.  So far I have no complaints.

The Martian

I LOVED this book, which is really more science than science fiction.  I listened to the audio version and thoroughly enjoyed both Andy Weir's story and R. C. Bray's narration.  I also think the movie did a good job of condensing the book into movie format.

I don't agree with everything in this review - which does have SPOILERS for both the book and movie - but it does a good job of describing what makes this story so compelling, as well as superior to some of the other recent space exploration movies.

McDonald's Breakfast All Day!

Finally!

Quotes

Some quotes from news stories I've read...

Coexistence
"The real dividing line is not between Christianity and Islam, Sunni and Shia, East and West. It is between people who believe in coexistence and those who don't."

This one reminds me of The West Wing episode "Isaac and Ishmael" in which Aaron Sorkin wrote:  "You want to get these people {extremists}? I mean, you really want to reach in and kill them where they live? Keep accepting more than one idea. It makes them absolutely crazy."

Internet
"The internet is an information landfill. Somewhere in it—buried under piles of opinion, speculation, and misinformation—is virtually all of human knowledge. But sorting through the trash is difficult work. Even when you have something you think is valuable, it often turns out to be a cheap knock-off."

Although this story is about an online encyclopedia, this quote also illustrates why it is imperative to have librarians, especially in academic settings, to help educate people about finding the true treasures buried in the trash.

TMT Protest
"The one thing that makes you Hawaiian is one of your ancestors came here in a canoe led by an astronomer."

Philae Lives!

I knew it!  The little lander on the comet woke up and phoned home!  I just love it when science beats the odds.

Passage of Time

Talk about making one feel old...
Star Wars - xkcd

The "Bouncing Baby Space Probe" Ain't Dead Yet

Don't discount Philae yet...

Hooray Philae!

They've done it!  The Philae probe landed on the comet!

I LOVE space success stories :-)

Rosetta

The people who explore space via unmanned vehicles are up to their shenanigans again.  Last time, it was NASA lowering a rover to the surface of Mars via sky crane.  This time it's the European Space Agency (ESA) rendezvousing with a comet, staying with it as it orbits the sun, and next week (fingers crossed, oh please, oh please, let it work) deploying a probe to land on the comet as it spins its way along.

Those of you who think of scientists as dry and boring might want to re-evaluate your perceptions - these people are nuts!

Both agencies created videos to promote their missions - I was impressed by the NASA one explaining the Curiosity mission - and it's still good - but the ESA video for Rosetta is mind-blowing on a whole other dimension...

Hurricane Iselle, Long Version

Below is the response that I sent on August 12 to several friends who emailed me just after the storm (which hit Aug. 7).  After the original email is an update and some photos...

Original email:
While I suffered no personal property damage, many of the electrical poles and lines in my area were devastated - I do have pix which I will try to post soon.  So: no electricity.  Not even a fan - in August, in the tropics, with various storm systems blocking the trade winds when they weren't busy blowing trees down onto power lines.  Even worse for someone who has been relying on the window A/C unit in her bedroom to get a decent night's sleep.  I thought it was annoying back in April 2011 when I had to replace my fridge - and it was - but this is so much worse.  I didn't realize how bad the damage was to the electrical grid so I sat around Friday waiting for the electricity to come back on, trying to preserve the coolness in fridge and freezer - long story short: on Sat. afternoon I ended up in the ER with low potassium.  I strongly recommend you try to avoid this at all costs - potassium thru IV burns!  (Yes, I know - eat more bananas...)

Also, no electricity means no water!  Try for one day to fully concentrate every time you use water:  shower, flush the toilet, laundry, flush the toilet, dishes, flush the toilet, wash your hands, flush the toilet (sensing a theme?).

BUT, it's nowhere near as bad as it could be.  I was very fortunate to be spared any damage that I will have to pay for - other than tossed food.

I flipped the electrical main at the house, loaded the poor kitties with food and water, asked the neighbors to keep an eye on things, and basically abandoned the place (except for periodic kitty checks).  I am extremely fortunate to be staying with a co-worker friend in Hilo, so I have a fan at night, a shower in the morning, and a toilet that flushes itself.

I know I'm complaining about "first world problems" - but I live in the first world, darn it!!
End of original email.

Our electricity came back on and I returned home on Monday August 18.  I discovered that day that my hot water heater needed to be replaced and on Tuesday I discovered that my fridge wasn't working correctly and it took a few days to find and appliance repair person.  Last week I discovered that the washer and dryer aren't working either.  The reason?  On Aug. 10 the electric company tried to restore power to me and my neighbor (there's a line that comes from the street between our properties and then branches off to each house) but the workers didn't notice that the neutral line that serves our houses was damaged so our houses got a HUGE jolt of electricity. 

I'm still fortunate that I didn't end up with a tree on my house or my water catchment tank, which would have resulted in major inconvenience and expense.  Now the semester has started and I'm working Sundays again (which I enjoy) and things are almost back to normal.  {HUGE sigh of relief}

snapped power pole

trees on power lines

cones marking power lines dragging ON the road

Hurricane Iselle, Short Version

Short Version:  I am fine.  Mom is fine.  All the cats are fine.  All our personal property is fine.

Long Version:  To be posted soon...

The Volume of TV Commercials

Dear TV People,

When you figured out that you could make the commercials louder than the TV program, it was merely amusing and annoying, but now with so many people watching TV using headphones it's potentially dangerous and damaging - please stop. 

Wikipedia is NOT a Doctor

It breaks my librarian heart that we still have to tell people that Wikipedia is NOT a Doctor.  I created my Why Not Wikipedia? page and presentation more than three years ago, and I was late to the game...

Curved TV?

I'm glad that they used Carl Sagan and Gravity in the commercial, but what's the point of a curved TV?

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

I'm sure that Carl Sagan is grinning ear to ear about the reboot of Cosmos - and I'm not the only one (CNN story). 

Valentine's Day

A few days late, but I didn't see this post by The Bloggess until today.  She nicely sums up my own feelings about this farcical holiday:  "this is a ridiculous non-holiday made to make everyone feel insecure about their relationships or lack thereof."  I've never had positive feelings about the day and it got worse when one of my grandfathers, an incredibly sweet man, died on February 14, 1999.  {Yes, anniversary dates stick with me.}  So, no chocolates or roses or ridiculously expensive dinner for me.  Instead I did as The Bloggess suggested and did something I enjoyed: I sat on my couch with my kitties and read from several books, completed a slew of crossword puzzles, and continued my Fringe-athon - and a pleasant day was had by all.

Movies Should Be Entertainment

I meant to post this when Gravity was first released - and if you didn't see it in the theatre, you really missed out - but since it comes out on DVD soon, it's timely now, too.

On the Critique of Science in Film (gotta love NdGT)

As consumers we demand a lot, but those demands need to be reasonable.  First, a movie (or TV show) is a form of entertainment.  Even if the world in it seems like ours, it's not; events in it do not have to conform exactly to ours to be true in the movie's version of the universe.*  Stop nitpicking and enjoy the presentation! If at the end you feel like you've wasted valuable minutes of your life that you'll never get back, then be upset, but not at the differences from "reality."  If the show entertained you, it did it's job.

* The most outrageous ones I've seen are the Goofs listed on imdb for Sherlock Holmes: Garment of Shadows where someone(s) actually compiled a list of "errors" when something that was present in the movie (music in a bar scene in 1891) was wrong because it hadn't appeared until later (the song was written in 1892).  Why focus on that?

Almost Human

Dear Almost Human,

I really like you, except for the fact that I've had "Benny and the Jets" running thru my head for days now and it's really starting to drive me crazy!

Other than that, keep up the good work...

Feedly is Friendly to Me

Thank you Feedly for understanding something which my beloved Bloglines forgot after its acquisition by MerchantCircle: I want my RSS feeds to show the blog posts in the order that they were posted, not the newest first. I know that a blog is reverse chronological order and that's fine, but using a feed reader is different than visiting a blog page.  I've been searching and searching for a feed reader that understood this - surely I'm not the only one with this preference?  I'm so happy to have found Feedly: may you live long and prosper (and not delete user choices for no reason).

E-Receipt Only

Kudos to Sears for offering to email me the receipt rather than using paper.  I was somewhere else recently that also offered email receipts, but in addition to the paper receipt, which makes no sense to me.  Sears did give me a small piece of paper with a transaction number on it in case I needed to return something, but this is a step in the right direction...

Good and Bad

The good of libraries, courtesy of  John Scalzi.

The bad, courtesy of  Sarah Houghton.

I've met Sarah - she most emphatically does NOT deserve any of the extremely bad shit that she has been and is still being subjected to.  I wish she wasn't the poster child for "Look!  No matter how bad your life is, it could be worse."

Random Penguin

Most of the time, the Internet is used for stupid.  Sometimes, cleverness peeks thru...

"On Feb 14 2013, the US Dept. of Justice cleared a merger between Random House and Penguin. When this merger was first announced, the Internet rightly decided the new company could only be called Random Penguin.   The company says it will be called Penguin Random House. This is unacceptable. Until the company comes to its senses and renames itself, I will post Random House and Penguin book covers with added random penguins on this site to register my righteous indignation and protest this failure of vision."

3, 2, 1 Cake

If I had stumbled across this on the Internet, I would have classified it as "too good to be true" and moved on.  Fortunately, a friend recommended it after trying it herself.


3, 2, 1 CAKE
These individual little cakes are amazing and ready to eat in one minute! They are perfect for whenever you feel like a treat without all the fat and calories that cake can have.

INGREDIENTS:
1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 box Cake Mix - Any Flavor, may be available in sugar-free

DIRECTIONS:
In a ziploc bag, combine the two cake mixes together and mix well. For each individual cake serving, take out 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix combination and mix it with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and you have your own instant individual little cake!  You can top each cake with a dollop of fat-free whipped topping and/or some fresh fruit.

Store the remaining cake mixture in a ziploc or self-seal bag and use whenever you feel like a treat! No need to refrigerate, since the mix is dry.

This recipe is called 3, 2, 1 Cake because all you need to remember is:
3 tablespoons mix
2 tablespoons water
1 minute in the microwave!

TRY various flavors of cake mix like carrot, red velvet, pineapple, lemon, orange, etc.  The flavor possibilities are endless!

Just remember that one of the mixes has to be the angel food mix; the other is your choice.  The Angel Food is the cake mix that has the eggs whites in it so if anyone is allergic to egg whites, you can NOT serve this recipe to them.

Astro Videos

These are older, but I was cleaning up the desktop...

Flight Through the Universe
From the APOD description: "Every spot in the video is a galaxy containing billions of stars."  This bears repeating:  all the numerous spots you see aren't stars.

In case you feel very small and alone after that, Neil deGrasse Tyson has some words of comfort for you.  It's essentially Carl Sagan's "we are star stuff" expanded, but very well said.  I've linked to Phil's page because I like his acknowledgement of Neil's eloquence.

btw, that eloquence is occasionally evident in Neil's tweets:

"As retired Shuttles majestically grace our cityscapes, we shed a silent tear, not for the end of an era but for the absence of a new one."

...although his Twitter account is usually filled with funny:

If someone committed a crime in outer space who would have jurisdiction? // The law firm of Smith & Wesson.

I'm told somebody's jumping out of a perfectly good balloon from 23-miles up. The theory of gravity no longer needs to be tested in this way.

How To Get Rich: If you fail to convince your friends that the world won't end in 2012, then offer to relieve them of their needless wealth.

R.I.P. Ashe

9 May 1999 - 3 December 2012

New Books!

New Butcher!

New Blaine!

And it's neither my birthday or Christmas!  Am I lucky blessed or what?  I've been looking forward to the new Harry Dresden, but I had no idea a new Blaine McCracken book was in the works - surprise!

And yes, I know I used one author's name and one character's name which isn't parallel, but "Books! Butcher! Blaine!" was just too good to pass up...

I Did It Again. Did You?

I voted today and hope you did, too. 

Henri - L'Haunting

A day late on my part, but here's Henri's take on Halloween.  {links to the other Henri videos}

Disney Buys LucasFilm

I've said it before, and based on all the times I've said it in the past, I'll probably say it again in the future:  Scalzi speaks for me with a style that I envy.

NY Sandy Crisis

I do hope this is true: Leave No Pet Behind!

Brilliant Science Museum Billboards

Science World in Vancouver has the kind of advertising that libraries need.

Another Assignment...

Scalzi does it again, altho' today I'm too tired to think of my own suggestion...

Historical Persons Discuss...

Scalzi poses a great question and his readers respond with other great pairings.  Not sure yet what mine would be, although I'm leaning toward Walt Disney and the Brothers Grimm on fairy tales and the changes to them over the years.  What's your pair?

Bradbury on Mars

Curiosity's landing site now has a name: Bradbury Landing!

I Do. Do You?

I did something simple yet profound today and, as always, it brought tears to my eyes.

I voted.

Each time I vote, each time the machine swallows my ballot, each time the precinct official says, "Thank you for voting" my eyes fill up as I think of how privileged I am to be able to perform that simple yet important task and how wrong it is that others haven't.

I don't know whether it's the thought that millions of people on this planet aren't allowed to vote, if it's that millions of women can't, even if the men around them can, or if it's the millions who can, who have the right and responsibility to vote, who reap the benefits of a system that protects their right to excercise their opinion by voting...and yet, they just don't.

I'm not going to win "Citizen of the Year" any time soon:  I don't volunteer, I give to charity rarely, and I certainly don't follow politics closely.  But I do vote.  And I hope that if you can, you do, too.

Librarian Talents

Librarians organize.  Librarians search.  Librarians teach.  And Librarians find... all sorts of things...

Curiosity ON Mars!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!   Wile E. Coyote finally wins!


Go, Curiosity, Go!  Have fun exploring!

Updated with news links:

JPL Press Release

Love Wil's comments under the picture

Curiosity to Mars

NASA has gone all science-fictiony again - way past the Looney Tunes idea of bouncy ball airbags.

Check out this 5-minute video explaining how the Curiosity rover will get to the red planet (teaser: it involves a sky crane!).  The video is two minutes shorter than the time span of terror that NASA scientists and engineers will experience this weekend as they wait to find out if the newest Mars rover touched down safe and sound.

It's a safe bet that I'll be glued to my NASA app for this...

Taken 2

Somehow Taken slipped in and out of theatres without me noticing and I've had to be content with the DVD. This will not happen with Taken 2 - October 5 is already highlighted on my calendar.

Henri, with More Ennui

Poor Henri goes to the vet...

Avengers Meets Firefly

There are days when I LOVE the Internet:  "The Avengers" Intro: Firefly Style

Avengers

Joss Whedon has proved yet again that he is a genius.  The Avengers had all the right stuff: dialogue, pacing, framing.  UPDATE:  And music - how could I have missed the music?

Those of you who are tempted to leave right as the credits start:  you really shouldn't.  Truly, have some patience for a change.

Henri's Ennui

I can't decide if I prefer watching these with or without sound - the French is mildly distracting, although the clear resignation in his tone is perfect.

Henri
Henri 2, Paw de Deux

Promo Commercial

Only occasionally do I miss television - fortunately I have a good friend who makes sure I don't miss gems like this.  The more I watch it, the more perfect it gets - the way RDJ looks at the camera at 0:16 and NF's look of smug satisfaction at the veeeery end are pure gold in my book.

Tax ReFUNd

Thanks to being able to declare Mom as my dependent last year, I received nice-sized tax refunds from both the feds and the state.  I spent most of the money responsibly - I even bought a new vacuum cleaner! - and was preparing to squirrel the rest into savings when a little voice piped up about how since the new iPad4 had just been released, the older iPad2 was probably on sale. 

"Ridiculous," I told the voice firmly, "I don't need an iPad.  Serenity still goes everywhere* with me and I have my netbook connected to a monitor at home for doing homework."

But the little voice was remarkably persistent, pointing out how my work email doesn't get along with Serenity (although Yahoo! mail works just fine) and how long it takes to power up the netbook and then wait for the desktop and then wait for the browser and enter passwords, and wait.... 

The voice and I argued for several days, but in the end, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try an iPad, would it?  I could always return it...

I did feel guilty for a few days - it was quite a bit more expensive than I had anticipated -  but the guilt is gone now.  Checking work email** now is a push, swipe, tap and no waiting.  And since I still don't have TV, it's nice to have a device that plays Netflix streaming without the pixelation that my netbook thinks is necessary.

Of course, the new tech needed a name.  Since part of my guilt came from the fact that I already have a perfectly wonderful iPod Touch and a netbook so why did I need another device, I named him JACK - Just Another Cool Know-it-all***.  Another Jack in my life - just what I needed!


* Literally - the only time Serenity's farther than arm's length is when I'm in the pool and she's safely secured in the locker.  There are worse things to be severely attached to...

** I'm not compulsive about checking work email - I only scan the subject lines - but with my wonky schedule, it's good to see if an early meeting has been cancelled or if a last-minute meeting has been
scheduled.

*** For those as geeky as me, yes, I stole the idea from Jarvis.  For those not as geeky as me, the name of Tony Stark's A.I. in the Iron Man movies is Jarvis, or Just A Rather Very Intelligent System.

New Calendar

Although I'm not sure about their Universal Time concept, I'm intrigued* by the Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar that is "simple, religiously unobjectionable, business-friendly and identical year-to-year."

CNN has a more succinct version of the story.

* not just because my birthday will always fall on a Saturday.

Funny Cat Video

Maybe I just really needed a laugh, but this video of various cats cracks me up.  You must be patient - the first 40 seconds are deceptively placid (and several segments are cringe-inducing) but overall it makes me laugh so hard I can't watch it when there are others - people or cats - in the same room.

Climate Change

To anyone who says our climate isn't changing:  April used to be warmer than February.

How Many Moons Does Earth Have?

This short piece from NPR reports some research from one of the astronomers where I used to work:  Earth Has Just One Moon, Right? Think Again

I love this line:  "Mostly these {asteroids} go whizzing by, not even slowing down to wave."

The Long, Twisted Path To Mercury video is interesting, too - what a crazy concept, what a wild ride.

Nerd Alert

You already knew I was a nerd, but did you know this?

Pool Time Update

It's been two months and most weeks I've made it to the pool 3 times a week.  Not every week, but I'm satisfied that this new exercise regimen has taken hold.  The most difficult thing is forcing myself to get out of the pool to take a shower and get to work on time! 

I'm also gradually changing the way I eat - a major hurdle - to accommodate the exercise since I can't jog on an empty stomach - nor on a full one - so I'm experimenting with small, nutritious, safe-to-eat-while-driving snacks.

My first goal is the stamina to stand all day at WDW at the end of the year.  So far, I'm usually able to feel satisfied with my progress as a good start after years of not doing anything, although I sometimes vacillate between "this is a good start" and "I'm not progressing fast enough."  Only time will tell.

Reality

Another quote of the day from my Mutts comic email:

"The moon is one, but on agitated water it produces many reflections.

Similarly ultimate reality is one, yet it appears to be many in a mind agitated by thoughts."

~ ~ Maharamayana

Carbon Map

I didn't need another reason to feel bloated, but here it is.  The Carbon Map seeks to make "sense of climate change responsibility and vulnerability."  The short intro video is worth a watch (and watching the U.S. will explain the bloated reference).

Are You Ready?

This article is from 2011, just about a year ago, but still relevant... and scary.

What If the Biggest Solar Storm on Record Happened Today?

In 1859 "...geomagnetic disturbances were strong enough that U.S. telegraph operators reported sparks leaping from their equipment—some bad enough to set fires...if something similar happened today, the world's high-tech infrastructure could grind to a halt... The eastern half of the U.S. is particularly vulnerable, because the power infrastructure is highly interconnected, so failures could easily cascade like chains of dominoes. Imagine large cities without power for a week, a month, or a year..."

I ask again, "will you be prepared when the digital world dies?"

Pool Time

I've finally started to do something about exercising more.  My campus has a Student Life Center that allows faculty to purchase a membership (students pay as part of their tuition). The SLC has an Olympic-sized swimming pool and although I don't really swim, I do enjoy jogging back and forth in one of the lanes.  Jogging in water is a little easier on the joints, offers nice resistance, and is much cooler.

My half-price "early bird" membership allows me entrance anytime on Saturdays and Sundays and before 1:30pm M-F, which means I can go before work.  Probably the only time I'll ever qualify for anything "early bird"! 

I had to purchase a lock since I will be walking directly from the car with my backpack full of electronic gadgets (iPod, Kindle, netbook), wallet, keys, etc. that will need to be secured.  The one I got came with a bonus: the combination is my grandmother's birthday - in month, day, year order.  If that's not a sign from above that this is what I should be doing and that I have plenty of support, then I don't know what is...

It's one thing to be shaken about in a 1-story house during an earthquake and an entirely different terror to be inside a massive 3-story commercial building as it dances.  Very surprisingly, we didn't lose power.  No damage, no injuries, but definitely an experience I don't want to have again.

I get the Mutts comic each day via email, which comes with a quote of the day - I want to make sure I don't lose this one:

Lose your mind and come to your senses.
~ Fritz Perls

Hmmmmm.........

Clancy's Tavern

Please, please, let Toby's new album be more - much more - in the style of the single Made in America* and less - lots less - in the style of Red Solo Cup**.

* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pure awesomeness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
** wtf?!

UPDATE:  HUGE sigh of relief and BIG smiles!  Clancy’s Tavern, both the song and album, are already on my faves lists.  RSC, on the other hand, shall never be thought of nor mentioned ever again....

Kindle Touch, Part Two

I was talking to a colleague who didn't understand why I wanted a new Kindle if it wasn't going to be the Kindle Fire.  I explained that I spend much of my work time - and then schoolwork time after that - staring at a computer screen, so that's the last thing I want to look at when I finally get a few moments to read something for pleasure.  If you've never seen one, the Kindle E ink screen is different than a computer, iPad, or iPod screen - it's really more like reading a piece of paper. 

As we continued talking about the new versions of Kindles and the pros and cons, he asked why I was hesitating when the new Kindle Touch I want is only a hundred bucks.  On the one hand, $100 is nothing to trifle with in this economy, but in my head I'd been thinking "Kindle=Big Bucks" because the price of my original Kindle, purchased as a birthday gift two and a half years ago, was a hefty $350 (fortunately subsidized by family and friends).  Compared to that, maybe throwing a C-note at a first-generation piece of technology isn't so crazy after all...

Big Screen

A friend who remembered my long-time desire to replace my 19’ TV (pathetic, I know) with a projection system came into possession of an old, heavy, but still functioning projector.  It was GLORIOUS to see the huge images flickering across the wall.  The colors were fantastic and it even has a speaker so I didn’t have to drag my floor models out of storage and tempt the cats with wiring (Pye once chewed a power cord).  I lost count of how many times I paused on images to gaze upon the larger-than-life (almost movie size!) loveliness displayed in my living room. {BIG sigh of contentment}

Kindle Touch

I must show restraint:  I will not buy a first-generation Kindle Touch.  Even tho' it has Wi-Fi, which I have at home, instead of 3G, which I don't.  It's first generation, which means I should wait.  Patience...  Patience...

Update Arrrgh!

I spent an hour last night re-installing and re-arranging the apps on Serenity because Apple applied an update that utterly destroyed all my careful customization. Deep breath...

Another Degree

As some of you know, I have begun working on my second master's degree (for librarians additional degrees are like cats - you can't have just one). The new one is a Master of Education in Educational Technology. One of the assignments is to start a website for posting some of the assignments and the final project, so here's Amy's ETEC Experience.

Sci-Fi Sites

SFE: Science Fiction Encyclopedia

SF Gateway

ENG 215

English class is learning about blogs.

T&P

It's official and I have a certified letter to prove it!

"... very pleased to inform you that ... the Board of Regents approved your application for tenure and promotion to the rank of Librarian III ... Thank you for your continued contributions on behalf of your profession and the University."

Why, no, my feet aren't touching the ground today!

Tenure!

Promotion!

Go me!!

Fridge

Do you take your refrigerator for granted?

The next time you go searching for a snack, take a moment to ask yourself how you would fare (pun intended) if your cold food storage unit suddenly decided it was too tired to keep its cool any longer. Do you have a cooler large enough for the basics? What provisions are you going to lose because a cooler is smaller than a fridge? How long does it take to get a new fridge delivered? In my case: No. A lot. 4 days.

On the positive side, I got a 10% discount on an Energy Star unit, can apply for a $125 rebate for replacing the old one, and should start having a lower electric bill each month. And I never really liked the fridge that came with the house anyway...

Space Pages

Some links I want to keep handy...

Powers of Ten

Star Size Comparisons

Student Balloon Mission

Logic Problem

I don't think one needs to be a Vulcan to see the logical inconsistency here:

"I'm Not Willing to Give Up on Any Child In America:" The President's Trip to Miami Central High School

President Obama Cuts RIF's Funding

WTF?!

Have You Ever Noticed?...

...the invitation to the class reunion in Grosse Pointe Blank says "Dress to Kill."

iPod Touch, Part Two

Well, that was easy...

My very wonderful Dad* has a membership at Sam's Club, which was having a "no interest for a year" special - I had to get the 64 GB to qualify, but the payment terms make the higher price worth it.

I spent hours - literally - yesterday getting acquainted and I think this is going to work just as well as I had hoped: I already have a to-do list with several items on it, a shopping list, and a notes program to jot down all the things I want to remember - books to read, movie recommendations, which brand of cheese not to buy. Might sound silly, but I forget if I don't write things down and it's getting worse as I get older. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Next step: transferring my contacts and calendar from myYahoo - no more forgetting the address/phone book or not knowing what my schedule is when somebody asks if we can meet, because this organizer is going everywhere with me.

I also had some fun in the Apps Store - all for free! Pandora, NASA, BBC News. There was even a free book - title predetermined - with the iBooks download: Winnie-the-Pooh!! The title choice somehow seems like a stamp of approval from the universe, that this was a good choice and not the extravagance it still feels like.

The naming process was especially difficult this time, but in the end I decided to re-use the name from the computer I don't have anymore because I am hoping that this new companion will bring much Serenity into my life.

* He also reads my blog...

Off The Map

Although set "Somewhere in South America" Off the Map is actually filmed in Hawai‘i*.

I know some people who have been working as extras on the show - have you ever watched a TV show trying to find people in the background? It's not easy, for several reasons - extras are usually:

• out of focus

and/or

• in crowd shots

and/or

• only on camera for a few seconds

and/or

• on the edge of the screen

Oh, and it really, really doesn't help that the lead actor is so incredibly distracting.


* Yes, the scenery actually looks like that. Yes, the greens are actually that green and the blues that blue. Yes, I live in the most beautiful place on earth.

iPod Touch

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and getting an iPod Touch. Does anyone have one? Like it? Problems?*

What I really need is a PDA - calendar, address/phone book, to do list, voice memo recorder- but the thief who broke into the house** stole mine and you can't buy PDAs anymore 'cause everything's smartphones now and I most definitely do NOT need a smartphone - I don't need to hike up the cost of my cell phone bill for more minutes that I won't use (my current plan is only 6o minutes/month and I don't even use all of them) and I certainly don't need to then add more $$ for a data plan that I'm not going to use since both work and home have wireless - which the 4th generation Touch can use - and I'm rarely anywhere else.

Make sense? Anyone have a better idea to get me organized? I think the iPod Touch is the way to go, but $275*** is a bit steep, hence my waffling and plea for information....


* My iPod classic - which I love - has recently started giving me static - literally - when I adjust the volume - very annoying. I'd be grateful for any pointers with that, too.
** Thankfully the cats were not harmed and didn't escape out the open window, nothing of great monetary value was taken, and there was no vandalism - it could have been much, much worse.
** * My tech guy, whom I trust, insists that the 8GB isn't worth it, that I need to go with at least the 32GB.

So You Think...

...libraries are irrelevant, unnecessary, and unwanted?

Think Again!

Big Human Chain Helps Small Town Library (video)

Two Videos

Cat vs Printer - The Translation
Of course I laughed at the original video but this version - OMG!

Language by Stephen Fry
This one is longer, but well worth it if you have any love of language.
(Discovered through Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog - his post title is "Grammar nazis get Fryed" which is also quite brilliant.)

Dear CBS

PLEASE, PLEASE, I am literally on my knees as I type this, BEGGING you - give Hawaii 5-0 a real chance. Don't cancel it after only a few episodes.

Hawaii is my home and I love it (my dad would say irrationally so). I was skeptical when I first heard about the re-make, but I just watched the pilot and was hooked before the credits started and was a devoted convert soon after. Great actors, great action, great use of scenery and local color (although, really, we make that last part kinda easy, don't we?).

The show is off to a great start. Hawaii and her culture and her people have so much to offer - give us a chance to show you.

Mahalo.

Size 6

Since when is size 6 not considered skinny?

Time Flies Fast Enough

Well said, sister! It's always made me crazy that the dates on the magazines are so far ahead and how we had to make room at Borders for the next year's calendars in August.

Sci-Fi Letdown

I do love me some sci-fi, but it does have its problems.

Too Many Years

This is SO depressing...

Firefly in the 80s

I envy creative people.

House Anniversary

One year ago some very good friends gave up part of their weekend to heave everything I own (a considerable amount that's still difficult to believe) out of the rental house, into a U-Haul, and then into my new digs. It was extremely generous of them and I am still grateful as I sit here, one circle around the sun later, enjoying my first anniversary in my home.

Enjoying the Back Porch

This is another of Dad's big projects that we are all enjoying (although I still need to seal the boards with Thompson's). The old porch was built out of two different types of boards, one of which became the front deck; the other, the cross beams for the new room.

Email Subject Line

One of the best email subject lines I've ever seen:

There Is a Kitten in This Newsletter. You're Welcome.

And there was, and it was adorable, and I was thankful.

Here's hoping your email today will offer you at least something interesting - even if you aren't lucky enough to get a kitten.

Home Improvements

Here are some of the results of Dad's visit. There will be a part two with more photos eventually...

We lifted the composite boards from the covered back porch and moved them out here. Although I helped a little with the framing, Dad laid this all on his own.

Note the new security screen door. We also installed one of these on the back door to increase the air flow in the house with the added bonus that the cats love sitting in front of them and watching the world outside fly, creep, and crawl by.

This new room encloses the washer & dryer, water heater, water pump. Once I get it finished and painted it will be the screen for the projector. Unbelievably, none of the cats has climbed on top. Yet.


Obviously I have some painting to do here, too, around the new, smaller vanity and mirror in the master bath.


The new vanity and mirror in the guest bath are an even bigger improvement: the old vanity stuck way out (see below).


Old vanity:


A HUGE mahalo to Dad for these and all the other projects he completed. More photos soon...

Links

Future of Publishing (YouTube)

Mauna Kea Web Cam

Stars Over Mauna Kea

ISS Growth

Tsunami

Mahalo to all those who called to urge me to flee the oncoming waters. No worries, though - I am more than a mile outside the evac zone.



That is, until California stops just dancing around and finally collapses into the Pacific - on that day, I promise that I will head for the top of one of our very tall mountains.

Got Snow?

I try very hard to resist the urge to be obnoxious about how wonderful the weather is here in Paradise. Suffice it to note that one of the local sayings is "Lucky you live Hawaii." I'm sorry, though, this I cannot resist...

From the Associated Press: There's snow in every state except Hawaii.

Really, after that title, there's no more to say. Except, of course, "Lucky I live Hawaii." Where this afternoon, when it cools down a little, I will don shorts, short-sleeved shirt, and sunglasses and go take a walk by the ocean. Okay, so there was a little more to say :-}

Feelin' Good

I'm feeling rather good about myself today. My professional self, at least - the personal me needs some a lot of work.

My second contract renewal application was approved (!) so I now have a job through June 30, 2011 (although with a pay cut, but that's another story). I will have to apply for tenure this October to see if I stay employed after that (and I'll be applying for promotion at the same time). But for now, I not only have someplace that wants my professional efforts but I also have some extremely gratifying and validating comments from both my director and the committee that reviewed my dossier. Hmmm... how shall I celebrate?

Closing Tabs

Scalzi discusses a relic:
"The real irony of this {floppy} disc is that the amount of memory you can write to it (1.44 MB, if memory — heh – serves) isn’t enough to store the jpeg of the picture of it which came out of my camera (1.49 MB)."

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I can really get behind this sentiment from Cherie, which although technically isn't a New Year's resolution was posted around New Year's: "I resolve to keep on keepin’ on. It’ll either be enough, or it won’t."

Map Wish

I wish there was a program or website that had the outlines of countries and a list from which you could select cities and areas to be plotted on the map which you could then print. For example, an outline of Britain and then I could click the boxes for London, Oxford, Cambridge, Sussex, York, etc. and I would get a map with only those places I'm interested in instead of a map with so much stuff that it all ends up being kinda meaningless.

Of course it would also have to be able to show areas from different historical periods.

I'm no computer programmer, but surely in today's marvelous digital world that's not too difficult a task, is it?

New House Pix Postponed

I know that I promised some of you that I would post new pix of the home after the winter break, but I'm going to postpone for two reasons. First, typically, I didn't get as much done as I had hoped - a perpetual problem that I encounter every weekend. Sigh.

The other reason is that my dad is coming (!) in March to help with some minor repairs and improvements and I know the place will look a gajillion times better :-) after his visit, so I really will post new pix after he leaves (2nd week of April). Really.

Audible.com

I joined Audible.com this year and am enjoying it immensely. Many years ago I tried listening to audiobooks on cassette (yes, that long ago) but either performances have greatly improved or my earlier choices were poorly done (or both) because I could never get past the terrible attempts by the narrators to differentiate the voices of characters. Fortunately a few years ago someone forced me to listen to Jim Dale’s narration of the Harry Potter books and I realized that audiobooks could be done well, although I doubted anyone would ever come close to comparing with his superb performance.

What sucked me in was that Audible was having two specials and I took advantage of both and now I’m well and truly hooked. There are several levels of membership – the special I got was the most basic level for ½ price for 3 months. Each month I receive one credit and while some companies might swindle you by “pricing” items at more than one credit, I have yet to find a book that is more than one credit, so each month I get a book – not bad for $7.95. Naturally my first credit was for Liam’s narration of How the Irish Saved Civilization. Although I have greatly enjoyed the cassette version of this, it’s so nice to hear that amazing voice on the unbelievable clarity of my iPod.

The second special deal was a selection of titles for only $4.95 – incredible when you consider that sometimes audio versions are more expensive than the print. I was able to get one of my favorite books, O Jerusalem, in one of my favorite series, Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes stories. I wasn’t sure at first that I would like Jenny Sterlin’s narration, but for less than a Lincoln, I was willing to give it a try – and am I ever glad that I did! I quickly grew to appreciate her reading and she has an ability only slightly below Dale’s to distinguish one character from another. I now also have the first in the series (Beekeeper’s Apprentice) and with my next credit I will get my other favorite to complete my own personal trilogy, Justice Hall, which features characters from O Jerusalem. I probably won’t get any others in the series unless they go on sale, although I think I’ll try Laurie’s Touchstone eventually.

I’m grateful to Audible for providing decently long samples of the recordings so I can really judge the possibilities of the narration as either “I think this might turn out to be okay” or “Ewww! No way!!” Unfortunately one of my other favorite series, the Honor Harrington books by David Weber, falls into the second category. To me, Allyson Johnson’s narration brings to mind those terrible narrations that were so off-putting when I was younger. Even worse, while I’ve always thought it was the Royal Manti-coran Navy, her pronunciation is Man-tic-oran which makes me wince and is very distracting. Oh, well, there are plenty of other choices for my credits – after all, I haven’t even started on Neil Gaiman’s works yet and by every account I’ve ever seen anywhere, his narrations of his works are fantastic.

Even when my 3-month membership deal is up and the price doubles to $14.95/month, my credit will allow me to get audiobooks that are cheaper than the regular Audible or iTunes prices. My drive home seems shorter now, so it’s worth it for that, if nothing else. If you are at all inclined toward audiobooks I strongly urge you to try Audible.com.

Closing Tabs

Some of these stories are from a few weeks ago, but I still wanted to post about them:

From the incomparable Scalzi:
"Some jackass HOA tells a 90-year-old Medal of Honor winner he can’t have a flagpole in his front yard...Dear homeowners association: When a Medal of Honor recipient wants to have a flagpole in his front yard, you say “Yes, sir. By all means. Thank you, sir.”" At least they finally came to their senses.

I was fortunate enough many years ago to experience a shuttle launch and this piece captures the excitement and awe of getting ready to watch this memorable event: "When you actually see a rocket about to head into space, it’s a completely overwhelming experience."

I love attempts to show the scale of the Solar System and this is one of the more successful ones - on my big work monitor it took me something like 27 clicks just to get to Mercury. Of course you'll want to click and hold, but don't blink or you'll even miss the big guys.

Murphy's Second Law for Christmas Shopping

As a follow up:

As soon as you and a friend agree not to buy anything for each other, you will stumble upon the perfect gift.

Cat Lover's Daily Companion

It's here! And it's incredibly awesome! I'm so happy for Miss Lori* and her co-authors - great job!

I have to try page 67 - I think my babies will like that.

The answer to the question on page 21 - definitely good!

Love the lists on pages 40 and 220 - on that second one you can find out where my youngest got his name.

No, I'm not going to tell you what's on those pages - you really should buy the book for yourself. And for Christmas gifts. And birthday gifts. While you go do that, I'm going to open my book and learn some more and have some fun and admire some great photos and....

*Yes, she's a friend, but just like when I promoted her jewelry last year, I wouldn't urge you to spend your hard-earned moula if her products weren't worth it.

Truth and Fiction

I love it when truth is stranger than fiction: National Geographic reports that Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Shelters.

Murphy's Law for Christmas Shopping

The less inclined you are to shop for Christmas presents, the more likely you are to:

a. find absolutely nothing at all for the people you most want / need to get something for
b. find the perfect gift for someone you have no intention of buying anything for.

Anyone care to disagree?

Quiet Thanksgiving

Even though work has been quite draining lately, I am thankful that I not only have a job, but one that I do enjoy most of the time, with a schedule that fits my body clock, and interesting colleagues to share in the journey.

I'm thankful for my wonderful new house, despite the occasional twinge of panic when I realize that I'm actually a homeowner.

I'm thankful for my fantastic car which acts up in mild ways every now and then just to remind me of all the grief I don't have to deal with because she is so fantastic.

I'm thankful for friends who put up with me and put me up.

I'm thankful for the way that things which could go terribly wrong and be incredibly inconvenient somehow always work out rather well.

I truly am blessed and although I certainly don't know why and don't think I deserve it, I am thankful to be so - today and always. I hope you and yours have much to be thankful for as well.

Semester from Hell

Although it seems like I say this  every  semester, this one is particularly gruesome. We still have three librarian vacancies (share the workloads!) and our director has been on sick leave and limited duty since July (more workload!) and we had to let a staff member go, so the librarians are now doing interlibrary loans for our subject liaison areas - and because of the librarian vacancies I now cover 10 subjects* and since most are big subjects (astronomy, biology, history, marine science, physics) with lots of loan requests, I say yet again - added workload!

This leaves me with near-nil energy for anything else - I haven't even figured out the subject of my 10-page paper due Dec. 8 - so I finally gave up on painting and started positioning bookcases and emptying boxes of books onto shelves, but even this pleasant task doesn't claim my attention that often. I did completely re-think the bedroom and if I can ever figure out what's wrong with my camera, I'll post pictures - I really like the new arrangement.

So if you've sent me an email and I haven't answered, I'm sorry. I'm just very blah right now - nothing major and this too shall pass, but for now: blah...

* I don't imagine anybody actually counted, but if you did and came up one short, it's because I'm co-liaison for English.