Monday, November 24, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Thursday, November 06, 2014
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...
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...
Monday, September 08, 2014
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}
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 |
Monday, August 11, 2014
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...
Long Version: To be posted soon...
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
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.
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...
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Curved TV?
I'm glad that they used Carl Sagan and Gravity in the commercial, but what's the point of a curved TV?
Monday, March 10, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
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.
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?
Monday, December 02, 2013
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...
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...
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
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).
Monday, August 26, 2013
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...
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
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."
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."
Sunday, March 03, 2013
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."
Friday, March 01, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, January 11, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, December 03, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
New Books!
New Butcher!
New Blaine!
And it's neither my birthday or Christmas! Am Ilucky 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...
New Blaine!
And it's neither my birthday or Christmas! Am I
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...
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