First Canal trek with Yuuri

Yesterday I headed over to the Augusta Canal trail for some biking. I rode from the headgates to the pumping station without stopping at about 12 mph average, then relaxed on my way back, stopping frequently for pictures.

I was interested to see that the construction at the Waterworks is done. Now there's a nice paved trail above the paved parking/work area for the pumping station. It looks pretty nice.

I tried this time for some interesting depth of field (DOF) shots by using the manual focus. I was marginally successful.

The headgates waterfall was barely a trickle, and the river was low. There was a woman standing out on the exposed rocks, fishing. I got a few pictures of her.

I also took the opportunity to take some nice pictures of Yuuri.

All in all, I'm fairly happy with these photos. I'd been feeling lately like I'd just been phoning it in, so on this trip I took my time and seriously tried to get good shots. That the pictures didn't all turn out the way I'd hoped just means I have more to learn :)

NaNoWriMo approacheth

Two days till NaNoWriMo. I am going to participate this year, and this time I will actually keep writing all month, instead of stopping after a week, or whatever it was I did last year.

The rules dictate that I can't have written any of this work beforehand, so I can't continue any of my old stories. It's good to have a clean slate, but for awhile I wasn't sure I'd be able to think of something to write about.

However, an interesting concept came to me recently. It touches on personal privacy issues and the paranormal. The story will take place a couple generations from now, so things will still be recognizable, but there will be plenty of new technology.

Even if this has been done before, it's never been done by me, so I think it will be worth doing even if I can't publish it.

Having a concept is all well and good, but the characters are paramount. Right now I'm seeing two principal characters, a teenager and a younger sibling, and I'm thinking they're being raised by a single father who has become very overprotective since divorcing his wife, who is an abusive alcoholic. I haven't figured out the kids' genders yet, but right now I'm leaning towards the idea of both of them as girls.

I'm considering using my old AMRN character, Natalie "Byron" Ryan, for the teenage daughter, but I haven't decided yet. This would actually be somewhat convenient, because the closest character I've played to how I envison the girls' father is Bill Anderson, who was Byron's self-appointed guardian. However, I don't want to trap myself within old story ideas--this is going to be something new and different. (The teenage daughter will not have high levels of Spiritia ;P)

I'm also not sure from whose perspective I will write. It's tempting to write from the father's perspective, because his motivations are key and I feel the urge to explain them, but ultimately I think it will be best to have the father represent a circumstance rather than act as protagonist. With the teenage daughter I have the perfect foil for both the reaction to the father's actions and the realization of the phenomena surrounding the younger sister...

I do think I'll stick to third person, though, because a teenage girl's perspective would be tiring to write (and read).

Our wedding photos

Thankfully, we didn't lose our wedding pictures in the fire. They were all digital, and Mom had full-size copies. She gave them to me when I visited last, and today I uploaded the full images to my smugmug. Those of you who saw my wedding pictures over on the old Aubrey Family website will find new pictures in the Reception gallery: I've uploaded the pictures from the disposable cameras as well as the digital images. Most of them didn't come out very well, unfortunately, but I do like this one:

If you don't want to wade through all those shots, and instead are interested only in the pictures that I think are good, click here. (Bear in mind that I love them all, but from an artistic point of view only the ones I've tagged as "good" make the grade.) If you'd like to nominate a photo to be tagged as "good", just comment on this post! (I plan eventually to go through all my photos and tag the best ones.)

I've also added a "funny" tag to some of these pics. Check it out ;)

My baby brother, ladies and gentlemen.

A deluge of bouncy balls

This is awesome. And it was done without CGI! From the About page:

In an age when CGI is commonplace, this makes the commercial all the more extraordinary. Every single frame was shot over two days - with the main sequence involving a 23-man camera crew and only one chance to get it right.

An entire block was closed off and special compressed-air cannons shot the balls into the air, while earth moving equipment poured thousands down the street. Not that you'd know it from the finished product, but these balls can do some damage, so all the cars were props and crew members went so far as to having protective shields and crash helmets.

But when you get it right, you get it right. The goal at the beginning was to deliver a "really simple, visual celebration of colour". We think you'll agree the results speak for themselves.

Via BoingBoing.

Under the right circumstances, people use "under" instead of "in"

Arnold Zwicky over at Language Log has been looking into the phenomenon of "under" versus "in" occurring before the phrase "[modifier] circumstances". I, personally, couldn't recall ever hearing someone say "in the circumstances", but Zwicky stated previously that not only is this how he says it, but it's considered proper.

Of course, it's Language Log's purpose to debunk prescriptive language rules, so he did a little googling to see how people are actually using the phrase. Not content to simply check with "the circumstances", he tried "these", "all", "no", and several other modifiers.

In summary: the Google data suggest that "under" is preferred to "in"

(modestly)
    with determiners "the" and "these"
(more strongly)
    with determiner "which"
(very strongly)
    with determiner "what"
(almost categorically)
    with quantity determiner "no"

but that "in" is preferred to "under"

(almost categorically)
    when "circumstances" means 'personal situation'
(strongly)
    with determiner "those" in general
(almost categorically)
    with determiner "those" plus certain following relatives
(modestly)
    with quantity determiners "all" and "some"
(strongly)
    with quantity determiner "many"
(almost categorically)
    with quantity determiner "a few"

This just scratches the surface of the phenomenon, but it's enough to indicate that several effects are probably going on. As usual, the facts of usage are complex, subtle, sometimes surprising, and not easy to derive from first principles.

Ah, science.

Today's Overuse of an Expression Award goes to: Breck Mickelson, Nicholasville

They're talking about putting a huge Jack Nicklaus signature golf course over off US 68 in western Nicholasville. (Ugh. They only just finished the lane expansion over there...) It would be a golfing community, similar to The River in North Augusta, with houses and townhomes averaging $500,000 apiece.

Breck Mickelson, a Nicholasville resident, is understandably perturbed.

"We didn't want to live in the city. That's why we moved out here."

I'm with Breck, really. US 68 (aka Harrodsburg Road, aka my favorite way to get to my parents' house) has gone to crap in recent years, with construction (notably Southland Christian Church, which seemingly quadrupled in size) and added lanes out the wazoo.

I actually used to be a proponent of widening Harrodsburg Road, and it really does help traffic congestion to have those extra lanes, but now I think I was short-sighted. With Harrodsburg widened, now people are going to want to build up all along it, just like what happened to Nicholasville Road. We'll lose ancient farmhouses and traditional stone fencing. We'll lose old trees and rolling farmland. We'll gain...shopping outlets, and a golf course? (There's already a golf course along Harrodsburg, thank you very much.)

So yes, I am with Breck Mickelson. I agree with him 100%. And when he said,

We need 660 houses in Jessamine County like we need a hole in the head.

I thought that was pretty clever.

But then he said,

We need more traffic on Harrodsburg Road like we need a hole in the head.

Now come on, Mr. Mickelson. I know that redundancy can be powerful, but the cliche "like we need a hole in the head" is powerful enough. Redundancy only cheapens the sentiment.

In this instance, we need redundancy like we need a hole in the head.

(See what I did there?)

Grand theft auto at Hogwarts!

Yahoo! News: Oddly Enough: Harry Potter's "flying" car is stolen

Come on, it was never Harry's car. (And really, when you become intelligent, can you truly belong to anyone?)

George Takei comes out of the closet

Good for him. (Via Kirkie)

Is it bad that I still, to this day, get Sulu and Chekov confused? :>

You will not believe this

I know I didn't.

Driver swerves to miss cat and hits 36 kids, one adult in Shizuoka

No lie:

The driver of a passenger car dodged a cat and the vehicle crashed into a line of nursery school children in the city of Shizuoka on Thursday afternoon, injuring 36 children and an adult looking after them, police said.

That is nuts! I'm just glad no one was killed!

Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to replace USS Kitty Hawk

The Kitty Hawk is pretty old; it's past time to decommission her. The main reason she's stayed at Yokosuka for so long, or so I understand, is because she's diesel. The Japanese have historically refused to allow nuclear vessels to dock, due to fears of leakage. Indeed, this new agreement with the US includes some specific guidelines:

"Japan believes that the continued presence of the U.S. Navy ... will contribute to Japan's safety and ... stability in the Far East," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.

He said the agreement would not threaten the safety of Japanese residents, who have long been wary of a U.S. nuclear presence because of radiation leaks.

"The U.S. side has told us that it will maintain safety ... and take strict (measures)," he said.

Hosoda added that to ensure safety, the carrier will stop its nuclear reactor while anchored at a base in Japan and conduct no repairs while in Japan.

This reticence towards allowing nuclear vessels is probably not indicative of a general resistance to all things nuclear, as I had previously assumed. The Japanese have had their own nuclear power plants since the 1960s. The fear of leakage likely stems from an awareness of the very real danger of nuclear radiation. Japan has had nuclear incidents in the past, most notably the Tokai-mura incident in 1999.

So, in other words, the fact that they're letting us park a nuclear aircraft carrier at Yokosuka is pretty big news. It's a huge demonstration of trust.

I imagine there will be quite a few unhappy citizens.

[Edit 4:35pm:] I told you!

Asahi.com: U.S. Navy plans nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Yokosuka; city outraged

The U.S. Navy said it will station a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, starting in 2008, drawing immediate outrage and bewilderment in the city.

[...]

Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya said the city definitely opposes the plan, and criticized the way the decision was handled.

"The fact that the announcement was made without any prior word makes us wonder if the feelings of our city were taken into account," Kabaya said. "Anxieties that residents of the city and Japanese as a whole have toward anything nuclear remain strong, which we have emphasized to both governments." The Navy made the announcement Thursday, apparentlyspurred by the agreement reached by Japan and the United States the day earlier on realigning U.S. forces in Japan.

The mayor seems to be invoking Hiroshima and Nagasaki there, doesn't he? At least, I'm sure that's what people will think of when they read his statement, rather than the Tokai-mura incident, which, for example, I had never heard of until I read about it last night.

A rather grisly news story

Via BoingBoing's post "Hanging Halloween dummy wasn't", this article.

The apparent suicide of a woman found hanging from a tree went unreported for hours because passers-by thought the body was a Halloween decoration, authorities said.

The 42-year-old woman used rope to hang herself across the street from some homes on a moderately busy road late Tuesday or early Wednesday, state police said.

The body, suspended about 15 feet above the ground, could be easily seen from passing vehicles.

State police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Oldham and neighbors said people noticed the body at breakfast time Wednesday but dismissed it as a holiday prank. Authorities were called to the scene more than three hours later.

Ewwwwwwwwww.

The Brazilian Saga, Part Two: I totally caved

I have a confession to make.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

So this morning, in the shower, I did it.

I...shaved.

Before you freak out on me, let me assure you that I did not shave the happy place. The Brazilian is still on. No, I just shaved everything else...my legs, and my underarms.

And boy does it feel good!

I can wear shorts again! (And skirts, like I did today.)

It had been so long that shaving wasn't even all that bad.

For now, since we're scrounging for money to buy a house and I just blew quite a wad of cash on a bicycle, I've decided to stick to shaving the usual places...but I made a commitment, to you my readers and to my husband, that I would get the Brazilian, and by gum I'm going to do it.

Hopefully sometime next week!

///

Read the other chapters in the Brazilian Saga! (You know you want to.)

Foreshadowing
Part One: Oh the Hair, the Hair!
Part Three: OW OW OW OW OW OMGWTF OW
Part Four: The Day After
Epilogue

I GOT A NEW BIKE!!!!!!

Yesterday I called Outspokin' to see if they could get me the same bike I had before. As you may recall, I had a Fuji Cambridge that I had named Syuusuke, after Fuji Syuusuke from Prince of Tennis, and I was planning on naming my new bike Fujiyama, or Yama for short.

However.

Brett from Outspokin' called me back today and said that they didn't have the exact same bike in stock. The Cambridge I'd had was equipped with extra "touring" features, and the ones they had in the store didn't have those. He remarked, however, that Trek (an American company, he was careful to point out) has a new line of bikes with the same scooping frame as the Cambridge, and he had a couple in stock with all the features I'd had on Syuusuke. He suggested I come by and check it out, and if I liked it I could go ahead and get one, and if not we could special order a Cambridge.

So I ran off to Outspokin' immediately (forgetting to clean up my lunch dishes, which apparently caused my in-laws some consternation when they got home) to see the 100.

It looked a lot like the Cambridge, actually. The frame is essentially the same, as are the handlebars and the gearshift. The bell is different, but not bad. (And it does make that lovely ping!, so I can't complain.) The seat is actually a little bigger and more comfortable.

I took it out for a test drive in the neighborhood behind Outspokin', and was easily able to ride no-handed, shift gears, turn, and all those other important things. It was fun and comfortable to ride. I rode it back to the store thinking that the only reason to order a Cambridge would be to indulge in nostalgia...and that wouldn't it be more fair to Syuusuke to not simply replace him with the same model?

And so I decided to get it, and I had the Outspokin' guys load it up with a headlight, blinking tail light, Trek brand odometer, and water bottle holder (I picked a bottle with the Outspokin' logo on it. Why not advertise?). I also picked up a bike lock and an air pump. My bike rack and bike helmet were in the car when the apartment burned down, so I didn't need to replace those. I decided I didn't need a bike bag just yet either, since my new purse is a backpack. So with that, I'm pretty much set.

Outspokin' had two of the 100s in stock. One was black with grey/silver features, and one was a purplish blue with white features. Can you guess which one I picked?

You were wrong!!!! ;D

Somehow, the black and silver bike really appealed to me. It seemed so elegant...and plus, black goes with anything. Totally psyched, I strapped the tricked-out bike to my car and headed home.

It wasn't until I was turning onto Cheryl and Reid's street that I hit upon the perfect name for the bike. Obviously Yama was out--this bike wasn't a Fuji. I couldn't think of a name to derive from "Trek". But then it hit me: the bike is black.

Guess who is revered for his black hair and black eyes?

Yuuri it is :D

(Don't worry. While I may refer to him as "Yuu-chan", I will not put my bike in a dress!)

I am an egomaniac, and this is unnecessary

Oh dear. Just when I thought Penny Arcade had gotten me good, Scott Adams (of Dilbert; I don't read it either, I found this via Andy Gray) goes and writes this:

When I see news stories about people all over the world who are experiencing hardships, I worry about them, and I rack my brain wondering how I can make a difference. So I decided to start my own blog. That way I won't have time to think about other people.

People who are trying to decide whether to create a blog or not go through a thought process much like this:

1. The world sure needs more of ME.
2. Maybe I'll shout more often so that people nearby can experience the joy of knowing my thoughts.
3. No, wait, shouting looks too crazy.
4. I know - I'll write down my daily thoughts and badger people to read them.
5. If only there was a description for this process that doesn't involve the words egomaniac or unnecessary.
6. What? It's called a blog? I'm there!

The blogger's philosophy goes something like this:

Everything that I think about is more fascinating
than the crap in your head.

The beauty of blogging, as compared to writing a book, is that no editor will be interfering with my random spelling and grammar, my complete disregard for the facts, and my wandering sentences that seem to go on and on and never end so that you feel like you need to take a breath and clear your head before you can even consider making it to the end of the sentence that probably didn't need to be written anyhoo.

If that doesn't inspire you to read my blog, I don't know what will. You can find the Dilbert Blog at

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/

:D

"You have to read it! If you don't, how will you know how clever I am?"

And here I thought I always identified with Tycho. Oh well!

Fuzzy

Via Mari. Yes, I did fix the spelling errors.

You're a chinchilla:
Super cute and adorable, groomed to be the fuzzy master! You're the FUZZIEST!!!!!!!! You have so many layers of fuzz you can't even find your own feet. You're cute and proud of it, so fuzzy and outgoing, no wonder people like you! And just look at those whiskers! =^_^=

=^_^= What fuzzy animal are you? =^_^= {-With Pictures!-}
brought to you by Quizilla

Moods and favors

I left my laptop on its desk in the bedroom all day today. I, on the other hand, spent my time sitting on the couch, watching TV. I watched Boy Meets World, Kim Possible, Full House, a little of The Price Is Right, Hercules (the Disney movie), and The Batman. Later, Reid very kindly drove me over to Robert and Julia's house (my former boss and his wife of four days) to pick up a TV and stereo that they decided to give to me and Sean. After very kindly wrestling the items into the back of his massive custom diesel truck, Reid very kindly drove them (and me) to Audrey's house, as she'd offered to store them for me. (Audrey used to work at Smoak's, then came to 2go-Box after they closed.)

I keep saying that Reid "very kindly" did these things, not only because it was kind of him to do so, very kind, but also because he didn't seem to be quite in the mood for it. Sean gets the same way...I call it sulking when Sean does it, but I'm not about to use that kind of word to describe my father-in-law. Suffice it to say that I started to feel very badly about asking him to do it, so I thanked him several times, and of course did my best to help wherever I could.

Ultimately, it worked out okay. We finished our errand and made it home, and Cheryl and Sean appeared shortly with KFC, so Reid didn't have to cook. Then Reid got to watch his TV for awhile, which I know he likes to do to unwind.

So everything's okay. It's just that I am highly sensitive to moods, and typically unable to "fix" a bad one, so I get anxious. Being married to Sean is helping temper that (when he's in a bad mood, I've learned it's best to just lay low until it blows over), but I have a long way to go.

Now I'm just relaxing, reading, chatting, and pondering getting some ice cream...

What's your blog worth?

My blog is worth $8,468.10.
How much is your blog worth?

$8,468.10, eh? I'm not sure if I should be pleased or irritated.

Here are a few comparison prices:

Derik: $17,500.74
Magazine Man: $54,760.38
Websnark: $108,391.68
Wil Wheaton dot Net: $1,639,988.70
Luke: $9,032.64
Goei: $564.54
Kelly: $564.54
Japundit: $141,699.54
Miklos: $5,645.40
Sunshine: $18,629.82
Hanzi Smatter: $184,604.58
Language Log: $353,966.58
Simon: $29,920.62

I guess I make an okay showing.

It's fairly interesting to see how the math for these numbers was originally conceived. The data, of course, is taken from Technorati (which explains a lot, really). Here's the link if you want to see how much your blog is (supposedly) worth.

Excuse me while I employ some profanity

Fuckers.

Stupid fuckers.

So Springhouse told me that when they demoed, they'd look through the rubble for anything salvageable. They also said they'd call and let me know what was going on. I was, as you know, hoping that our computer hard drives might be recovered.

They never called.

So I called today.

Got some new girl I've never heard of. The people I know weren't there. And she told me that the demo had already taken place, that it was done with bulldozers and forklifts, that everything was piled into a dumpster, and that the wreckage "was never touched by human hands".

Thanks a lot, Springhouse Shithouse.

"My goal is to stay alive and uninjured until Christmas..."

Today my friend Eric from kung fu, currently stationed in Iraq with the Kentucky National Guard, posted the following sobering piece on his LiveJournal.

I don't mean to say this casually, but our odds of losing people in the next two months is very high. Of course no one can predict that kind of thing and I genuinely hope I am wrong. One guy said to me today "...I just don't think there is any way I can tell you how bad this place [where we're going] is...". If we had a mission up there I still probably wouldn't feel better, but we don't. Someone told me that every other National Guard unit from KY that's been to Iraq was only in country ten months. So much for precedence. :P My goal is to stay alive and uninjured until Christmas...if I can make it that long I should be alright. Every day that I wake up I know I am one day closer to my wife and family and that keeps me going. This kind of warfare typically won't involve protracted gun battles or even present the opportunity for us to return fire at our enemy...it's just bombs. One minute you're driving along talking about going home and the next you're permentely handicapped or worse. These people have been doing this for several years now and they're good at it.

Stay safe, man.

Got languages?

My cousin Carl spent four months in Zambia working with missionaries this past summer. Today, Japanese.About.com highlights how to write Zambia (ザンビア) and its capital, Lusaka (ルサカ) in Japanese. Most interesting to me was this, though:

Languages: English, Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages

Yow.

Natural Wonders

There used to be a store in Fayette Mall (Lexington, Kentucky) called Natural Wonders. It remains my favorite mall store ever, despite the fact that it closed years ago.

As the name implies, Natural Wonders sold various items relating to the natural world. These included educational products, but also garden accessories, CDs with New Age-ish music, bird houses, telescopes, jewelry, posters, bath products, toys, games, rocks, gems, rain sticks, kites, wind chimes, star maps, statuettes, and collectibles. One of my favorite product lines consisted of little round treasure boxes carved of wood, with geode cross-sections inlaid in the lids. I actually owned one; it was a darker brown wood with a blue crystal lid, and it on display in my living room.

Every time I went to the mall, I went to Natural Wonders. And every time, I lusted after their products that made nature seem so beautiful and elegant, yet so accessible. The New Age music they sold was always playing over the speakers, giving the store a very soothing ambience, and there was a TV in the back that ran fascinating educational videos.

I had a dream of collecting dozens of geode boxes. They also had a gorgeous chess set on display once that I coveted. Ultimately, though, my high school budget limited me to just that one geode box.

Years later, after I'd graduated high school, moved to Huntsville, Alabama, dropped out of college and moved back, got cancer, and recovered, they closed Natural Wonders.

All-Time 100 Novels

Time Magazine has a list of "the 100 best English language novels from 1923 to the present". Em listed which of the books she'd actually read...so I thought I'd do the same!

1. All the King's Men (read for an English lit criticism class in college)


2. Animal Farm (read sophomore year of high school)


3. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (read on my own sometime when I was in middle school I think)


4. Beloved (read for "The Woman Writer" class in college; best Toni Morrison book I ever read)


5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (read on my own when I was in grade school)


6. Lord of the Flies (read senior year of high school)


7. The Lord of the Rings (okay, technically I've only read Fellowship and the first few chapters of Two Towers)


8. 1984 (read senior year of high school)


9. The Sun Also Rises (read for an American Lit class in college)


10. To Kill a Mockingbird (read freshman year of high school)


11. Wide Sargasso Sea (read for "The Woman Writer" class in college)

Yeah, I need to read more. College forced me to read loads of good books. Too bad I don't have that kind of motivation anymore. (Also too bad I don't have my books anymore...)

The Brazilian Saga, Part One: Oh the Hair, the Hair!

A normal Brazilian wax covers (well, uncovers) the so-called "bikini" area. You know. The hoo-hah zone. The procedure apparently involves leaving a "landing strip" leading to the area in question, but I'm going to opt out of that if at all possible. I am accustomed to being completely bare, and prefer to stay that way.

I have decided that it's not worth it to only wax the unmentionables. I'm going to have my legs done, too. It's only fair. I hate shaving. How annoying would it be to have to shave one place and wax another? (My underarms are still under debate.)

In order to have one's unwanted hair ripped off, one must first allow one's unwanted hair to grow.

I have been, and believe me, it isn't pretty.

My hair isn't uberlong. It's not Planet of the Apes over here. But it's longer than I'd like. I have been very tempted to just shave it already for days now, and I hate shaving. But in the interest of science and the blog post I'm going to write about this experience and my sex life (paradoxically), I haven't given in. I've let it grow.

And I'm just going to keep letting it grow, because I have to wait until either 1) I get paid for one of my freelance projects, which will hopefully happen tomorrow but you never know; or 2) Sean gets paid, which will be at the end of the month. In the meantime, I've been psyching myself up for and educating myself about the experience.

For example, I've read that a loofah may be employed to ward off the bane of my existence, the ingrown hair. Yesterday, at something like 11 at night, I slunk into the Evans Super Wal-Mart (wearing shorts--my hairy legs exposed--the horror!) and nicked one. After using it this morning, I have to say that I really have no idea why people think loofahs are evil. It was such a great, invigorating feeling to scrub myself with it. Yes, even you-know-where. Sheesh, people are such wussies!

(I may feel differently when my skin is red and raw from waxing, but for now...wussies!)

///

Read the other chapters in the Brazilian Saga! (They're high in fiber.)

Foreshadowing
Part Two: I totally caved
Part Three: OW OW OW OW OW OMGWTF OW
Part Four: The Day After
Epilogue

Mari's Pumpkin Carving Party

Today Mari had a bazillion people over for a Halloween pumpkin carving (and awesome food eating) party.

Pics are here. (Check out smugmug's new Halloween template!)

I am "domesticated"

Before I tumble off into sleep, I wanted to relate an anecdote.

Not long after I got back from the Tour of Homes, I asked Sean if he was hungry and he said yes. So I went looking for something to make for dinner.

My grandmother sent a can of pink salmon with me the last time I visited, and it had a recipe for a "Salmon Biscuit Roll" on it. I'd thought that sounded great, and had been waiting for an opportunity to make it. Today seemed as good as any.

I assembled the ingredients, making a few substitutions here and there, and prepared the dish. I mixed the salmon with Swiss cheese, an egg, and some celery salt (the recipe called for green onions--we didn't even have regular onions or onion powder--and parsley, which we didn't have either). Then I made biscuit dough, rolled it out (actually, I had to flatten it with my hands, because apparently Cheryl doesn't have a rolling pin), and put the salmon mixture on top. I rolled it up long-ways and sealed the roll, then shaped it into a circle and sealed the ends together. Then I cut 12 slits in the roll and pulled them all to one side. This made for a very pretty pinwheel effect. A brushing of egg (which I did with my hand, because apparently Cheryl doesn't have a basting brush, which seems weird since they barbecue), and it went into the oven for 25 minutes. While it cooked I made the suggested condiment, sour cream plus parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and (in my case, since I didn't have dill weed) celery salt. A quick side dish of Kentucky Wonder Style green beans, and dinner was ready.

"This is really good," Sean said, digging into it. "Did they buy this, or did you?"

"I made it from scratch," I said...and his eyes actually bugged out. "From a can of pink salmon my grandma gave me."

"It's great," Sean said, and then, as if deciding that wasn't quite sufficient, he stressed, "This is wonderful."

So! I can cook stuff after all!

Summerville Tour of Homes

As planned, Brooke and I met up today to attend the Summerville 28th Annual Tour of Homes. I'm sure you could predict the fact that there are pictures. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the houses, which means you don't get to see the stuff we were drooling over all day.

After eating far too much at Theresa's Mexican Restaurant downtown (roughly across the street from Outspokin'), we headed down to the ASU campus, where the tour was to begin. After getting our bearings, we walked to the first historic site, ASU's Bellevue Hall.

The building has been completely restored and now houses offices for University staff. It looked like a very pleasant place to work :)

We wandered back towards the main entrance where the tour buses would take us to the next site. On our way we stopped and looked at a strange vine maze that I think Connor would love.

Then we hopped on the bus and were off to the first house.

Actually, the bus took us to the last house on the tour first. They'd changed the order of the tour, I'm guessing due to traffic considerations. And so the first house we saw was 2532 Henry Street.

I was pleasantly reminded of the older houses in downtown Lexington, like the one owned by my former linguistics professor, Dr. Bosch, or the one owned by my cousin's son's dead father's mother and her lesbian life partner. (Okay, that was difficult to describe...) I thought it was perfectly charming. Brooke's reaction was something like: "It's small! It's so small! I mean, it's really small!"

We waited for the bus for quite some time, then got tired of waiting and walked back to ASU. We'd planned to take Brooke's car to the next house, but the funny tour guide lady and driver guy talked us into trying the bus again, so we did.

The next house was 705 Gary Street. Gary Street is probably a block and a half long, and runs between Battle Row and Gardner, near Milledge. The house was built sideways on the lot, allowing the front porch a beautiful view of a line of tall pine trees. As the bus tour guide said, from the front of the house it looks like they're out in the middle of the woods. This house retained quite a few of its original features, including dark wooden doors with glass knobs and yellow hardwood floors. It had a fantastic wraparound porch that overlooked the backyard.

After touring the house, we sat around outside waiting for the bus for a long time. We were far enough from everything that we couldn't really walk to the next one. Well, maybe we could have, but we didn't. Both of us were a little disgruntled when the bus finally arrived.

This bus, not the one we'd ridden before but the only other one being used for the tour, took us to 1338 Wingfield Street, of which I did not get a picture. Just so you know, it's a "classic Augusta bungalow", made of "stucco, brick, and wood trim", according to the guidebook. I wish I could actually remember something about the inside of the house. I think this was the one with the cute baby's room done up in green, but I'm not sure. [Edit: I was wrong! See the comments.] Fun fact: the woman who lives here is named "Cheri". (Cheri-sama!)

The next two houses were within very easy walking distance, so we strolled over. First was 1447 Winter Street, and next was its "sister", 1453 Winter Street, right next door. "Their architecture is a Southern version of the American foursquare house in the Prairie style, a predecessor of Frank Lloyd Wright's revolutionary residential style of the early 1900's," says the guidebook. Both of these houses were updated beautifully and were quite luxurious. 1447 had perhaps the largest master bathroom in the free world, and 1453 had a fantastic kitchen.

Next up: 1434 Heath Street. Fun fact! Brooke lives on Heath Street, but by virtue of being on the other side of Wrightsboro Road, does not live in Summerville. This means she pays lower taxes!

Brooke was perplexed by the peak in the porch gable. The guidebook says this style emulates "Oriental" temple roofs and was popular on the west coast. I'm not sure how it got out here.

The final house, 2341 McDowell Street, was Brooke's favorite. It's a modified Tudor design with lots of rooms and a two-car garage in the back. Most striking was an upstairs bedroom, quite narrow but with walls almost entirely made of windows looking out on the trees. It was so cozy and open to nature that Brooke and I both decided we'd be perfectly happy living there.

And there you have it. I hope I got all those details right; trying to remember everything without having photographic evidence is kind of a pain. Brooke, feel free to correct me.

I had a really good time at the Summerville Tour of Homes. I would definitely like to go again next year...assuming I can once again score free tickets ;>

"Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice..."

Scott Kurtz has thrown his two cents in concerning the ever-hilarious Jack Thompson vs. Penny Arcade fiasco. Kurtz has gotten a hold of Thompson's latest effort to involve third parties in the fight he's obviously too incompetent to win on his own. I've retyped the letter below:

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
[address blacked out]
October 18, 2005

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman,
The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter

Justice League of America Watchtower
asynchronous orbit
The Moon

Dear Justice League of America:

My name is Jack Thompson and I too am a crime-fighter. I am currently on a crusade against video-game companies who are using mind-control devices to turn the youth of our country into their own personal army of murder-teens. I've been doing my part, dishing out my own brand of two-fisted justice in the battle against these nefarious villains.

Now, there is a new evil and it's coming from a Seattle company known as Penny Arcade. I can provide details directly to your justice computer, but basically this company has been using, I believe I can show, their Internet site and various other means to assist the Legion of Doom to poison the city's water supply.

I've been in contact with Penny Arcade and informed them of the following:

1) That their days of crime would soon come to an end.
2) That they could do whatever they wanted to me, but leave the girl alone.
3) That they would never get away with this.

I need the help of the Justice League to stop the evil forces of Penny Arcade. I will warn you that it's possible that they are in the possession of Kryptonite. I can't confirm that, but these vile fiends are not above such diabolical means.

Please contact me via the usual means. Either a large searchlight with a logo on it, floating outside my upper-story window, or popping out of the darkness surprisingly when I turn around.

Regards, Jack Thompson.

Calling in the big guns, isn't he? Who do you think would win in a fight: Superman, or Gabe? Batman, or Tycho?

The comfort of home

Thanks to my wonderful mom, I now have a desk for my laptop. It's one of those rolling, tilting, height-adjustable desks, suitable for computing at a regular chair, or in bed.

Case in point:

(Also, I got a haircut recently. It doesn't normally look that doofy, honest. I didn't bother to do anything to it before I took the picture, because I have no shame.

(That's not true. Actually, I have a lot of shame. But I also have a weird desire to bear all my flaws publicly...)

So, nice desk, huh? It makes it loads more comfortable for me to be on the computer in the bedroom. Thank you so much, Mom!

Okay, Kim Possible rules, end of story

In the episode on right now, Kim's grandmother, Nana, is under mind control by Dr. Drakken. Drakken's gloating and telling Kim how Nana studied kung fu and was the first woman to complete the Navy SEALS training program.

Drakken: Your Nana is one bad. grand. mother--
Kim: Shut your mouth!
Drakken: I'm just talkin' 'bout Nana.

The Fearless Ferret

This is fantastic!

On Kim Possible, Ron's visiting a rich old man at his mansion--a man who happens to be voiced by Adam West. Just as I realized that, Ron found a red button inside a bust, pressed it, and slid down a pole into the "Ferret Cave"...!

The music is very fitting, too. :D

I love Adam West!

Edit 2:06pm: There's some neat trivia about this episode over on the imdb :D I remember Will Friedle from Boy Meets World, myself.

I feel dumb.

I don't understand this. The animation is pretty cool, and the sculpture is beautiful, but I don't get the whole fourth dimension thing. I always thought the fourth dimension was time. Can anybody explain this concept to me? Specifically, I don't get this:

In the three-dimensional world, there are five regular solids -- tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron -- whose faces are composed of triangles, squares or pentagons. In four dimensions, there are six regular solids, which can be built based on the symmetries of the three-dimensional solids. Unfortunately, humans cannot process information in four dimensions directly because we don't see the universe that way. Although mathematicians can work with a fourth dimension abstractly by adding a fourth coordinate to the three that we use to describe a point in space, a fourth spatial dimension is difficult to visualize. For that, models are needed.

In my head, when I put those three-dimensional shapes together, I just get another three-dimensional shape. Like building with blocks. What, exactly, is being built? Does each three-dimensional shape represent a world or dimension or moment in time?

I remember doing arrays back in high school computer science. Mrs. Murphy told us to think of fourth dimensional arrays as putting a "pocket" into the third dimension. I always hated that, because I didn't think that was accurate, and I didn't want to base my understanding on a fallacy. I didn't want to skip the difficult part so I could get my work done. I wanted to understand it.

Am I capable of that?

John Sheridans of the world, unite!

It looks like Wil Wheaton and I have something in common.

Foreshadowing

I'm going to have something done.

Something that promises to be quite painful.

Something that will improve my life.

Something that is completely vain and unnecessary.

And to top it all off, it won't even last. In a couple of months I'll have to have it done again.

So, a question: when it happens for the first time, should I blog about it?

Because I will. In detail.

You have been warned.

///

Read the other chapters in the Brazilian Saga! (Yes. Yes, I did say Brazilian.)

Part One: Oh the Hair, the Hair!
Part Two: I totally caved
Part Three: OW OW OW OW OW OMGWTF OW
Part Four: The Day After
Epilogue

Fortunately I take fast showers

Bye!

I should be leaving right now...

...and I haven't even had a shower yet.

Bah!

10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Should Be Illegal

Found this great list over at Joe Stump's blog. He got it from The Drunken Lagomorph, who got it from Random-Abstract, who got it from a Craigslist posting. (I just like following links, mmmkay?)

1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.


2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.


3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.


4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.


5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.


6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.


7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.


8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.


9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.


10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Kind of a lazy day

A nice thing happened today. I was at Wal-Mart buying toiletries and soda (and considering buying a camisole, but I put it back) when my cell phone rang.

"Hello, is Heather Meadows available?"

"This is she."

"Hello, this is so-and-so with WJBF."

The TV station? What, did I apply for a job there?

"You registered on our website..."

Ah, so it was a job.

"...to win two tickets to the Summerville Tour of Homes."

...Oh. Oh! "Oh yeah! Yes, I did."

"Well, you won!"

:)

So that's pretty cool. The Summerville Tour of Homes takes place this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and apparently you get to tour some old homes with traditional architectural features. I've never been, but it looks neat. I'm going to be all touristy and take pictures. (I haven't really taken many pictures lately...) Mari's having a pumpkin carving party on Sunday, so I'll hit up the Tour of Homes on Saturday. Brooke has graciously agreed to accompany me. :)

While I was at Wal-Mart, I picked up the widescreen version of Batman Begins, the one that comes with the bonus DVD with 2 episodes of The Batman. I watched the second DVD when I got home; it was a two-parter about Clayface--"The Rubber Face of Comedy" and "The Clay Face of Tragedy". (Hey, given what happened in the episodes, I totally see what they did there, with the titles. Nifty.) The funny thing about this DVD is the art on the back of the package...it's got a huge Batman looming over a big building, scowling, his spiky fingers reaching out towards a much smaller, rather vulnerable-looking Clayface. Good episodes, all told, though I really wish they'd gotten Mark Hamill to be the Joker.

When Sean got home, he and I played TextTwist together for awhile. I didn't plan on that; I just opened the game because I was bored, and he started chiming in. We did pretty well :)

And those are pretty much the big events of the day.

Tomorrow I'm going to head downtown to pick up my tickets, and I'll meet up with Brooke for lunch. And on Friday, after Brooke gets off work, we'll meet up to walk like we did on Tuesday, and then we're going to come back here and eat teriyaki stir-fry chicken and vegetables with rice and watch Kyou Kara Maou. The rest of the week is looking pretty fun. I'm really looking forward to it :)

Guilt

Ever since the fire, I have felt horrible guilt.

I have always been a selfish person. I love for people to give me presents; I love to own things. When I was younger I started to recognize ways in which I could manipulate people into giving me stuff...and I used them. Later in life I decided to stop such behavior, but now I have trouble telling if people are giving me things because they came up with the idea and they wanted to give something to me, or if I have subconsciously manipulated them into it.

There were so many things in the apartment that were precious to other people. Perhaps more precious to them than they were to me. Among them was a bookshelf my mother's grandfather built by hand. I'd been using it in my bedroom back home, and when I moved here, we brought it along. My mother was surprised to see it when we were unpacking. "I didn't know you were taking this," she said. I hadn't even thought about it. I tried to get her to take it back home with her, but she said for me to keep it.

Now it's gone.

My grandmother had a hope chest when she was a girl. It was kept hidden away in one of the rooms of her mother's house; she wasn't allowed to use it. When she moved out initially, she was living at the Y and didn't have a place to put it...and when she got married, settled down in a house and started having children, her mother told her she didn't want the kids to mess it up. Grandma never got to have her hope chest.

When I moved to Georgia, many years after my great-grandmother passed away, Grandma had the hope chest brought to my parents' house from the farm and gave it to me. Beautiful, heavy, very old, it was sturdy enough to use as a bench, which I did, in the bedroom of our apartment.

Now it's gone.

My mother lets me go through things in the house to pick out stuff to keep every now and then, so I'll have a little bit of home even when I'm away. One of those things was an old mug tree that she used to have out on the counter in the kitchen, but which ended up stored away in the pantry to make more space. "Take good care of this," Mom said wistfully. It was one of her very first pieces of "furniture" in her very first apartment when she moved down to Lexington after nursing school.

Now it's gone.

When we first got married, my Aunt Bev very generously offered to buy Sean and me either a bed or a dining room table, something that we needed. We had Sean's futon, so I opted for a table. Aunt Bev asked me to go through the IKEA website and pick something. I did, and decided I didn't like any of it, and went looking around other stores. Finally I saved pictures from other websites of dining sets I liked, and sent those to her with the question, "Does IKEA have anything like this?" The picture for one of the sets, which cost at least double what I think Bev was expecting to send, had the filename "JCPenney-myfavorite.jpg" (or something similar). Bev wrote back, "Please send me a link to the set from JC Penney. It is a lovely choice." I sent her a smarmy letter saying I hadn't intended for her to actually buy one of my examples. But I also sent her the link in that letter...and she bought me that set, despite the price. This incident was the point at which I really started to hate myself for my manipulations.

And now it's gone.

Cheryl loaned me quite a few Christmas decorations over the years, and I stored them in our hall closet. I had two porcelain Santas, a full set of Christmas dishes, two Santa stocking holders, and two stockings...the original stockings from when Sean was growing up.

Now they're gone.

There are so many things that now I feel like I shouldn't have even owned. And they were all destroyed. Why was I so selfish? Why did I want to own all that stuff? Now, thanks to me, none of it exists anymore.

Have you seen the new Harry Potter trailer?

If not, go. Go, my children!

I can't wait until November 18!

Butt Bridge saved!

Apparently traffic bottlenecks at Butt Bridge (I imagine it does, it's an old two-lane bridge with zero visibility, but I wouldn't know firsthand because I never seem to go that way when I'm downtown). It's gotten so bad that the bridge was going to be demolished and replaced. History buffs (and people who, like me, love the name Butt Bridge) protested. After some serious wrangling, a compromise seems to have been found.

The eventual compromise, which required - literally - an act of Congress, authorized Augusta to use its $15 million allocation for a series of road improvements that would improve traffic flow by other means and leave Butt Bridge intact.

Yes, the only reason I quoted that was because of the line "which required - literally - an act of Congress". Yes, I am a dork.

If you're wondering what Butt Bridge is:

In 1914, President William H. Taft visited Augusta to dedicate Butt Memorial Bridge to his aide, Maj. Archibald Butt, who had perished aboard the Titanic in 1912.

And here are some pictures.

The number of wars and war-related deaths has apparently plummeted

CNN: Study: Fewer wars, less deadly

A study issued paints a surprising picture of war and peace in the 21st century: Armed conflicts have declined by more than 40 percent since 1992, and genocide and human rights abuses have plummeted around the world.

The only form of political violence that appears to be getting worse is terrorism -- a serious threat but one that kills markedly fewer people than open warfare, it said.

Who needs wars when we've got Mother Nature?

Seriously, does this mean that more people are content with their lives than ten years ago? It seems to me that you have to have a lot of discontented people before you can get a full-blown war. Is a general sense of complacency the reason some people turn to terrorism?

Professor Andrew Mack, who directed the three-year study, said there has been a shift away from the huge wars of the 1950s, '60s and '70s where million-strong armies faced each other with conventional weapons.

"The average war today tends to be very small, low intensity conflict, fought with ill-trained troops, small arms and light weapons, often very brutal, with lots of civilians killed -- but the absolute numbers of people being killed are ... much, much smaller than they were before," he said.

Armed conflicts have not only declined by more than 40 percent since 1992, but the deadliest conflicts with over 1,000 battle deaths dropped even more dramatically -- by 80 percent. The number of international crises, often harbingers of war, fell by more than 70 percent between 1981 and 2001, the report said.

There's plenty more interesting stuff in that article. I am, of course, interested in the whys. I don't know enough about history to make very good guesses. What might have caused the violence to go down? Better and faster communications? A desire not to repeat history? Improved standard of living?

Anybody out there care to speculate?

Speaking of Connor

Yesterday, in a chat window, my brilliant nephew typed the following:

we can play and run and eat and

Unfortunately he didn't type that to me (Mom pasted it), so I have no idea who he was talking to or what he was talking about. But look at that spelling!

He can also type his name :)

Too cute

There's another Art Lad up. As you all know, I adore the writing of children. (I rather wish Connor had a blog, but you know.) This post had me oohing and awwing like an absolute ninny.

What made it especially fun were the Magazine Man references that only people who read MM can truly appreciate. Par exemple:

Dad writes all day and sometimes all night. He says it is the only thing he is good at and he tells really good stories. He says people gave him money for writing and that's how he bought our whole house and everything inside it except the stuff Grandma and Papa send us.

That was totally precious. But then I got to the end...and one of the best in-jokes ever.

Want to see more?

I will tell you later...

(Dad said to put dots at the end. That means you have to wait)

Bye!

Evil! Evil! I about died laughing.

A debut novel at 55

Kathy B. Steele, who lives in Augusta, has published her first novel--though it isn't the first novel she's written. Rocks That Float is about...well, it seems to be about a lot of things, but it looks like there's a love story and quirky small town life and an implicit message about how far is too far for the law to go, so it sounds like a winner to me.

Fake news articles = teh funnay

I always love it when people write mock news. (I wrote a fake job posting a week or so ago, but I guess nobody thought it was funny.) Today finds the Cynical Traveller combining the delight of satirical news with one of the highest forms of humor: self-deprecation.

Love it.

(Don't miss the hilarious picture captions! The vending machine is my favorite.)

"The Internet is my hero"

Here's an awesome story about a woman whose life was saved because she happened to have a popular webcam set up in her horse stables.

People from Germany, the United Kingdom, France -- all over the world had phoned the Charlotte Rescue Squad. When the emergency services arrived 45 minutes later, they were very confused about why they had received calls from all over the world about me.

I don't know what would have happened if it wasn't for the Web cam. I damaged my knee and my leg very badly. My temperature had dropped and I was in body shock by the time help arrived.

When I read the story, I have to admit that I wondered if she would have been in danger if she'd checked the webcam herself before going out to the stable...

How "usable" is my "weblog"?

Jakob Nielsen has written a piece entitled "Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes" (via BoingBoing). (If this was Japan, he could sue me for using his headline!) In the article, Nielsen discusses (amazingly enough) ten mistakes bloggers make. Not just any bloggers, mind you, but bloggers who are trying to be professional or who want a large audience.

His suggestions are good, and I thought I'd take a little time and use them to evaluate my own journal. Here goes:

1. No Author Biographies

I have a biography...sort of...okay, not really. There's information hidden away here, and then there's my Blogger profile, but my best biography is here. It's buried in the archives because the Blogger profile couldn't hold all that text. I'm unhappy with it for other reasons; it should be easier to read, with headings and maybe even (gasp) bullet points. Maybe someday I'll tidy it up and link to it from the main page.

2. No Author Photo

HA! I've got that one covered...

...except I don't have it covered directly. You have to go to smugmug to see pictures of me...and there's no indication on the blog that there are pictures of me on the photo site.

Two strikes...

3. Nondescript Posting Titles

Oh, lord. Guilty, guilty, guilty. How many times, for example, have I entitled a post "Blah"?

Sometimes I do write descriptive titles...and sometimes, as with my previous post, I write titles that match in a story sense. (Should I use a descriptor, a la Magazine Man's "random anecdote"?)

4. Links Don't Say Where They Go

Okay, this is one of my own pet peeves...both because of the reasons Nielsen mentions, and also because links, especially news articles, expire. I was bad about not describing things adequately in the past, but I'm working on not doing that anymore.

5. Classic Hits are Buried

Oops. Yeah, I should have a section in the sidebar or somewhere (a la Magazine Man's "The Ones Everyone Asks About") highlighting some good posts.

6. The Calendar is the Only Navigation

Ha, I don't even have a calendar.

But yeah, the point isn't lost on me. I don't have categories because I use Blogger, so people can only find posts through the chronological listing or through a search. (I use the search a lot.)

7. Irregular Publishing Frequency

I think I'm okay on this one...I typically post every day, and often several times a day. Lately is an exception. I've been a little out of it since the fire. I don't have a standard place to write anymore. Back at the apartment, I left my computer on 24/7, so any time I was home I could walk in there and do any of my myriad Internet hobbies. Not so now. Even if I leave the laptop running (or in standby), it won't necessarily be in the same place. I can't, for example, use the ottoman like I'm doing now when the others are home, because the living room is typically Reid's relaxing area, and the TV is usually on, which makes it difficult to concentrate. And I can't use the patio furniture if it's too cold out (it's kinda chilly today) or if it's raining. There's always the bed, but I find that horribly uncomfortable, so...

At any rate, I think I post reliably enough under the circumstances. I think a greater issue would be whether or not I post anything worth reading.

8. Mixing Topics

I used to strongly believe that I should be able to post whatever I wanted here, regardless of content, regardless of whether or not it would be remotely interesting to anyone but me. I didn't want to have separate blogs for separate purposes. I wanted to keep all of my stuff right here on pixelscribbles.com.

I'm starting to understand that that's impossible--I will write things elsewhere, there's just no getting around it--and that it's not user friendly. Without categories, visitors here have no choice but to wade through my whines and my rants to get to the occasional interesting piece about Japan or life (or whatever).

I'm still mixing topics, but at least I know that it can be a bad idea.

9. Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss

...yeeeeeaaaaah. I'm more careful about this than I used to be. I used to say a lot more than I should have about work. And those posts are still there...

I'm an archivist, so I'm leaving all my posts up. I have mellowed in my old age, though, so if someone wants me to, say, remove their name from all posts that mention them, then I can do that. (Although if a lot of people want that done, maybe I will just come up with pseudonyms for people I write about. And I have to remind them that even if I change it now, if the post's been up for years, there's probably an archive of it with the original name stored somewhere.)

In any event, yes. I used to call watching what I said "self-censorship", but now that I have half a brain I call it "not being an idiot".

10. Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service

Yay, having my own domain pays off once again!

So, there you have it. I've got plenty of stuff to work on, but I think I'm at least thinking about moving in the right direction.

Do those of you readers with blogs pass Nielsen's tests? Do you agree with his assessments?

Oh hell, none of you are going to answer this unless I tag you. So I tag Mari, Derik, Goei, Em, Miklos, and (what the hell) Magazine Man. Answer on your own blog, or here in the comments :)

Edit 10/19 10:41pm: I would like to retroactively tag Brooke. :D

Perfect

It's finally cool enough outside that we can leave the windows open and run the fans instead of the air conditioning. I haven't seen much in the way of brilliant fall foliage, but hopefully that will change soon.

Life has pretty much settled down here at the Meadows homestead. I'm not freaking out about wanting my own place anymore. I do miss my kitchen and my room and my things, but lately, rather than wanting to go out and get a place right away and fill it up with replacement stuff, I've been feeling worried about owning anything new. Worried that something would happen and I would lose all of it, too. It's made me feel like I don't want to buy anything expensive or special, or accept any nice things from others. It's a disconcerting feeling, I expect brought on both by our tragedy and by all the tragedies in the news these days. Part of me feels that heirlooms and valuable items would be safer with someone else. Part of me wonders if anyplace is truly safe.

I did buy myself a set of dry measuring cups today, though. When I saw them in the store initially, I thought they were the same as the ones I used to have, only translucent...but as I wrote the first sentence in this paragraph, I realized where I remembered them from. They're the same as the ones my mom owns.

I'll probably buy myself another set, eventually. Back in the apartment, I had three sets: my mom's old original yellow ones (minus the 2/3 cup measure, which I believe is still in her tub of flour); a blue set I bought at Wal-Mart while I was living in Huntsville; and the nice set I was hoping to replace, beige with little colored dots with the measure stamped on them. I'm not sure where I bought those last ones. I have a habit of shopping at every single grocery store--which one depends on my mood and where I happen to be in town--so I'm not sure I'll be able to find them again. It would be nice, though.

If you're wondering what I need dry measuring cups for when I'm living in someone else's house, someone who cooks and has a kitchen full of cookware, the reason is this: Cheryl doesn't have any. She uses liquid measuring cups for everything. I think this is cute, because I always use dry measuring cups for everything. It's like we're inverse.

Yesterday I got up at around 10, which was early in my book, and I started doing chores. I cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed and dusted. It doesn't sound like a whole lot now that I'm listing it, but when I was done I felt tired and somewhat lightheaded and nauseated. (I'm wondering if my new thyroid medicine has these side effects.) I decided to make pancakes for everyone, so I tidied up the kitchen and mixed up some batter.

Reid appeared then; he'd been at work since 6. I'd assumed they were both still in bed (that was, of course, where Sean was), so I'd been careful and quiet while I messed around the house, but it turned out neither of them had even been there. Reid didn't want any pancakes.

I was cooking them for myself when Cheryl got home, burning them horribly in her cast iron skillet. Smoke filled the house. "What happened?" Cheryl asked. She has this tone of voice that combines incredulity and humor, so you know she's not mad, but you still don't want to hear it because it means you've messed up.

"Just trying to cook," I said, self-deprecatingly.

"You need oil in that pan," Cheryl said. I put the second burned pancake on my plate, put some oil in the pan, and started to clean it. I had decided I was pretty much done.

Cheryl pulled out a steel pan and started oiling it for me. Then she stopped. "Steve made ham and black-eyed peas," she informed me. "Do you want? Or do you want pancakes?"

I was feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. I'd filled the house with smoke and made some crappy-ass pancakes...I didn't feel like cooking anymore, but I also didn't feel like socializing. "I don't care," I said helplessly. "I just want to eat now." And I started picking at one of my pancakes, wondering if it was still doughy inside.

"You don't want to eat those," she said, wrinkling her nose at my blackened cakes. "Do you? You're not going to eat those, are you?"

"I guess I don't really want to," I half-said, half-mumbled.

"I didn't think so," Cheryl said, putting the oiled pan on the burner. She then proceeded to cook the pancakes herself.

"Usually the first one is the one that sticks," she said. "And if it starts to smoke like that, it means it's too hot. Take the pan off the eye until it cools some. This pan has a steel bottom, so it stores the heat. You can turn the eye down to low once it's heated up, and it'll stay hot."

"Oh, I see," I said, feeling stupid. "I'm used to nonstick pans..."

Reid came in briefly while Cheryl was cooking and asked what she was doing. "Making me some edible pancakes," I said, and he laughed and laughed.

Cooking the pancakes took awhile. I just stood there while the pancakes turned golden and fluffy, feeling useless and trying to keep from crying. My eyes did tear up, and I was very quiet. Finally Cheryl said, "I love you, Heather."

"I love you too," I said, and sidled up to her so we could hug. I wasn't quite able to keep the tears out of my voice. "Thank you."

"It's okay," she said. "You're just not domesticated."

I'm just...not domesticated.

I'm pretty sure Cheryl didn't mean to make me feel like a failure, but you know me, I have to be perfect at everything. "My mom is like the best cook ever," I said. "I guess it's just...I guess she did all the cooking and I--"

"You were busy reading," Cheryl interjected. She was smiling at me.

"And other stuff," I said, because I felt like reading was a valid excuse, and I didn't think I really had a valid excuse.

"You're an intellectual," Cheryl said. "I didn't care about reading, and spent all my time cooking and doing household things. But you spent your time reading. You and Sean just need really good jobs--"

"--so we can hire a cook and a maid," I concluded, somewhat dully.

"Exactly," Cheryl agreed. "Or you could have your mother-in-law live with you. I'd take care of everything if I didn't have to work. And you could buy me a Mercedes."

I managed a laugh. "Sure."

"Room and board and a Mercedes."

"That sounds fair."

I left the conversation feeling strong enough not to cry, but also feeling as though I'd failed my mother. I mean, she is one of the greatest cooks in the world. But I barely made an effort to learn from her. Granted, I seem to have trouble learning without notes to look back on (she had to teach me to make rolls three times, and I really never remembered how to do it until she emailed me the instructions), but I still feel like I should have worked harder to learn how to make basic things. Things like eggs, and pancakes. I feel like I didn't learn anything about cooking while I lived at home...and I feel like I cast the blame on Mom, which is unfair and untrue. She took every opportunity to teach me; I just didn't learn.

Cheryl and Reid went next door to eat ham and black-eyed peas with Steve, and I sat alone at the kitchen table and ate the perfect pancakes Cheryl had made for me. They were delicious.

Later, when Sean got up, I used the remaining batter to make pancakes for him. And this time, much to my relief, they turned out...

...perfect.

Heh.

You are AERIS. Benevolent, beautiful and...well,
hopefully not dead.

What Final Fantasy VII character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Something just pooped on my head

The doo-doo was brown, so I'm guessing it was a squirrel.

When I felt it land I thought it was an acorn and reached back to brush it off. That's when I felt something slimy on my hand. I looked at my brown-streaked fingers and said...

"Shit."

Not fair!

I have a headache, but I have not had caffeine today! In fact, I've been a fairly good little eater...cereal for breakfast, peanut butter crackers for lunch (seriously!), a pot pie for dinner, and okay yeah I had some ice cream but still! That's better than usual!

Maybe there was too much iron in the pot pie or something. :P

*frumps*

Please don't sue me

This is kind of scary. (Via Japundit.)

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper was awarded compensation from a small Internet firm that used its news headlines without permission, in a first-of-a-kind ruling in the country.

The Intellectual Property High Court, a special branch court of the Tokyo High Court, ordered Digital Alliance Corp. to pay about 237,700 yen (2,000 dollars) to the Yomiuri.

The court said the use of news headlines by Digital Alliance was illegal. It is the first ruling in Japan giving protection to news headlines.

But presiding Judge Tomokatsu Tsukahara said that headlines were still in a legal gray area as they are not mentioned under Japan's Copyright Law. He did not order Digital Alliance to pull the Yomiuri headlines off its website.

There's also a little note at the bottom:

Agence France-Presse has sued Google for copyright infringement, saying the Internet search engine was displaying its news and photos without permission.

The article was written by AFP.

Conceivably, I could be sued for quoting the article in my post. There's always been that danger, which is why I don't post the full text of any news article here. I typically try to keep my quotes short, and make sure to link to the original article. (This is problematic because news sites often don't keep archives, so years down the road it's sometimes impossible to tell what I was talking about.) I'd like to think that fair use applies for quotations, but that would ultimately be up to a judge. I'm not sure I've ever heard of such a case.

UFO sightings

As you know, I've been thinking about UFOs and aliens lately. How convenient, then, that this should appear on BoingBoing: a Google hack that superimposes UFO sightings onto a map of the US. Did you have any idea there were that many sightings every month? I sure didn't...

Random thoughts

They did something interesting on The Price is Right just now.

A woman had to guess numbers. All numbers from 0 to 9 were distributed among the prices of three different items. Whichever item's price she filled in first, she got to keep.

The items were: a piggy bank with the amount of money in the price; a Ford Focus; and a giant American flag.

She ended up winning the flag, which cost 200-some-odd dollars.

I don't know, I just felt funny about the whole thing. Like there seemed to be some sort of implied statement in her disappointment about winning the flag. But really, anyone would be disappointed, because obviously you'd want the car.

I guess I just find the choice of the "consolation prize" a little disturbing.

In other news, there's a reddish brown bird in Cheryl and Reid's backyard who flies into the patio door all the freaking time. I guess he thinks the living room is part of the yard, and can't figure out why he can't just come in. This isn't the extreme kind of divebombing that breaks a bird's neck, mind you...this is fluttering up against the glass like a butterfly. Only the bird is huge, so it's very noisy. Not to mention weird.

smugmug's down

The message when I try to visit my gallery is:

We're having some temporary technical difficulties. We're working on them at the moment, and expect service to return shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We're not happy about it, of course, but we are prepared for it and expect there to be no data loss or any long-term reduction in service.

Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Somehow I don't find the phrase "we...expect there to be no data loss" very comforting. :/

Update 1:40 pm: They're back up, and I don't seem to have lost anything. Sorry for being so paranoid, but those photos are literally all I have left :/

Today's Kim Possible quote

Tim: Dad, please! You're a rocket scientist! Can't you do something?
Dad: Well, I could put it in geosynchronous orbit, but I'm not sure how that would help.

Remember back when I was going to be a rocket scientist? ;P

Look where I'm sitting!

It's just lovely out, with a kind of cool dampness that I associate with Kentucky. It's actually cooler outside than it is in the house, for some reason...I just hope it doesn't rain!

Kyou Kara Maou 52

I mean, yow.

And yet...somehow, I'm not affected as profoundly as I would have expected. Watching the Rutenberg warriors riding off to their deaths...I felt it, but didn't, at the same time. And by the end, I was just shaking my head, because the Shinou had done it again. I'm starting to tire of his string-pulling. And also of Murata's little comments...because really, what has the Shinou done that's so bad? If there's going to be a conflict between Yuuri and the Shinou, can it go ahead and happen already?

I think part of why the episode didn't work for me was due to an error in translation. One scene involves Cheri freaking out. The translation has Stoffel bark at her that she now has the chance to redeem herself, and she should be happy. However, I'm pretty sure that he's actually referring to Conrad, and the other Rutenberg warriors. I mean, that would make more sense...what does Cheri have to redeem herself for? And the whole point of the episode is that Conrad and the other "half-breeds" are going to the front lines. Plus, Cheri laments the fact that she can't do anything to save "that child", which I'm certain refers to Conrad. I think the purpose of the scene was to add weight to the Rutenberg tragedy, but the mistranslation only took away from it. It made me confused--I spent time wondering what Cheri needed redemption for, rather than focusing on the tragedy that was about to occur.

I watched the episode twice, and it was only on the second viewing that it occurred to me that it might be mistranslated. By then, of course, I'd already had my initial reaction to the episode, so realizing what was really going on didn't have the same effect as it would have. But I don't want to just blame the translation for my lack of emotion. The episode itself is flawed, a vignette that really serves no purpose other than to maintain the status quo. I can accept that from comedic filler episodes, but not as easily from plot episodes. Something else should have happened.

But Yuuri came back, and saw Conrad, and almost said something...and didn't.

I think that bothered me the most of all.

This may be a cultural difference that I just don't understand. People are not nearly so forthcoming with their emotions in Japan as they are here in the US. Maybe that look shared between them was overwhelmingly enough, in Japanese culture.

But to visit the past of the one who loves your soul--the one who could never have the love of your past self (episode 50, anyone?), to see the past that you're working to prevent happening again, to see his suffering...and then not say anything?

Something needs to be resolved there, and ending the episode like that gave no indication that resolution will ever happen.

The show has a history of putting off resolutions. Yuuri found out he had Julia's soul in episode 35, but he never asked about it. Really, he didn't consider the matter much at all until he was forced to, in the most recent story arc (episodes 48-50), and even then he never asked. It's been a little more understandable up until now, because at first, he couldn't ask Conrad, because Conrad was with Big Shimaron...and many things occurred in the meantime that could easily make him forget, or at least put off asking. There's also the fact that he's likely being sensitive to Conrad's feelings...and also, after episode 49 especially, questioning his relationship with Conrad.

But there's a limit to the believability of Yuuri's silence, and I think we've passed it.

Memory

I'm notorious in my family for having a bad memory. I "remember" things that apparently didn't happen, and I don't remember a lot of things that did. The first can be attributed to my healthy imagination--I have always made up stories about people or played out scenarios in my head over and over. I'm not sure what causes the latter.

I think it's because of my "Swiss cheese brain" that I turned into such a compulsive archivist. I logged pretty much every single Internet chat I ever had. Even with people I later blocked. Even if it was just a one or two line conversation.

And I would go back and read logs occasionally, and I was almost always surprised every time I did. I would not remember having the conversation. I would believe it happened, and I would understand my frame of mind, but I wouldn't remember the conversation itself.

I had a somewhat heated discussion with someone the day before the fire. I've thought back on it several times since. It wasn't a bad conversation, but I expressed my feelings fairly strongly, and I remember having a profound reaction to the person I was talking to. This is the sort of thing you'd think you'd be able to remember.

But of all the chats I've had in the past almost ten years now, there are only one or two that I can remember with any clarity...and even then I remember feelings more than substance. I'm going to forget this chat too, I think...I'm going to forget how and why I was so fired up. And now I won't even have my logs to go back to.

My memory has been a good thing, in a sense. It's helped me to forgive many people. Things that made me horribly angry in the past are wiped out, so I can move on.

But I'm uncomfortable with that. I'm unhappy that I literally have to forget in order to forgive...and I'm unhappy that I forget so easily in the first place.

Medical update

Because you all want to know, I'm sure.

:>

My primary physician didn't think my cholesterol was a big deal. He said that I need to exercise more and eat a little better.

Duh. I've been eating crappily and sitting around all day ever since the fire.

Brooke and I went for a good walk on Thursday, and hopefully we'll start doing that and other physical stuff on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. I've also been a little more careful about what I've been eating in the past week, and I'm once again going to quit drinking caffeinated drinks. The migraines just aren't worth it.

My primary physician did say he was fine with me taking thyroid medication, so I got that prescription. He also gave me a new prescription for the same blood pressure medicine I'd been on, since my BP was a lovely 150/100 when I saw him on Friday.

I quit taking my hormones when I ran out sometime around October 1. I'm supposed to wait 8 weeks and see if I have a period, and if not let my endocrinologist know. At that point, I'm also supposed to have more bloodwork done.

I don't know if it counts, but since Thursday afternoon I've been having a period-like phenomenon. I'll try to spare you the disgusting details, but suffice it to say it's mostly similar to the first period I had after five years of not having them, except it's much, much lighter. Like, extraordinarily light.

If it is a period, it's very early. I just had my last period on September 23 (birthday of people who apparently hold "esoteric", "secret" knowledge, like Sean), and it lasted about 5 or 6 days. That makes this...whatever it is about two weeks early. However, the menstrual cycle is actually lunar; when I was on the hormones, I was artificially aligning it to the solar calendar. So this could be the proper time for it to occur. (Pseudoscience!)

Of course, if this little dribble is all my body can manage, then I guess I'll be on some sort of hormone therapy for the rest of my life.

We'll just have to see, I guess.

In the meantime, I'm hoping the thyroid medicine, which I've been taking for two days now, will give me more energy like Mom said it might. I'm tired of being sluggish. "The more you do, the more you are able to do. The less you do, the less you are able to do. The more you do it, the more you are able to do it. The less you do it, the less you are able to do it." I learned that back in kung fu. It basically means I need to get off my ass :>