Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Jack is giving a talk to the dotnet users group tomorrow evening, introducing the Whidbey configuration system. Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2004; Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Location: Microsoft Main Campus/Building 43/Jefferson Room. Campus map. Details page on the dotnetusers Web site (but their server is down as I post this).
Posted by Anita @ 07:24 PM PST [Link]
Calling all East Side and Seattle weblog folks: Tuesday, December 7, it's the December East Side Weblog Meetup! Location is Crossroads Mall food court, time is 7 pm. October had larger turnout than normal, November smaller due to the election. Crossroads is at 15600 NE 8TH Street. Bellevue, WA (directions, bus routes). We'll be in the main part of the food court, in front of Joanne's. No open mike this time but if you feel moved to sing, we'll applaud though we'll be surprised. There will be Holiday treats!
Joining Meetup.com is free, and lets me easily reach you with any last minute changes (these are rare). If you are a member, please RSVP there -- it encourages other folks to show up!
Posted by Anita @ 04:29 AM PST [Link]
Monday, November 29, 2004
Jack sent me this one because of the knitting connection, but it turns out there's no knitting involved. It's still very cool, though -- spinning nanotubes could lead to smart yarn. Roland Piquepaille includes a few pictures of the tiny fibers being spun together. Future uses could include bandages and body armor.
Posted by Anita @ 05:31 AM PST [Link]
Sunday, November 28, 2004
That popular holiday plant poinsettia is often included in lists of toxic plants. But it's not toxic! Jessica has the scoop: "Veterinarians will state with straight faces that poinsettias will kill cats or dogs, though no veterinarian on earth has ever seen this happen because it can't happen. The mature plant exudes a white milk similar to that of genuinely toxic euphorbias, which would tend to increase the belief in this myth once it got started. Yet there is not one case on record of poinsettias injuring pets or people. Nevertheless, some people, confronted with the evidence that their lifelong belief in poinsettia toxicity is incorrect, continue to justify their fears on the basis of allergic reactions to the latex."
More on poinsettias. When I was in horticulture school, questions about long-term care for the poinsettia plants you might get as gifts were answered like this: "St. Valentine's Day, throw it away!" They aren't delicate plants, but most folks don't have enough light inside their homes to keep them strong, and when you want them to rebloom the next year you have to put them in the dark each night (around 5 pm) starting in September. If you want to try this project, here are the instructions.
Posted by Anita @ 05:30 AM PST [Link]
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Tammylc got her Thanksgiving turkeys under suspicious circumstances: "I just met a woman in a parking lot and bought three tiny turkeys from her. How often do you get to say something like that, huh? It all felt very clandestine as we pulled to the side of the parking lot and swapped a check for a bag of raw poultry (would have been more clandestine had I been swapping cash, I suppose). The turkeys are tiny because they are heritage turkeys, and this particular breed didn't grow as large as the farmer expected. I'd ordered two 10-12 lb turkeys (one for me and one for a coworker - I'm not only a buyer, I'm also a dealer), but they only ended up with 7 lb turkeys (there were a few 20 pounders of a different breed, but those were claimed by the people requesting large turkeys). So my coworker Kathy took the largest of the tiny turkeys, at 7.5 lbs, and I took two 7 lb birds."
More on heritage turkeys at NPR and localharvest.org. The latter is a portal or directory for local sources of sustainably grown food.
Posted by Anita @ 04:37 AM PST [Link]
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
A justification for those bags of little chocolate bars that live in our upper cabinet -- an ingredient in chocolate actually reduces coughing! "The study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping persistent coughs than codeine, currently considered the best cough medicine." I didn't know that capsaicin could be used to cause coughing in healthy volunteers, and the article doesn't mention how capsaicin would be applied to cause this effect, but in a different study "Capsaicin nebulised on air in saline was inhaled via a low resistance valve using a mouthpiece and noseclip." Ouch!
Theobromine effects remind me of Kage Baker's Company novels, in which the immortal cyborgs have been engineered to get drunk off chocolate due to the theobromine. (Reuters article via Absolute Piffle.)
Posted by Anita @ 03:47 AM PST [Link]
Monday, November 22, 2004
Yesterday I cooked my favorite spaghetti sauce (I talked about it in this journal entry). The recipe has developed from one I learned from my high-school boyfriend's family. I haven't intentionally changed it, but I'm sure it has developed over the years. The ingredients are flexible -- the most important points are the use of tomato soup as the main tomato ingredient, the bay leaves along with other, more typical pasta sauce seasonings, and the beer as an added liquid to thin the sauce as it cooks.
Main ingredients:
- ground beef
- onion
- garlic
- olive oil
- canned tomato soup
- canned mushrooms
Other seasonings:
- bay leaves
- salt (taste first)
- pepper
- basil
- oregano
- other herbs and spices that appeal to you.
- Some cinnamon gives a slight Cincinnati-chili taste.
Options:
- peppers
- fresh mushrooms and/or dried
- other tomato stuff like catsup, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste
For each pound of ground beef, chop up an onion and cook it in olive oil. Chop up a clove of garlic for each onion and cook it at the same time. This is sometimes known as "sweating" the onions. Keep the heat on the low side so the onion and garlic slowly turn golden -- don't burn them! If you have peppers to add, do it with the onions.
Add the ground beef and brown it.
Add a can of tomato soup for each pound of ground beef.
Also canned mushrooms, several cans worth. Fresh mushrooms if available, or dried (I added dried shitake slices last night).
Add a bay leaf for each person.Other tomato stuff can go in now (see the options list).
Simmer the sauce for a few hours. Stir occasionally so it doesn't burn on the bottom.
As the sauce cooks down, thin it with a small amount of beer. (It's tradional to drink some of the beer as you cook, but I usually don't do that much these days.)
This goes well with a green salad and garlic bread. Cook a bunch and freeze it!
Posted by Anita @ 04:11 AM PST [Link]
Sunday, November 21, 2004
From Neil Gaiman's journal, this teacher's description of teaching American Gods to high-school students (some advanced placement, I think, and some not). "Apparently, the scene at the end of Chapter 1 where a prostitute absorbs a man into her vagina (she's the goddess Bilquis) had been popular with the kids. One of the more dutiful students finished the assigned reading and then ran to a dormmate, book in hand, and said, 'You've got to read this, you won't believe it!' That created a chain reaction, and not only were all of my students rushing to read the chapter, but plenty of students from other classes were borrowing copies of the book to read."
It's a book I really enjoyed. Time for a re-read, soon! There's a sequel on the way, or is there!? "And seeing a lot of people have asked, Anansi Boys really isn't an American Gods sequel. The Shadow novella, 'The Monarch of the Glen', in Legends II, is definitely a sequel. The next batch of Shadow in London stories will be sequels. The book where Shadow goes back to America will be a sequel. Anansi Boys really is a book which shares a character from American Gods, who really was on loan from Anansi Boys anyway. I think it's a comic novel, which may get scary toward the end. But right now I'm in the first half so it's still a comic novel."
More on the original publication and PR campaign for American Gods.
Posted by Anita @ 05:48 AM PST [Link]
Friday, November 19, 2004
I've been tying so many shoes lately! Not only do I tie my grandson's shoes multiple times a day (he takes them off when he's bored or angry, I suppose because it's something he can do) but my shoes wilfully untie themselves because the laces are too slippery. So I was glad to find this site about shoelace knots. You don't need to use the knot you learned as a child; there are others that are easier and more secure. (Via a comment by Leland Johnson on Ted Leung's Daddycon II Day 3.)
Also on Ian's shoelace site: Repair busted aglets (the lace ends) instead of tossing the laces. (I thought it was aiglet and it seems either is correct.)
Posted by Anita @ 04:45 AM PST [Link]
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
We had a good turnout tonight for the weblog meetup! My sister kindly took charge of our grandson for the evening, so both Jack and I had a chance to converse with folks. I'd say about twenty five people attended. Jake has the list. He told me that he's now a meetup organizer himself, for the Bremerton Young Dems Meetup.
New faces: Todd with a weblog that he hasn't posted to for a long time (but a great name, The Vented Spleen), TDavid, Kara, Robert Raketty, Rob Greenlee, Peter Yorke, Annabel, and Harry Love. Dave Winer attended for the second time. Did I forget anyone?
Lots of lively discussion (and I mean that in a good way, not as a euphemism for argument). Funniest comment I heard: "He lectured me about lecturing people!" The pizza was tasty, and the Ralph's employees were in a good mood. Michael Hanscom posted a nice panorama image to flickr. I need to add a note to the venue description on meetup.com to let people know that the electrical plugs are only along the back wall of the dining area, and we don't usually sit near there. An extension cord would be a good thing; I'll try to remember to bring one to future meetups. The comfy chairs (four padded arm chairs with an ottoman in the middle) got a lot of use this time, which pleased me.
I'm thinking about what would be fun to do for the December meetup. Should we do something special for the holidays? A white elephant gift exchange?
Posted by Anita @ 09:29 PM PST [Link]
It pleases me that in Arlington, Virginia, my old home town, the library encourages Wi-Fi use in a friendly way: "Spread the word to friends and travelers! By using your laptop at the library for checking email, surfing the Net, and doing research, you are freeing up library Internet stations for people who vitally need that access." (Via Glenn Fleishman's Wi-Fi Networking News)
My high school Washington-Lee was just a block from the Central Library, so that was my after-school hangout. I have vivid memories of flirting with my high-school boyfriend there when we were first getting to know each other. Glencarlyn was the closest branch to my home -- I remember visiting there when it was in a converted house, around 1961.
Posted by Anita @ 04:54 AM PST [Link]
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
No flu shots this year. We've picked up a few colds via my grandson, but nothing too severe (my typing this immediately set off a big hacking coughing fit, just to prove me wrong). I hope I don't catch whatever it is that Skot of Izzle Pfaff has!
"One thing that is weirdly entertaining about being horribly ill are the startling fever dreams. One I had that night featured a foosball table at my workplace. It's in a stupid location in the hallway on the way to the elevator, and in this particular dream, I stopped by the foosball table and glanced down at the gaily-attired little amputee players. Then I leaned down and bit off all of their heads, crunching them in my teeth like candy. (Confession: this is probably because in real life, I have actually fantasized about biting off the heads of the foosball men. I hate foosball.)"
Posted by Anita @ 05:58 AM PST [Link]
Monday, November 15, 2004
Speaking of Jake of 8bit Joystick, as I was in the previous entry, he cooked and ate a Tofurky the other day and lived to tell about it: "It was about ten time better than I had expected and I was more than pleasantly surprised with it's neo-meaty goodness. I am not a vegetarian but being raised on watching Star Trek as a child I wanted to give this fake meat product a try. It is better that Soylent Green I tell you. Just think about it Soylent Turkey.. Mmmnn."
Posted by Anita @ 01:23 PM PST [Link]
There's a good article about Julie Leung in the Kitsap Sun. and a slightly different version in the Bainbridge Islander (but no online version of that one). "For most couples, these are private moments conducted behind closed doors. And so they are in the Leung home — until, that is, they're shared with the rest of the planet through Julie's 'blog' — an amalgam of the term 'Web log,' for any online journal of an interactive, multimedia nature — for anybody with a computer and an Internet connection to read."
Julie comments on the experience: "Much has been made of the tension between bloggers and journalists. I don't want to delve into the debate but I will say that it was an educational experience to be a blogger and the subject of a newspaper piece. Also to see that piece change in different publications based on the constraints and interests. I feel I have a greater understanding of the debate."
I do think that Jake of 8bit Joystick should have been mentioned in the list of area webloggers.
Posted by Anita @ 03:46 AM PST [Link]
Saturday, November 13, 2004
I was tickled by this "author's version" of Ariel Meadow Stallings' column, which she describes as snarky blurbs about cinematic news for the last week. I hope she'll continue posting it! The parts that couldn't be printed are struck out. "Pierce Brosnan, who we like to think of as somewhat of an authority on contemporary 007 issues, said this week that he thinks Irish party-boy Colin Farrell would make the perfect James Bond. We can just picture it now: a slurring James Bond popping Ecstasy and making out with Britney Spears. A hero for the new millennium!"
Posted by Anita @ 05:12 AM PST [Link]
Thursday, November 11, 2004
This Wednesday, November 17, at 7 pm, it's the Seattle Weblog Meetup! Location is Ralph's Grocery and Deli, 2035 4th Ave, diagonally across from the Cinerama in Belltown. There's food and beverages available, and free WiFi! We always have a good group of regulars, with new faces every month as well. You don't have to join Meetup.com (it's free!) to attend, but if you do I can get any last-minute bulletins to you. If you are a member, please RSVP on the site (it encourages others to come). See you there!
Posted by Anita @ 06:18 PM PST [Link]
The most science-fictional show I've seen on tv lately is Boohbah! I watch this with my grandson. Five round aliens, with kewpie-doll eyes and turtlenecks that cover their mouths, dance around and sing chords. Then they get in their spaceship and zoom about, visiting children who demonstrate gymnastic feats. Both the PBS kids site and the Boohbah Zone are fun for kids, too; my grandson only had trouble when he kept clicking the middle mouse button (need to get that Easyball!). The PBS site has info for parents and caregivers. From Anne Wood, the show's creator: "I think in Boohbah the main thing is that you have engaged children totally with movement, right from the beginning. Everyone knows that movement is good for children. What we're trying to do is engage the children in recognition, recognition of what the movement is, imitation - let's imitate what they do and then what you might call consolidation - make them really happy - because what we want to do is make children feel happy inside."
The Boombah FAQ! A review of a Boohbah DVD: "One day, the creators of Teletubbies were sitting around thinking, 'You know what? Our show isn't weird enough.' "
Posted by Anita @ 07:37 AM PST [Link]
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
No blogging the past few days, because my grandson is staying at home with me now and I'm having to fit online stuff into caring for him. I want to try writing in the evening, but I get tired!
I've always enjoyed Liralen's posts (both livejournal and her other journal) about taking her son to the rec center with the fancy pool: "Jet had a blast swimming. He ran and ran and swam and swam. He jumped on the rope for the showers and swung and sprayed everything. He played in the fountains, splashed another baby, and generally had a blast. He played full blast the whole time. He really liked resting and paddling around the hot tub for a bit."
I looked in this area for a similar recreation center but didn't find one. I did find the Redmond pool which is run by the Northwest Center, so I took R---- there yesterday for family swim. It really worked out well! R---- was comfortable in the water, stopped hanging on to me with a death grip after a few minutes, and played with toys in the water. We watched intently as two little girls had a swimming lesson. Maybe I'll sign us up for a toddler swim class!
Posted by Anita @ 06:20 AM PST [Link]
Friday, November 5, 2004
I would have gone to Bloggercon, but I decided I'd rather go to Orycon with my husband. We had a remarkably easy drive down to Portland, with fair traffic and no rain! Our grandson will be cared for by Jack's parents who drove up from Newport to meet us.
First program item we went to: Hugh S. Gregory on colonizing Mars. I was dubious about this but he was a fun speaker and the talk was interesting. His bio from another convention: "Professionally an avid Space Flight Historian, he has worked as an Engineers' Surveyor and an Industrial Paramedic/E.M.T (Industrial Ambulance Officer). On the side he manages his own Occupational Health and Safety Program consulting service, lectures in local schools on spaceflight history and astronomy, and owns and operates the H.R. MacMillian Planetarium's Affiliated educational BBS service 'SpaceBase'(tm), source of the 8 'SB-' prefixed space news conferences available world wide on over 5,000 FidoNet BBS's. On weekends he's a private pilot, amateur astronomer, cricket umpire, and enjoys hiking in the Rockies with his wife Anne. He's produced (and sells) videos on 'Voyager at Neptune', 'The Gas Planets', 'SSTO - The DC-X', 'Soviet Space Disasters' and 'The Flight Of Buran'. His slide/video shows have appeared at Conventions across North America, Europe and Australia."
Now Jack is off with some friends to play Unreal Tournament, which he could have done at home (but not with his friends in the same room). I'm taking advantage of the con's internet cafe to post this.
Posted by Anita @ 06:50 PM PST [Link]
KUOW now has a second audio stream, with different programming from their on-air broadcast. This goes some way towards addressing my problem with their current schedule. It seemed like they just kept dropping the programs I especially liked over the past few years -- Talk of the Nation (and here), Fresh Air. Both are now on KUOW2 (KUOW squared?). This does tend to tie me to the PC during 11 to 1 and 3 to 4 pm, which isn't so hot. Maybe I need something to record a WMF stream.
Posted by Anita @ 03:34 AM PST [Link]
Thursday, November 4, 2004
I've seen this linked various places, but it was John Ludwig who finally prompted me to go read it: Malcolm Gladwell on the Ketchup Conundrum. A zillion kinds of mustard, but mostly one kind of ketchup. Why is that? I didn't know what a revolutionary impact that first Grey Poupon commercial made.
I think that the article was on the author's website and not on the New Yorker site made me click through.
Posted by Anita @ 08:38 AM PST [Link]
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
We had a small but choice group at the second monthly East Side Weblog Meetup tonight. Those present: Hamburger Lad (aka Mike), Jerry Kindall, Jeannie, Pops of Soylent Content (he used to write Day Old Bread Store), The Bachelor, Receptionista, and another woman and man. I hope the woman enjoyed herself -- I think Robert sent her the info and she was expecting more of a geek dinner type of thing. Her companion was curious about how much time we devote to blogging and why in the world we do it; of course everyone had different answers.
Richard Gillmann of Absolute Piffle was there! I was surprised and pleased. I met him at the absolute first weblog meetup in 2002 and never since; he was in the mall while his daughter was getting a haircut at the kids' haircuttery.
I hope everyone that wanted to find us, did find us! I should have specified that we'd be meeting at the end of the food court farthest away from the open mike performance that was happening at the same time, like by the big chess board. We weren't there, but we sat far enough away that we were able to chat without shouting or disturbing the performances. This won't be an issue in the future since our regular meetup night (first Tuesday, mark your calendar) isn't also an open-mike night.
Posted by Anita @ 07:40 PM PST [Link]
Potlatch will be happening in 2005, March 4 to 6 down in the bay area. Hal O'Brien took some fine pictures at the most recent Potlatch here in Seattle and has now posted them. "The pictures use Tri-X 400ASA black and white film, pushed to 1600. They're all from the last day of the con, when nearly everyone was in the con suite, in one biggish, happy, party-like atmosphere. The light was coming in through the windows, and I thought it was very striking."
Posted by Anita @ 06:25 AM PST [Link]
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
I went to Curves, then to Capitol Hill to vote (button graphic courtesy Steve Bogart's Now This). The house that was across the street from my building has been completely demolished, and an excavator was driving back and for across the space in a lackadaisical manner. I grabbed a few things from the apartment, checked phone messages, and got the mail. I took a red umbrella and walked the few blocks to the polling place. No line! And they asked me for ID which I showed. As I was filling out my ballot I got to hear a discussion between the poll supervisor and his supervisor about whether this was proper (it wasn't) but I didn't blame him for being confused. I guess those who voted after me didn't have to show ID. I voted on every issue and race except some of the judges.
I stopped at the new Trader Joe's on my way back to the car (wine, yogurt, crackers, lime-chili cashews). It does gripe me that the store only opened after I moved away!
Posted by Anita @ 10:44 AM PST [Link]
Monday, November 1, 2004
Dana (Mike Gunderloy's wife) wrote about their kids' computer use. "Don't get me wrong. I’m not suggesting you plop little Johnny down in front of his own copy of Duke Nukem, or that little Sally be given free, unguided use of the Internet, but there are lots of wonderful programs and websites out there for children, which do more than 'promote self-esteem' or allow children to 'race in a crayon-shaped car.' [...] I should point out that my son, Adam, has been using a computer of his own since he was about a year and a half old. Kayla, my two-year-(next week)-old, got a computer her first Christmas. She's mostly disinterested, though she does enjoy the games from the Living Books series. My son has dozens of computer games to play, is already able to put together 80-piece only puzzles, and can tell you thousands of facts about everything from dinosaurs to volcanos to insects to animals, thanks to the Magic Schoolbus series. He's even able to play Zoo Tycoon, though he mostly likes to build tiny little enclosures, stick far too many animals in them, then spend hours stacking soda machines on top of each other."
I want to get my grandson set up with a PC at floor level, with an Easyball. We'll probably have to get the latter on ebay.
