The extended group I work with at Boeing had a 'recognition lunch' today (basically they take everyone out and buy them lunch).
However, we had a $10 limit on what we could actually order, which didn't give us many options on the menu. The real problem, however, was that we didn't get food until we'd been sitting there for well over half an hour. Add in the actual eating of lunch and travel time and we spent about an hour and three-quarters away from our desks as our forty-minute lunch allowance.
IIRC, the rule of thumb is that engineers cost the company ~$100/hour (including salary, benefits, office space, computing, etc.), which would mean Boeing paid $110 for my $10 lunch.
Robert A. Heinlein wins again.
(For the uninitiated, There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Oh no!
During gaming last night it was pointed out that my current character is management. This point was confirmed a number of times during the session.
I didn't realize I'd created an evil character.
I didn't realize I'd created an evil character.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mirror, Mirror...
I was born and raised in Massachusetts (postal abbreviation MA), and now live in Washington (postal abbreviation WA).
Flip and M upside down and you get a W.
MA: East coast state with a liberal urban east and a (fairly) conservative rural west.
WA: West coast state with a liberal urban west and a (fairly) conservative rural east.
Both states have their largest city wrapped around a seaport. Both states almost invariably vote democrat for president.
Furthering the "mirror image" idea: MA has high income tax. WA has no income tax. Seven states (including WA) in the US have no income tax. Seven states (including MA) in the US have a flat income tax.
The next state east of MA (NY) is shaped kindof like a backwards "L".
The next state west of WA (ID) is shaped kindof like a forwards "L".
Both MA and WA have about 6.5 million (+/- 100,000) people.
Both MA and WA have double "8's" in their year of admission to the US (MA 1788, WA 1889).
Both the US Senators from MA are male democrats, and it has a male democrat governor.
Both the US Senators from WA are female democrats, and it has a female democrat governor.
WA is the leading producer of rasberries in the US.
MA is the 2nd leading producer of cranberries in the US.
MA has the busiest light-rail system in the country.
WA has the largest ferry system in the country.
Flip and M upside down and you get a W.
MA: East coast state with a liberal urban east and a (fairly) conservative rural west.
WA: West coast state with a liberal urban west and a (fairly) conservative rural east.
Both states have their largest city wrapped around a seaport. Both states almost invariably vote democrat for president.
Furthering the "mirror image" idea: MA has high income tax. WA has no income tax. Seven states (including WA) in the US have no income tax. Seven states (including MA) in the US have a flat income tax.
The next state east of MA (NY) is shaped kindof like a backwards "L".
The next state west of WA (ID) is shaped kindof like a forwards "L".
Both MA and WA have about 6.5 million (+/- 100,000) people.
Both MA and WA have double "8's" in their year of admission to the US (MA 1788, WA 1889).
Both the US Senators from MA are male democrats, and it has a male democrat governor.
Both the US Senators from WA are female democrats, and it has a female democrat governor.
WA is the leading producer of rasberries in the US.
MA is the 2nd leading producer of cranberries in the US.
MA has the busiest light-rail system in the country.
WA has the largest ferry system in the country.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The March of Agincourt
Part IV of the material I presented at Champions.
Competition Entry #2: The March of Agincourt
Knights may charge, rain may fall
We’ve got longbows; kill ‘em all!
Horses charge o’er muddy field
Stand by me, I’ll never yield!
Clothyard shaft, bow of yew
Aim your longbows high and true
Nock a shaft and call the cry
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Hold the line with sword and axe
Make them pay a bloody tax
They’ll cut your fingers off your hand
So string your bow and take a stand
I’ll not be ransomed if we loose
And those at home won’t like the news
So draw your bow and call the cry
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Guard your king and country well
Send these Froggies back to hell!
Win the war, I’ll win the bride
All English chests will swell with pride
Clothyard shaft, bow of yew
Aim your longbows high and true
Pile their bodies to the sky!
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
God give us your blessing now
To your glory we all bow
Do not avenge my father’s crime
Upon my country, not this time!
Although we’ll die if that’s our due
Let us live to honor you!
We’ll sing your praises to the sky
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Knights may charge, rain may fall
We’ve got longbows; kill ‘em all!
Horses charge o’er muddy field
Stand by me, I’ll never yield!
Clothyard shaft, bow of yew
Aim your longbows high and true
Nock a shaft and call the cry
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Competition Entry #2: The March of Agincourt
Knights may charge, rain may fall
We’ve got longbows; kill ‘em all!
Horses charge o’er muddy field
Stand by me, I’ll never yield!
Clothyard shaft, bow of yew
Aim your longbows high and true
Nock a shaft and call the cry
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Hold the line with sword and axe
Make them pay a bloody tax
They’ll cut your fingers off your hand
So string your bow and take a stand
I’ll not be ransomed if we loose
And those at home won’t like the news
So draw your bow and call the cry
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Guard your king and country well
Send these Froggies back to hell!
Win the war, I’ll win the bride
All English chests will swell with pride
Clothyard shaft, bow of yew
Aim your longbows high and true
Pile their bodies to the sky!
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
God give us your blessing now
To your glory we all bow
Do not avenge my father’s crime
Upon my country, not this time!
Although we’ll die if that’s our due
Let us live to honor you!
We’ll sing your praises to the sky
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Knights may charge, rain may fall
We’ve got longbows; kill ‘em all!
Horses charge o’er muddy field
Stand by me, I’ll never yield!
Clothyard shaft, bow of yew
Aim your longbows high and true
Nock a shaft and call the cry
HOW MANY OF THEM CAN WE LET FLY!
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Period Piece
Part III of my Bardic Championship material.
Or: There ain’t no Peace in Period!
What we are searching for here is FACT – if you’re looking for glory, the knights are over on the tourney field.
Up until recently, modern historians were completely unaware that Henry V had originally intended to sing an inspiring song to his troops to motivate them prior to the battle of Agincourt. His musicians practiced night and day for three days before the battle. The damp and their exhaustion, however, caused them all to get sick (most likely with dysentery, which afflicted much of Henry’s army, though sources are vague on the subject). Without music to accompany him, Henry was forced to improvise a speech instead. A manuscript including the song was discovered in the tomb of one of Henry's knights by the noted archeologist Dr. Jones in 1938.
So much is historical fact. But rumors and gossip continue to ascribe the most fantastic events to Dr. Jones’ expedition. The idea that he disturbed a secret lab researching the uses of thiotimoline is of course absurd, and that he destroyed the lab in some feat of heroics is even more so. Equally annoying is the contention that the damage to the portion of the manuscript containing the music was due to gunfire or some sort of ancient booby trap rather than the well-known ravages of time. If research on thiotimoline was in fact being carried out so early, why do none of Dr. Asimov’s (perhaps the greatest expert on thiotimoline in history) papers on the subject discuss it?
We can be grateful to Dr. Jones for not encouraging such nonsense, instead providing a simple, rational, account of his findings. We can also be grateful that he was methodical enough to copy the text of the song from the manuscript before it was further damaged.
We cannot, of course, be sure of the music that was intended to go with the text of the song, but a detailed study of other works composed by the same minstrels leads me to believe that I have constructed a piece that I believe is in keeping with the music of the times, which I will now perform.
References:
1., Jones, I., "Examinations of a Knight's Tomb in France," Archeology Yesterday, Volume 4, Number 2, 1938.
2., Asimov, I., "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline", Journal of Astounding SCIENCEFiction, 1948.
3., Asimov, I., "The Use of Endochronometers in the Analysis of Thiotimoline", Proceedings of the 12th Annual meeting of the American Chronochemical Society, New York, NY, 1959.
Or: There ain’t no Peace in Period!
What we are searching for here is FACT – if you’re looking for glory, the knights are over on the tourney field.
Up until recently, modern historians were completely unaware that Henry V had originally intended to sing an inspiring song to his troops to motivate them prior to the battle of Agincourt. His musicians practiced night and day for three days before the battle. The damp and their exhaustion, however, caused them all to get sick (most likely with dysentery, which afflicted much of Henry’s army, though sources are vague on the subject). Without music to accompany him, Henry was forced to improvise a speech instead. A manuscript including the song was discovered in the tomb of one of Henry's knights by the noted archeologist Dr. Jones in 1938.
So much is historical fact. But rumors and gossip continue to ascribe the most fantastic events to Dr. Jones’ expedition. The idea that he disturbed a secret lab researching the uses of thiotimoline is of course absurd, and that he destroyed the lab in some feat of heroics is even more so. Equally annoying is the contention that the damage to the portion of the manuscript containing the music was due to gunfire or some sort of ancient booby trap rather than the well-known ravages of time. If research on thiotimoline was in fact being carried out so early, why do none of Dr. Asimov’s (perhaps the greatest expert on thiotimoline in history) papers on the subject discuss it?
We can be grateful to Dr. Jones for not encouraging such nonsense, instead providing a simple, rational, account of his findings. We can also be grateful that he was methodical enough to copy the text of the song from the manuscript before it was further damaged.
We cannot, of course, be sure of the music that was intended to go with the text of the song, but a detailed study of other works composed by the same minstrels leads me to believe that I have constructed a piece that I believe is in keeping with the music of the times, which I will now perform.
References:
1., Jones, I., "Examinations of a Knight's Tomb in France," Archeology Yesterday, Volume 4, Number 2, 1938.
2., Asimov, I., "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline", Journal of Astounding SCIENCEFiction, 1948.
3., Asimov, I., "The Use of Endochronometers in the Analysis of Thiotimoline", Proceedings of the 12th Annual meeting of the American Chronochemical Society, New York, NY, 1959.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Anniversary
Its that time of the year again!
This blog is now two years old, with 387 posts to date.
Who are you?
A man who no more knows his destiny than a tea leaf knows the history of the East India company. Yeah, I'm going through one of those "we don't know a millionth of 1% about anything in the universe" phases.
What do you want?
Sleep. Sleep would be good. Philosophy is not for the exhausted.
Why are you here?
Because I refuse to quit before I finish. I'm not sure when or if I'll finish, or how I know I will, but I've done enough quitting in my life.
Where are you going?
Lately I feel like I'm in the Red Queen's Race, where one must run as fast as possible to remain in the same place. The good I manage to do seems easily smashed by the evil and stupidity of others, yielding no net beneficial result.
Who do you serve, and who do you trust?
I serve the Consitution of the United States of America, which (especially lately) is not at all the same thing as the government of the United States of America. I try to serve my friends and family. I trust... a very, very small number of people.
OK, way too many typos in writing this - I really need more sleep...
This blog is now two years old, with 387 posts to date.
Who are you?
A man who no more knows his destiny than a tea leaf knows the history of the East India company. Yeah, I'm going through one of those "we don't know a millionth of 1% about anything in the universe" phases.
What do you want?
Sleep. Sleep would be good. Philosophy is not for the exhausted.
Why are you here?
Because I refuse to quit before I finish. I'm not sure when or if I'll finish, or how I know I will, but I've done enough quitting in my life.
Where are you going?
Lately I feel like I'm in the Red Queen's Race, where one must run as fast as possible to remain in the same place. The good I manage to do seems easily smashed by the evil and stupidity of others, yielding no net beneficial result.
Who do you serve, and who do you trust?
I serve the Consitution of the United States of America, which (especially lately) is not at all the same thing as the government of the United States of America. I try to serve my friends and family. I trust... a very, very small number of people.
OK, way too many typos in writing this - I really need more sleep...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Myth and Mystery of Agincourt
Part II of the material I presented at All Champions
Or: Luckily Shakespeare isn’t our only source
The Battle of Agincourt took place on October 25th, 1415, on a rather muddy field in France between Tramecourt and Agincourt (both woods and towns). Henry V had taken the port of Harfleur after a siege which had taken a larger than expected tole on his army, and was marching to Calais (then in English hands) to rest and refit his army. Weakened by dysentery, harassed by French forces, and on hostile terrain in bad weather, Henry’s army was intercepted by a French force which outnumbered them by less than 3:2 (a recent proposal by Professor Anne Curry), over 10:1 (a common early estimate) or somewhere in between. By any measure at the time, Henry’s army probably looked like the underdog. The French, it seems, were certainly confident of victory.
The day, however, would prove otherwise. Although the exact sequence of events is disputed, the battle proceeded more or less as follows. The French initially held their position, knowing that Henry would have to engage them in order to get through to Calais and perhaps leery of attacking English bowman after battles such as Crecy. Henry also preferred not to attack, having emplaced wooden stakes to protect his archers in his initial position. After some hours however he advanced his own army, halting at long bow-shot (~300 yards) and re-emplacing the stakes to protect his archers. The bowmen then opened fire on the French line, which finally caused the French to commence an assault. Slowed by the mud, crowded together by the narrowing field of battle (the tree lines slanted towards the English position on both sides of the field), and under a constant rain of arrows, the French were in bad shape by the time they reached the English line. The French cavalry was unable to breach the line of wooden stakes, and the infantry was exhausted by the march across the field under fire. The compressed field prevented the flanking maneuvers that the French seem to have planned for; although one small unit of French troops did reach the English rear, they spent their time looting the English camp rather than attacking the army’s rear. Henry’s army, having fought off two waves of French attacks in over three hours of fighting and having exhausted at least their ready supplies of arrows, saw the French reserve still in front of them and had word of their camp under attack from the rear. Henry ordered that most of the prisoners taken to that point be killed for fear they would rise up against their captors while they were fighting the third line. But the French third line did not attack, instead withdrawing from the field.
With more than a six-fold variance in the odds against the English and similar variety in the estimates of the forces on either side (somewhere around 5,000-7,000 for the English being the most common estimate, but ranging from 4,000-12,000, with far greater ranges for the French), one would expect a great deal of variety in the casualty figures as well, and indeed this is the case. Estimates of the English dead run from under a hundred to nearly two thousand, with casualty ratios of between 6:1 (favoring the English) and over 50:1! All that we can say for sure is that the English achieved a major tactical victory.
Or: Luckily Shakespeare isn’t our only source
The Battle of Agincourt took place on October 25th, 1415, on a rather muddy field in France between Tramecourt and Agincourt (both woods and towns). Henry V had taken the port of Harfleur after a siege which had taken a larger than expected tole on his army, and was marching to Calais (then in English hands) to rest and refit his army. Weakened by dysentery, harassed by French forces, and on hostile terrain in bad weather, Henry’s army was intercepted by a French force which outnumbered them by less than 3:2 (a recent proposal by Professor Anne Curry), over 10:1 (a common early estimate) or somewhere in between. By any measure at the time, Henry’s army probably looked like the underdog. The French, it seems, were certainly confident of victory.
The day, however, would prove otherwise. Although the exact sequence of events is disputed, the battle proceeded more or less as follows. The French initially held their position, knowing that Henry would have to engage them in order to get through to Calais and perhaps leery of attacking English bowman after battles such as Crecy. Henry also preferred not to attack, having emplaced wooden stakes to protect his archers in his initial position. After some hours however he advanced his own army, halting at long bow-shot (~300 yards) and re-emplacing the stakes to protect his archers. The bowmen then opened fire on the French line, which finally caused the French to commence an assault. Slowed by the mud, crowded together by the narrowing field of battle (the tree lines slanted towards the English position on both sides of the field), and under a constant rain of arrows, the French were in bad shape by the time they reached the English line. The French cavalry was unable to breach the line of wooden stakes, and the infantry was exhausted by the march across the field under fire. The compressed field prevented the flanking maneuvers that the French seem to have planned for; although one small unit of French troops did reach the English rear, they spent their time looting the English camp rather than attacking the army’s rear. Henry’s army, having fought off two waves of French attacks in over three hours of fighting and having exhausted at least their ready supplies of arrows, saw the French reserve still in front of them and had word of their camp under attack from the rear. Henry ordered that most of the prisoners taken to that point be killed for fear they would rise up against their captors while they were fighting the third line. But the French third line did not attack, instead withdrawing from the field.
With more than a six-fold variance in the odds against the English and similar variety in the estimates of the forces on either side (somewhere around 5,000-7,000 for the English being the most common estimate, but ranging from 4,000-12,000, with far greater ranges for the French), one would expect a great deal of variety in the casualty figures as well, and indeed this is the case. Estimates of the English dead run from under a hundred to nearly two thousand, with casualty ratios of between 6:1 (favoring the English) and over 50:1! All that we can say for sure is that the English achieved a major tactical victory.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Marching Towards Agincourt
Part I of the material I presented at All Champions
Or: a Drunkard’s Walk
I first read about the battle of Agincourt in grade school, in the book Miniature Battles. The quick account caught my eye, both because of the power of the English Longbow and the odds against the English that they nevertheless overcame. Although my interests at the time were more in the Roman Empire, I seldom bypassed Agincourt when re-reading the book.
In high school I took an elective class on Shakespeare’s plays, one of which was Henry V. From the first reading, the chorus’ calling upon the muse spoke to me; I would later recite the first half for a poetry contest, and today I will present the entire prologue. We also watched Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V, with Derek Jacobi’s brilliant role as the chorus and the beautiful song “Non Nobis Domine.”
I was hooked.
I have been unable to determine exactly when Henry V was released. Certainly it was within a few years of 1600, which puts it at the ragged edge of the SCA’s period. However since a printed version appeared in 1600, I feel that it qualifies as a period piece.
Oddly enough, I had been in the SCA for three years before it really occurred to me that Agincourt was period battle.
To digress slightly, filk isn’t something I do, it just happens in my head – it is who I am. It is, to mangle a phrase, 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, but the 1% pops into my head whether I like it or not. So the final line of the March of Agincourt popped, fully formed, into my head one day and rapidly became a draft of the first verse. There, however, I got stuck. Bits and pieces of couplets drifted about, seldom forming verses, for more than a year. Inspiration struck again, and the bits lined up into three verses. While I wasn’t quite satisfied, I decided it was good enough for Champions – how could I do a Bardic competition without filk?
Then, yesterday morning (no, I’m not kidding), inspiration hit a third time. The third time was, indeed, the charm, and I am pleased to present the full four verses (plus the reprise of the first) here today.
In researching Agincourt, I came across a reference to another song; Osprey’s Agincourt 1415 mentions a victory song “with the refrain ‘Deo gratias Anglia redde pro victoria.’” Although the book gave no more detail, the internet did. Words, a picture of a period copy of the music, and performances by several groups of “The Agincourt Carol” were all readily available. Interestingly, the song appears in Laurence Olivier’s 1944 version of Henry V, which had costumes provided by the same house that would provide them to Kenneth Branagh 45 years later.
While filk comes naturally to me, period music is a stretch. However, with the strong encouragement of my wife I will present today as a solo entry “The Agincourt Carol.”
Or: a Drunkard’s Walk
I first read about the battle of Agincourt in grade school, in the book Miniature Battles. The quick account caught my eye, both because of the power of the English Longbow and the odds against the English that they nevertheless overcame. Although my interests at the time were more in the Roman Empire, I seldom bypassed Agincourt when re-reading the book.
In high school I took an elective class on Shakespeare’s plays, one of which was Henry V. From the first reading, the chorus’ calling upon the muse spoke to me; I would later recite the first half for a poetry contest, and today I will present the entire prologue. We also watched Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V, with Derek Jacobi’s brilliant role as the chorus and the beautiful song “Non Nobis Domine.”
I was hooked.
I have been unable to determine exactly when Henry V was released. Certainly it was within a few years of 1600, which puts it at the ragged edge of the SCA’s period. However since a printed version appeared in 1600, I feel that it qualifies as a period piece.
Oddly enough, I had been in the SCA for three years before it really occurred to me that Agincourt was period battle.
To digress slightly, filk isn’t something I do, it just happens in my head – it is who I am. It is, to mangle a phrase, 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, but the 1% pops into my head whether I like it or not. So the final line of the March of Agincourt popped, fully formed, into my head one day and rapidly became a draft of the first verse. There, however, I got stuck. Bits and pieces of couplets drifted about, seldom forming verses, for more than a year. Inspiration struck again, and the bits lined up into three verses. While I wasn’t quite satisfied, I decided it was good enough for Champions – how could I do a Bardic competition without filk?
Then, yesterday morning (no, I’m not kidding), inspiration hit a third time. The third time was, indeed, the charm, and I am pleased to present the full four verses (plus the reprise of the first) here today.
In researching Agincourt, I came across a reference to another song; Osprey’s Agincourt 1415 mentions a victory song “with the refrain ‘Deo gratias Anglia redde pro victoria.’” Although the book gave no more detail, the internet did. Words, a picture of a period copy of the music, and performances by several groups of “The Agincourt Carol” were all readily available. Interestingly, the song appears in Laurence Olivier’s 1944 version of Henry V, which had costumes provided by the same house that would provide them to Kenneth Branagh 45 years later.
While filk comes naturally to me, period music is a stretch. However, with the strong encouragement of my wife I will present today as a solo entry “The Agincourt Carol.”
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
What part of GIGO don't you understand?
What is this magical power people ascribe to computer models?
Garbage In, Garbage Out, is bad enough, but when you put in good data and get out garbage, why do people assume that a little tweaking of the model will help?
Computers are STUPID, people. They know not a single thing about the real world. They do EXACTLY what we tell them, and thus they cannot be ONE SINGLE BIT smarter than a person even at their best.
Something that gives you a result that is off by a factor of three is probably not a useful tool. Something that gives you a curve that is of the wrong shape AND off by a factor of three is JUNK. It is USELESS. YOU need to start over.
"Our computer models (which we've tweaked so much that they produce the 'correct' data from random numbers, not just the 'real' input) say this will happen. You need to change your life because of our models!"
So, how about this carefully collected hard data I've gathered that contradicts your model?
"No! It is a computer model! Data? We don't need no stinking data!"
There are times I wish that theoretical computing classes were mandatory. Then again, I also often wish that for logic, basic mathematics... there's actually quite a list.
Sigh.
Garbage In, Garbage Out, is bad enough, but when you put in good data and get out garbage, why do people assume that a little tweaking of the model will help?
Computers are STUPID, people. They know not a single thing about the real world. They do EXACTLY what we tell them, and thus they cannot be ONE SINGLE BIT smarter than a person even at their best.
Something that gives you a result that is off by a factor of three is probably not a useful tool. Something that gives you a curve that is of the wrong shape AND off by a factor of three is JUNK. It is USELESS. YOU need to start over.
"Our computer models (which we've tweaked so much that they produce the 'correct' data from random numbers, not just the 'real' input) say this will happen. You need to change your life because of our models!"
So, how about this carefully collected hard data I've gathered that contradicts your model?
"No! It is a computer model! Data? We don't need no stinking data!"
There are times I wish that theoretical computing classes were mandatory. Then again, I also often wish that for logic, basic mathematics... there's actually quite a list.
Sigh.
Monday, March 16, 2009
From the Frontlines: All Champions
The Barony of Aquaterra had All Champions this weekend. I entered for bardic, but didn't win (Lady Soelig won Bardic Champion). There was much entertaining singing, dancing, and storytelling, but I'm kinda drained from the whole "1st formally judged bardic contest" bit.
In the rapier championship, her Excellency directed the outgoing champion to fight the incoming champion in an exhibition fight with the only lethal shot being to the big toe. High marks to her Excellency. :-)
I also played a period game whose name I cannot remember. It involves a square, gridded board with 24 black pawns arranged around the edge and 12 white pawns and a white king in the center, with the object being for the white king to escape to one of the corners. Rather interesting, though not as much as chess.
In the rapier championship, her Excellency directed the outgoing champion to fight the incoming champion in an exhibition fight with the only lethal shot being to the big toe. High marks to her Excellency. :-)
I also played a period game whose name I cannot remember. It involves a square, gridded board with 24 black pawns arranged around the edge and 12 white pawns and a white king in the center, with the object being for the white king to escape to one of the corners. Rather interesting, though not as much as chess.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ice Tsunami
A combination of weather effects has caused ice to push off Lake Superior, breaking windows on shorefront property and pushing into houses. A small number of people have been evacuated.
http://www.wnem.com/news/18885556/detail.html
I have seen the effects of (water) tsunami's, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes... but this is a new one on me.
http://www.wnem.com/news/18885556/detail.html
I have seen the effects of (water) tsunami's, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes... but this is a new one on me.
Monday, March 9, 2009
OK, I give up
I admit it, the weather faked me out. Early last week I took the liner out of my jacket. Today I'm going to put it back in.
While it can be highly convenient to only have one jacket that serves as both light and heavy coat, it can also be somewhat annoying.
I also no longer believe that my imagination is overactive. I never would have imagined you could belly dance to "Tainted Love", however this weekend I watched a troupe do just that. In fact, that was one of the best performances of the weekend. Nor would I have imagined belly dancing to "I'm a Lumberjack (and I'm OK)." Yup, saw that too.
While it can be highly convenient to only have one jacket that serves as both light and heavy coat, it can also be somewhat annoying.
I also no longer believe that my imagination is overactive. I never would have imagined you could belly dance to "Tainted Love", however this weekend I watched a troupe do just that. In fact, that was one of the best performances of the weekend. Nor would I have imagined belly dancing to "I'm a Lumberjack (and I'm OK)." Yup, saw that too.
Friday, March 6, 2009
13 miles
That's how far I've walked this week, at a minimum. 2.6 miles each morning from my house to the vanpool pickup location (I'm vanpooling to work currently).
My ankles are starting to object.
How do you get to work?
My ankles are starting to object.
How do you get to work?
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wiiiii!
OK, I'm not particularly fond of console games (I do not now and never have owned a gaming console, though I've spent plenty of time on those belonging to various friends). I'm not particularly fond of bowling (only done it once, and quite possibly set a world record for the highest number of gutter balls in an evening).
But Wii bowling... well, rocked.
Quite a bit of it was the Wii itself; unlike any other game remote I've ever handled, I felt like I could get this one to do what I wanted (most of the time - the one attempt at Wii Duck Hunt was a dismal failure). In addition to bowling and the shoot 'em up, I raced cows (yes, cows. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.), fished, and played pool (8-ball). Despite not even understanding the rules of some of these games, I could generally at least get the remote to do what I wanted. In the case of the fishing game this involved catching the wrong fish, but I caught the fish I was aiming for, so whose fault is that really?
Perhaps someday in addition to my board games, miniatures, armed puffs, RPG's, card games, and computer games I too will have console games.
But Wii bowling... well, rocked.
Quite a bit of it was the Wii itself; unlike any other game remote I've ever handled, I felt like I could get this one to do what I wanted (most of the time - the one attempt at Wii Duck Hunt was a dismal failure). In addition to bowling and the shoot 'em up, I raced cows (yes, cows. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.), fished, and played pool (8-ball). Despite not even understanding the rules of some of these games, I could generally at least get the remote to do what I wanted. In the case of the fishing game this involved catching the wrong fish, but I caught the fish I was aiming for, so whose fault is that really?
Perhaps someday in addition to my board games, miniatures, armed puffs, RPG's, card games, and computer games I too will have console games.
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