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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
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| Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 |
onyxhawke
|
12:29a |
a climate of ignorance... The big mistakes that sink a book are not nearly as interesting to me as the little ones that can tip the balance either way. One of the little things that always leaves me bemused is how people in stories go straight from summer into winter without more than a passing mention of fall. While its true that New England and other places sometimes feel that way, as a rule it just isn't true. The pictures below were taken in the last day or two, and at this time of year we have those lovely thirty to forty degree temperature swings that make sweatshirts appropriate at morning and eve, and short sleeves comfortable the rest of the day. The area I live in is march and hills, and more marsh mixed with occasional lands decent for farming. I find it curious how often I see this in fiction. Nothing seems to happen in the fall in books. The weather is boring if discussed at all, and it rarely fits the climate area that is supposed to be right for the place. Travelers will head north, and about four weeks after they leave someplace temperate they are immediately buried to the horsebelly in snow. No changing leaves, no animals shedding, no birds migrating, not a hint of fall dew, nary a mention of frost, just one to another. So for those of you who live in places without real weather:     Current Mood:  contemplativeCurrent Music: watching Craig Ferguson |
| Monday, October 13th, 2008 |
debgeisler
|
9:36p |
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debgeisler
|
9:33p |
Home, home, home
What a delightful long weekend with my family in Ohio. :-) I'm sure some people think their families are great, but mine really *rocks*. Got to see mom, both of my sisters, my brother, their spouses, both nieces, and my youngest nephew. We are such good company...and such good cooks.
Home now, with the Mikester. And that is the best of all.
Hope yours is great, too! |
batwrangler
|
6:50p |
More tv observations
There is apparently a show about a guy who has a pack of wolves and is desperately trying to get his girlfriend to like and interact with them. This boggles me: I would have thought that having your own wolf pack would be just one step below "tiger trainer" in terms of being a chick magnet.
I am fascinated by "How Clean is Your House?" which is the British show where two women transform the homes of pathologically messy people. On the one hand, clearly they are doing a huge service to people who are overwhelmed and need (and clearly want and are grateful for) intervention. On the other hand, they use a lot of dodgy tactics to try to scare these people into keeping up with their housework moving forward.
For instance, in a recent episode, they used a black-light on a culture of something or other nasty-sounding bacteria. It fluoresced. They then used the black-light to allegedly prove the entire room was crawling with the baddies because there were large swathes of fluorescence on the walls, etc.
Now, it could indeed have indicated that the bacteria in question was crawling all over the place. But. Lots of things*, including toothpaste, fluoresce under black-light. Therefore I call foul. That was more a rhetorical trick than proof of anything.
*Scorpions fluoresce under blackl-ight; I could have used the same tactic to prove that there were scorpions splattered all over the walls of that British flat. |
rfreebern
|
4:39p |
On top of Stowe Pinnacle  We climbed Stowe Pinnacle this morning, and I carried my niece up half of the way (and then when we descended later I carried her half of the way back down). It was quite a workout! The view was beautiful, though, so the exertion was totally worth it. |
kevin_standlee
|
11:50a |
Out of Office
In a few minutes, I'm leaving to take Lisa to Salem for that MRI, which we hope will give some clues as to her tinnitus. Heck of a way to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Current Mood: busy |
batwrangler
|
11:43a |
TV: Friday the 13th (The series)
SciFi Channel is running a marathon. This was one of my guilty viewing pleasures when it was in first run. I don't remember yelling encouragements of violence at Micki this much then. "Bite his nose!" "You could still hit him!" "Lock *him* in the vault!" "You are surrounded by death-dealing cursed objects: use one!"
OK, so that was a McGyverish solution, but there where simpler ones available (see above). |
laurel
|
10:01a |
mostly offline for a while I am having really bad RSI issues in my right hand, wrist, & arm. Really can't use the computer for more than a minute or two without pretty bad discomfort. (That PSA was something I wrote earlier in the weekend, just posted it now. Was having difficulties then and probably shouldn't have tackled it, but I feel it's very important stuff and a PSA on this topic once every year or so seems a good idea. Especially timely right now.) I probably shouldn't do tv picks for a while and that's killing me. I want to finish up an email to send to members of Convivial and I need to make signs for the con, but am going to have to take it very slow. Did make badges last night-- yay! Will be at least glancing at email, but likely won't respond unless absolutely necessary. May not be reading LJ or even twitter. Won't be on IM except if I have to. If you know my number and want to discuss Convivial stuff or other things, caling might be better than email right now. I hope those of you that can are coming to Convivial 3 this weekend. We've been working very hard on it. There's a schedule of events online and lots more info. Still possible to register online if you want to make things easier for everyone (than registering at the door) as I haven't gotten around to taking down the paypal button. It's not too late for members to reply to the survey I sent out either, though we've done most of our shopping for supplies by now. |
laurel
|
9:45a |
PSA People with untreated sleep apnea are 2 to 4 times more likely to have a stroke than those who don't have sleep apnea or who are successfully treating their sleep apnea. It's double the risk of other known risk factors for stroke (like hypertension, diabetes, everything else). Folks with untreated sleep apnea also have a much greater risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and high blood pressure. Symptoms of sleep apnea may include excessive daytime sleepiness, restless sleep, loud snoring, falling asleep during the day, morning headaches, trouble concentrating, irritability, forgetfulness, mood or behavior changes, weight gain, anxiety, and depression. If you think you might have sleep apnea, please talk to your doctor about it. Talking about it doesn't automatically mean you need a sleep study; there are some questions they'll likely want you to answer. There are also some simpler tests than a sleep study that can be done for the initial screening. And if you need a sleep study, they really aren't that bad-- I am darn near phobic about being watched by anyone while I sleep and was scared to death of having a sleep study, but in the end it was really easy and I'm so glad I did it (and hate that it took me so long). If you have sleep apnea, please treat it. Stick with the treatment. It can be difficult to find the right sleep mask or other treatment, but the technology is constantly improving. There's some amazing stuff out there now. Most sleep apnea is treated with a CPAP and a sleep mask, but some cases are treated with surgery or other things. If you use a CPAP (or BiPAP), even once you find a mask you like, it's important to make sure your gear is working properly and replaced as often as it should be. It's also good to follow-up with doctors if you think maybe the treatment isn't working as well as it could. Your pressure settings or mask may need to be adjusted, you may even need a new sleep study. These days there are CPAP machines that can tell you how well they're working for you-- it's good to see those stats and know the machine and mask are doing their job and you're having as few apneas as possible during the night. If anyone ever has any questions about this stuff, please don't hesitate to talk to me about it. I know a lot about the masks and CPAP machines that are available. I read up on this stuff all the time. I can point you to some useful resources; I can also answer questions about my sleep study, diagnosis, and treatment. I purchase most of my equipment from CPAP.com (and their sister site BillMyInsurance.com) and I've found the CPAPTalk forum to be an invaluable source of info, links to resources, etc. |
smofbabe
|
6:52p |
Birthday Greetings! Not sure how much he hangs around here any more but just in case, happy birthday to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pcmcmurray! |
| Sunday, October 12th, 2008 |
kevin_standlee
|
9:43p |
Up On The Roof Today is the only non-weekday that I'm scheduled to be here in Mehama, and was also a nice, clear, windless day. That meant that it was our only chance to dig out the equipment for Lisa to get up on the roof of the old house and do roof repairs. This meant we spent the entire day except for a lunch break getting equipment out, fixing equipment that wouldn't work, hauling it to the old house and erecting it, and then taking it back down and putting it away. And, oh, yes, Lisa spent around six hours clambering around on the roof dangling from a safety harness while I fetched tools and sent them up to her via a rope she's rigged for this purpose. I took pictures that I will post when I get a chance of her working up there so people can get an idea of how precarious this was. The old house is a 2-plus story building with a steeply-pitched roof. Falling off this roof could be a terminal experience. Before anyone asks: Lisa's safety gear is a professional, OSHA-approved harness, with two separate connections from the harness to the heavy-duty rope. ("That doesn't mean it's comfortable," Lisa says in a pained tone as she looks over my shoulder.) Moving quickly is out of the question, as she obviously never wants to have both safety straps disconnected from the rope. After scraping and blowing as much moss from the roof as she could, she put plastic sheeting over the worst portions of the roof to try and reduce the amount of water that is getting in. This isn't exactly a repair -- frankly, the old house needs an entire new roof, I think -- but it does try to arrest the damage, and maybe less water will drip from the interior ceilings when the rains return. After a long, full day of hard work, we were both tired for different reasons. (I logged over 7000 steps while she was exhausting from the roof-dangling.) She went to take a bath only to discover that the gas furnace in our trailer has stopped working. The electric floor heaters can take an edge off the cold, but they aren't really enough. That means we'll have to get someone out to try and repair them, hopefully later this week. Except that tomorrow and Thursday I have to take her to medical appointments, and sometime in the next week we're supposed to try and find a replacement transmission for her little pickup truck. And, oh, yes, I have my real job to do. Speaking of which, I have to get back to it. The client is in China and would like to have some results today, which is Monday morning their time. If I had not driven to Oregon on Friday and Saturday, I would have been working on that project instead, but now I'm going to do the write-up I promised them. Current Mood:  tired |
| Monday, October 13th, 2008 |
smofbabe
|
8:42a |
Faster Than a Speeding Bullet Gorgeous high-speed photographs at the Web Urbanist. (Descriptions of each set are below the photos.) My favorite:  Current Mood:  impressed |
| Sunday, October 12th, 2008 |
smofbabe
|
7:05p |
Typo of the Day At the Fox News Elections site: "McCain Camp Reigns in Vitriol After Attacks on Obama" |
| Saturday, October 11th, 2008 |
ruthling
|
11:08p |
suspended in the aspic of the world Today we picked apples at Cider Hill Farm, ate Mexican food in Union Sq., walked to Davis to see some of HONK! and went to Passim's to see Jim's Big Ego. Now, watching the Sox, drinking rum and water, and cooking rice for tomorrow. At least I can pretend nothing bad is going on for a while. :) I hope you are well, too. Current Mood:  impressed |
batwrangler
|
9:56p |
TV: Primeval (BBC America)
This has been an uncharacteristically annoying episode with regard to the behaviour of the beasties and Our Heroes(tm) response to them. Also, I am apparently quite grumpy today. |
batwrangler
|
8:57p |
Birds of prey will not eat your little dog!
I am sick and tired of hearing people make this stupid assertion. Is it remotely possible that a large bird of prey could eat a very small dog? Maybe. It's far more likely that an unattended small pet will be eaten by coyotes or struck by lightning.
There just aren't that many places where a large bird of prey is going to be in the vicinity of a small dog. Small dogs don't look like prey species, they don't move like prey species, and they are at the top end of what even an eagle could manage to carry away, so just frelling stop it with the scare tactics. They are stupid.
There are any number of good reasons not to leave your small (or large) dog outside unattended. Fear of birds of prey is not one of them. |
batwrangler
|
8:45p |
TV: Dogs 101 (Animal PLanet) flunks out
Just tried watching an episode in which the following base calumnies were asserted:
Labs "have a unqiue ability to learn"
Poddles are the "only dog to come in three handy sizes"
Chihuahuas should not be left alone outside because "birds of prey view them as prey"
Pitbulls think of chihuahuas as "salty snacks"
Grrr. |
blue_hermit
|
6:47p |
De Cordova De Cordova; Museum and Sculptural park. Actually a really good time. It's on Rt. 2 (look kids..!) and is about 30 to 45 minutes from my house. Bring a picnic lunch, and maybe a frisbee, as the lawns are really nice and it has the occasional shaded park bench. I never did manage to make it into the museum, so if anyone else wants to pick a good weather day and make a trip of it I'm game. In other news, the job (yay!) that I started on the 2nd is going fine, although rendering me to toast by the end of the day. I'm really not used to being so energetic for 80% of the day. I have been assured that it is normal to experience homicidal feelings towards my co-workers for not doing their work. I was hired in week 4 of a 3 week project. (Riiight...) The erstwhile co-workers are taking Monday off however, so it might be less frustrating with them not around. Still, it's a good place all things considering; the other employees are more capable and I wouldn't mind working there for the long term. |
xiphias
|
2:25p |
Some questions about the "credit crunch," which I THINK I am STARTING to understand. . . I'm throwing this to my friends list, which contains many smart people, several of whom are actual, gen-u-wine people working in finance -- actual economists, as well as people who run their own businesses and so forth. Okay. I'm starting to get a sort of a handle on the "credit crunch." Here's what I've got, so far: Can people who actually study this stuff tell me if I've got this more or less correct? ( Read more... )Okay. So, that's my understanding of what's going on. First, is that vaguely close to reality? Second, if that IS vaguely close to reality, WHY don't companies have cash? What is the benefit of not being able to pay your bills without borrowing money? I mean, I understand why you would borrow money to start with -- before you start a company, you have to get your seed money from somewhere, and that means borrowing it from someone. (Even if you're borrowing it from yourself. I mean, if you're putting your personal fortune into a company, it's like the company is borrowing from you.) But once you're a company, and you're humming along, getting cash, buying stuff and paying people, and making stuff, and selling stuff and getting cash -- why not take some of that cash and use THAT for the next round of buying stuff and paying people, instead of using credit for it? It costs money to use credit -- you need to pay people for the service of them lending you money. Why is it worth paying extra to use credit, instead of sticking to a cash basis? |
kevin_standlee
|
10:39a |
And Away We Go Again
Not being in such a crushing hurry this morning, I figured that I would take full advantage of the the time I rented in my hotel room and took it relatively easy, making breakfast (cereal and coffee) and sitting back a bit. But it's time to be off again, so I'm shutting down and heading for Mehama. I don't know when I'll next be online. It might not be until Monday morning, although there are things I should be doing for work on Sunday as an exchange against having left at Noon yesterday.
Current Mood: busy |
|
sethb
|
11:49a |
Happy birthday to carbonel. On the right day this time, now that I've eaten. |
paradoox
|
12:38p |
|
xiphias
|
12:12p |
Lis asked a question about the poll showing Prop 8 pulling ahead in California:
So, as you are all aware, in California, there is a ballot initiative to forcibly divorce a bunch of my friends, and forbid them from marrying the people they love and want to spend their lives with, and tear apart and destroy families.
And, while polling all along had shown that most Californians were opposing such blatant evil, a recent poll showed that 47% of Californians SUPPORTED the destruction of families, with only 42% opposing it.
Lis asked me a question about that, and I just found out the answer.
She asked me, "Are cell phones included in that most recent poll?"
No. No, they weren't. All the polls which showed the forces of sanity and goodness ahead DID include cell phones; the ones that show reactionary hatred ahead don't.
Okay, folks on my friends list: how many of you don't own a land line? Or know people who don't own a land line?
Of the people who don't own a land line, are there any generalizations you can make about them?
In California, there are a heck of a lot of CPO -- Cell Phone Only -- voters. And CPO voters skew younger and more liberal.
Nationwide, the exclusion of CPO voters skews polls about 3% toward McCain. And, in California, it's likely higher.
The difference between including and excluding cell phones may be 5% or more in CA. So 42% to 47%? Which is within the margin of error of the poll? And is probably skewed 5% more conservative than it ought to be?
Means absolutely jack shit.
There's no usable information there, not for either side. It's entirely noise. It tells nothing either worrisome OR encouraging. It's just noise. |
fibro_witch
|
8:44a |
Morning at Albacon
Got up at 7, showered and made my way down to to registration.
I got here in time to set up, and not much else. The person running registration is use to doing her own thing all by her self, and not with assistance.
SO other than sitting here, looking cute and waiting for Debi to arrive with my breakfast and my ribbon I have nothing to do except sit and blog. Nothing like being a useless appendenge, I'm bored and I can't wait until Deb shows up with my food and my badge.
Ya I have food. Go me. Now all I need is a ribbon. |
fibro_witch
|
8:31a |
Morning after
Well I made it to Albacon. I6 took a while, a 6 hours drive thruogh leaf pepers speeds, from the tobin Bridge all the way beyond the 84 turnoff. Traffic did not start opning up until I was well past springfeld and into the berkshires. Were the real fun began.
I pulled over to check my phone adn my directions in order. When sudenly a police officer pulled up behind e an gae me a lecture bout wher4 I pulledI over, and the reason. He told eme to move up th next hill where th4ere wes a turn out. I did and he flipped on his lights and pulled out behind me.
To pull me over.
For speeding.
Because some how, my big dumb truck had managed to go from 0 to 82 miles an hour in the short period of time it took me to get up to speed and pull into traffic. I plan on fighting it of course. I can understand cops being stupid, he was stupid
When I got to Albacon, J was behind the registration desk and asked me if I would help with registration. I said yes, because I am stupid. And, because when I am at a con where I know very few people I like to offer to assist. So I help her and D do reg for the rest of the night.
After that I went to the one party of the night, and then back to the room to watch the sox game. We won way to go us. |
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nesfa