Do that meme, do that meme...

Once again Miss Em (whose blog is now secret) has sent me something cool on Facebook. She's surreal, and so I had to be as well. But do not ask me where question #12 is. It's a mystery.

48 Questions

Here are the rules - post this list on your profile using the Notes tab. Replace my answers with yours. Tag 10 people to do the same thing.

Author commentary: You’re not the boss of me now… You’re not the boss of me now… You’re not the boss of me now… And you’re not so big…

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Columbus but my parents can’t spell. And Leif’s father.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
When “Firefly” was canceled.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Why bother? No one teaches it anymore.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Peanut butter

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No, I don’t like goats.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Not until we develop cross time travel to parallel worlds.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Only against giant hedgehogs.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes, but we never talk.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Do you even know me?

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
None of the above.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Boots, boots, boots.

12. THERE IS NOOOOOOOO QUESTION 12.
It is twice "Rule 6" anyway.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
The one that I like.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Boobs or lack there of. Then I start checking things off the list.

15. RED OR PINK?
Green, copper based, remember?

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My second least favorite thing.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Everyone. My aim is very poor.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Everyone? And read 6.5 billion responses? Are you crazy?

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Flesh

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The hum of my hard drive. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?Inanimate.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
I probably have some, yes.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My phone is very small. I talk to people on my feet or while sitting in a chair.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Who? Old crotchety? No, I hate her guts and her imaginary fish. Duh.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Night time hallway cat laps.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Infrared.

28. EYE COLOR?
Ultraviolet

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
On my shelves.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Protein and carbohydrates. With cellulose for variety.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Depends on the movie. Some have neither.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Zapruder.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
626.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Spring or autumn?

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
With the right snake you cold have both.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?Miss America38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Miss South Carolina

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Apocrypha

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
My mouse, and occasionally my hand.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I didn’t, so there. Nyeah.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
My heartbeat in my ears.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Moss or spell-check.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
In seven-dimensional time-space? Nowhere at all.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Shhhh, they might be watching.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Aren’t you old enough to have figured this one out already?

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Alex Trebek's

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Well.

15 Albums

Another challenge from the girls on Facebook.

"Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. They might not be what you listen to now, but these are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world."

1. “Star Wars - the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” by John Williams: In 1977, this album (actually two LPs) was constantly on my turntable. I had it on when I was playing, and I had it on just to listen to. It brought me into the world of movie soundtracks.

2. “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles: This was my first real cassette album, and truly introduced me to the Beatles.

3. “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys: This collection of the Beach Boys was the cassette that was most often in my car my junior year of high school in Maryland. I created an entire musical (in my head) using the songs in order cast with my friends from school.

4. “Pipes of Peace” by Paul McCartney: This was the first album (and LP) that I bought with my own money.

5. “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits: I didn't realize the Dire Straits had done “Sultans of Swing” but enjoyed their stuff on MTV from this album. Some friends of mine were really into DS, and said if I listened to one complete album, I would want everything they had recorded. I did, I did, and I do.

6. “Star Trek II - The Wrath of Kahn soundtrack” by James Horner: The music from the fight in the Mutara Nebula was incredible to me, and this album was impossible to find for years. I had to hunt and hunt for it, finally finding it in an ad in a comic book.

7. “Lethal Weapon 2 soundtrack” by Michael Kamen: There is a song in here that when I was fast forwarding on my cassette I heard completely differently. Played normally you really wouldn’t hear it, but sped up it is based on the stereotypical scary music of rising notes “duhnt, duhnt, duhnt, duhnt, duuuuuhn, duhnt.”

8. “Alchemy” by Dire Straits: Simply taught me that I don’t like concert albums. I prefer studio recordings.

9. “Himself” by Bill Cosby: My first purchased comedy album. Also and LP, I got this one at an auction. I remember buying this and a black leather baseball glove.

10. “Batman soundtrack” by Prince: This one was the first album to really be a difference between soundtrack and score. It seemed that we all had to wait so long for Danny Elfman’s score. And I still argue that it should be “Songs from…” and “Soundtrack”; a score is the music itself not the performance or recording.

11. “Footloose soundtrack” by various artists: My first CD. My parents got this for me because I was enjoying the movie so much. It’s pretty dated now.

12. “The Extremist” by Joe Satriani: My friend Steve and I listened to this album all the way to my one and only SCA event. It amazed me the emotion that went into and came out of a “simple” electric guitar. I get every studio album of Joe’s that I can get my hands on.

13. “Dance Into the Light” by Phil Collins: Jennifer and I received this album as a gift (actually a bribe I think) from the regional manager of Kleinfelder. There was something about him giving us the album that tainted it to us, and has slowly tainted most of Phil’s music. I have all of his albums, but probably only 5 songs on my iPod.

14. “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd: Lots of people say that the Beatles “White Album” is the album they have to have, but DSotM is a must have. When CDs and MP3s go away, whatever format is next, then after my foundation soundtrack, DSotM will be there.

15. “The Eiger Sanction” by John Williams: I found that even the greats have their bad days. This may have been good soundtrack when it was written, but it seems that there is a point in music where a switch gets flipped somewhere, and the whole feeling of it seems old and dated. After this soundtrack and before “Jaws” was when it flipped for John Williams.

Coraline

Jennifer and I saw Coraline tonight.

And it's amazing.

Yes, it's stop motion, and sometimes you can really see it, but the story is told so well that it just goes with it.

It really doesn't compare with The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride. They are totally different kinds of movies.

Some of the celebrity voices are apparent the first time you hear them, but after that, they quickly become the voice of the character.

We even saw it in 3-D and the quality is incredible. It's not done gimmicky throughout, just a couple times, but after that it becomes part of the movie.

Go. See. Enjoy.

Bad Writing and Good Writing

I finally gave up trying to read Empress by Karen Miller. The writing was compelling for most of the book, but I never cared about any of the characters. I finally stopped about 20 pages from the end.

Also today, we had a pre-field meeting for some drilling we'll be doing next week. Our staff geologist from Japan was going down our checklist, and I noted something interesting about her notepad. While she was taking notes on tasks required of her for after the meeting in English, I noticed that the notes on the folded over pages were in Japanese. It just tickled me that she was doing that. It's like a totally different form of shorthand.

Lulls

I got a lot of work done today.

I have completed a closure request, so now all it needs is he risk assessment section.

I'm preparing for my month and a half in the field.

And now I'm getting into character for our upcoming return to Psionics with GURPS. I really enjoy my character, but it's been a bit difficult with the e-mail session.

He's just so different from my Elf in our Fantasy campaign. I have to remember that modern humans actually use contractions. John and I got a big kick opt of that as well as both of us tending to refer to Randal as Auremar.

Rain

Some days, (rain) there are things (rain) that just overwhelm everything else (rain). Today the courtyard (rain) at the office was on the verge of flooding (rain) due to a clogged storm drain.

(rain)

I have to admit though (rain) that the office sounds so amazing (rain) with the water falling on the roof.

(rain)

But what I don't need are the lizards (rain) coming into my office (rain) through the cracks in the wall and floor (rain) around the doorway.

(rain)

Ew.

Torpid

Today was a pretty relaxing day in the beginning. Jennifer and I got up, she had a client to meet, and so I got to kill some time around the house before going to meet up with her for lunch.

I typed up her character from our GURPS training session yesterday, along with Holly and Elise's. I found a few things wrong with Jennifer and Holly's, and then found that Elise still had 40 points to spend. She's a little confused still on the disadvantages vs. the advantages.

Then while I was working my way through my Internet reading, I found a link to this game simply called The Space Game. It's a real time strategy game, but dealing with asteroid mining and setting up power links and defense grids. It's very fun, and not as frustrating as I would have expected. Plus you play against the computer, so there' no one tea-bagging you when you die.

Then I went to meet with Jennifer. We had lunch at Long John Silver's, then we went to help a friend with some storage setup at his apartment. Two trips to the E-Ville Home Depot alter, I think we have his closet set up lean and mean.

Afterwards, Jennifer and I went to T-Rex Barbecue in Berkeley. This has to be the best barbecue I've had in living memory. It knocks my Marlboro barbecue into a cocked and squashes it with the magicians rabbit. It has a wonderful macaroni and cheese. And a serviceable corn bread. I also had the New York steak with garlic mashed potatoes which were amazing. But the best was the appetizer: Smoked Pork Riblets with Spicy BBQ Sauce. Along with our take home stuff of what all we could not finish, we took home a half-pint of the sauce. Sometime this week, we're getting ribs, and doing it at home.

And now, I still have to go back, because we were too full for dessert. And they have over 100 whiskeys, including a specially picked barrel of bourbon from a distillery outside of Frankfort, Kentucky, that I've never even heard of. It's so unknown to me that I can't even remember the distillery. We're going back for brunch next time.

Dinner and Games

Last night's dinner was great. We had a wonderful time, and the food was amazing. We look forward to the next time we can do that.

Today, tow of my GURPS trainees came over and we finished getting their characters established. Now all we need is a session to play with all five of the newbies.

Today is brief, but I'm ready for bed.

Dinner Menu

Valentine’s Day Dinner
14 February 2009
Chez Appel et Collins

~ = MENU = ~

~ Appetizers ~

Russian Tomatoes
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
Vespers

~ Palette Cleanser ~

Fresh Baked French Bread
Olive Tapenade
Pinot Gris – J - 2006

~ Salad ~

Endive with Seasoned Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar with Feta
Mushroom and Dill Marinated Cucumbers
Syrah – Cakebread - 2005

~ Entrée ~

Steak Medallions with Mushroom Reduction
Nutmeg and Gruyere Pasta
Cabernet Sauvignon – Cakebread - 2004

~ DESSERT ~

Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse
with Chocolate Shavings and an Orange Twist
Fine Ruby Port – Dow’s

~= HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY = ~

Boots for a Bonus

Recently I got my work boots re-soled.

For most of my career I've had the typical lace-up, steel-toe, work boots. But after seeing a driller with steel-toe cowboy boots, I vowed to get a pair of my own. I went to the western outfitter across from Sun Valley Mall, and got myself a pair of Durangos which were very comfortable, but didn't have much tread. I ended up wearing the keel down pretty quickly (as I tend to do), and so took them in for repair.

I asked if they could put a more aggressive tread on the whole boot, and they pulled out some waffle-stompers that looked great. I said go ahead, and put 'em on.

I think they turned out pretty kick-ass.

Oh, and for an added bonus here's me at work. This is from 2007, but it's also how I looked on Wednesday the 4th with our high concentrations in soil.

Dessert First

Tomorrow we are having the Sorrell's over for dinner. I'll give more of the menu tomorrow, but tonight.while Jennifer was out, I made the dessert: Wonderful Chocolate Mousse (a.k.a. Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse).

It was my favorite "special" dessert growing up, and I made it even more special when I made it for Jennifer for our first date picnic.

And I think it is something that needs to be shared because it is so great. So without further ado "Wonderful Chocolate Mousse"

6 tablespoons strong coffee
2 ounces (1/4 cup) Grand Marnier liqueur
6 ounces (3/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate bits
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine coffee, liqueur, and chocolate in top of double boiler. Place over simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add sugar, continue to stir until very smooth and glossy. Cool. Chip cream with vanilla until very thick. Thoroughly blend chocolate mixture into cream. Spoon into glasses, cover, and chill.

(Serves 6)

For the Microwave:
Place chocolate bits in 4-cup glass measure. Microwave for 2 minutes on high or until melted. Add hot coffee, liqueur, and sugar; stir until smooth and glossy Cool. Whip cream with vanilla until very thick. Thoroughly blend chocolate mixture into cream. Spoon into glasses, cover, and chill.

First of all, it's very simple. Second, the taste is impressive. And I forget every time I make it, that it requires coffee.

Enjoy.

Back to Normal

Work today was business as usual. Things went back top normal, and then we planned out the next month and a half of field work. I'll be in the office next week, and then in the field for the following 4 to 5 weeks.

Jennifer and I were going to go see Coraline today, but we got distracted, and ended up staying home.

We did watch some old Twilight Zone episodes though. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is eon of my favorites.

Drilling Deep - Day 6

And... we're done.

I am so wiped out. And all I did was watch these guys work. Yes, I helped Yuko log the samples, but that drive killed me. And Yuko drove.

I'm so glad that we get to do it all over again in March. This time in Santa Clara. Now that drive is really gonna suck.

Drilling Deep - Day 5

Very quickly, because I am very tired.

We got our last two wells drilled today. One got set, but the last one did not get finished because we had gone 10 feet deeper than proposed for all of the wells, so the drillers rand out of casing for the wells.

So we'll half a nice short day tomorrow.

In the rain.

Nature spotting today, I was looking at a flock of sheared sheep, and saw a dog with them. Not the typical sheep dog, and not an Aussie, but still a sheep dog, right? Then I thought, I wonder if there is anything preying on the sheep. Then in the distance I saw this reddish-orange shape bounding around this other field. I saw a fox. Cool.

Drilling Deep - Day 4

Today we set the first well after drilling to 85 feet.

Things were going well (I swear, no pun intended) at first, but the water was so silty that the well casing kept floating up and out of the sand pack. It slowed the drillers down, but we did manage to get off site at 5:00.

Sunday afternoon, after my time with Dian, I watched the animated collection Batman: Gotham Knight. Aside from the extreme anime influences, I really enjoyed it. The combination of influences from the new movies added to the basic Batman mythos went together very well.

A Sense of Pleasance

Today I got the opportunity to spend with an old friend from college. We'll call her Dian.

After seeing the condition in which she left me emotionally nearly 15 years ago, some might wonder how I could still call her a friend. But she's one of those that you just remain friends with. She's very intelligent, and has a way about her that you just want to talk to. She's fun to be around.

And she's very pretty.

She was in the area for an interview, and asked if I could give her a ride there while her sister was working. We met at DVC, had lunch at Monsoon Masala, and drove to Mill Valley. And we kept up a constant string of conversation. It was wonderful.

I learned today that the Bay Area is really not that big. Not two blocks from the theatre she was interviewing at is a burrito place that my family and extended family ate at a couple years ago near Christmas after walking around Muir Woods.

After the interview we drove back, I dropped her off with her sister and she headed off to see her mom.

I'm rooting for her to get the job in the summer, and not just for the chance to see her again. She's very confident, and one of those people you (or I, at least) just want to see succeed.

Ah, the Weekend

Today was nice and relaxing.

This morning Jennifer and I got up around 9:30, got dressed, and went to Carrow's for our diner breakfast that we've been talking about for nearly a month.

Then we came home and I got ready to go to the GURPS game at John's.

It was a bad time for our heroes, and the dice were not friendly. Soon after arriving in a city, we were split up (by our own actions), and then the bad guys attacked. Each group was out-numbered and out-powered.none of us dies horribly, but many were wounded, almost all non-player characters (NPCs) were taken down, and the evil ones were barely kept from their objective.

Oh, and the game ended with everyone slowly being healed, and my character in suspended animation 50 feet underground.

Not through any direct action by the enemy though; simply through their defense turning my attack on them being turned back onto me. I was unable to resist the effect, and so down I went. The worst part is that the only people to see me disappear were my opponents, my partner being unconscious at the time, and I have a spell active that hides me from magic sensing for a further 4 hours.

And that was the cliffhanger ending.

...at least from my perspective.

Drilling Deep - Day 3

Today, we finished the conductor casing drilling. Monday we'll be back to drill deeper and start setting wells.

But the fun for the week was driving through the delta and seeing the wildlife.

Twice I saw a group of wild swans. It's really kind of weird to see such graceful creatures with dirty brown necks from feeding in the marshes.

The egrets have been amazing and pervasive. And today I saw three blue herons in various locations, flying around.

And the best part was today's drive back when I saw this strange thing out in the middle of a field. I looked hard at it and it turned out to be a coyote.

And tomorrow I'll get to pretend I'm an Elf. Yay!

Drilling Deep - Day 2

First off, I need to remember to click "Publish Post." I forgot to do that last night for the post on drilling yesterday. I probably got distracted by the cat, and just went o bed afterwards.

Anyway, today was both worse and better.

First it started out with rain, and then moved to sunny but windy and cold.

We also started half an hour earlier than yesterday, but we finished an hour earlier.

So not a bad trade.

No other news though...

Drilling Deep - Day 1

Oh what a day.

We're drilling some deep groundwater monitoring wells at our site in Stockton. And because we're drilling through one layer of contamination we're installing conductor casing (a large pipe) first so that we can isolate the upper contamination from the lower water-bearing zone.

We got to the depth for the conductor casing at 9:30 this morning. And yet we were still on site until 4:45 because we had to get the 8-inch augers out, drill back down to depth with 15-inch augers, and then drop the 50 feet of conductor casing down, and then grout it up while removing the augers.

From leaving the office to returning, it was a twelve hour day.

I'm wiped.

"Blow Me Away" - MP3 Divination

So I'm bringing something cool over from Facebook (yes, there are some cool things in Facebook). It's reminiscent of bible divination where you ask a question and open the bible and point to a verse. This one involves putting your MP3 player on shuffle, and after you read each question, you press the skip button, and then write down the title to that song in answer to that question, no matter ho strange or inappropriate it is for that song.

Of course the Facebook thing is to get others to do it to you, but I'll put it up here just for the weirdness. And hope for others.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? "High Hopes" - Pink Floyd {Possibly.}

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? "Devilman" - Rob Zombie {Not as such.}

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? "Birdhouse in Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants {This could work.}

4. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? "Junkie Doll" - Mark Knopfler {Getting someone off stuff, maybe.}

5. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" - Sting {It worked the time that counted.}

6. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Theme song from "The Flash" - Danny Elfman {Well, aside from CSUS band flashbacks, I'll take this in a positive way.}

7. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? "That's All" - Genesis

8. WHAT IS 2+2? "Stop Trying" - Huey Lewis {... okay}

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? "Freeing One's Mind" - Dialogue from Mallrats

10. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Sun is Shining" - The Fireman {... you make me happy when skies are gray...}

11. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? "Why Don't You Come Over" - Garbage

12. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? "Justin" - Korn {Not really.}

13. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Angry Chair" - Alice in Chains {Not gonna touch this one.}

14. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? "Rock is Dead" - Marilyn Manson {Geology is defunct? Really?}

15. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Main Theme (Expanded Version) from "Futurama" - Danny Elfman {Nope}

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? "I Don't Love You" - My Chemical Romance {I here I was hoping for "I Grieve" by Peter.}

17. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? "Only the Good Die Young" - Billy Joel {Does that make me evil?}

18. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? "Sleep Together" - Garbage {Do they really?}

19. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" - Muse {Whole new insights.}

20. HOW WILL YOU DIE? "What I've Done" - Linkin Park {All my fault.}

21. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU REGRET? "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes {Do you?}

22. WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? "Desire" - U2 {If it's done right.}

23. WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? "A Thousand Years" - Toto

24. WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? "Blue Blue Sky - Eric Stewart/Alan Parsons {meh.}

25. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?"Human Beings" - Seal {Animals only tolerate me.}

26. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? "First We Take Manhattan" - Leonard Cohen {::whiff:: Swing, and a miss.}

27. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? "Second to None" - Styles of Beyond {Yup.}

28. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? "Blow Me Away" - Breaking Benjamin

Football

Yeah, I watched the Super Bowl, and enjoyed the victory of the Steelers over the Cardinals.

I can remember watching the Steelers and the Cowboys back in the late 70s.

But anyway....

I'm still kind of amped over the beginnings of the new GURPS group. Sure they are quite the motley crew, but they've got some good potential.

The warrior woman will be ambidextrous and wielding throwing axes two handed. The centaur will be an archer, and probably have a spear as well. The astrologer will have weather, air, and possibly water spells and also carrying knives for both wielding and throwing. The priestess will be the healer, but also has a couple missile spells. And finally, the Elf ranger... who doesn't know any spells yet.

And of course whatever, I decide to run.

The hardest part was getting them to see past what had brought them to gaming. Two were coming from computer games, one no experience at all, and two had played old D&D. It takes a lot to reshape the thinking of some people to get them to understand that there are no "classes" or "alignments".

GURPS Training

Training went very well yesterday. Jennifer cut out early to go watch some UFC at a freidn's, and Holly and her friend Elise left a bit after that, but Gemma and Paul finsihed theirs.

Gemma made a priestess focussing on healing, and Paul made an Elven ranger with no spells at present.

Holly is workign up a centaur, Elise is making a warrior woman, and Jenniferis making an astrologer.

At least all of them have some offensive capabilities as well.

We'll ahve another small session for the three women who aren't done, and then we'll try a game.

All in all everyone came away happy, and lookign forwrd to more.

Welcome Recruits

Today, I am training some new recruits in the way of GURPS.

One if Jennifer. She worked up a character once for third edition, but now we're going to try again. She's all excited and is looking to go in an entirely new direction.

Paul and Gemma have experience in computer RPGs, so I'm interested in seeing how they do. Paul also has experience in D&D (D20 and 3Ed, I think), so he'll be more accelerated I'd think.

Then comes Holly and her friend. Holly is a computer gamer, and fellow geek, so I have hopes. I don't know her friend, but sometimes it's the new eons that can surprise.

And then there's Nick. I don't know if he's coming or not do to a possible visit from his brother, but if he comes, I think he'll do well. He has experience in "Axis and Allies," some other games, and computer games as well.

I've got the room prepared, and blank sheets and combat cards for everyone. It should be a fun day.

It's Too Early...

This morning I was up at 4:30 AM, so that I could be at work by 5:00 to be onsite by 6:00 because we had to have our well installation completed and be offsite by 9:30. All because we could not interfere with the traffic in the Wendy's parking lot.

We were beside a freeway off ramp in Castro Valley, and we had just finished our safety meeting, so it was about 6:30, and suddenly there was that smell. The smell you get at concerts. The smell you get from certain huddled group in Berkeley. The smell of marijuana.

I looked around expecting to see someone smoking while walking along the sidewalk, but the smell faded and there was no one around. It must have been coming from a car.

Now, looking back, I have to wonder how well someone drives under that influence.

But the real question is: Dude, do you have to get baked at 6:30 in the morning?

Baaaaaa

The Divine Miss Em tags, and so I follow with seven things no one (or almost no one) knows about me.

1. I developed a taste for bourbon before my first birthday.

2. I collect tesseract-shadow shaped randomizers

3. I regularly pretend to be someone I'm not. (No, you don't. Shut up!)

4. I'd rather be reading

5. I can identify and name 100 minerals.

6. I have another blog.

7. I am tired of the drama.

And so I tag you who read this to do the same.

Robokill

I have a new favorite online game: Robokill.

It's a really fun top down shooter in the style of the old Berzerk, Frenzy or Robotron.

You move with keyboard and aim and fire with the mouse. The first four or five levels are free, and I got addicted enough to pay the $10 to play the rest of the game and get the more advanced weapons.

It's addictive and lots of fun.

Aside for the gameplay itself, I think my favorite part are the casing shells that stack up if you keep shooting in the same place.

Voice Master

I saw this today, and it was almost too much.

I can see Sir David talking away during a documentary, and turning tot he camera and saying, "Arrowhead Frogs copyright 4004 BC, God."

An Irulan Moment

Yeah, so I forgot to mention to whole reason behind the trip to Monterey: Sunday marked the eleventh year since Jennifer and my first date.

Way back in 1998, I invited her to a picnic in Golden Gate park. Now thinking back this was insanely optimistic as we were experiencing an El Niño event. But as it turned out, that Saturday was the one day without rain for a month in either direction.

I had prepared marinated/grilled pork tenderloin, shrimp cocktails, crackers with goat cheese (her favorite), and Grand Marnier chocolate mousse. I keep the picture I took of her that day on my desk at work.

The day turned into a "Many Views of San Francisco". We stopped first at Treasure Island, then went to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, Twin Peaks, and the had the lunch n the park. After eating, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf, walked around, and got clam chowder in a bread bowl. We think we got the last ones the guy sold, because 10 minutes later when we were walking back to the car, he was gone as if he had never been there. The day ended with a stop at Treasure Island again to see the city at night.

A Visit to the Library

Sunday night I finished Living with the Dead. It was good, but not up to Kelley Armstrong's usual.

I tried to read Inside Inside by James Lipton, but as wonderful as it is to hear him speak, I could not handle his writing style. The sentences are too long, and I kept skipping around. It brought back what it was like to read Charles Dickens, and I hate Dickens. I will continue to watch Inside the Actors Studio and hear Lipton speak, and be happy with that.

Today I burned through David Gerrold's The Martian Child which is an account of his adoption of an 8-year-old boy. It's very good, and significantly different from the movie.

Then I read the last Berkeley Breathed book that I know of: Pete and Pickles. It's silly, but a fun little kids book that is beautifully illustrated in typical Breathed fashion.

And now I am on to Karen Miller's Empress. We shall see how it goes. I am hopeful.

Mega-Marketing Masters

I saw this post this morning.

A 23,000 % increase in sales

The number boggles the mind.

Here's the YouTube Channel, and the video they release about putting everything up on YouTube.

23,000%.

Wow.

Monterey - Day Three

And today we returned home. Pom was very happy to see us, and is now enjoying her evening outside until bedtime.

We didn't do much in Monterey today. We slept in a bit, got the free breakfast, and loaded the car. Jennifer said she wanted to drive up the coast, so we took Highway 1 all the way to San Rafael, and then took 580 to 80 to 4, and home.

It was a beautiful drive with clouds, and blue sky, and short showers, and music.

And Friends trivia.

We didn't eat much on the way except for when Jennifer said she wanted a chocolate chip cookie. Two minutes later we came across a bakery, and got two cookies with drinks.

We got to see the progress on the Devil's Slide bypass tunnel, and we raced a container ship to San Francisco Bay. We won, but I think by the time we were crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge it was coming through the Gate.

Monterey - Day Two

Today was a fun relaxing day. We didn't make it to the free breakfast after staying in bed much too late. But we did find a nice French bakery where Jennifer had a orange, anise-seed brioche, and we both had very large hot chocolates which were served in essentially soup bowls.

We felt the line from Friends was appropriate.

"Which, I'm sorry, might as well have nipples on them."

Then we went next door to a game store, and then we walked down to the wharf. It was a dreary day, but nice for the lack of rain. At the wharf we had a crab cocktail and tasters of the various clam chowders from the restaurants trying to get us to come in. After three tastes, I didn't need lunch.

After about an hour on the wharf, we walked back, and went to the Crown and Anchor, which has become our traditional place to eat.

No hot tub tonight, but we have been enjoying the fake fire.

Monterey - Day One

Today was a long day.

We didn't get moving until late, due to the advantages of not having to get to work at all today.

Then we did some errands around the area for Jennifer, and then finally got on the road at 4:00.

Traffic wasn't that bad, and we made our traditional stop at the Cochrane Road Chevron in Morgan Hill for a pit stop.

Then we got our room which is cheesy, but cool with a hot tub in the room. Then we ran to Macy's for robes, and then went to r. g. burgers for dinner and Trader Joe's for dessert.

All this before watching The Bourne Ultimatum from the hot tub.

Mystery Weekend, but not

This weekend was supposed to be a surprise outing for Jennifer and Me. She told me to ask for the day off, and that we were going away for the weekend. She said it was a surprise, and that I would find out the day we left.

About a week ago she let slip that were going to Monterey. It was completely an accident, because she is looking forward to this as much as I am. But I give you one bit of advice:

Geminis are terrible at keeping secrets.

Mom wasn't very good at it either.

There are certain things that I have learned that Gemini's do (common traits between mom and Jennifer), and there are things I have learned that redheads do (common traits between dad and Jennifer). The scary bits are when Jennifer does something in the way that combines being a redhead and a Gemini that can put me on the floor gasping for breath while I'm holding my stomach laughing.

Anyway, we'll see what else is on the agenda for the weekend soon.

The Italian Job

Using Netflix, I requested The Italian Job because of the references Eddie Izzard makes to in his show "Definite Article".

And now his little bit makes sense. Essentially, Eddie's just geeking out over the movie and running quotes. Just like my friends and I do. I've even got Jennifer doing it.

The movie is fun, but left me wanting more. It ends on literally a cliffhanger.

Three stars.

New Tech

I told John today that the next new technology that I'm looking forward to will be animated t-shirt designs and/or hologram t-shirt designs.

I really have no idea why that came into my head, except maybe it came from a banner ad.

Which then explains John's biggest fears that then we'd get full length commercials on people's shirts. And I can see that since we already have logo ads on clothes.

But still the positive outweighs the negatives. Just like the mental filter most of us have developed for banner ads on webpages.

Inaugural Disappointment

And today with everyone attempting to stream the inauguration, I got choppy coverage.

I'm glad I recorded it at home for later.

Tomorrow, Not Today

At 8:55 today i panicked and thought I was about the miss the inauguration.

I told John and called Jennifer that the inauguration was in five minutes.

Jennifer said she thought it was tomorrow...

So I was off by 24 hours.

But I'll be ready tomorrow.

Quotes

I finished The Involuntary Human by David Gerrold today while watching football.

Some of the stories were pretty good, but I do not consistently find satisfaction with the tales. I have requested his book The Martian Child at the library, so that should be good. Jennifer and I enjoyed the movie, so I'll be interested to see what bits were embellished for Hollywood.

One thing I did enjoy about the book were several interludes of quotes. Things that I just find funny or poignant:

Notice they are not called "God-worshiping people", they are called
"God-fearing people". So why are churches called "houses of worship" and
not "houses of fear"?

The Roman Empire died from an overdose of taxes, lawyers, and
Christians. But we're much to smart to make that mistake again.

Yes, Mother Nature is a bitch. But she's not your
bitch.

I've always felt that you shouldn't criticize a man though, until you've
walked a mile in his shoes. That way when you do criticize him, you're a
mile away. And you've got his shoes.

You have the right to free speech. You do not have the right to an
audience.

The only winner of the War of 1812 was Tchaikovsky.

If Helen Keller falls down in a forest, does she make a sound?

A gentleman is one who doesn't require a lady to prove that she is.

I'm waiting for Jennifer to finish Kelley Armstrong's latest. I guess I'll have to read comics until then.

Layout Change

So I added a new widget: the Yahoo Messenger Pingbox. We'll see how it works, and if it gets used.

And because the Pingbox is a little wider, and making it thinner didn't work, I chose a new template and played with the colors.

Now we'll just have to see if I like it this way better, or not.

Reminiscence

This evening I was driving home on Highway 4 through Franklin Canyon after helping a friend move in Emeryville, and "Stereotomy" by Alan Parsons Project came on the iPod.

I was instantly taken back to my junior and senior years of high school and driving home in the dark listening to APP.

I remembered all the feelings I had of being free, just driving alone on a relatively empty road, heading back home. I felt the cares and worries lift from me like when I was a teenager.

And then I thought, Why does that feeling have to end? What am I seriously worrying about anyway?

So, tonight I'm going to listen to music and paint miniatures, and just not care.

Reading is... Freaking Awesome

Wednesday night, I finished Counting Up, Counting Down by Harry Turtledove. It's a fun read, but there were stories I didn't care for from some of his series I don't read.

I had a working lunch yesterday, so I didn't start my next book until last night.

And then I finished it last night. Okay, technically this morning, but 12:30 AM hardly seems like morning.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is awesome. I didn't want to pout it down, and was a little short with Jennifer when she came home because it had interrupted my reading. The story is compelling, and reads fast as it's another "juvenile" book. Gaiman admits in the notes it's a little inspired by Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" (which I caught on to about halfway through), but I also saw some Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett in there as well.

It's another one of Gaiman's I'm going to have to buy.

Ahhhhh, Math (and Pepsi)

Today, we had a training meeting and lunch was provided. It was pizza and one two-liter bottle each of Pepsi and Diet Coke. The Pepsi was quickly drained, and the Diet Coke was half drunk.

Lesson #1: Don't buy diet drinks of pizza day.

A few of us were still thirsty, so we walked over to the local 7-Eleven. I forgot my mug, and in the process got a lesson in soft drink mathematics.

I thought I'd be good and just buy a 20 ounce bottle of Pepsi. That was listed at $1.59. Below it was a sign for two 2-liters of any Pepsi product for $3. Now that math is easy. I could get 40 ounces of Pepsi for $3.18, or get 135.25 ounces (4 liters) for $3.

So I bought two bottles promising my coworkers that I would not drink it all today.

Then when I got back to the office, I had to wonder if I made out better than when I use the Extreme Gulp.

WARNING: MATH CONTENT

The two 2-liters of Pepsi actually ended up costing $3.46 with California Redemption Value (CRV). That's 2.55¢ per ounce.

The 52-ounce mug is $1.09 to refill; no tax and no CRV. That's 2.10¢ per ounce.

Of course if I have my Ultimate Gulp which is 68 ounces that drops to 1.60¢.

But thankfully, I balance this with at least 3 liters of water a day.

Distinguishing Marks

Today, I started thinking on scars. Don't ask me why, but I started thinking of having to list them, like in a police description. And then I thought about the differences between me and a perfect clone.

Again, it's been one of those days.

So I thought of the scar on the back of my right hand that I got from when my dad's bike fell on me when I was little, and part of the seat frame cut my hand.

The scars at my clavicle and between my eyebrows from when I had chicken pox.

The series of holes running up my left leg from my foot to the back of my knee from being run over by a lawn aerator.

The other scars in my hands from accidentally cutting my self with glass and knives. Especially the time I almost cut the tip of my thumb off while slicing lemons.

Some scars that I noticed were gone: the one on my knee from tripping while running as a kid and the one on my leg from when I walked into the car muffler as a kid.

Then I had to laugh because I remembered the biggest distinguishing features for me: four big Superman "S" tattoos on my back.

Science!

This morning's drive to work was really beautiful. The sky was a clear blue, and there ahead of me (or slightly left or right of ahead of me) was the waning gibbous moon.

It was really pretty and I was enjoying the contrast of the light falling across the craters and mare when I was overcome with the thought that this is a big piece of rock just waiting to fall on our heads.

I got myself under control and recited all the reasons why it won't. Not least being the earth's gravity keeping it as close as it is, while the moon's own motion pulling it away, the whole keeping it all in orbit.

Then I turned left on the last leg of my overland journey, and there's is this giant nuclear furnace burning away in the sky.

Yeah, it's one of those science days.

In the same way that my music friends (and I was almost not going to correct that from fiends) would and will note chord progressions in a song, there are days when I see the science of the world all around me.

I picture photons striking a surface and transferring some of their energy to the object and then bouncing of in reflection. I "see" wind currents as they blow across the road. Sometimes I'll even visualize cars and objects like vector drawings from physics class.

Yeah, it's weird, but I'll bet there's something everyone who has a specialty does in the same manner; even if it's something as small as converting parts of life into RPG analogue statistics.

In Brief

Yeah it's becoming one of those blogs this week.

As shown by this video, apparently cats are agents of chaos.

Well, that's over with...

The Holidays are over.

My time game-mastering is over for a while.

I'll likely have no field work until February.

This is a real lull.

I do have a lot of books set to read, because of course books come from the library in swarms.

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Living with the Dead - Kelley Armstrong

Empress - Karen Miller

The first is an easy choice, Neil is always good. The second is a continuation of Armstrong's "Women of the Otherworld" series. The third was a referral I got from some webpage or another. It's an alternate world where the land masses are the same, but the names and events are different. We'll see.

Further Internet Awsomeness

I've pointed to Things of Interest before. The short stories have been amazing, and I'm enjoying the latest unfolding of the Fine Structure over-arc of the newer stories.

His most recent story however, is a stand alone short. And is just incredible. It's called "Causal Noose".

Dude

This cat video is bloody amazing.



More later.

Sunday Painty Sunday

Today Jennifer and I helped a friend of hers paint his loft. This is the guy whose bed we're storing until he can move in. It's nice that he's getting to work on the place before moving in.

I went over and helped in the afternoon after making my run to Livermore for comics. Now we're both very tired after climbing up and down ladders and step stools all day.

Of course we listened to football while we painted, and were amazed at ow poorly the Chargers did against the Steelers. Next week should be good with Eagles vs. Cardinals and Steelers vs. Ravens.

After-game

Just a quick post and then I'm off to bed.

I had a good time tonight running the game. And I'm very happy with some of the imagery I was able to create:

A wall of spirit faces watching the ceremony.

The flock of flying body parts zooming towards the characters.

The demon skinned men.

All very pleasing.

The Plot Coalesces

The skeleton has flesh.

Hannibal is in love.

Pardon me while I laugh...

Ha ha.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Mine is an evil laugh.

Music and Such

I figured I hadn't done this for a while, so (Weezer - The Good Life) I thought I'd mention the music while blogging.

Wonderful lunch at Ming's again. Love the crunchy broccoli. (Linkin Park - Don't Stay)

Tomorrow I'm in charge of the second half of my RPG adventure. I've got the general arc, but I'm still fine tuning some of the plot. We'll have a pretty good turnout, but it appears we'll be without Scott until October.

I've also got a few people from work and other circles of friends who have expressed some interest in trying the game out. (Garbage - The World is Not Enough) I just need to schedule a time on a non-game weekend. It could be as many as five people. I haven't taught new players since Sac, so hopefully I pull and Obi-Wan and do a better job choosing and training this time.

Bryan at work has got me going on Facebook (Foo Fighters - The One). Apparently he's in a competition with his wife for how many friends they can accrue. She's leading by a factor of 3 right now.

And as for today's diversion, I'm re-reading Skippy's List. The best way to understand the list is just to read it; I guarantee you will regret it. Jennfer saw the link in my favorites list last night when I was showing her something else, so then I had her read it. We got about a third of the way through it before we quit for the night. (Eric Cartman - Kyle's Mom's a Bitch [Movie Version])

And that song brings up what is probably my favorite comedy cliche: He/She's behind me isn't he/she? It's a big thing in sitcoms, but the best one I remember is from City Slickers when Curly is standing behind Billy Crystal's character. (Alan Parsons - More Lost Without You)

Now, I just need to finish my adventure.

Addiction

It's a good thing I don't do drugs. The latest food addiction I have is all thanks to my Uncle Keith.

For Christmas, my side of the family had to make lists (Yes, had to. Have you met my mother?) One part of the list was chocolate preferences. I mentioned that anything that was not M&Ms and less that 70% cacao content was not worth my time.

Enter my uncle and the two tins of chocolate covered crack substitute. Also known as sweetriot.

Specifically what he gave me were two tins of flavor 70.

I discovered the magic of cacao nibs after a visit to Scharffen Berger Chocolate in Berkeley. Then at Trader Joe's, I found Slate of Bliss chocolate which had high content cacao and nibs sprinkled on the bars.

Now I have sweetriot. As the description says, flavor 70 has cacao nibs covered in 70% cacao chocolate. With a hint of espresso.

I don't even like coffee. I think Irish coffee is a waste of whiskey (not liking whipped cream either).

But ohhhhhhh...

I've been trying to limit myself to three at a time. And I just finished my first tin.

Must. Find. More.

Must.

Tentacle Grape - The Tangent

I'm not sure where I first saw the picture for the bottle of Tentacle Grape. Probably iO9, but it could be somewhere else. It's the new meme.

John and I riffed on it a bit yesterday mostly for slogans. But I did come up with some other ideas.

First off, the name for the company should be Loli-Pop.

And then there could be additional flavors: Loli Cherry, Gropical Punch, and Lemon Slime.

Yeah, we're bad. And not in a good way.

* * *

Last night Jennifer and I watched the first disc of SOLD OUT: A Threevening with Kevin Smith. It's the third time he's done this, and it's as hilarious as always.

Between this and Smodcast, I can last in between Smith/Mosier movies. Of which I'm really looking forward to Red State once it's done.

Library Day and News

Yesterday I went to the library and got a big stack of books that I had requested. Several were by Berkeley Breathed, and were ones I had never picked up for myself. They were fun, and interesting to see what he did between "Bloom County" and "Outland", and then in between "Outland" and "Opus".

Then today I saw news from something I find amazing. SD is going to be releasing a 1 TB card. Now granted it's going to be expensive, and may take a bit to come out, but still it's amazing. In a space smaller than one square inch, there will be storage for 1 terabyte. Bloody incredible.

And then there's the competitive ranking of jobs. Geologists are on page 2, but we're ranked #30. I can get behind that, but I am still below average in salary. A lot closer than I used to be when I was at Kleinfelder though.

The Dark

Last night as I was refilling my water bottle for the night, I looked out at the sitting room window, and was practically overcome with fear that something was going to come through the window. It didn't take me long to get over it, not anywhere near as long as when I wake up after a nightmare, or two nights after seeing Blair Witch and hearing noises outside.

Say what you want about Alien vs. Predator - Requiem, but it had several scenes that stick with me. The worst one in my mind is when the little girl calls for her dad to say that there's a monster outside her window. The dad goes and looks and out of the complete darkness a xenomorph almost fades in, seen only by the shine on its carapace and teeth.

That is my kind of fear.

Especially outside the dining room which is shaded from the light on the walk. At night it's really dark, and I can almost see someone hiding on the other side of my reflection. That's why that curtain remains pulled at night.

At least this is a describable fear. Even some in dreams or nightmares make sense: the shark in the giant indoor swimming pool; the bear in the woods behind the house. Then others are less tangible: the free moving silhouette with glowing eyes, the large-skulled dog that makes everything go black and white, and whose laughter I hear in my head. The worst are the ones that make no sense whatsoever, and yet are terrifying in the moment, like three baboons on mini-bikes in a Chinatown market.

Keep that one form tweaking with your brain.

Merry Perihelion

After an early morning with a monthly safety meeting, it will be good to not stay up too late tonight. I hope.

Last night, a friend of Jennifer's dropped off a bed he had bought, and asked us to store in between moves for him. It'll only be until the 15th or 16th, so that not too bad. The drawback is that it's an eastern king (An eastern king is 76" x 80", as compared to a California King at 72" x 84"). We're storing it because he got it from someone off of Craig's List, and got a deal by taking it to soon. And there are so many pieces: headboard, footboard, two box springs (separate because box springs don't bend), the frame, and of course the mattress. If our garage were neater, we could put store it there, but right now it's in our library.

As an amelioration, he brought lobster to eat last night. Five of them, precooked. We had a big lobster feed, and still have one and a half remaining.

After eating, Jennifer and watched the second half of Speed Racer. It really was a fun movie, and is another I wish I had seen in the theatre.

2,000 + 16 Words

So, at the top, a happy Pom; at the bottom about one year's worth of comics.

Sorting and Bagging

I didn't realize how long it had been since I had organized my comic books until today.

When the storage area on top of the boxes in the closet gets full, I pull all the comics out, and sort them. First by group (Batman Family, Superman Family, Teams...). Then I divvy those out by title, and put those titles in order. Finally, I bag the books with two books per bag.

Right now, I have the dining room table covered in stacks of books while I sort and bag.

Pom is very happy because the closet is open and the boxes are multilevel, so she's climbed up to the top box, and is taking a nap.

Trivial Travail

Well, last night we tried playing 80s Trivial Pursuit. There were six of us, and we should have played it in teams with two men versus the four women. But instead we did six separate players. It took too long and our hostess got frustrated, so we stopped.

The rest of the night was fun. We went through one large and three normal sized bottles of champagne. And Jennifer and I spent the night.

This morning we got up, raced home, and discovered that the football playoff games didn't start until 1:30, so Jennifer drove me to Livermore, and we got my books. Then we got some other errands run, and she dropped me off to pick up my car.

My new tires look good.

Good Movie and Bad Wheels

Last night Jennifer and I watched Spider-Man 3, which was nowhere near as bad as the hype had led us to believe. Now of course it was also nowhere near as good as the two recent Batman movies were, but still not really bad. I think that people were just upset that they were being told that inside Peter Parker is really a douche bag stuck in a geeks body.

It's the same reaction I have when anyone (most recently villains in the comics) say that Bruce Wayne is just a whiny spoiled kid who never grew up.

I also discovered Jennifer has never seen The Fugitive, so we've got to add that to her queue or catch it on Starz again.

And then today has turned into a car maintenance day. Jennifer is getting an oil change. I am getting an oil change, alignment, and new tires. Then we're off to an adult sleepover party.

No not that kind of adult sleepover, just a sleepover with adults. With drinking and board games. Trivia board games.

I'm gonna kick ass.

Happy New Year

Last night was a very sedate evening. Jennifer and I watched three episodes of the original Twilight Zone, and two episodes of the original Star Trek. On TZ we saw Art Carney become Santa Claus, Agnes Moorhead repel tiny invaders, and Robert Redford as Death. On ST we saw one of my favorite episodes, "A Piece of the Action". Seeing Kirk and eventually Spock talk like '20s gangsters becomes hilarious, as is Kirk driving a manual transmission.

Then we played "Life" and "Perplexcity". Jennifer beat me good at "Life", and I ran the board in one turn on "Perplexcity" which is like "Trivial Pursuit". All the while listening to classic rock on satellite.

And then I tried to read Paul of Dune. I've stopped after four of the little chapters that Herbert and Anderson write. All I can think as I'm reading this is "Where's the tension?" I've read all of the Dune books so far, including the originals, and so I know what's going to happen. I just can't bring myself to care what happened one year after the fall of Emperor Shaddam IV, when I know in a few years Paul and Chani's son Leto will be born. And then Children of Dune and the rest will take off.

I enjoyed the two prequel trilogies, and the wrap up of the series, but I think it's time for Brian Herbert to let his father's legacy lie now. Move on and write your own stuff.

And so on this first day of 2009, I pledge to finish Serenity Found and Jumper, and then I'm going to re-read my Roger Zelazny.

I shall also endeavor to post every day.

Year End House Cleaning

All right, I'm cleaning up the sidebar for the end of the year. Below are all of the books that I read this year after I started blogging. Of course this doesn't include the comic books.

Death from the Skies! - Philip Plait - ****
The Born Queen - Greg Keyes - ***
Blood Knight - Greg Keyes - ***
The Joker - Brian Azzarello - *****
The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson - ****
The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson - ****
The House of the Stag - Kage Baker - *****
The Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman - ***
Maus - Art Speigelman - ***
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson - ****
The Charnel Prince - Greg Keyes - ****
Juggler of Worlds - Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner - *** 1/2
The Briar King - Greg Keyes - ****
Playgrounds of the Mind - Larry Niven - ****
N-Space - Larry Niven - ****
Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman - ****
Murder Mysteries - Neil Gaiman - ****
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch - Neil Gaiman - ****
Neutron Star - Larry Niven - ****
Tales from Known Space - Larry Niven - ****
World of Ptaavs - Larry Niven - ****
The Flight of the Horse - Larry Niven - ****
A Hole in Space - Larry Niven - ****
The Princess Bride - William Goldman - ****
How the States Got Their Shapes - Mark Stein - **
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho - ***
A Practical Guide to Racism - C. H. Dalton - ***
Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank - Celia Rivenbark - ***
Zorro - Isabell Allenda - ***
Magic Burns - Ilona Andrews - ****
Up Till Now: The Autobiography - Willam Shatner - ****
My Life as a Ten Year Old Boy - Nancy Cartwright - ***
The Botany of Desire - Micahel Pollan - **
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan - ***
Prom Nights from Hell - short stories - **
Y: the Last Man - Brian Vaughan - ****
Owly, Volume 4 - Andy Runton - ****
Wintersmith - Terry Pratchett - *****
A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett - *****
The Complete Peanuts 1959-1962 Box Set - Charles Schulz - ****
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss - *****
Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs - ****
Blood Bound - Patrica Briggs - ****
Moon Called - Patricia Briggs - ** + 1/2
Personal Demon - Kelley Armostrong - ****
Small Favor - Jim Butcher - ****
Holidays are Hell - short stories - ***
The Outlaw Demon Wails - Kim Harrison - ****
For a Few Demons More - Kim Harrison - ***
Dates from Hell - short stories - ***
A Fistful of Charms - Kim Harrison - ***
Every Which Way but Dead - Kim Harrison - ***
The Good, The Bad, and the Undead - Kim Harrison - ***
Dead Witch Walking - Kim Harrison - ****
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett - *****

Light Echo

Okay, go here, and see a really cool compilation of pictures morphed into a movie.

I've been watching the progression of these pictures since 2002, and it's really amazing to see how rapidly this shell has grown in less than seven years.

Here it is without the morph.

And then a quote from another compilation:

The sequence of images in this video depicts the variable star V838 Monocerotis (or V838 Mon) - a so called 'red supergiant' star in the constellation of Monoceros - exhibiting a phenomenon known as the light echo effect.At first glance, the image sequence appears to be that of an expanding cloud of dust and gas moving outward from the star. Actually, the cloud already surrounds the star, but had always been too thin and tenuous to be visible, and so was never detected up until just recently.When V838 Mon underwent a sudden expansion and then a contraction (giant and supergiant stars have a tendency to do this!), it flared-up giving off a bright flash of light in January of 2002. The expanding sphere of light traveling outward from the star lit up successive surrounding cloud layers as it proceeded to travel through them, rendering them visible for the first time.The diameter of the widest image is of the order of about five light years. The images were therefore taken over a period of about two and a half years. Each image was taken around 7 to 8 months apart.

And then the Hubble site.

The Return

And tomorrow we're back at work. The weekend was not much to speak of. Time with the in-laws was surprisingly draining. I dozed a little yesterday, and I dozed a little today.

I finished The Born Queen by Greg Keyes, and read a book, I never got on my active reading list.

The Born Queen was a good book for the end of the series. I enjoyed the final conflicts between the powers and the way things were wrapped up in the end. The series wasn't great, but it was entertaining and engaging.

Then there's Death from the Skies! by Philip Plait. That was a fun book which again goes to show just what kind of a person I am. It's an astronomy book by the creator of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine online.The book is about the many ways that life and the earth could be affected by various incidents from or in outer space. And written in ways that both the scientist and layman could enjoy.

And tomorrow, I will once again try to pick up Paul of Dune at the library.

Christmas Travel and Music

The weather was just good enough to fly on Tuesday, so we are now in Portland.

Today Jennifer and I spent the morning shoveling the in-laws' driveway. It was a fair trade for the drive they had to make from Yamhill to PDX and back to pick us up. And the shoveling wasn't too bad with two of us doing it.

It was above freezing by about 10:00, so the melt was on for quite a while. I'm sure it's dropped back below, but it's supposed to be above tomorrow, and then all day Friday, so we'll make it back to the Bay Area just fine.

While flying, Alanis Morisette's "You Oughta Know" came on the iPod, and it took me back to when it was a new song, and I was driving cross country with my cousin the Air Force pilot. We traveled fast, and made it to Louisville from Concord in 37 hours. With an 8 hour stop somewhere in Wyoming (or Colorado).

There are a few other songs that transport me. Most of them are ones that I used to listen to on the radio while playing Ultima III on my Apple II+.

200th Post - Christmas and Traveling

Well, this makes me feel pretty good: 200 posts. That gives a sense of accomplishment.

This morning Jennifer and I were sleeping in when we got a phone call from her dad. PDX (Portland's airport) is closed today due to snow. They've got 2 feet of snow. Now, I figure New York is just laughing at them, but still.

We are supposed to be flying out tomorrow around 5 or 6 PM. We'll see what happens. I'll be refreshing the PDX webpage all day tomorrow.

Last night Jennifer and I went out looking at Christmas lights. First we went looking for hot chocolate, and had to end up at McDonald's because Caffino and Starbucks (nearby) were closed already. Jennifer got hot chocolate, I got a milk shake (chocolate), and we shared a large fries.

Then we drove around Pleasant Hill looking at lights while listening to Christmas music. It was quite the wonderful evening.

Frustration

My MP3 collection is large and ever growing.

Last night I was taking songs off of the iPod and dealing with duplicates. Towards the end, I was selecting unconnected songs by holding the CTRL key down and then clicking on the song for later deletion. I made the mistake of clicking on the check box to load the song instead of just the song name.

iTunes then unchecked all of my songs.

Last night was a loss, and I know what I'm doing tonight.

I am sadness.

Oh the time just flies when you're not blogging

So yeah, quite the time I had in the field.

I put in one well in Marysville (nice two hour drive in the fog). That took two days. One day to clear 4 feet with a soil vacuum rig, and then one day to drill and install about 35 feet with an auger rig. Why didn't we do it all in one day? The two rigs weren't available on the same day. And we had planned to install two other wells, but they were on a Mervyns parking lot, and that's just gotten all messed up with the bankruptcy and the new buyer.

I was back in the office that Friday (12/5), but didn't get much done aside from get ready for six days in the field in Pleasanton.

That job went nicely. Incredibly nicely. No disasters, no setbacks, no slowdowns aside from the site safety check on Thursday. We put in two wells to almost 40 feet, and four wells to almost 70 feet. And yes it was cold (for California), but we only had rain for half a day this Monday, and we had lucked into working near the station canopy, so we were mostly under shelter.

This week so far has been catch up at the office with report reviews, and paperwork for follow-up of the field work. It almost makes me look forward to the trip to Portland. Almost.

There's snow up there. With ice underneath.

At least we'll likely be inside most of the time since Jennifer's parent's don't go out much.

We can only hope.

Geologist List

So through the writings of Kim Hannula, I found the list below from Geotripper.

I like these kinds of lists. They're more specific to a person than the generic "100 Things...". Items in italics have not yet been accomplished.

1. See an erupting volcano. - Yeah, it's a goal. The main reason I want to go to Hawaii. And that just shows how weird I truly am.

2. See a glacier. - Since I'm guessing from closer up than Mt. Shasta from I-5, I have to say "Not Yet."

3. See an active geyser such as those in Yellowstone, New Zealand or the type locality of Iceland. - Again, not quite. Little Hot Creek in Long Valley and its little hot pots don't quite count.

4. Visit the Cretaceous/Tertiary (KT) Boundary. Possible locations include Gubbio, Italy; Stevns Klint, Denmark; the Red Deer River Valley near Drumheller, Alberta. - Nope.

5. Observe (from a safe distance) a river whose discharge is above bankful stage. - Was this last year or the year before? It was New Years Day when Grayson Creek flooded in Pacheco. And I'm guessing that being on the bridge spanning the creek is not necessarily at a safe distance.

6. Explore a limestone cave. Try Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park, or the caves of Kentucky or TAG (Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia). - I got to take a night tour through Mammoth Cave in Kentucky while out there for grad school. It's an awesome sight.

7. Tour an open pit mine, such as those in Butte, Montana, Bingham Canyon, Utah, Summitville, Colorado, Globe or Morenci, Arizona, or Chuquicamata, Chile. - Outside of Getchell, Nevada, for my Ore Deposits course at Sacramento State. We saw a few pits, and got to enter one of them. It dwarfed any stadium I've been in including parking lots. And there was a one in thick layer of crystalline barite about halfway up the walls.

8. Explore a subsurface mine. - This time for ore deposits and then field mapping at Sac. The first was a large modern gold mine near Jackson Slough. The shaft was only slightly inclined (more of a long adit), but was big enough for two large dump trucks to use. Lots of quartz veins in black slate. The other was an old gold mine in Placerville. Narrow and irregular, but beautiful walls of mariposite.

9. See an ophiolite, such as the ophiolite complex in Oman or the Troodos complex on the Island Cyprus (if on a budget, try the Coast Ranges or Klamath Mountains of California). - Every time I drive to Point Reyes, or the Marin Headlands I get to see this.

10. An anorthosite complex, such as those in Labrador, the Adirondacks, and Niger (there's some anorthosite in southern California too). - Not yet.

11. A slot canyon. Many of these amazing canyons are less than 3 feet wide and over 100 feet deep. They reside on the Colorado Plateau. Among the best are Antelope Canyon, Brimstone Canyon, Spooky Gulch and the Round Valley Draw. - Hopefully soon.

12. Varves, whether you see the type section in Sweden or examples elsewhere. - I actually got to see a small example outside of Livermore doing a fault trench. We came across a small pond that had obvious varves.

13. An exfoliation dome, such as those in the Sierra Nevada. - Yup. And Rock City on Mt. Diablo.

14. A layered igneous intrusion, such as the Stillwater complex in Montana or the Skaergaard Complex in Eastern Greenland. - Nope.

15. Coastlines along the leading and trailing edge of a tectonic plate (check out The Dynamic Earth - The Story of Plate Tectonics - an excellent website). - Yup.

16. A gingko tree, which is the lone survivor of an ancient group of softwoods that covered much of the Northern Hemisphere in the Mesozoic. - I actually have one in a pot beside my garage, but Sac State had scores of them; unfortunately both male and female, so the stench was quite overwhelming in the spring. And we had on in the yard in Kentucky when I was in high school.

17. Living and fossilized stromatolites (Glacier National Park is a great place to see fossil stromatolites, while Shark Bay in Australia is the place to see living ones) - Yeah, but I can't remember where I was.

18. A field of glacial erratics. - Not a field no.

19. A caldera. - Long Valley. Not all at once of course, but we traveled over most of the caldera. And sometime this year, Jennifer and I have plans to go to Crater Lake.

20. A sand dune more than 200 feet high. - Nope.

21. A fjord. - No.

22. A recently formed fault scarp. - Only in pictures.

23. A megabreccia. - No.

24. An actively accreting river delta. - Yes, I'm sure, but no specific examples come to mind.

25. A natural bridge. - No.

26. A large sinkhole. - Back in Kentucky.

27. A glacial outwash plain. - Long Valley again. There are quite a few.

28. A sea stack. - Plenty along the California coast.

29. A house-sized glacial erratic. - No.

30. An underground lake or river. - In the Mammoth Cave complex.

31. The continental divide - Many times from driving cross-country from California to Kentucky.
32. Fluorescent and phosphorescent minerals. - Lately at a rock and mineral show, but also in both my mineralogy and ore deposits courses.

33. Petrified trees. - In a museum and I've some pieces, but never in nature.

34. Lava tubes. - The jets near Depoe Bay in Oregon are believed to be formed by tidal water being forced into lava tubes. But I have yet to walk through any.

35. The Grand Canyon. All the way down. And back. - No. When I returned to California from Kentucky, the Grand Canyon was not yet completed, and the far side was shrouded in fog. I hope to return, but there's no way I'm walking on the transparent walkway.

36. Meteor Crater, Arizona, also known as the Barringer Crater, to see an impact crater on a scale that is comprehensible. - Hopefully when I return to the Grand Canyon.

37. The Great Barrier Reef, northeastern Australia, to see the largest coral reef in the world. - No.

38. The Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, to see the highest tides in the world (up to 16m). - No.

39. The Waterpocket Fold, Utah, to see well exposed folds on a massive scale. - No.

40. The Banded Iron Formation, Michigan, to better appreciate the air you breathe. - No.

41. The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. - No.

42. Lake Baikal, Siberia, to see the deepest lake in the world (1,620 m) with 20 percent of the Earth's fresh water. - No.

43. Ayers Rock (known now by the Aboriginal name of Uluru), Australia. This inselberg of nearly vertical Precambrian strata is about 2.5 kilometers long and more than 350 meters high. - No.

44. Devil's Tower, northeastern Wyoming, to see a classic example of columnar jointing. - No, but I've seen the jointing in the Bishop Tuff in Long Valley.

45. The Alps. - No.

46. Telescope Peak, in Death Valley National Park. From this spectacular summit you can look down onto the floor of Death Valley - 11,330 feet below. - No.

47. The Li River, China, to see the fantastic tower karst that appears in much Chinese art. - No.

48. The Dalmation Coast of Croatia, to see the original Karst. - No.

49. The Gorge of Bhagirathi, one of the sacred headwaters of the Ganges, in the Indian Himalayas, where the river flows from an ice tunnel beneath the Gangatori Glacier into a deep gorge. - No.

50. The Goosenecks of the San Juan River, Utah, an impressive series of entrenched meanders. - No.

51. Shiprock, New Mexico, to see a large volcanic neck. - No.

52. Land's End, Cornwall, Great Britain, for fractured granites that have feldspar crystals bigger than your fist. - No.

53. Tierra del Fuego, Chile and Argentina, to see the Straights of Magellan and the southernmost tip of South America. - And perhaps the Flying Dutchman.

54. Mount St. Helens, Washington, to see the results of recent explosive volcanism. - Only from a distance. Someday I need to go to Oregon during good weather.

55. The Giant's Causeway and the Antrim Plateau, Northern Ireland, to see polygonally fractured basaltic flows. - No, but definitely a goal.

56. The Great Rift Valley in Africa. - No.

57. The Matterhorn, along the Swiss/Italian border, to see the classic "horn". - No.

58. The Carolina Bays, along the Carolinian and Georgian coastal plain. - Yes, in high school, but I didn't know why they were special at the time.

59. The Mima Mounds near Olympia, Washington. - No.

60. Siccar Point, Berwickshire, Scotland, where James Hutton (the "father" of modern geology) observed the classic unconformity. - No.

61. The moving rocks of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley. - Also something to see soon.

62. Yosemite Valley. - Twice. I've even been fortunate enough to see the sno-cone under Yosemite Falls.

63. Landscape Arch (or Delicate Arch) in Utah. - No.

64. The Burgess Shale in British Columbia. - No.

65. The Channeled Scablands of central Washington. - No.

66. Bryce Canyon. - No.

67. Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone. - No, and I just need to get to Yellowstone period.

68. Monument Valley. - No.

69. The San Andreas fault. - I've flown parallel to it many times, and I've seen the offset fence many times at Point Reyes Station.

70. The dinosaur footprints in La Rioja, Spain. - No.

71. The volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands. - No.

72. The Pyrenees Mountains. - No.

73. The Lime Caves at Karamea on the West Coast of New Zealand. - No.

74. Denali (an orogeny in progress). - No, but my uncle has climbed it.

75. A catastrophic mass wasting event. - You mean besides all the ones I created my climbing during summer and winter field? I have seen many collapsed slopes along the Oakland Hills and certain housing projects throughout the Bay Area.

76. The giant crossbeds visible at Zion National Park. - No.

77. The black sand beaches in Hawaii (or the green sand-olivine beaches). - No, but Jennifer brought me back some sand.

78. Barton Springs in Texas. - No.

79. Hells Canyon in Idaho. - No.

80. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado. - No.

81. The Tunguska Impact site in Siberia. - No, but oh, so tempting.

82. Feel an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 5.0. - Yeah this has happened a few times. Especially back when the Hayward Fault was overly active in the late 70s and early 80s. I was in Sac during Loma Prieta, and Zzyzx during Northridge, so I've missed recent the big ones.

83. Find dinosaur footprints in situ. - No.

84. Find a trilobite (or a dinosaur bone or any other fossil). - Lots of brachiopods in the road cuts on the road from Lexington to Maysville.

85. Find gold, however small the flake. - Panning in the Sierra Nevada.

86. Find a meteorite fragment. - No.

87. Experience a volcanic ash fall. - Only the fringe, but the dust content was high after Mt. St. Helens.

88. Experience a sandstorm. - Driving from California to Kentucky for grad school, my cousin and I went through one in Utah.

89. See a tsunami. - No.

90. Witness a total solar eclipse. - No.

91. Witness a tornado firsthand. (Important rules of this game). - Bugger you chasing, I've had one jump my subdivision when I was a kid. I've seen the green sky and clouds, and seen a funnel dropping.

92. Witness a meteor storm, a term used to describe a particularly intense (1000+ per minute) meteor shower. - No, the Perseids and Leonids have yet to be that exciting.

93. View Saturn and its moons through a respectable telescope. - Chabot baby.

94. See the Aurora borealis, otherwise known as the northern lights. - Not yet, but I've got Jennifer very excited to see these.

95. View a great naked-eye comet, an opportunity which occurs only a few times per century - Comet Hyakutate. We saw it naked eye while walking to Dairy Queen drunk during a party.

96. See a lunar eclipse. - Hard not to really.

97. View a distant galaxy through a large telescope. - Andromeda, and others at Chabot.

98. Experience a hurricane - Hurricane Gloria during my Junior year of high school, Fall 1985. I'd had snow days and ice days in Kentucky and heat days in California, but it took a year in Maryland to have a hurricane day.

99. See noctilucent clouds. - Yes. Another bonus of living near the coast.

100. See the green flash. - It's debatable, so I'm guessing no.

Guh

All week in the field (not to mention the end of last week), and oh so hard to get back in the swing of things. I'm catching up on my Internet tonight while Jennifer is at a party, and I ran across this video by Lore Sjöberg (also available on his site here)which is full of awesome and win.

I can remember when Lore was doing stuff on Brunching Shuttlecocks and the Book of Ratings.

It's so cool and uplifting to see him working for Wired magazine.

I still check up on Slumbering Lungfish Dybbuk Hostel and All-Night Boulangerie. I miss the ratings of the state quarters the most, but still enjoy hearing whatever he has to speak about.

I have one more day installing monitoring wells in Pleasanton on Monday, and then I'm back in the office for four days before vacation and the trek to Portland for Christmas. Hopefully, I can get adjusted to being inside before being crammed into an airplane.

A Tease of the Weekend

Food and Ink

Last night Jennifer and I had dinner at Nibblers in Pleasant Hill. We hadn't been there since Jennifer's birthday a few years ago. It was really a nice experience as always.

And while there, I got a call from Phil, and we've scheduled the black for the burning "S" for Saturday afternoon at 1:00 in Sacramento. Then I'll be going to a party that night. It'll be interesting.

More Books

This weekend I also finished a lot of books. I had planned to read while convalescing from the tattoo, but well...

Anyway, I got through my stack of comics and am thoroughly enjoying the "New Krypton" arc through the Superman titles, and Alex Ross' continuation (or actually interlude) of his Kingdom Come tale in Justice Society of America. And The Joker by Brian Azzarello is absolutely amazing. It's done with the Joker and others in the style of "The Dark Knight" movie, but in regular Batman style continuity. Azzarello's take on Harley Quinn and the Riddler are really cool. And you don't even see Batman until the last few pages. It's going to be up there with The Killing Joke by Alan Moore for me.

I also finished The Hero of Ages by Brian Sanderson, which was a very good closing of his trilogy. I look more and more towards his conclusion to "The Wheel of Time."

Jennifer is still reading Terry Pratchett's Nation. I'm on it as soon as she's done, and she's loving it. She says it's like Pratchett's trying to get all of his thoughts out of his head and on paper before the Alzheimer's can take them away from him.

Netflix Madness

Sunday Jennifer and I watched three DVDs.

Well, kind of.

We tried to watch the final DVD for "Planet Earth" but the three shows on it were all about conservation and save the planet and stuff. We're kind of the wrong people to watch that in the same way it's not necessary to tell boys that dinosaurs are cool.

(I'd say "...and girls that ponies are cute", but I'm afraid Miss Em would smack me long distance.)

We also watched two episodes of the original "Star Trek": "A Private Little War" (mugatu!) and "The Triskelions" (quatloos!).

The third thing we watched was George Carlin's second HBO special. This one was done in the round. In 1978. We're working through his shows as chronologically as I could arrange them.