Advent: Day 14

And so Sunday.

Today was a day to be out and enjoying the weather while we could be fore the return of rain.

We enjoyed ourselves at Bay Street in Emeryville, and rode all around town.

Advent: Day 13

Not much to report for the day.  Saturday was pretty quiet.

But we did go to see "Big Hero 6" which I thought was was a lot of fun.  I think a this of the fun was seeing what parts of San Francisco they had Japanified.  I vaguely recognized some of landmarks from Tokyo.  But I liked the story, and the animation.

Advent: Day 12

And so, we're halfway through decorating the advent tree.

I'm certainly looking forward to a beautiful dry weekend before the rain returns.

Morning Thoughts

A few things on my mind as I rode to BART this morning:

• I was amazed in one residential section where all of the cracks in the road had sprouted grass or moss, and hen lit up by my headlamp were that new growth bright green contrasted with the black of wet asphalt.

• I also had the fun of occasionally seeing my breath in the cone of light from my headlamp.

• Walking to work (via public transportation) is a very different workout.  This morning my thighs are a little tender, and I actually feel like I have shin-splints.  They're probably from the boots I wore yesterday.

Advent: Day 11

And so the storm has mostly passed, and we're all still here.

It was interesting to watch what happened with it.  It started in the North Bay and hovered there for the night, and then the beginning of the morning it moved through the East Bay.  Winds were high all across the north state, but the terrible rain and winds didn't linger for us.

Instead it moved down tot eh south bay.  I watched the radar most of the day, and the cell of yellow, orange, and red just hovered over Monterrey Bay throwing the occasional pseudopod up towards us.  It was still there last night when I went to bed, and now this morning it's moved all the way down to LA.

You all have fun with that.

Advent: Day 10

So, for any who are curious, I did not ride my bike to day although I did go into work.  The winds were blowing at 33 mph when I woke up, and forecast to be anywhere from 30 to 50 mph for the day.  Rain I can handle, but gusty winds are too much.  Also, I'm glad I'm not up in the mountains; apparently they've measured winds up to 135 mph in the Sierra this morning.

Advent: Day 9

So yesterday I was back at work.  I'm tending to get up a lot and walk, just to keep my back moving. Riding my bike is fine, and laying down is fine both on my back or on my side.  It's just sitting that bothers me.

I'm just glad there were no helicopters last night.

So, Monday there was a protest march in Berkeley that went down to Interstate 80 at University.  I knew something was up because there was a helicopter hovering over that way.  Then three more moved in like something out of Vietnam.  Those were likely from television.  That happened when the protesters blocked the freeway.  And they kept circling and hovering around Emeryville until after the 11:00 news slots.  Then they went away finally.

The police helicopter did not.  They were tracking people or groups until the wee hours of the night. And of course it was a night where we wanted our window open.  It got pretty loud sometimes.  Jennifer said there were times the searchlight on the helicopter passed over the window.

At least last night it was quiet in our area.

Advent: Day 8

Jennifer asked me this morning when she put her decoration up, "Why did you do all candles?"  I told that's just the way I like to do it.  But now it's all free style.  There is one more candle, but it's a different style.

Advent: Day 7

And one more day down.  I'm thinking that tomorrow I will be close enough to normal that I will go back to work, but today, I'm keeping it calm, and staying on the couch or the bad.

Advent: Day 6

And Sunday too.  Although I did get a little pop of release and I can sit for a while.

If things aren't better in the morning, I'll be going to a doctor.

Advent: Day 5

So, it's not been an easy weekend.  Friday I developed a stiffness in my back.  It didn't seem too bad, but by the evening it was uncomfortable to sit.  Fortunately, laying on my side was easy enough, so I slept.  But when I woke up Saturday morning I could barely stand up straight.

So I ended up spending most of Saturday in bed.

Advent: Day 4

Aside from free-form, advent Tree decorating, Jennifer also breaks the "we put the latest ornament on before bedtime."

Yesterday, I had forgotten to take a picture of the tree, so I asked her to email me a picture.

Today's came unsolicited about 5 minutes ago...

Also, in my opinion (one which was occasionally debated based on some real tree ornaments) the wreath is upside down.

But we all know the first rule of life club: You do not argue with redheads.

Advent: Day 3

In the following photo, you might notice a pattern emerging.

When I was growing up, there were strict rules for decorating our 3D tree.  (I'd call it real, but it was artificial.  It looked awesome though.)

We used to use colored lights for the bottom two-thirds of the tree and then white lights on top.  In the white light area went birds, angels, and the like.  Over time the inside would get filled up first with plain balls and then the more special ornaments went up on the outside.  Finally, the icicles would go on either as tinsel or the glass ones we first bought in Maryland.

I tend to follow that rule when I do my tree.

I do; Jennifer does not.

Advent: Day 2

So Jennifer made her first addition yesterday:

Now, I'm planning on bouncing to the other side for my next piece.

Advent: Day 1

So this is the first addition to the tree.  I'm sure that one piece at a time will seem subtle, but the fun will be to see the growth and change.

This year the progression will be a collaborative effort as Jennifer has said that she wants to add pieces as well.  She's going to decorate on even nights, and I'll decorate on odd nights.  Then on Christmas Eve we'll put the last piece on together.

A New Series (for me at least)

So through another io9 recommendation, I'm reading the Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch.

This weekend, I finished the first book The Lies of Locke Lamora, and it's pretty amazing.  The world is deep, the characters are full, and the revenge just keeps coming.

I have to say, I really like the maps too.

They're books that I'd love to see turned into movies.  The first book has so much visual to it that I'd love to see it.  And the second book Red Seas Under Red Skies has a perfect sequel opening.

Advent: Day 0

One of the oldest parts of Christmas to me is my Advent Tree.  There are twenty-four ornaments that get pinned onto this, one every night saving the star on top for Christmas Eve.

It's seems very simple, but it's different every year.  First I would point to where I wanted the puffy, sequinned piece pinned.  And eventually I was old enough to pin them on myself.  I think my only regret is that I don't have a picture of the past forty-five variations.

So this year, I'm going to take a picture every day to show the countdown to Christmas.

Lots of Photos Before Christmas

So, it's been an interesting time lately.  I've been spending Wednesdays evenings with my parents helping out while mom is in chemo.  Of course that didn't happen this last week as I had a cold that started Sunday night, and I couldn't risk giving it to mom.

So Thanksgiving was quiet as I dealt with congestion and a sinus headache from the bouncing barometer.  Jennifer and I made an early morning run to storage to get our containers of Christmas decorations.

And that stack is over 6 feet tall.  We meant to take a picture for scale, but forgot.  The six boxes on the bottom are 64-liter Really Useful Boxes.  They're amazingly sturdy.  I remmeber seeing a photo once of a Mini Cooper sitting on top of four RUBs.  [I found a video]

So anyway, they're really great.  We're considering converting all of our storage boxes to them.  Plus there's the added bonus of being able to see what's inside if you get the clear ones.

So we like angels.  The one on the left is the tree topper,a dn was the first we bought as a married couple.  We got the little one next to it later because it matched so well.  Then we just started accumulating angels.  They end up scattered throughout the flat surface decorations.

And here is the finished tree.  

The following are the flat surfaces that got decorated with different colors and lighted garlands.

Obviously next to the tree.

Behind the couch.

The corner of the entryway.

Out in the hallway by the front door.

On the way into home proper.

And our bookshelves.

And the final photo is of Oscar and Felix who while they were very upset during the decorating phase, they do like curling up under the tree.

Thoughts on Video

So, I was taking a moment to watch this below video of the snow storm in Buffalo:



and when the pilot brings the drone back to take a selfie, I had a flashback to when we moved back to California, and I recorded a video tour of the new house for family and friends.  There were a few times in bathrooms and bedrooms where I caught myself in a mirror, and broke the description of the house with, "Cameraman."

It was on a compact camera that used magnetic tape.  We then transferred the video to VHS tapes for distribution.  This was in 1986 and most everyone's VHS players were standardized.

This had not been the case just a few years prior when we had lived in Kentucky and done another video of our redone backyard with new brick patio and flower mounds.  We recorded our tour at what we assumed was the normal speed because our VHS player could record up to 6 hours of material on a cassette.  Unfortunately, the friends we sent our tape to did not have that format on their player and could only record 4 hours of material on a cassette (maybe only even 2).

So what happened?  Apparently it was like watching a poorly cranked film on playback.  The dog and I were accused of extreme hyperactivity and it was recommended that I cut back on the sugar.  And we were asked if the scenic flower mounds were Indian burial mounds.

At the time of this writing, the snow drone video has been viewed over 300,000 times.  And yet 30 years ago, we couldn't even get our video to be properly watched once.

New Tech and Old Tech

So, almost a month ago, I bought a new external hard drive, and shuffled around our home network a bit.  The way it had been was an network attached storage (NAS) with an external via USB, plus a smaller external attached directly to my computer.  Our music collection (as well as shared photos and other documents) was on the NAS-external, and syncing our iPods was something we would do over a weekend.  It was just slow.

With the new external, I moved the small external to the NAS and each laptop got an external.  Then the real shuffling began.  The NAS and its external are formatted with a UNIX file system.  So there was a bit of file movement to perform.  And some other things as well.

1. Attach new external to my laptop, and copy (over wifi) complete contents of old NAS-external to new external.
2. Connect old external to my laptop, reformat, and copy contents.
3. Connect small external to NAS, reformat.
4. Connect old external to Jennifer's laptop, redirect iTunes look locally for files
5. Redirect iTunes on my computer to look locally for files
6. Spend some time deleting music of Jennifer's from my external
7. Spend more time renaming folders for consistent naming.
8. Realize the majority of folders have been renamed, so re-import music for iTunes.
9. Reorganize playlists
10. Attach iPod to re-sync, get notice that Windows needs to run a disk check.
11. Check disk crashes iTunes, making restart necessary.
12. iTunes requires Restore of iPod, but Restore locks up iTunes, and three repeated attempts yields same results.
13. Attempt Restore using Jennifer's laptop, locking iTunes again.
14. Setup appointment at Appel Store - Genius Bar.
15. Go to Apple Store.  iTunes not seeing iPod, but Genius gets it working after a few restarts of iPod.  iPod is Restored, but iTunes is not seeing the iPod.  I am wished luck.
16. Plugging iPod into computer brings up Checkdisk requirement again.  I hold my breath and do it again.  This time no crashes.
17. iTunes require a Restore of the iPod.  I hold my breath, and do it.  Again, no crash.  Trying to hide excitement.
18. After Restore, iPod begins syncing.

Now, as I mentioned before, syncing the entire iPod (an iPod Classic with 160 GB) used to take from Friday night and often run all weekend and might be done by Tuesday morning.  I was about 30% synced in less than 3 hours.

And so, happily, when I got up this morning the sync was complete.  So all is well, and I can put off buying a replacement for a while.  But I may buy one anyway, just to have a spare.

New Madness

So, you should know that I'm a regular reader of science sites.

io9

Gizmodo

Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy

And so today io9 had the follwing article on the removal of information from a textbook as the Republicans continue their anti-science, over-religious attempts to control the country.

The links referred to in the site are for Rachel Maddow's site.

And a biologist's site.

However, just in case these should go away, here are the pages (545 and 546) that are being ripped out of the seventh edition of Campbell Biology: Concepts and Connections textbook:

Stop the Madness

So we have six or seven smoke detectors at home.  They are wired into the building's main power, but they also have a battery backup.  Apparently, the detector sends a check regularly through the battery  to check its voltage and ensure that it is in working order.  If that voltage (maybe current?  Dammit Jim, I'm a geologist not an electrician!) is too low to run the detector, then the detector chirps.

Perhaps this is common knowledge to people, but last night I had a bit of a situation as all four upstairs and one downstairs detector began chirping when we were heading to bed.  They did this for half an hour.  I tried pushing the silence button (which usually works), and changed out the batteries in them.  Nothing worked.

Now to forestall any admonishments, I know you're supposed to change out the batteries every 6 months.  I just wish they lasted that long.  These things have been 9-volt vampires and end up getting changed when they chirp.

Finally out of frustration, I called our property manager and asked him if he had any tricks to get them to be quiet.  (And yes, they did chirp a few times during the conversation.)  He said to completely disconnect the ones that were chirping completely from power.  I ended up only having to do that to two of them before they all quieted down.

Apparently there are new code laws coming into effect in 2015, and so next year we will be getting new detectors that have their own 10-year battery life and not be connected to power.  He is coming by today to install three of the new detectors in the most important locations: master bedroom, guest bedroom, and upstairs hallway.  The rest will get replaced next year.

Book Nook

So, I'm going to be moving on to some non-fiction for my next book.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was lots of fun.  It was so much more than I expected it to be after its beginning.

Then I read Patrick Rothfuss' The Slow Regard of Silent Things.  I cannot begin to describe how reading this novella makes me feel inadequate in any sort of field of putting words together.  This book has no dialogue, but there is conflict, and action, and tension.  It takes place in Rothfuss' Kingkiller world, and had me riveted the entire time.

But now, I'm on to Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent.  I'm not sure where I came across the book, but this may be another Kinja/iO9/Jezebel reference.  It initially strikes me as a Black Like Me kind of book, but i'm intrigued.

Really? I'm Not That Hungry.

So, I'm apparently on the part of my reading book list that I have acquired from web page recommendations.

Graham Joyce's Some Kind of Fairy Tale left me wanting.  It builds up in the beginning, and then doesn't really go anywhere.  I read the whole thing for the conclusion, and it wasn't very satisfying.

Then I tried M.R. Carey's The Girl With All the Gifts.  I found the basic description of the book intriguing, and the writing style was captivating.  And then it became a zombie story.  Maybe it's not a true zombie story, but it's damn close enough that I got disgusted with it.  Add to that the fact that it's about the study of the children of zombies, or maybe children infected with the zombie virus, and I was appalled.  I don't think I got past 50 pages, and life is too short to read books you don't like once you're out of school.

NEW BOOK!

And, so I'm moving on to Claire North's The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.  I'm already finding it very interesting.  Much like The Confessions of Max Tivoli it is a mundane world seen through the eyes of a person in an extraordinary situation.

Big Test

So, it's been pointed out to me that I didn't talk about how my test went last Thursday.

The test was supposed to start at 8:30, so I decided to make it an easy morning.  I slept in until 6:00, got ready, and walked to Emery-Go-Round at 7:00.

I only had to wait a few minutes, and the shuttle showed up.  Then I had only 1 minute to wait for a San Francisco BART train.

The testing center was at California and Davis, and I was glad that I had talked to a previous test taker and my dad about what it was like.  First, I was supposed to take everything out of my pockets, and put all that I carried into a locker.  Because, they do treat you like you are a criminal.  I was only allowed to bring a calculator and the key to the locker with me into the test.  This compared to engineers who were taking the California Seismic portion of the Professional Engineer test, and were allowed to bring 3 text books and a binder of references.  I was even given special test center pencils.

The test itself was 3 hours long and consisted of 85 questions.  I'll save you the math: that's about 2 minutes and 7 seconds per question.  It went pretty well.  I had four primary equations memorized as well as a few conversion factors, and there were a few other equations provided in other questions.  I ended up finishing about 30 minutes before the clock on the test said the test would be complete.  I checked through those questions I had marked to go back to, and I was done.

And so now, the waiting begins.  It will be about 90 days according to the guy I studied with which puts it into the new year.

Again, I'll keep yo all posted.

The Magic of Music

So, regular reader will know that I am part of a monthly pen and paper, role playing game.  This past Saturday we had our session, and a certain topic came up.

Just follow this logic.

In the GURPS Magic system, the kinds of spells are broken into Colleges: separate colleges for the four elements, animal magic, sound, light and darkness, etc.  Then there are ways of limiting the magic user like allowing one to only be able to cast spells in a single college, or only cast spells during the day, or (what my recently retired character began the campaign with) only being able to cast spells when singing.  This last are usually called Song Mages

So the next step in speculation is: who sings all the time?  Disney princesses.

Disney princesses have a tendency to be able to magically interact with animals.  They can speak with them, and sometimes control them.  And usually this is done through song.

(And yeah, this does kind of make Mulan into the Batman of Disney heroines, but still...)

But take this a little farther (and it even continues the Disney theme), what other famous character communicates and kind of controls animals?

Tarzan.

Now, nowhere in the rules does it say that a song mage has to have any musical skill or talent.  So with only a gorilla's sense of music, Tarzan casts his spells to do what he does with the animals of the jungle.

This was about where we left it on Saturday, but I started applying this to other things.

What about super-heroes?  What do a lot of super-heroes have in common with Disney princesses?  They're orphans.  Is this another link to the hidden power of magic/super-powers?  Sure this doesn't work with Batman, but it does explain why Mulan can only talk with the spirit-powered dragon, but has no control over him or the cricket.

Ariel's powers are limited because her father still lives; she can speak with some of the fish (and the seagull), but can't control the shark or the eels.  Aurora probably gained hers from the good fairies because both of her parents are still alive as well.  Pocahontas is gifted by her grandmother.  Snow White - major animal song mage.  The trope is even mocked silently with Giselle.

For a full circle head spin, what super-hero (other than Black Canary) is most known for singing?

Mighty Mouse.

::mike drop::

Ka-Runch!

So, Sunday, I met with some other geologists at the Oakland Public Library's main branch for a little CHG study session.  One of them had taken the exam last year, and not passed.  The rest of us picked his brain for what the test was like, and we went over questions of the type that he felt sure would be on the test.

We all decided that we hadn't been studying hard enough, but were going to focus the rest of the week.  Jennifer and I are going to keep out television off once I'm home.  She's going to read, and I'm going to do the end of chapter problems in my old textbooks.

I'll be in San Francisco on Thursday for the test.  Send all of your good thoughts and energy my way from 8:30 to 11:30.

Hati and Mani

So, I was reminded of a few things this morning.  One of the smallest is that if you take the time to setup a tripod prior to getting up to take pictures of a lunar eclipse, you'll probably fall back to sleep sooner afterwards.

I didn't do that though.

The first picture I took, I forgot to turn off the flash...

So the moon's there, but it's really faint.

So next, I turned off the flash, but didn't realize how much hand moved when supporting the camera, and it's a bit heavy with the zoom lens.

So I went to the closet and got out the tripod.

I took several pictures, but this one I think is the best.  What surprises me is how much the stars moved in just a 6 second exposure.  I have one shot I took that has a 10 second exposure.  Even the moon is blurred and slightly elongated from its movement.

Still, it was cool to see.  We were very fortunate to have fog only over San Francisco and not all over the Bay Area.

Also, for reference, Hati and Mani...

Needing Your Support

So, my mom is going through a lot right now.  I'd recommend checking out her blog for the news.

I spoke with them this weekend, and then earlier this week when they left the hospital.

As she says, please keep them in your thoughts, and keep it positive.

Hitting the Books

You might notice that I've added a new section to the right.

Back in June I applied to take the exam to become a California Certified Hydrogeologist (CHG).  I had to gather up three letters of recommendation from other CHGs or Professional Geoloigists (PGs).  It took a little work, but I got it all together, and after some additional questions from the Board, I was approved to take the exam.

The exam is in the middle of October, so now I have to study.

The Board published a list of material that I need to know, so now I get to go back through my textbooks and refresh myself.

Cycling and Football

Yesterday, Jennifer suggested riding the Iron Horse Trail again.  We decided to ride the entire trail, and planned to take BART all the way to Concord, then ride down to the trailhead on Olivera.

However, when we got to Pleasant Hill, the train was going to wait for over 10 minutes because of track maintenance.  So we decided we'd get off, get on the trail, ride to the trailhead, and then turn around and do the whole trail to Dublin/Pleasanton.

Yeah, but then we lost the trail in Concord around Willow Pass Road.  Looking at Google Maps today, we missed where the Iron Horse Trail splits from another trail when it crosses Monument Boulevard.  Good to know, and we'll try again another time.

We dodged walkers with baby carriages, cyclists who had more gear than sense, and dogs no being controlled by their owners.  And to top it off, Danville was having a wine festival that was adjacent to the trail.

We were very happy to make it to the BART station.

In total with all the back and forth, we did just about 33.5 miles.

---

Then this morning is the first Sunday of the NFL regular season.  It's a bit of a tradition for me to make Jennifer a special breakfast while she watches the pre-game show.

We made a quick race to Trader Joe's for necessary ingredients, and then using other stuff we had on hand, I made two breakfasts.  For myself, just a bagel eggwich with Kinder's peppered bacon:

But, Jennifer got eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, and a couple slices of bacon.

Good Morning - 3, 2, 1...

Looking this quote up that I thought was Terry Pratchett, I learned it was actually from Will Durant.

"Civilization exists by geologic consent, subject to change without notice."

A 6.1 earthquake (as of this writing) rolled through the Bay Area this morning.  It was centered south of Napa near American Canyon.

We were awakened by the shaking, and then heard a thump and something breaking.

We got semi-dressed and went downstairs.  The cats were fine in their room.  None of the glasses had fallen.  Then Jennifer called from a room upstairs.  A propped up piece of art had shifted forward and knocked two ceramic tea light holders to the ground.  One landed an the other, and that's what made them break.

Otherwise, we're fine.

Ice Cream! We're Gonna Eat Ice Cream!

Last night, I had an early dinner at Barclay's.  It was wonderful as always, but they only have two desserts.  One is an apple crumble which is not for me, and the other is an ice cream and brownie thing which while being excellent is too much for one person.

So I went out looking for dessert in Rockridge.

Now, I get off BART at Rockridge every day, so there are a few things I see every time I go down College.  One is Zachary's Pizza, but once I stopped staring at that side of the road, I noticed a fancy light-up sign that simply says "Ice Cream".

So last night, I walked down to a shop called Smitten.

I looked over the flavors and asked if they offered tastings.  The cashier apologized and said that since each order was made right then that tasting wasn't possible.  That's when the large stainless steel tank that is the size of a beer brewing tank registered; that and the safety placard on it.  Then I looked at the flavors stations that had elaborate blenders with little hoses over the bowls.  And I asked, "So you make the ice cream with liquid nitrogen?"  And she smiled and said, "Yes, liquid nitrogen."

SCIENCE!

I got the TCHO chocolate ice cream with TCHO chocolate sauce.  I also only got two scoops because I was warned.  The scoops are a little bigger than the typical gelato scoop (maybe a circle made by my middle finger and thumb), and the ice cream in somewhere between regular ice cream and gelato as well.  It was very smooth and really rich.  I'm taking Jennifer there this weekend.

---

And speaking of TCHO chocolate, I was walking past their new factory at the corner of 67th and San Pablo Avenue (yes, it is actually that close to my home), and I could smell the chocolate.  I'm so looking forward to the factory being open for tours and tastings.

I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful thing like a chocolate factory only a couple blocks from home.  I'm sure it could be a lot worse...

Farewell, Grand Jester

Last night while Jennifer was doing some work, I read that Robin Williams had died.

We were fortunate enough to get to see him live three times at Bimbo's, but he affected us so much more than that.

I'm not a fan of Garp or the Nights at the Museum, but "Hook" is one of my favorite movies.  And I watched "Mork & Mindy" regularly when I was growing up.

But what I will remember the most about Robin Williams are his stand-up albums.  I got a cassette copy of an album from a friend in high school, and then another from friends at church.  I know now that one of those would have been "Reality, What a Concept" and the other was "An Evening with Robin Williams" (that's the video, the album was "Throbbing Python of Love").  These became much like the early works of Bill Cosby: only a few people my age knew about them before the big album came out.  Everyone knew about "Bill Cosby: Himself" and everyone knew about "A Night at the Met".  And then there was a drought of stand-up albums aside from Comic Relief.

The times I saw him live, he was "Working on Material..." were in preparation for "Live on Broadway" and "Weapons of Self Destruction".

Jennifer and I thoroughly enjoyed "The Crazy Ones", his latest TV show, and could see the joy his cast had working with him.  I have to wonder if the cancellation of the show contributed to his depression.

Memories of him will always bring me back to some of the more joyful parts of my life as I laughed alone, with my friends, and with my wife at the antics, wizardry, and occasional genius of Robin Williams.

I will certainly feel the loss.

My Book Report

So let's see where we are.

I have recently read the latest Kate Daniels book, Magic Breaks, from Ilona Andrews.  In keeping with the theme, may I just say the the manure carts never stop hitting the windmill.  I was happy for the forward which states that while the book may seem like a last book, they are under contract for three more.  It is another wonderful continuation of the series, and I highly recommend it.

Then I tried to read a new series beginning with Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines.  I had scanned a recommendation from iO9, and it soon disappointed.  I had picked it up because it was described as a good story with super powers.  Since i had recently read Steelheart, I thought another in that vein might be good.  Then the zombies appeared.

I have to figure there is a geek somewhere in Japan that doesn't like anime.  On another island in the Land of the Rising Sun is another geek who is tired of Kaiju.  And sometimes I feel I'm the only geek in the US that doesn't like zombies.  I've read one zombie book (Death Troopers), and was kind of "meh..." about it.  I've only watched two full zombie movies, and those was "Sean of the Dead" and "Zombieland", and that's only because they were comedies.  Now it's not like I'm disparaging Doctor Who, but zombies are a big wedge of the geek pie chart.

(Oh wait, I also saw "28 Days Later", and then maybe 20 minutes of "28 Weeks Later".)

In Ex-Heroes (not really spoiling anything, this is revealed pretty quickly), a meteor falls to earth and seems to be the catalyst for some people getting super powers.  Then somehow (I stopped reading before this reveal) that also starts creating zombies.  I think I could have made it through, but then Clines started in on the graphic descriptions of the zombies.

Look, I get it.  There are dead-ish bodies walking around.  They're rotting and missing limbs, appendages, or digits.  And they're the full cross-section of the population.  We all have seen it.

So I moved on.

I read a few of the short stories in George R.R. Martin's Rogues.  The Neil Gaiman story was great as was Patrick Rothfuss'.  But they were each about supporting characters in a great book and a great series.  It just made me want more.

So this morning, I had a little time, so I started going through my library of e-books, for something else.

I moved over the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia, and the Huger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  But then I saw the Kage Baker folder.

I remember reading the Company series, having started it early on, and reading each book as it came out.  I quickly wondered how it would be to read it straight through.  And so that's what I'm doing now.

Go and See and Laugh

So Friday night, Jennifer, John, and I went to see "Guardians of the Galaxy".

If you haven't seen it yet, you must.  All the descriptions are right.

It has the buried epic potential of "Star Wars".  It has the humor of "The Fifth Element".  I'm not sure if I agree with the parallels to "The Last Starfighter", but then it's been a while since I've seen that one.

And then there is the overall connection with the Marvel movie-verse.

Yeah, yeah, I know it has an official name, but if it is called the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) then if Warner/DC gets their act together will Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman be in the DCCU?

Anyway, to digress further, while I did read some Marvel comics as they came to me as a kid, and I watched the horribly animated "Spider-Man" cartoons as a kid, I've been a DC guy.  Even after stopping reading comics, I've wanted DC to get off their ass, get their shit together, and get moving on their own movie-verse.

That being said, if you've seen the movies (and after this weekend with a loan from John, I am), then this compilation is grab-you-by-the-balls moving:

And then, once you're all caught up on the MCU, specifically "Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy", then you will enjoy this comic from Texts from Superheroes:

Non Sequitur

Two things.

First, I finished Charles Stross' latest book The Rhesus Chart yesterday on my way home.  I have to say that it was a fun read, but not up to the rest of the stories from the Laundry Files.  It feels a bit like Stross was lining things up for a future story.

It's kind of like the Bill Cosby album "When I Was a Kid" and he tells the story of him and Weird Harold coming home from the monster movies and trampling a wino in fear.  Then he says, "I told you that story to tell you this one." and goes on to tell about the time he got trampled by Fat Albert after trying to scare him with a Frankenstein's monster statue.

I still enjoyed the book, but I am really hoping for an amazing next one.

---

Second, have you heard about Endura Cool by Mission Athletecare?  Because this stuff is amazing.

Jennifer and I came across a commercial for the towel one day while watching non-network TV.  The Dish Hopper doesn't automatically skip on non-network, non-prime time shows, and we get complacent sometimes and forget.  So we catch the occasional commercial, and this one intrigued us.

I was done with the long project in Lodi, but I knew I'd be going back out into the field, and summer is here.  All I had to do was go to a Lowe's.

I happened to be going back to Lodi for a brief visit, and knew where a Lowe's was, so I stopped in.

I ended up buying two items: the towel and the multi-cool.  I use the multi-cool as a turtleneck every time I ride home now because of the whole 20 degree difference between Walnut Creek and Emeryville, and how hot the BART trains get in the sun.  I use the towel both when I first get into the office and home.  I wet it, wring it, and snap it, and then just drape it over my shoulders.

The multi-cool keeps me cooler while I'm riding, and the towel accelerates my cool down when I'm done riding.

Last week I was in San Rafael, and I used the multi-cool under on my head under my helmet with the tail hanging down my neck and tucked into my shirt.  It was a wonderful cooling feeling.

I cannot recommend this family of products enough.  I think they should be included in first aid kits for cooling heat stressed individuals.  I also wager that they would be great for helping cool someone with a fever.

But then remember, I'm a geologist, not a doctor... Jim.

The Quest of the Past

This starts strange, but bear with me.

So, I was in the men's room...

And I look in the stall next to me, and I see turquoise Converse high tops next to me.

I was immediately sent back in time to my senior year of high school.  I'm not remembering when exactly in the year it was, but I'm thinking it was near the beginning of the basketball season.

One of the more spirited members of the band was putting together the Rally Band.  When asked what a Rally Band was, he would say that it's like a pep band, but because "rally" rhymes with "valley" then the Ygnacio Valley Rally Band sound better.

Now our colors were turquoise and gold, and so it was decided that the uniform of the Rally Band would be yellow t-shirts with appropriate school-spirited designs, combined with jeans and turquoise suspenders and matching Converse high tops.

And so began the quest.

I remember a group of us canvassing Sun Valley Mall and the surrounding stores, looking for these shoes for everyone.  Unfortunately they were in short supply, and few of us ever got our hands on a pair.

Pedalfest

Saturday Jennifer and I spent the day at Pedalfest at Jack London Square, and we had an amazing time.

The festival used the new(ish) indoor farmers market building for free bike valet, so we rode over and then dropped our bikes off knowing they would be safe.

Then we went around gathering up free stickers and stuff.

There were lots of local bike shops present, but also biking accessories and bike supporting groups.

Jennifer made a bracelet at the Oakland Public Library booth out of an old inner tube, a snap, and a bicycle stamp.

We both signed up at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's booth for Spare the Air alerts and got free bike lights.

We're also supporting Measure BB for Alameda County for the spreading of bike lanes like the green strip up 40th Street in Oakland, as well as funding to BART for their new cars for better bike parking on the train.

Jennifer got some saddle bags for her bike, and I got a new t-shirt.

And we got these little guys for our bikes from Raven Bike Registry.

Site Visitor

This week, I've been in San Rafael helping out getting the site characterized for the remediation scheduled for later this year.

Yesterday while I was sitting watching a well be destroyed, I saw something hit my knee.  I was about to brush it off, thinking it was debris being blown around, but I looked closer and saw that it was a ladybug.

I got my phone out and managed to get three pictures of it before it flew away.  The first shot focused more on my pants, so the bug is blurry, and the second I thought it was going to fly away, so it's not very composed.  But the third is almost perfect.  Once again, digital pictures allow for some amazing shots that I never would have taken with a film camera.

I encourage you to right-click on this one and open it in a new tab to see it full size.

Birthday Weekend

My birthday celebration began Friday night with a small group of friends hitting the tiki bars of the Oakland area.

We started at the Conga Lounge in Rockridge.  It had good drinks and a pretty good atmosphere, but was kind of small.

Then we went to the Kona Club in Piedmont.  This one had lots of room, and really nice decorations, but the place was pretty empty and the music was not fitting for the decor.

And then Baby Bear got to Forbidden Island.  It's always good at Forbidden Island, but you just have to be ready for the crowd.  Still I got to watch three Virgin Sacrifices be served, and the whole place ended up smelling like cinnamon from the effect.

Saturday, Jennifer and I did some painting, working our way around the downstairs.  We have one and a half walls to go.

Sunday, Jennifer took me to the Terrace Room for brunch overlooking Lake Merritt.  This place is gorgeous.  It has an amazing mural inside of the buildings around the Lake from almost 100 years ago.  The food and service were excellent, and afterwards, we sat in the sitting room finishing our mimosas and listening to a jazz trio.

Then we did a few laps around the lake, and rode home.  And once we got home, Jennifer made me cake with gourmet cocoa powder we had bought a couple months ago at Pier 39 for just such and occasion.  She use cake flour and made both the chocolate icing and the butter cream decoration frosting herself.

We're still eating on it, but it'll probably be gone tonight.

We Are Complete

It has been said on Facebook by one of us, and on the Master's blog, but on Saturday our GURPS group completed a 13 year long epic campaign.

It wasn't long after I returned to California from school that I was brought in on the creation of a new gaming world.  We met a couple times in Napa at a friend's house, and I was shown the huge sketch of the Eurasian-like continent they had drawn out.  Lines of national demarcation had been drawn, and some names had been created, but not yet all, and so we divided the world among ourselves.

NSM started with four countries as well as the history of the world, our photographer also got four as well a forest, our programmer claimed one, and the old school mate got two.  I was given two countries, as well as a group of islands off the north east coast of the continent.

The general feel of the countries had been discussed: the remnant of an empire, the rival neighbors, the desert nation, the northern pillagers, the home of movie-like monsters, and some less trope-based nations.  And the islands became an Elven nation.  Further negotiation gave me a range of mountains and the largest expanse of forest, and soon I was in charge of all the Elves in our world.

NSM had been destroying the old fantasy world provided by Steve Jackson Games, and so we decided when we would begin our new world.  Using the magic of the Internet, and free groups, we had our first adventure in early 2001, and NSM posted a summary of the game.

After a few months of hit and miss scheduling, we made a commitment to the group that the first Saturday (soon to become the second Saturday) of every month would be game day.  And aside from major events, we maintained this routine.

The party evolved from a semi-amnesiac Elf, a woodsman, a music teacher, a low knight, a thug, a voodoo woman, a monk, and a fencing rogue into a tightly knit party of near demi-gods.  The tropes remained, but they became integral to the characters and the plot.

The game evolved with the internet, and we tended to continue the game via email between our face-to-face sessions.

Now, as we wind down the last adventure preparing for the final epilogue, we can look back on what we co-created and I think we can be very proud of it.  And even with those who are no longer taking part, we share a bond that goes back that far.

And now, we have new characters to grow.

Emo Post

Sometimes there are things that happen that affect you deeply, and are completely out of your control.

When a friend gets a new job and they slip away from you, it feels like all you can do is grasp at the emptiness where they were in an attempt to catch them or bring them back.  It;s even harder when you were encouraging them during the interview process and rooting for them to get the job.

But at the same time you realize that their life is theirs, and nothing you can do will force them to come back into your life.  All you can do let them know that you will always be their friend, and hope that once everything settles down some of the good times you had will come again.

This may seem like a strange thing to write about, but it's just another small way that I'm trying to let this friend know that I continue to support them and look forward to any opportunity to see them again.

This

Because XKCD is awesome.

Winner, Winner, Kryptonian Dinner

So a couple weeks ago, Neatorama called for submissions for a contest for superhero inspired tattoos.

Just a few days ago they listed their favorites, and called for votes.  I was catching up on my feeds from being on vacation, or I wold have posted it and asked for my friends to vote for me.

This afternoon, I got an email letting me know that I had won the "staff choice award"!

I get two free t-shirts from the Neatoshop, so I chose the best of the few Superman options called The Pledge, and a Miskatonic University shirt.

I'm all kinds of excited, and will post a link to the results when they post them.

Back to Work

Today I am back to work after a week of time off.

Jennifer and I went to visit some friends where we had to fly.  I discovered a couple years ago, that flying in a Utili-kilt is really great.  Plus there's the added bonus of watching people's reactions as I walk by.

This time, the TSA was a little more relaxed about me.  They even showed me on the screen why they needed to pat me down.  Essentially, it's the rivets and buttons; they show up as little points of interest all up the sides and in the front.

However, the best part was my return trip and getting on the first plane.  After I scanned my boarding pass, the agent complimented me on the kilt.  Then she asked me where I was traveling to.  I said, "San Francisco."

She said, "Ohhhhh."

Relief is Relative

It says a lot for how hot it has been in Lodi lately that today seems like a relief to be forecast to only reach the mid-80s.

Sunday apparently it was unbearably hot nearing 110, and Monday wasn't much better hitting 106. And that was with a breeze from the west.  Nothing like a hot dry wind blowing across you to make you want to hunker indoors.

Yesterday was a little better being in the high 90s, but the wind was still there.

This morning bike ride to the site was almost pleasant.

Almost.

Solar Freakin' Roadways

So there's not much time left on this campaign, but I watched the video again, and I wanted everyone to hear about it, so I'll shout out to may tiny cross-section of the internet.



And if you'd like to get in on it, there are still eleven days left ,as of right now, to get in on their Indiegogo campaign.

So if you have the wherewithal, go and do.  And if not, then share the video.

One. More. Week.

I am nearly done in Lodi.  This is the last week.

After five and a half months, I will get to sleep in my own bed seven nights a week.

And I won't have to deal with the insane temperatures of the valley anymore either.

What Monkey? Where?

So, I discovered today just how easy it is to get back onto caffeine.

Last weekend, Jennifer and I were at Safeway, and they had Sobe on sale.  Now, I'm still upset that the Dragon flavor is gone, but I salve the wound with Citrus when I think about it.  So I got four bottles, and went on my way.

Unfortunately, we forgot to go to Trader Joe's, so I only had the half bottle of lemonade for my lunches. 

So, Monday morning I had one on my way to Lodi.  Then i had one for lunch on Wednesday after my lemonade had run out.  Then Thursday there was a pizza party lunch, and I was too weak to say no to a Coke (or two).  Then there was Friday's lunch, and I had one Sobe left.  So of course I needed something to drink on the drive home...

Then today about 2:00, I started getting a headache.  By 4:00, it was pretty bad, and my temperature was fluctuating.  I had a craving for chocolate, that ended up being like how Robin Williams describes taking a quaalude after having cocaine (like throwing bricks in the Grand Canyon).  Then I had a sudden thought about how good a cup of tea would be.

As I was choosing my tea, it hit me that it'd been over 24 hours since my last hit of caffeine.

About halfway through my first cup of tea (I'm on my third cup of Peet's Gunpowder now), my headache faded away.

So yeah, it's just that easy.  I'm going to stick with tea this weekend, and just go lighter through Monday.  Probably David's jasmine and Ten Ren's Dragonwell.

Then this week, I'll wean myself off of it over the coming week.

Hair Has Ears

So, it's been a while since I got my hair cut.  How long?  Before I was in Lodi, so sometime late last year.

Thursday morning, I decided to schedule a haircut, and found an opening for this Friday.  I didn't say anything out loud until last night talking to Jennifer when I told her when my appointment was.

Now for many months my hair has been manageable; it's styled fine.  I'm getting it cut just because it's past my eyebrows and the styling options are dwindling.  Now while in Lodi, I've been showering at night, putting in mousse and lightly styling in the morning.  I wear a bike helmet when I ride, and a hard hat most fo the day, but the hair still needs to be managed.

This morning?

Worst.  Bed-head.  Ever.

And so, today between wearing a hard hat, for the first time in Lodi, I'm wearing a baseball cap.

How does the hair know?

The Biggest Difference

So on the tail end of the California heat wave, what's the biggest difference I've found between Emeryville and Lodi?

Today both are starting at 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Emeryville's predicted high: 75

Lodi's predicted high: 95

Enough said.

Chapter One, The Bride

I've said before that while I do get up early, I do not quite rise at the same hour as Ninja Space Monkey.  This morning as I was getting in the elevator at the hotel (yes, still in Lodi), I received a YIM beep.  NSM has sent me a link to a webcomic that we regularly read: Alina Pete's Weregeek.  Specifically, today's strip:

Now anyone who knows me and/or has read this blog, has surely discovered my deep and abiding interest in "The Princess Bride", and I have read the book as well.  I even wrote in for the bit that William Goldman teases about.  I think I have the letter folded up inside the book.

But this was my movie in college.  As I've said, I wore out two VHS tapes watching it before I got the DVD.  Becasue of this, NSM told of a coworker of his (and future coworker of mine) as a teller at Wells Fargo who tried to stump him with a quote.  I'm not sure of the quote itself, but it wasn't an altogether obscure one.  NSM threw out the countersign with a bit of derision, and asked the guy if he didn't realize how many times I had watched it.  NSM would watch it with me, but while he was working on our next game.  He picked up a lot on a subconscious level.

Magnets, the Inverse Cube Law

Last week I received another purchase from Kickstarter in the mail: my Polar Pen.

If I remember correctly, I read about the Polar Pen Kickstarter on iO9 or Gizmodo.  They linked to the sales pitch video, and I was hooked.

I had missed out on Buckyballs, since they were alarmistly forced from the market in the US, and out of business.  I had put off buying them, thinking they would be available for a long time because they were so popular.  I was even leaning towards the Buckycubes, but alas, it was not to be.

I once again agree with George Carlin.

So, I wasn't going to miss out on another cool magnet toy.

I remember when neodymium magnet started coming out.  I bought a tiny one in a plastic disc from my mineralogy class in college.  The disc was about the size of three dimes stacked together, and open up to give a small disc to hold onto while the other half holding a half centimeter diameter cylinder magnet dangled from a thread.  It was perfect for detecting iron in the samples were had to identify in class.  We found that the magnet was a little stronger than the typical bar magnets, and tended to show minerals were magnet when they had not been described that way in our texts.  Our teacher was a bit surprised, but said to make note of it, and add it to our practice flashcards.

Now I have to get home this weekend, and find where I have that stashed...

Tentacles... -NT-

This weekend I finished Kraken by China Miéville.

I had said that the style of language used took some getting used to.  I found that I needed more focused time to get into it.  In a way it was like when I have read books from the 1800s (Wells, Verne, Dumas, etc.); language has changed, and it takes work to get into the rhythm of the words.

That being said, the story was incredibly original and intricately woven together.  I really liked that no one seemed to know how the world was going to end, even when so many were working to read the future.

Also the trope of the extremely evil pair, while much like Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin from Pratchett's The Truth and Croup and Vandemar from Gaiman's Neverwhere, is creepily explored in the book.

Now, I must move on and see what is next in my library.

The Smell of Pain

So when I was little, I think 4 yeas old, I was running down a ramp in Louisville's Belvedere.  I was with my parents, but I broke away to run downhill.  Being little, I fell and face-planted before the term was in wide use.  I hit my upper lip hard enough that it split open.  Other than the pain, I don't remember much about what followed.

I'm sure my parents applied tissues or something to staunch the bleeding, but it was found that the bleeding wouldn't stop.  So off to a hospital I went.  I ended up getting three stitches in my lip and was limited to foods I could take through a straw (Kool-Aid, Campbell's Soup, etc.).

I would swear that I was screaming through most of the suturing, but Mom denies that.  But since that day, one of the things I would remember upon waking from nightmares was this chocking chemical smell.  It was a sensation that would linger for minutes after I woke up.

When I started working in environmental, I started wearing nitrile (non-latex) gloves to prevent contaminating myself with chemicals of concern.  The first time I opened a box and the smell hit me, I finally knew where the nightmare smell had come from.  The doctor(s) that worked on my lip must have worn nitrile gloves (or something similar) and that smell stayed with me.

I kind of let the connection fade over time, but today I opened a new box and the smell hit me taking me right back.

What is it...

What is it about the tale of Superman that touches me so deeply?

I'm sitting here watching "Man of Steel" and each flashback, each time he manifests a new power each time he does what Superman does, I get choked up.

There must just be just something about it that triggers me.

Proximal Reading

So, today at lunch, I had the most amazing experience.

I was reading Kraken by China Miéville which was referred to me by a friend.  It's a bit of an odd book.  The language is semi-colloquial British, and then there's the strangeness going on in the book, and then there's the strange characters int he book with their own strange speech patterns, and so all in all, it's a bit strange.

So I'm reading at lunch, sitting at my table in the little rented house, and I'm getting into the book.  Then as I sank into the book, it was like I felt my friend sitting next to me.  It was like she was in the non-existent chair next to me reading her own book.  I just wanted to turn to her and say, "This is a pretty messed up part right here."

It was that real.  And I've never had that feeling before.

The Martian

So tonight I finished Andy Weir's The Martian.  In a nutshell, it's the story of a man who gets left behind on Mars by the rest of his crew during an evacuation when they think he's dead, and how he manages to survive alone on another planet.

Let me say now that I laughed harder at pints in this book than I have in a long time.  Probably since the first time I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It's got some intense survival portions and follows the normal path of a disaster tale of something go wrong and others go amazingly right.  But the book is told in a very straightforward manner.  There is math in it, but you don't have to know it all or even follow all of it.  The humor comes when the thoughts that all of us would be thinking just come out.  It's all very natural and highly entertaining.

I've got a few other books in my personal queue, but I'm thinking of putting some of his other stuff into rotation.

And that's the beauty of the Internet.  I've found other free fiction out there that is truly amazing.  I think I've linked to this site before, but there's a bunch of stories here.  Sam Hughes' Ed Stories are a ton of fun as well.

An Update

Sing Credence Clearwater Revival to me.  I dare you.

Tomorrow will be the conclusion of two months in Lodi.  Not much changes out here.  The site has reached a point of low visible change.  We're doing deep work that produces a lot of soil to be hauled off, but at the end of the day doesn't look that different.  Eventually yes, but not so much right now.

So then there are my evenings.  I get up early.  I'm talking nearly Ninja Space Monkey early.  Nearly.  I'm on site between 10 and 11 hours, typically and then I get back to the hotel.  I make dinner, and read a little.  I tend to fall asleep around 9:30.  I am reminded of the anger my mother speaks of occasionally about how I when I was very little, she would find me smiling and quiet in my crib when she came to get me in the morning.  I'm no less quiet now, and actually quieter than my parents ever were in the morning.  I really don't like a lot of noise until I've been up for at least half an hour.  Or more.

This has made breakfast a bit of a trial at the hotel as they have both a television going with KCRA morning news as well as background music.  I do tend to get the day's ear-worm there though.

Reading has been good.  I finished Pratchett's Discworld, and have blazed through three Stephen King books.  Doctor Sleep is really a great book that answers the questions "Whatever happened to Danny Torrance after the events in The Shining?"  The fun thing about Dan Torrance is that he is about my age.  If it's been several years since you've read The Shining, I would recommend re-reading it before hitting Doctor Sleep.  It's not essential, but it keeps you in the mindset.

Now I'm moving on to a book by Andy Weir.  The route to getting to this book for me was a little circuitous, but still kind of cool.  I read a lot of webcomics.  One of the oldest out there, and truly the standard for regularity in internet publishing (he's missed only one update in over 5,000 strips, and that was a software or server failure) is "Schlock Mercenary".  It has been the source of much humor over the years, one of my favorites coming from an AI saying, "Please don't make me add "rounding pi down to 3" to your list of crimes."

On the side, Howard Tayler paints miniatures, reviews movies, and occasionally reviews books.  Recently he recommended The Martian by Andy Weir.  I immediately recognized the name from a now defunct and truly missed webcomic "Casey and Andy".  Please note that the link goes tot he first strip, because the last strip is incredibly full of spoilers.  Another strip full of geekdom jokes, it makes me all the more exscited to check out the new book.

All Grown Up

What common phrase is it that we all suffer through as children?

"Don't worry, you'll grow into it."

I had issues with shoes.  I rarely got to wear a pair out, and if a pair did happen to wear out, then it was a sure sign of shoddy workmanship.

Jennifer talks about growing out of pants in a season.

And where does that leave me now?  It has taken years to be comfortable in clothes that fit, specifically ones that do not have room to grow into.

Now this isn't an attack on my parents.  I know how expensive shoes are, and as a necessary wearer of Stride-Rites due to narrow ankles and wide... whatever you call the end with the toes, I was not cheaply dressed.  We developed a pattern of buying the shoes as a first stop in the mall, then doing the rest of the shopping.  If Erik was uncomfortable walking or developing blisters from walking in the mall, then the shoes got returned (this happened more than once).

So, now I am becoming comfortable with wearing clothes that cling and hug.  I will admit that I still have trouble buying shoes without allowing for at least an extra half an inch of room in the toes.

Yes, yes, I Know

So, I am stuck in Lodi.  Please don't sing the song; the construction site manager played it all for us recently.  I hate it now, and soon, I am sure I will loathe it.

Today, I am finishing I Shall Wear Midnight, and I am finding it so well written.  I have said before when I first read it, that Pratchett was wrapping things up and in his own way saying goodbye.  But at the same time it is continually witty, funny, poignant, and amazing.