Why?

John's posted about the vagaries of global interest in his blog a couple times (I don't know the specific post).

And I've looked at my stats occasionally.

But I just have to ask: Why is this post on my birthday last year so popular?  Just to set a benchmark, it is presently at 535 hits.

The next closest is one from a chain of blogs for scientists to talk about their blogs and their take on science in science fiction.  It got cross linked for the chain, but I can't figure out why one that just talks abotu my birthday gets so much interest.

Is it the picture of maple syrup served in a shot glass?

Is it the link to the Anchor Steam bicycle jersey?

Or is it the picture of Jennifer's bike with petunias in the front basket?

Please tell me, because I'd like to know.  Maybe I can duplicate the interest.  Any maybe I could break into double digits of followers.

New Layout

I found a new layout.

This one isn't quite so crowded, and I kind of like the sidebar.

Let me know if there are any readability issues.

Wisdom

I collect things.

I used to collect comics.  I still have my collection, but it now no longer grows every week.

I used to collect unicorns, patches, hats, and at one time seedpods.  On my computer, I have two collections I keep in Word documents.

One is my collection of jokes.  I used to subscribe to many different mailing lists of jokes.  I also subscribe to Bizarre News.  I use to distill the news, taking out all the ads, and spread it around to my friends and family.  I eventually ran out of free time to do that, and also eventually whittled away my jokes emails to nothing.  Now I just add to my jokes when I come across a new one.

My other collection is one that is simply titled “Wisdom.”  It is a long list of quotes that I have found to be true, funny, and/or enlightening.  Every now and then I come across a new quote that hits me just right, and I add it to the list.  I try to attribute where I can, so that when I share them others can know where I found them.

I've cobbled this list from books, comedians, message boards, television, moves, friends, and family.
My latest addition is from Stephen Fry:  This is the point. One technology doesn’t replace another, it complements. Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.

Then there is this one I just came across in the list today from Scott Adams:  The only time women are not attracted to intelligent men is when they have the option of a good looking guy who is dumber than pants on fish.

And because I do actually add quotes from my friends, this one is from John:  Welcome to R’lyeh Spaceport. Please pick up your bags as they emerge from fifth-dimensional space. Please do not stand near any ninety-degree angles. Please avoid any sentient colours. Please do not make religious offerings until you have exited the premises. Thank you and fhtagn.

He related this one to me when a coworker said:  If I say “You’re welcome,” that’s not a binding contract involving my soul in any way, is it?

And one from another friend:  Everyone’s “fifteen minutes of fame” is turning into everyone’s reality show slo-mo farewell montage.

Trust

Usually I follow Weather.com for my forecasts.

I’ve been following the Weather Channel since it was just 24 hours of Doppler radar.  On a rainy day, Dad and I could site forever, just watching the sweep of the radar change the precipitation pattern.  And if there was a tornado watch in affect?  We were rapt looking for that hook echo.

I’ve got the Weather.com app on my phone and have a couple bookmarks for my browser.

But today I get up in Santa Cruz, and I hear rain on the bathroom skylight.  I look out the window and I see rain.  What does Weather.com say?  It’s cloudy.  Cloudy until 8 this morning with the dun coming out later.

So I pull up the back-up, Wunderground.com.  Weather Underground says that it’s likely to rain until 3 PM today.  Now, yes, I’m pulling for rain because I can go home sooner, but still…  How do you get such discrepancies?

We also have a meteorologist working for PG&E who gives us periodic forecasts so that we can be prepared for days like today.

I have an acquaintance who is a meteorologist.  I met him when I bought a DSLR camera from him.  Later, I bought a tripod.  He get interviewed often by the Bay Area news shows.  I respect that there is a lot that goes into being a certified meteorologist as opposed to a weather girl in a tight top and skirt.  We all just wish we could be wrong as often as some forecasters are.

Asymptocity

Okay, so I never was really racing to post things, but lately I’ve certainly decelerated.

It’s been hard with the extreme routine of life for the past twelve weeks to come up with something new to post.

I’m still working my way through the Dune series.  I have to admit I’m excited that the next book will be back in the original series, but I’ll be taking another break in the stride to read Terry Pratchett’s new one (Dodger).

I have watched a few movies lately.  “Men in Black 3” was a fun, tight little time travel movie.  “Apollo 18” was so so.  “The Dictator” was a typical Sascha Baren Cohen movie.  “Seven Psychopaths” was a whole lot of fun.

This weekend, it sounds like I’m probably going to see “Skyfall” and we’ve got tickets for 12/14 to see ‘The Hobbit”.

Clever, You're Not

This post goes out to all if the DJs who think it is the height of comedy to play "Here Comes the Rain Again" by the Eurhythmics.

It isn't, and we're tired of it.

Just stop.

Wheels

Today I went for a bike ride.  I fear one of the last for a while unless the weather is nice on the weekends.  Sure I’ll keep riding between work and the hotel, but with the time change tonight, it’s going to be too dark in the evenings to go for a long ride in Santa Cruz.

I managed to get to the Natural Bridges Park twice, and that was cool.  Today, back at home, I made it to Costco and back in exactly an hour.  I was a great ride with minimal wind, and perfect temperature.
On my way back home, I started thinking of my past pedal powered vehicles.

I never had a Big Wheel, but I did have a little red tricycle.  I can remember riding around the subdivision with my parents.  they still talk about how I would pedal hard to keep up with them.

Then, when it was time for something better (with training wheels), I got a yellow Schwinn.  I believe it looked something like this.  Except mine was yellow.

Then, for 1976 and the bicentennial, Schwinn made a special Spirit of ‘76 version of the Stingray.

Then for my 10th birthday, I got a Raleigh Rapide 10-Speed.  I had that bike until I went to college.  And it got stolen the first week.

That year for Christmas I got a Peugeot.  (Yes, Papaw, a Poopy-Joe).  I had that one for several years until it got stolen as well.

Then dad gave me his old bike, and I rode it a little, but I never really took the time.

Then Jennifer met the owner of Citizen Chain, and got her red bike (later stolen).  A few months later (with my some of my severance money from ETIC), we bought me my bike.  It got stolen once, but I took it back, as you’ll remember.  And now, it will probably be the bike I’ll have for a long time.

Unless of course, I decide to have the guys at Citizen Chain make me up a bike special.

Good Eye, Bad Eye

Have you ever had one of those mornings when the thoughts going through your head while putting in your contacts could be used in a spy or police interrogation?

If you relax this won't go so hard on you.

Don't fight it; we'll just have to start over.

Are you trying to be difficult?

See, now wasn't that easy?

Where Was I?

I was playing Ultima V in my apartment in Sacramento, blissfully unaware.

Where were you 23 years ago?

So, Rain

The weather is what it is.  Today it was spitting rain on my ride back to the hotel.  It wasn’t much more than enough to speckle my clothes and bag.  But it did send me back to my freshman year of college.
I used to have early classes all of the time.  The chemistry or physics lab option that would fit my schedule was inevitably 7:15 or so on Tuesday and Thursday.  And for a few semesters that lab was all I had on those days.

So while living in the dorms, I would get up early, eat breakfast, go to class, and then have nothing to do other than homework for the rest of the day.  Now of course, I didn’t spend all my time schooling, so I would ride my bike.  Typically to Tower records or the mall.

One day I was riding up Watt Avenue, probably halfway to tower, and it started to rain lightly, you know, just a sprinkle.  It wasn’t any big deal, so I rode on getting slightly damp.

After my time browsing through cassettes and books, I decided to head back to campus for lunch.  And it was pouring.

Now something to remember is that I got up early enough to eat breakfast before lab.  I had a high metabolism for for most of my life, and while in school I ate constantly.  So I was eager to get back for lunch.

So I rode back to the dorm in the rain.

And when I got back, I was soaked.  This is not hyperbole; my jeans were notably heavy when I walked up to my dorm room.  I ended up laying all of my clothes out to dry on my drying rack.  (Yes, drying rack.  My T-shirts last forever because I don’t tumble dry them.)  And then I took a hot shower.

While I was in the midst of all of this, my floor-mates had seen me and asked why I was riding in the rain.  I told them what had happened, and they asked why I hadn’t called them for a ride.  Now first off, I didn’t have any of their numbers, but secondly, this was 1987/88.  There were no cell phones.  Or at least nothing truly portable.  So I said I would get their numbers and call if it ever happened again.

All this flashed through my mind today on my ride to the hotel.  That and the bit of thrill of feeling the weather on my face.

I think I owe my wife an apology for poo-pooing her desire to ride in the rain.

King or Queen

Over the past year, I have been away from my wife overnight while working more than the rest of time together combined.

Because of this, we find ways of keeping the other in our thoughts.

Somehow, I appointed the egret as my animal.  There always seemed to be one flying or walking nearby when I was thinking about something difficult.  Having one or more around was just cool.

Jennifer has developed an association with ravens.  Somewhat from reading American Gods, but somewhat for the same reason as me with egrets.

She also has an affinity for butterflies (hence two of her tattoos).  Some of this comes from our visit to the butterfly house at The-Park-Formerly-Known-as-Marine-World, and some from the butterfly house in Key West that we visited twice while there.  She’s also had some other personal experiences with butterflies.
And then there’s dragonflies.  I find them fascinating, and like the things they hunt (mosquito larvae and, a recent find, termites).  I’ve had some close encounters with them including a big one that was sitting next to a lock at a job site one time.  Unfortunately, I don’t have that picture on my computer; it must be on the NAS at home.

But with these affinities, Jennifer and I know when the other is thinking about us.  Sometimes.

Last year when I was in Madera, there was one day when no matter where I looked for about 5 minutes, there was a butterfly swooping across my vision.  It was just as if Jennifer were waling past me saying, “Hi, honey.”  That day was the end of my stay at that job, and before I hit the road, I sent her a text saying I was on my way home.  I knew when she got the message, because while on the highway, a cloud of butterflies suddenly erupted from the flowering bushes in the median.

She had a similar experience one day at Lake Merritt.  She was thinking about me, and suddenly an egret landed on the beach n ear here and walked slowly across her vision while she was reading, seeming to make sure that she noticed it.

So yesterday I had an amazing experience with dragonflies.  We had cut down a tree a few weeks ago, and yesterday finally did some digging near it.  I think the excavator bumped it going by, but I noticed later that it was covered in winged termites.  The termites started taking to the air, and I saw two dragonflies start swooping through them, eating them on the wing.  Soon, there were at least eight dragonflies hunting through the fleeing termites.

Dragonflies and Termites

The termites are invisible, but the swooping things are the dragonflies.

And then today, I saw a butterfly flit by.  It stopped for a second on a large transformer, and I thought I’d get a picture, but it flew away.  Then it landed on the fence, so I got as many pictures of it as I could before it flew away.

It just kept opening and closing its wings in the sunlight.  I waited each time for it to open before I took the picture.  The third one is my since the wings were flattest and so the whole insect is in focus.









These aren’t with any fancy camera either.  This is just a basic, digital point-and-shoot.

Power Failure

This morning I was awakened by deafening silence at 4:20 AM.

The fan on the hotel air conditioner had shut off and so had my speakers which had been playing my white noise app. The power tried to come back on, but failed.

PG&E's webpage estimates power restoration at about 8:00 AM.

But have you ever realized how dark and quiet a hotel is without power?

I'm grateful Jennifer bought me a travel candle holder (it looks like a thick makeup compact) several years ago, and so I always have it and some tea-lights in my luggage. Of course I had to use my flashlight app on my phone to find my matches. I need to get a lighter for less smoke in the future.

I showered last night, and hair isn't a big issue since I wear a hard hat all day, but without the candle it would have been decidedly more difficult to get my contacts in.

So now I've been awake almost an hour and a half. I'm dressed; I've read my non-RSS feed comics on my phone; and I'm curious how much of a breakfast, if any, will be available from the hotel at 6:30.

Plus, one tea-light is not enough light to read by.

I guess I'll play phone games since I'm not going back to sleep.

Teeeee Veeeee

So most of the new season has started for this year in television, so let’s talk:

Go On – a new show with Matthew Perry.  Jennifer and I loved “Friends” and we’ve liked all the stuff Matthew Perry has done since.  “Studio 60” and “Mr. Sunshine” were both lots of fun.  We’re hoping this show stays around.

Grimm – Aside from the new intro which is stupid, this show is moving with continued momentum.  And after this last week, Nick shows again that his fighting skills are (while not being as good as his mom) not too shabby.

The Neighbors – We like it.  I think it has the potential to be clever and funny.  However, the stinger before the commercials has got to go.

The New Normal – We’re giving this one more episode.  We like the concept, but the message behind the concept is beginning to feel like propaganda.

How I Met Your Mother – We watched this through streaming on Netflix to catch up, and it’s cool to be watching it closer to real time.

Mike & Molly – This is mostly Jennifer’s show, but it was a fun season premiere.

Modern Family – Lots of fun once again.  I’m tired of Dylan though.

South Park – Awesome as always.

The Big Bang Theory – I must have Sheldon’s shirt showing the Kryptonese alphabet!  If you find it, share the link!

New Girl – Maintaining a high level of quirkiness.

2 Broke Girls – A little below average for a premiere, but we’ll keep watching it.

Partners – A show with potential.  I think they crammed too much into the series premiere, but its got two people we really like (Superman and Mr. Universe), so we’re hopeful.

Animal Practice – We’ve watched three shows now with Tyler Labine, and if they keep him at a certain level, this show could be really good.  Plus it follows the Julius Schwartz rule:  Everything is better with monkeys.

---

Not Yet Returned

The Simpsons – That’s on tonight.  I might be awake enough to watch it after it records.

Once Upon a Time – Also on tonight.  Will probably wait until next week when I’m home again.

Suburgatory – Not sure when this one is coming back.  It’s eagerly awaited on our parts.

Whitney – We like this one.  We’re hoping it also maintains its previous levels.

The Bitch in Apartment 23 – A late starter last year, its one we really started to enjoy.

Community – please please please please please…

All Work and No Play

So, yes, I’ve been out in Santa Cruz since the day after Labor Day, going home on weekends, resting briefly, and then driving back Monday mornings.  Very early Monday mornings.  So early that I’m up before this guy.

Sometimes.

Now, we’re working long hours, but I’m keeping up my spirits while away from wife by going for bike rides.
last week, I experimented with the river trail, and went down to the Boardwalk.  I didn’t linger long as I'd forgotten a bike lock last week, but I took some pictures, and felt good.

Earlier this week, I went to the local Costco for an eye exam, and went upstream on the river trail.
Yesterday, I realized I’d been in Santa Cruz for almost three weeks, and hadn’t had any of my seafood staple: clam chowder.  So I rode down the river, along the boardwalk, and then up the pier to Andy’s Bait & Tackle Shop.

I had clam chowder in a bread bowl, and a crab cocktail without cocktail sauce.

After dinner, I walked my bike up to the sea lion viewing holes, and got some pictures.  Then I went to the end of the pier and watched the pods of sea lions come in and leave.  I was also treated to an alder male showing off. 

I stayed for most of the sunset, and had some fun there as well.

Below are some of the better pictures.

It's Like a Donut

I have an astigmatism.  I found this out today.

I've been struggling with distance vision attached with contact lenses for a couple years.  Near vision is no problem, but distance has been legible, but fuzzy.

Today, I got a bit of an explanation, and new contacts.

I was told they were toric lenses.  I asked if that was based off of torus, and she just repeated that they were toric.  It just goes to show that simply because you're a doctor does not mean you've learned everything there is to know about topology (and going by my Chrome spellchecker, neither do the people at Google).

Clarification for those who didn't keep up with three dimensional figures in math, go here.

The lenses are not cut from a sphere, so they have a definite up and down.  When I put them in, while there is no specifically different feel, my distance vision si still fuzzy.  But as I blink and the lenses settle into position, distance clarified.

So my eyes are almost the same prescription, but they require a different bit of toroidal (another word Chrome doesn't recognize) section to fix my sight.

The Adventure Begins

Today is day one of the excavation project in Santa Cruz.

it was a difficult farewell this morning, and weekends are going to be precious.  Yes, even with football starting.

The bright side is the accrual of hotel bonus points, and eventually a vacation with which to use them.

Some day.

Tattoo Time

This weekend, I got more work on my back piece.  Phil continues to amaze me with his interpretation of color and style.

He finished the exhaust pretty quickly, and so with the rest of the time he added in the black of space.  I had really had all that I could take after that, so he’ll color in the voids with stars and nebulae next time.

Well, you know...

The spheroidal hydrogen fusion furnace which we orbit seemed exceptionally productive of visible light photons this morning.

But it was surely nice to spend the night in my own bed.

Recently I've read a few comic hardbacks.  Two were Batman graphic novels and one was a collection of a four-issue mini-series.

Last night I read Batman: Death by Design.  The story was pretty good, but I had trouble placing when exactly ti was taking place.  It seemed like it was the 20s or 30s, but every now and then the technology or the dialogue seemed modern.  The art was incredible, and when I read at the end of the book that it was all done with pencil and graphite with computers only used to add color and glow effects, I was pretty blown away.

Another I have recently read and I thoroughly enjoyed was Batman: Noel.  Again some incredible artwork, but the story was what I enjoyed so much in this one.  First off, let me say that this book was set aside with the pile of comics that I had net been reading, so that's why it's a little out of date.  It was a retelling of A Christmas Carol with Batman as Scrooge.  Now, yes, it does sound kind of corny, but it was creatively done, and very entertaining.  Plus it had both Superman and the Joker in it, so that gave it an additional boost too.

And finally, I recently read the collected Flex Mentallo.  To preface, this is a book written by Grant Morrison; surreal doesn't begin to describe it.  Even the introduction is made up.  Upon hearing the title and seeing the cover, Jennifer asked me if it was about a muscleman with mental powers, and I said, essentially, yes.  When he flexes different muscles, specific powers are activated.  But that's just the glaze on a huge mix of Morrison fruitcake.  Oh, did I mention Flex Mentallo came as a spin-off from Morrison's run on The Doom Patrol?  If that doesn't tell you what to expect, then nothing will.  It is definitely a book that will require multiple readings.  I enjoyed it, but it was a lot to absorb.

Flashbacks

I re-experienced two things that week that threw my mind back in time:  Lava soap and a Master combination lock (and that lock on the home page is the lock that I got).

We got some Lava soap for the office down in Santa Cruz where we’ll be working for a few months.  the first strange bit was that it was in pump form, so I wasn’t expecting the scent.  But the scent was exactly the same as I remembered.  And I remembered it from 40 years ago.  My Dad’s father was a mechanic.  He worked on cars before they ad computers in them.  And so he had oil and grease worked into his fingers all the time.  And the bathroom at Granny’s always had a bar of Lava soap for Papaw to clean his hands.

The combination lock almost sent me back as far because I used to use one to lock my bicycle up at elementary school.  I remember drilling those three numbers into my head so that I would not forget them.  Later, I got another one because the old one had died due to rain and grit.  The second combination lock had a number that by the time I got it had actual significance: 0-18-12.  The War of 1812 was a fun war to learn about in school, so the number stuck. It makes me wish I still had the lock.

Why Physics, Why?

So I go out to a gathering with Jennifer, and what grabs my attention?

People danicibg? No.

The food? Okay, a little.

How about the play of fire across the metal mesh of the patio heater? Oh, absolutely.

I was fascinated with the parts of the mesh that would turn orange with the flame played across it and then fade to dark when the flame moved away.

Okay, so I've never been much of a dancer. Yes, I have actively avoided it sometimes, but tonight a release before the beginning of a long term field job might have been nice.

Still not into it though.