I'm finally playing with NASA's World Wind, and now that I'm getting the hang of navigating it, it's really pretty.
I'm totally researching future outdoors trips with this.
What morning isn't made better by tiny tiny hail? Today's were smaller than sleet, but hard enough to bounce off my car's windshield and hood. Precipitation was spotty, but had turned to big lovely flakes by the time I got to work.
It's sunny and dry now. *sigh*
Dinner with some friends, and then dancing at the usual Thursday night place. You should be there too.
And no, if you don't know where I'm talking about, I'm not explaining.
We might have a mouse in the basement, judging by a hole in a bag of oatmeal. Where can I get humane mousetraps in the Seattle area?
Invites just got a lot less scarce. Want one? Leave your existing email for me here & I'll send you one.
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COLLECTIVE BOOK ON COLLECTIVE PROCESS: guidance for egalitarian groups
which I found on
Seattle DIY: a start on indexing, wiki style, suggestions for DIYers
Since there's evidently interest: the next Pyramind Lounge is February 7th, so mark your calendars. Folks who want to organize for dinner in advance, email me; otherwise, I'll see you there.
I saw a fab band tonight called Japanther in this airless deathtrap of a basement, with two or three score other people, bouncing in the limited space, with some folks moshing gently, and the unmistakable odor of fresh sweat. It was great!
The contra dancing was delightful! Quite a few delightful people, some I recognize, and some I didn't. And lots and lots of spinning and weaving!
I shall have to make a point of going back often enough to remember people from week to week; I'm sure I've had some of those introductory conversations before.
Afterwards, I went to the club. Perhaps I shouldn't've, being tired and having an appointment in the morning, and then work, and then a date, but I did so want to. The crowd was thin, and the music left me flat, exactly the opposite of what I go there for.
The inimitable ![[info]](http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/web.archive.org/web/20050220121303im_/http:/=2fstat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mizemm has moved in; we signed the paperwork with the landlord this evening. We're now looking for two more housemates to complete the set. If you're looking, do speak up. If you know someone who is looking and might be a good fit, please point them to us, or vice versa.
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hopefulI'm going dancing tonight, probably at both of the usual places.
excitedSunday, at pathdancer's shindig, my throat started to scratch. I suspected then that I might be coming down with something, and I was right. Ungh. I think it's a cold. Can I credit playing with the kids there as the source, or was that too close in time to when the scratchiness started?
pathdancer will envy this: taking off today from SeaTac, I had a view of Mt. Rainier and, in the distance, Mt. St. Helens steaming.
Sorry, no pictures; the electronics ban was in effect.
After the feedback I've gotten, and rethinking things a little, I've revised my for-rent ad; the only major change is dropping the asking rent a bit.
Further feedback would be appreciated.
Tit-for-tat modeled in small evolving societies indicates that people knowing your past affects whether or not they would help you.
The lack of this feedback could be why bigger societies have such problems with crime, freeloading, etc.
So the technological solution is of course an augmented reality device that revealed the past judgments of those around us. It's the ability to easily check someone else's reputation, not the usage of reputation for currency, that would allow a larger society to have the cohesion of a smaller one.
Being pregnant in Washington State is apparently an impediment to getting divorced, even if your spouse was convicted of domestic violence.
Makes me sick.
The sky is clear enough tonight to see a good smattering of stars...
I really hope it is as clear tomorrow night where I'll be; that'll be darker and thus much better stargazing.
Tonight was dinner with phaedra_lari, then a quick coffee to make sure I stayed awake, followed by dancing at my usual Thursday night place, and then to Denny's, all 24 of us.
I'm still wired...
*bounce*
*bounce*
*thud*
I saw Circus Contraption's Sugar Snow tonight, and I'm pleased by it.
First, the Seattle Center, for WinterFest, which ends soon, is all dressed up, with the trees lit up, an outdoor Yule tree, and of course the carousel, so just getting there is nicer than usual.
The show was in the Center House, with the band on the stage there and the aerials over a stage running north-south in front of the stairs up. Based on the SRO crowd tonight, we should've gotten there early and bagged seats, preferably west of the stage so we could see both the performance and the band.
The nine Aerialistas appear to be one or two of the usual Circus Contraption aerialists and the students from their aerial classes. That's not confirmed, of course; it's pure speculation based on their relative skill and performance, and that the circus hasn't, in all the shows I've seen, had that many female aerialists.
They did acts on ropes, hoops, a trapezee three seats wide, and curtains. I saw some new-to-me tricks, some heart-stopping (fully intentional) falls, and lots to ooh and awe over. All in all, very very nice.
The show's an hour long, *free*, and definitely kid-friendly. I'd recommend it! There's a second performance tomorrow, Thursday, so y'all should go.
Public defenders are notoriously overworked, and for lawyers, low paid. Increasing the budget for them could be used to lighten their workloads. Presumably, this would result in better defenses for each client, and that in turn would result in a lower conviction rate, and shorter sentences for those convicted.
Is it cheaper to increase the public defender budget than to jail more convicts for longer?
After mulling this over, I decided that I'd like to find housemates. Which is good, as mizemm has moved in. We're now looking for people to rent the other two bedrooms.
I'd appreciate it if you'd pass this along to friends of yours whom you think might be a good match.
Either way, some thoughts on what I'm looking for, and bringing with me.
I'll be updating this as I think of it. To follow up with me, if you don't have a Livejournal account, then email me at lumiere AT livejournal.com.
( About the house )
( About me )
( About Mizemm )
( About shared housing )
anticipatoryOn my next trip to NYC, I should really visit Jacques Torres' Chocolate Haven and Vosges Haut Chocolat...
I recently tried a Vosges bar... mmmm.
3 book cases, books removed, shelves removed, detactched from each other, dusted, moved, a new AC extension cord purchased, shelves and books replaced. Done.
My library room now has open floor space. Once I've slept I'll want to dance...
I've decided to rearrange my bookcases tonight. Company &/or help would be welcome.
Edit: errand to do before I can finish this... call me to coordinate...
Update: 3 cases moved, but need to be refilled. The library will be usable as soon as that's done. I plan to move another 6 cases, but they aren't as urgent.
So I've had this idea. Given the hour, I'm sure it's grrrreeeeaaaaattttt!
As you may know, my house has a freestanding gas fireplace, something like a Franklin stove. When in use, it gets quite hot, and holds the heat for quite some time. That's fine. But it's occurred to me that the pipe which carries away the exhaust also carries away a fair bit of heat, which is inefficient. Now maybe I could capture some more of that with a little hacking.
Putting stuff inside the piping is tricky, likely to be ineffective as it will be eventually covered in soot, complicate any cleaning or maintenance, etc., and generally be a poor idea.
But putting stuff on the outside is easy, doesn't obstruct the airflow, isn't likely to be so efficient as to cool the exhaust enough to backup or reverse the flow, etc. I could get a bunch of passive heat sinks for CPUs, probably cheap at a surplus sale, and cover the pipe with them. I'd need to find a heat-transporting attachment method, and as the pipe is round and CPUs flat, the attachment would likely need to fill in the gap. So, not trivial to do.
But it would help.
So what's your great idea?
I just flew to Colorado for a few days, mainly to visit my sister and her family. I took the opportunity to go over Hanukkah to make the visit extra special.
I am tempted to nickname my nearly-one-year-old niece Gozura for her delight in knocking down or taking apart anything built near her, especially with the wooden building blocks or the pattern blocks.
My nephew is very four, with all the obstreperousness and delight that goes with it.
And my sister and her husband are well. Stressed with work and raising the two kids, but that's about par for the course.
I also took the opportunity to visit a trio of friends in Denver for dinner since I wanted to take a night to adjust to the altitude before heading up to 10,000 feet to see the family.
There's really nothing quite like keeping up with traffic going 75 and up, on a highway dusted with snow that's blown onto the road since it was last cleared, and watching the elderly driver ahead of you with California plates driving between two lanes as if he's going to pass between the two SUVs occupying the lanes ahead of him.
Repeatedly.
Well, I suppose it could've happened in the very foggy stretch. Or during Thursday's blizzard. Or...
I'm home again. More later.
It's hanukkah, so go light candles, eat fried foods, and remember that a great miracle happened there!
Since there's evidently interest: the next Pyramind Lounge is February 7th, so mark your calendars. Folks who want to organize for dinner in advance, email me; otherwise, I'll see you there.
Somebody told me that there weren't any more World's Fairs. Somebody was wrong.
I really want to go, don't you?
I went tonight to Pyramid Lounge, the monthly bellydance night at CHAC's Lower Level. Amazing turnout for a Monday night: all the seats filled and probably at least 20 people, including me, standing. The dancing ranged from the spirited novice through the quite beautiful and well practiced headliners, Raqs Halim. The first dancer must've been at least 50, and still charmed the audience. Sometime during the show, jadine showed up with her boyfriend, and we exchanged a few friendly words.
The Lower Level, it turns out, is a bar with a small stage. No smoking inside, though the entry is often filled with smokers getting their fixes. They must really love getting that kind of crowd on a Monday, even though it's not a heavy drinking one.
All in all, a good night, and I'll probably go back. But I'll get there earlier, and likely go with friends.
I have sinus allergies.
My housemates are packing to move.
We haven't done much dusting while living here.
And I have things to do in the house before they go.
You do the math.
The Stranger ran a fabulous call-to-arms after the election...
Driving home tonight. Reached the intersection of Denny & Olive, turned left (NE-bound) onto Olive in RH lane.
There's a guy, at the next light, standing on the double-yellow line. He walks, calmly, into my line. I stop to avoid hitting him. A car goes past in the left lane. This guy stands in my lane. I honk; he doesn't respond.
The car stopped behind me pulls out to my left, pulls past, honking. I reverse a little, pull towards the left lane. The guy steps to his right, keeping in front of me. He starts walking to my right, and closer, passing the right-hand side of my car.
He lifts the door handle. Fortunately, it's locked. I floor it. I think I hear him cursing behind me.
At the block between Harvard & Broadway, I pull over, call 911. They'll send someone around. Before I'm off the phone, a police cruiser goes past, headed downhill on Olive.
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jumpyI've got SMS messaging on the new phone, so let me know if you do too.
brighids_own and 3countylaugh will be moving out at the end of this month. I'll stay here for a bit while I consider moving vs. finding housemates. This place has history for me, and I'm not sure I want to live with it.
phaedra_lari recently described some behavior as process-oriented, which contrasts with product-oriented. For example, small children typically enjoy finger painting but don't care about the painted product. As we age, we typically become more focused on the quality of the product than the experience of the process. For example, for years I sang very little, largely because I thought my singing voice poor, and certain people whose company I enjoyed actively disliked my singing. In the last few years, my audience has changed to one that likes my singing, and I've discovered I like singing, regardless of whether I'm on key or holding a good rhythm. Singing has switched from being a product to a process, and I like it much better this way.
Similarly, I dance because I enjoy doing it, not for the feedback from others or the benefits of exercise; although those are both nice perks, they don't compare to getting into the zone while dancing.
One of the nice things, though, is that having let go of the product and in order to focus on the process, I practice the process, and that often makes for better product. So that that make this a metaproduct-orientation?
This past summer I received 3 tickets: two citations for a parking incident, and one for expired registration. Things move slowly, and the actual hearing was today.
The officer who wrote the parking tickets didn't show up. Dismissed!
And since I had proof that I renewed my registration the next weekday after the other citation, the judge dismissed that too.
Phew!
Things I learned, or had reinforced:
1. The magistrate who does the initial hearing can dismiss tickets, not just reduce fines. The judge was surprised the magistrate hadn't dismissed the registration citation.
2. Don't park facing traffic. Even though everyone does this, it is citable for a ticket.
3. Add your registration renewal (and driver's license renewal--that's a separate story) to your calendar so you don't forget about it.
4. If you're going to gather facts for a case, gather them quickly. In an earlier hearing, the defendent had taken photos 2 months after the citation, and the judge was quite sceptical about their relevance.
I was checking whether water ice was conductive (it mostly isn't) for a reply to my previous post, and found a couple of interesting things.
Pulses of electricity can make ice detach from and so fall off a surface, or attach even better, creating more friction.
And everybody's favorite instrument, now adapted for cold: the Ice Theremin.
My car caught fire tonight, but that's alright. It ran fine after that.
( What?! )
The FSA has approved medical use of RFID chips in humans.
Recent tests of RFID chips for passports, designed to be readable at a few inches, turned out to be readable using non-classified equiptment at much greater distances; I've seen reports of both 30 feet and 60 meters (see page 2).
RFID chips are already used to "chip" household pets lest they run away; surely some hospitals will soon be offering to chip newborns before they leave the birthing room, lest there be some melodramatic hospital kid-switch.
Would you get chipped? Why or why not?
Seems one doctor thinks Bush has dementia. Unlike prior years, Bush isn't getting his annual physical until after the election this year. Coincidence?
Just catching up with my reading...
Seems that recent research indicates that low glycemic diets are good for rats, and presumably humans.
I went to the FAC's Luminaria last night. It was really beautiful, with lots of hand-made lanterns, lit by candles and electric lights, and even a kayaker pulling a string of floating paper-bag lanterns.
Sign up here to get email about FAC events.
I've done this twice now, and it's been wonderful. Highly recommended!
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