It’s Alpha Geek’s fault, he got me addicted to Popcap’s Plants vs. Zombies game.
I was able to resist at first, because I know how much of a time-suck those addictive Popcap games can be.
And then he showed me the video:
Apr 302010
This is the corner where Marchesa keeps her toys.
Note that I do not say this is where I keep Marchesa’s toys. I just give her the toys (or in some cases, she finds them herself). Marchesa has chosen this corner as her toy storage. When she’s done playing with a toy, she brings it over here and puts it away.
I wish my kids were this tidy.
Boobquake: All Boob, Little Quake
Geek Wannabe
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Apr 272010
Boobquake was a resounding success; women everywhere have bared their cleavage (and other things) for science. I’m so proud of us!
But I’m also disappointed, because it appears our boobs do not have supernatural powers. Yes, there was a 6.5 in Taiwan yesterday—earthquakes around that size happen over 100 times every year, so there was a good chance one would happen yesterday. But the overall number of earthquakes on Boobquake was no greater than it was on any other day. If you’re interested in the science and statistics, Professor Braile has written an interesting summary.
Hey, maybe it needs more testing. I’m willing to loan my boobs to science again, should the occasion arise.
And don’t forget to get your Boobquake shirt!
Boobquake!
General
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Apr 252010
Just wanted to remind you all that Boobquake is tomorrow.
In case you’re saying, “bwuh?”: a senior Iranian cleric has declared that women dressing immodestly causes earthquakes.
“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.” – Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi
Well, that’s quite an intriguing theory, isn’t it? And you know what we do with theories—we test them out! Jen McCreight has proposed an experiment: Monday, April 26, participating women will dress scantily, immodestly, and/or provocatively (for whatever their own definitions may be). We’ll see if our licentious behavior causes an increase in earthquakes that day.
Won’t you join us? It’s for SCIENCE!
Tree Chopping
General
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Apr 242010
One of my blog buddies recently posted about the decorative trees around her apartment being cut down. It makes the apartments look really stark and ugly.
It reminds me of a tree I used to climb as a kid. We rented a house that had a big old tree in the front yard, with several large, low-hanging branches that made it perfect for climbing.
Seems one year the landlord got it into his head to have the tree trimmed, and had someone come around and cut off all the lovely low-hanging branches. After that I couldn’t climb my tree any more. It made me sad to see my poor tree disfigured, and I sometimes fancied it missed having kids climb it.
I’ve never understood this desire to make trees resemble a child’s drawing. I’m especially irked by a recent trend in my area of planting magnolias as decorative border trees, and then trimming their lower branches so they look more like spruces or birch. Magnolias tend to have a lot of low-hanging branches, usually right down to the ground. They just don’t look right to me with all their lower branches hacked off.
Apr 222010
This morning I sat on the couch, checking my e-mail. Every now and then I would reach over and stroke the warm, furry little being purring next to me.
Later, as I was eating lunch, I heard strange scratching, rattling, and thumping sounds coming from the kitchen. After a few minutes I exclaimed, “CAT! What are you doing?!” The noises stopped, and she wandered over to me, looking innocent.
It’s so nice to have a cat again.
Last Saturday we went out to watch Jonathan Trappe launch his balloons. Now that I have my own computer back, I can post phone pictures.
Jon flies in self-designed rigs. This one involved a harness that carried his equipment and attached to the balloons. Launching these balloon configurations is a major undertaking, requiring time, money, and a sizeable ground crew. Each of those cannisters of helium costs something like $2,000 to fill, and it takes an entire cannister to fill one of the big balloons.
Several balloons were torn when they were filled too fast at the start. Strangely enough, all of them were green balloons.
Balloons were added one at a time, as Jon adjusted their position to maintain balance with his rig. He carries bags of water ballast, and controls his altitude by releasing ballast (to ascend) or casting off balloons (to descend). He has experimented with valves to deflate the balloons rather than cutting them loose, but any valve would have to be on the bottom of the balloon—and helium goes up.
If this scene reminds you of the movie “Up,” here’s some more background information: Disney/Pixar consulted Jon on the movie, and coordinated a flight to promote the film. They sent the details of Carl’s armchair from the movie, and the Cluster Balloon team made a real-life version of it attached to a five-story cluster of balloons. (Launch site gossip: at first Disney/Pixar asked about a flight using an actual house, as in the movie, until Jon and his crew calculated the number of balloons it would take. The cost would have been in millions.)
Although this flight was sponsored by the EAA, this rig is, in fact, an FAA-certified aircraft. Jon carries a radio and a transponder as part of his equipment, and his balloon rig has a private aircraft N number. He can fly into class C airspace.
He does an astounding job of researching weather patterns in preparation for a flight. He seems to have access to weather maps more detailed than those used by general aviation pilots; they have much more information about winds at various altitudes. He had some of his maps spread out inside the flying club, showing his planned flight path. He ultimately decided to stay aloft all night, and with help from the Raleigh/Durham airport’s tower he crossed through their space and headed east. (You can see his flight path on the Cluster Balloons site.)
Iceland Volcano Erupts
General
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Apr 152010
A volcano in Iceland is sending tons of ash, rock, and other debris into the atmosphere. The ash cloud is spreading eastwards. Flights are being canceled in the U.K., Norway, Sweden, and other countries due to the danger of debris clogging the engines, which happened during a similar eruption in 1982:
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are all doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”
—Capt. Eric Moody, British Airways
Yesterday I mentioned that the cat was stalking me.
My friend palsgraf_polka posted this video in response. My younger son almost choked on his lunch while watching it, he was laughing so hard.
Apr 122010
The cat is stalking me.
She lies perfectly still, watching me with her intent green gaze. When I look back at the computer, she creeps a little closer.
Saturday we went out to the flying club to watch Jon Trappe launch his balloons. When I get my own computer back I’ll post pictures.
Last week I went to the eye doctor (routine checkup). She observed that my eyes were a little red and itchy—the way the pine trees were carrying on, I think everyone’s eyes were red and itchy. She gave me a tiny little sample bottle of eye drops to help soothe the itchiness.
Marchesa thinks that tiny little bottle is a great cat toy.
Must Have This
Geek Wannabe
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Apr 092010
Pollenated
General
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Apr 082010
The pine trees are having a botanical orgy of epic proportions this year. Everything is yellow. The sidewalks are covered in yellow dust; we leave tracks on our stairs as we come and go—and yellow trails through the house. The grass is yellow. The cars are yellow.
Even people without allergies are sneezing and rubbing their eyes; people with allergies are breaking out the oxygen masks.
Last night I picked the Artist up from his evening class. As we walked toward my car, I remarked on the fact that she’s now yellow instead of grey. “Damn trees have been ejaculating all over my car,” I said.
The Artist guffawed. “I didn’t realize you knew what that stuff was,” he remarked.
Computer Woes
Geek Wannabe, General
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Apr 072010
Monday afternoon, when Alpha Geek was moving his chair, it caught on the network cable attached to his laptop. Laptop went crashing to the concrete floor. End result: busted laptop.
The good news: We got the extended insurance that covers accidental damage.
The bad news: He’ll have to send the laptop back to Dell for them to fix/replace. It may be a week or two before he gets it back.
Alpha Geek needs his laptop to do his job. Doing his job is kind of important, because it enables us to have things like food and a house.
My laptop is the exact same make and model as his. So we decided the sensible thing to do is to swap his hard drive into my laptop, and I can use an old laptop that he’d had years ago. It’s not up to running the apps he needs for work, but it can run a web browser and e-mail client.
It also won’t run World of Warcraft. Sigh.
Anyway, if you’re one of my IM buddies and suddenly can’t send me messages, it’s because I forgot to copy my buddy list over to the new machine. I’m not snubbing you, really.
Except you. You know who you are.
Happy Easter!
Geek Wannabe
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Apr 042010
