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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

 

craftland

Make tiled stepping stones

I want to do this!

 

no one told me

No one told me that this multicultural issues class would really run 3 1/2 hours without a break.

No one told me that the professor was going to be a militant Native American.

No one told me that said professor may in fact be a transsexual, which I'm sure I'm supposed to learn in this class shouldn't be as distracting as I'm currently finding it.

No one told me that I'd have to read a metric assload of REALLY SINCERE essays about racism/sexism/classism/pickyourism.

However, someone DID tell me that summer quarter is only 8 weeks long.

All smart-assedness aside, I really feel out of touch in the class. I'm way past that "finding my identity" part of my life - although I can remember it from when I was around 19 - and as much as I abhor discrimination and misinformation in our society, I feel like it's just wanky to sit around talking about it. I feel it's much more important to simply do unto others and try to be fair and compassionate to everyone. But maybe that's just my dominant European-American culture talking.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

 

I want!

>Wired News: Roomba Tweak for Neat Freaks

Although it might harrass the cat while I'm away...

Monday, June 27, 2005

 

sciencultogy

shrinkette: My two cents

Psychiatrist blogger Shrinkette on Tom Cruise etc. Very interesting links.

 

A Couch Tom Cruise Won't Jump On

A Couch Tom Cruise Won't Jump On

Screw you some more, Tom Cruise.

 

make some science

Take the MIT Weblog Survey

You can watch the results here.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

 

book thirty-one

The Lathe of Heaven
Ursula K. LeGuin

I LOVE this book. It was so, so good. It's set in Portland in a dystopian near-future, where overpopulation and global warming have taken their toll on society. (This book was written in 1971 - but it's quite prescient.)

The main character, George Orr, has dreams that actually change reality. He is the only one who remembers afterward that anything has changed. Terrified by his ability, he turns to abusing drugs in an attempt to forestall dreaming. He's arrested for drug abuse and ordered to see a psychiatist/sleep specialist for treatment. The psychiatrist at first doesn't believe that Orr's dreams can change anything - but once he realizes that the dreams *are* changing reality, he begins using hypnosis to steer Orr's dreams in order to promote his own position.

Not only is the concept a good one, but as always, the writing is impeccable. LeGuin's words convey the freakishness of the situation without becoming overwrought. Has she written other books like this? I'm only familiar with the Earthsea series and a few of her short stories.

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book thirty

Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer

This book was totally fascinating. It's an exploration of the history of the Mormon (LDS) church, framed by the story of two Fundamentalist LDS men who murdered their sister-in-law and her little daughter. They claimed that God told them the woman and the baby needed to be killed. But it seemed more that they didn't want the woman interfering with their brother (her husband) and his participation in the Fundamentalist organization.

In the epilogue to the book, Krakauer mentions that writing about Mormons, in contrast to almost any other religion currently in practice, is relatively easy in terms of research. The church has been in existence for less than 200 years, and has been exhaustively recorded throughout its entire history. I knew very little about the history of the LDS church before reading the book, and it was certainly eye-opening... For example, I had no idea that there were multiple violent incidents in Missouri and Illinois where Mormons were actually attacked and killed. I knew that Brigham Young et al moved to Utah to escape persecution, but I didn't realize the persecution was murder as opposed to, say, name-calling and real-estate problems.

I'm a little hesitant to be honest about my reactions, because I don't want to alienate or offend anyone who may be Mormon. I think I can comfortably say that the entire Fundamentalist LDS movement, which is officially not sactioned by the LDS church, is quite horrifying. It seems mind-boggling that in the United States (and Canada, and Mexico) in the year 2005, there are still polygamist societies flourishing. They marry off teenage girls to much older men. They cast out teenage boys to reduce the overpopulation of males (if all the men have 3+ wives, there'd better be a lot more women than men around!). They have pulled their kids out of public school. They collect millions of dollars of welfare because the non-legal wives are, in the eyes of the state, single mothers. They actively oppose government interference in their affairs, which is easy to do in the isolated areas, because all of the judges and law-enforcement officials are FLDS too. And most importantly, they believe the end of the world is coming any minute now - this seems to inform everything they do.

It's a fascinating read. I wish that Krakauer had gone into more detail about what mainline LDS members believe and practice - for example, I don't know if modern Mormons still believe that the earth was created 6,000 years ago, or if that is one of the beliefs the FLDS folks have hung on to. It's pretty fascinating to me that most of the LDS families I knew back in Kansas were extremely polite, motivated, smart, caring, family-oriented people. What is it about Mormonism that creates that kind of behavior? Or is it coincidental? Interesting stuff.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2005

 

back to work

I had a fantastic weekend. My mom and dad came to visit for my dad's 50th birthday (which is actually tomorrow, but close enough). He played golf. We went to the symphony. We had dinner at the Oceanaire Seafood Room, which was quite nice. I'd told the restaurant that we were celebrating a birthday when I made the reservation, so the waiter brought him Baked Alaska and lit it on fire at the table! Daddy's face lit up almost as bright at the fire. :)

I went shopping with my mom and picked up a pair of jeans at Old Navy that are 2 sizes smaller than I'd been wearing before the weight-loss program started. That was an excellent feeling. Also, R* and I went by the stall in the Market of the artist who made our wedding rings to buy temporary silver rings, and she chided us for even thinking about platinum bands and said of COURSE she will resize our white gold rings, what were we thinking? R* said later he'd felt like saying "Okay, Mom!" to her.

On Sunday after the parents left, I sanded and sealed the patio furniture. I need to redo the tabletop, because it was in such bad shape that it needs a coat of stain before I seal it again. Oh well. It will be easy with the palm sander.

It was hard to come back to the office. The junior client services guy left recently, and I've taken over some of his duties. It's not difficult or anything, but it does kind of suck up my time. At least it makes the days go faster!

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

 

microgenius

(that means I'm a little bit smart)

I got my 4.0 in Microbiology! I'm very pleased with myself. :)

My pal ThirdDegreeNurse is right, the class seemed very useful. I learned a lot not just about diseases, but about how the body responds to microorganisms. I don't know how I managed to miss the nitty-gritty details about the immune system before - did we even talk about that in Physiology? - but I finally get it!

 

ring thing

R* and I have already lost so much weight that our wedding rings no longer fit. They are too big. Last night we took them off and put them in a safe place and picked out silver bands from his jewelry box that actually fit to wear in the meantime. We're talking about replacing our rings with platinum bands after we reach our weight goals.

I got up this morning at 5:30, did a bunch of cleaning because my parents are coming to visit arriving tomorrow, and then worked out, showered, and went to the office. The truth is, I think I would really enjoy being a housewife. I like cleaning and gardening and cooking and making things run smoothly. I suppose at least some of those are good characteristics for a nurse to have!

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

 

book twenty-nine

The Farthest Shore
by Ursula K. Le Guin

I made a mistake in checking out this book before The Tombs of Atuan... which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it. I have recently read A Wizard of Earthsea, but somehow failed to notice that The Farthest Shore wasn't next in the series!

In this book, Ged is now a middle-aged man, the Archmage at Roke. He meets Arren, a prince, when Arren comes to Roke to ask for help. His kingdom is losing its magic, and the witches and wizards who handle everyday tasks like weather-making and crop-charming are no longer able to cast spells. Ged has heard reports of this disappearance of magic from the world from many sources... so he and Arren go on a trip together to find the source of the problem.

They hear about a mysterious man who is promising magicians a way to cheat death and live forever. They determine that they must find this man and break his hold over the magicians, or the light will run out of the world...

It's beautifully written, especially when describing the love and admiration Arren has for Ged. I definitely want to re-read the other Earthsea books.

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Monday, June 13, 2005

 

done!

Microbiology = finished! I feel really good about how I did in this class. I fully expect to get a 4.0. I won't actually know until Wednesday, when grades are released.

My parents are coming to visit this weekend. My dad's 50th birthday is coming up soon and he wanted to come to Seattle to play golf and see the Symphony, so that's what we are doing. I'm taking Friday off to hang out with them. Although I'm sure that will cause a hoo-ha at work. Apparently CEO Guy got it into his head last week that I was somehow cheating him by not working on Fridays anymore. I have taken a lot of Fridays off recently for various trips - but I filed the appropriate paperwork and made sure my tasks would be covered! I can't believe I'm saying this but sometimes I wish there was actually MORE bureaucracy here.

Weight loss is proceeding apace. I lost 2.5 pounds last week, bringing me just half a pound away from 25 pounds lost. I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that I'm going to need to buy some new pants soon. I've still got a long way to go, so these will be temporary pants... but I am getting tired of yanking on my waistband 22 times a day! I believe this calls for a trip to the Old Navy sales rack.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

 

book twenty-eight

I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) : True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl
by Laurie Notaro

I believe I got the idea to read this book from Kristie. And I'm glad I did because it was FUNNY. Very funny. Laugh until I snort audibly on the bus funny. I'm totally going to reserve her other books now.

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book twenty-seven

Pompeii: A Novel
by Robert Harris

This book was really cool! It's a fictionalized account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried the city of Pompeii. The main character is an engineer (aquarius) in charge of an aquaduct that splits off from the main water line in Pompeii. When the water stops running in a town downstream from Pompeii, the aquarius has to find the source of the blockage and repair it. The blockage is caused by the earth swelling and buckling in preparation for an eruption...

There are a couple of characters based on real people, also, such as Pliny the Elder. He is drawn as an old man with an insatiable appetite for food, wine, and knowledge. I don't know if Pliny really died in the Vesuvius eruption, but in the book he dies watching it happen.

While I'm sure I would also be interested in reading a nonfiction book about Pompeii and the artifacts discovered in the modern archaelogical exploration of it, this book made the eruption and its aftermath come to life in startling detail. I recommend it.

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book twenty-six

Tales of Nevèrÿon
by Samuel R. Delany

I checked this out based on Elizabeth's recommendation. She mentioned it as one of her desert-island books and I'd never heard of it, so I was intrigued.

The book is a collection of interlocking short stories. The same main characters appear several times. The setting is a nation on the edge of civilization, and I mean that in the sense of time (very early history) rather than space. Rather than having a very developed plot, the stories are basically frames for exploration of cultural mores. Some of the issues explored are slavery, sexuality, creation myths, gender roles, and class. While all of this is pretty interesting, I found myself thinking that I would prefer to read anthropological nonfiction rather than this rather didactic fiction. I got excited when I read the postscript about an ancient text discovered in the Middle East that appeared to be the source material for the stories... but then I read in an Amazon review that the postscript was also fictional. Drat.

The writing is quite beautiful. Another review that I read called it "enigmatic," which is a terrific descriptor. Overall, though, I found it kind of a hard slog and was unable to lose myself in the stories.

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book twenty-five

Cold Feet
by Heather Swain, Lisa Tucker, Elise Juska, Pamela Ribon, Tara McCarthy

This book is a collection of short stories by women writers on the subject of marriage and, you know, cold feet. A couple of them are good, some are kind of not so good, and one is really, really funny in a messed-up sort of way. The funny one is by Pamela Ribon of pamie.com, which is where I heard about the book in the first place.

I never know what to say about short story collections. It's not like I can critque the book as a whole, but it would be silly to critique each individual story. Let's just say that the quality varies, and that it's not a bad read, all told.

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Monday, June 06, 2005

 

book twenty-four

The Anubis Gates
Tim Powers

I believe I picked this up after reading the newsletter from my college English department, where I got my undergrad degree. There is a section in the newsletter where some of the professors mention what they've been reading in their personal time, and one professor mentioned this book. It sounded entertaining so I checked it out.

The book revolves around time travel, Egyptian mysticism, and 19th century London. How fun is that? It was not a deep read by any stretch, but it was fun to read. The main character is a scholar who is an expert on the works of an obscure British poet. The scholar is summoned for a mysterious job interview with an eccentric older gentleman, who invites him to give a speech about Coleridge to a group of interested literature buffs. Eventually, it becomes clear that the scholar is not only going to speak about Coleridge, he and the rest of the literary types are going to time-travel to hear Coleridge speak in London. But uh-oh! An Evil Guy hits our scholar over the head, causing him to miss his ride home!

The rest of the book involves the undead, the hierarchy of beggars in old London, magic throughout the ages, and the nature of love. It's pretty good.

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book twenty-three

The Visitor
by Sheri S. Tepper

As you already know, I really like Sheri S. Tepper's books. This one was totally cool right up until the end, where it seemed like she didn't know how to finish it, and the book just went blooey.

Here's the premise: In the future, the Earth has undergone some kind of cataclysm. Society has become rigid in its adherance to the "dicta," a quasi-religious set of rules and regulations. Anyone not following the dicta can be reported, punished, and even "bottled". "Bottling" seems to refer to preserving a tissue sample of a person for resurrection at an unspecified future time. There is a jumble of ideas that seem to be accepeted among the population - belief in demons, a belief that magic used to exist but now does not, belief that the "bottled" will be resurrected. I expected the magical stuff to turn out to be simply technology - but it doesn't.

Dismé Latimer is charged with keeping an ancient book written by her ancestor Nell Latimer. Her mother disappeared when she was small and her father disappears when she is an adolescent. She is abused constantly by her stepsister Rahel but tolerates the abuse until she is an adult, at which point she runs away to the city and meets some like-minded people. She also begins to show signs of having magical powers.

The end of the book kind of goes blooey. There are demons and cryosleepers and aliens and gods and a whole lot of rhetoric about doing right and maturing as a species, and honestly, I kind of lost track of what the hell was happening. I'd still read it again, though.

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small affirmation

I met with the Health Occupations advisor at school last week. She told me my grades were excellent and that if I get in 200 hours of volunteer time, or get my CNA and work 200 hours, I will be an excellent candidate to get accepted the next time I apply. So now I just need to figure out the CNA thing, and plan on when to quit my job! :)

 

thump

(the sound one makes falling off the diet wagon.)

We went out of town for the weekend because R*'s band was playing a show in Port Townsend. We went up a day early and stayed at the hotel at the marina in Port Ludlow. It was fun and relaxing.

Friday morning, R* went to work out and I stayed home to get our new elliptical delivered! I hopped on and worked out as soon as it was set up. We left the house around 10:45 and got very lucky in catching the Bainbridge Island ferry. We hung around and had lunch in Winslow (and got a book about day hikes near Seattle), and then drove on to Port Ludlow. When we got there, we had in-room massages. I was so relaxed during the massage that I actually fell asleep on the table for a moment. I've never done that before! Then we had a glass of champagne (diet fall-off #1!), took a nap and went downstairs for dinner (diet fall-off #2!).

In the morning we had breakfast (diet fall-off #3!), then went for a 6-mile hike. That may or may not cancel out all the diet-falling-off that was committed. After hiking, we went back to the hotel, got some salads to take back up to our room from the lounge, and showered and ate lunch and soaked in the hot tub and took a nap. We drove into Port Townsend, R*'s band played all evening, and I studied for my microbiology exam while I listened. I didn't fall off the diet for dinner (although R* did), but R* ordered bread pudding for dessert and I couldn't resist!

Sunday we had breakfast and fell off the diet again, then took our time wandering back towards home. We decided to take the Kingston-to-Edmonds ferry home, and had lunch in Kingston. I was going to be good and have soup and salad, but R* ordered a Rueben and fries and I just lost my mind and ordered fish and chips. It tasted soooo good - but by the time I finished my tummy kind of hurt. I still don't feel completely right more than 24 hours later. That was probably a good lesson. And after we arrived home and napped, we worked out and had a no-added-fat salad for dinner and went back to bed. And we both got up this morning and went to our respective gyms.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

 

fun time waster

Guess-the-google

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