A few more thoughts - links!
Aug 31, 2008 23:30 Filed in: Observations,
Tech, Humor
Google launches White Space Offensive with new web site - so much bandwidth out there yet to be used! (why can’t I get my cell to work at my home, yet?)
Time to kick out some olympic sports - I didn’t give you the one with Peyton Manning trying to get American Football in the olympics, but I tend to agree with a lot of these. The medals race was interesting and a sign that there are a lot of “minor” individual events out there - though unfortunate events like the decathlon and others that are less specialized have been demoted in the public eye.
Maker Faire - the science fair for adults! (coming to Austin soon) Make magazine rocks!
NASA - Strange clouds on the edge of space - Noctilucent clouds way way high up!
Lost Temple of Doom Theme Song - this was “found” recently by L B Rayne. I found it catchy and appropriate for my 80s month theme and funny, ok, that’s enough praise that they’ll probably “find” many more now! (Archaeology isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!)
Goblin shark caught on video - whoa, I thought I was almost over my fear of sharks, but the “Aliens” like mandible on this rarely seen creature is crazy!
Japan is working hard on the world’s largest synchrotron. Interesting science, but also of note as the US “falls behind” in its basic research budgets.
Takashi Murakami’s video for Kanye West’s “Good Morning”. Seems rare to see such anime work for Hip-Hop music - both are good!
There’s talk of a new Muppet movie and possible revival of the series (woot!). After more inspection, I uncovered some new Henson studio work on entertainment for adults, including this 10 min “web pilot” for Alien Boot Camp on Logo (one of the gay tv stations) called Tinseltown.
Possible that the world record ($100,000) prime number has been found. But the main reason I have this is to see the strangeness of a math article written for the public (Scientific American). So poorly written - He uses “9.808358 million” which just happens to equal 9,808,358. Also, “French smarty-pants”?
Christopher Lee knows that booze really heals - a funny musical number from the movie The Return of Captain Invincible. If you enjoyed Rocky Horror, you’ll like this! Now where’s my drink?
An old hilarious comedy gymnastics routine from Paul Hunt from a few years ago - a good one to end on - enjoy the holiday!
|
End of a memorable month
Aug 31, 2008 16:43 Filed in: Life
You’d think that I’d be used to being occupied, that
I would stop stating that I’m busy, and just be used
to the usual amount of lack of time (like everyone
else over time?). In fact, it’s not that I’m
complaining, it’s just that I have higher
expectations of what I should accomplish which are
often at odds with what actually occurs. I’m
extremely happy with my life, though I do wish I
could do more. Guess never being satisfied may keep
me going?
Ok, enough existential thoughts - the Life of Kaleb updates!
July 28-Aug3
I started and finished a grant application (a new record, not something I am proud of, due Aug 1 at 3pm, submitted all 14 sections at 2:59pm, 2 minutes “better” than last year), hosted a Mummy movie marathon, and helped my summer student get her poster ready for display - an hour later, headed out to Lincoln to join the family gathering at the grandparents as Grandpa had a new brain implant to control the palsy in his other arm. Continuing that first weekend of August: parents, sis, Uncle Garry, Aunt Paula & Justine visited in a mini-reunion (since we couldn’t make it to our real reunion the following weekend). We played tourist downtown, lots of ping-pong, games, a little late-night badminton, cooking, and trying to survive the heat - lots of fun! That same weekend (Sunday afternoon), I flew out to California.
Aug 3-10 - in CA
Worked at Stanford for a week staying at Stacie & Mike’s (a month after being wed, and they still rock
), though enjoyed seeing
friends/colleagues during most lunches and
evenings (including a memorable game night at
Doug, Melissa & Emily’s). Got a lift with
new friends, Aaron & Masumi Fries, for the
weekend up at Point Reyes for Yony & Amy’s
wedding. So many great people were there, but
the first night Cindy & I (we weren’t in the
wedding party, so we had lots of free time),
crashed another wedding dinner party at the
local pizza parlor, and then played several
games of Race For The Galaxy (RFTG - my current
favorite “board game&rdquo
. The next morning Cindy & I
decided to take the 5 mile hike to Arch Rock and back to the
lodge (it was 10am and the
wedding started at 1:15pm). Our precarious start
foreshadowed the hike as we first left the
grounds and Cindy got stung by a small wasp or
two (behind me I heard “Ow! Damn! Ow! Run,
Kaleb, Run!” only 15 minutes after others warned
teasingly to keep her in front of me at all
times). A 15-minute delay by choosing the wrong
path, and we were off in the right direction
(which I knew because my iPhone got great
reception once we were out in the hills/fields,
as opposed to the small town we were in). At the
halfway point (timewise), we were 0.9 miles away
from Arch Rock - so we decided to run. Mind you,
I’m not sure I’ve ever run so far, and
especially in street shoes/jeans. We got there,
enjoyed the 3 minute breathless view (see pics)
and hurried back. Our new dilemma - the path
goes right through the wedding ceremony and we
weren’t going to make it in time (ie. we were
about to be true wedding crashers). After
deciding against committing a couple
bike-jacking offenses, we convinced a trio of
understandably nervous tourists from Michigan to
give us a lift to the lodge (a different path).
I did the 2 minute shower, changed (watching the
ceremony process outside my window), and then
changed again as my new shirt’s button popped
off (first (and last?) purchase ever from
Von Maur). Snuck in and
enjoyed a marvelous ceremony, followed by lots
of good food, fellowship, dances, bubbles, cake,
more sun, and then relaxed with pizza, beer,
billiards, and RFTG (~6 more games until 3am
with 3 other PhD’s - 2 string theorists, 1
mathematician - all who were intent on “solving”
the game. A great challenge amongst new
friends!) The next day we did brief wine
tasting, a mandatory In & Out stop, and I
was back in Denver the next morning.
Aug 11-13 - in CO
I originally had a couple work meetings in Denver to take care of, but my 6am flight hung out on the runway at San Jose for some time before “The hydraulics aren’t working, we’re bringing it in for inspection”. I first wondered which part - the landing gear or flaps, and then decided that neither would be good to lose(!). 4 hours later, we were finally off, but so were my meetings. I stayed with my close childhood friend, Katie, and her three little ones: Archer (4), Sylvia (2), & Clark (9 mo’s). Randy, Kate’s hubby, was called out of town for work at the last minute, so I got to help with some parental duties. Oh my - going from 2 cats to 3 children was not a jump I was prepared for and I have renewed respect for Katie and so many of my other friends who are parents. Overall, since I was just helping, it was a lot of fun. Especially going to the library and swimming! After kids were asleep, Katie & I played some games (yes, including RFTG, of which she won on her first game, something none at the wedding can say). A slight brag-detour: 7+ years ago I had a streak of winning 30+ games of Settlers of Catan in a row among 40+ different people. Katie broke the streak over the holidays in 2001 which was a huge relief since I couldn’t talk about it until it was broke (as it’s easy to gang up on someone in it). I also saw fellow U Rochester classmate, Thuy, who also looks amazing despite a family of 5+ keeping her plenty busy!
Aug 14-17 - back in Omaha
My “aunt” died while I was in Denver. I had sent her some of the pictures of the basement that she helped me color-coordinate. That weekend her family held services in Kansas and in Seward, NE, a small town west of Lincoln. It was a gorgeous day, and it was so nice to see so many relatives (many of which had met a week earlier for the reunion I missed). You’d have to be a stone not to be moved by the words shared on Connie’s behalf. She had clearly touched so many and will not be forgotten. The for-fun themes about Connie were about her ability to create beauty and her love of Nebraska football, of which several spoke about. (Not to take anything away from the service, but it was hard not to escape how important football is here when it’s mentioned so much at a funeral. Definitely like its own religion and something so many of us can come together over, like so many others out there.) Since it was the last I’d see a lot of family for a while, some had surprised me with birthday cards/gifts. I enjoyed being with distant family and wanted there to be pictures/videos as everyone looked so good and after the service were in higher spirits as we remembered Connie and caught up. Guess it’s not good form - can’t remember the last time I saw a picture taken from any family funerals. Hard to still imagine how Shana, Connie’s daughter and one of my favorite cousins, is handling it all. But we keep on...
Aug 18-24 - birthday week
Prea made a visit for my birthday - her first trip to Omaha from DC. It was an overdue, but very welcomed surprise, even if only for 2 days. I took 1.5 days off of work (another strange thing for me) for her trip, and had fun shopping, cooking, and just catching up. The gang at work got me a carrot cake for the bday and a nice card, the game-night crew got me a brownie cake with a group-card, and my inbox and Facebook were filled with bday wishes - something that did overwhelm me with gratitude. So fortunate to have so many great people in my life! On Saturday Dennis & Lizzy (in honor of Lizzy’s bday back in July) led us on a 4 hour innertube ride down the Des Moines river (I still don’t know where we were, I was operating on 4 hours sleep). It was so relaxing and fun, though the only scare was when a river snake was headed right towards me (I was armed with a plastic squirt gun which I used to get me wet (more than others), as an oar, and here as a possible snake-whacking device. Smartly, it decided to avoid me. Apparently using loads of sun-block wasn’t enough as I ended up with a lobster-red sun burn over the entire front of my body. I did fall asleep briefly while floating downstream which brought memories of sleeping on a raft at Cheney lake when I was 10 and subsequently getting a 3rd degree sunburn which resulted in the white archipelago on my right leg. All 11 of us on the trip were completely spent. What I haven’t mentioned is that in honor of the bday, I had been hosting a few 80s-themed events in Aug (since I was born in the 70s). This same Sat night was the climax with an 80s party - dance music, decorations, lots of 80s foods (thought mostly bad-for-you snacks), big hair/outfits, trivia, arcade games all followed by a group viewing of The Breakfast Club. For the few that showed, they were true troopers. See the wonderful new picture section dedicated to them. Kudos to Dennis/Lizzy for their amazing outfits, for helping me decorate the night before and their unlimited energy.
Aug 25-31 - wrapping it all up
Keeping busy with per usual, showed Real Genius (surprised as to how well it has held up over the years) and hosting a game night this past week (with Jamaican jerk chicken and beef patties). Working on possible settings for the murder mystery party this fall (the zoo, most likely). Hosting another Fantasy Football league (we draft on Monday). Saturday had two great BBQs to attend, and the later one didn’t end until 4am or so. Surprised how untired I was - makes a difference having good company! Trying to get lots of time with Dennis before he moves to NM. Took a nap with the cats with college football on (yes, it was very cute). So now I’m getting into the mundane, but also happy to have my hands and mind full as I wrap it all up.
Ok, enough existential thoughts - the Life of Kaleb updates!
July 28-Aug3
I started and finished a grant application (a new record, not something I am proud of, due Aug 1 at 3pm, submitted all 14 sections at 2:59pm, 2 minutes “better” than last year), hosted a Mummy movie marathon, and helped my summer student get her poster ready for display - an hour later, headed out to Lincoln to join the family gathering at the grandparents as Grandpa had a new brain implant to control the palsy in his other arm. Continuing that first weekend of August: parents, sis, Uncle Garry, Aunt Paula & Justine visited in a mini-reunion (since we couldn’t make it to our real reunion the following weekend). We played tourist downtown, lots of ping-pong, games, a little late-night badminton, cooking, and trying to survive the heat - lots of fun! That same weekend (Sunday afternoon), I flew out to California.
Aug 3-10 - in CA
Worked at Stanford for a week staying at Stacie & Mike’s (a month after being wed, and they still rock
), though enjoyed seeing
friends/colleagues during most lunches and
evenings (including a memorable game night at
Doug, Melissa & Emily’s). Got a lift with
new friends, Aaron & Masumi Fries, for the
weekend up at Point Reyes for Yony & Amy’s
wedding. So many great people were there, but
the first night Cindy & I (we weren’t in the
wedding party, so we had lots of free time),
crashed another wedding dinner party at the
local pizza parlor, and then played several
games of Race For The Galaxy (RFTG - my current
favorite “board game&rdquo. The next morning Cindy & I
decided to take the 5 mile hike to Arch Rock and back to the
lodge (it was 10am and the
wedding started at 1:15pm). Our precarious start
foreshadowed the hike as we first left the
grounds and Cindy got stung by a small wasp or
two (behind me I heard “Ow! Damn! Ow! Run,
Kaleb, Run!” only 15 minutes after others warned
teasingly to keep her in front of me at all
times). A 15-minute delay by choosing the wrong
path, and we were off in the right direction
(which I knew because my iPhone got great
reception once we were out in the hills/fields,
as opposed to the small town we were in). At the
halfway point (timewise), we were 0.9 miles away
from Arch Rock - so we decided to run. Mind you,
I’m not sure I’ve ever run so far, and
especially in street shoes/jeans. We got there,
enjoyed the 3 minute breathless view (see pics)
and hurried back. Our new dilemma - the path
goes right through the wedding ceremony and we
weren’t going to make it in time (ie. we were
about to be true wedding crashers). After
deciding against committing a couple
bike-jacking offenses, we convinced a trio of
understandably nervous tourists from Michigan to
give us a lift to the lodge (a different path).
I did the 2 minute shower, changed (watching the
ceremony process outside my window), and then
changed again as my new shirt’s button popped
off (first (and last?) purchase ever from
Von Maur). Snuck in and
enjoyed a marvelous ceremony, followed by lots
of good food, fellowship, dances, bubbles, cake,
more sun, and then relaxed with pizza, beer,
billiards, and RFTG (~6 more games until 3am
with 3 other PhD’s - 2 string theorists, 1
mathematician - all who were intent on “solving”
the game. A great challenge amongst new
friends!) The next day we did brief wine
tasting, a mandatory In & Out stop, and I
was back in Denver the next morning.
Aug 11-13 - in CO
I originally had a couple work meetings in Denver to take care of, but my 6am flight hung out on the runway at San Jose for some time before “The hydraulics aren’t working, we’re bringing it in for inspection”. I first wondered which part - the landing gear or flaps, and then decided that neither would be good to lose(!). 4 hours later, we were finally off, but so were my meetings. I stayed with my close childhood friend, Katie, and her three little ones: Archer (4), Sylvia (2), & Clark (9 mo’s). Randy, Kate’s hubby, was called out of town for work at the last minute, so I got to help with some parental duties. Oh my - going from 2 cats to 3 children was not a jump I was prepared for and I have renewed respect for Katie and so many of my other friends who are parents. Overall, since I was just helping, it was a lot of fun. Especially going to the library and swimming! After kids were asleep, Katie & I played some games (yes, including RFTG, of which she won on her first game, something none at the wedding can say). A slight brag-detour: 7+ years ago I had a streak of winning 30+ games of Settlers of Catan in a row among 40+ different people. Katie broke the streak over the holidays in 2001 which was a huge relief since I couldn’t talk about it until it was broke (as it’s easy to gang up on someone in it). I also saw fellow U Rochester classmate, Thuy, who also looks amazing despite a family of 5+ keeping her plenty busy!
Aug 14-17 - back in Omaha
My “aunt” died while I was in Denver. I had sent her some of the pictures of the basement that she helped me color-coordinate. That weekend her family held services in Kansas and in Seward, NE, a small town west of Lincoln. It was a gorgeous day, and it was so nice to see so many relatives (many of which had met a week earlier for the reunion I missed). You’d have to be a stone not to be moved by the words shared on Connie’s behalf. She had clearly touched so many and will not be forgotten. The for-fun themes about Connie were about her ability to create beauty and her love of Nebraska football, of which several spoke about. (Not to take anything away from the service, but it was hard not to escape how important football is here when it’s mentioned so much at a funeral. Definitely like its own religion and something so many of us can come together over, like so many others out there.) Since it was the last I’d see a lot of family for a while, some had surprised me with birthday cards/gifts. I enjoyed being with distant family and wanted there to be pictures/videos as everyone looked so good and after the service were in higher spirits as we remembered Connie and caught up. Guess it’s not good form - can’t remember the last time I saw a picture taken from any family funerals. Hard to still imagine how Shana, Connie’s daughter and one of my favorite cousins, is handling it all. But we keep on...
Aug 18-24 - birthday week
Prea made a visit for my birthday - her first trip to Omaha from DC. It was an overdue, but very welcomed surprise, even if only for 2 days. I took 1.5 days off of work (another strange thing for me) for her trip, and had fun shopping, cooking, and just catching up. The gang at work got me a carrot cake for the bday and a nice card, the game-night crew got me a brownie cake with a group-card, and my inbox and Facebook were filled with bday wishes - something that did overwhelm me with gratitude. So fortunate to have so many great people in my life! On Saturday Dennis & Lizzy (in honor of Lizzy’s bday back in July) led us on a 4 hour innertube ride down the Des Moines river (I still don’t know where we were, I was operating on 4 hours sleep). It was so relaxing and fun, though the only scare was when a river snake was headed right towards me (I was armed with a plastic squirt gun which I used to get me wet (more than others), as an oar, and here as a possible snake-whacking device. Smartly, it decided to avoid me. Apparently using loads of sun-block wasn’t enough as I ended up with a lobster-red sun burn over the entire front of my body. I did fall asleep briefly while floating downstream which brought memories of sleeping on a raft at Cheney lake when I was 10 and subsequently getting a 3rd degree sunburn which resulted in the white archipelago on my right leg. All 11 of us on the trip were completely spent. What I haven’t mentioned is that in honor of the bday, I had been hosting a few 80s-themed events in Aug (since I was born in the 70s). This same Sat night was the climax with an 80s party - dance music, decorations, lots of 80s foods (thought mostly bad-for-you snacks), big hair/outfits, trivia, arcade games all followed by a group viewing of The Breakfast Club. For the few that showed, they were true troopers. See the wonderful new picture section dedicated to them. Kudos to Dennis/Lizzy for their amazing outfits, for helping me decorate the night before and their unlimited energy.
Aug 25-31 - wrapping it all up
Keeping busy with per usual, showed Real Genius (surprised as to how well it has held up over the years) and hosting a game night this past week (with Jamaican jerk chicken and beef patties). Working on possible settings for the murder mystery party this fall (the zoo, most likely). Hosting another Fantasy Football league (we draft on Monday). Saturday had two great BBQs to attend, and the later one didn’t end until 4am or so. Surprised how untired I was - makes a difference having good company! Trying to get lots of time with Dennis before he moves to NM. Took a nap with the cats with college football on (yes, it was very cute). So now I’m getting into the mundane, but also happy to have my hands and mind full as I wrap it all up.
Almost 3 weeks of links!
Whoa, long trips and bad local-only blog software
make keeping this up to date hard! Here’s an
unloading of the “best” links from the past month
(after they make it through the K filter).
The Guinea Pig Olympics - Telegraph - so... darn... cute... can’t resist.
Lupin/Cavy Related: Pet rabbit saves owners from fire.
TB’s long lost cousin? 40lb cat needs a home!
Nice graphic of how US men are predicted to die in 2008 (from Men’s Health, copyrighted pic, so may not be around long)
Interesting research on IQ, evolution, sex and brain size. General Intelligence Factor (Scientific American), Social brain theory (Science), Fluctuating asymmetry and intelligence (journal) (Thanks, Stacie)
Related: Police reject candidate for being too intelligent.
Bernie Mac in the news - he is missed!
Death Star (and other SW ships) over San Francisco - cool video!
Other invasions in the world: Why Russia’s response to Georgie was right. (commentary-Financial Times)
In-depth article of the double life of Karadzic, an infamous Serbian fugitive (NYTimes)
I really enjoyed Firefly (and Serenity, too!) but was disappointed with what they did with Shepherd Book’s character. Now his backstory is coming out in a new comic book.
7 Biggest a-hole computers in Sci-Fi. We all know #1, but what about the rest? (also, we must fear what we don’t understand, right? How about just respect? )
It’s taken me a while, but I’m now following the olympics a bit. Still, America, What About Handball?!
This is now out of date, but reasons why this is the biggest, baddest olympics ever.
The gender trap - issues with women close to losing olympic medals for not being woman-enough.
Desperate climates call for desperate geoengineering? (physics today) - scary and interesting stuff.
Signals travelling faster than speed of light? - never know what’s real in these pop-science articles, but still interesting!
SLAC is being renamed? Ugh, seems ridiculous.
More fabulous Hubble pictures!
CUIL - the Google killer. Um, at least was in the news for a couple days, anyone really use it?
I’m celebrating the 80s this month. How about this: Top 10 delicious extinct candies from the 80s
Chemistry of Sex Drive (health)
Aging is an accident of evolution - says Stanford researcher.
7 Common dreams and what they mean (Divine Caroline)
and 14 reasons you’re not sleeping (Forbes)
When in Japan, drink the “beer” for kids! (really crazy video)
For those who watched Batman - THe Dark Knight (which is now #2 top grossing movie in US all time - just passed Star Wars!), you may have been intrigued by The Watchmen trailer before it. Here’s an intro to that comic book from the 80s. Looks cuil!
Study reports that most corps don’t pay US income taxes. (Reuters)
For an inspirational talk - Randy Pausch Last Lecture: achieving your childhood dreams
Thank you for your support!
The Guinea Pig Olympics - Telegraph - so... darn... cute... can’t resist.
Lupin/Cavy Related: Pet rabbit saves owners from fire.
TB’s long lost cousin? 40lb cat needs a home!
Nice graphic of how US men are predicted to die in 2008 (from Men’s Health, copyrighted pic, so may not be around long)
Interesting research on IQ, evolution, sex and brain size. General Intelligence Factor (Scientific American), Social brain theory (Science), Fluctuating asymmetry and intelligence (journal) (Thanks, Stacie)
Related: Police reject candidate for being too intelligent.
Bernie Mac in the news - he is missed!
Death Star (and other SW ships) over San Francisco - cool video!
Other invasions in the world: Why Russia’s response to Georgie was right. (commentary-Financial Times)
In-depth article of the double life of Karadzic, an infamous Serbian fugitive (NYTimes)
I really enjoyed Firefly (and Serenity, too!) but was disappointed with what they did with Shepherd Book’s character. Now his backstory is coming out in a new comic book.
7 Biggest a-hole computers in Sci-Fi. We all know #1, but what about the rest? (also, we must fear what we don’t understand, right? How about just respect?
)
It’s taken me a while, but I’m now following the olympics a bit. Still, America, What About Handball?!
This is now out of date, but reasons why this is the biggest, baddest olympics ever.
The gender trap - issues with women close to losing olympic medals for not being woman-enough.
Desperate climates call for desperate geoengineering? (physics today) - scary and interesting stuff.
Signals travelling faster than speed of light? - never know what’s real in these pop-science articles, but still interesting!
SLAC is being renamed? Ugh, seems ridiculous.
More fabulous Hubble pictures!
CUIL - the Google killer. Um, at least was in the news for a couple days, anyone really use it?
I’m celebrating the 80s this month. How about this: Top 10 delicious extinct candies from the 80s
Chemistry of Sex Drive (health)
Aging is an accident of evolution - says Stanford researcher.
7 Common dreams and what they mean (Divine Caroline)
and 14 reasons you’re not sleeping (Forbes)
When in Japan, drink the “beer” for kids! (really crazy video)
For those who watched Batman - THe Dark Knight (which is now #2 top grossing movie in US all time - just passed Star Wars!), you may have been intrigued by The Watchmen trailer before it. Here’s an intro to that comic book from the 80s. Looks cuil!
Study reports that most corps don’t pay US income taxes. (Reuters)
For an inspirational talk - Randy Pausch Last Lecture: achieving your childhood dreams
Thank you for your support!