Yes, it's this yet again...
Current clothes: Red t-shirt that says "If this shirt is blue, you're going too fast." Dark blue jeans. White socks. Brown boots.
Current mood: Not too bad. I was in a super good mood yesterday, and some of that has carried over into today, but it is tempered by a few annoyances, especially the knowledge that tomorrow my weekend is over and I have to go back into work at stupidly early hours.
Current music: Nothing, really.
Current annoyance: Well, the biggest one is that I really, really want to just get back to having my usual number of teeth. All this dental mucking around is getting very, very old.
Current thing: I may have spent much of my time off last week binge-watching both seasons of The Good Place, and may now be binge-listening to a podcast about The Good Place, whose episodes are at least three times the length of the episodes of the show they're discussing. Maybe.
Current desktop picture: It's still the 12th Doctor. I really, really need to move on. But I'm not ready for 13th Doctor wallpaper yet, no matter how excited I am to meet her, so I'm not sure what to replace it with.
Current book: A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston.
Current song in head: Nothing at the moment, but when I woke up this morning, it appeared to be "See You in Sepetember" for reasons I do not remotely understand.
Current refreshment: Mint tea.
Current DVD in player: Haven't watched anything since I finished streaming The Good Place. Which I may need to watch again. Maybe.
Current happy thing: It's nice to find shows you enjoy. Also, the weather is lovely.
Current thought: I recently replaced my refrigerator, which was aging, and had a rusty dent in the front, and was experiencing worrying temperature swings. I have now also replaced my microwave, which suddenly stopped working on me, which is kind of nice, because I hated that microwave and have been waiting for it to die on me for years so I could justify replacing it. So, yay for shiny new appliances, I guess!
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Our Government Is Bad, And We Should Feel Bad.
Oh, look, our idiot leadership has decided to go from dysfunctional to entirely non-functional yet again. Go, USA.
Well, fortunately, the observatory I work for, while highly dependent on NSF funding, foresaw this possibility and made a point of making sure we'd have enough money to keep going for, hopefully, longer than this will last. (Meaning about a month. If it runs longer than that, we've all got real problems.) So this time, at least, we won't have millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded astronomical equipment sitting idle instead of doing what it was built for and advancing science and our understanding of the universe. All the groceries on the shelves of the military base grocery stores my mother works at are presumably going to be left to rot and have to be thrown out again, though, so fear not, I'm sure the appropriate amount of economic damage will still happen as our country once again cuts its nose off to spite its face.
Well, fortunately, the observatory I work for, while highly dependent on NSF funding, foresaw this possibility and made a point of making sure we'd have enough money to keep going for, hopefully, longer than this will last. (Meaning about a month. If it runs longer than that, we've all got real problems.) So this time, at least, we won't have millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded astronomical equipment sitting idle instead of doing what it was built for and advancing science and our understanding of the universe. All the groceries on the shelves of the military base grocery stores my mother works at are presumably going to be left to rot and have to be thrown out again, though, so fear not, I'm sure the appropriate amount of economic damage will still happen as our country once again cuts its nose off to spite its face.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
I Am Now Partly Titanium
So, I now have a screw implanted in my jaw, which, hopefully, will eventually serve to anchor a new fake tooth.
For the moment, though, it just hurts. A lot more than the extraction did, but that might just be because I got lucky and the extraction barely hurt at all.
But, man. Replacing body parts with technological substitutes is a lot less fun than science fiction usually makes it look.
For the moment, though, it just hurts. A lot more than the extraction did, but that might just be because I got lucky and the extraction barely hurt at all.
But, man. Replacing body parts with technological substitutes is a lot less fun than science fiction usually makes it look.
Tuesday, January 09, 2018
First Currentlies of 2018!
Keeping up with a ridiculously long-standing tradition.
Current clothes: Blue jeans. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy t-shirt, with matching socks. Because I may be a dork, but, today at least, I am a well-coordinated dork.
Current mood: Pretty good. There are any number of things I could feel unreasonably stressed about, but mostly I'm maintaining my equanimity pretty well. I do feel a little bit rushed at the moment, though. I could use an extra hour or two before I have to leave for work. Ah, well.
Current music: Nothing in particular.
Current annoyance: Amazingly enough, nothing big comes to mind! Not that there aren't a thousand small or long-term things I could complain about. Like having to work for a living. Or the fact that one of my dorky socks seems noticeably smaller than the other.
Current thing: Binge-listening to the Imaginary Worlds podcast. (I'm up to September of 2016.) Trying to stay on top of various responsible-adult things that, sadly, need to get done. Still playing Fallen London. (Although my character's a lot more powerful now, I still don't know what's going on. But it's fun. Except for how I keep getting driven insane by nightmares. Or attacked by bees...)
Current desktop picture: I went back to the Twelfth Doctor. Although I feel like I should go for something new.
Current book: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande.
Current song in head: A minute ago it was "Total Eclipse of the Heart," I think because I was reading about last year's solar eclipse recently.
Current refreshment: I have french fries in the oven. Soon I will have chicken tenders and fries. Because I am a grown-ass woman, and that means I can eat like a toddler when I want to.
Current DVD in player: Well, it was supposed to be the last disk of season 1 of Alias, a show I finally started watching after vaguely intending to for a ridiculously long time. But the disk stopped playing, and the series isn't available streaming (well, OK, it's on Amazon, but not through Prime, so I would have had to pay extra for it), so now I have to wait for Netflix to replace the DVD for me.
Current happy thing: I finally saw the new Star Wars this weekend, so now people can finally stop asking me whether I've seen it yet. I liked it reasonably well, too, which is always good.
Current thought: "I liked it reasonably well" is, I'm afraid, pretty much the only thing I have to say about the new Star Wars, other than observing that Mark Hamill is a much better actor now than he was forty years ago.
Current clothes: Blue jeans. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy t-shirt, with matching socks. Because I may be a dork, but, today at least, I am a well-coordinated dork.
Current mood: Pretty good. There are any number of things I could feel unreasonably stressed about, but mostly I'm maintaining my equanimity pretty well. I do feel a little bit rushed at the moment, though. I could use an extra hour or two before I have to leave for work. Ah, well.
Current music: Nothing in particular.
Current annoyance: Amazingly enough, nothing big comes to mind! Not that there aren't a thousand small or long-term things I could complain about. Like having to work for a living. Or the fact that one of my dorky socks seems noticeably smaller than the other.
Current thing: Binge-listening to the Imaginary Worlds podcast. (I'm up to September of 2016.) Trying to stay on top of various responsible-adult things that, sadly, need to get done. Still playing Fallen London. (Although my character's a lot more powerful now, I still don't know what's going on. But it's fun. Except for how I keep getting driven insane by nightmares. Or attacked by bees...)
Current desktop picture: I went back to the Twelfth Doctor. Although I feel like I should go for something new.
Current book: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande.
Current song in head: A minute ago it was "Total Eclipse of the Heart," I think because I was reading about last year's solar eclipse recently.
Current refreshment: I have french fries in the oven. Soon I will have chicken tenders and fries. Because I am a grown-ass woman, and that means I can eat like a toddler when I want to.
Current DVD in player: Well, it was supposed to be the last disk of season 1 of Alias, a show I finally started watching after vaguely intending to for a ridiculously long time. But the disk stopped playing, and the series isn't available streaming (well, OK, it's on Amazon, but not through Prime, so I would have had to pay extra for it), so now I have to wait for Netflix to replace the DVD for me.
Current happy thing: I finally saw the new Star Wars this weekend, so now people can finally stop asking me whether I've seen it yet. I liked it reasonably well, too, which is always good.
Current thought: "I liked it reasonably well" is, I'm afraid, pretty much the only thing I have to say about the new Star Wars, other than observing that Mark Hamill is a much better actor now than he was forty years ago.
Saturday, January 06, 2018
Take A Telescopic Tour
Here's a nice little video featuring one of the radio telescopes it's my job to watch over:
Monday, January 01, 2018
2017: The Year In Books
Happy New Year! It's become traditional for me, on the first of the year, to take a look back on the previous year's reading. And it is now the first of the year, even if we're only a couple of hours in. So.
I read a total of 138 books in 2017, a bit less than the previous year, but a respectable total nonetheless, I'm sure. You can see a complete list here, if you're interested.
As is also traditional, I offer a list of the best books of the year, based on which ones I rated 4.5 or 5 stars on LibraryThing at the time I read them:
Fiction:
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
On the Beach by Neville Shute
Tinkers by Paul Harding
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 edited by Joe Hill
Ethan Frome & Other Stories by Edith Wharton
Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg
City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang
The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe: Welcome to Night Vale Episodes, Volume 2 by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
Non-fiction and humor:
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
What Language Is (And What It Isn't and What It Could Be) by John McWhorter
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
Star Trek Cats by Jenny Parks
Ascent of the A-Word: Assholism, the First Sixty Years by Geoffrey Nunberg
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir by Roz Chast
Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson
Religion: Ruining Everything Since 4004 B.C. by Zach Weinersmith
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
Some really good stuff there, although I'm a little surprised by how many of them were re-reads. The Prachett, of course, as re-reading the Discworld City Watch books was a year-long project for me, but also Slaughterhouse-Five, On the Beach, and Ethan Frome. Which, now that I think about it, is a really depressing trio of books. Depressing, but excellent.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and get started on 2018's reading...
I read a total of 138 books in 2017, a bit less than the previous year, but a respectable total nonetheless, I'm sure. You can see a complete list here, if you're interested.
As is also traditional, I offer a list of the best books of the year, based on which ones I rated 4.5 or 5 stars on LibraryThing at the time I read them:
Fiction:
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
On the Beach by Neville Shute
Tinkers by Paul Harding
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 edited by Joe Hill
Ethan Frome & Other Stories by Edith Wharton
Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg
City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang
The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe: Welcome to Night Vale Episodes, Volume 2 by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
Non-fiction and humor:
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
What Language Is (And What It Isn't and What It Could Be) by John McWhorter
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
Star Trek Cats by Jenny Parks
Ascent of the A-Word: Assholism, the First Sixty Years by Geoffrey Nunberg
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir by Roz Chast
Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson
Religion: Ruining Everything Since 4004 B.C. by Zach Weinersmith
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
Some really good stuff there, although I'm a little surprised by how many of them were re-reads. The Prachett, of course, as re-reading the Discworld City Watch books was a year-long project for me, but also Slaughterhouse-Five, On the Beach, and Ethan Frome. Which, now that I think about it, is a really depressing trio of books. Depressing, but excellent.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and get started on 2018's reading...
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Here We Go, Ready Or Not.
Well, here we are, rapidly nearing the end of 2017. Very rapidly, in fact. I swear, this year has gone by like an eyeblink. I thought I'd accepted the fact that everything seems to go by faster as you age, but it's the rate of acceleration that's getting to me. I figured by the time things seemed to be flying by this fast, I'd be in my 70s, at least.
But however much it might seem to me that we can't possibly be at the end of the year yet, we are, and I guess that means it's time for a look back. I'm not going to talk about the year in the world at large, though. To be honest, at some point in 2017, I kind of got tired of hearing from the world at large and told it to go away and not bother me for a while. I should probably try to be a better, more up-on-current events world citizen in 2018, but we'll see whether or not I'm up to it. For now, all I can say is that, in broad outlines, 2017 seemed like about what I expected after 2016, and that that's not a compliment to either year.
In my own personal life, 2017 was the year I lost a cat and lost a tooth, so maybe there's not a whole lot to recommend it there, either. But it was also the year of my grandmother's 90th birthday celebration, which I'm very glad I was able to make. And I am coming out the other side of the year alive and whole and doing all right, which is all I really ask.
Anyway. I hope all of you have a good and safe New Year's Eve, however you are or aren't celebrating. (Me, I'm not celebrating, as I'm stuck at work. Which on one level I don't mind, as I've never been a New Year's Eve partier, and it's not like I have anything that much better to do. But it does seem like a bad start to the year, somehow. Alas.) And I wish everyone, especially anyone who's been having a tough time in 2017, the best and happiest possible 2018.
See you guys on the flip side of the calendar.
But however much it might seem to me that we can't possibly be at the end of the year yet, we are, and I guess that means it's time for a look back. I'm not going to talk about the year in the world at large, though. To be honest, at some point in 2017, I kind of got tired of hearing from the world at large and told it to go away and not bother me for a while. I should probably try to be a better, more up-on-current events world citizen in 2018, but we'll see whether or not I'm up to it. For now, all I can say is that, in broad outlines, 2017 seemed like about what I expected after 2016, and that that's not a compliment to either year.
In my own personal life, 2017 was the year I lost a cat and lost a tooth, so maybe there's not a whole lot to recommend it there, either. But it was also the year of my grandmother's 90th birthday celebration, which I'm very glad I was able to make. And I am coming out the other side of the year alive and whole and doing all right, which is all I really ask.
Anyway. I hope all of you have a good and safe New Year's Eve, however you are or aren't celebrating. (Me, I'm not celebrating, as I'm stuck at work. Which on one level I don't mind, as I've never been a New Year's Eve partier, and it's not like I have anything that much better to do. But it does seem like a bad start to the year, somehow. Alas.) And I wish everyone, especially anyone who's been having a tough time in 2017, the best and happiest possible 2018.
See you guys on the flip side of the calendar.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Looks Like It's That Time Of Year Again
Merry Christmas!
I don't have any big plans for the holiday this year. I'm working today (although I get to do an 8-hour shift instead of a 12-hour one, so I guess that's something), and I'm working on Tuesday, so I'm mainly intending to spend Christmas itself relaxing and, y'know, not working. I figure I'll follow the tradition I've established in the last few years of staying up until midnight tonight and opening my presents then, then sleeping in on Christmas morning, that being the sort of luxury that not having children or houseguests affords. (Even if I can't sleep in too late, since I do have to be into work early the next day.) I also have a nice meal to cook, and pie, and a selection of festive beverages. And, of course, there will be Doctor Who, which, let's face it, is the important part of the holiday.
Anyway. Here's wishing a lovely, warm, happy Christmas to everyone who celebrates, in whatever capacity, and a lovely, warm, happy end-of-the-year season to everyone in general.
And don't call me while I'm watching Doctor Who. ;)
I don't have any big plans for the holiday this year. I'm working today (although I get to do an 8-hour shift instead of a 12-hour one, so I guess that's something), and I'm working on Tuesday, so I'm mainly intending to spend Christmas itself relaxing and, y'know, not working. I figure I'll follow the tradition I've established in the last few years of staying up until midnight tonight and opening my presents then, then sleeping in on Christmas morning, that being the sort of luxury that not having children or houseguests affords. (Even if I can't sleep in too late, since I do have to be into work early the next day.) I also have a nice meal to cook, and pie, and a selection of festive beverages. And, of course, there will be Doctor Who, which, let's face it, is the important part of the holiday.
Anyway. Here's wishing a lovely, warm, happy Christmas to everyone who celebrates, in whatever capacity, and a lovely, warm, happy end-of-the-year season to everyone in general.
And don't call me while I'm watching Doctor Who. ;)
Sunday, December 10, 2017
December Currentlies
The last time I will do this this year!
Current clothes: Red sweatpants. A black t-shirt that says "Please go away, I'm reading." Black socks.
Current mood: I've been in a really good mood for the last few days, which I credit to actually getting plenty of sleep. Of course, I'm about to go onto nights, so that probably won't last. But at least I'm on course for adjusting my sleep schedule.
Current music: Nothing, really. I'm still spending most of my listening time trying not to fall any further behind on my podcast subscriptions.
Current annoyance: I've had a far bit of annoying minor (or at least deal-with-able) computer problems lately. My laptop keeps complaining that it can't install a mouse driver update, and I keep telling it "good," because the last time it tried installing that update, the keyboard and the trackpad both stopped working. And then the monitor on my desktop died and I had to get a new one. Of course, living in the middle of nowhere, I had to order it on the internet, and it took a few days to get here. But at least it's here and working now.
Current thing: Working on getting lots of little tasks of varying degrees of importance done. Buying too many t-shirts. Playing Fallen London, which I just recently discovered and don't really understand, but am enjoying quite a bit.
Current desktop picture: It was still the 12th Doctor, until this question reminded me to change it to the traditional seasonally appropriate TARDIS-with-wreath wallpaper.
Current book: Where I'm Reading From: The Changing World of Books by Tim Parks. Because books about books are the best kind of meta.
Current song in head: After going crazy for a day or two, Brain Radio seems to finally be mostly quiet again, but when I listen carefully, sometimes it plays Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection" for me. Which is pleasant enough.
Current refreshment: A little water.
Current DVD in player: Most recently, Labyrinth. When I heard the news of David Bowie's death, I figured I'd re-watch this in memory. The fact that it took me from then until now to actually get to it is testament to how backed up I am on things to watch, as well as on everything else. But I have watched it now, for the first time since I was a teenager. And, wow. What a weird, weird mixture of the really cool and the really terrible that movie is.
Current happy thing: New Doctor Who Christmas special trailer! Words cannot express how excited I am to see this. (Although whenever I get too excited, I remember that it'll also mean saying goodbye to Peter Capaldi, and then I feel sad on top of it.) Warning: trailer contains spoilers for the end of last season.
Current thought: I just had wax cleaned out of my ears the other day, and, holy crap, I can hear so much better now that it feels like I've gained a superpower. It's actually a little disturbing.
Current clothes: Red sweatpants. A black t-shirt that says "Please go away, I'm reading." Black socks.
Current mood: I've been in a really good mood for the last few days, which I credit to actually getting plenty of sleep. Of course, I'm about to go onto nights, so that probably won't last. But at least I'm on course for adjusting my sleep schedule.
Current music: Nothing, really. I'm still spending most of my listening time trying not to fall any further behind on my podcast subscriptions.
Current annoyance: I've had a far bit of annoying minor (or at least deal-with-able) computer problems lately. My laptop keeps complaining that it can't install a mouse driver update, and I keep telling it "good," because the last time it tried installing that update, the keyboard and the trackpad both stopped working. And then the monitor on my desktop died and I had to get a new one. Of course, living in the middle of nowhere, I had to order it on the internet, and it took a few days to get here. But at least it's here and working now.
Current thing: Working on getting lots of little tasks of varying degrees of importance done. Buying too many t-shirts. Playing Fallen London, which I just recently discovered and don't really understand, but am enjoying quite a bit.
Current desktop picture: It was still the 12th Doctor, until this question reminded me to change it to the traditional seasonally appropriate TARDIS-with-wreath wallpaper.
Current book: Where I'm Reading From: The Changing World of Books by Tim Parks. Because books about books are the best kind of meta.
Current song in head: After going crazy for a day or two, Brain Radio seems to finally be mostly quiet again, but when I listen carefully, sometimes it plays Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection" for me. Which is pleasant enough.
Current refreshment: A little water.
Current DVD in player: Most recently, Labyrinth. When I heard the news of David Bowie's death, I figured I'd re-watch this in memory. The fact that it took me from then until now to actually get to it is testament to how backed up I am on things to watch, as well as on everything else. But I have watched it now, for the first time since I was a teenager. And, wow. What a weird, weird mixture of the really cool and the really terrible that movie is.
Current happy thing: New Doctor Who Christmas special trailer! Words cannot express how excited I am to see this. (Although whenever I get too excited, I remember that it'll also mean saying goodbye to Peter Capaldi, and then I feel sad on top of it.) Warning: trailer contains spoilers for the end of last season.
Current thought: I just had wax cleaned out of my ears the other day, and, holy crap, I can hear so much better now that it feels like I've gained a superpower. It's actually a little disturbing.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Thursday, November 23, 2017
You All Know What Day This Is
Thanks right. Happy Doctor Who day!
Oh, and, yeah, happy turkey day to my fellow turkey-eating Americans, as well!
Oh, and, yeah, happy turkey day to my fellow turkey-eating Americans, as well!
Monday, November 06, 2017
November Currentlies
Might as well do this while I'm thinking about it, even if I feel slightly guilty about typing this instead of working on catching up on my e-mail.
Current clothes: Dark blue jeans. White socks. A white long-sleeve t-shirt that says, "Too many books? I think what you mean is not enough bookshelves." Although, really, my bookshelf space is adequate at the moment. I may be getting close to reaching the limit of what I can fit in my house, but I'm not there yet.
Current mood: Kind of tired and out of it. I really don't want to go back into work tonight, although I suppose one always has to eventually. I'm not thrilled about the fact that I'm going back to a 64-hour week of night shifts, though. And I slept pretty badly today, and not really as late as I would have liked.
Current music: Nothing in particular.
Current annoyance: Aforementioned circadian woes. Seriously, I'll be lucky if my relief doesn't come in in the morning to find me face-down on my keyboard, snoring.
Current thing: Still trying to get back into the swing of things after my vacation. Although maybe not trying very hard.
Current desktop picture: Yep, still the Twelfth Doctor.
Current book: Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman.
Current song in head: "Ride Like the Wind" by Christopher Cross. Although I actually had no idea who sings it until I looked it up just now. I think I randomly heard it on a radio somewhere in my travels, and bits of it have been stuck in my brain ever since.
Current refreshment: Nothing, but I'm kind of thirsty.
Current DVD in player: Just re-watched the Doctor Who episode "The Husbands of River Song," which was just as delightful this time.
Current happy thing: Delightful Doctor Who, I suppose.
Current thought: Speaking of catching up on e-mail, I am really not looking forward to the very full inbox of work e-mail I'm going to have to wade through tonight.
Current clothes: Dark blue jeans. White socks. A white long-sleeve t-shirt that says, "Too many books? I think what you mean is not enough bookshelves." Although, really, my bookshelf space is adequate at the moment. I may be getting close to reaching the limit of what I can fit in my house, but I'm not there yet.
Current mood: Kind of tired and out of it. I really don't want to go back into work tonight, although I suppose one always has to eventually. I'm not thrilled about the fact that I'm going back to a 64-hour week of night shifts, though. And I slept pretty badly today, and not really as late as I would have liked.
Current music: Nothing in particular.
Current annoyance: Aforementioned circadian woes. Seriously, I'll be lucky if my relief doesn't come in in the morning to find me face-down on my keyboard, snoring.
Current thing: Still trying to get back into the swing of things after my vacation. Although maybe not trying very hard.
Current desktop picture: Yep, still the Twelfth Doctor.
Current book: Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman.
Current song in head: "Ride Like the Wind" by Christopher Cross. Although I actually had no idea who sings it until I looked it up just now. I think I randomly heard it on a radio somewhere in my travels, and bits of it have been stuck in my brain ever since.
Current refreshment: Nothing, but I'm kind of thirsty.
Current DVD in player: Just re-watched the Doctor Who episode "The Husbands of River Song," which was just as delightful this time.
Current happy thing: Delightful Doctor Who, I suppose.
Current thought: Speaking of catching up on e-mail, I am really not looking forward to the very full inbox of work e-mail I'm going to have to wade through tonight.
Sunday, November 05, 2017
Circadian Woes
You know what's really fun? When you've just traveled a couple of time zones westward after a trip on which everybody went to bed stupidly early, you now have to switch yourself over to night shifts, and Daylight Saving Time is ending.
My life really is a ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, and it's making me very, very sleepy.
[ETA: Apparently I initially typo'd "night shifts" as "night shits." I was almost tempted to leave it.]
My life really is a ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, and it's making me very, very sleepy.
[ETA: Apparently I initially typo'd "night shifts" as "night shits." I was almost tempted to leave it.]
Saturday, November 04, 2017
And I Am Back!
Actually, I was back Thursday night, but I've been busy catching up on things since then. That's the problem with vacations. Your whole life seems to pile up while you're gone, and everything wants your attention when you get home. Especially the cat.
Anyway. The surprise party for my grandmother went really well. My aunt put out a heck of a spread, a truly impressive number of people showed up, and Grandmom was genuinely surprised and apparently quite moved. And, no, she did not keel over from a heart attack at the surprise, the way everybody I told that we were having a surprise party for a 90-year-old woman worried she might.
As well as catching up with family, we went some interesting places while I was there, including the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, where my scientific curiosity fought a pitched battle with my natural squeamishness, with variable results. I do recommend it, though, for those whose squeamishness doesn't always win out.
We also took a tour of the Herr's potato chip factory, which was oddly delightful. Man, I miss Herr's chips. At least I got to have some of those on this trip, as well as other Delaware Valley delicacies, including Tastykakes, soft pretzels, a Philly cheesesteak (emphatically not to be confused with anything you might have seen labeled as a "Philly beef sandwich" or some other ridiculous, inaccurate thing), and a Wawa hoagie. Mmm-mmm.
And because this blog never really does have enough pictures for modern sensibilities, some photos of me:
Here's an embarrassing one of me trying on my aunt's Halloween costume.
And here I am having a staring contest with a monitor lizard at the Delaware Natural History Museum. Which was tiny, but pleasant, and looked like a great place to bring kids. The museum, that is, not the lizard. The lizard looked like it might want to eat your kids.
(Hopefully people can see these pictures. I still haven't quite figured out how Google Photos handles permissions.)
Anyway. The surprise party for my grandmother went really well. My aunt put out a heck of a spread, a truly impressive number of people showed up, and Grandmom was genuinely surprised and apparently quite moved. And, no, she did not keel over from a heart attack at the surprise, the way everybody I told that we were having a surprise party for a 90-year-old woman worried she might.
As well as catching up with family, we went some interesting places while I was there, including the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, where my scientific curiosity fought a pitched battle with my natural squeamishness, with variable results. I do recommend it, though, for those whose squeamishness doesn't always win out.
We also took a tour of the Herr's potato chip factory, which was oddly delightful. Man, I miss Herr's chips. At least I got to have some of those on this trip, as well as other Delaware Valley delicacies, including Tastykakes, soft pretzels, a Philly cheesesteak (emphatically not to be confused with anything you might have seen labeled as a "Philly beef sandwich" or some other ridiculous, inaccurate thing), and a Wawa hoagie. Mmm-mmm.
And because this blog never really does have enough pictures for modern sensibilities, some photos of me:
Here's an embarrassing one of me trying on my aunt's Halloween costume.
And here I am having a staring contest with a monitor lizard at the Delaware Natural History Museum. Which was tiny, but pleasant, and looked like a great place to bring kids. The museum, that is, not the lizard. The lizard looked like it might want to eat your kids.
(Hopefully people can see these pictures. I still haven't quite figured out how Google Photos handles permissions.)
Monday, October 30, 2017
Where I Am
In case anybody is wondering where I am, I am in Delaware. I flew out here on Friday, because Saturday was my grandmother's 90th birthday. My family threw her a surprise party, and my being here was part of the surprise. Hence why I didn't post about it ahead of time, even though, honestly, the odds of my grandmother seeing anything whatsoever on the internet are exactly zero.
Anyway, more when I get back. But at least you know I'm alive and well!
Friday, October 13, 2017
Monday, October 09, 2017
October Currentlies
Because time keeps marching on...
Current clothes: Blue jeans. A souvenir t-shirt from Hawaii that my mom insisted on buying me when we were there a few years ago. It's red, with a picture of islands and flowers and palm trees.
Current mood: Bleh. It seems to be taking longer and longer these days for my circadian rhythms to recover after a week of night shifts. I think I actually got a roughly adequate amount of sleep last night, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
Current music: Nothing right at the moment, but earlier in the week, I was listening to some Tom Petty and feeling sad.
Current annoyance: Teeth. Things may have healed up really well where my tooth was pulled, but the gap is still driving me crazy. And today I have an appointment to go in for a new crown. (Actually, I need one new one, and one old one replaced.) I am not looking forward to it. Crown prep is only slightly less annoying than a root canal.
Current thing: Moaning that I have way too many damned things to do, and then putting them off. Sigh.
Current desktop picture: Still the Twelfth Doctor. Probably I should give him a rest soon. But he is so great!
Current book: Borne by Jeff VanderMeer.
Current song in head: "Time to Move On" by Tom Petty. *sniffle*
Current refreshment: I just put the kettle on a few minutes ago, and then forgot about it. BRB, getting tea. ... OK. Now I have mint tea. Or I will, as soon as it's finished steeping.
Current DVD in player: Just finished disk 1 of season 1 of The Guild
Current happy thing: Um... I'm actually doing pretty good at buying fewer books than I read lately. That's something, right? The two-out/one-in system is really helping, somewhat to my surprise. Even if I have let myself get a little bit ahead of where I should be on it.
Current thought: Don't eat sugary snacks, kids! I am a bad dental role model.
Current clothes: Blue jeans. A souvenir t-shirt from Hawaii that my mom insisted on buying me when we were there a few years ago. It's red, with a picture of islands and flowers and palm trees.
Current mood: Bleh. It seems to be taking longer and longer these days for my circadian rhythms to recover after a week of night shifts. I think I actually got a roughly adequate amount of sleep last night, but it sure doesn't feel like it.
Current music: Nothing right at the moment, but earlier in the week, I was listening to some Tom Petty and feeling sad.
Current annoyance: Teeth. Things may have healed up really well where my tooth was pulled, but the gap is still driving me crazy. And today I have an appointment to go in for a new crown. (Actually, I need one new one, and one old one replaced.) I am not looking forward to it. Crown prep is only slightly less annoying than a root canal.
Current thing: Moaning that I have way too many damned things to do, and then putting them off. Sigh.
Current desktop picture: Still the Twelfth Doctor. Probably I should give him a rest soon. But he is so great!
Current book: Borne by Jeff VanderMeer.
Current song in head: "Time to Move On" by Tom Petty. *sniffle*
Current refreshment: I just put the kettle on a few minutes ago, and then forgot about it. BRB, getting tea. ... OK. Now I have mint tea. Or I will, as soon as it's finished steeping.
Current DVD in player: Just finished disk 1 of season 1 of The Guild
Current happy thing: Um... I'm actually doing pretty good at buying fewer books than I read lately. That's something, right? The two-out/one-in system is really helping, somewhat to my surprise. Even if I have let myself get a little bit ahead of where I should be on it.
Current thought: Don't eat sugary snacks, kids! I am a bad dental role model.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Boldly Going Places I'm Not Going To Pay To Follow
I just watched the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery. It took me a week to psych myself up for it, because it seemed like, however I might feel about the show, this was going to be your classic no-win scenario. (And, alas, when it comes to no-win scenarios, I am no Captain Kirk.) I figured, either I wouldn't like it, which seemed very likely given that I haven't been entirely happy with any new entry into Star Trek canon since Deep Space Nine, in which case I'd feel disappointed. Or else I would like it, and then I'd probably feel even more disappointed, because I'd have no way to watch the rest of it without paying yet another monthly fee for yet another streaming service, and that is not happening. No way, no how.
So, yeah, I can't say I went into it with the greatest mindset. And how did I feel about it after watching? Kind of shruggy, to be honest. I mean, it looks really pretty. And it's got a nice diverse crew, thus upholding an important Trek tradition dating back to 1966. On the other hand, only one of the characters so far has gotten any development or definition at all, and I can't quite decide how I feel about her. And while the plot seems to be trying very, very hard to be tense and interesting, I mostly wasn't really feeling it. Plus, hoo boy, did the beginning of this have the worst case of Bad SF Expository Dialog Syndrome I've seen in a long time. Which is saying something.
But, of course, it's entirely possible all of that is attributable to the difficulties any pilot/first episode faces. You have to establish all the setting and backstory stuff and introduce all the characters while trying to tell an engaging story from the get-go, and you have to do it with actors who haven't settled into their parts yet and writers who haven't had the chance to see how any of it plays on the screen. So, I'd certainly be inclined to give it some time and see where it all goes, if, you know, it were actually available on my TV. Or anyplace else I am already able to watch stuff. Oh, well. Probably it'll be available on DVD or something eventually, and I'll finally get to see how the cliffhanger comes out. Assuming I still care then.
I will say, though, that despite being the jaded old fan that I seem to have become, and the fact that I've been deeply disappointed by Trek shows in the past, I did still get a teeny little thrill at hearing the familiarly Trekkish notes of the theme song and seeing the credits sequence start playing (even if it was kind of a weird-looking credit sequence). There is something touching, I guess, about seeing something that you loved from childhood still surviving and taking on new forms.
By the way, speaking of new forms, I'm a little taken aback by the new look of the Klingons. Something in the back of my brain keeps complaining that they're just wrong, like I've fallen into some weird uncanny valley of Klingon makeup. But, given the history of the Klingons and their look, that seems like a really dumb thing to complain about. Well, probably I'd get used to them. If, y'know, I could actually watch the damned show.
(Sigh. You know, a quarter of a century ago, I used to dream about future developments that would let us watch anything we wanted, any time we wanted, thanks to the magic of computer technology. I imagined some central storehouse of media that we could pick and choose from and download at our leisure. And for a while there, I thought I was so prescient! But it never remotely occurred to me that what we'd eventually get instead would be a zillion different independent services, each wanting a separate subscription fee to watch their particular crop of shows. Even though in retrospect, it seems like it should have been predictable. But, really, it's always easier imagine the technology than it is to anticipate all messy real-world stuff that factors into how we use it.)
So, yeah, I can't say I went into it with the greatest mindset. And how did I feel about it after watching? Kind of shruggy, to be honest. I mean, it looks really pretty. And it's got a nice diverse crew, thus upholding an important Trek tradition dating back to 1966. On the other hand, only one of the characters so far has gotten any development or definition at all, and I can't quite decide how I feel about her. And while the plot seems to be trying very, very hard to be tense and interesting, I mostly wasn't really feeling it. Plus, hoo boy, did the beginning of this have the worst case of Bad SF Expository Dialog Syndrome I've seen in a long time. Which is saying something.
But, of course, it's entirely possible all of that is attributable to the difficulties any pilot/first episode faces. You have to establish all the setting and backstory stuff and introduce all the characters while trying to tell an engaging story from the get-go, and you have to do it with actors who haven't settled into their parts yet and writers who haven't had the chance to see how any of it plays on the screen. So, I'd certainly be inclined to give it some time and see where it all goes, if, you know, it were actually available on my TV. Or anyplace else I am already able to watch stuff. Oh, well. Probably it'll be available on DVD or something eventually, and I'll finally get to see how the cliffhanger comes out. Assuming I still care then.
I will say, though, that despite being the jaded old fan that I seem to have become, and the fact that I've been deeply disappointed by Trek shows in the past, I did still get a teeny little thrill at hearing the familiarly Trekkish notes of the theme song and seeing the credits sequence start playing (even if it was kind of a weird-looking credit sequence). There is something touching, I guess, about seeing something that you loved from childhood still surviving and taking on new forms.
By the way, speaking of new forms, I'm a little taken aback by the new look of the Klingons. Something in the back of my brain keeps complaining that they're just wrong, like I've fallen into some weird uncanny valley of Klingon makeup. But, given the history of the Klingons and their look, that seems like a really dumb thing to complain about. Well, probably I'd get used to them. If, y'know, I could actually watch the damned show.
(Sigh. You know, a quarter of a century ago, I used to dream about future developments that would let us watch anything we wanted, any time we wanted, thanks to the magic of computer technology. I imagined some central storehouse of media that we could pick and choose from and download at our leisure. And for a while there, I thought I was so prescient! But it never remotely occurred to me that what we'd eventually get instead would be a zillion different independent services, each wanting a separate subscription fee to watch their particular crop of shows. Even though in retrospect, it seems like it should have been predictable. But, really, it's always easier imagine the technology than it is to anticipate all messy real-world stuff that factors into how we use it.)
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
September Currentlies
Current clothes: A white t-shirt with a picture of a T-Rex wearing a monocle and holding a cup of tea, with the caption "Tea Rex." Which I find delightful, although scientifically inaccurate, as the T-Rex probably should have feathers, and it doesn't. Then again, it's wearing a monocle and holding a cup of tea, so scientific accuracy is clearly not really the number one priority here, anyway. I am also wearing blue jeans and white socks.
Current mood: It's an odd sort of mood I get sometimes, especially when I'm on night shifts. A sort of pronounced but not entirely unpleasant lethargy, which makes it hard to feel like I want to do anything. I am mostly fighting it.
Current music: Not much. Last thing I listened to was some Bowie, I think, but I don't quite remember what.
Current annoyance: Having fewer teeth than I'm supposed to. Still. Although it does seem to be healing up well. I found myself accidentally chewing on the side with the missing tooth a little today, and it was fine. I still worry constantly about it, though, which is annoying and probably unwarranted.
Current thing: The abovementioned state of lethargy seems to be mostly it this week.
Current desktop picture: Still the Twelfth Doctor. Who I am already preemptively missing.
Current book: Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson.
Current song in head: It's pretty quiet in my head right now, which is a blissful relief after having the same damn song stuck in my head for at least the last two weeks. (I will not name it for fear of summoning it back.)
Current refreshment: Mint tea.
Current DVD in player: Disk 3 of season 5 of Sons of Anarchy, which I am still making my way through at a pretty good clip. It's a show with a lot of flaws, some of which seem like they should bother me probably more than they do. (I mean, so many women in refrigerators. So many.) But I keep finding it compelling, anyway. I think it's all the Shakespearean scheming. I'm a sucker for some good Shakespearean scheming, apparently. And perhaps especially from the kind of people you wouldn't necessarily expect to see that sort of thing from. Like, y'know, bikers. Plus, the cast is fantastic.
Current happy thing: Um... I got paid overtime for having to labor on Labor Day? And my tooth hole really does seem to be healing up well. And my current state of mental apathy is actually making it pleasantly difficult to feel anxious about any of the stupid things I usually find to feel anxious about. So that's all good, I guess.
Current thought: I don't care how much I just want to sprawl on the sofa and binge-watch violent TV shows, I have things I need to do before work tonight, and I am going to get up and do them. After I post this. And finish my tea.
Current mood: It's an odd sort of mood I get sometimes, especially when I'm on night shifts. A sort of pronounced but not entirely unpleasant lethargy, which makes it hard to feel like I want to do anything. I am mostly fighting it.
Current music: Not much. Last thing I listened to was some Bowie, I think, but I don't quite remember what.
Current annoyance: Having fewer teeth than I'm supposed to. Still. Although it does seem to be healing up well. I found myself accidentally chewing on the side with the missing tooth a little today, and it was fine. I still worry constantly about it, though, which is annoying and probably unwarranted.
Current thing: The abovementioned state of lethargy seems to be mostly it this week.
Current desktop picture: Still the Twelfth Doctor. Who I am already preemptively missing.
Current book: Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson.
Current song in head: It's pretty quiet in my head right now, which is a blissful relief after having the same damn song stuck in my head for at least the last two weeks. (I will not name it for fear of summoning it back.)
Current refreshment: Mint tea.
Current DVD in player: Disk 3 of season 5 of Sons of Anarchy, which I am still making my way through at a pretty good clip. It's a show with a lot of flaws, some of which seem like they should bother me probably more than they do. (I mean, so many women in refrigerators. So many.) But I keep finding it compelling, anyway. I think it's all the Shakespearean scheming. I'm a sucker for some good Shakespearean scheming, apparently. And perhaps especially from the kind of people you wouldn't necessarily expect to see that sort of thing from. Like, y'know, bikers. Plus, the cast is fantastic.
Current happy thing: Um... I got paid overtime for having to labor on Labor Day? And my tooth hole really does seem to be healing up well. And my current state of mental apathy is actually making it pleasantly difficult to feel anxious about any of the stupid things I usually find to feel anxious about. So that's all good, I guess.
Current thought: I don't care how much I just want to sprawl on the sofa and binge-watch violent TV shows, I have things I need to do before work tonight, and I am going to get up and do them. After I post this. And finish my tea.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Well, It Looks Like The Dragon Spit The Sun Back Out, At Least.
So, how was the eclipse? I, uh... I slept through the entire thing, by virtue of getting off work at 8 AM and collapsing from exhaustion for five hours and change. Well, it was nowhere near totality here, and I have seen a partial eclipse before. Still. This probably comes under the heading of "you know you're getting old when..."
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