So I took the weekend to hang out in Winter Park. My folks have a place up there, so I occasionally come up here to hang out, mountain bike, hike, snowshoe, etc.
Some of the other owners were up here with their daughter, Amy, and son in law, Tim. They invited me over for a pot roast dinner last night and ended up staying up late drinking and chatting with Amy, Tim and their friend. It is kind of interesting because Amy was always such a little kid and it wasn't until recently that I was able to get to know her.
In any case, I have so many memories from up here. Some of them are good and some of them are bad. The last memory I have from up here is actually pretty bad, so I'm glad that I'm smoothing over that.
I went snowshoeing this morning and tonight I'll probably watch the Broncos game with the Amy et familia.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Occasional Quote:
The difference between journalism and literature is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read.
-Oscar Wilde
-Oscar Wilde
Second Sight
Tina sent me an email about what they are doing to restore sight in blind people. Amazing! I'm excerpting her email. Unfortunately, she didn't send the link, only the paragraphs she thought were important. (And I'm only giving you the one's I found important!)
Eye Chip For The Blind Likely In Next 10 Years
Advances in technology may enable scientists to develop an implantable eye "chip" to treat some types of blindness within the next 10 to 20 years, Johns Hopkins researchers said a Baltimore press conference on December 8. The briefing was spurred by recent media reports that musician Stevie Wonder was considering getting the "eye chip" to restore his sight. The researcher explained that the device works by stimulating a small area of the retina electrically by passing electric current into the eye, kind of like the way a pacemaker would stimulate the heart to beat. The brain then interprets that neural activity of the retina as vision, as light sensation.
There is significant proof of concept in the sense of patients being able to see at least in short periods of time things like letters and forms like boxes. We think that what we have to do now is solve the problem of putting it in the eye over a long period of time. Candidates for the chip include those with diseases of the retina, such as macular degeneration or retinal pigmentosa. This would include 2 million people in the US. To date, the longest a chip has been implanted in a patient is about 45 minutes to one hour. The obstacles to overcome include the development of heat and avoiding damage to the computer chip from salts in the eye fluids. Researchers know that on a temporary basis that they can stimulate the retina, but they don't know over a long period of time if the amount of energy that will be required or if they will be able to be tolerated in a patient's eye.
Eye Chip For The Blind Likely In Next 10 Years
Advances in technology may enable scientists to develop an implantable eye "chip" to treat some types of blindness within the next 10 to 20 years, Johns Hopkins researchers said a Baltimore press conference on December 8. The briefing was spurred by recent media reports that musician Stevie Wonder was considering getting the "eye chip" to restore his sight. The researcher explained that the device works by stimulating a small area of the retina electrically by passing electric current into the eye, kind of like the way a pacemaker would stimulate the heart to beat. The brain then interprets that neural activity of the retina as vision, as light sensation.
There is significant proof of concept in the sense of patients being able to see at least in short periods of time things like letters and forms like boxes. We think that what we have to do now is solve the problem of putting it in the eye over a long period of time. Candidates for the chip include those with diseases of the retina, such as macular degeneration or retinal pigmentosa. This would include 2 million people in the US. To date, the longest a chip has been implanted in a patient is about 45 minutes to one hour. The obstacles to overcome include the development of heat and avoiding damage to the computer chip from salts in the eye fluids. Researchers know that on a temporary basis that they can stimulate the retina, but they don't know over a long period of time if the amount of energy that will be required or if they will be able to be tolerated in a patient's eye.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Ritual Feeding
Every morning I have a ritual for feeding Sparky. I will vary from it occasionally, but he hates it when I do. So here it is...
First, I get out of bed and walk out of my bedroom. Sparky will immediately head to the kitchen. Instead of going directly into the kitchen, I go to the office to logon to the net. Sparky ALWAYS thinks I'm going directly to the kitchen and when I don't, he backtracks and waits with a bit of annoyance.
After I get my computer dialing*, I head to the kitchen. Sparky then runs quickly to the kitchen and circles around his food dish. When I catch up to him he meows once or twice to tell me that he's hungry. I pick up his dish, walk over to the fridge, get his wet food and continue to the sink.
It is at this point that Sparky is possessed or has another personality take over. Every morning at this very moment, he attacks my leg. He usually doesn't break the skin. He will either bat both sides of my leg with his paws or wrap his paws around my leg and take a little bite. I always ask "what possessed you to do that?" He never answers.
Now I make his breakfast. It is a very precise thing for him. He needs to have a tablespoon of food and about an ounce of water mixed together. He likes to have the gravy diluted, you see. I walk the food over to his eating area and he stands on his hind legs to try to get a bite in early.
Once I've set the food down, Sparky's ritual begins. Standing up, he smells the food, then backs up and approaches it from another angle to smell it again. If he likes the smell, he will taste it. If he likes the taste, he will slowly sit down and then, in the tradition of the Roman feast, pig out.
There are times that he doesn't like the food. Instead of sitting down, he will walk away from it and sit at the doorway to the kitchen.
He will then look at me and with his eyes say "I, your god, am displeased with the offering you have given me. You have not followed the ritual to the letter and have given me an offering which is unacceptable. You have no standing with me. Go away." I think this is his high and mighty way of saying he wanted Chicken flavor instead of Fish, but that is just my guess.
*Yes, I have dial up at home. Yes, I know I'm a cheapskate.
Happy Birthday Horatio
Alger, not Hornblower. Horatio Alger wrote rags to riches stories in the late 1800s. His characters were always hard working, ambitious, and gumption. His works are true American classics.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Australian Toilets
No this isn't a post about the direction of the swirl when your down under. WitNit recently visited Australia and apparently they have a common sense answer to conserving water with out entirely reducing the effectiveness of a toilet's flush.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
NoodlePress/GeekFood roundup
I refer to NoodleFood, Diana Hseih's blog, often enough for me to officially recommend it to my three readers. Her husband, Paul, has an interesting blog called GeekPress. I like both of their blogs because they have great senses of humor, they post often, and the posts are often though provoking.
So, to avoid over-referring to the NoodlePress (or GeekFood, if you prefer) duo of blogs, I'll just point out several posts I like.
Diana's series of posts on her break with TOC is very interesting.
Paul's recent post of a Joss Whedon article.
Aristotle in Verse is well worth reading.
The strange "I am a God Warrior" video post.
Diana's post on how to blog.
Paul's post on a food experiment.
Silly Puddy.
Sudoku's math.
In short, check out their blogs for some interesting, um, well, noodle food.
So, to avoid over-referring to the NoodlePress (or GeekFood, if you prefer) duo of blogs, I'll just point out several posts I like.
Diana's series of posts on her break with TOC is very interesting.
Paul's recent post of a Joss Whedon article.
Aristotle in Verse is well worth reading.
The strange "I am a God Warrior" video post.
Diana's post on how to blog.
Paul's post on a food experiment.
Silly Puddy.
Sudoku's math.
In short, check out their blogs for some interesting, um, well, noodle food.
Dee's Last First
I've written about Dee Caffari before. She is the woman who is sailing alone around the world the wrong way. This is the first time a woman has performed this feat and according to this article, this is the last "first time" for maritime challenges.
I love that we live in an age when I read about her exploits on a daily basis. She keeps a diary of her journey that you can read as it is happening. Imagine if Columbus or Magellan or Cook had kept a blog that their sponsors could read daily.
I love that we live in an age when I read about her exploits on a daily basis. She keeps a diary of her journey that you can read as it is happening. Imagine if Columbus or Magellan or Cook had kept a blog that their sponsors could read daily.
Smelling the Crazy
A year or so ago, I heard this expression from Martin, an aquaintance. He said "you can just smell the crazy on that guy." I laughed my ass of when I heard that. Imagine how nuts you have to be to have other people smell it on you!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
WitNit's Witty Signs
Check out his post "Signs of the Times". My favorite sign was on a door in an industrial area. It said "Mother Truckers: Association of Women Truck Drivers".
Monday, January 09, 2006
A man in a woman's world
I went to a real estate investor's fix and flip group tonight. The catch was it was technically a women's business group. They say the memebership is open to all women and the men who love them. The "women power" thing was a little overboard for my manly taste, but the basic premise was good--bring people together to get them out and investing in real estate.
All in all, I had a good time. I learned a few little financing tidbits; I met a few people with some real estate investment leads; and I got to flex my flirting muscles. (I am shameless, I suppose, but what am I supposed to do in a room composed of 90% women.)
All in all, I had a good time. I learned a few little financing tidbits; I met a few people with some real estate investment leads; and I got to flex my flirting muscles. (I am shameless, I suppose, but what am I supposed to do in a room composed of 90% women.)
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Blues Name
At the most recent Blues Jam session at Swallow Hill, one of the guys sang an original song called "Blues Name". Ironically, his name was something like Lemony Snicket or Lemon Merangue Pie. Anyhow, it got me to thinking about my blues name. If you're going to play blues and really make it hot you have to have a good name to go along with it. Think about it: John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Leadbelly, Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Thorogood.
So the general rule for coming up with a good blues name is Gerund, Boring First Name, President's Name.
Let me 'splain that for ya. If you remember any grammar, you know that a gernund is a verbal noun. (ie "Running is good for you." Where running is the noun of the sentence.) So the first part of your name is a gerund. Running, Sliding, Smoking, Choking, etc. It is always advisable to drop the "g" and add an apostrophe. It just looks better!
The second name, is any boring common name. It CANNOT be one of these messed up new '90s names. There is a caveat. You can have an unusual first blues name, like Joaquin; however, instead of the standard last name, you have to choose a boring last name, like Smith, Jones, etc.
The last name is any president's last name. You got it... Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson...Cleveland...Kennedy...Clinton. I would recommend staying away from Bush. It is only one syllable, he is currently in office, and well, frankly there is too much baggage that goes along with the name.
So I came up with two using this method: Rollin' Joe Adams and Smokin' Roy Madison.
There are a couple of sites that will help you come up with a blues name. These sites came up with: Slim Sigmund Brown, Boney Bones Parker and Drooping Gums Truman, Respectively.
I haven't chosen my blues name, yet. But as my playing improves, I'm going to give it some serious thought!
So the general rule for coming up with a good blues name is Gerund, Boring First Name, President's Name.
Let me 'splain that for ya. If you remember any grammar, you know that a gernund is a verbal noun. (ie "Running is good for you." Where running is the noun of the sentence.) So the first part of your name is a gerund. Running, Sliding, Smoking, Choking, etc. It is always advisable to drop the "g" and add an apostrophe. It just looks better!
The second name, is any boring common name. It CANNOT be one of these messed up new '90s names. There is a caveat. You can have an unusual first blues name, like Joaquin; however, instead of the standard last name, you have to choose a boring last name, like Smith, Jones, etc.
The last name is any president's last name. You got it... Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson...Cleveland...Kennedy...Clinton. I would recommend staying away from Bush. It is only one syllable, he is currently in office, and well, frankly there is too much baggage that goes along with the name.
So I came up with two using this method: Rollin' Joe Adams and Smokin' Roy Madison.
There are a couple of sites that will help you come up with a blues name. These sites came up with: Slim Sigmund Brown, Boney Bones Parker and Drooping Gums Truman, Respectively.
I haven't chosen my blues name, yet. But as my playing improves, I'm going to give it some serious thought!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Bagpipes
It is interesting that people develop shorthand in their relationships. I was playing a game called "catch phrase" which required one person to make the others guess a word or phrase without saying the word. My friend said to his wife "it is the sound Minerva hates." And his wife said "bagpipes."
I know someone I can say "Two Waffles Please" and she will instantly understand I mean "English White Trash". I can say to my dad that "Sammy Davis died" and he will know that I haven't been watching the news.
This isn't the essence of a relationship, but it is important. It shows a visibility between the two people. It is an ability to communicate and to know that you are on the same page.
I know someone I can say "Two Waffles Please" and she will instantly understand I mean "English White Trash". I can say to my dad that "Sammy Davis died" and he will know that I haven't been watching the news.
This isn't the essence of a relationship, but it is important. It shows a visibility between the two people. It is an ability to communicate and to know that you are on the same page.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Boots
The Jason, he has purchased the kickers of the s**t. He hopes the Manolo would think they are super fantastic. And if this is not possible, the Jason hopes the Manolo would believe these are the step up from the nasty old worker shoe the Jason once had.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)