古崇賢的学报

Well, a nice day at the Ballpark, and smoothies, with joehz. Brought over some cat stuff and vacuum and some car stuff. And a clock.

Came home and saw a house with Sonal and Shawn, with whom i live.

A long day with not enough sleep -- ordered food from Dominos. The Dominos Mediterranean Veggie sandwich is FAR superior to Wegmans' veggie sub, and the bread is as good as Wegmans.

Just after Dominos got here, and i'd eaten my sandwich, I heard the cats being noisy upstairs, and not in a good way. As i stood up to interrupt, Feldspar ran downstairs puffed. Went upstairs and found Lightning looking alright and pleased at having chased off the interloper. Sonal and Shawn got home to blood everywhere -- kitchen floor, wall, carpet near kitchen, and a bloody tail on Lightning, none of which was visible nor feelable when i went to check on her. No blood on Feldspar's claws nor mouth, but she obviously got in a good graze there. Come Hell or high water, Feldsy's claws are getting a major clipping. SIgh. Discovered that a Feldspar scratchpad i'd brought from Joe and Janet's was the source of dispute. Brought it downstairs and put it in my room. My goodness are female cats territorial and possessive in a way i'd not grokked before tonight. Wow!

What's your favorite XKCD between number 1 and 999?

Go forth and read.

I currently have 3 versions of Chrome installed on Mac OS X 10.7.4:
Version 21.0.1180.89 -- the current stable version per Google
Version 23.0.1255.0 dev -- current beta release
Version 23.0.1270.0 canary -- the bleeding edge not-guaranteed-to-be-stable versin per Google

I cannot see Facebook statuses in Stable or Dev.
I CAN see facebook statuses in Canary. WTF
I'm signed into all three instances with the same Google profile.
And i'm using Canary now; it's much faster than the other two versions.

Upcoming: Either Crystal City or Alexandria to Mount Vernon -- gentle terrain along the Potomac. This one is an urban/suburban, as upposed to wilderness, walk.

Past:
On the 4th, My friend Katie, my nephew JT and i did 12 or so miles on the Occoquan Bull Run Trail from Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville, VA to Bull Run Marina in Clifton, VA.

We met at the parking lot on Old Yates Ford Rd, across from Kinchloe Rd, and near the Bull Run Marina, drove to Bull Run Park, and set out from the upstream Mile 0. A lovely and scenic walk along Bull Run. Mile 4ish we came across an artillery embankment from some combination of the Battle of Centreville, or First or Second Bull Run/Manassas. That was rather cool. Not that it takes tons to come across Civil War stuff around here, but i'd never seen an artillery embankment from that war before.

Me walked on, crossing under Ordway Rd and then VA 28, from which we could see Yorkshire Antiques and the other businesses along 28 in Prince William County, which is on the South side of Bull Run -- we were walking the North side in Fairfax County. We walked under then along for a bit the rail line that runs through Burke, Clifton, Manassas, Gainesville, etc.

Near Mile 7 we came across an ... old mill? maybe. We sat for a bit and enjoyed the scenery. At about the mile 7.5 point, we reached Hemlock Overlook, where an uphill walk up the Bull Run Trail got us to picnic tables and bathrooms. We scrubbed our hands and lower arms, and ate. We decided we were done there to. Katie and i had hit the emotional reset we get from hiking, but it was yet 5 miles to the car. So, on we went.

We we learned: Bull Run Regional Park to Hemlock Overlook is a great hike. Hemlock Overlook to Bull Run Marina is a lovely hike. Together, they're just a bit much for each of us at this pont.

I posted a thing over on Facebook -- it's public, but you may need an account.

In the threads on that post of a letter from a Philadelphia City Countilmember censuring Don Cathy, a friend of many years said Ok. My turn. Please let it be known that I am in NO WAY homophobic or other such nonsense, but I DO believe that a private company should be allowed to conduct business however it sees fit. This grandstanding is getting ridiculous, IMHO. Again. key word here: Private. Meaning they can do what they please and believe what they please and pass those beliefs onto their employees. If there was a national food chain that professed the opposite of CFA's beliefs, I would not have an issue with it. I don't quite understand the whole outrage thing. Maybe it is just me.

I replied in a series of comments:
Don Cathy, and CFA, have come to represent the old ways in the negative, rather like the Dixiecrats and Massive Resistance during the dying throes of Jim Crow and a bit past the death of Jim Crow (at least til the current round of voter ID laws have revived ol' Jim).

As to the outrage. I've been utterly dumbfounded by the complete acceptance of my European friends and the TOTAL non issue my partner preference is. The outrage stems from needing to fight against people like Cathy and CFA funding hate organizations (according to SPLC -- the Southern Poverty Law Center). The outrage comes from knowing that people like Cathy, NOM, some churches (LDS and Roman Catholic, among others), and organizations/funds/POCs they support looking to recriminalize people like myself, to prevent us from having equal rights, from being able to openly live as we are, just as anyone else.


Frank Kammeny once came and yelled at a bunch of 20-something queer folk, telling us we didn't know what it was like for his generation -- the secrecy, the shame. But, we of GenX DO know. We're old enough to remember how it was, to have watched it changing, but not trusting it, only in the last decade to fully embrace the now that is not the then of our youth. We will NOT tolerate people like Don Cathy working to put things back as they were.

All that said, that was not aimed at you personally, [Redacted], i know you well enough to know that _you_, among others whom i know, are not part of that problem. But, that is where the outrage rises from.

‎(That got me a bit more worked up than i'd realized.)

Big social change is always hard, and in the US, it always seems to flow down the more difficult path, alas.

As most of you know, VERY severe storms hit the Washington, DC region on Friday, 29 June 2012.

from the National Park Service:

Park Closures after Recent Severe Weather and Electricity/Water Outages

Turkey Run Park, Potomac Heritage Trail, Ft. Marcy, and Great Falls Park are closed on July 3, 2012 until further notice. Please use caution when using park trails or driving throughout the GWMP. We appreciate your patience as we repair the damage.

Due to this, the hike i was going to lead along the Potomac Heritage Trail on Saturday the 7th is postponed until the 1st or 2nd Saturday in August.

See page 91 of this pdf for full details.

New Recommended Names:

McLean
Tysons Corner
Greensboro Park
Spring Hill
Wiehle–Reston East
Reston Town Center
Herndon
Innovation

I'm not thrilled with Wiehle-Reston East, as Hunter Mill Rd is Reston East, but whatever.

http://dcseain.livejournal.com/tag/death%20%26%20dying are the now 20 entries thus far tagged with Death & Dying.

This past fall, i led a small seminar that evolved into a discussion of memorial rituals for the deceased.

First, I'm old enough to have attended funerals of family, friends, friends' siblings, family, and the odd work obligation attendance. I'm old enough to have unintentionally missed the funeral of friend of mine. I'm sorry to have missed it, but this it was, and thus it shall be, and i'm okay with that. I carry him in the light, and believe he knows that and meant no disrespect.

Second, I want to say that i believe strongly that funerals are for the living. They're about the dead, but they are for the living. We carry on though they have stopped. Mourning is appropriate and necessary -- i'm a huge fan of the Jewish tradition of sitting shiva. You get a whole week to reassemble yourself enough to keep going without the pressure of seeing yourself or needing to do much other than what you want/need. I wish this practice were more prevalent in our culture. At any rate, someone passing ought not cause one to forget that one is still here, and need must carry on.

Third, i want to say that "about the dead" means that the ritual of funeral is about remembering the departed -- deceased if you'd rather, yet still for those of us yet living. The same type of memorial does not suit every deceased person/living person combination who may be present and/or who had a relationship with the departed.

If one attends a funeral out of other than necessity, one does it in support of the living and their/your memories of the deceased. The living need your support. The dead should be acknowledged in a way appropriate to your relationship to them, and in a way that lets the deceased know that they will be remembered and may/should move to the beyond, then focus again on the living and carry on.

Fourth, some examples:

One friend, who shall remain nameless, had a fraught -- at best -- relationship with one set of her grandparents. After the grandmother died, friend was the one tasked with disposing of their ashes, which she unceremoniously and with anger dumped in location i shall not even bother to specify, far from where the grandparents wanted their remains, in an element that i'm sure likely displeased them, but that carried their remains and spirits such that remained far away from her, her mother, and all of us. That was right and fitting. There was no love lost, and no love went into the funeral such as it was.

My father had an Air Force funeral and was interred, 21 guns and all. Fifteen-year-old me sat their hearing the guns wondering what the students at the nearby high school thought each time they heard that. Funerals are funny that way -- you never know how your brain wil react to anything. Roll with it -- it's all good. Cry, laugh, cry from laughing, dance, sing, wail, do whatever feels right to you. Mourn as you will.

Eventually, likely sooner rather than later if she has her way, my mother shall be interred next to him. Mom's parents were cremated and will be dumped in a beloved body of water that is significant to all of us, that they may swim with the fishes (their words not mine, though apropos).

I want to be cremated, and wish my ashes sprinkled in the Fairfax Cemetery -- the one by the courthouse in Fairfax, VA. My sister and her husband plan to be cremated; i should talk to them about what they want done with the ashes, deferring to my nephews as appropriate at the time.

Another nameless friend's father died some years ago. A Quaker (Friends) memorial service was held for him, as was fitting for him and his family and friends. A part of his family no longer talks to the family here because he was cremated and that is WRONG from their religious point of view, but c'est la vie. He was well-remembered, each got to have their say, it was solemn and respectful and among the most pleasant and lovely of all memorial services i have ever attended.



Fifth, last, and possible most important, it hurts when someone dies. Often hurts a lot. With time, the hurt gets less poignant, less stinging, less frequent, but it never goes away. It returns when you least expect it, blindsiding you, and there is but to embrace the memory/emotion, riding the wave and carrying on best you can til it passes. That may mean you need to take a break -- get some tea or coffe, go for a walk, find a quiet place and cry for a while, what ever. But take a break and own the emotion when it comes.

2012 makes 26 years since my father died. Writing a comment on Facebook left me all verklempt for a few, then i was laughing because my spellchecker knows not verklempt. I should bother to teach it. Heh.

Came across this article about Mitt Romney contributing to the LDS over on Google+, resulting in this thread, names redacted for privacy:

DM - I don't care about his religion.... Anybody that votes for Beyond #RINO #Romney deserves to get stuck with #Obamacare
#Gingrich = #Romney = #obama = "water boys" aka trusted, preferred lackey candidates of the #corrupt #incumbent #rulingclass #elite
11:12 PM (edited) +1

dcseain - He's required to tithe as a member of the church, and he's free to contribute to any denomination/faith as he sees fit.
11:14 PM - Edit

js - I don't believe that a tax deduction should be allowed for donations to a church.
11:18 PM

SL - Or donations to religious cults.. ;_)
11:19 PM

dcseain - Churches are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3), and so donations to them are tax deductible, as are contributions to any other non-profit entity.
11:20 PM - Edit

js - +dcseain I know they are, but when the government allows a tax deduction they are in essence sponsoring religion.
11:22 PM

dcseain - They are not promoting one over another, nor discriminating against one over another, therefore, not sponsoring a state religion, which is the prohibition enshrined in the Constitution.
11:23 PM - Edit

DM - Does anyone know how the Founding Fathers handled the taxation of churches and church contributions?
11:25 PM

js - +dcseain If you are an atheist like me you do not have the ability to use this deduction. It promotes religion even though it doesn't promote a specific religion.
11:25 PM

dcseain - Ethical Societies, which are atheist churches under the law, are tax exempt. Many Unitarian Universalist congregations -- also tax exempt -- are home to lots of atheists, at least that was my experience in my years affiliated with the UUs. I know more than a few atheists who attend unprogrammed Friends [Quaker] Meetings too.

Not every atheist wants to belong to an organized, tax-exempt group. It as also true that not every theist chooses to affiliate with a religious group of their particular flavor.

Here in Virginia, where i live, not only are churches not taxable, but their property may not be taken by condemnation proceedings, as the constitution here says that is the state illegally interfering with church.

That all said, +js, i very much do not have the issue that you do regarding the tax status of religious organizations.

I learned just now that badgerthorazine, aka Alice E Washburn, died today. I will miss her. I knew her through the Northeastern US Sci-Fi convention circuit. We first met at ... either an I-CON or an Arisia i believe. I'm glad that she did not have to suffer terribly long at the end as things go in our culture. Peace to you, my dear.

An interesting, detailed and well-cited article about terraforming Mars over at io9.com that is well worth the read.

rolanni wrote a very good post about book selling -- bookstore vs Amazon, that i think you should read.

Had some in the fridge this AM. So i:

Minced an onion, a couple carrots, and some celery.
Put them in a pan and sauteed until onion was almost translucent, then lowered the heat and sweated the mirepoix to umamiful perfection, then added one can of good tuna, well drained, and a healthy amount of dried chervil, stirring to combine, then stirring now and again until the tuna was darkened some. Oh, added a chopped green onion with the tuna and chervil, reserving some of the chopped green part.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a large bowl, and added the stuff in the pan, stirring well to combine thoroughly. Put a fresh pan on the stove, heated it on med-high, added oil, and fried the potato-bound patties to crispy perfection, placing them on a plate and topping with the reserved green parts of green onion and some sriricha.

A wondrous breakfast that would have been just as wonderful without the tuna.

On Facebook, there is a very fascinating thread about TJHSST. It is a discussion among mostly alumni, some former faculty members, and one current guidance counselor. It's an open group, so if you have a Facebook account, you can read it. I strongly recommend it if you have an interest in public education in general, or TJHSST/STEM* Schools specifically.

---

*STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Following up this post about the Potomac Heritage Trail from the American Legion Bridge to Roosevelt Island, My friend K and my nephew J and i are going to go it again!

So, 8 or 15 July 2012 for another 10-mile hike along the Potomac Heritage Trail from the American Legion Bridge to Roosevelt Island. Meeting up and starting early, with a snack at the 1/3 point and a picnic at the 2/3 point. Actual times TBA. Who might be in? I know me and K and J and my friend LM and likely 2 of her kids are in, as well as my friend B.

I recommend that all hikers be 10ish or older due to rough terrain in spots.
Hike is open to all. Coordinating cars will be necessary, as we need vehicles at end to take us back to cars at start, and enough space to shuttle everyone both directions.

Leisurely pace as needed by those present. 1st break will be at Turkey Run Park, 2nd one, the picnic, will be a bit downstream from Chain Bridge. Several of the attendees are vegetarian, so expect to mostly pack in your own stuff, share as appropriate, and pack out what we bring :)

seawasp made a an observational post on the current political situation in the US. I recommend it. (I also particularly liked this comment.)

metaphrastic \met-uh-FRAST-ik\, adjective:

Having the quality of a literary work that has been translated or changed from one form to another, as prose into verse.

A 5.9 The star on the map is the epicenter. Click the link and tell them about what you experienced in the quake.

That was by far the strongest quake i've experienced here by far. We had a 3.6 last July, that barely woke me and i thought was a very large truck. This one, the walls were moving, and a few things fell down/out of cupboards.

Went for a hike along the Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT), specifically the 10-mile segment along the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP)in Fairfax and Arlington Counties, Virgina, and the District of Columbia. I went with my friend Katherine and my nephew Jaden. tomhundleyrn was going to come, but he got in really late at night/early in the morning, and i could not rouse him any of the three times i tried. It turned out to be a good thing that he was not with us, about which more as we go along.

So, of the The Potomac Heritage Trail, we hiked the 10-mile portion from the Western trail head at the end of Live Oak Dr in Mclean, VA to the Eastern end at the parking lot for Roosevelt Island in Washington, DC. We waded in the Potomac, in Maryland at one point along the way. This bit of trail is maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. For reference, Chain Bridge is the approximate mid-point for our hike.

I picked up Jaden, hit Trader Joes for some drink and food, then met Katherine at her home in Arlington. From there, we drove in separate cars to Roosevelt Island, where i left mine, and we both got in her car, and we all went to Live Oak Dr and the trail head, which was clearly marked and easy to find. We got out of the car, applied insecticide and sunscreen, read the sign, which indicated 10 miles to Roosevelt Island, and Jaden led the way down the steep, long, winding, wooden staircase to the river. The time at start is about 1300 Eastern Daylight Time. (GMT-4)

The greenery was lush, as it is wont to be here in late August. The trail had light blue-to-slightly-greenish blazes, due to a lights blue having been painted over yellow. We walked along, through the pretty greenery, along the river for a ways. As we were going, i explained that there were toilets available at Turkey Run and probably Fort Marcy, and at the end, and we planned to stop at Turkey Run to eat.

( This got long, so... Turkey Run and paw-paws )

( Turkey Run to Fort Marcy )

( On to VA 123 and Chain Bridge )

We walk on, past several bridges, each time telling Jaden, no that's not Chain Bridge, that's just a Parkway bridge. Chain Bridge crosses the Potomac. We finally reach the parking area next to Chain Bridge, and i point up, announcing "Look up. THAT's Chain Bridge, and give a brief history of bridges on this site. Sign there said we have 4.7 miles to go. Four point seven miles that start with a big hill, and a series of such hills yet again, but breathtaking views of Chain Bridge and the Palisades along the way. The trail eventually put us on concrete under a Parkway bridge. I think this was where Spout Run Parway hits the GWMP. Surprisingly steep under the bridge. Katherine and i took it in 3 segments, with short pauses along the way. We got up there, and it was levelish for a while before more steep downs and ups. Time now is about 1800 EDT (GMT-4).

This bit of the hike was accompanied by nice views of Sibley Memorial Hospital and the building at the Dalecarlia Reservoir in DC.

( The home stretch ) In that last bit, we'd past a sign saying "Roosevelt Island 1.7 miles". As we went along, Jaden kept stating that we had to've gone that far. We kept countering that a mile is farther than he imagines, and this is harder than walking down a road. Heh.

We took Katherine back to her car, stopped at a 7-Eleven in Annandale and got more to drink, got carryout from Canton Cafe in Springfield, and ate it at Jaden's house a bit down 95 from there. Had thought of crashing at my sister's, but wanted my bed and some ibuprofen. :)

So, a long, long arduous hike. I'd like to do it again next July, knowing what we're getting into this time.

I also propose the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail for Saturday 10 September. I've done the the part from B to C on the map, which takes about 1.5 hours. I propose starting at A or B and going to D or E. Any takers? It's a MUCH easier trail than the PHT is. By far.

Originally posted by deathpixie at Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS

In the safest, most boring country, the worst lone gunman shooting happens. The worst in the world, in history. But it will not make our country worse. The safe, boring democracy will supply him with a defense lawyer as is his right. He will not get more than 21 years in prison as is the maximum extent of the law. Our democracy does not allow for enough punishment to satisfy my need for revenge, as is its intention. We will not become worse, we will be better. We lived in a land where this is possible, even easy. And we will keep living in a land where this is possible, even easy. We are open, we are free and we are together. We are vulnerable by choice. And we will keep on like that, that’s how we want to live. We will not be worse because of the worst. We must be good because of the best.

—Ola, a Norwegian on the Something Awful Forums

fritterfae wrote a lovely piece on gender non-conformity and sexual orientation. I think you should go read it.