古崇賢的学报

You, yes YOU! Go vote. :-)

Hey, vvalkyri: this post made me think of you.

Authors


The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors (poets/playwrights included) who've influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

Arthur C Clarke
Ursula K Le Guin
James Morrow
Madeleine L'Engle
Isaac Asimov
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Pablo Neruda
Gabriel García Márquez
Margaret Atwood
Neal Stephenson
Jules Verne
Edward Gorey
Stephen Sondheim
Samuel Allen (aka Paul Vesey)
Harry Tutrledove

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He passed on the 15th in New York City. May his way be easy now.

So: onion, carrot, celery, potato, mushroom, red beans, garbanzo beans, garlic, salt, tomato and water. Should be good, no?

ebonypearl wrote a piece that i think each and every one of yall should read.


Hat tip to recalcitranttoy and vvalkyri.

Painting whisperers: McGill University scientists develop photoacoustic technique for art restoration.

My mother keeps speaking of not being long for this world, or of hoping not to be long for this world, while expressing concern about the direction of the world and concern about me, my sister, and the grandkids.

Mom's 61 -- birthday in December -- in generally good health, should exercise more (would it kill her to upstairs once a day to get the mail and newspaper). Her mom died at 64, and her mom at 82. Mom's dad died at 83, and his mom at 85, his dad at 65ish.

I'm not upset by the idea of my mom dying. She has my blessing to pass as she sees fit -- it's her life after all. I like having her around, if a bit less so since Fox News and Glenn Beck, but the cycle of life dictates that she, as all of us, shall pass beyond at some point.

I left my house at 9:15. Forty minutes later, i'd traveled 4 miles. There was MUCH rain this morning -- many road closures. End result, 1h45min to get from Reston to Arlington after all the reroutes and a brief stop at Rite-Aid. Weee! Hopefully going home tonight will be easier.

When i sleep, i have dreams and Dreams. The former are forgotten usually, while the latter stay with me for decades, and are often prophetic. So, Wednesday when i woke up, i recalled a d/Dream. It seems like dream rather than Dream, but input/interpretation welcome. So:

It's late morning, and i'm walking South on a street, then turn Westward down an E-W street in NW DC, somewhere E of 7th St NW, and happen to run into a Norse scholar with whom i am acquainted. She is loaded down with many a shopping bag from various stores. I greet her and we walk together, turning North up 7th St NW after crossing to the West side of the street, and we walk for some time up past where 7th St NW becomes Georgia Ave NW. As we're walking, we walk through an archway over the sidewalk, and for the next longish block we are walking through a bank lobby done up in blue, but with a sidewalk running through the street side of it. I commented on how i didn't remember the establishment. JS shrugged in reply, and then i awoke. Or at least it seems i immediately awoke at that point.

So, a person whom i know, a setting that i know if with a with a surreal element. I know that she and i were chatting along the walk, but it was presented in vignettes, so bits were implied, but remembered in the dream context. I do know our final destination was a restaurant further up Georgia somewhere, maybe up by Piney Branch Rd.


Comments, Questions, Concerns?

Hypothesis: Tacos and Fudge = Toccata and Fugue.


Discuss.

Girlfriend asks the hard questions. Posted in the order i answered them, so not in numerical order.

2. If you were cast to act in a play, what part would you like to play? [In this magical question, you have your own age and whatever looks and skills you need for the part].

Enjolras in Les Misérableswould be fun, especially in the French version, as it has better lyrics. Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music would be fun too. Georges/George in Sunday in the Park with George would be nice. Many others would be great fun too, but those three immediately pop to mind.

3. What mental trick or system do you use for remembering the geographical details of (seemingly) every place that you have ever lived?

Lifelong habit, love of the land, lots of time out of doors, and a deep caring about what the roads/paths are and where they go.

4. What does your metadata contain?

I'm not at all certain how to go about answering this. I know what metadata is, but, i'm still at a loss. Anyone?

ETA: In comments, dpolicar said,

So, I guess I would unpack that question as "What ought one know in order to sensibly interact with you?"

Or perhaps "What cues, accurate or otherwise, do you provide about your contents?"

to which i replied:

My brain was wanting to go that way, so i'll try -- that's exactly the kind of open-ended question i'm not good at, as it's requesting data that i do not by default discuss, unless asked a specific question. I'll edit a fuller response into the entry.

So, here goes.

As i said, i do not by default, talk much about myself, unless asked directly. I have a deep-seated worry that everyone hates me, though i know quite well that's not true. I like direct communications, as i tend to completely miss subtly, though not as completely as when i was younger. It's okay to tell me to stop/shut up when i'm going on and on -- don't allow me too much sugar nor alcohol. Too much of one or the other, and, as a dear friend puts it i'll "have enough conversation for everybody". My interests are varied.

If i'm in a group, and being quiet, it is appropriate to come up and talk to me -- i'm much shier than most people perceive me. I'm loyal, and value my friendships deeply. I alway assume the best in people until they prove me wrong. I revisit opinions and reform them over time.

I sometimes don't see the trees for the forest. I like a high level of organization, and am in a better mood when i create and maintain that; the more mess around me, the worse my mood and the lower my motivation to correct that. I need help with that -- even if it's just someone present to talk with, and provide mild assistance as needed.

I'm bad at asking for help, if much better at it than in years past. Ask me if i'm floundering or if you might help if it seems to you i need it.

I will always do the best i can with the information i have available. It does not always occur to me that information is lacking if it is not really obvious.

I am truthful, and expect others to be so, too.

During the background investigation for my job at Customs and Border Protection, i got a bunch of phone calls along the lines of The investigator asked me n, and i had to say that i didn't know, because you never talk about that. I've known you for decades, why don't i know that?. Always, the answer was, You never asked. That relates to the I generally do not talk about myself. I'm good at telling people enough that they have a clue, but in the end, don't always know everything, as i don't see them as needing to know, though i'll often tell if asked, within reason and need-to-know, if that makes sense.

Relatedly, i always tell people to feel free to ask me anything, but the heavens help you, as sometimes you may get a core dump, and it surprises me what questions will trigger that.

As someone who dosen't really talk about himself, i was surprised to notice the number of deep-sharing personal essays i've posted here -- there's a Personal Essays tag for those entries.

I drive tomhundleyrn a bit batty sometimes. I don't try to, it just happens. Um, i think that's all.



5. What is your current favorite recipe?

This is hard. I've been leaning Chinese in my cooking, aiming successfully for high wok hai/savory/umami in flavor, for the most part. I've made a lot of Espinacas a la Catalana (Catalan Spinach) of late -- as a side dish, or as a bed for eggs or other things. I turned out a lovely gazpacho the other day. I've made a ton of savory pasta dishes of late, too. So, in summary, i'm not quite sure.

1. What would your ideal workday consist of if you had a job that used all your talents and abilities in ways that were fulfilling to you?

*Thinks back through many years of working*

Hmmm... I like jobs that require problem-solving. Customer/client interaction is a plus -- i really, really like having people thank me for explaining why they may not have something and/or for telling them no in polite, flowery language. I genuinely enjoy helping people. I like working in environments that are team-based, but allow a lot of personal leeway in accomplishing tasks, with open communications and flow of information. Not that everyone need know everything, but there should be no secrets that make people fearful/uncertain, and all should have the information they need to accomplish their task completely in a supportive, cooperative environment.

Supervising people is fun -- the team building, the mutual support, the setting up of systems to aid the flow of information in both directions, the mentoring to help people grow and advance, the putting out of fires, the balancing of the needs those under me with those above me, and inspiring those under me to achieve what is needed both for those over me and for those under me to flourish.

Data analysis is nice, too -- finding the trends, surprises, or what; breaking the data down in different ways to see what may surface.

So, specific task less important to me than environment, ability to grow, and ability to move up.

My phone,




locked and in my pocket right front pant pocket with keys and hankies, somehow unlocked, managed to scroll through the contacts and call madbodger at home. Wacky. So, if weird voicemail, there's an explanation.

Finally about to move! :-))

So, as it turns out, 2 hours was NOT enough time to get from Reston to 400 Eye St SW. Looks like i'll be 15 or so late. Yay traffic and Metro :L

Cashews and Dr. Pepper -- breakfast of the sleep-deprived :-)

Following up on my earlier clodless post, there were some scattered clouds to the South - in Fairfax and South it seemed. Also, some vapor trails along the river made some clouds to the North. But still cloUdless here in Reston. And still a loverly day, and happily clodless as well as cloudless.

In her words:

1993 Saturn SL1 4dr standard transmission blue body is in great condition clear coat is peeling around front of hood and front lights.

Odometer stopped working in Aug of 2007 at 119,000 I estimate from my inspection slips there is around 134,000 miles on the car.

It will need a tire rotation and the front left wheel boot (I'm no mechanic) looked at. Again I,m no mechanic the first gear is worn and when you start the car or idle it shakes (been doing this for a long time I sit in neutral) but once you go its fine.

I have had a new exhaust system put on(5 yrs) and a new fuel pump (3years)and new struts(6yrs). The car also eats oil, no drippage, but you have to add oil between oil changes. It still gets great highway mileage. If I can answer any other questions let me know. I could probably get a picture to you if you need it.

---

Me again:

The car is in Lake Ridge, VA, and i can arrange for you to look at it or test drive it if desired. She's looking for $5-600 ideally, but is negotiable.

The procedure to break up the staghorn kidney stone went well. She's in a bit of pain, but is doing as expected. She has another x-ray on the 20th, and back to urologist on the 22nd. She may have to have this procedure again before he's willing to go invasive. Thank you all for your thoughts/prayers.

Glenn Beck Bingo over at Slacktivist. It opens

So I've been asked to comment on the "Principles and Values" of television host Glenn Beck's "912 Project." OK.

Beck's "principles" are horrifically unprincipled, which is to say that they were created backwards. These are not the principles from which his political agenda emerges, these are post-facto rationalizations used to bolster a predetermined (but variable) political agenda. That accounts, I think, for the confusion and incoherence of these so-called principles. ...