Still Alive

Hi, everyone. Yes, I'm still alive and kicking. I've just not felt very interesting or talkative lately. I guess my hermit instincts are taking over again.

Work has been pretty good. The magazine came back on Friday from the printshop. It was the first time I've ever done a 4-color job and it looks pretty good. It really scared me so I'm happy others are happy with it.

I did a couple days' good work on our big budget spreadsheet getting ready for the fiscal year starting July 1. I had to add in a new unit which took a lot of time but I was able to eliminate several sections that had fallen into unuse. I cut out so much stuff the file size went from 5.2MB to 1.7MB! That should make my boss' budgeting more efficient.

Well, I better finish my tea and head off to the office. I have some database and design work to finish up this week before going on vacation next Wednesday.

Design Your Dream Room

I was surfing through my favorite channels the other day when I landed on Top Design on Bravo. I just caught the end of the show and realized it was like Project Runway but for interior designers. I thought I'd check it out so set my DVR to catch all the previous episodes so I could watch them in order. In the meantime I went to bravotv.com to see what it was about.

While there I discovered my new obsession: Design Your Dream Room. They call it a game but it's more like a coloring book where you can choose the paint, furniture and accessories for a living room. Over 20,000 rooms have been created so far. Bedrooms are coming soon. I can't wait.

Here are the rooms I've designed so far:
(click on the room number to go to bravotv.com and vote)


#16273: My first try. I like the combination of colors and the pattern on the vertical lamp.


#16360: This might be my favorite of the lot. I like the colors overall and the style and arrangement of furniture. I think I forgot to color the chandelier though.


#16661: I love the dark green walls and the light complimentary green on the furniture. It looks like there's spot lighting right in the middle of the room. That red pillow is awesome! I should've done something else with the windows though.


#19395: Joanna designed a room which made me aware I was under-using the patterns offered in the game so I challenged myself to do a room with no solid colors. Some of the patterns are quite odd but I like this result.


#19689: I'm not a huge fan of orange but this room looks pretty comfy. I like the pattern on the side walls.


#19702: I wanted to use the L-shaped couch so combined it with the TV on the wall. I couldn't find any chairs that really worked so I'm assuming whoever lives here will get extra seating from another room. I love how that pattern on the pillow makes it look like it's angled into the curve of the couch.


#19734: I wanted to use the greens but they're just making me a little ill looking at them. I don't really like the two chairs together as a sofa either. The pattern on the curtains works well. I wish I could go back and edit it.


#19759: I stole the sides of this room from someone else's design but I didn't think their combination of furniture and accessories worked very well so I thought I'd take a pass. I really like this result, especially the art on the back wall.


#20941: I started this room with the back wall of brick and wanted to make a cozy, basement-type room. It was a challenge to find the patterns that would go together. Do you like this one?

If you design a room, email me your result. I'd love to see your work.

BART Books: Among the Hidden, Imposters, Betrayed

Among the Hidden
Among the Impostors
Among the Betrayed
Margaret Peterson Haddix, 1998, 2001, 2002
first three in the Shadow Children series
author info at www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

These books were recommended to me by my nephew Zander who is a voracious reader and loves science fiction and fantasy. They are Young Adult books and are classified in my library under Junior High. Each one is about 150 pages in larger-than-normal font size. Get the whole set so you can go from one to the other. I read the first one almost completely through on my ride into work today.

I said almost. I only had a few pages to go which really really sucked because the author throws in a huge twist near the end that had me reeling. I couldn't believe that book was intended for young readers. I didn't expect to have that kind of emotional commitment for characters in a kids' book so was unprepared for my reaction. This author is not pulling punches in this series. There are serious issues at work so do not take them lightly. I've warned you.

Anyway, the books are great and I can't wait to read the rest. The main character is a boy who has lived his whole twelve years hiding away from the world because his parents decided to go ahead and have that illegal third child despite the Population Law against it. For many years, Luke was able to play and work outside with his two older brothers until the forest by their farm was cut down to make way for a new housing development. He was subsequently shut inside. However, he got so bored that, by careful observation, he discovered another shadow child living in one of the new homes. She changed his life.

Luke's story continues in the second book where he discovers more about the Government and some people who are trying to work against it. The next book follows the story of another third child, Nina, who is asked to betray other shadow children and has to find out for herself how far she will go to save herself and those she cares about.

I'm not going to tell you any more details because I'm afraid of ruining the stories for you. You'll have to read them yourself (or email me).

Favorite part: Luke's visits with his neighbor. She's such a great character.

Least favorite part: The end of the first book. I'm sure it was worse because I was reading it on BART and had to get off and finish it later.

Next BART Book: whatever I pick up at the library tomorrow

Previous BART Book: The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell

Books on the Shelf:
Wolf Brother, Michele Paver (recommended by my niece, Melia)

Books on Hold:
Among the Barons, Margaret Peterson Haddix
Among the Brave, Margaret Peterson Haddix
Among the Enemy, Margaret Peterson Haddix
Among the Free, Margaret Peterson Haddix
Spirit Walker, Michelle Paver
Soul Eater, Michelle Paver
For a Few Demons More, Kim Harrison

Hard to Ignore

I was sitting near the door of the BART train yesterday morning—just one stop away from the end of my trip—when the nastiest-smelling person came through the door across from me. She was dressed in long grey robe-like clothes and carelessly dropped several huge shopping bags which thudded down by the door. She grunted to the woman sitting beside the door to "Get out! Get out!" while gesticulating widely. The seated passenger slid over but still the newcomer continued her diatribe of rejection: "Get out!"

I concentrated hard on my book trying to avoid any kind of eye contact in case she might decide to give up on her chosen victim and come after the seat I was in. I wasn't so lucky.

She started gesturing and grunting in my direction but she really wasn't speaking very loudly—nor was she making any sudden moves my way—so I was able to sucessfully ignore her. The train soon began to slow and I was proud to get up out of my seat and quietly leave the train without having given in to the unreasonable demands of a crazy person.

By the Dozen

I'm not sure how Anne came up with the idea (maybe it was impulse shopping at Safeway) but she suggested we dye Easter eggs. It sounded like a fun crafty idea (and I had two dozen ancient eggs languishing in my fridge) so I said sure.

While reading the kit at home we agreed that we preferred the bright colors supplied by using vinegar along with water in the dye. However, there was no vinegar to be had in my house so we put off our project until we could make another trip to the store. I dropped Anne off at the library to try to check her email (that's another story) and ran into Safeway to pick up some vinegar. Of course, I had to buy two other dye kits: tie-dye and rainbow.


The colors of the dye tablets were misleading. The pink and purple couldn't have vinegar so we had to drop the tablets in the water first, then add the acid.


Our idea was to dye a base coat first. I loved the orange, green and yellow.


This is the tie-dye kit. I had to poke cloth through the holes, press the egg between the cloths, then add dye with a dropper. I gave up after one.


For the rainbow kit you don't use the tablet dyes, instead it has little pouches of liquid dye. You put an egg in the little bag and smush it around as you add the dye. Anne was very good at this method.


Here you can see the yellow egg I did with the tie-dye kit and a pinkish egg Anne did with the rainbow kit.


Now those are some beautiful eggs! Which one is your favorite?

More for the Kit

I got a few more things for my emergency kit at Target on Saturday. I just love the camping supplies aisle. I feel so ready to get out into nature.

• waterproof matches
• collapsible water basin (for washing dishes)
• bungee cords
• emergency blanket (that silvery kind)
• zipper blanket bag (nylon on one side; fleece on the other)

I need to figure out what I'm going to keep everything in. I think I'll get a backpack or comfortable shoulder bag and keep it in my car.

Walk in the Woods

Yesterday Anne and I went for a walk at a nearby park. I completely forgot sunscreen so I'm a bit pink today. It sure was a beautiful day though a bit warm. I think the highest temp I saw was 87º.


Postcard, anyone?


Look out, Anne! The trees are falling!


You can rent boats and kayaks to take out onto the lake. (photo by Anne)


We saw a lot of people fishing on the water and on land.


This guy had a successful day.


Don't these tables look inviting?

Be Prepared

preparedness: a state of readiness, esp. for war : the country maintained a high level of military preparedness

I like planning. I like being prepared for what might come my way. I'm also, along with many of my fellow Californians, in a state of denial about what kind of living situation I might find myself in when the Big One comes.

Yes, for us, preparedness mostly refers to earthquakes. I thought I'd take advantage of the expert shopping advice of my visiting sister to assist me in collecting items for my disaster kit. One I should have had prepared a long time ago but haven't been serious about until the 4.2 quake hit us a week ago. So yesterday I purchased the following items:

• a crank-powered radio
• light sticks (the kind you break and they give off a sickly green light)
• heavy duty trash bags
• work gloves
• can opener
• spork
• collapsible cups
• first aid kit
• antibiotic cream
• sunscreen
• spray bleach
• whistle (with a compass & thermometer)

I'll still need to pick up food items, water, a blanket (and probably other things I can't think of now). I already have a crank flashlight and a multitool thanks to Sal. I might want to put a book or two in my kit too as my own personal emergency items!

Music and Funny

TagFest: Movies

My sister Anne is in town for the weekend. She'll be working at the Hearth, Patio, Barbeque Association Expo trade show in Reno next week and was able to set up some meetings here in the Bay Area before heading up there so got a free weekend in sunny Cali.

The last time she was here we visited most of the tourist destinations she was interested in so we're just chillin' this time. Yesterday we went shopping and caught a movie: Music & Lyrics starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.

I hadn't heard any buzz about it but I'm always up for a nice romantic comedy. Both Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore are among my favorites so I was hoping it would be okay. It was way more than that; I loved it.

Hugh plays an 80s pop star who's been relegated to performing at class reunions and state fairs. He's offered the opportunity to write a song for the hottest young star on the planet but, though he's a decent composer, his lyrics are horrendous. When Drew comes over one day to water his plants, she's discovered muttering lyrics to his tune under her breath and is, eventually, persuaded to collaborate.

That description doesn't necesarily sound very funny but, believe me, her kookiness, his self-deprecation, and their interactions are spot-on delightful. Please go see it if you like either actor or romantic comedies in general, and especially if you grew up in the 80s and recognize the names Wham!, Flock of Seagulls and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The opening video itself will make it worth your while.

Tiny Faces of Fun

TagFest: Photoshop

Today my co-worker David came to me with an unusual personal request. He and a friend were working on a baby shower gift for his niece—a puzzle with pieces large enough to fit 1.5" diameter photos of the new baby's relatives. Some of the photos that David had were suitable but in others the faces were too large so he asked me help him re-size them so he could send them to his friend. At first I thought he needed me to scan the photos but luckily he had them all on a CD so I could just work electronically in Photoshop.

First, I had to determine at what size he would need to print out the photos at Walgreen's. We decided to do 4x6 prints at 256 dpi (that just happened to be what the first file was set at so we settled on that). I set each file to that resolution then gradually reduced the pixels until a 1.5" diameter circle fit snugly around the face. I then changed the canvas size to 4x6 which created a white border around the original photo. We burned them onto a new CD that he can take to get the prints to mail to his friend who's making the puzzle.

I sure hope they turned out okay. David told me he'd give me a photo of the final product.

Spring Ball

TagFest: Baseball

Ah, spring baseball. There's nothing like it. Today is the A's third game of the spring and the first radio broadcast so I'm listening to the game on the radio while reading.

I forgot about the game on Thursday but yesterday I was able to listen to most of it at work. The A's Extra Innings host, Robert Buan, does the play-by-play for the weekday webcasts on mlb.com. I really love listening to all the guests he has come by. Sometimes the radio broadcasters sit in for a few innings or the beat writers might drop by or the assistant GM. They don't have commercials so they can talk through the change of innings.

I'm lucky that my current officemate is a big A's fan as well. He not only doesn't mind me listening to the games, he wants me to increase the volume. After spring training, I think we'll have to have the radio in between us so it's not too loud in my ear while I'm trying to concentrate.

I just checked the KNBR website and was overjoyed to see they're bringing back Midnight Baseball again this season. I do love falling asleep to the sweet sounds of the game. I know they're broadcasting on the radio today too. I wonder if it'll be on tonight...

A 4.2

I just felt the hardest quake that I can remember since I've been here in this apartment (2 1/2 years). The glass bottle that sits on top of my TV flew off and landed about four feet away. I'm still feeling a little nervous. I got up and stood under the doorway to the hall for a bit.

It was centered a few miles north of here and the USGS says it was a 4.2. There was a small aftershock a few minutes later but I didn't feel anything. Of course my legs were shaking so I might not have noticed!

Happy 6.75th Birthday!

February 29, 1980: Elizabeth was born
February 29, 1984: Had her 1st birthday
February 29, 1988: Had her 2nd birthday
February 29, 1992: Had her 3rd birthday
February 29, 1996: Had her 4th birthday
February 29, 2000: Had her 5th birthday
February 29, 2004: Had her 6th birthday

February 28–March 1, 2007: turned 6.75

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!!

I Need My Mommy

TagFest: Health

I need to take better care of myself. I've been up late a lot recently. Some of it is a result of working later at the office and then needing my few hours of downtime at home before sleeping. Some of it due to an addiction to a computer game called Ottomatic (I made it to Level 9!). Some of it is simple bullheadedness.

I've also not been taking breaks at work—sometimes working for hours on a spreadsheet without moving, especially when I'm there after hours with no one to interrupt me.

The result is bad health and I've been getting sore throats and headaches too often for my liking. I had a headache this afternoon and now I'm beginning to feel that post-nasal drip start to irritate my throat. I'm having a big mug of tea (and oatmeal) for supper.

Tick Tock Taco

TagFest: Food

I love tacos.

I love crunchy tacos. I love soft tacos. I love crispy wholewheat tacos. I love tacos with hamburger. I love tacos with beans. I love Rubios chicken tacos, just not too hot. I love tacos with a little cheese and a lot of lettuce and fresh tomatoes. I just love a taco.

Gasified

I drive a Prius and I only go about 30 miles or so a week so I don't have to get gas very often. The last bar on the gas gauge was flashing at me so today was the day.

I was shocked how expensive it was. I paid $2.75/gallon. I put a $20 bill and a $5 bill in the machine and got back just over 9 gallons. I think the last time I got gas it was around $2.30. Maybe I'm just dreaming. Most likely I'm just not paying attention, as usual.

How much are you paying for gas?

What's On My iPod

TagFest: Music

I listen to my iPod Shuffle during my daily commute. I can't stand the little ear bud headphones though; they hurt my ears. I discovered some foldable ones that I've been using for a few years now. They fit nicely in my bag but I don't take very good care of them. The cushioning foam on the left earpiece had gotten pretty tatty so I picked up a new pair at Target last week.

I like listening to rock but not very loud which is a problem now because my new headphones are pretty squeaky where the wires attach to the earpieces. I think the wires are too stiff. It's distracting from the music.

I love my Shuffle but I prefer to listen to the songs on each album in consecutive order—no random selections for me, thanks. Here are the albums currently on my iPod:

Default
Elocation
One Thing Remains
The Fallout

Fuel
Natural Selection
Something Like Human
Sunburn

Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
One-X

Chevelle
Point #1
This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In
Wonder What's Next

What are you listening to?

Tracking the Tour

TagFest: Tour

Today is the next-to-last stage in the second annual Tour of California. Last year they went right through my town and I didn't even know it! I was disappointed.

This year they again started in San Francisco and again American Levi Leipheimer won the Prologue. He's still in the Yellow Jersey (of tour leader) after winning the individual time trial in Solvang yesterday. Today they're down in Santa Barbara cycling through the hills and canyons. I'm listening to and watching the coverage online. The map shows a satellite image of the course and you can even track certain riders (little colored jerseys) on the map and on the course profile. It's awesome technology even if the audio does keep cutting out.

Right now there's a nine-man breakaway (the red car) ahead of the peloton (the blue car) by 3 minutes. Levi's yellow jersey is in danger so the Discovery team is working hard at the front of the peloton. They have to bring the breakaway back or (my favorite) Stuart O'Grady might be in yellow tonight. I'll update later.

ETA: The long run-in to the finish allowed the peloton to catch up and Levi and the rest of the Discovery boys finished with the pack. Stuey's teammate won the stage so his team, CSC, got some victory out of the day even though he didn't don the yellow. Tomorrow is a flat stage to the finish in Long Beach. We'll see if a breakaway can stay away and break Levi's heart.

BART Book: The Last Kingdom

TagFest: Books

The Last Kingdom
Bernard Cornwell, 2005
first in the Saxon series
Bernard's site

When Uhtred was ten (in 866 AD), the Danes came to Northumbria to stay. His father, a local lord, and brother were killed and he was captured in a battle at York by a Danish chieftain, Ragnar the Fearless. He found his adopted life with the hard-working, fun-loving, priest-free pagan warriors freeing and fitting for his boyish sensibilities, and soon became more a Dane than an Englishman.

But he always held dear his secret dream of re-taking his homeland and becoming lord of Bebbanburg. It was going to be a long road getting back there. After a tragedy left him homeless, he eventually left the Danes and came to the attention of Alfred, king of the West Saxons (or Wessex), the last English kingdom left free of Danish rule. Alfred, pious and sickly, seemed a far cry from Uhtred's previous rulers with the Danes but the Saxon king was tricky and smart, thinking ahead to when he might need a loyal lord in the North. Uhtred found himself an Englishman once again, but far from home.

The great thing about this book is that there are two others that follow and more in the works. I loved the story-telling device of Uhtred reflecting back on his life from the perspective of an old man—foreshadowing things to come but not giving too much away.

There are many, many characters in the book but most are rich and colorful and therefore memorable. At times I wished for a Cast of Characters. The list of placenames (combined with a map!) that Cornwell does provide is very helpful as he uses unfamiliar contemporary names for most towns and places in the story.

If you enjoy historical fiction, you will love this book and I highly recommend it. Cornwell is the author of the Napoleonic-era Sharpe books, some of which were televised starring Sean Bean. You may be familiar with those. I'm thinking about checking them out when I'm done with some of his other books. He's written a lot!

Favorite part: One thing I like about historical fiction is that the author can present a section of history differently than how we learn about it in school. There are more grey areas to be explored. The good guys (Alfred and the English) are not always that good and the bad guys (the Viking Danes) not always that bad. Cornwell succeeds in teaching us that the Danes are just people and by following Uhtred's journey we can feel a part of those people and their culture.

Least favorite part: The tragedy which caused Uhtred to have to leave the Danes. It was just very sad.

Next BART Book: Cursor's Fury, Jim Butcher

Previous BART Book: Break No Bones, Kathy Reichs

Books on the Shelf:
none
Books on Hold:
Lords of the North, Bernard Cornwell
The Pale Horseman, Bernard Cornwell
Wolf Brother, Michelle Paver

Welcome to the Family

Congratulations to JJZZ on the arrival of their new addition: a baby girl!

I know you've been waiting sooo long so it must feel so very very good to finally hold her in your arms. She looks adorable. I love her eyes and the little tuft of hair on her head. I can't wait to see her in person.