Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year!!!
And a Happy New Year to those of you who only get around to reading this when it is already 2009 (or later).
Oh the heck with it. A Happy New Year to everybody!
Yours, with new-year-ly affection for all
N.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Strengthening my resolve
Now, I'll probably fold my own paper, rather than the sheets, but this does rather remove the difficulty of keeping track of what to fold each day:-)
Next year, I'll do the "fold a four star model of Montroll or Lang each day". Not this year:-)
Yours, creasing into a grin,
N.
Monday, December 29, 2008
I say renew, since I used to be a member, have, for much of the past thrumptysevix years been a member (occasionally productive, valued, and other adjectives!) although for the past year I've let the memberships lapse.
But this year I need to renew them --- and the societies are mad-keen on making it hard for me to do so!
Each society seems to assume that there are two categories: those who have been and still are a member, who want to renew, and those who have never been a member before, who want to take out a membership.
I managed to fight my way past one of the interfaces: I gave up after twenty minutes with the other. If they don't want my damned membership dues, then I'm damned if I'm going to fight for hours to sign up!
Yours, demonstrating undue diligence,
N.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
On my way to Washington
Just for a few days --- in a week or so --- for the annual conference. I've missed it for a couple of years straight, not feeling like travelling so much these days: I want to spend time with the children:-)
But this morning I booked a way too expensive hotel room, and tomorrow I'm going to email friends to see if I can stay with them on either end of the trip.
It's been a good few years since I've spent any time in the Capitol, and it will, I hope, be possible to visit a couple of touristy places while I'm there. Plus, I will get to see lots of people I haven't seen in months, years, or in some cases even, a decade or more.
Yours, preparing to travel,
N.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Horror in the middle east
What strikes me most about it is how this breaks with tradition. Most times we have an outgoing president in the US he's worked incredibly hard to get peace in the middle east as his legacy. It's failed, every time, but many times it seems that the effort has at least staved off hundreds of deaths for a while. This time around, the efforts appear to have been, let's say, lacking.
Yours, horrified.
N.
Leftovers
If there's gravy left, use it too: if there isn't trim the least palatable portions off the (no more than medium rare, at very worst) roast, place in an ovenproof dish or skillet, and render in a hot oven: pour off all but a tablespoon of fat, and add a couple of teaspoons of flour. Stir well over a medium flame (you do cook with gas, right?) until the flour is nutty: add beef broth or stock slowly, stirring in to thin the roux, season, and taste. I will often add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, or some horseradish, or some mustard, or some Sriracha hot sauce, depending on my mood.
Slice the beef thinly, slide into the gravy, and heat, over a low flame, until it is heated through. Serve with a fresh batch of Yorkshire pudding (putting the rest of the rendered fat to good use!) and roasted vegetables. Leftovers fit for, well, me.
Yours, left over,
N.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Boxing Day
Of course, here in the USA people do this too: they just don't have a great name for the holiday.
Yours, in praise of a great name for a day,
N.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Toolbox construction
that were to go together with the same letter --- which helped in the construction phase....) He and Boo drilled almost all the holes with the new brace-and-(one of our)bits, and we screwed it together between us. We sanded, measured twice and drilled once, and had a constructive time!
And anyone who wants the designs, let me know. I have schematics/diagrams, and can describe them further if necessary. For a four year old (or a bit older) budding carpenter, it makes for a lovely toolbox.
Now, if only we could persuade the construction industry that 1"x8" should measure one inch by eight inches, not 3/4" by 7 1/4"....
Yours, reporting from a thriller with a driller,
N.
Harold Pinter and Eartha Kitt
Resquiat in Pace.
Yours, in celebration of great lives,
N.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry, merry Christmas
You know who you are.
Yours, wishing, just for you
N.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Making a tool box
a dowel rod as a handle. Although a really simple project, it's the first piece of woodwork that I've designed myself, and I'm really pleased with how it came out. Now I just have to predrill the screw holes so that he can construct the toolbox on Christmas day.....
Yours, not yet screwed up,
N.
Monday, December 22, 2008
LOML and Boo went into a local party-supply store for much of the swag: Skibo decided to stay in the car with me: and on coming out of the store, LOML exclaimed that while they were paying for the stuff, the cashier had leaned over and asked Boo if she was looking forward to Christmas.
Yes, this was while Boo and LOML were in there buying a menorah! Talk about a need for multiculturalism!
Yours, fighting an uphill battle,
N.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Folding without seeing
Most nights, to get the children to sleep, I sing songs and tell them poems. It's a long standing ritual, and at some point, we have to break them of some of it: we have to be able to leave them awake to go to sleep by themselves. But while we're working on that, many nights I sing until they are fully asleep.
And if I try to leave before they're gone, it can lead to complaints. So I sing a song or two after I believe they've nodded off: now this can be rather boring, and tonight I reached into my pocket, and found I had a grocery store receipt -- thin, shiny paper, perfect for folding. So I folded a triangle up, creased across, and tore a square off it. All in the dark. And set to work.
Strangely, the thing that I found most difficult to do was not the folding without sight: it was the singing at the same time. Ordinarily, I could fold a crane and sing at the same time: but focusing on the folding without eyes made it difficult to sing.
Nonetheless, I managed it. A beautiful little crane, essentially as good as I could have managed in the light. And I can believe that the blind can fold.
But how do they learn? I can now imagine trying to teach a blind child, one open to new ideas, to fold: teaching mountain and valley folds by feel, first: teaching rabbits ears by touch, with big triangles, and so forth. If I ever have the opportunity to teach such a person, I won't shy from it.
Yours, with new insight,
N.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sometimes one needs a day like today
Yours, so there,
N.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Practicing origami
It needs to be folded from stiff-ish paper or thin card, and it needs to be pretty large (the illustrations of it show pieces a couple of feet long or more) and all I had was a sheet of letter paper: but it was easy enough to fold that I think that I need to find a nice sheet of stiffer paper and give it a try. Perhaps bookbinding paper would do: and that would give me a nice excuse to visit the craft store on the square.
The other technical-but-beautiful fold which I attempted for the first time today was a Kawasaki rosebud. This is built on a very-tricky-until-you-get-the-trick fold, the square twist, which is a lovely device of which I have, right now, no photos. I'm planning on trying to take some pictures of this in development at some time and will post them here then.
Anyway, the first test version turned out rather well, once I figured out the rather cryptic diagrams: as always with this sort of thing, once you get it, it turns out to be so much easier than you were making it seem before.
And the book it is in has the rather lovely title of Roses, Origami and Math.
Yours, still learning,
N.
Yours
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Back to Montessori
It really hurt.
To see what all of these little children were doing, and to compare it to the level of challenge at the elementary school, the challenge that Boo's not getting, was really depressing.
So now we're going back and forth about how to afford another 10-12K per annum: and whether we can afford -- or afford not -- to send them back to Montessori.
Yours, distressed,
N.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Paper planes
Today I think that I recreated it. At the very least, the plane I made flew well.
And so I took the time to do something --- for me --- very new: I sat down and created some diagrams for folding it. It's actually only a couple of folds away from the plane everyone knows how to fold, and it can't be new, but it's not in any of the books I have on folding planes. Nonetheless, I'm hesitant to post diagrams for what surely must either be traditional, or worse, someone else's model.
At the same time, I'm really pleased to have taken the first step towards diagramming!
Yours, step by step,
N.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A beautiful origami model
Every once in a while, a model will really take my fancy: and today I'm going to mention two, which are just gorgeous: John Montroll has a book of Christmas Origami, a lovely book: in particular, the reindeer is beautiful, and is the first complex model I've learned to fold without diagrams in ages. But the sleigh, the sleigh is fantastic. I folded it from the start, thinking "Ho hum, nice enough, I'm enjoying folding this" until I got to the penultimate fold. I folded that, looked at the next fold, and it was like a well crafted shaggy dog story: everything came together at the end, opened out, and the model is just beautiful! Anyone out there with some experience of origami, get this book and try this model: it is just delightful. And it makes a lovely sleigh!
Yours, jingly-belly,
N.
Grrr
Plus, our newly reconstructed pc? I spent four hours demonstrating the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, hoping that this time it would work. Oh, it will, enventually, but I need time to talk it into it.
On the nice side, our renovating friends are *this* close to having everything done: we're planning on going over for dinner, cooked in their brand new tricked out kitchen, on Friday. I saw it today, and with some effort I can restrain my jealousy.
Yours, green-eyed,
N.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Gingerbread house, pre-school version
We started with a cardboard box, glued to a foil-wrapped piece of cardboard.
We pasted on store-bought "frostin'", which we used to provide the stickiness to glue on graham crackers (for the uk, this are almost, but not completely unlike digestive biscuits, except that they are long and rectangular and inedible). Spurred on by other children and their parents, grandparents, etc, we created an angled roof, a chimney, a drainpipe (red "licorice"), and even a satellite dish (popsicle, the wrapper for which, prior to removal, read "50 sucks!")
Skibo was admirably restrained in his application of candy: his house looked subtle, restrained, and he got to take home a bag chock full of candy. Smart boy.
Yours, looking forward to decorating a (real) gingerbread house. When LOML and/or I have the energy!
N.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The parade
I really must remember next year to double the eggnog recipe: our guests this afternoon were like vultures as it came out! The sausage rolls were the next to go: of almost everything else we have a reasonable amount left over: enough to eat off for a few days, but not enough to be having to get rid of a lot of food. But however measured, a great success.
Skibo was scheduled to be on a float in the parade --- his preschool always has a bunch of children wearing decorated clothes, waving away. And then at 10, we got a phone call from another group trying to find children to ride: and one of Boo's best friends was riding, so at 2:20 I took them both down to the start, found where they were supposed to be, and dropped them off. Skibo was off like a flash with his class: Boo took longer, umming an ahhing before she decided finally to be in the back of the truck. She was adamant that she would not wave: of course, by the time her float made its way to where we were, she was waving away like crazy!
Yours, afloat,
N.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Christmas traditions
I've had a day of traditions -- new ones (looking after the children of our friends who are now only days away from completing their renovations, who owe us months of babysitting now!) to old ones, listening to Handel's Messiah (alas, only a recorded version, and that interrupted by children frequently), cooking for tomorrows Parade Party, and attending The Nutcracker.
We took Boo and Skibo to this evening's performance. Auntie E (not by blood, but all the more an auntie for it) had bought tickets, and had intended to attend with us, but unfortunately she's hosting the party tomorrow afternoon and so had to forgo the opportunity.
We all enjoyed the performance, which was rather good --- there were some rough edges, and it is definitely a ballet school production rather than a professional one, but LOML and I both thought that the student dancers were outstanding (unfortunately less true of the visiting professionals dancing the parts of the cavalier and the fairy).
Of course, Skibo is but four years old. And halfway through the penultimate dance I realised he had fallen asleep, stretched out in his chair with his head on my lap. Still, he had really enjoyed the great majority of the show, and I think that next year he'll be able to appreciate it all the more. Boo had seen it last year, and really thought it wonderful.
One last, light note: while sitting in the audience this evening, I heard a humourous comment being passed around: I suspect that it made its way around the entire theatre by the end of the evening. Apparently the chief sponsor of this (very small, local) production is a local urologist. Yes, a urologist sponsoring The Nutcracker.
Yours, traditionally,
N.
P.S. Yup. A little puddle of tears right here.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The universal thing about remotes
And of course, none of the devices have input devices built in, so the remotes are
really the only way to control them. And of course the satellite TV shows us as having thousands of channels (only a couple of hundred of which we get, only a score of which we watch) so to change channels I have to sit and hit the "down" button 1438 times.
Yours, feeling a downer coming on,
N
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Skibo's performance
Yes, I know, you and I and the rest of the world know them as the three wise men, and refer to them colloquially as
The performance was tremendous fun (for a parent) and was made better still by being particularly short --- around 20 minutes in total, which given that there were a lot of small children performing and in the audience was probably key to the success.
The children sounded much better in unison than individually: perhaps none of them were in key, but on average they were close.
A fun time, much better than I had feared it might be:-)
Yours, in festive spirits,
N.
All future scandals
All Washington scandals are "gates": Watergate, whence the term arose, Whitewatergate, Irancontragate, Plamegate, etc.
But we've seen plenty of non-Washingtonian scandals, and it seems to me that we need a completely new suffix: Spitzer looked good for a while but that feels too long: so I propose the suffix -vich, or if appropriate, -evich.
As in the current Illinois situation is a real Illinoisavich, a real Blagojevich.
Or perhaps, Illinoisevich is a real spitzer of a scandal.
Yours, enjoying coining the monikers here --- or should those be "Monicas"?
N.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Skibo is holding out against the cold
I hope so --- especially because I am scheduled to visit his class in the morning to do the christmas origami demonstration, and to give them a few nice little ornaments, in particular, a series of nested "surprise" boxes, with my own design of angel at the centre.
Just watch. I've tempted fate now. I bet he wakes up coughing his little lungs up in the middle of the night,
Yours, temptingly,
N.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Poor Boo
We felt terribly bad for her, having to miss out on performing, and we also were sad that we weren't able to see all the work they had on display.
Such is the life of the family of a six year old.
Skibo's performance is on Thursday. I'll bet he comes down with something tomorrow.
Yours, holding out still,
N.
Monday, December 8, 2008
A process of rebuilding
I found my diagrams from last year (sure enough, the jpgs I put up last time are not to scale, but I found the originals, and went in and changed the length of the long walls (rather than lengthening the roof --- solely because we use 8.5x11 inch
paper, and the templates were already about 11 inches long!)
LOML and the children mixed up the first batch of dough, and tomorrow we'll bake it, roof pieces first.
No pictures of the process as yet --- but perhaps we'll take some tomorrow as the children and I roll out the pieces.
Yours, under re-construction,
N.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Christmas trees are thin on the ground this year
We went out on our annual get-a-tree expedition this morning (we'd been trying for a few days to find the time, and between my work schedule, the kids extra extra-curricular activities, and all else happening --- for example, LOML recording the voice-over for the local Nutcracker production --- this morning was the first day we could find a time for the four of us to run out.
We should, of course, have just gone, the two of us, during the week --- but we wanted to include the children. But this year they were still more interested in running around the stores than in helping pick out a tree.
I was very surprised by how short the trees seem to be this year, and how skinny. And how few trees were on the lots --- I am guessing that it is a direct result of the drought, but who knows. Fortunately the prices were not up drastically from last year, and we are happy with the tree we bought.
Now to decorate it! Lots of origami on it this year.
Yours, ready to get the children to fold some of it,
N.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Rooting against my side
All the evidence appears to point to William Jefferson of Louisiana being a crook, especially the bricks of cash in the freezer. Now, there are good reasons why he might not be prosecuted, or why the evidence might be unusable: but that is not a good enough reason to re-elect him. He should have had a primary fight and should have been kicked out then. But he wasn't, and so tonight I'm pulling for his opponent. Whoever he or she is.
Yours, hating corruption near and far,
N.
Last long day, for a while
I was at work at 9 this morning, and didn't settle back in at home until 7pm --- but next week things get a little less hectic, and then we have several weeks of quiet --- or at least quieter.
Tomorrow I hope we can run out and get the christmas tree: in the afternoon, Boo has her party for the dixie girl scouts, and then sometime in the early evening there is a concert at the AME church we'd like to go to --- they have a rather good gospel choir, and the christmas concert is always good. And of course, as always we will talk to LOML's parents in the morning, and perhaps to mine too.
So, all told, tomorrow is going to be just as busy. Just busier on our schedule.
Yours, emulating the bee,
N.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The great ungoverned
Will the cabinet be allowed to meet? What sorts of decisions may be taken? Clearly nothing that requires input from the parliament. Is the government also shut down? I must admit to being rather surprised at the actions of the Canadian (acting) head of state, the Governor General, in agreeing to prorogue the parliament (is the definition of "prorogue" something like to "make it more rogue-ish"?)
On our front, here, the state's economy is going downhill fast, yet the governor in his (measurably finite, and possibly negative) wisdom insists that the way out of all our problems is for the state to cut spending. And so jobs are disappearing with the dodos, salaries are being "furloughed" (that is, cut, but the base salary stays the same: we don't lose our raises, just the money), and everyone is worried.
Oh, and we had to spend over two hundred bucks to fix a computer, and today the dishwasher decided that it couldn't face the future in our household and decided to commit suicide. Well, since it was a good one, it would cost us several hundred to fix it, which is more than replacing it with a lesser model.
What to do, what to do, what to do.
Yours, wanting to prorogue the future until this mess is over,
N.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tired
And so, as the most famous pre-blogger would have said,
to bed.
Yours, (no, not really comparing myself to Pepys!)
N.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
A potential New Year's resolution
I think that I might try to fold a different piece of origami every day for the year. Now, keeping track of what I've folded, and making sure that I don't fold something twice, is going to be somewhat tricky, I am sure. So I'm amending the rules (yes, I know, I haven't even made the resolution yet, and already I'm changing it!) to allow folding a piece twice if it appears in more than one book, but not if it is something that I have folded many times before --- but to make things trickier, I'm going to go through the simpler books in order, so that all I need to do is keep a bookmark in each of my origami books indicating that the folds prior to the bookmark are either already folded, or they are ones I have decided not to attempt. In this way, each day I can peruse a bunch of books, and pick the one that I'm going to try from a smaller, much smaller, list of folds.
I'm not very good at keeping resolutions, mind you, so be prepared for me not to keep this one. Or to forget about it between now and January!
Yours, in a show of temporary resolve,
N.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A slightly daunting prospect
Tonight was the night. I had spent the past few weeks and especially days putting together some material: a bit of history about origami, a few demonstrations of simple things, and then I planned to spend the rest of the time (less than an hour in total) teaching them to fold a couple of nice things: the hyperbolic paraboloid and Tom Hull's PHiZZ units, so that they could fold dodecahedra etc.
We got off to a slow start: one of the key people in the group was late, and the decision was made to wait for her --- I was happy to do so, as she was the first one to contact me about speaking. It also took a bit longer to fold the hyperbolic paraboloid than I had anticipated, and in the end I went perhaps twenty minutes over the time I'd allotted. However, I think that it went very well: most of the attendees were Americans, but the few Japanese people there seemed to really like the presentation (as did the Americans, but I was more worried about people who might have grown up with a cultural appreciation of the art form!)
And then in the end, almost everybody stayed around afterwards to chat. I was particularly interested to find out that the woman who had turned up late was the daughter of a student of Akira Yoshizawa, widely considered to be responsible for the popularization of origami in Japan in the 1950's.
Yours, relieved that it went well,
N.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Exciting news from Canada
For the first time in many decades, there may be a coalition government in Ottawa: curiously, if I remember my Ontario recent history, the last similar political agreement in the country was at the provincial level, and was led from the NDP side by Bob Rae, currently leading the party at the federal level.
I'm not sure what this does for Dion, head of the Liberal party, though: sure, it will make him PM, but as a seat-warmer for six months only. I don't see an obvious way for him to parlay this into continuing, but he can, I guess, secure himself a place in history just by making this happen.
Sometimes US politics is fascinating. But sometimes, a parliamentary system can give so much more excitement:-)
Yours, fascinated, at a distance,
N.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
More leftovers
Boo decided to make up a song for the occasion: to the tune of "For he's a jolly good fellow" she sang
The G's are coming to dinner
The G's are coming to dinner
Hooray, hooray hooray.
Yours, in tune with my kids,
N.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Leftovers
We gave them the choice: pea and ham soup (maritimes style!) or turkey and bean soup. We'll be eating the turkey bean soup tomorrow, as they plumped down for the pea and ham soup without hesitation.
The children helped with the bread this morning --- and as always we had fun with the dough, playing and learning. I'm pretty sure that before they are ten they'll be among the best bakers in the state:-)
A gentle day, other than that: it rained again, so we're up to average rainfall for the day. A lot more to go for the month, and more still for the year, but every little staves off the drought a little longer. This batch of rain looks to last the weekend too, for which we're thankful.
Mind you, if we're to get precipitation, I'd love if it would get a bit colder and snow!
Yours, dreaming,
N.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Horror in Mumbai
Yours, in sadness and sympathy,
N.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Waifs and strays, again
One group of friends had misfortune this year, and that led directly to our fortune: their house is being remodelled, and since it is a month behind schedule, they couldn't have their big Thanksgiving celebration. They went up the mountains to be with family instead: we inherited many of their otherwise unfeasting guests: friends all, we had fifteen in total for dinner today.
A turkey, a ham, sausages, potatoes, carrots, sweet potato casserole, cranberry chutney (flavoured with ginger), brussel sprouts in a vinagrette with walnuts and mandarin oranges, onion pie, etc, etc, etc. A feast fit for family.
Somehow, in all the hustle and bustle, we forgot to say what we're all thankful for. So now, in a moment of silence, and only to myself, not even to you, my semi-anonymous friends, I'm saying thanks for many, many things.
Yours, in thanks,
N.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yours, gratitudinously,
N.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Fearing the worst
Our younger, bigger, bruiser of a cat is missing: he's eleven, and he's big enough to take care of himself --- we don't de-claw our cats, though we do remove other significant bits and pieces --- but he's been missing for three days now.
One day is not too much to be concerned about. Two is more worrying. And now, my expectation is that we'll not hear his familiar squeezing through the only-just-big-enough cat flap again. We've contacted the neighbours to keep an eye out for him, and the animal control folks in case he turns up: and we're still hoping someone let him inside during the cold weather.
But my hopes are hard to hold up over time.
Yours, still hoping,
N.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Boo's mondegreen
Unfortunately, the songs are either dreadful, or worse, lovely songs cut down to half-a-verse-and-no-part-of-a-chorus. Think "We three kings" terminating in "afar", with no mention of fields, fountains, moors or mountains. And absolutely no stars of wonder.
His favourite song to sing is "Go tell it on the mountain" (full chorus, no verses): and Boo loves the song as a consequence. She sings along heartily (and truth be told, rather more musically: those extra 21 months really make a difference!) but with one small "improvement" to the lyrics.
She sings the Sarah Palin version. "Go kill it on the mountain".
Yours, still laughing,
N.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Burrowing
Apparently lots of political appointees are being transferred into permanent "non-partisan" positions, often one for which their qualifications seem rather slender. The intent seems to be to place these ideologues in the way of a new progressive administration.
Political Animal has the best suggestion yet for how to deal with these burrowers.
Yours, seeing the potential for a new reality TV series, Dancing With The Cons,
N.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Letters from America
Fascinating. Just fascinating.
Yours, absorbed,
N.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The season is officially here
This morning on the square they had various church choirs singing a few hymns each. Unfortunately, they were staggered over a period of a few hours ---- and the temperature was cold enough that we didn't feel like staying outside for more than one group --- we'd have had to wait half an hour until the next one.
Even though we're not religious ourselves, having grown up in England with the omnipresent state religion, we've absorbed all the hymns and enjoy the ceremonies. As a consequence, I'm quite looking forward to all the things taking place on the square, starting with the lighting of the (fake) tree on Friday.
Yours, getting in the spirit,
N.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thank you notes from classes
Oh, and it says they'd *love* for me to come back and teach them some more origami:-)
Yours, wondering if I can go back tomorrow.... oh... they're not open on Saturdays?
N.
Ouch
I'd imagine that the folks involved with the show may have had some serious worries about showing it at all.
Yours, moved.
N.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
More morigami
Plus, I'd made a turkey --- well, that's a bird too, right?
After signing in at the office, and getting a badge to stick on my clothes, I found the class walking from lunch (at 10:45 they go to lunch: they're done by 11:15!) and went with them to class: Boo held my hand the whole way, looking proudly up at me every once in a while.
We sat down, and I started talking about origami, and said that if they had any questions they should ask: and I discovered just how willing and eager 5 and 6 year olds are to, in the guise of asking questions, impart information about their parents' tv viewing habits, what they had for lunch, and whether the sky is green or red on cartoons.
But when I started pulling out pieces I'd folded, they started to focus, and got fascinated: especially when I pulled out a box --- or so it seemed: a simple masu box with top --- except that inside it was another box, and inside it, another, and finally, after several repetitions of this, inside the final box, an iridescent butterfly. Ooohs and aaahs all round.
After showing them all the pieces I'd made ahead of time, I took small groups to a table and folded doves. I'd pre-creased the paper to make it possible, and made sure that the teachers joined in (it really helped having another adult with each group of four children): but each child took home a nice dove that they had (essentially) folded themselves.
Finally, as an almost afterthought when some of the children mentioned dinosaurs, I offered to sit and fold a dinosaur while they all watched: and they watched, enthralled, as I talked them through the whole sequence, showing them the model halfway through, asking them if it looked like a T Rex yet ("No!!") and expressing amazement as they saw the thighs take shape, then the arms, then the head.
And then, as I was preparing to leave, and telling them how much fun I'd had, there was a spontaneous near-scrum as the children decided to come forward and hug me, kiss me, hold my hand, and generally participate in the most amazing outpouring of emotion and affection I've seen in ages. I came this close to tears, I swear. And I'm doing so again right this minute...
I'm going back again to fold with them another time, really soon.
Yours, emotionally folded,
N.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Pickup cooking
This year, said friends, yes, the same family, are having their house remodelled. And in spite of the fact that they were adamant to the builders and contractors and all that it was essential that it be finished by late summer, it is still not done. And it won't be done by Thanksgiving. In fact, it won't be done by the time of the great annual rotating Christmas parade party, which they were going to host (to show off the beautiful remodelling job!) this year.
We're not picking up the party --- we did that one last year too, by choice --- it is the sort of huge bash that one can only host once every few years. But we will pick up the turkeyfest.
Yours, always happy to play in from the bench,
N.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Alaska senate race goes to the democrat
Furthermore, the difference is much more than the difference needed for a state-funded recount, so if Stevens wants a recount he will have to pay for it himself: and I'd imagine that with his felony record the party would be far from eager to help him out with the costs!
Yours, pleased to see this one go this way,
N.
Morigami
I folded copies of the latter three in front of the class, having just as much fun as last time, and finished up again with the story of the captain and his boat and t-shirt. I know, I told them that last time, but they are only four years old --- I bet that when I go into their class in a couple of weeks they beg for it again:-)
Yours, parentally proud to participate in his classroom,
N.
Monday, November 17, 2008
It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas
This morning, as is my wont, I went to the cafe to fill my mug with coffee: they always have satellite radio playing in the background, and usually I can just tune it out (or more accurately, just listen instead to my music in my earphones).
Today, however, there was someone I had to speak to briefly, and had to turn off my ogg player, only to have Christmas music thrust upon me.
Apparently the satellite broadcaster has had stations playing Christmas music since November 1: it's just that those stations haven't been playing in places I've been.
As to why it's a bad thing (other than the obvious reasons): I am assuming that retailers want the Christmas music to persuade shoppers to buy presents earlier this year than usual --- because the economy has tanked, sales are down, customers are depressed about salaries, etc --- so this is just another
bad sign.
Yours, unready for the Christmas spirit,
N.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Small children, and fear....
I watched it with the little ones a few months back, and although they were afraid at points, they seemed to enjoy it (and enjoyed it more in memory too). So, when I discovered that my mother and father not only had never seen it, they'd never even heard of it, I decided they should watch it with Boo and Skibo before they left for home.
Unfortunately, with all the birthday parties going on (ours, others), and all the other celebrations of the past few weeks, it didn't happen.
This afternoon, while LOML was out, the children and I sat down to watch it again. This time, the fear seemed far more intense for them: we made it through the fire swamp scene, cowering behind blankets, and regardless of my reassurances that all would be well in the end, they absolutely refused to watch any further. I'm left wondering how long it will be before they discover the fun of this flick, the joy in the cameos of Mel Smith, Billy Crystal, Peter Cook, the ballet in the fight scenes....
Yours, fearless, but helpless, in their opposition,
N.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
James Bond
Strangely, nobody seems to be relating the story of how Connery came to be cast as Bond in the first place. The story as I have heard it is the following: Ian Fleming really wanted Roger Moore to play the role, but he was tied up, happy playing the role of Simon Templar, and unwilling to break his contract to take the role (curiously, there's a similar story as to why Pierce Brosnan wouldn't take the role in the mid-80's).
Apparently Fleming was having lunch with Brocolli, and discussing the fact that Moore wouldn't take the role. Looking over Cubby's shoulder, he spotted someone walking away across the studio lot, and said "That's him. That's Bond."
The actor walking away was Connery, of course.
Yours, always opting for "stirred, not shaken". And never vodka.
N.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Rain, at last
It's only supposed to rain for a few hours, but we'll take what we can get.
We do need a few more weeks of drench, though. If you have any to spare, and you can convince it to come our way, I know a lot of folks here who'd appreciate it.
Yours, drily,
N.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Origami for children
I intend to make it up to Boo's class on Thursday by actually trying to teach a bunch of 5-6 year olds how to fold a dove. To this end, I expect to need a helper, so this coming weekend I'm going to fold a whole bunch of doves with Boo....
Yours, planning to inspire,
N.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
And the election continues....
It's Alaska today which is looking interesting, though: a bunch of votes were counted this afternoon there, and they've turned a 3,300-ish margin for Stevens into a 3 vote margin for Begich. Yes, with about 40K to go, there's a 3 vote difference between the candidates. With luck, Begich will pull this one off, and Stevens can go off to fame, obscurity or prison, whichever beacons hardest.
Yours, still in counting mode,
N.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
The season of birthdays
Yours, partied out,
N.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
An uplifting story
She told a story about an elderly gentleman, perhaps late 70s, who came into the store yesterday, and asked if they had any books on Barack Obama. She pointed to the appropriate bookshelf, and he went over to them. He spent twenty minutes or so, and came over with Audacity of Hope and Dreams from my Father.
He whispered to her:
Yours, hoping that there will be more people seeing things to like,
N.
Overheard, redux
Yours, fascinated by history,
N
Eavesdropping
Yours, still laughing,
N.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Bravo New Hampshire, Colorado!
Colorado now has become the first state to have both senate president and speaker of the house african americans. A great first!
Now, if we could just get rid of Prop 8 in California, the country would be beginning to look pretty good....
Yours, in 2/3 celebration,
N.
Bad pun
Yours, ducking,
N.
365
Oh well. At least the first family-elect want to adopt a shelter dog rather than buying a pure-bred if possible....
Yours, in favour of such adoptions,
N.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Congratulations to Senator-elect Merkley
Yours, watching Alaska for uncounted senate ballots next,
N.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
How to deal with the withdrawal symptoms
(did Alaska really decide to elect a convicted felon? Republicans are more tolerant of scurvy criminals than I thought!)
So, here is my take on one of them. Smith will likely lose to Merkley in Oregon, perhaps by almost 90000 votes when all the ballots are counted. This in spite of the fact that Smith currently has a nearly 8000 vote lead. Of course, we may not know for sure for another day or so.
In the other races, Alaska is just plain weird. Minnesota is so close that there will be an automatic recount --- not sure what will happen there. And Georgia has a special rule that a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote: otherwise there is a runoff election in December: this looks likely to be the case this year.
Yours, continuing my addiction,
N.
Please to remember, the fifth of November
Yours, remembering,
N.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
McCain: classy
Mr. McCain, though I would not have voted for you this year, I salute you.
Mr Obama, you have the torch.
Yours, unilluminatingly,
N
Looking good
Yours, in anticipation,
N.
Playing the (waiting) game
I went to the polls at 7am, as they opened.
I waited. For 93 minutes. And voted.
Here, I was lucky: LOML went to vote at 10 and had to wait more than 150 minutes. Yes, more than 2 1/2 hours.
And our state went to McCain. May he savour our votes.
Yours, finally feeling free to breathe...
N.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Condolences to Barack Obama
Yours, in sympathy with his family,
N.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Fuming
Still, the feeling of violation persisted for months. The stomach-tightening, mind-twisting sensation finally went away, and now, decades later, I can look back and just remember it, instead of reliving it.
Today I am fuming for a less intrusive, but still upsetting, violation. Our yard sign announcing our favoured candidate in an upcoming election was ripped out. And of course, the party offices are shut on Sundays, and the candidate is not expected to win the state, or come anywhere close, so he only has one office, in the state capital. Nowhere near here.
So, after a little creative googling, I printed out a copy of this, which I found here.
Yours, donating another $20,
N.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Three days and we will know
Even as a former trombone player.
Yours, waiting,
N.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Frogs and fish
So I sat down and showed them how I fold a frog. And then I showed them how I fold a fish.
And then I did the classic origami story of the captain who wanted to go sailing, left his house (first intermediate fold), put on his hat (second fold), found his boat (third fold), and then had the wind and waves break off his bow, stern and sail --- only to open up the remaining piece of paper to expose all that was left: the captain's t-shirt (the final unfold).
It's a wonderful, easy, standard story, but I love telling it, especially to little children.
The demonstration went really well: my mother and LOML both came along to watch, and LOML later told me how wonderfully well I'd done (which is always nice to hear, even if it's not from an independent observer:-) This morning when I went to pick Skibo up from school his teacher asked if I'd come back and do another in December. Naturally, I said I'd love to!
Yours, loving the attention:-)
N.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Boo and School
Except, the numbers are all tied to "expectations": can she count to 10? (Yes, she can count to much higher than that --- isn't that exceeding expectations????): can she recognize these words? (Yes, she can, and all the other words on the list for the next ten months --- again, isn't that exceeding expectations????) etc, etc, etc.
She had all 3's, with the exception of two fields: art and music. Those were filled in by different teachers. My read of this is that her teacher either that she's exceeding expectations on a whole bunch of criteria, or she doesn't care. Either way, we are, to put it mildly, upset.
It's conceiveable that I'm suffering from standard "my child is a genius" syndrome --- but I don't think so: we had Boo read all the words on the list she's supposed to know by the end of this year, and she got all but three or four of the fifty or sixty words. She counts like crazy, and gets the idea of the difference between reciting numbers and counting objects. And she's older than most of the rest of her class --- she ought to be a bit ahead at this stage, on average. What really pisses us off --- and my choice of language compared to my usual language on the blog might indicate my true feelings --- is that her teacher doesn't even seem to care enough to realise that Boo is exceeding expectations.
Yours,
N.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
What to do now?
And I don't blame her --- today they are (and I quote, praying that it is a typo) practicing saying the numbers from 1 to 10, and counting objects from 1 to 1.
This for a little girl who regularly sits and counts well into the hundreds. By fives. Who can do addition and subtraction.
And she can read --- so they are practicing recognizing letters.
We can't afford the cost of sending them back to the Montessori school, but it is looking more and more tempting to do so.
Yours, as frustrated as Boo is,
N.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Yorkshire pudding
However, I can reveal the secret which transformed my Yorkshire puddings from flat lumps to beautifully risen, crispy rounds: in addition to baking in individual muffin pans, the key ingredients to success seem to be getting the temperature
high enough (making sure the pan is on the heavier side, that it is pre-heated in the oven for a few minutes) and using enough eggs.
Yup. As soon as I got the batter eggy enough, it worked. Prior to that, it flopped.
Literally.
So now, if I recall correctly, I use about a cup of flour, a cup of milk, and five eggs. But check out J&J's wonderful cookbook for the recipe!
Yours, passing it on,
N.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Other states have similar laws
I'd really like to see a court challenge to such a law.
Yours, feeling bolshie,
N.
How long does it take to vote?
My state has a law that no voter may remain in the booth for more than 3 minutes: this goes back to the 50's or so, I believe, and was probably enacted as an attempt to disenfranchise some segment of the population (slow readers, less well educated, etc) which might catch more minorities than whites.
Although there was recently an attempt to strike the law, it failed, and so the law is still on the books. And if what I've been hearing is true, it is supposed to be enforced this year.
Now, in my county, there are some sixteen or so races on a typical ballot (it varies by town within the county, and I haven't yet seen an official ballot for my location) plus one local and three state-wide referenda.
This works out to between six and seven votes per minute, or eight to ten seconds per vote.
Now, the referenda are likely to take significantly longer to read than some of the other questions, so I'd say this leaves an average of say, 6 seconds for such momentous decisions as "where do I touch this screen to vote for my choice for president".
If they do start throwing voters out after three minutes, my suspicion is that they're going to have riots on their hands!
Yours, prepared to be disenfranchised,
N.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Happy thanksgiving
We did our delayed version of Canadian Thanksgiving this evening, turkey and all, since my parents are here. And the best thing about it is that we get turkey and bean soup for dinner for at least one, and perhaps two nights coming up.
Ten of us for dinner, one turkey, and enough left overs for soup. What more could we ask for.
Yours, giving thanks, one more time,
N.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A recipe
Take a boneless leg of lamb --- or take a bony one and debone it.
Rub the deboned side with curry powder, cover with a mix of chopped mango and dried apricot, and baby spinach: roll, tie and roast as one would a leg of lamb.
(We start at 450 F, and reduce to 325 after 20 minutes or so --- enough time to crispen the skin --- and turn regularly for about an hour and a half thereafter).
Remove, let sit long enough that the juices are reabsorbed into the meat, carve, and enjoy.
Yours, pleased with the result,
N.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Eleven days to go
i) the McCain supporter in Pittsburgh who claimed she was mugged and mutilated by an Obama supporter now admits she did it to herself
ii) Sarah Palin condemns fruit fly research, suggest putting money into research that would combat autism: enterprising reporters point out results about proteins which affect autism come from, yes, fruit fly research
iii) Sarah Palin deposed (not in the French way) by Alaskan investigator in troopergate scandal
Back many years Pittsburgh had a rather incompetent band of criminally inclined people who were, let's say, not the swiftest crooks on the block. They became known as "The Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight". I think that McCain is probably taking lessons.
Yours, counting the days... (it's 11...) .... and the hours (it's 264....)
N.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
150 kiloclams
Of which about five kiloclams went on makeup, right?
Putting lipstick on a what?
Yours, disgusted, and I didn't even contribute any money to the NRC,
N.
Update: Daily Kos had the perfect answer to the lipstick question here: "Putting Lipstick on a Pygmalion".
Absolutely. Flipping. Brilliant. (And no, I didn't mean flipping.)
Little things can really make my day
But the good people in charge of parking have a regular lottery, and from amongst the thousands of us who pay for parking permits, they select a few who will get their own personal parking spot.
It's only for a couple of months or so, but it is still more than enough to put a warm glow on a chilly autumn day:-)
Yours, in place,
N.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Parents arrived safe and sound
And the Atlanta airport didn't manage to lose their luggage: they merely mislaid it for half an hour.
But they're here, and the children were suitably excited to see them, and all is well.
Yours, settling down from hours on the road,
N.
October Surprise
But they're smart, and they know we're smart, so they must know we'd figure out that the best way to foil them would be to vote for Obama.
Except they know that we'll figure out that they're smart, so we should vote for McCain.
Except .... iterate ad infinitum.
I'm channelling "the best known is never get involved in a land war in Asia".
Yours, with apologies to The Princess Bride,
N.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Parent coming to visit
Either way, I'll either say it or I won't.
Yours, in anticipation,
N.
Monday, October 20, 2008
To Senator Obama
Yours, sending wishes,
N.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Age is not just a question of years
Of course, the same is true of experience.
Yours, youn in years, if not in age,
N.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Obama in St. Louis
Friday, October 17, 2008
Renaming Boo
Yours, as always, awfully proud of her,
N.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Joe the plumber
(Jake Thackeray)
Oh Sister Josephine
What do all these Policemen mean
By coming to the convent in a grim limousine
After Sister Josephine
While you Sister Josephine
You sit with your boots up on the alter screen
You smoke one last cigar
What a funny nun you are
The Policemen say thet Josephine's a burglar in diguise
Big Bad Norman fifteen years on the run
The sisters disbelieve it "No that can't be Josephine"
Just think about her tenderness towards the younger nuns
Oh Sister Josephine
They're searching the chapel where you've been seen
The nooks and the crannies of the nun's canteen
After Sister Josephine
While you sister Josephine
You sip one farewell benedictine
Before your Au Revoir
A right funny nun you are
Admittedly her hands are big and hairy
And embellished with a curious tatoo
Admittedly her voice is on the deep side
And she seems to shave more often than the other sisters do
Oh Sister Josephine
Founder of the convent pontoon team
They're looking through your bundles of rare magazines
After Sister Josephine
While you sister Josephine
You give a goodbye sniff of benzedrine
To the convent budgerigar
A bloody funny nun you are
No longer will her snores ring through the chapel during prayers
Nor her lustful moanings fill the stilly night
No more empty bottles of alter wine come clunking from her cell
No longer will the cloister toilet seat stand upright
Oh Sister Josephine
Slipping through their fingers like vaseline
Leaving them to clutch your empty crinoline
After Sister Josephine
While you sister Josephine
Sprinting through the suburbs when last seen
Dressed only in your wimple and your rosary
A right funny nun you seem to be.
N.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Addicted to CNN's lines
My name is Breadbox.
I'm an addict.
I admit it.
I am addicted to CNN's lines. You know, the ones during the debates, the ones which show how each candidate is perceived by a select group of independent, undecided voters.
Yours, flat-lining,
N.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Nothing left to do now
No, not here in the US, in our northern neighbour, Canada.
They still vote on paper there, I believe.
Yours, waiting, breath a-bated,
N.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Congratulations to Paul Krugman!
Yours, cheering,
N.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A prize, a prize
The turtle touched a sentimental theme in the town (a long story, for some other day) and my cake won "Nearest to our heart".
A new prize, invented this year. Possibly equivalent to the kindergarten competition prize of "You entered, so you win a juice box and a pretzel".
Yours, winningly,
N.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Chocolate turtle cake
I'm very proud of the results, so far. I'm going to ice it in the morning: I almost wish I didn't need to -- and perhaps I don't: but it will probably look even better when I do.
Pictures to follow.
Yours, under construction,
N.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
How to say "no" to a request
Now I have to figure out how to bake a cake in the shape of a turtle between 5pm Friday and 10am Saturday.....
Yours, panicked,
N.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
baking contest
My problem with this is that the contest is based solely on appearance: taste doesn't matter: and there are no opportunities for savoury entries (bread's out, as are sausage rolls...) It seems that all they want are incredibly sugary cakes, decorated to the hilt.
If I were less busy Friday afternoon, I might still consider doing it --- but as it is, I think that I'll give it a miss this year.
Yours, unsavoury at best,
N.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Food porn
Today I got my latest King Arthur catalogue (always a lovely event -- and it reminds me that I need to order another couple of pounds of yeast). Anyway, when I win the lottery (which will probably be at least a week or more after I start playing the lottery....) I definitely want one of their $10,000 outdoor pizza ovens. Until then, unfortunately, I'll just have to drool.
Yours, half baked at the idea,
N.
I wonder
Yours, opposed,
N.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Today's advertising
Cargill advertising that they've "worked to develop more marbled cuts of pork" for barbecue fanatics: in other words, their working to undo all the years of developing "less fatty" pork. I say bring back the fat on the roasts as well: I miss a really juicy pork roast on occasion, and the "other white meat, without fat" that is all that one can buy in the store just doesn't cut it.
This was followed by an otherwise forgettable commercial, but for the fact that it used a cover of "Space Oddity" as its music. I loved the music. And I've no idea what they were advertising.
Yours, playing captive audience,
N.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Enemies one
To the extent that I think the government is unable to do what is depicted on the show, I suspect that the reason is one of technological shortfalls rather than anything else: at least in Britain, which by most accounts seems to have changed the furthest from "I'd never carry 'papers' the way they have to in France or Germany" to "It's okay with me if you track my every move on traffic-and-other-cameras".
The holes I saw most obviously were in the things relating to academics: for example, the idea that the Corporation would get the idea for his name "because he's big news in the International Mathematical Union" is almost vaguely plausible --- but the idea that he'd be short of a few bucks for research is ridiculous. There are plenty in the scientific community who find it difficult to get good research funding, but Fields medalists tend not to be amongst them, and with good reason!
The good stuff, the best moment? Stephen's rant in the cabinet meeting, in which he explains, stream of consciousness style, exactly how the TIA database owners already know more than an epsilon about you. Or me. Brilliantly done.
I'll probably watch to the series conclusion: I suspect I'll get more sucked into the story, and more willing to suspend belief: LOML probably won't watch another minute, having fallen asleep halfway through episode one.
Yours, in a mixture of realized fear and suspended belief,
N.
Oooohhhhh --- coool
Not realistic. I'm not coming back.
Yours, privately,
N.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Solar power
well into the (many) tens of thousands of dollar --- which of course we have lying around in pocket change (what is the dollar/pocket lint exchange rate today?)
But there is serious hope on the horizon. A couple of months ago, an Australian PhD student by the name of Nicole Kuepper won some well deserved accolades for her development of a much cheaper and less involved process to create solar cells. Her focus, laudably, is on how to bring inexpensive solar power to third world countries. But it seems likely that the techniques she's pioneering (described as "making solar cells from nail polish, an ink-jet printer and a pizza oven") could revolutionize the renewable energy industry.
Yours, ready to get baking,
N.
Friday, October 3, 2008
What I hate about being sick
I've got what LOML had on Tuesday, Boo had Tuesday night, and I'm fulling expecting Skibo to come down with in the next day or two.
The plus side of it all is that for both LOML and Boo it was over really quickly: a day for LOML, and a few hours for Boo.
Yours, self-quarantined,
N.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Spontaneity
Yours, off the cuff,
N.
Unsurprisingly
And I find it interesting that she's insisting on referring to Senator Obama as "Barack" every time she mentions him. It comes across to me as incredibly condescending: almost as though he's the family servant, and doesn't deserve a surname, let alone a title.
Yours, creeped out,
N.
Warty Bliggens
I'd just like to suggest that this hubris is rather amusing: it reminds me of the wonderful little poem from Archy and Mehitabel
warty bliggens, the toad
By Don Marquis, in "archy and mehitabel," 1927
Yours, blemishes and all,
i met a toad
the other day by the name
of warty bliggens
he was sitting under
a toadstool
feeling contented
he explained that when the cosmos
was created
that toadstool was especially
planned for his personal
shelter from sun and rain
thought out and prepared
for himdo not tell me
said warty bliggens
that there is not a purpose
in the universe
the thought is blasphemy
a little more
conversation revealed
that warty bliggens
considers himself to be
the center of the same
universe
the earth exists
to grow toadstools for him
to sit under
the sun to give him light
by day and the moon
and wheeling constellations
to make beautiful
the night for the sake of
warty bliggensto what act of yours
do you impute
this interest on the part
of the creator
of the universe
i asked him
why is it that you
are so greatly favoredask rather
said warty bliggens
what the universe
has done to deserve me
if i were a
human being i would
not laugh
too complacently
at poor warty bliggens
for similar
absurdities
have only too often
lodged in the crinkles
of the human cerebrumarchy
N.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Happy Banned Books Week
But typically books have led a more charmed life: at least, in the post-Lady Chatterly's Lover phase of things. Which leads me to the point of my post today: here is Tom Lehrer's Smut, written in celebration of the Supreme Court's decision in that case.
Yours, uncensored, except by myself,
N.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
LOC
This leads me to a couple of questions
If you have an existing line of credit, why would this affect you? Can we not pass a simple measure disallowing cancelling of lines of credit unless you default on a payment? And if there is need for extra liquidity for the banks for existing lines of credit let's discuss how we handle that.
As for new mortgages, if the supply of credit is so low compared to the demand, why hasn't the price of credit (that is, the interest rate, right?) increased to meet it? The way that I see it, some of the financial institutions have surreptitiously increased the price by implementing nefarious schemes whereby naive customers end up with a temporary low rate, followed by an enormous rate, at which point the bank either makes a huge profit, or takes over the property. Would it not have been far fairer in the first place to be honest about the true cost of the loan?
I'm not a financial analyst, though I do understand a little about the way that mortgages work --- enough to build my own mortgage calculator, for example, rather than relying on a bank's version. Nonetheless, as a vaguely educated voter, interested in the issues, I'm not convinced that the bailout bill was the right way to go. I'm going to be interested to see what changes they make to it tomorrow when the Senate is scheduled to vote on it: do they bring in more sops to the right, to get Republican support, or do they tilt it to the left to get more Democrats? At the moment, I fear, it's going to be leaning right.
Yours, tilting at windmills,
N.
A day of misery for LOML
My day was doubly busy for other reasons: the deadline for my promotion package is coming up, and so I'm frantically trying to get all my t's dotted and my eyes crossed: in addition, I'm running a conference Thursday and Friday, and so I'm up to my armpits (at least) in that too.
Still, next week things get calmer. I'll probably get sick then!
Yours, in sympathy for LOML, and in anticipation of getting sick,
N.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Relief
Yours, relieved.
N.
41 vs 43
Will 43 be remembered as George Herbert Hoover Bush?
Yours, on the brink,
N.
This bailout package is gone
I am not convinced that this package was the best one that could be produced: it looks almost as though the Solomonic baby-slicing was precise enough to put off both sides, at least to the extent that it couldn't pass this time.
Rumours of another chance to pass it in a re-vote later. We'll see.
Yours, still on the sidelines,
N.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
On fly swatters
If you don't like children, and you have children, you have to have one:
a children whacker
Please bear in mind we try to be non-violent with them --- to the extreme! --- and this doesn't reflect LOML and my use of said children-whacker....
Yours, amused as always by what they say,
N
Folding dinosaurs
Yours, humming "You got to know when to fold 'em"
N.
Worrying for friends, places
Almost exactly five years since Halifax and Nova Scotia were hit, Kyle looks like it could cause some nasty damage, especially to the St. John area. If you live near there, my thoughts are with you: Please, please stay safe!
Yours,
N.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Flop
Sad.
Yours, saddened.
N.
"Markets"
Earlier this week, it appeared that someone was attempting to raise the price on shares in McCain on Intrade: the other markets all started moving towards Obama (following the polls) whereas Intrade didn't. Given the relatively small investments required, this looked like perhaps an attempt behind the scenes to bolster him, perhaps to keep a theme from developing in the press.
In the past few days, the price of a share in Palin being replaced has risen, touching 10 cents --- that is, for 10 cents you can win a dollar, if she is replaced. If it weren't for the fact that it is so much fun having her on the campaign, it would be worth suggesting that somebody buy the shares up to 50 or 60 cents, so that the meme would develop that she had to go.
Mind you, I wouldn't put it past the "maverick" to try to kick-start his campaign by replacing her: perhaps he could claim dereliction of duty for not appearing on all the news networks to defend him after the debate last night...
Yours, just musing,
N.
Rest well
Paul Newman, rest well.
Yours, in a moment of reverence,
N.
And now we wait
Yours, in anticipation,
N.
(Apologies to four of the five of you who occasionally read this blog --- I just can't seem to blog about anything else at the moment....)
Friday, September 26, 2008
POW
No time left for Obama to respond, he plays the POW card.
God. How. Cynical.
Yours, not declaring a winner,
N.
Couldn't stay away
But I promise. Not a word about it. Not another one, that is.
Yours, silent,
N.
Committing
And I ended up reasonably happy about the prospect. Not keen on chairing, but...
Yours, getting sat on,
N.
Oh joy! Some rain!
Yours, running out to catch the drops on my tongue,
N.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
McCain is as effective a senator as he was a pilot
Who knows whether this is a good thing or not.
Yours, on the sidelines on this issue still
N.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Debate
I'm sure Biden'd be ready. What about Palin?
Yours, switching it up,
N.
Yours, wondering which came first, the flop or the flip,
N.
Palin on McCain
Palin: I can give you examples of great things he's done.
Couric: Please. Do. Give me some examples.
Palin: I could give you examples of great things he's done.
Couric: Please, do. Specific examples from his 26 years there.
Palin: I'll get back to you on that.
Wow. I would have thought that she'd find it easier than me to find good examples of good things he's done. But she didn't.
Yours, understanding why they don't want her out in public,
N.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sharing another musical find
I heard him featured on The World, a news program co-produced by the Beeb and Public Radio International --- every once in a while they have some really interesting music on the show: Gurrumul's voice was so amazing that I immediately googled him, and ordered the CD. Coming from Australia, it took a little while to arrive, but yesterday it finally got here: I've listened to it through perhaps half a dozen times since then. If you're looking for it, I found it at SkinnyFish Music.
Yours, entranced,
N.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Messed up electoral systems...
Yours, watching every poll, only to find they're opinion polls this month,
N.
Nothing exceeds like excess
Or from the google. If he's mastered it yet.
Yours, unencumbered by any golden, indeed, any wooden, parachutes,
N.