Thursday spring report
Apr. 25th, 2019 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jhetleyThings are budding out, ducks at the puddles next to the old State Hospital, water levels down a bit at my stream crossings. No redwings claiming the cattail patches yet.
Air temperature 52 F and wind NNW about 10 mph, but I layered a fleece jacket over bike attire and got out for my ride. Did not die.
12 miles, approx, added in a couple more hills.
Neighborhood report
Apr. 25th, 2019 11:30 amjhetleyFirst woodchuck sighting on my walk route. Also, confirmed sharpshin hawk nest -- saw one individual in a maple tree, heard responding call from the white pine.
Regression weather
Apr. 25th, 2019 08:12 amjhetleyAir temperature 39 F, wind north about 15 mph, mostly cloudy. Not raining, but I'm not sure we will get warm enough for a bike ride. April uses bait-and-switch marketing.
(no subject)
Apr. 25th, 2019 03:24 ammartianmooncrabTuesday my Wicked Evil Stepmom was having her care nurse visit when she kinda went floppy on her, and her heart was out of sync, she got a fancy ride to the hospital up there. She is still in Durance Vile, they are monitoring her heart, but she is low on O2 in her blood and her BP is also low on top of everything else, Big Brother went up there and visited, and they say she isnt doing as well as she should.
I am calling her thursday to see how she is doing, and will get up there, I will probably have to canx either my friday or saturday plans, but, she is the most important one. No one else matters right now.
I am calling her thursday to see how she is doing, and will get up there, I will probably have to canx either my friday or saturday plans, but, she is the most important one. No one else matters right now.
Easy Timberline
Apr. 24th, 2019 06:57 pmlovelyangel |
I wanted to play with the Timberline font again, and I fired up Affinity Photo. Something I saw last time but did not explore was the Glyph Browser. This time I paid more attention. I was able to open Glyph Browser as a large, separate palette and increase the font size so that I could see glyph detail. Double-clicking on the glyphs I wanted to insert into the text box was way easier than using Apple Font Book. As I’ve noted before, Affinity Photo is pretty cool.
Food! Glorious Food!
Apr. 24th, 2019 10:28 amlsandersonThis Genetic Mutation Makes People Feel Full — All the Time
Two new studies confirm that weight control is often the result of genetics, not willpower.
By Gina Kolata
MEANWHILE
Forget the Easter Bunny. Let’s Celebrate the Easter Bug.
By Wendy MacNaughton
Don’t Call It Tex-Mex
A writer and chef is on a quest to tell the world about Texas Mexican food, the cooking of South Texas and northern Mexico that predates and spans the border.
By Rachel Wharton
How to Get Eggplant Right
When an eggplant dish is bad, it’s enough to put you off eggplant forever. But when it’s good, it’s heaven. Yotam Ottolenghi’s new recipe promises celestial results.
By Yotam Ottolenghi
HUNGRY CITY
A Mom-and-Son Source for Portuguese Pastries
Joey Bats Café Portuguese $129 Allen Street, Lower East Side212-951-1189
By Mahira Rivers
ONE GOOD MEAL
A Men’s Wear Designer’s Favorite Breakfast Dish
The San Francisco-based Evan Kinori relies on shakshuka, the tomato-and-egg casserole beloved in Israel, where his father was born.
By Nick Marino
TIMES INSIDER
Testing an $800 Pizza Oven — for Journalism!
Wirecutter recently tried out the luxury kitchen appliance, as well as several more practical options, for a roundup of reviews in service of aspiring home pizza chefs.
By Elisha Brown
FRONT BURNER
Looking for a Plastic Bag Alternative?
These food-grade silicone bags from Stasher, available in four sizes, are designed for multiple use.
Stasher bags, $7.99 to $19.99, stasherbag.com.
By Florence Fabricant
Alison Roman's Creamy Cauliflower Pasta | NYT Cooking
THE POUR
12 Wines Under $12: How Low Can You Go and Still Find Values?
The quest for exciting bottles gets trickier as the price drops. But you can still find some gems with a $12 limit.
By Eric Asimov
Two new studies confirm that weight control is often the result of genetics, not willpower.
By Gina Kolata
MEANWHILE
Forget the Easter Bunny. Let’s Celebrate the Easter Bug.
By Wendy MacNaughton
Don’t Call It Tex-Mex
A writer and chef is on a quest to tell the world about Texas Mexican food, the cooking of South Texas and northern Mexico that predates and spans the border.
By Rachel Wharton
How to Get Eggplant Right
When an eggplant dish is bad, it’s enough to put you off eggplant forever. But when it’s good, it’s heaven. Yotam Ottolenghi’s new recipe promises celestial results.
By Yotam Ottolenghi
HUNGRY CITY
A Mom-and-Son Source for Portuguese Pastries
Joey Bats Café Portuguese $129 Allen Street, Lower East Side212-951-1189
By Mahira Rivers
ONE GOOD MEAL
A Men’s Wear Designer’s Favorite Breakfast Dish
The San Francisco-based Evan Kinori relies on shakshuka, the tomato-and-egg casserole beloved in Israel, where his father was born.
By Nick Marino
TIMES INSIDER
Testing an $800 Pizza Oven — for Journalism!
Wirecutter recently tried out the luxury kitchen appliance, as well as several more practical options, for a roundup of reviews in service of aspiring home pizza chefs.
By Elisha Brown
FRONT BURNER
Looking for a Plastic Bag Alternative?
These food-grade silicone bags from Stasher, available in four sizes, are designed for multiple use.
Stasher bags, $7.99 to $19.99, stasherbag.com.
By Florence Fabricant
Alison Roman's Creamy Cauliflower Pasta | NYT Cooking
THE POUR
12 Wines Under $12: How Low Can You Go and Still Find Values?
The quest for exciting bottles gets trickier as the price drops. But you can still find some gems with a $12 limit.
By Eric Asimov
The Story of the Cat
Apr. 24th, 2019 07:42 ammarthawellsSo, this past Friday I found a stray cat in our backyard, incompetently trying to catch birds in our bird feeder area. I thought it was the large adult cat that comes into our yard occasionally so went out there to chase it away. But when it came out of the cover of the plants, I saw it was much smaller and younger, probably under a year old. I called it and it stopped and actually wanted to come to me. When it came close, I realized it was a young cat, still very kittenish, and basically a skeleton with fur.
I brought it some food and it snatched the first bite and ran away to eat it. Then sort of gradually calmed down and realized it could have the whole bowl. We weren't sure what to do, but after a little while it was crying to come in the house, so we ended up bringing it in and sequestering it in the guest bathroom. (We have two inside-only cats so introducing it into the household was going to be a process.) And naturally it was Friday night and the vet didn't open until Monday so we had to wait to get its health checked out.
This cat was clearly a house cat who had been dumped. He had been fixed, he was immediately cuddly and sweet, and he even purred loudly when he realized he was inside a house. I took him to the vet on Monday then found out they were out of Feline leukemia tests and wouldn't have them until Tuesday. Also we found a cat bite on his hip, so there was a chance he might have it and it got really nerve-racking. But I took him in on Tuesday, and he didn't have it, so now we have a new cat.
And here's a photo: https://twitter.com/marthawells1/
I brought it some food and it snatched the first bite and ran away to eat it. Then sort of gradually calmed down and realized it could have the whole bowl. We weren't sure what to do, but after a little while it was crying to come in the house, so we ended up bringing it in and sequestering it in the guest bathroom. (We have two inside-only cats so introducing it into the household was going to be a process.) And naturally it was Friday night and the vet didn't open until Monday so we had to wait to get its health checked out.
This cat was clearly a house cat who had been dumped. He had been fixed, he was immediately cuddly and sweet, and he even purred loudly when he realized he was inside a house. I took him to the vet on Monday then found out they were out of Feline leukemia tests and wouldn't have them until Tuesday. Also we found a cat bite on his hip, so there was a chance he might have it and it got really nerve-racking. But I took him in on Tuesday, and he didn't have it, so now we have a new cat.
And here's a photo: https://twitter.com/marthawells1/
Continued dreary
Apr. 24th, 2019 08:21 amjhetleyAir temperature 38 F, wind ENE 5 mph, overcast. Rain earlier, may return. Minor flooding in low-lying areas.
"Peeking out from winter's hiding places"
Apr. 24th, 2019 01:53 amrosefoxIt's spring, it's spring! I think New York City has a reputation of being unrelieved concrete and steel, but there are trees and plants everywhere, and when spring gets here, you know. The Callery pear and Kanzan cherry trees have exploded into showy bloom; the magnolias and weeping cherries were at their peak when yesterday's rain swept through, and now the ground is littered with their petals. Today I saw an oak tree with one dead branch on which last fall's orange leaves heralded the future of the living branches' little green leaf-fluffs, and the little green leaf-fluffs cared not a whit because the sun is bathing them and the air is fluttering them and life is good. The tulips by our front steps were yawning at the sun like ramscoops and I thought, "Same, tulips, same."
I opened all the windows today; later I turned on the a/c in the living room, which gets quite warm quite fast in the bright sun, but my bedroom window stayed open and the room is perfectly airy and cool. J and I walked three or four miles on our date, getting sprinkled on by lackadaisical rain, because that's our idea of fun. My feet are tired from the walk, but I'm still at my standing desk because I'm not going to sit in the stuffy living room when I could stand in front of my window and feel the breeze brushing gently up against me.
Alex is crouched on the sill, where I suspect he has spent most of the day, ogling the birds and drinking the fresh air. He ought to be an outdoor cat, poor guy, and this is the best he can get. On the other hand, if he were an outdoor cat, he wouldn't get to nap curled up in the crook of my C-shaped body pillow, which I have learned to leave arranged just how he likes it when I get up for the day. As I wrote this, he came over and chirped at me for pattins, so I hope he does feel he gets enough perks for being our cat and not his own.
I should be working, here at my lovely new desk, but I needed to share this moment, this sweet foot-ache, this purring cat, this generous breeze with all of you.
I opened all the windows today; later I turned on the a/c in the living room, which gets quite warm quite fast in the bright sun, but my bedroom window stayed open and the room is perfectly airy and cool. J and I walked three or four miles on our date, getting sprinkled on by lackadaisical rain, because that's our idea of fun. My feet are tired from the walk, but I'm still at my standing desk because I'm not going to sit in the stuffy living room when I could stand in front of my window and feel the breeze brushing gently up against me.
Alex is crouched on the sill, where I suspect he has spent most of the day, ogling the birds and drinking the fresh air. He ought to be an outdoor cat, poor guy, and this is the best he can get. On the other hand, if he were an outdoor cat, he wouldn't get to nap curled up in the crook of my C-shaped body pillow, which I have learned to leave arranged just how he likes it when I get up for the day. As I wrote this, he came over and chirped at me for pattins, so I hope he does feel he gets enough perks for being our cat and not his own.
I should be working, here at my lovely new desk, but I needed to share this moment, this sweet foot-ache, this purring cat, this generous breeze with all of you.
Links and Update
Apr. 23rd, 2019 08:05 ammarthawellsHere's some links:
* Subtle Forms of Racism to Avoid in SFF by Blackfemgeekery
This is a transcript of a talk given at EasterCon in the UK on April 20, 2019.
And here's some lovel fan art for the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy by Worldsentwined:
https://worldsentwined.tumblr.com/post/
https://worldsentwined.tumblr.com/post/
***
I'm closing in on the end of Network Effect, about mid to 3/4 of the way through the climax, and deep in decision fatigue and stress.
That's about all I've got right now.
* Subtle Forms of Racism to Avoid in SFF by Blackfemgeekery
This is a transcript of a talk given at EasterCon in the UK on April 20, 2019.
And here's some lovel fan art for the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy by Worldsentwined:
https://worldsentwined.tumblr.com/post/
https://worldsentwined.tumblr.com/post/
***
I'm closing in on the end of Network Effect, about mid to 3/4 of the way through the climax, and deep in decision fatigue and stress.
That's about all I've got right now.
Another damp day
Apr. 23rd, 2019 08:09 amjhetleyAir temperature 43 F, wind NE gusting over 25 mph, light mist or drizzle for the newspaper walk. We may see the sun again on Thursday . . .
(no subject)
Apr. 23rd, 2019 03:44 ammartianmooncrabIts been another long week of sorts, I had a lovely dinner with my Wicked Evil Stepmom and my step cousin, found out that my Wicked Evil will need surgery to replace veins in her legs so she has some circulation there. Testing will be May 3rd to see if they will do it.
Did Family dinner for the Kidlets 12th birthday, it was good to see everyone.
Got outside for more yard time, despite weed whacking the lawn, it needs mowing already. I shudder to think what the back yard looks like, I havent been brave enough to look. I did finally get the solar post toppers installed today, I put longer nails in to hold them in place, and bedammned to the fat squirrels who tamper with them!, and the new crosspiece up on the fence, the last piece shortened up about two inches over the winter, between the shrinkage and the post yawl. I put more hooks onto this "beam" and hung up a couple of things after it was in place. The white picket fence is looking pretty spiffy now that I have done those repair tweeks. When I was at Home Despot, I also picked up another 18 bags of cow poo and a couple bags of mulch for the front.
I spray painted the cross piece this time, normally I paint it with the exterior paint, but, spray works just as well. I also resprayed some of my plastic planters that needed touching up. Funny thing, when I was buying the spray paint, they needed my birthdate, I told them I wasnt a tagger, and I couldnt even use a stepladder without help, so how could I tag? I also pointed at my graying hair too. But, they were the rules, I think that corporate is cracking down again.
On Sunday I saw a nice wild bunny in the side yard again, this one was bigger than the last few I have seen, I had to catch Tigger though, because he was slithering through the grass to accost the poor bunny.
Its to rain again tomorrow, and Wednesday is full up, have an Egypt Lecture and the sister creature and I are getting our haircuts.
Did Family dinner for the Kidlets 12th birthday, it was good to see everyone.
Got outside for more yard time, despite weed whacking the lawn, it needs mowing already. I shudder to think what the back yard looks like, I havent been brave enough to look. I did finally get the solar post toppers installed today, I put longer nails in to hold them in place, and bedammned to the fat squirrels who tamper with them!, and the new crosspiece up on the fence, the last piece shortened up about two inches over the winter, between the shrinkage and the post yawl. I put more hooks onto this "beam" and hung up a couple of things after it was in place. The white picket fence is looking pretty spiffy now that I have done those repair tweeks. When I was at Home Despot, I also picked up another 18 bags of cow poo and a couple bags of mulch for the front.
I spray painted the cross piece this time, normally I paint it with the exterior paint, but, spray works just as well. I also resprayed some of my plastic planters that needed touching up. Funny thing, when I was buying the spray paint, they needed my birthdate, I told them I wasnt a tagger, and I couldnt even use a stepladder without help, so how could I tag? I also pointed at my graying hair too. But, they were the rules, I think that corporate is cracking down again.
On Sunday I saw a nice wild bunny in the side yard again, this one was bigger than the last few I have seen, I had to catch Tigger though, because he was slithering through the grass to accost the poor bunny.
Its to rain again tomorrow, and Wednesday is full up, have an Egypt Lecture and the sister creature and I are getting our haircuts.
Muddled Monday
Apr. 22nd, 2019 08:39 pmlovelyangel |
I take one Monday off from work each month, and today was the day off for April. I’m afraid it was something of a failure, though. Normally I use the day to either work on a personal project or to get caught up on household tasks. I wasn’t feeling well for most of the day, so I didn’t get a lot done. I slept extra and got a sluggish start to the day. I felt better after eating lunch – and thought maybe a walk would give me added energy. The day was perfect – sunny and 62°F.
I walked down to the forest that is not far from my house. I hadn’t been into the woods for quite a while, and I was surprised to discover a new set of steps on one of the paths into the woods. I was a little wary and did not go into the forest from that direction. Instead I took an alternate entrance. I had the trails to myself – I’m assuming this was because it was the middle of a weekday. I walked one of my favorite routes – a short one – and ended up taking the path with the new stairs back into the subdivision.
While the walk was pleasant, I actually felt worse after the outing. When I got home, I had a headache and was more groggy than before. I couldn’t get much done. Eventually, a dose of Advil, some chocolate, and a Coca Cola cleared my head. By then half the afternoon was gone.
So... not a very productive day. I’m feeling better now, and after a hard week and a busy weekend I suppose I needed a day of doing Not Much. Hopefully I’ll be running at normal speed upon my return to work tomorrow.
On my walk I took a D810 with the AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G VR lens. The Japanese Maple was in a yard in my neighborhood.
Side Note: The Health app on my iPhone reported that the walk from the forest back to my house was the equivalent of climbing 10 flights of stairs.
New Toy
Apr. 22nd, 2019 06:12 pmlovelyangel Click on the above picture for a larger image |
Weaknesses. I’m an anime junkie. I’m a ceramics junkie. I’m a font junkie.
I’m also on mailing lists. My Fonts sends me regular temptations. I don’t always read those promos – but today I did. I’m not generally in the market for display fonts, but for some reason Timberline caught my eye. And it’s 50% off through the end of this month. Aw, what the heck.
I was eager to test out the new font, and I tried something different this time – I fired up Affinity Photo. Usually I’ll use Word or Photoshop or something. First choice would have been Adobe InDesign, but I no longer have a version that will run on current Macs – and I don’t want to pay Adobe $50/month.
Anyway, I did a quick layout in Affinity Photo. Because I wanted to control the spacing between words, I had to put each word onto its own layer. And while I was typing, Belldandy and Affinity Photo dazzled me with rapid automatic glyph substitution. It was fun watching the characters swap in and out as letters went from being at the end of a word to the middle. I’ve never noticed this before. But, then, I’m rarely using a font that has a huge variety of flashy alternate character forms. Timberline is a pretty cool font.
I used Apple Font Book to view all the glyphs – and to copy specific characters into my text boxes. I had one problem – the word “by”. By automatic substitution, the word consisted of a flashy leading “b” and a flashy trailing “y”. All the extra lines were clashing with the trailing/leading characters of the adjacent words. I wanted to use simple characters. But whenever I pasted the glyph for an unadorned “b” into the text, the automatic glyph substitution took over and replaced the plain glyph with a fancy one. It took me a little while to figure out how to override that automatic substitution. But give Affinity Photo credit, there’s a menu dialog box for that.
After I figured that out, the rest was easy. I used an alternate glyph for the capital “S” as well as an alternate “k”. Timberline has a rich, delightful character set. I’m pretty happy with my $29 toy.
The package deal included the Timberline Regular font and the Timberline Icons font. The icons are cute, even useful in some situations, but I doubt I’ll be needing them.
Maundy Thursday and Easter
Apr. 22nd, 2019 10:31 amlovelyangelI was asked to do a reading for my church’s Maundy Thursday service, and I accepted, even though I knew I’d be somewhat stressed towards the end of the work week. My participation would be brief – a single reading from the Book of John. With the work week being what it was, I couldn’t give sufficient attention to the passage to do a good job of practicing and memorizing, but I put faith in things working out OK.
It’s a good thing I checked Google Maps when I got home from work because I’d forgotten how bad traffic get in the afternoon. The estimated drive time from my home to the church in Wilsonville was 45 minutes – 20 minutes more than the no-traffic time. I added 10 minutes padding “just in case” – and arrived with plenty of time to spare. The readers had been instructed to arrive early for a walkthrough in advance of the service.
This unusual service was held in both the old chapel and the adjacent Samaritan House. The service was wonderfully done, incorporating a foot-washing ritual, a Last Supper remembrance and communion, and a candlelight Tenebrae service. The service went well, finishing in about 80 minutes. I drove home in silence, reflecting on the solemn words of the ceremony.
For Easter Sunday I was asked to take pictures for our new website (under construction). I photographed throughout the service and brought home 180 photos. I expect fewer than 20 finished photos – whenever I get the chance to process the set.
In early afternoon I took the kids to Easter dinner with my ex-in-laws. It was a potluck dinner, and I brought a tossed salad. Katie brought roasted potatoes. We had pleasant conversation, but at the end I was pretty exhausted. It had been a long week – with lots of extra socializing. I was happy to finally be home late afternoon to cocoon.
It’s a good thing I checked Google Maps when I got home from work because I’d forgotten how bad traffic get in the afternoon. The estimated drive time from my home to the church in Wilsonville was 45 minutes – 20 minutes more than the no-traffic time. I added 10 minutes padding “just in case” – and arrived with plenty of time to spare. The readers had been instructed to arrive early for a walkthrough in advance of the service.
This unusual service was held in both the old chapel and the adjacent Samaritan House. The service was wonderfully done, incorporating a foot-washing ritual, a Last Supper remembrance and communion, and a candlelight Tenebrae service. The service went well, finishing in about 80 minutes. I drove home in silence, reflecting on the solemn words of the ceremony.
 Easter Sunday • Meridian United Church of Christ April 21, 2019 |
For Easter Sunday I was asked to take pictures for our new website (under construction). I photographed throughout the service and brought home 180 photos. I expect fewer than 20 finished photos – whenever I get the chance to process the set.
In early afternoon I took the kids to Easter dinner with my ex-in-laws. It was a potluck dinner, and I brought a tossed salad. Katie brought roasted potatoes. We had pleasant conversation, but at the end I was pretty exhausted. It had been a long week – with lots of extra socializing. I was happy to finally be home late afternoon to cocoon.
Annoyance morning
Apr. 22nd, 2019 12:35 pmjhetleyArrived at an appointment ten miles upriver, to find that they had called to cancel while I was already en-route . . .