a note to the SFBA Fluorosphere:
As I forgot to mention earlier, B. and I are having our 8th annual SuperB commercials party tomorrow (Sunday the 7th) up in the City (Richmond district). See my lj for slightly more info, or email me for details.
Randolph @800,
that story may have come from Randall Munroe, who described this technique in detail during his fundraiser for the EFF/ start of his book tour.
Michael @444,
On getting to space...
My colleague the astronaut gives this advice (paraphrasing):
"One: She should find something she loves to do--absolutely loves to do. That it may apply to space activities has to be secondary, because she'll need to be dedicated to it before she can find how to apply it to space (example: an expert on blood oxygenation and the brain who used this to apply to the astronaut program)."
"Second: she should be dedicated to at least one high-activity sport, so she is in shape, and one high-thrill [not his words, but my paraphrase] sport. All astronauts have this- rock climbing, sky diving... deep see diving is good, too."
Michael @444,
One of my colleagues is a former astronaut-- I'll ask their take on it next time they're in the office.
An institution which now plays an interesting role in the world of space is International Space University, which has an annual nine-week summer program (which moves each year: last year's was hosted by NASA Ames in California) and masters and MBA programs in France.
An open thread request for pointers:
later this month I'll be traveling to Alpine country (and countries containing said biome).
What are good brands of shoes (or where would one look for shoes) that are 1. warm, 2. good for lots of walking (including big museums) and 3. don't look like hiking boots (are not completely informal). Note: in any truly icy or snow situations, I'll have Yaktrax along, so the shoes themselves don't have to have all-weather tread.
In warmer climes I'd wear black sneakers and be happy, but those aren't at all warm and waterproof. Rainboots and various types of apres-ski boots are warm and weatherproof, but not at all good for all-day walking. Are there brands that specialize in boots with lots of foot support inside?
Today I flew from Toronto to California.
Flights from Canada to the US are currently under a "no carry-ons allowed" rule (with 13 exceptions, each with variants depending on who is interpreting the rules). Books are not in the 13.
I lawful-goodly packed according to their rules, but I carried books with me in checked-luggage, and moved them to carry-on at the appropriate point during security*. I didn't ask-as-such to carry a book**, more of a "I'm going to move this book into my purse now."
I had psyched myself for the possibility of airport-magazine based reading***.
---------
* CA airports have US customs inside, so one drops off checked luggage after customs but before standard security. The enhanced patdown and deep-pocket inspections happened after regular security and just before the gates in each terminal.
** it still felt like I was asking, but I made sure I worded it so I was merely telling.
*** The magazine/book place had only one paperback SFF book: it had the word "Shannara" in the title.
Wishing the Fluorosphere much shine and brightness and a good (or improving) start to 2010.
Merry Christmas from Toronto!
Yesterday's snow remained through this morning, then the rains ("I'm Dreaming of a Wet Christmas") started.
Soon I will Skype to my sister's house back in California, and then we feast here.
A Michigan attorney writing about this term--"bound over"-- described it as:
"the judge has issued a finding of probable cause to proceed. This is much different than the burden of proof required at trial (“beyond a reasonable doubtâ€). In fact, the burden of proof in preliminary examinations is so low that I’ve never seen a case not bound over to Circuit Court unless the prosecution failed to produce any witnesses..." [bolding mine]
Olivicw @239: my condolences on your loss. I agree wtih Siriosa @251.
After my father died, I learned here is no timeline or pattern for grief except the one that becomes visible long-after when you look back. Also, in the weeks after, a small notebook or recorder is useful for when people tell you their memories of her (I found grief intensified the memory of having had conversations, but not always the content).
Serge @838
Brad and I may be attending Eating Heavily.
We had a rare freeze in the San Francisco Bay Area Monday- rain on the valley floor (50 feet above sea level), and snow in the (1500 to 3000 feet elevation) hills. 2 days later the hills are still covered.
Luckily it stayed a couple of degrees above where the citrus trees get damaged (25F and under)*, although I Xmas-lit and blooded-via-thorns the big lemon tree anyways.
* yes, this isn't sympathy-level cold to people who have months of deep freezes, but it can harm lots of citrus and winter veggies. Still, Californians do sympathize with 1-month droughts elsewhere even though "6 months without rain" is what we call "summer."
MyNoWriDeFoWo* is today, such that I am actively suppressing the part of my brain devoted to [nope, cannot even meta-mention it, nothing to think here, move along]. However, were I to have a novel project- which I must strongly believe that I don't, lest I get distracted--I could come back to this thread later on in the month.
---------
My nonfiction writing deadline for work
Who in the fluorosphere is in San Jose for the World Fantasy Con? My significant and I may still make it for the weekend*, but if not the location is also close enough for me to drop by for a soda, if a meetup were to exist outside of the badges-only-zone.
-------
* while it sold out, memberships-for-resale are popping up at random times and prices.
Kip@24,
And here I thought he didn't look a day over...nevermind.
Happy Birthday Jon! I am drinking tea in a made-cup from Japan, contemplating glazes, and remembering when the auction news came in Montreal.
Joel@828,
the local craft stores here often carry egg-shaped foam rounds. Those would be my first thought for a workbase. No second thoughts, though, but I'd want to do the same fix if any of my pysanka-of-sentimental-value broke.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 |
| 2009 | 95 |
| 2008 | 274 |
| 2007 | 462 |
| 2006 | 141 |
Total: 979 comments. View all these comments on a single page. (May take some time to load.)
The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Kathryn from Sunnyvale:
Show all comments by Kathryn from Sunnyvale.