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November 29, 2005
Comfort Foods
I'm sick. Actually, Dawnise and I are both sick, though she seems to be getting over it faster than I am (or perhaps I'm just a wimp, who can tell).
When I'm sick, one of the first signs is a craving for grapefruit juice. The second is a craving for my mom's home-made Chicken Soup (the grapefruit juice is much easier to come by these days). I also realized that when I'm sick, I'm much more likely to desire Swee-Touch-Nee tea (also a non-trivial thing to procure).
So I've been drinking grapefruit juice like a fish, sleeping, and generally making a pest of myself when I'm awake. I'm trying to go easy on the tea, seeing as how I have a limited supply.
I'm amazed Dawnise hasn't killed me yet...
Posted by dberger at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)
November 28, 2005
We're baackk...
Our flight back to SEA was mostly uneventful, though between the proverbial screaming baby one row behind us (he was actually pretty good, just got cranky occasionally) and both of our heads being congested from the cold we caught, or possibly brought with us, it wasn't the most festive two and a half hours I've ever spent.
I made it to the office, though I'm not sure I'll make it through the day - even dosed on Dayquil I'm feeling pretty blasted.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in the surprise brunch on Sunday, and do those who joined us on Sunday night at Grapevine. I'm very fortunate to have such a caring group of friends.
Posted by dberger at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2005
Surprise!
Thanks to everyone who arrived at Vince and Donna's place this morning, waffle irons in tow, for a (successful) surprise brunch. It was great to see everyone, and watching the assembly line of waffle irons cranking out waffles (not to mention the hen-house worth of eggs, bacon, and sausage) was highly entertaining.
I'm very fortunate to have friends who care enough to drive (some from as far as Temecula , San Jacinto, and Long Beach) out to Corona to mark my passing another year.
Thank you, all.
Last stop on the tour - Grapevine, tonight, 7pm. :)
Posted by dberger at 2:36 PM | Comments (1)
Birthday Dinner
Vince and Donna decided that rather than taking Dawnise and I out to dinner for my birthday, they'd bring dinner to us. So around 5:30, just as I was getting back from retrieving Dawnise and making a quick stop at BevMo, a crew of three arrived at their place and started cooking.
Vince and Donna had found Windy Plum Farms some months back, and had commissioned (do you commission chefs the way you commission other artists?) them for their Anniversary at the end of October.
Dawnise and I had sent some menu suggestions earlier this week, while trying to leave room for the chef to flex their wings.
We ended up starting with bruschetta, followed by a well executed french onion soup and some calamari. A butter lettuce, apple, and candied pecan salad with raspberry hazelnut vinaigrette led way to the mains - which varied around the table. While my "pepper steak" wasn't what I was expecting (I was looking for a pepper crusted sirloin or fillet, what I got was more like a pepper stroganoff) it was very good, as was the spaetzle and veggies that accompanied it. Desert was an absolutely delectable chocolate pots-du-creme, which made a significant impression on all at the table.
Continue reading "Birthday Dinner"
Posted by dberger at 12:14 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2005
The Children of the Company
Just finished The Children of the Company. It read well, as Baker's prose typically does - but it failed to hang together as much of a story. It almost felt as if it would have been better released as a collection of shorts, without the attempt to glue them together.
It also seems that it came before The Life of the World to Come - so if you're reading the Company novels, I'd suggest reversing the order in which I ended up reading them.
Posted by dberger at 2:12 PM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2005
Looking for Jake
I've finished Looking for Jake, a short story collection from China Miéville. There were several stories that I really enjoyed - and if you're a fan of his fiction, it's definitely worth picking up.
Posted by dberger at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2005
Speechless
I'm reading Looking for Jake, a short story collection by China Miéville. If you've read any Miéville, it shouldn't be surprising that more than one of the stories in the collection are deeply disturbing.
One in particular - "foundation" left a lasting image. I finished the penultimate story, and the boat was nearing the Seattle dock, so I decided not to start it yet, and flipped to the last few pages of the novel, and read the Acknowledgements.
The last paragraph caught me by surprise:
I would like to point out that the historical detail in the story "foundation" is accurate and a matter of record. The U.S. Army did bury Iraqi soldiers alive, using tanks mounted with plows. Among many other sources, see Patrick Sloyan's article "How the Mass Slaughter of a Group of Iraqis Went Unreported," The Guardian, 14 February 2003.
That reference led me here.
Posted by dberger at 8:31 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2005
Big Damn Television, Third Time's the Charm?
Back in August (was it really that long ago?) we bought a new TV. It was less than perfect.
The image retention problem got worse, and Vizio RMA'd the unit. They delivered the new one on Wednesday which is a story unto itself.
The freight company calls on Friday to say that it's "here" (at SEATAC) and they'd like to deliver it today. Neither Dawnise nor I was at home, never mind the fact that I had spoken to the manufacturer and they assured me I'd have at least 24 hours notice. They couldn't (wouldn't) deliver it on Saturday, so I told him I'd look for a day this week. I also learned that he wasn't planning to pick up the old one - meaning we'd have to arrange another day to handle that end.
I called Vizio and informed them that "since I'm already on my second unit, I kept all the packaging expecting to have to return it" and that I wanted drop-off and pick up at the same time.
Continue reading "Big Damn Television, Third Time's the Charm?"
Posted by dberger at 6:18 PM | Comments (1)
November 16, 2005
Great way to start a morning
I started this morning on an early ferry and met two ne'er-do-well's that I used to work with for Breakfast.
They were in town for a conference, and while we couldn't swing time for dinner based on their conference schedule, we did the next best thing. We met at Le Pichet, a lovely french cafe on 1st ave just north of the Market.
Breakfast was good (croissants, cured ham, baguette, coffee) and the conversation was great. Put me in a very good mood, despite facing a solid day of meetings (seriously - I have 45 minutes blocked out for lunch, otherwise I'm booked from 9:30 to 5:30 - it's crazy).
Posted by dberger at 9:44 AM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2005
Al Franken, Redux
A couple of folks reacted pretty viscerally to my "political agnosticism" post - one went so far as to drop a copy of Al Franken's book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right on my desk at work.
So I read it.
And it annoyed the hell out of me.
Continue reading "Al Franken, Redux"
Posted by dberger at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
The Life and Times of a Diabetic Cat
Junior's doing pretty well. We're getting him into a routine - he's fed twice a day, has a half hour to eat, and then gets his insulin shot: 2 units, twice a day, to be adjusted after his next vet visit and blood work.
He's still drinking a bit more than normal, but nowhere near what he was drinking just before taking him in. He seems a bit more energetic, as well - though that could just be that he's getting more regular doses of attention (even if said attention comes complete with a jab in the shoulder or hips).
It has made life a bit more complicated, but we'll figure it out. We can't assume friends are able to pop in twice a day and feed/medicate him, so we're starting the search for a trustworthy pet-sitter to attend to him while we're in California over Thanksgiving.
Posted by dberger at 10:01 PM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2005
The Little Things
The other day, I wandered up to the Cafeteria to make a cup of tea. Much to my unexpected delight, I found real lemon on the condiment table - rather than the little packets of reconstituted lemon juice they'd had the last time I looked.
It's small, it's stupid, but it sorta made my day.
Another example: on Wednesday a sales team scheduled a call with a (prospective) customer over lunch on Thursday. I have a recurring 45 minute block from 12:15 to 1pm - so them scheduling this call means they double booked me.
So I pushed back - saying they needed to either move the meeting, or coordinate food. "They" (the "they" who do these things) said they'd arrange food.
Thursday, moments before the call was to start, I realized that no one else on the call was in the Seattle office. So I'm sitting in my office, wondering "where's the lunch" when in walks one of the admin assistants from their group with lunch, fresh from the caf'.
It wasn't gourmet, but it was food. Her only comment, as she was walking out was "geez, they must have really needed you on the call..."
Posted by dberger at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2005
Quote of the Day; November 12, 2005
"The argument for aboriginal whaling by the actual indigenous people is seldom made on a basis of subsistence, but more often because hunting whales is a 'cultural tradition of their people that must be preserved.' This, of course, is utter bullshit. It's a tradition of Americans of European descent to commit genocide on indigenous people, but that doesn't mean we ought to start doing it again. Even some old ideas are still bad ideas."
- Christopher Moore; Fluke
Posted by dberger at 8:21 PM | Comments (0)
Woken Furies
Just finished Woken Furies, Richard Morgan's latest Takeshi Kovacs novel.
Damn was that good.
I loved Altered Carbon - it was like Bladerunner, Neuromancer, (shaddap, Titus, or I'll take your geek club blazer badge away ;)) and The Maltese Falcon, all rolled into one. I basically liked Broken Angels, it added shades of Alien - and did it competently, though it stumbled occasionally.
Furies was excellent - the story was solid, the characters compelling, and the backdrop was at times incredible - he effortlessly invented myths that felt ageless, culture that just was.
Highly recommended.
Posted by dberger at 8:06 PM | Comments (0)
November 7, 2005
The ongoing tale of Junior
For the last several weeks, Junior (our silver Norwegian Forest Cat) had been drinking water like a fiend and peeing like a proverbial race horse. After reading a bit online, and realizing that there was almost no chance of this being a good thing, I made an appointment at our local Vets.
So it was with only a little surprise that we learned Friday night that Junior has developed diabetes.
So tomorrow night I come home early and we take the cat, the insulin, and the needles to the vets to learn to dose him; a procedure he'll need twice a day, every day. He'll likely spend a fair bit of time at the vets over the next few months, as we adjust the dosage; which translates directly to our spending a fair bit of money at the vets over the next few months, as we adjust the dosage.
Hopefully, once we get the dosage dialed in, he'll stop flooding his litter box, but it's too much to hope that his scatological habits will improve enough for him to resume life outside his cage.
So traveling is going to get more tricky - we'll have to find a trusted pet-sitter who's comfortable administering insulin. Fortunately, some friends on the island had a cat in a similar situation, and our neighbor is the office manager for the local animal hospital and (according to her husband, who I commute with on the ferry) is comfortable assisting with simple procedures (like shots).
Dawnise took the news relatively well - I kept reinforcing that it's not a painful condition and, if treated reliably, needn't shorten or reduce the quality of Juniors life.
Posted by dberger at 8:01 AM | Comments (1)
November 6, 2005
The Wonderful world of SATA
Non geeks may find nothing of interest here. Consider yourself warned.
One of the drives in my desktop machine started warning me of impending failure a few days back. I had sorta been waiting for it to die - seeing as how it's an IBM Deathstar. I wasn't particularly worried about it, since it houses my home directory (Windows users, think "\\Documents and Settings\\<your user name>") and is part of a software RAID-1 mirror set.
Anyway, I picked up two 300G Serial ATA drives, each about $90 after rebate, and started thinking about the upgrade. My biggest concern was moving my Windows XP install, which I keep around for the (very) occasional game session. I keep the Windows installation on a FAT file system, and during a hardware upgrade I normally just pick it up and move it (boot Linux, move the files, boot the XP cd and fix the boot-loader). I wasn't sure this would work this time, since XP doesn't natively grok SATA.
Turns out my fears were justified. While the BIOS would boot off the SATA drives without a problem, the XP CD didn't see the attached drives, hence no recovery console.
Continue reading "The Wonderful world of SATA"
Posted by dberger at 8:06 PM | Comments (0)
November 2, 2005
I'll see your double hippie and raise you a hippie
The last couple batches of coffee in our bag was tossed out during a routine cleaning of the fridge.
My coffee buddy decided to try something new - Tony's Fair Trade, Organic, Shade Grown Blend.
It's cheaper than the Starbucks (plus), and better tasting (double plus).
Posted by dberger at 3:44 PM | Comments (2)
November 1, 2005
Rocky Horror, Small Town Style
The island's "art theater" did two Halloween showings of RHPS, and encouraged audience participation.
So Brad and Kat, Todd and Bronwyn and a friend, and Dawnise and I loaded up bags with rice, squirt guns, toast, confetti, rubber gloves, etc. etc. and went to the early show at 7 last night (sign #1 that you're getting to be an old fart - you go to the early Rocky showing).
The audience was mostly to young for my comfort (sign #2 that you're getting to be an old fart - you think RHPS isn't "appropriate" for young teenagers) and were definitely far to young to be that drunk (sign #3 - you have a hard time finding drunk teenagers "cute"). When I was 16 I might have found the sight of wobbly 14 year-olds traipsing around in their knickers to be a plus, but now it's just sorta sad.
Having said all that - it was a good time. We laughed, listened to the gradual ongoing shift in the banter (much of it is the same, but bits change over time) and went back to Brad and Kats' place to make fun of it all (and pick rice out of places rice has no business being) when it was over. As Brad pointed out - a "Halloween only" showing of Rocky is, by definition, weak tea - but I'm not sure my lifestyle is compatible with the "real thing" anymore.
I think that's probably a good thing, really.
Posted by dberger at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)