Pumpkin Carving

Ten Things I learned While Carving a 102lb Pumpkin:

1. The walls of such a pumpkin are over six inches thick.
2. There is a surprising lack of seeds and 'goo' inside.
3. Children are even LESS interested, on the whole, about scooping out a large pumpkin than they are in scooping out a smallish pumpkin.
4. I've come to realize that it's a pumpkin until the first face cut is made. Then it becomes a jack o'lantern.
5. One can use an iPhone to research the probability of raising pumpkins next year using the seeds from this year's pumpkin...in real time.
   
6. There is no practical way (within my skill set, anyway) to carve a detailed design on the face of a six-inch-thick jack o'lantern. Beyond a certain size, it's best to revert back to traditional, simple, geometrical faces.
7. No amount of loving encouragement from my wife can change the realties of #6.
   
8. One single candle still lights up the entire inside of a huge jack o'lantern.
9. Pumpkin carving parties are still as much fun as I remember.
10. I really like our friends. And their children.
    

I am learning to share the bounty of helping. I don't have to do it
all. There are areas that definitely require my specific skills. In
other areas, let someone else who's skillful do a better job. Manage
your resources, in other words. This is true for me at home; this is true for me at work.

Copenhagan Suborbital

BoingBoing ran this earlier today. I'm adding a similar write up here. Most people who know me know that I'm pretty positive about any space-based activity. But I gotta say THESE GUYS ARE FREAKIN' CRAZY!!!










C O P E N H A G E N S U B O R B I T A L S

Rainier!

I was talking to my Mom on the phone this afternoon as I drove home. It was a picture perfect sunny autumn day. The sky was cloudless and the temperature had just touched 70 degrees in the afternoon. The deciduous trees are starting to turn, dotting the hillsides along the I 205 corridor with the colors of pumpkin, newly-pressed bricks and latte cremas.As I talked to Mom, I crested the hill and rounded the curve near Johnson Creek. Locals will know the one I mean. I interrupted a　thougｈt I was sharing with her to point oug that Mt St Helens was beautiful in front of me. "Hey Mom, I said, "you won't believe how beautiful Mt St Helens is today. There's a fall moisture in the air that works like a magnifying glass, you know -- the same way the autumn moon gets so huge? Well it's making Mt St Helens look ..." And thats when I saw it. I couldn't believe it. Poking out from behind Mt St Helens, like a class clown making funny faces behind the teacher, was the summit of Mt Rainier.

"Mom! I can't believe it. I can see Rainier!"

I truly cannot recall a time when I could see Mt Rainier from the Portland metro area. Not while on the ground, anyway. It was one of those subtle, sublime moments. I'm glad I noticed it. I could so easily just have missed it altogether.

But I didn't!!

And The Number of Intelligent Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is...

31573.52

No really. At least according to Duncan Forgan at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.

The Drake equation famously calculates the number of advanced
civilisations that should populate our galaxy right now. The result is
hugely sensitive to the assumptions you make about factors such as the
number of planets that orbit a host star that are potentially
habitable, how many of these actually develop life and what fraction of
that goes onto become intelligent etc.

[link]

Changes In Habits

I've spent the weekend getting to know the Asus Eee. Easy enough to do, since we were at the beach visiting Grandma and Grandpa. I took the work-issued laptop along, and vowed not to fire it up unless I absolutely had to.  All-in-all, I was quite successful. The swith to Linux is generally uneventful, except that I'd like more access to the desktop, not a program launcher.

The biggest issue so far has been finding a blog authoring tool. I've been using Microsoft's Windows Live Writer. It's a tool that's quite easy to get used to. Blogging from there is a delight. I found that, while there are a number of blog authoring tools for the Linux world, none of them jump out as being on par with Live Writer. So I'll be trying out some new ones.

Right now, for instance, I'm using Scribefire, which runs from inside my linux version of Firefox. It connected easily to my blogger account, and took about 30 seconds to get started with...as evidenced by this very blog entry. It's not, um,... as beautiful an experience as blogging in Live Writer, but it'll get the job done. I'll play with some of the other choices, though. I may still find what I'm looking for.

anybody have any Linux-based blog authoring tools they'd recommend?

Cloud Eee

I just picked up one of these:

No, it's not a full-sized laptop. The photo hides the fact that the unit has a 9" screen and weighs a bit more than two pounds. When folded up, it's about the size of a Franklin Planner. It is my intention to use this as a personal unit, utilizing 'cloud' computing as much as possible.

Wish me luck. I'll keep you informed of my adventures in Linux-based ultra-mobile cloud computing!

Readying for Winter

The front porch is, as of yesterday, ready for winter. We did a number of little things here over the past few weeks. The mailbox is new; gone is the little mail tray thing that was attached to the window frame. Now we have a family-sized, locking box. Better. I, uh, poured the concrete for the mailbox myself, you know...

 

A couple weeks ago, I removed the front screen door. This resulted in our needing to do some rehabilitation on the door frame (scraping, sanding, hole-filling, painting) to finish up.

C and I tag-teamed the work, a bit here  and a bit there, until C finished it yesterday with a fresh coat of paint all around the porch. All traces of the screen door are now removed, and the front entry just gleams.

Remember how we started? No? Well, prepare yourself. Like this:

Constance*

I put some time into the Jaguar over the weekend. The car's condition is a bit of an unknown quantity right now ... when was the last time it was waxed? Oil changed? ... you know, all that jazz. Because I got the car on consignment, it didn't get any dealer detailing attention. So I gave her a basic all-over detail this weekend. While the weather is still nice, you know...

• Hand wash
• Hand wax
• Wheel chrome polished and waxed
• Tires conditioned and blackened
• Detail brush along all edges and grooves (thanks for that simple, elegant tool, Paula!)
• Engine degreased
• Engine compartment rain gutters cleared of all pine needles, and 'gunk'
• Engine compartment plastic parts refreshed with protectant, for a like-new shine
• Trunk contents organized (first aid kit, tool kit, roadside assist kit, etc.)
• Trunk rain gutters cleaned and polished
• Floor mats cleaned of all grime spots

It took about half my day, but she gleams now. Inside and out. Ready for winter. Here's the engine, just as an example:

See what I mean? The plastics are once again clean and well-conditioned.  That just-built sheen has returned to the exposed metal bits. The scattering of pine needles are gone.

Sunday afternoon, R walked up to the car - unaware that I'd detailed it the day before - and casually ran his hand along the rear fender, just as a daydreaming boy is likely to do.

"Hey! The car's been waxed!" he hollered, surprised and excited. I was flattered, personally. He's not really one to notice things like that. It jumped out at him THIS time, though. He made my day.

I also spent time on the garage this weekend; I finished the interior painting. The garage doors themselves needed paint, as did a few stray 'missed spots' on the walls. Once I tidied up the paint, the next logical step was to finally organize my tools and equipment. It was great to be organizing the space. The garage looks good and, with a detailed car emitting the odors of wax and protectant, smells good too!

The kids were pleased to end the weekend with their computer now properly ensconced in the common room upstairs, instead of hiding out on my basement workbench. I succeeded in getting the desk moved up from the basement, and verified that their shared PC would both connect to the internet and connect to the wi-fi enabled printer. They're all hooked up now, and ready to do their homework as needed, in their own environment.

Which leads me to the basement itself. Organization there continues. We're steadily putting things in an order that makes sense, the end result being a sense of 'spaciousness' instead of oppressive clutter. It's good.

 

* Some, but not all, of my vehicles had names.

	Car	Name
1984 - 1989	1978 Honda Civic	Gertrude
1989 - 1994	1989 Honda Accord Coupe
1991 - 1993	1986 Saab 900 Turbo	Bette
1993 - 2006	1992 Isuzu Trooper	Bessie
1995 - 1998	1995 Kawasaki GPZ1100	Prudence
1997 - 2005	1996 Pontiac Grand Am
2005 - 2008	1992 Mercedes E300 4matic	Babych
2006 - now	2006 Honda Odyssey	Ulysses
2008	1994 Mercedes S320
2008 - now	2004 Jaguar XJ8	Constance

Wreath Double-Whammy

UPDATE: the kids figured out that Peacock Lane is, in fact, unclaimed territory. They wasted no time in claiming it as their personal wreath-selling domain. In previous years, a Boy Scout would serve the street's greenery needs; he apparently moved on. Nobody else has supplied the street for a few years, leaving the residents on their own to buy at retail. So when M and R walked the street, and identified themselves as "the house on the end, behind the tree," most of the houses ordered.

 

Of course, it probably helped that I was putting up our holiday lights this weekend, signaling to the rest of the Peacock Lane residents that our house will, for the first time in anyone's memory, participate in their show. 

Because of this, we've been invited to the Peacock Lane planning meeting.... looks like we're now running with the IN crowd. Thanks, kids!!

 

Add another case-in-point to my earlier blog about the small-town community feeling.

----------

 

M dances ballet. This year, her ballet school is doing a holiday wreath fundraiser. There's a ten wreath minimum. There is one wreath to choose from. Ballet wreaths are 'local delivery' only. Basic 20-inch wreath: $20.

R is in Boy Scouts. This year, his troop is doing a holiday wreath fundraiser. There is no explicit minimum, but the scouts have a whole bunch of wreath and swag choices. Boy Scouts can ship an order anywhere in the continental US. Basic 20-inch wreath: $20. Shipped anywhere: $38. I'll post pictures of the Boy Scout offerings shortly.

Oh, the dilemma! **

I get the strong sense that both programs are using the very same wreath manufacturer right here in Portland; the end product should be identical in both cases. And, because both programs are going direct to the manufacturer, they're selling at the wholesale price.

Here's the description that seems to be accurate for both programs:

Hand tied northwest greenery using Oregon Juniper, Incense Cedar and Noble Fir. Adorned with Ponderosa pine cones. Inner diameter: 12 inches; outer diameter: 20 inches. 

These same wreaths, at the local store or corner tree stand, will cost around $30 this year. So you get a discount over retail, and help fund a developmental program.

So here's the general call out for wreath orders. If you're local to the Portland area and would like to support either program, we'll happily take your order for a wreath and deliver it directly to you. You can specifically state your preference for one charity or another. Otherwise, we plan to fill the ballet minimum requirement ahead of the Boy Scout program.

Boy Scouts have another fund raiser they do as well, so Scouting isn't really missing out if we err toward ballet.

Gotta love the conflicting family obligations, yeah?

 

---

** One program (ballet) uses the stick (minimum sales) to complete the program; the other program (Boy Scouts) uses a carrot (more options, shipping).

The Bigger It Is, The Smaller It Feels

I've been ruminating on this for a while now and it has been sneaking into my blog. I find it paradoxical that we've moved into the city core from the metro edges, only to find that we have a tighter, more hometown flavored life now than ever before. Here are some cases in point:

1. Our neighborhood has a beat cop. I haven't met him yet, but I know his first name.
2. The gas station attendants know us as neighborhood locals. They ask how we're doing as we fill up our cars. When we need air for tires, they give us tokens because "neighbors can use the air machine for free."
3. The neighborhood Boy Scout troop connects us throughout the central SE by way of professional contacts, with doctors, restaurateurs, sewer workers, lawyers and architects.
4. I read the neighborhood newspaper, the Southeast Examiner only to find long-lost college classmates quoted in articles - and living only blocks away!
5. My son gets to meet the mayor...and give a speech to the Portland City Council.  Among a handful of things that makes R stand out to the mayor is the uniqueness of our location...right off Peacock Lane
6. More than one restaurant in the neighborhood not only remembers us but tends to know what we're going to order -- we have 'usuals' !!
7. A neighborhood meat wholesaler has offered to let us by at restaurant pricing, just because we live in the neighborhood and are active in the neighborhood community.
8. Political candidates come to our door. No, Really. We get a lot of door-to-door canvassing.
9. We shop in the same Fred Meyer store where Grandpa Jerry worked as he finished school. There's a multi-generational thing there, nowadays.

All this, while we live, flat-out, in the city. Oh sure, you might be thinking to yourself, you're in a neighborhood, so you've got neighborhood stuff. Well, here's my list of big city things we live with that are of note:

• I can take any one of four bus routes to other places in the city, all within  two blocks of our front door.
• The library is two blocks away.
• Things that do not require driving to access:
  
  • The airport ($2.00 each way, no parking necessary)
  • Ballet (both performances and school)
  • theater,
  • downtown
  • mall shopping
  • nightspots
  • professional sports
  • family-style movie theater
  • three different high schools
  • groceries
  • pharmacy
  • garden store
  • gas station
  • dance studio
  • play ground
  • Boy Scouts
  • dozens of restaurants
  • Kinko's
  • Health Care (docs, naturopaths, optometrists, etc.)
  • City Library
  • Banks
  • outdoor produce stand
  • haircuts
    
• Come time for high school, we can choose between the neighborhood high school, or three close-at-hand magnet schools: technical; arts & dance; business & commerce
• We are equidistant to three universities: Reed College; Portland State; University of Portland; and a seminary. All three are close enough that a child could live at home while attending.
• Our in-town fireworks display, on the Willamette River, is a bike ride away -- 35 blocks.

Here's the paradox. When we lived in the 'burbs, the societal arguments for doing so often included 'sense of community.' Okay, I'll accept that. EXCEPT that I never had a beat cop I knew by name. I never had a candidate come to my door. The mayor didn't recognize my kid and know where he lived. Shoot, I even recognize the three guys who scavenge returnables out of our recycling every Thursday evening, before the garbage trucks get there.

This is the sort of 'know everybody' stuff you expect from a small town -- Myrtle Point, say, or Pacific City. Only it's happening deep within the one town that contains half of the state's population.... it's certainly not happening in the suburbs, where we're told we'll get that sort of lifestyle.

There really isn't a way to wrap this set of observations up; no ribbon of prose to tie around this blog entry like a bow and turn it into an essay. It's just a societal paradox I need to put forward. I'll close with a question:

We're learning that the post-WW2 belief that our cars would change the world turned out to be all too true, but in dangerous and unanticipated ways. Our 'alternative energy' societal thinking marks not NEW thinking, but rather a return to sustainable OLD thinking. Does it not follow, then, that the post-WW2 thinking about suburbs, and the aloofness they built into themselves, is yet another body of societal thinking that is changing?

I certainly feel like my SE Portland experience has re-shaped my thinking.

The Face of the Fan Base, 2008/9

 

So, we got the following email this morning. This is worth celebrating, in my opinion.

Hi N,

I thought you might get a kick out of this site: http://www.nba.com/blazers/index_main.html

S and I are actually shown at the top in the animated GIF!

P

A quick look at the link, and ..... Yup. There they are!

Founding members of the Johnson family VIP people Hall of Fame.

Portland is such a small town, really. I could riff on how, the closer to the center of city I move, the more it transforms into a small-town community atmosphere. This snapshot is just another example of how intimate our town really, really is. 

Here they are, afterall, two of our favorite people now representing the whole community as 'the face of the fan base' on the front page for the only top-tier professional sport in Portland. Imagine... 

Taliban splits with al Qaeda, seeks peace

This from CNN today:

Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country's bloody conflict -- and are severing their ties with al Qaeda, sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN.

During the talks, described as an ice breaker, all parties agreed that the only solution to Afghanistan's conflict is through dialogue, not fighting.

My Baha'i identity is watching these events unfold both cautiously and hopefully. Please let this be for-real.

Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace - CNN.com

Weekend Update

I got to start my day with a workout at the gym. C got the kids going with the still-new routine of ballet and gymnastics on Saturday mornings. It's working better every week, this new schedule.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to a variety of maintenance and get-ready-for-winter activities. I washed both cars, for instance. I did some basement and garage organization and cleanup. Stuff  like that.

Saturday evening was at Baha'i Star Trek night. I'll explain Star Trek nights in a future blog post. Suffice it to say they're a lot of fun and rather goofy!

There is just SUCH a sense of community evolving for us here. Tonight, for instance, C and I were reading our community newspaper, The Southeast Examiner, together. I was reading an article on the upcoming Apple Festival at the Portland Nursery when I stopped dead mid-sentence. You see, I came across a name of someone I knew from college. He's a neighbor! I haven't crossed paths with this guy since 1985 in Corvallis. He's about six blocks away. I just HAVE to look him up; even when we were college acquaintences, we never lived this close to eachother.

Workouts - Oh How I've Missed Them!

Though we've had a membership at a gym for about 18 months,  we've been under-utilizing it. Mostly because we've been concentrating our time on the house project. Well, last week, both C and I started 'poking' at the implementation of regular gym workouts. I started carrying my gym gear in my car, and pushing things around on my calendar to make room for workouts. Though I didn't actually get in to the gym last week, the setting-up process sure got my appetite going.

C, on the other hand, succeeded in getting to a morning class or two last week. She was ecstatic, as a result. This is, after all,  something the oncologist has been counseling her to do ever since she finished her cancer therapies.

 This week, she's already done three classes, with plans for more. She says pilates 'hurts so good' and that it's rewarding to be going again. Looks like the schedule works in her favor, too. She can drop the kids at school, go immediately over to the gym and be on with her day by 10am, energized and exercised. Apparently, the class instructor has already made a relationship connection with C, and is working with her to develop specific strategies for improving her overall fitness post-cancer. I'm proud of her for making this a priority.

For me, Wednesday nights are an obvious choice for a non-negotiable workout time, as are Saturday mornings while the whole family is over in Tigard doing ballet, gymnastics, etc. Even if I can't get to the gym on Saturday, I can still use that time to jog, or something. It'll be put to use, I'm sure. I worked out yesterday, with bike time and some upper body weights (light  weights, high reps, concentrating on remembering the form). This morning, my chronic back pain (from falling down the stairs last spring) is noticeably better. As is my posture. Dang but my body likes it best when I work out.

There's still room, I think, to fit in a morning session or two during the week. I'm continuing to sculpt my schedule to support that idea. Not being a morning person, for example, I've been actively working to move my natural wake-up time forward. I'm not actually going to the gym yet, but the clock radio and the timer on the coffee maker are cooperating to train me for an earlier wake up.

I haven't mentioned it to C, but she seems to be getting up earlier too. I sense that she's moving things along more purposefully so as to get to her class on time. This has the side-effect of a more relaxed, in-front-0f-the-curve school prep. The kids are feeding off the calmer atmosphere and stepping up their performance as well. It's all good - so much less drama nowadays!

So, it seems we all got an immediate emotional boost from the return to the gym. The children sure connect with the benefits of their dance and gymnastics time. Now, us parents get to have the same benefits.

Robber uses Craigslist to hire unwitting look-a-like decoys?

 

by The Oregonian
Wednesday October 01, 2008, 9:42 AM

A guy who robbed an armored truck driver Monday in Monroe, Wash., and escaped downriver on an innertube may have hired as many as 12 men to dress the same and show up for a temp job at what would become a crime scene. The Seattle Times has the full story here.

Mike, who wanted to be identified only by his first name, told KING-5 that he saw a Craigslist ad last week seeking workers for a road-maintenance project. He inquired and was e-mailed instructions to meet near the bank at 11 a.m. Tuesday and to wear specific clothing. "Yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask ... and, if possible, a blue shirt," Mike told KING-5.

No contractor met Mike and about a dozen other similarly dressed men who showed up at the bank, and they thought they had been stood up. Then, KING-5 reported, a man told them about the bank robbery.

Did innertube robber use Craigslist to hire unwitting look-a-like decoys? - Breaking News From Oregon & Portland - Oregonlive.com