The Physics of Music

BoinBoing linked to this tutorial from Tufts University:

The Physics of Music and Musical Instruments

 

Science and art combined; music and physics; math and sound. Cross disciplinary heaven.

This is perhaps the perfect intersection for all interests within the Typhoon.

New Phones are Here!

Kids get phones like this:          Grownups get phones like this:

 

             

Kitchen Countertops

Just in case you haven't seen how the stone countertops turned out.

 

We're Moving to Verizon

Through an interesting chain of events, I can announce that we've started the switch from Sprint to Verizon Wireless. It seems that, when Sprint changes their administrative fee structure, that opens up a window of opportunity in which you can request to discontinue your contract without paying the stiff early termination fee. Sprint changed their administration fees earlier this month; the window of opportunity opened; we seized it.

By this time next week, our existing phone numbers will port over to Verizon. You'll still reach us at the same phone numbers. But, if Verizon is your carrier, we'll now be in-network.

And that's my question to those who keep tabs on us Johnsons here on the blog -- who's a Verizon subscriber? Who's now a free in-network call?

Verizon subscribers:  Sound Off!!

I got....nuthin'

I haven't really felt compelled to blog much lately. I mean, I've been following all the news of Obama's inauguration and local Portland scandal. I've been tracking the renewable energy news, and devoting huge chunks of my attention to my job. Often, blog-worthy things emerge from these times. Not right now, however.

I guess that's a good thing. As hectic as work is right now, it helps to have the rest of our lives somewhat stable.

C's MRIs in December have all come back with 'clean' results. No cancer detectable. That's good. She's writing another contract project. I get the sense that, while it's work, she's happy doing it.

As for me, however, I get to see the doctor next week. Seems I have a hernia. Probably had it a long, long time. Only now is it getting to be a source of discomfort. Doc says it needs surgery. So there it is. On the other hand, the optometrist says my corrective lens prescription is lessening.

All things considered, that things are uneventful and unworthy of blogging is a good thing right at this point in time. I'll take it. Happily.

Someone's Taking Orders for Girl Scout Cookies

If you're interested, you know how to reach us!

Did You Know?

If you play your cards right, and you show up in the stonecutter's store at just the right time, you can get custom-installed slab granite countertops for your house in less than 24 hours?

It can be done. C did it.

Never thought I'd see that...

Oh. Almost forgot -- the countertops are fabulous!

Mixed Bag of News

So, here's a weekend update with a mixed bag of newsy tidbits.

• C had a series of MRIs at the end of December. Two of the three came back negative, which is positive. What I mean is, the MRIs so far don't show any new cancer tumors.
• The MRIs did give a detailed accounting of how much arthritis C is working through, and precisely where. The docs will be turning their attention from teasing out any metastatic tumors to managing arthritis. It's a much more mundane - and reassuring situation, arthritis.
  
• People are calling to see the Stark Street house. That's great!
• M recorded her own composition at music class this last week. I'll post
  it separately. C listened to it with M and the music teacher last
  night. C mentioned that she was impressed with the quality (as a
  partial and proud mom should). The teacher responded that he was rather
  impressed too, that normally compositions don't turn out as nicely as
  this one did.
• I met an old friend after work last week. I'm guessing she'd rather go unidentified in the blog, but we were close through college and for a number of years afterward. It seems that a little time with her was good for my soul, somehow. To speak of our conversation and say "I needed it" isn't accurate. To say "I wanted it" also isn't quite right. I was certainly looking forward to our meeting, and enjoyed seeing her, and I came away a better person for having spent some time together. I'm grateful for that.
  
• R gave a speech to his fifth grade class earlier in the week. It went quite well, i was told.
• We're back to the kind of weather one would expect from January in Portland. Temps int he 40's, grey dull skies, a bit of rain. The monotony is welcome now that we can hold up three weeks of Minnesota-style winter for comparison.
  
• Weather service announced this week that we're in a La Nina year. Again. We had one of those last year, too. La Nina explains why we had snow in Portland in April. We might not be done with the unpredictable cold snaps yet this winter. I'll keep the tire chains within reach.
• C is sick today. Flu sick. Poor thing. It came on suddenly. She started her day fine, but was green and nauseous within the hour. She got through her obligations, vomited a couple times throughout the day, and went to bed when we got back home at 2:30 or so. A couple hours later, she's still sleeping. I really don't expect to hear from her again until morning.
• M returned to ballet classes today. For her, that was a signal of the return to normalcy. I think she was glad to be back. For the rest of the afternoon, I noticed her quietly doing ballet footwork whenever she was being patient for something or someone. Yeah. She's glad to be back.
• We only finished our 2007 taxes six weeks ago, but we're nearly ready to start submitting our paperwork for our 2008 taxes. We haven't been on a proper tax schedule since the cancer diagnosis in 2005. To enter 2009 ready to start filing our return as soon as Jan 31, is a great feeling.
  
• I took down the holiday lights this afternoon. It's good to have that done.
• I have a handful of small household projects to work on over the weekend. Little things like installing vinyl floor moldings along the laundry area to give a finished look there. Minor, really. I like that. We'll do enough big work once moving time comes around.In the meantime, I'm trying to 'rest' whenever and however I can.
  

I don't seem to have much to say that's philosophical or profound at the moment. I'm grateful for many things, and am hopeful, given these crazy, unexpected times. There are many other good things going on that are outside the scope of this blog. Should only a portion of them come to pass, I will feel unusually blessed in these times.

Tilt Shift Photos

Okay, this is an ongoing BoingBoing meme, but I wanted to capture this particular website... and a tilt shifted photo from my own collection.

 

More UW Gym Meet Video - Pommel

 

R's Mushroom base arrived yesteday. Now he's got a setup just like you see in the start of this video. Daily practice, yeah?

I Kinda' Wish It Were True...

The Onion is making fun of MacWorld, but oh they do it so well here!

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

UW Gym Meet - R Kicks Off 2009 Season

R's Parallel Bars

R's Vault

The Answer is 'Three'

My family (how many? 'three') is working their way home from Seattle as I write this. How many days have they been gone? 'Three.' It's currently snowing, so I've been checking the highway traffic cameras along the I5 corridor from Seattle to Portland. It's snowing just about everywhere in between.

In a town where we usually measure snow's presence in hours, we're measuring it this winter in weeks. We've had snow on the ground in central SE Portland continuously for 'three' weeks now. That's two full weeks of school vacation, preceded by nearly a full week of snow days during the initial onslaught. Oh sure, as of this afternoon, we were down to a skiff across the lawn, but nevertheless, we've had visible snow since December 13. And now, on the verge of school resuming, the snow freshens its cover.

For my sister, who lives in the Coast Range mountains, she's had a full-blown winter accumulation for three continuous weeks. I'm betting her tractor is now just a snowdrift next to the barn and that the tractor won't re-emerge until sometime in April. And if I'm right, how many months will it have been buried? 'Three!'

Is the return to school at risk of a delay? Not at this time. The forecast calls for the snow to turn to rain before morning. The rest of the family will probably be home late, thanks to some slower than average drive speeds. At what time? Let's hope the answer to that question is not also 'three.'

The Seattle family time seems to have gone well. I would have liked to have been there too. I've had a chance to get a lot of things done here at home, as well as time to think about some large business issues what with just me and the animals. How many animals you ask? Three!

R's gym meet also seems to have gone well, according to reports. He scored consistently strong in all events except his rings. Apparently he bobbled his routine a bit somehow. He isn't satisfied with his performances overall. He expects so much from himself during competitions. In the big picture, this is good. He's connecting with his drive to be excellent at his sport. He may currently be lacking in some of the social graces that, when combined with his drive, will make for a hard-working yet gracious athlete, but he's making progress on those social skills. My next area of guidance for R will be that the pursuit of excellence, though often frustrating, need not be miserable. It can be frustrating AND joyous.

I'll have videos posted later tonight, I suspect. How many? Oh, at least 'three.'

New Research on the Clovis Extinction

 

From slashdot:

a new paper was published today in the journal Science on the hypothesis that a comet impact wiped out the Clovis people 12,900 years ago. (We discussed this hypothesis last year when it was put forth.) The new evidence is a layer of nanodiamonds at locations all across North America, at a depth corresponding to 12,900 years ago, none earlier or later. The researchers hypothesize that the comet that initiated the Younger Dryas, reversing the warming from the previous ice age, fragmented and exploded in a continent-wide conflagration that produced a layer of diamond from carbon on the surface.

[Link to the article]

From the article itself:

Something dramatic happened about 12,900 years ago, and the continent of North America was never the same. A thriving culture of Paleo-Americans, known as the Clovis people, vanished seemingly overnight. Gone, too, were most of the largest animals: horses, camels, lions, mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, ground sloths and giant armadillos.