Archive for August, 2011
good, bad and weird news
Sometimes having a wide variety of experiences is not calculated to make you more popular. However, I did manage to restrain my initial reaction when my mom emailed to say they were OK after yesterday’s 5.9 earthquake. This is probably good, as my initial response was something like “Only 5.9? Would wouldn’t you be fine?” […]
the Hiroshima treat; the Hiroshima tragedy
You know how Rice-A-Roni is billed as “the San Francisco treat”? The website says it’s based on an Armenian recipe, but considering the Japanese population in San Francisco, I’m not convinced. I just had something called ‘sobameshi’ for lunch, rice fried together with noodles, and both the rice-chopped noddle combination and the seasoning remind me […]
and so it goes
I…. don’t … wanna go to the US for only one week and then come right back to work. (Well, as you might guess, I actually mind only the coming back, not the going. I think we made a strategic error this year by underestimating our available holiday time and not taking big heaping gobs […]
it’s a cup of tea, but not quite my cup of tea (book impression: The Magicians)
First, my nephew is doing well. I’m pondering a nom for him here, even though I did mention that his name is Hunter, since someday he’ll be old enough to care about privacy; there are so many choices! Some are a bit silly; possibilities are Orion (a play on his name), MacDuff (because he was […]
I’m not done yet!
My sister-in-law and new nephew are doing well, as of last night when I talked to them. (As for my brother, if his wife and son are well, then he is well. One of the better things he said to me yesterday was that he was anxious to get home not so much for the […]
enter Hunter
There are people for whom things always seem to happen all at once and for whom, though no fault of their own, things never seem to go as smoothly as they ought to. I suppose the flip side is that they can be extra happy when it all works out well in the end. My […]
on pants and traveling (but not traveling pants)
My pants are too short. This pisses me off, because I’ve only had them for a few months and I paid a ridiculous shipping fee to have them sent here. I cannot seem to find good work clothing here; for one thing it’s extremely difficult to find trousers that fit me (not only is there […]
the contagion of outrage: outside influences, part 2
This is the second part of me maundering on about how my feelings and opinions are affected by discussion online. In the first part I talked about how sometimes I get too affected by other people’s discussions of their very real problems, like a medical student with hypochondria. That is entirely my own problem. Not […]
outside influences, part 1
One of the things I worry about, being online so much around so many fabulously articulate people, is how much my own feelings and opinions are unduly influenced by other people. This plays out in a bunch of ways and not all are bad, but some are. It’s getting long, so I’ll split it into […]
I didn’t vote
So there’s this poll from NPR on the best science fiction and fantasy books of all time. (So far!) Both books and series are on the list; you are supposed to vote for up to ten of them. I couldn’t do it. For one thing I’m not thrilled with the list – there’s a lot […]