(might as well publish these posts I started almost a year ago ...)
After my terrific time in Sydney, I was thrilled to head to Wellington, New Zealand, not least because I was meeting up with a friend. I was ready to chat with someone.
I arrived in New Zealand's capital city on Sunday afternoon, Dec 21. The airport isn't big, which usually means shorter lines. However, the lines for immigration were really really slow. Apparently, five international flights landed at once, creating long queues.
Happily, my friend Deb was waiting for me even though it took an hour longer than expected for me to clear immigration and customs. Here's the weird thing about New Zealand: to come here as a tourist, you need to have "proof" that you have plans to leave the country. A printed airline itinerary is sufficient if it shows your departing flight ... and this is "proof"?
After decompressing on Sunday evening, Monday had me meeting a colleague at the National Library of New Zealand (notice the trend here?). Gordon and I exchanged notes on our latest efforts in digiital library work, and then went for tea. My friend Deb loves tea. One doesn't forget New Zealand's relationship with the British Commonwealth.
I decided to walk in to town to meet Gordon, to get a little exercise. I passed a building with a paint job after my heart:
After meeting with Gordon, I went to Te Papa, the wonderful museum in downtown Wellington. As an added bonus, there's no admission charge.
I was supposed to cross the Cook Strait on Tuesday and swim with the Dolphins near Picton, on the South Island, on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, I woke up with a migraine on Tuesday. I decided to cancel my excursion and take some down time. I was sorry to give up that experience, but I can easily imagine coming back to New Zealand, focusing on the South Island for a few weeks.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Canberra ... sort of
(might as well publish these posts I started almost a year ago ...)
I went to Canberra for two days to meet with a couple of programmers at the National Library of Australia, Mark Triggs and Steve McPhillips. They've done some great stuff with the open source software we're using at Stanfrd. I was even more impressed with their work after I met with them; I got a potential solution to a problem I'm having; I saw their initial solution to a problem I'll be working on in the future. And, there's no price on a face-to-face meeting for strengthening a connection and expanding working relationships.
Steve and Mark earnestly encouraged me to spend "extra" time in Sydney, rather than Canberra; I shouldn't have listened to them so earnestly. Canberra seemed like a lovely, if quiet, town, and I would have enjoyed visiting the National Gallery of Australia and some of the other attractions in the Australian Capital. So ONE day extra would definitely have been appealing.
On the other hand, I didn't take any photos. But: I was working while I was there, not sight seeing.
I went to Canberra for two days to meet with a couple of programmers at the National Library of Australia, Mark Triggs and Steve McPhillips. They've done some great stuff with the open source software we're using at Stanfrd. I was even more impressed with their work after I met with them; I got a potential solution to a problem I'm having; I saw their initial solution to a problem I'll be working on in the future. And, there's no price on a face-to-face meeting for strengthening a connection and expanding working relationships.
Steve and Mark earnestly encouraged me to spend "extra" time in Sydney, rather than Canberra; I shouldn't have listened to them so earnestly. Canberra seemed like a lovely, if quiet, town, and I would have enjoyed visiting the National Gallery of Australia and some of the other attractions in the Australian Capital. So ONE day extra would definitely have been appealing.
On the other hand, I didn't take any photos. But: I was working while I was there, not sight seeing.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Australia Wildlife World
(might as well publish these posts I started almost a year ago ...)
While my stay in Australia is urban, I wanted to take the opportunity to see some of the native fauna, and the word was that Australia Wildlife World is better for that than the local zoo. Also, I've been afraid to go to a zoo since I was in Africa -- seeing "zoo" animals roaming free, living their lives, reminded me of how constrained and sad is the life of an animal in the zoo.
Anyway, I was horrified to discover that even though AWW was open until 9 p.m., the kangaroo and koala exhibits were only open until 6. I learned this at 5:50 p.m., when I arrived. However, the postings at the admissions counter didn't reflect what was going on at the displays. I made a beeline for the kangaroos, which closed first ... but bumped into koalas first. I was thrilled to be a few feet away from koalas with no fence or glass or plastic between us.
Turns out koalas sleep a LOT.
To my great pleasure, I wasn't too late for the kangaroo exhibit either. The staff person I was speaking to called over the balcony and asked the kangaroo staff person to wait for me, which was awesome.
A Japanese woman behind me wasn't allowed in to see the kangaroos up close and personal, but there was a lot of plastic / glass wall to watch them. We enjoyed the rest of the exhibit together, more or less. She spoke some english.
It turns out that kangaroo balls are pretty darn big and dangly.
Wallabees are apparently a little smaller than koalas.
Butterflies, eh.
There were some other reptile / insects of interest ...
While my stay in Australia is urban, I wanted to take the opportunity to see some of the native fauna, and the word was that Australia Wildlife World is better for that than the local zoo. Also, I've been afraid to go to a zoo since I was in Africa -- seeing "zoo" animals roaming free, living their lives, reminded me of how constrained and sad is the life of an animal in the zoo.
Anyway, I was horrified to discover that even though AWW was open until 9 p.m., the kangaroo and koala exhibits were only open until 6. I learned this at 5:50 p.m., when I arrived. However, the postings at the admissions counter didn't reflect what was going on at the displays. I made a beeline for the kangaroos, which closed first ... but bumped into koalas first. I was thrilled to be a few feet away from koalas with no fence or glass or plastic between us.
Turns out koalas sleep a LOT.
To my great pleasure, I wasn't too late for the kangaroo exhibit either. The staff person I was speaking to called over the balcony and asked the kangaroo staff person to wait for me, which was awesome.
A Japanese woman behind me wasn't allowed in to see the kangaroos up close and personal, but there was a lot of plastic / glass wall to watch them. We enjoyed the rest of the exhibit together, more or less. She spoke some english.
It turns out that kangaroo balls are pretty darn big and dangly.
Wallabees are apparently a little smaller than koalas.
Butterflies, eh.
There were some other reptile / insects of interest ...
The Rocks ... and a coat
There's a neighborhood in Sydney, on the other side of the passenger dock area from the Opera House, called the Rocks. It's an old neighborhood that has been reinvented into a fun and funky area. There are some good restaurants and some great shops. (Not even a week down here, and it's "shops" not "stores".)
Here is the funky christmas "chair tree", which has some connection with a charity (see sign in photo):
Here's a view of the Harbor Bridge from the Rocks:
An excellent tourist information center is located in the Rocks; I was even introduced to a reptile there:
--------
A friend of mine has taken up riding (horses ... what were YOU thinking?) and asked me to get him a particular Australian brand waterproof riding coat and hat. A little web research unearthed two shops that carry the clothing line; they are both in the Rocks. I found the first store, and the propreitress was extremely helpful. She showed me that the sizes were smaller than USA sizes, and insisted she needed the chest size before she would sell me a coat, because she wanted it to fit properly. She was also very helpful regarding the hat: she informed me that the particular style requested had a soft (floppy) brim, and might not be suitable for riding. But this raises questions: is the brim stiffness more important than the chin strap? It was a bit tricky putting her directly in touch with Bob, since she didn't get email in the store, and I didn't have Bob's phone number. Luckily, she was able to pop into the neighboring shop and use their computer, and also luckily, I knew Bob's easy-to-remember email address. To make a long story slightly shorter: she and Bob eventually connected via telephone and she is mailing him the coat (because she didn't have the right size in stock). GREAT customer service.
Here is the funky christmas "chair tree", which has some connection with a charity (see sign in photo):
Here's a view of the Harbor Bridge from the Rocks:
An excellent tourist information center is located in the Rocks; I was even introduced to a reptile there:
--------
A friend of mine has taken up riding (horses ... what were YOU thinking?) and asked me to get him a particular Australian brand waterproof riding coat and hat. A little web research unearthed two shops that carry the clothing line; they are both in the Rocks. I found the first store, and the propreitress was extremely helpful. She showed me that the sizes were smaller than USA sizes, and insisted she needed the chest size before she would sell me a coat, because she wanted it to fit properly. She was also very helpful regarding the hat: she informed me that the particular style requested had a soft (floppy) brim, and might not be suitable for riding. But this raises questions: is the brim stiffness more important than the chin strap? It was a bit tricky putting her directly in touch with Bob, since she didn't get email in the store, and I didn't have Bob's phone number. Luckily, she was able to pop into the neighboring shop and use their computer, and also luckily, I knew Bob's easy-to-remember email address. To make a long story slightly shorter: she and Bob eventually connected via telephone and she is mailing him the coat (because she didn't have the right size in stock). GREAT customer service.
Sydney Opera House, Harbor Bridge
After I enjoyed the Royal Botanical Gardens, I followed the water's edge a short distance to the iconic building.
I so wanted to attend a concert or an opera performance, but there wasn't one. I contented myself with walking around the building and poking into the public foyers. Hard to know how well the building actually works for all its various purposes.
It is a wonder from the outside.
Here's what the roof looks like up close. The surface is made of ceramic tiles -- at least that's what they looked like.
The architect had a eureka moment when he figured out he could make the forms he desired from a spherical surface.
There were these neato lights - they seem to have a surface that floats above the funnel thingy on the bottom. I also have no idea what lights up or how they work
.
The parts I saw inside weren't stunning - a celebration of the glory of concrete. Okay, I'm being cruel. Concrete is great; it's really useful. And it was the big material for architecture in some era or other.
The Harbor Bridge:
I didn't go up on it because of an experience I had in Portland, OR. I was walking across a bridge there, and it was one of those metal bridges where you can see what's below in the spaces between the metal. I got about half way across and had some sort of fear-of-heights/vertigo thing: I was suddenly frozen with some irrational fear and unable to walk any further. I didn't want to stand there forever, of course, so I tried to think my way out of the situation. I concluded that I could either get down on my hands and knees and crawl off the bridge or I could run to keep looking ahead, not down, and to get it over with as quickly as possible. Determining my chosen method, and whether I went on or backtracked, I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.
The passenger docks for the Sydney harbor (south side) are nearby, and there's a lot of bustle and a perpetual street fair atmosphere there. But what really struck me were the overhangs for the walk ways. I assumed they were for sun protection. And maybe they were ... but after seeing them in New Zealand, I think they might also be for rain protection ...
I so wanted to attend a concert or an opera performance, but there wasn't one. I contented myself with walking around the building and poking into the public foyers. Hard to know how well the building actually works for all its various purposes.
It is a wonder from the outside.
Here's what the roof looks like up close. The surface is made of ceramic tiles -- at least that's what they looked like.
The architect had a eureka moment when he figured out he could make the forms he desired from a spherical surface.
There were these neato lights - they seem to have a surface that floats above the funnel thingy on the bottom. I also have no idea what lights up or how they work
.
The parts I saw inside weren't stunning - a celebration of the glory of concrete. Okay, I'm being cruel. Concrete is great; it's really useful. And it was the big material for architecture in some era or other.
The Harbor Bridge:
I didn't go up on it because of an experience I had in Portland, OR. I was walking across a bridge there, and it was one of those metal bridges where you can see what's below in the spaces between the metal. I got about half way across and had some sort of fear-of-heights/vertigo thing: I was suddenly frozen with some irrational fear and unable to walk any further. I didn't want to stand there forever, of course, so I tried to think my way out of the situation. I concluded that I could either get down on my hands and knees and crawl off the bridge or I could run to keep looking ahead, not down, and to get it over with as quickly as possible. Determining my chosen method, and whether I went on or backtracked, I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.
The passenger docks for the Sydney harbor (south side) are nearby, and there's a lot of bustle and a perpetual street fair atmosphere there. But what really struck me were the overhangs for the walk ways. I assumed they were for sun protection. And maybe they were ... but after seeing them in New Zealand, I think they might also be for rain protection ...
Photos .... now working!
News flash (Dec 31, 2008): I'm able to upload photos from Deb's house in Wellington, NZ, so heads up for some new posts.
The internet connection here at my Sydney hotel is clearly challenged when I try to upload photos. So I'll stick to text for now, and go back and add the photos later.
The internet connection here at my Sydney hotel is clearly challenged when I try to upload photos. So I'll stick to text for now, and go back and add the photos later.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sydney - Royal Botanical Gardens
I started Wednesday with a walk in the Royal Botanical Gardens. They're in a lovely setting on one of the points in the Sydney harbor. There's a cool "chair" carved into some sandstone
which looks towards the famous Opera House.
My favorite thing is the fruit bats. They perch everywhere in one section of the garden. I expected them to be dormant during the day, but there was a fair amount of moving around, opening wings to cool off, and even a few scuffles for perches.
The cockatiels wandering around were neat.
Eventually, the mystery of the clear plastic around tree trunks was solved as well.
And yes, there were a few plants to see.
As well as some interesting ... topiary?
which looks towards the famous Opera House.
My favorite thing is the fruit bats. They perch everywhere in one section of the garden. I expected them to be dormant during the day, but there was a fair amount of moving around, opening wings to cool off, and even a few scuffles for perches.
The cockatiels wandering around were neat.
Eventually, the mystery of the clear plastic around tree trunks was solved as well.
And yes, there were a few plants to see.
As well as some interesting ... topiary?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Rice Bubbles?
I love going in grocery stores when I'm in foreign countries. Tonight's discovery: they're called "Rice Bubbles" here (Rice Krispies).
Stumbled onto a wonderful japanese-fusion restaurant for dinner. Small, sat at "sushi bar", watched 6 people in the tiny kitchen. Ordered what the person next to me had, as it looked fantastic. Seared tuna, braised fennel, and beet sauce. Yum!
Stumbled onto a wonderful japanese-fusion restaurant for dinner. Small, sat at "sushi bar", watched 6 people in the tiny kitchen. Ordered what the person next to me had, as it looked fantastic. Seared tuna, braised fennel, and beet sauce. Yum!
Weird Numbering of Buildings on Streets
Okay, they stuck with increasing in a single direction and the odds on one side, evens on the other.
BUT: there's no coordination between the two sides of the street. You can be at 379 on the odd side and 182 on the even side. Weird. Harder to navigate.
BUT: there's no coordination between the two sides of the street. You can be at 379 on the odd side and 182 on the even side. Weird. Harder to navigate.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Australian Museum
Today, I went to the Australia Museum. The was a Wildlife Photography exhibit that knocked my socks off. I had that feeling I get sometimes watching performances or looking at great art - that sense of how much beauty is all around us. It makes me want to cry and hug people.
I bought this cool booklet with all the images I saw. They didn't have many of the ones I really liked on postcards. Some of them were simply arresting. A partial polar bear silhouette, taken at sunrise so all is black except for a few "lines" showing the bear's shape. Snow leopards. A tree frog in a deadly embrace with a tree-snake; "It was a stalemate. Three hours later I realized the the first one to give in would, in fact, be me ... and I went to bed." Some great macaque pictures. Cypress trees. A toadstool in the rain. Have I bored you yet? The images wouldn't.
Here's a couple I saw before I realized I was going to buy something with all the images:
Malaria bumps in red blood cells.
The devastating effects of grazing. The left side is a fenced in area used for grazing ... there is no trick photography.
There are also categories for entries by kids of different ages. The blurbs by these photos often said something like: "I was in Madagascar on vacation with my family ..." or "My dad said to stay really still until I had the photo I wanted, or the Grizzly might come after me ..." implying some privilege in access to wildlife in its habitat as well as access to good photographic equipment. But all of the quotes also had things like "I had to experiment to get the exposure right" or "I was really struck by the yellow head against the black body and had to position myself just right and was lucky the butterfly landed where I needed it" and other things making you realize that these are special, talented kids. Some of the photos did come from their backyards ... but not many.
For good measure, here is a photo I took of a stuffed wombat.
I bought this cool booklet with all the images I saw. They didn't have many of the ones I really liked on postcards. Some of them were simply arresting. A partial polar bear silhouette, taken at sunrise so all is black except for a few "lines" showing the bear's shape. Snow leopards. A tree frog in a deadly embrace with a tree-snake; "It was a stalemate. Three hours later I realized the the first one to give in would, in fact, be me ... and I went to bed." Some great macaque pictures. Cypress trees. A toadstool in the rain. Have I bored you yet? The images wouldn't.
Here's a couple I saw before I realized I was going to buy something with all the images:
Malaria bumps in red blood cells.
The devastating effects of grazing. The left side is a fenced in area used for grazing ... there is no trick photography.There are also categories for entries by kids of different ages. The blurbs by these photos often said something like: "I was in Madagascar on vacation with my family ..." or "My dad said to stay really still until I had the photo I wanted, or the Grizzly might come after me ..." implying some privilege in access to wildlife in its habitat as well as access to good photographic equipment. But all of the quotes also had things like "I had to experiment to get the exposure right" or "I was really struck by the yellow head against the black body and had to position myself just right and was lucky the butterfly landed where I needed it" and other things making you realize that these are special, talented kids. Some of the photos did come from their backyards ... but not many.
For good measure, here is a photo I took of a stuffed wombat.
Sydney - Hyde Park
With the long red-eye flight and the time change and all, I kinda just wanted to rest. I remembered when I was in Venice that sometimes I just found a sweet city park and hung out. Sydney has a number of nice parks; Hyde park is nearest to the QVB. I found a bench in the shade, not too close to the nearest busking musician (an accordion player singing christmas carols to his own accompaniment). I opened the wonderful mystery I picked up at SFO ("In the Woods" by Tana French) and simply enjoyed resting and reading outdoors in a lovely spot.
I saw something approach, and looked up, expecting a pigeon or squirrel or something. Imagine my surprise to see an ibis approaching! In fact, there are a bunch of these in the park, hanging out with the pigeons. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_White_Ibis)
It's these small, "normal" differences that really impress me on these trips. Reminds me of the Buenos Aires zoo: the most interesting creatures were the ones running around free, and then I saw a gray squirrel in a too small exhibit cage. The poor thing -- zoos are great for informing us about the world's animals and creating connections ... but the lucky zoo animals generally have shitty lives. Social elephants living alone. Etc.
Turns out Hyde Park also has a giant chess set that gets used.
As well as a tree that has startling orange flowers.
I saw something approach, and looked up, expecting a pigeon or squirrel or something. Imagine my surprise to see an ibis approaching! In fact, there are a bunch of these in the park, hanging out with the pigeons. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_White_Ibis)It's these small, "normal" differences that really impress me on these trips. Reminds me of the Buenos Aires zoo: the most interesting creatures were the ones running around free, and then I saw a gray squirrel in a too small exhibit cage. The poor thing -- zoos are great for informing us about the world's animals and creating connections ... but the lucky zoo animals generally have shitty lives. Social elephants living alone. Etc.
Turns out Hyde Park also has a giant chess set that gets used.
As well as a tree that has startling orange flowers.
Sydney - Queen Victoria Building
I walked up to a cool-o building that was mentioned in my guide books and pointed out by my airport-to-hotel taxi driver, the Queen Victoria building. It's a beautiful old building that has been restored, and is now filled with swanky shops. See http://www.qvb.com.au/IPOH/QVB/me.get?site.sectionshow&PAGE448
Aside: I'm kinda weirded out by all the royal street names: King, George, Elizabeth, etc. How did the USA escape all this monarchistic nonsense?
Here are some photos (my camera wasn't charged, so I had to use my
phone). The place is 4 stories (well, ground, 1, 2, 3, partial 4, basement), has beautiful iron railings and mosaic floors, and stained glass windows.
I really liked this shark serpent thingy on one of the windows.
There are these really cool clocks suspended; one does its show on the hour, the 
other on the half hour. (Both these photos are of the same clock)
And a neat iron spiral staircase.
Aside: I'm kinda weirded out by all the royal street names: King, George, Elizabeth, etc. How did the USA escape all this monarchistic nonsense?
Here are some photos (my camera wasn't charged, so I had to use my
phone). The place is 4 stories (well, ground, 1, 2, 3, partial 4, basement), has beautiful iron railings and mosaic floors, and stained glass windows.
I really liked this shark serpent thingy on one of the windows.
There are these really cool clocks suspended; one does its show on the hour, the 
other on the half hour. (Both these photos are of the same clock)
And a neat iron spiral staircase.
Sydney, Australia - part one
When I left San Francisco, I confess I felt scared and lonely. I soon realized that it's been ages since I've gone somewhere new, where I know no one, and have no pre-organized personal contact for days. My trip to Italy (in 2002?) had a week in Venice like this. I spent a week at Casa Mojanda in Otovalo, Ecuador before I went to the Galapagos, but they had someone waiting for me at the Quito airport and all the guests had delicious breakfasts and dinners together. Much to my surprise, I haven't really been in this situation since then.
The flight from SFO to Sydney went smoothly. I had lovely seatmates (quiet, not too large, kind) and I managed to get a little sleep. Not bad at all. The interesting part was checking in at SFO. Turns out you need a VISA to go to Australia! I had no idea -- again, I haven't traveled anywhere especially interesting on my own in ages. It never occurred to me that I might need a Visa. Luckily, Australian visas are the ONE visa that airlines can issue. I paid my fee, and voila. Whew! Or maybe it was really a scam?
The taxi driver couldn't quite find my hotel, but I did. It turned out to be much swankier than I normally spring for ... AND they charge $25 aust. per day for internet. Rip off! I mildly expressed my displeasure (I didn't raise my voice, I swear!), but was a bit too weary to make much of a stink. The young desk clerk was at a loss; her manager suggested I could go up the street to a coin operated internet place.
I dropped off my bags, and immediately set out for the internet, as I wanted to change hotels. I found a Starbucks; tried to sign up for an account. It didn't seem to work. Suddenly, I was really tired. So I went back to the hotel, paid the stupid money for the wacko wireless modem, and confirmed that if I checked out in the morning, I would only have to pay for the one night.
Found another hotel at about half the price, still in a good location. Maybe a better one, where restaurants are concerned. I caught an adrenaline wave and headed out exploring.
The flight from SFO to Sydney went smoothly. I had lovely seatmates (quiet, not too large, kind) and I managed to get a little sleep. Not bad at all. The interesting part was checking in at SFO. Turns out you need a VISA to go to Australia! I had no idea -- again, I haven't traveled anywhere especially interesting on my own in ages. It never occurred to me that I might need a Visa. Luckily, Australian visas are the ONE visa that airlines can issue. I paid my fee, and voila. Whew! Or maybe it was really a scam?
The taxi driver couldn't quite find my hotel, but I did. It turned out to be much swankier than I normally spring for ... AND they charge $25 aust. per day for internet. Rip off! I mildly expressed my displeasure (I didn't raise my voice, I swear!), but was a bit too weary to make much of a stink. The young desk clerk was at a loss; her manager suggested I could go up the street to a coin operated internet place.
I dropped off my bags, and immediately set out for the internet, as I wanted to change hotels. I found a Starbucks; tried to sign up for an account. It didn't seem to work. Suddenly, I was really tired. So I went back to the hotel, paid the stupid money for the wacko wireless modem, and confirmed that if I checked out in the morning, I would only have to pay for the one night.
Found another hotel at about half the price, still in a good location. Maybe a better one, where restaurants are concerned. I caught an adrenaline wave and headed out exploring.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
can this be my cat?
I've been working with Delilah so she'll let me pick her up and hold her. We've gotten up to about 20 seconds, I think -- if Shindy is otherwise occupied and if I bring her to the window or someplace where she can see something new.
I'm home today - I seem to be fighting a sinus infection. Couldn't fall asleep last night for quite a while.
Delilah came into the living room and mewed. I walked over and picked her up and she didn't squeak, like she always does. Shindy was about 3 feet away. D let me hold her and pet her and she started purring and her pupils stayed small. I think it might have been 2 minutes worth.
Simple joys.
I'm home today - I seem to be fighting a sinus infection. Couldn't fall asleep last night for quite a while.
Delilah came into the living room and mewed. I walked over and picked her up and she didn't squeak, like she always does. Shindy was about 3 feet away. D let me hold her and pet her and she started purring and her pupils stayed small. I think it might have been 2 minutes worth.
Simple joys.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
another six word memoir
this was in my book (I don't remember the author):
"Affection. Erection.
No Protection.
Injection. Infection."
Work:
my project is sort of public, sort of:
http://searchworks.stanford.edu
We have a usability person and a UI coder; my work is more behind the scenes. I'm still proud of it. Lots to do, still. But it ROCKS compared to the existing catalog here, which doesn't even return relevancy ranked search results. Honest. Facets? Forget about it.
Lunchtime volleyball twice a week is fun. I suck, but am improving. My boss and my department head both play - my boss was one of the founders of this game, which has been going on for 20 years. As Lynn says: "you'd think we'd have gotten a lot better in 20 years ..."
Made some pickles. Made some pesto. (was that my six word memoir?) Farmer's market has pomegranates for sale. Amazing. And the most delicious cantaloupe ever.
Went to Port Townsend for a weekend, visiting women on the Galapagos trip. It was really fun. I forgot that we could simply talk for days and never get bored. I'm going to try to arrange a trip to see the leaves in the northeast in fall 2008. Wanna let me know when "peak" is? These are ocean ladies, so I was thinking of renting a house on Cape Cod for some of the time, too. Wanna come?
"Affection. Erection.
No Protection.
Injection. Infection."
Work:
my project is sort of public, sort of:
http://searchworks.stanford.edu
We have a usability person and a UI coder; my work is more behind the scenes. I'm still proud of it. Lots to do, still. But it ROCKS compared to the existing catalog here, which doesn't even return relevancy ranked search results. Honest. Facets? Forget about it.
Lunchtime volleyball twice a week is fun. I suck, but am improving. My boss and my department head both play - my boss was one of the founders of this game, which has been going on for 20 years. As Lynn says: "you'd think we'd have gotten a lot better in 20 years ..."
Made some pickles. Made some pesto. (was that my six word memoir?) Farmer's market has pomegranates for sale. Amazing. And the most delicious cantaloupe ever.
Went to Port Townsend for a weekend, visiting women on the Galapagos trip. It was really fun. I forgot that we could simply talk for days and never get bored. I'm going to try to arrange a trip to see the leaves in the northeast in fall 2008. Wanna let me know when "peak" is? These are ocean ladies, so I was thinking of renting a house on Cape Cod for some of the time, too. Wanna come?
Monday, August 11, 2008
Gardenburgers, PG&E
I stopped at Whole Wallet on my way home from work today as I needed cat food. Unable to resist walking through the store, I noticed there were Gardenburgers for sale. When I first went to CostCo here, I bought a giant sized package of 15 or 20 of them (less packaging!). I used those up and looked for more in CostCo, but no joy. Boca burgers? Bleah! I started seeking them elsewhere. Trader Joes. Whole Foods in Redwood City, especially - it's the nice, decent sized one near here. Palo Alto's is much smaller. Anyway, last time I was at the WF in RWC, there was a sign on the freezer case: "Gardenburgers: out of stock at manufacturers." Disaster!
I flexed my Google searching skills to find out what was up ... but was unable to link up with appropriate information. So sad. No Gardenburgers. Boo hoo. I did see something about the Gardenburger company going public and always losing money. I wondered if my Gardenburger days were over. Some of the non-meat burgers out there are pretty awful -- how would I find something satisfying?
So you can understand my joy at seeing them in the freezer case. I was on my bike, and I had to buy cat food, so you can imagine how motivated I was to buy 3 freezer boxes and bike them home in a paper grocery bag dangling from my handlebars.
----
It's been 5 months since I moved out here. I think there have been 4 power failures since I've arrived. Today I came home from work to one. None have been terribly long (at most a few hours), but I am used to a higher standard of service. Ithaca mostly had lightening strikes, windstorms blowing branches on the lines, heavy snow or ice on the lines, squirrels in the transformers. Understandable outages. Here, the weather is perfect and the frequent outages are a mystery. Are there more dumb squirrels here, or what?
I flexed my Google searching skills to find out what was up ... but was unable to link up with appropriate information. So sad. No Gardenburgers. Boo hoo. I did see something about the Gardenburger company going public and always losing money. I wondered if my Gardenburger days were over. Some of the non-meat burgers out there are pretty awful -- how would I find something satisfying?
So you can understand my joy at seeing them in the freezer case. I was on my bike, and I had to buy cat food, so you can imagine how motivated I was to buy 3 freezer boxes and bike them home in a paper grocery bag dangling from my handlebars.
----
It's been 5 months since I moved out here. I think there have been 4 power failures since I've arrived. Today I came home from work to one. None have been terribly long (at most a few hours), but I am used to a higher standard of service. Ithaca mostly had lightening strikes, windstorms blowing branches on the lines, heavy snow or ice on the lines, squirrels in the transformers. Understandable outages. Here, the weather is perfect and the frequent outages are a mystery. Are there more dumb squirrels here, or what?
Sunday, July 20, 2008
hikes, happiness
Last weekend I hiked the Montara Trail - it was lovely going up through a tree lined gorge (well, not by Ithaca standards, but I am in California now) and then the chaparral. The week before we hiked the "steep ravine" of Mount Tam. These hikes are all courtesy of my friend Laura, who is getting ready for a hiking vacation in Scotland.
Work continues to be great. The people are awesome, and it's great to get my hands dirty coding again. For the geeks out there, I'm sorta amazed to be one of the "leaders" in the group practicing test-driven development, but I guess that's one of the reasons they hired me. On Monday there was a "Bastille Day" lunch. The highlight was definitely driving the cupcake. We had a lot of fun chasing after cyclists, but the best reactions were definitely from the troops of kids at Stanford for sports camps or whatever. Now they'll want to go to Stanford so they can drive cupcakes! (Though they have nothing to do with Stanford, of course.)
My cats continue to thrill me, of course, but I won't bore you with it. Well, okay, ONE thing. I finally got a laser pointer. Delilah seems uninterested, but of course Shindy is nuts for it. The only trick is to keep it in her line of sight: furniture (and even her own head) can block the ray, so I have to aim carefully. Well, I recently discovered that she's just as entertained when the laser is pointed at the ceiling! And guess what - there's no furniture up there to block it!
The fires you're hearing about in the news are not near me, though some people are having some issues with allergies/irritation. I can't smell smoke at all, and the skies look clear to me. Not so for folks in Sacramento and many other places.
Let's end on a happier note. How about an E-flat?
Work continues to be great. The people are awesome, and it's great to get my hands dirty coding again. For the geeks out there, I'm sorta amazed to be one of the "leaders" in the group practicing test-driven development, but I guess that's one of the reasons they hired me. On Monday there was a "Bastille Day" lunch. The highlight was definitely driving the cupcake. We had a lot of fun chasing after cyclists, but the best reactions were definitely from the troops of kids at Stanford for sports camps or whatever. Now they'll want to go to Stanford so they can drive cupcakes! (Though they have nothing to do with Stanford, of course.)
My cats continue to thrill me, of course, but I won't bore you with it. Well, okay, ONE thing. I finally got a laser pointer. Delilah seems uninterested, but of course Shindy is nuts for it. The only trick is to keep it in her line of sight: furniture (and even her own head) can block the ray, so I have to aim carefully. Well, I recently discovered that she's just as entertained when the laser is pointed at the ceiling! And guess what - there's no furniture up there to block it!
The fires you're hearing about in the news are not near me, though some people are having some issues with allergies/irritation. I can't smell smoke at all, and the skies look clear to me. Not so for folks in Sacramento and many other places.
Let's end on a happier note. How about an E-flat?
Monday, July 7, 2008
my political platform
Here are a few ideas to change our society. I doubt any of them are original, but they're ideas I keep coming back to.
1. Goal: reduce water use and pesticide use.
a. use native species plantings for homes, businesses, parks.
b. reduce man-made single species plantings of vast areas (e.g. lawns, golf courses)
c. reduce lawns. How often is a lawn needed as a lawn? What parts of your lawn are there merely because lawns are conventional? How much of your lawn is a high traffic area that has to stand up to people walking on it, etc? Why not grow climate appropriate plants that look great and require less care? Why do developers put lawns around new construction? Lawns don't make sense in deserts or in many other places Lawns require mowing, and most people use fossil fuels AND have noisy lawn mowers (see http://www.nonoise.org/quietlawn.htm). Plants are great, and they can help keep the air clean and cool or warm ... but it doesn't have to be a lawn. See http://www.foodnotlawns.com/.
d. liven up golf by letting native plants grow on the course, instead of species requiring pesticides and watering. Dealing with the native terrain would be part of the challenge of each course. The native plants could be mowed down or chosen carefully to be suitable for golf.
d1. what about other sports? Can we make a more earth friendly soccer, football or baseball field that wouldn't detract from the game?
2. Slow Down the Building on Undeveloped Land.
I've thought for a long time that it should be MORE expensive to develop land that is not currently developed. Renovating existing properties should be more attractive than constructing where no building now stands. I remain baffled as to why building a NEW "green" house is often viewed as more ecologically correct than greening up an existing house. Reduce, RE-USE, recycle, right?
I suspect the true long term costs of new development vs. renovation would actually favor renovation, taking pollution, transportation, utility costs, etc. into account. This would also reduce urban sprawl. I imagine this would need to be addressed with taxes. Taxing developers targeting high end buyers/renters seems especially reasonable to me.
3. Composting
I clearly lived in Ithaca long enough for the granola values to rub off on me. Composting seems like an obvious win-win-win. It reduces waste going to the landfill (reducing landfill space and transportation costs). It is helpful for the soil, whether sandy or clay or most anything else. It's really easy. And it makes growing flowers, plants, and vegetables easier. There should be compost pick up, along with trash and recycling.
1. Goal: reduce water use and pesticide use.
a. use native species plantings for homes, businesses, parks.
b. reduce man-made single species plantings of vast areas (e.g. lawns, golf courses)
c. reduce lawns. How often is a lawn needed as a lawn? What parts of your lawn are there merely because lawns are conventional? How much of your lawn is a high traffic area that has to stand up to people walking on it, etc? Why not grow climate appropriate plants that look great and require less care? Why do developers put lawns around new construction? Lawns don't make sense in deserts or in many other places Lawns require mowing, and most people use fossil fuels AND have noisy lawn mowers (see http://www.nonoise.org/quietlawn.htm). Plants are great, and they can help keep the air clean and cool or warm ... but it doesn't have to be a lawn. See http://www.foodnotlawns.com/.
d. liven up golf by letting native plants grow on the course, instead of species requiring pesticides and watering. Dealing with the native terrain would be part of the challenge of each course. The native plants could be mowed down or chosen carefully to be suitable for golf.
d1. what about other sports? Can we make a more earth friendly soccer, football or baseball field that wouldn't detract from the game?
2. Slow Down the Building on Undeveloped Land.
I've thought for a long time that it should be MORE expensive to develop land that is not currently developed. Renovating existing properties should be more attractive than constructing where no building now stands. I remain baffled as to why building a NEW "green" house is often viewed as more ecologically correct than greening up an existing house. Reduce, RE-USE, recycle, right?
I suspect the true long term costs of new development vs. renovation would actually favor renovation, taking pollution, transportation, utility costs, etc. into account. This would also reduce urban sprawl. I imagine this would need to be addressed with taxes. Taxing developers targeting high end buyers/renters seems especially reasonable to me.
3. Composting
I clearly lived in Ithaca long enough for the granola values to rub off on me. Composting seems like an obvious win-win-win. It reduces waste going to the landfill (reducing landfill space and transportation costs). It is helpful for the soil, whether sandy or clay or most anything else. It's really easy. And it makes growing flowers, plants, and vegetables easier. There should be compost pick up, along with trash and recycling.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Pittsburgh
I'm sitting in the William Penn Omni Hotel lobby this morning. It's a grand old lobby with nice architectural touches - interesting ceilig, high decorative archways.
I decided it would be far more interesting to work down here than in my hotel room, and the internet was likely to be faster as well - it was very laggy last night. Some friends suggested some neighbors might be downloading images for "research purposes."
The conference starts tomorrow, but I'm taking a tutorial this afternoon on what I call "tater tots" due to the acronym OAI-ORE. Not a popular nickname with the inventors.
This is probably the best conference in my field. It's a mix of academic pursuits and applied ones. I'm more on the applied side, especially in my job at Stanford. Most of what I'm doing is only available to Stanford IP addresses, but you can play with one demo I set up with our sysadmin's help: http://lyberdev1.stanford.edu:3000.
My friend Carol just came by, so my people watching placement has already paid off.
I have a ton of work to do, so back to it.
I decided it would be far more interesting to work down here than in my hotel room, and the internet was likely to be faster as well - it was very laggy last night. Some friends suggested some neighbors might be downloading images for "research purposes."
The conference starts tomorrow, but I'm taking a tutorial this afternoon on what I call "tater tots" due to the acronym OAI-ORE. Not a popular nickname with the inventors.
This is probably the best conference in my field. It's a mix of academic pursuits and applied ones. I'm more on the applied side, especially in my job at Stanford. Most of what I'm doing is only available to Stanford IP addresses, but you can play with one demo I set up with our sysadmin's help: http://lyberdev1.stanford.edu:3000.
My friend Carol just came by, so my people watching placement has already paid off.
I have a ton of work to do, so back to it.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
cat antics
Yesterday I was potting some plants for my patio - petunias, imPatiens, herbs. As I was playing in the dirt, I could hear Shindy cat's plaintive cries. As you know, I don't let her outside, so when I'm on the patio, she is deprived of my scintillating company. Feeling magnanimous and/or vaguely guilty, I thought it would be a good opportunity to let her come outdoors on a leash.
Step 1: find a harness and leash. Not too difficult because I used these 2 months ago when flying the kitties out here. I packed the guest room closet with stereo boxes and suitcases and the cat carriers, so I knew where to look.
Step 2: catch her. This isn't too difficult because she has a favorite toy she will chase to the ends of the earth: a piece of plastic strapping. (Does anyone remember her string?)
Step 3: put harness on her, attach leash. This also went smoothly.
Step 4: bring her down to the patio and find something to anchor leash.
Shindy started squirming as soon as I walked out the front door with her in my arms. I thought she would settle down as soon as I put her down on the patio. Wrong! She made a beeline for the the apartment door and was so eager to get inside I couldn't even grab the leash. I only saw the end of the leash as she booked it to my bedroom. I managed to grab it before she got under the bed so I could unhook her and take off the harness.
My Shindy cat! Hiding under the bed! What a terrible thing to take such an outgoing cat and keep her indoors so long that she's afraid of being outside. Alas. At least she's healthy and safe and gets loving.
-----
I got the cats a much deserved new cat tree -- the old blue one was so gross looking that I threw it out before I left Fort Collins. The new one is the perfect height so they can lie on the top and see out the window. The sills are about 4-5 inches wide and tough to perch on because I have the blinds lowered to about 3 inches above the sill.
Two days ago, I looked up and Shindy had crouch walked from the cat perch to the far end of the window sill. Finding nothing interesting enough to stay there, she decided to go back ... but she didn't have room to turn around. So I watched her crab walk backwards the 5 feet to her perch. Highly entertaining.
-----
Delilah is fine, sweet as every. More willing to stand her ground and whack Shindy ... but still retreating before it gets too rough.
Step 1: find a harness and leash. Not too difficult because I used these 2 months ago when flying the kitties out here. I packed the guest room closet with stereo boxes and suitcases and the cat carriers, so I knew where to look.
Step 2: catch her. This isn't too difficult because she has a favorite toy she will chase to the ends of the earth: a piece of plastic strapping. (Does anyone remember her string?)
Step 3: put harness on her, attach leash. This also went smoothly.
Step 4: bring her down to the patio and find something to anchor leash.
Shindy started squirming as soon as I walked out the front door with her in my arms. I thought she would settle down as soon as I put her down on the patio. Wrong! She made a beeline for the the apartment door and was so eager to get inside I couldn't even grab the leash. I only saw the end of the leash as she booked it to my bedroom. I managed to grab it before she got under the bed so I could unhook her and take off the harness.
My Shindy cat! Hiding under the bed! What a terrible thing to take such an outgoing cat and keep her indoors so long that she's afraid of being outside. Alas. At least she's healthy and safe and gets loving.
-----
I got the cats a much deserved new cat tree -- the old blue one was so gross looking that I threw it out before I left Fort Collins. The new one is the perfect height so they can lie on the top and see out the window. The sills are about 4-5 inches wide and tough to perch on because I have the blinds lowered to about 3 inches above the sill.
Two days ago, I looked up and Shindy had crouch walked from the cat perch to the far end of the window sill. Finding nothing interesting enough to stay there, she decided to go back ... but she didn't have room to turn around. So I watched her crab walk backwards the 5 feet to her perch. Highly entertaining.
-----
Delilah is fine, sweet as every. More willing to stand her ground and whack Shindy ... but still retreating before it gets too rough.
Monday, May 12, 2008
say what????
Today I sent this email to a discussion list about the SOLR software:
"I'm experienced with Lucene, less so with SOLR. I am looking at two systems built on top of SOLR for a library discovery service: blacklight and vufind.
I checked the raw lucene index using Luke and noticed that both of these indexes have single character terms in the index, such as "d" or "f". I asked about this on the vufind list, and was told I didn't understand SOLR and why it would need these.
So I'm now asking: why would SOLR want single character terms? "a" is usually a stopword. I know the Library MARC data from which the index is derived has a lot of these characters because they denote subfields in the data. But why would we want them to be searchable?"
I got a personal email in response:
"Here is a trick: do not use a feminine name on the Internet :) The way you described this sounds very patronizing."
Huh????
Happily, a respected and knowledgeable poster answered my question on the list.
"I'm experienced with Lucene, less so with SOLR. I am looking at two systems built on top of SOLR for a library discovery service: blacklight and vufind.
I checked the raw lucene index using Luke and noticed that both of these indexes have single character terms in the index, such as "d" or "f". I asked about this on the vufind list, and was told I didn't understand SOLR and why it would need these.
So I'm now asking: why would SOLR want single character terms? "a" is usually a stopword. I know the Library MARC data from which the index is derived has a lot of these characters because they denote subfields in the data. But why would we want them to be searchable?"
I got a personal email in response:
"Here is a trick: do not use a feminine name on the Internet :) The way you described this sounds very patronizing."
Huh????
Happily, a respected and knowledgeable poster answered my question on the list.
More: six word memoirs are addictive
these from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/26/earlyshow/leisure/books/main3876944.shtml
Joan Rivers: "Liars: hysterectomy didn't improve sex life."
Stephen Colbert: 'Well, I thought it was funny."
celebrity chef Mario Batali: "Brought it to a boil, often."
and more from: http://www.smithmag.net/2007/01/04/and-the-winner-of-the-six-word-memoir-contest-is/
Never really finished anything, except cake. —C. Perkins
Not quite what I was planning… —S. Grimes
Jew-born. Yeshiva-educated. Date goyim. -A. Ellin
Savior complex makes for many disappointments. —A. Schubach
Found true love, married someone else. -B. Stromberg
Mistakenly kills kitten. Fears anything delicate. —S. Henderson
Bad brakes discovered at high speed. —J. Baumeister
After Harvard, had baby with crackhead. —R. Templeton
Caring for parents. Life is circular. —T. McGrath
Nerdy girl smutmonger. Now, baby fever. —R.K. Bussel
Scarred by 911; helped by penguins. —A. Blackburn
Ex-wife and contractor now have house. —D. Peck
Nose broken, beauty queen changes profession. —D. Rubin
Being a monk stunk. Better gay. —B. Redman
School geek married a luscious cheerleader. —C. Clukey
Married for money. Divorced for love. —R. Abraham
Wealthy woman escapes with handsome mailman. —A. Shewan
One tooth, one cavity, life’s cruel. —J. Bettencourt
Life behind a microphone gets lonely. —C. Kash
Mormon economist marries feminist. World’s collide. —M. McBride
I still make coffee for two. —Z. Nelson
Joan Rivers: "Liars: hysterectomy didn't improve sex life."
Stephen Colbert: 'Well, I thought it was funny."
celebrity chef Mario Batali: "Brought it to a boil, often."
and more from: http://www.smithmag.net/2007/01/04/and-the-winner-of-the-six-word-memoir-contest-is/
Never really finished anything, except cake. —C. Perkins
Not quite what I was planning… —S. Grimes
Jew-born. Yeshiva-educated. Date goyim. -A. Ellin
Savior complex makes for many disappointments. —A. Schubach
Found true love, married someone else. -B. Stromberg
Mistakenly kills kitten. Fears anything delicate. —S. Henderson
Bad brakes discovered at high speed. —J. Baumeister
After Harvard, had baby with crackhead. —R. Templeton
Caring for parents. Life is circular. —T. McGrath
Nerdy girl smutmonger. Now, baby fever. —R.K. Bussel
Scarred by 911; helped by penguins. —A. Blackburn
Ex-wife and contractor now have house. —D. Peck
Nose broken, beauty queen changes profession. —D. Rubin
Being a monk stunk. Better gay. —B. Redman
School geek married a luscious cheerleader. —C. Clukey
Married for money. Divorced for love. —R. Abraham
Wealthy woman escapes with handsome mailman. —A. Shewan
One tooth, one cavity, life’s cruel. —J. Bettencourt
Life behind a microphone gets lonely. —C. Kash
Mormon economist marries feminist. World’s collide. —M. McBride
I still make coffee for two. —Z. Nelson
Friday, May 9, 2008
six word memoirs are the thing
six word memoirs: great bathroom reading!
"should have used condom that time" - Rob Bigelow
"my family did not kill me" - David Sampliner
"Got a pony, broke my arm" - Layne Bell
"should have used condom that time" - Rob Bigelow
"my family did not kill me" - David Sampliner
"Got a pony, broke my arm" - Layne Bell
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Six word blog post
Furniture size: I'm NOT average male.
(See http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/
This was also an NPR Story .)
(See http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/
This was also an NPR Story .)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
first CA haircut
I'm getting my hair cut in CA for the first time today. Shockingly, given my wardrobe choices, I'm picky about my haircuts. I only wash it and brush it; no blow dry, no "product." I like it short, but not dyke short. This makes me an unusual haircut consumer. I would go to a barber, but there's rarely any good "styling" in men's cuts, so that seems a poor solution. Prod me and I might post a picture with the results.
five minute post
Gericke poked me, so here's a quickie update:
Went to a rehearsal for the "Silicon Valley Symphony" in Los Gatos (typed Lost Gators first time) last night. About 40 mins away. Playing The Planets, 5th horn. Group is okay; heard about it from the Stanford music librarian who plays 2nd clarinet. Now I'm committed to four more rehearsal and a concert on Sat June 7.
Am subbing at a Redwood City Symphony rehearsal on Wed. They're doing a Messian piece, which is ridiculously hard. The call to do this prodded me to start playing again.
I practiced Sat and Sun ... and that's it since January ... and I hadn't practiced much in January before I dropped out of the Loveland Symphony. Oy.
Practicing definitely takes up evening time and some weekend time.
Conference in Pittsburgh June 16-20; going to Syracuse/Ithaca before or after.
Missed the Maikers Faire this year. Didn't know what it was. Don't want to miss it next year!
Went on a breakfast date on Sat morning. No go.
Enjoying work.
Need to have a housewarming party. (Need to finish unpacking, including hanging art!)
Need to get rid of a sinus infection - last effect of the california crud.
Farmers markets are awesome. This Sunday's take: (didn't need oranges or lemons), fresh tomatos, bunch of basil (tomato - mozz salad -- Trader Joes is right next to farmers market), green beans, a few snap peas (end of this round), all colors of bell peppers, broccolini, gorgeous bunch of asparagus.
random ideas:
I was thinking about posting everything I eat here so I would be too embarrassed to pig out or eat junk.
I was thinking about posting dating progress here ... but that might not be fair to the dat-ees.
Went to a rehearsal for the "Silicon Valley Symphony" in Los Gatos (typed Lost Gators first time) last night. About 40 mins away. Playing The Planets, 5th horn. Group is okay; heard about it from the Stanford music librarian who plays 2nd clarinet. Now I'm committed to four more rehearsal and a concert on Sat June 7.
Am subbing at a Redwood City Symphony rehearsal on Wed. They're doing a Messian piece, which is ridiculously hard. The call to do this prodded me to start playing again.
I practiced Sat and Sun ... and that's it since January ... and I hadn't practiced much in January before I dropped out of the Loveland Symphony. Oy.
Practicing definitely takes up evening time and some weekend time.
Conference in Pittsburgh June 16-20; going to Syracuse/Ithaca before or after.
Missed the Maikers Faire this year. Didn't know what it was. Don't want to miss it next year!
Went on a breakfast date on Sat morning. No go.
Enjoying work.
Need to have a housewarming party. (Need to finish unpacking, including hanging art!)
Need to get rid of a sinus infection - last effect of the california crud.
Farmers markets are awesome. This Sunday's take: (didn't need oranges or lemons), fresh tomatos, bunch of basil (tomato - mozz salad -- Trader Joes is right next to farmers market), green beans, a few snap peas (end of this round), all colors of bell peppers, broccolini, gorgeous bunch of asparagus.
random ideas:
I was thinking about posting everything I eat here so I would be too embarrassed to pig out or eat junk.
I was thinking about posting dating progress here ... but that might not be fair to the dat-ees.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
waffles!
I've been home sick four days with a cough/low grade fever/congestion/sore throat thing. Last night I slept well for the first time since I got ill, and I feel, comparatively, great.
I haven't cooked anything to speak of since I moved. This morning I thought "I'll make waffles!" The recipe called for melted butter: I have no microwave. Milk: I have none. Baking powder: haven't gotten any since the move. Vanilla: ditto. Substitution time!
Melted butter: canola oil. Milk: mix plain non-fat yogurt with water. Baking powder: mix baking soda with an acidic ingredient - lemon juice. (Amusingly, the following two statements are in the same paragraph on the Arm & Hammer web site: "you may not substitute ... Baking Soda for baking powder in a recipe. ... To make the equivalent of 1 teaspoon baking powder, mix 5/8 teaspoons of cream of tartar with 1/4 teaspoon ... Baking Soda." Well, I have no cream of tartar, but the point is to get acid to react with the sodium bicarbonate, so lemon juice will do.) Vanilla: skipped it.
Lastly, my waffle iron is really more about making those delicate heart shaped cookies than it is about waffles -- I can never get my waffles airy enough.
Wouldn't you know it? These were the best waffles I've ever made. Great texture, nice flavor.
I'm settling into my new job, and I am having a ball. I'm working on a prototype of the "next generation discovery environment." Basically, it's long since past time to give library users better tools to find the information they need. Of course, others have already been working on this, so I'm building on existing tools. This means quick success! Woo hoo! The prototype isn't public yet, so I can't show it to you. I can tell you it's cool to once again work for a library with over five million items.
I've been biking to work every day. There's no where to park near my office anyway. And it's about as fast to walk to the free Stanford bus at the University Ave Caltrain station as it is to bike in. I need to get the appropriate gear for rainy weather ... before next October or so. Read it and weep, you Ithacans!
Shindy cat has LOVED having me home. I, however, am going batty for company.
I haven't cooked anything to speak of since I moved. This morning I thought "I'll make waffles!" The recipe called for melted butter: I have no microwave. Milk: I have none. Baking powder: haven't gotten any since the move. Vanilla: ditto. Substitution time!
Melted butter: canola oil. Milk: mix plain non-fat yogurt with water. Baking powder: mix baking soda with an acidic ingredient - lemon juice. (Amusingly, the following two statements are in the same paragraph on the Arm & Hammer web site: "you may not substitute ... Baking Soda for baking powder in a recipe. ... To make the equivalent of 1 teaspoon baking powder, mix 5/8 teaspoons of cream of tartar with 1/4 teaspoon ... Baking Soda." Well, I have no cream of tartar, but the point is to get acid to react with the sodium bicarbonate, so lemon juice will do.) Vanilla: skipped it.
Lastly, my waffle iron is really more about making those delicate heart shaped cookies than it is about waffles -- I can never get my waffles airy enough.
Wouldn't you know it? These were the best waffles I've ever made. Great texture, nice flavor.
I'm settling into my new job, and I am having a ball. I'm working on a prototype of the "next generation discovery environment." Basically, it's long since past time to give library users better tools to find the information they need. Of course, others have already been working on this, so I'm building on existing tools. This means quick success! Woo hoo! The prototype isn't public yet, so I can't show it to you. I can tell you it's cool to once again work for a library with over five million items.
I've been biking to work every day. There's no where to park near my office anyway. And it's about as fast to walk to the free Stanford bus at the University Ave Caltrain station as it is to bike in. I need to get the appropriate gear for rainy weather ... before next October or so. Read it and weep, you Ithacans!
Shindy cat has LOVED having me home. I, however, am going batty for company.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
ya gotta love this town
After work today, I went to the independent bookstore (which is a stones throw from the public library). I wanted to get some guide books for ideas of what to do and where to go. One for hiking/biking; I got my "mid peninsula biking map" from Stanford transportation, and I ordered the san francisco bay trail maps online. But it's nice to have some places a short drive away.
I also figured I would get a book telling about interesting places to go, places to eat, etc. I looked through the shelves carefully. Lots of books on visiting San Francisco: large sections devoted to hotels, how to get around, etc. Some books on doing things cheaply ... but mostly focused on the city itself, no surprise. I had narrowed it down to two possibilities when I saw a slim book I had missed on previous passes: Get Lost! The cool guide to San Francisco by Claudia Lehan.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
I already know about the Cartoon Art Museum; I've been there twice. (I read about it in some guide book years ago.) But: Antique Vibrator Museum? Camera Obscura and Holograph Gallery? (warning - music:) Musee Mecanique? Tour of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company? And ... not my thing, but ... Tattoo Art Museum? Ya gotta love this town.
Kabuki Springs and Spa anyone? The Wave Organ?
and especially for Susan: Midnight Rollers Friday Night Skate
What can I say, but ya gotta love this town?
I also figured I would get a book telling about interesting places to go, places to eat, etc. I looked through the shelves carefully. Lots of books on visiting San Francisco: large sections devoted to hotels, how to get around, etc. Some books on doing things cheaply ... but mostly focused on the city itself, no surprise. I had narrowed it down to two possibilities when I saw a slim book I had missed on previous passes: Get Lost! The cool guide to San Francisco by Claudia Lehan.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
I already know about the Cartoon Art Museum; I've been there twice. (I read about it in some guide book years ago.) But: Antique Vibrator Museum? Camera Obscura and Holograph Gallery? (warning - music:) Musee Mecanique? Tour of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company? And ... not my thing, but ... Tattoo Art Museum? Ya gotta love this town.
Kabuki Springs and Spa anyone? The Wave Organ?
and especially for Susan: Midnight Rollers Friday Night Skate
What can I say, but ya gotta love this town?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
catchup, windows, whizzy ATMs, stores
Okay, I've been remiss. My possessions arrived about a week after I got here. The movers were great, but they kept running into snags. They had to drop a small load off in Sacramento on Sat morning ... but then they couldn't because they couldn't bring the large truck to that location. So they were going to deliver on Monday after they did the Sacramento gig ... but then they couldn't because they had a fuel line leaking gas on to their engine and they needed to get it fixed ASAP. (This gave me visions of my possessions charred to a crisp.) I couldn't take delivery on Tuesday because I had an all day retreat for the job I wasn't starting until the following Monday. So Wednesday was the day they delivered. All went well. I even got a really nice dolly out of the deal ... cause they left it behind by mistake. So far, no damage. They were really kind in letting me change my mind on placement of a few pieces, too.
Let me tell you, I was really grateful for the loan of a nice air mattress and some bedding for those 5 nights ... but I was delighted to sleep in a bed again. Delilah seemed happy when the apartment was empty, but Shindy was depressed. After my stuff came, Shindy became lively again, and Delilah needed a little time to readjust. My possessions weighed in at exactly three tons: 6000 pounds. And of course, there's the inevitable pile of "why did I move THIS out here?" to give away. It's a small pile after my weeding in Ithaca, move to Colorado and weeding in Colorado. But there's always one of those piles after you unpack.
Unpacking with a daily trip to my office for my not-yet-started job for an internet fix. Then, on March 24, ta da! The big day. My new job.
It's only in the last couple of days that I've gotten my feet under me. I've been working on loading up a Stanford VuFind implementation so folks here can evaluate it as a "Next Generation Discovery Interface." That means a way to search for stuff that is much better than simply putting the old card catalogs online and allowing keyword searching. Something closer to Google or Amazon or Netflix or Del.icio.us or Flickr or ... Now that I'm making progress with it, it's fun to fiddle.
Plus, I got through most of the initiation rites. A class on sexual harassment, er, how to prevent it. 3/4 of a day getting an introduction to Stanford and an overview of the benefits. Getting equipment for my office. Getting an ID, keys, etc. I'm still waiting for my Stanford phone and for Stanford DSL. But I'm mostly settled.
It finally occurred to me that I should pay for internet at home while waiting for the (free to me) Stanford DSL. So I signed up for a 6 month intro deal with comcast (no cable, just internet). I'll be really honked off if Stanford doesn't provide my DSL within 6 months.
A few notes on interesting things out here:
ATMs: The Wells Fargo ATMs let you deposit checks without a deposit slip or envelope. The machines scan the checks and do the amounts and all that. Come to think of it ... did I endorse the check I deposited on Monday??
windows: I was horrified by the single pane metal windows in my apartment. Then I remembered: "It's California. It doesn't matter much because it doesn't get cold here."
leisure time: I was horrified to be invited to spend a gorgeous Saturday indoors until I remembered: it's always gorgeous here. It's not a sin to stay indoors on a gorgeous day from time to time.
CostCo: one of those wholesale places where you're a member. Everything from ipods to flat screen tvs to broccoli to bread to shrimp to saline solution. Mostly in large quantities.
Trader Joes: I think they're all about cutting out the middle man. They have an eclectic mix of goods ... close to a normal grocery store, but missing stuff. My first missed item: bouillon.
Made it to the public library nearby; got my card; already borrowing books and movies. Still need to navigate Stanford Libraries, where I work for goodness sake. The main library is the next building over from mine; I hear there's a tunnel. Because people can't brave the perfect weather outdoors??
Let me tell you, I was really grateful for the loan of a nice air mattress and some bedding for those 5 nights ... but I was delighted to sleep in a bed again. Delilah seemed happy when the apartment was empty, but Shindy was depressed. After my stuff came, Shindy became lively again, and Delilah needed a little time to readjust. My possessions weighed in at exactly three tons: 6000 pounds. And of course, there's the inevitable pile of "why did I move THIS out here?" to give away. It's a small pile after my weeding in Ithaca, move to Colorado and weeding in Colorado. But there's always one of those piles after you unpack.
Unpacking with a daily trip to my office for my not-yet-started job for an internet fix. Then, on March 24, ta da! The big day. My new job.
It's only in the last couple of days that I've gotten my feet under me. I've been working on loading up a Stanford VuFind implementation so folks here can evaluate it as a "Next Generation Discovery Interface." That means a way to search for stuff that is much better than simply putting the old card catalogs online and allowing keyword searching. Something closer to Google or Amazon or Netflix or Del.icio.us or Flickr or ... Now that I'm making progress with it, it's fun to fiddle.
Plus, I got through most of the initiation rites. A class on sexual harassment, er, how to prevent it. 3/4 of a day getting an introduction to Stanford and an overview of the benefits. Getting equipment for my office. Getting an ID, keys, etc. I'm still waiting for my Stanford phone and for Stanford DSL. But I'm mostly settled.
It finally occurred to me that I should pay for internet at home while waiting for the (free to me) Stanford DSL. So I signed up for a 6 month intro deal with comcast (no cable, just internet). I'll be really honked off if Stanford doesn't provide my DSL within 6 months.
A few notes on interesting things out here:
ATMs: The Wells Fargo ATMs let you deposit checks without a deposit slip or envelope. The machines scan the checks and do the amounts and all that. Come to think of it ... did I endorse the check I deposited on Monday??
windows: I was horrified by the single pane metal windows in my apartment. Then I remembered: "It's California. It doesn't matter much because it doesn't get cold here."
leisure time: I was horrified to be invited to spend a gorgeous Saturday indoors until I remembered: it's always gorgeous here. It's not a sin to stay indoors on a gorgeous day from time to time.
CostCo: one of those wholesale places where you're a member. Everything from ipods to flat screen tvs to broccoli to bread to shrimp to saline solution. Mostly in large quantities.
Trader Joes: I think they're all about cutting out the middle man. They have an eclectic mix of goods ... close to a normal grocery store, but missing stuff. My first missed item: bouillon.
Made it to the public library nearby; got my card; already borrowing books and movies. Still need to navigate Stanford Libraries, where I work for goodness sake. The main library is the next building over from mine; I hear there's a tunnel. Because people can't brave the perfect weather outdoors??
Friday, March 21, 2008
GAAAAAH! No Internet!!!
I have no internet at home yet. Apparently I'm an internet addict, and I NEED MY DAILY FIX!
Stanford will be providing DSL, but I don't know how long that will take. I asked a neighbor for his wireless network key today, but he didn't know it, as a friend set it up for him. I will have to keep polling other neighbors for a key. The DSL visit isn't even scheduled yet. Sigh.
I keep going in to work, even though I haven't started yet, because I've had various things to do online. Plus, the weather is great and it's a good excuse for a short bike ride.
Stanford will be providing DSL, but I don't know how long that will take. I asked a neighbor for his wireless network key today, but he didn't know it, as a friend set it up for him. I will have to keep polling other neighbors for a key. The DSL visit isn't even scheduled yet. Sigh.
I keep going in to work, even though I haven't started yet, because I've had various things to do online. Plus, the weather is great and it's a good excuse for a short bike ride.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
made it to california
Thanks to my friend Gericke, we all (myself and the cats) got here yesterday without mishap or undue freak outs. Gericke petted Shindy in her carrier the entire trip from Fort Collins to the Denver airport, and Shindy only yowled when Gericke stopped petting her. Delilah was a little lamb, of course. The hardest part was getting them in the carriers in the first place (my job) and getting them out to go through security (Delilah for me, Shindy for Gericke).
My apartment still seems nice. The kitchen turned out very well (from the renovations). (I think I need more parenthetical comments.) It's not exactly a great place to spend a lot of time, given there is no furniture to sit on. I supposed I could read in the bathroom ...
There's also no internet access yet, which is perhaps even more significant to me. That will change soon ... but not soon enough for me. My car is already here; my furniture will be delivered Monday morning. I've found my way to CostCo, IKEA, Whole Foods, and a cool local home depot sort of store.
It hasn't yet sunk in that I'm really going to be living here in California now. It will probably be more real when I have my furniture and when I can ride my bike around instead of driving.
I already signed the closing paperwork for my Fort Collins house, but the actual closing is Wed Mar 19. This is good, as my bank account is low: too many moving expenses, etc. that aren't going to be reimbursed for a bit.
Thus goes the move.
My apartment still seems nice. The kitchen turned out very well (from the renovations). (I think I need more parenthetical comments.) It's not exactly a great place to spend a lot of time, given there is no furniture to sit on. I supposed I could read in the bathroom ...
There's also no internet access yet, which is perhaps even more significant to me. That will change soon ... but not soon enough for me. My car is already here; my furniture will be delivered Monday morning. I've found my way to CostCo, IKEA, Whole Foods, and a cool local home depot sort of store.
It hasn't yet sunk in that I'm really going to be living here in California now. It will probably be more real when I have my furniture and when I can ride my bike around instead of driving.
I already signed the closing paperwork for my Fort Collins house, but the actual closing is Wed Mar 19. This is good, as my bank account is low: too many moving expenses, etc. that aren't going to be reimbursed for a bit.
Thus goes the move.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
blown away
My board gaming friends here had a good-bye "do" for me on Sunday. I figured we'd do the usual: play games, chat, eat, enjoy. And of course we did all those things.
But my friend Lenny had a surprise in store for me. He and Matt are both millwrights. Lenny took it upon himself to create me a gorgeous handmade chessboard. It's about 2 x 2 feet. The squares are maple and walnut, and it has a wonderful bloodwood border. It's also inscribed. Many said that they would make it into a table. Or I could hang it on the wall. It's simply unbelievably beautiful. Lenny and Matt work together in their day jobs. Gericke (Matt's wife, also a friend, and my cat transport person) informed me that Lenny made it and Matt supervised and performed quality control.
There's a great story and photos posted on boardgamegeek.
But my friend Lenny had a surprise in store for me. He and Matt are both millwrights. Lenny took it upon himself to create me a gorgeous handmade chessboard. It's about 2 x 2 feet. The squares are maple and walnut, and it has a wonderful bloodwood border. It's also inscribed. Many said that they would make it into a table. Or I could hang it on the wall. It's simply unbelievably beautiful. Lenny and Matt work together in their day jobs. Gericke (Matt's wife, also a friend, and my cat transport person) informed me that Lenny made it and Matt supervised and performed quality control.
There's a great story and photos posted on boardgamegeek.
possessions on the move
I have been renting an apartment in California since mid-February. Now it has a car to keep it company! My friend Bob took delivery of my car this morning, and it is now in its new home: space #3 in the carport.
My furniture and most of my belongings were loaded on a truck today. They'll arrive at my apartment early next week. The movers were great - they wrapped all my furniture very carefully. Husband and wife team -- that's one way to have a relationship when you're on the road most of the time. They've been working for Allied for about three months. They worked for United for about four years, and said "United sucks." I gather United has not been treating its drivers well.
Everyone is asking me: "when are YOU leaving?" Friday. With the cats. Including a cat-toting friend. By plane.
My furniture and most of my belongings were loaded on a truck today. They'll arrive at my apartment early next week. The movers were great - they wrapped all my furniture very carefully. Husband and wife team -- that's one way to have a relationship when you're on the road most of the time. They've been working for Allied for about three months. They worked for United for about four years, and said "United sucks." I gather United has not been treating its drivers well.
Everyone is asking me: "when are YOU leaving?" Friday. With the cats. Including a cat-toting friend. By plane.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
experience counts
Just the car, mind you, not me. I didn't want to drive out for a few reasons. First of all, it's March and the Rockies and the Sierras are between here and San Francisco. Bad weather in the mountains is entirely possible, and I wouldn't enjoy it. Second, and perhaps more important, is that Shindy REALLY doesn't like being in a carrier in the car. She expresses this vocally, and loudly. On a scale of one to ten, her cries are about an eleven. They hurt your ears. 2-3 days of this, plus the in and out of motels/hotels that allow pets in which the litter box needs to be crammed in the room ... not fun. I was thinking of having a cat experienced friend drive out with me and letting Shindy roam free in the car (the friend ensures she doesn't interfere with the driver), but with the weather and hotel rooms ... nah.
You can have the movers move your car, but what they do is load it on the truck, and you pay by the pound by the mile. Not economical.
If you can find a driver, then you can have them drive your car for you. I asked one of the students that works for my department at CSU, and he thought about it, but decided against it. He is an older, non-traditional student. I wasn't comfortable asking random people.
The other way to move a car is with a "car carrier." There are a bunch of options. "Open" means your car is one one of those trucks you see on the highways with about 10 cars on them ... I always worry that a car is going to fall off and hate driving behind them. This is the cheapest. You can also opt for "Closed", but no need for special treatment for my car.
The way it works is there are companies that act as intermediaries between you and the drivers. The companies post the requests on the "national board" and drivers or other companies choose requests that make sense for a route. Price the request too low, and it will sit on the board for a long time. So if you want your vehicle to get picked up within a narrow window, it has to be priced right. When I shipped my car from Ithaca (4 days of driving at the beginning of March), I took the lowest priced quote. The car was picked up a week later than they told me, and the driver was a ditz. This time, I got quotes and used the company that sent a long email explaining how it worked and why you needed to call them to get the quote. When I talked to them on the phone, the guy looked up something and was able to say 'the going rate from where you are to San Francisco is $500. right now. I told him I wanted the car picked up before I left Fort Collins, and he said he thought the request would get snapped up quickly, as Fort Collins is off of I-25, a major north/south highway, and very close to I-80, the main way to get to San Francisco from around here. He talked about how far ahead to post the request "just in case" and posted it about a week after I was talking to him, as agreed. The request was snatched up the first day.
The company that took it gave me a two day window for pickup. When I called for more information, the woman explained that the driver needed to be further along before they could get more specific. When I asked for a pickup "no later than" she was accommodating. Then I got a much smaller pick up window, and the driver arrived here about an hour early. Really nice guy, Polish. I feel VERY comfortable with this driver. What a difference.
I also was smart enough this time to take advantage of the allowed "100 pounds" of stuff in the car. Moving liquids is always dicey, as movers toss your boxes around, often turning them upside down or whatever. So I put a box of liquids in the trunk. Also a box of the jars I like to use for storing grains and such ... they're not worth the effort of packing, but I'd like to keep them. And they'll be fine in a box in my trunk. I also sent out a bunch of cat stuff so it would be there when I arrived. Litter, litterbox (cleaned), cat food, cat toys ... stuff to make it easy to be in the apartment before my stuff arrives. I probably should have sent along a bathroom kit, too: towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo, pillow, sheets, etc. I did remember toilet paper and paper towels ... the rest will be in my carryon, or borrowed from a friend who lives out there. He's already loaning me a nice air mattress so I don't have to stay in a hotel, and so I can be there with the cats to ease their transition.
Packing is coming along very nicely. As last time, I am having the movers pack the kitchen. Let them deal with all the breakables.
You can have the movers move your car, but what they do is load it on the truck, and you pay by the pound by the mile. Not economical.
If you can find a driver, then you can have them drive your car for you. I asked one of the students that works for my department at CSU, and he thought about it, but decided against it. He is an older, non-traditional student. I wasn't comfortable asking random people.
The other way to move a car is with a "car carrier." There are a bunch of options. "Open" means your car is one one of those trucks you see on the highways with about 10 cars on them ... I always worry that a car is going to fall off and hate driving behind them. This is the cheapest. You can also opt for "Closed", but no need for special treatment for my car.
The way it works is there are companies that act as intermediaries between you and the drivers. The companies post the requests on the "national board" and drivers or other companies choose requests that make sense for a route. Price the request too low, and it will sit on the board for a long time. So if you want your vehicle to get picked up within a narrow window, it has to be priced right. When I shipped my car from Ithaca (4 days of driving at the beginning of March), I took the lowest priced quote. The car was picked up a week later than they told me, and the driver was a ditz. This time, I got quotes and used the company that sent a long email explaining how it worked and why you needed to call them to get the quote. When I talked to them on the phone, the guy looked up something and was able to say 'the going rate from where you are to San Francisco is $500. right now. I told him I wanted the car picked up before I left Fort Collins, and he said he thought the request would get snapped up quickly, as Fort Collins is off of I-25, a major north/south highway, and very close to I-80, the main way to get to San Francisco from around here. He talked about how far ahead to post the request "just in case" and posted it about a week after I was talking to him, as agreed. The request was snatched up the first day.
The company that took it gave me a two day window for pickup. When I called for more information, the woman explained that the driver needed to be further along before they could get more specific. When I asked for a pickup "no later than" she was accommodating. Then I got a much smaller pick up window, and the driver arrived here about an hour early. Really nice guy, Polish. I feel VERY comfortable with this driver. What a difference.
I also was smart enough this time to take advantage of the allowed "100 pounds" of stuff in the car. Moving liquids is always dicey, as movers toss your boxes around, often turning them upside down or whatever. So I put a box of liquids in the trunk. Also a box of the jars I like to use for storing grains and such ... they're not worth the effort of packing, but I'd like to keep them. And they'll be fine in a box in my trunk. I also sent out a bunch of cat stuff so it would be there when I arrived. Litter, litterbox (cleaned), cat food, cat toys ... stuff to make it easy to be in the apartment before my stuff arrives. I probably should have sent along a bathroom kit, too: towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo, pillow, sheets, etc. I did remember toilet paper and paper towels ... the rest will be in my carryon, or borrowed from a friend who lives out there. He's already loaning me a nice air mattress so I don't have to stay in a hotel, and so I can be there with the cats to ease their transition.
Packing is coming along very nicely. As last time, I am having the movers pack the kitchen. Let them deal with all the breakables.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
all systems go
My realtor called just now and let me know the house appraisal was at the value needed for the buyers' loan to go through. So at this point, it is highly unlikely the sale won't go through.
Yay! No more living in the furniture showroom! I already have boxes and packing paper all over the family room.
Found the rest of the documents for taxes -- I had pulled them to show proof of financial solvency when apartment hunting in California. Taxes are done, paid, sent.
Took the cats to the vet today to get their health certificates as needed for plane travel. Delilah was hiding from me under the covers of my bed. Not very effective, as there is always a telling cat-sized lump.
Talked to the movers yesterday and got them to pack the kitchen. Whew!
I've participated in two phone meetings so far for Stanford. If my possessions aren't delivered on Tuesday the 18th, there's an all day retreat for the Stanford group that I should attend. And today I learned they're trying to set up a half day session they'd like me to attend that week. My start date is March 24 ... this is some serious good will in the bank. At some point I will need to unpack and settle into my digs, or I might just take a long weekend to catch my breath.
Yay! No more living in the furniture showroom! I already have boxes and packing paper all over the family room.
Found the rest of the documents for taxes -- I had pulled them to show proof of financial solvency when apartment hunting in California. Taxes are done, paid, sent.
Took the cats to the vet today to get their health certificates as needed for plane travel. Delilah was hiding from me under the covers of my bed. Not very effective, as there is always a telling cat-sized lump.
Talked to the movers yesterday and got them to pack the kitchen. Whew!
I've participated in two phone meetings so far for Stanford. If my possessions aren't delivered on Tuesday the 18th, there's an all day retreat for the Stanford group that I should attend. And today I learned they're trying to set up a half day session they'd like me to attend that week. My start date is March 24 ... this is some serious good will in the bank. At some point I will need to unpack and settle into my digs, or I might just take a long weekend to catch my breath.
Friday, February 29, 2008
income taxes 2007
Due to the complex nature of my taxes this year (sell a house in Ithaca, buy a house in Fort Collins, spend part of the year in NY, part of it in CO), I decided a long time ago I would hire an accountant to do my income taxes for 2007. I chose an accountant yesterday and had an appointment this morning. I had most of the stuff together already, but last night had to find a few folders.
Much to my embarrassment, upon going through my folders, it turns out my W2 for CSU is misplaced.** Further, I did my taxes with software in 2006, and I never made printouts. Bleah.
On the plus side, I asked the accountant which papers I could pitch, and there's a tidy little pile to be shredded. Less paper! Woo hoo! I also already found my tax files on my external disk drive and converted them to PDF and sent them on.
** A few of you already know the story of my missing W2 a few years back. I had left my taxes until the last minute (April 15!), but was confident because I had all the papers in the 200x tax folder. When I started entering the data into the software, I couldn't find my W2. Anywhere. I had to call Cornell payroll and go out to East Hill Plaza by bus to pick up a duplicate.
Yes, I did file on time.
And a year or so later I found the W2. It must have slipped off the bench (or Shindy, agent of entropy, shoved it) and was wedged behind the baseboard heater in my entry. I didn't think to look there -- that was the one and only paper to end up in such a place.
Much to my embarrassment, upon going through my folders, it turns out my W2 for CSU is misplaced.** Further, I did my taxes with software in 2006, and I never made printouts. Bleah.
On the plus side, I asked the accountant which papers I could pitch, and there's a tidy little pile to be shredded. Less paper! Woo hoo! I also already found my tax files on my external disk drive and converted them to PDF and sent them on.
** A few of you already know the story of my missing W2 a few years back. I had left my taxes until the last minute (April 15!), but was confident because I had all the papers in the 200x tax folder. When I started entering the data into the software, I couldn't find my W2. Anywhere. I had to call Cornell payroll and go out to East Hill Plaza by bus to pick up a duplicate.
Yes, I did file on time.
And a year or so later I found the W2. It must have slipped off the bench (or Shindy, agent of entropy, shoved it) and was wedged behind the baseboard heater in my entry. I didn't think to look there -- that was the one and only paper to end up in such a place.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
packing materials
I've gotten wonderful boxes from the shipping room at the library; libraries receive a lot of books and other clean shipments. But now that I'm getting close to packing breakables like vases, dishes, glasses, I need packing material. Styrofoam peanuts are good, but when you unpack they stick to everything, often shedding little tiny pieces with a lot of static cling. Newspaper is fine if you want to wash the ink off of everything when you unpack. Bubble wrap has it's uses, but it's expensive ... and who would have tons of it around?
The professional movers use blank newsprint -- they have stacks of it and they wrap stuff in it, they crumple it up for padding. When I packed to come out here, a friend had a bunch of it, and then the movers used a lot more to finish the packing I didn't do. But I gave my giant stack of it away, and i've been dreading buying it.
Well, today I remembered to look for packing material in the shipping room. I asked the shipping dude, and we found a giant plastic bag (significantly larger than a 40 gallon leaf bag) of plain newsprint. Plus some boxes full of the stuff. It won't be enough, because it takes up a lot of space when it's already crumpled ... but it's a great start.
Excuse me while I go spray Shindy cat, who is chasing Delilah all over the place.
The professional movers use blank newsprint -- they have stacks of it and they wrap stuff in it, they crumple it up for padding. When I packed to come out here, a friend had a bunch of it, and then the movers used a lot more to finish the packing I didn't do. But I gave my giant stack of it away, and i've been dreading buying it.
Well, today I remembered to look for packing material in the shipping room. I asked the shipping dude, and we found a giant plastic bag (significantly larger than a 40 gallon leaf bag) of plain newsprint. Plus some boxes full of the stuff. It won't be enough, because it takes up a lot of space when it's already crumpled ... but it's a great start.
Excuse me while I go spray Shindy cat, who is chasing Delilah all over the place.
inspection results, and some stanford links
Dave-the-great-realtor called this morning and said the buyer's inspection only turned up two small problems, and they're not going to ask for anything. The title had a wrinkle that has been ironed out, so now it's only the appraisal.
Much to my surprise, I discovered yesterday that I'm already in the org chart at Stanford:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dlss/about/organization.htm
Notice the vacancies in my group and the DL applications group. I'm not sure if these are posted openings, but talented programmers pay attention to:
http://jobs.stanford.edu/find_a_job.html
I find it easiest to do a keyword search on "library".
To find out more about what my new division is doing, click around. The overviews:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dlss/services/serresearch.htm
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dlss/about/units.htm
Much to my surprise, I discovered yesterday that I'm already in the org chart at Stanford:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dlss/about/organization.htm
Notice the vacancies in my group and the DL applications group. I'm not sure if these are posted openings, but talented programmers pay attention to:
http://jobs.stanford.edu/find
I find it easiest to do a keyword search on "library".
To find out more about what my new division is doing, click around. The overviews:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dlss/services/serresearch.htm
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/dlss/about/units.htm
whatever happened ...
to Baby Jane?
That's the title of a classic movie I started watching last night. It's excellent, and aged quite well IMHO. Bette Davis is delicious as a disturbed, wicked woman. Found myself pondering who she was outside of the theater -- was she sweet and mild mannered?
Apparently not. Wikipedia says she was often described as "feisty" and her daughter made some awful accusations in her memoir.
I am soooo glad I'm not a famous actor.
As if that's been a big worry for me.
That's the title of a classic movie I started watching last night. It's excellent, and aged quite well IMHO. Bette Davis is delicious as a disturbed, wicked woman. Found myself pondering who she was outside of the theater -- was she sweet and mild mannered?
Apparently not. Wikipedia says she was often described as "feisty" and her daughter made some awful accusations in her memoir.
I am soooo glad I'm not a famous actor.
As if that's been a big worry for me.
the fun never stops!
Got this today from the CSU Libraries building proctor:
"Last night we had a patron throw a laptop over the Loan/Reserve Desk counter (it was caught mid-air!) and the same person is suspected of punching a hole in a wall on 2nd floor (NW corner). Somewhere along the way, the revolving door broke down."
I've also heard that there's a poltergeist in the CSU Libraries annex: the panic alarm has been going off every four days. Nobody is panicking until after the alarm goes off.
No, I haven't heard anything about the results of the house inspection or about the appraisal -- I wonder when that will happen. Dave-the-great-realtor says that it's probably good news we haven't heard about the inspection. He thinks if there were any significant issues the buyers would squawk sooner rather than later.
Packing is proceeding. Tic toc.
"Last night we had a patron throw a laptop over the Loan/Reserve Desk counter (it was caught mid-air!) and the same person is suspected of punching a hole in a wall on 2nd floor (NW corner). Somewhere along the way, the revolving door broke down."
I've also heard that there's a poltergeist in the CSU Libraries annex: the panic alarm has been going off every four days. Nobody is panicking until after the alarm goes off.
No, I haven't heard anything about the results of the house inspection or about the appraisal -- I wonder when that will happen. Dave-the-great-realtor says that it's probably good news we haven't heard about the inspection. He thinks if there were any significant issues the buyers would squawk sooner rather than later.
Packing is proceeding. Tic toc.
Friday, February 22, 2008
inspection
The buyers' inspection of my Fort Collins house is happening tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. I'm thrilled for this to happen, as it's a major hurdle for selling the house. But I have to get up early on a Saturday (no, I haven't been a morning person lately), make sure the house is showing-ready, and then make myself scarce for a few hours.
My realtor suggests I take Shindy cat with me, since the inspector is likely to be in and out of the house quite a bit. Wouldn't want Shindy to have an unsupervised outdoor adventure. Actually, he suggested I take both cats, but since Delilah will be hiding in the wall behind the shower, I'm not worried about her getting out.
If I didn't have Shindy, I would come in to work and do some reading. Maybe I'll go park somewhere.
Let's see: I have the mover scheduled; I have the plane tix for me, a friend, and the two cats. I have the car shipping in motion. I have the vet appointment for the cats. What's left? Oh, right: PACKING. Which I could be doing Saturday morning if I didn't have to vacate the house. Oh well.
You'd think I would be cleaning like mad tonight ... but I have plans. A friend is in a play, and we're going to dinner and then the theater.
My realtor suggests I take Shindy cat with me, since the inspector is likely to be in and out of the house quite a bit. Wouldn't want Shindy to have an unsupervised outdoor adventure. Actually, he suggested I take both cats, but since Delilah will be hiding in the wall behind the shower, I'm not worried about her getting out.
If I didn't have Shindy, I would come in to work and do some reading. Maybe I'll go park somewhere.
Let's see: I have the mover scheduled; I have the plane tix for me, a friend, and the two cats. I have the car shipping in motion. I have the vet appointment for the cats. What's left? Oh, right: PACKING. Which I could be doing Saturday morning if I didn't have to vacate the house. Oh well.
You'd think I would be cleaning like mad tonight ... but I have plans. A friend is in a play, and we're going to dinner and then the theater.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
under contract
Wow - I had an offer on my house yesterday. I counter-offered, and now my house is under contract. It had been on the market approximately 11 days (depends when you start counting). The offer is for a little less than what I paid for the house ... but if everything works out, it will resolve a huge worry. Not to mention free up my equity so I can pretend I might buy a lean-to in California. The closing date is March 21; if the contract falls through for some reason, I haven't missed much of the prime time for moving real estate. Woot woot!
Is my realtor great, or what?
Now, I did leave the listing open for backup offers, meaning I still should live in the furniture showroom in case someone wants to look. However, the likelihood of buyers coming through is vastly reduced.
Is my realtor great, or what?
Now, I did leave the listing open for backup offers, meaning I still should live in the furniture showroom in case someone wants to look. However, the likelihood of buyers coming through is vastly reduced.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
a box a day
Packing this time isn't as daunting. Maybe it's because I already had to box up all my books, horn and piano music and games, since my realtor didn't want anything like that on any of my shelves. But of course, there's still plenty of packing left to do.
I've decided on a quota of one box a day until everything left is needed for day to day living or for the staging of the house. As always with boring or unpleasant tasks, it helps if I can multitask. With my stereo dissembled, I pack while watching DVDs whenever possible.
For practicing horn, I have to choose DVDs with English subtitles. I can watch, but not hear. Also, because I'm a little more detached, I can watch more intense movies than I normally am comfortable with.
For packing, I have to choose DVDs that don't require eyes on the screen at all times. Most TV shows lend themselves to this ... and there are no interspersed commercials on DVD. ER anyone? Battlestar Gallactica? Lost? Hill Street Blues? Firefly? Six Feet Under? (Should I be embarrassed about these choices?)
I've decided on a quota of one box a day until everything left is needed for day to day living or for the staging of the house. As always with boring or unpleasant tasks, it helps if I can multitask. With my stereo dissembled, I pack while watching DVDs whenever possible.
For practicing horn, I have to choose DVDs with English subtitles. I can watch, but not hear. Also, because I'm a little more detached, I can watch more intense movies than I normally am comfortable with.
For packing, I have to choose DVDs that don't require eyes on the screen at all times. Most TV shows lend themselves to this ... and there are no interspersed commercials on DVD. ER anyone? Battlestar Gallactica? Lost? Hill Street Blues? Firefly? Six Feet Under? (Should I be embarrassed about these choices?)
Monday, February 11, 2008
why must it be boring?
I'm not surprised to learn that a purple house has sub-optimal saleability. But why must the new paint job be white, with black trim? BORING. My house in Ithaca was painted thus when I bought it ... and it had cream siding. Bleah. My house here has a brick facade up to the windows. Bleah bleah bleah.
I've been fortunate because the guy who did my exterior paint job last spring is available and will be repainting the exterior as soon as the weather is cooperative ... which is likely to be this week.
Funny story about getting in touch with him. I had him in my cell phone's "contacts" but once the painting was done, I deleted his info -- I figured it would be such a long time before I needed an exterior paint job, there was no point. Well, I couldn't even remember his last name. I originally had hired him as an employee of another painting guy, but I knew he was going to set up his own business. I did a web search - no luck. Then I remembered that I had worked with Mike directly to paint the back door I had installed in late summer. I thought of looking through my duplicate check stubs ... but had I already packed them? Luckily, they weren't packed yet and I found his last name.
More web searching: no luck. Sigh.
Then I remembered I should have his number in my cell phone records. I hadn't packed those yet, either. Found the bill for the time period when I wrote the check. But I had to pour over that bill, looking for numbers that were in the correct week that had both incoming and outgoing calls. And then I had three or so candidate numbers. The first one I dialed was a friend of mine. The second was the landscaping guy. The third was a completely impersonal voicemail. My message ran something like "Hi. I'm looking for Mike. If this isn't Mike's number, you can ignor this message. If this is Mike, hi, it's Naomi and I would like to talk to you about painting my house."
He called back within the hour.
I've been fortunate because the guy who did my exterior paint job last spring is available and will be repainting the exterior as soon as the weather is cooperative ... which is likely to be this week.
Funny story about getting in touch with him. I had him in my cell phone's "contacts" but once the painting was done, I deleted his info -- I figured it would be such a long time before I needed an exterior paint job, there was no point. Well, I couldn't even remember his last name. I originally had hired him as an employee of another painting guy, but I knew he was going to set up his own business. I did a web search - no luck. Then I remembered that I had worked with Mike directly to paint the back door I had installed in late summer. I thought of looking through my duplicate check stubs ... but had I already packed them? Luckily, they weren't packed yet and I found his last name.
More web searching: no luck. Sigh.
Then I remembered I should have his number in my cell phone records. I hadn't packed those yet, either. Found the bill for the time period when I wrote the check. But I had to pour over that bill, looking for numbers that were in the correct week that had both incoming and outgoing calls. And then I had three or so candidate numbers. The first one I dialed was a friend of mine. The second was the landscaping guy. The third was a completely impersonal voicemail. My message ran something like "Hi. I'm looking for Mike. If this isn't Mike's number, you can ignor this message. If this is Mike, hi, it's Naomi and I would like to talk to you about painting my house."
He called back within the hour.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Fort Collins house
So I never got around to posting pix of my Colorado abode. Well, here's a "virtual tour" my realtor put together.
And yes, I'm using the same best-in-the-world fabulous realtor to sell. He's just an above-and-beyond kind of guy. He staged the house himself, helped me pack, helped me move stuff around ... he even vacuumed! He got at least 12+ realtors to walk through the house before it was on the market, and brought two people over before the sign was out front.
By the way, I now live in a furniture factory showroom. Living like an ultra-neatnik is ... different. I feel like I'm constantly vacuuming, doing laundry, dusting (!!), taking projects from cupboards and putting things back into cupboards to keep surfaces clear, taking out the trash. Golly, what a great adventure ...
And yes, I'm using the same best-in-the-world fabulous realtor to sell. He's just an above-and-beyond kind of guy. He staged the house himself, helped me pack, helped me move stuff around ... he even vacuumed! He got at least 12+ realtors to walk through the house before it was on the market, and brought two people over before the sign was out front.
By the way, I now live in a furniture factory showroom. Living like an ultra-neatnik is ... different. I feel like I'm constantly vacuuming, doing laundry, dusting (!!), taking projects from cupboards and putting things back into cupboards to keep surfaces clear, taking out the trash. Golly, what a great adventure ...
Friday, February 8, 2008
my new apartment: photos, etc.
So as I said, my apartment is in a 5-plex. Mine is an end unit on the second (top) floor. My landlady is in the process of redoing the kitchen. New dishwasher, new sink, new disposal, new countertop (marble tiles), new floor (laminate replacing vinyl). Unfortunately, I think the pink tile backsplash is staying.
[For Mr. Rogers fans: Can you spot me in one of the kitchen pix?]
[I knew you could.]
View a larger version
View the floor plan
The apartment also comes with a carport, a storage area, a patio, and another dedicated parking space. I'll have to figure out where I'm going to park my bike - something in the carport or stairway.
Shindy will be able to chase Delilah around the loop: in one kitchen door, out the other, up the hallway behind the dining area, through the living room and back into the kitchen. Delilah will find hiding places, I am confident. Lots of nice windows for the cats to look out, and there should be interesting comings and goings in the trees.
I think I'll be happy t/here. The hardwood floors, the beautiful light, the sense of spaciousness. (I'm broke!)
Hope you come visit.
[For Mr. Rogers fans: Can you spot me in one of the kitchen pix?]
[I knew you could.]
View a larger version
View the floor plan
The apartment also comes with a carport, a storage area, a patio, and another dedicated parking space. I'll have to figure out where I'm going to park my bike - something in the carport or stairway.
Shindy will be able to chase Delilah around the loop: in one kitchen door, out the other, up the hallway behind the dining area, through the living room and back into the kitchen. Delilah will find hiding places, I am confident. Lots of nice windows for the cats to look out, and there should be interesting comings and goings in the trees.
I think I'll be happy t/here. The hardwood floors, the beautiful light, the sense of spaciousness. (I'm broke!)
Hope you come visit.
my first bay area digs - overview of location
Menlo Park, CA 94025
View Map
If you switch to satellite view, it's the building on the south west corner of Waverly and Linfield. My apartment is the top floor end unit on the right side, with a view of Linfield street, and runs the full length of that piece of the building. There are only 5 units total: one up and one down on each end, and a two story unit in the middle of the U. The extension to the west of the left side is the carport. Notice the big trees to the east and west of my apartment.
If you switch back to map view, look about 1.5 miles further south on the map and you'll see Stanford's campus: south of the Stanford shopping center (built on Stanford owned land) and south of the Stanford University Medical Center.
My office will be in Meyer Library (here is a map of all the libraries on campus, which is a better way to view Meyer in context of the campus), which houses student oriented computing (academic, student residential), a cataloging group and part of my group -- Digital Library Systems and Services. Oh, and the East Asia Library. Meyer is right next to Green Library - the main branch of Stanford U Libraries. The other part of the DLSS group is in offices at Page Mill Road - an outpost short bike ride away. (Once I had an address, I asked to be in Meyer, since it's significantly closer to my apartment.)
For those that don't know, University Ave is the pedestrian friendly main drag of Palo Alto: lots of chichi shops and good restaurants. My apartment is close to University ave, and also close to the Menlo Park Library. It's about a mile away from both the Menlo Park and the Palo Alto Caltrain stations. There's a creek that runs between Willow Road (Creek Drive, even) and Palo Alto avenue, with two bike only bridges. The intersection between Sand Hill Road and El Camino Real only allows bicycles to go straight across. So it's a bike friendly area. (Stanford has so many bikes that bike crashes happen frequently -- I'll be careful.)
As far as driving goes, it's about equidistant from 101 and from 280, and it's in line with the Dunbarton bridge across the bay to Fremont, where I already have a new pal.
Certainly a location I can live with for at least a year, while I get my bearings in the area and sort out my living location priorities.
View Map
If you switch to satellite view, it's the building on the south west corner of Waverly and Linfield. My apartment is the top floor end unit on the right side, with a view of Linfield street, and runs the full length of that piece of the building. There are only 5 units total: one up and one down on each end, and a two story unit in the middle of the U. The extension to the west of the left side is the carport. Notice the big trees to the east and west of my apartment.
If you switch back to map view, look about 1.5 miles further south on the map and you'll see Stanford's campus: south of the Stanford shopping center (built on Stanford owned land) and south of the Stanford University Medical Center.
My office will be in Meyer Library (here is a map of all the libraries on campus, which is a better way to view Meyer in context of the campus), which houses student oriented computing (academic, student residential), a cataloging group and part of my group -- Digital Library Systems and Services. Oh, and the East Asia Library. Meyer is right next to Green Library - the main branch of Stanford U Libraries. The other part of the DLSS group is in offices at Page Mill Road - an outpost short bike ride away. (Once I had an address, I asked to be in Meyer, since it's significantly closer to my apartment.)
For those that don't know, University Ave is the pedestrian friendly main drag of Palo Alto: lots of chichi shops and good restaurants. My apartment is close to University ave, and also close to the Menlo Park Library. It's about a mile away from both the Menlo Park and the Palo Alto Caltrain stations. There's a creek that runs between Willow Road (Creek Drive, even) and Palo Alto avenue, with two bike only bridges. The intersection between Sand Hill Road and El Camino Real only allows bicycles to go straight across. So it's a bike friendly area. (Stanford has so many bikes that bike crashes happen frequently -- I'll be careful.)
As far as driving goes, it's about equidistant from 101 and from 280, and it's in line with the Dunbarton bridge across the bay to Fremont, where I already have a new pal.
Certainly a location I can live with for at least a year, while I get my bearings in the area and sort out my living location priorities.
California, here I come!
Surprise! I'm taking a job at Stanford University.
Sure surprised me. Sure surprised my bank account ... and those financial wonders keep on coming. Anyone want a great house in Fort Collins? Good location, spacious, lots of light, hardwood floors, unbelievably fabulous kitchen.
The backstory: I was collecting library programmer job descriptions to update the ones for my staff. They were obviously written by administrators and I surmise they have less than ideal appeal to a programmer. So in trolling for posted jobs on some email lists I belong to, I found a posting for a Stanford Libraries programming position. By the time I finished reading it, I thought "that sounds FUN!" I chewed on it for a bit, talked to my boss here, decided to apply. Turned out they had another position posted, and a third about to be posted. I applied for the other posted job as well, went out in October for an interview. Stanford has HUGE digital library efforts going on, with a great deal of cutting edge digital library programming required. For example, they are one of the original universities to sign up with Google for book scanning. They have no new space allocated for their on site stacks to grow -- they are that committed to digital access.
In the end, they posted a new position tailored to me. This got posted on Friday December 20, 2007: the Friday before Christmas vacation. I formally applied within 90 minutes. I had a verbal offer in mid-January. Then there was a long stretch negotiating a start date, a CSU end date and so on.
I just got back on Thursday from a trip to find housing. (Thank goodness for craigslist!) Luckily, I had already done some research before I got out there, so I was over sticker shock. My bank account isn't over it, but I suppose I am. My offer letter in the mail crossed my trip, but we managed to do all the paperwork.
End date at Colorado State: Friday, March 14, 2008. This allows me to avoid paying back my moving allowance from CSU.
Start date at Stanford: Monday March 24, 2008. While I was in town to house hunt, I essentially "worked" for a couple of days; they are eager for me to start. Me too.
I hope to post details about my new digs a little later today.
Do you hear that? It sounds like a toilet flushing -- must be money from my Fort Collins house being flushed away. The sticker price hasn't gone down ... but the closing costs, assorted money spent on landscaping, a new washer/dryer, etc. Ooomph.
Sure surprised me. Sure surprised my bank account ... and those financial wonders keep on coming. Anyone want a great house in Fort Collins? Good location, spacious, lots of light, hardwood floors, unbelievably fabulous kitchen.
The backstory: I was collecting library programmer job descriptions to update the ones for my staff. They were obviously written by administrators and I surmise they have less than ideal appeal to a programmer. So in trolling for posted jobs on some email lists I belong to, I found a posting for a Stanford Libraries programming position. By the time I finished reading it, I thought "that sounds FUN!" I chewed on it for a bit, talked to my boss here, decided to apply. Turned out they had another position posted, and a third about to be posted. I applied for the other posted job as well, went out in October for an interview. Stanford has HUGE digital library efforts going on, with a great deal of cutting edge digital library programming required. For example, they are one of the original universities to sign up with Google for book scanning. They have no new space allocated for their on site stacks to grow -- they are that committed to digital access.
In the end, they posted a new position tailored to me. This got posted on Friday December 20, 2007: the Friday before Christmas vacation. I formally applied within 90 minutes. I had a verbal offer in mid-January. Then there was a long stretch negotiating a start date, a CSU end date and so on.
I just got back on Thursday from a trip to find housing. (Thank goodness for craigslist!) Luckily, I had already done some research before I got out there, so I was over sticker shock. My bank account isn't over it, but I suppose I am. My offer letter in the mail crossed my trip, but we managed to do all the paperwork.
End date at Colorado State: Friday, March 14, 2008. This allows me to avoid paying back my moving allowance from CSU.
Start date at Stanford: Monday March 24, 2008. While I was in town to house hunt, I essentially "worked" for a couple of days; they are eager for me to start. Me too.
I hope to post details about my new digs a little later today.
Do you hear that? It sounds like a toilet flushing -- must be money from my Fort Collins house being flushed away. The sticker price hasn't gone down ... but the closing costs, assorted money spent on landscaping, a new washer/dryer, etc. Ooomph.
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