Guest Blatherings

(posted Sat. Oct. 14th, late evening California time)


Paul and Beckett were kind enough to arrange a small music gathering on Saturday night in my honour. Paul made yummy chicken fajitas and a cherry dessert. We had fun watching parts of his video from FilkContinental (I wish I could have been there!) and did musicstuff, gabbed a lot. I invited people to contribute Guest Blatherings...





Amanda Weinstein:


Yay! A room full of cool people who filk. It's exactly where I needed to spend the evening :)


Anyway, Seanan ordered me to come blather, so I blathered.





Marc:


After years of second hand reports, I've finally met the Ridpath-Ohi woman! Paul's descriptions didn't do her justice. Debbie is spectacular.





Seanan McGuire:


Wow! My very first guest Blathering! I shall endevour to be worthy to the post...


Debbie has been lovely -- thanks for loaning her to us, Canada! Considering that I didn't expect to get to see her during this visit, this has been absolutely lovely. We've had a lovely dinner and a lovely filksing (although if she says she saw me sing, she's fibbing, don't listen to her). And babytime! Watching her with the boys is muchly fun.


I'm so glad that we could make it up tonight, to spend time with Debbie -- and with Paul, Beckett, Riley and Casey (who were unsurprisingly delighted to recieve their very first plush Cthulhu dolls). Hey, Allison -- when do we get to show YOU our state?





Alan Thiesen:


Hi! Just got to hear Debbie sing "Obsession". Great song! But I'm so sorry to hear Allison won't be at OVFF. Sob. Snif.


The Kwinn twins are getting even more adorable, if that's possible. Don't tell Paul, but I don't think he's the cute one any more. :-)


Jeanne Goldfein:


Great music...great people...it's been very nice to meet you.





Beckett:


Finally, finally the twins gave up and fell asleep, and then ten minutes later everyone left! :( Ah well, the hazards of parenthood, I guess. Actually it was great to see everybody tonight. Seanan sang, no matter what she says. Alan was a big hit with the boys- guess those Daddy vibes work on more than just Adam!


Paul:


We have a spiffy visitor

Her name is Debbie-O

She's quite a charming person

The babies love her so


She cleans up all our dishes

We never lift a finger

She changes dirty diapers

We wish that she would linger


May we please clone this Debbie?

We'll swear not to abuse her

With twins here to take of

Man, we could really use her.


Today's Poll: (Courtesy Paul)


Have you been camping in the last five years?

california!

(Posted Fri. Oct. 12 9:04 pm, California time)

Guest Blathering from Beckett

Debbie is here in Fremont, California. She demanded palm trees, but so far we've only been able to supply about four of them. More later, hopefully. We're debating about places to drag Debbie sightseeing with the twins (the key being "with the twins"). So far she seems to have a remarkable tolerance for them. No demands for babies with Honey Mustard Sauce or anything!


Casey and Riley have decided that she's okay, too. So far she's fed them, right now she's playing on the floor with them, and soon she'll be giving them baths! Never let it be said that we don't grab our guests and immediately put them to work with baby care! Tomorrow night, small filk here with babies! Later, all. Hope everyone is doing well...


- Beckett

Note from Debbie...

So I'm here at Paul and Beckett's, having just watched the twins being bathed. And I have to say, it's awfully hard not to gush and coo over the sight of babies getting a bath. I fed Casey and Riley dinner...it's a different experience to feed two babies their dinner at the same time from just being able to focus on one. They both just stared at me as I took turns shovelling pablum into their mouths (they reminded me of baby birds, automatically opening their mouths when I got near them with a spoon), probably suspicious but deciding to tolerate me for now, at least while I was feeding them. :-)


And I got to smell their heads! Baby heads smell SO wonderful. If any of you haven't tried it recently, I advise you all to go out right now and smell one, preferably one whose parent won't beat you over the head for thinking you're assaulting his/her child. Casey's head smelled slightly better than Riley's, but perhaps it was because they hadn't had their bath yet (I felt compelled to write that in case Casey and Riley discover my Blatherings Archives years from now; I certainly don't want Riley to feel slighted).


Wow, and have they ever changed since I saw them in March. Both are developing distinct personalities and mannerisms.


Flight from Toronto was uneventful, except it was sobering to see the military guys with their rifles hanging about the San Francisco airport.


More tomorrow...I'm pretty tired, and will probably go to bed tonight before Casey and Riley do. :-)


Today's Blatherpics:


- Riley and Casey.


- Me feeding Casey.


Today's Poll: (Courtesy Beckett)


Have you ever changed a baby boy's diaper?

the story of delta flight 15

[Updated at 11:41 am EST with a Sept. 11th story about Delta Flight 15 and the town of Gander, Newfoundland. I wanted to end today's Blathering on a more positive note, and this story is the most positive I've heard in a very long time. :-)]


Lawyers: So I went to see an intellectual property lawyer at Torkin Manes yesterday, someone recommended to me by the corporate tax lawyer I hired from Soberman Isenbaum & Colomby LLP. What is it with these long law firm names? And just think of all the business stationery they must have to toss and replace every time a partner leaves or joins, not to mention the company sign, the advertising, the coffee mugs. Maybe this even has an influence on the firm's internal business decisions.


Can't let Zuckerman in as a partner yet, someone might say. We just got all the stationery changed when Rottweilergummerman left the firm last month. Maybe next year.


But I digress. I got the information I needed (mainly that I don't have to worry about my plans for the immediate future breaching a non-compete clause in a previous employer's agreement), and hope not to darken the door of another lawyer's office for a long time. I admire what lawyers can do, and have appreciated what they have done for me thus far, but I'd much rather stick with what I know...writing, editing, and silly online comic strips. :-)


Today's Blathering is part of an On Display project. This month's topic: "Where were you when".


Leaving for California tomorrow: I'm packing for my trip today. Tying up loose ends, making sure everything's set up for being able to do some work away from home. I have two articles due next month, plus there is some other paperwork I need to tie up before leaving tomorrow.


I admit feeling some hesitation about going ahead with the trip, considering everything that's going on in the world these days. I'm not afraid of my plane being hijacked...chances of that happening to my particular plane are extremely low, even if there are more hijackings. Plus airport security is probably tighter than it's ever been, with airport staff and passengers being more vigilant about security breaches and unusual events than any other time.


It's the recent anthrax scare that has me somewhat freaked, because it forces me to think about the real possibility of bioterrorism. If/when it happens, it won't be a sudden and noticeable "where were you when" event, like on Sept. 11th. There will likely be some kind of incubation period before any symptoms, and meanwhile those infected might be travelling elsewhere, possibly infecting others along the way, especially in crowded places like airports and shopping malls.


And then I can't help thinking, What if there's already been a bioterrorist attack and no one knows it yet? What if I get infected while I'm travelling this month? What if I bring it back home with me?


Even if I postpone or cancel my trip to California (and Ohio, which is right after), however, the risk of bioterrorism is not likely to disappear anytime soon. If ever. There's a small child deep inside my brain that quails in terror at this realization, and the realization that my world is not as safe as I once believed it to be. There's a sense of unreality about the whole situation, a subconscious hope that we'll all wake up tomorrow morning and find out that the whole thing has been an elaborately staged hoax. Or a very bad dream.


What's most frightening, however, is that inevitably we'll all acclimatize. Even though the overall risk of terrorist attacks likely won't decrease significantly, we'll all get used to this new mindset, of the greater awareness of risk. You can only stay fearful and horrified for so long. Then, likely out of simple self-preservation, your perception of what's "normal" readjusts to fit reality. Late night talk shows start making jokes about current events again, Hollywood lifts its unofficial ban on anything to do with the World Trade Center, terrorism, plane crashes. Friends and co-workers exchange "where were you when" stories, hoping there won't be more, that the worst is over. Life goes on. And eventually I'll realize how silly I was for being so paranoid, for believing the alarmist stories being propagated through the media.


But I digress.


So I'm still going to California and Ohio, and I'm still looking forward to seeing my friends (even more so now than before).


And I'll update these Blatherings when I can. :-)









The Story of Delta Flight 15 and the town of Gander, Newfoundland


Just heard a wonderful story on CBC radio, so had to share it with you: In summary, on Sept. 11th, when U.S. airlines grounded all flights, 53 flights were rerouted to Gander, Newfoundland. Delta Flight 15 was one of them, and the story read on the CBC was written by one of the flight attendants. After spending 24 hours inside the plane on the ground, crew and passengers were finally permitted to get off the plane.


The town of Gander has 10,400 people. According to the Red Cross, the number of passengers from all the planes re-routed to Gander totalled 10,500 (!). The townspeople of Gander and its surrounding small communities united in helping the stranded passengers, and closed high schools, meeting halls, and lodges so they could be converted into a mass lodging area with cots, sleeping bags, and pillows.


Delta Flight 15 was lodged in the community of Lewisporte. By the time Delta Flight 15 was able to take off again, all the passengers had bonded and knew each other by their first names. Just before leaving, one man asked for permission to make an announcement over the PA. The flight attendant reported:


"The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He further stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for high school student(s) of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers.


When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian. The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.


Why, all of this? Just because some people in far away places were kind to some strangers, who happened to literally drop in among them?


WHY NOT?"


:-)


Links


May the Force Be With You: Thousands of Britons have claimed "Jedi" as their faith, forcing it onto the next census.


The Gander Connection: includes links to other Gander stories from stranded passengers.


Gander Academy Hosts Stranded Passengers









Today's Blatherpic

I took this photo during Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. I'm going to start linking the main photo up to a related (sometimes very vaguely) URL when I can from now on. You can always click on the photo to see if it takes you anywhere.


Today's Poll: (Suggest a question)


Do you remember where you were when man first walked on the moon? (if you hadn't been born yet, please don't answer this poll question, thanks :))

editorial rant

Today is a ones and zeros sort of day: "01-10-10". It's a little thing, I know, but sometimes it's the little things that keep us sane.


One of the little things that drive me insane: public signs that were obviously created by someone who didn't put much thought into efficient communication. Take today's Blatherpic, for example, which is up in our building elevator right now. Only a few lines, I know, but it cries out for editing. My major beefs:


WHY ALL UPPERCASE? In the dark recesses of the history of the English language, someone theorized that capitalized text was a better attention-grabber than lowercase. While this may be true in context (consider the difference between the phrase 'I don't like ladybugs on my toes' and 'I don't like LADYBUGS on my toes' and 'I don't like ladybugs on my TOES'), I've seen this rule abused and misused far too often.


WHY ALL UNDERLINED? Ditto as above. Underlining the entire "important" message dilutes the effect of the underlining and in fact, makes the text more difficult to read.


WHY THE ITALICS? Given the confusing textual chaos created by the above breaches of simple written communication, there's no point in italicizing anything in this message, let alone the word 'UNAVAILABLE'. Why that word? Perhaps the author realized (in a vague sort of way) that he/she had overdone it with the capitalization and bold text and underlining. But darnitall, the word 'UNAVAILBLE' needed some extra emphasis...what to do? Hm, no colour text available (thank god) so heck, might as well throw in some italics.


CONFUSING WORDING! In my humble opinion, the phrase "only the hot water will be unavailable" is almost as much of a travesty as the capitalization and underlining overload. If any of you have taken any kind of creative writing course, you will have the "positive assertive" rule drilled into your brain. Active, positive sentence structures and words make for much stronger writing than the passive and negative.


In sum, the underlined message could have been more effectively conveyed as follows (with no underlining or capitalization):



There will be no hot water between 9-5 pm on Friday, October 12th. Apologies for the inconvenience.



I highly recommend a book by Bill Walsh, a copy editor at The Washington Post: Lapsing Into Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong In Print - And How To Avoid Them.





Correction: Thanks to Dave Alway for pointing out in Blatherchat that the bird in yesterday's Blatherings is a female Golden Crowned Kinglet, not a chickadee. I've posted the correction in the Blathering. :-)


Today's Poll: (Suggest a question)


From where you are sitting RIGHT NOW, can you see an English dictionary?

nature pics

I took the photo above yesterday. The bird had flown into the window at the back of the cabin while I was uploading my Blatherings; I looked up just in time to see something small and grey fluttering into the forest nearby. I watched the chickadee land on a branch and perch there rather woozily, its eyes half-closed and swaying back and forth. I took this photo when I went outside to check on the bird's progress. It didn't seem alarmed to see me, and let me get close enough to take this photo. After a few more minutes, it fluffed up its feathers, shook its head, and flew off.


[Added Wed. Oct. 10: I was wrong about the bird being a chickadee! Here's what Dave Alway wrote: "As near as I can make out from Roger Tory Peterson's Eastern Birds what you've got there is a female Golden Crowned Kinglet. Family Sylviidae, genus and species Regulus satrapa. The tell-tale mark is the yellow peak along with its very small chickadee size. In the males, the peak turns to orange at the topmost of the head. Chickadees have no such markings, generally having a solid black or deep brown cap. The area north and west of Toronto is where her winter and summer ranges overlap. According to Peterson, her habitat is conifers, especially Spruce or Norway pine plantations, or various other trees in winter."]





After the others left yesterday, Jeff and I went on a 8 km hike. On the way to the starting point, in the boat, we saw a female moose and her calf grazing by the side of the lake. We didn't venture too near, but drifted in the boat watching until both ambled into the shadows of the forest.





The photo above was taken a few minutes ago; it is completely unaltered except for sizing (to fit on my Blatherings). I was up just before sunrise this morning, so was lucky enough to catch the few brief moments when the rising sun soaked the sky and water a deep orange and scarlet. Only minutes later, the light had brightened and the colour was gone.


It is cold in the cabin right now, despite a crackling fire and an electric heater in the corner; I'm wearing fleece pants, fleece sweatshirt, and a fleece vest. The thermometer outside reads 1 degree Celsius. Bizarre to think I'll be in California with Paul and Beckett around this time next week (Andrew's midweek, the Bohnhoffs at the end of the week)! Jeff will be here on a Guy's Astronomy Weekend. Somehow I suspect none of them will be up early enough to enjoy a sunrise. :-)


On Telemarketing


I was amused by a Blatherchat comment from Simon Fairbourn in the UK (household consists of Simon, Talis Kimberley, young Corwin Kimberley).




"Re: Telemarketing.

Sorry, Debbie, I can't answer your Blatherings question. I do a combination of both answers. Politely baiting Telemarketers is too much fun.


My favourite option is to be literal with my answers. I have a head start with our combination of surnames. So you get something like...


TM: Is that Mr. Kimberley?

Me: No

TM: Oh, may I speak to Mr. Kimberley?

Me: He's at school.

TM pauses

TM: May I speak to Mrs. Kimberley then?

Me: No, she's dead.

TM pauses again

TM: May I speak to the homeowner then?

Me: No, she's unavailable.

TM pauses longer this time wondering who I am and what I've done to this family.

TM: Who is this?

Me: If you don't know who you are calling, why are you making the call?

TM: (Silence (This is so far off their script that they're panicking))

Me: Goodbye.


I should add that Annie Walker has a talent for this I can only dream of emulating. She's actually had people get their mates at the call centre to call, 'cos she's so entertaining."




Today's Poll: (Suggest a question)



Have you ever seen a moose in the wild?