| Sunday, December 27th, 2009 |
sparrowrose
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12:01a |
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| Saturday, December 26th, 2009 |
daddygod
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5:20p |
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gwendally
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5:55p |
Historical electricity generation
My Dad grew up on rural farms in the midwest that were settled my German immigrants when it was the frontier. They were so poor that not much changed before my Dad came along in 1944. Yesterday my Dad told me that the farm he lived on until after I was married had a device in the backyard that was some sort of metallic circle inside a drum that was filled with "soda" or "sodium" and the ground water would push against it and create a DC current that ran to one light bulb in the house. ( I haven't figured out what this is. ) |
daddygod
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11:40a |
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daddygod
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10:32a |
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gwendally
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11:07a |
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
My sister made a video for my children once that we called "Jurassic Park for Kids". She cut out all the really scary scenes where the children were imperiled and kept just the beautiful placid cool ones of dinosaurs up close, with enough of the narration to make the story hang together. It was a masterpiece that transformed a work best suited to teen-agers (or older) to the level suited for small children. ( This is rather the inverse. )If you cannot read Jane Austen, then, yes, read this. Jane Austen is really worth reading and this author captures the essence in important ways. For example, in this version the great reveal that they love each other happens just after Jane has sank to her knees in front of him. "Jane immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand that her sentiments had undergone a material change.... Had Jane been able to encounter his eye, she might have seen how well the expression of heartfelt delight diffused over his face...." Jane Austen needs close reading, but she's worth it when you puzzle out what she's saying. This work merely added a dimension that most of us wouldn't have seen in the original. Who knows. Maybe it was there all along. |
gwendally
|
10:14a |
Andrew Jackson: How being dead 160 years improves you
I finally finished " American Lion". I took up this book because I was intrigued about how Andrew Jackson took on the central bank - and won - and also recalled that he held together the Union during some early tests. I also know he paid off the National Debt, and demanded specie instead of paper money for some purposes, linking the dollar back to a standard. What a guy! I am weak on American History during the first half of the 19th century, so picked up this biography of the two-term 7th President to fill myself in. ( Uh oh. )Honestly, I felt like I was reading a biography of George W. Bush as written by an apologist a couple centuries down the line. The Massachusetts Liberal delegations, the Pennsylvania abolitionists, the human rights advocates for the Cherokee citizens... these people decried Andrew Jackson in the strongest possible terms. They got him censured in the Senate for one of his unilaterally stolen "executive privileges". He was the first American president to face an assassination attempt by one of his own citizens, and faced at least a couple. (This shook Americans, who considered this Noble Experiment in democracy to be above such need for violence.) Opposition to his monarchist tendencies created an entirely new political party, the American Whig Party. (I'd never figured out where they came in before reading this.) I feel better educated now, but haven't found myself a new hero. |
sparrowrose
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12:01a |
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| Friday, December 25th, 2009 |
abz6598
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9:33p |
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ericthemage
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2:22p |
You'll put your eye out!
 The kids did not receive any weaponry for Christmas, unless you count the drumsticks with the electronic drum set. :) |
abz6598
|
11:49a |
I got an awesome pair of boxer shorts for Xmas. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) schrathe is going to be supremely jealous. Pics later. |
alessar
|
12:11p |
Apples to Apples
My caramel surprise apple pie is in the oven baking. I call it that because it's an apple pie with a few pieces of caramel dotted within. (Surprise!) I've also made the crudité or "veggie tray" to those not down with the culinary lingo. Dinner is at 5, though, so first I have to wrangle up some lunch... er, well actually now that I think about it, a windmill cookie and a cup of coffee doesn't exactly count as breakfast, does it? Happy Christmas, everyone! Current Mood:  hungry |
sparrowrose
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12:01a |
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alessar
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12:18a |
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| Thursday, December 24th, 2009 |
daddygod
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10:24p |
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daddygod
|
9:38p |
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daddygod
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9:15p |
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daddygod
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7:36p |
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smjayman
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3:49p |
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alessar
|
11:07a |
The morning of the eve
At almost the last minute I took today off. Work has been fairly busy the last few days as it's just been myself, the temp who is our office clerk, and my boss. My boss was going to take today off too but a coworker who has repeatedly been out for extended periods was summoned back to work by the higher ups in personnel. That is drama I don't wish to experience. Drama of a good kind has recently happened, though. My department had its status changed and now we have a dean over us, one who is there to get the job done and not to play academic politics. We finally have someone "tanking" for us at the higher level. It basically means that our jobs just became a lot more secure as some recent occurences had left us all wondering about that. So I think that is my big present this year. After I left work last night I decided to leap into the breach and I did my Christmas shopping. All of it, basically. My feet hurt so much I had to soak them last night. Hand-made presents still need to be created. As I mentioned a few days ago, I've started a massive cleaning and reorganizing blitz. The wave hasn't hit the kitchen yet, and that's where the magic happens. But, I'm off until the 4th so I have time. Today I have a pretty short list of things to do. I need to get gas for my car, and pick up some ranch dressing for the crudité that I'm taking with me for dinner tommorrow. (I'm also baking my famous caramel surprise apple pie.) That's really all I can think of at present. I made a low sodium low fat cheesy hash brown scramble for brunch and later today I'm making chicken soup and cleaning some more. Oh and wrapping presents. For my dinner hosts tomorrow I got 2 "family" presents, two games that hopefully the parents can play with their kids and all have fun. A couple years ago when I went for dinner with them I was floored when they had a present for me, a concise cookbook of the essentials of cooking by Julia Child. Talk about getting it right without being in close touch with friends! Well I can't tarry here too long. I'm sure everything will be shutting down early this afternoon. Happy holidays everyone! |
| Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 |
daddygod
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7:51a |
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gwendally
|
7:35a |
Tax tip on giving to charity
If you are over the age of 70 1/2, there is a little-used but really nice provision to allow you to direct charitable gifts directly from your IRA. You then do not have to pay the Federal or State taxes on those IRA distributions. If you were considering giving to charity anyway, this is the absolute best way to do it. The law as written expires on 12/31/09, though. It looks to me like it's in the Extender bill the House passed on Dec. 9, but the Senate didn't take it up and doesn't look likely to before Christmas recess (hur!). It may get retroactively extended, but I wouldn't bet on it. If you were planning a big gift in 2010 this might be the best time to make THAT gift as well. If this is something that interests you, contact your IRA administrator (NOT your tax accountant!). This needs to be done during the few remaining business hours in 2009. (I know that no one on my flist is over 70 1/2 years old, but, heck, pass this along.) |
lethara
|
2:58a |
:p
Stupid people make my brain hurt. Just had to say that. Have to get up in 5 hours so I can take Tasha to the vet. She hurt herself on the stairs and her ribs are really sore. And I am sore from shoveling the pathetic amount of snow we had, which says I need to GET MY FAT ASS TO THE GYM. So, that is my goal for the next month, start a regular work out plan. I'm tired, though. Going to bed now. Only an hour and a half past when I wanted to, better than normal. :) Current Mood:  sore |
sparrowrose
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12:01a |
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| Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 |
alessar
|
8:35p |
DDR Post
Not my best day in DDR ~ I did about 13 songs and then wiped out, very tired. Also, my right ankle was quite sore. I decided not to push it further, I worked up a sweat and got somewhere between 20 and 35 minutes of exercise. Current Music: BT - Rose of Jericho |
