So, after Thursday's exciting discussion about Time Travel, I thought it would be interesting to actually do a little (and I do mean little) research about wormholes and the possibility of time travel....
When I posted about this originally, Joel (who's married to one of my best friends, Leigh Ann) mentioned a show on the Discovery Channel called Through the Wormhole. The episode that seemed to be the most relevant is called "Faster Than Light." The accompanying article in the website (http://science.discovery.com/tv/through-the-wormhole/episodes/break-the-speed-of-light/), seems to agree with the Hong Kong Scientists, but.... it supposes that you could create a wormhole and travel through it. And, if you did some tricky things, you might be able to fold space-time in such a way that you could travel through time. Not so practical for the average person to just be able to go back and visit with Grammy and Gramps, but hey, who ever thought computers would get small enough that you could carry it in a pocket?
I also found an article from National Geographic called "Are Wormholes Tunnels for Time Travel?," which explained what wormholes are and how they might be used to time travel.
And NOVA talked to Carl Sagan about Time Travel.... and he mentioned wormholes as a way of doing it....http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/Sagan-Time-Travel.html
Then, of course, Over the Hedge has been doing a series this week about Hammy the Squirrel going back in time and actually being the one who ignites the Big Bang.....Michael Fry, who writes the comic, also keeps a blog with a few comments about the strip.....Time Lord Hammy....
Which, of course reminds me that I was most remiss....if you don't happen to have a Starship that can travel at warp speeds hanging around a star, all you'd need is a blue police box that's bigger on the inside.... commonly known as the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space).
Time to aMuse myself with building my own TARDIS.... I wonder if there's a Time Lord I could pick up? With my luck, it'd be Hammy....
Princess Muse
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Musing about Time Travel....
My friend Arlyn and I are bummed. Scientists in Hong Kong have run experiments and have concluded, per Einstein's Principle of the Constant of the Speed of Light, time travel is NOT possible. (http://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-scientists-show-time-travel-impossible-150026913.html)
I beg to differ. Obviously, they have not had the luxury of a starship and either a black star or just a regular old star to help them around that little Principle. There were two Star Trek: The Original Series (as opposed to Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager or Enterprise) episodes that used the "slingshot effect" (aka the "breakaway effect") to travel through time: "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and "Assignment: Earth" (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Slingshot_effect). Not to mention Harlan Ellison's brilliant, but mangled for television, episode "The City on the Edge of Forever," but that used a time portal, which hasn't been addressed by Einstein (I don't think). Time travel in Star Trek (using only the original characters) was also featured in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (remember the whales?) and J.J. Abrams re-booting of the original characters in his Star Trek movie.
I know, I know. You're shaking your head and saying, "Missy, that's Star Trek, and Star Trek is not real." I know that. Most of the time. But, my point, really, is that by proving that time travel isn't real, those scientists have destroyed a favorite plot device in science fiction. I guess it would still work in fantasy and romantic fiction (Outlander, anyone?), but unless you're writing humorous science fiction, you have to give up your time travel plot.
Lots of books deal with time travel: the aforementioned Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (in which Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find themselves marooned on pre-historic Earth with Telephone Sanitizers--among others.), Guns of the South), by Harry Turtledove and Timeline, by Michael Crichton. Of course, plenty of stories warn of the dangers of time travel: change things far enough back and you might not exist (also known as the Time Travelers's Dilemma) in your era.
We like to think of how we would travel back in time and fix the mistakes we've made--big and little ones. (I, for one, would have organized my house better and kept up with the organization so that cleaning it would just mean running the vacuum cleaner once in a while.) Of course, fixing those "mistakes" could have a profound impact on your life.
For example, what if I hadn't moved up to Maryland with my then-boyfriend/fiancé? What if I had stayed in Tallahassee, got my Master's in International Affairs? Well, presumably, I would've gotten a job either with the CIA, or with the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) or with Military Intelligence. I might only have moved as far north as Northern Virginia and might never have met my husband (yes, funny story, my ex-fiancé actually introduced me to my husband. Not that any of us had an inkling that life would turn out the way it did...), or had my two little boys. I used to wonder who I would be if my mother hadn't married my father. The answer is beyond my imagination. So, would I change that? Nope, not on your life. Although, maybe a letter from my future self telling me that the fiancé wasn't worth the tears would've been nice.
But what if you could travel back in time and just observe? You couldn't change anything, because you don't really exist in that time. Of course, you couldn't interact with any of the people you meet, so, no thinking, "Oh, I'd love to sit down and have a chat with......". When would you go? Would you visit a battle and see how it really unfolded? (Bloody and messy and not heroic--there are individual acts of heroism, of course, but the battle itself? Chaos personified.) See one of Shakespeare's plays in the Globe? See if Shakespeare really wrote his plays, instead of Christopher Marlowe or Francis Bacon? Watch your parents on their first date? (Ewww... a little too Back to the Future, ya know?) Watch Rome establish it's Empire (only if you have a fast-forward button--it took a while. Same with the Fall of the Empire.) See the Beatles' either on the Sullivan Show or at Shea Stadium?
I go to the Maryland Renaissance Festival every year in costume. It's the closest I can come to time travel. And every year, I'm thankful that I don't have to wear clothes like that every day (and I wear a "tavern wench" costume, not a Noblewoman's costume--comparatively cooler, but not a lot), and that I can get home in my car (as opposed to my feet, or a wagon), turn on the A/C (did I mention that those costumes are hot?), plug in my iPod, come home to my computer and watch my t.v.
Time to go aMuse myself and contemplate where and when I'd like to go.....
(This is actually the second time I had to write this. The first time, I was using spell-check and some how managed to delete this. My friend Leigh Ann's husband Joel suggests that I go back in time to just before I accidentally deleted this. He's a funny guy.....NOT!)
I beg to differ. Obviously, they have not had the luxury of a starship and either a black star or just a regular old star to help them around that little Principle. There were two Star Trek: The Original Series (as opposed to Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager or Enterprise) episodes that used the "slingshot effect" (aka the "breakaway effect") to travel through time: "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and "Assignment: Earth" (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Slingshot_effect). Not to mention Harlan Ellison's brilliant, but mangled for television, episode "The City on the Edge of Forever," but that used a time portal, which hasn't been addressed by Einstein (I don't think). Time travel in Star Trek (using only the original characters) was also featured in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (remember the whales?) and J.J. Abrams re-booting of the original characters in his Star Trek movie.
I know, I know. You're shaking your head and saying, "Missy, that's Star Trek, and Star Trek is not real." I know that. Most of the time. But, my point, really, is that by proving that time travel isn't real, those scientists have destroyed a favorite plot device in science fiction. I guess it would still work in fantasy and romantic fiction (Outlander, anyone?), but unless you're writing humorous science fiction, you have to give up your time travel plot.
Lots of books deal with time travel: the aforementioned Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (in which Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find themselves marooned on pre-historic Earth with Telephone Sanitizers--among others.), Guns of the South), by Harry Turtledove and Timeline, by Michael Crichton. Of course, plenty of stories warn of the dangers of time travel: change things far enough back and you might not exist (also known as the Time Travelers's Dilemma) in your era.
We like to think of how we would travel back in time and fix the mistakes we've made--big and little ones. (I, for one, would have organized my house better and kept up with the organization so that cleaning it would just mean running the vacuum cleaner once in a while.) Of course, fixing those "mistakes" could have a profound impact on your life.
For example, what if I hadn't moved up to Maryland with my then-boyfriend/fiancé? What if I had stayed in Tallahassee, got my Master's in International Affairs? Well, presumably, I would've gotten a job either with the CIA, or with the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) or with Military Intelligence. I might only have moved as far north as Northern Virginia and might never have met my husband (yes, funny story, my ex-fiancé actually introduced me to my husband. Not that any of us had an inkling that life would turn out the way it did...), or had my two little boys. I used to wonder who I would be if my mother hadn't married my father. The answer is beyond my imagination. So, would I change that? Nope, not on your life. Although, maybe a letter from my future self telling me that the fiancé wasn't worth the tears would've been nice.
I go to the Maryland Renaissance Festival every year in costume. It's the closest I can come to time travel. And every year, I'm thankful that I don't have to wear clothes like that every day (and I wear a "tavern wench" costume, not a Noblewoman's costume--comparatively cooler, but not a lot), and that I can get home in my car (as opposed to my feet, or a wagon), turn on the A/C (did I mention that those costumes are hot?), plug in my iPod, come home to my computer and watch my t.v.
Time to go aMuse myself and contemplate where and when I'd like to go.....
(This is actually the second time I had to write this. The first time, I was using spell-check and some how managed to delete this. My friend Leigh Ann's husband Joel suggests that I go back in time to just before I accidentally deleted this. He's a funny guy.....NOT!)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Musings about Ch..ch..ch...ch...changes....
We all say we want a change, but really, what we mean is "I want things to stay the same, except I want it to better for me."
I downloaded OS X Lion yesterday.... it was going to be soooo different, a big change in the operating system... I read some of the comments about the new OS in the Mac App Store .... most were positive, a few were negative and a few were neutral (of the "things have changed a bit, but I'm sure I'll get used to it...." variety). And yes, some things have changed, but for the most part, not too much. I can ignore some of the changes and keep doing things the way I've been doing, but I signed up for "One-to-One" when I bought my laptop, so I think I'll sign up for a session with one of the Apple Guys (and, in this case, the word "guy" is gender neutral) and have them explain why Mission Control and Launch Pad are Just The Greatest Things Ever! (Ironic, isn't it, that the Space Shuttle program ends and Apple is using all this cool space imagery...*sigh*)
But, Change can be scary. It can be a leap into the unknown. There could be a scary monster hiding behind the rocks over there....or it could be the Beautiful Princess/Handsome Prince. When we're young, change is as natural as breathing (radical new hair cut, new hair color, switch your major, find a new job, etc), but as we get older we tend to make changes in our lives only when the alternative (not changing) is seen as being untenable. Not always. If the State of Hawaii called me today and said they wanted to hire me as a teacher, I'd be on the next flight out. And, right now, my life is pretty good. I have a nice house, great kids (when they're not antagonizing each other), a fantastic husband (and I'm not just saying this because he reads my blog), my parents live within an easy drive (3.5 - 4 hours), my in-laws are willing to babysit almost anytime I ask them to, I have some pretty great friends here in town, a job where I'm needed, but I have the option of saying "no" (not that I do very often, but it's nice to know that I can) if I don't feel like working that day, an extensive network of friends that I don't see, but I "talk" to them most days (gotta love email and FaceBook) and enough money that I can buy books and music without worrying that I won't be able to feed the kids. Yep, life is good.... and, yet, if the State of Hawaii called.....maybe I could do that because I know that I'll make new friends, I'll adapt to island life (even if it doesn't always have everything I consider to be a "necessity" (such as a Barnes & Noble within an easy drive). Oh, there are things and people I'd miss, but I know that a change like that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
But, you know what? For the most part, change is incremental. We need to change. If we don't change, or adapt, we stagnate and die, whether it's physically or spiritually. Sometimes the change can be horrific (you develop a dread disease or lose your job), but that can lead to you make changes in your health routine, or go back to school and find a job you find even more fulfilling. I know, I'm an optimist....my glasses are definitely rose colored and my glass is ALWAYS half-full.
Never believe a politician who promises that there are going to be changes. I don't doubt that the politician wants to enact changes, but the reality is, the politician has to work with a lot of different people, some of whom don't think things need to change, or, if they do, things need to change in different ways. If you don't believe me, join a committee at work, or the PTA if you have school aged children. If you're lucky, you'll be able to change ONE thing. Mostly, you're doing a good job if you can modify one thing.
Okay, enough lecture. Time for me to aMuse myself by thinking about different changes I can make....
I downloaded OS X Lion yesterday.... it was going to be soooo different, a big change in the operating system... I read some of the comments about the new OS in the Mac App Store .... most were positive, a few were negative and a few were neutral (of the "things have changed a bit, but I'm sure I'll get used to it...." variety). And yes, some things have changed, but for the most part, not too much. I can ignore some of the changes and keep doing things the way I've been doing, but I signed up for "One-to-One" when I bought my laptop, so I think I'll sign up for a session with one of the Apple Guys (and, in this case, the word "guy" is gender neutral) and have them explain why Mission Control and Launch Pad are Just The Greatest Things Ever! (Ironic, isn't it, that the Space Shuttle program ends and Apple is using all this cool space imagery...*sigh*)
But, Change can be scary. It can be a leap into the unknown. There could be a scary monster hiding behind the rocks over there....or it could be the Beautiful Princess/Handsome Prince. When we're young, change is as natural as breathing (radical new hair cut, new hair color, switch your major, find a new job, etc), but as we get older we tend to make changes in our lives only when the alternative (not changing) is seen as being untenable. Not always. If the State of Hawaii called me today and said they wanted to hire me as a teacher, I'd be on the next flight out. And, right now, my life is pretty good. I have a nice house, great kids (when they're not antagonizing each other), a fantastic husband (and I'm not just saying this because he reads my blog), my parents live within an easy drive (3.5 - 4 hours), my in-laws are willing to babysit almost anytime I ask them to, I have some pretty great friends here in town, a job where I'm needed, but I have the option of saying "no" (not that I do very often, but it's nice to know that I can) if I don't feel like working that day, an extensive network of friends that I don't see, but I "talk" to them most days (gotta love email and FaceBook) and enough money that I can buy books and music without worrying that I won't be able to feed the kids. Yep, life is good.... and, yet, if the State of Hawaii called.....maybe I could do that because I know that I'll make new friends, I'll adapt to island life (even if it doesn't always have everything I consider to be a "necessity" (such as a Barnes & Noble within an easy drive). Oh, there are things and people I'd miss, but I know that a change like that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
But, you know what? For the most part, change is incremental. We need to change. If we don't change, or adapt, we stagnate and die, whether it's physically or spiritually. Sometimes the change can be horrific (you develop a dread disease or lose your job), but that can lead to you make changes in your health routine, or go back to school and find a job you find even more fulfilling. I know, I'm an optimist....my glasses are definitely rose colored and my glass is ALWAYS half-full.
Never believe a politician who promises that there are going to be changes. I don't doubt that the politician wants to enact changes, but the reality is, the politician has to work with a lot of different people, some of whom don't think things need to change, or, if they do, things need to change in different ways. If you don't believe me, join a committee at work, or the PTA if you have school aged children. If you're lucky, you'll be able to change ONE thing. Mostly, you're doing a good job if you can modify one thing.
Okay, enough lecture. Time for me to aMuse myself by thinking about different changes I can make....
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Musings about a "Thotful Spot"
Everybody needs a "thotful spot." (The spelling comes from A.A. Milne's wonderful creation, Winnie-the-Pooh.)
Currently, mine is on my front porch. I'm sitting there, right now. I bought a cheap tv table at Target so I'd have someplace to put my laptop, or Nook, iPod and/or speakers, and, of course, my Co-Cola. I like to sit here. The street is pretty quiet during the day, I have a hummingbird feeder that gets plenty of visits, I can catch a nice breeze, and if the boys come outside, I'm here to monitor in case things go from DEFCON 1 to DEFCON 4 (and believe me, with two boys and hose, it's almost a guarantee). I've seen a hawk with its prey (either a mouse or a small bird), bunnies galore (sometimes I think I'm running a bunny preserve), and, in the evenings, tons of fireflies.
Sometimes in the evenings, one of my neighbors will come over. I'll go inside, get some glasses and a bottle of wine and we'll sit out and just talk about... whatever. Kids, travels, dreams. Nothing, and yet, everything.
I like to just sit and breathe sometimes. During the school year, I sometimes forget to do that. I'm busy, subbing, making sure my kids have what they need to be the most successful that they can be in school, trying to make sure we have enough clean clothes. Thankfully, my children aren't interested in playing sports. Sometimes, I wish they did, but mostly I'm glad that I don't have to get them to practices and games. Summertime is when I get to do most of my breathing and I try to store it up for the winter, when it's too cold to sit outside and contemplate the Universe.
If it's raining, it's really nice to sit out here. We have aluminum awnings, so the rain get properly noisy. Yesterday, we had a great storm that lasted almost two hours. Sometimes the rain was almost gentle, but mostly it came down in torrents. It was glorious! (Of course, I love rainy days... unlike the Carpenter's song, rainy days and Monday rarely get me down.)
So, if you happen to be in town, at loose ends, come on by. I'll probably be on the porch and I'm always willing to drop what I'm doing to have a chat with a friend. We'll aMuse each other.
Currently, mine is on my front porch. I'm sitting there, right now. I bought a cheap tv table at Target so I'd have someplace to put my laptop, or Nook, iPod and/or speakers, and, of course, my Co-Cola. I like to sit here. The street is pretty quiet during the day, I have a hummingbird feeder that gets plenty of visits, I can catch a nice breeze, and if the boys come outside, I'm here to monitor in case things go from DEFCON 1 to DEFCON 4 (and believe me, with two boys and hose, it's almost a guarantee). I've seen a hawk with its prey (either a mouse or a small bird), bunnies galore (sometimes I think I'm running a bunny preserve), and, in the evenings, tons of fireflies.
Sometimes in the evenings, one of my neighbors will come over. I'll go inside, get some glasses and a bottle of wine and we'll sit out and just talk about... whatever. Kids, travels, dreams. Nothing, and yet, everything.
I like to just sit and breathe sometimes. During the school year, I sometimes forget to do that. I'm busy, subbing, making sure my kids have what they need to be the most successful that they can be in school, trying to make sure we have enough clean clothes. Thankfully, my children aren't interested in playing sports. Sometimes, I wish they did, but mostly I'm glad that I don't have to get them to practices and games. Summertime is when I get to do most of my breathing and I try to store it up for the winter, when it's too cold to sit outside and contemplate the Universe.
If it's raining, it's really nice to sit out here. We have aluminum awnings, so the rain get properly noisy. Yesterday, we had a great storm that lasted almost two hours. Sometimes the rain was almost gentle, but mostly it came down in torrents. It was glorious! (Of course, I love rainy days... unlike the Carpenter's song, rainy days and Monday rarely get me down.)
So, if you happen to be in town, at loose ends, come on by. I'll probably be on the porch and I'm always willing to drop what I'm doing to have a chat with a friend. We'll aMuse each other.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Musings about Googling Yourself
Funny what comes up when you google yourself.
Melissa Katano brings up my scores in Princess Ryan's Star Marines (a really fun board game) at the World Boardgame Championships (WBC) and Merchants of Venus (another fun board game)... I haven't gone to the WBC in eight years, but the Internet is forever, right? It also brings up my Facebook profile, a comment I made to a local online newspaper, and the fact that I may be the Only Melissa Katano in the US...but really, could the world handle more than one me?
Well, if I google the name I usually go by (Missy) and my maiden name (Gunnels), then the answer is... yes. There's a Missy Gunnels who's a florist in, of all places, Tallahassee, Fl. For the few of you unaware, Tallahassee is also home to my alma mater, Florida State University (Go 'Noles!) There are pages and pages and pages of Missy Gunnels, florist. Not so many of Missy Gunnels, board game player.
Googling M Katano finds all sorts of interesting things. Evidently, there is a M Katano who does all sorts of research on cancer cells in Japan (well, Katano is a Japanese surname, after all), a Sam M Katano who is a Family Practice doctor in CA, and a M Katano who is a shibori (Japanese resist dye) artist. And oh, look, Mazda has a car model named "Katano." Sadly, it seems to be only for sale in the UK. I may have to save up my pence and go to the UK, buy one and ship it back over here.
Googling Katano shows that it's a city in Japan (population 77,680), with a sister city in California. There's also a beach in Japan (Colin took a picture of the sign, above). There's also a Heavy Metal Band named Katano. I'm not sure where they're from, because the website is in Spanish and I didn't feel like taking the time to hunt around their site for that info.
Well, I think I'll go aMuse myself. Maybe I'll keep googling myself. Maybe not.
Well, I think I'll go aMuse myself. Maybe I'll keep googling myself. Maybe not.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Musings about Cooking
Shh...I have a secret... I'm not the best cook in the world.
It's not that I'm a bad cook, it's more that I'm an indifferent cook. Nothing ever comes out quite the way it's supposed to come out. Even if I follow the recipe exactly the way it's written, something goes... not expectedly.
In college, I'd make Nestle's Toll House Cookies, and they'd come out.... flat, with little chocolate chip mountains. I'd have my roommate, Kim, double check me every step of the way.... and they'd still come out weird looking. Tasty, but weird looking.
Last week, my god-neice, Caitlin, made some crêpes for me, so I decided to make Beef Burgundy Crêpes. Went to the store, got all the ingredients, came home, started making them.... and realized that one of the ingredients I thought we had, we didn't actually have. So, back to the store and then back to the cooking. I have a problem with chopping onions (yes, even with those "handy choppers") (Side story: I used to work at Taco Bell when I was in college. One of the jobs is to put onions in a dicer and pull the lever. I told them I really couldn't do that, because my eyes would shut. My co-workers stared at me and said, "Fine, you at least need to know how to do this. Sure, enough, my eyes shut and I had to be led to the restroom so I could rinse them out enough that I could see. Profuse apologies from everyone there. Really, people, if I tell you I can't do something, I really mean I can't do it. If it's something I don't want to do, I'll say that.), so, instead of dumping the chopped onions into the sauté pan, I dumped them into the stewing pot. Tried to save as much of the onions as I could, but they didn't really caramelize like they were supposed to. Oh, well. Then, as I'm serving the crêpes, I realized I'd forgotten to thicken the stew. Not a big deal, right? Then, talking to my friend, Kim, I realized that instead of using wine and beef broth for the stew, I used wine and water. But, the crêpes tasted okay. Weird, but okay.
I do have a few recipes that I make pretty well: Salsa, Guacamole, Black Eyed Pea Dip, Beef Stew, Chili and Hummingbird Cake. I've actually gotten well known around here for my Salsa (which really is more of a Pico de Gallo, than a salsa, because salsa is just Spanish for sauce). Except for the Hummingbird Cake, most of these recipes are "chop and dump," so maybe that explains my success with them.
Oh well. There's always take-out, right? There's a joke around here that houses in Columbia come with kitchens optional, because no one in Columbia cooks. Sounds like I'd fit right in. Luckily though, my husband is a pretty decent cook.
Time to go aMuse myself.... just not in the kitchen.....
It's not that I'm a bad cook, it's more that I'm an indifferent cook. Nothing ever comes out quite the way it's supposed to come out. Even if I follow the recipe exactly the way it's written, something goes... not expectedly.
In college, I'd make Nestle's Toll House Cookies, and they'd come out.... flat, with little chocolate chip mountains. I'd have my roommate, Kim, double check me every step of the way.... and they'd still come out weird looking. Tasty, but weird looking.
Last week, my god-neice, Caitlin, made some crêpes for me, so I decided to make Beef Burgundy Crêpes. Went to the store, got all the ingredients, came home, started making them.... and realized that one of the ingredients I thought we had, we didn't actually have. So, back to the store and then back to the cooking. I have a problem with chopping onions (yes, even with those "handy choppers") (Side story: I used to work at Taco Bell when I was in college. One of the jobs is to put onions in a dicer and pull the lever. I told them I really couldn't do that, because my eyes would shut. My co-workers stared at me and said, "Fine, you at least need to know how to do this. Sure, enough, my eyes shut and I had to be led to the restroom so I could rinse them out enough that I could see. Profuse apologies from everyone there. Really, people, if I tell you I can't do something, I really mean I can't do it. If it's something I don't want to do, I'll say that.), so, instead of dumping the chopped onions into the sauté pan, I dumped them into the stewing pot. Tried to save as much of the onions as I could, but they didn't really caramelize like they were supposed to. Oh, well. Then, as I'm serving the crêpes, I realized I'd forgotten to thicken the stew. Not a big deal, right? Then, talking to my friend, Kim, I realized that instead of using wine and beef broth for the stew, I used wine and water. But, the crêpes tasted okay. Weird, but okay.
I do have a few recipes that I make pretty well: Salsa, Guacamole, Black Eyed Pea Dip, Beef Stew, Chili and Hummingbird Cake. I've actually gotten well known around here for my Salsa (which really is more of a Pico de Gallo, than a salsa, because salsa is just Spanish for sauce). Except for the Hummingbird Cake, most of these recipes are "chop and dump," so maybe that explains my success with them.
Oh well. There's always take-out, right? There's a joke around here that houses in Columbia come with kitchens optional, because no one in Columbia cooks. Sounds like I'd fit right in. Luckily though, my husband is a pretty decent cook.
Time to go aMuse myself.... just not in the kitchen.....
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Musings about Books (in general) and Reading
As most of you know, I like to read. Okay, that's a little bit of an understatement. Like saying the Atlantic Ocean is a small body of water. I read like most people breathe: it has to be done in order to sustain life. Not to brag (oh, alright, yes, I am), but by third grade, I was reading on a college level.
I have some friends who have children going into High School, and needed to get some required summer reading done. They posted to FaceBook, looking for copies of the books to borrow. Of the three they were asking for, I had.... all three. And I read them for fun, not because I had to for a class. (If you're curious, the three are: The Once and Future King by T.H. White -- yes, the White of Strunk and White grammar fame--(oops, my friend, Melia points out that it's E.B. White who was the White in Strunk and White! Thanks, Melia!), Bullfinch's Mythology and Edith Hamilton's Mythology.) One of them remarked, "I should have figured you'd have all these books, Missy, and just asked you if we could borrow them."
I got a Nook for Christmas a couple of years ago. I have almost 350 books on it-- and I've re-read a lot of them. One of my friends has stated that she'll never get an eReader, because she likes turning the pages too much. I'll admit, I was a little reluctant to get an eReader for that reason, but I have a lot of books. One could say that I'm about to drown in books (oh, but what a way to go!), and I'll admit that it was getting hard finding places to store them. I haven't really missed turning pages. I have a cover for my Nook that makes it look like a hardback book (kinda), and it feels like a book. Now, I have a hard time reading a "real" book. There are still a few problems with electronic books...mostly they're formatting glitches--I get a lot of ???? where a hyphens or commas are supposed to be. Sometimes, words are broken up in weird ways--if you've used auto-correct, you know what I'm talking about. But, oddly, they haven't bothered me that much. Now, if these were print books, I'd be ranting about bad proof-readers.
I like to read the Classics (but not Thomas Hardy, but that may not be his fault. I'll explain in a minute.), Jane Austen is my favorite. Haven't tackled the Brönte Sisters yet, and Moby Dick was painful (but the professor for whom I read promises me that it's better the second time around. So far, I'm taking his word on it--I haven't had the nerve to try again.) I loved Dante's Inferno. If you went to Colonial Heights High School in the 70s and 80s, and you took the course "Going Down, Please," then you had Mr. Bailey reading the Inferno. I liked it so much, I read it on my own in college. Thanks, Mr. Bailey! Tried to read Purgatorio, but I realized that what someone said was true: it's more fun to read about people who are getting their just desserts, but Good Pagans just aren't as much fun. Had to read The Mayor of Casterbridge in high school, but I didn't enjoy it. Like I said, it may not be Hardy's fault: for once, I had decided to only read the assigned pages. It took forever to read that way, and I swore never to do that again. Sometimes, it's hard being the only one (or one of a few) who knows what's happening in a book. In another class, I ended up being the only one reading the book out loud. (We had a student teacher who didn't realize that if you don't force people to read a page or two out loud, one person ends up being the only one reading the book.)
Mostly, I like to read Science Fiction and Fantasy. The first Science Fiction book I knowingly read was Citizen of the Galaxy, Robert A. Heinlein. I was baby-sitting for an Army dentist when I lived in Germany. He lived so far out on the Economy (I don't know why we called it that, but it just means that he didn't live in Army Housing), that he didn't get AFNTV (Armed Forces Network--only one channel, but I digress). I hadn't brought enough to read, so he gave me his copy of Citizen of the Galaxy. The first fantasy story I read was The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Actually, I read the chapter "Riddles in the Dark" from the reader we had, but I liked it so much, I went out and read the book. The rest, as they say, is history. I guess what I like the most about this genre is the adventure. The setting may be unfamiliar, but that's half the fun.
I also like to read Romance novels. Usually when I'm stressed out, but sometimes I'll read them anyway. There's something comforting about knowing that, no matter how bad it might get, the protagonists will find their way to "Happy Ever After."
In the basement, there are probably 1,000 books. Most of them are mine. Some are my husband's. There are a few (maybe a 100) that I haven't read, but I mean to someday. As soon as I finish all these other books. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to aMuse myself with a good book.
I have some friends who have children going into High School, and needed to get some required summer reading done. They posted to FaceBook, looking for copies of the books to borrow. Of the three they were asking for, I had.... all three. And I read them for fun, not because I had to for a class. (If you're curious, the three are: The Once and Future King by T.H. White -- yes, the White of Strunk and White grammar fame--(oops, my friend, Melia points out that it's E.B. White who was the White in Strunk and White! Thanks, Melia!), Bullfinch's Mythology and Edith Hamilton's Mythology.) One of them remarked, "I should have figured you'd have all these books, Missy, and just asked you if we could borrow them."
I got a Nook for Christmas a couple of years ago. I have almost 350 books on it-- and I've re-read a lot of them. One of my friends has stated that she'll never get an eReader, because she likes turning the pages too much. I'll admit, I was a little reluctant to get an eReader for that reason, but I have a lot of books. One could say that I'm about to drown in books (oh, but what a way to go!), and I'll admit that it was getting hard finding places to store them. I haven't really missed turning pages. I have a cover for my Nook that makes it look like a hardback book (kinda), and it feels like a book. Now, I have a hard time reading a "real" book. There are still a few problems with electronic books...mostly they're formatting glitches--I get a lot of ???? where a hyphens or commas are supposed to be. Sometimes, words are broken up in weird ways--if you've used auto-correct, you know what I'm talking about. But, oddly, they haven't bothered me that much. Now, if these were print books, I'd be ranting about bad proof-readers.
I like to read the Classics (but not Thomas Hardy, but that may not be his fault. I'll explain in a minute.), Jane Austen is my favorite. Haven't tackled the Brönte Sisters yet, and Moby Dick was painful (but the professor for whom I read promises me that it's better the second time around. So far, I'm taking his word on it--I haven't had the nerve to try again.) I loved Dante's Inferno. If you went to Colonial Heights High School in the 70s and 80s, and you took the course "Going Down, Please," then you had Mr. Bailey reading the Inferno. I liked it so much, I read it on my own in college. Thanks, Mr. Bailey! Tried to read Purgatorio, but I realized that what someone said was true: it's more fun to read about people who are getting their just desserts, but Good Pagans just aren't as much fun. Had to read The Mayor of Casterbridge in high school, but I didn't enjoy it. Like I said, it may not be Hardy's fault: for once, I had decided to only read the assigned pages. It took forever to read that way, and I swore never to do that again. Sometimes, it's hard being the only one (or one of a few) who knows what's happening in a book. In another class, I ended up being the only one reading the book out loud. (We had a student teacher who didn't realize that if you don't force people to read a page or two out loud, one person ends up being the only one reading the book.)
Mostly, I like to read Science Fiction and Fantasy. The first Science Fiction book I knowingly read was Citizen of the Galaxy, Robert A. Heinlein. I was baby-sitting for an Army dentist when I lived in Germany. He lived so far out on the Economy (I don't know why we called it that, but it just means that he didn't live in Army Housing), that he didn't get AFNTV (Armed Forces Network--only one channel, but I digress). I hadn't brought enough to read, so he gave me his copy of Citizen of the Galaxy. The first fantasy story I read was The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Actually, I read the chapter "Riddles in the Dark" from the reader we had, but I liked it so much, I went out and read the book. The rest, as they say, is history. I guess what I like the most about this genre is the adventure. The setting may be unfamiliar, but that's half the fun.
I also like to read Romance novels. Usually when I'm stressed out, but sometimes I'll read them anyway. There's something comforting about knowing that, no matter how bad it might get, the protagonists will find their way to "Happy Ever After."
In the basement, there are probably 1,000 books. Most of them are mine. Some are my husband's. There are a few (maybe a 100) that I haven't read, but I mean to someday. As soon as I finish all these other books. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to aMuse myself with a good book.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Musings about the Weather
In case you haven't noticed, it's H-O-T out there.... (cue Buster Poindexter and his song "Hot Hot Hot")
"How you feeling? hot Hot HOT
How you feeling? hot Hot HOT
(and now we conjugate "hot")
I'm hot
You're hot
He's hot
She's hot.....
Right now (11:17 am), it's 96º in Baltimore, but the Heat Index says it feels like 114º....
So, is it hot enough to fry an egg? Not according to http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/friedegg.html... but what the heck. Might give it a try anyway.
My friend Jill called this a "summer snow day," because her kids' activities have been cancelled. I like that phrase. It conjures up the same images as a real snow day. No one wants to go out (at least not for very long). Instead of hot chocolate and popcorn, we could have slushy drinks and popsicles. Instead of snowsuits and snowball fights, we could wear swimsuits and have water balloon fights. Instead of a roaring fire, we can huddle around...A/C units or vents.... hmmm, okay, that last image doesn't do much for me, either. And we're in danger of losing power, either way....although in summer, it's worse. In the winter, you can always add another layer of clothing, or grab a blanket. In the summer, there's only so many layers you can take off!
My friend Lynne, suggested that Dante has added another Circle to Hell. Since the punishment fits the crime in the Inferno, I wonder who's being punished. Politicians? Flagrant energy abusers? And why do I have to suffer along with them?
Lastly, I know most of us have seen this. I don't know where the original photo came from, but I found this at http://www.windycitizen.com.
Time for me to go and find something cool to amuse myself.
"How you feeling? hot Hot HOT
How you feeling? hot Hot HOT
(and now we conjugate "hot")
I'm hot
You're hot
He's hot
She's hot.....
Right now (11:17 am), it's 96º in Baltimore, but the Heat Index says it feels like 114º....
So, is it hot enough to fry an egg? Not according to http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/friedegg.html... but what the heck. Might give it a try anyway.
My friend Jill called this a "summer snow day," because her kids' activities have been cancelled. I like that phrase. It conjures up the same images as a real snow day. No one wants to go out (at least not for very long). Instead of hot chocolate and popcorn, we could have slushy drinks and popsicles. Instead of snowsuits and snowball fights, we could wear swimsuits and have water balloon fights. Instead of a roaring fire, we can huddle around...A/C units or vents.... hmmm, okay, that last image doesn't do much for me, either. And we're in danger of losing power, either way....although in summer, it's worse. In the winter, you can always add another layer of clothing, or grab a blanket. In the summer, there's only so many layers you can take off!
My friend Lynne, suggested that Dante has added another Circle to Hell. Since the punishment fits the crime in the Inferno, I wonder who's being punished. Politicians? Flagrant energy abusers? And why do I have to suffer along with them?
Lastly, I know most of us have seen this. I don't know where the original photo came from, but I found this at http://www.windycitizen.com.
Time for me to go and find something cool to amuse myself.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Musings On Being a Brat.....
I've always been a brat.... and I don't mean spoiled.
I was born on Ft. Benning, Ga. I like to say that my first pair of diapers were khaki. It took a while before I realized that "olive drab" was not a color most people could identify at 50 yards. I was in junior high before I realized that "civilian" was not another word for relatives, and I was very upset to learn that I was a civilian. My toy box was one of my dad's old foot lockers.
My dad got out of the Army when I was in 8th grade. For the first time in my life, I was dropped in with a bunch of people, who, when they asked "Where are you from?" didn't mean, "Where were you last stationed?" but really wanted to know where I was from. I didn't know how to answer that. I still don't know where I am from. I was born in Georgia, but I haven't lived there since I was 5. My state of residency was Florida, but I never lived there until I was 14. I guess most of my friends consider me to be "from" Virginia, because I went to high school there, and my parents still live there, but I haven't lived there since I was in high school. I live in Maryland, but I didn't grow up here. And I really can't say I'm from Texas, Kansas, Nebraska or North Carolina, because I only lived in those places for a year-- and I don't have a lot of clear memories from those places (well, except for North Carolina, because I moved back there when I was an adult. My only memory of Ft. Bragg is of sitting on the back steps, eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon, but, honestly, I'm not sure if that happened there or somewhere else.)
I moved almost every year of my life. It wasn't until I was in 3rd grade that I lived somewhere for more than a year, and even then, I switched schools in 4th grade. A friend in high school asked me once, "How can you stand moving all the time?" I just looked at her and shot back with, "How can you stand living in one place all the time?" It's what I knew. Until then, I don't think I understood that most people don't move every year or couple of years. The fact that I've lived in the same house for 9 years still amazes me.
I still miss having an id card. Yes, I have a driver's license, but it's not the same. Having an id card is like a pass to Secret Society. You get to shop at the PX and the Commissary. If you lived in a foreign country, you're not looked at as if you're not really "American." (And yes, the first place I went to high school, I was ostracized for that. Or maybe it was because I hadn't grown up in that town. They were pretty provincial.) People understand me in ways I can't even explain. It's the whole shared experience thing.
Since becoming a civilian, I don't get rid of stuff. Some of my friends think it's because I'm a hoarder, but really, it's because I have no urgent need to get rid of stuff. Even my parents haven't gotten rid of anything. One thing the Army forces you to do is get rid of the stuff you don't really need. The Army gives a moving weight allowance of about 18,000 lbs (for officers. Enlisted and NCOs get less than that). Anything over that, you have to pay for, and my mother was bound and determined to never have to pay for overages.
I tend to get restless in the summer. For most people, summer is when they have vacations. For me, it was when we moved. I have a summer birthday, but until recently, I almost never had a birthday party. Either we were getting ready to move, had just moved, or, for the few times we weren't moving, nobody was around because they were getting ready to move, or had just moved.
The military does have it's own special holiday that most civilians don't celebrate: Armed Forces Day. I loved Armed Forces Day. Each unit sets up a cool display. The time I remember the best was at Ft. Lee (VA, not NJ). One unit set up a small zip line. Oh, that was fun! And I got a small bag.... it was like a messenger bag, only no flap and the strap was too short. It was in dark olive drab, too. I loved that bag. Used to put my Barbie dolls in it and sling it over the handles of my bike. I wonder if I still have it, or if it became a casualty of a move.
I found a humor page of "You Might Be a Military Brat If...." one-liners. I identified with most. If you want to see how our lives are different, check it out: http://www.military.com/humorcontent/1,,humor_012506_brat,,00.html
I think I'll head back there and amuse myself.
I was born on Ft. Benning, Ga. I like to say that my first pair of diapers were khaki. It took a while before I realized that "olive drab" was not a color most people could identify at 50 yards. I was in junior high before I realized that "civilian" was not another word for relatives, and I was very upset to learn that I was a civilian. My toy box was one of my dad's old foot lockers.
My dad got out of the Army when I was in 8th grade. For the first time in my life, I was dropped in with a bunch of people, who, when they asked "Where are you from?" didn't mean, "Where were you last stationed?" but really wanted to know where I was from. I didn't know how to answer that. I still don't know where I am from. I was born in Georgia, but I haven't lived there since I was 5. My state of residency was Florida, but I never lived there until I was 14. I guess most of my friends consider me to be "from" Virginia, because I went to high school there, and my parents still live there, but I haven't lived there since I was in high school. I live in Maryland, but I didn't grow up here. And I really can't say I'm from Texas, Kansas, Nebraska or North Carolina, because I only lived in those places for a year-- and I don't have a lot of clear memories from those places (well, except for North Carolina, because I moved back there when I was an adult. My only memory of Ft. Bragg is of sitting on the back steps, eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon, but, honestly, I'm not sure if that happened there or somewhere else.)
I moved almost every year of my life. It wasn't until I was in 3rd grade that I lived somewhere for more than a year, and even then, I switched schools in 4th grade. A friend in high school asked me once, "How can you stand moving all the time?" I just looked at her and shot back with, "How can you stand living in one place all the time?" It's what I knew. Until then, I don't think I understood that most people don't move every year or couple of years. The fact that I've lived in the same house for 9 years still amazes me.
I still miss having an id card. Yes, I have a driver's license, but it's not the same. Having an id card is like a pass to Secret Society. You get to shop at the PX and the Commissary. If you lived in a foreign country, you're not looked at as if you're not really "American." (And yes, the first place I went to high school, I was ostracized for that. Or maybe it was because I hadn't grown up in that town. They were pretty provincial.) People understand me in ways I can't even explain. It's the whole shared experience thing.
Since becoming a civilian, I don't get rid of stuff. Some of my friends think it's because I'm a hoarder, but really, it's because I have no urgent need to get rid of stuff. Even my parents haven't gotten rid of anything. One thing the Army forces you to do is get rid of the stuff you don't really need. The Army gives a moving weight allowance of about 18,000 lbs (for officers. Enlisted and NCOs get less than that). Anything over that, you have to pay for, and my mother was bound and determined to never have to pay for overages.
I tend to get restless in the summer. For most people, summer is when they have vacations. For me, it was when we moved. I have a summer birthday, but until recently, I almost never had a birthday party. Either we were getting ready to move, had just moved, or, for the few times we weren't moving, nobody was around because they were getting ready to move, or had just moved.
The military does have it's own special holiday that most civilians don't celebrate: Armed Forces Day. I loved Armed Forces Day. Each unit sets up a cool display. The time I remember the best was at Ft. Lee (VA, not NJ). One unit set up a small zip line. Oh, that was fun! And I got a small bag.... it was like a messenger bag, only no flap and the strap was too short. It was in dark olive drab, too. I loved that bag. Used to put my Barbie dolls in it and sling it over the handles of my bike. I wonder if I still have it, or if it became a casualty of a move.
I found a humor page of "You Might Be a Military Brat If...." one-liners. I identified with most. If you want to see how our lives are different, check it out: http://www.military.com/humorcontent/1,,humor_012506_brat,,00.html
I think I'll head back there and amuse myself.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Musings about Blogs
My friend Arlyn has a cat. The cat's name is Spike. Spike is having respiratory issues. The vet gave Arlyn medicine to give Spike to help him with his sneezing. The vet tech told Arlyn to give Spike the medicine before his bedtime because it could make him sleepy. (You can read about it on Arlyn's blog "Forgive Me, I'm a Leo".... the post is "Epic Sneezes.")
My point is: how do you know when it's a cat's bedtime? And does it really matter? I could understand the warning if it was followed up with "because your cat's going to get very hyper and if you're trying to sleep, you won't be able to," or "there's a chance that your cat is going to have a seizure, so you're going to want to watch him," but "because the medicine is going to make your cat sleepy?"
Then there's my friend Tommy's blog, "Table for One, Please." Tommy lives in Chicago and is single. He has a good job and he enjoys good food, so he likes to eat out. Tommy's blog is all about the joys of eating by yourself. He's trying to get the restaurant industry to realize that a customer is a customer, and that single eaters deserve the same consideration as a couple or a group. He also talks about the food and posts lots of pictures, which just makes me hungry. He also talks about other stuff as he sees fit.
My friend Debi has a blog, too. Debi is a vet tech at the University of Florida (but the least said about that, the better, because, well, I went to Florida State. The two schools do not get along. Although most Gator fans will tell you that their biggest rival is the Univ of Ga, which is probably true--they don't call that game "The World's Largest Cocktail Party" for nothing. But I digress). Debi is also enrolled at UF, working on a degree in Creative Writing. Debi writes about writing, when she's not actually writing. Or working. Or studying. Her blog is "The Pen Whore."
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to amusing myself. I think I'll solve another Sudoku.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Musings of aMuse
So, if I'm going to call this blog A Muse's Musings, I suppose I should explain who the Muses were....
For those of you who fell asleep during your Greek Mythology unit in English, there were nine Muses... a triad of triads, if you will. The Muses were: Calliope (Epic Poetry), Clio (History), Erato (Lyric Poetry), Euterpe (Music and Elegiac Poetry), Melpomene (Tragedy), Polyhymnia (Religious Poetry), Terpsichore (Dance), Thalia (Comedy) and Urania (Astronomy). Their job was to inspire Men to create and learn.
So, how do I fit in? Um, I don't, not really. Except I really like Greek mythology. My first name (Melissa) has a myth. In the pre-Internet age that I grew up in, it took me a long time to find the myth. In the Internet Age, it took about .0005 seconds. You can look the myth up. Yes, I could tell you, but then you wouldn't learn how to find things out for yourself. (Yes, I'm a mom and a teacher, can you tell?) I'll give you a hint: it has to do with bees. Hmm... I guess I do fit in with the Muses. Or least, I'm trying to get you to open up to them.
I do have a triad of Muses that are my favorites: Calliope, Clio and Thalia. I love epic stories: the books that take more than one book to tell it all. We'll talk more about those books later. History... again, stories that take more than one book to tell it all. Mostly, I guess I like history because I grew up on Army bases, and lots of stuff happened near Army bases. (Think about it. Look it up.) Also, I lived, off and on, for 6 years in Southern Virginia. I'm convinced that 9/10ths of the Civil War was fought around Southern Virginia. Virginia is also the site of the First Permanent English Colony (never mind St. Augustine...that was Spanish, or Roanoke Colony in North Carolina--they lost themselves. Silly Colonists....) As far as Thalia goes, well, I can't dance, play an instrument (or write poetry for funerals), I couldn't improve upon Solomon's poetry, hmm...let's face it, my poetry isn't very good, so Erato doesn't come to visit, and living on the East Coast means that there's too much light pollution for me to seriously study astronomy (not to mention the math involved)....so that leaves just Melpomene and Thalia...I'd rather laugh than cry (remember, there's no crying in baseball...)
So, am I a Muse? If I inspire you to learn or create something, then maybe they'll accept me as an acolyte. Mostly, I'm just amused.....
For those of you who fell asleep during your Greek Mythology unit in English, there were nine Muses... a triad of triads, if you will. The Muses were: Calliope (Epic Poetry), Clio (History), Erato (Lyric Poetry), Euterpe (Music and Elegiac Poetry), Melpomene (Tragedy), Polyhymnia (Religious Poetry), Terpsichore (Dance), Thalia (Comedy) and Urania (Astronomy). Their job was to inspire Men to create and learn.
So, how do I fit in? Um, I don't, not really. Except I really like Greek mythology. My first name (Melissa) has a myth. In the pre-Internet age that I grew up in, it took me a long time to find the myth. In the Internet Age, it took about .0005 seconds. You can look the myth up. Yes, I could tell you, but then you wouldn't learn how to find things out for yourself. (Yes, I'm a mom and a teacher, can you tell?) I'll give you a hint: it has to do with bees. Hmm... I guess I do fit in with the Muses. Or least, I'm trying to get you to open up to them.
I do have a triad of Muses that are my favorites: Calliope, Clio and Thalia. I love epic stories: the books that take more than one book to tell it all. We'll talk more about those books later. History... again, stories that take more than one book to tell it all. Mostly, I guess I like history because I grew up on Army bases, and lots of stuff happened near Army bases. (Think about it. Look it up.) Also, I lived, off and on, for 6 years in Southern Virginia. I'm convinced that 9/10ths of the Civil War was fought around Southern Virginia. Virginia is also the site of the First Permanent English Colony (never mind St. Augustine...that was Spanish, or Roanoke Colony in North Carolina--they lost themselves. Silly Colonists....) As far as Thalia goes, well, I can't dance, play an instrument (or write poetry for funerals), I couldn't improve upon Solomon's poetry, hmm...let's face it, my poetry isn't very good, so Erato doesn't come to visit, and living on the East Coast means that there's too much light pollution for me to seriously study astronomy (not to mention the math involved)....so that leaves just Melpomene and Thalia...I'd rather laugh than cry (remember, there's no crying in baseball...)
So, am I a Muse? If I inspire you to learn or create something, then maybe they'll accept me as an acolyte. Mostly, I'm just amused.....
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