blivet 2.0

Cycles

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Years, however you mark the occasion. I fervently hope we all have a wonderful 2003.

We are staying home (big surprise with a 14 month old). But then, I have never been to the Las Vegas Strip on New Year’s, a trend I plan to continue.

Eliot has a good sample of New Year’s Day History, Traditions, and Customs. #

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We’re back

Obviously, we have returned home safely. The Denver International Airport security folks are still making all who wear shoes or boots with metal shanks or eyelets step aside, remove their shoes and get wanded while their shoes get x-rayed. Unsurprisingly, quite a few folks (hundreds, including your esteemed correspondent) wear hiking boots that have metal shanks and metal eyelets in the Colorado winter. So do a lot of women’s high heels, unless it is some sort of national security foot-fetish thing. So, that was fun, and stupid. Did I mention that the rivets in Levi 501’s set off the squawkers as well? I didn’t feel any safer afterwards that when I passed through unsquawked with the same clothes at the Las Vegas Airport.

Audrey’s Mom arranged for a ‘back of house’ tour at the Denver Museum. Very cool. Mmmm, fossil Eocene mammals…

Of course, Ian and Grandma and Grandpa had a great time. We all did, I didn’t really want to come back. Meanwhile, I need to finish unpacking. #

Top Science Stories of 2002 [Scientific American]

"From the hundreds of stories that ScientificAmerican.com has featured over the past year, we have selected the 25 that most impressed us–some with their importance, others simply with their gee-whiz appeal." [more] #

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Just an update

I haven’t been around here for a bit and thought I would catch you all up on things. The rest of the world is ably covered elsewhere. Ian has added two more teeth in the last three days, for a total of ten. He also had a bit of the croup earlier this week, which when mixed with teething, made things a bit rough for him. He wasn’t real thrilled about the injection for the croup at the Doctor’s office either.

I’m head down with end of year things at work. I need two more graduate interns and pickings are pretty slim locally. Imagine, they feel a departmental teaching assistantship is a better career move. (Yes, I would do the same.)

I think we are going to go to war with Iraq. Remember, you heard that here first.

Watching the holidays through a child’s eyes has softened this jaded holiday cynic.

I have reclaimed recreational reading in my pursuit of post-graduate school guilt free leisure. It only took a year. I haven’t seen The Two Towers yet. I think this deficiency is causing a visible rash. I have high hopes that Ian’s Grandpa will want to go too. Otherwise I will develop some sort of a nervous tic.

blivet has been pretty inactive for the last week and will continue to me for a bit. We are heading to Grandma and Grandpa’s on Saturday, provided United still flaps its wings in that direction. A jolly good time is expected despite the whole snow on the ground polar wind winter thing they have going there. I fully expect to freeze my thin-blooded desert rat butt off. Yet another downside to quitting drinking. [just kidding honey!]

blivet will pass its three year blogbirthday while I’m gone. Celebrate as you see fit.

Enjoy building those miniatures with your kids, Doug.

I hope everyone has the best holiday possible, however you celebrate it. I fully expect for this one to be the high water mark. That is, until next year’s. That is about it.

Pax. #

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Great Ghu, Firefly is good

Tonight’s episode (Objects in Space) of Firefly was excellent. This is the only show I have really hooked up with since the first three years of The X-Files and Babylon 5 and I hear it is already gone – cancelled. sigh. The dialog is/was the best (IMO) I have heard on TV in nearly a decade. It’s musical, I tell ya, it just sings. This show should win awards. The dialog is crisp, witty without being smug, economical and focused, just like they tell you to do. This episode was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, so perhaps that is why. Now, if CSI had this kind of dialog, it would deserve to be the most watched show on TV. Next week Fox will finally air the two hour pilot. I’ll certainly be watching, and wishing there were 24 more episodes in the pipe. #

Joshua Marshall continues on Trent Lott

It remains to be seen if he will resign or not. Never say ‘never’, Trent. He would make such a lovely national rallying point for the rest of us in 2004. Probably won’t happen though. Even Bush is getting in the act. #

Kissinger Resigns 9-11 Commission

I’d love to think it was because of the potential for exposing his past, but it seems to be purely ‘business.’ It does make you wonder who those clients are, however. #

Happy Birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday to fellow Las Vegas blogger DC Thornton. Youngster. #

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Meet the Four Finalists in NASA’s Search for the Mars Scout Mission

"Last week’s Scout selections are “wonderfully diverse” in how they view Mars – all from the broad point of view of Mars habitability, said James Garvin, NASA’s lead scientist for Mars Exploration in Washington, D.C.

“Each takes a new vantage point, interesting measurement methods, and exploits them to make major headway on some of our prioritized goals,” Garvin said. “Each offers its own ’scientific risk’, given the current state of imperfect knowledge about Mars,” he told SPACE.com." [space.com] #

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blogs

Dave Rogers does a great job on Time’s Shadow. I continue to be impressed and look forward to his posts.

It nice to see Jonas posting regularly again.

It is also worth noting that AKMA celebrated 16 years as a priest on the 6th. Congratulations, Father. #[I changed the title - I added to the post but didn't edit the title]

Thanks, Amit

Amit Kothari has started up his new blog and notes that it is ‘exactly the way I planned my dream blog!’

Congratulations, Amit, many thanks for the note and the linkback. #

I’m back for a bit

It has been four days without a post and there is not much to note here except that life continues unabated. I’m substantially recovered from my ‘flu-like symptoms’, though I continue to be tired. Ian is in a teething cycle and at times is rather vocal about it (and thats OK). Audrey is hurtling towards her finals in Physics, Structural Geology and Field Methods in Geology. Along the way she produced a killer geologic map and cross section of her study area in Illustrator. That necessitated hooking up the Epson 820 printer that was bundled with the G4 iMac. It turns out to be a pretty good little printer, but I worry about how much the ink cartridges cost.

In the larger world Trent Lottt embarrassed himself and the nation (time to say goodbye, Trent), United Airlines filed for bankruptcy (our holiday tickets are on a United flight) and the Pew Charitable Trust issued their report on ‘What the World Thinks in 2002.’  #

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Thanks garret

Many thanks garret, I’m glad to hear you’re on the mend. Early today seemed to be the turning point for me, or at least for some of the more unpleasant manifestations. #

Feeding the search engine:
varlet errant knavery.

A Hearty Mac OS X Welcome to PGP 8.0 [TidBITS]

3 years redux

As is always the case when posting a list on blivet, yesterday I neglected to mention PapaScott as being among the pioneers at EditThisPage. Such are the perils of posting lists. Doubtless, I have neglected someone else. #

Earliest New World writing revealed

"The discovery of a fist-sized ceramic cylinder and fragments of engraved plaques has pushed back the earliest evidence of writing in the Americas by at least 350 years to 650 BC." Journal reference: Science (vol 298, p 1984) [New Scientist] #

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3 years

Back vertical for a short bit. I wanted to note the passing of the third anniversary of Manila and now, EditThisPage, the software and host [for free, I might add] for blivet. Early adopters like Jeff, Alwin and garret jumped on almost immediately. A number of other people who also write weblogs I read on a regular basis will be ticking off their third year in the blog format as well. I waited until the 23rd. #

Sick

Home sick. It seems to be going around.

Later: I need to get horizontal again, I hope none of you comes down this. #

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Home again

Back from Texas, where the weather was delightful (daytime highs of ~60°F) and there was waay too much turkey. Grandma and Ian had a great time together, once he ‘remembered’ who she was. He is in the midst of cutting his pre-molars, but was a very good kid on both flights. Thank you, Baby Ora-gel

Major thanks to Dr. ‘Liz for taking care of the critters whilist we were away. #

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