Month: July 2010

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Meme of Many Odd Questions, part trois

Wrapping this up, which I’ve done the last two weeks. Via Sunday Stealing:

45. Favorite color?

Purple.

46. Have you ever slapped someone?

Sure. Punched and kicked, too. I was a kid once. (I’m proud that I’ve never slapped The Kid or The Wife, though.)

47. Is your hair curly?

Not really, although it does occasionally hang in loose ringlets.

48. What was the last CD you bought?

Wow, it’s been a long time since I bought a CD at a store. I’ve downloaded music, though. I love CDs, but they’ve always been too expensive, and increasingly hard to find in stores.

49. Do looks matter?

Unfortunately, they end up mattering a bit. It’s a damned shame.

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?

At cards? Maybe. At love? I hope I never have to find out.

51. Is your phone bill sky high?

It’s probably higher than it should be, just because we should really get off our arses and consolidate our phone service or something. We’ve talked about ditching our land-line and going with Fios for Internet only, but we haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

52. Do you like your life right now?

Sure. It needs some improving, but it’s fine.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?

We don’t even have a teevee in the bedroom. When we want to watch something while in bed, we use my laptop…and I don’t fall asleep with the laptop!

54. Can you handle the truth?

Sure!

55. Do you have good vision?

It’s OK, I guess. I wear glasses for reading and computer stuff, but other than that, I’m OK. I’ve noticed that my long-distance visual acuity has been dropping over the years; I used to be able to see things from very far distances that are now harder to make out.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?

Dislike, sure. Hate, no. I try to avoid hate.

57. How often do you talk on the phone?

When at work, fairly often (we have a wireless phone system). When at home, not that often. Mainly calls to The Wife when she’s at work.

58. The last person you held hands with?

The Wife. I love her hand; I think we started holding hands on our second or third date.

59. What are you wearing?

What else? A white t-shirt under a pair of overalls.

60. What is your favourite animal?

The buffalo, the killer whale, and the good old cat.

61. Where was your favorite picture taken at?

Right outside our apartment building. (That’s just one of many favorites.)

62. Can you hula hoop?

I’m not sure I’ve ever tried!

63. Do you have a job?

Well, duh.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?

The new oil filter for The Wife’s car.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?

Probably, but I don’t recall doing so.

And that’s it. I think that the Meme of Many Odd Questions is finally over!

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Productivity: I has it!

UPDATE: Oh yeah, I forgot something! Updated at bottom.

It’s been a pretty busy weekend at Casa Jaquandor:

:: Grocery shopping, as usual.

:: Making dinner last night. I found a new recipe for Chicago Deep Dish Pizza crust, which I tried out with these results:

Chicago Deep Dish pizza, new recipe

Wonderful! My original Chicago Pizza crust recipe was good, but I always felt like something was missing, because it didn’t turn out as flaky or buttery as the crust at Pizzeria Uno. So I found this recipe, which is pretty close to the same except that it adds a secret ingredient.

Which is butter.

Yum!!! I love this stuff, even if it does take quite a while to make.

:: The big task, though, was changing The Wife’s oil. Well, the oil in her car. I can’t very well change her oil, right?

Regular readers will remember the debacle that unfolded last time I tried to do this job. Well, this time I met with success, but not without a few speedbumps along the way. First, the weather refused to cooperate for days; I’ve been trying to get this job done for a week, and only today did the weather finally start to clear up. Second, The Wife’s car is not easy to get jacked up high enough to do an oil change. (Next time I’ll be buying those little ramp things.) Third, it turned out that we had bought the wrong filter last time, so I had to go off and get the right one. Ugh! But…finally, the oil is changed. Huzzah!

:: Also, laundry.

And now, blessed relief! Time for a beer.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, how could I forget this? I’ve written in the past about various operational difficulties that have afflicted the Main Computer here at Casa Jaquandor — the super-loud cooling fan, the CPU cooler that started to fail, the fact that the computer doesn’t currently recognize the CD-DVD drive (I need to re-install Windows for this to work again, I think), and so on. Well, something new started happening: the computer would switch into Power-save mode and nothing would bring it back out. So after probing about, I diagnosed this as the video card overheating. Our original video card has a tiny cooling fan of its own, but I discovered that it was no longer spinning at all, so I assumed that was my culprit. I read that you can replace those fans, but I figured that since the computer’s nearly four years old anyway, replacing the video card entirely is probably the way to go. I want to get at least one more year out of that machine, anyway. So it was off to Best Buy, where I picked up a new video card for $50. (We don’t do hard-core gaming or anything, so those insane cards that cost $170 are not in the running.)

Got home and got the new card physically installed, which was actually quite easy. Hooked everything back up, fired up the computer, and realized a new problem. Everything was working, but the video card needed to have its drivers and such installed via the CD-ROM that it came with.

Which the computer couldn’t read because that drive is currently inoperative.

So I put the CD-ROM into my laptop and copied its files to a Flash drive, and then I ran the installation software on the Main Computer using the Flash drive. And now, everything seems to be working. Not only has there been no recurrence of the Power Save thing happening, but the heat sink on the new card must be of higher quality — that, or the new card just runs cooler — because the main cooling fan in the computer has been kicking into high gear a lot less frequently. I do still plan to add one more cooling fan to the machine, just to be safe, but so far, so good.

There! I think that’s everything.

Oh wait — I didn’t get any writing done at all this weekend. Shit. What a wasted weekend!

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Being noir


My biography?, originally uploaded by Jaquandor.

I just finished the book pictured herein, and wondered briefly if the title could apply to me…but of course not! As if I could love books too much. Anyway, the title sounds like a 1950s detective movie, hence the black and white.

Look for the sequel, “The Man Who Wore Overalls Too Much”. Coming in 2011 to bookstores near you!

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100 SF books everyone should read

Here’s a list of 100 SF books that apparently everyone needs to read. In accordance with blogging tradition, I shall reproduce the list now, with the titles I’ve read in bold, titles I haven’t read but already own and plan to read in italic, titles which I don’t own but still hope to read in red, and occasional comment along the way.

The Postman – David Brin
The Uplift War – David Brin
Neuromancer – William Gibson
Foundation – Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Empire – Isaac Asimov
Second Foundation – Isaac Asimov
I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
The Long Tomorrow – Leigh Brackett
Rogue Moon – Algis Budrys
The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke
The City and the Stars – Arthur C. Clarke
2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
Armor – John Steakley
Imperial Stars – E. E. Smith (Never heard of this. But I have read other EE “Doc” Smith, in his more famous Lensmen sequence.)

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead – Orson Scott Card (Won’t be reading these. OSC has revealed himself to be such a jerk that I have no desire to visit his work, no matter how highly regarded it is.)

Dune – Frank Herbert
The Dosadi Experiment – Frank Herbert
Journey Beyond Tomorrow – Robert Sheckley
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
Valis – Philip K. Dick
A Scanner Darkly – Philip K. Dick
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch – Philip K. Dick (I’ve never read any PKD! What gives?)

1984 – George Orwell
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut (I’ve never read Vonnegut either. What a hole in my literary life.)

The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells
The Time Machine – H. G. Wells
The Island of Doctor Moreau – H. G. Wells
The Invisible Man – H. G. Wells
A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Alas, Babylon – Pat Frank
A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
A Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne
From the Earth to the Moon – Jules Verne
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
Old Man’s War – John Scalzi (I’m not sure I’d put it in The SF Canon just yet, but it’s a cracking good book.)

Nova Express – William S. Burroughs
Ringworld – Larry Niven (Just raed it! Great ideas in here.)
The Mote in God’s Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The Unreasoning Mask – Philip Jose Farmer
To Your Scattered Bodies Go – Philip Jose Farmer
Eon – Greg Bear
Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton
Lightning – Dean Koontz
The Stainless Steel Rat – Harry Harrison
The Fifth Head of Cerebus – Gene Wolfe
Nightside of the Long Sun – Gene Wolfe
A Princess of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs
Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester
Solaris – Stanislaw Lem
Doomsday Book – Connie Wills
Beserker – Fred Saberhagen
Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
The Word for World is Forest – Ursula K. LeGuin
The Dispossessed – Ursula K. LeGuin
Babel-17 – Samuel R. Delany
Dhalgren – Samuel R. Delany
Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
Star King – Jack Vance
The Killing Machine – Jack Vance
Trullion: Alastor 2262 – Jack Vance (I have a Vance collection somewhere…need to read it.)

Hyperion – Dan Simmons
Starship Troopers – Robert A. Heinlein
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein (I bounced off this book the first time I tried to read it.)

A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon
A Time of Changes – Robert Silverberg
Gateway – Frederick Pohl (Loved this book.)
Man Plus – Frederick Pohl
The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham
Mission of Gravity – Hal Clement
The Execution Channel – Ken Macleod
Last and First Men – W. Olaf Stapledon
Slan – A. E. van Vogt
Out of the Silent Planet – C. S. Lewis
They Shall Have Stars – James Blish
Marooned in Realtime – Vernor Vinge
A Fire Upon the Deep – Vernor Vinge
The People Maker – Damon Knight
The Giver – Lois Lowry
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Contact – Carl Sagan
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand (Dreck. Pure and utter dreck; wretched prose, embarrassing characters, and one of the most sickening worldviews I can think of. And what makes The Fountainhead an SF book? There is nothing SFNal about it.)

Battlefield Earth – L. Ron Hubbard (Oh, come on now. Why should anybody read this?)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain
Little Brother – Cory Doctorow
Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Jack Finney
Planet of the Apes – Pierre Boulle

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You get to hang out with Jean-Philippe! Yay!!!

Just a couple of reactions to last night’s Hell’s Kitchen, written as things happened. Spoilers, so highlight to read:

:: Ben is starting to sink a bit. I’m loving it. As Chef Ramsay noted, “At this point in the competition, the weak start to get exposed.” Ben’s faults are coming through, which is a good thing.

:: Jay spent a day with Holli. Therefore, I must kill him. Pistols at dawn, Jay!

:: Autumn is totally irritating.

:: I still hate Ben, I still love Holli, and Jay’s moves on her must result in his being dropped into a very high elevator shaft. With no elevator. Betrayer most foul!!!

:: Let me be clear on this: Holli’s behavior on this episode makes clear that she has no particular revulsion for guys with unusual hair who are also on the larger side. GAHHH!!!

:: Hmmmm…The Wife may read this. I may be spending tonight on the floor. Luckily, The Wife has also shown no particular revulsion for guys with unusual hair who are also on the larger side!

:: Ben tries to execute some kind of maneuver to make himself look good. Sous-chef Scott has none of it. Best moment of the season!

:: Gone tonight: Ed and Jason. Ben dodged a bullet, sadly enough. But Ben probably showed more outright skill than Jason did. I’m confident that Ben will probably be one of the next to go.

Back next week!

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Breakfast — the Meal of the Gods


Breakfast at Charlie’s, originally uploaded by Jaquandor.

I love food of nearly all varieties, but like a lot of folks, there’s a special place in my heart for breakfast. There’s something awfully nice about a day that starts off with a nice, big, filling breakfast. I’m not partial to any particular item for breakfast: I’ll have my beloved waffles or pancakes with pure maple syrup and a side of some kind of meat, or I’ll have an omelet and homefries, or I’ll go big and get one of those combo breakfast meals that every good breakfast joint has.

The photo above is one of those meals, from one of my absolute favorite breakfast joints: Charlie’s Diner in East Aurora, NY. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a diner, with typical diner grub. Inside there’s seating at a cramped counter and a few tables in the first room, but the place has become so popular over the years that it’s obviously expanded greatly, with additional dining room areas. And best of all is the seating area on the porch out front, where one can sit in shaded fresh air and eat. It’s just a fantastic place. My meal above consisted of two eggs, three sausage links, home fries, toast on homemade bread, and a stack of three pancakes that I couldn’t squeeze into the frame. (The pancakes at the upper left are The Daughter’s.)

I love breakfast because it tends to be the most value-packed of meals. You can get a huge meal, with coffee and OJ, at most places like this for around $10. That’s great, especially when you eat late enough in the morning and you eat enough food to make lunch expendable.

We ate there on a Saturday morning two weeks ago before attending the East Aurora Farmers Market. Farmers markets are some of my favorite things; just wandering around, looking at all the fresh produce and vegetables and plants and flowers and other items is fantastic, and I love being able to hand my money for a head of lettuce to the person who grew it.

Back on the subject of breakfasts, we discovered quite by accident last week a great show on PBS called Breakfast Special. This show spends an hour profiling different kinds of breakfast joints throughout the country, from one of Western New York’s own pancake houses (the Maple Tree Inn, which is only open during maple syrup harvesting season) across the country to a couple of places in Portland, OR. Watching this show made us terribly hungry. If you can find the show on your PBS station, check it out.

Wow, I want to eat some breakfast now…and as I’m writing this, I’ve just finished dinner!

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On that Mosque near Ground Zero

Setting aside the glorious way in which this subject prompted America’s Idiot-In-Chief, Sarah Palin, to live right up to her rep for being the single most empty-headed person in America’s public life, I have to note that I grow tire of a certain style of thinking regarding issues like this. The reasoning basically goes thusly: “Sure, 99.9 percent of the Muslims in the world are not actually terrorists waiting to suicide-bomb you, but for the good of America, we should certainly treat all of ’em as if they are.”

And for the “Build it, but somewhere else” crowd, what is the acceptable distance? Ten blocks? Twenty? A mile? If it’s meant to serve Muslims in Lower Manhattan, where should it go that it won’t be too darn close to the WTC site? Or should they just not build it in Manhattan at all?

Count me among those who think that letting this mosque get built and used without making any fuss whatsoever would put forth a much greater demonstration of America’s ideals than anything I’ve seen in quite some time.

UPDATE: Alan says what I said, but he uses a lot more words to do it. Ha!

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