Dec02
Word for the Day
You know that you needed to know what “absquatulate” means.
I have a simple wish: that all those creating new words tested out how they sound first.
Dec01
The economy.
Well, knock me over with a spoon. Why am I not surprised by this latest finding? 
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy .
It’s official: U.S. in a recession since December 2007 - Dec. 1, 2008.
Dec01
Home in Boulder
As always, arriving in Boulder feels the same as arriving at home. A dusty home with a few dead flies in it, but those things are easily fixed.
The ice rink is up across the street from our home, and the kids are constantly taking their parents out to skate. The closest ski resort is only 45 minutes away, and I am tempted to learn to ski.
Some people need the ocean. I need trees, and trees on mountains, like here, are a lovely extra bonus.
We went to Sushi Zanmai last night for dinner. They have a lovely Kobe Beef sushi that I dream about, it’s so good. That has to be the best sushi place here in Boulder.
Nov29
On the road again
We’re off to Boulder Colorado this morning, waiting for the flight to Denver to be called. It’s chillier there than here, but less moisture in the air. There is also a lot of sunshine, while in Cincinnati, we get doom and gloom now until almost March.
This is the last relaxing time that we will have before what I envision to be the Christmas rush. I have shopping to do, and I mean to do it. I mean to visit lots of friends, too. I may even take up skiing, but that has a probability that is very close to zero.
Nov28
What you can learn from watching television
I’m not an economist of any kind, and have yet to figure out what a credit swap is. However, my lack of knowledge has not kept me from noticing things… especially almost two years ago, when I was lying in my bed that we had set up in the TV room where I stayed during the first couple of months or so after I was home from my cancer surgery.
At that time, about all I could do was sit in bed and watch TV for enough contiguous hours to notice patterns in advertising (also patterns in the story lines of various true crime shows, but that’s neither here nor there). Almost all of a three or four minute commercial break was, during those days, occupied by two sorts of commercials: commercials for credit cards, and commercials for debt consolidation services and refinancing companies. After a few days of this, I began to conclude that something was up. I could get nobody to believe me at the time, that there was a great consumer demand for both acquiring credit that the consumer didn’t have, and dealing with the nasty side-effects of having that much credit extended to you.
Nobody believed me that a nasty crisis was going to happen because they thought it was “just the painkillers talking” or somesuch. I wonder if they’ll believe me now…. Stranger things have happened.
Nov27
Thanksgiving, 2008
I love that there is a whole day here dedicated to gratitude. I could spend a whole day making up a list of things that I am grateful for, and still miss a few items.
The first things that I can think of to be grateful for are warm houses and Chihuahuas. (Peter was just bribed by Buck to let us have Beatrix the Chihuahua for a few hours.) She is now curled up by my legs as I write, and is very excited to be here to watch reruns of The Closer with me.
I am also grateful for laptop computers in general, and Apple ones in particular. Getting slightly more geeky, I am grateful for the OS X operating system. I am sure that I could go on for a long time in that vein, but one other thing I am thankful for is that the laptop allows me to write here. Thanks for coming to read! 
Nov23
Words of One Syllable Dept.
I kind of wish that I could make up stuff that was this good…. 
LOS ANGELES — A security guard shot and killed a man wielding two Samurai swords Sunday on the grounds of a Scientology building in Hollywood, police said.
Scientology Building Security Guard Shot And Killed Man Wielding A Sword.
Nov22
The great assault on the attic took place
It took place very late at night, and I have brought along three books for my efforts and travels (steep staircases at midnight require extra bravado. The three books fought against the cobwebs as I did to, and we ended up with an exceptional group. 
- “Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Second Edition” (Harold Abelson, Gerald Jay Sussman, Julie Sussman
- Mathematics and its History.
- Principles of Mathematical Analysis, AKA “Little Rudin” because it’s a thinner book than professor Rudin’s book called Real Analysis, which also treats the ideas in it a little more thoroughly, and which I don’t own a copy of.
Nov21
qotd
There has never been a perfect government, because men have passions; and if they did not have passions, there would be no need for government.
— Voltaire
Nov21
A list of ways…
To stay happy for cheap. This is a good blog to read. I mean, hey, we’re all whiners at some point, right? (Or maybe it’s just me.)
Do something nice for someone else and don’t tell them or anyone else.
EconoWhiner: Today’s Tip: Try Janie’s Top Ten to Save Money, Get Happy.
Nov17
Words of One Syllable Dept.
I think I’ve heard this one before…
SWEET HOME, Ore. — An Oregon woman who is out $400,000 after falling for a well-known Internet scam says she wasn’t a sucker or an easy mark.
Nov17
A busy weekend, and now snow
The weekend was busy. On Saturday night, we hosted a benefit for the Mercantile Library at which David Baldacci spoke. He gave a very excellent talk, and everybody went away happy.
One thing that I remember him talking about in his speech, in answer to a question from the audience, was that the way we can prevent acts of terror is to have more economic justice around. That made sense to me: the more contented people are in their lives, the less they want to go blow something up.
Next year’s speaker: A. S. Byatt, who wrote Possession.
Nov11
The dentist keeps me from writing
I had a visit to the dentist today, to get a temporary crown put in while they make the permanent crown. I am only now getting my brain back together after the painkillers wore off. Not much writing to be done today.
I am not sure what to do with my project for NaNoWriMo… I want to finish it, but I am running out of things to write. It’s not a piece of fiction — I’m trying to get my memories of my family down in one place for Peter. It’s not an epic novel, by any means. I am not even sure it holds together, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.
Nov11
qotd 2
The most striking about modern industry is that it requires so much and accomplishes so little. Modern industry seems to be inefficient to a degree that surpasses one’s ordinary powers of imagination. Its inefficiency therefore remains unnoticed.
— E. F. Shumacher
Nov10
qotd
Of course, this leaves me with a whole ‘nother set of questions…
My Living Will
Last night, C and I were sitting in the family room and I said to her, ‘I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.’
She got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.
From a participant at The School for The Work (ByronKatie.com).
Nov10
NaNoWriMo takes over
Even if you were to ask me, and no, this isn’t a covert fishing expedition for compliments on my writing, I would not show you what I am working on for NaNoWriMo. It’s just a great pile of stuff. I am putting down memories of my family so that Peter can have them. Peter, as well as Buck and I, have been estranged from my side of the family for a long time — details are too voluminous for a blog post. 
But I slog away at it, and am getting some mental benefit from it beyond the “Yay! I made my word count!” elation each day. This is worth the effort of getting it all down in a document.
I have decided that it’s a good thing for a parent to do, to put his or her life down on paper, or on disk, for the children. I’m hoping to give Peter a sense of what my family is, where he came from.
Nov07
Post-election post
The election is finally over, and not a minute too soon for me. Whichever way one voted, there was a lot of collective angst to deal with. 
I dealt with it, mostly subconsciously, by sending all of the aforementioned angst to my stomach. As a result, I am now gnawing on my usual handful of antacids every day, which I haven’t done since the operation a year and a half ago. Maybe I should take up meditation again. That’s so very easy of a thing to get out of the habit of doing. And yes, meditation is encouraged in the Anti-cancer book that I am still going by.
Nov06
Furious at writing
Today, I am at Lookout Joe’s, trying furiously to catch up to my appropriate daily word-count. 
Shirl has zoomed right on by me; my only excuse, however lame, is one that calls upon the principles of celestial dynamics: Shirl lives farther to the north than I do, and so her nights are longer. I’m really very good at coming up with excuses when I need to.
Maybe it would help, though, if I quit writing in the blog and got to work.
Nov04
Election Day post #3: NaNoWriMo
One thing I have to admit is, that in light of today’s being Election Day, and my ensuing obsession with watching the election coverage, I might not get today’s word-count in. I apologize in advance to Shirl, who is probably typing away furiously now.
The good thing about its being Election Day: one is never at a loss, for this whole 24 hours, for a topic of conversation.
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