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July 8th, 2009
03:34 pm - Prehistoric Art
An unusual place to find art keeps coming up for me: National Geographic.
1. Prehistoric Hand Prints
After analyzing handprints in prehistoric cave paintings, they've discovered that many of them are done by women. Indicating that many of the actual paintings are probably also done by women, which isn't what was commonly taught. The older theory being men coming down and painting hunting figures as part of a religious ritual.
2. North America's Oldest Art
A 13,000-year-old mammoth bone etched with a figure of a mammoth.
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July 4th, 2009
12:09 pm - Good legacy from East/West Germany
Someday, I'd like to do one of the very civilized walking tours of Europe where someone else schleps your stuff while you walk unencumbered between B&Bs for the night.
One intriguing tour would be the wildlife sanctuary and green belt left behind in the former divide between East and West Germany. It's a one of the few good legacies of the cold war detailed HERE in this Guardian article.
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July 2nd, 2009
10:47 am - Heard by from Senator Patty Murray
Some of you might recall that I wrote my federal reps/senators about the proposed banking regulations and Glass-Steagall Act.
To those naysayers who always say that their views don't matter and there's no point in participating in government, I'll point out that Senator Murray (or at least one of her staff) took the time to reply back to a degree that shows that my letter was personally paid attention to. It shows that if you do care about something, you should write/phone in to your elected officials because they do listen. Pointing out why you care, offering a solution, giving some details all help your cause.
While I don't believe one letter is going to change things immediately, at least not in most instances, having enough people write in about something will. Conversely, if no one writes in about an issue, if only the lobbyists are heard, then things will not be changed to your liking most of the time.
Here's Senator Murray's response:
Dear Ms. Shellyinseattle:
Thank you for contacting my office. I appreciate hearing from you regarding your views on reintroducing the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. The views of Washingtonians are very important to my work in the U.S. Senate.
Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind and encourage you to be in touch. Do not hesitate to contact me again to express your views on this or any other issue or if I may be of assistance.
I hope all is well in Kirkland.
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June 29th, 2009
02:56 pm - Betrayed!!!
So the little one is in swimming lessons for two weeks. They started rough with lots of crying and choking me and just screaming in my ear before she relaxed enough to have fun.
Mostly, the teacher has been building up the kids comfort level with the water. Building them up -- for betrayal! Just before class ended, all the moms geared up to do one quick dunk of the kids before they realized what they were in for.
All the faces afterwards were priceless. She did a bit of revenge on me, though. She held on so tight through the lesson that my hands started to go numb at times.
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June 28th, 2009
06:03 pm - Eastside Seattle help needed
If you know of a good engine/coolant/radiator repair place near Kikrland WA, please let us know what it is.
Thanks.
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June 22nd, 2009
02:52 pm - Saturday Night Date and MapMyHike
Date Night
Saturday night, Wolf & I joyfully dropped Heidi off at a Kids Night Out while we went for a hike through blueberry fields and parts of the Bellevue greenbelt. It felt like we were in the countryside complete with a fresh produce stand at the end, which would have been even better if it had been open that late at night.
MapMyHike
MapMyHike worked well for figuring out good walks, though I couldn't get the map to print well. For locals, the U-pick blueberry patch is part of the Lake Hills Loop hike. Phantom Lake had some nice views from a couple of docks, and the water lillies were almost in bloom. There's also the Lake Hills Library along the route, which would have been nice to visit if it had been open.
Top Gun Seafood Restaurant
Afterwards, we were quite chilled from hiking after the sun was going down.
So hot pots at the Chinese restaurant Top Gun were fantastic to warm us up. Got to view King Crabs both lived and served up in splendor. Meal presentation was great whether it was ours or any other table. Ambience isn't bad, though not especially romantic. I think we were the only all-Western table in the restaurant at the time. They serve excellent dim sum during the day. It's located close to Paizo, if you're near there, and appropriate it was our Paizo friend P. is who introduced us to this great Chinese restaurant.
Factoria Mall
We had enough time before picking up the little one that we briefly stopped by the Factoria Mall so Wolf could show me exactly where the Children's Museum is. Both Wolf and my playgroup vouch for this museum, and I'll have to take Heidi there some time.
An entire section of the mall right around the museum has imploded. About 15 empty store spaces. Impressive in a very eerie way.
Almost all businesses that are still open have all moved to the other side, clearly to make that section feel more inhabited and to help keep their own traffic up.
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June 17th, 2009
04:58 pm - Victorian Naughty Book
One of the delights of going to Chicago was a visit to the Newberry Library and their extensive calligraphy/illumination collection. They're a free-use private library with quite a few restrictions designed to protect their books. One restriction is only allowing you three books at a time, with those brought to you directly by the librarians.
My books arrive!
My first three books arrived with a very cheerful look on the librarian's face. Actually, smiles lit both the librarians' faces since the need to carefully cradle the books is so great that two of them brought the books to me. "Enjoy!" the first librarian said as she laid the books down.
"Wow," I think, "they seem to really love their jobs. Or perhaps they just really like calligraphy."
I take a look at what they gave me. Each book comes with its own padded cradle to keep them from opening fully and damaging the spine. I ask if I need gloves on to handle these. Nope, they were printed material and as long as my hands were clean that was good enough. Mind you, some of the printed books I handled were printed in the 1500s. Others, while later, were full of hand painted illustrations over the block prints.
The Victorian Naughty book
The largest book has a beautiful red leather cover on it with no words. I open it up and find many illustrations of Jane Austen-styled women with a twist -- they were showing an ankle. Or even sometimes a calf. I glance through other pages of the book. While several of the headers were indeed written in the calligraphy style of the time (copperplate), it just wasn't that interesting.
Then I think, "Hmmm....was this really the right book?" I look back at my call numbers, look at the call number of the red book. Nope. The numbers are one off. The original books still beckons, so I resubmit for it.
The same head librarian returns. This time she came with a chagrined look while profusely apologizing as she hands over the one I really ordered. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I hope you weren't offended. It's just that so many people order the Victorian Naughty book, that I just assumed that was the one you wanted when I saw the call number." I assure her that I was somewhat amused.
When I told the story to Wolf that evening he mused, "Maybe it would be fun for me to check out the Newberry tomorrow. What was that call number again?"
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June 16th, 2009
01:08 am - Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean stamps
The UK has issued some mythological creatures postage designed by Neil Giman and Dave McKean. Read more HERE.
The pixie on a snail stamp is my fav.
I'm going to bet these will be collectible in years to come.
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June 15th, 2009
08:58 am - Finally wrote about financial regulation
Here's a copy of what I'm sending to my U.S. senators &reps today as well as President Obamam about the proposed financial regulations:
Dear XXX:
I am very disappointed that the proposed financial regulations will not reintroduce an updated version of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.
I think the repeal of this act is a primary cause of the current financial mess, because it joined the higher risks of stocks, etc. to what should be a very safe, conservative path of regular banking, such as Canada kept.
No regulations will ever be enough.
Firstly, because the companies have an economic incentive to find ways around these new regulations. Furthermore, we will never be able to hire enough regulators within our government to look after all of them. (And having a revolving door between our government regulators and Wall Street doesn't help.)
Really, if the SEC couldn't get Madoff when the evidence was handed to them on a silver platter, they're not going to catch more exotic problems.
Secondly, because there will always be the possibility of rogue traders and divisions. These could be company-sactioned, such as AIG's obvious approval of their London Financial Products Group's risky moves. It seems that the high profits from this division were allowed by the corporate bosses despite the top executives not really understanding or worrying about the full risk.
Or, it could be a rogue trader such Nicholas Leeson who brought down Britian's Barings bank a few years ago.
The example of AIG and Barings alone should be enough to prove that now matter how many regulations out there, that problems will happen, and companies will go under because of them.
Thus, we absolutely need to decoupling the riskier investments from the banking institutions to reduce the risk to the overall system, so a bankruptcy like Lehman Brothers will not cause a heart attack.
So, reintroducing a modern version of the Glass-Steagall Act is one of the best ways to protect the U.S. from a future financial meltdown. I realize that there are many financial interests aligned against this and it may take some doing politically. But it is absolutely necessary for the long-run.
Sincerely,
Shelly
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June 13th, 2009
10:24 am - Sparing my wrists
I took a more realistic assessment of all the things I need to do around the house, and decided not to start advertising for more calligraphy work. I've volunteered art for a Children's Hospital auction. (If you've got a worthy auction cause, you're welcome to ask me for an art donation, too.)
Of course, I'm amost lalways able to push these house things aside for anything that literally falls in my lap, as some wedding envelopes just did this week.
While the final envelope specs get sorted out, I'm saving my wrists for calligraphy work by not refinishing the playset we were given until afterwards. The deck is already refinished, so we're enjoying outdoor living in some really spectacularly early high-summer weather for the Seattle area. I feel just a bit guilty that I'm not using the sunshine on the playset while I have it, but a calligraphy job is more important.
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June 11th, 2009
11:20 pm - spectacular meteorite hit
Would you try to catch a ball of flame shooting towards you?
This boy did.
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June 2nd, 2009
08:52 am - Good time to travel
I'll concur with what you'll already know, that the recession is generating some great travel deals.
Planes
Our round-trip airfare to the Midwest for 3 cost the same as our rental car. Both planes were on-time though full. (AA going out, United coming back.) We did pay the checked baggage fee for two bags, but even with this premium we paid about $150 less per ticket than a couple of years ago. I think travelling late spring rather than full summer also helped.
B&B
While we stayed with kind relatives most of the time, we did get a fantastic deal at the County Clare B&B in downtown Milwaukee, WI. $80 for Sunday - Tuesday. Down from $139/night. It includes a big breakfast in the Irish pub downstairs, whirlpool bath, walkable location, and great service. Only mild disappointment was having the restaurant closed on Memorial Day for service (though the pub was open). We've stayed here before, and give it our full recommendation.
Rental car
By renting through our Costco membership, we were able to hold the cost down somewhat, though I still think rental cars are over priced. Did pay the premium to pick up /drop off from O'Hare, but that was worth it.
Didn't get the free upgrade from a subcompact that we often get in the high season. Instead, paid $90 extra to have the four-door necessariy when you're installing a car seat. We got the craptastic Kia Optima that gave both of us back aches because the seats were so bad. Can't believe anyone actually owns this car even at Kia prices.
Having Sirius radio tuned into "1st Wave" gave us a musical nostalgia trip back to the 80s which perfectly matched when we last lived in Illinois. Cruise control was also good on the miles of prairie and corn fields that make perfect prey for the state patrol if you zone out too much.
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08:30 am - Back home
After a two week tour of the Midwest to see family and friends, we're home.
It's always good to travel. And it's always good to travel long enough that you're thankful to be home in your own comfortable bed.
We caught the first big wave of summer weather on the trip, so lots of playtime outside. Now Seattle's decided to be in summer mode -- dry, warm, and sunny. Most outsiders don't realize we get a great summer out here after the rainy season ends.
Now that we're back, I went into a cleaning frenzy trying to get everything back to normal in one day like go through mounds of Kobold mail from the PO Box. Decided I needed to get the outside ready for playing, so cleaned off the winter gunk from our outside toys. Disappointingly found that our deck doesn't just need to be cleaned but also needs a fresh coat of stain after only two years. (Given that I had bought Consumer Reports' top recommendation, it's a bit frustrating.)
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May 24th, 2009
08:31 am - Sold
My art in the Gift of Water show sold this week! I'm about o99.5% happy and .5% disappointed it won't be coming home.
It feels a bit odd knowing that I won't have to go pick it up when the show comes down.
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May 15th, 2009
08:10 am - Phishing Warning
Someone got really clever in trying to pfish today by pretending to be my internet provider doing anti-spam updates so they NEEDED my email details. Took me a couple of seconds to see through it, because I hadn't had my morning tea yet.
The offer of anti-spam IS pretty clever. Fortunately, nothing else about the message looked like it came from an official source.
Went to the real security site for my provider and turned the jerk in. Hope he doesn't really catch anyone with this. Thought you all would like to be warned.
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May 10th, 2009
06:38 pm - Being neighborly
Can we eat them now??? -- The proper response from teenagers when their mom brings in the homemade chocolate chip cookies I gave them.
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May 8th, 2009
08:39 am - Good article on Diabetes
This is one of the best articles I've seen to summarize pre-diabetes and diabetes. It's good to read if you have any of the risk factors like being overweight, and how to change your lifestyle to keep diabetes away. Or if you're helping someone else try to prevent it.
Since I had gestational diabetes and one priming incident that pushed me into pre-diabetes, this article illustrates why I take such care with my diet and exercise even though I'm not overweight. I watched one of my obese grandparents deal with the complications, and there is no way I want to go there.
One easy thing I do: pass on restaurant meals, especially if I need to exercise instead. The most difficult part is getting the exercise in, because of how much I'm trying to do in a day. There just aren't enough hours.
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May 6th, 2009
12:13 pm - Cuteness Overload
Pics of Giant Pandas.
Like everyone, I've always thought giant pandas were adorable. However, until I saw them in real life I thought there was NO WAY it could live up to its hype. Well, if you haven't see one live, let me assure you they actually surpass the pictures.
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April 30th, 2009
08:18 pm - The Empire
Nothing makes you want to start humming the Emperor's Theme from Star Wars quite like seeing your husband come home in a black shirt stating, "I am the empire."
One of the Microsoft groups printed them up as a promo. There were so many demands from employees that they finally gave in and let them get in on the action.
By the end of the night, even our little one was humming along. Though it was the most cheerful version of the theme I have ever heard.
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April 29th, 2009
09:26 pm - Dragons ho!
Gosh it has been a LONG time since I've gone into WotC (Wizards of the Coast for you non-gamers). Last time I was there they had the minotaur statue and were across the street.
Today I finally had the excuse of going inside to pick up some books for Wolf from a friend. While there, the little one and I enjoyed a wonderful view of the huge dragon statue. Here are pics if you haven't seen it.
I also pointed out some of the "baby dragons" to the little one, and she nodded her head sagely. They are as real to her as unicorns, which she is utterly convinced will be pulling her sleigh when and if she ever goes for a sleigh ride.
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