I mentioned awhile back that my idea of doing an upgrade to the house is putting a cardboard box in the hall closet to serve as a receptacle for gloves and the like. Hey, it's got a slat down the middle, whattya want?
Actually, my thoughts about upgrades go much further than that. One of my daydreams is to put a room over the garage and open our existing bedroom into that, moving the bedroom function into the new room and turning the existing bedroom into a combination storage area -- classy storage area -- and elevator point. Thinking ahead to when we're old ( my mother lived with us for years, and towards the end just could not climb the stairs any more). I know that doing all of this will be expensive, and I half-expect that even so, when it's done - if it's done - it won't be as good as I'd want it to be. Classy and sleek. Expensive, yes, but worth it. That's not what you tend to find from builders around here. And the few that can do it are pretty rigid in their thinking, too, and more expensive than I think they're worth. Champagne taste.... well, not quite. But not not, either. I'm probably fortunate that Because We Can works on the other side of the continent.
Oh, and an enclosed pool area would be nice, too.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Captured
A couple of sites that I really like have started using captcha. Don't know how -- perhaps Blogger uses it as a default now. I hate it. I find those things really hard to do. Other sites, I just say the hell with it and go elsewhere. These sites -- well, I'm willing to make the effort, but I don't like it!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Droning
Apparently, it will soon be legal for people to fly their own little drones right over your house, for whatever purpose they desire. Real estate appraisal? You bet. Checking for use of heat lamps to grow pot? No problem. Checking out who likes to sunbathe nude? Loop back there again, Gordo.
How long until DIY surface to air missiles are available?
How long until DIY surface to air missiles are available?
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Ce n'est pas un post
I learned today that this post, ostensibly by a woman who was getting back at a boorish boss, was a prank by the site that displayed it. Apparently, the people who own the site are known for this kind of thing. They derive hilarity from getting people to believe them. Put up something real-looking, then laugh at the rubes who took them seriously?
I used to like that site. And I probably will continue to read it. But now I think:
Assholes.
I used to like that site. And I probably will continue to read it. But now I think:
Assholes.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Police
I'm not a great fan of police procedurals, but I really liked this article by a member of London's Metropolitan Police. It's nicely done.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Waking Up
When I awoke this morning, this phrase was in my mind:
?
Sherlock Holmes and his two sons, Lincroft and Michaael.
?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Renovation
This is how much we're into home renovation, and why I am so in awe of people like Caroline Anne who, I believe, has entirely rebuilt his house and is now rebuilding the rebuilt.
My daughter is eighteen. Before she was born - years before - we decided that the shelf in the hall closet wasn't working well, because things were getting jumbled together. So, as an interim solution, I took a cardboard box, taped a flap down the middle to create his and hers zones, and stuck in in the middle of the shelf. Gloves and hats inside, scarves and bulky gloves on top. And space on either side for all the other stuff that we have, though we're not exactly sure why.
The box is still there. Someday, we'll upgrade it. But only when it's provably needed. After all --
It still works.
My daughter is eighteen. Before she was born - years before - we decided that the shelf in the hall closet wasn't working well, because things were getting jumbled together. So, as an interim solution, I took a cardboard box, taped a flap down the middle to create his and hers zones, and stuck in in the middle of the shelf. Gloves and hats inside, scarves and bulky gloves on top. And space on either side for all the other stuff that we have, though we're not exactly sure why.
The box is still there. Someday, we'll upgrade it. But only when it's provably needed. After all --
It still works.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Le Jour
Quite the day. In no particular order --
-found out that the mento did NOT turn in two pieces of homework, despite being assured by his mother that he would do it.
-wasn't able to have a Skype conversation today with the woman I'd been talking with; that's okay, but still, I'd been looking forward to it.
-found out that a silver-plating service charges $30 a piece to replate old tableware (my grandmother's; at that price, who'd do it? Not me.)
-learned that the nurse practitioner I normally see won't be around for a while, as she is undergoing intensive chemotheraphy.
-learned that yet another person has been fired from the group where my wife works.
-found out that the mento did NOT turn in two pieces of homework, despite being assured by his mother that he would do it.
-wasn't able to have a Skype conversation today with the woman I'd been talking with; that's okay, but still, I'd been looking forward to it.
-found out that a silver-plating service charges $30 a piece to replate old tableware (my grandmother's; at that price, who'd do it? Not me.)
-learned that the nurse practitioner I normally see won't be around for a while, as she is undergoing intensive chemotheraphy.
-learned that yet another person has been fired from the group where my wife works.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
ConvEx, cont'd
I've been exchanging notes with a person on CE, and tomorrow we'll be talking again on Skype. I'll also be talking with a new person, a guy who lives in Lyon. I'm really enjoying it. Where else could I learn that 'to make dodo' (faire dodo) means 'to go to sleep'? I'm not progressing as fast as I would like -- I never do -- but otherwise, it's great!
Stratified
I tried making a strata today. It didn't turn out so well. The idea was to fry up some sausage, then make what is, essentially, a brioche, folding the sausage into it and then submerging it overnight in a mix of eggs and liquid. Despite what the fine folks at America's Test Kitchen (their motto: If its a kitchen tool, we have it) say, it didn't turn out light, airy, and tasty. More like sodden, greasy, and lumpy.
I'll probably try it again, but I'll scale the recipe way down and mess with the proportions of the ingredients. See what happens.
I'll probably try it again, but I'll scale the recipe way down and mess with the proportions of the ingredients. See what happens.
Black-Scholes
This is a fascinating and understandable short article about the Black-Scholes equation which was the underpinning for the massive growth of financial derivatives. I had to read the article slowly, and even print it out so that I could easily go back and forth in it, but I liked it. And I loved this:
Despite its supposed expertise, the financial sector performs no better than random guesswork. The stock market has spent 20 years going nowhere. The system is too complex to be run on error-strewn hunches and gut feelings, but current mathematical models don't represent reality adequately. The entire system is poorly understood and dangerously unstable. The world economy desperately needs a radical overhaul and that requires more mathematics, not less. It may be rocket science, but magic it's not.
Feels like it, though, doesn't it?
Despite its supposed expertise, the financial sector performs no better than random guesswork. The stock market has spent 20 years going nowhere. The system is too complex to be run on error-strewn hunches and gut feelings, but current mathematical models don't represent reality adequately. The entire system is poorly understood and dangerously unstable. The world economy desperately needs a radical overhaul and that requires more mathematics, not less. It may be rocket science, but magic it's not.
Feels like it, though, doesn't it?
ConJob
I found this at the masthead of a very conservative site. I think it's funny -- all these people are dead. Though funny probably isn't the right word. Sad would be better. They can't find anyone to respect who's alive.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
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