My New iPod is too Smart

I underreacted on Christmas. I got some really overwhelmingly awesome gifts, that I didn't even realize should whelm me right over. But here I am, still whelming.

I got two pretty amazing bits of techno-kit this Xmas. This is not to say that I am not going to shop the heck out of my gift cards or listen my CDs flat- but these are things I am reasonably experienced in. My very best brother and sister-in-law gave me a flash new GREEN new iPod. The preserved-in-all-its-digital-glory "You got me an iPod?!" face really only covers the "wow- this can select artists and have its contents updated... unlike the old one." This is of course the most important feature of such a thing, and I am pretty jazzed to have it back. I normally use my iPod to ignore people, so it didn't have a place in the family celebrations. I loaded it up with some stuff from Noel's computer, and then didn't turn it on until we hit 10,000 feet leaving Seattle sometime well after midnight. This was when I discovered that it has an external speaker- yup, I started playing that new Owl City track for the whole plane. My efforts to adjust the volume were stymied by the accelerometer flipping the screen to album view. ???

I told Matt about this (3 rows ahead, and asleep) later when we landed- and he got all pumped and asked if I played the maze game. There are games? That you play without buttons?? OMG, yes, and also there is a pedometer AND it synchs to my iCal!! Now I just have to figure out the interface where I tell it what music I want on it. Currently, I can get it to fill up with random music, or not very much music at all, but I am sure a break through is on the way. Oh, but this iPod has the long awaited feature of being able to shuffle a playlist or album- I knew we had the technology!

The other amazing piece of kit is the Kindle 2 from Mom and Dad. I am letting Matt sort out the many bonus features of this (the iPod having taken up all my new technology amazement). But it is getting a lot of use- I obviously recommend it for plane travel, since you can load up WAY more ebooks than your carry-on would accommodate. We were both confused about how to react to the "please power down electronics" announcements- since it only uses power to 'flip pages,' and will always have something printed in e-Ink, on or off. Fortunately, the very classy case we have can be closed over it, making it seem more 'off' or at least 'not in use' for the comfort and safety of our fellow passengers.

All in all, it was pretty fantastic stuff, the fantastic-ness of which I am only just scraping the surface of.

In Seattle, Breifly

Hey,

I'm posting this from the terminal in Seattle. Jess and I are here (early) and ready to get on a plane up to Juneau for our vacation. We spent the night here and ate at a roasters restaurant last night, which had some really good food. Jess had a delicious "salad "and I had some roasted meat(s) in gravy. Thanks to dad for the Hotel Recommendation, the place was really nice and just about as close the the airport as it is legally possible to be.

We'll see our Juneau family pretty soon. Much love!

-N

Home for the Holidays!

Matt and I arrived on Sunday, with only minor revisions to our flight plan. Although we missed the storm that crippled the eastern seaboard by about 5 more inches of snow, our Saturday night flight was delayed - so we spent the night in MSP instead of SEA. And then we jumped straight in to the holiday excitement- stocked up on holiday foods and got paint clothes to help in the bathroom. Since the parents have jobs to get to, we got up Monday to see the Sunrise- and then sat in place until it set again. Perfect way to spend the shortest day of the year! We watched some amazing wildlife from the picture windows- whales, sea lions and so many birds!

I've started to make an impact on the Christmas cookies requirements of the household. Noel better show up quick, because both the peanut blossoms and ginger cookies are in danger of not making it until Wednesday- I'm sure we'll have something else good by the time he shows up.

Last night we went out to NOT celebrate Mom and Dad's anniversary, just Mom's last day of work before the break. The rest of the week, we've got big ambitions in the kitchen as well as the Master Bathroom (Painting!). And today, Kelsey is babysitting a toddler with the best babycheeks to grace the house in years. What we need now is to pull out the Christmas music, toss up a tree, and really get this holiday started.

Home soon, YES!

I finished another semester and am avoiding getting my stuff packed up.
Finals week wasn't too bad this semester, it was mostly the weeks leading up to it. As a Communications major, most of our work is project based or paper based, so I just had a lot of things due before finals. I did have a few things to take care of finals week, but it could have been a lot worse.
This also means that I had extra time to do things to prepare for leaving, like getting my oil changed. I'm also trying to figure out meals; with the end of the semester means the end of the need to go grocery shopping, so I have a bunch of random loose ends to try and create complete meals with. Turns out pasta goes well with a lot of things, and apple sauce fills in a lot of gaps.
I'm looking forward to getting home, having some home cooked meals, and spending time with the family.

Finals week is for suckas!

You know that feeling when you are still on campus during finals week, and there are students stuffed into every nook on campus where you can possible sit and hold a notebook, desperately cramming for finals- and you aren't? You feel kind of liberated, slightly superior, maybe even a bit righteous. "This too shall pass, dears. Follow my example, and you'll pull through." Can you imagine how divine this feeling is when you have finished your last final FOR LIFE??

I can't help it- I am looking at these students thinking, "Suckers. Heh, taking classes." And yes, I have only been finished with my last final for barely a week now, but TRUST me, it is easy to transition in to the expansive feeling of being so profoundly over-educated that classes can no longer hurt me. What a relief.

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Tonight is the last week of Hanukkah, and I'd hate for it to pass without some comment. This year, we managed to slightly celebrate- we had a Hamukkah Party with some friends (this is a country ham and latke party), we had jelly donuts at out Secret Santa party, and we've been counting the 8 holy nights on the menorah's of our neighbors cars. Yes, the menorah-mobiles are back! We (again) missed the parade, but haven't missed the chance to indulge in the traditional fried foods of the season. (The oil lasted 8 nights, so the foods celebrate oil...) Growing up where Xmas always has a token star of david, or blue set of ribbons, but no one to actually claim them, it is pretty novel to be living somewhere that the red and green is more of a minority. Our neighborhood has the lamest Christmas Lights in the city- but no one else has a parade. A worthy trade, since we still get to go home and Christmas it up with the folks. We leave this weekend- Hooray!

A shift of perspective

Here is another science post- skip to the micro-news at the bottom if you don't want to slog through my professional drama.

In the last few months, I have been eyeing the finish line for a story, partly because I think what I do next will be more interesting, partly because I don't really think the current story is going anywhere. I've had some setbacks in getting the 'last' experiments done, but while Dr. Boss was out of town, I started thinking we might be able to publish without them. Now that he is back, I have been hinting, suggesting and nagging him to look at the data. Finally we sat down to pour over the data, and it was a really tough meeting. At first, I thought it was tough because maybe the science isn't as good as I thought- but I had answers for all his concerns. He just really doesn't understand what I do. I am not completely confident that this work can be published yet, but now I am starting to doubt whether that will be my biggest hurdle.

We agreed that I could give him a draft of the manuscript I've been working on since October to look at (finally) next week. Now I realize that this manuscript has to be great- I have to explain my research, my results, my logic to my boss so that he will start thinking I am a brilliant independent scientist. I am frustrated and confused, because if I have to tell him that- what does he think of me now?

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Micro news! Last WISC discussion for the year was a success- 5 of us had a nice talk about mentoring. You should have them- or at least recognize them. It has suddenly gotten quite cold here, I guess that means it is winter. Tragically, this means the worm bin froze solid. I think this will be a project to restart in the spring...Matt and I have decided making Irish cream is going to be our new 'thing,' so add that to the list of holiday traditions. We also finished the majority of our holiday shopping. And Happy Hanukkah!

Further Adventures in Home Ownership

Hey, not killed by snow. Cool.

So here are some pictures you may enjoy:

From Late 2009, Blog Pics

Jess and I bought curtains! Now we can let light in and still walk around in our PJs. It made me feel all homeowner-y.

From Late 2009, Blog Pics

We helped Jean and Ray decorate for Xmas. They had a fake tree with a motorized stand that rotated. I set the exposure time really long for this picture.

From Late 2009, Blog Pics

I've been practicing making cinnamon rolls. Get ready for Christmas treats. These came out really good.

From Late 2009, Blog Pics

Fall in Austin. These are the trees out in front of our house. The evergreen live oaks and two other types of oaks that also grow out front. I think they cast a pretty striking image, don't you?

Further adventures in home ownership! When we were in Vegas for Thanksgiving Lacey and Mark mentioned that they had to replace their air filters extra often because they lived in the desert. That caused Jess and I to realize that we didn't know about air filters and hadn't replaced them at all in the approximately one year we'd been in our house. Neither of us had ever heard of this particular home task before. How novel! Anyway, we cleaned them out/replaced them as appropriate, so hopefully we're breathing cleaner air as we speak.

I was out raking (very red) leaves this weekend when I noticed a pipe sticking out of the ground that had been fractured a little and was full of water. There was also a little of what looked suspiciously like wet toilet paper scattered around the pipe. I had Jess flush the upstairs toilet and, sure enough, a bunch of water poured out of the pipe and into our lawn. I guess it's some free lawn water, I guess, and I can't imagine it have been too much of a problem for too long, or we would have been alerted by a scent quite a while ago. Anyway, we called out some plubmers, and they were out in a mater of hours, snaked the drain, cleared the clog, and re-capped the tube. Problem solved. Adventure!

We also went out to a Holiday party for work last night. Jessie looked BEE-YOU-TI-FULL in her black dress and red jacket. We even went out to pick up some heels for her to wear to the event, and everyone commented on how nice she looked. The party was on saturday, and the University of Texas was having a big championship game that night, so they played it during the party. It was a VERY dramatic finish, fun to watch. After that we hung out at a nearby bar until 2 in the morning trying out various beers and talking about nothing important.

Micro-News!

I got my grey shirt in Ving Tsun a few weeks ago. It marks something like the halfway point for my training. Very exciting. It got down below freezing here a couple of nights this week: we got to use our gas fireplace. Romantic! We got some fresh catnip from Ray's garden in Vegas and have been spreading it around the house. The cats seem to enjoy it just fine. Just a few more weeks until Christmas! I'd better get some shopping done.

-N

Viral Pathogenesis- pretty much done

Perhaps the crowning achievement of every student's 21st grade is to finish the last of their course requirements. Actually, but the time you been doing this for so long, it seems like there aren't a lot of crowning achievements, so I am inclined to make up my own. I went to the last lecture in the last required course of my career (assuming I pass this) on Thursday. Now to finish the take home exam, and wrap up the whole 'going to classes' part of my education.

It's odd, in a few respects. I've obviously signed up for a long term commitment to my education- why would I gripe about going to class? I just can't make myself get worked up about it any more. Heavens knows, taking notes, doing readings and managing my time are all things I got under control a long time ago. Now I struggle with things like, remembering to go to class, forcing myself to get to the books. And take home exams? You can spend as long as you want on those- and guess how much time I feel like spending on it? I've also burned through a lot of my optimism about school work after lo, these many years. Now I just want to finish this up. And on the short list of things that need to get done before I graduate- finishing this class! Then finishing the exam (before Thursday). Wish me luck!

AAAAAAAAAAH!

We're being told it may snow tonight.

I know these are the words every parent dreads to hear. To know that it may snow somewhere in the vicinity of one of their special, precious, children. There are no words I can think of to soften the blow. Everyone here is somber, quiet. Those that can have already fled, but for the rest of us, there is no time left.

No time.

I just want you all to know that I love you very much. You have all been supportive and loving, and after...I dunno, an inch or two...of snow falls on Austin, utterly destroying the city, that my thoughts and dreams will echo among the family I have left behind.

Already people have begun to see the coming of the end. There are snow parties. Madmen who will wait outside, defying nature to take them to their last breath. They hold strength and hope in their heart that I cannot mirror. I am afraid.

Jess and I will cuddle beneath some blankets, we'll keep the Cats close to us, but when that final, white death comes for us all, blowing through the house and disassembling us on an atomic level, I want you all to know that my final thoughts will be with you.

With deepest love,

-N

P.S. None of that was true.

P.P.S. Except that it is going to maybe snow tonight.

P.P.P.S. Oh, and the fact that I love all you guys is also true.

P.P.P.P.S. So, yeah. Snow! Maybe! Ticom has a policy similar to Dad's office, which is to say that if the schools are closed, so is the office. I'll check on it in the morning, but it wouldn't be the first time this sort of thing happens, it's just pretty rare. It was an ice storm last time. There is a holiday party that was supposed to be on Friday that got moved to Saturday as a 'just in case' measure. They are already making plans to show the Big 12 Championship there, so they do have their priorities straight.

I'll put up pictures if we get any white stuff, and Family members in colder climates can feel free to giggle at my state's weakness to snow.

Birthday horoscope??

My horoscope this morning said something about "the world beating a path to my door . . . be sure to be home to enjoy it."

What actually beat a path to our house was our neighbor's car. For the second time in two years, she smacked into the side of our house backing out of her garage. This time she didn't do nearly as much damage to the house, but plastic car parts were scattered all over our driveway.

If the young woman had stopped, rung our doorbell, we probably would have let her pay for it, not even called the insurance company. As it was, she blithely drove off to work. Both Jane and I heard the crash and raced to different windows (upstairs and down) to see what had happened.

Under the cirumstances, we called our insurance, the police, her cellphone voicemail, and her insurance company, in about that order. The property damage is too slight to be worth criminal charges but we now have an official incident report on file. I would never go to this trouble for a first time problem, but this is not the first time . . .

Not how I wanted spend the morning of my 63rd birthday. (Thank you, brother, for the birthday wishes!)

Thanksgiving Sheetrock....

While the rest of the world was focusing on Black Friday and Tiger Woods driving skills off the golf course, we were making dust in Alaska. The following are pictures of our progress. The artsy arches actually cover exposed vent pipes that we wanted to keep out of the wall to improve insulation and protect from freezing on the sunless side of the house. Tommorow the plumber makes first connections to the household system after our rough-in plumbing passed inspection. We expect one little hand washing sink in our toilet room to be connected and that represents real progress.

Friday I buzz down to Miami for a daytrip of Medical education. This should allow for dinner with the Swanson-in-laws ( I really don't know what our technical relationsip is...) on Saturday night, then back to Alaska on Sunday.

Happy brthdays to all sides of the family: Nana, Bart, and Grama Warner.