tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179740152024-03-18T21:18:00.769-07:00BardiacJust another academic bloggerBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger3254125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-3996301790206895632024-02-24T12:22:00.000-08:002024-02-24T12:22:56.819-08:00Beginning in media res<p>Saturday - It's been a while. I've been meaning to get caught up, but I have a problem getting pictures from my phone organized onto the computer. So there won't be many pictures until I figure that out better.</p><p>Still I like that this blog is a sort of record of my travels, so now that I'm on travels, here goes.</p><p>Today is my first full day of about a month in Berlin. I came in by train from Frankfurt yesterday, a train right that was more bust than not. Even though I supposedly had a window seat, there wasn't much window, so I didn't get to see much. </p><p>I'd flown from Barcelona to Berlin the day before, and thought I'd manage to walk around a bit in Frankfurt, but it turned out not so much, because I was lugging stuff. I''m travelling with my old backpack, a carryon size hard luggage, and a small day pack. It's not bad for two months in different climates, but still a lot to lug around.</p><p>So, today, day one in Berlin. I got up after a good sleep in my little apartment, and found my way to the underground train station close to me (about a block). And I bought a month ticket. At least, I hope it's that. And then I took the train to the only station name I recognized, the Alexanderplatz. I walked around there. I lost my reading glasses (I think I left them on the plane to Frankfurt), so asked in an apothecary, and the woman there suggested another store, and voila, reading glasses! I also managed to find an ATM and get more cash. (Berlin seems much more cash-favoring than Barcelona.) <br /></p><p>I walked around near the Alexanderplatz, and went into the St. Nicholaskirche museum, which was interesting. I have a feeling Berlin is going to be very different to Barcelona in many ways, but a big one is that everything was bombed during the war. Other differences: Barcelona is way more full of tourists, and the metro system is way easier to understand from the point of view of someone who doesn't know their way around. Also, I'm at that point of German where everything I try to say comes out in Spanish. Very frustrating!<br /></p><p></p><p>I'm going on a tour of a concentration camp tomorrow. I think it will be hard, but it's important not to forget such things.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-25341389811304697162023-11-17T10:07:00.000-08:002023-11-17T10:07:46.625-08:00Total Trivia: the 2 r rule<p> Bev of <a href="https://excelsiorbev.blogspot.com/">Excelsior</a> has a post recently on trivial knowledge. <a href="https://excelsiorbev.blogspot.com/2023/11/trotting-out-trivia.html">What's the most trivial thing you know</a>?</p><p>Here's mine: in black letter printing, there are two forms of the letter "r" (miniscule).</p><p>It's easier to show than to describe, so here goes:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktTMtnj5rYvNjVFlCaS9C0Q6wIVgGE4IZ7Z_HBwEAbE1NCdSzpVSMe2q0Nu-lB7QKMXTYFl15VH1_NXIv4SaXnXgY0LPVmPFwuq83hsb2LRQgHUMrND_BuZLWx_ysWutGTeZ9PeWhJGhpp-ka8j50ZRt_zDO9NOhYFOa7LG7-chL1-6pS2cbgfg/s2304/2%20r%20rule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2304" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktTMtnj5rYvNjVFlCaS9C0Q6wIVgGE4IZ7Z_HBwEAbE1NCdSzpVSMe2q0Nu-lB7QKMXTYFl15VH1_NXIv4SaXnXgY0LPVmPFwuq83hsb2LRQgHUMrND_BuZLWx_ysWutGTeZ9PeWhJGhpp-ka8j50ZRt_zDO9NOhYFOa7LG7-chL1-6pS2cbgfg/w640-h400/2%20r%20rule.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Here's what it says: Institutions or princypal grounds of the lawes and statues of Englande, newly and very truelye corrected and amended, with many new and goodly additions, very profytable for all sorts of people to know, lately augmented and imprinted.</p><p>Compare the word "princypal" and "groundes" (second and third lines). See how the "r" in princypal looks like a "2," but the "r" in groundes looks like a more usual r? </p><p>How look at "corrected" in the fifth line. See how the first "r" looks like a 2 and the second one looks like a more usual "r"? </p><p>The "rule" for when one used a "2 r" was whenever it followed one of the letters in "whipboys." That's it. Some trivia I learned in a grad class or something, that has stuck with me for years because it's mildly suggestive. Or something.</p><p>What's your most trivial piece of knowledge?</p><p>ps. I've been sorting through photos and am almost ready to start posting catch up posts about my recent travels! If anyone has good ways to organize and work with photos on an iphone, please tell me!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-49569665339535564132023-10-03T20:51:00.005-07:002023-10-03T20:56:38.571-07:00Not Flying<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In <i>Life, the Universe, and Everything</i>, Douglas Adams
writes</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">There is an art, it says, or rather, a
knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground
and miss. … Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the
difficulties. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">It's that simple, yes, of course.
Today, I didn't miss. OOPS!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-collapsed-heading: yes; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">I was at my group tennis lesson, for beginners, though it's sort of
semi-advanced beginners, the same lesson I started taking last fall, and then
let lapse at some point. We were rallying doubles, three students and the
instructor, and the instructor hit a ball to my backhand, and I hustled after
it, hit it (supposedly good, they told me after), and then my second foot
didn't keep up and I fell in the way that sometimes happens.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">I wasn't hurt and got up pretty
quickly, and we went back to it.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And I've been thinking about that.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">First, it's good to fall sometimes
(until, I suppose, it isn't). It reminds me that falling is okay when it
happens for a reason, like running after a tennis ball.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Second, and more important:
I've been working semi-hard since I retired to get in better shape. I've
been slowly (emphasis on <i>slowly</i>) doing the couch to 5k program, riding
my bike some, and walking some. But it's been slow, because I'm rather
lazy, and if I can think of an excuse, I use it, and don't go. And I
basically took off an entire week to go camping last week, and then my run on
Sunday was miserable and slow.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">But today, I hustled. I
wouldn't have made that shot, or gotten anywhere close to hitting it last
fall. I'm getting just a little better at moving. (Between Covid
and being chair, I really didn't get much exercise for the past three years,
and it really tells at my age.)</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Before the camping trip (more on
that in the next post), I'd walked 10k one afternoon, and I've run/walked 2
miles. </span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(NOTE: the couch to 5k program
assumes people run about a 10-12 minute mile when they run, I think. So
that by the time you're done, and able to run a half an hour, you do, indeed,
cover 3.1 miles, or 5k. I do not run a 10-12 minute mile these
days. My best is closer to 18 minutes. Yes, normal, non-racewalking
people walk faster than I run. I've always been a slow runner. When
I was in first grade, I was so slow at the 50 yard "dash" that the
teacher thought her stop watch had a problem and made me and my friend S run it
again. We were both just that slow.)</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Yesterday I walked 3.6 miles, so
we'll see about tomorrow.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> I think I am slowly getting
in better shape, and hopefully by the time I go to Barcelona, I'll be able to
walk 10 or so miles a day or whatever.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></b></p>
Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-69106466372164998652023-09-22T09:30:00.001-07:002023-09-22T09:30:18.904-07:00Packing<p>I'm getting ready to head north to International Falls tomorrow. So I should be packed. I'm not. Most of my camping stuff is on the floor of the living room, but I really have to dig in and get packing.</p><p>This is not unusual for me. When I was getting ready to leave home for the Peace Corps, my Mom was super frustrated at my not packing weeks ahead. So I let her pack my stuff, and she packed, unpacked, repacked, and by the time she was done, my stuff was beautifully packed, and she was far less frustrated. And I didn't have to pack.</p><p>But today I have to pack. Really.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-22554690759690018412023-09-16T14:52:00.010-07:002023-09-16T14:53:47.567-07:00Practice Run<p>I don't camp nearly often enough. Or something.</p><p>When <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2023/09/next-adventure.html">I talked to the guide about camping at Voyageurs</a>, I asked about temperatures, and he said I could expect 40 F or so at night, and 60s during the day. 60s during the day is nice enough. But 40 at night can be a bit chilly.</p><p>So I started trying out my sleeping bag, well, one of my sleeping bags, which is down and rated to 45. It's super cozy and comfortable, and was quite nice down to 60 as it was in my room with the window open and fan on. But the other night, it was supposed to get down to 40, so I decided to practice.</p><p>I went to dinner with friends, so it was a bit dark as I started to put up the tent, which was fine, since I'd put it up once before. (This is a newish backpacking tent.)</p><p>Degression: whoever is designing tents these days deserves kudus. They're so much easier than before. This tent is even easier than my car camping tent, which has cloth tube-like things to put the aluminum "poles" through (the "poles" break down into foot or 18 inch pieces that fit together like magic). This tent has hooks that fit over the "poles" so they're even easier. And the poles fit into the tent bottom so that it's not a struggle to get them bent up at all. (My old one is a bit more of a struggle, though I've gotten pretty good at it with practice.) And the rain fly fits more closely to the tent than with the old one, which could be good or bad: less air flow which can be good or bad, depending.)</p><p>End digression: I put up the tent, and took extra clothes for over my base-layer, and an extra blanket. And in the night, I woke up cold enough to pull over the extra blanket, but not cold enough to want more clothes. So I think I'll be okay down to below 40, if I take the extra clothes just in case.</p><p>I feel better having checked it out, and slept outside again the next night, which was a bit warmer, and things in the tent were great.</p><p>A few years ago, I bought an earlier version of this <a href="https://www.rei.com/product/227375/mpowerd-luci-inflatable-solar-lantern-outdoor-20?sku=2273750001&store=&CAWELAID=120217890016506570&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=112506293931&CATCI=pla-939476239095&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7C21700000001700551_2273750001%7C92700056458185276%7CNB%7C71700000066691904&gclid=CjwKCAjwpJWoBhA8EiwAHZFzfuXOjge8s_NzYxELvuqDyjdKhyJkjmf7b3M7WY1IohsTw2-aPhdNexoCXQ4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds">little solar lantern</a>, two of them, and they're just so helpful in all sorts of ways! Worth the weight!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-61114873115069671072023-09-10T07:32:00.004-07:002023-09-10T08:00:34.147-07:00Next Adventure<p> For a few years now, I've been looking at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/voya/index.htm">Voyageurs National Park</a> and thinking I'd like to visit. But Voyageurs is sort of unique, different from most National Parks. Most parks, at least the ones I know more, you can drive in and there are camping spots, maybe a lodge, so you can car camp or even, if you're a backpacker, park at a trailhead and hike into the backcountry to camp and hike more.</p><p>But Voyageurs is pretty much set around a couple of lakes and mostly, you need a boat to get to the "frontcountry" spots (the sort of spots one might normally drive to and car camp), or a boat to get to a trailhead to hike to backcountry spots. There are a couple backountry spots that you can park at a trailhead and hike to, and I considered those.</p><p>Digression: I remember being in the backseat when my family was on a trip, I think along Highway 1 in California, probably south of San Francisco, and seeing a biker with a backpack and panniers, and thinking what a cool, amazing person that biker must be, and wishing I could do that sort of thing. But my family didn't do much like that. I biked in the way kids bike, all over my neighborhood for hours on end. We car camped but only as a way of going waterskiing at Berryessa or Trinity. </p><p>I remember us once, probably when we rented a houseboat on Shasta, taking a short ranger hike. But that's the only hike I remember taking with my family. </p><p>In fact, when I went with my Mom on a trip to The Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion (p<a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2012/07/visiting-canyons-pt-1.html">art 1</a>, <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2012/07/visiting-canyons-pt-2.html">part 2</a>, <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2012/07/visiting-canyons-pt-3_24.html">part 3</a>) and my Mom mentioning that she didn't realize people actually wanted to hike. She was 81 at the time, and we went on short walks in the flatest areas we could. (I really like that I can look back at trips with blogger!)</p><p>End Digression</p><p><br /></p><p>The point of that was that as an adult, and especially now as a retired adult, I can be my version of that biker if I want to.</p><p>So, anyway, I've been really hesistant to make plans to go to Voyageurs. I don't think my kayak can fit my camping stuff and don't feel confident that I could paddle however far I'd need to to get to a camping spot. I kept telling myself that I should make some calls to the guide companies the park lists, and to the park, and figure out how things work. On Friday, I finally did it! And the upshot is that I've made arrangements with a guide's taxi service to get a ride to and from a campsite and a tour of Rainy Lake, and have reserved a recommended camp site (the guide was super helpful: this site looks North across the lake, and should have a great view IF the Northern Lights are visible, and great views of dawn and dusk.)</p><p>I'm a little anxious because I'll really be alone out there, but I'm also excited for a totally new challenge.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-508743535139280802023-09-01T19:05:00.003-07:002023-09-01T19:05:58.908-07:00Dreaming<p> Last night, I had my third academic anxiety dream in recent weeks. They've all been basically the same: I'm trying to figure out my schedule or where my class meets, or something similar, and I can't get the scheduling records system that shows such things to work. So in a way, it's a technology/computer anxiety dream, more than an academic one, but it doesn't feel that way.</p><p>Today, I tried and was able to get the scheduling/records system to work, so maybe that will solve that dream?<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-57256849659060660812023-08-28T17:25:00.004-07:002023-08-28T17:25:51.035-07:00Tagging Monarchs<p> Last weekend, I went to a state conservation education program on Monarch butterflies. We learned about butterfly biology and migration, and learned about the current generation of "super generation" monarchs, the butterflies that will make the massive migration south to Mexico (from the upper midwest).</p><p>We also learned about infections with something called "OE" (read more at <a href="https://monarchwatch.org/">Monarch Watch</a>).</p><p>I had thought that Monarchs eat exclusively milkweed, but that's wrong. They only lay eggs and have larva succeed on milkweed, but once they're adults, they eat all sorts of flower nectar.</p><p>Finally, we got to participate in a monarch tagging project. Here I am, squeezing a tag gently into place on a monarch wing before turning it loose again.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0zyXFfRs-fHZjiqsplxE69eOR91VbAwmhx2gdFg3WnVvMSkIYsKYEONNsgxBy35zTrRej-mqWLsGvXc3oi3-dvWzvAXXM9pMboxxAiG35Nb2uRWjH-q9oBubeuDdhWIv4bMLZba5GcRi7uequzgMV4mpI0w5wjRmZhzzzyapChqSAZJ06GwGKQ/s4032/Monarch.docx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0zyXFfRs-fHZjiqsplxE69eOR91VbAwmhx2gdFg3WnVvMSkIYsKYEONNsgxBy35zTrRej-mqWLsGvXc3oi3-dvWzvAXXM9pMboxxAiG35Nb2uRWjH-q9oBubeuDdhWIv4bMLZba5GcRi7uequzgMV4mpI0w5wjRmZhzzzyapChqSAZJ06GwGKQ/s320/Monarch.docx.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>The tags are marked pieces of plastic (I think) with specific numbers and adhesive on one side. You record the number, then press them into place. (Check Monarch Watch for more info, linked above.)</p><p>Anyway, it was a superb program, very interesting and a lot of fun. The other people involved were mostly seniors, like me, with a few teens. <br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-49371628679516097552023-08-16T12:32:00.008-07:002023-08-16T12:35:23.877-07:00Progress<p> I finished painting the bench (see<a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2023/07/bench-is-back.html"> this one</a> and also <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2016/07/projects.html">this other one </a>for previous bench adventures), and with help from a visiting grad school friend, reconstructed it and moved it back to my little porch:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiYfDRXP-aQGidjb5u8ElCnCG0aVUI76k8WhFpVKLMTIso_2_Cummqp7znWQJWdJYQLbAsNjvm943SvZLpEXAAUBdLsqo9UXjpeczqJT6DAOx-Y7pZhAFRkh_rUKq-JGiOqmEivh2Y22xvx-DUXLHDe4rEwgqdnsiHnyLGXuPWEiBiZ9TTIFTHA/s4032/Bench%20painted%20blur.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiYfDRXP-aQGidjb5u8ElCnCG0aVUI76k8WhFpVKLMTIso_2_Cummqp7znWQJWdJYQLbAsNjvm943SvZLpEXAAUBdLsqo9UXjpeczqJT6DAOx-Y7pZhAFRkh_rUKq-JGiOqmEivh2Y22xvx-DUXLHDe4rEwgqdnsiHnyLGXuPWEiBiZ9TTIFTHA/s320/Bench%20painted%20blur.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It's bright and cheerful there.</p><p>***</p><p>In bigger news, I've made reservations for my next couple of big adventures.</p><p>First, I've bought tickets and made arrangements (except for the rental car) to go to my Peace Corps group reunion and also to visit a friend and a second cousin and her Mom (my first cousin once removed) on the way back. So that's pretty exciting.</p><p>Second, and this is so big it's almost scary: I've made reservations for a trip to Europe and bought tickets.</p><p>The plan: fly to Amsterdam and stay there a few days, then go to Barcelona and stay at an air bnb. Then go to Berlin and stay at an air bnb. Then back to Amsterdam for a few days, and fly out.</p><p>Exciting and terrifying.</p><p>***</p><p>I've also been working on getting into better shape. My garmin tells me I have the fitness level of a 79 year old, and that's bad. So I'm trying to run a bit (couch to five K), bike a bit, and walk a bit.</p><p>I have until mid October to be in shape for, say, a 5 mile hike with my RPCV friends. And then until early next year to be able to wander all day in Amsterdam or wherever.</p><p>I rode 18 miles on my bike on a very easy trail at 13.5 mph average yesterday. And the day before I walked in a local park (so paved, but up and down) for 4 miles.</p><p>More to come...<br /></p><br />Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-53719013752535712212023-07-24T20:57:00.003-07:002023-07-25T07:08:55.086-07:00On Watching Yellowstone<p>I'm late to the game, of course, but when I subscribed to the streaming service to watch the Tour de France, I also gained access to <i>Yellowstone</i> streaming. So I watched.</p><p>Most things have been said: it's a beautifully filmed show with good acting, good writing, and a very western soap opera take on the world. It's also super violent.</p><p>I vaguely remember hearing at some point that there were more people "killed" in Hollywood westerns than lived in the "old west." I don't know if that's right. But a lot of characters were killed in Hollywood westerns, for sure.</p><p>Or, to make another comparison, I've read that, according to Wikipedia, " if Cabot Cove existed in real life, it would top the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation" title="Federal Bureau of Investigation">FBI</a>'s
national crime statistics in numerous categories, with some analysis
suggesting that the homicide rate in Cabot Cove exceeds even that of the
real-life <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_homicide_rate" title="List of cities by homicide rate">murder capital of the world</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder,_She_Wrote#cite_note-13">[13]</a>" (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder,_She_Wrote">Source</a>)</sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">According to Wikipedia's page on firearm deaths (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_death_rates_in_the_United_States_by_state">source)</a>, in 2018, there were 209 firearm deaths in Montana, and 27 of those were murders. The others? either suicides, or deaths that weren't considered murders (police shootings, justified shootings?).</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm">According to the CDC</a>, in 2018, there were 265 suicides in Montana. </span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm suggesting that <i>Yellowstone</i> probably makes some people believe there's a lot more gun violence and murders in Montana than there really is.</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">The show really normalizes violence, with the bunkhouse men regularly killing other workers by taking them to the "train station," a remote gully off the side of some road, where they shoot the individual men and then push the bodies and gear into the ravine, with John Dutton's character explaining at one point that the area is basically extra-judicial because it's in a county with no human population and no one will ever find the bodies.<br /></span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">Some important real estate mogul is killed, and the murder seems to go unnoticed by the world.</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">That doesn't generally happen, of course. Moguls who die get noticed.</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">The show does make a quick nod toward the real violence towards Native American women (see Wikipedia page on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDress_Project">the REDress Project</a>), violence that gets a lot less attention than murdered real estate moguls. But that nod passes pretty quickly, and we're back to white men (mostly) shooting each other up.</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">It frustrates me when violence on TV is so normalized, and police are shown as always right, etc, but the violence of <i>Yellowstone</i> is even worse, somehow, because it makes it seem like of course, everyone who gets pissed off at someone just hauls off and punches them, or shoots them. </span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">(Don't get me started on the laughable fisticuffs: I gather most real life fistfights end fast with broken hand bones or a broken jaw.) </span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">Added later: The most creative death is Rip's murder of a neighboring angler (who is trying to get hold of some of the Duttons' land, as is just about everyone in the show). The angler is fly fishing, and Rip walks up to him holding a mid-sized cooler with a handle on top (a sort of extra big lunch box cooler), asking the angler if it's his, and when he gets close, Rip quickly opens it, and throws a rattlesnake at the guy's face. It bites him, and the guy staggers out of the water, finally falling on his back. Rip steps his boot on his chest, says something about dying soon, and the snake glides off.</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;">But even here: humans don't tend to lead with our faces. We're more likely to get snake bites on feet/lower leg or hands. So any coroner worth their salt would be suspicious. Plus, you can't step on someone's chest out in the country, having gotten your feet wet in a little river, without leaving a footprint of dirt/mud etc. And pretty much anyone seeing a footprint on a dead person's chest would think that it's not there by accident. (Maybe it's supposed to take a couple of days to find the body and rain would wash it off?)</span></sup></p><p><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></sup></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-91367618380209442022023-07-22T18:57:00.002-07:002023-07-22T18:57:08.638-07:00Bench is Back<p> In 2018, I did <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2016/07/projects.html">this project</a> to make my wood bench look better. I started with this:</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqysODCcsP5UIWfxjQ3V5aZLPzoQQQdaJemmx09xudjaneOfJubI8HswQh3X3HBl67iVvIQrKfa98uZ-v5WTCfajMNfUuv9mrNu1nl5vdGgb9OSS7NzddC-e4RvQXrPGTMXvWF4nEPWo9OgmaHlX6Trwj3dUJ8LNhGKe_rLPXbIOxlOiASAs4FA/s400/Bench%20old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqysODCcsP5UIWfxjQ3V5aZLPzoQQQdaJemmx09xudjaneOfJubI8HswQh3X3HBl67iVvIQrKfa98uZ-v5WTCfajMNfUuv9mrNu1nl5vdGgb9OSS7NzddC-e4RvQXrPGTMXvWF4nEPWo9OgmaHlX6Trwj3dUJ8LNhGKe_rLPXbIOxlOiASAs4FA/s320/Bench%20old.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I sanded and primed and painted and got this: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN98sfEc_bofyTC61mkdLqFZB8tP5Spv15GROEBZjivA_IX-Zlv11gYQWHikdvJVvefhjVIizTsh3O6PDpGlN608tocgI2GOUVSP9qIHVvTAlQFkDSiOFDtZQCztSAdtSYubBNStDepEWpoEMUpjy0F2REqtGovKwn_yIwuNNBhDMqNts6vsoDQ/s400/Bench%20yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN98sfEc_bofyTC61mkdLqFZB8tP5Spv15GROEBZjivA_IX-Zlv11gYQWHikdvJVvefhjVIizTsh3O6PDpGlN608tocgI2GOUVSP9qIHVvTAlQFkDSiOFDtZQCztSAdtSYubBNStDepEWpoEMUpjy0F2REqtGovKwn_yIwuNNBhDMqNts6vsoDQ/s320/Bench%20yellow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />It looked pretty good for a while, but about two years ago, things started peeling, and now it's pretty awful. So I've taken it apart and plan to sand tomorrow, and then repaint. The question is, what color? Should I go back to yellow? (Nice and bright at least!) Or something different? Blue? Green?<p></p><p>Thoughts?<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-23282322077218268402023-07-18T07:57:00.004-07:002023-07-18T07:57:53.099-07:00New Developments at the BardiacShack (tm)<p>In April or so, a friend of mine told me about an acquaintance who's going through a painful divorce and was looking for a place to stay for a couple of months during the summer. Without a great deal of thought, I said it might work at the BardiacShack. (The house is mostly on an upper level, with a walk out, well-finished basement with the laundry, a den sort of room, two bedrooms, and a full bathroom. So someone can be downstairs and have a fair bit of privacy while I'm upstairs.) A day or so later, I got a call, and we made arrangements for A to come stay for a couple of months.</p><p>It worked pretty well. A's a thoughtful adult, pretty quiet, if a bit quirky. And A cooks sometimes, and that was nice. </p><p>The only wrinkle was that A began seeing B, and B is more than a bit quirky, and spent a lot of time here. B is also quite nice, and friendly, and also likes to cook a lot. But one of B's quirks is that their house is lived in with several adult and near adult kids and friends, and so a bit messy, messy enough that B never wanted A to see the mess.</p><p>Anyway, it was a little weird, but Sunday A and B loaded A's car and went off so that B can meet A's parents.</p><p>And now the BardiacShack is mine, and I'm even more of a "confirmed old bachelor," so to speak.</p><p>So that's one biggish thing.</p><p>The other is that a couple weeks ago a solar company contacted me, and it put the spark in me to look at other companies, too, so I've just signed a contract to get solar panels on a south facing roof. It looks like seven or eight panels will fit there, and that would be about 120% of my electric energy, needs, so I could run air conditioning more freely if I wanted, and so on. I talked to my financial guy, and he says the investment makes sense, even if I only stay in the house another five years, because it also adds to the resale value of the house. And there's a tax credit, so that's also nice.</p><p>And finally, my financial guy gave my basic travel plans for next year a big thumbs up, and figured out where the money should come from (tax implications and such), and so, within a few days, I'll start planning that big adventure!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-10425390409430823392023-07-12T18:44:00.004-07:002023-07-12T18:44:22.239-07:00And Yet Another Play, Even Better!<p>Today I went to the <a href="https://www.grsf.org/">Great River Shakespeare Festival</a> production of <i>The Winter's Tale</i>, and it was stellar. I so enjoyed it! Paulina was amazing, just superb.</p><p>They did some really interesting staging. For example, in the trial scene when Hermione dies, they covered her with a light white cloth on a big chest, the sort of chest you might imagine being used on a cruise in the 1890s. (Chests and such were the main stage furniture.) The scene with Antigonus and the baby followed, and when he talked about her dream, the actor stood up, covered with the white cloth (through which she could be semi-seen), and said the lines instead of Antigonus saying them. They did that sort of thing several times, and it was effective.</p><p>The other thing: it really stood out to me after seeing <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i> the other day, how well I could hear and understand everything these actors said, and how deep their range of emotional representation was. They could represent anger without yelling, and then when they raised their voice, it was effective at showing greater anger.</p><p>So, if you're in the Winona area, be sure to see <i>The Winter's Tale</i> before it closes!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-84741404037463285662023-07-10T08:57:00.001-07:002023-07-10T08:57:26.499-07:00And Another Play!<p>Yesterday, I went to the brand new <a href="https://www.pablocenter.org/wishakespearefest/">Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival</a>'s production of <i>As You Like It</i>, in Eau Claire, at the newish Pablo Center. The Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival was announced a couple of years ago, but the opening was postponed, and this is the first year. It's also had some paring, so, for example, a student production of <i>The Tempest</i> was on the books, but isn't happening this year.</p><p>Eau Claire's got a lively amateur theater community, and a number of locals were in this production. The rest of the cast looked to be (from the intro paragraphs), college students and recent graduates. </p><p>The Pablo Center is a beautiful venue, right at the confluence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire rivers; they've put together what they say is a replica of the Globe, but it's less a replica of the Globe than maybe something such as Blackfriars. As you can see from the picture at the link, and from the image below:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqfUIzeJ-LPo8-gxMsegHPsEYIPyb7gK-FZsEy7EP-SyyaCm0eLdWjnUSrZYs7YK_Dzy-sBcCLsNFsYklo3pfzYWKIegQVWkVYKNjuDzGX_UmTTVBMtOzxjXvgAAloXH7pqg0CtCMuj6aNp4cZmWzAa4LAZ5Vh1TDM0HUZqS9671fnsuSFMcwnw/s1265/Pablo%20Wisc%20Shakespeare%20June%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="1227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqfUIzeJ-LPo8-gxMsegHPsEYIPyb7gK-FZsEy7EP-SyyaCm0eLdWjnUSrZYs7YK_Dzy-sBcCLsNFsYklo3pfzYWKIegQVWkVYKNjuDzGX_UmTTVBMtOzxjXvgAAloXH7pqg0CtCMuj6aNp4cZmWzAa4LAZ5Vh1TDM0HUZqS9671fnsuSFMcwnw/s320/Pablo%20Wisc%20Shakespeare%20June%202023.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>the seating doesn't take advantage of a thrust stage, nor does it have standing room. It's basically a pseudo Tudo backdrop to a semi-proscenium arch stage. The lighting reflects that sensibility, so the audience's attention of fully on the stage, and there's little to no interaction between actors and audience through most of the performance. (The exception is when the court folks join the first row of the audience to watch the guildsmen's performance.)<br /><p>The performance was basically a strong student performance, a bit hard to hear clearly (I wasn't the only one who found this), but pretty solid. Bottom was the stand out performer, and did a really lovely job. The guildsmen's performance was especially fun, with a really creative wall part that I enjoyed a lot.<br /></p><p>It's hard for me to think that another Shakespeare focused theater "festival" is going to be able to compete against the Guthrie in the twin cities, American Player's Theater in Spring Green, and the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona. Ticket prices are pretty high (as they almost always are at the Pablo) for what's basically a student production, especially compared to what's available in the other venues which are fully professional productions. On the other hand, it's always good to see new theater opportunities trying to make a go of things!</p><p>There was a fun and interesting talk after by a local Shakespearean, which I enjoyed a lot!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-1002926207484586962023-07-08T13:04:00.003-07:002023-07-08T13:04:35.558-07:00I went to a play!<p>Ahhh, retirement! I went to <i>As You Like It</i> at the <a href="https://www.grsf.org/">Great River Shakespeare Festiva</a>l in Winona, MN. I haven't been to the GRSF for <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-hate-this-play.html">a long time, I guess, or at least hadn't blogged about it</a>. Then I saw <i>Taming</i>, and while I liked the production well enough, I guess, it reinforced my hatred of the play.</p><p>On the other hand, their production of AYLI was a delight! Very fun romp of a production, with some wonderfully creative moments. For example, they made a lot more of the wrestling scene (which was more mixed martial arts with kicks and punches) than usual, and every so often would go into super slow motion. One of those times, Orlando leaned back in the way that Keanu Reeves did in <i>The Matrix</i>, except instead of some fancy special effects, they had another actor back to back with him which was both effective and added humor.</p><p>And every time two characters "fell in love" (not necessarily at first site, since it happened to Corin and Sylvia after she was stuck with him), everything would come to a stop, special lights and music would hit for a moment, and <i>Voila</i>, LOVE!</p><p>Best of all, the three main characters, Rosalind, Celia, and Orlando, were played by stellar actors, who were not only individually good, but who had really beautiful chemistry on stage together. Celia and Rosalind just seemed to have such joy in each other; when they teased, it was fun.</p><p>If you're in the area, I highly recommend <i>AYLI</i>. They're also doing <i>The Winter's Tale</i> and another play I don't know (<i>Imbroglio</i>). I'm hoping to go to another of their plays before the season ends.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-69893721289630086612023-07-03T09:22:00.000-07:002023-07-03T09:22:00.393-07:00Big Basin: After the Fire<p> When I was in CA recently, I visited one of my favorite places, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Basin_Redwoods_State_Park">Big Basin State Park</a>. I haven't been there since <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2018/08/week-1466-year-begins-again.html">some cousins and I went camping there</a> (in July 2018, when I was on sabbatical). (It looks like I never posted pictures, though, oh well.)</p><p>In August 2020, the park burned in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CZU_Lightning_Complex_fires">huge fire</a> (also see the wikipedia post above). I talked to the rangers last week (well, not real rangers, they told me, but the two women who were in charge of the parking area), and they said 98% of the park was affected by the fire, but 97% of the redwoods survived. </p><p>I was expecting to see just charred remains, which is what I've seen in previous visits to burned areas, but was pleasantly surprised to see that things were looking pretty good.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPgFzFjxlA1Eje56wjFeAaABKdw3_rmNBs-PEOsoq_bz8bKzJj1YUMzzxfHNQXlCdyGA2s8xAX9zJAPPQInOthvfvaj3CEkjQEoqq5bhtt3i8tVbkgF-rig9TJ6ilfbeNWr3T9li7R--ct7n05RE6OiYSQMFZeqB2b6YYwnwodTD7rJb7nqrI7A/s4032/Big%20Basin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPgFzFjxlA1Eje56wjFeAaABKdw3_rmNBs-PEOsoq_bz8bKzJj1YUMzzxfHNQXlCdyGA2s8xAX9zJAPPQInOthvfvaj3CEkjQEoqq5bhtt3i8tVbkgF-rig9TJ6ilfbeNWr3T9li7R--ct7n05RE6OiYSQMFZeqB2b6YYwnwodTD7rJb7nqrI7A/s320/Big%20Basin1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOlCh3OkjwSGl1RwGijV4NisSaSghIV5d37FCsnOwDpclih_fkreUwTY7RhD9biiYX-IHKuczXoGV1b5KKUX3AxhzQVZEA7i-LN0zVNyebvtKy66bcOWdZwIagQTWbGw4Taagr9Vj_6VSn5UXPy4b7xgLHi1O142aMiQKYuOFyFqceGcTL5hlKA/s4032/Big%20Basin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOlCh3OkjwSGl1RwGijV4NisSaSghIV5d37FCsnOwDpclih_fkreUwTY7RhD9biiYX-IHKuczXoGV1b5KKUX3AxhzQVZEA7i-LN0zVNyebvtKy66bcOWdZwIagQTWbGw4Taagr9Vj_6VSn5UXPy4b7xgLHi1O142aMiQKYuOFyFqceGcTL5hlKA/s320/Big%20Basin2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Here's a picture of the same tree, first higher, showing the growth up there, and then lower, showing that the base of the tree is damaged. The not really rangers told me that redwoods to fine if the interior is burnt some, so long as the outer part lives. And that's how it looked. There were a LOT of partly burnt trees with green way up, and a bunch of little trees growing out of the root area. The little trees looked bigger than I'd think two years or even three would grow, so I don't know if they just survived, or if they grow super fast when they're released by the extra light post fire or whatever.</p><p>At any rate, I was really happy to get a chance to visit and take a short walk, hug a tree, and smell the redwoods.</p><p>The not really rangers told me that there's no back country camping yet because all the buildings and such (like latrines) were destroyed, but that there's hope to rebuild a new visitor center and new camping infrastructure in the next couple of years. If so, I hope I can go camping there again someday.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-24046338929324141362023-06-30T19:40:00.000-07:002023-06-30T19:40:06.607-07:00Seen on the Street<p> I was in the SF Bay Area last week, and saw this: <br /></p><p> <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0Ut0INj1G_WlWTjpMg8PtR5mnKnSP2t_gjTkti7pwMw8iOvnUeyIttyq6cTcsQBb6DLLX5M2Wkcg7EyfA6xwmYHKkzy5fT7TPDtQNoTXX2_On6dZizqsee-Zl4lg_iyBvLhSc-1_Lwz-1H21qTYVT92WP1KTp--5sPHZeI83z-moxOW3i9UJqA/s1170/teslatruck3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1170" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0Ut0INj1G_WlWTjpMg8PtR5mnKnSP2t_gjTkti7pwMw8iOvnUeyIttyq6cTcsQBb6DLLX5M2Wkcg7EyfA6xwmYHKkzy5fT7TPDtQNoTXX2_On6dZizqsee-Zl4lg_iyBvLhSc-1_Lwz-1H21qTYVT92WP1KTp--5sPHZeI83z-moxOW3i9UJqA/w400-h234/teslatruck3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Several friends quickly identified it as a new <a href="https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck">Tesla truck</a>. And one of my cousins said that it looked like they had done the camouflage wrap to make it harder to tell what's up with the car. Except, since anyone who's looked has seen pictures of the new truck (see link above), what's the secrecy for?<p></p><p>I'm obviously not the intended buyer for this sort of truck, and it's a good thing, too, because it really doesn't appeal to me. The back seat, for one, looks useless. There's a pretty steep dive over the back seat that makes it look like you'd have to be short to sit there, and the window's miserably small to boot. (I spent a lot of time as a kid in the backseat of cars, and a tiny window is ucky.</p><p>Anyway, it was fun to see something so new; not something I'm likely to see up in the Northwoods for a good while, I bet.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-80379059199357575472023-06-29T10:25:00.000-07:002023-06-29T10:25:05.649-07:00Retired: A New World to Explore<p> It's been a while. Let's just say that there's so much unbloggable stuff for a chair, and anything that's bloggable is boring. I don't think anyone wants to read about the hassles of trying to figure out which funding streams can be used for supplies, which for travel, which for stipends or other payments to people. But now, all that's somone else's worry. </p><p>I've been retired just over a month now, and I'd like to say I'm deliriously happy. I'm pretty close, anyway.</p><p>It's long seemed to me that the most interesting blogs are written when people are doing new-to-them stuff: new PhD programs, new faculty positions, and so on, So maybe this blog will be interesting in my adjustment to retirement. At any rate, for a long time, the blog's been a way or recording memories in a semi-public way, and it can certainly have that function for now.</p><p>I'm not going to do some massive catch up post; I think I'll just catch things up bit by bit. For now, I just finished Alison Bechdel's new book, <i>The Secret to Superhuman Strength</i>, and I'm disappointed to say it didn't do much for me. I really used to love Bechdel's <i>Dykes to Watch Out For</i>. A friend gave me a collected volume, probably one of her first ones, and then I got some others, and really enjoyed them. They spoke to me.</p><p>But <i>Secret</i> didn't. I think part of it is a graphic novel issue. There's so much in the pictures that they slow my reading down a lot, and I just don't get immersed the way I do with regular prose writing. I haven't read tons of graphic novels, just this and <i>Persepolis</i>, and <i>Maus</i>, so I guess mostly memoir, and memoir isn't a genre I really love a lot anyway. At any rate, with the ones I've now read, it seems like you get a scanty sense of the narrator, and no sense of depth in other characters. Maybe Bechdel was trying to respect her partners' privacy by not giving a strong sense of their lives, their individuality, but you don't get much. And what you get, your told: so and so is strikingly beautiful or something, rather than being shown what makes them beautiful.</p><p>Bechdel's art is, as always, crisp and readable. I could look at her drawings a lot more and be quite happy. I liked the connections with the Romantics gang (Wordsworth, etc) and Beats (Kerouac), but Bechdel doesn't really get at the problematics of either movement in a deep way, nor think about how problematic her identifications with those folks are, and how they might add to her unhappiness.<br /></p><p>Finally: the therapy thing. As I understand it, the point of therapy is to help you accept and deal with things to be as reasonably happy as you can so that you don't harm others nor yourself unnecessarily. Bechdel's narrator has been in therapy for a long while, but it doesn't seem to be working, really. But it never seems to work, does it? I never seem to meet people who say, "yes, therapy helped a lot and now I can deal with things reasonably well."</p><p>I read <i>Secret</i> because some friends and I have sort of formed a book group and one of them really wanted to read it. For me, I'm finishing <i>Maus</i> next (it's taken forever) and then I'm thinking of rereading <i>Pearl</i>. But I'll need to find a newer edition than I have (mine is from maybe the 30s?) <br /></p><p><br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-63670102288947681322022-09-01T06:09:00.001-07:002022-09-01T06:09:07.167-07:00Major Tom to Ground Control...<p> Or lack thereof?</p><p>I'm usually moderately excited to be teaching new courses every fall, to be seeing students, and so on. Planning my courses is usually fairly pleasurable; it's like a fantasy: what can we do this semester? what can we learn?</p><p>This year feels different. I just don't want to prep. I've procrastinated about prepping my class way longer than I should. (There's still plenty of time; I'm about half done, and my first class isn't until Wednesday next.)</p><p>Every afternoon lately, as I walk across the big shot parking lot next to my building (the big shots all have numbered slots in this special lot, which is why I knew that certain officials were rarely on campus last year and such), I just feel like I want to cry. It's not quite at the point of actual tears, but close. Why?</p><p>I don't feel like crying when I get up in the morning, when I go to work, while I'm at work... it's walking across the lot leaving.</p><p>***</p><p>Our administrators are so very out of touch with the teaching side of thing, and let's be real, the teaching side of things is where the revenue happens, so even if you don't give a [expletive deleted] about educating students, it's still [expletive deleted] important. Here's an example, only the latest:</p><p>Chairs are on contract for various percentages most of the summer. Then in early August, there's a two week lapse. (I don't know why, but it's there.) And then two weeks before classes start, new contracts start (so we can do prep and have endless meetings).</p><p>Some administrator has decided that all chairs and above need "media training" so that we can talk to the press. (Yeah, imagine how well that goes over in the Journalism department...) One day into our "no contract" period, we all got this doodlepoll thing insisting that we'd been assigned to a three hour media training and should choose a time, yes, during the two weeks we weren't under contract. They had all summer, and they just then urgently need us to do that? I call BS. And so did lots of other people.</p><p>I guess they were talked out of insisting on that meeting and told to wait until we're back under contract. At which point, if they had good sense, they'd look at the schedule for the two weeks before classes start, find the times with fewest meetings, and send out a doodlepoll for a couple times before classes start.</p><p>Alas, no, they sent out a doodlepoll yesterday, insisting that we all pick a three hour timeslot during the second week of classes. I'm guessing the deans and such are pretty much booked most days so there's no free three hour slots. I have a couple, but two of the choices happen while I'm teaching, so that's a no.</p><p>***</p><p>On the other hand, here's hope: we got a notification that there are practice fire drills coming up. We have these every semester, and let's face it, practicing evacuating a building is important. Mostly, the times are pre-announced and set up so that they hit the last 15 minutes of an hour, cutting 5 minutes of class time. Except that most classes at 2 pm on MW don't also run Fridays, but run an hour and a half, because few students want to take class until 3pm on Friday. The chosen time was 2:45, which is right in the middle of the 2-3:15 class time.</p><p>So, I wrote a short, polite note explaining that to the person who'd notified us, and got a polite note back saying they'd check into it, and then, miracle! a note thanking me and saying they'd changed the time, and then a note to all of us indicating that the schedule had changed slightly. So there's someone over there who's actually willing to think about teaching as important!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-79930833446649608162022-08-23T20:22:00.002-07:002022-08-23T20:22:49.834-07:00Retirement Meeting<p>I had a meeting with one of our HR folks about retirement stuff, making sure I understand what I need to understand, when to do things, and so on. It was really good.</p><p></p><p>I found out approximately what my state pension will pay every month, and even better, learned how the very generous state sick-leave policy works in retirement. Basically, if you're lucky enough not to need to take a lot of sick days, then the value of the unused sick days gets moved to pay for health insurance. It pays for the group insurance until you hit 65 and get Medicare, and after that pays for the Medicare B part, until it runs out. Mine will run out when I'm about 80, so that's pretty darned good.</p><p>Having read blogs for a longish time now, I have a feeling that the most interesting blogs are about someone's life in transition: grad school, new professor, new parent, and so on. So I'm sort of hoping I'll feel a bit revitalized her as I transition into retirement. <br /></p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-38848561626666948372022-08-22T13:07:00.004-07:002022-08-22T13:07:44.667-07:00Beginning Again, For the Last Time<p> We've come back "under contract" now, and so it's time to get ready for the new school year. We have two weeks til classes begin, so plenty of time. And not.</p><p>This is my last fall getting ready for classes. I thought I'd feel emotional, sad, teary, but not yet. I tend to be fairly emotional about some things like that, so I'm pretty sure it will hit at some point. But for now, it's not!</p><p>A couple of colleagues are asking for a special "take it easy on me" semester/year as far as service. On one level I'm sympathetic. On another level, I'm frustrated. We've lost several people to service in other areas, an interim chair of another department, an interim administrative post, and all of a sudden, we're really hurting for committee roles. And we need a senator.</p><p>Now to prepare for classes!<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-34620918330361995342022-08-07T09:50:00.001-07:002022-08-07T09:50:11.807-07:00Yes, Retiring!<p>Since a couple of people kindly asked, yes, indeed, I'm planning to retire during summer of 2023.</p><p>As to what I'll do when I retire? I learned when I had sabbatical that I'll never be bored, so there's that. </p><p>My local nature center has a bird banding program which I worked on during sabbatical. I'd like to become way more involved. I really liked the people, and the birds are endlessly fascinating. I'd like to bird more, and since spring and fall are the best birding times around here, I haven't been able to much for a couple of years.</p><p>Some depends on covid etc. In my dreams, I've always traveled a lot when I retire. Will covid mean that's not really possible?</p><p>My dream travel: get an air bnb or something for a month or two in different places: a month in Barcelona, a month in Porto, a month in someplace in Italy, someplace in southern Germany, and so forth. The idea would be to be away for two or three months, then come back and relax at home, then recharge, and off again.</p><p>Where's home? That's a great question. I really enjoy my house. You may remember when I posted about having my <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2017/06/emptying-bardiacshack.html" target="_blank">old rug taken out</a>, and then having <a href="http://bardiac.blogspot.com/2017/06/progress-floors-and-summer-projects.html" target="_blank">hardwood floors put in</a>. Then the hardwood floors being darker made the house feel dark and sort of cave-like, so I picked new colors and a friend <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2018/04/reconstituting.html" target="_blank">painted the interior</a> for me (for pay, of course). The thing is, every time I look at the yellow, I smile. It's just happy. The floors are beautiful, the house is very live-able, I love the colors. Yes, it's too big, and yes we have winter. But it's also fully paid off, so my expenses are real estate taxes, maintenance, and utilities. Less than you might think.</p><p>But then, maybe I want to move back to where I'm from? That's not clear at this point. It's way expensive there. But there's good weather year round, and family in the area, which I really enjoy.</p><p></p><p>We'll see.</p><p>If covid makes travel really untenable, then I may get a dog...<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-38858542135308855482022-08-02T10:11:00.002-07:002022-08-02T10:11:21.810-07:00Two Years In<p> I've been chair for two years now, and am looking into the final year before I retire. So this is a little weird. Everything for the last time, to some extent: my classes, the chairing work, all that.</p><p>And yet I still feel like a beginner in so many ways. All sorts of higher ed organizations have "becoming department chair" programs to help new chairs do a good job; I was signed up for one my first summer, but it was cancelled due to Covid. Last summer new chairs got to go to them, but I didn't, so now I'm still behind in some ways. </p><p>What I've learned by being chair.</p><p>1) No one ever asks to talk to me about anything good. If someone says "can I talk to you?" I brace myself, because there's no way it's ever good. It may not be horrible, but it's never good. No one says, "Can I talk to you?" and then reveals that their book just got published. That's a quick email, and congratulations. Or a chat in the hall and congratulations.</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">Recent "can I talk to you" issues: 1) I found a new job and won't be teaching in fall. 2) I'm pregnant. 3) I bought a house in a state far away and want to do all my work remotely. </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">None of these things is about me at all, but all will make life more complicated and difficult for me (but at least I don't have to become a parent, which I've never wanted to be). <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">2) Nothing is ever stable nor meant to be. There's always turn over, always stuff that breaks down and needs to be replaced, always some new task coming from higher up that will take time in meaningless but frustrating ways. There are two extreme ways to get around in trees. 1. Sloth: go slow and careful. 2. Orangutan: take a swing and hope for the best. I'm trying to be an Orang for most things. Because the tree I'm in may get chopped down at any moment and I'd better be a moving target.<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-79674258058225652822022-07-31T13:03:00.005-07:002022-07-31T13:03:57.479-07:00Update<p>It's been a while.</p><p>I sort of posted a <a href="https://bardiac.blogspot.com/2022/01/slogging-through-winter.html" target="_blank">what's up post in January</a>. My Mom spent the last of December and the first third of January in the hospital, and I extended my stay for almost two extra weeks. Evidently, getting someone into a skilled nursing facility ("snif") over the holidays is pretty impossible. But we finally got her transferred to her prefered place, a place she has life-care with. </p><p>For the first few weeks, we hoped she'd actively do physical therapy and be able to stand up, walk to the toilet, and back, which was the minimum to go back to her independent living place. She refused physical therapy, mostly, though, and that didn't happen. </p><p>My amazing brother and I started talking about moving her stuff out of her apartment in March, but we both work full time, and live a plane ride away, and so, we finally got that done this past month. (We--well, my Mom's accounts, managed by my brother--started paying double rent in April, I think, so that was ouchie.)</p><p>Between then and now, my brother has pretty much visited every second or third week, and I flew back at Spring break, in early June, and in late July. My brother--did I mention he's amazing--has done a lot of the heavy lifting in arranging for things to be taken to a consignment place, getting furniture to relatives who wanted it, and so on and on. </p><p>Our Mom's living the life no one really wants: sleeping mostly, unhappy, not really in pain but not always super comfortable, bedbound unless the staff gets her up (which they do).</p><p>Before my most recent visit, which was planned to coincide with my brother's visit so that we could do the final moving stuff, Mom had a thing and was hospitalized again, so my brother flew out a few days early, and I flew as planned. </p><p>My Mom had a tube through her nose down into her stomach to drain it to try to clear a blockage, and it looked uncomfortable. She didn't want it, but they put it in. And at some point, she pulled it out, so they put it in again, put her hands in mitten-things, and restrained them so she couldn't pull it out again.</p><p>Which is when I appeared. My brother and I had a meeting with her "team" who said that they could probably take the tube out, but then what should they do if she couldn't swallow (which, I guess, is a thing that sometimes happens to people who've had these tubes), because to feed her she'd need either to swallow herself, or a tube down her nose, or a tube surgically placed in her side, or IV, which has to be specially done for long term.</p><p>They'd asked her, and she didn't want surgery or tubes and wanted the tube removed and the mittens off. And my brother and I concured. (We're very lucky that we had these discussions a long time ago before they were too painful, and we're all on the same page.)</p><p>Anyway, they pulled the tube and we were allowed to give her ice chips for a while, and by the next morning she was willing to eat (if someone fed her), mostly soup and mac and cheese. (We knew her favorites from the previous hospital stay.)</p><p>And the next day, they'd detached the IV (but the vein was still accessed), but she was still in the mittens. So we talked to them, and said we were willing to take the risk of loss of access if they took out the IV, so that they could take off the mittens. So they did that, and we took off the mittens, and life got a bit better for my Mom.</p><p>And then we had the harder discussion: what to do if she got another blockage? Take her to the hospital, do another nose tube in hopes of resolving it. Or not. She shook her head vehemently: no hospital, no tube.</p><p>And we agreed.</p><p>So, that's that. For now things are stable, but they won't be forever. </p><p>She's back at her nursing facility, and unhappy, mostly bedbound and so on again.</p><p>Sometimes she's scared and upset, and I have to tell myself that it's the dementia (which is off and on, and more confusion than total memory loss, except for short term memory). It's horrid to talk to her when she's most scared/upset, and know that there's really nothing you can do to help. Even if I were there, it wouldn't really help.</p><p>She talks about being scared that she won't see me (or my brother, his kids, etc) before she dies. And at some point, that will inevitably be so. But I can't really say that.</p><p>That's been a big part of my life of late. <br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-6458330864866323382022-05-11T09:01:00.003-07:002022-05-11T09:01:15.195-07:00Assessment = Grade?<p> I was in one of those meetings with people where we were supposed to talk about assessment stuffs, and the question came up: Assume you have three possible outcomes for a specific assessment bit, which is being assessed based on a given assignment, say an essay.</p><p>exceeds expectations</p><p>meets expectations/</p><p>doesn't meet expectations.</p><p>One of the people in the room said, basically, that meeting expectations meant the assignment was an A.</p><p>I tend to think more, meets expectations demonstrates competency, which is a C to start, though a B definitely meets expectations, too, and maybe an A exceeds expectations?</p><p>How do you and your colleagues talk about these?<br /></p>Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com6