Thank you!

Thank you, Barbara Oakley, whoever and wherever you are. 

Today I received an unexpected package from Amazon.  Inside was a gift - a Doctor Who fleece throw - and the enclosed note said "A gift from Barbara Oakley."  The item wasn't on my wishlist and I don't know anyone named Barbara Oakley. 

So I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you, and this is the only way that I know how to do so.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Well, it's that time of year again.  The time when people show that they have no idea what the twelve days of Christmas are or when they happen.  The twelve days of Christmas are a season in the Christian church calendar, and they do not fall on the first twelve days of December.  Christmas day is the first day of Christmas.  The following eleven days, the days between Christmas day and the day of the Epiphany (January 6), are the other eleven days of Christmas.
In fact, there are several seasons within the Christian church calendar, complete with color coding.  We are currently in the season of Advent, which is colored purple or dark blue.  Other seasons include Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.

Thought of the Day

After the election on Tuesday, and the campaigns that preceded it, I would like to make a brief statement on political terminology. 

If you seek change - of any kind - you are not a conservative.  By definition, a conservative is someone who seeks to maintain the status quo. 

If you seek change to produce a future that is different, and in your mind better, than what has existed in the past, you are a liberal.

If you seek change to produce a future that is more like the past (because in your mind the past was better), or seek to reverse changes that have become well established, you are a reactionary.

For example, in the time of FDR, the New Deal was liberal, because it sought to produce positive change in society by trying something new.  However, today, seeking to maintain those programs is conservative, because they are well established programs.  Seeking to revoke those programs is reactionary, because it seeks to return to a way of life that existed prior to these programs being established.

Relaxing in the Sun

Yesterday, when I was outside hanging a quilt on the clothes line to photograph it, my cat Tiger decided to follow me out.  He was laying in the grass being so cute I had to take a picture of him.  I think cats are particularly cute when they lay on the tops of their heads like that.  Tiger has been sick lately with lung issues, so it was nice to see him looking so relaxed and comfortable.

What will become of Minecraft?

According to BBC News (and I'm sure many other sources) Microsoft has bought Mojang, the makers of Minecraft.  I find this information somewhat unsettling, especially since the article says that the three founding members will be leaving the company.  I hope this doesn't mean that we will now have to pay for new updates.  That is probably my biggest fear.  What direction will they take the game in?  And, I don't use mods (I'm a vanilla Minecraft girl) but what will it mean for all the people who make mods?  Will Microsoft get all proprietary on them?  Change can be a scary thing.

Thought on Doctor Who

I'm not sure what to think about the newest season of Doctor Who and the newest incarnation of said TARDIS driving Time Lord.  I'm just not finding Peter Capaldi quite believable as the Doctor.  I feel like he is just too confused to be the Doctor.  With the way that he keeps getting confused about things, and apparently thinking things to be their opposite (Clara is old, not wearing make-up when she is, that sort of thing) it makes him seem more like Strax than the Doctor.  It is fine for Strax to be that way, not so fine for the Doctor to be the way, in my opinion anyway.  I guess that is more the writing than Capaldi himself, but somehow he just doesn't seem to be selling it to me very well, either.

And also, I know that the Doctor doesn't know everything, but when it comes to history (past, present, and future), as a Time Lord, he is supposed to be "in the know" on most thing.  I found it odd that he did not know that Robin Hood was a real person.  At first I thought that his disbelief at there being a "real" Robin Hood was because the legend was actually built about the Doctor himself.  But that did not turn out to be the case.  It was just that the Doctor doesn't believe in heroes.  I wasn't real taken with that explanation, but at least I did find that episode amusing. 

And what was with last night's episode anyway?  Moffat takes an interesting idea - that there is really something under the bed - and then seems to leave it hanging.  The episode seemed to become more about foreshadowing Clara and Danny being together than about these being that have evolved to be the perfect hiders.  Was that really something alien or supernatural under the bed covers in Rupert/Danny's bedroom?  What did the Doctor see when he opened the door?  Are we going to find out?  And I wasn't especially taken with the scene of Clara talking to a scared little Doctor hiding in his bed in the barn either.  What exactly was that all about?  I feel like Moffat is trying to explore the darker side of the Doctor and look at some of his fears and weaknesses, but I just don't think he is doing a very good job of.

My Take on the HIMYM finale

I haven't read a lot of commentary on the How I Met Your Mother finale from Monday night, but I've a heard a little bit here and there.  A lot of people don't like that they killed off Mom and put Ted with Robin in the end.  I'm not really fond of the idea either, but that's not really my main complaint with the episode. 

To me, the problem was that it just wasn't funny.  HIMYM was a funny show.  The finale was sad, not funny.  There were so many comedic turns they could have taken to end the show on, but instead they go with the almost too obvious twist of putting Ted with Robin.  Yes, it makes sense, and, honestly, makes the majority of the series make more sense, but it makes the whole last season leading up to the finale make no sense at all.  Why spend this whole last season making us believe Barney has changed and Robin and Barney should be together, to then just have them get divorced?  Why make Tracy (Mom) be so perfect for Ted and then just kill her off?  And why have everyone's life be semi miserable after the wedding?  True, it may be more realistic to show that not everyone is happy in middle age, but since when was HIMYM based on realism? 

I'm all for twists and original endings, but for a comedy, the ending should be clever and, most of all, funny.  To me, this one just wasn't.  It was disappointing and sad. 

2013 Book List

Here is a list of the books I read in 2013:

Monday Mourning - Kathy Reichs
Cross Bones - Kathy Reichs
A Study in Scarlet - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sign of Four - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Heat Rises - Richard Castle
Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
To Kill a Mockingbird  - Harper Lee (reread)
Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut
To the Last Breath - Francis Slakey
Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
Frozen Heat - Richard Castle
The Walk - Lee Goldberg
Deadly Heat - Richard Castle
Bones to Ashes - Kathy Reichs
Devil Bones - Kathy Reichs
The Quilt - Kimberlyn Owens
The Quilter's Apprentice - Jennifer Chiaverini
The Christmas Quilt - Jennifer Chiaverini

Well, still no actual book reviews this year, but 20 books in a year is probably a record for me.  The fact that I didn't teach in the spring probably contributed to the overall total.  Again, most were library books or Kindle downloads - again some free and some paid for.  The Walk  and The Quilt were both free from the Kindle library.  Thank goodness I didn't actually pay for The Quilt because it was awful - almost painful to read, in fact.  One book was borrowed from a friend (Gone Girl), it was okay, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.  And only one book, To the Last Breath, was read in order to teach it.  And I will say, it was better than last year's Common Reading Initiative book (The Ghost Map).

Looking through the list, it is obvious that I have authors that I go back to and I tend to gravitate towards series.  I am currently caught up on the Richard Castle Nikki Heat series.  I still have several more Kathy Reichs novels in the Tempie Brennen series that I could read, but I'm taking a break from them at the moment.  I can only take so much Kathy Reichs at a time.  There are still more Vonnegut novels I could read, but I got a little burned out on them, too.  I just started the Jennifer Chiaverini Elm Creek Quilts series, and I'm currently reading the book that is technically second in the series, thought the two I have read are in chronological order by story line.  Once I finish the one I am currently reading I may take a break from that series as well.  I'm not sure yet.  Hopefully this year will be as filled with reading as the last.

Thought of the day - from my husband

If the grocery store sells extra virgin olive oil, why don't they sell extra slutty olive oil?

Tiger in the Gazebo

My cat seems to be really enjoying the new addition to our yard.  I think this is his way of saying, "Thanks for buying me a new bed."  And, unfortunately, he also thinks it is his new scratching post.  Because, as every cat caregiver knows, every new purchase made is always for the cat.

Something New

We took out our above ground pool and replaced it with a gazebo, or more accurately a "teahouse".  It has a double swing inside.  We haven't finished the landscaping, obviously, but I think it is coming along nicely.  The plan is to plant spirea and butterfly bushes, along with some lantana and some annuals which are yet to be determined.  I've wanted a gazebo for a long time, and I'm so happy to finally have one.

2012 Book List

Here is a list of the books I read in 2012.

Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut
Chariots of the Gods - Erich Von Daniken
The X President - Philip Baruth
Heat Wave - Richard Castle
The Island of Doctor Moreau - H.G. Wells
The Knowland Retribution - Richard Greener
Ubik - Philip K. Dick
The Ghost Map - Steven Johnson
Naked Heat - Richard Castle
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie

Eleven books in a year is pretty good for me.  Some were books my husband or kids already owned.  Others were library books.  Still others I downloaded to my new Kindle (some paid, some free).  One (Naked Heat) I actually bought a paper copy of in order to read it.  And only one was I forced to read (The Ghost Map) due to teaching obligations.  Not a bad year.  Maybe, at some point, I'll once again write some actual reviews of the books I read.  We'll see what next year holds.

Reelected!

As is obvious by the previous post, I'm happy to see that President Obama has won a second term.  Results from here in Alabama were about what I had expected; however, Judge Roy Moore's opponent, Bob Vance, gave a better showing than I had expected.

I am very happy to hear, too, that Jon Tester (D-Mont) has won reelection to his senate seat in Montana.  Obviously, here in Alabama I'm a long way from Montana, but I do love the state and I'm happy to see Tester pull it out in that tight race.  I've followed that race closer than some here at home.  Way to go Jon!

I voted!

I did my civic duty and voted.  I voted for Obama/Biden, but since I live in Alabama, I'm sure most of the few people I had the option of voting for will win.  It is AMAZING how many offices were not contested.  But at least I did have the opportunity to vote against Martha Roby, so I most certainly did.

I also had the option of voting on 11 Amendments to our ridiculous state constitution.  I did some research into the amendments, but found it rather confusing on many fronts.  I ultimately didn't vote on Amendment #9, because there were so many arguments about hidden agendas in the language of the amendment.  I figured I didn't want to accidentally vote for something I didn't really want.  I think the state legislature puts a lot of effort into misleading the voters of Alabama.  It is a shame that politicians won't just honestly represent what they want to accomplish and let the people decide without all the dishonest word games.

Music Midtown Festival

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything here. But this definitely seemed worth posting about. I went to the Music Midtown Festival over the weekend. It was so much fun. I've never been to a music festival like this before. It was like a sea of people out there. We got pretty close to the stage for the shows we were interested in.

This was Garbage performing.

Here is a picture of me and my  husband, just to prove we were actually there.

This is a picture of the crowd behind us before the Florence + the Machine show.

This is the crowd in front of us while they were setting up for Florence + the Machine.

And then, the main event. . .Pearl Jam.  This was the only picture I got that wasn't just a blur of light.  We managed to get pretty close to the stage, but there were soooo many people it was still hard to see.  I held the camera up over my head to get this pic. 

It was so amazing to actually be there and be down so close to the stage where everyone is singing and packed together like sardines.  When you are that close you can feel the music in your chest.  I had a great time and I'm so glad we went.

I'm looking forward to going to see Eddie Vedder perform in Jacksonville, FL in November.  I know it will be a completely different kind of show there, but I'm also sure I'll have a better view of the stage and a place to sit down.  :)

Playing with Wordle

I decided that it might be interesting to make a word cloud of the words actually spoken by Jesus in the New Testament. I looked to see if I could find one and I couldn't. So I started making one. I only got through Matthew. Maybe I'll finish later. Here is what I got. For some reason the code from Wordle isn't working to show it here, but here is the link

I finally went digital

The question is, was it worth it? It certainly shouldn't have been as difficult a process as it turned out to be. But ultimately I did get to watch tonight's premiere of Doctor Who, so it all worked out okay. I do, however, find myself much less enamored with both TiVo and my cable company than I was when the process started.

We talked to the people at our cable company and told them what equipment we had, told them we want to upgrade to digital cable and asked what we needed to do. They insisted we needed a cable box. I set up an appointment to get the installation done the following Monday, this was last Thursday. The guy comes out, and after an hour fiddling with my cable wires and TiVo, realizes that I can't use a digital box with a TiVo DVR. He takes the box in to install a cable card only to realize that my Series 2 doesn't have a slot for a cable card. He brings it back to me and tells me that I will have to upgrade my TiVo or get one of their DVRs. Okay, partially my fault. I should have remembered that my TiVo was not digitial compatible.

Enter TiVo. I go online to the TiVo store to upgrade and get a new TiVo that will accept a cable card. I order a TiVo Premiere and transfer my service to the new box. It says that it will ship the same day and that I will have 60 days (I think) of service on my old box in order to get my new box set up. It even says I will be able to transfer my season passes to the new box. Great right? Wrong!

I'm supposed to get an email when the box ships, but I don't get one. 24 hours later I still have not received an email saying it has shipped. So I call customer service. They say that there was a technical problem with the previous days orders: they shipped, but the emails weren't sent out. Okay, great! Again, wrong! It didn't ship on Monday, it shipped late afternoon on Tuesday. Still no major problem, it should still get to me before the weekend. And, great (for real this time) it actually does. It get to me after 5 pm on Thursday. My cable company is going to be open on Good Friday, so I'm still in luck.

From what I can gather looking at the instruction a cable card is no big deal to install, so I ask if they will just give me a card to install myself. Well, of course not, they have to do it themselves. At a cost of either $50 or possibly $60, I was told two different amounts by two different people on two different days. I was also told two different amounts for how much the service would cost per month. I still don't know how much I'll be paying. . .

Finally, after the cable people had the TiVo for about 5 and a half hours, I got it back and could bring it home and set it up. I get it set up and there are no directions for how to hook the darn thing up with a DVD player. I contact TiVo again, and they tell me that it can only be hooked up to one output source at a time, which I take to mean that I would have to disconnect it from my TV to connect it to my DVD player.

I did finally get everything connected and working properly - the TiVo connects to the DVD player, which then connects to the TV. I try going online to transfer my season passes from the old box to the new, and you guessed it, I can't! The only box it shows for me is the new one. So I have to manually reset all of my season passes. Well, the ones that I can set, because, of course, not all shows that I have season passes for are going to be showing in the next two weeks. So now I will have to remember to reset them before the shows come back on in the summer or fall.

All is fine and good, and my Now Playing shows are transferred and my Season Passes are set. But it was WAY more expensive and WAY more of a headache than I ever anticipated when I set out on my quest to watch the season premiere of Doctor Who. All I've got to say now is that it better be a damn good season of Doctor Who!

Enjoying Number 11

I have finally gotten around to watching the newest series of Doctor Who with the eleventh Doctor. I wondered how I would feel about the new Doctor because I was so accustomed to David Tennant and I didn't know how the show would be with a new writer. I have been very pleasantly surprised. Matt Smith is great and the writing is really good, too. I love Steven Moffat's sense of humor and I find myself laughing out loud much more often that I remember doing with the most recent episodes written by Davies. In fact, I was beginning to grow a bit tired of the final episodes with Davies and Tennant.

I'm not all the way through this series yet and my next DVD won't come from Netflix until tomorrow, but we have been ripping through them just a quickly as we can get them. In fact, I'm so taken with it that I'm considering signing up for digital cable just so that I can get BBC America (only available on digital cable through my provider) and watch the next series without having to wait for it to come to DVD. But I do like British comedy in general so I'm sure I would watch more on BBC American than just Doctor Who.

Update to "My Map"

Today I was looking back at an old post to find a link to a site to make a colored map for use in my American National Government class. I ended up not using the site, because it was specifically for making a map of the US states you have visited, but it reminded me of how out of date my map is. So I decided to make a new one to show my updated travels since January 2007. It has been a lot of fun adding new states to my map. Someday, maybe I can color them all!

My little "lasagna garden"

Here are some pictures of the little garden I planted this year. I never got around to making one last year, because here at the new house it needs protection from the deer in the neighborhood. This year I built a really deep lasagna garden and put a 5 foot tall fence around it. Hopefully that will be a sufficient deterrent to the deer. Here are pictures of the garden itself and the veggies growing within.

Here is the whole garden

This is my "yummy pepper"

My Sweet 100 tomato

My Husky Cherry (with some tiny tomatoes on it)

My Talladega Tomato

My Big Beef (which isn't very big yet)

A row of cucumbers with a wire trellis for them to grow on.

One hill of the zucchini with three little seedling, just starting to sprout their first true leaves.