Coffee Klatch

The last two days have been Snow Days. Even Butler University was closed, so I didn’t have to go to work and the kids didn’t have to go to school. Not that I slept in or anything. I was checking the school closings and all that.

Ended up shoveling about 8 inches of snow on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. My back hates me now. You should HEAR the nasty things he’s telling me!

But that was the nice part of the two days off. Yesterday morning I woke to find that my laptop wouldn’t boot. Doh! It’s kind of a bummer when you read things like “Internal HDD HARD error!” and “No bootable devices.” That will explain my dearth of postings this week. The good news is that I bought Dell’s extended warranty, so they’ll come to my house or work and fix anything I’ve got a problem with. All the way until November 2008! The bad news is that I was just getting ready to burn the last two years’ worth of family photos to CDs this week. Plus I’ll probably end up losing all the genealogy research changes I’ve made since I updated my website. And all the music I’ve been working on writing. I was just applying the finishing touches to a handbell piece so I could send it to a publisher by Friday (that was my goal). I’ve saved much of my music in PDF format when it’s been completed, but anything that was in process will only be in Finale format and I don’t think I backed those up anywhere. Doh!

Fortunately, I’ve been putting all my CDs on my personal website (password protected and no links) so I’ll be able to restore those quickly. I’ve also been using Google’s Browser Sync, which synchronizes bookmarks and even the Links toolbar in my browser, so my work PC and my laptop are the same. I’ll be able to easily restore all those to my laptop just by reloading that applet.

Google Groups is what I’ve been using for much of my shared file management and emailing (like Pfitz’s Pfunnies and a group for the Cirlce City Ringers), so I’ve also been moving more of the important files to those locations. Google Groups are like Yahoo Groups only they have more storage space for files and also allow you to create Pages that get saved within the group. You don’t have to download and edit and re-upload any more. You just edit on the main page. Like a wiki.

I have a friend and coworker (Butler but not library) who recommended a Boot CD Utility that I’m going to try this afternoon. Maybe I’ll still be able to copy some data off that hard drive before the technician comes and replaces it. That would be a Very Good Thing.

So all in all, it’s not TOO bad of a situation. Plus I’m getting a new hard drive out of it. And if this utility works, I’ll definitely blog about it and share it with the world!
[tags]dell, laptops, snow day, technology, warranty[/tags]

It’s no secret that one of my favorite books is the Book of Ratings, by Lore Fitzgerald Sjoberg. A VERY funny book, with opinions and grades on all kinds of things, from Christmas Carols to marsupials.

Well, Sjoberg also has a WEBSITE called The Book of Ratings and he continues to post lists of ratings on various topics. Quite fun. In fact, there’s even an RSS feed!

Anyway, I wanted to share his thoughts on Pasta Shapes. Check out his comments here, get a good laugh, then please visit his website for more laughs on more topics!

PASTA SHAPES

Capellini

This seems like one of the better reasons to keep your mind uninfected by the Italian language. If you speak Italian, suddenly waiters are encouraging you to try the little hairs. “The little hairs are very good tonight,” they say. “You really can’t go wrong with a plate full of little hairs.” I know that there’s always the English term “angel hair pasta,” but that’s different. I have no problem believing that angels are delicious. I’m sure you could run up and bite off an angel’s thumb and it would taste like Krispy Kreme. B

Agnolotti

These are chubby little ravioli, and the name means “fat little lambs.” Cute! That’s a lovely little image, fat lambs frolicking in a field of cream sauce with a bunch of hideously overgrown scallops and occasionally being stabbed with the massive fork of a vengeful god. I also like to imagine ninjas fighting with throwing stars among the sheeps and scallops, but I don’t think that has a culinary analog. Maybe capers. A

Rugrats

I am not so far removed from childhood that I have lost the joy of eating foods that resemble heavily marketed cartoon characters. Frankly I could have given one or more eyeteeth to be able to eat a Transformer-shaped cookie back in the day. But the problem with character-shaped dry pasta is that they’re usually intricate little lacy numbers with all sorts of intersections, and those intersections don’t cook all that well, so you end up with inconsistently cooked Chuckies. It’s enough to make you want to ask the marketing folks to stick to unrecognizable cereal marshmallows and the odd fruit roll-up. D

Tortellini

I have heard from more than one source that tortellini were formed in homage to the navel of Venus. In response to which I must ask: “the hell?” Tortellini don’t look like the navel of anyone, much less the goddess of beauty. The goddess of twisted little skin folds, maybe. And who the hell goes around sculpting the erogenous zones of major deities in pasta? If I had gone to this ancient tortellini-serving restaurant of yore, would I have been offered such dishes as tiny little Zeus nipples and a lovely bowl of the foreskins of Hades? That’s not what I’m hungry for, ever. C-

Spaghetti

Spaghetti is pretty played out. We’ve all eaten lots of it, whether in delicious fresh format or evil squishy canned form. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that it’s the default pasta, the Italian cuisine equivalent of painting the walls of your condo white. Still, without it, childhood speech impediments would not be half so charming, and “On Top of Fusilli” is a crappy name for a song. C

Great laughs. So visit the website and subscribe to the RSS feed! You’ll be glad you did!

[tags]humor, ratings, pasta, sjoberg[/tags]

My three boys and I went sledding yesterday. There’s a park not too far away that has a sledding hill. By the time we got there, much of the snow had melted, so the top of the hill was dirt (eventually mud), but there was snow on the sides and bottom. We all got quite a few runs in, even though the wind chill was subzero. An hour was actually a rather long time. And we got finished right as a bunch of “big kids” showed up and made it REALLY muddy.

I have to admit, it was hilarious to see a younger boy, part of the “big kid” group, take a flimsy sledding mat and do a belly flop about 20 feet BEFORE the snow started. The mat went about 3 feet and stopped, while the kid went another 12 feet sliding on his belly in the dirt. Quite a riot!

I took a bunch of pictures, so I’ll try to post some here this week.

And now we have another big snowstorm coming Monday night. It’s supposed to be the biggest winter storm to hit Indianapolis in seven years. A few hours of light snow, followed by a few hours of sleet and freezing rain (up to 1/2 inch accumulation of ice expected), and then 8 inches or more of snow for the rest of the day and night. Sounds like fun! Or at least like a snow day!

[tags]sledding, winter[/tags]

Okay, so there’s a commercial that I saw and decided to try. It was for the “Infinity Razor,” the last razor you’ll ever need. They say it will stay sharp and they have a lifetime replacement guarantee just in case. The original offer included 6 small tubes of aromatherapy shave gel, but now they’ve made it a 2-for-1 deal and thrown in a chef’s knife to boot.
I ended up using it only once, because I was looking for something for shaving my head daily and I didn’t like this one. Only because I really need a pivoting head for shaving my head in the shower. The Infinity Razor doesn’t have a head that pivots, so you really need to use it where you can watch yourself and have more straight lines to work with. It also has just two blades, which can be good or bad depending on your preference.

So I gave it to my wife to use for her legs. I figured that leg hair is pretty tough so that would be a good test of this razor. It’s been a few months now and she says it’s still sharp and working fine. So that already beats many people’s expectations of a “gimmick” like this. Could it actually work? So far so good. And there’s a lifetime replacement guarantee, which will be good for the life of the razor or the company, whichever lasts longest. You never can tell with these types of companies.

But anyway, to analyze the offer, it looks like a good deal. Just $19.95 (surprise, surprise). Now compare how much you spend on razors to see how many months you would need to use the Infinity Razor in order for it to pay for itself. After that, you’re golden. And, of course, should be set for life. Or at least as long as the company’s around.

Yesterday was the big shindig day in our library. Every February we have an exhibit called the “Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Activity.” We solicit contributions from the faculty and staff of Butler of publications and works that they’ve done in the last year. Books, articles, book chapters, and other publications are included, as well as paintings, music (sheet and CD), concert programs, etc.

Since “scholarship” means different things to different academic disciplines, we welcome anything that is created, whether a scholarly article or theatre costumes designed for a play.

This year we had 56 different people contribute to this exhibit, which runs for the month of February. Almost 3/4 of the contributors were repeats, meaning they’ve submitted other things in previous years (this is the sixth annual), showing that continual scholarship is alive and well at Butler University. There were 155 items included in the exhibit this year, and only one of them was in last year’s; the rest were in the exhibit for the first time. Pretty cool!

Anyway, last night was the big shindig where we have a formal reception for faculty and staff to come, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine and conversation. People reconnect with each other and take a look at what their colleagues have been up to during the last year. Then there’s a featured lecture by one of our faculty, presenting on the research they’ve been doing. It always ends up being very interesting and cross-disciplinary, so everyone enjoys it and can relate to the topic on various levels. This year it was on the dialogical process that goes on as children learn to read. The description in our invitations sounded a little dry or maybe dull, but when you put the topic in the mouth of someone who’s passionate about it, especially a really good speaker, it comes alive and becomes very interesting. That happened again this year.

The faculty in particular really look forward to this event. With so many ways that things get trimmed budgetarily (is that a word?), they enjoy getting really good food and wine and atmosphere and everything, instead of good-enough-to-get-by. The faculty view this reception as a treat, or a reward for the extra work they do. And an incentive to continue, I think. A special time for celebrating the work they’ve done in continuing to contribute to their discipline. Except that many of the works included in the exhibit are outside the disciplines of the people who submitted them. That’s okay, of course, because it lets us see another side of our colleagues.

My role in this whole event is complete. It’s my “baby,” as it were. From working up the invitations that we get printed up and mailed in early January and soliciting contributions for the exhibit, to creating the menu for the soiree and creating the atmosphere with music, lighting, etc., to creating the printed bibliography of all the publications and works that make up the exhibit, every little detail is mine to do or delegate. Thankfully there are some very helpful people on the library staff and our marketing department and printshop always come through wondrously. That helps a lot.

So anyway, the big shindig is over now–went off superbly–and I’m taking the rest of the week off to recover from the cold I’ve been fighting.

So we spent much of January above normal temperatures. Well we’ve been making up for it now. The last couple days here in Indianapolis it’s been single-digits for the HIGH, with morning temps at -7 or so, and wind chills of 20-25 BELOW ZERO. Tons of schools have delayed opening for two hours each morning this week, because they thought kids shouldn’t be standing outside waiting for the bus in that.

And now it’s warming up a bit. The next few days are slowly supposed to ease into the lower 20’s. Today was 13 for the high. Plus we’re getting a real nice snowstorm. They’re saying 3-6 inches this afternoon and evening. Just enough to make the roads horrid for driving home from work.
I don’t mind the snow per se, since I’ve spent 16.5 years of my life living in Michigan and Wisconsin. I’m actually more nervous about the other drivers here, who aren’t used to seeing snow and who will drive like the idiots they are, regardless of the weather.

At least it feels like Winter now. Although the groundhog didn’t see his shadow last Friday, so Spring is supposed to be right around the corner. One last harrumph! from Winter? So early?

We shall see.

[tags]weather, snow, Indiana[/tags]

Okay, I just had to post a little writeup since it’s the biggest sporting event in the world (except maybe, arguably, soccer’s World Cup) and it’s the biggest sporting event in the history of our city.

It was a little scary right at the first, when, on the first play of the game, the Bears ran the kickoff return back for a touchdown. That was the first time an opening kickoff has been run back for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. It was also, apparently, the first rainy Super Bowl. It was also the first Super Bowl won by a team with an African-American head coach. Of course, that part was inevitable this year, since both coaches were African American.

But the Colts settled into a rhythm after a while and were able to capitalize more than the Bears on all the turnovers that the rain helped induce.

So the Indianapolis Cots have their first Super Bowl win ever! The franchise did have win, back in Super Bowl III, when they were still the Baltimore Colts, but that was a totally different team, for all intents and purposes.

Hopefully this will give Indianapolis an edge in the bid for hosting Super Bowl XLV in 2011. And in the brand new stadium that’s scheduled to be finished in time for the 2008-2009 season.

Final score: Colts 29 - Bears 17

Woo-hoo!!

[tags]Super Bowl, NFL, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Colts, Indy, Chicago Bears[/tags]

You’ve heard of Grand Theft Auto, Redneck Rampage, and other similar games where you get points for assaulting and killing people. I blogged about one such game last fall.

Well, I have to give kudos to the Coca-Cola company for one of their Super Bowl commercials. The whole commercial looked like one of those kinds of games, with the main character walking down city streets where all kinds of crimes were being committed and bad things were happening to people. But instead of contributing, the guy was helping people, doing things like recovering and returning a lady’s purse that had been stolen, picking up a bag of money dropped by a security guard and returning it, and all with a bottle of Coke in his hand. At the end, he opens a car door and grabs the guy inside, pulling him out. You think he’s going to steal the car, but instead he gives the guy a bottle of Coke and clinks bottles with him.

All the while, the music playing in the background had lyrics that said: “Give a little love and it all comes back to you.” and something about “you’ll be remembered for what you say and do.”

Great for Coke!! Thanks to them for presenting a positive message to the millions of Super Bowl viewers.

If you want to see all the various commercials from the Super Bowl, visit http://cbssportsline.com/superads.

It has been clearly explained that Super Bowl games are no longer played in cold weather stadiums unless they’re domed. The reason is because the weather is so much of a factor when it’s freezing and snowing and all that. I thought that meant that domed stadiums were the only places they’d have the Super Bowl games.

So the game’s in Miami this year and it’s pouring rain. Just in the first quarter of this game there were three turnovers and a missed extra-point snap which were all because of (mostly) the rain making the ball slick. Not to mention the tons of missed tackles because the runners were wet and slippery. Or the fact that so many of the camera lenses were covered with raindrops, making it hard to see.

If the powers that be are wanting to take the weather out as a factor, so we can see a more “honest comparison” of the two teams, then they need to restrict the Super Bowl games to ONLY domed stadiums. The other option is to stop favoring warm-weather teams and allow the games to be at ANY location. I’m not one to complain about rules, but I AM one to complain about inconsistent enforcement of rules.

For me, I’d just as soon have the Super Bowl games be “real” games and be played anywhere, regardless of the climate. Football’s different from other sports like basketball or baseball in that the games are played in all kinds of weather. That’s just part of the game. If that’s the case, they the Super Bowls should be played the same way–in ANY kind of weather. Even in Green Bay or New England. THEN you’d have an accurate picture of the football teams.

Either way, pretending to sterilize the Super Bowl setting but allowing rain to be a factor is inconsistent and wrong.