|
|
HomeGraffitiFavToolsShortListAboutSitemapVisualDevWork
Email BrianGPG Key |
GRAFFITI -- May 25, 2009 thru May 31, 2009>> Link to the Current Week <<Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable. About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message. |
|
MONDAY
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
May 25, 2009
No Post.
Mon
TUESDAY
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
May 26, 2009
1518 - First, the sad news. I see, about a month late, that Bo Leuf passed away. He was a righteous bloke, very helpful to me especially when I was working on the Linux Book with Tom. Bo fought his cancer for a long time, and worked hard at maintaining his spirits and hope for himself and those (virtually) around him. I had not yet had the opportunity to meet him, and now I won't, more's the pity. Rock on, Bo.
 My big catch: a small perch |
So, the big surprise is, we went away to celebrate our anniversary. We spent the last 4 days at Carmel Cove Inn, at Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, MD. Carmel Cove Inn is a 10 room, bed and breakfast place converted from an old monastery. The folks managing the place, Heather and Keith (along with their staff), really made us feel at home. It's not a lock-your-door sort of place, and as it's about half a mile's walk up from the lake, it is wonderfully quiet and peaceful. Fishing, canoeing, yummy breakfast each morning, one barbeque night, bonfire, and a really cool and laid-back set of co-guests made this a trip to remember. We'll be going back there. I can't recommend it highly enough.
At right, you can see my big catch of the weekend, a small perch. Even though walleye were supposed to be doing well, all we came up with was a handful of non-keepers: small mouth bass, perch, and one probable brown trout that I brought in close, but he twisted off the hook before I could bring him up for a look. Along with celebrating our upcoming anniversary, number eleven, we really enjoyed getting back to fishing. We haven't done much since we moved here from California, and had a good time.
We also watched the new Star Trek flick. Speaking as a dyed-in-the-wool trekkie (not one of these new fangled "trekkers" who want to be called after some sort of hiking shoe) I think this was probably number three in my rankings of the movies, after Wrath of Kahn and Voyage Home. I found it a fun film, and I'll watch it again.
After we finish up the rest of the unpacking and get the laundry going, I'll take care of Sunday's post. Ciao!
Mon
Tues
WEDNESDAY
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
May 27, 2009
2051 - The scheduled event of the day was an hour of "consulting" work, watching a webex demo. Around that, I managed to get Lucy to and from her grooming appointment, roasted some coffee, potted our rosemary plants, and did some school work. It was the latter that leads to my latest rant:
You wrote, "...a gentile introduction..."
You may, in fact, be correct. But you probably meant "gentle".
I'll wave this banner here, explicitly NOT to pick on you. There have been many other instances strewn throughout plenty of otherwise top-notch work in all of my classes here. Just because a word is spelled correctly doesn't mean it's the right word. Many people use the word "loose" where they mean to say "lose", for example.
While it's less important in an online forum than in papers and exams, we can all benefit from a careful reading of what we write, before clicking on Submit or Send.
I write "informal" emails in a corporate environment all the time. And with each, after I'm done, I re-read what I wrote before I send. I do that here, in this forum. I'm really not trying to be (just) a pedant here. But when all I have to go on to present myself properly are the words I write in this forum, I work hard at putting my best foot forward.
I hope that this does not offend. I think that the awareness of correct use of language is an important point to raise.
Some of my faults when I'm writing include improper use of "it's", excessive passive voice, and a tendency towards run-on sentences. Whenever it really counts, I search for my specific common failings, and check that, for instance, I've used "it's" correctly each time. I have to, otherwise I miss something that can change the meaning of what I write, or at the very least, show my work in a less flattering light. Then I still sometimes leave something in, just like "gentile" for "gentle". It happens, despite my best efforts.
Mon
Tues
Wed
THURSDAY
Fri
Sat
Sun
May 28, 2009
No post, all school work.
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
FRIDAY
Sat
Sun
May 29, 2009
1942 - I got the email last night. My favorite DJ of all time, Dave Morey, has retired. Retired! I suppose I shouldn't take it too personally, since I'm not local to KFOG anymore. And argh! After a bit more research, I find that it's the remote work on 10 at 10 that he's retiring from. His last morning show with KFOG was last December 19th. Argh!
This weekend - a bit of work for Linda Rose at her place, and planting flowers and such in the front yard here. Hope it works out the way I want. Pictures to follow, fair or foul. Now, tired, gonna relax. Ciao!
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
SATURDAY
Sun
May 30, 2009
2300 - Happy Anniversary to us. 11 years ago, on a Saturday much like this one, but on another coast, Marcia and I said, "I do." And fortunately for both of us, we both still do. Go us. Ciao!
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
SUNDAY
May 31, 2009
2033 - Another full day. After shopping, I started in on the yards again. I finished mulching (I use red-dyed shredded cedar mulch) the front yard, and got both front and back yards mowed and edged. We're unlikely to get more rain in the next 4 hours, so we didn't beat last year's 9.22" May precipitation, although we got pretty darn close. Chart tomorrow or the next day. I've still got one more first week class assignment to take care of tonight, still.
Six more lives fed to our policies in the Middle East. While I'm always pleased not to be posting the 30 to 40 casualties weekly that were the norm, a year ago, I'd be much happier to have goose eggs where these real lives are. That said, they do us all honor by their sacrifice. Give every member of the Armed Services all the respect they are due. Our condolences, as always, to the families and units of the fallen.
Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week
Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.
All Content Copyright © 1999-2011 Brian P. Bilbrey.
Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under the
Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
License.