daily weblogs

books

recommended books

other reading

books by category

music on CD

reference

java study group

web design

webinfo (links)

about

adventure

recipes

photos

about us

Whatever caused us to walk over and watch the sun set, it was a momentous decision. Looking west over the Pacific, we saw the blink of green light that sometimes appears at sunset, colloquially known as The Green Flash.

It's simple to witness the green flash. You must know where and when to look, and you must be pure of heart.

Thanks to Andrew T. Young for the following pages about The Green Flash. Andrew Young is looking for the author of the following couplet...

Glimpse you e'er the green ray, 
count the morrow a fine day. 

So let him know if you have the answer to this Green Flash mystery. pools=XML, Blog, Ruby

I handed over my "Ticket to Ride" on the Segway Human Transporter, and the Segway representative asked me if I was going to ride "for myself or as a member of the press."

Throw me a curve! When I found out this was a specifically non-press event I said that although I had brought a photographer, I was covering it for myself. I think I agreed not to quote anyone officially.

My case was helped considerably by the fact that my photog, notwithstanding being fluent in 2 languages, was just 10 years old. In spite of having his arm in a cast, he took several good shots, including this one...

Before the actual ride, I was watching a young woman in a T-shirt talking with a young man in a tuxedo. She was about 5 feet tall, and he was about 6 feet, but their heads were at a level, because she was standing on a wheeled platform, just rocking back and forth. Standing around, exactly as anyone might. Hanging out, rocking on wheels.

They were having a long conversation; she was showing him some keys. Then she did something that REALLY surprised me. With both hands, she reached back up behind her head and adjusted her hair clip, one of those massive plastic tong things that you really have to watch out for.

Just as natural as can be.

The wheeled platform just stood there like a trusted rock, and that was that.

I had a lot of fun on the Segway Human Transporter buy at amazon.com and as soon as it bridges a practical distance for me, I'll definitely get one. pools=XML, Blog, Ruby

I'm anticipating some fun at the Segway test ride this evening. it's kind of odd that I'm selling my leg-powered racer blades (size 12 five-wheelers, anyone interested?) around the time I'm riding a two-wheeled self-balancing human transporter.

I'll let you know how it turns out; I'm hoping I'll be able to say I've never fallen on either one. pools=XML, Blog, Ruby

Three sleeves of blue NY Times plastic, designed to keep the paper dry in rain. That's what we used to keep my son's cast dry when he took his shower. It worked great, and we'll use it again.

When he was in bed fast asleep after a hard day, we read Alan Fletcher's great compendium of design notes (not sure that's the right way to describe it, though), The Art of Looking Sideways buy at amazon.com where you always stumble across something new. Or an old Chinese proverb. In this case, we read Brian Eno recounting how he was able to make the correct use of Marchel Duchamp's urinal-as-art.

Sad to say, it wasn't comme le doight dans le nee (all that easy). But still, it was the right thing to do.

By the way, Irene's making a great Christmas turkey: maple-ginger roasted turkey. Here's the turkey recipe for turkey with maple syrup. Her modifications: "added extra ginger, onion, and garlic to the maple-ginger glaze; used no-fat no-salt chicken broth, and squeezed a tangerine inside the turkey rather than an orange."

pools=XML, Blog, Ruby

When I picked my son up after school, he was brave but in tears getting into the car. One of the playground supervisors came over, and said "He fell off the swing, I think he needs to go to the doctor."

Too true. As the Xrays eventually showed, it was a broken arm. It looks like Aikido class and violin lessons are over for the year. Also, the skating birthday party scheduled for next weekend: postponed.

On the plus side, emails tomorrow to all friends and family. Also, more people will finally be able to attend the birthday party when it is finally held. pools=XML, Blog, Ruby

Walking the dog around the block I saw my first decorated Christmas tree, inside someone's house. The dog got a lot of exercise today, and so did I.

In Paris, people take their dogs everywhere, including restaurants, although I did see a sign forbidding them from entering a cheese store. So, although they do not yet have our cheery fast food garbage, they do have something else. And when I was taking my last walk down the Seine, not too far from this riverside anchorage, I had the misfortune to step in some. Tant pis. pools=XML, Blog, Ruby