No resolutions. Especially about blogging frequency.

Hope you and yours all have a happy and prosperous 2009.

Posted by: JohnL at 12:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When I sent the dogs out in the night, I was amazed to hear two crickets, calling to each other. This after a couple of heavy frosts and some generally cold weather. It almost feels like Indian Summer again, so it is nice to hear a couple of the night voices that have survived this late in the year.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 05:08 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It is interesting to see what new areas of crime pop up. Following up on the crimes mentioned in this post, thieves are now targeting...solar panels!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I got a haircut. I am pretty sure that if you took the lengths of each hair remaining, they would not equal the length of one hair before the cut.

Yes, it is summer. It is hot. Enough with the hair, already!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 02:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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What a fascinating modern age we live in! Restaurants are guarding their fryer grease. And Peru is once again...guarding its guano!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, yesterday I turned 40.

I suppose my advanced age could excuse the lamentable lack of my posting?

Eh, didn't think so.

More later. Maybe.

Posted by: JohnL at 06:42 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Here's an interesting blog on productivity and life simplification: Zen Habits. Favorite recent article: Seven Powerful Steps to Overcoming Resistance and Actually Getting Stuff Done.

The author also has a new writing blog, Write to Done. He's recently gotten a book contract, so maybe he knows a thing or two about the craft and trade.

Check him out.

Posted by: JohnL at 09:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm researching buying a computer for my parents. This would partially be to replace their aging computer that is developing more problems than it is worth to fix. And partly to try and give my father something to do if I can find enough "disabled person friendly" features.

One thing I don't want to do is to buy them a computer equipped with Vista. I'd rather stick with Windows XP, which is what I use at home and work, so at least I'm reasonably familar with any 'quirks" that arise. Microsoft, on the other hand, seems determined to force me to buy the 21st century equivalent of Windows ME.

Time to sign a petition to save XP?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:54 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Why charge more for less? Here's an audiobook of Spider Robinson's The Callahan Chronicals from Blackstone Audio. Its runs $24.95 for the MP3CD version.

Now...you would think this would be cheaper. Here's the same book from Audible. For a download, since you are paying for the connection and you are paying for storage (either on your hard drive, your MP3 device or the cost of a blank CD), you would think the price would be lower. So why does Audible charge...$31.47? (O.K., you can get it if you join their "club" for $7.49. But there are terms and conditions that you might not want.)

I'm obviously "missing something obvious" (and yes, I'm being sarcastic).

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:58 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I buy from Amazon, as it is easy to search for stuff, keep it in a wish list or shopping basket and buy when you are ready. I don't understand, however, the weird price cycles that some things in the shopping basket go through.

A few days ago I got this message:

Please note that the price of The Wild Geese (30th Anniversary Edition has decreased from $17.99 to $14.99 since you placed it in your Shopping Cart. Items in your cart will always reflect the most recent price displayed on their product detail pages.

Now I get this message:

Please note that the price of The Wild Geese (30th Anniversary Edition) has increased from $14.99 to $17.99 since you placed it in your Shopping Cart. Items in your cart will always reflect the most recent price displayed on their product detail pages.

Did I miss a run on the film? Has the supply gone down dramatically? Has the need for DVD discs gone up dramatically that they are grinding up recorded ones for fuel use or something?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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On the approach to New York City you can see stacks of empty cargo containers. Stacks and stacks and stacks. It is still cheaper to build a new one in the originating country than it is to ship back an empty from the US.

What to do with all of these things? Here's a site with some interesting solutions. Need more space? A vacation home? A hidey hole?

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My friend Pete Young's pictures in various categories at Flickr. Various subjects, including SF author's with pending Big Works A'Coming.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 01:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's hoping all of my American friends have had a happy Thanksgiving today. We celebrated with my family in Dallas, enjoying the traditional meal, some football in the back yard, and a great (if boring) Dallas Cowboys football game on the TV.

Long-time friend-of-the-blog Robbo reflects on what he is thankful for this year, in a nicely written piece. His co-Llama Steve also posts the Thanksgiving proclamations of Washington and Lincoln, reminding us of the heritage and original meaning of the holiday.

Another old friend of the blog, Timothy Sandefur, has a neat post and picture about how we have fulfilled many of the ideals of our forebears.

I've gone in a somewhat different direction than Robbo with my faith over the last couple of years, and my ordeals this year have done nothing to change that. But I still find my personal response to life and this awesome universe to be one of humble gratitude for my many blessings.

Just a few I celebrate today (and every day!):

1. My wonderful wife, a true life-partner who not only loves and supports me, but also completes me and makes me a better person than I would be without her presence.

2. My three healthy, brilliant, active, and ever-growing children, who make me burst with pride.

3. The gift of music, which enriches my life in the good times and sustains me in the bad.

4. A stable job that provides for my material needs while allowing me some degree of freedom and capacity for growth.

5. All those who serve our country and local communities. Our military, which puts their lives at risk keeping us safe from external enemies and our local fire, rescue, and police workers who help keep us safe in our homes and communities.

6. Last but not least, our country, which despite its occasional shortcomings, still shines as a beacon of liberty and hope for much of the world.

Posted by: JohnL at 07:36 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 I heard a rumor that the site was undergoing a redesign around this weekend...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at November 25, 2007 07:40 PM (q4mcg)

2 Very nice site! is it yours too

Posted by: John1184 at October 22, 2009 05:53 AM (Qpy1c)

3 Very nice site! is it yours too http://apxyieo.com/qyoxar/4.html

Posted by: John1184 at October 22, 2009 05:53 AM (/0ihr)

4 Very nice site!

Posted by: John1184 at October 22, 2009 05:53 AM (dkstP)

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Via the oh-so-fashionably Italian Virginia Postrel:

Your Inner European is Dutch!

Open minded and tolerant. You're up for just about anything.

Posted by: JohnL at 02:45 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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A few random bits from my morning reading.

John Scalzi comes across what might be his favorite negative review of Old Man's War.

A biopic on Philip K. Dick...not!

My favorite Brother Astronomer has a new book out! more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:53 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I was reminded of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman when I saw this site. Amazing pictures!

We'll always have Paris.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 12:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's what I've read since my last report:

The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God, David J. Linden

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, Carl Sagan (edited by Ann Druyan)

In progress:

Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution, Paul Watzlawick et al.

Teach Yourself Spanish Complete Course Package, Juan Kattan-Ibarra

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, Daniel C. Dennett

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, Neal Stephenson

On Deck:

1776, David McCullough (Still...)

Posted by: JohnL at 08:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1. If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat and presto. The blockage will be almost instantly removed.

2. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.3. Avoid arguments with the women in your life about lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I spent last week camping in the Colorado Rocky Mountains with my eldest son and his Boy Scout troop. I am now clearing the backlog of work that always piles up on vacations. I'm hoping to post something appropriate for the Heinlein centennial in the next couple of weeks, so check back soon.

Posted by: JohnL at 08:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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(Reposted from 2006...)

Mind mapping. More mind mapping. The connection between prime numbers and quantum physics. Taking notes. I'll need a bigger memory card. The Moleskine notebook. Is this the world's best pencil? The what? How about perpetual notebooks instead? Books, books, books, how to store all my books. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:46 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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