Remembrance
Each year we are supposed to be reminded by a particular day on the calendar of the sacrifices that have been made for us. Take two minutes today to remember those who fought so that you and I don’t have to.
The day to day aspects of life: what is happening around the house and in our family
Getting quantified: Fitbit Flex
Two weeks ago I purchased and started using a Fitbit Flex. It is basically a set of accelerometers, some computing, and a Bluetooth wireless connection bundled into something you can wear on your wrist. This little gadget won’t turn me into an athlete, but I’m hoping it might make me a little more aware of my astounding lack of activity. And in the process, possibly shame me into moving a bit.
My theory as to why some guys are threatened by “Geek Girls”
I’ve been a geek since before I knew the term existed. I would say it probably started when I was about four or five years old, when my sister started reading me The Hobbit. I didn’t truly “identify” as a geek until I was about 14 or 15, and it was part of a process of realizing I wasn’t alone. I discovered that other people liked Star Trek, perhaps a bit too passionately. There were folks out there like me that read Asimov, Tolkien, Pohl, McCaffrey, Niven, Lackey, Heinlein, and the rest of the pantheon like a form of alternate truth. People who saw the world through a slightly different lens, intensely, with a quiet (or sometimes not so quiet) passion.
Given my long-standing sense of myself as a “geek”, my ears perk up when I see discussions of what the term means. Of who is “in” or “out”. Apparently there is some sort of brouhaha in progress of late regarding whether female geeks exist. Some guys claim they don’t, or that many of those of the feminine persuasion who claim to be geeks are lying. One recent article I read on the topic gave me much food for thought. For that I thank the author, Sarah Kuhn: thinking is something I like to do 😉
First month of 2012
Christmas is a distant speck in my rear-view mirror, and we are already most of a month into 2012. I wouldn’t really say I have any “resolutions” for the New Year, but I do have some goals. It is odd how the completely arbitrary change over of a calendar causes me to re-examine my life, but I will take advantage of it. It is time to give some thought to what I want to focus on in the next year.
And Jasmine too…
We knew it was a possibility, perhaps even probable. But that didn’t make losing Jasmine at the end of May any easier.
Irene and I both noticed something wrong as soon as we came back from our week-long cruise. Jasmine looked “puffy” around her chest, and seemed somewhat disinterested and dull. After a few days, she seemed to be having problems breathing. An X-Ray showed fluid and a possible mass in her chest cavity. Fluid was drawn, and ultrasound performed. The mass was quite large, 4 cm by 2 cm, and looked like a tumor. The fluid drawn from the chest, which eased Jasmine’s breathing for only a day or so, was also tested: it confirmed the worse.
The New Year
The entire month of December has come and gone, and I’m now staring down the deep, yawning abyss of another year. I’ve been at that age the last couple of years, an age I was reminded of recently by my birthday, where thoughts sometimes turn to all that has been left undone in life.
2010 was a good year in that regard: I took some risks like getting on a motorbike again, and made a lot of new acquaintances in the process. I also lost 15 pounds and started eating a bit better. There were lots of challenges and sad times as well, but looking at things from the slightly removed vantage point of the turning year I would have to say things are going fairly well.
Letting Harley go…
We had our kitten Harley, barely five months old, euthanized last night. His last ten days of life were full of subcutaneous fluids, forced feedings, several antibiotics, and lots of love. In the end I was faced with a decision I never want to have to repeat. Harley’s immune system was damaged beyond repair by the feline leukaemia virus and, although we had managed to keep him alive for a few extra days, it wasn’t going to get better.
A Tale of Two Kitties: Harley and Jasmine
I’ve been really enjoying my motorcycle riding this year. So much so that I started planning for my “ultimate” touring motorcycle. I was weighing different features, reading dozens of forums and reviews, and lamenting the several years which I’d likely have to wait in order to save up the cash. As you might imagine, this non-stop motorcycle this, Harley that, whining and complaining started to get on the nerves of my lovely wife Irene. Finally, after hearing one too many “<sigh>I wish I didn’t have to wait another two years” noises from me, she snapped:
“Kelly, if I can have two kittens, you can go buy your Harley on terms”
Obviously, my lovely wife doesn’t snap in a mean way. And that’s how we ended up adding two more kittens to our already cat-crowded home… and it marks the beginning of a stressful period of uncertainty that is still not over.
My friend Bilbo
Last weekend we made the decision to have our cat Bilbo euthanized. I’m still dealing with it, and probably will be for several weeks if not months. He was, after all, my friend for the last eighteen years.
Exercise: some motivation required… lots of motivation, actually
I own the following T-shirt from Shirt.Woot!:
It accurately describes one major aspect of why I don’t regularly exercise. Lack of motivation… and there is an unfortunate dearth of gigantic prehistoric predators around to provide such motivation.