Month of December, 2006
Dinner with Leia & Jim
Thursday night Chris and I had dinner wtih Leia and Jim. It was so good to see them and catch up. This is only the second time I've gotten to hang out with Jim, but I really, really like him. Leia seems quite happy with Jim, which is exactly what I want for all of my friends. To find someone they'll be really happy with. I loved getting to hear about what they're both into these days - house remodeling, new job, professional accomplishments, projects, etc. Of course we also talked about the Dallas social group and caught up on all the happenings. It was a perfect night even though the weather wasn't quite so perfect.
My parents got back from Germany on Saturday night. Hopefully I'll get to spend a little time with them before I head back to Phoenix on Monday. I've been fighting this cold for the past 4 days and am anxious to get back to warmer / sunnier weather. (Though not so anxious to get back to work.) Happy new year...party safely tonight.
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Body Worlds
Earlier in the afternoon Chris and I went to see Body Worlds, Gunther von Hagens' exhibit of plastinated human bodies, at The Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. The first time I became aware that such exhibits existed was reading about Mihow's visit to a similar exhibit. I have to admit I was fascinated and determined I needed to see something like this for myself. So Chris and I coughed up the $23.50 ($21.50 + $2 "convenience fee" to buy each ticket online) each to see the exhibit. It wasn't worth the money. In our opinion, the exhibit should have cost around $10-15 a person since it only took about an hour to complete.
Overall, I found the exhibit fascinating. I saw parts of bodies that I've never seen before. I learned a bit more about anatomy yesterday. However, I was somewhat put off by two things. The first an most glaring thing that put me off was some of the poses the bodies were put into...such as a man riding a horse who was holding both his brain and the brain of the horse, the body with a white hat (the place card said something about blurring the lines between life and death), and the gymnast in a pose on the rings. It felt less like a scientific study of the body and more like the creator was trying to be artistic. Chris and I spent quite a bit of time discussing the blurring of lines the exhibit seemed to do. Was it art or science? The second thing that bothered me was the philosophical quotes that lined the banners of the exhibit. All types of quotes from famous philosophers regarding the body and soul, life and death, the afterlife, etc. For an exhibit that has a "primary goal of health education," according to the mission page of bodyworlds.com, I would question the purpose of the quotes.
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Kai, Cody, & Kenna
Last night Chris and I had dinner with Kenna, Cody, and Kai. I went to ungrad at Texas Tech with Kenna and Cody. We all studied art together. Cody now teaches at a university in Louisiana. Kenna has been teaching in Louisiana also, but is now spending her time raising Kai. ("The best job" Kenna says she's ever had.)
It's been 8 years since we were in school together and probably about 6+ years since we last saw each other. It's amazing to think how much we've all done in the past few years. I love that with good friends you can skip years of each others lives being busy living life and then pick back up where you left off. That's exactly how it felt hanging out with Cody and Kenna last night. It was wonderful.
Dogs
This vacation has definitely had its share of dogs. Chris and I have spent an amazing amount of time playing with Mia (my parents dog) and Mac (Chris's dog). We've taken a ton of pictures; most which have turned out poorly. But we were talking last night about how fun it's been. The animals make things constantly entertaining. It's quite clear they really, really enjoy each other. In fact, this morning, Mia was putting her front paws on Mac's shoulder in order to get his attention. It didn't work, but it was hilarious.
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Christmas
Christmas vacation has been lovely. I came to Arlington, Texas, the week before Christmas to help my parents by looking after their dog. They went to Germany to visit Karen and Jason. I worked the first few days I was here but was able to enjoy my evenings with Chris. We've been cooking together, watching TV, playing video games, doing a little shopping, and playing with the dogs. It's been really relaxing and exactly the kind of break I needed.
On Saturday Chris and I played in his wood shop. He taught me how to turn on the lathe. I made a very small top for a wine cork. It's not fabulous, but I'm happy with it. Chris is working on a lap table for me (so I can put the computer on something while I'm in bed). I'm pretty excited about that.
Sunday we spent the day in the kitchen. We made enchiladas, egg nog, and a snowball cake. Sunday night we had a lovely dinner at Chris's parents' house.
Christmas day we opened presents that we bought each other. Chris got me a new camera bag! Along with lights for my bike and pepper spray. (Nothing says Christmas like pepper spray.) I got Chris a new backpack since the one he had been using was from high school. I also got him some clothes. Later in the morning, we had breakfast at his parents' house and watch A Christmas Story. Believe it or not, it was my first time t0 see the film. Now I finally understand all the jokes about the leg lamp! Later in the day, we had a traditional Christmas meal and opened presents with his family. I ran off for a little bit and visited Grandma Lucci at her assisted living center. When I came back we ate dessert, turkey sandwiches (in that order), and played card games. It was a lovely, lovely holiday. I consider myself very lucky to be as comfortable with Chris's family as I am with my own.
Chris has gone back to work, but I'm taking vacation. I've been watching movies and TV, playing video games, spending time with Grandma, and visited with Autumn and Ky while Chris is at work. Nothing too exciting but it's very relaxing. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get together with various friends this week though I'm fighting off a cold at the moment.
Hope your holiday is enjoyable too!
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Conversation
Me: Kristen toured the White House yesterday.
Chris: Did she shout out a high five to G-Dub?
Me: You did not just call him G-Dub.
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Dallas for the Holidays
After missing my plane last night, I was able to get on a later flight and made it to Dallas. It was late. By the time I walked in the door of my parents' house, it was 2:30am. Needless to say, I'm glad to be here.
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Airport Hell
Hell is an airport. I know it because that's where I am right now.
I got to the airport late tonight and missed my flight. Yep, I suck. I just didn't have my act together and traffic was worse than I expected. Of course. I am so kicking myself right now, because I get to waste two hours in the Phoenix airport. Worst part is I'm in the US Airways terminal. I far prefer the American Airlines terminal but no such luck for me. I made my bed and now I have to sleep in it. Well, not exactly since it'll be really, really late by the time I actually get to Dallas and make it to my bed.
I hate myself for doing this. I suck. Why can't I just be on time?! I have a real issue with being late (all the time) and I think this is the universe's way of punishing me. Maybe I should work on fixing this flaw in my personality. Maybe.
Five Year Award
On Friday I received a five year award from my company. It is a lovely crystal eagle. My anniversary was on August 13. It's amazing to think five years have gone by already. I never thought I'd be with the company this long but am very lucky. They've been extremely good to me. It's been a good five years and now I have a beautiful memento to remind me of it forever.
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Company Christmas Party
Chris came into town this weekend to attend my company's holiday party with me. It was a fun opportunity to get dressed up and spend a night on the town together. The party was quite nice and we enjoyed ourselves. I'm lucky to work at a company that knows its employees are important and celebrates with them. It was fun for me to introduce Chris to so many of my coworkers. (See, he DOES exist!) The entire weekend was wonderful. I'm really glad Chris was here.
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Worse than the Vet Bill
Bentley's vet visit yesterday went well. His teeth are bright and shining. Unfortunately, he did have one tooth in the back that needed to be removed. He was a trooper while he was at the vet, but fell apart when we got home. He went straight to bed then cried for the first couple hours he was home. Bentley's crying is really repetitive whimpering and it's so sad. I sat and petted him to try to provide some comfort, but I don't feel like it helped much. Mostly I just felt guilty for putting him through the procedure.
The worst part of the day (other than the vet bill) was that the vet found some lumps under Bentley's tongue. The vet was concerned one of them may be cancer and took samples. He's giving me the choice to send them to the lab for testing or not. Considering all I went through with Tiger, my greyhound, when he had cancer, I'm not sure I can stand the thought of knowing. Just hearing the vet say that he found lumps put me into an emotional tailspin. I know Bentley is getting old (10 years) and won't be around forever. But the thought of losing another dog anytime soon is just too much.
I still haven't made my final decision about what to do with the samples, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to do anything. If Bentley has cancer, I know I will choose not to treat it. I'll simply attempt to make him as comfortable as possible. While I would feel better knowing that he doesn't have cancer, I don't think I need to know. I'm simply going to go on loving him and hope that he's with me at least a couple more years.
This morning Bentley seemed to be feeling better. He was perkier and less whiny. I dropped him off at Gail's house so he'd have some company during the day. I suspect she's spoiled him appropriately and he'll be back to his normal self tonight.
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SimpleSeating.com
On Saturday at BarCamp, I met Steve Swedler from FoolishSoftware. Steve demoed the project he's been working on - SimpleSeating.com. It's a very easy to use tool to plan seating for an event (i.e. a wedding). Since it just launched Wednesday night, I took some time to play with it today. I love the drag and drop features, because its just so darn easy! When adding contacts, the save is done immediately (which is great) but a little hard to adjust to since most apps require you to click "save."
While I'm not planning any parties big enough to need a seating charts, I personally don't have a need for the tool. But I can think of at least one person who might need it soon. Tina recently announced her engagement to Brad, so they might be planning something that would require some seating arrangement. (And I hope I'm invited!!)
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Bentley - Dentist
Bentley went the the vet today to get his teeth cleaned. The poor thing was shaking like a leaf. He was really upset. I feel awful that he was so scared. The people at the vet's office are really wonderful so I know he's in good hands. (Expensive, but wonderful.) I'm looking forward to a new-and-improved Bentley with sparkling teeth and fresh breath this afternoon when I pick him up! (My trip to the dentist is next week so we'll both be all sparkling.)
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Music
A couple bands I've heard lately that I really like are Wolfmother and Mew.
Wolfmother is like an indy version of Led Zeppelin. Just last week I was saying I was digging the song I heard on the radio and that I wanted to hear more. Ends up they'll be in Phoenix this Friday. Too bad I already have plans. But they had a nice write-up in the Phoenix New Times.
Mew's song that is getting airplay is "The Zookeeper's Boy." It's quite possibly the most exciting new music I've heard in years. The DJ said Mew describes their style as "pretentious art rock." Awesome.
This morning on the way to work, I heard The Smashing Pumpkin's 1979. It always takes me back to my first year of college. I'm not sure why, but that song was a very strong memory trigger. That time in my life was so full of new experiences and so much excitement. Everything was so intense that year - living on my own, meeting all new people, falling in and out of love a billion times, and figuring out who I was. It was cool driving to work this morning and having all those memories flood back into my mind. It made me really, really miss Summer, my best friend from high school. Summer and I have always shared a special connection over Smashing Pumpkins.
Summer, I think it's time for another visit. We need to sit in the living room and listen to album after album of the Pumpkins.
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Made Especially for Jason!
Karen, I saw these in the store and immediately thought of you and Jason.
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BarCamp Phoenix
Sponsors: Microsoft, Neurogami, Integrum, Grid7, JumpBox and UAT.
Saturday I spent the day with a bunch of geeks and I had a great time! BarCamp Phoenix was an informal conference so people in the industry could get together. I heard about it at Refresh Phoenix a month ago and since I was in town I figured it would be interesting.
When I arrived, they group had just finished putting together a loose agenda for the day. I spotted Aaron and grabbed a seat near him. People volunteered to lead discussion on the topics and basically had 15 - 30 minutes a piece. The discussion and socialization was definitely the best part for me. Oh, and I got a really cool shirt too.
Before lunch, I listened a lot and only made a few comments. Admittedly, I was intimidated as the only non-developer/designer in the room. It didn't help that I was the only woman too. During lunch, I was able to socialize a bit, which helped me relax. I talked with Dan, who I've been getting to know at Refresh. (Ironically, I found Dan on Flickr before I ever met him in person. We both posted photos from Flugtag (a RedBull event) - Dan's are here. Mine are here.)
I also chatted with Matt Bob Jones, who might have the best name ever! Matt just finished his first semester of college and is considering whether or not he wants to go back. (I, of course, am very pro-school, but I tried to hold my opinion back a little bit. I realize school isn't for everyone.) As lunch was wrapping up, I met Josh Knowles simply because he was sitting near me. It turns out Josh's company, Integrum, provided lunch.
After lunch, there was a bit of change in attendance. A few people left and a few new people showed up. The afternoon was a bit more fun (for me at least) because people showed demos of their products / projects. We ended the day with introductions (
When BarCamp was over a few of us went to The Sets for happy hour. (Sean did a nice job of getting us great drink prices!) We drank a little bit, talked about backgrounds and scuba diving, played some shuffle board. All in all a really nice time. Later, I went and ate Thai food with James, Kimbro, and Josh. Three very nice and super intelligent guys, who did a lovely job of making me feel included. I feel like I made some friends Saturday. THAT is a good thing.
My notes from BarCamp Phoenix.
Design
How do you determine good design? Especially for a developer who isn't necessarily into design.
Books: Non-Designer's Design Book (Paperback) Author - Robin Williams
Streaming Video - Chance Carpenter from EssentialET.com
Stream at or below 350K per second
Video window 320 x 240
What about indexing video so its searchable? What about small pieces?
Viddler.com is now allowing bookmarks within videos.
podcasts - Pwop.com
What's Next - Ray Niemeir
The group brainstormed this list. (And I heard of a bunch of new stuff that was completely off my radar.)
- Virtualization - ex split machine so running multiple os's on one machine
- Transcoding video
- WPFE / Flex - Rich Internet Apps
- Functional Programming
- Utility Computing - redefine hosting - Amazon S3 & EC2
- Digital ID
- Less AJAX
- Personal Web Servers - cell phones
- URLs everywhere
- Personal Data Store - keep all stuff in one place
- Teleimmersion
- VOIP
- video ads
- Ubiquitous recording
- Return to Print / Fabrication - making real stuff
- User created content
- Digital paper
- Software-defined radio
- Computer in the living room
- Batteries
- AB split testing
- municipalities wifi, geo
- Open source software development ideals moves into other technologies
Business of Selling Web Apps - Josh Padnick, web based solutions for medical practices
Josh's process:
1. Business Value
2. Content / Site Map
3. Wire frames
4. Present to client / client sign-off
5. Send to designer
Suggestions - bring the designer into the business value / problem to be solved.
- list of possibilities to designer
- Sell a complete product line ex. search engine optimization
- Redefine the designer - solving problems, not just making it pretty
- Page Description Diagram instead of wire frames - could give the designer more flexibility
Demos
- Viddler.com - Chris Tinchin at Tornado Design
A video app kinda like Flickr. The best feature is bookmarking in the middle of a video.
Lorin recommended VDub a free app for editing video before putting it on the web. - SimpleSeating.com - Steve Swedler
An easy to use planning tool for guest seating. Geared to the wedding market. I saw it written up in SimpleHuman blog a few weeks back. - XNA Express - Rob Bagby
Microsoft software for the amateur game developer. Needless to say this conversation was WAY over my head. The cool thing, for about $50 you can get your own game ported over to an XBox360. - WPFE - Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere - Tim Heuer
I might have missed the boat on this one, but WPFE allows for animation and video. Channel9.msdn.com The interesting part of this presentation is how Tim actually said there were "too many Powerbooks in the room for his taste." Since Tim works for Microsoft, there was maybe a tiny bit of tension in the room. - Vista - Tim Heuer
Good features - search, file tagging system, MediaCenter, Gadgets - Security - Ivan Barreda
A very, very tough topic but Ivan did a good job of getting discussion going.
A list of some of the other people I met at BarCamp:
Ward Andrews - Campbell Fisher Design, blog, T-shirts at Mister Shape (Ward had the coolest business cards for Mister Shape. The shape of a water droplet and laminated.)
Lorin Thwaits - organizes DesertCodeCamp and has a blog.
Josh Padnick - works at Omedix which does web services for doctors. My doctor needs them!!!
David Koontz - teaches programming to art students and his company is Rise and Shine Software.
Ray Niemeir - Ray is extremely approachable and I believe very, very intelligent.
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Police Helicopter
Early Saturday I woke up because it sounded like a plane was constantly flying over my house. As I woke up and turned to the clock, I was annoyed. I got really, really annoyed when I saw the clock said 4:45am. I waited for it to go away and when it didn't, I was concerned. So I got up to see what it actually was. Turns out, I had a police helicopter circling over my neighborhood. The spotlight was directed at another neighborhood near mine (not mine, luckily). I could see a glimpse of a police car between two houses and across a major street. Unfortunately I could see little else.
I watched the helicopter for awhile. Then I called Chris because this was simply too much for me to keep to myself. Luckily, his alarm had just gone off and I didn't wake him from a deep sleep (thank goodness for that one hour time difference). We chatted about all the possibilities of criminal behavior going on across the street from me. I wanted to go and take a walk to see if there was anything to see. Chris wouldn't let me. After about 15 minutes, the helicopter and the police cars went away. I have no idea if they got the bad guy or not...the Internet doesn't seem to have any information that I can find.
Since it was still dark outside, I got back in bed and went to sleep. I woke up a few hours later when the helicopter was back. It was light out so the police certainly didn't need it for its spotlight. I suppose they were just doing follow up surveillance. This time the helicopter circled for about an hour. Annoying to say the least. I sure wish I knew what all of that was about.
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Mummification Lecture
On Wednesday, I went to a lecture at ASU with Jennifer. Jennifer is a PhD student in the sociology department but she gets notices about events in other departments. When she read that there was going to be a speaker about mummification in the anthropology department she knew she had to go. Lucky for me, I went along too.
Dr. Bob Brier, Egyptologist and Sr. Research Fellow from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, presented "Mummification: Resurrection of an Ancient Art." In 1994 Bob Brier and his colleague Ron Wade became the first people in two thousand years to mummify a human cadaver in the Ancient Egyptian manner. The lecture described how they did it using ancient tools and materials. They tried to replicate the process of the Ancient Egyptian embalmer.
Dr. Brier's presentation was fascinating. I know very little about mummification but like most people find the practice captivating. Dr. Brier taught me that there was a lot about the process of mummification that we simply didn't know the details of. Archaeologists put together a number of findings and did their best to deduce how the practice was done. Dr. Brier and his colleague actually put these things to the test 14 years ago and shared it during his presentation.
Some of the things I found very interesting was that the Egyptians only made a small incision (about 3 1/2 inches) in the abdomen though which they removed most of the internal organs. They left the heart in place because they thought it was the part that controlled the body- like the brain. I also learned that they removed the brain through the nose rather than opening up the skull. The process and the detailed photos Dr. Brier showed made me a little queasy but I enjoyed it all the same.
One of the things Jennifer and I talked about after the presentation is the assumptions we've made about Egyptian religious beliefs. We know very little about they ancient Egyptians except for what we've found in their writings and the things we've found in the tomb. We believe that Egyptians were somewhat obsessed with the afterlife. We think they believed their bodies would actually be used in the next life (hence the reason for mummification). Jennifer and I find that very interesting since today we essentially preserve bodies after death too. Obviously, we're a little more sophisticated about the process than the ancient Egyptians, but essentially it's the same outcome. Bodies that don't decay. However, I don't know anyone that believes they're going to be using the same body in the afterlife.
I really enjoyed the presentation and that Dr. Brier made me think about something new and completely different.
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Refresh Phoenix (December Edition) & Calexico
Tuesday night was the December meeting for Refresh Phoenix. It was a smaller group than normal, but it was really, really nice. We started out by going around the room with introductions. We introduced ourselves, talked about our work, and what our business goal for 2007. I enjoyed hearing what people are working on and what they're working towards. I heard a lot of people say they want to find something to work on that they really, really love. Isn't that the perpetual desire for all of us? I know I can relate.
Along with introductions, we did a book swap. We brought one of our favorite books to swap out with someone else. In the vein of Bookcrossing.com. I took A Million Little Pieces and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. A Million Little Pieces really isn't one of my favorite books but I love the real-life drama about the author and his exposure by The Smoking Gun. The Batman book is a graphic novel which is perfect when you simply don't feel like reading but you're sick of being on the computer.
The book I picked up was Caught Creaturesby Daniel Davis. Caught Creatures is a book of monster haiku with Daniel's illustrations. It is wonderful! Daniel was at Refresh Phoenix so I got to chat with him a bit. He's self-publishing and doing what he wants to do. Check out all of his fun stuff at Magic Skull and Steam Crow Press.
I also met Larry who works for a local non-profit organization. Larry stopped by to talk with me because of the Batman book. So we chatted about comics for a little bit and about what we do. Larry has a blog at Larry.org. He said he got the domain name when domain names were still free, which is so cool. While Larry has been doing web stuff for years, he said he started blogging because his father started blogging. You can't have your father be more in-style than you are, right? I just loved the story he told. His grandmother was in failing health so his father started writing her three letters a week. His father started sharing the letters with the whole family via email. Eventually he put them in a blog for everyone to access. After Larry's grandmother passed, his father started writing his brother who was serving in Iraq. I have a feeling I'm really, really going to enjoy reading those letters.
The meeting Tuesday night was wonderful. I really enjoyed hearing about the goals everyone has for the next year and talking with Daniel and Larry. I could have stayed all night and talked with a bunch of other people, but instead I headed off to Tempe to see Calexico with Jennifer.
I first heard about Calexico from Josh (the king of all indy rock) just before I moved to Phoenix. He told me that Calexico is from Tucson and that I absolutely had to see them now that I was moving to Arizona. If my memory serves me, Josh and I watched a video of a performance by Calexico. So a year and a half after I've moved to Arizona, I finally had an opportunity to see them. They played at The Clubhouse, which is by far my favorite venue in Phoenix. It's got a poor layout and is standing room only. When you're 4'11" standing room doesn't lend itself to being able to see the band. Luckily, Jennifer and I managed to get seats at the bar and for most of the show, I could see the stage fine.
In my opinion, Calexico's music is a mixture of indy rock and country and Mariachi. It's so unusual but so lovely. I really, really enjoyed this show. Now I need to get their new album and maybe a few of the old ones. Jennifer was really excited to hear something new and different and I have to agree. It's refreshing. Plus the Mexican influence is perfect.
Tuesday night was such a wonderful night full of good people and good music. I'm so lucky to have such a good life.
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bluishorange
"sure. listen, don't let this get around, okay?"
"i won't." besides the internet, who would i tell?
- bluishorange
I'm really, really glad Alison is writing more often.
Thanksgiving Recap
Thanksgiving was wonderful. I spent a total of eleven days in Arlington. Chris and I wanted to see how we would like spending so much time together. Lucky for me, my work doesn't require me to be in any one location. It turns out Chris and I really enjoyed spending so much time together. It was nice. Nice sounds so unexciting, but that just feels like the right word. We're at a point in our relationship where things are nice. Some excitement but mostly just a cool, comfortable nice.
We spent a lot of time with family. Chris's sister, brother-in-law, and their girls were in town so we spent as much time with them as possible. We also spent some time socializing with Chris's friends and visiting the local bars. Though we never did make it to any of my favorite old haunts. And I never did get that Colorado Bulldog I wanted. Apparently cream is a premium at Arlington bars.
I got to see Autumn, Ky, and Deuce since they happened to be in town too. Cindy stopped by for dinner one night too. When Cindy, Autumn, and I hung out it was just like old times...a girls night. Except that instead of going out and looking for guys, we were sitting at home talking about the ones we're involved with. Are we getting old?
Mom and Dad went to Maryland to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kristen and Chris. Luckily, there was some overlaps to our trips and I got to spend time with them. I stayed at their house and helped take care of Mia, who has yet to go on a road trip with the parents. She was a lot of fun as puppies often are. Dad recently bought a TV from Chris so we surprised them by installing it while they were away. Selfishly, we enjoyed it while they were away too. It's a glorious 55 inch plasma TV. I have to admit that I want one. My 27 inch just seems too small now. Luckily, my boyfriend is in the business and I think he could help me pick out something nice.
I spent a lot of time over the holiday thinking about work. There's something about being away from it for a couple days to help one gain perspective. I'm very blessed with my job and I'm thankful for that. But like most people, believe there are other things I could do that would make me happier. Now it's just a matter of doing those things. Right now I don't necessarily think that I can do any of those things for a living so I'll stick with the job. (It is a wonderful company with a lot of wonderful people.) Outside of the job, I want to start spending more time on other things. Things that could make me happier even if they don't lead to a new career.
I also spent a lot of time relaxing. It felt really good to be in the house I grew up in (even if I didn't sleep in my old room). While Chris and I were busy, I didn't feel like we rushed around and filled up every minute. I really was able to relax. It felt good and reminded me that sometimes, you just need to sit around.
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Thanksgiving Pictures
