Blogging Again?

 I'd really like to start blogging regularly again.

Back in the aughts I was a very active blogger. Posting multiple entries every day. Some of those blogs are still available online. Maybe I'll pull together a list of links.

I've been thinking lately, and pretty much decided, that in response to the collapse (maybe I should write more on that claim) of social media, I want to return to blogging on a daily basis.

Then the problem becomes what platform to use.

There's this one, blogger. Not a bad choice. But being part of the google (alphabet?) ecosystem makes it concerning. Google's been known to end these things before. Frankly I'm surprised they haven't ended this one already.

Wordpress is a non starter for me. It's become too bloated and hard to maintain. Also it's database/php driven, which I think makes it too fragile for longterm existence.

I've always liked the Jekyll system. But I've never figured out how to get it running on my hosting systems. Maybe I should invest some time in figuring that out.

But somehow I want to blog. My goal is at least one decent post each day. Stay tuned.

Shark Tracking Website!

This outfit tags sharks with radio trackers, and you can see the most recent "ping" from each shark's location. I came across this because the shark Anne Bonny" has been pretty close to shore here in seacoast New Hampshire.

Warcraft "Dragonflight" is coming!

In the world of World of Warcraft we are in the midst (nearing the end actually. Woo hoo!) of the "pre-expansion" period before the next Expansion of the game: "Dragonflight"

At the beginning of the pre-ex I set some goals for myself, and for my various playing characters ("toons", do they still call them that?).

I hadn't played the game at all in many months, maybe a year. I never really warmed up to the "Shadowlands" previous expansion. So, before the new expansion I wanted to get my main character up to the "level cap" so it was ready to move on into the new content.

I also chose two other of my characters that I wanted to improve, using the easier leveling capabilities that are available during the pre-ex.

My WOW characters.

My "main" is a "Shaman", part of the faction "Alliance". I have another char that is part of the other, opposing faction: "Horde". It is also a Shaman. I don't play the Horde char very much, but I like to keep it reasonably up to date, so I have the ability to experience the game from that perspective when I want.

So I wanted to get my Horde char to the level cap too.

Finally, there's my Hunter. For years now I've played the character class "Shaman". But in an earlier period I spent a bunch of years as a Hunter.

In WOW all character classes play differently. They have different powers, and fight using different techniques. I've found Shaman to be a class that I'm pretty comfortable with. I'll never be a top level player, but I can succeed pretty well with the Shammy. But I recently got homesick for my Hunter.

So I decided to try to re-familiarize myself with it, and maybe get it to the cap as well.

I've achieved my main goals of getting the two mains to the cap, Level 60. And I've spent some time revisiting what it means to be a Hunter. But that last it turning out to be a challenge. Very different fighting style, that I wasn't very good at before, and I'm still not.

But anyway. I'm mostly ready for the Expansion. The mains are Level 60, and "geared up" as well as is available to we mere solo Questers. With the remaining time before the Big Day I'll chip away at leveling the Hunter, and see how far I can get it.

The World of Warcraft expansion "Dragonflight" drops on Monday November 28 at 6pm EST.

The View from High Places

A recent Granite Geek blog post reports on the historic improvement in visibility from New Hampshire's Mt Washington. 

This story put me in mind of one that I heard back when I lived in California. 

It is said that from the summit of Mt Diablo, near Oakland and San Francisco, one could see the second greatest land surface area of any peak in the world. This always seemed plausible to me given Diablo's steep rise from a relatively flat area. 

I was far from the only one to hear and embrace this story, but it's sadly turned out to be untrue.  Nevertheless, I wonder what geographical oddity we can find (or invent) to enhance the legend of our own Mt Washington. ???

I want whiskey made from New Hampshire white oak barrels.

Granite Geek Blog:

"Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis was performed on white oak from New England and the results were compared to Midwest white oak. The comparison confirmed that there were discernable differences in the chemical characteristics that could affect the taste of a beverage. Beverage producers can source New England white oak staves or casks if they prefer fewer tannins and more of a specific chemical compound called trans-whiskey-lactone, relative to other sources of American white oak. This is the first known chemical analysis comparing New England white oak to white oak from other regions."

https://granitegeek.concordmonitor.com/2021/05/04/hey-whisky-makers-new-england-white-oak-is-better-for-your-barrels-so-check-the-certificate/

Smart TV?

 I'm looking to upgrade the TV in my home.

All the TVs that I'm looking at are labeled "smart" TVs. But I'm pretty sure I don't want a smart TV.

First, I don't want to pay extra for a smart TV. 

And second, I really don't want to deal with the annoyance of a TV that thinks it's smart.

Any suggestions?

Is this thing still working?

 Is it?

...

Looks like it is!

End of Summer, Not!

When I was a kid our family would spend a lot of the summer at our lake house in NH. Looking back it was an idyllic and magical time.

Each summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Mom and us 5 kids would relocate to the lake for the summer. Dad would usually commute back to greater Boston on Monday morning and return to NH on Friday afternoon.

Boating, swimming, hiking. Carousing with friends.

But it would all come to a crashing halt on Labor Day weekend. We'd celebrate the end of summer with cookouts, more boating and swimming, through to the Monday holiday.

"Boo! It's Labor Day Weekend!"

On Monday afternoon we'd pack up, head home, and start school on Tuesday morning.

[BTW, don't get me started on the fact that school now begins BEFORE Labor Day. That's a post for another day.]

Anyway, I was just thinking about all this. It's Labor Day Weekend. The summer is over!

Except it's not.

I'm a grownup now. I don't report to school on Tuesday. In fact, because of my odd worklife I have a lot of September off.

And as an adult I've grown to appreciate the weather of the Fall MORE than the Summer.

That Labor Day weekend is "The End" is deeply ingrained from my childhood.

But it's NOT. It's the beginning, of maybe the nicest time of year.

So... "Yay! It's Labor Day Weekend!"

The Pub — Orlando, Florida

UK themed pub. I go back for the Bangers & Mash and Smithwicks beer.

When I'm working at the Orlando Convention Center, and staying at one of the adjacent hotels, my go-to place for dinner and/or drinks is The Pub, in an area called Pointe Orlando.

It's an easy walk from the Convention Center hotels area, although there is a paid parking structure adjacent to the PO district.

The Pub features classic UK food and drink. Great selection of beers. Notable is that all the servers are dressed in kilts.

One plus for me is it has Smithwicks beer, which is a favorite but not easy to find.

My favorite dish on the menu is their Bangers and Mash. Big tasty sausages with gravy on top of mashed potatoes, with some veggies. My friend Brian likes the Shepards Pie, and friend Don likes the Fish & Chips. Brian also introduced me to the Scotch Egg while at The Pub.

Website: http://experiencethepub.com/orlando/

Address: Pointe Orlando, 9101 International Dr #1003, Orlando, FL 32819
(Bar pic source: http://www.visitorlando.com)

Stone Mountain Georgia

I'm visiting Stone Mountain Park in Georgia and I find the place very troubling.

I admit that I t's very pretty here. Woodsy, nice walking trails, good facilities.

But one of the central themes of the place is to celebrate something that I think is not worthy of celebration. That really bothers me.

Pawtuckaway Lake Spring Levels Historic Dates for -3ft and FullPond

Historic dates for lake level rise of Pawtuckaway Lake, Nottingham NH.

Year	reached -3ft	reached full pond
2016	3/20
2015	4/7	4/23
2014	4/10	5/17
2013	4/5	5/25
2012	3/18	5/16
2011	4/6	4/23
2010	3/14	4/21

Source: My Lake Level History Chart

Craving Taco Bell

For some reason I'm craving Taco Bell lately. Discovered their "grillers", esp the chipotle chicken ones.

Good.

Fireworks filmed with a drone

I approve.

Everything is a mirror

A novel camera system that can detect objects hidden by obstructions — without using a mirror — has been developed by scientists at the University of Bonn and the University of British Columbia.
It uses diffusely reflected, time-coded light to reconstruct the shape of objects outside of the field of view.

Read more...

If life were just a bunch of GIFs.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "Simple and Sure"

The Camp Gyno

As a guy I'll never completely understand the issues of this subject. But this spot seems to be a terrific way of showing girls it's OK to ask about the whole subject.

And the girl in the spot is bad-ass.

A test

A test

Les Miz, the musical movie

"Les Miz" was on the Air Canada, seat-back media system on my flight yesterday from Calgary to Toronto, so I finally had a chance to see it.

Simply put, the musical performances were terrific, but the visuals and staging were not outstanding.

I've seen this show twice on stage, and the way it's presented there -- symbolically not realistically -- seems just right to me. Trying to present it on-screen, realistically, just didn't work.

The most significant example of this is in the final barricade battle scene. The way it is presented on stage -- using a stylistic barricade, and an awesome stage turntable -- is an incredibly heart-rending experience. It's just not reproducible on screen.

But the music is great. And the performers did a very, very good job. Much was made of the fact that the performers sang live on camera instead of pantomiming to a pre-recorded track, and this scheme really works well, allowing the singing performances to be striking and nuanced.

The musical performers at all levels were excellent. No weak spots.

Hugh Jackman's performance is no real surprise. And though Anne Hathaway is little known as a singer, she delivers one of the movie's most memorable singing performances with "I Dreamed a Dream".

The rest of the cast did great jobs too.

Eponine's "On My Own" is one of my favorites, and Samantha Barks performance didn't disappoint.

When this movie came out I remember some reviewers who were critical of Russell Crowe's singing of the role Javert. I disagree. His voice was strong and melodic. And he was just right as the straitlaced, give no quarter to anyone, inspector.

So I think this movie is worth seeing for the music and the performers. Be prepared to settle for a visual production that just doesn't click.

Cool Kid.

This kid's gonna go places.

"Trick Shot Titus 3 -- ft. Channing Tatum & Bradley Cooper"

Potential new mosquito repellents.

Researchers at University of California, Riverside have potentially found new ways to repel and attract mosquitos.

After initial research, which produced a more complete understanding of how mosquitoes are attracted to human skin, they then identified compounds which might inhibit or amplify this.

From the UCR news release:

Next, using a chemical computational method they developed, the researchers screened nearly half a million compounds and identified thousands of predicted ligands. They then short-listed 138 compounds based on desirable characteristics such as smell, safety, cost and whether these occurred naturally. Several compounds either inhibited or activated cpA neurons of which nearly 85 percent were already approved for use as flavor, fragrance or cosmetic agents. Better still, several were pleasant-smelling, such as minty, raspberry, chocolate, etc., increasing their value for practical use in mosquito control. 

Confident that they were on the right track, the researchers then zeroed in on two compounds: ethyl pyruvate, a fruity-scented cpA inhibitor approved as a flavor agent in food; and cyclopentanone, a minty-smelling cpA activator approved as a flavor and fragrance agent.  By inhibiting the cpA neuron, ethyl pyruvate was found in their experiments to substantially reduce the mosquito’s attraction towards a human arm. By activating the cpA neuron, cyclopentanone served as a powerful lure, like CO2, attracting mosquitoes to a trap.

I find this pretty intrigueing. I wonder if something might become available in time for next year's bug season?

I originally found this story in this scienceworldreport.com article.