The Return to Blogging

I've not been blogging in some time.  No small part of that has been due to the GLXP activities.  That is continuing and will actually intensify.  However, for my mental sanity, I still need an outlet for my thoughts and to, honestly, just write.  I have ben frustrated in that I have not been able to do that in quite a while and part of me, that part that craves to put characters to screen, has been feeling stuffed up, like a sinus infection.  No more.  

I am back.

More than news posts on their way.

Today sux.

That is all.

Personal Growth & Z Grade Celebrity-Hood

One of the things that I have been doing is spending more time than I planned at a machine shop. It's a Do-It-Yourself place where you buy a membership, get a safety checkout on some machines and they let you have at it. It's not hard to figure out who they are, but I'm not naming them because they're not a sponsor and our sponsors need promoting. Kinda one of those deals.

I have learned how to use a 3 axis mill and found it actually a lot of fun. It is deeply satisfying to actually make something from the bare materials. I have also taken up TIG welding. I'm at most an okay welder though. The key to both is practice. Shortly, I'll be using some of the saws and the lathes. There's been a lot of personal growth here, but it wasn't actually intended.

We had wanted to have everything purely done by the pros. We just don't have the cash: pro machinist/welder == fscking expensive. So, if this is going to happen, everywhere we can, we do ourselves. Tank welding we will not (with a blink tag) be doing ourselves! ;)

However, one of the weird direct effects of the Law of Unintended Consequences is that we are getting to be minor celebrities. We get besieged by people wanting to know what we're doing and more than a few actually knew of us before hand. "You're Phoenicia!?!" "Wow! It's so cool to meet you!" Then they go on to ask a lot of technical questions that they, honestly, only half understand the answers to. This takes up a lot of time we could be cutting, welding, etc.

I've been advised that I ought to blow off these people. After all, time really is precious and getting down to the machine shop really is nontrivial with my life right now. However, I really can't afford much in the way of bad press. Some of the people that frequent the DIY machine shop are quite well connected and quite well off. With Team Phoenicia being constantly with it's hat in hand...

...

...and I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing.

Reading Update

While Avrora and Lyuda were off visiting with her family just prior to TDay, I got a lot of things done. In fact, so much so that I have to wonder - if we can really afford it (HA!) - that we shouldn't plan on something like this biannually so I can get caught up on all the extraneous things that get tossed by the family roadside. One of the nice things is that when the world wound down after 10ish pm, I got to read and read I did. I tackled a couple paleo books and a history book already mentioned in one of my few, few alt-history posts. I also tackled a book on global warming by a popsci writer (can't discuss a book w/o reading it first) and a couple sf books.

The first book was that of The Evolution of Vertebrate Design. This book and the one I have partially completed - Dinosaurs, Spitfires, and Sea Dragons - I strongly recommend for someone that's a nonspecialist wanting to underrstand more on how vertebrates evolved into what they are and how they function. They are both a little dated, but they give a good run down on a lot of how the body works and how it came to be in a mostly nontechnical way. However, if you have basical knowledge in the area, I am warning you off except to read about the icthyosaurs in the latter book, really. The latter book I am almost finished with now.

The history book that I munched through was The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. It was pretty good and it was fascinating to see the divergence in views about the Crusades. In the West people either see it as a valiant attempt to retake the Holy Land or as a massive embarrassment. We still use the expression of someone out to save the world or change the course of history as a 'crusader', so despite the more recent viewing of the crusades as something to be ashamed of, it still resonates in a positive way on some level. The interesting thing by reading this book was that the Crusades are viewed as a great rape of the Arab world by the Occidentals (West). There were bits that diverged quite a bit: the West plays up an almost amicable relationship between Richard Lionheart and Saladin whereas tCTAE ignores, discounts or recasts their relations completely. Part of the reason that I wanted to read this book was that I adhere to an opinion that when recounting events, especially personal, but also at times historical, there's your story, my story, and somewhere in the middle the truth. I'm weighing how true it is here.

I also read Six Degrees. Hmmm. This is not a bad book. It glosses over a lot. It sides with the Neo-Oligocene scenario (hotter, drier). I tend to subscribe to the NeoEocene scenario. I have a massive, bloated blog post coming from this. The damned thing is almost cancerous in its growth. No, I won't let it be a blogpost Singularity. Do read it: be skeptical of the scenario.

In SF reading, I read Scalzi's Old Man's War and Ghost Brigades. Light, yummy mind candy. Not sure I buy the premise, but definitely interesting.

Really Bummed

I'm not in Las Cruces.

I am not flying a rocket.

I am afflicted with very conflicting feelings: I would like to see the teams that are flying do well...yet I also want them to not get the prizes! argh!

Oh WOW!

(o.O)

That was some night!

More in the future...

bleh

There's something that I've not blogged about that has been making this week really, really hard for me. It's been sapping my energy, depressing me, and making me unable to sleep well at night. That is my family isn't here in the States right now.

Nononono. There's de nada that's wrong per se. It's just that Lyuda and Avrora are off visiting her family in Ukraine. Avrora is having a blast playing with her cousin (Vsevolod). 99% of the time they get along great and are thrilled to see each other in person. They run around screaming and laughing. They're scraped up big time. Vsevolod calls Avrora 'my Avrosha.' It's very cute!

However, when Lyuda left I had made a prediction: I wouldn't want to be Vsevolod if Avrora and he got into a tussle. Lyuda disagreed. Vsevolod's a boy and a couple months older, after all. Avrora's a bit tall (38 inches and RAPIDLY growing). IDK how tall my nephew is. Well, the predicted dust-up happened and my wife informed me I was correct. Avrora grabbed him, toppled him over, and when he wouldn't give up sat on him giving him a few whacks. He's completely overwhelmed. Hey, I didn't nickname Avrora 'Tank Girl' for nuthin, boyo.

THIS. IS. BAIRD-DOM!

Anyways, I really, really miss them. Ja, I'm a wimp. My family is the rock and center of my life.

oyoyoyoyoyoy!

Life at the moment is a little exciting.

Yesterday my daughter had her 3rd birthday. She had requested cheese cake, so that's what we got her (we have been to pressed for time to make one). We had two friends over and because of the timing sang to her twice. She got three DVDs and a Parasaurolophus dino toy from us, a book from a good friend that's virtually her godmother at this point, and a t-shirt from one of the friends that came over. She'll have another BDay party on Monday at her daycare. One goof up from last night was that we realized too late that we didn't get her balloons: Lyuda grabbed some fast from the local TJ's because our local supply had already closed.

Last night after Avrora had gone to bed, I helped my wife a bit - and only a bit - with some editting on her paper that was due today. Russian, her native tongue, has a lesser emphasis on word order: the differences between "people with potential" and "with potential people" are rather striking...in English. This isn't a jab at her! I know I could use an editor for my prose here. oy.

This morning I had a meeting with the machinist that's doing the work - or at least giving me quotes - related to my "mischief." He needed some clarification on some drawings. He figured out what this whole thing was for and is really stoked. Likewise, I got a call this morning from a potential partner company and they are very interested. I have a meeting at their corporate headquarters on Wednesday (*gulp*). I also have a meeting with a company rep on Monday. The CAD stuff is largely done for the physical aspects of what I am doing. I'm moving into the control and programming aspect now.

I have to run out for an appointment that has nothing to do with my mischief tomorrow.

Plus my class stuff.

On top of all of that I still have my job. And the very unfinished Permian sim I have been tinkering with for some time.

Oy.

My Beautiful Little Girl is 3 Today!

On February 28th, 2005 at 8:04 AM my beautiful baby girl joined us in taking her first breath and screaming to let all the world know she had arrived.

Today is her third birthday. I have never been so proud of someone in all my life. I have never been so delighted with anyone in all my life. I have never loved someone like this in all of my life. She is cute, adorable, perceptive and brilliant.

She's been noted since before she was one years old that she has her "own mind:" even now she likes to watch the Presidential Debates and ask questions and make comments. She likes both McCain and Obama. She prefers Obama over McCain though contrary to her folks. She does say that McCain's a "Good dadja" (man) like Obama. However she does not like Clinton or Huckles.

We're having two parties for her. A small get together tonight with some friends and another with her daycare. We'd like to do one big party, but we're in a bit of a jam since our apartment is a little too small.

I'll make sure to put up some pix tonight.

Pre Teaser of A Tail Unfolding

Special thanx to Julia for doing some very necessary graphics work that I am simply unable to do (not the above, something else). Illustrator, I am not. However, I am very stoked on the project that I am using her work on. I'm presenting it to the powers that be this week. *crosses fingers*

There and Back Again

I'm back at work. Alive and only with a small cough. I'll skip all the nasty details here. Let's just say that was one Evil Little Bug.

Home Resting

I tried to do that some yesterday, but it didn't work out so well. I had a two year old that demanded a lot of attention since thursdays Avrora doesn't go to daycare. Normally those days she accompanies me to work in the morning and then we go home for the afternoon nap and I telecommute. However, yesterday I stayed with her here and we played. Then I had to wait around for the body shop to get back to me so I could go get my wife's car. After my daughter's nap, we got it. Looks good. So, this morning I helped get everyone out the door and now I am going to turn in to sleep.

Julia memed me so I'll write something later.

Zzz's all.

PS whatever I've got would be someone's perfect incapacitating bio weapon. No details, but it's doubleplus evil.

Sicker than a Dog

Fevers, vomiting, dizziness, worse.

I'd be home except that I am on rotation. Sucketh the big one.

I hope that Lyuda and Avrora don't get this.