Month: December 2014

  • Traveler’s Travails

    The last few times I’ve flown, the TSA has been peculiarly interested in my hair. I normally wear it twisted up in a bun and secured with a clip or hairsticks. I actually asked about the hairsticks one time, as they are hardened teak, sharp, and could readily become a weapon. I was told they…

  • Surviving the Boston Museum of Science

    This is a mother’s field guide to the Boston Museum of science, with survival tips and tricks, in no particular order: DO NOT go on a vacation week. It was beyond mobbed. Had I any idea, we would have gone somewhere else, but I have limited time here. Don’t forget to carry bottles of water…

  • on the Road

    No internet at our hotel… Will try to do a post later, hadn’t planned on being out of pocket this long!

  • Family

    I had a wonderful Christmas. We spent most of the day in the car. Mom, Grandma, and my sister, driving all over the corner of Eastern Oregon we were in, while I popped out of the car every few minutes to shoot photos of stunning landscapes. I did take a few pictures of the family,…

  • Boxing Day Sale

    Boxing Day Sale

    So most of my US readers are wondering what a Boxing Day is, and if it has anything to do with Muhammed Ali. Boxing Day is the day after Christmas (today!) and traditionally it is when British employers gave their employees gifts. Here in the US we tend to celebrate it nameless, by going out…

  • Following Yonder Star

    From Curmudgeon’s Corner comes this, presented without commentary, make of it what you will. Our resident curmudgeon is spending most of his Christmas season alone, and is therefore a touch on the cranky side.

  • Resolution Foolishness

    Ruefully, I look at the upcoming year and think “I should…” I should do a lot of things. Some of them I actually will. But the one that I was thinking when I stopped my mental self, gave her a Gibbs smack upside the head and said ‘what are you thinking?’ was related to something…

  • Hold My Beer and Watch This

    Hold My Beer and Watch This

    There is some debate over what jobs men and women are best at. In the current cultural push to make women fit into slots previously held mostly by men, some inconvenient truths are overlooked, ignored, denied, and finally, outright lied about. Because the honest truth is that if we discard outliers on the data set,…

  • Artfully: Day 21

    I’m sitting on the floor in the SEA-TAC airport. I’m listening to a father tell his children a story, and then I recognized it as being SF… how wonderful. My art options are limited. I have the pentablet with me, but not a good place to work with it… so I altered an older photo.…

  • ‘Tis the Season for Fruitcake

    So this is a recipe for fruitcake. Only it isn’t what you’re thinking of. This is my Dorothy-Mom’s recipe which was handed down to her, and which I believe has it’s origins in a time when fruit and sugar were scarce. The resulting cake is sweet, so sweet, dense, rich, chewy, and absolutely does not…

  • Artfully: Day 20

    We went shopping today. This place is very special to me, it’s where the First Reader took me on our first date. I was smitten with it – and him, right away. I think you’ll see why I’m so fond of it! I was trying to shoot with just the 55mm setting on the lens,…

  • Ebook Cover Typography

    I have now written at length about designing a book cover. You should be able to mine some useful information, and see the new cover for Vulcan’s Kittens.