Edward Stanford

Summer Vacation

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:24:14 GMT

Some of you may remember that after last year's magnificent trip to Maine, we spent the next several days rebuilding several rooms of the house after an unfortunate fishtank accident. I am happy to report that this years trip was twice as long, twice as fun, and utterly lacking in post-trip trauma. In spite of an awful lot of rain: one 2:00 AM wakeup call included enough lightning to make me think I was living in a neon tube on the Las Vegas strip for a few minutes. Photos when (and if) I get around to it :-)

Failed my Meme check and took a survey . . .

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:31:19 GMT

I am:

Gregory Benford

A master literary stylist who is also a working scientist.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Too good not to share

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:36:38 GMT

Haiku² for edward_stanford
he works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them
@

Created by Grahame

Vacation Hints

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:29:13 GMT

Go to Bar Harbor and see the pretty scenery
Escape the August heat
Camp in the woods
See bald eagles
Climb over rocks and into tidal pools
See a shooting star as bright as any fireworks display

Don't

Develop back spasms the week before you leave. It's a long drive. Having pretty girls massage your back in PT at insurance company expense is gratifying, but not worth it in the end.
Take your SO to the ER the weekend before you leave, even if it does turn out to be only an ocular migraine.
Tell your SO that the the drops falling onto her face in the night are "only condensation". The fact that it is true makes it worse.
Return to find that a hose burst on your fish tank and that 70 gallons of water have gone missing.
Spend the three days after your return, carefully set aside to "recover from your vacation", moving a 125 gallon fish tank, and all the furniture in your house so the contractors can tear out two floors and two walls once they find the 70 gallons.
Especially not if you didn't listen about the back spasms.

Clone Wars Review

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:53:12 GMT

Short Form: Watch this if you are one of the following

an 8-12 year old male
thought the Geonosis sequence in Episode II was too short
Enjoy watching Star Wars Battlefront while someone else plays

To borrow an insult from Ayn Rand, it was like watching a small boy throw a handful of mud and pebbles at a stained glass window.

The plot is dull and predictable. At one level, this is not the movie's fault: as a prequel to Episode III, it suffers from our knowledge that all of the major characters survive, and our heroes will eventually achieve a tactical victory over the villains. The typical response of a good prequel is to say, "Yes, but I shall cast light into parts of the world that have hitherto been unseen, yet which are consistent with what you know comes next". Instead, we have a steady repetition, in a random order, of the familiar tropes: the Cantina music, the Hutts' casula killing of underlings, the obscure fortress, the spectacular space battle, the spectacular land battle, the spectacular swordfight, the foreshadowed plot twist, and the omnious plotting of the villains. So much for adding to the depth of the world. Otherwise, the plot mostly serves to link battle scenes. Character interaction is kept to a minimum. Character development is even scarcer: Anakin is the only character who changes in any way. His shift is small and in a direction inconsistent with his ultimate arc, so we can't be said to leqarn more about him from it. An ominous warning from Yoda proves entirely unfounded: did the script change?

The score, written by someone whose name I'll charitably not look up, puts John Williams' iconic original on the rack. Sadly, the prisoner long ago told the Inquisitor all he knew, and now merely whimpers pitifully through a throat no longer capable of speech.

Some scenes are lovingly rendered. Others are coarse, pixellated, and jerky. It becomes apparent that the latter are the plot exposition scenes: battles are better, although the lightsaber choreography is unconvincing.

Overall, the movie reminds me of a decent computer game played by someone else. The plot, what there is of it, is doled out in poorly rendered clips which are cut frenetically to get them out of the way. The voice acting screams "I read one take, in a recording studio, while the other cast members were somewhere else." The battle sequences are long, frequent, and lovingly rendered. The player, whoever he may be, has apparently played the game before, since he never makes a mistake and never repeats a level. The background music exists largely to provide counterpoint to the explosion FX.

I encountered this world when I was ten. It has occupied a special place in my heart since then. I had hoped, in DS' presence, to recapture a little of the magic. Sadly, the magic has gone far, far away.

'nuff said

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:22:44 GMT

Your result for The Imaginary-Job Employment Test...

The Rugged Adventurer!

Multiple choice. Why did it have to be... Multiple Choice?

Your high score in Skill and moderate scores in Humor and Morality qualify you for a career as a rugged adventurer! You'll need some distinctive attire, an unusual weapon, and maybe a catchphrase or two. Oh, and a cool name. If you're stumped, just look to the family pet for inspiration.

Just remember to look out for those Nazis! Which, come to think of it, is good advice for anyone...

Take The Imaginary-Job Employment Test at HelloQuizzy

I can handle this . . .

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:35:48 GMT

It's good to be walking again

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:28:52 GMT

Between bad weather, a dead pedometer battery, and flu at the end ofJ anuary that is still holding me back, it's been over a month since I posted any mileage to the Rivendell walk. Good to be back on the road. Hopefully, I can get back into a groove.

For all my geeky friends

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:13:33 GMT

but especially for whimmydiddle, check out this link

As long as we're meming

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:45:44 GMT

I Am A: Neutral Good Elf Wizard (6th Level)

Ability Scores:

Strength-12

Dexterity-10

Constitution-10

Intelligence-17

Wisdom-12

Charisma-15

Alignment:
Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.

Race:
Elves are known for their poetry, song, and magical arts, but when danger threatens they show great skill with weapons and strategy. Elves can live to be over 700 years old and, by human standards, are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. Elves are slim and stand 4.5 to 5.5 feet tall. They have no facial or body hair, prefer comfortable clothes, and possess unearthly grace. Many others races find them hauntingly beautiful.

Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Dang

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:40:01 GMT

It would seem that Terry Pratchet had a really, really bad day recently.

This hits rather close to home for me. Pratchett is one of my "occasionally" authors, rather than all-time favorites. So my normal reaction on reading this article would have been "Bummer", then I'd move on.

But Mom's dementia, which was arrested for a time by Aricept (sp?) is progressing again. Unlike Alzheimer's, hers moves pretty slowly, so she can look forward to several more years of increasing confusion, interspersed with lucid moments when she knows precisely what is happening to her, before she entirely loses continuity of personality. By the time that happens, it will certainly be a mercy.

She's in excellent physical health for an 82 year old woman, and could easily last another 15. Which is not a mercy at all.

Dad, who is five years older, is in better mental shape, but fading fast physically

There's just no good way for this to end.

Lemming

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:40:06 GMT

Vacation!

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:55:58 GMT

Good: Myrtle Beach: Wednesday - Sunday.

DS and DD should be delighted.
Not at work

Bad:

Waaaaaay too many opportunities for in-laws psychodrama
10 hour car trip with DD and DS

I hope I don't need a vacation to recover from the vacation. On the other hand, in the most pessimistic scenarios, the office might be looking pretty relaxing by Monday.

Quiet Sunday

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:18:34 GMT

DS is vising a friend, and DD is asleep. DS is visiting her ailing father. I just scored a nap, and have time to read! Woot!

Yesterday, had a wonderful time at starfyrone's party. And the day before that, kugelblitz had a great run at theinstitute.

I don't think I want to know what the Lord of Karma have in mind for me tomorrow. Balance sucks when life is good.

Recovered

Tue, 29 May 2007 00:19:48 GMT

So, the Flu from hell has worked its slow, awful way through the family for the last two weeks: I can't honestly say that I've never been that sick in my life before, because I remember the other time vividly. It was in January 1997.

I find that getting back into stride walking afterwards has been hard. I had been averaging 4+ miles a day before I came down, and was thinking that I could bump that by a bit without too much effort. Now I find I'm dragging by the time I get to 3.5.

However, the weekend has been a blast, especially for Eric. Saturday we camped out in the yard: we pretended we were astronauts on Mars: we ate dehydrated space food (right down to the Tang!). Today we went to my sisters for a memorial day picnic: they had trampolines, squirt guns, and a bubble machine, so he was in heaven.

Traveling

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:29:49 GMT

Professionally, the trip has been a bit uncomfortable, but so far I have

Ridden a helicopter

Ridden a tracked vehicle

and eaten

A marvelously creamy bouillabaisse, swimming swith salmon, crayfish, mussels, scallops, shrimp, and veggies.

Deep-fried haddock with a tangy sour cream sauce.

Monkfish stuffed with pancetta and potatoes, served in a Madiera reduction over an onion pancake.

Chicken stuffed with pancetta in a wine-chocolate sauce with delicate mushrooms

A surprisingly deft "Spaghetti Western" in a local impression of a Tex-Mex bar: rotinelli with chili, green onions, and zucchini in a sour cream sauce: It tasted both everything and nothing like tex-mex.

On the whole, not bad. But I'll be glad to be home.

Edward

Sometimes Fatherhood pays off

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:39:21 GMT

So I stayed home today with a nasty cold, and mostly slept. DS came home today with a fine report card, and as a reward, we let him go out to dinner at the restaurant of his choice. He could have chosen Pizza Hut, or Chuck E Cheese, or some other grease-laden child paradise. But he did not.

He wanted to go to Wasabi Zen and pig out on raw fish.

So we has miso and udon and salmon and eel and tamago and a generally glorious time. I'm so proud!

Quiet Weekend

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 14:50:24 GMT

Well, everyone here is mildly sick with one thing or another: DS is getting over pink-eye, DD has a cold, I am almost a month behind on allergy shots while I wait for them to reformulate the darned things, and Gale has something GI-related. No one's too uncomfortable, but we mostly just lie around the house.

Finally kicked off the main characters in the long-awaited (at least by me) Take Two SF game. Didn't handle pacing particularly well, and probably dialed the realism up a bit high on the job interviews, and didn't get to the action as a result. However, that will give me more time to work on props, which I'm hoping will be cool.

Changing Walk To Rivendell strategies has paid off fairly well for me: I used to just put in stuff my pedometer marked as aerobic: now I'm putting in total steps for the day, which makes going for walks with DD much more productive, shields-wise.

Ernesto is making me sore . . .

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:25:58 GMT

. . . actually it's our own dang fault.

See, Saturday night we decided that with all the rain, this was a fine time to do something about all the crabgrass that had overtaken the front flowerbeds.

Experimentation quickly revealed that we were past the point of no return. So today, we tore up the beds down to the weedblock: the next few weekends should see the gradual introduction of all the cool shrubs we went and ogled at Behnke's this afternoon.

Meanwhile, I am sore. Very sore. And I'm heading to the backyard to take DS camping tonight, so instead of soothing my aching joints in the soft support of my waterbed, I'll be lying on the ground. I am such a doofus.

But it should look cool when we're done!

Back to the 20th century

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:34:37 GMT

One of the most marvelous things about driving a Prius is that it's a totally geek car: after it, everything else feels vaguely outdated. You need to put your key in the ignition, the engine turns on before you've gotten half a mile down the road, and suchlike gaucheries. A very good friend, kugelblitz, recently offered to trade me his BMW convertible for a week, and I turned him down. I mean, it may be sexy and all that, but you have to take your keys out of your pocket to unlock it! (Not to mention that we had a road trip planned. I'm not actually stupid enough to turn a Z down just because its engine's outdated.)

It turned out to be a darned good thing, though: DW was driving home late last night, and got slammed by a teenager making a left turn who didn't see her at all. DW is fine, and the car is not: we'll probably find out next week if it's weeks in the shop, or if we are getting a new car. Meanwhile, chickenhat can pull ahead of me in the mileage competition (we were at 55.6/417 before the engine died).

New Mileage record

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:59:13 GMT

Filled up this morning. 546 miles, 60.2 mpg. Beats my previous personal best of 58.8, which was almost exactly a year ago. I suspect I won't be able to challenge the amrk again until next year. Driving a Prius really does attract your attention to seasonal and geographic variations in your driving habits!

Best present ever

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 00:27:57 GMT

E had his final b-day party of the year Saturday, and got the best present ever.

It's a lightsaber and an electric eye: it plugs into your TV, and lets you fight your way through video games by swinging the saber: you can attack, block, do combos, use the force, etc., all with the saber (which is about the size of a wand.

I have no clear idea how many innocents I would have killed to possess sucha thing when Star Wars had just come out. I can't count that high.

ColorQuiz

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 14:50:17 GMT

Edward took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Wants interesting and exciting things to happen. A..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Free At Last

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 14:40:15 GMT

So last Thursday, I had surgery to correct a deviated seputm e.g., my nasal passages did S-turns once they were out of sight, which was believe to be contributiong to coughs, hoarseness, sinus headaches, and all kind of mean nasty things. The weekend was fairly ooky -- the sensation closely approximated having a nasty head cold and not being allowed to blow your nose -- but the stents came out this morning, and I feel marvelous! I can breathe, freely and clearly, for the first time in days, and more freely, really, that I ever have before: the effect is not at all subtle. I'm very much looking forward to finding out if it makes a difference in all the secondary symptoms over the next few weeks.

Winter Snow

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 02:38:10 GMT

Some snowstorms are better than others.

Last Saturday night we got hit by the snowstorm (16 inches or so in our yard). Sunday was one of those perfect days in memory, because ES was just about the perfect age.

We made snow angels (I never made any as a child -- my Texan parents had never heard of them -- and it's never been deep enough since Eric was born to tempt me into trying). We made a snowman: later he leaned over to a preposterous angle (I'll post the photo soon) but didn't tip over for many hours. We discovered that the hill in the back yard is steep enough to sled -- and that 16" of snow, packed down into a run 1 toboggan wide, surrounded by foot-high walls of powder, makes a pretty fair bobsled run. At least until steadily increasing velocities exceed the side strength of the walls.

I don't believe ES and I have ever had a better day together. He said as much the next morning. I believe, and hope, that he will remember it as a day of unalloyed joy all his life.

As will I.

Of course, now that I appear, somehow, to have grown up, even my joys have caveats. Cold dry air acts as an asthma trigger, as I was reminded at 5:00 the next morning feeding him albuterol. Ah well. You pay for your pleasures, and this one was certainly worth every moment