Monday, September 25, 2006
Cranberry Fest 2006
Pauline's folks were in town the last few days. We went to the world-famous Cranberry Festival in Warrens, WI. It was pretty amazing--about 100,000 people invade a town that normally has about 300 residents. There were an astounding number of booths with people selling stuff--picture a giant flea market, except the stuff was new, not used. We took a tour of a cranberry bog, bought fresh crannberries, bought some other miscellaneous stuff, and had lunch. Oh yeah, and got a big bag of kettle corn which lasted the entire day and then some!
On our way to the festival from the parking area.
A view of some cranberry bogs. They flood the bogs in order to harvest the berries, since the berries float (air pockets inside).
View from inside the festival. Check out the huge river of people extended into the distance! (Click on pictures to enlarge them.)
We learned that Wisconsin produces about 50-60% of all the cranberries in the U.S., and about 30% of all the cranberries in the world!
A couple of birthdays
Leslie and I both had birthdays the past week.
For Leslie's birthday, I took her and a couple of friends (Sarah and Annie) out for ice cream. Then we played a game of "kuub" at Riverside Park. Kuub (at least I think that's how you spell it) is a Swedish game we learned from a couple of friends that involves tossing wooden sticks to knock down other wooden sticks.
We didn't do anything particularly fun/exciting for my birthday, but I did get some valuable coupons from my kids--some even with no expiration dates! Check them out! I'm planning to keep those unlimited-use "un-grump" coupons for a very long time!
For Leslie's birthday, I took her and a couple of friends (Sarah and Annie) out for ice cream. Then we played a game of "kuub" at Riverside Park. Kuub (at least I think that's how you spell it) is a Swedish game we learned from a couple of friends that involves tossing wooden sticks to knock down other wooden sticks.
We didn't do anything particularly fun/exciting for my birthday, but I did get some valuable coupons from my kids--some even with no expiration dates! Check them out! I'm planning to keep those unlimited-use "un-grump" coupons for a very long time!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Another reason to like La Crosse...
... is that we're #7 on this list.
http://www.morganquitno.com/cit06pop.htm#METRO
(safest 25 metropolitan areas)
http://www.morganquitno.com/cit06pop.htm#METRO
(safest 25 metropolitan areas)
New Chamber Chorale website
Just time for a quick update, before I head off to substitute teach Physics 203 for someone that's out of town.
Several of us from the La Crosse Chamber Chorale sang at Macy's last Saturday. They are helping to sponsor our "Words to Music" project, which is where school kids write poems which get submitted to local composers. Each composer (5 this year) selects a poem and sets it to music. Then the Chamber Chorale performs all of the compositions at our Fall concert. We do this every other year.
In other news, the Chamber Chorale got a new website:
http://www.chamberchorale.org
Suprisingly enough, that domain name hadn't been taken! Feel free to order tickets if you're local or make donations if you're anywhere... the singers aren't paid, but the conductor and general manager both are. The board of directors aren't either, come to think of it. We're a non-profit group, anyway, so your donations & ticket purchases don't line anyone's pocket.
Several of us from the La Crosse Chamber Chorale sang at Macy's last Saturday. They are helping to sponsor our "Words to Music" project, which is where school kids write poems which get submitted to local composers. Each composer (5 this year) selects a poem and sets it to music. Then the Chamber Chorale performs all of the compositions at our Fall concert. We do this every other year.
In other news, the Chamber Chorale got a new website:
http://www.chamberchorale.org
Suprisingly enough, that domain name hadn't been taken! Feel free to order tickets if you're local or make donations if you're anywhere... the singers aren't paid, but the conductor and general manager both are. The board of directors aren't either, come to think of it. We're a non-profit group, anyway, so your donations & ticket purchases don't line anyone's pocket.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Fritz Hasler
Wow, this has been a busy week! Part of the busy-ness stems from helping to host Fritz Hasler, who gave talks at UW-L and at North Woods elementary. He's the brother of a friend/neighbor of ours (Sylvia Thatcher) and is recently retired from NASA. He is an earth scientist whose specialty is satellite imaging of the earth. For example, he was involved with the very first movies of hurricanes taken from space. So he showed a lot of satellite photos in his talks, mixed in with vacation pictures (I did mention that he's retired...). I think people enjoyed the talks--I know Leslie and at least one of her friends went home from the talk and installed Google Earth on their home computers. He spent some time talking about Google Earth--if you haven't seen it before, it's an application that takes satellite pictures and builds a 3D model out of them, so you can see 3D map images instead of just 2D images like are available from Google maps.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Colton's Career Guidelines
I recently gave this advice to an acquaintance, and I've given it to many other people over the years. These three guidelines about how to choose a career came to me while I was on my mission.
Colton's Career Guidelines
1. Do you like it?
2. Are you good at it?
3. Can you support a family by doing it?
In my opinion, only if the answer to all three questions is yes, should you make something your career.
Colton's Career Guidelines
1. Do you like it?
2. Are you good at it?
3. Can you support a family by doing it?
In my opinion, only if the answer to all three questions is yes, should you make something your career.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Stupid Criminals
Leslie always likes stories of stupid criminals. Maybe some of the rest of you do, as well. Here's one from today's news:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060911/od_nm/germany_thief_dc
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060911/od_nm/germany_thief_dc
Mon Sep 11, 9:31 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A bungling German thief stole a pair of shoes in two different sizes and was caught when he went back to the shop to fix his mistake -- decked out in the very clothes he had stolen, authorities said Friday.
Police in the western city of Bielefeld said the shop owner recognized the 20-year-old shoplifter because the white shoes and sports jacket he wore were available only in his shop, and had been stolen just two days earlier.
"You have to wonder why he went back into the shop in the stolen get-up," said a spokeswoman for Bielefeld police. "It seems he may not have been the brightest of thieves." The owner spotted the man as he attempted to switch of the wrong-sized shoe and alerted police, who arrested the thief.
Friday, September 08, 2006
I Often Go Walking...
Here are some alternate words to the popular LDS children's song, as reported by Rob P. on the SRM newsgroup (he sang them as a child, while presenting his mom with paper flowers).
I've never gone walking
Thru meadows of clover.
In my yard, and yours too
We kill them as weeds.
I've never got flowers
From high mountain meadows
Dear Mother, you'll just
Have to settle for these!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Book reviews - Brust
I'm a big fan of Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos fantasy books. See The Book of Jhereg, for the start of the series. I'd rate the series overall as a 10/10, with most of the individual books in the series also being 10/10.
I just recently read two other books by Brust in the same universe. They were also quite good, although not quite as good as the Vlad books, in my opinion.
The Phoenix Guards - 8.5/10 I found it very enjoyable. Written intentionally in somewhat stilted language from the perspective of a Dragaerian historian that others might not find as amusing as I did. It's got a deliberate Three Musketeers flavor--four friends all decide to join the guards, foil plots, etc. It probably would be very confusing to someone who had not read any of the previous Brust books, who didn't e.g. understand the difference between Dragaerians and Easterners, the Dragaerian concept of death, the Orb, etc. I therefore can't recommend it standing on its own, but well worth reading if you have read and liked the Vlad Taltos books.
Five Hundred Years After - 8.5/10. Sequel to The Phoenix Guards. It takes place, surprisingly, 500 years after the events in the Phoenix Guards, and involves the same four companions. This one focused more on palace intrigue and politics, and was less of a typical adventure story than The Phoenix Guards. It was just as enjoyable as The Phoenix Guards was though! Unfortunately, it also suffers from the same potential problems as The Phoenix Guard: (a) wordiness brought on by the tale being told from the persepective of the Dragaerian historian, and (b) many things that wouldn't make sense to people unfamiliar with the setting. They didn't detract from my own enjoyment, though, so again I'd recommend it highly to those who have read and liked the Vlad Taltos books by Brust.
I just recently read two other books by Brust in the same universe. They were also quite good, although not quite as good as the Vlad books, in my opinion.
The Phoenix Guards - 8.5/10 I found it very enjoyable. Written intentionally in somewhat stilted language from the perspective of a Dragaerian historian that others might not find as amusing as I did. It's got a deliberate Three Musketeers flavor--four friends all decide to join the guards, foil plots, etc. It probably would be very confusing to someone who had not read any of the previous Brust books, who didn't e.g. understand the difference between Dragaerians and Easterners, the Dragaerian concept of death, the Orb, etc. I therefore can't recommend it standing on its own, but well worth reading if you have read and liked the Vlad Taltos books.
Five Hundred Years After - 8.5/10. Sequel to The Phoenix Guards. It takes place, surprisingly, 500 years after the events in the Phoenix Guards, and involves the same four companions. This one focused more on palace intrigue and politics, and was less of a typical adventure story than The Phoenix Guards. It was just as enjoyable as The Phoenix Guards was though! Unfortunately, it also suffers from the same potential problems as The Phoenix Guard: (a) wordiness brought on by the tale being told from the persepective of the Dragaerian historian, and (b) many things that wouldn't make sense to people unfamiliar with the setting. They didn't detract from my own enjoyment, though, so again I'd recommend it highly to those who have read and liked the Vlad Taltos books by Brust.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Civ 4
Classes started today at UW-L (9/5/06).
To mark this solemn occurence, I salute the computer game, Civilization 4. I spent much of my last few weeks of "freedom" playing the game.
It's a "conquer the world" type strategy game that can be very addictive. A previous iteration, Civ 2, was the first computer game that caused me to experience the "Just one more turn..." syndrome. Basically, that's when you promise yourself that you will stop playing after the current turn... then after the next current turn... then after the next one... and so forth. Before you know it, many many hours have passed.
The thing that hooked me in Civ 2, which is a large part of Civ 4 as well, is the technology advancement. Every so often, your civilization discovers a technology. Technologies allow you to produce better military units, better city features, more trading options, special "wonders of the world", etc. So, what you can do at first is quite limited, but you rapidly expand your options by advancing technologically. Thus, you're constantly telling yourself, "in 3 more turns, I'll discover Banking, and then my current financial woes will be a thing of the past," or, "Next turn I'll finish building the Statue of Liberty, won't my neighbors respect me then?" and the like.
Luckily, with Civ 4, they fixed some of the serious game-play issues that plagued the previous two iterations of the Civ series, Civ 3 and Civ: Call to Power. Civ 4 is a very well-balanced and fun game.
Civ 4 keeps the innovation of "resources" from Civ 3 (or maybe it was Civ: Call to Power, I get those iterations two confused). Some military units require your empire to contain, or to trade for, particular resources before they can be built. Additionally, some resources can increase your cities' happiness, or prosperity, or things like that. Some resources help you build "Wonders of the World" faster.
Civ 4 also keeps the innovation of "culture". Basically, your sphere of influence is marked on the map, and you can expand it either militarily or culturally. To pursue the cultural option, you can build buildings which promote your culture, and you can even get cities of your opponents to spontaneously convert to your culture. In Civ 4, you can even win the game by establishing three cities of "Legendary Culture"--so conquering your opponents is not the only way to victory!
Civ 4 adds a new innovation to the game: religion. Religion mostly impacts the game in two ways: (1) If your civilization has a different religion than an opponents', you won't be as liked as may otherwise be the case. That opponent may demand more trade concessions, may be more likely to declare war on your, etc. (2) A city with a religion, or with multiple religions, can build religious-type buildings, which can really help the city's culture--and hence the culture of your empire. You can wait for religion to spread spontaneously, or you can create missionaries to help the spread--to your own cities, as well as to your opponents'. It's an interesting addition to the game.
All in all, it's a very complex game. I played it for a couple of weeks before I felt like I had a good grasp of practically all the ins and outs-- and I had played all of the previous versions! But it's great fun, and well worth the time investment (well, to the extent that any computer game is, anyway).
To mark this solemn occurence, I salute the computer game, Civilization 4. I spent much of my last few weeks of "freedom" playing the game.
It's a "conquer the world" type strategy game that can be very addictive. A previous iteration, Civ 2, was the first computer game that caused me to experience the "Just one more turn..." syndrome. Basically, that's when you promise yourself that you will stop playing after the current turn... then after the next current turn... then after the next one... and so forth. Before you know it, many many hours have passed.
The thing that hooked me in Civ 2, which is a large part of Civ 4 as well, is the technology advancement. Every so often, your civilization discovers a technology. Technologies allow you to produce better military units, better city features, more trading options, special "wonders of the world", etc. So, what you can do at first is quite limited, but you rapidly expand your options by advancing technologically. Thus, you're constantly telling yourself, "in 3 more turns, I'll discover Banking, and then my current financial woes will be a thing of the past," or, "Next turn I'll finish building the Statue of Liberty, won't my neighbors respect me then?" and the like.
Luckily, with Civ 4, they fixed some of the serious game-play issues that plagued the previous two iterations of the Civ series, Civ 3 and Civ: Call to Power. Civ 4 is a very well-balanced and fun game.
Civ 4 keeps the innovation of "resources" from Civ 3 (or maybe it was Civ: Call to Power, I get those iterations two confused). Some military units require your empire to contain, or to trade for, particular resources before they can be built. Additionally, some resources can increase your cities' happiness, or prosperity, or things like that. Some resources help you build "Wonders of the World" faster.
Civ 4 also keeps the innovation of "culture". Basically, your sphere of influence is marked on the map, and you can expand it either militarily or culturally. To pursue the cultural option, you can build buildings which promote your culture, and you can even get cities of your opponents to spontaneously convert to your culture. In Civ 4, you can even win the game by establishing three cities of "Legendary Culture"--so conquering your opponents is not the only way to victory!
Civ 4 adds a new innovation to the game: religion. Religion mostly impacts the game in two ways: (1) If your civilization has a different religion than an opponents', you won't be as liked as may otherwise be the case. That opponent may demand more trade concessions, may be more likely to declare war on your, etc. (2) A city with a religion, or with multiple religions, can build religious-type buildings, which can really help the city's culture--and hence the culture of your empire. You can wait for religion to spread spontaneously, or you can create missionaries to help the spread--to your own cities, as well as to your opponents'. It's an interesting addition to the game.
All in all, it's a very complex game. I played it for a couple of weeks before I felt like I had a good grasp of practically all the ins and outs-- and I had played all of the previous versions! But it's great fun, and well worth the time investment (well, to the extent that any computer game is, anyway).
Monday, September 04, 2006
"Crocodile Hunter" killed by stingray
Rest in peace, Steve Irwin (1962-2006). Thanks for the enjoyment that you've given my family, and may God watch over your family.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Bike trip
Yesterday we went for a family bike trip along the Root River trail in Minnesota. We picked up the trail at Peterson (about 45 minutes from La Crosse), and biked for about 5 miles. Then we turned around, had some snacks, and biked back. So about 10 miles all told, and it took a little less than 2 hours. Leslie biked on her own; Emily was in a "trailer bike" that attached to mine. We all had fun!
Two pictures of the pretty Root River
Pauline going past on her bike.
Leslie approaching on her bike.
Emily waiting around for Leslie and Pauline to catch up so we could take their pictures.
A barn with interesting decorations.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Bizarre News Stories
Signs of the Apocalypse? You be the judge:
1. This one left me speechless.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060828/ap_on_fe_st/bad_dog_driver
2. Wasn't this one of Aesop's fables?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060830/od_nm/australia_pigeon_dc
3. McDonalds showing a heart for hedgehogs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060901/ap_on_sc/britain_mcdonald_s_hedgehogs
1. This one left me speechless.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060828/ap_on_fe_st/bad_dog_driver
A woman in Hohhot, the capital of north China's Inner Mongolia region, crashed her car while giving her dog a driving lesson, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday...She thought she would let the dog 'have a try' while she operated the accelerator and brake.
2. Wasn't this one of Aesop's fables?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060830/od_nm/australia_pigeon_dc
Four people ended up in the hospital and another four were injured after feathers flew in a dispute over a racing pigeon Wednesday, Australian police said...The Herald Sun newspaper reported that the bird at the center of the dispute flew away during the fight.
3. McDonalds showing a heart for hedgehogs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060901/ap_on_sc/britain_mcdonald_s_hedgehogs
McDonald's Corp. said Friday it had redesigned the cups for its McFlurry dessert so that they no longer posed a danger to the spiky woodland creatures. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has campaigned for years against the containers, saying hedgehogs had died while trying to eat leftover ice cream from discarded cups. Campaigners said the opening in the lid was large enough for hedgehogs to stick their heads in, but not to get them out again... McDonald's U.K. said that after "significant research and testing," it designed a McFlurry cup with a smaller opening.
