Friends, freaks, and random breasts!

If you fly domestically, or on a flight that either starts or ends in the US but is international, what are the odds that your flight will be part of a terrorist incident?

( Answer behind the cut )

Hurray for TSA's new security theater.

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas visit to alethea_eastrid' s parents.

We are home safely after heavy rain, then clear, then heavy fog.

We stopped for Mexican food in Lebanon, NH (some of you know the place), and it was great.

Much more to come, I hope.

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14715

read more

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14707

read more

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14737

read more

I would like to bounce ideas off people. I have a project that I think would be suited to Pennsic. (Though I may pretest a version at one of the larger weekend events)

I want to do a Spice tasting and education on those used in period. (I live in NYC I can get many of the odd spices for much less money than others can as well as different versions of things)

( Cut for those with no interest in this )
So has anyone run something like this or gone to a tasting class?
Do you think it’s a good idea?
Would you go if it was convenient?
What would you change?

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/hearttransplant.asp

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091226.html

M51 Hubble Remix

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14716

read more

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14718

read more

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

THURSDAY-FRIDAY

Leofwyna worked Christmas Eve and Christmas this year and with the blizzard forecasts I planned to settle in with the cat. When Leofwyna got up (both days) I cleared the stoop and the way to the car for her. It wasn't too bad Thursday with 3-4 inches of snow fairly evenly distributed, but Friday we had substantial drifts approximately two feet deep over the front walk, in front of the garage and at the end of the drive.

Leofwyna got to and from work with minimal difficulty Thursday and Friday in the car but coming home Saturday morning she got stuck three times. With bypassers' help she got unstuck the first two times but the third time was thoroughly stuck. She managed to get a taxi and got home before noon.

Except for dealing with snow I stayed housebound with cat, computor and TV. I did mix up a batch of chocolate chip cookies which I'll bake Saturday to surprise Leofwyna with when we do presents Saturday evening.

Imagine if Kernighan and Ritchie collaborated with Lovecraft to write their C Manual.

"Back in those days most folks in this taown were printing numbers as character strings. You gets the digits backwards, so's the low-order digits come before the high-order 'uns; but you got to print 'em out the other way raound."

"Now, there's two ways to do that. The old-timers'd take the digits and stow 'em in an array, then print 'em right smart in reverse order. But Cap'n Marsh, see, he'd been dealing with queer folks in the South Sea islands, and they taught him some peculiar ways. Out there on Devil Reef, he built a funct'n that called itself to print any leading digits, then printed out the trailing digit at the end."

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14748

read more

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091225.html

The graceful arc of the Milky Way

I suck.

Or, rather, I've been having a fun and full and busy life that leaves insufficient time for posting.

Capsule review: dinner with an out of town friend Tuesday (after a day of super-chore-performance), dinner with Anna Wednesday, and went out of town to a family Bat Mitzvah in Miami Thursday.

Went nuts helping the family for the Bat Mitzvah, as well as visiting - and finishing studying a torah portion to read/chant during the service. (It went well enough, but not perfect.) Robin took serious cold-sick during the Bat Mitzvah - we came home to the hotel room early from the reception on Saturday.

Sunday she lay in bed, unwilling to move. We decided to postpone our flight home for a day, only to be told by the airline that our flight would have been canceled from snow anyway. Made arrangements to return Monday late and got the driveway plowed remotely. :-)

Our Monday return was so delayed, we came home Tuesday at 2:30 AM. Slept, got up, did useful things like take Robin to the doctor (she is now recovered) and took the pets to the vet. Wednesday we picked up Anna after catching up on chores, Thursday we went to a not-Christmas party at a new friends home, today we cooked dessert for our traditional Christmas dinner with our celebrating close friends.

(Dessert was a croquembouche filled with chocolate mousse instead of pastry cream, and decorated with "ornaments" made of butter cookies in various shapes. Topped with a butter cookie angel.)

Now, I shall retire to bed, and attempt to be a better correspondent.

... from my sister!

http://www.scatoday.net/node/14736

read more

The Latin Mass was amazing. I hope to get my thoughts down at some point.

We had pancakes, then opened some truly amazing gifts.

Spending good, quality time with alethea_eastrid 's parents.

Since it's not very far away, we went to the LL Bean mother stores in Freeport. That was very cool.

Turnkey dinner soon.

I have a feeling of peace right now.