Meandering

For a weekend of not much planned, I've been pretty busy.

Friday night, a pretty strong yoga practice with Tobey, subbing for Nykki. Tobey is a little more vigorous than Nykki (Baptiste trained and all) so it was a solid class - always hard to step in for a popular teacher. She's sort of similar in her energy and style of practice as Marcia (one of the studio teachers I practice with a bunch) so I was right at home.

Saturday, I trekked over to the Sustainable Energy Fest in Coventry, RI. I planned to stay all day, but got kind of wiped out - foolishly / romantically choosing to bike from the parking area to the fest (hills involved) and so as the day wore on, I got tired and anticipating the ride back (wanting to go in daylight and while I was fresh), I packed up early.



Ran into the Folk Czarina there, as well as Bob from Falcon Ridge. Highlights included:

* Keynote with Jim Merkel, author of Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth - very inspiring and wonderful background on not taking up too much space / resources / etc. Need to add that book to my summer reading list.

* Laughter Yoga with Chris Belanger - Great intro to this unconventional yoga practice, I certainly enjoyed it. Not exactly something I would do daily, but lots of fun and invigorating (physically and spiritually)


* Lunch at Clover Food Truck - Delicious Chickpea Frittata and Watercress / Parsnip Salad. The picture is from their website - yesterday it was labeled "Clover 6/6" and silly me thought it was some cool name (as opposed to, say, June 6th)

* Late afternoon snack (avoiding the always tempting festival ice cream and kettle corn) was a delicious beet salad (sweet and delic!) and quinoa salad. (nourishing, with cranberries)

* A workshop with Rebekah Greenwald, Exec Director of Riverzedge Arts Prioject in Northern RI, on personal approaches to sustainability. Pretty much an intro to the concepts of sustainability, eco footprint, etc. but also with a bit of a practical side in terms of not being able to do everything, and perhaps working to get the most bang for your buck by committing to high eco footprint improvements (often around automobile use and eating locally). Fresh and interesting.

Then I browsed the vendors, listened to music, but left around 4 before things got really cranked up, musically.

After I got home, Zippy and I went shopping, and en route home, saw our friends Lisa and Arran, heading to Angellino's for a post-pride nosh. So we stopped and joined them, getting a teeny bit of pride energy.

Endless Loop

I just noticed that my blog posts get echoed to my Twitter feed (via, of all places, Twitterfeed) and then show up in the little Twitter window to the side of my blog.

Now if I can get my blog to echo my Twitter feeds, I can create a positive feedback loop - that will continue ad infinitum - Twitter updating the blog, and the blog updating Twitter. Might even be able to squeeze Facebook in there as well (blog posts also get echo'd over there). Then I will just have to make one post to set it in motion and then I can go off and do yoga and let the Internets take care of themselves.

Telecom Tweaking

My mobile bill (AT&T) has been sneaking up there (a 700 minute plan, an extra phone, and a minimal texting package) so I went to see if I could trade down to a lower plan (I routinely rollover 200-300 minutes, my rollover minutes sit at 3000, etc.) - but the only lower plan (550 minutes) cost exactly 1 cent less, and I would throw away 2000+ rollover minutes. No thanks. Unless I switch providers, or cough up for a bundled package (seriously looking to switch the house over to AT&T from Comcast) I guess I have found my level.

On the other hand, I called Boingo - I signed up for a monthly laptop plan a while back (when I was traveling more) but have not used it since January. I have, however, gotten an iPod Touch which I would love to use at Starbuck's, McD's, and sundry other mobile hotspots. So I downgraded to a mobile plan (the only time I use Boingo mostly is airports, and the iPod will be fine for that) and that will save me $2 a month. And let me surf a lot more. Like I need that.

California Owes Me One

Hey, California. You got two of my favorite peeps out there - Nykki and Cheryl - and you only sent one in return - my favorite bovine, Pat, who is on the east coast until the 16th.

So you owe me one.

Newington Bike Shop

Headed down yesterday afternoon to get a bike rack from my car - one of those metal strap it to the trunk affairs. As usual, the folks at Newington Bike Shop rose to the occasion. Not only did I get a real live person to talk to, he helped me pick out a rack suitable for my 2007 Saturn, did not try to upsell me too hard towards a pricey THULE model, and even walked out back with me to mount the rack on my car and show me how to connect it prior to me buying it.

I also got to walk through the back room where they were repairing, adjusting, and building bikes, which seemed like an awfully cool place.

And yeah, I paid a few bucks more than I would have at one of the big sports stores or online. But I'm happy to cough up a few extra bucks for this sort of customer service.

Not sure how often I will use it, but I'll likely pop over to the reservoir or linear path a few times this summer with my bike, without having to borrow one of Zippy's trucks....

Not So Proud

I guess that Saturday is CT Pride Day, and the weather looks to be nearly perfect. Down at Bushnell Park, 11 am to 5 pm.

Have not been much into Pride Day for a few years now. Not all that connected or invested in the local community; the downside of living in a liberal, accepting place is that there is less need for a queer ghetto, and as a result, the GLBT organizations and businesses are pretty thin. The Project 100 / Community Center closed doors a few years back. There are two local bars (Chez Est and Polo Club), neither of which does much for me - not much of a drinker to start with, I rarely stay up past 11, and the GLBT entertainment options do not really resonate. I'm not all that big on gay marriage (it does not seem to work all that well for the straight folks....maybe we should find a different model) which is the one political cause that seems to have traction these days. And my membership into the lesbian tribe seems conditional at best. So, in general, I'm an "on the outside, looking in" kind of queer woman. I have a few smallish circles of queerness I move through but none seems particularly connected to any sort of greater community.

Were I hanging out on Saturday, I would no doubt show up (probably on bike), walk around, say hi to some old friends, make a few circuits of the festival grounds, and wander off feeling kind of lonely and disconnected. But since I will heading out to Rhode Island for a Green / Folkie fest (musicians I enjoy, workshops and vibe I can embrace, and yoga to boot), I get to avoid the "I really feel like I ought to be part of this but somehow its nor working for me" experience.

Casting Call

Is it just me, or do the two guys arrested this week for armed robbery in Bristol at the Webster Bank seem right out of a Hollywood casting call.

"Get me two guys for the perps. White, big, kinda menacing. Got that look of cold, calculating evil in their eyes"

While I'm at it, the Central Regional Emergency Response Team seen in the linked photos seems outfitted for a trip to Afghanistan - pretty impressive uniforms and firepower. Had the Republicans remained in power and intent on escalating the wars, they might have considered calling up local law enforcement, having pretty much burned through and burned out the regular services and the national guard units....

Sidebar, when I first moved to CT back in 83, I lived in Bristol, right up the road from this bank. I used to go to that particular branch when it was a Bristol Savings Bank - it's a pretty impressive office inside, one of those old-timey banks with rich wood, high ceilings, and marble floors that give you a safe, solid feeling.

TONIGHT: Black-Eyed and Blues Fest

I have to teach until 6:00 pm but I'm hoping to sneak down later for a bit....

Aetna First Thursday - June 4, 2009
A Greater Hartford Arts Council Event

This year will be chock full of great music, brews and BBQ!

5 PM-11 PM
Bushnell Park Pavilion, Downtown Hartford, CT
Admission Absolutely Free!!!

LINE-UP:

The Bluelights (5:00-6:00 PM)
They are like “Roots Music in Overdrive.” They draw on a wide variety of traditional music to create a new style infused with the energy of the rock ‘n’ roll music of our generation.

Eran Troy Danner (6:15-7:15 PM)
This band is a stripped down, no frills, back to the basics Blues band that has won the acclaim and admiration of true Blues fans everywhere. This red hot trio performs straight forward honest Blues and has opened up for Blues legend BB King, Lucky Peterson, Eddie Turner, Eddie Kirkland, and Blues Traveler.

Alexis P. Suter (7:30-8:30 PM)
Alexis P. Suter has a big voice and knows how to use it. Whether singing about spiritual ecstasy or earthly troubles Alexis makes every song she performs her own. Suter and her top-notch band regularly open Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles, twice-monthly house parties at Helm’s home and studio in Woodstock NY. That is also where all the tracks on her latest album were recorded last year.

Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez (8:45-9:45 PM)
This beehive knows how to rock, from NBC’s SNL to many festivals around the world, Christine really touches her audience. She just keeps lighting up clubs with her hot guitar and eclectic live shows. Be prepared for a night of big time music.

Bronze Radio Return (10:00-11:00 PM)
Brandishing a soulful, bluesy and highly engaging brand of rock, this hard-working Hartford quintet has been making a lot of noise outside of the Nutmeg state, with tour dates currently on the books from upstate New York all the way down to Virginia.
The music will make you dance, sing along and feel good.

All Ages - No Coolers - No Food - No Dogs - Line-up subject to change
Factory sealed water bottles allowed.

RI Sustainable Living Festival and Clean Energy Expo

Completely last minute, but I am going! Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, over in Coventry RI. Some really great music: Dar Williams, Vance Gilbert, Patty Larkin, Red Molly, Mark Erelli, Crooked Still, The Low Anthem, Atwater Donnely, Jay Mankita (among others). What looks to be some awesome workshops. Heck, even yoga....and other wholesome activities

It looks to be a great weekend, weatherwise. And the festival is totally cheap - $30 in advance for both days.

Bit of a haul from Hartford - and they have no parking onsite - but there is a shuttle bus from a nearby school (and I might take my bike and bike in from there). If anyone wants to tag along and carpool, let me know.

Something completely out of the blue, fun, and unexpected this weekend! Join me!

Falcon Ridge Folk Fest

I see, courtesy of Twitter, that performers are getting their "Emerging Artist Showcase" notifications. So it's getting close to time for me to get cracking on Performer Merchandise prep.

There are 46 official festival performers scheduled. Add in another 24 Emerging Artist Showcase performers, and perhap 20-30 associated performers (side musicians, friends of the festival, solo artists who are part of a group) and there are maybe 75 - 100 different entities wishing to sell merchandise at the official merchandise tent at the festival. Each will have some number of products - from 1-2 CDs (a new artist) to over a dozen. Some artists will also have books, shirts, DVDs, hats, etc.

Somebody has to track all that product - log it in as received, keep track of it during the festival, and log it out (and record the sales) at the end.

That somebody would be me :) - aided by a pretty massive spreadsheet I developed a few years back. Amazingly, they were doing this by hand prior to 2007 when I got tagged to help out. Not surprisingly, checkout took many hours, with performers incredibly cranky about having to wait to get their merchandise and money at the end of the fest.

I'm also hoping to lead morning yoga every day at the fest, up at the dance tent - so keep an eye out.....

3.4 MPH

West Hartford's Reservoir #6 this evening - I did the 3.7 mile (per the PDC website) loop at a reasonable walk in 1 hour, 5 minutes - 3.4 MPH.

Left my iPod at the office so no tunes - but a beautiful evening and a bit of wildlife to keep me company.

Always looking for walking buddies, so drop me a note if you are interested.

First Flight of the Season

As we were meeting up at 5:15 am yesterday, Intrepid Balloonist RZ noted "One year, I did not get out until Memorial Day weekend". I reminded him gently that we were one week later, and that he had set a new standard. But between the economy, the April weather (rainy / foggy weekends), and his own life, he can be forgiven. We got our first commercial flight (with passengers) in before June 1, so that's something.

A beautiful morning to fly; with winds aloft up near 30 knots, and the typical southerly flow that took us more or less down Rte. 10, from Spring Street in Southington to Richard Dr. in Cheshire. Calm winds at the surface made for a gentle touchdown in a neighborhood backyard.


Departure from Spring Street with Christopher and his mother Grace aboard.

Was kind of bummed to drive by Outdoor World Outfitters and see a STORE CLOSING sign - I've come to rely on this shop for my annual Falcon Ridge camping purchases - heavy-duty tent poles, stakes, water bottles, etc. Sorry to see it go! (although the website remains mum on the subject)


RZ joked on the radio that he planned to make the first official landing at the old Southington Drive In, soon to be an extension of Recreation Park. I've run through the drive-in giving chase before, so it will be interesting to have this additional open space available for landing!


Pack-up was aided by the local kids (and parents) who swarmed outside to watch the balloon land and deflate.


RZ landed in a backyard off Richard Drive in Cheshire, and the wonderful woman of the house (Linda, I think) made a pot of coffee and brought it out to us. In her bathrobe! BEST LANDOWNERS EVER!

My Flicker Photos for today's flight here

Training Rules

Went to see this Dee Mosbacher film this evening at the CTGLFF. An incredible story, about women athletes (and staff) at Penn State drive out of the basketball program by coach Rene Portland.

Heartbreaking, really. These women - with dreams of an NCAA championship, the Olympics, coaching, and in later years, the WNBA, but driven out by actual or perceived lesbianism. So often, they were unable to transfer to other schools (by NCAA rules or Penn State's / Portland's intransigence in terms of providing records), of by the fact that playing under Portland (and coming to terms with getting kicked off the team or stepping aside on their own) drove them to depression, towards poor performance, etc.

I was particularly moved by the story of Corinne and Chris Gulas, twin sisters who left the team under pressure from Portland. Other similarly affected players were also in the documentary.

And the last woman covered, Jen Harris who played from 2004 - 2005, is most heartbreaking - dismissed from the team in March 2005 (after Penn State lost in the first round of the tournament) - she went on to Syracuse (where she was unable to play, thanks to Penn State not forwarding on complete / accurate medical records) and from there to St. Peters. She stood up to Portland and Penn State, sued, and by all accounts, won an out of court settlement.

If you get the chance to see this film (it's on the queer film fest circuit) - do go see it.

Tweeting

@scenicroot (what else) in case you care

Dental Hygienists - Who Needs 'Em?

John Updike needed em. Dental Hygienists, that is. See "Tristan and Iseult" from the short story collecton "The Afterlife"

Terrance McCarthy is up to his usual hi-grade commentary on life (or at least, the Fox Entertainment version of it).

I had a new dental assistant the other day (she was still catching on to the dentist's lingo for particular tools and processes, so I assume she was new), getting a filling replaced. After the dentist pumped me with novacaine (he kept asking if I felt the needle, and did not seem to want to stop until I nodded that I did, in fact, feel the needle), he wandered off to let me numb up. Then she and I sat and watched MSNBC on the flat-screen TV's they put in when they moved to new offices.

Last time I was in I got X-Rays, and the hygienist routed my X-Rays to the flar-screen so I could see 'em. I think they can also put a little camera inside my mouth to show where I've been flossing (or not). I got one of those ultrasonic toothbrushes a while back, and ever since, I've had no lectures on brushing / flossing, although frankly, the inside of my mouth is not really the best subject matter for 42" of high-def viewing.

So we're sitting there, new assistant and I, watching some piece from San Fran - the recent anti Prop 8 protests. Lots of angry gay men and lesbians, with a smattering of gender transgressors. Out of nowhere she says "I hate those men who become women (long pause) because they turn out looking better than I do"

"Only the ones who start out with enough money to get the work done" was the best I could do. I've been going to this dental practice all my adult life - since 1983. Outlasted 3 dentists, 2 offices, and countless hygienists and assistants. Somewhere in the bowels of the data I am sure my records point to a certain major life change and changes to critical bits of identity. But not anywhere this new assistant could find it.....

Lost in the Land of Spreadsheet

I'm kind of quiet of late - please forgive me. I am deep in the bowels of a big spreadsheet, finishing up a long overdue revision / update for one of my clients.

This thing started innocently enough - they have a device which captures voltage disturbances and logs RMS voltages. I was asked to take a look at their data - text files that could be easily imported into Excel. For my own sanity and efficiency, I put together a simple Excel template to import the data (just to avoid having to start fresh each time). And then I just kept going until I had a full data viewer. The next thing I knew, it was up on their website for their customers to use.

It's all pretty complicated, as spreadsheets go:

* Macros driven by various buttons and checkboxes
* Multiple hidden pages, that are unhidden and rehidden as the spreadsheet processes commands and massages data
* A special function to import text files longer than the Excel maximum permitted number of rows (65,536 - in case you are curious)
* The ability to handle multiple generations of data (and be backword compatible with them all)
* Functions to zoom and scale in two axis, functions to turn individual data channels on and off, for graphing purposes.
* An Auto Close feature to purge data and repeated formulae from the spreadsheet upon close (to reduce file size) and repopulate same upon file Opening. The compacted file is about 5 Meg - without this crunching it balloons out to 25 or 30 Meg, easily.

Of course, this is not my core competency, just one of those odd bits of techno-geekery I happen to have a knack for. So I'm sure the resultant code is a bit sprawling and disorganized. Each time I go back in to make changes (every year or so) I end up relearning it, reorganizing it a little, and documenting it a bit better. But I'd probably do better the next time, just because I know a bit more about this sort of programming now and would set up some organization from the start.

I'm almost done. This particular revision involves adding current data channels, adding a KVA calculation, adding environmental channels. So lot's of added features and functions, spreding out, making room. Trying to keep a lot of channels of data organized and useful.

When I get deep into code like this, I start to think about it all the time - in the shower, on the yoga mat, in meditation, in bed, while driving. My analytical mind gets cranking and does not want to stop. It's pretty annoying, so I will be happy to have it done. Today, with any luck....

Teach a Woman to Fish

Our washing machine has been overflowing....it fills, it never stops filling. It never moves to agitate, the tub overflows. If you jump the timer ahead, it spins and empties. But....annoying.

So yesterday, I made an appointment with AAA Appliance Repair, based in Newington. I really liked the appointment script / form on their website (you can send them all your info, symptoms, model, etc. saving lots of phone time) - I made an appointment yesterday, they called up this morning to set a time (2-4 pm) and then they called again to come earlier (around 11:30 am). I highly recommend them.

I took the time to work with the technician, wherein I learned the following secrets:

A) How to get the front panel off quickly (probably 80% of the battle)
B) Which little pressure hose might become clogged. Ours did no tlook clogged but there was a gooey, clear vaseline type substance in there
C) How to clean it out and test the pressure switch

So, if this happens again, I'm pretty sure I can cover it, and I feel like I could pull the thing apart and find other problems (these things are very simple). I feel like my $95.35 paid for a repair *and* a tech lesson.

Now to start digging through the pile of laundry I need to get through....

Mobile blogging? Yes indeed.

Summer Reading

It is an act of pure, unadulterated optimism perhaps, given the teacher training reports I have to finish, the mostly unread backlog of New Yorker and Yoga Journals, and my busy schedule. However, I picked up some summer reading this evening at Barnes & Noble. Zippy needed a medical dictionary, so we buzzed down.

Watership Down / Richard Adams. One of my favorite books of all time, but when I went to find my copy (a dog eared paperback from 1975, it was a high school summer reading list book) this spring, it was missing. So I picked up another copy. "Can you run?" hissed the cat. "I think not!" Curling up with this book (and many others) was a big part of my childhood, so I'm hoping for a rainy afternoon or a lazy summer weekend of reading bliss.

Olive Kittredge / Elizabeth Strout. Must have heard the author on NPR, soon after she won the Pulitzer for this book. Sounded right up my alley - a set of short stories linked by characters and place. Somewhere along the lines of "Beans of Egypt, Maine", perhaps the Louise Erdrich books.

The Abstinence Teacher / Tom Perrotta. Another NPR find. Sounded like a good read, interesting. Hardcover on the cut-out rack.

Handsome Fellow

I wandered down to Wethersfield yesterday to find a little something for a friend's birthday. The Wooden Toy, a high end toy shop, has become one of my favorite spots. They have educational toys, puzzles, little scale model animals and dinosaurs, outdoor toys, dolls, etc. But mostly, what draws me to the store is their large selection of hand puppets, mostly created by Judy & Atis Folkmanis. I've become acquainted with this company at Falcon Ridge (someone often sets up a booth to sell them, although I never have expendable cash there) so Ive been payy to find a shop close to home. And they have so many wonderful critters (not just the ordinary, run of the mill ones) that they have become a favorite source of unusual and appropriate gifts for friends and family.

Yesterday I was looking for something vaguely fairy-ish (my friend being a fairy fan and collector) and although there were several options, I was drawn to a small doll, my friend being in the process of trying to adopt a child.

But while I was there, I browsed the puppets, and came away with this handsome fellow: a Woodpecker.

Loyal reader's will recall my post-Intensive creative piece The Woodpecker - including the lines "Black and white and speckled feathers, Crested with wisdom and fire" and so of course this little fellow jumped right out at me.

Not sure what it is about woodpeckers, I think they symbolize the divine for me right now. I'm pretty happy to have found him, although Elo the dog is curious as all get out (and probably would like a woodpecker of his own).

There is a nice story of the Sugar Maple and the Woodpecker, from the Lenape tradition, here - from the Shabakashauweyek Lenape'wàk [Laurel Ridge Lenapé People] website. Enjoy.....