Things I enjoyed most about Great Northeastern War
- Leaving at 4:45 and getting in at 8pm, with a 45 minute dinner stop in between. Yes, I hit the drive-time lottery, and missed the backup from the tractor-trailer rollover.
- Arriving at 8pm with a tent already set up - Thank you, Jehan & Luke & others!
- Listening to stories from Ernst and others until midnight.
- Removing the "stump" from under the middle of my sleeping bag at about 3 in the morning... there's no stumps on the fields at GNEW... it was my other cloak, hiding under the bag. :-P
- Waking to the sound of bacon cooking.
- Many dozen pleasant conversations.
- Testing the breadth of Ira's knowledge of mathematics, so I could stump him with a math problem he couldn't answer. Heh heh heh...
- Visiting with Rissa (my older sister) and Linda (her significant other), and watching them wander off to see if they can find some Malagentians (as they live in Maine now).
- Resting enough so I had enough energy for the evening's activities
- Heralding a court for the first time since I lived in Northshield
- Nailing the intro of "Fairest One/Meal of Mine" (and giving the rest of the song both barrels, to good effect), and splitting first place in the bardic competition with Cristovau. (Must write down "Contrafacta" and the name of the composer, so I stop forgetting them every time I perform it)
- Being there to celebrate the impending nuptials of Dreda & Lucien
- Helping folks in a dozen little ways throughout the weekend, and especially packing up.
- Staying until 2 helping people get packed up, then taking a shower and getting sunscreen on before I hit the road.
- Leaving camp around 2:30 and getting home at 5.
- Coming home to a happy bouncing N., who had spent the weekend with Nana and Grampa and J., and had a wonderful time to tell me about.

Things I enjoyed least about GNEW:
- Not having N. there. Sounds like gathering the five tokens for childrens' activities would have been fun.
- Not having J. there, as I wish it could have been relaxing for her.
- Not having my pavilion there: while the small tent was fine, and served me very well, I couldn't stand up and move around, and I couldn't show off the pavilion...
- Not having enough padding to sleep comfortably through the night. Must buy some closed cell foam before I do that again.
- Not having enough time to sit down and have pleasant conversation with everyone I knew.
- Losing energy due to the heat, exertion, and probably chocolate withdrawal. I got better.
- Not having Friday off so I could have been there another day.

I hope everyone got home safely, and had as good a time or better.

Roger Ebert, on raising free-range kids.

I remember the discussions with my Mom, about where I was going, and where I had been. I'd go out on my bicycle, and ride the mile roads out of town, around and back: in that part of Wisconsin, there were dirt (or paved) roads every mile, so you could ride a mile until you could turn left, then ride another mile and turn left again, and get back to where you started.

Had I been smart at the time, I could have said "I'm going out to exercise." But that wasn't a concept I had thought of at the time.

Slowly, but surely, I'm giving N. more freedom and responsibility, while still allowing him to depend on me when he wants to. Slowly. After all, we have another 14 years of this, God willing.

I want to add a book to my 15.

16. How to Think Straight About Psychology. ( Read more about the book, and my thoughts about it. )

Cribbing from Lucianus for my collection of pre-1600 woodworking tool sources.

Archaeological report for a mid 16th cen wreck in the Bahamas: http://www.melfisher.org/pdf/St_Johns_Wreck_Interim_Report_1.pdf

Hand tools from the above wreck: http://www.melfisher.org/pdf/St_Johns_Wreck_Hand_Tools.pdf

Swivel gun from the Atocha: http://www.melfisher.org/pdf/The%20_1622_Swivel_Gun.pdf

Astrolabe from the Atocha: http://www.melfisher.org/pdf/The_Mariners_Astrolabe.pdf

For many months, we have had a red marker in N's room. This is to add a line to his sticker chart. Any sticker placed on the chart has to have a red line under it. Why? Because N. says so. Probably because Mommy did it that way the first time.

Two days ago, N. asked me, "why do Indians have a red dot on their forehead?" His words, not mine. His classmates come from a big variety of backgrounds. And we found out that Red Dot directs you to "Bindi (decoration)" on Wikipedia (I couldn't remember the right name, and it seemed a good place to start), and we spent a pleasant time learning about this decorative dot.

You all see the arc of this narrative by now, right?

After N. was in bed, I heard some thumping upstairs, and went to investigate. On my way upstairs, I hear the thundering herd making its way back to bed, and I find my bedroom light is on.

As I walk into his room, N. says "I was trying to put a red dot on my forehead, but I missed. Can you wash it off, please? I can see the damage before I even turn on the light. Five dots high on his forehead, and a long red line from top of the forehead all the way down the bridge of his nose to the tip.

I refrained from running from the camera (I know, you're all disappointed. Deal with it), and got a washcloth. Most of it has come off already, but there's one dot in the middle of his forehead that is much larger than the rest, and it isn't coming off... yet...

Oh, and the marker? It is no longer stored in his bedroom.

List 15 movies you've seen that will always stick with you: list the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes. Don't take too long to think about it.

1. The Name of the Rose (I doubt I would be in the SCA if it weren't for watching this as a prospective college student)
2. The Princess Bride (I was doing lights for an Interim production of Aristophanes' The Birds my froshling year, and couldn't see this. The college offered to give the acting crew a special showing if we could get 20 people to show up. I attended, with 20 SCAfolk who had done their annual event that weekend as well. I think three other people from the acting crew showed up.)
3. Miyazaki films that deal with systems thinking, like Nausicaa, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke
4. The Music Man
5. The Shawshank Redemption
6. Secretary
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (first watched on a weekend break from working at Boy Scout camp: I remember drawing the broken stone tablet to be used for a Cub Scout activity)
8. Groundhog Day
9. Brazil
10. James Bond Series (yes, I treat them as a set)
11. The Pink Panther (the first movie, not the set)
12. Help! (the Beatles)
13. Blazing Saddles (first watched at a Scoutmaster's Cabin: seemed very risque at the time)
14. Singing in the Rain
15. White Christmas (silly me, I came late to my own birthday party after watching the end of this film one year. "Absolutely Necessary!")

List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you: list the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes. Don't take too long to think about it.

1. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach and Russell Munson (read in grade school? Junior high? Back when I had very little exposure to anything other than Christianity)
2. Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (read in college after seeing the movie as a prospective student: I prefer the book version of the library)
3. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien (listened to in the car returning from piano lessons, around 5th and 6th grade)
4. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (read on the recommendation of a SEPO team lead)
5. Bear by Himself, by Geoffrey Hayes (read both as a child and as a parent after finding the book at my parents' house)
6. Encyclopedia Brown Series, by Donald J. Sobol (read voraciously in grade school)
7. Lord Peter Wimsey Series, by Dorothy L. Sayers (read voraciously when I moved to St. Paul and lived across from the public library)
8. Perugia Towels, Compleat Anachronist 114, Winter 2001 (the inspiration that started my Perugia Linen weaving: before this, I thought diamond twill was an early period phenomenon... silly Peregrinning)
9. The Italian Renaissance Interior, 1400-1600, by Peter Thornton (found in the MIT Library, purchased so I wouldn't have to travel down there often enough to copy the whole thing...)
10. The Book of Kells : reproductions from the manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin / with a study of the manuscript by Françoise Henry (the Big Green Version in my college library, checked out and renewed for multiple years, the inspiration of many scrolls and mazes)
11. Discworld Series, by Terry Pratchett (read starting in college, eagerly anticipated and re-read: Thief of Time is my current favorite, and Night Watch has influenced my systems thinking the most. I get them in audio versions these days)
12. Northshield Singbook, compiled by Owen Alun with help from Wilhelm Dichtermann and Peregrine the Illuminator (I've sung every song multiple times, whether around campfires, in concert, or with friends hanging around a room at an event)
13. The d'Artagnan Romances (The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne), by Alexandre Dumas pere (the death of Porthos moved me to tears on a bus going to work at the MN History Center)
14. Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand (first seen, then read to better understand just how perfect this five-act play really is)
15. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison (found in the public library during high school. Strong feelings of a guilty pleasure, combined with a rapidly opening mind)

http://www.yuni.com/library/latin.html
Online list of Latin phrases: looks like fun to read through!
Thank you, Marwen42!

No, Semper Iuvaris isn't on their list. My translation of it is "always helpful."

Cuteness from N, behind the cut ( Read more... )

I saw Henry the Fifth last night. A good production. I knew many of the cast and was entertained by all. My thoughts on the play run around the order of things, which has been much abused by abridged versions. ( Read more... )

Ideas for our trip up the Northern Shore of Lake Superior, from the Twin Cities to Thunder Bay:

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/split_rock_lighthouse/index.html

Grand Portage State Park
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/grand_portage/index.html

North West Company Fur Post, 12551 Voyageur Lane, Pine City, MN 55063
http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/nwcfp/index.htm

Castle Danger?

Longboat in Leif Ericsson Park, Duluth

Edit: Grand Portage National Park
http://www.nps.gov/grpo/index.htm: living history location I was looking for: thanks, J!

N. and I have been listening to "The Magic Thief" by Sarah Prineas (J. knows her through LJ as sarah_prineas) in the car to and from Daycare etc.

Twice.

N. enjoys it very much, and is listening very closely. Remember, he's four.

When we spoke about never putting bags on our heads (specifically meaning plastic bags, but not actually saying so), he said "but Conn puts a bag on his head..." (Well, no, some minions put what is probably a loosely-woven fabric bag over his head against his will, but good call on remembering)

But the biggest compliment I think we can give to the author? When we're out on walks, every once in a while, N. will pick up a stone, look at it, say "Lophtholus/Lofolus" (pardon the spelling, I've only listened to it, and the pronunciation changes slightly depending on who is saying it), then put it down again. "Nope. Not a locus stone." Read the book. You'll see what I mean.

The book is fun. Good characters (I greatly enjoy Benet), good intrigue, good theory on the properties of magic, good action, and a satisfying journey of growth by both of the main characters. The use of Nevery's journal to comment on things is inspired, in my opinion.

I'm looking forward to the next one, which just came out last week.

Meanwhile, N. has asked for "the books with the witch and the girl."
P: "You mean the Frog Princess?"
N: "Yeah!"

... I listened to those when N. was... what... two? I enjoyed them, but I distinctly remember playing them whether N. was in the car or not. Now, I get to listen to them with N., so he can hear the whole book. Should be fun!

And then, we get the recording of The Magic Thief: Lost. Soon. :-)

If I were to create a Viking longboat, the book I would want to start with would be The Viking Ships, by A.W. Brogger and Haakon Shetelig (Twayne Publishers, copyright 1951, 1971). There's a copy in my local (Chelmsford MA) library (or there would be if I didn't have it checked out: 623.82 BROG for when I want to get it out again). ( Read more... )

I'm planning to take N. to see UP this weekend. I suspect to find something early afternoon Saturday, unless there is a wondrous reason to choose differently.

Johanna, could you please remind me which theater our favorite theater worker is currently at, so we can go support his theater? Thank you.

Edit: we're making plans to see the movie with friends, and I still want to know which theater Aquel works at, since there are other movies I'll want to see. I think he's at the Lawrence Theater instead of the Lowell one, but I'm not sure.

An enjoyable book, recommended by various simultaneous sources, about "how and why some products satisfy customers while others frustrate them," and why we sometimes feel stupid using products. ( Read more... )

Within the last 72 hours, we(  did a lot: )

N. has gotten in the habit of filibustering: if he can get me to listen to him after he's gone to bed, he can stay up as long as I'll listen. Tonight, he started a list of twelve points, each of which took some explaining. I stopped him after three, since he was also taking off his pillowcase, and would probably have stripped the bed so I'd have to stay up there and make the bed.

I love him, I love spending time with him, and he needs his sleep. Filibustering shall not succeed in extending bedtime. Grumf.

Last night, we were playing outside, and N. turned his big-wheeler upside down. I was cleaning up around the yard, and he was holding on to a pedal, and turning the wheel around and around.

N. comes up to me and asks: "Do you want to make some new wool?"
P: "What?"
N: "Some new wool?"
P: "You mean like a spinning wheel?"
N: "Yeah!"

Later, when I told the story, J. asked N. "Where did you learn about spinning wheels?" I don't remember his answer... I know we have a children's book that goes through sheep-to-shawl, but I don't think he's read it in the past two years... None of the TV shows I watch with him have focused on it recently... Hmm...

[P. aims the video clicker at N.] *click*
N: "Daddy, I'm not a television!"
P: "Of course not. You're nothing like a television."
N: "I'm not square!"
P: "You're far smarter than this television."
N: "Right. I know lots of things. Camels, camouflage, caterpillars, butterflies, and even outer space, and dinosaurs!"

A colleague just pointed me to the TRIZ 40. He sold it to me as a tool for innovation, where you can find out how to make something, for instance, fast and small. That may be a contradiction, but the tool can suggest ways to find a win-win situation between the two requirements. The 40 principles make a good set of possible solutions to problems.

Here's text from their front page. ( Read more... )