hiking prep

So I decided to take my Palm Vx on the hiking trip after all. ScottM might be lending me his battery-operated recharger. I'll be carrying the Palm in a Seal Line waterproof bag (see above photo). The case was made specifically for small electronic devices, and came with a rectangle of foam padding from which I cut a hole in the shape of my Palm. I've also added a stiff cardboard backing for the back and (when I'm not using the Palm) the front to help protect it in my backpack.


I figure the fuss is worth it. My Palm is so light and small compared to a paperback book, plus having it along will give me access to:


- Andrew Lang's Lilac Fairy book (downloaded from Memoware)


- Arabian Nights book (downloaded from Memoware)


- my Japanese language flash cards


- the text adventure I've been playing lately


- iRogue


- word processor docs...I could work on my trip report on route or even my novel


- recent online issues of Salon, Wired, CBC news, Japan In Your Palm ezine, Sci Fi Channel, Space.com, Variety.com


- pocket synthesizer (for composing/playing music)


Just imagine how much space the above collection would take up in print/hardware format! I love my Palm.


Jeff and I will be sharing one digital camera between us (Elph S100).


I'll be packing my personal belongings for the hiking trip today as well. Weight and bulk is a huge factor on a trip where you have to carry everything (tents, campstoves, food, clothes, etc.) on your back the entire way, even more so than on a canoe trip. And when packing, I'm going to assume that it'll be raining on everything.


We're going to the cottage tomorrow, but not leaving on our hiking trip until next Tuesday.


Incidentally, I still haven't gotten word about the Pegasus voting ballot so won't be able to post it on the OVFF Web site before I leave, and I'm going to be away for much of August and September (even if I have online access, it will likely be through long-distance dial-up or Internet cafes). If any of you hear news, could you please post it on the OVFF message board? Thanks kindly. :-)





Today's Blatherpics:


- Seal Line waterproof plastic case containing my Palm.


- Sample of hiking meal packages.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Do you work for (or have you ever worked for) a dot-com company?

movies

Many thanks to Luisa for sending me the clipping above (click on image to see the full front page) from The Mirror, a Scarborough newspaper. Incidentally, Ruth's "Pants Off First" has gotten good reviews in Booklist and Publisher's Weekly.


Went to see "Jurassic Park III" yesterday afternoon with ScottD and Jeff. Predictable plot, unsurprisingly, but it was good escapist fun for a couple hours. :-) Enjoyed it more than "A.I." or "Planet of the Apes".


I go to movies for different reasons. Sometimes because I'm hoping for some really good storytelling, sometimes for the escapism factor, sometimes for the social aspect. For me, the movie can have a stupid plot and still be enjoyable if there are interesting characters. I mainly go to movies for the escapism factor. My ideal movie pulls me in and keeps me engrossed throughout. I'm never tempted to look at my watch; the outside world disappears completely. I don't go to movies for intellectual stimulation (I prefer text for that); I want to be entertained. I want happy endings, or at least endings with an element of hope.


My personal pet peeves at movies:


- Trailers which give away too much of the plot.


- T.V. commercials being shown before the trailers.


- Sticky floors.


- The movietickets.com commercial (maybe this only showed in Canada).


- Sitting behind someone with big hair.


- Cellphones.




Related pet peeve:


- Movie snobs. Y'know, the type who turn their noses up at all commercially successful movies and praise all independent art films, regardless of quality.


Today's Blatherpics:


- Photo of my sister in The Mirror from last Friday.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever cried at a movie?

sara's birthday

As Sara blew out her birthday cake candles on Friday, I had a flashback to when my sister was still pregnant with her. Jeff and I used to kneel beside Ruth, avidly watching the surface of her stomach bulge and ripple. It was better than watching Aliens (and without the gross bits, too).


I remember how small Sara was as a baby, how strange it was to see my little sister holding a baby of her own. I had pretty much zero experience with babies, and was terrified about holding Sara...what if I dropped her by accident? What if she broke? I remember the first time I took her for a ride in the stroller by myself, my white-knuckled grasp on the stroller handle, the surge of panic every time she made a noise.


I remember rocking Sara to sleep, the damp warmth of her head on my chest, breathing in her milk-baby fragrance. What would she be like as a teenager, I wondered? Rebellious and wild like Ruth? Easygoing and a model daughter like me? (stop laughing, Ruth)





Our friend Scott Dixon is staying with us until tomorrow. Yesterday, we went to see Planet of the Apes with Scott Murray and Parki. Highly disappointing flick; I had been hoping for something more from Tim Burton.


Went to Bombay Palace for dinner last night with Jeff's dad and his girlfriend, and our friends Harry and Jean from New York. After dinner, they visited the apartment to check out my harp. We'll be going on an overnight canoe trip with Harry and Jean next weekend in Algonquin Park.


I've been spending most of the past few days finishing up the hiking trip menu, and doing experiments/taste tests with the dehydrated ingredients. So far, dehydrated dinners include chicken with mushrooms on rice, couscous, fruit & nut curry on rice, Huron stew with dumplings and cornbread, beef jerky stew with dumplings. Desserts: fruit cobbler, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, cake, pudding, chocolate bars, cheesecake.


I'll be spending most of today putting together meal packages to take on the trip, but will be taking a brief break to see Jurassic Park III with Jeff and ScottD. We have free passes, and are hoping that it will be better than Planet of the Apes (fingers crossed).


Hey, I've registered debbieohi.com! I'm going to make some "My Life In A Nutshell" t-shirts, and needed a shorter URL.





Today's Blatherpics:


- Sara as an infant.


- Sara and I having a tea party (without tea) at Wasaga Beach.


- Birthday cake cutting at Sara's birthday party on Friday. She turned 7.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:



Have you ever walked out in the middle of a movie? (because it was so bad)

New iBook!

Woohoo, I have a new iBook! Trading in my old Powerbook today. So far the transition of data from my old to new laptops has gone pretty smoothly, thanks to Jeff. The iBook is lighter than my old computer, cost less, and has a smaller screen. It's also more powerful and has more storage space. Go figure. From the advertising, it looks like this model is being marketed mainly to students.


One motivation was switching was because I plan to work on my writing out of my home office as much as possible. I find being online too much of a temptation ("just gotta check e-mail one more time"). When I'm home, however, I can hook it up to my big monitor and work as usual.


I've named my new iBook "Samantha". Was tempted to name it "Samwise", but this time I wanted a female name.


At this point, I can't recall exactly how many computers I've had over the years. As I've mentioned a long while back, my first computer was a TRS-80 Model I (upgraded soon to a Model III when they came in stock). Then came the Commodore 64 and a long series of Macintosh computers.


Got back yesterday from the cottage. Our friend Scott D. arrives later today, and is staying with us for a few days before we leave for the cottage again. I'm going to ask Scott to do a Guest Blathering, but I suspect he would rather have chopstick splinters shoved beneath his nails first (he's not the Blathering type).


Hey, any of you on ICQ? My number is 70032255.





Today's Blatherpics:


- Me and my new iBook.


- Michael Cecutti with a model airplane, on Wasaga Beach.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:

Did you ever have to use punch cards when programming? (if you don't know what punch cards are, just pick 'NO')

dinner with the gibsons

[Update July 24: I pick up my new computer today! Hopefully the conversion from old to new will go smoothly, and I'll be able to get back online tonight.]


We're at the cottage with my sister-in-law, her boyfriend, and our niece Brittany. My mom-in-law was here as well, but had to go back to the city this morning.


With a child at the cottage, activities naturally tend to differ from when Jeff and I are up here along. They included:


- Cookie experiments: Brittany and I were cookie scientists. We mixed together a basic oatmeal cookie recipe, and then I laid out a number of small bowls filled with different ingredients such as butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, chocolate powder, marshamllow bits and whole marshmallows, and Smarties. I told Brittany she could add whatever she wanted, and then we would stick the experiment in the oven and see how it came out. Not surprisingly, the cookies ended up very high in extra ingredients and low on cookie dough, but it was a lot of fun. :-)





- Body Art: I bought a Body Art kit at Chapters last week. It came with five coloured waxy crayons which drew easily on skin (and washed off with water and soap), and a booklet of design ideas. Brittany and I took turns drawing on each other. Afterward we jumped into the lake to wash off.





- Singing: Brittany wanted to hear the Hockey Monkey song over and over and over again. I also taught her the Alligator Song I learned from Sara.


- Swimming: Ginny, Larkin, Brittany and I swam to Peary's Island (about 300 metres). Brittany was in her lifejacket. It was the first time that Brittany and I had swum that route...I've been somewhat paranoid about trying before since the water is pretty deep. I had aimed to try later in the summer after I had more practice (I'm starting to swim laps at the cottage), but there's nothing like the peer pressure from one's five-year-old niece to provide extra motivation. :-)


Unfortunately Brittany started feeling ill near the end of the day, and ended up nauseous with a fever. Larkin suspects she had been coming down with something already.





In the evening, we went over to Dan and Helen Gibson's place for dinner. Dan Gibson is the creator of the Solitudes record label. His company was the first to market recordings of nature sounds for consumer enjoyment, and also the first -or one of the first- to set up listening stations in stores so that consumers could hear samples of the recordings before making a purchase.


After dinner (Ginny, Larkin, Rick, and Brittany decided to head back to our cottage, but Jeff and I wanted to hang out longer), Dan played me some of his piano compositions. Unfortunately I had forgotten my flute; we sometimes jam together for fun. Their cottage piano is fairly ancient, originally from Mowat Lodge and likely played by Group of Seven painter, Tom Thomson. It's definitely a piano with its own personality (like my Underwood typewriter!), with a few keys that refuse to work.





Jeff and I secretly hope to be like Dan and Helen when we're older (Dan turns 80 next year). They both seem so happy, still very much in love, and have more energy and enthusiasm than a lot of people I know. We plan to visit them in Toronto later this year...I'm going to bring my flute and harp. Dan's been learning how to play flute recently.


We finally leave as darkness was beginning to fall. Paddling quietly across the lake in our canoe, Jeff and I can still hear Dan playing "Algonquin Rain" in the cottage behind us. On the other side of the lake, the fiery glow of the setting sun is just starting to fade on the horizon.


Everyone has already gone to bed by the time our canoe gently nudges the dock. Jeff and I have a sauna and a quick dip in the lake. As we float in the cool water, we can hear the loons calling to each other in the darkness, their cries echoing across the lake.


Today's Blatherpics:


- Brittany paints my toenails, picks a different colour for each nail. We are using a set that Annie and Sara got me as a gift when I was in Philadelphia. Each bottle has a picture of a different Looney Toons character.


- Giant cookie by Brittany, just before we put it into the oven.


- Cartoons I drew on Brittany's legs with a Body Art craft set.


- Dinner with Helen and Dan Gibson. Larkin's boyfriend Rick (who is also chef at Oasis) cooked pickerel...yum.


- Dan plays his newest composition for me.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:

Have you ever taken piano lessons?