The Japanese maple outside of Kerr Hall is already far along into its fall color display. Is an early fall on its way or is it just the dry year we have had so far?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
DHS contractor threatens woman with arrest for wearing "lesbian.com" tee on federal property
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/27/dhs-contractor-threa.html
For me, the biggest problem with the current administration is their continued insistence that the executive branch can enforce laws based on their own interpretations and basically make up their own laws.
This sets a bad precedent for the DHS, the TSA, police and private security guards who get the idea that they can make up rules or interpret them to suit their own beliefs and prejudices.
It is my own personal intention to obey the law to the best of my ability and I think this is the case for most people. But in order to do so we need to know clearly what the law is. Secret laws or laws that are vague or open to vague interpretations are unacceptable. They lead to ridiculous and blatant civil rights violations such as this.
For me, the biggest problem with the current administration is their continued insistence that the executive branch can enforce laws based on their own interpretations and basically make up their own laws.
This sets a bad precedent for the DHS, the TSA, police and private security guards who get the idea that they can make up rules or interpret them to suit their own beliefs and prejudices.
It is my own personal intention to obey the law to the best of my ability and I think this is the case for most people. But in order to do so we need to know clearly what the law is. Secret laws or laws that are vague or open to vague interpretations are unacceptable. They lead to ridiculous and blatant civil rights violations such as this.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
UCSC Kresge reunion 2008
These old photos were at the 2008 Kresge reunion and brought back some good memories. Unfortunately I only had a little pocket camera and it was dark so these are probably the worst looking copies up on my flickr site.
Sean is now a bronze caster in Santa Cruz. I believe these were from Kresge day around 1983 or 1984.
Sean is now a bronze caster in Santa Cruz. I believe these were from Kresge day around 1983 or 1984.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Partial Albino Squirrel
For the past few years we have had one or two partially albino squirrels who live around the garage at UCSC. One of these days I'll need to remember to bring my good camera to get a photo. It is always too dark under the trees to get a good photo of such a fast moving critter with my point and shoot.
Santa Cruz Earthquake Memorial
I was glad to see that three of the four paintings in the earthquake memorial in downtown Santa Cruz had been replaced as of a week or two ago but was saddened to see that one of them is already missing, possibly broken from the looks of it. I wish there was some way to make them more permanent. I assume the fourth one is of the cooperhouse right?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Cockney latin Joke
A good friend of mine uses various Latin phrases as her online and away messages on iChat which has inspired me to use various quasi-Latin joke phrases that I have picked up over the years. Most of them are fairly obvious but the one I have been thinking of lately I haven't been able to find references to on the internet. I sure would like to find it, especially so I could spell the Latin words that make it up since its effect on people who read Latin ( I don't) is best if they are spelled properly.
It is an old joke that my mother used to tell which looks like Latin but is actually Cockney (or perhaps Yorkshire). It goes something like: "Ullo bile eres ago, fortibuses in ero. Ono bile themis trucks. See whatsinem peasor duks."
It is an old joke that my mother used to tell which looks like Latin but is actually Cockney (or perhaps Yorkshire). It goes something like: "Ullo bile eres ago, fortibuses in ero. Ono bile themis trucks. See whatsinem peasor duks."
Friday, February 29, 2008
ClarkKentHall.JPG
Normally I report graffiti as quickly as possible to keep our campus looking nice but sometimes there are items that are so subtle and well done I think they are an improvement.
Think Before You Name Your Business
Two new bank names that get me every time I see them. If you say them out loud they might give people ideas that the banks wouldn't want them to have.
The first one is Rabobank (rob-o-bank).
The second is Wachovia (watch over ya). Formerly World Savings.
The first one is Rabobank (rob-o-bank).
The second is Wachovia (watch over ya). Formerly World Savings.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Plum Pudding and Lebkuchen
I just heard a couple of tidbits that I found interesting on a Food Channel show called : "The Secret Life Of... Christmas foods.
My family has always followed some of the English Christmas traditions that my mother remembered from her childhood. One of those is the traditional desert of Plum Pudding with a silver coin in it. The year we were in England when I was 9 (and I think a few years after that) we had a silver sixpence. Most other years we have had a dime, the American coin that is most similar to that.
In this show they mentioned that it is traditional to have not only a coin, but also a button, a ring and a thimble. The person who found the coin would have wealth, the person who found the ring would get married, the man who found the button would remain a bachelor, the woman who found the thimble would be a spinster.
They also talked about German lebkuchen, ginger cookies made with honey and pressed into wooden molds that have been made since at least the 13th century. Most of them have christian themes but some of them have pagan symbols. I was curious to see which pagan symbols they have but could not find any images on the web that looked likely.
My family has always followed some of the English Christmas traditions that my mother remembered from her childhood. One of those is the traditional desert of Plum Pudding with a silver coin in it. The year we were in England when I was 9 (and I think a few years after that) we had a silver sixpence. Most other years we have had a dime, the American coin that is most similar to that.
In this show they mentioned that it is traditional to have not only a coin, but also a button, a ring and a thimble. The person who found the coin would have wealth, the person who found the ring would get married, the man who found the button would remain a bachelor, the woman who found the thimble would be a spinster.
They also talked about German lebkuchen, ginger cookies made with honey and pressed into wooden molds that have been made since at least the 13th century. Most of them have christian themes but some of them have pagan symbols. I was curious to see which pagan symbols they have but could not find any images on the web that looked likely.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
collegewikis.com?
Hmm,
Just got an email/spam from collegewikis.com claiming to have a wiki for UCSC which would be cool. But, you have to create an account and log in to see any of their content. This just seems to me to be directly opposite to the wiki concept of open information. So I didn't log in. But I do think it would be good for someone to create a open UCSC wiki.
Just got an email/spam from collegewikis.com claiming to have a wiki for UCSC which would be cool. But, you have to create an account and log in to see any of their content. This just seems to me to be directly opposite to the wiki concept of open information. So I didn't log in. But I do think it would be good for someone to create a open UCSC wiki.
Friday, December 07, 2007
LolBananaSlug
Wen i wuz a UCSC stewdint a cow once got a bukkit stuk on his foot an wokked around famly howsing at 3am...
moar funny pictures
moar funny pictures
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Digital SLR selection
I have been wanting to buy a digital SLR for a long time now and finally broke down and bought one to take on our last vacation. I had been debating what brand and model to buy for several years and ended up with the Pentax d100Super .
If I were actually making money from my photography it might have been better to go with a Nikon or Canon, but since I currently have no plans to do that, the Pentax seemed a better choice. The choice of the Pentax seemed to be the one that would allow me to grow a small system for the lowest total cost possible.
The fact that the image stabilization is built into the body rather than the lenses allows me to use it with any lens, not just the expensive dedicated IS lenses that Nikon and Canon make. I know that each company is starting to come out with lower priced IS lenses and Sigma now has one but those are still at least $4-600. A lot of money for a gadget to support a hobby.
With the Pentax (as with the Sony/Minolta system) I can buy used lenses dirt cheap and use them with the built-in IS.
There are a few limitations to this that I discovered however. The main one is that the focus screen in the d100 does not make manual focusing very easy. This makes buying manual focus lenses an iffy proposition at this point since I can't be sure that I can keep them in focus all the time. Old manual focus lenses are often vastly cheaper than the new auto-focus versions of the same lenses. There are a few 3rd party focus screen manufacturers that make screens that should make manual focusing easier but they may affect auto-exposure a little and it is unclear whether they might interfere with auto-focus or IS.
Also, the older auto-focus lenses seem much noisier than new ones and some of them may be quite a bit heavier and larger than current lenses. Their coatings may not be as good with digital cameras either.
Still though, I think this will allow me to get the lenses that I want for a few hundred dollars rather than the few thousand that it would take with a Nikon or Canon.
Also, apparently the camera based IS systems should work better with the short to medium lenses that I favor as opposed to the lens based systems that work best with longer lenses. A 28mm f2 should allow me to take handheld photos in very low light. Just the sort of setup that I typically need on vacation for taking pictures inside of dimly lit museums, churches, etc. theoretically the limit should be 1/28th of a second for the lens by itself with the IS system adding about 2 stops for a minimum shutter speed of 1/7th of a second. At 800-3200 ISO this should allow me to shoot handheld in very dim places.
If I were actually making money from my photography it might have been better to go with a Nikon or Canon, but since I currently have no plans to do that, the Pentax seemed a better choice. The choice of the Pentax seemed to be the one that would allow me to grow a small system for the lowest total cost possible.
The fact that the image stabilization is built into the body rather than the lenses allows me to use it with any lens, not just the expensive dedicated IS lenses that Nikon and Canon make. I know that each company is starting to come out with lower priced IS lenses and Sigma now has one but those are still at least $4-600. A lot of money for a gadget to support a hobby.
With the Pentax (as with the Sony/Minolta system) I can buy used lenses dirt cheap and use them with the built-in IS.
There are a few limitations to this that I discovered however. The main one is that the focus screen in the d100 does not make manual focusing very easy. This makes buying manual focus lenses an iffy proposition at this point since I can't be sure that I can keep them in focus all the time. Old manual focus lenses are often vastly cheaper than the new auto-focus versions of the same lenses. There are a few 3rd party focus screen manufacturers that make screens that should make manual focusing easier but they may affect auto-exposure a little and it is unclear whether they might interfere with auto-focus or IS.
Also, the older auto-focus lenses seem much noisier than new ones and some of them may be quite a bit heavier and larger than current lenses. Their coatings may not be as good with digital cameras either.
Still though, I think this will allow me to get the lenses that I want for a few hundred dollars rather than the few thousand that it would take with a Nikon or Canon.
Also, apparently the camera based IS systems should work better with the short to medium lenses that I favor as opposed to the lens based systems that work best with longer lenses. A 28mm f2 should allow me to take handheld photos in very low light. Just the sort of setup that I typically need on vacation for taking pictures inside of dimly lit museums, churches, etc. theoretically the limit should be 1/28th of a second for the lens by itself with the IS system adding about 2 stops for a minimum shutter speed of 1/7th of a second. At 800-3200 ISO this should allow me to shoot handheld in very dim places.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
UCBotanicalGardenBH
A few weekends ago we went to the UC Botanical Garden up at UC Berkeley for a talk and tour of the cycads in the garden. I was amazed at what a spectacular garden it is and would highly recommend a visit. We saw many other wonderful plants as well as cycads such as this one. What wild and wonderful prehistoric plants these are. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycad
This I believe
Although I would prefer to have national leaders who are the most intelligent people that nyone can find for their jobs, even more important is that our leaders should be people who bring out the very best, the most noble ideals in all of us.
They should help us to feel that we should do what is right for all of the people of the world.
They should help us to trust people who are different from us rather than making us fearful and suspicious of them.
They should help us to get along better with each other and see that we have common ground with all people now matter how different they be from us.
Yes I know that it is a dangerous world out there and there are some people in the world who do not have the best intentions for their fellow beings, but I still believe that the vast majority of people in the world want the best for their fellow beings and will act to promote that if they are not put in untenable situations that make it difficult to do so.
They should help us to feel that we should do what is right for all of the people of the world.
They should help us to trust people who are different from us rather than making us fearful and suspicious of them.
They should help us to get along better with each other and see that we have common ground with all people now matter how different they be from us.
Yes I know that it is a dangerous world out there and there are some people in the world who do not have the best intentions for their fellow beings, but I still believe that the vast majority of people in the world want the best for their fellow beings and will act to promote that if they are not put in untenable situations that make it difficult to do so.
Writings From My Mother's Notebook
My father died about two months ago and since then several of my co-workers have died untimely deaths.
Many things have been roaming around in my the past few months and one of them is this passage that my father printed out for me a few years ago that he had found in my mother's notebook. It was dated 5/8/97, about 7 months before my mother passed away.
I still miss my mother and I definitely miss my father very much now. And I miss all of those friends and relatives who have gone before me. I am still very much in the midst of that but this does help at least a tiny bit and I think that it will help more as time goes on and the good times return.
"I used to think that you could never become/grow to be good at handling death. Each death gets harder to bear, not easier, and the pain and grief begins to extend to partings as well. But it now seems to me that that's precisely what being good at handling death is.
When my father died I was eleven, no one close to me had died. I cried and I knew that my life was changed forever. I had no knowledge of forever, or the rest of my life. Now, when someone I love dies, I feel the whole layer cake of grief, the heavy strata of emotions, and I know how long I will feel that loss. I also know that I don't need to be afraid that I will forget them, even though I may think of them less often. What this does is to --?--What does it do, huh? The pain is more exquisite now but I feel freer to grieve- less guilty about enjoying my life in between times of grief. "
Many things have been roaming around in my the past few months and one of them is this passage that my father printed out for me a few years ago that he had found in my mother's notebook. It was dated 5/8/97, about 7 months before my mother passed away.
I still miss my mother and I definitely miss my father very much now. And I miss all of those friends and relatives who have gone before me. I am still very much in the midst of that but this does help at least a tiny bit and I think that it will help more as time goes on and the good times return.
"I used to think that you could never become/grow to be good at handling death. Each death gets harder to bear, not easier, and the pain and grief begins to extend to partings as well. But it now seems to me that that's precisely what being good at handling death is.
When my father died I was eleven, no one close to me had died. I cried and I knew that my life was changed forever. I had no knowledge of forever, or the rest of my life. Now, when someone I love dies, I feel the whole layer cake of grief, the heavy strata of emotions, and I know how long I will feel that loss. I also know that I don't need to be afraid that I will forget them, even though I may think of them less often. What this does is to --?--What does it do, huh? The pain is more exquisite now but I feel freer to grieve- less guilty about enjoying my life in between times of grief. "
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