And another one!

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.
2. Book #1 -- first sentence
3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty
4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred
5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book
7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph:

The police in the small town of Los Alamos, New Mexico, worried briefly in 1974 about a man seen prowling in the dark, night after night, the red glow of his cigarette floating along the back streets. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. No matter. These equations, although simplified by the use of the hydrostatic approximation and by neglect of some small terms that appear in the complete spherical coordinate form, still contain several terms that are of secondary significance for midlatitude synoptic-scale systems (catch all that?-rw). The cottage was warm and filled with light, and smelt of tobacco and sulphur and the food that awaited us.


Hmm...not bad. Any guesses on the books?

Meme Wednesday

Here's how it works:
1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the lyrics in your journal along with these instructions. Don’t name the band, nor the album-title.

There's something everybody knows
There's one place everybody goes
I've got this notion that it isn't what it seems
That I've been living in a dream

Draw me a picture
Draw it in color
'Cause I wanna see my life through
Someone else's eyes

Beautiful shadows in my mind
They're all that's left of your design
Scattered all over like the sun in our room
Crawling all over like June bugs in June

Draw me a picture
Draw it in color
'Cause I wanna see my life through
Someone else's eyes

I'll find my way again
I never thought that I could make such a mess
I got this feeling that it's gonna be all right
And I'll begin again tonight

Draw me a picture
Draw it in color
'Cause I wanna see my life through
Someone else's eyes

Perverse pleasures....

You know, I get a real thrill out of venturing into "guy" spaces, getting exactly what I need, and not being hassled about it. Take Radio Shack. The looks on the clerks' faces when you go in and ask for a male Coax-to-USB cable is utterly priceless. Today, though, it was the auto parts store. Another version of the "guy store", where, as a woman, it's assumed that you are an idiot. Now, I've been dragged along to my share of these establishments (thanks dad!), and I know more or less how it goes: general stuff is out in front, but if you want a particular part, you need to ask the guys behind the counter standing in front of the intimidating-looking boxes. And they do know what they're talking about, so it's worth chatting them up if you're not sure.

First, a little background. On the way to liberate my furniture from Robert back in April, my CD player got jammed when I got over-eager in putting in a new CD. This has restricted me to the radio for the past several months, and my IPod when I just can't stand any more free-format stuff the undergrads play on WXYC. So, I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns and dig out the CD from the radio and see if I can get it working again. I tackle the radio with a pair of tweezers, get them into the slot where CDs go, and they get stuck.

Radio: 1, Becky: 0

The tweezers get rescued, and I attack some holes that look like they might lead to some sort of switch to release the radio. They do, but the tweezers aren't long enough.

Radio: 2, Becky: 0

A little savvy googling shows that there is in fact a tool, and it is easily available from the local auto parts store. And it's cheap. You bet it is: $3.99, and bonus points for the flirty salesman. Of course I'm going to do the work myself. And yes, I go to school here. Or did. And yes, I know that a graduate degree in Environmental Science means I must be pretty smart. I can handle a silly stubborn radio.

Back to the radio, tools in hand. A little futzing about with the placement and suddenly I'm presented with a metal box housing the radio. I start to undo some screws, and think for a minute...hmm..I should probably unplug this thing lest I set my car on fire.

Radio: 2, Becky: 1

I undo the screws, figure out how the face is attached, pop it off, and there, in all it's glory, is the stuck CD. Success! I fish out the offender.

Radio: 2, Becky: 2

Pop everything back into place, and now for the test: I plug it back in. And it works! I have my CD player back, and for a far lower cost than a new radio!

And I didn't even break a nail.

How I feel sometimes...

more animals

A serendipitous weekend

Wow! For a weekend spent not doing much of anything, I sure had a good one. Perhaps karma is finally starting to work for me. Or so it seems for these past few days! First, on Saturday, I was the very happy recipient of this bunch of loveliness from Faraday:

For once, my camera captured the yellow correctly! That is two hanks of VERY yelllow and VERY orange yarn from Hawthorne Cottage, and two hanks of Naturally Aspire super chunky. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful and generous friend! Perched on top is some local (to F) tea. It's a green tea with some roasted rice in it. The flavor is quite delicate, and the rice gives a peculiar (but yummy) aftertaste. I think the actual meaning of the brand is "Tea: 2x the caffiene", as when I tried some of this in the evening, I ended up being awake half the night!

Then, on Sunday, I went to go catch up on all the latest gossip with Anne at the Yarn Barn (in it's new closer location!). Next door to us is this store that sells all sorts of neat goods that are organic, fairly traded, and generally sustainable. There was a dress form outside the shop sporting a sari, with the label " recycled silk saris now available"....and who am I to turn down beautiful fabric? I didn't go in because I knew if I did I would be walking out with a sari, no matter the cost, and I couldn't bear to see what I knew I would have to turn down. Now, Anne knows a good deal when she sees one (and has similar tastes in fabric!)...SHE went in. Those saris? A steal at $30. Anne pointed out you can't get good saris in India for that price...I couldn't resist any more, and came away with these:

And my desk is even clean!

Finally, today, I adopted a bicycle. It was being thrown away at my apt. complex, and it looked, to me, to be in good shape. So I brought it up, dusted it off, and then took it down to the local bike shop for an analysis. I was right! It only needs a little love and a touch of work. For about $75, it will be good as new. Here's my find:

Not bad for a dumpster-dive find, eh? It's sporting air in the tires, a new seat, a little elbow grease, and some WD-40. It's got a couple scuff marks, still, but you can't tell unless you look really closely.

Up next: a completed sweater!