Wombatcon: convention report

WombatCon was what I wanted it to be. Friends old and new, gathered to sit and talk. There were some stories about jan, but mostly there was just friends, old and new, talking about whatever friends talk about. Perfect.

The display I put together of a sample of jan's life got the reaction I wanted. A whole lot of people said, "I never knew jan had/did/was..." As I was cleaning up the house and finding some of these things, I said pretty much the same.

I was suffering a double hit of brain meltdown: the heat/humidity and packing for both con and trip to Los Angeles. Several people wrote to me on Friday. I was running around so much, I never even unpacked my laptop.

And forgot my camera. I've been promised copies of the pictures others took, and will post them as they become available.

We had a couple of toasts just after 5pm. One to and for jan, and the other to "fuck cancer".

And then some bright person started a game of Cards Against Humanity. Ohdearghods, I needed that. ROFLMAO isn't strong enough. I do recommend that you do not play this game with or around people who are easily offended. It is rude, crude, and socially unattractive. It is offensive, tasteless, disturbing. It is the funniest damned thing I've done in quite some time.

The evening ended with tear down. I thank all who helped with that. Setting it all up was hard enough. Tearing it down alone would have been...impossible.

The final touch to the evening was hearing someone playing the piano just outside the back door to the ballroom. One of the hotel staff was playing a baby grand, playing the Moonlight Sonata. I love that piece. I can even play it... sort of. It was a perfect way to end the day.

Thank you one and all who came. Thank you one and all, here, there, wherever, for being jan's friends, and being you.

My life starts over

Today marks one month since jan howard finder died, from complications of cancer and chemotherapy. My world stopped for a moment, while I reconfigured to a different way of living, without The Wombat in it.

jan howard finder died at 12:54am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, in Albany Medical Center Hospital CCU, from complications of his cancer and chemo. The cause of death was listed as "multi-organ failure". Basically liver and kidneys just stopped working. We have dialysis for kidneys, but when the liver stops, there's not much to easily replace it.

I was with him when he died, and I had a friend with me. We probably had the hospital staff wondering about us, because we sat there and told silly jan stories and laughed a lot. At the end, my friend found the "Misty Mountains" chant by the dwarves in front of Bilbo's fireplace, from the Hobbit, and played it. It was perfect.

jan was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in 2004, and so had had an eight year run living with cancer. That's not too shabby.  I had three and a half years of crazy Wombat, the last year and a half living with him. I got to see The Wombat at home, in his private moments. And found out he was just as crazy, silly, and marvelous when he had an audience of only one.

The outpouring of love and support has been amazing and wonderful.

Morning Balloons

Dawn Patrol, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, October 2012.

Dawn Patrol is gorgeous. These are the unfuzziest pics of my collection. My camera and I have not yet learned how to do focus in dim light yet.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol filling up, flickering, glowing.    Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol filling up, flickering, glowing.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol filling up, flickering, glowing. Launching
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol flickering, glowing. Launching.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol flickering, glowing. Launching.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol glowing. Beautiful.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  From across the field, watching the Dawn Patrol float downwind, several glowing.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Dawn Patrol

  In with the crowds watching Dawn Patrol go up.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Balloons Before Dawn

  The balloons start launching at official dawn, even if the sun isn't over the mountains.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Balloons Before Dawn

  Sky full of balloons, up before the sun.
  Credits - Copyright.

Prep For Flight

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, October 2012.

I finally got some pics up from this year's Balloon Fiesta. Not too many days of flying, as the winds were strong this year. "My" balloon only flew twice, as the balloon is quite tall. A few years back, a sudden gust blew the balloon into an olive orchard, and it spent four days in the shop getting sewn back together.
Take off is optional
Landing is not.

The camera auto adjusts the light, but at this point, the sun is still behind the mountains, and it's just light enough to see what we're doing.

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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Getting the tubing from tanks to burners ready.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  The rope "Y" hooks the basket to the back of the truck, as an safety anchor point.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Tipping basket over, ready to attach balloon. I almost missed this, taking pictures of other balloons, so my poor camera's auto-focus didn't get a chance to. I'm just glad it got the picture.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Pulling the balloon out of its stiff sack. Getting ready to attach balloon to basket. The fan there is used to blow up the balloon.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping Basket For Flight

  Attaching balloon to basket. Now you know why the basket was tipped over.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Unfolding Balloon

  Pulling the balloon the rest of the way out of its stuff sack.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Unfolding Balloon

  More unpacking and unfolding of the balloon...
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Unfolding Balloon

  ...and unfolding the balloon...
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Unfolding Balloon

  ...and unfolding the balloon...this thing goes on forever!
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Unfolding Balloon

  Unfolding and laying balloon out flat.
  Three filled balloons, one doing a "glow" (burner lighting up the inside).
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Starting To Fill The Balloon

  A hot air balloon is first blown up. Literally, with that big fan. Once there's air in the balloon, the burners will turn it into hot air, and the balloon will rise.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Starting to fill with air.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Balloon slowly inflating. Some balloons will use two fans to speed the process.
  I love the rising balloons in the background.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Balloon slowly inflating. Some balloons will use two fans to speed the process.
  Brisk wind above ground, as the balloons rising in the background are going up at a noticeable angle.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Inflating the balloon.
  Other balloons taking to the air and moving south at a good rate.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Inflating the balloon. Getting the crown sealed and the crown rope ready.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  I'm at the far end of the crown rope. Our balloon is maybe half full, and still dwarfs the people around it. The balloons to the right are some of the commercial balloons that fly with baskets that can hold 18 to 24 people.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Balloon starting to show its size. This balloon is a wine pitcher and that little bit at the top is the spout.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  Remember picture #17, where I stood wa-a-a-ay out there? That's where Kevin is headed, to hold the crown rope. Among other things, it keeps the balloon from flopping around as it fills.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  What a balloon full of air looks like.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Filling The Balloon

  See the arrow, just to the left of our blue/gray balloon? Way back there by the white truck? That's Kevin with the crown rope.
  The sky is starting to fill with balloons.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Making the Hot Air Balloon Have Hot Air

  Heating the air so the balloon will rise.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Upright Balloon

  Prepping for take-off. There's a rope from the back of the truck to the balloon that can act as an anchor for the ballon. Note the other "special shape" balloon there: the fireman.
  I took a movie of the rise of the balloon. My camera and I don't speak "movie" too well yet, and I got a lot of twitchy movie picture.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping for Take-off

  Prepping for take-off, making sure all the fiddly bits are secure. The lady in the black-n-white striped shirt and the zebra socks is called, not surprisingly, a "zebra", and directs each balloon's launch.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping For Take-off

  Prepping for take-off. They're are attaching the radio, and unhooking the rope that's attached to the truck.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping For Take-off

  Keeping it hot, ready to launch
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping For Take-off

  Roar of the flame, hot air balloon about to launch.
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping For Take-off

  Up, up and away
  Credits - Copyright.

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  Prepping For Take-off

  Up, up and away. Our balloon, in a sky full of balloons, launched before the sun clears the mountains to the east. The brighter balloons are high enough to be in sunlight.
  Credits - Copyright.

Thoughts on Education

Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes.
    ~Norman Douglas

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
    ~Albert Einstein

If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things.
    ~Norman Douglas

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
    ~B. F. Skinner

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
    ~Malcolm Forbes

I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated.
    ~Al McGuire

Education: the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty.
    ~Mark Twain

If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.
    ~Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa for the win

Teaching kids

"[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are."
—  Jim Henson,  It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider

Advertising? Oy

You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.
    ~Norman Douglas, South Wind, 1917

Fly High, Neil

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012
Fly high, Neil.
The Apollo 11 Flight Journal

Lies... and Truth

I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.

    ~ Adlai Stevenson, campaign statement in Fresno, California (10 September 1952)

A Small Dichotomy Here.

A small dichotomy here. On one hand, there are people who say certain things don't exist, or don't happen often. On the other hand, there are groups making advertising campaigns covering those issues that "don't don't happen often", or create websites to cover issues around things that "don't happen often". With all the issues in the world that need dealing with, why would people create stuff about things that "don't happen often". Unless, of course, they happen a lot. United Way's campaign on teen pregnancy caused by rape or incest, which according to some, rarely happens.

Makes as much sense as any other explanation

Abbott and Costello explain Unemployment! COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America. ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 8.3% COSTELLO: That many people are out of work? ABBOTT: No, that's 16%. COSTELLO: You just said 8.3%. ABBOTT: 8.3% Unemployed. COSTELLO: Right 8.3% out of work. ABBOTT: No, that's 16%. COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 16% unemployed. ABBOTT: No, that's 8.3%... COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 8.3% or 16%? ABBOTT: 8.3% are unemployed. 16% are out of work. COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed. ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed. COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!! ABBOTT: No, you miss my point. COSTELLO: What point? ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair. COSTELLO: To whom? ABBOTT: The unemployed. COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work. ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed. COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment? ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely! COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work? ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 8.3%. Otherwise it would be 16%. You don't want to read about 16% unemployment, do ya? COSTELLO: That would be frightening. ABBOTT: Absolutely. COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number? ABBOTT: Two ways is correct. COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job? ABBOTT: Correct. COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job? ABBOTT: Bingo. COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work. ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an economist. COSTELLO: I don't even know what the hell I just said! ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like a politician.

I wish it were that easy.

Rep. Todd Akin, on pregnancy due to rape:

"I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

uh, and what is the raped woman in this scenario? Besides inconvenient.

Rep. Todd Akin, on selective fact finding:

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,..."

A 1996 study by the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found "rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency" and is "a cause of many unwanted pregnancies" — an estimated "32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year."

Rep. Todd Akin, on raped women getting pregnant:

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Dude, if it were that easy to not get pregnant, we wouldn't need to have conversations about birth control and abortions

War on women? Nah. just screaming abysmal ignorance of how things really work. Which just turns out to look like a war on women. Or, to quote my late father in law, "that difference which makes no difference is no difference."

Read the article on Rep. Todd Akin's views on rape.

LIFE HORSE!

I made a pilgrimage to the University of Vermont Middlebury's Morgan horse farm on 8 August. It was just a bit hot and humid, so I didn't stand outside much. And the pictures in the barn didn't come out too well. Gee, I guess I'll have to go back.

Statute of Morgan, given in memory of Justin Morgan

The Summer of 2012 -- Too Hot to Handle?

That's the caption on an article from NASA Science News.
Stealing the first few paragraphs:

August 3, 2012: This past June more than 170 all-time US heat records were tied or broken--many of them originally set in the historically hotter months of July and August. And with a drought plaguing much of the country, the ground is as dry and crispy as a saltine cracker.

By early July, 56% of the contiguous U.S. was experiencing drought. That's the largest percentage in the 12-year record of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Fires scorched over 1.3 million acres across the US in June, reducing hundreds of homes to ashes in the West.

Just imagining prospects for the rest of the summer is enough to bring sweat to your brow. And last winter is partly to blame.

"799 daytime heat records were broken in the first five days of January in the US," says Jake Crouch, a climate scientist from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center. "Last year's was the fourth warmest winter since 1895. And it was dry, with a dearth of snowfall in many places. During most of this past winter and spring, a positive North Atlantic Oscillation pressure pattern kept the jet stream further north and the US warmer and drier than normal."

At the end of the article, a climatologist from NASA and a scientist from the University of Alabama Hunstville, disagreeing on whether we have global warming, both agree we need better models.

An interesting look at the problem, without a lot of nasty adjectives.
Summer of 2012

Easing A Burden For Vets?

Really. That's what the article says.

According to the July/August 2012 AARP bulletin, "the Department of Veterans Affairs is making it easier for vets to provide medical information supporting their disability claims. Veterans' medical care providers can now download any of 71 forms for specific conditions..."

WaitWhat? 71 forms? Good grief! I supposed allowing the forms to be downloaded is an easing, but really... 71? Checking out a few of them, they seem to run 4 to 8 pages each, and ask extremely detailed questions. They remind me of the questions asked by outsourced tech support who really have no clue what's going on, but want you to go away.

For arthritis for example, does the veteran have pain? Uh, no, we thought we'd tie up the medical system with stupid visits.  This question and checkbox is followed by "If yes, indicate affected joints (check all that apply):" and a detailed list of the joints available to be arthritic, incl a list for each of the left and right sides. This is followed by a substantial box "For all checked joints, describe involvement (brief summary). Also complete a questionnaire for each affected joint, if indicated."

The next question is "does the veteran have any limitation of joint movement attributable to this arthritic condition?" See sarcasm above. Again we have "If yes..." and a list of boxes to be checked for "all that apply" and a substantial box "For all checked joints, describe limitation of movement (brief summary). Also complete a questionnaire for each affected joint, if indicated."

This goes on for 5 pages,  and includes sections for "systemic involvement other than joints", "incapacitating and non-incapacitating exacerbations", "other pertinent findings, complications, conditions, signs and/or symptoms", "assistive devices", "diagnostic testing" and lots more. For each and every question, there is a box for details, and in some cases a requirement for additional questionnaires to be filled out.

Looking at all this, I realized the problem is not getting care to vets, or getting vets in to see a doctor. It's processing the damned paperwork.

If you want to see the list, go here: Disability Benefit Questionaire.

Tips for Birders

In reply to a request for comments about birding, I wrote this on someone else's blog. I thought you, my voracious reader... readers, might find it fun.

Keep in mind that "comfortable clothing" for birding means stuff you can hike in, go thru shrubbery in, wade a creek in. Story I read/heard years ago had a young woman arrive in low-heeled office shoes. For her, those were "comfortable".

Keep a sense of humor. Bird names are daft. Early on, bird names were given by people who only had a dead bird to look at. Orange-crowned warblers are green.

Keep a sense of humor. Birders are daft. We have our own local names for things. Getting hung up on correct names is likely to cause the group to find every nickname for every bird on the local list. We did that to one poor fussy "perfect namer". 'Bout drove him nuts. Birders will translate, if you look puzzled.

Keep a sense of humor. The minute you bring up your binoculars, the bird will fly off. And just because everybody else can see the bird does not mean you're either blind or stupid. Half a dozen of us were admiring a yellow-breasted chat, including me for whom most birds have an invisibility cloak. The walk leader, a man of some 30 years' birding, couldn't see it. We spent 15 minutes pointing out branches, and "left at the split, then out two feet", and he still never saw the chat. It happens.

Birding will change how you view the world. Going out early in the morning, I don't hear amorphous bird sounds. I hear the different voices, the jays, the finches, the warblers. I see trees and bushes not as green stuff planted in a yard, but as something the robins like, the hummers will feed from, the mockers will nest in. I was talking with a friend on the phone. I suddenly asked, "Did you just walk outside?" "Yes... why?" "Because I can hear the woodpecker."

Great soul and vast views

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak.
John Adams, Second US President

The man who tries to make the flag an object of a single party is a greater traitor to that flag than any man who fires at it.
— Lloyd George)

Life's requirements

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
Charles Kingsley

I don’t want politicians who are 'above politics,' any more then I want a plumber who's 'above toilets'.'
— Ta-Nahesi Coates