What is the Big Project?

Sorry Burb, the Big Project is not related to Harry Potter. There are, in fact, a few big projects going on around here. Many of them are not too exciting, just large. There is one, however, that is very exciting. I have not worked on the project for long (most of it was completed before I was hired) but right now I am helping out with a certain aspect of it. Namely, I am cataloging and prepping samples for the project. Essentially, the project involves creating large kits cover different areas of scientific study: Oil & Gas, Rock/Geology, Chemicals etc.
For one of the kits (Rock/Geology) we put together a collection of different types of rocks and minerals for students to look at as a scientist explains what they are. That cataloging was not the most fun, but it was something different. Today, however, I am handling far more valuable and interesting commodities: fossils!
Currently I am sorting through a box of fossilized shark teeth from the Cenozoic Era (which covers the past 65 million years). Yesterday I was going through a box of fossilized Brachiopods that were over 470 million years old and Ammonites that were from the Mesozoic Era. Most exciting is the box of dinosaur fossils that I am about to open. Even though the cranky seat-stealer is back today I am enjoying myself. Even if it has nothing to do with Harry Potter.

Get off my stuff bitch!

On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week I have been/will be temporarily displaced from my office. The office space that I moved into when I began my new job happened to be a place where a designer used to sit. Therefore, my computer is one of the few in the office that has designer programs (Adobe, Quark, etc.) and connections to the Art Server. Because of this, I was asked to give up my seat to a freelance designer who is helping out with a massive project that we have going on this week. The woman, Elaine, came for the first time yesterday and I helped set her up on my computer.
I logged onto the computer for her and showed her where everything that she needed was. Then I left her and went to my new home for the day. When I returned to my desk this morning I noticed that a few things on the desk had moved around, which is understandable because she had lots of things piled on her all day. I also noticed, when I turned my computer on, that she had completely fucked with my preferences and settings on my computer.
Listen you old funky bitch, if you are sitting at someone else’s desk, using someone else’s computer, and only for a few days: DON’T FUCK WITH THEIR STUFF!!
How annoying. She changed the settings on Expose, the Dock, and the Desktop Appearance (these are all Mac things, in case it doesn’t sound familiar). She actually added a few new programs to my Dock (which is a shortcut way of accessing often-used programs) and changed the shortcuts that I can activate with my mouse. On top of this, she even added bookmarks to my web browser. Bookmarks!!!!
I am angry. And it’s only been one day. Who knows what kind of damage she’ll do the rest of the week.

Randomness and Gilmore Girls

Today has been pretty slow at work. The morning was fairly packed, but since about 1pm it has been dead. Usually during “down” time I take the opportunity to check my private email, write stories, or post on my blog. While the latter has been fairly ignored lately, I have succeeded in moving my current story along at a fairly fast pace. I am not quite sure where the story is heading yet or if, as I’m desperately hoping, it will sustain itself long enough to be a novel, but I feel good about writing it. I don’t feel like I am forcing myself or forcing the words. Everything seems to be coming freely. A few days ago I passed the 10-page/5000-word mark, which is a very good sign. Of everything that I have ever written there has only been one story longer than 5000 words that I never finished. That was a 90-page chaotic word explosion with no direction and little purpose. Throwing that one item away, my track record for writing is pretty solid over the 5K mark. I tend to give up easily on certain stories, abandoning them 2-3 pages in. But once I am past this point, I stick with it even if I don’t think it’s working. I figure, if I’ve put this much into it already, there must be something worthwhile in it. I hope that this one works out the same way. Depending on its final length and my confidence in it, I hope to share the story with you at some point. In the meantime, read on for an insight into my loser life.


I have watched the first 5 seasons of the Gilmore Girls on DVD. The sixth season, which just wrapped up in May, will be coming out on DVD on September 19th. The seventh season will premiere on the CW (the new network created from the collision of the WB and UPN) on September 27th. I am preparing to order the DVDs on Netflix as soon as they are available. Assuming that they become available the 19th and I receive the first three on the 20th, I should be able to watch the entire 6th season in time for the season premiere of season 7. This will, of course, all depend on my own availability to watch many, many hours of television every night, and the US Postal Service’s speed at delivering Netflix movies. The first part should not be a problem because I stay up really late and find Gilmore Girls very addictive. The latter should also be okay since the average turn around time for Netflix is two days. With that in mind, here is my Gilmore Girls schedule:

Sep. 19th: Netflix sends Gilmore Girls Season 6 Discs 1-3 (I will prepare for this by sending back all Netflix discs on Saturday the 16th to make sure that all three GG come at once)
Sep. 20th: I receive Discs 1-3 and begin watching. I plan on watching 1 disc a night.
Sep. 21st: send 1st disc to Netflix
Sep. 22nd: send 2nd disc to Netflix
Sep. 23rd: send 3rd disc to Netflix; receive 4th from Netflix
Sep. 25th: send 4th disc to Netflix
Sep. 26th: receive 5th disc from Netflix
Sep. 27th: send 5th disc to Netflix; receive 6th disc from Netflix (the 6th disc usually only has 1-2 episodes on it, so I will have time to watch both before Gilmore Girls season 7 premieres at 9 pm.)

That’s the plan. I know I’m pathetic. I blame Cordelia.

Crazy Work Day

There are three people at my office (including myself) who have the same duties. The other two people have much more experience here than I do so they have more on their plates. Today, both of them were out sick. That meant that I got to do my job, plus their jobs. It was quite a crazy day. A few times during the day I heard someone say “No, So-and-so is out sick today. Spec is taking over for her today.” Luckily today was a “slow” day for all three of us. But that just adds up to a busy day for one person. Hopefully they will be better tomorrow, especially considering that tomorrow there’s about 10 times more work that needs to be done. Get well soon So-and-sos!

the guilt in me

Should I feel guilty or not?
Does the artist get any of the money that I am spending? If so, does it even matter since it’s probably about 2 cents per album? I am torn.
All thanks to a wonderful and terrible website: allofmp3.com
Go there, check it out, see if your morals and conscience can battle through your thin wallet. Are you willing to overlook that which is right for a CD that costs $1.15?
Just how much is your soul worth?
Over the past few months I have bought 25 albums from the website, spending a total of $26.76.
I’ve bought albums by the following artists:
Alanis Morisette
Silver Jews
Counting Crows
Johnny Cash
The Boy Least Likely To
Elf Power
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
Keane
Hot Hot Heat
Devendra Banhart
Antony & the Johnsons
Willie Nile
Babybird
KT Tunstall
Bruce Springsteen
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
Paul Simon
The Killers
Snow Patrol
Cocorosie
Josh Ritter
Madonna
Martha Wainwright
David Gray

Should I feel bad about it? Should I not care about cheating certain people out of money (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen) who have more than they could ever want? Should I not feel bad about buying albums I would never otherwise buy (Babybird, Snow Patrol, Keane)? Should I not care because the artist is dead (Johns Lennon and Cash)? What about the large amount of money I’ve already spent on certain artists who have disappointed me in the past (Alanis Morisette, Madonna)? Have I built up enough musical karma to allow for this slip-up?
For example: I already bought Bruce Springsteen’s new album on vinyl; should I have to spend $13.00 more on the CD version just so I can rip it and put it on my iPod? The man’s already got my money for this set of work. I think I’m justified in not really buying the digital files.
Or at least I’m trying to convince myself of the fact…

As Alanis says in “Forgiven” (which I am listening to as I type): “We all have illusions in our head.”

Cruise Facts

Sorry I didn't get around to writing this until now. Every time I sat down during lunch to write the "Fun Facts" post, I realized I had forgotten the pamphlet with all of the facts on it. Silly me. But now I'm at home and the pamphlet is sitting right in front of me, so here it is...


Spec's Honeymoon Cruise Fact-tacular!!!

Ship name: MS Zandaam
Engines: 5 Sulzer Wartsila ZA 40S 12 cylinder diesel engines generating 61,000 hp
2 Cegelec Alstom electric propulsion motors generating 45,200 hp
Fuel consumption: 85 gal/mile (that's right, gallons per mile not miles per gallon)
Top speed: 23 knots/hour (or about 27 miles/hour)
Water production: 370,000 gallons per day
Water consumption: 174,000 gallons per day
Ship weight: 63,000 tons
Ship length: 780 ft.
Ship width: 106 ft.
Number of passengers: 1,440
Number of crew: 647
Total occupancy: 2,087 persons

Distances traveled:
Seattle to Juneau: 900 nautical miles (1,035 land miles)
Juneau to Glacier Bay: 87 (100)
Glacier Bay to Sitka: 139 (160)
Sitka to Ketchikan: 214 (246)
Ketchikan to Victoria: 575 (661)
Victoria to Seattle: 84 (97)
Total: 1982 nautical miles (2,279 land miles)


There you have it. 2000 some odd miles, 2000 some odd people, and a whopping 168,470 gallons of diesel fuel used.
Thanks for your patience. I hope it was interesting. If not, here are a couple videos that I took while on the cruise that might provide some entertainment.

Click here to watch a brief video of our dog-sledding adventure.
Click here to watch our encounter with the superpod of killer whales.

A weekend in the city

It was a happening weekend in the Big Apple. On Friday night, I went with a bunch of people to Prospect Park (which is Brooklyn’s version of Central Park) to see an evening of songs from three different bands. The concert was part of a program called Celebrate Brooklyn, a free event that promotes music and arts in Brooklyn.

Friday’s event was with Voxtrot, Matt Pond PA, and TV on the Radio. Voxtrot was pretty entertaining, although a little too mellow at times. Throughout their set it was just LG, my friend David, and myself at the concert, so the mellowness wasn’t a bad thing. It was very crowded at the bandshell, so we were stuck behind a tree. While our view wasn’t great, we could hear everything clearly. After Voxtrot did their thing, Matt Pond PA came on. Of the three bands on the bill, this was the only one that I had heard of before. They were very good, so much so that I am looking into buying one of their CDs. They were able to play a slightly longer set before ushering TV on the Radio out onto the stage. The bulk of the crowd (including most of the people who I was sitting with) seemed to be there to see TV on the Radio. When they came out on stage, the crowd cheered and stood up applauding. Throughout the entire concert I was trying to figure out what exactly deserved such adoration. I was not impressed with the band, although I could see how they might be better on CD than on stage. At one point it seemed that they were about to start jamming. David turned to me and said “If they turn into a fucking jam band, I’m outta here.” (or something to that effect). Needless to say, I will not be on the lookout for their CD the next time I’m in a record store. After the concert, our group went to the Commonwealth Bar in Park Slope and had a few drinks before heading home for the night.

The next night, Saturday, LG and I went back to the park for another concert in the series. There was a smaller group of us this time, and less people in the crowd in general, so we were able to get a better view of the show. That evening’s performance was a collection of South African musicians. The opening act was an African folksinger named Vusi Mahlasela who was on the stage all alone, just him and his guitar. He was very, very good. He reminded me of Ali Farka Toure, but more rockin’. After Vusi Mahlasela was done, an African rap quartet came on stage. They were also good, rapping in both English and French. In addition to being talented musically, these boys could dance. They were really pumping up the crowd and seemed really happy to be there. After they took a curtain call, Angelique Kidjo came out on stage. She was welcomed with great applause and, unlike TV on the Radio, lived up to the hearty reception. Her performance was very entertaining and political without being over-the-top. During the show she went into the crowd to sing and, on a later song, invited about 20 members of the audience up on stage to dance with her, Vusi Mahlasela, and the rap group. It was a good show.

Sunday and Monday were a little more low key, so there is not much to report. Tuesday night was the 4th (as you know) and we spent it at a friends’ apartment (with many of the same people who came to the TV on the Radio show). Their apartment is on the top floor of their building, located in northwest Brooklyn. Because of this, we were able to go up onto the roof to watch the fireworks from Manhattan. The fireworks were incredible. They were set off in front of, above, and on either side of the Empire State Building, which was lit up red, white, and blue. It was a very fun time and a great way to end a nice long weekend in the city. The whole weekend really made me appreciate living in NYC and made me realize that there is always something going on here, much of it free of charge or cheap.
Good times, good times.