Friday Flower Blogging
Feb. 10th, 2006 07:38 pm |
That evergreen pear tree again In sunlight, this time. |
Feb. 10th, 2006
I grow old, I grow old
Feb. 10th, 2006 09:05 pmBut my pants are mostly too short already, so I won't start rolling them. I was contemplating a loose hair last night: it was brown at the tip, silver at the root, and curiously indeterminate along much of its eighteen-inch length, as if the follicle stuttered and squeezed out a last bit of melanin before giving up. Of course, then I dreamed that I looked in the bathroom mirror and realized that I was almost entirely grey with a thin layer of colour on top. It isn't that bad, but there is a reasonable amount of grey in there, hiding in the general variegated shades.
I also suspect that my ways of using computers mark me as part of an older generation, these days. I like to know the names and locations of my files, which modern software often seems intent on hiding; I usually have at least one text-based command window open, not infrequently several; I write html in a plain text editor and regard graphics-based ftp clients as a bizarre waste of time.
I bought a new scanner today. I've been thinking of it for a while; the one I bought in 2000 was getting creaky, was never very fast, and looked impossibly clumsy alongside the laptop and newish printer that share the desk. The new one is slim and silvery, similar to but slightly fancier than the one I bought in the UK last summer. Maybe with this one I'll do what I contemplated but abandoned with the old one; create an electronic version of my doctoral thesis. (It was written electronically, just, but with technology that was obsolete before I finished my first postdoc, and I ditched the floppies without even trying to migrate the files.)
Our secretary was a bit surprised that we weren't all packed already for the trip that starts on Sunday. But really, it's only five nights two states away, and mostly work; how hard is it to pack for that? I'm more exercised by the thought of making sure I have the right batteries and chargers for all my technology. I'd like to finish the three books I currently have on the go before starting new ones for the trip, but I'm not sure it will happen.
I also suspect that my ways of using computers mark me as part of an older generation, these days. I like to know the names and locations of my files, which modern software often seems intent on hiding; I usually have at least one text-based command window open, not infrequently several; I write html in a plain text editor and regard graphics-based ftp clients as a bizarre waste of time.
I bought a new scanner today. I've been thinking of it for a while; the one I bought in 2000 was getting creaky, was never very fast, and looked impossibly clumsy alongside the laptop and newish printer that share the desk. The new one is slim and silvery, similar to but slightly fancier than the one I bought in the UK last summer. Maybe with this one I'll do what I contemplated but abandoned with the old one; create an electronic version of my doctoral thesis. (It was written electronically, just, but with technology that was obsolete before I finished my first postdoc, and I ditched the floppies without even trying to migrate the files.)
Our secretary was a bit surprised that we weren't all packed already for the trip that starts on Sunday. But really, it's only five nights two states away, and mostly work; how hard is it to pack for that? I'm more exercised by the thought of making sure I have the right batteries and chargers for all my technology. I'd like to finish the three books I currently have on the go before starting new ones for the trip, but I'm not sure it will happen.
Olympic Opening Ceremonies
Feb. 10th, 2006 10:29 pmHmm. Pretty, but seems to lack thematic unity. I wonder if my boss saw the Ferrari. Also, did I hear right that the governor of Massachussets presided over the Salt Lake games?