Lynn

So Long, Jumbo China

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:35:28 GMT

Last Thursday was a sad day for Jacob and me: our favorite Chinese takeout place is no more. Jumbo China was our ideal takeout: It’s conveniently located along our commute home, the price is reasonable, and the food has always been consistently good. We’d patronized them enough that I felt like we were building a rapport with the workers, too. (Most recently, I’d picked up some food following a soccer game, and the cashier said to me, “I didn’t know you played soccer.” We proceeded to talk about whether it was too cold for outdoor soccer.)

Jacob called our order in – we both have the number saved in our phones – only to discover that it had been bought out by Panda Wok two days earlier. At first we were cautiously optimistic: The new place is still conveniently located and now even offers delivery. Too bad we will never call them again. The food was mediocre at best and the price was higher than at Jumbo China.

So now we need to find a new place. We wrote off the closest Chinese – also conveniently located next to the library! – long ago. I can’t even remember what was so bad about them, but I wrote “NO” across their menu. I believe there are some places to the east of us, but these are less convenient for pickup since we both work to the west. It sounds like there's a Chinese food-off in our future.

Puzzled

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:03:50 GMT

Quick, rearrange the following letters: Z R N F A

Did it take you six hours? I bet it didn’t.

(Spoilers below for an old Amazing Race.)

The Racers were in the Czech Republic, and the roadblock required them to rearrange those five letters. My favorite racer got it right away, but the other three racers decided – as they don’t speak Czech – that there was no chance they could puzzle it out and proceeded to use the brute force method.

Okay, even if you don’t speak the language, there is still some logic you can use. Certain combinations of letters are generally pronounceable while others aren’t (FR vs. FZ). It’s rare for too many consonants to clump together. Sure, try things even if you don’t know the word, but at least use your best guesses first.

Due to some clue sharing, one contestant (Big Easy) was told the first letter was an F. Even with that information, he was there another hour or so BEFORE GIVING UP AND ACCEPTING A FOUR HOUR PENALTY. If the first letter is known, there are only 4x3x2x1=24 possibilities for the word. Racers had to fill out a short form before each guess, but that’s some super slow writing if he can’t get through 24 guesses in four hours.

(I would further argue that by placing the single vowel in the middle position and placing the only consonant that goes with F (R) in the second position, there are really only 2 possibilities…)

I continue to be floored by this failure and the failure to puzzle things out. Earlier in the season, a detour required teams to place $500,000 worth of gold onto a scale (to the nearest ounce). They were told the price of gold. Several teams switched tasks as “they don’t do math.” The price changed by the minute, so completing the long division in time became an issue without a calculator. But several teams opted out because they couldn’t figure out the formula. Unit conversions, people! Perhaps more to the point, they preemptively gave up. Is confidence in your brain such a rare thing?

Pick up the pace

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:38:23 GMT

I’m rooting for one of my favorite shows, How I Met Your Mother, to be cancelled this year. Specifically, I want an end date so we can finally meet the Mother. In the early seasons, there was a lot of focus on Ted’s dating life and tantalizing teases about how he would meet the Mother. It was also a fun show about a group of friends told in non-linear order. As the show grew more popular, it behooved the writers to stretch out the series by ignoring the Mother story line in favor of one-offs. It’s still a fun show, but it’s completely lost all its momentum for me.

I want stories to be told at the pace that suits them. Too often, American series’ lengths are dictated not by the story constraints but by syndication or financial concerns. If the writers run out of ideas or the setup is resolved, end it. Start telling another good story.

For that reason, I didn’t start watching LOST until an end date was announced. (I ultimately ended up watching S1 on DVD and the first disc S2 on DVD before I got bored. I read the recaps of S2 -4 so I could watch S5 in real time. But then I got curious about the Freighter folk, so I watched S4 on DVD. Then I got curious about the Others, so I watched S3 on DVD. That’s the ideal way to watch the show, right?) I enjoyed S4 and S5 a lot, but I can definitely see how the series meandered during S3. With an end date, the writers can better pace the show until the end. They should never need to write filler episodes.

Likewise, sometimes it’s okay to end a series when the setup is resolved. I loved Veronica Mars, but it was really a one season premise. In the first season, we didn’t know the characters, so basically anybody was a credible suspect as Lilly’s murderer. Veronica’s backstory was created to make her care about this crime. The later seasons really struggled with making the other characters relevant to the mystery. Veronica herself wasn’t as personally involved either. (It took her 14 episodes to learn who the victims of the bus crash were? Really?) There were some great later episodes, but it was impossible to create a season arc as engaging as the first one.

So, who does pace stories correctly? British television and miniseries, theoretically. Our online Blockbuster account has been great for acquiring both. I’m currently working my way through two BBC shows, Gavin and Stacey and Skins. I don’t have as much experience with miniseries, although I loooove Pride and Prejudice and quite enjoyed The Tenth Kingdom. Are there any other miniseries and BBC shows I should check out?

Wedding Rundown

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:40:21 GMT

2009 was our big Year of Wedding. We were invited to nine weddings this year, and we decided to go to 7.5 of them (we skipped Angie and Tim’s real wedding in AK, but we did go to their Bon Voyage party in OH.) We were sorry to miss Tweed/Laura’s wedding, but it conflicted with Jacob’s HS reunion, which we’d already committed to. Our wedding plan:

Name Relationship Date Location
April/Chris Jacob's HS friend 5/18/2009 OH
Robin/Steve my sister 7/11/2009 MI
Steve/Terri mutual college friend 7/19/2009 CT
Sarah/Sandip family friend 7/25/2009 MI
Jeremy/Allison mutual college friend 8/1/2009 OH
Angie/Tim mutual college friends 8/29/2009 OH
Camellia/Eric mutual college friends 9/19/2009 PA
John/Allison mutual Raleigh friends 12/12/2009 NC

The summer was great. Yes, it was a lot of traveling, but we really enjoyed the opportunity to see a lot of family and friends we don’t see as often as we’d like. There are some friends that I don’t necessarily have a one-on-one relationship with (i.e., I’m not very likely to write them a letter) but I still really enjoy their company. I just need to hope that our mutual friends keep getting married…. As for family, weddings are great for family reunions. My sister’s wedding was the first time my dad and his siblings had been together since 2002, so it was great to be there for that.

The downside of all the weddings? I’m kind of over the song “Celebrate Good Times” (et al “wedding songs”).

So, people ask us, which was the best wedding?

Thus far, I’d give the following awards:
Best Favors: Jeremy/Allison (mini disc golf discs and personalized M&M’s)
Best Bar: Robin/Steve (frozen strawberry daiquiris)
Best Games: Steve/Terri and Angie/Tim (guess the number of candy and trivia)
Best Performance: Camellia/Eric (Desi Girl, by the bride’s cousins)
Most Beautiful Reception Area: April/Chris (covered open air reception behind old mansion)
Best Limbo: Robin/Steve
Best Educational Experience: Camellia and Eric (Bengali ceremony)
Best Slideshow: Sarah/Sandip

In conclusion: Bring it, John and Allie.

Fears, Phobias, and Respect

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:27:02 GMT

Last week I supervised a catalyst installation at a gas-fired power plant. The catalyst is installed in modules which are stacked upon each other, and the total height was around 70 feet for this project. One side of the catalyst was fully scaffolded (with full guardrails), but you need to climb a ladder to reach that elevation. Although OSHA standards don’t require it, we did have the ability to tie off while on the ladder.

I was very happy to have that yoyo, and I tied off whenever I was on the ladder and on the scaffolding itself (not required, as we had guardrails). I’m still quite cautious on the ladder, and I take my time going up and down. As a result, at least three boilermakers approached me and said, “Scared of heights, huh?”

I have no issue with heights in and of themselves. I’m fine with flying or being in a high balcony. Heights + an open edge are another matter, of course. Still, I’d rather say I say I have a respect for heights. (As one should, as something like 50% of fatalities on construction sites are due to falls.)

And it does it even count if it’s a fear of a real danger? (i.e., not irrational) I would divide fears as such:
- Fearlessness – no change in behavior
- Respect – recognize danger and take precautions
- Fear - recognize danger, take precautions, and overcome mental barriers
- Irrational Fear – recognize false danger, may/may not be able to overcome mental barriers
- Phobia – recognize real or false danger, not able to overcome mental barriers

Given that breakdown, I probably rate somewhere between respect and fear.

Open question: Exactly how do phobias work? Recently on the The Amazing Race, racers had to go down this steep waterslide. One contestant (Mika) professed a phobia of both water and heights. She freaked out at the top of the slide for 45 minutes (or until the last team passed her team by) before taking the stairs down. Some people online defended her, as “it’s impossible to overcome phobias”. Is this true? (And at the risk of horribly offending people) or does having a “phobia” just mean that you have a fear and a weaker mind?

(Note: I’d just seen this episode when the men asked about my fear of heights, which made me a little more sensitive than I would normally be. Since I was standing at the top level of the scaffolding, it was at least self-evident that I can overcome any nervousness associated with heights.)

Tshirts and Airports

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:33:32 GMT

Story #1

I have a history of getting weird comments from airport security guys. (Always guys). They’re security - and I’m expressly forbidden from making jokes - so it’s hard to know what to say when they comment on my tshirt thusly:

Tshirt: Scottish flag (blue background with a white cross across the front)
Comment: X marks the spot!
Comment: Why not Ireland?

Tshirt: Cleveland Browns
Comment: Cleveland Browns? Is that your name? Ms. Cleveland Browns?

Since then, I’ve made a point of wearing text-free shirts when I fly, although even my monochromatic shirt got a comment on this last trip. (I heard the guy address me as “Orange Colon” but I don’t think that was right. Apparently the shirt was a little bright.)

If even monochromatic shirts get comments, I’m kind of tempted to see what happens when I wear my more provocative shirts. Next time: my xkcd “Maybe if this shirt is witty enough, someone will finally love me.”

Story #2

Every time I fly into the Austin airport and see its (Texas Longhorn hued) burnt orange walls, I think “Wow, I like this color.” So, after thinking that a dozen odd times, I decided to purchase myself a Longhorns shirt. The people at the power plant in Austin have been very nice to me, and the shirt reminds me of good associations with Austin and specifically the Austin airport.

This decision has proved to be a little more controversial than I expected. Jacob thinks people are going to get upset with me when they realize I’m not a Texas fan. If I have the shirt, is it expected that I root for the teams? (And specifically the football team?)

I passed a couple of firefighters in the (Raleigh) grocery store parking lot recently, and I got the sense they were trying to signal to me somehow. Only belatedly did I realize that the man was flashing the Horns at me. Since I A) didn’t recognize the symbol and B) didn’t know what to do in response, I probably shouldn’t have the shirt. But I hope that fans aren’t offended, as I certainly don’t have anything against the team. Since buying the shirt, I’m now a lot more likely to root for them. I gave the team some money. And, of course, I wholeheartedly approve of their color choices.

Voting based upon stereotypes

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:35:19 GMT

Jacob and I voted in the election last week (mayor, school board, and city council), and as in the last election, I chose my candidates based upon their web pages. Unfortunately, most of the pages are as vague as possible, and they don’t even list party affiliation. Instead, they give testimonials saying “I’ll work hard!” Without any details, how am I to make a decision?

So I decided to vote using stereotypes.

Who’s more likely to be a Democrat? The white guy in construction with the name of Bonner Gaylord or the immigrant Pakistani Waheed Haq? I bet the gay guy is a Democrat.

And indeed, when the “Vote for your Democrats” pamphlet arrived in the mail the day before the election, I was correct in all of my assumptions. I feel dirty making these assumptions, but if the candidates won’t tell me anything about their positions, I have to make my choice somehow.

Exciting News!

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:26:38 GMT

Last week, for the second time in the last six months, I walked into my local library and was greeted by a sign that read, “Exciting news! We’re staying open!” I never realized my library was in danger of closing, so this was rather disconcerting. I understand there are budget issues, but should I expect that the library is always on the brink of closing? Do libraries always exist on a one year lease?

When the first sign appeared, the result was that our branch stayed open but is open for a net 6 fewer hours per week. I was pretty okay with this, since the new hours include an hour extension on Friday afternoons, which effectively makes the library available to me for an extra day. Plus – still open.

I don’t think Wake County is going to close its libraries completely, but there does appear to be a chance that my branch will lose out to other branches. My local branch is very convenient, and I’d hate to lose it. The library is right next to my dance studio and the Asian Mart, all of which are located less than a half mile from our house. Sometimes I’m at the library two or three times a week. Yes, I'm sure I would still use the library if it’s farther away, but I wouldn’t be happy about it. We might move.

How do I prove to Wake County that the Duraleigh branch deserves to stay in existence? The library always appears busy when I’m there. We, of course, check out our books there. The country recently had a little online survey about library service. I initially filled it out honestly, but then I got paranoid that it would be used as justification to close our branch, so I went back to offer more glowing recommendations. Then I filled out another survey.

Last week’s announcement also mentioned a renovation which will close the branch for the next month. I know the renovation shows a vote a confidence in the branch, but I still rarely think of a month’s closing as exciting news.

Neighborhood Schools

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:40:46 GMT

School board elections take place on October 6th, and the major issue is whether to continue Wake County’s system of busing. The aim is for each school to have the same economic distribution, as measured by the number of students who receive reduced rate lunches.

In principle I’m favor of busing, since no school will bear all of the disadvantages of poorer students. All schools will share the advantages of wealthier students and their wealthier parents. (This might be slightly against my self interest, but I think this system is better in general.)

So, I think I’m okay with students being bused into my child’s district. I’m not sure I like the idea of my child being bused into other districts. The county states all students are within 5 miles (as the crow flies) of their schools, but the bus routes could take up a significant amount of time. Of course, it will be someone’s time and the county’s money regardless of whether it’s my child or someone else’s who has to travel a great distance.

Jacob and I looked up the current districting, and our schools are the closest ones: the elementary school is 0.5 miles away, with the middle/high school 2.2 miles away. So, we don’t have a problem with the current schools… as long as the districts aren’t redrawn in the meantime. I can also appreciate that constant redistricting is bad for most everyone, as it causes disruption for the students and their friends, as well as hurting a school’s identity.

A friend of ours is staunchly against busing, with the idea that schools start tracking students into advanced/remedial levels so early that the poorer students will never be able to move up in classes. Personally, I think this is a little cynical, but I would like to see verification that the students are performing better with redistricting than they do without it.

Our friend also notes that diversity doesn’t ensure social integration. I know this is the case, but I don’t think it’s bad for kids to at least have some interaction with other races. (Which we’d theoretically also get from neighborhood schools, but I’m not sure to what degree.)

So, Pros for busing: (theoretically) better schools overall, diversity.
Cons: Cost – time and money – of busing, loss of community.

What do you think? Is this busing a good or a bad thing?

Coed Needs More Women

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:26:14 GMT

We just started our fall soccer and Ultimate Frisbee leagues, both of which are coed. In soccer, our team has 7 open positions and 2 that must be filled by women. In Ultimate, the gender ratio varies by day, but it’s generally 5 men and 2 women on the field. I want more playing time in soccer and less in Ultimate, but I think both issues would be better served by having more women play in coed sports.

My soccer team has 5 women playing in 2 positions. (We can have theoretically have 9 women on the field, but that never happens.) Removing the goalie, we have 13 men playing in 6 positions, although the men have worse attendance so it’s usually closer to 10 men in 6 positions. (Last night was 4/2 for women and 8/6 for men.) My difficulty is that subbing becomes more of an issue when you have fewer available positions. I can only play in two positions, so I’m stuck on the bench if those two women stay in the game (and vice versa when I’m on the field.) With the men and their six positions, it’s less likely that all six men will stay on the field, so their subs get in faster. Ideally, all of the teams would have enough women that the league could justify making three positions women-only.

My Ultimate team, on the other hand, has 3 women for 2 positions and 10 men for 5 positions. With the lower numbers, the women are a lot more vulnerable to absences than are the men. (If we each lose one player, the ratios become 2/2 and 9/5.) One woman is currently out with an injured knee, and that means a significant increase in my playing time.

In both games, I’m jealous of the men and their numbers. Having fewer women in coed sports means we’re more affected by the absence of players and by one individual’s playing time.

Water usage

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:53:50 GMT

I pride myself on my low water usage. My showers (limited to one per day, with a weekly average of around 5), are 6 minutes long, with the water on for only half of that. I water my houseplants with cooking grey water when possible. We use rain barrel for our outdoor plants, and the lawn has never been watered. We have a high efficiency washing machine. My parents conserve their toilet flushing (“if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down”) but Jacob forbids that in our house, so it’s one flush per use for us.

The more I read about water use in food production, though, the more I am convinced these small measures may be irrelevant compared to my food choices. The numbers vary greatly depending on the source, but the impact of switching from meat to vegetarian is huge. According to the vegetarians , one pound of wheat requires 25 gallons of water, while one pound of beef requires 5,000 gallons of water. (Another vegetarian site puts it closer to 108 and 12,000 gallons.) According to the beef industry, the numbers are 151 and 435 gallons, respectively. I’ll assume the numbers are somewhere in the middle.

Even using the beef numbers, though, it’s easy to see how eating vegetarian occasionally can have a significant effect. I don’t eat a ton of meat currently, but if I cut that down on 0.5 lb beef per week, that’s equivalent to saving 985 of my showers per year (assuming 2.5 gallons/minute). And of course, the numbers only increase when I use the vegetarian estimates.

A vegetarian friend of ours recently got married, and all of the food options were vegetarian or seafood. In terms of environmental/water impact, that’s one of the best moves I’ve seen. She can eat vegetarian for the next 200 meals – or she can force 200 of her friends to eat vegetarian for one meal. Some people think of vegetarianism as an all-in-or-all-out type thing. It’s not. Just reducing consumption can have a big effect.

Life After Prison

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:38:44 GMT

Speaking of my Facebook contrariness… I recently had an argument with one of my friends’ sisters regarding Michael Vick. I’m not a Michael Vick fan per se, but I firmly believe that he should be allowed to live a productive life after he paid his debt to society.

I think we all have a vested interest in encouraging ex-prisoners to be productive once they’re released. If we don’t allow ex-prisoners to hold a legitimate job, how can we be surprised when they return to a life of crime? America has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with more than 1% of our adults in prison (2.4% if we include those who are on parole or probation). If we’re going to incarcerate so many people, we have even more reason to ensure they can reenter society when they’re out.

Ex-prisoners have already been punished and served their time. This is particularly true in Michael Vick’s case. One might argue he was held to a even higher standard due to his fame. Regardless, he had more, so he had more to lose. Besides serving his prison time, he lost his contract and his national reputation.

Also: the NFL is not a beacon of morality. Is dogfighting more serious than drunk driving? Domestic abuse? As Emily Bazalon points out in doublex.com, a large number of professional football players have been reported to the cops for violence towards women (56 in the 1994 study). Killing dogs is decidedly a bad thing, but it’s not the worst infraction in the NFL.

Male and Female Authors

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:44:46 GMT

When Jacob and I visited his Grandma in Florida, we noticed that her retirement community’s library divided the books by the author’s gender. I found this odd, but as she pointed out, most men preferentially read books by men and most women preferentially read books by women. (Likewise, I did note that Obama’s vacation reading list was 5/5 with male authors.)

But how strong of a trend is this? I’d like to think I can appreciate a book from the male perspective (and vice versa). Since that trip to Florida, I’ve added a “gender of author" column to my book log. Some metrics I looked at to determine the importance of an author’s gender:

Books read for the first time:
The absolute numbers are closer than I’d have guessed, with 215 by men and 232 by women. I did, however, enjoy those by the women more, with average scores (out of 5) of 2.7 vs. 3.1.

Books read multiple times:
I reread 27 books by men vs. 62 by women, although this is quite skewed by my love of Harry Potter. When I deweight Harry Potter (counting each rereading of the series as a rereading of a single book), I obtain 38 rereadings of books by women.

Favorite authors:
I routinely search the library website to determine if my favorite authors have upcoming releases. The names I search include three women (Jodi Picoult, Joanne Harris, Curtis Sittenfeld) but only one man (Nick Hornby).

So, I appear to have a clear preference for female authors although not to the exclusion of male ones. What about you?

The Hating Hat

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:39:58 GMT

In Season One of The Amazing Race, contestants Rob and Brennan wore these practical hats (Tilleys) which the awesome TWOP recapper Miss Alli named Hating-Hats, since she hated the way they looked. I’ve been intrigued by the concept ever since, and I decided to purchase myself a Hating Hat for the Thailand trip.

At the time, I considered the $25 expense to be a splurge. Given how often I’ve worn the hat since then, though, it’s been anything but. I wear my Hating Hat essentially any time I take a walk, disc golf, or mow the lawn. It was on my head for the entire Grand Canyon trip.

The Hating Hat also fits my self-identity well. I see the hat as the triumph of practicality over aesthetics. I don’t necessarily like the way I look in the hat, but it’s a pretty accurate representation of my priorities.

Facebook “friends”

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:14:48 GMT

I joined Facebook relatively early (I was the first person to join from my high school class), and the site has been very useful for reconnecting with some old friends and keeping contact information for newer ones. My favorite use of Facebook: My sister made me a recipe box for my bridal shower. Using the power of Facebook, she was able to (secretively) contact my old friends, so I now have recipes from the Phillipino exchange student and friends I met in Panama as well as my closer friends and family. It’s pretty cool.

That said, I don’t understand how people spend all day on Facebook. I’ve yet to set a status update, since it would soon be out of date and then I’d have to set another one.

I now have ~160 friends on Facebook. While I will initiate Facebook friend requests(while Jacob will not), I definitely have lower standards for accepting friend requests. That said, I still have some limits: I don’t accept Friend Suggestions (If someone wants to friend me, they can do so themselves), and I recently rejected one friend of the family I’d never personally spoken to.

With Facebook expanding, though, I’ve recently accepted a lot of requests from old high school acquaintances… and proceeded to antagonize them. Frankenmuth is a rather politically conservative place, so it’s not unusual for these acquaintances to post something homophobic/anti-healthcare/etc. Normally, I might let these things go, but these are my “friends”, right? I feel like I should be able to speak my mind to my friends. (Note: I’m equally contrary to my real friends.)

Lately, then, my typical Facebook checkin proceeds as follows: Log in. Read the status updates to see what’s new for friends. Tell people I disagree with them. Log out.

Letter to my Congressman

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:15:56 GMT

Dear Rep. Miller:

I have been appalled at the treatment of Congress at the town hall meeting, but I want to thank you for your work in pushing for comprehensive health coverage. This is too important of an issue to be dropped for political reasons.

The current bill will ensure that more Americans, particularly children, have access to health insurance. With real insurance, poor people can make use of preventative care. This will benefit all Americans by freeing up emergency room availability and resources.

Still, this bill does not go nearly as far as I would wish. Compared to other industrialized nations, America spends twice as much on health care per capita. This might be acceptable if we saw better results, but our life expectancies are no better. Meanwhile, costs continue to rise. Clearly, we need to add some price caps and accountability.

I’m a fan of the single-payer option, which would allow the government to save money in bulk. Even if the insurance companies remain, we need a public option to offer Americans another choice. Theoretically, insurance companies would compete with each other, and prices would remain reasonable. However, health decisions must be made promptly and by doctor’s order, so the normal rules of capitalism don’t apply. Americans don’t have the option of deferring on cancer treatment until they can afford it, so the greedy moves made by the insurance companies go unchecked. Americans’ health care prices have increased in part because the insurance companies’ profit margins are increasing. A (not for profit) government option would simply aim for the best care.

In order for the government plan to remain solvent, some rationing must occur. This doesn’t mean that the elderly are dropped from plans or, God forbid, euthanized by death panels. Rather, the government may determine that it is more financially responsible to use a drug for many rather than surgery for few. And yes, rationing does include making allowances for which recipients have the most and best years remaining. While the concept is slightly distasteful, we already have many programs which financially weigh the value of a life (determining life insurance settlements, deciding whether to use armored vehicles in war zones, etc). A healthcare plan which covers all people for all procedures (ie, giving a heart transplant to a 98 year old to extend her life by one month) will never be feasible. By making financially responsible choices, the government can better allot the resources we do have. Please note that the system currently rations considerably; it just allots its resources to those with the most money.

These choices are by no means simple, but if the United States wants to ensure the best health and wealth for its citizens, health care reform is desperately needed.

Sincerely,

Lynn Garcowski

Cheapskate blog

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:55:03 GMT

TIME has a series of cheapskate blogs, in which cheapskates list the things they do and do not consider worthy of spending money on. Since I’m one of the most buying-adverse people I know, I thought I’d add my own:

Worthy:

1. Air fare
I want to travel the world, and there’s only one way to do that. I don’t need to travel first class, but I want the experience, so I’m willing to pay the money

2. 2-ply toilet paper
Considered a luxury by some, but I don’t want it to soak through. Besides, if I’m forced to use 1-ply, I’ll just use more squares.

3. Gas
I almost exclusively buy my gas at the Shell station by my dance class and library. The price is competitive with the other stations, but not usually the absolute cheapest. I abhor the idea of driving out of my way to buy gas, and the savings from shopping at the cheapest (2 -5 cents per gallon, or a max of 50 cents total?) in no way balances the inconvenience of stopping during rush hour.

4. Name brand cereal
I can taste the difference between Cheerios and the fake stuff. Instead of buying generic, I’ll buy whatever name brand cereal is on sale

5. Always feminine products

Not worthy:

1. First run movies
I always feel snookered when I spend $10 to see a movie. There’s a lot of quality TV these days, and we have a $1.50 theatre within five miles of us. I rarely find a compelling reason to see first run.

2. Books
Why would I buy a book when I can find it at the library? Exceptions are made for books I love (and have read 3+ times), crochet patterns, piano books, and cookbooks.

3. Haircuts
Jacob does a fine job with our $8 hair cutting shears. Plus, his salon is open on weekends and late at night. I haven’t forced him to try anything more difficult than a straight line, but I wouldn’t want to maintain those hairstyles anyways.

4. Name brand clothes
Pretty wasted on me…

5. Name brand food
I default to generics, as I can rarely taste the difference.

6. Bowling
Our closest alley charges $5.50 per game. I feel dirty patronizing them and their cost structure.

Yay pie!

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:08:45 GMT

Jacob and I are currently working our way through the Pushing Daisies DVD’s. We’re enjoying the show a lot, but there is a downside: Every episode puts me in the mood for pie. (The show takes place in an awesome establishment called the Pie Hole.)

Growing up, I made a lot of pies with my parents, but my dad almost always took over the crust duties. The one time I attempted a crust, I severely overworked it, and the result was disappointing. So, making crust is a bit intimidating to me. We obtained Jacob’s grandma’s “No Fail Crust” recipe recently, and I think that gave us some confidence to try again.

Two peach, two blueberry, and two strawberry-rhubarb pies later, we’re making improvements. I made a point of asking my dad to help me with crust when I was home a couple of weeks ago, and I learned some techniques he uses (how to roll crust to what depth, how to transfer to pie pan, etc). My crimping and rolling still need some work, but it’s coming together. Besides, even a mediocre blueberry pie is still pretty tasty.

Congrats, Jeanine!

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:54:45 GMT

So You Think You Can Dance has been my summer TV obsession since the show began five seasons ago, and I was excited to see the show crown its second female winner on Thursday. Given the demographics of the voters, it’s traditionally been difficult for a woman to win the show. The final four is the first time men and women compete against each other, and in all five seasons, a woman has finished in the #4 spot. Granted, Sabra won in Season 3, but the producers’ explicit desire for a female winner that season detracted from her victory. Also, Sabra performed well, but she was clearly less skilled than some of her competitors. Jeanine’s win thus feels much more deserved and legitimate.

Besides the demographics, the girls also seem to get screwed over by the girl/girl dance in the Final Four. During the last performance show, each of the Final Four dance with everyone else. The girl/girl dance doesn’t have to be horrendous, but it’s often been. In Seasons 2, the girls did a Broadway number with these tragic fake eyelashes. Season 4 gave them party dresses and pink parasols. I don’t think it’s coincidence that these were the seasons in which the top two were men. When the dance was better (Seasons 1, 3, and 5), women have finished in the top two.

Probably apropos of nothing: The two female champions had no screen time prior to the Top Twenty, but the three male champions all had ample.

No, really, guys...

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:38:11 GMT

I’ve been taking hip hop dance lessons for two years now, and I love it. It’s definitely a workout with the sit-ups and the dreaded planks, and I have a lot of fun with Ronnie’s choreography.

Inevitably, though, someone will ask me to demonstrate my dancing. After two years I can see some improvement in my body rolls and ability to pick up choreography, but my own free styling is as bad as it ever was. My least favorite part of class is when Bekah makes us freestyle across the room. Even in my small class, with other beginner dancers doing the same thing, I feel incredibly self-conscious and will strut my way across the room as fast as I can.

During the Grand Canyon trip, then, I made the mistake of mentioning that I take dance classes. We had one evening party during which there was a lot of peer pressure for me to hip hop dance. I explained that it was literally impossible for me to do so, as I couldn’t remember any choreographed dances after a month away from class, and my own freestyling doesn’t in any way count as hip hop. (besides it being an insult to Ronnie for me to claim it as such).

It later occurred to me that the people probably didn’t care whether I actually represented my dance studio. But if hip hop dancing was not the goal, then why was I being picked on? Anyone else could stand up and make a fool of themselves as well as I can, and I clearly did not want to be the center of attention. My mom later said I should have mentioned I hobby I wouldn’t have minded demonstrating, but is that the standard? That all of your hobbies are fair game for a demonstration? What if you just really despise impromptu performances?

As you may have guessed, I was a party pooper and didn’t perform for the group. Given that various videos from this night have appeared on youtube without permission, I can’t say I regret my decision.

Googling my new name

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:14:29 GMT

Is it possible I haven’t googled myself in the last 11 months? Before I got married, I checked to see whether I’d have any competition for “Lynn Garcowski.” There were no hits, so I was assured of my prime position.

About a week ago, I googled myself again, but there were still no hits. I really need to work on that. I don’t exist if Google isn’t aware of me. I added a “Lynn Garcowski” to my webpage, but Google still isn’t finding the site. Is there anything else I need to do?

Incidentally, this whole “maiden name as middle name” thing is messing up my rankings a little. If I take out the quotes, I’ll get some of the Lynn Revette Garcowski references (mostly from facebook). I like the continuity of including the maiden name, but it’s harder for “Lynn Garcowski” to have many hits if I never refer to myself that way.

Not that I’m regretting keeping the maiden name. The googling issue just makes me a little more resentful that women have to change their name in the first place. One year in, I’m surprisingly okay with the reality of my new name. (ie, I don’t feel like I’ve lost my sense of self or my history… with the exception of my online history.) It’s mostly the hassles that annoy me. I don’t like calling people and running random errands. I had to beg time off of work to update my driver’s license, since the DMV was only open during weekday business hours. I’ve lost a decent number of my frequent flier miles, since I can’t figure out how to update my name in all systems. Those systems I have figured out typically include

1- calling the 800 number
2- writing down a snail mail address
3- sending a written request to change my name, along with a photocopied driver’s license or marriage license

Annoying, at any rate. I have this fantasy in which men would do all of the phonework and legwork to update their wives’ names. I understand why the DMV needs to see me, and not Jacob, but it feels like insult added to injury.

Boycotts and Mormons

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:41:45 GMT

... Or, Mormon Boys Without Cots

While on the river, my family was discussing other potential trips. Utah came up, and Jacob announced that he and I are (apparently) boycotting travel to the state of Utah, thanks to the Church of Latter Day Saints’ contributions to Proposition 8 in CA (banning gay marriage in the state). I was very saddened for California when Proposition 8 passed, but I don’t agree with this whole boycott thing.

I looked into the statistics, and 50% of the pro-Prop 8 money (total: $40 million) came from out of state, with 45% of that money coming from Utah. The LDS church actively encouraged its members to contribute and campaign, but the vast majority of the money came from the people themselves (the church itself spent about $100,000 - $200,000 on time and plane tickets.)

So is my goal to stop Mormons themselves from having any money? If so, we probably should not have gone on this rafting trip. The company is based out of Salt Lake City, and all of our boatmen are Mormon (which we discovered while discussing this subject with one of them – awkward!) If this trip is forbidden by that logic, I don’t want any part of it. The boatmen were fantastic to us, and they worked hard for their money. If we’re boycotting tourism in Utah, these boatmen are precisely the people who will suffer.

It probably helps that this was my first opportunity to meet real Mormons. Most of my knowledge of them comes from Robbie, South Park, and reality TV contestants. (Not that I had a bad impression of Mormons previously. I’ve liked all of the Mormon contestants, save Tyson, and I like the general culture. I’ve somehow managed to retain a liberal viewpoint while personally living a rather conservative lifestyle.) The boatmen are probably not proponents of gay marriage (though I don’t know that for certain), but I have no idea whether they donate money to that cause.

For that matter, is that the worst use of money ever? We’re not boycotting CA (which donated the majority of the pro-Prop 8 money), so presumably the issue is not just being anti-gay marriage but also sticking your nose in other people’s business. People do some horrible things and spend their money in lots of ways, and I don’t think this is the worst. Then again, maybe Jacob has a whole list of boycotts of which I’m not yet aware.

Vacation!

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:09:20 GMT

My family just returned from our fabulous trip to the Grand Canyon. Our charter flight would pick us up in Las Vegas, so we spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday there. Las Vegas is largely wasted on my family, since we’re not big gamblers. Instead, we walked up and down the Strip viewing the different themes at the different casinos. .. And walk we did. According to my pedometer, I hit 38,000 steps on Sunday. My previous (recorded) high was 14,000, which feels really pathetic to me now.

I really like indoor locations that pretend to be outdoors (the best example being the Oceanarium at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago), so Paris and St. Mark’s Square at the Venetian were some of my favorites. I also liked the Lion Habitat at the MGM Grand and the fountain at the Bellagio. On Sunday night we saw Love (Cirque du Soleil show based on the Beatles album), which was fantastic, albeit a little scary. Have circuses just done away with safety nets?

Jacob played in three poker tournaments, and he blackmailed me into joining him on the Monday night one. (He said he’d blow twice my entrance fee on video poker if I didn’t come.) The tournament was pretty interesting, though. I liked having the dealer, the automatic shuffler, the free drinks, and the dealer’s ability to make change from my chips. I didn’t like the rebuys. Most of my competitors bought extra chips for extra fees, but I didn’t want to spend more than the $30 entry fee. I didn’t expect to win, but it’s even harder when everyone else has three times the chips you do. That said, I’d much rather spend $30 over two hours in a tournament than blow it in 10 minutes at a blackjack table or video slots.

Perhaps it was just as well Jacob and I exited early, since our Grand Canyon tour started off at 5 AM the next morning. We flew in a charter plane (10 passengers) to Lee’s Ferry, the put in point for the Canyon. The boatmen did a great job breaking down the orientations, and over the first day we learned how to sit in the boat and hold onto the ropes, how to pee, how camping would work, etc.

Camping in the Grand Canyon is unlike any other camping I’ve done. Since we were in the desert, we could camp without tents without worry of rain or dew. There were no campfires, since the boatmen did all of our cooking for us using propane stoves and grills. Also, with no running water and 50 degree water… I largely gave up on real bathing. Every evening I would take a sponge bath at the river’s edge, but I didn’t bother with my hair. Dirty hair normally annoys me after a day or two, but it’s amazing how well I can ignore it when I wear a bandana.

Our boat, a J-rig, consisted of 5 rubber pontoons strapped together with a motor on the back. Each of the two boats held up 16 people, including a Boatman and Swamper (Newty and Nate on our boat.) We’d generally move at around 10 miles per hour and cover 30 miles a day. During the days, we’d run rapids, swim/frolic in side streams and waterfalls, visit boat and plane wreckages, and take short hikes. While on the boat, the boatmen kept us entertained with geology and history lessons, myths of the canyon, and riddles.

A bit more about the rapids: The Grand Canyon uses its own system to rate rapids, but their 1-10 scale is roughly equivalent to a 1-5 in regular rapids. That number rates not only the magnitude of the waves, but also the difficult in driving. Of course, the waves are also dependent on the water level (which is dependent on electricity demands upstream), the size of the boat, the boatman’s skill and aggressiveness, and luck. We did go through some 10’s, but our two worst rapids occurred on 8’s when, respectively, Newty’s motor gave out at the trough of a huge wave, and another large wave crested on us. We nearly had a swimmer on that second set of rapids, but Swamper Nate dove across the boat to grab him before most of us were aware Dave was in any danger.

A bit more about bathroom usage: All urine must go into the river. Since the desert is so dry, the water will immediately evaporate away, and the rest of it will inhibit plant growth. I have some practice with squatting to pee in Thailand and during hikes, but you generally get to hide in those circumstances. The edge of the water tends to be a pretty open place, so the women were constantly scouting for a good place behind a rock or past a curve. Two toilets were set up at camp for bowel movements (one inside a privacy tent and one in the open air). The only tricky thing here is that you don’t have many options while on the boat or on day trips. The boatmen do stock some special bags (essentially a garbage bag tarp inside a ziplock bag) that I got to use in an emergency.

The food was pretty ridiculous. I know Western River sets out to impress, but it’s still pretty crazy to see a massive bowl of chicken wings appear as an appetizer. We also had eggs to order, strip steaks, freshly baked cake, and shrimp cocktails. No hot dogs on this camping trip.

On Monday morning, we arrived at the Whitmore helipad, 188 miles from our start. The helipad manager took down our weights so that he could properly balance the helicopters (“You lie, you die.”), and I ended up with shotgun. The view was amazing, of course, and the sharp turns reminded me of some of the spinny rides at the fair. The helicopter dropped us of at a ranch on the rim, where we had lunch and our first shower in a week. At 1:00, another small charter plane took us back to Las Vegas, albeit with horrible turbulence. One red eye – and maybe three hours of sleep - later, and I’m back in North Carolina.

Fabulous guides, fabulous new friends, fabulous times.

Who’s the Biggest Star in my World?

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:11:52 GMT

In the lead up to Star Trek, I found it kind of entertaining to refer to Chris Pine as “That Guy from Princess Diaries 2.” I did realize, however, that his presence in two (and now three) movies I’ve seen is pretty remarkable. I see few enough movies that Chris Pine may have as many Lynn-seen acting credits as Brad Pitt. Let’s find out:

Cameron Diaz: 8 (My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, Very Bad Things, Being John Malkovich, Charlie’s Angels, Shrek, Vanilla Sky, The Holiday)

Tom Hanks: 8 (Big, Joe Versus the Volcano, A League of their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Forrest Gump, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Catch Me if You Can)

Adam Sandler: 8 (50 First Dates, Mr. Deeds, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan)

Ben Stiller: 8 (Meet the Parents, Starsky and Hutch, There’s Something About Mary, Mystery Men, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Fockers, Along Came Polly)

Ben Affleck: 7 (Mall Rats, Good Will Hunting, Chasing Amy, Shakespeare in Love, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)

Owen Wilson: 7 (Meet the Parents, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Fockers, Starsky and Hutch, Wedding Crashers, Cars)

John Cusack: 6 (Sixteen Candles, Stand By Me, Say Anything, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Must Love Dogs)

Anne Hathaway: 6 (Princess Diaries, Princess Diaries 2, Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada, Get Smart, Becoming Jane)

Julia Roberts: 6 (My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, Pretty Woman, Mona Lisa Smile, Ocean’s 11, The Mexican, Hook)

Bruce Willis: 6 (Unbreakable, Pulp Fiction, Look Who's Talking, Look Who's Talking Too, Fifth Element, Sixth Sense)

Reese Witherspoon: 6 (Legally Blonde, Election, Sweet Home Alabama, The Man in the Moon, Pleasantville, Cruel Intentions)

Brad Pitt: 5 (Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 13, Fight Club, Snatch, The Mexican)

Matt Damon: 4 (Good Will Hunting, Dogma, Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 13)

Drew Barrymore: 4 (Charlie’s Angels, Scream, 50 First Dates, Never Been Kissed)

Sandra Bullock: 4 (Miss Congeniality, The Net, While You Were Sleeping, Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood)

Chris Pine: 3 (Just My Luck, Princess Diaries 2, Star Trek)

Angelina Jolie: 1 (Girl, Interrupted)

… So, maybe Chris Pine isn’t as big of a star as Brad Pitt, but 60% as big isn’t too bad.

I found this list rather interesting. I don’t think I watched any of these movies *because* that actor was in it, so it mainly speaks to which actors make the most commercial movies and/or movies for my demographic. (Or my friends’… I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the one who suggested all of the Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller movies.)

I was also a little bit surprised that the women did so well. Since so many movies treat women as disposable/interchangeable (“Why hire a star when we get this new younger model for cheaper?”) it was nice to see - at least at the upper echelon - women were regularly making commercial films.

Also of note: My absolute numbers appear to be pretty low. Jacob’s seen his top draw (Bruce Willis) in 20 movies. Heck, he’s seen 15 Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. I somehow feel better about myself.

Morality

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:33:35 GMT

In A.J. Jacobs’ “The Year of Living Biblically,” the author sets out to follow the Bible as literally as possible for one year. While he grew up as a secular Jew, at least part of his motivation – besides selling books – is to learn morality to teach to his two year old son.

I really don’t understand this concept. Atheists can be just as moral as anyone else. (At least in terms of how ones treats others... I don't really subscribe to laws of morality that don't make logical sense to me.) I can sort of understand how a person who grew up very religiously might believe that religion owns morality. But for Jacobs to argue this? All he has to do is look at his extended family to see examples of kindness and morality in – gasp - atheists. The Golden Rule, at least, is linked to all sorts of religions, which only highlights its universality. Treating others as you’d want them to treat you is ultimately common sense for any civilization, religious or not.