tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54593769594822636242012-02-11T05:12:51.730-05:003pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.comBlogger4371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-19327702462870908642009-10-15T12:27:00.006-04:002009-10-15T16:11:59.786-04:00

If you haven't been over to the Expat's blog lately to see her store's playfully elegant card sets, now is the hour. And should you be interested in burnishing your karma a bit, really bringing out that old dharmic sheen, you can go to Tomato Nation and check out today's entry. Long story short: The Expat and I have a vested interest in kicking cancer in the nards, and getting kids into biology

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-72060060025940930742009-10-09T17:37:00.005-04:002009-10-15T12:27:09.371-04:00

Y'all, I have not been having a good few weeks, so please forgive the paucity of postings. But big hugs to everyone and hey! I am working on fixing the problems! This requires locking Warren Ellis in a keg full of ferrets and a fuse wire; this also offers possibilities for solving the world's energy problems.To make up for it, a return to Desultory Reviews: The Midwife edition.I picked up

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-78516401380834924682009-09-29T19:53:00.000-04:002009-09-29T20:48:51.884-04:00

So, again, apologies some more for the sporadic nature of the updates. Life has been happening, not always smoothly, and I haven't been in the writing space mentally in a while.When last we met, we were farewelling Doc and wishing him all the best at his new home in Brandywine, where he was going to make a fine lawnmower. When I came to class last week, however, he was still peering out over the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-81423577665563347572009-09-10T17:47:00.004-04:002009-09-12T14:46:26.026-04:00

It just feels that way. Lieber Gott, this year is packed with worky event.Many of you have been kind enough to send good wishes to my beloved Doc. Your strength is the strength of ten, and he has done unexpectedly well. He's gained back some weight and isn't spasming much, so after a bit of waffling and many consultations with the vet, the barn has decided he's stable enough to survive the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-1125893488736641922009-08-29T19:29:00.006-04:002009-09-04T09:07:38.555-04:00

Somehow in my voracious hoovering up of all things Golden Age SFian (as we all know, Bob, the Golden Age is from 12 to 13), I entirely missed Frederik Pohl's work. Sure, he may've snuck in as a short story here or there, since our basement library, where my mother's meticulously organized science fiction shelf—alphabetical by author for standalone novels, year of publication for anthologies and

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-80388799536846506312009-08-21T19:30:00.005-04:002009-08-21T20:02:34.090-04:00

It's something of a relief to find that we're not the only delegation in Morelia who fretted about the local violence. We've been updating our senior staff daily about the state of affairs, and we've quizzed various hotel employees, merchants, and Marcos, the most patient driver who has ever chauffeured American visitors about the city, only to hear that the problems, while acute, do not

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-63035612768925805112009-08-17T20:40:00.004-04:002009-08-17T20:59:30.671-04:00

ARGH. I forgot to bring my camera cord, which means no uploading of photos until I get back. I'm taking them like a mad thing, though sadly I did not catch the dyslexic bus labeled "Colectivo Moerlia," being at the time too busy trying to both process the semiotics of a Mexican-style chibi Virgin of Guadalupe helium balloon and not spill my gaspacho, a cupful of chopped jicama, mango, and

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-75083586671655009722009-08-14T22:41:00.003-04:002009-08-17T20:40:09.916-04:00

Is there any DNA evidence that The Park Bencher and I might be sekrit Siamese twins? Because I'm starting to wonder. She has yet to post any woebegone moans about missing the chance to see Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, and Paul Krugman at the same Worldcon party, which one can only assume was epic and healed hundreds of undeserving Canadians, but otherwise...man. E-doppelganging.The

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-44400667392967247732009-08-08T19:32:00.002-04:002009-08-08T19:57:19.063-04:00

Turns out it's a good thing that I'm on my new kick of not leaving the house without a bullet-proof layer of SPF Avogadro's Number, because mosquito-repellent toxicity can maybe get me instead.I spent six weeks during the summer before senior year working at an archaeology field school in Alaska's squashy bush country. Taiga, or huge flat stretches of land where the permafrost level is about 6

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-32653905429545859162009-08-01T13:42:00.003-04:002009-08-01T13:59:18.277-04:00

Hey, guys, know what I'm going to be a lot more careful with in the future? Sunblock. As a responsible if reluctant adult, I went in for my annual dermatology check-up so that no Japanese Fighting Moles can steal a march on me. I don't tan for fun, but I rock the pseudo-Victorian pallor that is my birthright without always slopping on some SPF or pulling on a hat, and of course there's the tiny

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-35657454592790689392009-07-31T17:38:00.003-04:002009-07-31T17:49:13.318-04:00

UpDoc? Anyway. Everyon's favorite redhead is doing well, still inspiring the envy of his neighbors with a stream of treat-bearing visitors and admirers. If he were in normal condition, he'd be gaining weight from all the extras he's getting; instead he's ribbly and a bit bare of hair around the ears and forehead. The few nips he'd gotten during his first spate of turnout have faded, so either the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-53015396555161230882009-07-26T08:00:00.001-04:002009-07-27T09:54:48.111-04:00

...does apparently keep ill health more or less at bay. I've stopped by to see Doc several times in the last few weeks—with the summer camp schedule futzing with dressage, it's been irregular—and indulged his desire to mug me for his favorite addiction. He's still sweet about it; a whicker and the occasional half-step forward, with a look of undisguised eagerness, are as far as his dignity will

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-60348674249052749332009-07-20T17:15:00.001-04:002009-07-20T17:15:00.299-04:00

IE complains that I earwormed her with the inevitable "Walking on the Moon" reference. Surely this is the fault of the Police and I am blameless.Geek time! In honor of the anniversary, the BBC recently presented a haunting photo from the latest pass over Tranquility Base, showing the ant-trail of footprints between the landing module and a set of scientific instruments. So much effort for such a

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-80407250960241547502009-07-16T17:30:00.003-04:002009-07-17T11:51:47.390-04:00

NASA is observing the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar mission by streaming the mission's recorded radio transmissions in realtime. Listening to it today, I realized that being up there and hearing that the module was now, say, 25,000 nautical miles from Earth would've made me scream, "Turn this ship around RIGHT. THE HELL. NOW!" in a voice that, vacuum be damned, would've been heard. The

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-88723672600985113732009-07-13T17:32:00.003-04:002009-07-13T17:49:41.579-04:00

I stopped by the barn this weekend to check on my favorite redhead, and he's doing surprisingly well, which goes to show what I know about horse health. His bloodwork shows that he hasn't had a miraculous remission, but he's cheerful and active, thoroughly investigating bags even after it has been established that they no longer contain apples, that said apples have joined the orchard invisible,

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-33491036040612057072009-07-09T22:05:00.003-04:002009-07-09T22:16:18.777-04:00

I've been rereading Francis Spufford's excellent, illuminating The Child That Books Built: A Life in Reading. It's one of those rare books that keeps making me want to yell, "Testify! Sing it! Yes, brother, yes, you are so right!"On learning to read: "By the time I reached The Hobbit's last page, though, writing had softened, and lost the outlines of the printed alphabet, and become a transparent

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-61361623465992884772009-07-03T23:08:00.004-04:002009-07-08T15:52:28.695-04:00

Seesterperson and I decamped for parts Jersey Shore early this morning, and what with the constant nomming and occasional breaks to go stare at the waves, I hadn't logged in until late tonight. Things you don't want to read: "You need to check in on Doc - he's not long for this world. Very sorry."Sigh.ETA: I went to visit him on this (Tuesday) evening and got a slightly clearer story. Doc has

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-68262262287592580922009-06-23T20:41:00.003-04:002009-06-23T20:52:43.397-04:00

Whilst in Chicago, I stayed in a very nice hotel near the lake and was 100% determined to get in a C25K run along Lake Shore Drive. I brung my shoes and workout gears, and I publicized my determination just to make it harder for me to back out.Unfortunately only from the perspective of my goals, the folks and I managed to fit in drinks at Naha and dinner at Frontera Grill the night before. Now,

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-40166818545099975482009-06-23T17:30:00.002-04:002009-06-23T18:00:15.543-04:00

Dear camera,We're learning to make peace with one another, you and I. I no longer leave you in a jacket pocket before taking a nap on the beach; you no longer attempt to take pictures of my purse's interior when a stray housekey gets frisky with your on button. I figured out how to white-balance some of my pictures; you've given me some good low-light shots despite my fumbling. I thought we were

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-31720888558844384202009-06-22T19:34:00.003-04:002009-06-22T19:46:02.491-04:00

I had a silly post lined up for this evening, including some shots from the wedding I was at last weekend, but getting a stream of phone calls from people worried that I was dead in a horrible Red Line wreck means I'm not in the mood. For the record, although that's my regular commuting route, I wasn't on the trains and I have a reliable way home. Be well, you guys; not everyone is okay.Red Cross

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-69976908679232437302009-06-21T00:01:00.003-04:002009-06-21T00:05:10.943-04:00

Sometimes you can't face the serious stuff full on and you need a hit of straight happiness. This is for you.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-460815410672766142009-06-18T18:30:00.000-04:002009-06-18T18:30:00.567-04:00

I leave the office for one measly extended weekend of eating marathon meals and drinking mighty wines in Chicago, and everything goes to hell, such that by the time I get home o'nights all I want to do is kerflop into bed. Stories about the weekend of feasty goodness and watching TheVoice marry her feller are on their way.Manny has now been visited by an acupuncturist-cum-chiropractor, who did

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-10614311162678973412009-06-11T18:00:00.001-04:002009-06-11T22:11:46.300-04:00

Manny has been colicking lately, so I took Lear back in hand last night. Turns out that while he helped prepare me for Manny's appalling ground manners, those same nasty habits have made Lear seem practically sweet by comparison. That and, of course, Lear has had more time to learn that trying to bite me is a quick way to hurt himself, muahahaha.But oh lordy had I forgotten what it was like

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-39088735797135402912009-06-10T17:30:00.001-04:002009-06-11T10:28:12.187-04:00

Pete Souza's White House photos are an excellent antidote to bad news. He's been posting some wonderful shots on Flickr, well beyond the usual grip-n-grins and signings.Official caption: President Barack Obama shakes hands with a French veteran during the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France June 6, 2009. The man was knocked aside by the crush of people after the president's speech, and

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-56650957382597821522009-06-09T18:45:00.000-04:002009-06-09T18:45:01.208-04:00

Summahtime! I loves me the sun and the energy it brings, if not so much the ambient humidity and strange storms that wake me up in the early morning hours with a noise like bowling balls being dropped into a car compacter.The sunlight is helping with my effort to keep on track with workouts, too, grumbles about the warmth notwithstanding. I'm grimly determined to run in Chicago this weekend,

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-69201275271010557732009-06-06T20:35:00.001-04:002009-06-06T20:36:32.314-04:00

Chi-infused t-shirts. Don't worry: The energy infusion doesn't wash out in the laundry.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-389067082222914902009-06-05T12:30:00.001-04:002009-06-05T17:02:39.393-04:00

Update from a stormy night: Manny has stopped rooting and is now trying to figure out how to go on the bit. You can tell, because when he's cued he grinds his teeth on the snaffle until it sounds like someone's trying to start a mower in the ring. Our conversation Wednesday night went grangh grangh grangh YOU'RE ON THE BIT YAY HERE'S A BIG RELEASE GOOD BOY grangh grangh. It's as though he spends

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-59404739683869902812009-05-29T21:45:00.001-04:002009-05-29T21:55:52.536-04:00

Summer scheduling hurrah! Not content with allowing us the freedom of casual togs during the warm months, my office has added swing-time hours, so half a Friday every other week is available for personal skidding doorwards at 12:30 (work permitting). Wine with lunch? Don't mind if we do.I took my first afternoon for purely selfish purposes: some catching up on BSG 4.5 (mutiny! Felix, you eedjit!)

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-2312687151590288632009-05-28T18:30:00.001-04:002009-05-29T22:46:02.542-04:00

Manny hasn't bitten anyone lately, but don't tell him that; boy was a sharky beast last night, with the fangs and the gnashing. His niptiousness is manageable on cross-ties, but when we got down to the ring and I went to check his girth, he tried Grayson-hard to make his opinion known. I knew what was going to happen when I started to tighten the cinch, but I misjudged it a little: Instead of

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-43725189812445223572009-05-24T19:28:00.005-04:002009-05-25T12:18:33.729-04:00

I am celebrating the long weekend by decking my kitchen with spatters of flour and bowls of shoggoths yeast sponges for various attempts at not-so-quick breads. The tasty results conflict with my continued efforts to stay with the Couch to 5K (hah, typed "Couth to 5K," which is like the running except in white gloves) but are good with strawberry-rhubarb jam.Today, fortified with barbecue, La

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-31920485080371308062009-05-21T17:45:00.000-04:002009-05-21T17:45:00.459-04:00

Back to the barn after a week off, hurrah. I was one of only two students who showed up, so I smothered a flicker of guilt and picked Manny out of the line-up. He's been nasty this week, and probably due to his starveling history is very defensive about his food, so getting him out of his stall took two alfalfa cubes and a gentle poke with a spare longe whip to get his haunches pointing away from

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-2305431932296048172009-05-16T16:00:00.000-04:002009-05-16T16:00:04.223-04:00

Ordinarily, I can reassure myself that whatever I'm yearning toward, I want because it provides some vital nutrient of which I'm running short. Steak? Iron. Eggs? Vitamin A. Beer? Vitamin Ah. But nutritional science sheds no light on why I woke up on Monday with a profound jones for pancakes. My workday morning ritual being one that runs on split-second timing to accommodate the maximum number of

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-86264183613495793132009-05-16T10:32:00.005-04:002009-05-16T10:44:19.537-04:00

P050809PS-0264Originally uploaded by The Official White House PhotostreamPresident Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)First there's the laughing. And then there's the big-time

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-57126792377755043302009-05-14T17:45:00.000-04:002009-05-14T17:45:00.622-04:00

It's Police Week. This explains why my train ride home yesterday was briefly enlivened by the sight of fully uniformed police-types who bore a striking resemblance to Mounties standing clustered on the Judiciary Square platform. I figured they'd been bused in to help counsel all the downcast Capitals fans streaming homeward, Ovechkin jerseys drenched with tears.Of a usual Wednesday night, I'd've

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-78850858034206004252009-05-11T18:18:00.005-04:002009-05-18T13:17:51.638-04:00

Yours truly is not genius material, as proved by the fact that I cheerily slung my bag of Metro essentials (book, keys, iPod) into the trunk of Iosif's car with the camera still in it before heading down to Hungry for Music's crawfish festival. Not to fret, there is no theft in this story, only the sad song of lost opportunities and the lament that I can only tell you about the fun of crawdad

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-35028491220769068052009-05-08T13:30:00.002-04:002009-05-08T15:11:19.571-04:00

Serialkarma says she called in kitten emergency today, and first let's give a brief bow to her employer for recognizing this priority. Te salutamos!Unfortunately, KE is not as whimsically fun as it sounds. If anyone of an engineering mind has suggestions for how to rescue a small kitten that has fallen to the bottom of a six-foot-tall fence post made of PVC pipe, head on over and let her know. So

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-69813927342950665632009-05-07T18:00:00.002-04:002009-05-07T18:00:04.702-04:00

Lear is back from vacation! He celebrated by promptly tossing a shoe. The perversity that surrounds that horse's every move approaches fractal levels.After a little meebling over the Learless horse list, I decided to take a new chance, which paid off. I rode Manny, the barn's newish still-too-skinny TB, and now that there's all this stuff about Manny Rodriguez in the news talking about how bad he

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-47307897591028995342009-05-01T19:30:00.002-04:002009-05-01T19:30:02.766-04:00

"So is that Zeus you're on?""Nope, this is Bill.""It's not Zeus?""Er, no. It's Bill.""But you rode Zeus last week. Isn't that Zeus?"OH MY WANING PATIENCE. "No, it is not Zeus. It is still Bill.""Oh. Well, I thought it was Zeus."As may be surmisable, Teddy Bear Bill, my partner for the week, and Zeus, from last week, are both smallish copper horses, but they are by no means twins, and also I was

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-26210428166936496272009-05-01T16:57:00.002-04:002009-05-01T17:07:40.855-04:00

Be sure to check out this week's "This American Life." It's the episode that was recorded on stage and broadcast live to movie theaters all over the country last week (and you can see it again on May 7, if watching a radio show tickles your fancy...and it should, because there's visual stuff too, and Ira Glass put in a joke for you, just for you!).IE and I caught the show at Mazza and adored it:

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-14211123151255103092009-04-30T08:30:00.000-04:002009-04-30T09:34:04.932-04:00

"Produced during that brief moment in American history when heroin, chloroform, alcohol, and North Carolina pine tar pretty much took care of anything that ailed you. That, and radium."Jack Womack needs his own blog like whoa, but I spose having him as an occasional house guest over at William Gibson's place must be sufficient unto the day.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-73675859234058887952009-04-27T11:44:00.003-04:002009-04-27T11:50:25.790-04:00

The group hosting this week's planned event in Morelia decided to postpone the meeting until July. So hurrah, I have done all my laundry and somewhat straightened up my place and gotten my packing list in order and yet don't have to actually go through passport control or explain why my Chapstick isn't in a one-quart plastic bag.On the other hand, aw, just a little bit. This trip sounded fun,

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-91169205375513166412009-04-24T15:42:00.004-04:002009-04-24T15:46:52.020-04:00

Dammit. This may put a real crimp in next week's travel agenda.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-24054650155447943312009-04-23T12:15:00.000-04:002009-04-23T12:15:01.205-04:00

To the bullet-points of lazy hastiness!I rode Zeus last night, Lear having been sent off for vacation. Zeus is new to our class, a strange copper-colored animal who looks like a QH from the chest back and a scrawny Morgan otherwise. He's very forward-striding, which makes him good on trail (I'm told) but once at any kind of speed in the ring he does. Not. STOP. When I asked for the canter I got

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-66732542421604648282009-04-16T17:15:00.006-04:002009-04-17T11:52:52.181-04:00

Genetics are less of a crapshoot when there's evidence suggesting that you were cloned in your mother's basement lab. Long story short, my first-ever cholesterol check (I know, I know, save your nagging) came up super-bueno, despite my marked carnivorous tendencies and slackerly exercise ways. Apparently this is a trait on La Mère's side of the family, and it's true that the women on that half of

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-27160229377747632912009-04-13T18:02:00.005-04:002009-04-15T11:08:27.754-04:00

As someone who never really found the joy in cooking, I am always pleasantly surprised when my kitchen endeavors turn out as they're supposed to. This culinary trepidation is related in part to the incredible trauma that ensued when a high school friend and I decided to essay making kulich one year. Kulich is an ambitious multi-stage undertaking that probably shouldn't be entrusted to by kids who

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-28088131411702984872009-04-10T17:35:00.001-04:002009-04-11T18:53:11.308-04:00

I don't write much about my job here, because they're watching I'd rather keep my work and personal lives separate to a largish extent. But I do like my employer; we get to wear metaphorical white hats and enjoy literal bennies. One of the highlights of the latter is a full week dedicated to "we love our employees" activities, wherein there are catered meals, classes on gardening, seated massages

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-42259308866105253112009-04-07T17:06:00.005-04:002009-04-08T14:16:04.331-04:00

Summarizing the weekend has rarely been easier, but it does look a little odd.I've gotten onto a major gothic kick in the reading department and am midway through both The Castle of Otranto and The Monk, having polished off the somewhat less ridiculous Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard. All I can say about The Monk is that it's either one of the best future-oriented jokes—something Lewis was

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-80909346355407943972009-04-02T17:30:00.001-04:002009-04-03T10:34:55.141-04:00

Lear has been so mannerly of late that I have stopped wearing my tacked cheap gloves and switched to a spendier microsuede-and-mesh pair. Too much too soon; Lear nipped my index finger right at the first knuckle last night as I was taking him out, and had it not been for luck I might be typing with a stump (or, more likely, slamming painkillers and whining dictation). They may be vegetarians, but

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-13242769314018231432009-04-01T12:01:00.002-04:002009-04-01T12:12:42.060-04:00

ThinkGeek provides the best camping equipment for anyone bound for snowy climes: a Tauntaun sleeping bag. Y'all, I MUST HAVE THIS.Yes, I know. April 1.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-52322008523024576482009-03-28T10:11:00.004-04:002009-03-28T11:15:41.695-04:00

DC's Second Story Books has reopened after their renovation, luring Dupont locals to paw through a slightly airier layout full of novel temptations. They don't keep an inventory of most of their trade texts, so if you want to find out if they've got, say, a Sapolsky compilation you're reluctant to buy at full price, the only thing to do is dig. A careful shelf-by-shelf investigation of the pulp

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-78940831176659436882009-03-26T08:56:00.004-04:002009-03-26T09:16:35.722-04:00

A brief story: We worked more on canter circles to the left last night. I couldn't keep Lear from breaking gait every time we came off the rail, and in frustration I asked Pat to hop on for a schooling ride. When he slowed as she brought him in toward the center of the ring, just as he did with me, she tapped him lightly with the crop, and my hand to God his back hooves went well above the level

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-7899876846691243942009-03-23T17:53:00.003-04:002009-03-23T18:19:06.074-04:00

Really. Where are they? (Where is they?) Because life is conspiring against me lately, mes amis, and I dun like it.A friend with whom I used to take Western classes e-mailed today to let me know about the dates for this year's roundup. Danny is a tolerant man and apparently is willing to let me continue to hassle his cows from the back of one of his horses, despite his obvious amusement at the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-35671881173505801382009-03-21T20:17:00.004-04:002009-03-23T09:16:35.771-04:00

I'm going to rat out Gee-Clef here, because sweet lord, whenever I start to think that I'm the biggest geek in the world, he's there to put it in perspective.As part of his choir's general bonhomie, they make unconventional bets on whatever the basketball NCAA madness thingy is. Stuff like giving money to charity if someone waxes Duke early, nothing too crazy (at least not that he would admit).

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-65923433967600195352009-03-20T17:20:00.000-04:002009-03-20T17:20:08.310-04:00

Seriously, Wales, is it something in the water? Of all the peculiar things that mankind has done with sheep, this is...okay, well, it's one of the most work-safe. But fantastic, entirely.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-60291441676966682372009-03-19T17:20:00.002-04:002009-03-24T11:15:30.244-04:00

Barn people can be all kinds of amazing about horses, but the communication with people end sometimes breaks down. Vide last night, when the saddle marked for Lear was an old saddle retrofitted with new padding and finest brown syntho-nauga. We later found out that the fitter had been through and decided Lear's regular saddle was too wide in the withers, so she got him a narrower one instead.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-20447494278286621452009-03-14T10:15:00.004-04:002009-03-16T13:11:29.390-04:00

Tis Pi Day! Do celebratory math or make decadent pastry that involves triangles, approximately spheroid fruit, and the one original ichor of the science gods who govern undergraduate life.In unrelated news, I'm going to try to process the ideas that (a) Ridley Scott is doing a Robin Hood movie; (b) Russell Crowe will be stepping into the title role, following in the eminent footsteps of Kevin

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-81897445075377539992009-03-13T12:30:00.002-04:002009-03-13T12:48:44.407-04:00

I survived the ominously named Chisel class, a festival of lunges and squats and curls and push-ups. I festivated with the lightest dinkiest weights they had and was still barely able to walk the two sets of stairs out of the gym afterward. Also challenging: the teacher's heavy Kiwi accent. She would yell instructions over the music (...Alice Cooper's "Poison"? this class is awesome) and I would

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-76745416738677290822009-03-12T17:45:00.002-04:002009-03-12T17:45:00.399-04:00

Monday: The painful yoga class. I've now gone to four in a row, enough to see what bits remain consistent from week to week (the 20-minute sun salutations warmup; the agony of abs work just when I start to think it's quittin' time) and what changes (the lunges, the balances, the perverse forms the abs stuff takes). I don't participate in the oms that start and end the class, but if I did I'd be

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-85881842537157048822009-03-09T17:30:00.003-04:002009-03-10T10:55:59.439-04:00

One of the hardest things about visiting other cities is remembering that free admission is not the default at 99% of the world's museums. DC's got the Air and Space, the Hirschhorn, the Smithsonian castle, the Museum of National History, the Museum of Natural History (those two are right next to each other; speak clearly when making plans), the Museum of the American Indian, the National

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-2535737708548112312009-03-06T14:30:00.002-05:002009-03-09T10:12:30.777-04:00

Gaaah, visual migraine on a Friday. Talk amongst yourselves.(Translation: "If sour cream is always so aggressive, I won't be able to love it.")

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-67523044413547315282009-03-05T17:04:00.003-05:002009-03-06T14:06:23.001-05:00

It having been a while since Lear and I got to work together, I whinged until the barn staff put him on the horse list last night. They were a little dubious, because it was extremely cold and he hadn't been worked all day, a combination practically guaranteed to mean crazy spooking fun times. Hah, sez I to that, Am I not the person who was terrified to ride him not six months ago? What care I

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-89557100065433809612009-03-02T17:15:00.001-05:002009-03-02T17:15:01.060-05:00

The parentals recently returned from a visit to the ancestral homeland in Texas, where they toured several small museums that house whatever bits of collected (pre)historic memorabilia anyone sees fit to donate. The Bandera Frontier Museum is a gem.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-18161081828491736822009-02-27T12:30:00.003-05:002009-02-27T15:18:44.754-05:00

Lear's trainer took him down to the park field to run out some of his beans, and she got some pretty shots of him that she's been kind enough to let me post. Check out those lovely TB legs, the glossy haunches, the big head, and his neck, which is still a bit scraggly. Note also that in neither photo are any of his feet touching the ground; when he's balanced, he can catch quite a bit of air. His

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-84623083191345946282009-02-23T17:15:00.001-05:002009-02-23T18:36:43.948-05:00

More a two-line comment: I found it hard to take The Pirate Queen: Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire seriously when I realized that the author and/or the copyeditor had decided that the singular of cimarrones was cimarrone, that the Spanish word for god is díos, and that proper antecedents and use of the comma are for the weak. If you can't get the basic spell-checking

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-60729159419637516742009-02-20T17:53:00.004-05:002009-02-21T11:58:57.611-05:00

Lear continues to be sidelined, mostly so that his Grand Prix-bound trainer can get in some intensive work before she leaves him behind forever, sniff sniff. So I was back with Grayson and, for once, the only girl in the class, with El Bandito and Mr. Polo for company. El Bandito is an okay rider and fairly quiet; Mr. Polo is a better rider but is more vocal about his questions. Lately he's been

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-44372578171709436642009-02-18T12:30:00.001-05:002009-02-18T12:30:00.726-05:00

Boy bands are much the same, country of origin notwithstanding. But hit the mute button and watch this Nomin Talst vid of a family preparing for Naadam, the annual Mongolian festival of weaponry, sports, and horsemanship. Simple pleasures. The way I figure it, surely there's enough steppe that you can ride around the occasional passionately gesturing crooner crew without much fuss. Failing that,

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-67283715978596750352009-02-17T11:57:00.002-05:002009-02-17T12:04:17.717-05:00

I am not having my best month ever, so pardon pardon pardon if things get a little spotty around here. I am going to limit my publicized whingeing, because it is borin' and contributeth but little to the general atmosphere of teh intarwebs. So linkspam it will be for a bit, with occasional breaks for horsies and/or particularly good news.But first, excerpts from last night, when I went to see the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-90851241272314026782009-02-12T17:45:00.002-05:002009-02-13T12:13:24.998-05:00

Before last night, it had been a month since I'd gotten into the saddle. I had a chance to ride in Arizona, when work dropped me at a resort with riding among its recreational options, but the horses were unimpressive and the ride would've been bland for the price (walking only, doubtless head-to-tail, one hour). I stopped by to check out the facilities, which consisted of a dusty trailer, a

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-36252939353453227602009-02-10T17:45:00.001-05:002009-02-10T17:45:59.409-05:00

Do fly early in the morning, but make sure you get your coffee before the flight. Paying for airline coffee is an insult to humanity.Do remember what pocket you put your boarding pass in as you juggle it, the bags, and your ID. It is ridiculously easy to forget and put the pass in your removed-for-X-raying jacket. Having forgotten that because of forgetting the previous point, yours truly got

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-41528057659837995522009-02-06T16:49:00.004-05:002009-02-06T16:54:34.977-05:00

Learn the following phrases in the local lingo:That is my companion. It is not intended as a tip.I will call the manager. This cannot be my room because I cannot breathe ammonia. I will be most comfortable between the temperatures of 290 and 303 degrees Kelvin. Madam, this bed/nest is alive.Further useful phrases are available, of course, through the miracle of the intertubes.Right now the most

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-35794589769090287732009-02-04T19:20:00.003-05:002009-02-04T19:32:02.018-05:00

Contrary to the tone of my last entry, I am not abnormally filled with spleen and misanthropic tendencies (though granted the personal baseline is set high). But it's been a few weeks of nearly constant people-contact, a thing that is exhausting for the average introvert, and with a few more days of it to go I find my temper growing shorter and my energy sinking lower. Also, beloved family

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-31844508106264813002009-02-02T19:00:00.004-05:002009-02-20T15:17:24.513-05:00

Back in the days before avtomobili were available, people who had to ride long distances in the States started to realize that a horse with a softer gait might not be a bad idea. Arabians are princes of the desert and they can look like the best thing on hooves, but you ride one for an hour or so and your kidneys start to bounce out your shoulders. Icelandic horses and a few others, however, have

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-46109049857253490892009-01-29T20:58:00.004-05:002009-01-30T23:37:09.763-05:00

Today's fecal roster includes a certain U$ Airways, which has decided that the way to make back all the money they're losing is to charge passengers for all soft drinks, including water. This decision is violently unpopular, idiotic from a preventing-DVT-related-lawsuits perspective, and otherwise profoundly pound foolish. I am a grouchy flyer at the best of times, especially now that age and

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-33395927605472516202009-01-28T12:15:00.004-05:002009-01-28T12:58:33.815-05:00

Yesterday, 6:30 AM: Snow, hurrah! I have all the bread, milk, and toilet paper I need and can hunker with the best of them!6:39 AM: But I have a job. To the lightbox and then to the shower.7:45 AM: Boy, it sure is pretty out here.8:45 AM: It's even pretty snowing on the alley outside my office window.12:00 PM: Oh, it's stopped. Please don't let it restart as wintry mix, please don't let it

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-60724456623035903552009-01-24T14:09:00.001-05:002009-01-24T14:29:23.829-05:00

Inauguration Day approached DC like the standard blizzard warnings, with nobody really knowing what to expect and a general sense of festive bracing-for-the-apocalypse, we're-all-in-this-together, contingency-plans-ahoy.My contingency plans were scuttled: AFI ran out of its tickets to watch the whole show for free at the huge Silver Theater before IE and I could get ours, and IE got a last-minute

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-7307364967874338792009-01-22T19:00:00.003-05:002009-01-23T08:55:15.960-05:00

Not only did I get me a brand-new President this week and survive an OTTB's racing-days flashback ("AAAAAGH, Lear, you know I'm too heavy to be an exercise rider even if I am trying to post your canter, so just slow the hell down AAAAGH!"), Spotted Sparrow informs me that I won her January giveaway, a set of 80s-inspired Valentine's Day cards. Hurrah!I am not a Valentiney person in general—not

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-68086161452897525622009-01-22T12:30:00.001-05:002009-01-22T12:30:00.838-05:00

I will write more later, but here are the important stats.Predicted high temperature: 35 degrees F.Actual high temperature: 27 degrees F.Clothing summary: Boots, hiking (1 pair). Socks, thermal (1 pair). Heaters, chemical, for the feetie regions (1 pair). Heaters, chemical, for the chilly paws (1 pair). Long johns (2 pair). Jeans (1 pair). Cashmere sweaters (3). Fleece pullovers (1). Wool camping

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-489831618147351952009-01-18T14:28:00.004-05:002009-01-19T14:42:48.871-05:00

Weebat and Herr Professor are in town, so DC is about a million times cuter thanks to their decision not to leave their 10-month-old daughter at home alone. The Wee Weebat is scoring very well in many of the preliminary rounds, dominating the Charming the Waiters, Grinning Gummily to Show Off Her Two Teeth, Not Crying, and Making Squeaky Amusing Noises rounds. She's enthusiastically trying to

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-20660255674003423092009-01-16T18:00:00.003-05:002009-03-26T10:27:47.598-04:00

The 'noguration is coming up, nobody's going to be able to drive or park or walk in unsanctioned areas but downtown businesses will try find housing for staff so that they can stay open to feed and shake down the crowds, of course today Metro is demonstrating its inability to handle even seasonal temperature variations so everyone's dooooomed come Tuesday, and it's so cold outside that the wires

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-22307026964105461902009-01-14T18:00:00.003-05:002009-01-15T08:58:57.912-05:00

There's a Russian expression about there always being a hard freeze right around Theophany, which is when in some parts of the world Orthodox observers hack a hole in the ice of the nearest body of water and throw in a cross, inviting the dimmer-but-more-macho types to dive in to retrieve it. I'm evil enough to wonder whether this isn't a way to get rid of some of a community's more irritating

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-77158755081045667142009-01-11T14:08:00.004-05:002009-01-12T14:08:27.000-05:00

It hath been many moons since I was last the home of verminous viral wossnames of the coryzal sort, so I'm taking the opportunity to indulge in all sorts of unhealthy but comforting things. Hot toddies! Ichiban ramen with an egg beaten in! Enormous bowls of pho aslosh with sriracha! Oh I am making the most out of this cold. Pretty soon I'll install a bell that will be always on a small table

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-33935938671248131722009-01-10T14:18:00.005-05:002009-01-10T15:16:00.243-05:00

Chilly rain and raw winds notwithstanding (and, come oooooon, if it's going to be cold and precipitating, can we not get a little snow around here?), Christmas was lovely. The folks had decorated the tree to a fare-thee-well, though La Mère had to requisition a bunch of replacements for the gold origami cranes that I made several years ago, and there was festive food of the dairy and carnivy

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-51406946409588284932009-01-06T12:58:00.005-05:002009-01-08T09:03:42.810-05:00

Also known as big pimpin', also known as "someone else wrote it better and I'm not going to bother competing or writing something to complement it, I'm just gonna link to it": Seesterperson sums up the season. I too have last-minute wrapping to get done tonight, but for obvious reasons I cannot discuss the ribboning issues posed by, f'rinstance, Seesterperson's new Peruvian hairless puppy.As for

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-67455103573497258432009-01-04T18:13:00.005-05:002009-01-05T14:19:25.240-05:00

La Mère reports the ultimate success of Project Mothership: my father has been drawn irrevocably into The Book of the New Sun. This represents the culmination of a long strange campaign to bring him into the SFF fold.Understand, my mother was geek before geek had chic. Seesterperson and I learned to read chapter books with Robert Heinlein juveniles, and we learned the dangers of transgressing the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-3296835107224746972008-12-31T12:30:00.002-05:002008-12-31T12:36:14.786-05:00

It's about time that there was some good news for Terry Pratchett—excuse me, Sir Terry Pratchett—on this, the eve of the Year of the Pensive Hare.I very much want to post one of my squintillion favorite Richard Wilbur poems here, but considering the lack of written permission from the publisher blah blah blah, I'll just link to "Year's End" here. It's beautiful and dark, and it reminds me of the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-64431423934782170022008-12-29T13:30:00.003-05:002008-12-31T11:04:17.843-05:00

Lordy me, it's easy to develop expensive tastes. Gobi the wonder pony and Pat's sumptuous luxury of a dressage saddle would not fit in my stocking, but the easily $20K I could drop on them would. As ponies go, Gobi is a dream: beautifully trained, responsive, well muscled, and polite, not to mention plain cute. His one foible is a taste for licking people's hands, which is a welcome change from

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-50399235661240187482008-12-24T00:18:00.002-05:002008-12-24T13:38:44.915-05:00

From Zooborns.comFor those not celebrating on January 7, best wishes for a happy Christmas Eve, a happy third night of Hannukah, and a joyous return of the sun. Y'all otter know you're loved.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-4597146232211886132008-12-21T14:53:00.000-05:002008-12-21T14:59:15.940-05:00

It's horse time once again. It hasn't been terribly cold since I got back from the west coast (earwormed almost fatally by the Magnetic Fields' "Come Back from San Francisco"), though compared with the city by the Bay DC is all asphalt and gloom, but the relative warmth means not having horses wired up and popping around.OR SO YOU WOULD THINK.Lear decided that going into the ring in full kit

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-60336639234079873712008-12-19T12:30:00.003-05:002008-12-19T16:52:05.185-05:00

I'm still going through the pile of photos from California, but bit by bit I'm getting them posted to my Flickr page, so if the mood strikes you can click over to the San Francisco set and browse at leisure.Now, if you really want to engage the old envy circuits before the holidays proper get under way, skip my pics and go straight to Iosif's New Zealand sets. He and I managed to get a flight

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-14382731808916636342008-12-16T17:45:00.004-05:002008-12-18T09:07:34.961-05:00

William Gibson's short story "Skinner's Room," which later grew into Virtual Light and thence the entire Bridge Trilogy, is an interview between a Japanese sociologist and an old man who lives in the thriving illegal community that's colonized the Golden Gate Bridge after the much-feared Big One destabilizes it too much for traffic. The scientist, crouching in a room built out of plywood lashed

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-53309794321790063252008-12-12T12:53:00.003-05:002008-12-12T12:58:53.180-05:00

But I am having far, far too much fun trying to walk off a metric ton of deem sum on San Francisco's sadistic hills to have made time for a full write-up. Suffice it to say that now I see how people can ignore the earthquake risk; this city is Borgesian in its beautiful dreamy strangeness (and that's without the contact highs). Walk and eat, photograph and shop, walk and eat some more, that's the

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-19238211476314152242008-12-02T18:16:00.004-05:002008-12-02T18:22:16.767-05:00

"I've met a lot of kings, and emperors and heads of state in my time, Joshua. I've met them all. And you know something? I think I liked you best."Off to the Bay. Y'all be good, now.

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-3482780263312802412008-11-30T17:11:00.002-05:002008-11-30T17:11:59.605-05:00

Aiming HighOriginally uploaded by drpThere is no traditional gift for the 19th anniversary. The spenditary industrial complex, however, says that bronze is the appropriate gift. I kind of like that.I celebrate December 1 as my survivorship anniversary. I can't actually remember the precise date when I was diagnosed, and family recollections vary, but it was right after Thanksgiving weekend, about

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-57081222804396184332008-11-29T15:16:00.004-05:002008-11-29T15:28:20.342-05:00

I know I've got at least a couple of ajedrez-playin' readers out there, so here's a link to a Spanish-language post inspired by a shot I took in Buenos Aires last year. I mentioned some time ago that Argentina's graffiti seemed in general to be more elegant and thought-provoking, not to mention funnier, than what DC usually gets, and Mariano has taken my photo a step further by quoting Jorge Luis

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-48652511037941459062008-11-23T10:29:00.007-05:002008-11-24T12:05:15.014-05:00

The Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade has an agreeably funky local feeling. I don't always go, because it's on a Saturday morning and I belong to the Church of the Sacred Lie-In, but when I have crawled out of bed in time I've enjoyed myself. You get the might-as-well-be anonymous councilmembers perched on the back of convertibles, marching bands from the various area schools and the Washington

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-5666464449622470182008-11-21T19:30:00.001-05:002008-11-21T19:30:00.115-05:00

Ganked from MightyGodKing.com. Stuff I've tried is in bold.1. Venison (not crazy about it)2. Nettle tea (is it just me, or is this entry oddly specific?)3. Huevos rancheros 4. Steak tartare (and its sinful Korean equivalent, yook hwe)5. Crocodile6. Black pudding (as well as morcilla, and to both of them I say: PLEH)7. Cheese fondue8. Carp9. Borscht (what, are we godless people?) 10. Baba

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-77477841729309725902008-11-21T12:30:00.001-05:002008-11-21T12:30:00.793-05:00

Gearing up for class on a chilly evening:Two-piece thermals.Fleece britches.Jeans over the britches, for the walk to the car.Wool socks.Chemical toe heaters (BEST THINGS EVAR).Paddock boots.Half-chaps (over the britches, after the jeans are off).Turtleneck.Fleece pullover.Fleece jacket.Down vest.Fingerless gloves.Riding gloves.Helmet.Being able to ride without losing sensation in any bits or

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-20112813076607625292008-11-19T12:30:00.003-05:002008-11-19T13:28:25.976-05:00

A friend recently asked me why I don't post more pictures of the horses I talk so much about. There are several simple reasons.No flash. It be agin the rules at Rock Creek. For the most part, the horses at our very public facility would probably take camera flash in stride, but it takes just one freakout to make the others edgy (to say nothing of what it would do to the nerves of anyone having to

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-54139634760899073452008-11-17T18:05:00.000-05:002008-11-17T18:05:06.343-05:00

This is a shameless ganking from Neil Gaiman's site, for which he'll probably forgive me. Back when they were childless and full of good intentions, the parentals decided that they weren't going to have a TV until their children were set in the readin' way. Their plan succeeded to an almost alarming extent, considering that I can and sometimes do spend five minutes wandering around to find

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459376959482263624.post-72957095351333642242008-11-13T18:15:00.000-05:002008-11-13T18:15:00.693-05:00

Back when I was in college, I got a small grant to do pretty much whatever I pleased for a summer, which is how I came to spend six weeks in the Alaskan taiga, swatting terrier-sized mosquitos and learning the basics of field archaeology among the mortal remains of Dishkakat (or, variously, Dishkaket), a small Gold Rush town. Rule one of rural Alaskan field school: Put mosquito netting up around

3pennyjanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942571483182917042noreply@blogger.com2