Omnium-gatherum
Matt Hanson’s Brain Archive
September 30, 2005
The poor pinky toe
I’ve entered a new era of being accident prone. Last night I stubbed my poor small toe on the side of doorway - it hurt pretty bad, swelled right up and turned purple. A trip to the hospital and subsequent x-rays confirmed it was indeed broken. The funny thing was that it was the same emergency room doctor that stiched me up last month.
Any picture would pale in comparison to my last crash, so I just put up the x-ray instead. I barely got a chance to get back on the bike and now I’m off again. It’s a very poor way to end the season.
I’ve got to buddy tape my little toe to the next one for the next month, hopefully it will be better sooner then that - at least enough so I can cram it into a cycling shoe.
September 25, 2005
Backyard Oasis or Money Pit?
I can’t believe summer is all over all ready we say to one another, nodding our heads in agreement. Here in New England it’s always the same. This weekend we finally closed up the pool - the pool we have not used since the end of August but had yet to find the time to close it. Last year, our first in this house, we had someone come and open and close the pool and I watched closely. It didn’t seem very difficult, and it’s not. There are different methods for doing it, some suggest to drain the water to below the return piping, some say it’s not neccessary. This year I followed the procedure that I watched last year.
- Shock with massive amounts of chlorine, run filter for 24 hours straight
- Remove stairs/ladders
- Vacuum/clean pool thoroughly
- Drain pool to just below the return fittings
- Blow or vacuum out the lines (intake from skimmer, returns to pool)
- 1 gallon non-toxic antifreeze in each line (use blower to force it through)
- Take apart filter, hose down inside
- Cover pool
So here in New England is it really worth it to have a pool? You get just about 8 weeks of use out of it, unheated. I’ve looked into solar heating systems but they require so many solar panels I have no idea where I’d put the things. The vinyl liner is starting to sag and I’ve attemtped to fix it but it still showing it’s age. Now here’s the clincher - my main drain is out of order, and one of my return pipes is also capped. Both were capped due to leaks from before we bought the house. So I’ve got a 25 year pool, with a single intake and return and surrounded by concrete patio (i.e. if the plumbing breaks it’ll be a mess to get at it), and a liner that will make me happy if I get another 2 years out of it. Routine maintenance is pretty easy with todays test kits and equipment. It’s the big things breaking that are the problem.
In those hot summer months it’s a nice setup. The kids love it and will more so as they get older.
Running $ total?
- Season 1: $500 to open/close, $250 for new pump, $150 chemicals, $30/mo electric for 4 months, Total = $1020
- Season 2: $200 new vaccuum, $100 pool cover pump, $150 chemicals, $50/mo electic for 4 months, Total = $650
This doesn’t even cover all the miscellaneous things. So…$1670 / 16 weeks ~ $100/week to swim in my backyard. ouch.
September 23, 2005
The Dentist
Kaley had her first visit to the dentist Monday and she was off to a good start. Kim went off to get her teeth cleaned while I hefted Maizy and followed Kaley into the exam room. I wasn’t sure if she’d be obstinate or not. She jumped on the chair and was delighted when Dr. Vogel blew up a glove into a glove-balloon and drew a face on it. After that she was easy. She listened well, did what she was told by the dentist and had her teeth checked out and polished with the teeth-tickler.
Today’s kids, when they go to the doctor or dentist have to get some sort of prize in the end. It’s all about the treasures and more often then not the offices have treasure chests filled with all manner of cheap gumball-machine style prizes. Kaley got a plastic ring which, several hours later, was lost and completely forgotten. More important to her was the glove-balloon. With a piece of floss as a leash it became her pet for the day, until it popped. She even named it…beegomba.
September 16, 2005
What could be easier then Fortran ?
It’s a year later and I still don’t have a steering wheel on my computer…
Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a “home computer” could look like in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invited technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use. - from Popular Mechanics, 1954
UPDATE (Oct 29, 2005)
Thanks to Shannon for pointing out to me that this picture is a hoax. I feel like I’ve totally been had. Just proves that even though a “fact” gives what seems to be a credible reference (in this case Popular Mechanics), don’t assume it to be true. Read the full hoax story at Snopes.
September 13, 2005
Space, by Scott Smith
I don’t even remember what grade I was in, probably 2nd or 3rd, when we put together a poetry book. Each student contributed one poem. Mine was titled “If I could sit upon a Cloud” but I don’t remember any of the actual contents. However, the work of one other student has always survived in my memory, if not his.
Space, by Scott Smith
If I were a spaceman
I would take with me my cat, my dog,
books, a suitcase
and a BIG compressor.Space, by Scott Smith
Of importance is the author credits both before and after the poem, since that was the way it was published in the book. Maybe someday I will find this book amidst old papers and junk in a previously forgotten box filled with childhood artifacts.
This gem has evidently faded from Scott’s memory since when Andy and I recited it to him at our 10th year reunion, he thought we were nuts.
September 12, 2005
Devil in a Blue Dress
Some great films never attain a big audience like they deserve. We watched Devil in a Blue Dress after seeing a preview for it in One False Move, another Carl Franklin directed film. One False Move was a decent film, but Devil in a Blue Dress is a great film - it is the quintessential detective story.
Denzel Washington plays Easy, who has lost his job and finds himself working as an impromptu private investigator in 1948 Los Angelos. With voice narration, gangsters, betrayal, and the ‘dame’, it is film noir at it’s best. Of particular note is Don Cheadle’s portrayal of Mouse, Easy’s childhood friend from Texas who is both funny and frightening. A smallish unassuming figure Mouse has a propensity for violence, but a charming attitude you cannot help but like.
If you like classic film noir detective stories like Chinatown and L.A. Confidential, then Devil in a Blue Dress is a must.
September 10, 2005
Maizy’s sitting up
I feel quite lame for not taking a gazillion more pictures of Maizy in the last 2 months. I have a whopping 12. For Kaley I took around 30 photos around the same time. My mother told me last week that’s just the way it was with the second child. So Maizy, when you’re older and reading this - sorry. Though you’ll probably be fine with the fact that there isn’t more photos of you naked in the bath, drooling and puking.
The last couple months Maizy has gone from lying around mostly to being able to sit up on her own. This is an exciting time for it means no more floppy bobble heads to constantly worry about. For a short period of time you can put the baby on the floor with a toy without worrying about her crawling off and finding stuff to put in her mouth. But the crawling comes soon…
September 9, 2005
“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without” *
It had been a while since I was a BMG member or bought many CD’s so I thought it was time to do so again. My order of 10 CD’s came in last week and I’ve now had a week to listen through most of them.
I’ve been getting more interested in Reggae over the last several years so got the essential Toots and the Maytals - Time Tough: The Anthology, a two disc set with all the neccessary Toots songs.. Bunny Wailer’s first album after leaving The Wailers, Blackheart Man, is not surprisingly very similar to Bob Marley in tone and is one of his best. One of the most popular UK reggae bands, Aswad, introduced a new era of reggae to the UK with their acclaimed third album, New Chapter, definitely worth owning for such classics as “African Children” and “Natural Progression”.
I ventured into new territory with Whiskeytown - Pneumonia, an alt-country band, and Groove Armada - Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), which satisfied my electronica/trip-hop craving. It’s very good.
I didn’t own any of The Red Hot Chili Peppers older albums when they were playing pure funk so I got Freaky Styley, which I have yet to listen to much but so far I like what I’ve heard.
Beck, whose last name is none other then Hansen, again showcased his amazing and varied ability with Mutations. While not as good as Odelay or Mellow Gold, it is still a great album.
Chet Baker is at his finest in Sextet, a classic Baker album with saxophonist Jerry Mulligan.
I also picked up two soundstracks, O’ Brother Where art thou? (movie), and A Mighty Wind (movie). Movies worth seeing and albums worth a listen.
September 4, 2005
The Hanson Girls
It’s nearing the end of another summer. Kaley is approaching three fast and Maizy nearing one.
This summer has seen Kaley get fully potty trained, a huge addition to her vocabulary and speaking skills, riding a tricycle, drawing faces, swimming (with arm floaties) around the whole pool by herself. She’s a smart girl and loves to be a big sister to Maizy. This week she’ll start going to a playgroup/”school” twice a week which will give Kim more time to spend with Maizy.
Maizy has seemingly outgrown her previous ‘wheezing’ problem, has had tubes put in her ears and can now hear a lot better. She likes to talk now, but to her talking means yelling really loudly. She’s just starting to crawl and now we need to babyproof the house all over again as she finds new things she wants to play with. She’s eats well and is bigger then Kaley ever was at that age.
All in all both girls are doing very well, growing fast and learning new things quickly. They both sleep well through the night and while they get up earlier then we would like they are both usually very well behaved and a joy to have in our lives. I’m sorry I haven’t taken more pictures of Maizy - I’ve taken a lot fewer pictures overall and I’m trying to rectify that situation.
September 2, 2005
There’s at least one blogger left in New Orleans
This guy Michael is blogging in New Orleans. Him and some other people are holed up in an Internet data center on the 10th floor of a high rise. They still have internet access and a diesel powered generator. They are calling it Camp Crystal.
September 1, 2005
There will be no Jazz Funerals today
Today I am sad for those that have lost their lives from hurricane Katrina.
I am sad for those that have lost friends, family, and loved ones.
I am sad for the loss of the historic city of New Orleans.
I am sad for the loss of image, audio, and written archives, the unique musical recordings.
I am sad for the loss of people’s homes, their livelihoods, their personal journals and photos.
I am sad for those that have relatives that are lost.
I am sad that I will never see the original New Orleans, nor will my family, my descendants, or the future generations of our country.
I am saddened for the refugees who are hungry, scared, and don’t know what to do.
I am sorry for all of you who have been affected by the Katrina disaster.
