Scootabout

By kate on October 10th, 2006

My office just moved to the north end of the waterfront (near the soon-to-open Olympic Sculpture park), and my bus commute involves a bit more walking than before. And, I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket… so I got one of these:

My very own Razor Scooter, in green, natch.
 
I tried it out on a lunch run just now and had a lot of fun. Going uphill is stupid (walking is much less tiring), but downhill slopes and flat stretches are a dream. I just cruise along. A good push or two will give me momentum for a while, even on bumpy sidewalk.
 
My current plan is to carry it on the bus (it folds up) and scoot to my destination on either side. I’m hoping it’s not too bulky for everyday carting around.

Filed under: consumerism, outdoors | 1 Comment »


Art is a Cat

By kate on September 8th, 2006

Modern art has always been my favorite kind. (I’m using the term “modern art” very loosely here, to refer to all art created roughly from 1950-present, not just by the modernists.) I’d much rather go to a gallery and see what new artists are creating today rather than go through stuffy old SAM and see the same “old masters” yet again. When Steve and I were in Paris, we skipped the Louvre and went to the Pompidou instead. Locally, we’re members of the excellent Henry Art Gallery.

I’m hard pressed, though, to find the right words to explain why I like modern art so much, aside from saying I enjoy the mental/creative stimulation it gives me.

That’s why I enjoyed this article by Village Voice art critic Jerry Saltz. His main point is to criticize “academics and theorists who…belittle art as a gratuitous…merely beautiful…amusement” (I removed a bunch of extra words to highlight his point) but in the process he does a good job of describing the power of art.

He ends with this clever metaphor:

      Imagine calling two pets, one a dog, the other a cat. Asking a dog to do something is an amazing experience. You say, “Come here, Fido,” and Fido looks up, pads over, puts his head in your lap, and wags his tail. You’ve had a direct communication with another species; you and Fido are sharing a common, fairly literal language. Now imagine saying, “Come here, Snowflake” to the cat. Snowflake might glance over, walk to a nearby table, rub it, lie down, and look at you. There’s nothing direct about this. Yet something gigantic and very much like art has happened. The cat has placed a third object between you and itself. In order to understand the cat you have to be able to grasp this nonlinear, indirect, holistic, circuitous communication. In short, art is a cat.

I recommend reading the rest of the article as well (it’s not just clever metaphors).

Found via the Stranger Slog

Filed under: animals, art | 1 Comment »


Goats!!

By kate on August 16th, 2006

Today, we got this flyer on our door (click to read):

goats.jpg

Seattle City Light is using a herd of GOATS to clear brush from the substation near our house! I’m thrilled that such a practical and unusual idea is not only being entertained, but put into action. It’s environmentally much more friendly than using electric or gas-powered tools.

Plus, I love goats! I think it all started with the adorable baby goats we saw in Mongolia…

I’m so excited I had to post right away, before I’ve even had a chance to get home and go see exactly where the goats will be hanging out.

Filed under: animals | Comment now »


Ruby’s Journal Has Moved

By kate on June 6th, 2006

You can now read about Ruby on our brand-new (WordPress-driven, self-hosted) blog: http://www.mynameisruby.com/blog. All the Ruby-related posts have been moved there, and that’s where new posts will be.

If you are using Feedwhip to follow Ruby’s updates, click this link to add a Feedwhip subscription for Ruby’s new blog.

Also, Steve will be posting entries about fatherhood and life in general in his new blog.

Filed under: Links, meta | 3 Comments »


They’re ice skating in hell today…

By kate on June 2nd, 2006

I got a Mac. As my desktop computer!
 
It all happened so fast. One moment, Steve and I were talking about simply installing WordPress on our linux server. Before we knew it, the plan had changed and I was formatting my PC and building a new/better linux server (now on Fedora Core 4 instead of Slackware) with it. After a week or so, when we’re sure the new server is all OK, we’ll reformat the old linux box, install a pared-down Windows, and make it a backup and media server.
 
That left me without a desktop computer, which I need when my laptop is at work. I think it was Steve who first tossed out the idea of a Mac mini, and I jumped on it.
 
Last night, I only had about half an hour to play with it (because of the baby and the late hour), and most of that time was spent plugging everything in. I found the “it just works” philosophy to be very true, because it did. I had internet access, my external USB hard drive worked, I could play music, and ssh into my linux server. All without doing any config.
 
Why did I do it? I’ve had some contact with the Mac OS through work (last two jobs), and have been quite impressed with OS X (the GUI as well as the linux-based shell). I figured it was a great opportunity for me (and Steve) to really get familiar with it. As an IT person, it’s good to understand a platform that’s growing in popularity like the Mac. I’m still going to use MS Office, will be doing some kind of remote desktop into work computers, and still have a Windows laptop, so I’m not abandoning Microsoft by a long shot. I like the variety.
 
Super geek alert 1: One of my very favorite activities is setting up a new computer. I couldn’t tell you why.
 
Super geek alert 2: Our house is now actively running 3 different OSes on eight computers (counting my work laptop and the servers for Feedwhip). Good thing we built a server closet when we renovated the basement…

Filed under: technology | Comment now »


New Hole

By kate on May 3rd, 2006

I got my left helix (upper ear) pierced on Monday, after wanting to for a long time. I’m not looking forward to the supposed 8-12 month healing time, though! After two nights, I’m already dying to sleep on my left side again (at least some of the time).

Update: It healed in 3-4 months.

Filed under: body | 1 Comment »


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