Done this year (20140101 We - 12 Su)

[mdlbear]

Wow.

Wednesday the 1^st I booted the server from the mirror drive, after a little rescue work. It took the rest of the week before I got around to ordering a replacement, but... Whew.

Friday the 3^rd was our (actual) 38th anniversary. The party was Saturday; pretty good, though far smaller than our usual parties. We need to do more publicizing. Especially among my relatives and the filk list.

Our anniversary dinner was this Friday, the 10^th, because the Herb Farm was closed on the 3^rd. Just as well, really, since we were able to get a room at the Willows Lodge across the parking lot, and spend a lazy evening before and morning after. The room was huge, and had a really cool feature: an opening between the bedroom and the bathroom, so that someone could sit on the bed and someone else in the tub, and they could have a conversation. It could be closed off with a sliding screen, but we didn't. The toilet and roll-in shower were in another room beyond the tub and vanity, with a sliding door. Neat.

Dinner was *amazing*. The truffle theme was wonderful -- better even than the Mycologist's Dream dinner we went to last year. But the best part was the dessert wines. We ordered a glass of the 2001 Chateau d'Yquem (if you want a wine for the cheese course you have to order it separately). And then they brought us a glass of the "Golden Slumber" 1993 Tokaji Esszencia as an anniversary present! Oh. My. God. The Sauterne was sort of like honey made out of sunlight. The Tokaji was more like what a muscat becomes when it goes to heaven and turns into an angel. I mean, wow.

After brunch in the Barking Frog, which is the restaurant associated with the Willows, we hung out in Alderwood Mall for the afternoon, had dinner at Claim Jumpers, and trundled down to the Kenwood Community Center for Betsy Tinney's album release party. Oh. My. God. It was the musical equal of dinner at the Herb Farm. The sheer energy up on stage -- wow.

Burble.

Lots of good links in the notes.

0101 We
  * up 8:15; W=209.6; d, n
  @ The 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies—As Chosen By Scientists - Popular Mechanics 
  @ What If the 21st Century Begins in 2014? - David Brin - Bloomberg 
  * Made a rescue USB stick to boot nova from the mirror.  The main disk seems to be
    completely hosed - not recognized, and it clicks as if trying to seek and failing.
  @ Ask Culture and Guess Culture (The Ferrett) 
  @ The History of Typography - Animated Short (thnidu)

0102 Th
  * up 7:19; W=209.6; d, n
  : my first paycheck arrived on the 31st, with sign-on bonus
  @ Why You Should Delete SnapChat | adammclane.com

0103 Fr Anniversary
  * up 6:45ish; W=209.6; d, n
  @ Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols: The Windows killer: Chromebook - Computerworld 
  @ 5 Real Princesses Too Badass for Disney Movies | Cracked.com 

0104 Sa Party
  * up 8:30ish; W=206.4; d, n; shower
  @ 9 Ways to Transform a Tie into a Stunning Knot! f(Judi Miller) Video,
    unfortunately, but given the names you can presumably look up the diagrams for
    printing.
  @ Little Maddie on Behance My Little Cthulhu - friendship is madness
  * Party.  Not a whole lot of people beyond the usual suspects.
  * Chaos and James bought a car -- a '94 Saab.
  @ Visit to the World's Fair of 2014 Isaac Asimov writing in 1964 
    (firecat | 2014: I still don't have a jetpack) I want my flying car.
  * Bought a new hard drive for nova (from Amazon, of course)
  * Pay bills - mortgage

0105 Su
  * up 9:13; W=206.4; d, n
  * buy:  TP, doxazosin, bacon.  This involved a Costco run so that I could also get lox
    to go with the bagels N brought back from NYC.  After failing to find
    reasonably-priced lox at QFC.  Trying Costco bacon as an experiment.
  * LJ apparently supports cross-posting to FB.  DW doesn't.  Um... no.  Thanks anyway.
  @ sitting with the happy light on and listening to Sassafrass:  choral folks songs about space and Icelandic mythos - Boing Boing 

0106 Mo
  * up 6:30; ;d, n
  @ Don Marti - Adtech, privacy, fraud control: pick two? 
  * Finally got around to measuring my walk from the bus stop to work.  .5 miles on the
    nose.  Plus .3 from home to the bus stop, so a little over a mile and a half total for
    a typical day.  Not too bad.  And I think I'm walking faster than I used to, too.
  @ The Closing of the Scientific Mind - David Gelernter - Commentary Magazine (esr: Acausality and the Scientific Mind) 
    Like esr, I find a lot to disagree with in this essay.
    esr:  "the true challenge before us is to construct a respectful, humane account of
    subjectivity and “sanctity of life” that fits with computationalism." 
  @ esr:  Predictability, Computability, and Free Will
  @ How to Beat Procrastination | Wait But Why Good advice.  I'll start tomorrow.
  @ Tackling subjectivity head on

0107 Tu
  * up 6:30; W=208.2; d, n
  @ NASA Announces Results of Epic Space-Time Experiment f(Mary Anne Mohanraj)

0108 We
  * up 6:33; W=208.2; d, n 
  @ The Silmarillion Project +Angela Korra'ti
  . find UB statement for rollover IRA
  % some kind of ache in my left cheek.  Hopefully either a muscle spasm or sinus
    problems; the alternatives are worse.

0109 Th
  * up 6:30ish; W=208.2; d, n; shower
  * noon at La Toscanella with N and (financial advisor) Jack Firestone

0110 Fr
  * up 6:30/7:30/9; W=207.4; d, n; laundry
  * 4pm checkin ADA room at the Willows Lodge
    The room is huge and freaking gorgeous.  But our tub is better :)
  * 7:00 pm Herb Farm -- plan to arrive by 6:30
    Truffle theme, which was absolutely amazing, along with a couple of the best dessert
    wines on the planet.  We ordered the 2001 Chateau d'Yquem ($65 extra and worth every
    penny), and then they brought us the Golden Slumber (1993 Tokaji Esszencia) as an
    anniversary present.  Wow.  Just... wow.  And the glazed black truffles.  And the
    sturgeon with beet-perigourdine sauce.  And... *floats*
  * I figure this weekend is costing us about as much as a con would, so it's not totally
    out of line.  And *so* worth it.

0111 Sa
  * up 8am; ; d
  % bed not all that comfortable, or perhaps it was just a matter of not having a firm
    enough pillow.  In any case, didn't sleep as well as I would have liked.  Or as long.
  * Brunch at the Barking Frog.  I had corned beef hash, Colleen had challah French toast.
    Yum.  Rishi tea and good coffee.
  @ Coming Out as a Modern Family - NYTimes.com f(Erin Ruston)
  " QOTD:  me: Three heffalumps would be a lump and a heff.
    Colleen:  Math majors. "
  & Headed out in the general direction of Everett; ended up at Alderwood Mall.  For some
    reason I didn't feel up to much wandering, so I'm sitting in a comfy chair while
    Colleen explores.
  @ Another Word for Depression, Redux | The Shadow Sanctuary (firecat)
  * 7:00 pm Kenmore Community Center - Release the Cello concert.  WOW!

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[thnidu]

WWOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW