Rod's Alter Ego

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:16:28 GMT

New Digs

As of 1.27.2011 we're blogging here.

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:14:16 GMT

Repair Update

For those of you who have mailed to let me know the Java applet at the Italy bike link (see Cycling Pages) is broken, and are desperate for a dose of nostalgia, Master has fixed the problem and it is once again functional. The applet requires you have the Java Runtime Environment installed and properly associated with your browser. You should safely ignore any warnings or cautions that may appear prior to the applet loading. Here at Rod's Alter Ego we are above pretension and legerdemain. We will never attempt to steal your identity, your credit card information, or in any way compromise the highest level of trust we have earned over all these years with you, dear readers.

Carry on.

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:26:41 GMT

Happy New Year!

Sooner or later everything breaks, disintegrates, fades, whatever. Take our septic system: it failed suddenly about one day before Master 'n Mom were scheduled to fly to a conference in Hawaii. Master was co-author on a paper and various members of the lab were chairing a session on computational biology. Fun stuff. Manually draining a septic tank into the drain field at midnight, at zero degrees, not so much. The second the high water alarm went off I knew it was trouble - the pump fiercely driving gallons of water into the drain pipe, which had broken, meaning the water went right back in the tank, triggering the high water alarm, triggering the pump, etc. Like a bad relationship an awful infinite loop from which nothing can escape. Most notably putrid septic water.

Once the manual draining part was over it was time for New Years Eve! Mom got an early start (note the getting ready cocktail still in hand).

Early New Years day the uprights jetted off to Hawaii leaving Lucy and me in the capable hands of our usual house sitter, along with a bold caution to minimize water usage. No problems occurred the entire eleven days they were gone but sure enough the night they got back it took only two short showers before bedtime to exceed the high water mark. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! the alarm went. Flashing orange light. Warning Will Robinson! Warning! Back into the infinite loop Master went, hose and assorted tools in hand, near midnight again in sub-freezing cold to perform a manual drain.

The conference venue in the antipodes. I'm tellin' ya, the sacrifices needed for the cause of science.

Venue by night.

Sunsets were ceremonially announced by the conch blower. (Blogger not responsible for misspellings).

Base tans were shown off. Tans that are now freeze dried. Things fade, told you so.

Whale watching!

Mom caught Master at the beach side bar just after the game ending interception made by the Packers. Tata Eagles, maybe next year. Besides, Vick's an asshole.

Wasn't all whales and games. This was a scientific conference after all. Okay, the poster session was a tad informal (note the beer-in-hand aplomb with which Parminder pitches her science).

By the end of the trip they were weaving baskets. Well, sort of. Mom weaved a turtle. Top of her class. No surprises there.

Onward and upward in 2011. For those of you who missed our 2010 wrap up, you're in luck, it is here.

Ciao baby.

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 01:28:43 GMT

A Perfectly Cool Tree

Some have said a higher average temperature that global warming may cause would make some places, like Alaska, more fit for human habitation. A day as pretty as today, the four of us walking, remembering the Crazy Diamond Carol - we find the temperature is just right. The land is not here for us, let us be content when she is not against us.

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:18:52 GMT

He Said, She Said

An exchange I'm sure I overheard. A while back we had just had a home audio system installed and wired to work with the HDTV. Shortly afterward Master was away on travel.

One night Mom calls Master and asks, "How do I turn the TV on?"

"Same way we always turn it on."

And as soon as he said it he knew it was the wrong answer.

Pregnant pause on phone...

"I don't know how we used to turn it on, you do that."

Uh oh, I can predict what her next question will be, how do I get sound.

Ten minutes later, after everything was on, Master makes his final mistake,

"Now, if you press the menu button on the gray remote you can browse the programs that..."

"Forget it, CNN is on, I'll just watch that!"

"Love you honey," was the last thing I heard Master say before hanging up.

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 07:28:49 GMT

Shine On

A light is going out
A light unlike others in a world of lights
A light who will be missed
Qua constellation misses her brightest star

We will feel incomplete for a while
No more calls to remind us to turn back the clock
We cannot look forward to her next visit
We will not "touch bases"

All bases have been rounded
She was running for home
The throw was late
She's safe now

Shine on you crazy diamond

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:51:00 GMT

Arrest Aging?

I woke up with back pain this morning. Nothing I couldn't walk off, but a sharp reminder that getting old is hell. Quite a week of change around here. Formerly purple mountains are now half shrouded in white, the uprights are back home from a getaway in Santa Fe (pics below), Master was selected to chair a session at a biomarker conference in Santa Clara, and a new genetic association has been discovered. Researchers think a mutation in a protein called DRD4 (dopamine receptor) may have a role in causing a liberal political attitude. My first thought: Great, hopefully this will speed the cure. (Certain of our afflicted friends were not amused by this). To be fair, the researchers were quick to stress that it wasn't the mutation of DRD4 alone that may cause affection for Nancy Pelosi. Think of the mutation as a kind of potential, and to activate the mutant's potential the carrier must be in the proper environment, exposed to a wide variety of friends and acquaintances the researchers said. Other liberals, for example. Nature and nurture aren't different explanations accounting for who we are, they are ying 'n yang, symbiotic partners working together to produce an endless variety of behaviors. Now if they could only find the gene-environment combination that makes us older. Ugh.

In Santa Fe Every Night Is Date Night

Chilies Ready For Roasting

By Day - Cycling With Friends Dave 'n Cindy

By Night - Carousing In The Plaza

Hiking The Windsor Trail

Spider's Web