The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

This book by neurologist Oliver Sacks is my most recent read, and it's pretty fascinating. It's essentially a rundown of patients with various interesting and rare neurological disorders. (I believe the film Awakenings was based on the author's research and experience.)

It makes my everyday life and ability to function suddenly seem a little more precious and tenuous.

Right now I'm in a chapter pertaining to "body awareness". The whole idea is one I hadn't really considered aside from things like babies gradually realizing that hand waving in front of them is not only attached to them, but it's part of them--they can control it. The idea of suddenly regressing, and losing the sense of ownership of a limb, or of the entire body is pretty terrifying. There's a story of a young man who kept falling out of bed because he would wake in the night with "a disgusting, pale severed leg" in the bed next to him. Horrified, he would push it out of bed, only to fall with it, because, of course, they were attached. Even when the situation was explained to him, he couldn't believe it because it simply did not feel like his. Another woman became paralyzed because she lost sense of her entire body. She couldn't make it move, because she felt completely disembodied. I can't imagine how unsettling that would be.

Fascinating, and a little scary.

This is one you can file in your "Secret Fears" list right under "public speaking," and "spontaneous combustion."

Too Young.

I know I'm rehashing what's already all over the news, but the James Kim story makes me cry. I was so hoping he would be found alive. People can snark all they want about how he left the car and how "stupid" that was, but the man was a hero. He and his family survived for days in a blizzard waiting for help, and finally he left to find help on foot, knowing he might not make it, but believing that it was their last hope.

I was so happy to hear his wife and kids were found and are okay, and so sad they'll have to go on without a dad and husband.

Pretty Little Thing

Here's one of the jellyfish from when we went to the Newport Aquarium. Note the little genius in the background. "OMG!" She was standing right under the huge sign saying "Jellyfish Display." Heh... It sort of sounds like her father replies, "Those are horses!" (??)

A Sixth Category...

to add to my increasingly inaccurately named "Top Five Most Hoped for Jeopardy Categories:"

Bonnet hair dryers. I know I've probably written about mine before. Jen commented about good childhood memories attached to bonnet dryers, and it got me thinking. Some of my best childhood memories are of the warm whoosh of the bonnet hair dryer my mom had. It was relaxing and calming. I still find it to be.

I never intended to know a lot about bonnet hairdryers. It's just a necessity if I intend to keep myself supplied with one over the years (I can stop any time.).

Here are things I've learned about bonnet dryers, in case you should ever have the need to purchase one, or in case you come to your senses and realize EVERYONE should have one.

1. Purchase your dryer used. Buy vintage. Preferably 70s. First off, it will cost you much less than buying a new one (about $30) from one of the few companies that make home bonnet dryers these days. You can expect to pay about $15-20 (including s&H) for a dryer from eBay. Second, new hairdryers are exceedingly poorly designed in terms of usability (the uncomfortably sharp knob is on the opposite side from the cord, which is on yet another side from the tube, which means it needs even more space on your counter to access all the sides. Surprisingly, new dryers are also generally far bigger, the air flow is poor, and the hoses are too short.

2. Don't be afraid, but do look closely-- If the seller says it runs well, and their feedback is good, you should be okay. You can easily do a once-over of the innards once it arrives. Do look closely at pictures of the hose and bonnet, though. If they're yellowed and shiny-looking, avoid at all costs. Some vintage dryers tend to accumulate a greasy stickiness on their plastic air tubes which also gets on the bonnet. Soap and hot water can't remove it. You're stuck with it. Also, look for round, mushroom shaped bonnets rather than the chef's hat shaped ones. The round ones tend to be in better shape, and have fewer seams to rip.

3. The cases can be a bonus score. Keep an eye out--Many vintage bonnet dryers come with fantastic round hatbox-type cases for carrying/storage. You can pull out the insert and use these as a neato purse or just a nifty way of storing stuff.

4. Give it a physical. Once your hairdryer arrives, throw the hose into the dishwasher if it can be detatched. If it's permanently attached, give it a once over with a mild cleaning solution. (Nothing smelly, since the odor will be blowing directly at you through the hose later).
Turn the dryer on for a few moments. Listen and smell. Is it rattling? Does it smell like burning? If these are a yes, don't panic, but do keep an eye out for smoke later as you let it run on one of the heated settings. You should notice the smell dissipating after a while. It just means the thing hasn't been run regularly in a looong time.

Turn your baby over. Make sure it isn't plugged in, and that you're not standing in a puddle of water in the middle of a thunderstorm and all that. Look for the larger screws on the outer corners. These should free the top and bottom halves. There a a gazillion different kinds of dryers, but these are the basics, I've found. Sometimes the fan area will require another screw loosened in order for you to peek in. Slightly dampen Q-tips in water (just enough that it doesn't shred--there shouldn't be any dripping) and go over the inevitable dusty areas inside the dryer. Once those are clean, take a look at the fan itself. If there was a rattling noise when you ran it before, check to see that the blades are tightly attached. If they are, check the areas surrounding the fan to see what it could be hitting or brushing to make the noise. Most of the time a little wiggling is all it takes to get it running more smoothly. Make sure there is no debris around the heating coils (hairs, dust, whathaveyou) and then close 'er on up again.

5. Treat her well. Despite the fact that vintage dryers are workhorses, you don't want to run them for hours at a time. Most of them are still older than me. I've found that 20 minutes is not too much with most of the ones I've had. You just want to keep it in mind.

6. Recommended brands: If you can find a Ronson Escort, consider yourself lucky. This is the most beautifully compact and slickly designed of all the dryers I've had, though it cost a little more than the average vintage bonnet dryer. If you get one from the 60's, it has a lovely avocado-colored square carrying case that's excellently vintage as well. The 70's ones have a more generic round case. My only complaint is that it's more complicated to get inside if you want to do maintenance. Not that I've needed to since I got mine three years ago... GE and Kenmore also made really sturdy dryers, though the GE hoses tend to be in better shape for some reason. Also, all the models I've seen come with the neat round case. Keep in mind that if your dryer comes with a bum hose or bonnet, you can actually buy these items new. You'll have to rig them somehow to fit your dryer, but generally, that's not hard.

7. Enjoy!! You can use it to dry your hair, take away headaches, escape from a stressful day, as a desk heater in the winter (I get cold feet sometimes--you can toast your toes with it too) dry your nails, dry your pets (it's not as frightening for them as a regular hairdryer can be) and on the cold setting, you can get some relief from the heat in the summer. I could go on, but I already look like a huge bonnet dryer nerd, so I won't.

There you have it. My opus on bonnet dryers.

"I will kiss the girl from Venus..."

For science (thank you very much, They Might Be Giants).

Or, I will link to an internet meme... for science. This gentleman is measuring the speed of an internet meme through the "blogsphere" by asking folks to post a link to this page on their blogs. The results will be discussed at a panel at the 2006 Modern Language Association (yes, that MLA) conference coming up soon.

Click away, and you'll get a better idea of what it is. Help a panelist out!

Like mother, like daughter

I confess: I'm addicted to my bonnet hairdryer (or "hat," as the Boy calls it). I had it on this morning because I had a headache. It helped nicely. It takes a little while to warm up, so I left it running when I went downstairs to throw in some laundry. And...this is what I found when I came back upstairs:


If you look past the messy desk, you'll note that a certain cat has shoved her whole face and upper body into the bonnet and is basking in the warm blowing air. When I tried to pull it off, she scooted forward and forward to try to stay inside, and ended up almost taking a dive off the edge of the desk. So I let her hang out there on a low setting for awhile until she fell asleep. Dear old thing. Such a lovable weirdo.

Mmmm. Wholesome Whipped Lard.

I love the jaunty way the Mom declares the last line.

"You can't skimp when it comes to your children."

Oh yes, Lady... Oh yes you can.

Happy Thanksgiv......*snore*

Before I fall asleep really hard, Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope everyone had lots and lots of turkey or whatever their favorite is. This year the family broke from tradition to have a delectable cajun turkey instead of baking one of those frozen suckers in the oven for three days or whathaveyou. Very yum, I must say.

Aaaand, that's about all I can say, as my brain is not only still fried (since the last post), but being assailed by tryptophan, which is greatly increasing the chances that I'll fall out of my chair and hit the ground snoring.

It's been one hell of a week with a funeral, a family reunion, a holiday, and unexpected family visits. The good outweighed the bad, fortunately, I think.

Goodnight.

As if we all needed another time waster

In the vast wasteland of to-do lists it is good to take a break now and then. Particularly for something cute. Thus, my submission of a Japanese airhockey game with tiny round chickens. The text is in Japanese, (Andi, can you tell me if it says anything earth shattering?) but that didn't stop me from just clicking whatever I was shown until I was eventually taken to the game. The game itself is a fun little thing. I was surprised how well my (small adorable) opponent reacted to the puck. Though he wasn't a totally awesome player, his responses were as natural as they could be, I suppose. When he is scored upon, he looks up in surprise and says something I can only imagine would be along the lines of, "By the beard of Odin! You have scored upon this humble poultry!"

My only complaint about the game is that occasionally there's a collision detection problem if you move your "puck hitter" (what is that thing called?) too quickly. Then the puck can slide right by. Mostly, I have to give the little game props, though.

Ow. Brain is fried. Goodnight.

The fruits of my labor (or least the berries of it).

Food references aside, I've finally gotten the house vaguely presentable, and though there's more to do, I've gotten enough done to feel okay about putting up a website so people can check it out when I place ads for it. You all can have the ultra-top-secret-awesome-never-before-seen preview of it. It's not fancy, but I'm not going to waste a lot of time making disclaimers about it.

We've got all our fingers and toes crossed for this sale to work out. However, we're not particularly in a rush to sell, convenient and desirable though it may be for the Boy and I both to live in the same state. But we're not freaking out over the speed of things, which I think is a realistic frame of mind. Things are working out when it comes to us spending time together on weeknds, and since the Boy's company is paying for his housing down there, we can't complain.

Even so, if you know anyone who's looking for a house along these lines, send them our way. It can't hurt, eh?

Foot fight

At the same time as this being funny, this is maybe one of the most disturbed dogs I've ever seen. Animals don't pull stuff like this for kicks.

This is actually just like a test they do in shelters to see if a dog is suitable for adoption-- purposely infringe on a treat or food to see if the animal reacts negatively. I'd say this guy prooooobably would not be deemed adoptable. Just a guess.

Still, that sneaky foot creeping slowly up is bizarre and snicker-worthy.

Cin City Visit

The visit to Cincinnati helped me get my bearings on the town a little, and start to form an idea of various places we might like to buy a house. We tooled around Montgomery, in the area where the hospital is. It's a rolling, woodsy area. I think that's where we'll end up renting an apartment temporarily. There's a place pretty much across the street from the hospital that is quite nice. They've got large, interesting floor plans (more power to built in bookshelves!), a 24 hr fitness center and olympic pool, and it's on 56 acres of woods and trails with 2 stocked ponds. Another fun amenity is a library of dvds and video games. And tanning beds. Huh. Not something I'll make a lot of use of. But it's there, if I ever get that "not leathery enough" feeling. The feature I actually care the most about is the washer and dryer innn the uunnnit! (singing happily) I fervently hoped I'd never have to go back to trucking our clothes all over town, and it looks like that wish came true. Whee!

Anywhoo, that was a long diversion about something as boring as apartments. Sorry.

The Boy took me on a little tour of a neat area near where he's staying. It's a quiet and pretty place called Mariemont. Or "The Village of Mariemont," as residents would have you know. If I can't live in Stratford on Avon, this might just be....well, maybe not the next best thing, but somewhere on that list would be Marimont. It's an old town consisting of lots and lots of Tudor buildings and massive old trees. It's one of the few places in the US that still has a town crier, if that gives you any hint about what sort of place it is. Ding! See below for a stellar example of "Oh yeah, I should prolly take a picture" photography.

We also did some driving around the Hyde Park / Observatory / Art Museum area. I was pretty much too busy gaping at the gorgeous old mansions to take pictures. If I ever win the lottery, that is where I'm buying a house. Seriously. I suppose I could live in something like this if I had to (whine whine):


We also spent some time across the river in Newport, where we poked around and went to the aquarium. There's a large German population in that area (as evidenced by the Hoffbrauhaus) and there's some fun architecture and stuff to do. Oh, and the Boy fed a cute parrot and looked at sharks.


We also spent some time poking around the jellyfish and octopus exhibits because they were so graceful and bizarre. The pictures were not all that crisp, but I think some of them are pretty. Actually, I'm just going to dump a bunch of aquarium photos in here, then some more photos of Cincinnati, because I'm too tired to narrate the whole thing. Enjoy!

Other Nonsense

When we were little, our mom kept us from being bored during long summer days by helping us make something called "Idea Cards." We were each given several 3x5 cards onto which we wrote an idea of something to do, illustrated it, and strung them all together on a binder ring. Thus, when we got bored, we could simply take the Idea Cards of their hook and flip through, deciding whether "Bikes!" or "make a zoo" or possibly "Spy on the boys" appealed to us.

As a grownup, I think the concept of Idea Cards is a great one. I don't get bored all that often, but sometimes it's difficult to come up with an day of entertainment off the cuff when the opportunity arises. It's easier to flip through the options and decide on something everyone can agree on.

As I have a moment here and there, I'm making a series of "idea cards" for Cincinnati. It will be helpful later, but it's also helping me learn what things there are to do in the area. It's a little more technologically advanced, this "grownup" version of the cards - it's cross referenced, and one can search by details like restaurants, and types of entertainment, but the concept is the same. I'm enjoying the research and putting it all together. As I recall, some of the entertainment is in the journey---as evidenced by the idea card labeled, "Make more idea cards!"
_______________

I did actually make some cyanotypes while the sun was out a while back. As a first round, I think they were moderately successful, though I do need to find a timer, so I don't have rely on the less accurate "remember to look at the clock and then rush because you've gone a minute over" method. I'm not going to post really specific photos right now, because some of these will be Christmas presents for folk who occasionally stop by here. But here's the gist. It was good fun.

Here is my print developing area, with tubs for a rinse, a quick developer made with hydrogen peroxide, and a tea/coffee toner, which I didn't end up using much. And the uber high-tech printing itself, on the, uh, garbage bin and back porch rail. Heh. It worked fine, though. Most of the pictures required around 12 minutes, but I'm sure on a really bright day they might have needed less. There are myths about cloudy days having as many UV rays as sunny ones, but I'm not sure whether that's true or not. Then there are the cyanotypes hanging up to dry in the basement (Jane, don't look too closely!!), and finally one close up of a building in Brugge, Belguim. I'm not decided on whether I want to clip out the ragged edges of where I painted on the sensitizer or not. Maybe it depends on the image. For this one, I clipped.

I need to make more paper and wait for another sunny day, but next time around I think I'll have a better feel for what kind of exposures they need. Also, I'll be more vigilant about using deionized water for rinsing, since some of the cyanotypes had some mineral streaks show up.

Sketch Furniture

Another video, possibly because I'm lazy. This is the Swedish design Group, Front, using a motion capture to ultimately create a piece of furniture.

Things to Confound Your Cat

This video made Boo freeze, then walk very cautiously across the room, watching all the while, until he finally hopped onto my desk and stuck his face behind the monitor to see if there was really a kitten back in there.

A Big Dam Failure.

First of all---sunny day! After I get stuff done, I need to rush outside with my negatives and paper to "print" the cyanotypes. No doubt the weather will suddenly change to a typhoon before I can manage it. I'll take photos of the process in case it turns out to be interesting.

Second, just look at these pictures of the failure of the Grand Teton Dam. They're pretty breathtakingly monumental. They were taken by a lady from Idaho, who just happened to be on the promontory across from the dam when the first leak sprung. She took what seem to be the only photos documenting the entire process, which happened all in the course of about 2 hours. Considering what happened to the promontory on the opposite side, it was pretty gutsy of her to stick around for the whole thing. You can see that around the time that the dam was breached completely, she realized where she was and backed up a bit. Probably not exactly what she expected that afternoon, but history thanks her for having a camera handy.

I'm bad at posting, these days.

Things have been fairly busy, but not to the extent that I have any excuse for never posting. So...uh, oops! Let us play catch up. Here's what I've been up to lately:

1. Blah blah house stuff blah blah. Actually, there's been a lull as we wait to accumulate a bit more cash to pay for more paint and tile, etc.

2. I've been working on making cyanotypes for some of my Christmas gifts this year. The process sounds a little complicated, but actually just finding the right chemicals was the big pain. I went to a camera store close by, and they stared at me blankly when I asked about the stuff I'd need. Eventually, they called a more knowledgeable colleague who directed me to a blueprint store. I called there, and they told me the chemicals aren't made anymore. Hmm. So I called Adray, Century Camera...eventually 6 different places, and everyone either had no clue what it was I was looking for, or told me it was impossible to get the chemicals, or that they cost hundreds of dollars. Double hmm. I realize cyanotypes are not an "everyday" photo process, but I'd expect people working in photography stores to at least have a vague idea of what I was talking about. At one place, they asked me to describe the process and when I said the prints are developed using water the guy told me I must be mistaken.

So... instead I went to the source of all life and things arcane, the internet. Within minutes, I found a little place in IL that sold the chemicals in the quantities I needed for well under $20, even with shipping. I got my package 4 days later. Thank you, Froogle. So nyah to all those nay-saying photo clerks!

I made the ultra-secret UV sensitive concoction, and painted the paper with it, and now I'm just waiting for a sunny day so I can use genuine, all-natural, free-of-charge sunshine to make the prints. And...it's been steadfastly raining. For days. Bleh.

3. The Hillers near us has linguine-style tofu shirataki noodles. I'm in love.

4. I got the cats some bonito flakes rather than their usual treats, which I noticed had various dyes in them. They are in love.

5. The Boy has been home for the weekend, and is at a three day training seminar in St. Clair Shores, which means he's at home part of this week, and then I'll be heading down there soon to hang out with him in Cinci. That should be lovely. More Boy-time.

6. Nihao is looking at me disapprovingly, probably because of the fact that she's not currently inhaling vast quantities of bonito flakes (see point #4).

7. Okami rates among the most beautiful games I've ever seen. It feels as though you're running through a Hokusai painting. The action flows so smoothly, and the story is very fairy-tale inspired, which I adore. One of the lovely and original aspects of the game is that, since the main character is folk tale deity (in the form of a wolf), the player can affect the environment of the game by drawing with a calligraphy brush. A circle stroke in the sky creates a sun to turn night into day. Another stroke across a dead tree brings it bursting into full bloom, and so on. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, at the same time as being engrossing enough to really draw you in. My only complaint so far is that it does a little too much shepherding in terms of letting you know where to go next. At the same time, the player does have a reasonable amount of freedom--I haven't felt railroaded through the storyline. Perhaps the extra guidance will make this game more playable for people who aren't usually gamers. I hope it does really well. I'd love to see more art and folk tale inspired games like this.

Here are a couple examples of environments in the game.
Aaand, that's all for now.

"No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted."

Props to Dove for this interesting commercial.
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While you're at it, make my eyes the same.

Something to add to the "Science & Tech" folder of your book marks:

The IRIS Seismic Monitor tracks seismic activity throughout the world, and displays it in a handy map. I stumbled over it while looking for info on the big earthquake that just happened in Hawaii.

Here's hoping that everyone is safe in their hula skirts and leis. Electricity and phones are out, but there's no word so far on whether anyone was hurt.

Road Trip!

Tis the season to quit packing and fixing up the house and get on the road. I figure I can take a break from installing stupid 1/4 round molding long enough to visit the Boy in a couple weeks so we can take some time to tool around Cinci and hang out.

Hurrah!

I'm a trip planning addict. I admit it. I plan a lot of trips I'll probably never take. I think it's theraputic. Part of it is the enjoyment of learning the little ins and outs of new places, poring over maps, putting together an itinerary (probably makes the slight OCD side of me happy), and part of it is having something to look forward to. I find that if life gets dull or difficult, as long as there's something exciting on the horizon, I can deal. If I have nothing to look forward to, well, then I have to invent something, or I go a little nuts. Fortunately (?) there is so much on the horizon right now that gleefully planning for this little roadtrip seems kind of over the top.

I think having a baby someday will probably solve this "something to look forward to" need for a few years. It seems as though with a kid, there's always be something thrilling about to happen--baby's progressing, talking, pooping everywhere, writing the great American novel, eating solid food... Uh, not necessarily in that order. All that nonsense that I'm actually going to look forward to.

Well, that was a random, disjointed post. Sorry 'bout that.