( Cut for photos, personal rambling, and a little TMI )

Finally, a request: recommendations for English (the country, not just the language) books written between 1820 and 1890. Sometime in there the word "nice" went from meaning "excessively particular" to meaning roughly what it does today, and I'm interested in reading the nuances of the change, if such a thing can be done.

Thank you, and good night!

Went to replace sash cords yesterday only to discover that the piece of the window frame that ought to hold the pulley for the lower sash is rotted out. C'est la vie. I think I saw the pulley lying in the back of a cabinet; at the time I didn't register what it was. I'll have to try to dig it up again.

Also, at some point in the semi-distant past, someone took a reciprocating saw or a pruning saw or something of the sort and hacked roughly away at the windowsill. I suppose that was when the bathroom was tiny; they must've been trying to cram a shelf or something in next to the commode. Even so, what could possibly possess a person to take a saw to his home's decorative woodwork?

Anyway, I'm not up to experimenting with this kind of carpentry, not just yet.

Fortunately, Ed has graciously consented to come by and take a look.

( Today I puttered around the house. )

Lesson learned: Blacksmithing sure is easy when the material you're working is thin aluminum.

I was sorry to have missed the Saracura open house, but really need to spend some time by myself right now.

I'm looking to scavenge pieces from a wide variety of largish appliances: washing machines and dryers, refrigerators, treadmills, dishwashers, and many others.

If you have any dead or retired appliances that you would be willing to contribute, would you be so kind as to drop me a note so that I can come strip them? If you need them to go away completely I may be able to arrange that as well.

When I read Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” in the late ‘80s, I was struck by the vivid and unrealistic dystopia it portrayed: here was a society wherein every idiot had an equal chance of getting airtime for his ill-considered worldview and wherein the media chose to expound not the most true or even most relevant of these, but the most shocking.

20 years later, we live in that society.

( Cut for the really slim possibility that you consider the things in this movie review to be spoliers. I don't think they are, but YMMV. )

Here are my known superpowers to date, in no particular order. Some are cool; some are lame:

• Seeing blond where it doesn't really exist


• The ability to sleep anywhere, under any circumstances


• A surprisingly good (although not 100% accurate) internal clock


• Catherding, literal and figurative (I can also say my name in Kitten)

What are yours?

How do you define "superpowers" for the sake of this conversation? ( My definition is here. )

Something that went up on Making Light recently made me think more about how people use stories. A couple of conversations at Fourth Street this weekend brought these thoughts back:

( Read more... )

I love this xkcd series.

News Release

Contact: Casper Hill, Communications Department, 612-673-2342
Share your thoughts on making
Minneapolis more bikable

June 10, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS) Bike lanes, trails and special events have all helped make Minneapolis one of the most bikable cities in the nation. Now, the city wants to hear your thoughts on making Minneapolis even more bike-friendly in the years to come.

An open house on June 18 will gather public input on the city's new Bicycle Master Plan. This plan, which expands on a plan approved in 2001, will include goals, policies, design guidance and a map of future facilities. It will also contain a prioritized list of projects and initiatives, and explain strategies to improve the bikability of the city.

Bicycle Master Plan Public Open House

Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 4:30 - 8 p.m.

Room 319 City Hall, 350 S. Fifth St.

Presentations will take place at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Members of the City of Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee will be on hand to answer questions people may have.

Questions can also be sent to Donald Pflaum, the city's bicycle coordinator. He can be reached by mail at 309 Second Ave. S. – Room 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2268, by phone at (612) 673-2129, or by e-mail at donald.pflaum@ci.minneapolis.mn.us.

# # #

Communications Department
301M City Hall
Minneapolis, MN 55415

(ETA: Well that was quite a typo: the original press release stated their intent to gather "pubic" input. I suspect that's not exactly what they meant, and have corrected the above accordingly.)

( Set up the fountain that I bought last autumn )

Also, cleaned the garage (no photos - not that exciting, just clean).

( Furthermore, Kittens! )

( And BTW, kalikanzara, Eric is enjoying the rehabilitated scooter; he rode it over here last week. )

I'm hungry - off to find lunch.

As is usually the way of these things, having announced that I won't be reading LJ for a bit I find myself in desperate need of your opinions:

What songs shall I learn to play/sing for purposes of music partying? What would you like to sing along to? (Please don't throw rotten tomatoes at your monitors; it won't do anyone any good.)

You're all wonderful and I like reading what you write, but I just can't keep up with LJ anymore, especially now that the weather is getting lovely.

So if you want to get in touch with me, please use an alternate method (phone is best).

Not to say that I won't post here anymore, but I probably won't be reading much for a while.

...is difficult.

I've officially decided to hold off a MN History Museum trip until next weekend. More details to come.

It must be spring: my optimism and joy are back in force!

Who's up for a trip to the Minnesota History Center on Saturday? Their current exhibit is "The Enemy Within: Terror in America 1776 to Today." I've been wanting to experience it since I heard of it, and it only runs through May 4.

( Cut for random Tesla-ness )

Good night, my friends! (Or, in Shadow's words, "Rrrrrrr-meow!")

This morning the kittens called for their breakfast in a perfect fifth harmonic interval (F#, I think).

Shadow is the soprano, Dylan the alto. (Yeah, I know they're boys, but I suspect it works differently for cats.)

American Airlines today presented Golden Heart awards to 19 flight attendants who have administered emergency medical attention by using onboard defibrillators.

One of these flight attendants refused the award. 10 points and a gold star to whomever can tell me WHY and cite evidence.

ETA: Found it!