Rockhoppers Daily Grind

Comic Tuesday

2009-11-10T01:40:00.000-08:00

My First Dictionary is a daily blog which features a word of the day, with a cute illustration. It's definitely not meant just for kids, as you'll see. The implications are usually disturbing, if not outright disturbed. Enjoy!

Found at J-Walk Blog

Learning about Whidbey Island.

History in Action

2009-11-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

2500 years ago, a Persian army - 50,000 soldiers strong - vanished utterly in the Sahara desert during a massive sandstorm. The story came down through history via Herodotus, who wrote about the event about 100 years later. His story was the stuff of legends, and was treated as just that - a legend. Interesting, perhaps based in some reality, but not literally true.

Well, hold on to your hats, because the desert has apparently yielded up their bodies, 25 centuries later. According the story at MSNBC, twin Italian brothers have discovered bronze weapons, a silver bracelet, an earring and hundreds of human bones. They contend that the find represents the site of the disaster.

Found at Neatorama

Lost Armies on Whidbey Island.

IKEA Heights

2009-11-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

Making television shows is expensive: high-quality cameras, a studio full of sets, paid actors, and distribution. This is why almost 1/3 of every televison hour is devoted to advertising. However, the current crop of hand-held video cameras are superior to the video cameras used for commercial television in the last century, and they're cheap. Distribution is also cheap, thanks to a plethora of Internet channels: Youtube, Vimeo, etc. Futhermore, because of this wide distribution, many more actors have an opportunity to present themselves to the public - with the potential for instant fame, leading to more traditional employment.

So, cheap cameras, free distribution, free actors -- the only thing missing is a studio full of sets. Well, the producers of IKEA Heights have solved this problem. They found a place full of sets, ready to use and absolutely free: IKEA. The only problem is, IKEA doesn't know or approve of the use of their store as a television set. This gives IKEA Heights an edge of impermanence. Although they've managed Six Episodes, the show can be canceled at any time, by the 'studio'. Check out IKEA Heights:

No IKEAs on Whidbey Island.

Thought For the Week

2009-11-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

Science has explained nothing; the more we know the more fantastic the world becomes and the profounder the surrounding darkness.
-Aldous Huxley

Science and Darkness on Whidbey Island.

Read This: Airplane Stories

2009-11-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

I love flying. There's a certain romance to strapping yourself to a giant, powerful machine and hurtling through the air. The rituals, traditions, and processes involved often seem arcane, and so are fascinating. However, arcane processes are notoriously difficult to articulate, particularly in writing. Short stories or vignettes are perhaps the best way to share the rich feelings flying inspires. I present several sources of excellent aviation writing, all worthwhile reads.

Flight Level 390 is a blog written by an anonymous airline pilot. Tantalizingly laced with jargon, the posts are nonetheless accessible and very well-written. The author clearly has a romantic connection with his trade, and his topic never fails to be interesting, even poignant.

Published by the Naval Safety Center, the print document: Approach magazine is a treasure-trove of dramatic incidents. The quality of the articles is consistent, an amazing accomplishment since they are written by various Naval Flight Officers. Most of the incidents thus come to us directly from those involved. Because of the extreme nature of military flying, the intensity of the writing is interesting, but often documents tragedy. Now distributed on the web in PDF format, Approach is outstanding. Bravo Zulu!

My last selection is difficult to read, but not because of the writing, because of the format. On the Straight Dope Message Board, a regular poster named Broomstick has a series of posts titled 'Airport Stories:' that document her personal experiences learning to fly and flying. Very accessible writing, an interesting subject, and excellent narration make these stories compelling. The only problem is that the individual posts are buried in tons of other writing. I provide here a list of links to some of her posts, but there are more in the archives of the message board. You now don't have to be a member to search, so you can mine for more if you like:

Airport Stories: The New Guy Is Still Generating Problems
Airport Stories: Shopping for Taildragger Lessons
Airport Stories: Whole Lotta Pre-Flighting Goin' On
Airport Stories: Bouncing Tuna Salad Sandwhich
Airport Stories: Heiligenschein
Airport Stories: Tailwheel on Ice

Airplanes on Whidbey Island.

Drench

2009-11-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

I found another game. Drench is an interesting concept, and you pretty much have to play and lose to learn how to play and win. You start with a game board filled with random squares of six different colors, and switch the color of your starting square to match surrounding squares. Each time you do, you add those squares to your 'blob' of control.

You begin the game with 30 color changes, and each level you get one fewer change of color. For such a simple game, it's quite challenging. Hope you enjoy it.

Drenched on Whidbey Island.

Photoblog Friday

2009-11-06T04:56:00.000-08:00

The Animal Blog is just that, a photoblog about animals. Not too cute, not too silly, not too weird. Just great animal photography. Enjoy!

Animals of Whidbey Island.

Pumpkin Remover

2009-11-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Remover is another of the type of games I like. Levels 13 and 20 are especially difficult. Hope you enjoy playing, too. By the way, why am I still finding all these Halloween-themed items all over? It's November, shouldn't we be getting flooded by Christmas stuff?

Found at Bits & Pieces

Pumpkins on Whidbey Island.

Must See: Happily Ever Over

2009-11-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

Last year, Read This: featured Happily Ever Over, a wonderfully illustrated and inventive holiday tale. CMerry, the author, has made the story into a video -- and it's a must see. Enjoy Happily Ever Over, the video.

Here's the trailer:

Here's the video:

Fairy Tales of Whidbey Island.

Comic Tuesday

2009-11-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

I should have posted this one last week, but I didn't find it in time. Never mind, it's still a great comic, and topicality isn't everything. Enjoy Heeby Jeeby Comix!

Comics on Whidbey Island.

Thought For the Week

2009-11-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time.
-Albert Camus

Beautiful Whidbey Island.

Photoblog Friday

2009-10-30T04:26:00.000-07:00

death becomes her is a very topical photoblog for today. Celebrate Halloween year-round with this excellent selection of the macabre, frightening, and gorgeous decrepitude. Enjoy - and beware!

Halloween on Whidbey Island.

Our Trip to Alaska

2009-10-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

I spent last week in Soldatna and Anchorage Alaska with my hubby. He had to work and I got the wonderful opportunity to tag along. Alaska is "Big". There is not another description to fit it! When we were in Florida it was just "bright" with nothing between us and the sun. Alaska, everything just seems bigger!

I complained because it was dark so late in the day but when I got home it was actually just as dark if not darker. The only difference is we dont have the snow and Alaska was just about to get hammered when we left.

In short I cant wait to go back but it wont be till summer!

Good to be back home on Whidbey Island.

Comic Tuesday

2009-10-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Dresden Codak is a full-featured webcomic world. Seems to update every couple weeks, with high-quality comic art. Enjoy!

Comics on Whidbey Island.

Thought for the Week

2009-10-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

Guerilla warfare is the Afghan national sport.
-Tom Ricks

War Games of Whidbey Island.

Photoblog Friday

2009-10-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

La Contessa is another Tumblr variety blog, but the obvious sensibilities of the author count for a lot. It also has quite a bit of captioning of the photos, which I think is a good idea, overall. Note that this photoblog tends to have more 'figure studies' than most of my other selections -- but all in good taste and clearly artistic rather than prurient.

Royal Whidbey Island.

Comic Tuesday

2009-10-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

Haiku Circus is a comic with haiku. It's pretty good!

Haiku about Whidbey Island.

Read This: Afghanistan Summarized

2009-10-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

Gary Farber over at Amygdala posted a tremendous article about our continued presence in Afghanistan. His excellent compilation from a wide variety of sources is long, but you won't find a better primer on the problems facing us in this cause.

Amygdala rules Whidbey Island.

Thought for the Week

2009-10-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Cults of Whidbey Island.

Photoblog Friday

2009-10-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Old Hollywood has photos and descriptions from the golden years of Hollywood. Enjoy!

Stars of Whidbey Island.

Read This: On Football and Dogfighting

2009-10-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell, has an interesting and controversial article in this weeks New Yorker. He writes about football and dogfighting in "Offensive Play". His comparison is sure to invoke anger in some, but his points are (as usual) well-reasoned and thoughtful. Even more thoughtful is the transcript of today's live chat on the subject.

I'm not sure what to do about the dangers of brain injury to football players, but I think that there needs to be some further discussion and eventual changes if the sport wants to continue. I'd welcome some form of touch football: in the same way that high-school girls basketball is more interesting than professional basketball; professional touch football should lead to a more pure version of the game, with teamwork and finesse supplanting brawn. Too often the playoffs are won by the team whose linemen have done the best job of hoarding painkillers throughout the regular season -- allowing them to do battle more effectively in the final games. In any case, football fans should read Malcolm's articles.

Football on Whidbey Island.

Comic Tuesday

2009-10-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

John Allison, the artist of the long-running webcomic Scary Go Round, recently started a new comic using the same format and some of the same characters. It's well-drawn, interesting, and potentially a classic. Check out Bad Machinery, the story starts here.

Scary Whidbey Island.

Thought For the Week

2009-10-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
-John Muir

Old Growth on Whidbey Island.

Photoblog Friday

2009-10-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

As a counterpoint to the I Hate My Parents photoblog, here is My Parents Were Awesome! This one makes fun of the parents, so it's all even now. Enjoy!

Parents of Whidbey Island.

Read This: Olbermann on Healthcare

2009-10-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Keith Olbermann talked about Healthcare Reform on his show of October 7th. He devoted his entire show to a special comment on the subject, and it's powerful. I don't agree with everything he says, but he's largely on target, fair, and very informative. You can read the transcript here, and I've also embedded the entire show in the five videos below. Powerful stuff -- Read This, or Watch This, please.

Here's the link to the National Association of Free Clinics Keith spoke of in the last video.

Health Care on Whidbey Island.