Jenno's Ool

New bike

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:44:03 -0500

New bike
Originally uploaded by mcwetboy

I used to bike a lot. When I was still living in New Brunswick, I'd bike through Rockwood Park with buddies from the YMCA on the weekends. This type of biking required a fairly small, agile mountain bike. I bought a Giant ATX 760 to suit the terrain and uses; it's a good bike and has served me well.

In recent years, I've not been doing any "single tracking" but rather commuting to and from work or general errand running on the bike. The Giant is the wrong bike for these purposes. I found I was leaning too far forward on the bike and there was a lot of pressure being put on my wrists and arms. In short, the bike wasn't comfortable to ride; it hurt. The end result is that I slowly stopped biking.

To start up the biking again required that I get a new bike, one more suited to the tasks and trails I'm likely to ride now. I needed a bike with a more upright stance and less pressure on the arms, wrists and shoulders. The result? A comfort-hybrid bike. The model I finally chose was a Mondano comfort bike from Opus.

This particular model has front shocks as well as a seat post shock absorber. I upgraded the hand grips to minimize the pressure on the palms. This is a great bike! I've not done any long riding on it yet as it has been rather, erm, damp here but even the toodling around town has been positive! I'm much more upright and the shocks make quite a difference in the quality of the ride. Looks like I'm back in the saddle again! Yay!

New Office

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:50:50 -0500

New office
Originally uploaded by mcwetboy

A couple weekends ago we rearranged part of the upstairs and library; the result? A new office space for me out of the bedroom.

We had downsized the snake collection enough so that we could take one of the shelves in the snake room down and reassemble it in the basement. Removing that shelf caused a cascade effect and allowed for a bookshelf (with the snake/reptile reference books and my school books) and my desk to be brought in.

I've also brought the majority of my art supplies into the office now, including my easel and paints. The room gets a lot of afternoon sun which is a nice quality of light for, well, anything but certainly for painting.

We also bought some storage shelves for art, school and reptile supplies to cut down on the clutter on window sills and other surfaces. All in all, it is quite the cozy little hide out for me. I'm really going to like it in here!

I Can Has Totoro?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:44:23 -0500

Plush Totoro
Originally uploaded by mcwetboy

Way back when I was shopping in Chinatown for supplies for our Chinese New Year party, I came across a shop with a number of plush characters. One that caught my eye was a Totoro, a forest spirit, from the movie "My Neighbor Totoro".

I did not buy the plush at that time but when I told Jon about it, I had regrets for NOT getting him from then on... The next time I was in Chinatown I went back to the store but it was closed for the week. I looked in other stores in the area but to no avail, no one else had any Totoros. In some cases, the shop owners didn't know what I was talking about though that could have just been a language issue.

Last Thursday I was meeting Jon in Ottawa and decided to try the shop again. They were open this time but the original Totoro I saw had been sold. They had this guy in his place.

The original plush was somewhat flatter and more pillow like. He also had more soot sprites on his shoulders than the one here. I didn't hesitate this time but picked him up at once. Then I made the mistake of looking around some more. They had a number of other Totoro inspired items from cell phone holders to slippers to door mats.

I restrained myself from going overboard and settled for just the one Totoro ... this time!

Science: The Musical

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:30:53 -0600

Well, not really a musical but there are a LOT of different science topics covered and set to jaunty little tunes. Singing Science Records are described as "science-themed folk songs" and cover many of the topics in the current school curriculum.

These were originally recorded in the late 50s and early 60s for kids. One of my favourite and admittedly quirky bands, They Might Be Giants (TMBG), did a cover of one of these songs: "Why Does The Sun Shine?" on one of their children's albums "No!".

On a somewhat tangential note, John Hodgman issued a challenge to TMBG thus upping the already high cool factor of the band by pure association!

Goober and Doofus

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:37:33 -0600

Goober and Doofus
Originally uploaded by aedra

Doofus is getting bigger all the time. Goober still tolerates Doofus literally walking all over him and bouncing off his head. The vet has warned us that he'll be about as big as Goober once he reaches full size. I can just imagine what waking up to two of these beasts on my stomach'll be like then!

Telescopic Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:25:03 -0600

With a rare combination of not-too-cold temperatures and not-too-cloudy skies last night we decided to pull the telescope out and do some observing. Saturn was in opposition last night so it was our main target; though by no means our ONLY target. Our summer observing spot isn't available in the winter as it turns into a snow mobile route so we set up off our back steps.

Jon was able to do a fairly quick alignment once we got the 'scope levelled out and Saturn jumped into view. It was small but the rings were clearly visible as were at least two of its moons. The longer I looked at Saturn the more definition I could see in the rings to the point I could see the space between the rings and the planet's surface (but not the Cassini Division). I got so excited about Saturn that, without checking the time first, I knocked on our neighbour's door so they could also see . Fortunately everyone was up (it was after 10 pm, but not by much) and they were eager to come out and sky watch with us.

After Saturn, Jon pointed the telescope at various different points: the moon, the Pleiades, Mars and the Orion Nebula. We tried for the Rosette Nebula but couldn't find it. I always love looking at the Pleiades but last night the real winner for me was the Orion Nebula! We tried out one of the nebula filters I got Jon for Christmas and the view was magnificent: I'm still in awe this morning. My first thought was: "It looks like an angel with up-stretched wings." The second thought was: "I can't wait till it's warm enough for me to sit out here with my sketch pad and drawing materials!"

I thought I wanted to draw mainly the moon and other large bodies, but after last night, nebulae are now on my list too! So much stuff, too cold to sit out for hours yet! Fortunately our telescope is a good "jack of all trades" tool and can lend itself fairly easily to all sorts of observing. This is good and I can foresee a lot of late nights in the summer!

Jon's post on last night's observing can be found here.

Chinese New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 23:45:25 -0600

Last Thursday was the start of the Chinese New Year: the year of the Rat. The rat is the first in the Chinese zodiac and is generally, among other things, thought to bring good luck and wealth (prosperity) to households.

To celebrate the new year, Jon and I decided to throw a dim sum party. Hey, any excuse is as good as another to get people together in February isn't it? Not as many people came as we had expected, but there were a lot of last minute cancellations due to sickness; it is that time of year after all! However, I think those who did make it out enjoyed themselves.

I went to Chinatown (in Ottawa) last week to pick up some decorations, red envelopes as parting gifts and dishes so the place would be festive. I also very nearly came out of the store with a plush Totoro complete with soot sprites! If he's still there the next time I'm in Chinatown, I'll pick him up for sure!

Jon made a variety of dim sum for our bamboo steamers; although, we did cheat a bit and got some frozen dim sum too. Because not as many people showed up, some items were cut from the menu and there are a few leftovers in the fridge. Ah well, if the urge to have dim sum strikes again, we've got lots!

Next year is the year of the Ox which is my zodiac sign - not sure if we'll do another party or not though... time will tell!

iPod update and Kitten Stats

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:53:57 -0600

Now that things have settled out, I can mention that one of the delivery guys who brought our new washer and dryer a couple weeks ago decided that he'd help himself to my 3 generation 20GB iPod. They were unsupervised for a few minutes and that's all it took. Jon posted about it here on his blog.

In other, happier, news, Doofus had an appointment with the vet last night to get his second set of booster shots and his rabies vaccination. The vet cooed over him for a bit (he is a pretty kitteh) and gave him a quick physical. He checked out just fine. He's 4 months old now and weighs a whopping 6 lbs already: he's going to be another Goober sized cat once he's finished growing! I think my mom's cat Minnie was at most six pounds ... when soaking wet! Doofus isn't overweight or anything though; the vet pronounced him well proportioned - he's just going to be big!

Doofus goes back to the vet around mid March for neutering and micro-chipping.

Oh, almost forgot ... The washer and dryer both work like a dream! I've done a number of loads at different settings and they work like a charm. *yay* me!

New Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:43:49 -0600

New Toys
Originally uploaded by aedra

We ordered this washer and dryer set from Sears last weekend. They arrived yesterday afternoon and I hooked them up today in the basement. The washer is on the right, the dryer on the left; the doors are backwards but we'll manage. The door for the dryer actually is reversible but I didn't feel like dismantling the thing; the washer door is not reversible.

We didn't get the pedestals for either appliance. Other than raising the washer and dryer about a foot off the ground and providing some storage space, the pedestals don't justify their cost. We might get them later on, but probably not.

I ran the washer through a wash cycle (without soap) to check for leaks, how it drains and any other problems. There were none and even though I know that front loaders don't use a lot of water, I was surprised to see just how little was in the drum!

The machine was very quiet and, once upstairs, you couldn't hear it at all. To the point I forgot it was running until it beeped to signal the cycle's end.

I have not tested the dryer yet as I still need to hook it up to the exterior exhaust. I'll get the tubing for that tomorrow.

A neat thing about the dryer: it came with a drying rack. Apparently this is so you can dry items flat or things that shouldn't tumble (like your sneakers). It also came with an adapter so, if I wanted to, I could stack the dryer on top of the washer. We're not that pressed for space so it's not necessary in this case.

All in all, this will make doing laundry a lot less of a hassle. I can deal with a laundromat if I have to but this is just sooo much nicer!

My Tarot Card

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:05:34 -0500

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Dragon Books 101

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:18:11 -0500

I had a request to list some "dragon books" and my opinions on them a few weeks ago. I came up with a respectable list, though by no means complete, from my library. Without further ado, here it is:

Joanne Bertin: "The Last Dragonlord" and "Dragon and Phoenix"
I like this series, it's different in that there are weredragons/shapeshifters. Easy read, there is supposed to be a third book "Bard's Oath" but no word so far when it will be out.

Steven Brust: Vlad Taltos Series. First book is "Jhereg"
There will eventually be 17 short books in the set. They're all short, VERY fun, excellent reads. There are "real" dragons in some of them, main character is an assassin with a wise cracking winged-lizard familiar. I've re-read this series at least two or three times now.

Janine Cross: Dragon Temple Saga: "Touched by Venom", "Shadowed by Wings" and "Forged by Fire"
Reviews are mixed; Darker fantasy with some reported overtones of bestiality although I've not come across any yet. I'm reading the first book now and it will determine if I'll buy the other two. So far it's good. The dragons are not tame and are kept, in part, as beasts of burden as there do not seem to be any horses or cattle on this world.

Graham Edwards: "Dragoncharm", "Dragonstorm" and "Dragonflame" and sister triology: Sky and Stone
I read the first trilogy but haven't yet started the second. It didn't seem to grab me very much. The second trilogy follows some of the dragons from the first. Very few humans about.

Craig Gardner: "Dragon Sleeping" , "Dragon Waking" and "Dragon Burning"
I didn't care for this series at all. Bought the books then sold them soon after reading them. Was just *meh* all around.

Thorarinn Gunnarsson: "Dragon's Domain" and The Mystara Trilogy: "Dragon Lord of Mystara", "Dragon King of Mystara" and "Dragon Mage of Mystara"
All four books are easy, popcorn reads. Dragon's Domain is a stand alone novel where dragons are the main characters. There are some humans about. The trilogy has about equal representation of dragons and humans.

Daniel Hood: Fanuilh Series. Set of five books, first of which is "Fanuilh".
Short, mystery/detective type stories; The "dragon" is a miniature dragon familiar. I enjoyed them. They can stand on their own but it's better to read them in sequence.

Elizabeth Kerner: "Song in the Silence", "The Lesser Kindred" and "Redeeming the Lost".
Trilogy; Good stuff though I liked the first book the best. Dragons and humans are about equally represented.

Elizabeth A. Lynn: "Dragon's Winter" and "Dragon's Treasure"
I've only read the first book, the second one took so long to come out that by the time I got it, I forgot what happened in the first one. I wasn't inclined to re-read "Dragon's Winter" at the time. I should give it a second chance, maybe.

Anne McCaffrey: Dragonriders of Pern.
A prolific writer, there are many novels based in Pern; her son is doing most of the writing now. The earlier books are the strongest (the Dragonrider trilogy and Harper Hall trilogy for instance).

Melanie Rawn: Two trilogies: Dragon Prince: "Dragon Prince", "The Star Scroll" and "Sunrunner's Fire" and Dragon Star: "Stronghold", "Dragon Token" and "Skybowl"
Good books, the 2nd trilogy picks up soon after the first ends. Dragons are important but in the background most of the time.

Naomi Novik: Temeraire series "His Majesty's Dragon", "Throne of Jade", "Black Powder War" and "Empire of Ivory" (forthcoming)
Excellent series! Think Napoleonic Wars with dragons instead of airplanes and you won't be too far off.

Alan F. Troop: Dragon DelaSangre series "The Dragon DelaSangre", "Dragon Moon", "The Seadragon's Daughter" and "A Host of Dragons"
I've read the first book but haven't read the others yet. More shapeshifting dragons here but not of the same flavour as Joanne Bertin's weredragons. A good, easy read.

Irene Radford: She has a number of trilogies based in the same world at different times in its history: The Dragon Nimbus, The Dragon Nimbus History and The Stargods.
All the books are easy reads. The dragons are almost invisible and appear only to certain people.

Jo Walton: "Tooth and Claw".
A single, stand alone book. Think Victorian Society meets dragons. A somewhat predictable ending but fun nonetheless.

Weis and Hickman: Dragonlance series: many, many books based in the world of Krynn. Start with the Chronicles series: "Dragons of Autumn Twilight", "Dragons of Winter Night", "Dragons of Spring Dawning" and "Dragons of Summer Flame"
There are a number of short story collections with dragons as the focus in the world of Krynn as well: "Dragons of Krynn", "Dragons at War", "Dragons of Chaos" and "Rebels and Tyrants" to name a few.
A second series not of Krynn: The Deathgate Cycle (seven books, "Dragonwing" is the first one)
I find that most Weis and Hickman books are brain candy. Not necessarily short books, but fast and not quite, but almost mindless. Good for when you don't want to have to think too hard but want a distraction; Gene Wolfe it ain't!

Things Done Today

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:34:24 -0500

Things that got done and taken off the "to do" list today:

1) New wipers for the car.

2) Some reconnaissance of a local plant nursery for plants, ornamental and food.

3) A walk about town to enjoy the sun (and get some groceries).

4) A check on the status of last years herbs:
Garlic chives and oregano are coming back strongly.
Today I noticed that the thyme and sage are also making a comeback!

5) Clear out the debris from last years plants that were not going to come back.

6) Bikes checked and tires pumped up; ready to go now.

7) Changed aspen in Nic's tank.

All in all, not a bad day ... it feels nice to get some of these things done, even if they're only little things.

Kemptville Toy and Train Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:13:12 -0500

Kemptville Toy and Train Show
Originally uploaded by aedra.

Last Sunday we went "out n' about". First stop was the Kemptville toy and train show. It had an assortment of model trains in an assortment of scales. One of the most impressive was this one called "Limpley Wharf". It's an N scale layout that, despite being small - only 5' x 3' - is so jam packed with little details you don't really know where to look first! It even had a working model of Thomas the Train!

In fact, about half of the figurines were working models; from lawn bowling, to grave diggers, to sounds coming from a Stonehenge replica. It even had chimney sweeps and "Mary Poppins" coming in for a landing on a rooftop. Quite impressive to say the least! Jon's photo set can be found here.

There was the usual standard fare otherwise, books for sale, knickknacks, videos and DVDs and model trains. There was also a bit more junk than I had expected ... I guess that's where the "toy" part comes into play.

After the train show, it was off to Billings Bridge in Ottawa where the OARA had a display as part of the wildlife festival. Jon's got some good photos of the display and the OARA members working it; I was too busy playing with snakes and talking to people to take any myself!

It was a long day, but it was good to get out and meet up with folks we'd not seen in a while. Looking to a quiet and restful Easter long weekend now though!

Herb and Veggie Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 18:57:53 -0500

Herb and Veggie Garden
Originally uploaded by aedra.

A bright and sunny day like today shouldn't go to waste, so this morning was slated for outdoor activities around the house. I finally got a new tank of propane for the BBQ and cleaned off the grill racks. This, of course, means that most meat eaten from here on in will most likely come off the grill rather then the oven or fry pan.

I also wanted to get the back garden ready for when the veggies and herbs will be ready for planting. Much clearing of last season's dead bits was in order: cleared out the old tomato vines, pepper plant, chard leaves and quite a bit of pruning of old herbs.

We tried cilantro (coriander) last year but didn't really enjoy it so we'll most likely give it a pass this year. We also discovered that we overbought a lot of other herbs and just didn't use them fast enough. I'll keep the amount of plants I buy down this year and space them out properly instead.

We'll be doing tomatoes again this year but no yellow ones; they had tougher skin and the flavour wasn't as pleasant as the red ones we had. We'll probably try for peppers again too, but planted to the left of the tomatoes rather than the right where they were last year and subsequently, in the shade all the time. Oh, and only one Swiss chard plant this year if I can't find spinach.

Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:17:40 -0500

Thanks to all those who have expressed sympathy, called, emailed, gave real and/or virtual hugs or any combination of the above during the last few days since Maya's death. It does mean a lot to both of us here; well, to Jon and me anyway, Goober's pretty much (seemingly) unaffected.

On a lighter note, as a "thank you" to the myriad of other cat lovers out there, let me present ROFLCAT. It is a collection of photos of cats and kittens doing what they do best - getting into trouble, looking cute ... essentially being cats. One of my favourite images is this one:

Nothing like a cat drowning in a chair to give me the giggles!

R.I.P. Maya

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:21:27 -0500

Maya on the shelf
Originally uploaded by mcwetboy.

After being sick for the better part of a month, Maya passed away sometime early this morning.

Her sickness wasn't related to the pet food scare that has affected others - our animals were not eating any of the brands involved with the recall.

We weren't sure just what was causing her to throw up then refuse to eat until an x-ray last Friday revealed an unknown mass in the vicinity of her small intestine. The mass was most likely cancer and had grown very rapidly in the last week or so from being undetectable to about the size of a golf ball.

Because she had stopped eating and drinking, I had to force feed her high calorie food and a protein gel. Once she stopped drinking, she needed water syringed down her throat as dehydration became a problem. She didn't enjoy these treatments, but despite the complaints, she tolerated them well enough and didn't try to avoid them (or me).

She was a young cat and would have been 6 yrs old this August so losing her is harder than if she had lived a full life. Despite her neuroses, like needing to suckle polar fleece twice a day and not grooming, she was a good companion and will be missed.

So far, Goober's behaviour has not changed at all.

Update: Jon has now posted his eulogy for Maya on his blog.

Wire Sculptures

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:55:43 -0600

Bent Objects is a blog showing different sculptures made out of, among other things, wire. I used to make jewellery with wire and semi-precious stones and minerals so I know what can be involved in working with wire.

A favourite is " Art and Drugs Don't Mix". (via The Sneeze)

Weekend Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 19:15:42 -0500

We were in Toronto visiting Tania last weekend. While there, we knocked a few items off our to-do list: visit the Toronto Zoo, the new Apple store in the Yorkdale mall and, finally, get properly sized brassieres for my girls. We also stopped in at a science and telescope store, EfstonScience, near the mall.

Results from the weekend:

The zoo is huge: next time I bring better walking shoes. My zoo pics are now up as are Jon's.

Apple store was, well, a mall store ... not as impressive as I'd hoped, but hey, it's in a mall - what can you expect?

EfstonScience was fun and dangerous - so many "toys", like lab ware and microscopes, so little money!

Shopping for the "girls" was an eye opener! I must've spent a good couple hours in there but now I'm, for once, properly sized and fitted! I won't say what my new size is, but it has changed! Great customer service and attention to detail at the store! Tania found it and is quickly converting everyone she knows to them! If you're ever in Toronto and need a fitting, visit this store!!

Log Drivers Waltz

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:49:08 -0500

I remember this little film put out by the National Film Board of Canada from when I was young. It has a catchy little tune that sticks in your head no matter what you do to get rid of it. I love it!

Incidentally, the NFB has put 50 of its short films online. I'm not sure how long the films will be available but they're well worth a visit (via). The Log Driver's Waltz is not among the 50 shorts, but other equally good films such as The Cat Came Back and The Sweater are.

Weekend Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 21:00:23 -0500

Releasing the turtles
Originally uploaded by aedra.

Last weekend we went to Jeff and Jenny's place for a visit and to help with their volunteer work weekend. One of the projects was to finish the construction of the red eared slider turtle pond. Here, the pond is finished and five turtles are being released.

Before the fencing was complete, a number of frogs found the pond and moved in. More pictures can be found on the flickr group page.

The temperatures were hot and I got a bit of a burn on the shoulders but nothing a dip in another, larger, pond couldn't fix!

Jonathan also has an entry on the weekend on his blog.

Bones

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 20:56:14 -0600

Bird bones and skeletons, bird bone ID, skulls and how to clean them.

Neat stuff for a biology class or general, though potentially morbid, interest (via Metafilter).

Apple Swag

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 15:49:11 -0600

Apple Swag
Originally uploaded by aedra.

Got this nifty piece of Apple swag on February 3rd. It was a surprise gift for participating in a collaborative group project for my school. Coffee tastes great in it!

String Art

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 21:39:38 -0600

String art. I'm not sure if my art class is ready for this project or not but it'll be interesting to try! There is also a teacher's guide. (Via Make)

Update: Some more string art pages, some with better instructions and patterns.

Ice Day Today ...

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 21:47:56 -0600

... so there were no school buses running but the school was still open. The freezing rain warning was lifted just before I left the house but I still had to chip about 1/2 cm of ice off the car. The roads by that time had been salted and sanded so, while full of puddles and slush, were manageable.

There were no kids at the school -- not one, not even the "walkers"! Granted the sidewalks were much worse than the roads but ...??

I still had my online Chemistry class; the weather was also nasty in Montreal, but because some kids can sign on from their homes, it was business as usual.

Boffering, Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:33:41 -0600

Boffers are "contact weapons (swords, spears, clubs, arrows, hammers, etc.) that are made from light weight materials and padded with foam to prevent injury." It is a good form of exercise while releasing the day's frustrations and tensions -- works for me!

Here are two different sites that show you how to make your own boffer weapon. (Via Make 1, 2)