Jay Lake: Writer

[links] Link salad lurches back to life

Meat … You’re Right In Liking It — Classic advertising with a slogan for the ages.

SMBCon the history of space travel — Hahahahah.

Mass Can Be ‘Created’ Inside Graphene, Say Physicists — The amazing properties of graphene now include the ability to create mass, according to a new prediction.

The gravity of water — This is a very cool science article about the hydrological cycle.

Your new age, and mine — Roger Ebert on life, faith and the notion of the hereafter.

?otD: Mary or Percy?

10/23/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (medical distraction)
Body movement: suburban walking to come
Hours slept: 6.75 hours (solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Yesterday’s chemo/post-op stress index: 4/10 (fatigue, peripheral neuropathy, emotional distress)
Currently reading: The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer

Tags: Art, Culture, Funny, gay, Links, Personal, Religion, Science

Posted: 7:39 am Sat October 23 2010 | Comments(2) |

[personal] My mother has pulled through quite well

The operation went almost precisely according to plan and my mother is recovering in the ICU. Home the middle of next week, then a 6-8 week post-operative recovery period.

We are all so very relieved.

Tags: family, healthcare, Personal

Posted: 9:09 pm Fri October 22 2010 | Comments(9) |

[personal] Happy Birthday to the Child, good luck to my mom

Today turns thirteen. Happy Birthday to her.

Today my mom goes into major surgery . Good luck to her.

Blogging may be highly irregular hereabouts, depending on how things unfold.

Tags: Child, family, Personal

Posted: 5:12 am Fri October 22 2010 | Comments(1) |

[personal] Not at Surrey

The particularly sharp-eyed among you might have noted that I am not in Surrey, BC tonight. Heading north on I-5 this afternoon, at about Centralia, my sister called calendula_witch to tell us that my mother’s surgery had been pushed forward to tomorrow, from the previous schedule of next Monday. We pulled off at the nearest exit, turned around, and drove straight back.

This is a major procedure (two of them, actually) with some significant risk factors, but her prognosis is good. My sister and I will be at the hospital at 6 am to see our mother off into surgery, then awaiting developments in whatever waiting area they choose to stash us in.

I am very sorry to be missing the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. I was quite looking forward to being there as a panelist, instructor and attendee. The trip was also apropos of ‘s thirteenth birthday celebration, tomorrow being the very day. Still, I need to be here for my mother far more than I need to be there, or anywhere else.

Tags: Calendula, Child, Conventions, family, Personal

Posted: 8:24 pm Thu October 21 2010 | Comments(4) |

[photos] Australia: Lightning Ridge Opals

We also visited Lightning Ridge Opal Mines, named for a famous opal mining area. elisem had a terrific time shopping here.

We got to see opals being ground, in a nifty demo.

A closer view.

Some of their wares.

Sign by the bathroom. :: covets ::

There was also a series of terraria in a side room, with various Aussie natives. Some four-legged, some six- or eight-legged. Or more.

This sadly blurry shot was the only time I’d managed to capture his tongue.

Another critter.

And some had lots of legs.

Woof woof!

As usual, more at the Flickr set.

© 2010, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: Australia, Cool, nature, Photos, Travel

Posted: 5:34 am Thu October 21 2010 | Comments(1) |

[photos] Your Thursday moment of zen

Your Thursday moment of zen.

“Owl Woman”, needlefelted sculpture by Mother of the Child, photographed by Jay Lake. © 2006, 2010, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Tags: Art, family, Photos, zen

Posted: 5:31 am Thu October 21 2010 | Comments(0) |

[links] Link salad makes a difference engine

Homer Simpson: A True Catholic? — This makes my head hurt…

Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943 — This may be a repost of a prior link, but I can’t track it. And if so, well, it’s still mightily cool. (Via art guru James Gurney.)

Exoplanet Atmospheres: What We Don’t Know — More skiffy goodness from Paul Gilster at Centauri Dreams.

Why Liberals Don’t Get the Tea Party Movement — The Wall Street Journal conveniently ignores widely publicized facts in order to get both liberals and the Tea Party seriously wrong. The American Right’s famed intellectual honesty and principled consistency shine through once more.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission judge says colleague biased against complainants — Ah, yes, the much-vaunted moral standards of conservativism strike again.

?otD: Charles or Ada?

10/21/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (distraction factor, some WRPA)
Body movement: 30 minute stationay bike ride
Hours slept: 6.75 hours (solid but underslept)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a (forgot)
Yesterday’s chemo/post-op stress index: 4/10 (fatigue, peripheral neuropathy, emotional distress)
Currently reading: The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer

Tags: Cool, Funny, Links, Personal, Politics, religio, Science

Posted: 5:29 am Thu October 21 2010 | Comments(0) |

[travel] Home, finally

Home, almost three hours late. To add irony to injury, coming back from the airport, the cab had to detour off of SE Chavez due to a police roadblock connected to an auto collision. By then, all I could do was laugh.

Also, United finally admitted the delays were not due to air traffic restrictions but to earlier flight delays rippling through the system. So I can no longer blame the president.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Tags: Funny, Politics, Travel

Posted: 10:01 pm Wed October 20 2010 | Comments(1) |

[travel] Further delays, thanks to the Chief Executive

What a surprise. My flight to Portland just got pushed back another two hours. Instead of being home at dinnertime, I won’t be home til well after my bedtime.

So far this is the most direct effect President Obama has had on my life. I really do appreciate it, sir.

Tags: Politics, Portland, Travel

Posted: 4:24 pm Wed October 20 2010 | Comments(2) |

[travel] Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the wiper

President Obama is visiting Portland this afternoon. I have felt the sweet caress of His Presidential Appendage in the flight delay here in San Francisco due to airspace restrictions at home. Currently posted for 45 minutes late, but if you believe that I have a bridge to sell you.

SFO has introduced free wireless, which in theory is good. Unfortunately they’re following the DIA model of free wireless, which is to cripple the access so thoroughly as to make it all but useless. Besides which, it kicks you off every 45 minutes. Because, after all, who spends more than 45 minutes waiting in an airport anyway?

Why, yes, I am enjoying my afternoon. Thank you for asking.

Tags: California, Politics, Portland, Tech, Travel

Posted: 3:22 pm Wed October 20 2010 | Comments(1) |