Cascajun

From the PeoplesARTCoOP:

The obliviation of antediluvian excrescences postulates a didactic promorphistic inclusionary ascensional sine qua non, perhaps rectifying the recidivisual deconcurrence of reductive influences, remaining not ineffectual per se though expressing a certain contradissonance trending towards mass disembarkation. We seek to reconfirm the aforementioned while attaining a hitherto unforeseen unknowability.

I know those guys; they really do trend toward a mass disembarkation.

I had dinner last night at Nona Rosa’s Ristorante & Pizzeria (113 E. Magnolia Street) in downtown Bellingham. I had the eggplant parmigiana after a goat cheese & marinara appetizer and followed it up with a delicious cream puff dessert. Yummy! Other diners at the table had Sicilian meatballs, lasagna, and pork skewers. Everyone was impressed with their meal.

I saw Eilen Jewell & her band at the Green Frog last night. They were really good.

I bought two CDs:

• Letters From Sinners and Strangers; and
• The Sacred Shakers.

I like ‘em both. Here’s a video from YouTube.

Nathan Myhrvold talks about a few of his latest fascinations — animal photography, archeology, BBQ and generally being an eccentric genius multimillionaire.

S’mores on the PK Grill.

I recently spent six fabulous days vacationing in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. A friend of mine from high school, Halli, lives there and was gracious enough to allow me to stay in her home. It was really fun reconnecting with someone I had only seen once in the last twenty years! The trip was very relaxing, too.

I read two books: America Alone by Mark Steyn and Coming Into Being by William Irwin Thompson. I found each intriguing and hope to write a post about each.

I saw some beautiful scenery:

Jemez State Monument - ruins of the church of San Jose de los Jemez built in the 17th century.

Bandelier National Monument - the site of ruins from cliff dwelling and pueblo building native Americans.

Valles Caldera National Preserve - a former ranch located in the caldera of a very large volcano.

The Soda Dam - a natural dam to the Jemez River formed by the cumulative deposition of minerals brought to the surface by nearby hot springs.

The Village of Jemez Springs - named for those famous mineral hot springs.

I received this photo of a crawfish diner & beer from a colleague whose husband snapped it while dinning out on a business trip in China.

Half joking I asked, “How were they seasoned?” I also noted that it looks like Thai basil or perhaps a cilantro sprig on top. I questioned, “Did they come with sweet & sour dipping sauce?”

Curiously, I had never really considered that crawfish might be table fare in China, too! I suppose that’s just a symptom of my lack of exposure to authentic Chinese culture and cuisine. I’m quite certain I’ve never seen General Tso Mud Bugs on any menus. But then again, is General Tso Chicken authentic?

I’ve upgraded the web site to the latest version of Wordpress and toyed with themes to see which ones support the new features like tags and sidebar widgets.

Don’t be surprised to find unexpected changes or behavior.

The quote below is from a colleague at a recent SPIE event in San Diego, CA. The event, SPIE Smart Structures/NDE, features an annual EAP-in-Action session with demonstrations of electro-active polymer applications & devices.

Monday continued into the evening’s EAP session, where 8 different groups from New Zealand, Italy, China, Australia, Switzerland, and the US each demonstrate their applications of EAP technology – everything from a flower that opens and closes in response to temperature, to an EAP-propelled and steered ‘fish’, which even had a ‘fish cam’ transmitting wireless to a monitor to give everyone a fish-eye’s view of its aquarium environment.

Electro-active polymers are plastics that can change shape and motion. I can imagine many applications of EAP devices, including micro & nano size medical & surveillance devices.

A six minute video on globalization and the information age.