I loved Starz' treatment of Gladiators in Spartacus - I hope they do even half as well with the Arthurian story! With this and the Sims Medieval, it looks like this spring will have LOTS of medieval goodness to talk about.
I'll admit, I've never played the Sims. When the original was popular, I was not impressed by the graphics, so I never played. I see they've spruced things up a bit, but it looks so much like the Shrek movies, I keep expecting to hear Donkey yapping away during this trailer. But no, that fine voice-over is clearly Patrick Stewart. Glad he's getting some work out of this.
Maybe if I have a job by this spring I'll be able to check it out...otherwise, I'll be late to this mock party too. Better late than never, though!
More info and videos on the Sims Medieval website. Get Medieval!
Seems just yesterday I was seeing the first green on the trees, planting starts in my garden and waiting for those first flowers to break through the crusty soil. This summer has been a short one, in my mind, but I hear that time feels shorter as you get older, which I'm about to do in about five days with my big birthday milestone, when the 40's begin.
I don't feel 40. Heck, I don't feel 30. I don't know what age I feel, really, but I do know that 40 isn't as scary as everyone makes it out to be. I guess the next one to look forward to is 65, when the senoir discounts kick in. I'm going to milk that for all it's worth.
In other news, I'm still looking for a great full time job in the Boulder, CO area, and the market seems to be bouncing back a bit. I've had some interviews, at least, and some positive results. If I reach Christmas while still unemployed, it will have been two years without a job. Two years of being reaaalllly frugal, and creative at finding enough income from freelancing, selling off some things and trading garden vegetables for whatever I can use.
I'm so grateful that I wasn't already in debt when I got laid off. I can't imagine what stress it would be to have mortgages, car loans and credit cards to pay every month. I am lucky to have a partner who also has no debt, and is as crafty as I at finding income, and also loves to cook from scratch with our garden produce, and preserve some to last us through the winter. Sometimes I think we're just practicing for the zombie apocalypse/2012/end of the world, in which case we've got another couple of years of this before it all goes to hell.
Sometime in the next few days, I need to harvest all of the remaining food from the garden before the frost hits. Our little indian summer here has extended the season a bit, and with the help of some plastic and PVC, our hoops are keeping some of the plants warm and safe long past when they'd normally die off. So the climate change has been good to us, at least this year.
And even if next spring brings too much rain again, or the dreaded hail, the same hoops will protect them again. It's amazing what a thin sheet of plastic can do for your survival in hard times. I feel like losing my job took away a layer of protective coating, and I'd like it back, so that I feel safe again from the storms. I've said that my garden is just a metaphor for my life - at least I've learned patience and planning are neccesary to get through the hard parts. It's the grasshoppers and gophers I still have trouble with. But the coming freeze will put those to rest, at least until the new green shoots arrive in six months.
Time to rest the garden, and focus on other things for a while...like chopping firewood. Soon the first fire will be lit to warm us, and we'll switch from mostly gas cooking to wood. Strange, but I'm *almost* looking forward to the first snow. Not yet, though...after my birthday will be fine. Just another couple weeks of sunshine, please!
Fire scares the hell out of me. Especially big, uncontrolled ones like the Fourmile Fire in west Boulder County. Last night, I watched mountain homes go up in flames while driving along the foothills. I had to stop and stare for a while. I was afraid I might run off the road looking if I didn't. It was surreal.
Where am I in relation to this fire? I live in east Boulder County, about 10-12 miles away.
Far enough that we really don't need to worry about a ground fire spreading this far. We are, however, directly in the smoke plume. I got sick a couple of times this afternoon, after having been outside for a short time during the inversion weather pattern that pushed all that smoke down into Boulder Valley this morning. Still feeling heavyness in my lungs, which is not a good sign. I will likely soon evacuate myself (and feline companion) and stay with friends in Denver, south of the smoke plume.
I've been pretty glued to the internet since the fire broke out Monday morning. It's amazing how social networking saved lives when the reverse 911 calls failed. And the outpouring of support from the local ( and far off ) communities, residents and businesses, is just what makes Boulder a truly amazing place. Compassion is pouring in, and there are many ways to help the displaced if you can.
One of the ways that I've been keeping track of fire news are two open collaborative Google maps, here and here. Other ways are Twitter using the search term #boulderfire or check out all the links on Boulder Page. The most heartbreaking ways are the countys' dispatch channels, though. Don't listen to those for too long. I have to cut myself off from them, and all the other media now and try for some sleep.
For now, I can't smell the smoke. But I know the mountain is still burning.
I'm working on a map commission where a trireme features as the Argo Navis. Zeus has sent storms to blow them off course...but these are Spartans! They'll never give up...
First, check out this video of the Laser/Camera Backpack device.
I think the possibilities for this go waaaay beyond having Google 'street view' for everything around us. Imagine a fragile cave, or an Egyptian tomb, or some sacred place you might never get to see, because it's in a place that won't allow visitors from your country. One person, equipped with this device, would not damage Roman mosaics with thousands of visiting feet every year, or soften the neolithic cave drawings with the many exhalations of their breath.
The virtual travel industry better buy up a ton of these. Based solely on how much airline travel resembles grueling torture now, I would happily pay to wander (virtually) through the catacombs of Rome. I'd be willing to bet many, many more people would line up behind me as well.
This technology could be easily merged with already developed virtual worlds like Second Life or Blue Mars. But I think that this device will help bring the 'real' revolition to virtual entertainment. We've already got augmented reality apps, and video games are about to get really interactive (see Kinect). And, yes, there are now computer/brain interfaces. Soon we wont be able to tell digital from reality. The Matrix is nearly here.
More info about the UC Berkeley project here
There I was, having some virtual cupcakes in Second Life when I turned
around and saw this.
The Island is home to a myriad of plant and animal life. These tiny one inch Aster flowers are everywhere and loom large when seen through a macro lens. This little beetle is only about 1/32 of an inch long, and seems dwarfed by this flower. I don't know what it was after, but it crawled all over the top of it like it was looking for something. Even smaller bugs to eat, or perhaps microscopic flower bits. Who knows? Asters might be tasty.
The first time you cross the bridge to The Island, you know you're in a magical place. It's peaceful, yet energizing. Many have said it's like the fountain of youth. There are fun diversions such as the old teepee, the treehouse, the swimming hole, the drum circle, archery, boffing in the meadow (foam swords, people, this is not that kind of resort!) and plenty of other things to do. And then there's the games: battle croquet, treasure hunt, water gun battles and if you bring someting to fence with you might even find yourself in a duel with a Rogue on the bridge by torchlight.
It's like turning back your clock and becoming twelve again, when you could still make a fort from blankets and couch cushions and be entertained all day long. The best part is I get no cellphone reception at all there.
