Thursday, December 31, 2015
Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!
'Tis the season for sleeping, eating, reading, and making of stuff... Due to the (comparatively) cold and damp weather we 0W20-blooded Californians have had (ooh, it got down to 40F, brrrr!) we haven't really done as much outdoor recreation, yard work, or house maintenance as we might prefer. That's largely been supplanted by less active pursuits, but the upside is a surge in creative output. Also, there's been time for family-friendly hikes and visits with friends; if this continues a few more days, I might even get my latest batch of beer bottled up!
I hacked out a spoon of sorts with my Christmas present of sharp cutting tools, and Anna started planning what she would do with her gift of a pile of electronic parts. Nimue immediately got to play with her coveted computer drawing software, and we all got to read our Christmas books while cozy in new socks.
Before, during and after Christmas day, we played around with making 3D-printed, randomly-generated snowflake tree ornaments. Anna found the original concept on the web (where else) and then I made an LED-illuminated version. Anna figured out that they could be spray-painted and coated with glitter, and now they look pretty spectacular.
Most recently, we went for a hike up to Black Mountain on Christmas Day. Through the edges of the Ridge Winery vineyards, and the clear air left by the previous day's rain, we got to enjoy a crisp but lovely day.
The day after, we walked around the levees of the Baylands trails. We came across a bunch of guys dressed for standing around in the cold and damp... at first I thought they were duck hunters (it being that time of year) and indeed, I spotted a fair number of ducks that they had bagged earlier in the day. But they all had big fishing rods set up, too. My mom asked one fellow, as we walked by, what they were fishing for -- to my great surprise, he said they were after sturgeon!
I had no idea these huge, ancient fish came in to the SF bay today; certainly they did once upon a time, but the only stories I had heard, even from when I was a little kid, had to do with sturgeon up in the Sacramento river. But apparently they do come in, following the tide - our fishermen were anticipating hooking a big one within the hour. Along the way, I spotted what must be the coolest marsh-travelling vehicle ever - the "Aquamog"!
We also took a ride on the Niles Canyon railway - a chilly ride from Sunol down to Fremont and back, on a charmingly decorated vintage train festooned with lights inside and out. We had a great outing, despite the preponderance of loud small kids whose enthusiasm sometimes drove us out into the "open" railcars -- which really made for better photos anyway, and weren't *that* much colder than the enclosed cars in any case.
 |
| The lights are up at our place! |
'Tis the season for sleeping, eating, reading, and making of stuff... Due to the (comparatively) cold and damp weather we 0W20-blooded Californians have had (ooh, it got down to 40F, brrrr!) we haven't really done as much outdoor recreation, yard work, or house maintenance as we might prefer. That's largely been supplanted by less active pursuits, but the upside is a surge in creative output. Also, there's been time for family-friendly hikes and visits with friends; if this continues a few more days, I might even get my latest batch of beer bottled up!
I hacked out a spoon of sorts with my Christmas present of sharp cutting tools, and Anna started planning what she would do with her gift of a pile of electronic parts. Nimue immediately got to play with her coveted computer drawing software, and we all got to read our Christmas books while cozy in new socks.
Before, during and after Christmas day, we played around with making 3D-printed, randomly-generated snowflake tree ornaments. Anna found the original concept on the web (where else) and then I made an LED-illuminated version. Anna figured out that they could be spray-painted and coated with glitter, and now they look pretty spectacular.
Most recently, we went for a hike up to Black Mountain on Christmas Day. Through the edges of the Ridge Winery vineyards, and the clear air left by the previous day's rain, we got to enjoy a crisp but lovely day.The day after, we walked around the levees of the Baylands trails. We came across a bunch of guys dressed for standing around in the cold and damp... at first I thought they were duck hunters (it being that time of year) and indeed, I spotted a fair number of ducks that they had bagged earlier in the day. But they all had big fishing rods set up, too. My mom asked one fellow, as we walked by, what they were fishing for -- to my great surprise, he said they were after sturgeon!
I had no idea these huge, ancient fish came in to the SF bay today; certainly they did once upon a time, but the only stories I had heard, even from when I was a little kid, had to do with sturgeon up in the Sacramento river. But apparently they do come in, following the tide - our fishermen were anticipating hooking a big one within the hour. Along the way, I spotted what must be the coolest marsh-travelling vehicle ever - the "Aquamog"!
 |
| Behold - the Aquamog! |
We also took a ride on the Niles Canyon railway - a chilly ride from Sunol down to Fremont and back, on a charmingly decorated vintage train festooned with lights inside and out. We had a great outing, despite the preponderance of loud small kids whose enthusiasm sometimes drove us out into the "open" railcars -- which really made for better photos anyway, and weren't *that* much colder than the enclosed cars in any case.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Cat card test
I've been messing around with some JavaScript stuff using p5.js lately and made this dorky cat Christmas card.
I know it all runs well on our machines, but would like to know if it works right on the computers belonging to the parental/grandparental units. Can you let me know four things:
Can you see the cats?
Do they change when you click on the image?
Do the hats appear when you hover the mouse over the circle in the center?
Does it meow when you click?
(I already know the clicking/hovering response is a little weird if you are looking at this on a mobile device; it assumes you are using a mouse)
Merry Christmas from the cats.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Early season snow!
We spent part of the long Thanksgiving weekend up in Downieville, and actually got to do some cross-country skiing on early-season snow at Yuba Pass. Yippee!
24 degrees while we were out skiing. Brrrrr!
The snow that had been in Linda's yard had all melted, but she still had a deer with attitude. We did not, however, see the bear that decimated the apple tree and Halloween pumpkin.
There wasn't that much of a base, but the snow that was there was fluffy and made the trees look nice.
24 degrees while we were out skiing. Brrrrr!
The snow that had been in Linda's yard had all melted, but she still had a deer with attitude. We did not, however, see the bear that decimated the apple tree and Halloween pumpkin.
Happy winter to all!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Foolish Kitty
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Albino redwoods
Over the weekend, Nim and I had the opportunity to take a short hike into a normally closed part of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve to go see some albino redwoods.
Albino redwoods, you ask? They are redwoods that have a genetic mutation that means they don't have any chlorophyll. What they do have are roots that can grab onto a neighboring redwood and parasitically absorb nutrients that way. Not a very efficient feeding mechanism, so they don't usually get very big, but it is interesting to see a mass of white redwood sprouts growing near the base of another tree.
The needle shape and habit are different too -- wide flat needles that sometimes curl up on themselves.
Almost a snowflake!
It was raining slightly, and Nim decided to be a small woodland creature.
Spiderwebs accumulated not only water droplets, but entire water films.
On our way out, we wandered around in the mud to find a second albino redwood mass; this one sprouted out of a normal redwood partway up the trunk. Apparently there is some sort of virus that leads to the mid-trunk sprouting. It's gotta be pretty rare to get this combination of the virus and the genetic mutation together!
Albino redwoods, you ask? They are redwoods that have a genetic mutation that means they don't have any chlorophyll. What they do have are roots that can grab onto a neighboring redwood and parasitically absorb nutrients that way. Not a very efficient feeding mechanism, so they don't usually get very big, but it is interesting to see a mass of white redwood sprouts growing near the base of another tree.
The needle shape and habit are different too -- wide flat needles that sometimes curl up on themselves.
Almost a snowflake!
Sometimes there are normal sprouts mixed in with the white ones.
It was raining slightly, and Nim decided to be a small woodland creature.
Spiderwebs accumulated not only water droplets, but entire water films.
On our way out, we wandered around in the mud to find a second albino redwood mass; this one sprouted out of a normal redwood partway up the trunk. Apparently there is some sort of virus that leads to the mid-trunk sprouting. It's gotta be pretty rare to get this combination of the virus and the genetic mutation together!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Halloween
Halloween came and went.
Once again, my pumpkin was the only marginally disturbing one.
Nim slaved over her graveyard cake.
Sack of Potatoes and Mouse were really too old for trick-or-treating,
but fortunately, they *needed* to escort little brother Explosives around the neighborhood.
Explosives had entertaining LED animations. He just couldn't reach to hold his candy bag out. Sack of Potatoes and Mouse tried to help, but people still kept trying to throw the candy in the big box. Not such a good strategy, given that the bottom was open so he could walk...
Sack of Potatoes and Mouse were really too old for trick-or-treating,
but fortunately, they *needed* to escort little brother Explosives around the neighborhood.
Explosives had entertaining LED animations. He just couldn't reach to hold his candy bag out. Sack of Potatoes and Mouse tried to help, but people still kept trying to throw the candy in the big box. Not such a good strategy, given that the bottom was open so he could walk...
Happy late Halloween.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Espresso Monster
Chad's cheery red espresso machine is pretty long in the tooth.
The drip tray and the bottom started to rust out. No problem -- it's not that bad, and one has to wipe the counter anyway.
A thermocouple burned out. No problem -- Chad replaced it, and added arduino PID control at the same time. Now it's a Frankenmachine with too many brains.
Steamer won't work. Broken/gunked up part underneath immovable bolt.
Third time's the anticharm. No way to get stuck bolt off without destroying machine.
Problem.
If it were just me, I would get an small inexpensive easy-to-use replacement machine. However, Chad has Standards, with a capital S. He researched, and it was clear that it would be best for me to just specify that it needed to fit in the existing spot without taking over more kitchen space and then stay out of the way, averting my eyes from the price.
Of course the machine he wanted is picky, and necessitated a new grinder too. Even the old tamper won't work (wrong size), so one also needed to order a new one of those.
Just avert one's eyes...
I eventually mumbled something to the effect of "I guess that's our anniversary present a bit early -- this year is brass, and surely there is brass in the espresso maker somewhere."
We thought the machine would take about a week to show up, putting it on our doorstep after we got back from Downieville. It came early -- in the brief 1-day window between when we went to the rocket launch and when we went up to the mountains. Needless to say Chad was compelled to fire it up that night, despite the sleep deprivation.
First one must measure the beans. With a scale. (Note dead espresso machine behind Chad's arm.)
Grind beans and put them in cup. Stare at machine.
Carefully tamp ground espresso.
Pose.
Study tamped beans.
Decide tamping is inadequate and do it again. Harder, this time.
Once more for good measure. (Note I have been leaving out the part about spouse cackling in the background during every step.)
Study the whole thing again.
Oooh -- put beans in machine and press the button. Carefully count "One potato, two potato, three potato..."
"...fourteen potato, fifteen potato, Darn! It stopped." Supposed to take twenty-five seconds.
Repeat entire process about fifteen more times, altering degree of grind, amount of tamping, and magical incantations. Proudly display large volume of "reject" espresso.
Tasting has occurred throughout the process. To my plebeian palate and eye, reject espresso is just fine. Tastes good and has crema on top. Still wrong to Chad. Supposed to take twenty-five seconds.
Twenty-five seconds. Mmmm.
This one was finally deemed good, and mornings are no longer sad.
That is, except for the part that he has to remember to go turn the machine on before taking a shower, lest it not have time to warm up to the proper temperature before use.
In my thrifty way, I've been using the reject espresso in a variety of ways: in chocolate desserts, mixed with milk and poured over ice, and as a flavoring agent in sauces and marinades. Because, well, I'm creative, not picky, and hate wasting things. It's perfectly good reject espresso, after all. And, I have to admit, even better non-reject espresso.
The drip tray and the bottom started to rust out. No problem -- it's not that bad, and one has to wipe the counter anyway.
A thermocouple burned out. No problem -- Chad replaced it, and added arduino PID control at the same time. Now it's a Frankenmachine with too many brains.
Steamer won't work. Broken/gunked up part underneath immovable bolt.
Third time's the anticharm. No way to get stuck bolt off without destroying machine.
Problem.
If it were just me, I would get an small inexpensive easy-to-use replacement machine. However, Chad has Standards, with a capital S. He researched, and it was clear that it would be best for me to just specify that it needed to fit in the existing spot without taking over more kitchen space and then stay out of the way, averting my eyes from the price.
Of course the machine he wanted is picky, and necessitated a new grinder too. Even the old tamper won't work (wrong size), so one also needed to order a new one of those.
Just avert one's eyes...
I eventually mumbled something to the effect of "I guess that's our anniversary present a bit early -- this year is brass, and surely there is brass in the espresso maker somewhere."
We thought the machine would take about a week to show up, putting it on our doorstep after we got back from Downieville. It came early -- in the brief 1-day window between when we went to the rocket launch and when we went up to the mountains. Needless to say Chad was compelled to fire it up that night, despite the sleep deprivation.
First one must measure the beans. With a scale. (Note dead espresso machine behind Chad's arm.)
Grind beans and put them in cup. Stare at machine.
Carefully tamp ground espresso.
Pose.
Study tamped beans.
Decide tamping is inadequate and do it again. Harder, this time.
Once more for good measure. (Note I have been leaving out the part about spouse cackling in the background during every step.)
Study the whole thing again.
Oooh -- put beans in machine and press the button. Carefully count "One potato, two potato, three potato..."
"...fourteen potato, fifteen potato, Darn! It stopped." Supposed to take twenty-five seconds.
Repeat entire process about fifteen more times, altering degree of grind, amount of tamping, and magical incantations. Proudly display large volume of "reject" espresso.
Tasting has occurred throughout the process. To my plebeian palate and eye, reject espresso is just fine. Tastes good and has crema on top. Still wrong to Chad. Supposed to take twenty-five seconds.
One more try.
Twenty-five seconds. Mmmm.
This one was finally deemed good, and mornings are no longer sad.
That is, except for the part that he has to remember to go turn the machine on before taking a shower, lest it not have time to warm up to the proper temperature before use.
In my thrifty way, I've been using the reject espresso in a variety of ways: in chocolate desserts, mixed with milk and poured over ice, and as a flavoring agent in sauces and marinades. Because, well, I'm creative, not picky, and hate wasting things. It's perfectly good reject espresso, after all. And, I have to admit, even better non-reject espresso.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Downieville: Celebratory Mountain
After coming back from the launch last week, we turned around and headed up to Downieville after work the next day. Our goal: to celebrate Linda's birthday (early) by hiking here:
Mt. Lola is the highest peak in Nevada County. We chose to approach it from the north, taking the gentler route, but didn't want the full 10.5-mile round trip from the standard trailhead. Fortuately, our trusty truckster was up to the task of following the overgrown lumpy forest road up to a cheater entrance further up (and our trusty driver was up to wandering around a bit to find unmarked Forest Road 301-75 as it wound its way through the maze of logging roads...)
We eventually hit a bridge that looked iffy, so parked the truck and started hiking. Fortunately the trail was right on the other side of it :)
The trail wound its way through a lovely meadow,
into the trees,
At some point, I realized that no one had grabbed the cheese and salami that we were going to eat at the top of the peak out of the fridge that morning. Doh. Fortunately, we did have other tidbits of food with us, and the celebratory chocolate was still in the pack.
Attractive tree snags.
The trail to Mt Lola from this side is one of those trails that starts out gently, and then gets exponentially steeper the further up you go. Linda found a nice spot to rest before the final push to the summit
while the three of us kept going. Happy kiddo at the top:
360-degree views from the top:
After the hike, we got to go back to the house and enjoy the forgotten salami and cheese for dinner. Not such a bad fate after all!
Despite the fact that the weather was good, we didn't bring bikes this trip, as Chad wanted some time to go fishing. I think the new tenkara rod he got for his birthday had something to do with that. I took a book.
Nim fished a bit with one of Chad's old rods, but mostly goofed around. The rivers up there are awfully nice spots, and I think everyone came back home refreshed after the previous crazy week.
Mt. Lola is the highest peak in Nevada County. We chose to approach it from the north, taking the gentler route, but didn't want the full 10.5-mile round trip from the standard trailhead. Fortuately, our trusty truckster was up to the task of following the overgrown lumpy forest road up to a cheater entrance further up (and our trusty driver was up to wandering around a bit to find unmarked Forest Road 301-75 as it wound its way through the maze of logging roads...)
We eventually hit a bridge that looked iffy, so parked the truck and started hiking. Fortunately the trail was right on the other side of it :)
The trail wound its way through a lovely meadow,
into the trees,
and up the mountain. We stopped just past the (non-existent) waterfall for a snack -- the kiddo enjoyed her Pocky, even though the package had been to Utah and back, and was somewhat the worse for wear.
At some point, I realized that no one had grabbed the cheese and salami that we were going to eat at the top of the peak out of the fridge that morning. Doh. Fortunately, we did have other tidbits of food with us, and the celebratory chocolate was still in the pack.
Attractive tree snags.
The trail to Mt Lola from this side is one of those trails that starts out gently, and then gets exponentially steeper the further up you go. Linda found a nice spot to rest before the final push to the summit
while the three of us kept going. Happy kiddo at the top:
360-degree views from the top:
About 1/4 mile back down from the top, we met Linda carefully working her way towards us. Chad headed back up to the summit with her while Nim and I stopped for a snack. I sent the celebratory chocolate with Chad and Linda.
Pre-birthday summit shot!
After the hike, we got to go back to the house and enjoy the forgotten salami and cheese for dinner. Not such a bad fate after all!
Despite the fact that the weather was good, we didn't bring bikes this trip, as Chad wanted some time to go fishing. I think the new tenkara rod he got for his birthday had something to do with that. I took a book.
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