Gifts (or, what you get for the guy who already has everything)

My father has two great enthusiasms: technology, and creative things. He is a great believer in technological solutions to problems. swallowtayle and I were making each other miserable with our conflicting tastes in music, and refused to wear headphones because our freedom would be constrained, he figured that he could solve that. He went out and bought two sets of wireless headphones. Each had an infrared transmitter base that plugged into the headphone jack of the stereo, and a headphone set with a rechargeable battery. It didn't quite work out the way he'd planned, but I was at least halfway happy with the solution.

So how does a broke college student who isn't living with her father find a need of his that can be technologically addressed, and address it? She really can't.

But she can get creative.

( FatherSir's past creativity: Kids Waiting )

From all reports, it worked decently well. That's the kind of low-tech innovation my father approves of -- fitting a need, personalized, and interesting.


I was walking home and pondering what it is that my father does and needs, and then it hit me.


swallowtayle and I attended the Fairbanks Summer Fine Arts Camp. Mama picked us up every day after camp. Camp let out at 4:50-ish, and Mama arrived in her car around 5:00, and picked us up. One day, Mama was unable to make it, so it was arranged that FatherSir should pick us up instead. swallowtayle and I went merrily off, and showed up in the appointed spot (the parking lot just north of the Fine Arts building) at the appointed time -- and no FatherSir! We eventually located each other. FatherSir had parked in the parking lot on the exact other side of the building (by the library), and was patiently waiting for us there. He grumbled that no one had told him where he was supposed to be, only when he was supposed to be there, and he had a 50% chance of getting the correct parking lot, and he'd picked the one that was less crowded, and had we rather that he parked down in the Pit? We explained that Mama always met us in the appointed place at the appointed time, and we had been expecting the same from him. He began grumbling about "the secret protocols of [Mama]", the hidden pitfalls where we would merrily fail to give him key information, assuming it was already known because Mama did it that way all the time. We, of course, thought it was hilarious, and "The Secret Protocols of" became a household catchphrase.


Also, FatherSir cooks. It's one of his hobbies. He's taken over quite a bit of the kitchen, and I really want his recipes. I was thinking about that on the way home, how I would really like a bread machine, so I could borrow his recipes and use them often. Then it hit me.


So...

( How to make FatherSir very happy this year... )

Spelling

We were driving around Mesa, quite lost, exactly according to votania's mother's directions. There was stress, tension, and all the other sorts of things that happen when one is lost and driving around an unfamiliar city, looking for someone.

votania's language wasn't getting any cleaner, and Little Fayoumis was starting to look scandalized, so I diverted him by asking how to spell a simple word. He answered it, and I quizzed him on a few more. After the distraction was over, I was going to stop, but he wanted me to keep going, so I kept asking him more and more simple words.

He was delighted. He was doing it pretty well, and only had to be corrected on a few words. He spelled them right afterwards. He was delighted that he only had to look inside his mind to find the right answer.

Now, I must convince him that he needs to start keeping the answers to math problems inside his head, as well as spelling words.

damn it

i can't fucking sleep.

exahusted. No sleep. damn.
an hour tried.

not comfortable. can't sleep.

Whee! Movieishness!

votania amazingly got the 17th off. Wheee!

This means, she'll be able to spend time with Little Fayoumis, and I'll be able to go see Return of the King with Darkside, assuming he's available to.

Review of Return of the King, by Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold reviews Return of the King. If you've read the books, no spoilers except for some of what's missing. If you haven't read the books and are avoiding spoilers, don't go here.

Geek Social Fallacies

http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/gsf.html

Also, not listed, is the fallacy that in order to be friends with someone, you have to have the same interests and the same opinions, though some of that's covered in the fallacy that Friends Do Everything Together.

Clam, Crab: hazards of eating other no-longer-living beings

Last night while eating at the China Star in, um, *looks at map* Chandler, votania had some of the clams. She likes seafood more than I do.

She discovered that one of her dinner clams had, shortly before being harvested, eaten a very small baby crab. It was very small, very cute, and (of course) very dead.

It was sufficiently cool that we wrapped it in a napkin (and later put it in an empty fortune cookie bag and tied it in my handkerchief) and brought it home. We'll put it in a little jar with some kind of preservative or other, and let Little Fayoumis take it to school for show-and-tell. Someone always brings in something delightfully gross like that.

Dark Jedi, just like Darkside.

Little Fayoumis wants a double-bladed red lightsaber, and a Dark Jedi costume, just like Darkside. He says that he and Darkside are twins.

He asked permission to call Darkside, and did so. He got to talk to Darkside's mom, and left a message saying that he wanted to be on Darkside's team.

I called back a bit later and let Darkside's mom know that yeah, that was the Little Fayoumis who called, and by the way, my holiday schedule is doing interesting things, as votania's work schedule has been taken and shaken and turned upside-down because of personnel shufflings. And then she and I got off into the issue of Darkside's costume, and who, exactly, had done the work on that. (Mom had done a great deal of helping.) She and I laughed The Mother Laugh.

Little Fayoumis is being very cute. He is insisting that he and Darkside are twins.

People for the Unethical Treatment of Fireflies

http://www.accendi.net/putf/
Pagan comic. Evidently funny. Is, from the samples I've seen.

Whee! Writing, fanfic, slash, motherhood

Went to the NNWM meetup at the B&N with witchofrock. Met two other people there. One of them is another pagan mom. Whee, pagan writer moms.

Had a good old gossip about gaming, writing, fanfic, slash, motherhood, smut, et cetera. I'll be recruiting a new one to the LJ fold, yes I will... *plots evilly*

Had caffiene. Will be hyper.

Darkside may or may not call in the morning. I am out of carrots. Carrots are not quite an antagonist to caffiene, but they do something.

Straighten, clean, polish...

Cleaned both cat boxes. We're now out of kitty litter, and need more.

Next, will do things. Already have refilled the liquid soap squirter from my bathroom.