This morning on NPR (possibly last night) I heard a brief story on internet addiction. It was about people who compulsively spend time on the internet. They were including not just your standard Porn, gambling and compulsive shopping in the definition, but also mentioned email checking, chat rooms, and even blogs. They cited how spending too much time online is being considered for official decease classification. And talked about how it can stem from OCD or depression, etc.
The main thing that I got out of the program was to realize that I am definitely not addicted to the internet... Yes, I use it a lot, esp at work, but not compulsively. It also reminded me how long it has been since I posted to a blog (sorry).
Anyhow, while I may not be addicted to the internet, I did realize that I may be becoming dependent on NPR... :)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Food
Ed has become an excellent cook over the past few months. We like to watch America’s Test Kitchen, where they take a common recipe and then make it over and over until they figure out how to make it taste the best with the fewest steps and cheapest ingredients. They usually find that to make really good food, it usually takes some time and some decent ingredients. Most of their recipes we’ve tried (and when I say we, I mean Ed) have turned out really well. We especially like their Chicken and Dumplings, Mexican Rice & Pasta with tomato, bacon and onion (you can get all of these recipes on their website).
The best thing about having an Ed-cook is being able to sit on the couch, mention that I’m craving a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and Poof! it appears on the table in front of me, just like in Star Trek. Unfortunately, he doesn’t respond as readily to “clean the toilet” or “do the laundry.” Not yet, anyway.
The best thing about having an Ed-cook is being able to sit on the couch, mention that I’m craving a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and Poof! it appears on the table in front of me, just like in Star Trek. Unfortunately, he doesn’t respond as readily to “clean the toilet” or “do the laundry.” Not yet, anyway.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Telephones
Ed and I always try to make the other one answer the phone because the only people who call on our home phone are telemarketers and people from church, who generally want one of the following:
1. To ask us to give an old lady a ride to church
2. To ask us to speak or give a lesson in church or a church-related meeting
3. To ask us to perform an act of Christian service that will be good for our souls, but which is generally inconvenient and hard somehow.
Today we were sitting at our desks when the phone rang. The phone sits between us, so we both pretended not to hear the first three rings. Then Ed grabbed the receiver, dropped it in my lap, said "You answer it!" and ran out of the room.
“Hello?”
“…….Hello?”
“Hello. Can I help you?”
“Hello? This is Mark Johnson. Is Victoria Stevens there?”
“No, I think you have the wrong number.”
“Aren't you Victoria?”
“No. You have the wrong number.”
“Okay…….Victoria.”
He sounded really creepy - like some pyscho in a horror movie. I hung up on him and then sat there waiting to see if the phone would ring again, but it didn't - he was probably just some guy stalking his ex-girlfriend who dialed the wrong number.
1. To ask us to give an old lady a ride to church
2. To ask us to speak or give a lesson in church or a church-related meeting
3. To ask us to perform an act of Christian service that will be good for our souls, but which is generally inconvenient and hard somehow.
Today we were sitting at our desks when the phone rang. The phone sits between us, so we both pretended not to hear the first three rings. Then Ed grabbed the receiver, dropped it in my lap, said "You answer it!" and ran out of the room.
“Hello?”
“…….Hello?”
“Hello. Can I help you?”
“Hello? This is Mark Johnson. Is Victoria Stevens there?”
“No, I think you have the wrong number.”
“Aren't you Victoria?”
“No. You have the wrong number.”
“Okay…….Victoria.”
He sounded really creepy - like some pyscho in a horror movie. I hung up on him and then sat there waiting to see if the phone would ring again, but it didn't - he was probably just some guy stalking his ex-girlfriend who dialed the wrong number.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Too Hot
Berkeley doesn't have air conditioning. I'm told that in the past it wasn't a problem, but it has been getting warmer in recent years. During the summer, my office got up to 90 degrees on some days (my window faces west). Yesterday afternoon, my office was 82 degrees and the classroom I had to teach in for 2 hours was even hotter. Let's just say that it's hard to keep up your energy level under such circumstances. It's only supposed to get up to 76 today, but my office is already 75, and it's only 11am. I'll keep you posted as the temperature rises:
11:06am: 75.0 degrees
12:01pm: 76.1 degrees
1:04pm: 77.2 degrees
3:21pm: 77.7 degrees
5:19pm: 80.4 degrees
11:06am: 75.0 degrees
12:01pm: 76.1 degrees
1:04pm: 77.2 degrees
3:21pm: 77.7 degrees
5:19pm: 80.4 degrees
Monday, September 18, 2006
Yosemite Trip Part 3: The Squirrel
After Ed and I made it to the top of Half Dome, we lounged around for an hour and took a little nap. Ed heard some scratching next to him - he looked over and saw a squirrel dragging away the bag of trail mix that was in his fanny pack:
We shoo'd him away, but he kept coming back. We caught this part of his act on video:
Squirrel Thief
A few minutes after this, we heard a guy in another group yell to his friend "Hey! That squirrel just stole your banana!"
We shoo'd him away, but he kept coming back. We caught this part of his act on video:
Squirrel Thief
A few minutes after this, we heard a guy in another group yell to his friend "Hey! That squirrel just stole your banana!"
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Yosemite Trip Part 2: The Hike
Last week Ed and I went to Yosemite to hike up Half Dome. It was a perfect day - clear but not too hot. We got on the trail at 8:07am and got back to our car around 6:30pm. We walked a total of 15 miles and climbed up 5000 vertical feet. It was hard, but not quite as bad as I was anticipating (I was expecting it to be pretty brutal). The first few miles were pretty steep and there were spectacular views along the trail. We took the first picture of Nevada Falls below from the John Muir trail on the way down and in the second one you can see the falls through the trees from the Mist Trail, which we took on the way up.
After four hours of hiking, we got to the dome part of Half Dome. The final part of the ascent looks like this:
You have to hold onto the cables to climb up. You can see the little line of people going up in the picture (it wasn't as scary as it looks in this picture, but it was really hard). (I didn't take the picture above. It came from Kenton Lee's Hiking Page.)
From the top, you could stand in one place and see a 270 degree view of Yosemite Valley and the surrounding area. The valley floor is 5,000 feet down.
This 30-second video pans 180 degrees across the view from the top: Half Dome View (I just learned how to upload videos to YouTube.)
After lounging around on top for an hour, we headed back down. Negotiating the cables on the way down turned out to be pretty easy - you could just hold onto them to steady yourself and sort of run down sideways from post to post (we were wearing heavy gloves). There were a few people trying to hold onto the cables and walk down backwards - very slowly - because they were afraid to face forward and look down. It was pretty steep, but I didn't really get the feeling that I was in danger of falling .
The hike down was much more pleasant than the hike up and we made it back to the car before dark and without any major mishaps. If you haven't been to Yosemite and you ever get the chance, you should definitely go. There is lots to do besides hiking and the views really are spectacular.
After four hours of hiking, we got to the dome part of Half Dome. The final part of the ascent looks like this:
You have to hold onto the cables to climb up. You can see the little line of people going up in the picture (it wasn't as scary as it looks in this picture, but it was really hard). (I didn't take the picture above. It came from Kenton Lee's Hiking Page.)
From the top, you could stand in one place and see a 270 degree view of Yosemite Valley and the surrounding area. The valley floor is 5,000 feet down.
This 30-second video pans 180 degrees across the view from the top: Half Dome View (I just learned how to upload videos to YouTube.)
After lounging around on top for an hour, we headed back down. Negotiating the cables on the way down turned out to be pretty easy - you could just hold onto them to steady yourself and sort of run down sideways from post to post (we were wearing heavy gloves). There were a few people trying to hold onto the cables and walk down backwards - very slowly - because they were afraid to face forward and look down. It was pretty steep, but I didn't really get the feeling that I was in danger of falling .
The hike down was much more pleasant than the hike up and we made it back to the car before dark and without any major mishaps. If you haven't been to Yosemite and you ever get the chance, you should definitely go. There is lots to do besides hiking and the views really are spectacular.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A Day at the Races
A horse racing track - Golden Gate Fields - sits a mile from our house. We walked over to check it out and watch some races today. Ed couldn't resist the urge to bet a few dollars, so we studied the odds as they developed before each race and bet the favorite to place or show (to be in the top two or three finishers in the race). We made money on every race - usually small amounts, since we were engaging in a fairly low-risk/low-return betting strategy - and came out $17.75 ahead after five races. After subtracting the $4/person entrace fee and the $8.25 we spent on 2 hot dogs and an extra-expensive Root Beer, we came out $1.50 ahead.
There weren't very many people there, so we were able to go right up to the rails and look down at the horses while they were doing their pre-race warm-up. You can also see the jockeys waiting to hop on:
Here are the horses just after coming out of the gate. We bet on #4 (with the yellow number in the center of the pack) and he won the race:
Some of the races were on the dirt track in the foreground of the picture and some were on the turf, like the race above. In the background, you can see Albany hill with the thick trees on the left (we live just on the other side of the hill) and the Berkeley hills further in the background. The odds and payoffs are on the scoreboard thing behind the horses.
During the second race that we saw, one of the horses crashed into the railing and went down. He was laying on his side and wasn't moving. There were lots of people around the horse and poor Ed was convinced that they were busy putting it out of its misery as we watched. But after a few minutes, it jumped up and trotted off the track like it was fine. The jockey had a mild concusion, but he was fine too.
Here are the first and second place horses at the finish line in the last race we saw:
We bet #5 to place and #2 to show - but we only won $.75 on our $10 bet because there were only 5 horses in the race and these two were the heavy favorites. The jockey in the orange jersey is Russell Baze. As of Sept. 4, he had won more than 9,430 races and also happens to be a Mormon who comes to our ward sometimes. Only one other jockey has won more races, with 9,530 career wins, and Russell will probably surpass him soon (we saw him get one more win today).
There weren't very many people there, so we were able to go right up to the rails and look down at the horses while they were doing their pre-race warm-up. You can also see the jockeys waiting to hop on:
Here are the horses just after coming out of the gate. We bet on #4 (with the yellow number in the center of the pack) and he won the race:
Some of the races were on the dirt track in the foreground of the picture and some were on the turf, like the race above. In the background, you can see Albany hill with the thick trees on the left (we live just on the other side of the hill) and the Berkeley hills further in the background. The odds and payoffs are on the scoreboard thing behind the horses.
During the second race that we saw, one of the horses crashed into the railing and went down. He was laying on his side and wasn't moving. There were lots of people around the horse and poor Ed was convinced that they were busy putting it out of its misery as we watched. But after a few minutes, it jumped up and trotted off the track like it was fine. The jockey had a mild concusion, but he was fine too.
Here are the first and second place horses at the finish line in the last race we saw:
We bet #5 to place and #2 to show - but we only won $.75 on our $10 bet because there were only 5 horses in the race and these two were the heavy favorites. The jockey in the orange jersey is Russell Baze. As of Sept. 4, he had won more than 9,430 races and also happens to be a Mormon who comes to our ward sometimes. Only one other jockey has won more races, with 9,530 career wins, and Russell will probably surpass him soon (we saw him get one more win today).
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Yosemite Trip Part I: Dispersed Camping
We've been planning to go up to Yosemite and hike half-dome for the last month or so. It takes 4 hours to drive there and 10-12 hours to do the hike, so we were trying to figure out logistics - we're too old and lazy to drive for 8 hours and hike for 12 hours without sleep, so I put Ed in charge of finding us lodging.
When I asked him what the plan was the day before our trip, he announced that we would be doing 'dispersed camping'. In the Stanislaus Forest, you are allowed to camp anywhere - if you pull over to the side of the road, walk into the forest, and pitch your tent somewhere, this is called dispersed camping.
I reminded him that we don't have a tent. Also, that I don't want to do my business on a bush in the middle of the night. So he found a couple of campgrounds just outside of Yosemite that looked like they would work. When we got there, however, they were all closed for the season (contrary to what the Forest website indicated.) It was late and we were really tired and Ed was refusing to go back to the nearest little town and pay $100 for a crummy hotel (at that point, I would have been happy to pay $100 for a roof and a toilet) - so we drove down a little dirt road, parked our car, and headed into the forest to find a spot.
We found a little clearing, blew up our air mattress, and slept under the stars. There was a full moon, so we had good visibility - which helped to allay my fear that a bear or murderer was lurking nearby. Just to be safe, I slept with mace under my pillow.
It ended up being really great. It was a warm night, the moon was shining, and the air smelled clean and foresty. Here I am, snug as a bug in the woods:
When I asked him what the plan was the day before our trip, he announced that we would be doing 'dispersed camping'. In the Stanislaus Forest, you are allowed to camp anywhere - if you pull over to the side of the road, walk into the forest, and pitch your tent somewhere, this is called dispersed camping.
I reminded him that we don't have a tent. Also, that I don't want to do my business on a bush in the middle of the night. So he found a couple of campgrounds just outside of Yosemite that looked like they would work. When we got there, however, they were all closed for the season (contrary to what the Forest website indicated.) It was late and we were really tired and Ed was refusing to go back to the nearest little town and pay $100 for a crummy hotel (at that point, I would have been happy to pay $100 for a roof and a toilet) - so we drove down a little dirt road, parked our car, and headed into the forest to find a spot.
We found a little clearing, blew up our air mattress, and slept under the stars. There was a full moon, so we had good visibility - which helped to allay my fear that a bear or murderer was lurking nearby. Just to be safe, I slept with mace under my pillow.
It ended up being really great. It was a warm night, the moon was shining, and the air smelled clean and foresty. Here I am, snug as a bug in the woods:
Thursday, August 24, 2006
DMV
The registration renewal notice for one of our cars never arrived, even though the registration expires soon. I made Ed call the DMV to sort it out:
DMV guy: "It looks like we didn't send you a renewal notice. You'll need to send in a check by Sept. 8 or you'll have to pay a late fee."
Ed: "Would we have to pay a late fee, even if you never sent us a renewal notice?"
DMV guy: "Yes."
Ed: "So why didn't you send us a notice?"
DMV guy: "Hold on, let me check."
Waiting, waiting....
DMV guy: "It looks like the problem is that we have an exta space between the name of your street and the word 'street' in your address in our computer file."
Ed: "So?"
DMV guy: "So our computer didn't generate a notice."
Ed: "So can you fix it?"
DMV guy: "No. You'll have to fill out form DMV14 for a change of address."
Ed: "So you're telling me I have to send in this form just to get the space removed?"
DMV guy: "I'm afraid so."
DMV guy: "It looks like we didn't send you a renewal notice. You'll need to send in a check by Sept. 8 or you'll have to pay a late fee."
Ed: "Would we have to pay a late fee, even if you never sent us a renewal notice?"
DMV guy: "Yes."
Ed: "So why didn't you send us a notice?"
DMV guy: "Hold on, let me check."
Waiting, waiting....
DMV guy: "It looks like the problem is that we have an exta space between the name of your street and the word 'street' in your address in our computer file."
Ed: "So?"
DMV guy: "So our computer didn't generate a notice."
Ed: "So can you fix it?"
DMV guy: "No. You'll have to fill out form DMV14 for a change of address."
Ed: "So you're telling me I have to send in this form just to get the space removed?"
DMV guy: "I'm afraid so."
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Hiking
This month's hobby-of-the-month is hiking. I got really excited about it after going to REI to get a few things for our 'Camping at the Grand Canyon Family Reunion' with Ed's family last month. Everything at REI is cool. I bought new hiking shoes, socks, a hiking hat and a camelbak.
At the Grand Canyon, we hiked down a mile and a half (it's 9 miles to the bottom) and then climbed back out and my legs were toast. We've been hiking regularly since then and I feel like I'm getting stronger. We've been talking about climbing Half Dome in Yosemite in September. Today, however, I realized how weak I still am. We did a 10-mile hike that included climbing Mt. Diablo (3000+ vertical feet of climbing). I don't think I've ever even walked for 10 miles in a row.
It took us five and a half hours and being the lazy morons that we are, we didn't get onto the trail until 11am, so we did the whole thing in the worst heat of the day (90 degrees) - we went through four liters of water and both got sunburned (I forgot to put sunscreen on the backs of my arms). The descents were really steep and gravelly and it was hard not to slip and slide - I fell once and came down hard on my hand.
By the time we got back, our feet were killing us. Half Dome (which is a 16-mile round trip with 5000 feet of climbing that usually takes 10-12 hours) is looking a lot more scary.
At the Grand Canyon, we hiked down a mile and a half (it's 9 miles to the bottom) and then climbed back out and my legs were toast. We've been hiking regularly since then and I feel like I'm getting stronger. We've been talking about climbing Half Dome in Yosemite in September. Today, however, I realized how weak I still am. We did a 10-mile hike that included climbing Mt. Diablo (3000+ vertical feet of climbing). I don't think I've ever even walked for 10 miles in a row.
It took us five and a half hours and being the lazy morons that we are, we didn't get onto the trail until 11am, so we did the whole thing in the worst heat of the day (90 degrees) - we went through four liters of water and both got sunburned (I forgot to put sunscreen on the backs of my arms). The descents were really steep and gravelly and it was hard not to slip and slide - I fell once and came down hard on my hand.
By the time we got back, our feet were killing us. Half Dome (which is a 16-mile round trip with 5000 feet of climbing that usually takes 10-12 hours) is looking a lot more scary.
Monday, July 24, 2006
VIP's for a day
Today my kind and generous colleague at work gave Ed and me a pair of tickets to see the Oakland A's play the Boston Red Sox tonight. The seats were in the VIP section 5 rows behind home plate and included special parking and all of the free food we wanted. By the seventh inning, Ed had eaten a bowl of Clam Chowder, a plate of fish & chips, a Dr. Pepper, 2/3 of a plate of Nachos, a Stadium Dog, and Hot Chocolate with whipped cream. He also worked his way through half of the bag of peanuts that was on the seats when we arrived. I didn't try to stop him from eating all of that, but being the attentive wife that I am, I did hand him the empty peanut bag in the ninth inning when he started to hold his stomach and mentioned the possibility of throwing up.
The A's lost pretty convincingly. They were down 0-7 after the third or fourth inning. But we were entertained for most of the game by the girl in front of us who was constantly screaming the name of the player in the on-deck circle, which was only 10 or 15 feet from us, to see if they would look over. None of them ever did.
The A's lost pretty convincingly. They were down 0-7 after the third or fourth inning. But we were entertained for most of the game by the girl in front of us who was constantly screaming the name of the player in the on-deck circle, which was only 10 or 15 feet from us, to see if they would look over. None of them ever did.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
She's Not Fast
Inspired by the opening day of the Tour de France, Ed and I went on a bike ride. As he drug me up the umpteenth really steep hill, we passed a little boy and his mom. Ed went by first and the little boy yelled back to his mom:
"Did you see that guy riding his bike? He was going fast. That's what I want us to do."
A minute or so later, I rode by and he yelled back
"She's not going fast."
Thanks for the update, kid.
"Did you see that guy riding his bike? He was going fast. That's what I want us to do."
A minute or so later, I rode by and he yelled back
"She's not going fast."
Thanks for the update, kid.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Boston
So, it has been a long time since this was updated, so I thought I would post a few pictures from my trip to Boston. I had such a lot of fun hanging out with Devin!
This is Devin's house. It was beautiful, both inside and out. I don't have any pictures from inside, but the decoration is perfect!
I forget what this building is...an old Market in the center of Boston I think...
I love the contrast of old and new that you see here. I think this is trinity church...
Finally, one of us on the waterfront. It is always interesting to see what people get in the photo when they take one for you... I was hoping for something with more water and waist up...
This is Devin's house. It was beautiful, both inside and out. I don't have any pictures from inside, but the decoration is perfect!
I forget what this building is...an old Market in the center of Boston I think...
I love the contrast of old and new that you see here. I think this is trinity church...
Finally, one of us on the waterfront. It is always interesting to see what people get in the photo when they take one for you... I was hoping for something with more water and waist up...
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Wedding
Since I promised pictures here they are: Charity and Jared got married in the San Diego Temple in La Jolla...
Charity's dress was custom made by a wonderful designer in New York Colette Komm.
Although I may be biased, I still have to argue that the San Diego temple is the most beautiful place...
Finally, I have to make an argument for my niece being the most beautiful baby ever... She is now about 5 months old... (Here she is with my mom off to the left...Jane works it for the camera...)
Ok, well, I really don't have that much to say... This is pretty much all I did this weekend...Wedding stuff. It turns out when you come home for a wedding early, you get sucked into helping... I made the mistake of assuming that since my Mother and Sister had both be working on this pretty much full time since January, that it would be done by the time I got there... Not so, much stress and many rearranging of tables, picking up of flowers and rings and attempts to rent a mustang later, the wedding really was beautiful.
Cutest Service Project Ever
This almost makes me want to learn to knit. Here's an excerpt from the accompanying story in the Salt Lake Tribune:
Mormon women in New South Wales are knitting sweaters for penguins. Doll size, tight-fitting wool sweaters keep this breed of "fairy" penguins warm as they recover from exposure to oil spills off coastal Australia, dramatically raising their survival rate. (Photo courtesy of the LDS Church )
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Baby
Check out my new little nephew, Michael:
Here he is when he found out that Santa Claus isn't real:
That makes three grandsons for my parents, none of them mine. Our only hope for getting showered with love, affection and presents when we finally have one is to produce a girl.
Here he is when he found out that Santa Claus isn't real:
That makes three grandsons for my parents, none of them mine. Our only hope for getting showered with love, affection and presents when we finally have one is to produce a girl.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Nuclear War Survival Skills
Lately I've been into disaster preparedness. In my online research, I ran into this gem: Nuclear War Survival Skills. It's an online book that was written in 1979 and distributed by the government. A lot of people believed that Russia wouldn't launch a nuclear attack without clearing people out of it's own cities first (in anticipation of our retaliation) and that since we could detect such mass movements with satellites, we would have a couple of days warning before an attack. During that time, people could prepare by digging trenches in their backyards to use as shelters from radiation.
The book contains detailed information about how to quickly build such a shelter and even tells you how to make a radiation detector from simple household items. Happy digging.
The book contains detailed information about how to quickly build such a shelter and even tells you how to make a radiation detector from simple household items. Happy digging.
Friday, April 14, 2006
My famous husband
Hey everybody, Ed is a guest blogger at Times and Seasons, a popular and high-traffic mormon group blog, for the next two weeks. Check out his first post here.
I love weekends.
I'm at home at 7:30 in the morning on a Friday, feeling lazy, and I keep thinking to myself: "The sooner I get to work, the sooner I can leave. And then it'll be the weekend! I really need to get to work!"
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Budding Artists
My friend and I are in charge of planning bi-monthly activities for the little 8-11-year-old girls at church. Last night we gave them a little lesson on art history (or rather, I gave them the lesson that I outsourced to Ed to write - and he did a great job, by the way) and then we let them paint. My friend brought little canvasses and a set of acrylic paints.
During the lesson, I was talking about abstract art and I showed them these paintings: Jackson Pollack and Kandinsky. One of them said they didn't understand why it was art because it looked pretty easy to do and I told them that it was actually harder than it looked to splatter paint all over a canvas and end up with something that is interesting and pleasing to look at.
We told them that they could paint whatever they wanted and they all decided to try their hand at something abstract. The little girl that was wondering why the Pollack and Kandisky paintings were so great painted the painting in the bottom of the picture below, which as Ed pointed out, could almost pass for a Jackson Pollack if it were hanging on a museum wall.
Here are all of their paintings:
During the lesson, I was talking about abstract art and I showed them these paintings: Jackson Pollack and Kandinsky. One of them said they didn't understand why it was art because it looked pretty easy to do and I told them that it was actually harder than it looked to splatter paint all over a canvas and end up with something that is interesting and pleasing to look at.
We told them that they could paint whatever they wanted and they all decided to try their hand at something abstract. The little girl that was wondering why the Pollack and Kandisky paintings were so great painted the painting in the bottom of the picture below, which as Ed pointed out, could almost pass for a Jackson Pollack if it were hanging on a museum wall.
Here are all of their paintings:
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