Res Scotica

Now Recognizable on Highways & Byways

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:51:07 GMT

Yes, if you see a car with California license plates that say SCOTICA, that’s me.

But no, I did not take the name from my LiveJournal — it’s actually the other way around.

I had been planning for ages to get personalized license plates as soon as I was financially solvent. Some years ago I settled on SCOTICA (Latin feminine nominative singular adjective meaning “Scottish”) because SCOTIA was already taken. I wanted something referring to Scotland and to use Latin rather than Gaelic or Scots because I didn’t want it tied to just one Scottish culture. (The SCOTICA on the plates refers to my interests, btw; it is not the name of my car.) A few months ago I paid off my credit card in full with money I had earned myself (what a thrill!!!), so I declared it time to get said plates, ordered them, and then picked them up just a little over a week ago.

Anyway, when I got a LiveJournal account a few years ago, I had to come up with something to call it. “SLK” was already taken, and I couldn’t think of anything appropriate, so I borrowed my future personalized license plate for the name. I think it’s worked out rather well.

Now all I need to do is get a custom license plate frame that says MedievalScotland.org...

That 100 Books Meme

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:37:13 GMT

Being the skeptical person I am, I decided to try to find the alleged BBC list, and immediately found Kristjan Wager’s blog post with the results of his own search for the original BBC list. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t find a BBC list of 100 books of which most people will only have read six, but there is a (rather different) BBC list of the 100 most popular books.

So, following Kristjan’s lead, below you will find both the current LJ meme’s list and the BBC 100 most popular books list (but not in that order).

In collusion with hrj, I have made some changes to the marking code:
Bold = books I have read
Italics = books I have started but not finished
Strike-through = books I have never heard of
+ (additive) = books I have bought and intend to read (so, italicized+ means in the process of reading)
Underline (additive) = books I have seen in some dramatic form (movie, play, etc.)

The BBC’s list of the 100 most popular books:
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman [well, saw the movie of part 1]
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas [in French, even!]
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

The LJ meme’s list of books (gakked from cnewsonsmith):
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling [this is one of the entries that made me suspicious - it is 7 books, not 1]
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible+
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman [well, saw the movie of part 1]
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare+ [another one that made me suspicious]
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis [another one that made me suspicious]
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis [made me really suspicious -- essentially listed twice]
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas [in French, even!]
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson+
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert [in French, even!]
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle+
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery [in French, even!]
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Men's Garb to Borrow for 12th Night?

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:17:31 GMT

My friend Rob, from London, is visiting and I'm dragging him along to West Kingdom 12th Night, so I need to find him some garb. Does anyone have something I could borrow for him? He's about 5'8", neck size 18, chest 45, waist 40, inseam about 28. Not particular about period or culture (although something that would fit with the name "Robert of London" would be a bonus for me, but he doesn't care!)

Any help greatly appreciated!

I CAN Has Cheezburger!

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:58:08 GMT

I just discovered that I can add I Can Has Cheezburger to my friends page -- that's so much nicer than getting it in email!

(Hmm, guess my secret addiction isn't so secret now...)

New Year's Resolutions Meme

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:16:02 GMT

This made me literally laugh out loud:

In 2008, Scotica resolves to...

Find a better sca.
Drink four glasses of gaelic every day.
Tell my family about historical linguistics.
Put fifty onomastics a month into my savings account.
Overcome my secret fear of names.
Stop skiing with dougygyro.

12 Days Meme

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:14:09 GMT

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Scotica sent to me...

Twelve learnteachs drumming

Eleven dougygyros piping

Ten sue_n_julias a-leaping

Nine ppfufs dancing

Eight julzjargons a-milking

Seven madbakers a-swimming

Six psychic_frogs a-skiing

Five me-e-e-edievalists

Four onomastics

Three names

Two historical linguistics

...and a gaelic in a chemotherapy.

I especially like the last five lines!

Help Support MedievalScotland.org

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:36:28 GMT

As many of you know, I have a web site, MedievalScotland.org, that has various articles and links concerning medieval Scottish topics, including names, history, clothing, etc. It also hosts Mari’s articles, including the Index of Names in Irish Annals, and will soon be hosting some of the J half of sue_n_julia’s articles, too.

If you’ll be shopping Amazon this holiday season --or any time during the year-- and would like to help support the MedievalScotland.org web site, just use this link (or any of the Amazon links at MedievalScotland.org) to get to Amazon each time you shop. Then I’ll earn 4%+ commission on your purchases, which I will use for web site expenses. (I will be able to see what items are purchased using my links, but I do not have any access to any information about who is purchasing items, or even if it is the same person purchasing different items.)

• Shop Amazon & Support MedievalScotland.org

If you shop Amazon UK, use this link (or any of the Amazon UK links at MedievalScotland.org) to get to Amazon each time you shop:

• Shop Amazon UK & Support MedievalScotland.org

(I’m not allowed to earn commissions on my own purchases, so when I shop Amazon, I always go first to one of the web sites I want to support that have Amazon associate links and use it to get to Amazon before making my purchases -- why should Amazon get all the profit when there are useful web sites to support?)

Hatchlings. I Haz Them.

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:30:43 GMT

My Dragon Cave eggs hatched!

Dub Ban
Ech Uisge
Uaine Beg
Ruadnat

I also have learned more about how things work. The site monitors three statistics: "Views", "Unique Views", and "Clicks".

Views and Unique Views are both based on how often the image of the egg/hatchling/dragon is loaded/viewed, with Views incrementing every time it is loaded and Unique views incrementing only the first time it is loaded by a unique IP. This means that there is no need for people to actually click on the egg/hatchling/dragon image to increase the Views/Unique Views -- just loading, say, your LJ friends page when it lists an entry by me with the egg/hatchling image is sufficient to increment Views and/or Unique Views.

Clicks is based on how many times the egg/hatchling/dragon is actually clicked, but it only counts one click per unique IP. (I'm not sure if that is one click for a whole lifetime, or one click per life stage, but I'm guessing the former.) This means that if you have already clicked on a particular egg/hatchling/dragon, there is no need to click it again -- only the first click will count. (Well, unless you click from a different IP.)

Finally, I have discovered there are Dragon Cave fan sites where you can register or post your eggs/hatchlings/dragons and fellow Dragon Cave fans will view and click them (and you are expected to do the same in return) to help them hatch/grow. There is even one with a special "Emergency Room" area for eggs/hatchlings that are getting close to their deadlines. A very long and seemingly comprehensive list of such fan sites can be found in the Dragon Cave Forum. The two fan sites I used are The Dragon Cave Fansite and Daily Dragon Fix. This means --to everyone's delight, I'm sure-- that you aren't endangering my eggs/hatchlings by ignoring them! Ignore away, with my blessings! :-)

Consuming Cute Little Pumpkins

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:08:24 GMT

Loosely following a recipe that came in one of my CSA's newletters, I baked a little pumpkin (acquired from the CSA, of course) the other night (and another one tonight), and discovered that little pumpkins are easy and delicious, and a better for me than pumpkin pie. Basically, I took the little pumpkin (about the size of my fist), scooped it out like one does for a jack-o-latern, threw a bit of pumpkin pie spices inside, a tiny bit of salt, chopped up apple (idea for the recipe addition courtesy of hrj, if I recall correctly), some brown sugar and a slice of butter, popped the lid back on, wrapped it in tinfoil (because there was also a hole in the side, due to strategic removal of icky bits), and baked it for about an hour at 375.

Yum! And I'm sure it counts for at least two servings of fruits/vegetables, probably more... (and I still have four left -- next year I won't give away any of my pumpkins!)

[Scotica's dragon eggs: ]

The Irony

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:26:17 GMT

I just have to share this :-)

I'm a member of an online consumer survey site (My Survey) -- it's one of those where you earn points for taking surveys and then can redeem them for cash. Anyway, today I was vastly amused because the survey they had me do was entirely about tomato based products, and how likely I would be to buy them, like them, etc. I can't eat tomatoes. I don't think my answers will be of much help to them...

--
[Scotica's dragon eggs -- click to help them hatch! (I'm running an experiment and y'all are my test subjects ;-)]

Civil Rights are Civil Rights

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:54:30 GMT

I have been seeing expressed, in commentary in the main stream media, letters to the editor, blogs, online comments, and the like, the idea that drawing parallels between the struggle for Gay civil rights, especially same-sex marriage, and the Civil Rights Movement is somehow "insulting" to African-Americans. I can think of no better rebuttal to this misguided notion than to quote Coretta Scott King, widow of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' ... I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people." [Coretta Scott King, 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Defense and Education Fund, March 31, 1998]

"I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy." [Coretta Scott King, 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Defense and Education Fund, quoted in the Chicago Sun Times, April 1, 1998]

"Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions." [Coretta Scott King, 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Defense and Education Fund, quoted in the Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1998]

"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group." [Coretta Scott King, a speech at the Palmer Hilton Hotel, quoted in the Chicago Defender, April 1, 1998]

"I say 'common struggle,' because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry & discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination." [Coretta Scott King, Opening Plenary Session, 13th annual Creating Change conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia, November 9, 2000]

"A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages." [Coretta Scott King, speech at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, USA Today, March 24, 2004]

[Source of quotes and citations: http://www.soulforce.org/article/766 ]

Please note especially where Mrs. King said "I've always felt...", and that she explicitly, in so many words, opposed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. There is no doubt that she --and her husband-- would have opposed California's Prop. 8 (and the other anti-Gay marriage laws) if they were still alive today.

We shouldn't be afraid to link the struggle for Gay civil rights to the struggle for Black civil rights -- Mrs. King wasn't. Civil rights are civil rights.

--
[Scotica's dragon eggs -- click to help them hatch! (Yes, I'm running an experiment and y'all are my test subjects ;-)]

This is DuchessLetitia's Fault

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:42:36 GMT

Blame duchessletitia. I have a dragon egg:

If people visit it, it will hatch. (We may be about to see what happens when not enough people click on the egg :-)

Prop. 8 Protests, Anyone?

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:11:58 GMT

Anyone in the South Bay or South Peninsula going to one of the Prop. 8 protests today? I'm going, but it would be more fun to go with friends. If I end up going alone I think I'll go to the one in San Jose, but I'm up for going to any of the ones I could get to in time.

Police Meme

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:14:50 GMT

If you saw me in a police car, what would you think I got arrested for? Answer, then post this question to your own journal (if you want) and see how many crimes you get accused of.

More "No on 8" Printable Signs

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:24:09 GMT

I've made some more "No on 8" signs. In addition to the plain version, add your own text version, and "Another Catholic Urging" version, there are versions with "Straight Married Couple", "Christian", "Muslim", "Jew", "Buddhist", "Hindu", and "Mormon". I may add more as the whim strikes me (or I get requests).

For text links to the images, go to Printable 8.5 x 11 Inch "Vote No On Prop 8" Signs (Links to Images)

To see all the images on the same page, go to Printable 8.5 x 11 Inch "Vote No On Prop 8" Signs (Images) (Warning -- this is an image heavy page and may take a while to load!)

Please share these links with others!

More Than a Meme - Printable "No on 8" Signs

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:03:20 GMT

Wednesday I voted no on Proposition 8, and this evening I made my own "No on 8" sign to put in my window (and tomorrow on my mail box), after searching fruitlessly online for a decent self-printable sign (finding a proper official yard sign is difficult). So, for the benefit of others who want a sign but can't find one, here is a copy of the 8.5 x 11 inch sign I made, as well as one ready to have a different line of text added along the top, and a third that just has the official No on 8 logo centered (without the added text above). [These are PNG files. I did them in Photoshop, so if needed I could save and upload them in other formats, too.] If anyone wants to improve on the graphic quality, please feel free --I've no doubt my graphics artist friends are shuddering in horror at these-- and I'll happily replace the files with better ones!

Please also donate to the No on 8 campaign -- the Yes on 8 campaign is flooding the airwaves with their dishonest ads and the No campaign needs help in order to combat them.

Nearest Book Meme

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:09:55 GMT

I got this from duchessletitia.

Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST

If I count headwords as sentences (because they are followed by a period/full stop):

"Robert of Bernis was a goldsmith in 1465 (Laing, 154), John Barnis witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1496 (Bamff, p. 37), and Alexander Barnis was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1524 (NSCM., I, p. 48)."

Otherwise:

"Alexander Bairins was admitted burgess of Aberdeen, 1575 (RSCA., I, p. 220), Gilbert Bairnis was 'sacristar' there, 1595 (CRA., p. 117), and Matthew Bairnis was admitted burgess of the burgh, 1616 (NSCM., I, p. 117)."

I'm going to let y'all guess what book that was!

[I've now fixed the typos in my original post]

Evil Meme

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:36:36 GMT

Apparently, I'm not. (But then, they didn't ask about staying up too late baking three batches of zucchini bread...)

You Are 18% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm.

Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

Accidental Email Blackout

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:04:03 GMT

Oops.

When re-doing the filters on my email accounts yesterday, I managed to set them to filter out essentially all my email (except my email at the young, upstart university), so if you emailed me between the evening of Sunday, 20 July and this afternoon (3 pm, Monday, 21 July), I didn't get your email. So please send it again!

Everyone's Doing It (3 Things Meme)

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:23:05 GMT

Rules: Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else on your F-list has done.
Indulge in remorse if someone calls you out on a listed item.

1. Double majored in Physics and Medieval Studies.
2. Called my parents from the police station in the Gare du Nord, Paris, France, to tell them I had shattered a glass door in the train station and that they might be getting a bill.
3. Cited in my dissertation an article that cited my dissertation.

LJ & SCA Names Meme

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:56:52 GMT

I got this from kahnegabs:

1. My username is ___Scotica___ because ___"SLK" was already taken, and "Scotica" is what I have been planning to put on my personalized license plate when I get one (because "Scotia" is already taken by somebody else's license plate)___.

2. My SCA name is __Effrick___ because ___I liked that it was supposed to have been fairly common in my chosen period and culture___.

3. My journal is titled __Res Scotica__ because __it's a Scottish thing__.

4. My friends page is called __Scoticae Amicae Amicique__ because __well, it's my friends page__.

5. My default userpic is __my SCA device__ because __I needed something for a userpic, didn't want to use an actual picture of me, and that was a picture I owned the copyright to (someday I hope to have something more interesting, but I have no idea what)__.

Well, I Tried (Out)

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:56:12 GMT

Last Monday was the Jeopardy! audition, and it went relatively well, but I'm not confident that I will actually make it into the contestant pool.

Contrary to what I had thought, everyone got to do the mock Jeopardy! thing (with real buzzers!), not just those who passed the written test. And they don't tell you how you did, either on the written test or in general. If you make it into the contestant pool, it then becomes random chance whether or not your name comes up in the next 18 months to go on the show. (They said that the go through about 400 contestants a year, but didn't indicate how big the contestant pool is.) If you didn't make it, well, you won't know -- as said, they don't tell you how you did. In either case, you can't take the online test (or try out in person) again for 18 months.

I think I did okay on the written test (where we had only 8 seconds to answer after the clue was read), but I didn't do so well on the live stuff. In the warm up section, where they explained how things worked, what to look for in clues, etc., and did some practice questions just raising our hands to answer, I couldn't come up with answers quick enough (before lots of others raised their hand) and the first time I did raise my hand I blanked on the answer. I did manage to answer another one, though, but I was the only one to miss an answer that I can remember.

In the mock Jeopardy! part, with three of us at a time using real buzzers, my performance was mixed. When I knew the answer before they finished reading the clue, I was the first to buzz in except for once, and I got the answers right -- I think I answered maybe 4 questions (they didn't do a whole game). But I didn't try to buzz in as much as the others. Also, after answering some clues, the three playing the mock game had to talk about themselves for a minute, and I don't think I did so well in that.

It's amazing how hard the live thing is -- there are so many things to keep in mind. In addition to the basic trying to answer the questions, there is trying to be interesting to watch play, remembering to project when you speak, quickly indicating the next category after answering, and so on. For me the projection was the most frustrating because I know how to project, I have even had some theatrical training in projection and can really do it well when I try. But in the mock game the first time I spoke I forgot to project, then projected well when they reminded me, but then I can't remember if I projected again the rest of the game.

So, I'm not holding my breath about getting on, but I did pay attention to the whole process so that if/when I try out again, I will do better. They are just about to go on break, so if I do get called up it won't be until July (or later). My plan for the next 18 months is to practice, practice, practice and study, study, study. Since my parents moved (in November -- have I mentioned that?) I am mostly on my own in the house, so I can even practice projecting when I answer (in the form of a question, of course!) And I've encouraged my co-workers to fire random Jeopardy!-like questions at me -- mostly they stump me, but then they tell me the answers and thus I learn more trivia. (I know know the names and locations of all the Canadian provinces and territories, thanks to our resident Canadian, and the names of the Great Lakes, thanks to my Hive-mate. I even know the first line of T.S. Elliot's The Wasteland, thanks to the ATS for English, and that the first line of the Canterbury Tales has something to do with April.)

Thank you to everyone who helped me with the five interesting bits, both here and elsewhere. Below is the five I settled on, two of which are pretty much wasted because they ask you what degrees you have in the application form and likewise your job and employer:

• From when I was a pre-schooler, my family played an unusual car game: my parents would say a binary number and we children would try to be the first one to translate it into decimal (and vice versa).

• As an undergraduate I double majored in physics and medieval studies, then went on to do my PhD in late medieval Scottish women's history (at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland).

• One of my hobbies is onomastics (the study of names). I specialize in medieval personal names.

• I work in Academic Computing. I help faculty at (.../my university) work with other researchers around the world, primarily in the humanities and social sciences.

• I once called my parents from a police station in Paris, France, to tell them I had broken a glass door in the Gare du Nord train station and that they might be getting a bill.

I'm really kicking myself about not mentioning the cancer -- I should have, not least because it would have explained the head wear. I could have made it more entertaining by giving as chemo brain as my planned excuse for any missed answers or something. And I should have said something about either the web site, or historical re-creation, or teaching history for fun, or something alone those lines, but preferably indicating it wasn't all online. In the one minute about yourself bit, they asked what you did on weekends and my answers was a bit garbled and made it sound like I had no friends but was a reclusive computer geek. (As said, I need to practice, practice, practice!)

On the plus side, with the intensive help of my best friend from high school and her husband, I now have a one sentence, human understandable explanation of my job! It took me nearly the entire time I worked at the Young, Upstart University the last time to come up with one of those for my previous job there.

Help! I'm (trying to be) in Jeopardy!

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:33:39 GMT

Back in January, after many years of intending to, I finally got coordinated enough to take the online test for the game show Jeopardy! (which they only hold at certain times of the year, usually January). They don't tell you whether you passed or not, but they randomly select people from among those who did pass to come try out in person. Well, much to my surprise, I got an email at the end of February inviting me to come to audition in Portland, Oregon, on 31 March!

So I get to go visit my best friend from high school, Michelle, in Vancouver, Washington, for the weekend, and then Monday go to the audition, where I will take another 50 question test, and then if I pass that, participate in a mock version of Jeopardy!, and a "short personality interview". And here we come to the point of this post: they want me to list five (5) "interesting bits of information about" me "to be used during our on-camera interview with Alex Trebek". The instructions go on to say "Please list 5 brief bits about yourself below. They only need to be one-liners. Tell us about your job, hobbies, embarrassing moments, claims to fame, (awards, honors, etc.) your wildest ambition or some unusual things you collect."

Help! What five interesting bits should I use? And how should I phrase them?

Some ideas I have had so far, in no particular order (and no particular wording!):

• In my PhD dissertation I cited a journal article that cited my PhD dissertation (which cited the journal article which cited my PhD dissertation which cited ...).
• My PhD dissertation was in late medieval Scottish women's history.
• As an undergraduate I double majored in physics and medieval studies.
• I'm an onomastician (I study names, in my case medieval personal names, especially Scottish and Irish)
• I'm a recent cancer survivor
• I lived in Scotland for a total of ten years.
• From when I was a pre-schooler, my family played an unusual car game: my parents would say a binary number and we children would try to be the first one to translate it into decimal -- and even though my brothers were older than me, I often won.
• I have my own web site, MedievalScotland.org, which gets over a quarter of a million visits a year.
• I want to start a charity program where whenever I see someone who is losing/lost hair from cancer treatment, I can just hand them a free Buff® on the spot, and then eventually expand it to cancer treatment centers and offices across the country.
• I can do impressions with my hair: balding Napoleon, balding cupie doll, balding punk rocker, balding mad scientist, balding Dracula, balding Bozo the Clown..

So, any ideas? Which five should I use -- and how can I improve the phrasing? Is there something better I'm over looking?

Help!

I'm Not Dead

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:27:42 GMT

So it's been a while since I posted in my own journal, and it was pointed out to me (about nine months ago, but who's counting?) that various folks might want to know how I'm doing and, you know, that I'm not dead.

Well, as you can see, I'm still here. As noted in my first LiveJournal post, my doctors think they got all the cancer during surgery, so the chemo and radiation were just to make extra sure that there weren't any little rogue cancer cells floating about anywhere. I had my last of six chemo sessions a little over a year ago (1 Feb 2007) and then finished six and a half weeks of radiation the week after Easter (13 Apr 2007). I started Tamoxifen in June, and I'll be on that either for about five years or until I'm declared officially post-menopausal (at which point I'll get switched to an aromatase inhibitor).

So what have I been up to over the last year? Mainly working on putting my life back together -- or rather, putting a new, better life together. I'm not quite there yet, but I've made a lot of progress. The first big step was to finally get around to finding a therapist to help me deal with all my adventures. Thanks to Dr. E., I found (Mrs.) Dr. B. She's in practice with her husband, (Mr.) Dr. B., an oncologist, and she specializes in women who have/had breast cancer. The Good Lord was really looking out for me on this one, as (Mrs.) Dr. B. is just the sort of psychologist I need, and, as an added bonus, the practice has an office baby -- and I get to play with him, even on days I don't have an appointment!

Another big milestone, in December, was starting a six-month, half-time internship at (hmm, what shall I call my employer? I think I'll lift a description I used on UseNet last time I worked for them...) a Young, Upstart University**. There are many cool things about this job, especially the people I work with, the project I'm working on, my job title ("Coordinator", rather than "Intern" :-), and, unexpectedly, I'm actually getting paid! I had volunteered to volunteer, and it wasn't until a week or two after I started that I learned I was getting a stipend. It's not much (I would earn more per hour working for In-N-Out), but it's a heck of a lot more than I thought I was getting!

So life is really looking up!

**(Hey, at a bit over a century old, it's only a little more than a fifth of the age of my previous university...)

The First Brows of Spring

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 06:12:21 GMT

About a week ago I noticed that my eyebrows were starting to grow in --and none too soon, as I had only 2 hairs left on one side and three on the other-- but only the third or so closest to my nose on each side. Then yesterday, as I was checking out the eyebrows up close in the mirror and wondering where the rest of them were, I noticed that actually there were little hairs growing in the rest of the eyebrows, only very, very pale and fine (as opposed to my normal dark eyebrow hair), and, further, there was very pale, fine hair growing elsewhere, too! Most excitingly, I noticed that all over my previously bald as a billiard ball scalp there are very, very light and fine little hairs, about an eighth of an inch long.

I have peach fuzz!

I can't tell for sure yet whether it is blonde (which would be something, as I used to have very dark brown hair) or grey. I suspect grey, but as said, can't tell for sure. Grey would be okay with me, as long as it was curly! However, it's too short to tell yet if there is to be any curl.

On a less happy note, I have come down with a cold or bug of some kind (of the sore throat, stuffed head, slight temperature variety). I can't complain too much, though, as I did manage over seven months without catching anything until now, and better now than when I was still on chemo. (My last chemo treatment was 1 February, I started radiation on 28 February, and have one week of radiation left. I'm still anemic, but my white blood cell count is in the normal range, so catching a bug isn't so potentially life-threatening anymore. I even had official permission from my oncologist to attend rock concerts and/or play with small children...)

Anyway, I was entertained yesterday to find myself thinking, with regard to the general achy-ness and misery, "This feels a lot like chemo", after so many months of comparing in the other direction (that is, describing aspects of chemo as feeling like having the 'flu). Funny how one's perspective changes ;-)