Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:35 PM

Bill Clinton, August 27, 2008:

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:40 PM

I'm flying to Arizona this weekend for a family simcha, and need to choose some books to read on the flight.

Any suggestions?

I have a few titles in mind, but not sure that's enough for the nonstop crosscountry round-trip.

Here are some preliminary guidelines, off the top of my head:

• Needs to be something reasonably available -- I don't have time to wait for Amazon or an interlibrary loan to ship that rare out-of-print tome.
• Fiction preferably SF or Fantasy, and I love YA (though their relative brevity means more might be needed).
• In nonfiction I mostly read histories, and am rather fond of single-subject histories, such as Gin, Salt, Quinine, and Vitamania (to name but a few that I've read).
• Really not into or up for modern politics. And while I've been tempted by a number of business tomes, it's probably better to leave work at work.
• My brain has been relatively frotzed lately, so nothing with too scholarly a tone.
• Paperbacks would be nice, for both my wallet and shoulder

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:49 PM

If you'll have access to a TV or to a high-speed internet connection, tune in to HSN (hsn.com).

One o'clock is their "Get Crafty" program, and my mother will be the lead-off second guest.

Update: Minor timeslot change; my mother will be on from approximately 1:10 - 1:20 pm.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:10 AM

There exists both Cats for Obama and Yes We Can Has

Via Elayne Riggs

According to actual news reports, John McCain has a black-and-white cat named Oreo. He also owns four dogs: two Yorkshire terriers, Lucy and Desi; an English springer spaniel, Sam; and a mutt, Coco. He also reportedly owns two turtles (Cuff and Link), three parakeets, and thirteen saltwater fish. And in the past he's had guinea pigs, snakes, and "an iguana that Jack walked on a leash," according to Vogue, plus a ferret. The ferret recently died of cancer.

Barack Obama currently has no pets, but has promised his children that a dog will join the family at the conclusion of the election, win or lose. Michelle Obama has acknowledged that getting a dog was their major bargaining chip in winning their daughters support for the presidential run.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:18 PM

In fact, I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes.

KCCI-TV Meteorologist Kurtis Gertz got quite a surprise during a live broadcast from the Iowa State Fair on Thursday when a snake slithered up his pants.

Via beckyzoole

Posted by Lis Riba at 5:48 PM

You know, I might have a little more confidence in this product if it looked like it had been updated any time in the past three decades:

What vintage are those hairstyles, anyway?

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:42 AM

Somehow, I suspect this is the most excitement Joe Biden ever generated, before or since.

Unlikely though it may have been, I was still rooting for Obama to pick Hillary Clinton.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:00 PM

"Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5, with visuals from the Firefly episode "Out of Gas."

For your viewing pleasure, Firefly - Marooned:

Also available through Google Video.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:18 PM

One year ago today, Ian and I bought our new car.

This day, last year, I watched the odometer roll over from 99 to 100. [A feat much less impressive on digital displays than the classic mechanical ones.]

As of this evening, the odometer currently reads 23,832 miles -- a perfect palindrome.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:28 PM

The earworm wouldn't go away, so I finally started vidding.

I've got about one-third of the song done; I'll post more when I'm finished.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:40 AM

Jim MacDonald has started a filk circle over at Making Light.

Sing and laugh along, and maybe add your own verses.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:37 AM

Barack Obama has said he'd announce his running mate thru a text-message to anyone who gives the campaign their contact info.

In other words, someday soon, millions of cellphones will be start chirping:

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:12 PM

Threads That Are Golden Don't Break Easily, a crossover between Narnia and Torchwood, focused on Susan Pevensie and Jack Harkness.

Spoilers for most of the C.S. Lewis series. [I've never seen an episode of Torchwood and only know Captain Jack from the first season-and-a-half of Doctor Who, yet had no trouble following the story.]

I'm loathe to say too much, because I don't want to spoil it for you, but here's a short excerpt from a few paragraphs in -- two days after the Pevensies first returned from Narnia:

Susan had rather thought that the Macready hated her and her siblings more than anything (oh, children should be seen and not heard) but the way she addresses Captain Harkness implies that she would like to see him dead in the very near future.

"Mrs Macready." An American accent; Susan lived in another world full of creatures like centaurs and fauns, and yet the sound of a voice from the other side of the Atlantic still sounds exotic. "You're looking gorgeous as ever."

Susan blinks in surprise, heart thundering so hard in her chest that she can scarcely hear the people down below. She curls her fingers against the wall.

"I suppose you're here to see Professor Kirk," Mrs Macready says testily.

"Yeah, I am. Is he in his study?"

There's a moment before Mrs Macready replies; Susan pictures her pursing her lips tight. "Yes," she allows at last.

"I'll see myself up."

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:21 PM

I just saw Halloween candy in the drug store, 80 days ahead of the holiday.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:17 AM

Hope you survive the experience

Via fibro-witch

Posted by Lis Riba at 3:21 PM

Every time I have to plan air-travel, I start thinking about eBook readers.

A single lightweight device storing multiple books seems much more convenient to carry-on than my usual stack of hardcovers.

For anybody else considering such matters, the MobileRead Wiki is a good resource for comparing features among the devices.

In the U.S., there are two main e-ink devices on the market: the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader.

Given my reading habits, the Sony device, which can read PDFs, has a slight edge. [I don't actually buy many new books: I get much of my reading from libraries, and I've also got a lot of PDF content.]

However, I've also seen many suggestions to just spend a little more and get a full-function subnotebook. Of those, the most popular seems to be the Asus EEE.

I've made no decisions yet, but since I've been talking about this with a few people, I thought I'd share this info if anybody's interested in further research for their own sakes.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:51 PM

Silicon Alley Insider has the scoop (links in reverse chronological order):

• Aug. 10: NBC Olympics: We Don't Care If You Hate Us, You're Watching USA-China Basketball On Tape Delay
• Aug. 10: Olympic Committee Outraged About USA Fans Watching Live Online, Sends Takedown Notices
• Aug. 08: Where To Watch Beijing Olympics LIVE On The Web: Gymnastics, Boxing, Beach Volleyball
• Aug. 08: Watching The Beijing Olympics On The Web: How To Use A Proxy Server To See The Sports You Want, When You Want
• Aug. 08: NBC Lawyers In Panic Mode, Scrambling To Stamp Out Internet Olympics Feeds
• Aug. 08: How To Watch Beijing Olympics LIVE Today: Opening Ceremony, Beach Volleyball, Basketball, Weight Lifting
• Aug. 06: How To Watch The Beijing Olympics LIVE On The Web -- Even If NBC Doesn't Want You To
• Aug. 04: Three Days and Counting Until NBC Blows Olympics Coverage
• Aug. 04: YouTube At The Olympics: Exclusive Video You Can't Watch
• Jun. 30: NBC's Online Olympics Policy: Big Win For Pirate P2P Sites

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:25 AM

Seen in the bookstore yesterday:

• You Are A Miserable Excuse for a Hero! by Bob Powers

The cover proclaims it's Book One in the Just Make A Choice! series.

From the book's introduction:

In this book, YOU get to be the main character in an exciting kidnapping adventure that YOU WANT NO PART OF.

You're a thirty-three year old struggling actor with VERY LITTLE HOPE of ever being successful, and you feel like time is running out for you to make something of yourself. Your friends have all settled into lucrative careers that you resent and fruitful marriages that you envy, while you've done everything you can to commit to nothing for fear of limiting your options. With every passing day you are that much closer to giving up, and every choice feels weighted with the possibility that it will send you down a path to FAILURE. So you've been doing your best to make no decisions whatsoever. For YOU, as long as you choose to do nothing, ANYTHING is possible.

Enter JULIA! She's the pretty girl you went out with last night and she's been KIDNAPPED! It's up to you and you alone to rescue her. The ensuing adventure will force you to make a series of choices that will not only determine the life or death of an innocent girl, but will force you to ADD FOCUS to your career and your love life in ways that you've been avoiding ever since you got out of college.

BE VERY CAREFUL! You're DIRECTING THE STORY and the CHOICES you make can result in MURDER, GRADUATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, TORTURE, MARRIAGE, POST-APOCALYPTIC SLAVERY, UNWANTED PREGNANCY, even TEMPING! It's YOUR STORY and YOUR LIFE. All you've got to do is decide which page you want to turn to. JUST MAKE A CHOICE!!!

It makes a disturbing amount of sense.

Choose Your Own Adventures began in 1979 when we were kids.

Why should we lose out on that kind of fun now that we're adults? [Unsurprisingly, the author was born in 1973, making him part of the original target demographic.]

The official website includes some pages where you can try out the book.

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:08 AM

If you want more, Wikipedia has an entire page dedicated to the number eight.

Meanwhile, one last Sesame Street segment before I head off to work:

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:18 AM

A Flickr Group Pool:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.