Turkey Tet!

Today I made my first turkey tetrazzini! I think I've made half-assed attempts before, but this time I actually followed a recipe. So simple; onions, celery, mushrooms, mushroom soup & milk, a big fat cellulitey buttload of cheese, and pasta. I used up my Bucati, which is a hollow pasta that resembles fat spaghetti. I don't know what that would normally be appropriate for, but it made for messy eating in normal use. Splats on the glasses and on the shirt. No more Bucati for me. Anyway it looks delicious, smells delicious, and it should taste delicious in awhile when I'm ready to eat.

It's 4:41 and dark out already. There is a lovely fog that is making for some dramatic effect. I shall not photgraph it, however, cause, like I said, it's dark out and you can't see jack. Or jill.

I'm working on Calculus, of course, and the house is still pretty clean from Thanksgiving. Had 2 neighbors down for dinner, and it was a nice companionable time. Neighbor 2 finally found out what he's been missing all these years I've invited him down, and he said that next year he'll be sitting on my porch at 10 a.m. going "is that bird in the oven yet?" :) I am very pleased with it all.

The Inestimable Miss Henri is curled up on her little blankie. She had a false alarm a few minutes ago where it looked like she was going to retch, but she just laid there and made unlady-like noises for a few minutes and has now stretched back out.

I will leave you with today's quote, which made me go "hmmm...":

Perhaps it is impossible for a person who does no good to do no harm.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

All in all, not much going on in Casa de Blueberry, so I shall bid you a fond adieu and wish you good health and happiness in your first week of December. :)

Darius Rucker

Thank Goodness, Darius Rucker has found his True Calling!!! I have been a long-time loather of Hootie and the Blowfish, not only for their stupid name, but also for the fact that Darius' voice doesn't seem to lend well to pop. Well he's crossed over to country music, and I think he has found his niche!!!! He's got a GREAT country voice. He's on Leno right now covering Toby Keith, I think, and it sounds SO good. Hooray!!! I wanted to like him, cause he seems like a likeable guy, and now in this genre, I dig him like a grave. :)

Saturday School

So I went to the math learning center today. It turned out good because I finally learned what is meant by dy/dx = dy/du * du/dx, and I met one of my classmates who is a really nice guy who is just as behind as I am and we got some help together. We may get together to study later, as well. Plus I copied the answers for chapter 4.

When it was all over, I decided to walk to HT Market, which is about 10 minutes from school. As you can see, it rained. It started raining right when I left school, and stopped right as I reached the parking lot of the market. Ain't that a bitch! But I was treated to a gorgeous rainbow and some dramatic sunny/stormy sky action. It was a rewarding walk, yes it was. Storms can be so dramatic and appealing and make you feel so adventurous! There's all this atmospheric craziness going on and it's just neat.

Anyway, I'm still at it, learning about maximum and minimum values. I made a pot of zesty zucchini soup and the house smells of curry. Henri is being a little high-maintenance, so I pat her on her furry little head now and then and she settles down for awhile, then prowls around yowling again. Earlier today I had laid down for a nap, and she sneaked up behind me and yowled VERY loudly in my ear. It was a miracle that I didn't void my bowels on the spot. My heart raced for a few minutes though!

Ok so here's one last picture for posterity, and I am back at my calculus. At least this time I'm closer to catching up on what we studied so maybe I can get a C on Monday's exam instead of a D-. Alfred Hitchcock is keeping me company on RTN, Robert Redford (a VERY young RR) is a murderous thief who has married his maid and bashed in the head of a mortuary guard when he (RR) was trying to steal some jewels off a dead lady. Next up I think is South Park; I got Season 9 from the library and can't wait to sink my little eyeballs into it. Happy days, all, and love and peace and all that hoo-ha.

Happy Thursday! I am procrastinating. I should be studying my Deutsch, but instead I found an "Arbeitsblatt" page with all these assignments on it, and printed out all these practice pages, and then I got some students that needed help, and then I just generally screwed around. We have a quiz tonight and I'm probably not going to do very well on it because I'm REALLY struggling with accusitive case, and I don't even understand what it is I'm not understanding, so I can't even formulate a logical question to ask my teacher. Sigh. I should do some flashcards or something I guess. 20 minutes left in my day then I'm off. And I really have nothing to say so I'll sign off. I just wanted to post another pretty picture from my trip. :)

Sunny days, smoky air, flat flat cities. I went and saw the OMA this past weekend!!! Here I am coming into LA, and I am constantly struck by its vast flatness. Hence the photo.
I think that the takeoff on the flight down was perhaps the smoothest, most perfectest takeoff I've ever experienced in my 20+ years of flying. It was truly amazing. I can never help but think though; what if we were at too steep of an angle on takeoff, and bumped the tail of the plane on the runway????? LOL It's not a fear, I have no fear of flying, it's just one of those crazy 'what ifs' that's silly and kind of fun to think about.

Meanwhile, the weekend was quiet, uneventful, and completely wonderful. When I got into town we stocked up on provisions, went home, and holed up for the weekend. There was cleaning and organization of the apartment, and it is really shaping up into something nice. The OMA obtained a new video card for his "monster," and we FINALLY were able to play the Bioshock game I got him for his birthday in March. It was everything we'd hoped for and more! Zombies, plasmids, guns, blood, gore, monsters, ghosts...

The game opens in 1960. The player assumes the role of Jack, a passenger on an aircraft that crashes into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean... Descending into the city using a bathysphere, the history of Rapture is told through a pre-recorded film narrated by Andrew Ryan, its founder. But upon arrival, the main character discovers that the once-prosperous city has decayed into a shadow of its former self. A man awaits Jack's exit from the bathysphere, but he is killed by a grotesque figure that is apparently insane. .. Jack explores Rapture with the guidance of Atlas until he discovers a vending machine containing hypodermic needles. When he injects one, Atlas tells Jack that his genetic code has been rewritten, and in a spasm of pain, Jack falls from a ledge and is knocked unconscious.

Yeah. Genetic codes. You get crazy powers like telekinesis, the ability to incinerate your enemies to 4,000 degrees, static shock. And of course guns. GUNS. Like most First Person Shooters you start out with a wrench to bash your enemies with, then you get a pistol, some different kinds of ammo, shotgun, machine gun, etc. By the time I left, the OMA had a pretty impressive array of weaponry and and was kicking the asses of the mutants. It was awesome.

So anyway, that was the highlight, pretty much. There was gaming, homework, eating, and LOTS of napping. Very relaxing, good quality time together, and I'm very happy I went although the trip was entirely too short. Oh well, I should see him for the holidays and that will be aces, just aces!

I'd say this pretty much sums it up, wouldn't you? I was actually halfway across the parking lot, and i liked this sign so much that I turned around and came home to get my camera. Too cool. Actually it worked out well because I forgot my shopping bag. ;>

YIPEE FOR AMERICA!!!!

Happy Friday

Still reveling in the whole witch factor. People abhor math and science, but you gotta love a disciplines that come up with things like "magic numbers," (2, 8, 20,28, 82, and 126), imaginary numbers (i), and now the Witch of Agnesi. Well it makes the heart flutter, it does.

Anyway it is a grey, drizzly day. I skipped German last night because the thought of 4 nights in a row to myself was just too good. So I stayed late at work (silly me) and futzed around, then I went shopping. I made a lovely batch of sweet and sour chicken. I realized lately that I LOVE S&S, but I don't like breading, and I don't like carrots in it. Then suddenly it occurred to me (I'm so freakin brilliant, it only took me how many years to figure this out) that I could make my OWN freakin sweet and sour, and make it any way I want! So what *I* do is use chicken thighs, douse them liberally in garlic powder then add a splot of olive oil and let them sit at room temperature for an undesignated amount of time. Then I cook them up, remove them from the pan, make the sauce in the same pans amidst all the crunchy bits, and add lots of onions, some pineapple, and bell pepper. And that is MY idea of perfect S&S. No goddamn carrots!!! Don't get me wrong, I do love carrots; just not in my S&S.

OK well it's Joni Mitchell's 65th birthday today, so I am going to go get a hot steamer to celebrate. Happy Friday, y'all! :)

The Sexy Witch

Tonight I met the witch of Maria Agnesi.

"The Witch of Maria Agnesi ((pronounced 'Anyesi')) is the curve defined as follows.

The Witch of Agnesi with labeled points

Starting with a fixed circle, a point O on the circle is chosen. For any other point A on the circle, the secant line OA is drawn. The point M is diametrically opposite O. The line OA intersects the tangent at M at the point N. The line parallel to OM through N, and the line perpendicular to OM through A intersect at P. As the point A is varied, the path of P is the witch.

The curve is asymptotic to the line tangent to the fixed circle through the point O." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_of_Agnesi)

And this is the woman for whom it was named.

"Maria Gaetana Agnesi (May 16, 1718 - January 9, 1799) was an Italian linguist, mathematician, and philosopher. Agnesi (pronounced 'Anyesi') is credited with writing the first book discussing both differential and integral calculus. She was an honorary member of the faculty at the University of Bologna. According to Dirk Jan Struik, Agnesi is "the first important woman mathematician since Hypatia (fifth century A.D.)". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Gaetana_Agnesi)

How frickin hot is that! :)

R.I.P., Michael Crichton.

I woke up pleased to hear them talking about Michael Crichton on NPR this morning. I was later chagrined to learn that they were talking about him because he died! I am SO sad; I JUST discovered his wonderful, wonderful science fiction (and that's science as in medicine and environmentalism and stuff, not aliens and planets), and was wondering if he'd be writing anything else soon. I guess not. :(

Crichton's works are frequently cautionary in that his plots often portray scientific advancements going awry, commonly resulting in worst-case scenarios. A notable recurring theme in Crichton's plots is the pathological failure of complex systems and their safeguards, whether biological (Jurassic Park), military/organizational (The Andromeda Strain), technical (Airframe) or cybernetic (Westworld). This theme of the inevitable breakdown of "perfect" systems and the failure of "fail-safe measures" can be seen strongly in the poster for Westworld (slogan: "Where nothing can possibly go worng .." (sic) ) and in the discussion of chaos theory in Jurassic Park" (taken from Wikipedia).

Turns out he also wrote under a couple of pseudonyms, which I am going to seek out: John Lange, Jeffery Hudson, and "He also co-authored Dealing with his younger brother Douglas under the shared pen name Michael Douglas."

Meanwhile, we have a new President Elect, and I'm pleased as punch. My 88 year old granny is absolutely delighted, thinks he's just as cute as cute can be and wouldn't mind taking him home. You gotta LOVE 88 y/o grannies, don't you?????

President Obama!!!!

My grandmother served white families in the South. She had to sit in the back of the bus, behind a curtain, because she was black. We now have a black president. My hands are shaking and I can't stop crying. There are fireworks going off in my neighborhood. I'm all verklemt. Katie Couric had tears, too. As one of the Scandanavian profs said earlier "today is an historic day in American history."

Happy Voting Day!

Happy Voting Day meine Damen und Herren!!! I came to campus this morning and was greeted by enthusiastic, grin-wearing, sign-toting, sticker-distributing students! I got a nice 8-1/2 x 11 Obama/Biden sign and an Obama Gregoire sticker. :) Between all that and a nice morning greeting from the OMA, I started my day a Happy Woman.

It was marred only slightly by an hour long meeting, but I got a nice walk in the crisp autumn sun so not all was lost. Our German teacher is letting us go after our exam tonight because she said "Nach dem Examen können Sie nach Hause gehen, denn morgen Abend wird ein sehr emotionaler Abend werden." Which means basically that it's going to be an emotional evening: ' I now have CNN.com live TV on and it is getting me all revved up. I hope I don't fail my Exam tonight!

Healthy Snacks

Remember I said "I want to be the girl that reaches for fruits and veggies when she feels snacky?" Well I realize that that is coming to fruition (pun intended). I just finished a big bowl of persian cukes, mushrooms and carrot sticks in onion dip made with reduced fat sour cream. Now how awesome is that? It was delicious, nutritious, and very very low cal. And it's tiding me over long enough to decide what I want to eat for real food, because other than that all I've had today is a bowl of Hungarian mushroom soup and a red plum. So veggie-headed today! I must find some meat.

Then of course I wanted to find out why cucumbers make us burp. All I could find is

"One of the less-desirable characteristics of cucumbers is their tendency to cause indigestion—burping, in particular. Research has found that this is caused by a chemical compound concentrated just underneath the skin and around the stem of the cucumber. To limit the unpleasant side effects of this veggie, peel deeply and remove the stem end."

While there are all kinds of articles acknowledging that cucumbers make us burp, nobody really wants to say why, specifically. Let me just say that I don't find that particular side effect unpleasant, however. :)

Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday. I'll bet most of us wish we could bury our heads in the blankets and sleep the day away like the Inestimable Miss Henri here, but alas, Circadian Rhythms do not allow.

I made a valiant effort to stay in bed but I think I must have FINALLY caught up on my rest for I could not....I have been laying there, listening to the radio since 9-ish (8-ish if you take into account the time change, which *I* will not do until tonight, so as to maximize the effect tomorrow morning).

So; on the agenda today, Sunday, a goal-oriented day:

• continue to chop through my derivatives. I'm doing so well on them now that I get them, but I have a lot of catching up to do.
  
• make some Hungarian mushroom soup. I got a HUGE thing of shroomies at Sam's Club yesterday, so I think I will have some with dip and then make soup.
• juice all the lemons that Adam gave me and make a batch of lemon bars; maybe two.
  
• Find my carpet powder, lay it down, and vacuum later
  
• burn some CD's for the maternal unit. Introducing her to some "techno" or whatever you call it; some old school BT, some Jr. Boys, maybe some KMFDM and DEFINITELY some Karsh Kale.
  
• Meet study buddy Anna, chop through all my Arbeitsbuch, and see if she can help me understand what the hell word I'm referring to with "unser, euer and welcher."

And that's about it!

So I've had a fairly stellar weekend so far. Friday night was when I finally caught on to derivatives, and you know that feeling when you're struggling with a concept, and you feel like you're swimming in oatmeal and you'll never reach the shore; then BAM you get it and the oatmeal thins out and you start gaining ground and pretty soon you're chugging along like nobody's business, feeling all victorious. :) So I was able to differentiate 2 pages of functions before #1 Cousin texted to see if I wanted to hang out, so I got out of my jammies and toodled up the Claire's Pantry who, it turns out, has the BOMB-ASS happy hour. HUGE HUGE HUGE piles of food; we had nachos and clams strips (which were VERY tasty) and chicken strips which were good but the stickiness of them would probably preclude me from ordering them on my own. They had some kind of interesting, semi-spicy sauce; we were expecting buffalo sauce, but it wasn't quite. Anyway, next time no chicken unless I remember to bring a wet-nap.

After that we mosied up to the store for supplies, and I ran into Pani who is also going to school and just about a quarter or 2 ahead of me. She knows the struggles I've been having with calculus and totally feels my pain, so when she asked how I was I said "I CAN DIFFERENTIATE FUNCTIONS!!!" and high-fived her. It's always fun to commiserate with her. She's at the UW right now and we keep meaning to get together but it's hard.

Then I came home and had a long, long nap. I have been so tired all week; probably because I've been struggling with calc so hard and losing sleep over trying to get all my homework done. So I slept really hard til 11, did some more differentiation, had a few beers, and went to bed; woke up midmorning, but dozed and napped until noon again. It was great. Did some chores, went to Avenue with #1 Cuz to return a shirt, got some pilot bread for almost $7 at QFC ($7!!!!!), and then we went to HT Market for Produce. I got a couple of pounds (at least) of red plums, some Bartlett Pears, a pork roast, 4 huge regular onions, a red onion, some green onions, sprouts, a couple of jasmine sparkling teas, and I forget what else for $14.51. :) I LOVE my Asian markets to no end.

Later on, the paternal unit and his GF came to take me shopping at Sam's. I got LOOT, baby, LOOT, groceries, beer, and a 40# bucket of kitty litter. Among the grocs, a 24 oz tub of mushrooms from whence the soup shall come. I treated myself to a polish dog cause Sam's has the best, of course, and god in heaven it was sooooooooooooooo delicious.

The OMA called while I was there, and so I called him back later and we hung out for a couple hours being nerdy together; me differentiating my functions, he installing his RealTournament game, going on line and looking at games (I'm going to get Halo pretty soon and he thinks I could probably run Orange Box on my machine). I finally kicked him off at around midnight so I could play with my Product Rule and my Quotient rule, watched Lola Rennt and then off to bed!

And that's my story. You see my goals, I hope I can achieve all of them, you will know more later. And in case you were absolutely dying to know what I'm doing (and you know you were, you math perv), here are the sexy little rules that I'm working with today.

Product rule: or in the Leibniz notation thus:

Quotient rule:

What I did not realize until this morning is that you can write it out in prime notation rather than the way that crazy Liebniz did it, and it's much less confusing:

(f*g)' = f'g + g'f, and (f/g)' = (g'f - f'g)/g^2

Now isn't that much sexier? So clean, neat and tidy! I'm going to start writing it that way when I'm solving so my eyes don't cross. OK I'm off to cook, clean, and differentiate, like a good woman should. ;>