Under Construction

Just to be clear: the layout and design you see here is temporary. In fact, it’s likely to change several times over the next couple of weeks.

Ultimately, based on your input, I’ll be returning to a layout similar to that which I had previously. (Sorry, dowingba — the calendar will likely re-appear.)

The real trouble is that my previous template is inaccessible, lost in the database corruption that caused all this woe in the first place. I still have the stylesheet, but that doesn’t help much. What’s worse, in a moment of foolishness, I ignored the Movable Type standard tags and template names when I created my previous site, so nothing meshes up right, anyhow.

To get to the point: things are going to change wildly around here over the next week or two as I attempt to return the design to something similar to that I had before.

Also, I’ve spoken with some of my resident bloggers, and they’re willing to wait until I’ve figured out the new version of Movable Type before making a return themselves. Be patient. Joel and Aimee will be back soon, as will Jeff and Noah.

Starting Over

Here we are, together again.

Please note that after yesterday’s catastrophe, this weblog has a new URL: http://www.foldedspace.org/weblog/.

It’s been a rough 24 hours behind the scenes here at foldedspace as I’ve struggled to determine what went wrong with my previous installation, and then grappled with what to do next.

I’ve installed the latest version of Movable Type. I have a rudimentary weblog in place. Until I can afford to fork over $100 for the appropriate license, I cannot host any other webloggers. (I’m guessing I can come up with this cash within a month.)

All of the old web sites are currently accessible, however, although it’s not possible to leave comments. You can still read:

There will be many changes around here in the coming weeks. Chief among these is that — for now, anyhow — in order to comment, you must log in using a (free) TypeKey account.

TypeKey is a system devised by the makers of Movable Type in an effort to reduce comment spam. Essentially, it’s a centralized repository of trusted weblog commenters. If you sign up for TypeKey in order to comment on this weblog (and I hope you will), then you’ll be signed up to comment on any other weblogs which require TypeKey (such as Jeremy and Jennifer’s site or Rich’s site or Scott’s site).

Also, I suspect that the front page will take a more traditional weblog format, displaying several recent entries instead of just a single long blob of text. (Don’t worry: I’ll be as verbose as always. I’ll simply bury the rest of the entry in an “extended entry” fashion.)

What other changes will occur? I don’t really know. If you have any suggestions or requests, I’d be happy to hear them. Should I incorporate the flotch into the main weblog, or should I keep it separate? Should I retain the calendar thingy I’ve had for the past few years? What sort of color scheme ought I to use? What about fonts: do you like a sans serif font like this one, or do you prefer the Times-based font I used to have?

Please, give me your input.

New Orleans Update

My friend Scott and his family lost their home to Hurricane Katrina. Just after the storm, he sent the following:

Just wanted y’all to know that I am holed up in Lafayette, Louisiana (about two hours west of New Orleans). From all indications, Katrina has destroyed my home. There’s been some levee breaches and I know one of two things: 1) there’s three to four feet in my house, or 2) I no longer have a roof. Info is still sketchy. Keep me in your prayers and thoughts.

Some of you have asked for updates, and so with Scott’s permission, I’m sharing his latest message:

Limbo. Purgatory. Gerbil spinning the wheel. Slow motion. Disconnected.

Our zip code in New Orleans was among the hardest hit and will be one of the last to return to the city. The whole area may need to be bulldozed. Gretchen and I went back on the 6th and the damage was extraordinary. I snuck in about three weeks ago to salvage wedding photos and some family heirlooms and was glad I did. The time between made essentially everything unsalvageable minus Gretchen’s grandmother’s china. This photo shows damage in the house immediately after the flood . . . there’s ten times as much mold now.

375

I could go on about the damage, but it’s hard to put into words. Think of everything you do in a given day — the place you get coffee at, the school you drop your kids off, the grocery store you buy at, the friend’s house you visit, your job — all gone . . . all destroyed and all you are left with are memories and even those are now somehow tainted. Don’t mean to sound overly dramatic.

We go through a range of emotions daily. Resentment, anger, sadness, hopeful . . . jumbled together. One day you hate the city. The next you think of it as a great opportunity. Most of all we’re pretty exhausted. Everyone, including my parents (who we are living with), is having some sleep problems, although the kids have adapted well.

The kids [Brewster and Amelia] have been great in fact. We lucked out early and enrolled them in a wonderful Day School. It’s been saving grace. One of the times Brew and Sissy look forward to is reading before bedtime. Brew, albeit four, is a reader and we’ve moved on to chapter books. He’s hooked on the Magic Tree House series. Sissy, on the other hand, likes Go Dog Go and There’s a Wocket in My Pocket.

We struggle for a routine . . .

. . . I have thrown myself into finishing off our 3rd CD for the Movers. [Note: Scott’s band is Imagination Movers. They sing songs for kids that even parents can love, as several foldedspace readers can testify. Check them out.] It’s one of the few sanctuaries I have. We lost much of their inventory and equipment, but our supporters are helping us stick together. Our agent has helped to replace our inventory of cds and dvds and the fans are helping to replace equipment. Future support? Ask friends to pick up a copy of the new CD when it comes out. We titled it Eight Feet which is the amount of feet we have in the group and also the water line in our neighborhood where three of the four of us lived.

Now for the good news — we did find our cat! We put our cat in the care of our neighbor who is a fireman and had to stay in New Orleans. Unfortunately, our mini-van’s air conditioning went out the week before the hurricane. When we evacuated, we left in a small Buick my grandmother left for us. The amount we could take was cut considerably. Our cat is an outdoor cat and is damn smart. Eric, our neighbor, and his wife are huge animal lovers. They offered to care for Flannery. We took them up. Anyway, the day the flood waters came, Eric saw Flan swimming to him. He’s got a two story and brought her there. His cat was under the house (every house is raised — ours was four feet off the ground). He went through his own floorboard to get his cat. Long story short, it was about a month afterwards that we got word our cat was safe.

Flan had a big gash on her shoulder, but is doing great and has become a beacon of hope for his. She’s now symbolic. How many cats can say that?

The assistance [from college friends] is welcomed and needed. If I think about it too much, I’ll start getting weepy eyed. Let’s just say the acts of others have been such that I am a better person because of it. This whole ordeal has made me realize how important the act of giving is. Sad but true. And how even the boring days are blessed because you never know how bad things can get until they do.

Kris and I are glad that Scott and his family are safe. It’s strange to think that somebody you knew for only a short period of time many years ago can figure so prominently in your life, yet sometimes this is the case.

Note: This is the first in what I hope will be a series of occasional entries written by you, the readers of foldedspace. As mentioned last week, I’d love to post what you have to say from time-to-time. Tiffany informs me that she has something for me to post, too. Dave? Amy Jo? John B? Kristin? Anyone else? This space is here for you if you’d like it.

Personal Day

I saw an amazing thing on the drive to work today.

I was at a light that had just turned from red to green when, on the other side of the street, a young man on a bicycle rode into the crosswalk against traffic, against the light. The sky was still grey, and he was wearing dark clothes. His bike had no lights. This kid was violating a dozen rules of traffic and common sense. “Does he have a death wish?” I wondered, and just as I thought that, a police car turned on its lights, angled through the intersection, and rolled in pursuit of the young man.

Excellent.

As a bicyclist myself, I cannot abide when others use bikes in a reckless or irresponsible fashion. It gives us all a bad name. I’ve never seen a bicyclist get pulled over before now.

I’ve been feeling a little under the weather this week, so yesterday morning I stayed home in an attempt to thwart any incipient sickness. I slept late, cats by my side, C-PAP mask strapped to my face. When I did wake, I woke refreshed. I felt great, with no sign of sickness. “Ah well,” I thought. “I’ll just treat today as a personal day.”

I spent the morning cleaning. I am an accumulator and a piler. (I always have been.) Though it grieves my wife, I am pathologically incapable of keeping the house clean, and often have stacks of books and stacks of magazines and stacks of comics on the kitchen table, at the computer, on my writing desk. I spent time purging these piles, and then I moved on to other chores.

Later in the morning, I ran errands. I returned library books. I went to the post office (where I mailed a book to Jim and a box of comics to Joel). I stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for lunch. It was here that my day went off track, descending from productivity into something entirely different.

Rather than select a sandwich or a salad for lunch, I decided it might be nice to fix myself a steak. I bought a pound of beef tenderloin and a cheap bottle of red wine. Then I got sidetracked and spent ten minutes in the organic foods freezer section, examining the nutrition information on all of the “chick’n nuggets” and burgers and breakfast patties. (I’ve been on a vegetarian meat kick lately — I’ve decided that many of these meatless meats actually taste pretty good. Since they’re also healthier than most of the crap I eat, I’ve been dabbling. I’ve purchased something like ten types of veggie meat in the past week, and hope to try them all.) Next I was waylaid by the gourmet chocolate bars. I bought eight different bars of dark chocolate, all of them high in cacao content.

At home, I prepared one of my favorite recipes:

Caprial‘s Beef Tenderloin with Pepper and Port Sauce
(as recalled by J.D. Roth)

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Grind about two tablespoons of fresh black pepper onto a plate. Take about a pound of beef tenderloin (three six-ounce steaks or two eight-ounce steaks, etc.) coat both sides of each piece in the pepper. (You want a nice thick layer of pepper. Grind more if you need it.)
  • Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over high heat. When the oil is smoking, place the steaks in the pan. Sear each side for three minutes.
  • Place the pan in the oven for six minutes.
  • While the pan is in the oven, combine one-half cup port wine, two tablespoons soy sauce, and one tablespoon butter. This will become your sauce.
  • Return the pan from the oven to high heat on the stove. Add the sauce mixture and boil for three minutes, flipping the steaks midway through.
  • Serve.

This is a great recipe, but it is peppery. Don’t be tempted to go easy on the pepper. We used light pepper when preparing this for Kris’ aunt and uncle, and the results were decidedly mediocre. Coat generously with fresh-ground black pepper!

The meal was delicious. I ate the first steak and decided I could do with a second. When I finished the second, I decided it would be a shame to save the third (and final) steak for later. I ate it, too. I drank my red wine. When I was finished with my meal (which comprised only steak and wine), I treated myself to one of my new chocolate bars, a mon cherri bar from Oregon’s own Dagoba Organic Chocolate.

What a fantastic piece of chocolate: 72% dark chocolate with bits of dried cherry and a hint of vanilla.

As I ate my lunch, I listened to Motown music and followed a series of links from Metafilter. Somehow I found myself immersed in the strange world of pick-up artists and fast seduction. I sang along to the Jackson 5 while reading about “negs” and “HBs” and “the three second rule”. It was a completely surreal experience.

Tangent:

While waiting in line at the library last week, I picked up Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971. This is remarkable boxed set collecting 104 of the top Motown songs from the sixties. Many of these have been played to death (I never need to hear “My Guy” or “My Girl” ever again, thank you very much), but others are difficult to find. I particularly like the quality of the Motown output from 1968-1971, which featured songs like:

“For Once in My Life” by Stevie Wonder
“I Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye
“Up the Ladder to the Roof” by Diana Ross & the Supremes
“I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5
“Ball of Confusion” by the Temptations
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder
“War” by Edwin Starr
“I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5
“The Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye
“Never Can Say Goodbye” by the Jackson 5
“Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)” by Marvin Gaye

“I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 may be the perfect pop song. I’ve always said that George Michael’s “Faith” held this title, but I’m willing to reconsider. “I Want You Back” is as good, and possibly better. Remember how great Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was back in the early eighties? His stuff with the Jackson 5 is even better. I’m not sure why I’ve not heard much of the Jackson 5 before, but they’re great — they sing driving, energetic pop, fun to listen to, foot-tapping, engaging.

The other musicians in the late Motown period are good, too. (For the purposes of this tangent, I’m defining “the late Motown period” as starting just after “Love Child”. “For Once in My Life” by Stevie Wonder (1968) is the start of the good stuff.) The Temptations? Fantastic. The Four Tops? They made some wonderful music. How can anyone not love “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder?

Apparently there’s a second Motown boxed set called Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1972-1992. I’ll be sure to borrow that from the library, too, though its track list doesn’t look nearly as appealing as the first set.

In the afternoon, I played a five-year old computer game. Nick and I have become obsessed with Diablo II again, which cracks us up. Where did this come from? (Well, I know in part that this is because it doesn’t require a monthly subscription fee.) Of course, we still play Civilization II all the time, and that game is nine years old.

In the evening, I whiled away the hours watching hockey, Lost, and the Martha Stewart iteration of The Apprentice.

It was a very good day.

Comments

On 06 October 2005 (09:43 AM),
J.D. said:

I’ve long argued that if you like two individual food components, you ought to like them combined. For example, if you like ketchup and you like mashed potatoes, you ought to find the combination delightful, too.

Well.

I’ve just encountered a combination that puts the lie to my reasoning.

I love ice cream sandwiches, especially those from Schwan’s. (Let’s not discuss why I’m eating an ice cream sandwich on a cool October morning.) I love garlic even more. (One of my standing rules for recipes is to quintuple the garlic.) Something (I think my veggie breakfast sausages) in the Custom Box freezer is exuding a garlicky odor.

Apparently — and here’s where it gets kind of gross — the garlic essense is powerful enough to have penetrated the paper wrappers of the ice cream sandwiches. They’re no longer vanilla ice cream sandwiches with delicious chocolate cookies. No, now they’re garlic-vanilla ice cream sandwiches.

Not something I recommend.

On 06 October 2005 (12:00 PM),
Rich R said:

I once dipped a banana in queso…I wouldn’t recommend THAT either. (And yes, there was drinking involved.)

On 06 October 2005 (12:04 PM),
Joel said:

I really can’t think of a better way to spend your free time than mailing me your personal possessions. I think more people should follow your example.

On 06 October 2005 (12:05 PM),
Joel said:

[Looks pointedly at Jeremy’s booze collection.]

On 06 October 2005 (01:25 PM),
Johnny Doe said:

[Jeremy looks pointedly at his shotgun collection.]

On 06 October 2005 (02:35 PM),
Jethro said:

[Joel pointedly offers Jeremy a swig of Scotch from his flask and all is well.]

On 06 October 2005 (08:36 PM),
Denise said:

I got a ticket in college for biking down the wrong side of the street. I even tried to use the “My dad’s a motorcycle policeman for Portland…” and all I got was a “Then you should know better.”

I even had to go to traffic school to keep it off my record.

On 07 October 2005 (08:59 AM),
jenefer said:

I guess Kris Gates is not always right! I heard her telling you to go light on the pepper on the steaks, but since we had no experience on how you cooked, we didn’t object. Bob uses salt much more sparingly in his diet now and has replaced it with pepper. He really goes heavy on the pepper depending on the food he is seasoning. I prefer to do less seasoning altogether and just taste the food. However, seasoning while cooking the food is different from seasoning after cooking. Next time, maybe we should try the dish as you normally prepare it instead of eating a “watered down” version. It was still pretty good. Using a good quality of food, whether meat or veggies, etc. does make a difference. I feel patronized. What I want to know is how you could eat a POUND of meat in one meal? Did you just have meat and wine? My stomach hurts just thinking about it.

Kris’s aunt

On 07 October 2005 (09:03 AM),
J.D. said:

It wasn’t a pound of meat; it was seventeen ounces. And I didn’t just have steak and wine. I had chocolate, too.

I didn’t feel well in the evening.

The Good Stuff

I’m often torn between frugal living — buying all my clothes, etc. at Costco and Goodwill — and a desire for top-quality stuff. Today I yield to the latter, sharing a collection of links to purveyors of quality products, from clothes to hats to pens to camping supplies.

Recently at AskMetafilter, somebody said “What other brands would appeal to a Filson man? Old school preferred. Gold stars for companies that have existed for more than a century.” Because I love Filson stuff, I followed the thread with great interest. I visited the web sites of all the recommended companies and sent away for catalogs when they were available.

This weblog entry is an attempt to collect information on the most appealing of the companies recommended in the original thread, as well as information on other companies I’ve discovered over the past few weeks. Most of the following are still “Filson man” material, though some — like Bob’s Red Mill — are wholly unrelated.

All of the companies here provide quality goods via mail order. All of them have web sites from which one may order their products. Not all of them provide a means for requesting a print catalog. (I’ve provided a link to each company’s catalog request page, if one exists.)

Clothing

  • David Morgan (Seattle, 1962) is an an outfit from which one can buy products produced by several of the companies (Filson, Akubra, etc.) listed elsewhere in this entry. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Filson (Seattle, 1897, “Might as well have the best”) for outdoor clothing, hats, bags, and accessories. I own two Filson hats, a Filson vest, a Filson jacket, and a Filson bag. Each piece was moderately spendy, but well worth it. Filson makes high quality products. (Great website, catalog available.)
  • The J. Peterman Company (Kentucky) for expensive, oddball pieces of clothing. But still stuff I want. Who wouldn’t want Italian genius pants? (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Woolrich (Pennsylvania, 1830, “The original outdoor clothing company”) for outdoor clothing. I am not familiar with this company, but look forward to browsing their catalog. (Good webiste, catalog available.)
  • L.L. Bean (Maine, 1912) for clothing. I’ve always been aware of L.L. Bean, but never shopped there except at the outlet mall in Lincoln City. (Good website, catalogs available, outlet store on the coast.)

  • Kevin’s (Georgia, 1979, “Fine outdoor gear and apparel”) for outdoor clothing and hunting supplies. This catalog came yesterday. It contains several things I want: canvas trousers, a pocketwatch, etc. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Patagonia (California, 1965, “Committed to the core”) for active outdoor clothing and gear. I bought one piece of Patagonia gear at the last REI sale. It has served me well. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Devold (Norway, 1853, “Quality outdoor clothing”) for, well, quality outdoor clothing. I’ve only glanced at Devold’s web site, and cannot tell what to think of their offerings. (Fair website, no catalog.)
  • Barbour (England, 1894) for outdoor clothing. After browsing the catalog, I don’t think this company’s stuff is for me. (Fair website, catalog available though it lists no prices.)
  • Holland & Holland (London, 1835) for upscale outdoorswear. Looks similar to Barbour. Again, not my type. (Fair website, no catalog.)
  • Le Chameau (France, 1927) for hunting clothes and riding gear. See last two comments. (Fair website, no catalog.)
  • French Creek Sheep and Wool Company (Pennsylvania, 1970) for woolen coats and sweaters. These are a bit too wooly for me. (Poor website, catalog available in theory.)
  • Pendleton Woolen Mills (Portland, 1909, “Good for life”) for shirts and blankets. I own one Pendleton hat; it’s the one I wear most often (the brown one). I’ve owned Pendleton shirts, and have always been impressed. (Great website, catalog available, many stores around Portland.)
  • Timberland (Boston, no specific date, “Make it better”) for boots. My only exposure to Timberland is through the pair of work boots I bought last fall. They’ve served me well during the past year, and I’d be happy to purchase Timberland again. (Decent website, no catalog, outlet store in Woodburn.)

Accessories

  • Hartmann (Tennessee, 1877) for luggage. They even have some cases that George Bailey might have liked. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Duluth Pack (Duluth, 1882) for bags, packs, and camping gear. The web site has some keen-looking stuff. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Tilley Endurables (Toronto, 1984) for hats and travel clothing. I intend to order at least one Tilley hat before the end of the year. I admire their products. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Akubra Hats (Australia, 1874) for hats. Many of these look too, well, Aussie for me, but I’m willing to spend more time at the site. Lord knows I love hats. (Poor website, no catalog.)
  • Geier Glove (Seattle, 1927) for gloves. These gloves look durable and stylish. (Good website, no catalog.)
  • Hardy (England, 1879, “Tackling the world”) for fishing supplies. I’m not a fisherman, but some of this stuff still looks appealing. (Fair website, no catalog.)
  • Frost River (Duluth, “Reliable softgoods”) for all sorts of outdoor supplies. This would probably be a good place to stock up on camping equipment. (Good website, catalog available.)
  • Bosca (Ohio) “Accessories in leather”) for leather goods. All of Bosca’s stuff looks tempting. (Fair website, no catalog.)
  • Breitling (Switzerland, 1884, “Instruments for professionals”) for watches. I’m not sure these are the sorts of wathces I want. I’d love a pocketwatch! (Terrible website, no catalog.)

Furniture, Etc.

  • Gandolfini (England, 1885) for large-format cameras. In my dream world (the world where I have unlimited funds), I’d shoot only large format. (Poor website, no catalog.)
  • Stickley (New York, 1900, “Collector quality furniture since 1900”) for furniture. I’m currently shopping for a new chair for my library. I’ve considered a Stickley piece. (Decent website with fun extras (including a video tour), catalogs available for a price.)

Paper Products, Etc.

  • Waterman (Paris, 1883) for pens. I’ve never purchased and expensive pen of any sort. (I’d probably lose one if I did.) I don’t know if the extra cost purchases extra quality. (Weak website, no catalog.)
  • Moleskine notebooks are fantastic, but there is no one centralized source for infromation on them. This site is good, though based in England.
  • Smythson of Bond Street (London, 1887) for products, including bespoke stationery and featherweight paper. Expensive, but appealing. (Good website, PDF catalog available.)
  • Dempsey & Carroll (New York, 1878) is another stationeer. I’m tempted to try them. (Decent website, no catalog.)
  • Library of America (New York, 1979, “America’s best and most significant writing in durable and authoritative editions”) for classic American books. I own several LoA volumes, and have been impressed by each. (Great website, catalog available, subscription available.)
  • The Criterion Collection for feature-laden, authoritative film transfers to DVD. If you must ever choose between a Criterion version of a film and a non-Criterion version, choose the former. (Decent website, no catalog.)

Foodstuffs

  • Bob’s Red Mill (Portland, “Whole grain foods for every meal of the day”) for inexpensive, quality cereals, flours, and more. I just visited the actual Bob’s Red Mill store this afternoon and bought a case of my favorite cereal. (Great website, no catalog.)
  • Glory Bee Foods (Eugene, 1979) for natural foods and crafts. Excellent honey. (Good website, catalog available.)

One commenter in the original AskMetafilter thread suggested using eBay to find used items from quality compnaies. For example, one might search for vinatage Woolrich to find high-quality used items from that company. This is something I’d like to play with. I did search for Filson products last fall, but ultimately bought new from the shop down the street.

If you know of other sources of quality food, clothing, whatever, please let me know. I’d love to find a good source of globes.

Comments


On 28 September 2005 (07:41 PM),
Ron said:

I agree with the Filson recommendation. Everything I have purchased from them has met or exceeded my expectations. 10 years after the purchase of some of the items they are as good as when I bought them.

On 28 September 2005 (08:22 PM),
John said:

J.D.:

If you’re not aware of it, http://www.kk.org/cooltools is a great place for wishlist daydreaming.

John

On 28 September 2005 (08:33 PM),
Lisa said:

A few years ago, I snagged a classic, vintage red and black plaid Woolrich coat. It was lightly used and $20 at a thrift store where I was wasting time before an appointment. I think it was one of my best purchases ever–I love that thing. If nothing else, a good quality, lightly lined wool coat is the perfect weight for most of our weather. Mmmmmm!

As for Filson, I’ve always admired their long, waxed canvas duster coat. Not that I think I have the presence to pull it off, but they sure look cool.

On 28 September 2005 (09:19 PM),
Chris said:

JD – Try Fountain Pen Hospital for many brands of high end fountain pens and other writing instruments. They have both a website (www.fountainpenhospital.com) and a paper catalog. You will no longer think that Waterman pens are expensive after visiting this site.

On 29 September 2005 (08:03 AM),
Peter said:

JD,

In my opinion you can’t get much better than Mountain Equipment Co-op for outdoor clothing and gear.

www.mec.ca

On 29 September 2005 (08:34 AM),
J.D. said:

It looks like Fantagraphics Books (the fantastic Seattle-based comix publisher saved from bankruptcy by The Complete Peanuts) has a free catalog, too

On 29 September 2005 (07:13 PM),
J.D. said:

Ugh. I just removed Orvis from the list. I can’t believe that it was recommended in the original AskMetafilter thread. Their catalog came in the mail today, and after looking through it, the stuff is nothing like Filson or L.L. Bean or Tilley or Waterman. It’s, well, catalog junk.

Sudoku!

A couple of weeks ago, the Sunday New York Times featured a new puzzle called sudoku, which is apparently popular in Japan. It’s a sort of self-checking number-based crossword without clues. Confused? Don’t be. There’s only one rule.

Given a 9×9 grid, fill in all blank cells making sure that each row, column, and 3×3 box contains each number from one to nine.

The above puzzle is very, very easy. Believe me: they can be much more difficult. Brain-wrackingly difficult. Sudoku are rated in difficulty based on the numbers provided, the ease with which other numbers can be found, and the number of guesses required to solve the puzzle.

The real problem is sudoku is addicting. Last night in the grocery store, I saw a sudoku magazine. I tried to resist the urge to purchase it, but failed. I spent most of my evening doing sudoku. I solved easy puzzles, then medium puzzles, then hard puzzles.

I’ve spent too much time this morning trying to solve two difficult puzzles. I’ve exhausted elementary logic tricks and need to find some more elaborate methods of finding the correct numbers. I’ve gone to the web in search of help, and found:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back to the two sudoku that I’m stuck on. Must finish. Must.

Comments

On 13 September 2005 (09:29 AM),
Amanda said:

I have been totally and utterly addicted to sudoku since it was featured in USA Today in July.

Best puzzle ever.

You can download a 28-day trial from http://www.sudoku.com. Their rating system is a bit wonky, though. For example, the medium puzzles are pretty hard. The hard puzzles, well, I’ve only managed to solve two of the approximately 50 I’ve attempted. The very hard puzzles aren’t even available on the trial version. That scares me.

On 13 September 2005 (12:29 PM),
Courtney said:

A friend turned me on to Sudoku about a month ago and I have completed 3 puzzles EVERY day since (easy, medium, hard.) I found a great site with free puzzles that change daily: www.miniclip.com/sudoku. You can do them online or print them out. I’m totally addicted and glad to know I’m not the only one. Andrew asks me why I do them…he should just try one and see for himself!

On 13 September 2005 (01:04 PM),
Colleen said:

I adore Soduko! I’ve always loved logic puzzles, but I think this is my favorite. There is also a Mac App for Dashboard, love it!

On 13 September 2005 (02:30 PM),
J.D. said:

I’m pretty excited here: I just solved my first “challenger” level sudoku (to use Dell’s terminology). I bit the bullet and scribbled candidate numbers from the start, and it helped. Once I’d entered all the candidates, I was able to find one weak spot and then the entire puzzle toppled (though in slow motion).

On a whim, I timed how long it took me to do one of each skill level in my magazine. It took me 10:37 to solve the easy puzzle, 16:43 to solve the moderate puzzle, 23:53 to solve the hard puzzle, and 28:59 to solve the challenger puzzle. (Note that I’ve failed at three other challenger puzzles; they have me stumped.)

On 13 September 2005 (02:43 PM),
J.D. said:

In contrast, the easy puzzle I included in this entry took me 7:28 to solve. I’m sure there are people who could do it under five minutes. Maybe in under three minutes.

On 13 September 2005 (03:24 PM),
Count Dooku said:

Did somebody say Santoku?

On 13 September 2005 (07:55 PM),
Nikchick said:

I recently got hooked on these puzzles too, and have the application for my Palm. I spent an entire flight working on one puzzle. Kate is much better at them than I am.

On 14 September 2005 (01:47 PM),
Amanda said:

Yeah. Your example puzzle was definitely an under three minute super easy one.

On 15 September 2005 (12:13 AM),
John said:

I’ve completed one of these puzzles, and was actually sweating before it was over. Dunno what skill level it was – probably “stoopid easy” – but I was plenty frustrated. Handling numbers is normally a trivial matter for me, but that puzzle left a mark.

Thanks, but I’ll stick with my normal regimen of crossword puzzle, cryptoquip, and jumble. At least I feel comfortable doing those with a pen.

John

On 15 September 2005 (06:45 AM),
Kristin Wold said:

Here’s another cool sudoku site to add to your list: http://www.sudokuhints.com

Online solver with five new graded puzzles every day, hints, pencilmarks, and an archive with over 500 puzzles.

On 15 September 2005 (10:28 PM),
Geoff said:

The miniclip website is weird. I just finished the hard puzzle in 6:02 and the easy in 5:58. I can’t beat the medium in under 8.

On 18 September 2005 (03:21 PM),
Olivier Verdin said:

Check out Sudoku Prime and play multi-user Sudoku puzzle with your friends…Have fun!

Excellent Customer Service

I often complain in this forum when I’m the victim of poor service. For once, I’d like to praise good service.

I spent part of this morning at the computer, typing a l-o-n-g weblog entry about the time I got the crap beat out of me in high school. I’ve told this story before, but this was going to be the definitive version: I was tying together all the threads that were involved in the story at the time instead of just conveying the barest facts. I was pleased with the results. When I finished, and came out of the Writing Zone, I tried to save the document.

And at that moment, my computer decided to crash.

From my experience, Macs don’t crash very often. Certain applications (ironically, most of them from Apple: Mail, iTunes, iPhoto) crash frequently, but it is rare that the entire system takes a nosedive. It’s never happened before when something important, like this weblog entry, was in the balance.

Rather than panic, I posted an AskMetafilter question looking for help. The responses to the question got me close, but didn’t actually solve my dilemma. Then, out of the blue, I received e-mail from Bare Bones Software, which produces BBEdit, my text editor of choice.

The fellow who contacted me spent several hours exchanging e-mail messages, trying to help me diagnose the problem. Ultimately, we were not able to salvage the lost file. (I was able to take a screenshot of the last half of the document, but the beginning will need to be reconstructed.) That makes me sad, but I’m quite pleased with the excellent customer support that Bare Bones provided.

A Brief Guide to Better Sleep

For the past several months I’ve been focusing on achieving better sleep. It’s my hypothesis that my mental problems are mostly sleep-related. I’ve done some reading on the subject, and some experimentation, and want to share what I’ve learned.

In the marvelous The Owner’s Manual for the Brain, Pierce J. Howard summarizes sleep research with the following lists:

To get to sleep more quickly:

  • Consume dairy products (the warmer the better).
  • Avoid artificial sweeteners.
  • Avoid food additives.
  • Avoid caffeine within six hours of bedtime.
  • Keep to a regular bedtime.
  • Consume carbohydrates an fats; avoid protein.
  • Read or view unexciting material.
  • Avoid exercise within four hours of bedtime.
  • Sleep in absolute darkness and complete silence.
  • Take melatonin.

To get better quality sleep:

  • Lose weight.
  • Avoid alcohol within four hours of bedtime.
  • Drink water after alcohol consumption.
  • Plan sleep according to sleep cycles and circadian rhythms.
  • Do aerobic exercise regularly, but not close to bedtime.

To get back to sleep after waking:

  • Write down what’s on your mind.
  • Read something unexciting.
  • Drink warm milk and honey.

Some of these concepts are worthy of further discussion. (Note: while most of what follows is in my own words, some sentences are lifted verbatim from Howard’s book.)

The Sleep Cycle

It’s not the length of sleep that is important, but the number of complete sleep cycles a person obtains. Each sleep cycle has several stages, the most important of which is REM sleep (during which dreams occur). On average, a complete sleep cycle lasts around ninety minutes. (This varies from person-to-person and from night-to-night, but ninety minutes is a close average.)

I first became aware of the sleep cycle phenomenon soon after I began taking melatonin. I noticed that I was waking at approximately ninety minute intervals. “That’s odd,” I thought. I began to make predictions. When I found myself awake at 1:05 I’d say to myself, “I will next wake at 2:35.” When I woke at 2:38 I’d say to myself, “I will next wake at 4:08.” When I woke at 4:07 I’d say to myself, “I’ll wake at 5:30, with my alarm.” What was truly odd was that these predictions were accurate nearly every time: ninety percent of the time, I was waking at ninety minute intervals. I concluded that my sleep cycle was approximately ninety minutes in length.

Research has shown that how well-rested a person feels is directly related to the number of complete sleep cycles she obtains. A person who completes five sleep cycles on a given night will feel better rested than a person who completes four sleep cycles. The trouble with certain sleep disorders — such as sleep apnea — is that they limit the number of sleep cycles one achieves.

When you’ve determined the length of your sleep cycle, you can make some important adjustments. For example, since my sleep cycle averages ninety minutes, and since I get up at 5:30, I know to go to bed at 10:00, giving me seven-and-a-half hours of sleep. If, as last night, I miss my ten o’clock bedtime, I know that it makes no difference whether I go to bed at 10:30 or 11:30 — both times would offer me the same number of complete sleep cycles. Thus, I stayed up an extra hour reading.

Actually, there’s strong indication that waking at the end of a sleep cycle muddles the mind; it’s better to wake at the beginning of a sleep cycle than to wake in the middle of REM sleep (the middle of a dream). Last night, I’d probably have been better served having gone to bed at 11:15, just in case I had trouble falling asleep, and just in case my sleep cycle had been misaligned so that I’d awakened during a dream.

The Circadian Rhythm

Scientists have known for a long time that humans have a built-in twenty-five hour body clock. I’m not sure anyone has developed a satisfactory explanation for why this is the case, but it is. This explains why it’s so easy for most of us to stay up late.

As part of our natural circadian rhythm, various body chemistry changes occur throughout the day, affecting us in different ways.

During the morning, rote memory is at its best. The mind is quick and nimble. During the afternoon, the body is at its physical peak. (Though there is a dip in the mid-afternoon.) In the evening, both the body and mind begin to relax. During the night, whether we’re sleeping or awake, the body and mind exhibit signs of near-dormancy.

What does this mean? If you have important mental work to do, it’s best to do it in the morning. If you have important physical work to do, it’s best to do it in the afternoon. If you’re cramming for a test, it’s better to stay up late than it is to get up early (before 6am) to study; your mind and body are at their lowest between 3am and 6am, regardless of whether you just woke from sleep.

Take naps. Based on the average circadian rhythm, the ideal time for a nap is between noon and 3pm. The ideal length for a nap is about thirty minutes. The urge to nap is natural; resisting the urge has a negative effect on health, productivity, and well-being.

Other Thoughts

Caffeine While afternoon and evening caffeine consumption can cause sleeplessness for me, it’s interesting to note that if I drink caffeine within thirty minutes of going to bed, it doesn’t prevent sleep. Instead, it enhances my REM state, giving me wild, memorable dreams. Your mileage may vary.

Melatonin I’ve been using melatonin now for several months. I buy it in 3mg pills. Often I use a pill-splitter to produce 1.5mg doses. I find that a 3mg dose can sometimes produce residual sleepiness in the morning. Whatever the dose, melatonin works wonders for me. When I take it, I fall asleep more quickly and I sleep more soundly. Give melatonin a try if you have sleep trouble — it’s available at your local supermarket.

CPAP machine I’ve had my CPAP machine for six weeks now. I’ve used it every night. Though the change in my sleep has not been drastic, I am beginning to detect subtle changes. It used to be that I woke several times each night to go to the bathroom, or to sit and stare at the ceiling; now — except in rare cases — I sleep through the entire night without waking. I used to feel sleepy all the time, to such an extent that driving was sometimes dangerous; now I generally feel well-rested (though not peppy), and have only occasional bad days during which I always want to sleep. I’m sad that the sleep changes with the CPAP machine haven’t been dramatic, but am happy that it’s helping me overall.

I’m sure to have missed some important points here. (For example, Jeff’s advice on Breathe Right nasal strips for better sleep.) I’ll try to post more advice when I remember it.

Comments

On 08 September 2005 (10:23 AM),
Tammy said:

Interesting facts and observations.

I’ll take everything you say works for sleeping and do the opposite. As I’ve said before when my head hits the pillow I’m out like a light. I will stay soundly asleep until 6 unless the kids wake me up.

Monday I was feeling tired from the weekend. I thought I’d take a brief nap. I laid down and awoke three hours later! I was amazed! Luckily I was totally rested and ready to go but my what a long nap!. It was 5pm when I woke up. I thought I had probably ruined any chances of going to sleep at my normal 10 pm bedtime. Not so! By ten I was ready for bed. I could not tell you what happened after I crawled in and fluffed my pillow. Why? Because I was immediately snoring. I awoke at 6 as usual and went through a normal day.

I wonder if part of your insomnia is your lack of activity. It seems that the only real exercise you get is the “planned for exercise”.

Whereas my day consists of runnng after kids, mowing the yard, gardening, cooking, cleaning, vacumming 2800 sq ft of solid carpet (or so it seems) mopping floors, running to the neighbors and all up and down the street keeping track of the kids etc. By evening I’m exhausted.

My husband goes to bed at ten and gets up at 3:45 every day. His pedomoter shows that he walks an average of 12 miles a day on his job. Both of us fall asleep while saying goodnight to each other. Thats just how tired we are at the end of the day.

I hope a find a final combination of things that work for you.

On 09 September 2005 (07:51 AM),
J.D. said:

My sleep last night offers a perfect illustration of several of these concepts. I went to bed at 10pm, taking 3mg of melatonin about 10 minutes before bed. I didn’t drift off immediately, though; it took about fifteen or twenty minutes to fall asleep.

I slept soundly.

I woke briefly at 2:50. “Crap,” I thought. “My sleep is twenty minutes off.” Since I’ve started going to sleep regularly at 10, and since I know my sleep cycle is roughly ninety minutes, I know that my normal wake times are 11:30, 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00, with my actual wakeup time at 5:30.

So, when I saw that I’d awakened at 2:50, I could read the writing on the wall. Sure enough, I woke again briefly at 4:20. “Crap,” I thought. “My sleep is still twenty minutes off. This doesn’t bode well.”

Sure enough: when my alarm went off at 5:30, I was deep in REM sleep, dreaming away. I was dreaming that I had been standing at the corner of Oglesby and Gribble, talking with Tammy Malone while standing in the family garden. She was telling me about Greg. I was telling her that I sold insurance, but didn’t do a good job of it. Then I dreamt I was actually selling the insurance, but not doing a good job of it. I was in the middle of a sales pitch when the alarm went off.

I stumbled downstairs, my head foggy. I took a long bath in a dark room. I drove to work. I’ve sat here at my desk for an hour now. My head is foggy. Why? Because I didn’t get to finish that last sleep cycle.

Lessons here: my sleep cycle is about ninety minutes; if I’m awakened during REM sleep, I’m less functional. Conclusions: I’m cutting it close with the 10pm-5:30 thing. There’s no leeway there. I ought to go to bed a little earlier and get up a little later. Just ten minutes each way would give a nice buffer.

On 09 September 2005 (02:22 PM),
Amanda said:

So, I guess the big question really is… how do you discover your sleep cycle?

Moved In

It’s fortunate that Kris and I don’t ever intend to move again. Based on how long it took us to unpack and feel “moved in” at this place, we might never make that adjustment anywhere else. However, after fifteen months of s-l-o-w progress, we do at last feel moved in.

It helps that the bathroom remodel is finally nearing completion. (Yes, it has been nearly eight weeks, and yes it’s only “nearing” completion.) The job is 97% finished, which means the place is perfectly usable, but that there are little details (dimmer switch, power to the garage/workshop, and final inspections) that need to be completed.

It also helps that over the past week, we’ve finally tackled some of the move-in chores that we delayed for the past year. Last weekend, Tiffany came over to help us. While the Gates girls organized the garage, I tackled the garden shed and the spare shed. (You know you have too many outbuildings if you refer to one of them as the “spare shed”.)

(As we were cleaning, I found a dead bird on the lawn. It was probably killed by a cat, but its carcass had been taken over by yellowjackets. There were a dozen of the bastards politely taking turns to eat the bird’s innards. Despite a fear of bees, I managed to snap some handheld macro shots.

The bees were unhappy when I took the bird from them. They swarmed about the spot in the lawn for several minutes, longing for bird flesh.)

When we’d finished, the garage was neat and tidy (and empty); all the stuff in the garden shed had been shifted to the spare shed; and the garden shed had been converted to a playhouse of sorts (for visiting children).

When I was growing up, my grandparents had lots of outbuildings, too. One of them (the one filled with dynamite — no joke) was used as a playhouse. There were cups and saucers and chairs and tables (and the aforementioned dynamite) and all sorts of other things to play with. To make our playhouse, I hung the old bathroom cabinets from the wall, and dragged the old bathroom vanity into place. The space was completed by a small table and the two old chairs from Mac and Pam (chairs that are now destined to go to Craig and Lisa, whenever they want to pick them up).

All this cleaning was great, but the final step that allowed me to feel “moved in” was this: I hauled all of my old computer stuff to Free Geek, a Portland-based nonprofit. How much computer stuff?

  • Thirteen monitors
  • Eighteen computers
  • Four printers
  • One scanner
  • Dozens of memory modules, about eight hard drives, scads of modems and sound cards and video cards

Most of that equipment was still usable; some of it was even good. I ought to have taken the time to sort the wheat from the chaff, but in the end I just switched my brain off, grabbed everything, and hauled it away. That computer stuff was a boil that needed lancing; it was a sore on my mental life, and I’m relieved to have it gone.

Now my workshop is mostly empty. (All the more so since Kris had me haul the filing cabinet into the house last week.) I have some woodworking tools (and some comic books) laying about, but mostly the workshop is now an empty space. I’ll spend a couple nights this week tidying it up, and then maybe I’ll actually start a woodworking project. (Wait — we still don’t have electricity out there. The bathroom’s still only 97% finished; part of the remaining 3% is reconnecting electricity to the workshop.)

As my obsession with photography continues to wax, I’ve developed other possible uses for the workshop and the playshed. I could convert the playshed to a darkroom, and I could create some sort of photography studio in the workshop. The spaces are great, but there’d be a lot of work converting each to its new use. Still, it’s something to consider.

Meanwhile, Kris’ sister, Tiffany, recently moved to Portland. A truck filled with her belongings arrived on Saturday. We helped her unload the stuff Saturday morning, and she’d unpacked nearly all of it by Sunday afternoon. Holy cats! It took me and Kris fifteen months to move in; Tiffany did it in a day.

Comments


On 29 August 2005 (10:53 AM),
Joel said:

As someone who has moved away, let me be the latest to welcome Tiffany to the neighborhood. Tiffany, I’ve always liked you, and since I’ve also always liked Portland, it works for me that you’re there.


On 29 August 2005 (11:01 AM),
Tiffany said:

Thanks for the welcome Joel. I hope to see you soon.

Jd, thanks for not showing the dead bird, the description was gross enough.



On 29 August 2005 (11:36 AM),
Tammy said:

We have been remodeling our master bath for two years now. The toilet has been out for all of that time. Luckily we have two other bathrooms. I’m just sayin’ I’d give anything for an eight week remodel!



On 29 August 2005 (02:33 PM),
Amy Jo said:

Three comments:

(1) Welcome to Portland Tiffany. I suspect you don’t remember me, but we met a few years back in Alexandria, VA when Kris was out east for some sort of training. We moved back to Paradise, oh, sorry, I mean Portland, a year ago after four years of braving the wilds of the DC Metro Area.

(2) JD–A post showing more photos of the bathroom is warranted. Some of us would like to see more than the tub . . .

(3) JD–I would love to see a post about the dynamite lurking in the shed/playhouse. Did you know it was there at the time? Were there any rules of behavior designed to keep your grubby little hands off the dynamite? Did you break the rules?



On 29 August 2005 (03:06 PM),
mac said:

More importantly, where is the blasted stuff now?


On 29 August 2005 (03:25 PM),
Stacy said:

I’m glad you donated your items to free geek –they are running some amazing programs.

Yes, moving is not fun, but good thing you’re done.

Stunning photo. I didn’t know bees liked blood.


On 29 August 2005 (03:41 PM),
Pam said:

I am ready to claim my garage sale picture in order to help you clear your garage of clutter. And I can’t blame you for passing on the chairs, but what changed your mind?



On 29 August 2005 (04:35 PM),
tammy said:

Jd may recall this differently but the only thing I remember about that dynamite is that we were told to not go behind that wall. It was a little half wall with no extra door or anything. I didnt know until just a couple of years ago that there was dynamite in those boxes. We played out there for years and never got into the stuff. Grandpa would stop on his way into the house from the fields or barn and we’d give him carrots or crackers. There was an old red wicker chair out there he’d sit in. I recall him reading the paper in there with us sometimes. Grandma very seldom visited. Now as a Grandparent myself I see this all so differently. What a special place they made for us there in that playhouse. And because of spending just a few minutes a day with us we now have lasting memories.



On 29 August 2005 (06:52 PM),
Lisa said:

Why was the dynamite around to begin with? It’s not a common household item these days…



On 29 August 2005 (06:52 PM),
Tiffany said:

Hi Amy Jo,

Yes I remember you, Thai food. I could not find you in a crowd, but that will change soon. Thanks for the welcome.



On 29 August 2005 (07:04 PM),
Ron said:

When Grandpa bought the place it was all woods and stumps. After he logged most of the place he had to blast the stumps to be able to farm the land. One of my favorite memories is blasting stumps with Grandpa as a kid. We would dig a hole under the stump and Grandpa would tape together as many sticks of dynamite as he thought it would take to tear it up (sometimes it took 2 attempts to get all the stump and big roots) and then he would insert the blasting cap and fuse and shove it down the hole. He would then tamp dirt back in the hole to keep the blast from coming out the hole and then he would make me crawl under the tractor and wait while he lit the fuse and would crawl under the tractor with me. After the explosion and the pieces all hit the ground around us we would crawl out and go look at the hole to see if all the roots got torn out. I remember the smell of the smoke and the bad headaches it gave you. Grandpa would tell me to stay back until the smoke cleared, but being an impatient little boy I would run up to see the new hole. To this day I love explosions and the Fourth of July.


On 29 August 2005 (10:47 PM),
J.D. said:

I should point out that I have no firsthand memory of the dynamite. I only know about it from stories that Ron and Tammy have told at recent family reunions…

Centigrade

Since learning about it in Mrs. Clarke’s third-grade class (back in 1978), I’ve been a fan of the metric system, though I rarely use it. As Americans, we’re surrounded by archaic units of measure — we’re immersed in them. At the box factory, I deal in inches and fractions-of-inches all day long. (We also deal with a base-sixteen world here. I can convert sixteenths nearly as easily as tenths.)

For me, one of the most confusing aspects of the metric system has been temperature. I understand that to convert fahrenheit to celsius, one subtracts thirty-two and multiplies by nine-fifths. Or five-ninths. Or whatever. I understand this intellectually, but for some reason, the whole procedure is so semantically complex that I’ve never bothered.

In a recent AskMetafilter thread on the metric system, somebody restated the problem in a way that suddenly made sense to me: don’t think “nine-fifths”, think “1.8”. Yes, I know these are identical terms, and I should have done my own conversion long ago. But I never have. Now, after learning to use “1.8”, the whole fahrenheit-celsius conversion thing is a piece of cake. It was instantaneously clear. Everything clicks.

0 degrees celsius is 32 degrees fahrenheit (cold)
10 degrees celsius is 50 degrees fahrenheit (cool)
20 degrees celsius is 68 degrees fahrenheit (room temperature)
30 degrees celsius is 86 degrees fahrenheit (warm)
40 degrees celsius is 104 degrees fahrenheit (hot)

Now I can add temperature to my metric arsenal. (Ironically, it interests me less to know that I way 86 kilograms in metric than to know that I weigh 13-1/2 stone in whatever antiquated British system uses that for a measure. I’ve always thought that stoneweight was fun!)

For sheer complexity, I don’t know of anything more confusing than the British monetary system before decimalizaton.

OLD MONEY                                 NEW MONEY (after 1971)
� (libra)    = pound                      �  = pound
s (solidus)  = shilling                   
d (denarius) = penny/pence                p = [new] penny/pence (pee)
�1,3/6 = 1 pound, 3 shillings, 6 pence    �1.50 = 1 pound, 50 pence
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OLD COIN/NOTE                   VALUE       NEW COINS
farthing                        1/4 d
halfpenny (ha'penny)            1/2 d
penny (copper)                    1 d
..............................................1/2 p (discontinued)
twopence (tuppence)               2 d
   -a silver coin, pre-1643, and a copper coin from the reign of 
    George III (1738-1820).
................................................1 p
threepence (thruppence)           3 d
groat 1351-1662                   4 d
fourpence 1836-1856               4 d
................................................2 p
sixpence (tanner)                 6 d
   -note this is not the same as the tenner, a 10-shilling note.
shilling (bob)                   12 d...........5 p
florin                            2 s..........10 p
half crown                        2/6
crown                             5 s 
   -a commemorative coin, rather than common currency.
half-sovereign/half-pound        10 s..........50 p
   -the half-sovereign and sovereign coins were gold and worth 
    far more than the equivalent notes, at least in the 20th century. 
sovereign/pound (quid)           20 s...........�1 coin & note = 100 p
   -the modern 50p and �1 coins are not gold.
guinea                           21 s     equiv �1.05 
   -the guinea has not been minted since 1813, but professional 
    fees and prices for luxury items are still quoted in guineas.

For even more info, check out the wikipedia article. (Last night, Andrew and I had a conversation about determining the value of various monetary sums mentioned in Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen novels. This page has some info on the subject (look to the bottom).)

Comments

On 19 August 2005 (12:31 PM),
Lynn said:

One of the things we struggle with here at work is trying to convert liters, cubic inches and horsepower. No formula ever seems to work well.

On 19 August 2005 (04:49 PM),
Denise said:

Who gives a hoot about this? Where are my rabbits????

Ok – just kidding. I worked with China all the time in my NOW OLD job (as of this minute) and the conversions drove me crazy on a regular basis!

Why can’t we just conform?

On 19 August 2005 (07:19 PM),
Andrew Parker said:

Ah, third grade. When our country was optimistic enough to imagine that the US would adpot “SI” by 1992. *That* makes it seem like a long time ago, eh?

Google now does most conversions you’re likely to need, which is cool.

On 20 August 2005 (07:36 AM),
dowingba said:

Your little celsius conversion method doesn’t exactly work properly. Using your formula, -40 fehrenheit is -129.6 celsius; when in fact they should both be -40.

On 20 August 2005 (03:22 PM),
Mom said:

An easier conversion method from Celsius to Fahrenheit — one suggested by my Aussie friends — is to double the Celsius temperature and add 15. The result isn’t quite as accurate as the Metafilter method but is easy to do in my head (which isn’t real mathematical). I find myself having to convert Fahrentheit into Celsius quite often for my Canadian, Australian, and English friends. We are indeed in the minority in the world.

On 26 August 2005 (10:05 AM),
Jeff said:

dowingba-

I think you mis-multiplied somewhere… you need to add 32 to make the conversion work-out properly:

1.8 x -40 = -72 + 32 = -40

So,

1.8 x 10 = 18 + 32 = 50
1.8 x 20 = 36 + 32 = 68, and so on…

I missed this entry, as I was in Canada when it was written. The plains of the Peace Country (Alberta) can have quite a temperature variation… one day it was 27, the next it was 7, and then it literally froze the day after that. Then it was back up to 28 by the next day… pretty crazy.

I would suggest the following Centigrade conversion scale for those living in northern Alberta:

10 degrees celsius is 50 degrees fahrenheit (warm)
20 degrees celsius is 68 degrees fahrenheit (hot)
30 degrees celsius is 86 degrees fahrenheit (scorching hot)
40 degrees celsius is 104 degrees fahrenheit (surface of the sun)