(no subject)

As is often the case when I go to bed significantly earlier than I'm accustomed to, I've ended up with a nasty headache. But Excedrin is helping. I was woken up by power loss at some point in the night, but it didn't stay off for long, and I was quickly asleep again.
I'm likely going to take the bus to school this morning if I can figure out the routes. I want to be able to bike in the rain, but I don't know where my poncho is and I need to learn better how to lubricate and care for my bike after bad weather.

Today will likely be laboratory work at school, washing and sorting artifacts from the sites that we have recovered already. Yesterday was fun; I got to do a lot of work with the metal detector around one of the cabin sites. After we flagged a few dozen hits, the group of us started unearthing old square nails and things like old bottle glass. (One piece is probably quite old; it was so thick that the prof's assistant originally mistook it for obsidian.) . In the hole my partner and I worked on, we found a number of cool pottery shards. I continue to be bemused that the process of archaeology is 99 or more percent the process of looking very carefully and methodically for other people's garbage.

Super-mechanic Juan may be able to work on my car this evening, though with the weather, I'm not holding out hope. We'll have to see.

Here's the daily picture from the 23rd, shot while I was playing Danae's newly purchased game Outpost with she and my family.


Concentrating on a Board Game - Pic-a-day 23 June 2013

Copyright Stormdog 2013

(no subject)

I *was* going to take the bus, but I only have enough cash on me for one fare, and I don't think I want to walk the 8 miles home in the rain. I don't know how fast I walk either, so I'm not sure how long it would take. I did it once without rain, but that was a long time ago.

I walked over to Walgreens hoping I could buy something and get a couple bucks in cash back, but they were closed. Anyway, I'm here by bike, so wish me dry weather.

Tonight, I need to look at grad schools specifically on the route between here and Toronto, and maybe the surrounding areas. Upstate New York, say? Danae and I need to plan a trip to see her parents, and I need to figure out if I need to do any school visits while we're traveling.

Also, there is a free dental clinic in Lake Geneva on Saturday this weekend. If my car is running, I'm planning to go. I think I lost a small piece of tooth recently, and without health insurance, this is about my only chance to get it looked at. Does anybody want to come with? I'll give you a ride if I can.

Here's a picture from yesterday:


Disheveled Dog - Pic-a-day 24 June 2013

Copyright Stormdog 2013

(no subject)

I took the bus to school to avoid the rain, but I didn't think to pack working-outside clothes. The weather cleared up in the afternoon, so we did some digging at the points of our metal detector finds. It's so much fun to dig through wet, clumpy dirt that doesn't want to shake through the screens. On the plus side, my partner and I found the biggest pottery sherd our group has yet found.

I just put Percy back together. Juan says limited driving is ok, so I'm going to drive out and return those control arms and get the $145.57 I spent on them back. I'm going to buy some food too; I turned on the oven to cook a pizza and realized I'm out of pizza. I need some dinner stuff, and stuff to eat for lunch at field school.

I'm feeling kind of achy today. Maybe it's the weather? Tired and a bit sore.

We've found several horseshoes at the sites we've worked at. I wish I could ask my grandfather about them.

We also found something that I'm almost positive is a pocket watch key! My professor has never seen one in person, so I'm going to bring mine tomorrow to show him.

Did I mention that I spent about 20 or 25 minutes standing in the rain waiting for the bus because I'm not used to the schedule here in Kenosha? It was *so* nice to come home and put on dry socks today.

(no subject)

I stayed entirely dry on the way home! And I have money for the bus tomorrow in case I need it. And I got to bike my commute one more day.

It's been a real treat getting on my bicycle every morning. It's so much better than commuting by car. Though I do like my car, and hope that he is ready to drive sometimes soonish. I wouldn't expect or want Super-mechanic Juan to work in bad weather though, especially when I can't drive over to his place to use his garage.

Anyway, this weekend seems like it will be manageable without. I'm going to take the train to Evanston on Friday. I'll borrow danaeris' car to get to the dental clinic on Saturday morning. I'm probably going to plan to arrive about 3 in the morning. Then she can take me out to DuckCon on Saturday where I'll stay with lisagems on Saturday night. I'm really glad I don't have to miss the convention; I've been looking forward to it. I wish I could just stay there for the three days and not worry about getting to other places and arranging transportation, but so it goes.

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I wear a bandanna under my bike helmet while riding. Today, I decided to put it under my hat as well to guard against the kind of sunburn I got while doing a walkover survey last week.

The site we're at this week is heavily covered by trees so the sun isn't as big a factor, but as well as the occasional sunbeam, this keeps bugs away from my exposed skin too.

In fact, the hat together with bandanna for sun coverage make a lot of sense to me for summer wear; I might just use them regularly.


Safari - Pic-a-day 25 June 2013

Copyright Stormdog 2013


Ok, time to start looking at grad schools along the route to Toronto so I can plan my trip with Danae.

(no subject)

Super-mechanic Juan came by to look at my car, Percy the Swift. He says he could replace the control arms for me, but recommended against it. Swifts have a particular spot on the frame that is prone to rusting out. Especially in this climate, it's basically a matter of time. For Percy the Swift, time is just about up. There's a hole in the passenger side frame member supporting the wheels. Juan passed the handle of my ratchet in one side and out the other. The driver side is not likely any better. He tells me that I can reattach the steering knuckle where I took the bolt out, and that the bolt I broke on the sway bar won't really matter. I can drive him, but I shouldn't leave town, and shouldn't drive more than necessary with the bad ball joints.

And since those ball joints don't make sense to fix, I'm going to try and return the control arms. Hopefully there's still time.

I'm also going to be buying a replacement car. There's one that a friend of a friend is selling that I just looked at. It's going to need suspension work, but the price is right. Juan and I are going to look at it together on Tuesday and decide.

Other than that, I'm looking for other options too. My ideal vehicle would be a four cylinder stick shift, and small. The car I looked at today was a Chevy Lumina with a V6. I stuck my head under the hood and thought "Damn, who needs an engine this big?" And that's not a very big engine. I'm just so used to my little 1.5 liter straight four. I wonder what a V8 would look like to me now! If I could find one, I'd buy a 3 cylinder model.

Anyway, if you know anybody who's selling, let me know? In the meantime, I'm going to be doing a lot of biking.

(no subject)

I returned the car parts, then went grocery and clothes shopping. Goodwill had two shirts I bought for working outside at field school in. Long sleeve, cotton button-ups. I was amused to note that one of them was by Armani; I'll be the best-dressed mud-digger in the field! I also bought a pair of jeans that was a little pricier than the usual thrift store fare, but I decided they were worth it because they make my butt look nice. I will wear them at DuckCon.

Incidentally, I am very much new to paying much attention to my clothing and the way I look. I am, therefore, also quite new to the semiotics and symbolism of fashion. That is, what kind of appearance, mindset, lifestyle, income range, societal niche, etc. are being expressed by particular makers and styles of clothing.

I've realized that, if I have children, I would not advise them that their appearance doesn't matter because people who matter won't judge based on it. Rather, I would tell them that it is important to be aware that their appearance is an act of communication, whether conscious and intentional or not, with many ramifications both gross and subtle. I think that it's probably really handy to at least be aware of that so you can make informed decisions about whether that matters to you.

Anyway, its something I'd like to be more conversant with as I think about how I want to present myself. If that's something you know about, I'd enjoy having a conversation about it some time.

(no subject)

Oh, say, cmcmck; during a span of rain at field school, we watched a video of some Scottish archaeologists doing a dig at the site of the battle of Flodden. It's from a series called Two Men in a Trench. It made me think of you. Have you ever heard of it? What do you think of it? (The series, of course; I'm quite sure you've heard of the battle of Flodden, even though I never had until we watched this video.)