When I was in Kenosha the time before last, Lisa and Erik gave me the most wonderful care package full of things that puppy girls such as myself are well-known to like and enjoy! Earlier today, they saved the day for Ella, who was able to go to the dog park. I was going to take her, but all my socks were in the wash, or in the bedroom where Miriam was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her. But in the care package was a pair of socks, emblazoned, in amazing coincidence, with pictures of dogs and fire hydrants! I was able to put them on take Ella for a run-around. Ella is very grateful.

A second wonderful thing in there is this really interesting combination slide rule and ruler by German maker Dietzgen. (Pictures behind the cut below.) It's a 1760-P model, probably dating from between 1928 and 1941. The slide rule portion is fairly simple. It has the A and B scales for squares or square roots, and the C and D scale for multiplication and division. On the reverse of the slider are S and T scales for sine and tangent calculation. This one also has inch and centimeter measures on the front and back; that seems to be fairly common, but I've never had one before so I thought it was really cool! Also interesting to me is that the scales are labeled on the right side; all my other rules have them labeled on the left.

The back has a paper insert with useful conversion ratios. (But are the approximate lowest common denominator comparisons really better than a decimal conversion factor? Is it really useful to know that it's 82 yards to 75 meters instead of knowing you can multiply by ~1.09? I guess it's easier to calculate the conversation factor yourself in either direction this way...)

It even has a chains to meters conversion for you surveyors out there. But more interesting, and the part of this rule that's most fantastic to me, is the flat-head screws in their little shafts that are holding it together. The way things were constructed in different times is endlessly fascinating to me. It looks like this rule probably had a cursor, now missing, that slid on slots on the top and bottom edges.

( Read more... )

I saw a meme on Facebook that I loved with a picture of Laverne Cox, quoting her as saying:

"My third grade teacher called my mother and said "Ms. Cox, your son is going to end up in New Orleans in a dress if we don't get him into therapy." And wouldn't you know, just last week I spoke at Tulane University, and I wore a lovely green and black dress."

Some teachers aren't very good predictors of kids' futures, though I suppose this one got it right in their way! *laughs*

I had a teacher who told my parents that I have no manual dexterity whatsoever. Maybe that's why I never quite got my five-ball cascade down solid? I can do some relatively complex three-ball work though. Unfortunately, my rola-bola is in Wisconsin 'cause that thing was fun. I wonder if I could combine that with ribbon work somehow?

Picture post!

Images of Piper the Yorkie and vintage electronics behind ( the cut )

I seem to have 16 pairs of jeans, not including the three pairs I'm going to donate (look Danae; this is me actually getting rid of jeans!). That includes a maroon pair and a bright red pair, which I may be wearing more often.

I finished going through the five bags of clothes from Syracuse today. Most of it is now organized in my closet, and I'm getting rid of a number of various things too. Accomplishment!

Behind the cut, there are closet pictures before, during, and after the organizer installation. It was just a single shelf and a single hanging pole. Taking things off the wall left big holes in the plaster that I had to patch, then sand, then patch again, then sand...

( Click for closet pictures! )

And now my brother is here so we're going to play some Master of Orion 2 or something.