In Austin, Texas

On Saturday we flew in at 3. When we left the house early in the morning, the first frost was still on the ground. We picked the last of the tomato crop and brought them inside, hoping that the greener ones will be ripe when we get back.

While Colin was working on his presentations, Ashley and Philip took me to the Light the Night event along with a couple of their Austin friends. The walk (more like a shuffle it was so slow) around the small lake with everyone holding blinking lights was pretty neat. There were tons of dogs there. Then we went to eat at a Tex-Mex place where we had margaritas and then good if slightly pricey food. It was very dark and loud.

Sunday morning I scoped out the book festival. I had plotted out an itinerary based on Saturday's events by mistake; I got there and realized that there was no presentations going on yet since the day started later on Sunday. I also found out that the author I'd hoped to see wasn't able to make it. Despite it all, I had a good time. 

I first went to “The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks” about a book with the same title by Kathleen Flinn. Not surprisingly, 95% of those in attendance were women. Flinn is humorous and made me think about a new angle on the concept of food that I hadn't noticed much before.

On the way back to the hotel for (free) lunch with Colin, I noticed some people milling around outside a theatre. It looked like there might be someone famous out front, with the mobs of cameras and the blocked-off area. Well, what do you know – I turned out to be 20 feet from James Franco. So of course I tried taking a few pictures myself, a couple which actually have his whole face in them instead of just an ear or forehead. I didn't push my way in or anything but I wanted to get proof of my first random celebrity spotting.

After lunch I went back for a few more events, two focusing on history. It was very hot out so I took the opportunity to step into a cafe and get an Italian soda to sip while I ran through the list of authors whose books were on sale at the festival. I also tried to listen to the author of “Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain” but it was in the House Chamber where it was very echo-ey. I could tell he (David Eagleman) was very entertaining but had no clue what he was talking about, so I left early on.

I didn't end up getting any books by any of the speakers I heard, but I did get a 2009 Festival shirt (it's prettier and only $10 instead of $25) and a couple other books - “Cleopatra” by Stacy Schiff and a signed copy of “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” by Charles Wu. It's been quite some time since I've bought books full price (okay, so they're paperback, but I'm traveling) but an undisclosed percentage of the sales is going toward the Festival which is free and open to the public. And I really needed a book to replace the one, “Liar's Club,” I started on the flights that I don't want to finish. It's supposed to be funny but it's downright depressing and a weird memoir based on events in which the writer relies on other people's memories and her own vague ones of her childhood. Yeah, I'm gonna go read “Cleopatra” instead.

Punkins and Prohibition

The two topics I wanted to blog about aren't related except that they've come into my consciousness the past 24 hours. They interest me, but I know that what I find fascinating would bore others to tears - I hope that this is short and humorous enough to entertain instead.

First, punkins:

I was just wondering about the differences in pronunciation of the word "pumpkin." My grandpa always pronounces it as "punkin." When I tried to search for what might be the reason for the wildly different ways of saying it, I was only able to find a dictionary entry stating that the pronunciation was: 

[puhmp-kin or, commonly, puhng-kin]

Then I found a hubpage made about pumpkins. No mention of how to pronounce it, but the article is educational. My favorite part was the history of how the pumpkin pie came about:

 instead of cutting them into strips and baking them, the colonists cut off the top, scooped out the seeds, and then filled the hollow pumpkin with milk, honey and spices. Once filled, they replaced the top and baked the pumpkin in the hot coals of a fire thereby inventing pumpkin pie

I still am not quite sure what regional differences, etc. there are - I'm open to ideas.

Prohibition:

One of the stranger aspects of volunteering at a church library that has been out of commission for years is finding, for lack of a better word, archaic texts. "Bombs of Infinite Power" which has been "stockpiled" by Allen R. Blegen is merely a long list of short and popular Bible passages. While this can be explained by the publication date, which is 1964, there is no reason to have it in any current library, only in archives. 

Another old pamphlet-sized monograph is titled "To Drink or Not to Drink? A Vital, Personal Problem Facing America To-Day" by James W. Johnson. There is no publication date listed, but it's clear it was after the Great War (World War I) and before World War II, during the Prohibition Era (1920-33). I had expected to see a religious argument but there was very little Biblical reference.

Instead, it started out with a numerated list of reasons drinking should be legal. Not too bad, I give the writer points for attempting to give voice to both sides. However, there are the four pages of both introduction and anti-Prohibition arguments contrasting the 16 pages of why Prohibition is necessary.

The four main points:

1. Liberty
1. PRO Obviously, thinking men and women should be able to have the choice and if they're not thinking, they're only hurting themselves, not others.
2. CON But they're not hurting just themselves; we have a duty to be our brother's keeper. The Law should uphold the moral law. States have to give up some of their liberty to become part of the United States. "The appeal for personal liberty is powerful. The appeal for brotherhood is overwhelming."
2. Old Customs
1. PRO We have indulged in alcoholic beverages for ages. "The abuse of wine was always condemned, not wine used in moderation."
2. CON Just because we've always done it doesn't mean we should continue to do it. Think about polygamy ("Even when practiced under the camouflage of religion the Mormons ...") and slavery.
3. Physical Needs
1. PRO Alcohol can be stimulating and cheering when used in moderation. It is even recommended by doctors in certain cases of physical illness.
2. CON Even for the cases which alcohol can help, there are alternatives which work just as well, if not better. There are far too many negative outcomes ("The alcoholic ward, the crime committed in drunken frenzy, the suicidal act ...") to deny that it is usually tragic for the many.
4. The Social Instinct
1. PRO "In all social gatherings from time immemorial, at feasts, banquets and celebrations, the use of wine has been the custom." And being good social animals is important.
2. CON The saloon is the poor man's club, but "it must be admitted that poverty is increased by drinking." Along with the patriotic duty that calls for every man to be his fittest.

And it goes on to describe other pro-Prohibitionist points, most of which are no big surprise, including the argument that man must be protected from his temptations but that the expressed desire of the majority for the Prohibition will win out in the end. "There may be a return to (previous) conditions ... but such a setback will only be temporary. Because, as Lincoln so tersely said, 'You can't fool all the people all the time.'"

The passage I find most amusing is the one about the "very real difference between the temperament of Americans and the temperament of foreigners." How Americans are intense, high-strung, and keen, which is responsible for excess in many ways. "We cannot even enter into our sports without often suffering more from exhaustion and overplay than we benefit from the relaxation and the exercise. This is especially true of our young men and women. It is not equally true of most foreigners."

Can't you just hear the grumpy old man's voice in your head from 80 to 90 years ago?

Camping, stick bugs, and brown snakes

Yesterday afternoon we left to go camping for one night, the third visit to Kettle Moraine SP - South. It's only an hour (usually an hour and a half because of traffic) away from our house, in the woodsier, lumpier, and rockier areas of Wisconsin.

We were gone for less than 24 hours but it was rejuvenating. We had a walk-in site which was mostly uphill from the car than "in." I forgot the can opener but was able to use my pocket knife. We had way too much food but that is not an especially big problem. We are discovering that the little pot the stove (Mini Trangia) came with might not be quite big enough; we used the normal, larger pot I packed for both meals. Then again, we ended up with more food than we could eat and making meals is a bit different when backpacking (I wouldn't take a whole can of mixed veggies, for instance, but some dehydrated stuff instead).

I've also been experimenting with how to keep the sleeping pads from drifting apart in the night and creating a cold gap. There is a strappy device that I spotted online but couldn't find it being sold and some people complained it didn't work anyway. Then I found a suggestion to use some of that sticky shelf liner stuff under the pads. We tried a couple of squares of that the last trip. There was less drifting but nowhere near enough anchorage and the liner actually rolled up in the night.

So this time I got more (it's $1.50 for 5 feet - and Menard's has a $1.50 mail-in rebate), enough to be able to wrap in width-wise. I didn't want to glue it, so I sewed up one end of the two pieces and then used twist ties to bind the opposite ends while setting up camp. The metal twist ties poked through, so that needs to be changed. I also think wrapping it in the center instead of near the top might help things. But all in all, after I readjusted once when we were settled in, there was only a negligible amount of drifting.

The moon was full and bright last night. We kept nice and warm, but some critter (probably a raccoon) got his paws on an open package of graham crackers (the threat of wildlife getting into food is very low there and we thought things were well tucked away). We also spotted a stick insect missing a leg:

And a (very harmless) brown snake in its red stage:

And now we're back home, with drippy noses. Don't feel particularly sick but there's a vague feeling that we're both fighting something. This means it's simple noodles and canned sauce for dinner since I'm not up to making anything more adventurous.

And talk of shoes and ships and sealing wax ...

computer

Something I've recently taken up (again) is running. Or, rather, jogging. I started out when the temperatures were finally dropping down to a reasonable range in late August. One thing that prompted me to do it was "Born to Run." I enjoyed the story and was intrigued by the idea of "natural running."

I've been feeling some physical improvements - strong and more endurance. I've also been constantly quelling shin splints, which aren't debilitating since I run in short sections between walking. The key word is slow. Still, I've been able to run more frequently and longer. If you don't care to read the details about shoes, you might want to skip the next three paragraphs (they contain blisters).

As for the natural running method, I looked at barefoot shoes. The Vibram Five Fingers wouldn't work for me, simply because of my weird toes; the second-to-smallest curls under the middle one and trying to straighten it out is uncomfortable. So, I spotted some similar shoes by Merrell. I really like Merrell; their shoes really do last a looong time. I have a pair of shoes I bought for study abroad (where I walked a LOT - some of it with cheap flip flops that my roommate in Rome was shocked I still wore after we came back) and they're still my main pair of shoes.

I got really excited about the Merrell Pure Glove (Mary Jane style), especially when I found out they were 30% off at REI where I have a gift certificate. I looked at the store but they only had one pair that were too large. So I ordered a half size down online. Still seemed too big. Ordered the next size down and those seemed just right. Then I made the classic rookie mistake of taking them with me to SF - and getting a huge blister on my heel less than a mile into walking. This really surprised me - all the reviews raved about how they fit so well. So I guessed they were still too big. Except instead of length-wise, it looks like they were too wide (I have quite narrow feet). I could have ordered yet another pair to try but I wasn't optimistic about the idea; instead, I just boxed them up and sent them back. Eventually I will get a pair of Merrell Pace to try, which look a lot more like normal tennis shoes and are definitely fit more snugly all around when I tested them in the store.

Meanwhile, both pairs of old running shoes I tried didn't work (gave me blisters). Luckily, I have a pair of shoes I bought in India that don't have much cushioning and I've been using those. I can't quite remember what brand they are and I'm out and about right now. *end shoe stories*

Colin and I have both been having computer scares lately. Thank goodness we have a backup system. We're near an Apple store where Colin took his computer last night after it become completely unresponsive and found that they had to replace the motherboard. Which they did for free and we were able to pick it up this morning.

My own machine has been acting crankier than usual (on top of having very shot battery life). It would probably be a good idea just to get the next machine before this one completely up and dies. *sigh* Then again, over three years for an early version of a netbook is not bad. I've been looking both at newer netbooks and at computers that come with Linux. Sadly, they're almost mutually exclusive categories, although some of the Linux computers are on the smaller side, with an exception of Asus X101 that has a great price to boot. The solid state hard drive and the no ethernet port makes me pause, so I'm keeping an eye out for more reviews.

Okay, we're going to head home now. It's yet another glorious day outside!