An alternative to Television II

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An alternative to Television

.... or ... what to do if you are bored...



As I've said before, I'm a G.I.T. (a Geek in Training) and I love discovering new sites on the web. Thanks to my Twitter friends, I've disovered ustream.tv which has an array of live shows at any particular time of day. Some are pretty cheezy... such as live cam of some college kid sleeping, but there are some pretty interesting shows also.



For example:

Fr. Roderick, who does quite a few podcasts for his SQPN network, keeps his cam going while going about his daily routine. Sometimes you can watch him recording his podcast The Daily Breakfast, to name one in particular, but often he is just in his office doing paperwork, working on his next sermon, or rearranging his office computer equipment.

Fr. Roderick is such a regular guy, it doesn't matter if you are Catholic or not, you can enhance your life knowledge just by listening/watching. His enthusiasm for all things geeky is contagious. Catch the bug!!

His other podcasts include The Secrets of Harry Potter, The Secrets of Narnia, The Healthy Catholic and others.



You can also watch a live fish tank and a hamster habitat, but one of my favorite live cams is from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation, which has been following the development of falcon eggs in a nesting box outside the window of an office building.

The chicks are several weeks old now, and have ventured out of the box (so to speak), but are still on the ledge. You can tell from the video that this is not a ground floor window.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/392127

Discover ustream.tv! It's fantastic. Follow them on twitter at http://twitter.com/UstreamTV or me at http://twitter.com/tiggr or Fr. Roderick at http://twitter.com/FatherRoderick

Ford's Theater

A simple sign in front of a historical landmark. The play that night was "Our American Cousin".

Directly across the street from Ford's Theater, where the President was taken after being mortally wounded.

The Presidential Box, (minus the modern speakers). John Wilkes Boothe opened the door behind the President and First Lady, and fired.

If you are in Washington D.C. and have the time, participate in the the History on Foot program. Get off the Greyline bus, explore the living history that has made our Nation's Capitol such a wonderful city to visit and get to know.

(The following is shamelessly copied from http://www.fordstheatre.org/Performances/)

"On the night of April 14, 1865, Detective James McDevitt was on duty at the Washington Metropolitan Police headquarters at the corner of 10th and E Streets. Just before 10:30 p.m., frantic witnesses rushed in with news: President Lincoln had been shot at Ford’s Theatre. Before long, other rumors swept the streets: the Secretary of State, the Vice-President, General Grant – all dead. Southern prisoners freed; Confederate cavalry converging on the city. Join Detective McDevitt to revisit and reexamine the sites and clues that separate fact from fiction in a first-hand look at the investigation into the Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy and the events of April 14 and 15, 1865.
History on Foot lasts approximately 90 minutes and makes at least 8 stops throughout the story. The distance walked is approximately 1.4 miles, an easy walk to follow the most exciting night in our nation's history!
History on Foot Walking Path
Tour Dates Available:
Friday, June 20 at 7 pm
Friday, June 27 at 7 pm
Friday, July 11 at 7 pm
Friday, July 18 at 7 pm
Friday, August 1 at 7 pm
Friday, August 8 at 7 pm
Saturday, August 16 at 7 pm
Saturday, August 23 at 7 pm
Space is limited, so make your reservation today!!!

Now Offering Private Tours of History on Foot :
Private tours of History on Foot are available by request and based on availability. Private tours can be requested for any time, on any day of the week based on availability. There is a flat fee of $500 for a private tour for a group of any size -- 2-40 people. Payment in full is due at the time of tour confirmation. Tours are approximately 90 min. and travel about 1.4 miles beginning at Ford's Theatre and ending at the White House. For more information or to book a tour please contact the Group Sales office by calling 202.638.2367 or email groups@fords.org. In order to facilitate scheduling of the tour. please be prepared to provide us with your first, second and third choices of dates and times for the tour, as well as the number of people and a very brief description of the group. We will make every effort to accommodate your first scheduling choice. Thank you for your interest. We look forward to seeing you at History on Foot!

Fire on the Grove

Last week, I got a lot of tweets from people in Boise about something being called "Fire on the Grove". I'm not sure if this was an "official" name for it, but...

As a semi-hermit, I decided to venture out of my cave to see what was going on. It was a beautiful, warm night in Boise, and so after a bite to eat at Pollo Rey and dessert from Cold Stone, I wandered over to the Grove fountain area to do a little people watching while waiting for sunset. Since fire was going to be involved, sunset was the appointed starting time.

There were quite a few "stilt" people, as in the picture above, who were wandering around, working the crowd before the show. It reminded me of the late 60's carnival troupes who busked for money wherever the wind took them.

At 8:30, the appointed hour of sundown, after about 15 min of their band playing pretty good music, the stilters came out to wow the crowd.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VhaSu4ezWkw is one of the acts...

Enjoy

Good news involving a Teen

With all the complaints about young people today (and the last generation, and the last, and the last) it's good to see someone who got involved, with no thought of personal safety or reward. It's even nicer to see that person recognized on a national level.

The following story was shamelessly taken from the 14 April 2008 Idaho Statesman (link in the title of the video).

byline: By Jerry Manter Idaho Statesman reporter

BOISE - A Caldwell teenager has the U.S. House of Representatives thanking her.
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Bill Sali officially recognized Brooke Garcia, 17, in the U.S. Congressional Record.Last week, police officials say Garcia saved the life of a 3-year-old toddler in an Intestate-84 accident. The toddler's aunt, who was driving the vechile died in the crash.

"Madame Speaker, I rise today in recognition of my constituent Brooke Garcia of Caldwell, Idaho. On Thursday night, April 10, Brooke displayed courage, bravery and maturity well beyond her young 17 years of age."

"While driving down Interstate 84 in Caldwell, Brooke witnessed a car accident. Her quick thinking led her to stop her car and run to the burning wreckage. Brooke then had to break the back window of the smoke-filled car and reach through the broken window to pull out a 3 year-old toddler from his seat. She said she didn't even think about not stopping."

"Police on the scene said if Brooke didn't get to the child as quickly as she did things, would have turned out differently. She saved the toddler's life. I admire Brooke's composure after witnessing such a terrible accident. I am honored to recognize the heroic efforts of my constituent. I am grateful for her example to our fellow Idahoans and all Americans."

"Brooke's valiant action is yet another reminder of why I am proud to be an Idahoan and to represent the Gem State's First Congressional District. Brooke attends Caldwell High School and is the daughter of Amy and Gerald Garcia. They are rightly proud of their wonderful daughter."

"I trust that all my colleagues will join me in recognizing Brooke for her actions and character. She represents the best of Idaho's next generation."

How could I??

Well, it's been a busy month, but and exciting one too. I mean, how many people can say they are in a podio(audio)book??? OK, Evo Tera can, but he get's bumped off in the middle of Murder By Design (by Rob Suarez), and I'm sure there are some others, but lil 'ol me??

It happened! Paul Nicholls (www.podcastpaul.com) is writing a new audiobook based on the life in hallowed halls of the legal profession. It's semi-autobiographical so you know that he knows the stuff he's writing about. He's been furiously writing while on holiday in Devon, so I'm sure the next segment will be available soon. In the first one, just about eight minutes into the story... well, I'll let you listen to see the major contribution I provide. Paul Parkinson (www.thisweekinlondon.blogspot.com) is mentioned too. Well done podcastpaul!!

Just in case all the dubs confuse you... scroll down the left side of this page to the player, and listen to the first episode of A Law Unto Myself, the latest and greatest podiobook available online. And I promise, this is a completely objective and unbiased review.

Really!

My Football team

OI OI!!

WE'RE GOING TO WEMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

I can't help it. I'm so proud of the lads (transtlation = these guys) I could just burst. I was following the match (game) at work yesterday; I kept hitting refresh on my mobile (cell phone) and not believing the results. It wasn't until the tweets started coming in (http://www.twitter.com/) that I actually believed that David had slew Goliath. Beaten him, at his own game, in his own back yard!! There are not words to express what is going on in Portsmouth now, I'm sure. I've been reading the message boards, but imagine if YOUR team had won, the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup and World Series all rolled into one... that's got to be what Pompey supporters were feeling in Manchester yesterday.

PLAY UP POMPEY, POMPEY PLAY UP

This video is to a song sung by Shep Wooley, a wonderful friend to Pompey and her supporters

7th Son Web Widget

Oops he did it again!!

Mark Hunter, host of The Tartanpodcast, Mark My Words and other podcasts mentioned in the previous posting has recorded Tartanpodcast 112!!!!!!!!!!

Download it and all the other great episodes Mark has produced from the link in the last post!

Great to have it back Mark!

Since I already wrote this...Part 1

I posted this on someone elses comment section (http://www.gadzooki.com/) and thought, hold on... I've already written this, I might as well use it on my own blog... so here it is...

In response to the question of what podcasts to we listen to, here is my reply:

Hey Jim!
I too have let podcasts take over my life. As a postal worker, processing mail, I listen to podcasts for over 8 hours a day!! Because of this, I need a variety of ‘casts, and I really prefer ones which are 30 min or less, to keep the pace up. I also tend to prefer the “homemade” podcasts, where “real” people like me seem to be having fun podcasting. It gives me hope for my future podcast. Here are some I’ve found in the last 3 years that I’ve been listening to podcasts:

Podcastpaul and This Week in London are a great mix of music, friendly chat and the occasional holiday in a caravan. Paul Nicholls and Paul Parkinson are mates in real life, and have both had their families involved in some of their shows. Janet Parkinson (Geek Girl on The Flashing 12 Podcast) is so genuine, you'd like them to move in next door. Love these guys, and hope to meet them and their families someday.
Comedy
Bell’s In the Batfry with John Bell www.thebatfry.com This is great family friendly skit comedy. Listen from the beginning of show One.

Podiobooks

Playing For Keeps- by Mur Lafferty (@mightymur on Twitter) A wonderfully read tale of a Third Waver trying to lead a “normal” life in a world filled with super heros and villains. http://www.playingforkeepsnovel.com/

Billibub Baddings and the Singing Sword - by Tee Morris www.teemorris.com, author of Podcasting for Dummies.

Music

The Tartanpodcast with Mark Hunter. www.tartanpodcast.libsyn.com Within the Tartanpodcast feed are the Sleepy Sunday shows, Mellow Monday shows and some spotlight shows. Great independent bands from Scotland such as Finniston, Amplifico and Hollow Horse, just to name a few. Mark also has some “talking” podcasts under his “Mark My Words,” www.tartanstories.com . Mark has moved on to doing podcasts for the Association for International Cancer Research, which are very informative and cover a different type of cancer each podcast.

Three from Leith with Grant Mason…

Talk
Old Time Radio Shows
Adventures of Inspector Maigret
Old Time Radio Detectives
Old Time Radio Mysteries

Videos
I just discovered the Ask a Ninja podcast which is brilliant, clever and short… must be seen to be understood.

the next post has more from this

A Visit to Tubac

Have you discovered the jewel in the Arizona desert that is Tubac? No? Well, why not? Tubac, Arizona, is one of my favorite places to wander through when I'm in Arizona visiting my mother. Located alongside I-19, the Interstate highway which leads Tucsonians and hundreds of thousands of touristas to the Mexican border town of Nogales, Tubac is easy to find, but difficult to leave. Nestled in the sagebrush of the Santa Cruz River Valle, Tubac is the oldest European settlement in Arizona. History buffs will love it for that reason alone, but if weren't enough, there are enough shops and restaurants to satisfy any desire.

(Photos above shamelessly borrowed from www.tubacarizona.com site. Please visit this site for an indepth history of Tubac).

If you love to shop for western clothes, furnishings, pottery or jewelry, this is the place. There is a shop just for southwestern spices, and others which specialize in ironworks like these in the video below. On my last trip to Tubac, I found beautiful ceramic house numbers with a wrought iron holder to mount on my house. I could have chosen from a dozen or so styles, and several sizes, which didn't make the decision very easy!

My brother was on a quest for a certain type of bowl, sort of like a mortar bowl, which is used to make guacamole in. One particular shop knew what he wanted, but didn't have it. She was, however, visiting her own mother in Nogales that evening, and promised to bring one back with her if we could come back the next day. We did and she did. Mission accomplished! (As an aside, I got my house numbers from her too.)

You don't want to shop? How about eating? With several restaurants and cafes to choose from, taste authentic foods from the area. There are also museums in Tubac and the nearby area, including the "Chili" museum just south of Tubac (past the giant chicken restaurant shown in a previous blog).

The Tumacacori Mission is across the street from the Chili museum, and was founded in 1691, though the standing Mission was built in the early 1800's. Be sure to take your National Park's passport for a stamp commemorating your visit!!

Nogales?? What? You never made it? Oh well, it will be there the next time... if you can drive by Tubac without stopping.

And on a lighter note:

In the middle of winter... a ray of hope that Spring will be here soon...

Going Green??

I have my own opinions on this whole Global Warming thing... one word... cycles. I don't mean bicycles, motorcycles or unicycles either. I'm sitting here in the coldest winter since 1990 where I live, under a blanket of snow, and with a down duvet over me. Global warming indeed.

Be that as it may, I'm doing my best to stock up on incandescent light bulbs before they are outlawed (Thomas Edison is spinning in his grave!!). I concede that I bought 5 energy saving light bulbs last month, but that was because they were mismarked at 99 cents instead of $5.99. I'm not stupid after all. I use them for my back porch light which stays on 24/7.

I almost got out the duct tape today, to keep my head exploding, when out on my front steps was my FOURTH new telephone book this month. Greeness aside, WTF??? Who needs FOUR new phone books? Granted, they were from three different companies, but why? It must be expensive for the 'phone' companies to print out these every year. Wouldn't a better idea be to send out postcards to their local area customers asking if they would like a new phone book? This sounds better than putting a new one on every front step in the region.

What do I do with last years phone books? Or the year before's, for that matter???? Phone book recycling is available somewhere, but who knows where. There should be a notification on the front of the NEW books telling you what to do with the OLD books. Perhaps a pick up service by the phone companies themselves the following week so they can recycle them for their own use?

Just a thought.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Egypt 2005

I had a lovely 7 weeks in Egypt in the Summer of 2005, courtesy of Uncle Sam. Everyone needs a rich Uncle to send them travelling!!



See my striped tan? That's what 13 days on the beach does to you, when the sun comes through the bars of the balcony.



The Egyptians loved me so much, they presented me with my own fez.



I started out on the coast of the Med, up near Al Alamain where "there is also a Commonwealth war cemetery with graves of soldiers from various countries who fought on the British side. This has monuments commemorating Greek, New Zealand, Australian and South African forces. The Commonwealth cemetery, as is common at many such cemeteries in the world, consists of parallel rows of gravestones, each one bearing an engraving of the deceased soldier's unit emblem, his name and an epitaph from his family. Rows upon rows of gravestones stand witness to the battles' human cost." (thanks wikipedia).


Besides the Great Pyramids of Giza... I was able to get down the Nile Valley to Bani Suawayf for a day. On the way back, we saw a few "step pyramids'. Our driver said there are over 120 pyramids in Egypt. We only saw 12 that day, and we weren't even looking for them. We just stopped along side the highway to get this pic.








Egypt is known for it's fantastic crystal, made from the silica in all the sand there. It comes from a particular region and the pieces are fantastic!



This is the showroom of one crystal factory in Cairo. Talk about sensory overload!! There were mirrors on all the walls with reflected the lights of the room and display cases. Sunglasses were almost needed to save your eyes!



Besides lounging on the beach for a few days, I actually got to the Giza pyramids, the Egypt Museum ( no cameras allowed inside, grrrr), took a nice dinner cruise on the Nile, and had a late night personal tour of the ancient section of Cairo on the first night of Ramadan. What an experience!!



I do hope to get back eventually and see the Luxor area of the Nile Valley.

My Mac blogs

I thought I'd just put a link up to my original blogs I started when I bought my MacBook Pro... it was so user friendly, I had to do it.

There are two: one with Site_2 in the link and one with Site_3 in the link. Both have pictures from my various travells on them.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

http://web.mac.com/laurelmeadows/Site_2/Blog/Blog.html

http://web.mac.com/laurelmeadows/Site_3/Blog/Blog.html

Snow in Boise

I woke up to snow this morning again... must be the fault of Global Warming... everything else seems to be. ( I wonder if I'm only 5'4" because of Global Warming too, even though I'm the tallest female in my family in 3 generations, lol)

As I write this it looks like a proper blizzard out there, and here I went and shovelled my steps, walkway and driveway, grrrrrrrrr.

Road trip through Kabul

There were three ways of getting from Kabul to/from Bagram Air Base: airplane, helicopter or by road. Travelling the 30 miles took at least 90 minutes and had to be done by armoured vehicled convoy. This trip was in British SNATCH vehicles, and this video was taken through the one window in the passenger compartment.

95% of the civilian vehicles in Afghanistan are Toyotas. White Toyotas. Yellow and white ones are taxis.

I was in the lead vehicle, so you can sometimes see the chase vehicle in the video.

Great lads, the Brits- diligent, well-trained professionals. They got me home safe everytime.

Birthday video

I wanted to the video up of Gerry blowing out his candles, and opening his cards, but there is a 100 MB limit, and the video is 103 MB. Sheesh...

Arizona desert

Just a few pics from Arizona... my ticket from the play "Scrooge" at the Gaslight Theater...


Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)



Everyone needs a giant chicken in their front yard... this one is at a restaurant south of Green Valley, AZ


Mission San Xavier in south Tucson. Its a gem, dazzling white, which can be seen for miles.

And finally... the panoramic Arizona desert in December.

Arizona in December

ARIZONA - DECEMBER 2007

Last month, I was able to get to Green Valley, AZ for a few days, to help celebrate a milestone in our family. My step-dad, Gerry, turned 90 years old. He's been a part of our family for over 40 years, and you couldn't ask for better.

Both my brothers and my sister (along with assorted family members) were there, and along with the usual jocularity, we were able to get some good family time in. My three siblings and I hadn't all been together with my mom in over 10 years (+/- a few).

Of course, my mom had a few activities planned. Sheesh, what do you do with a house full of adults, and 2 toddlers? lol.

The first day, my sister and I met up in the Denver airport, and caught the same plane in to Tucson. We did all the normal catching up, sitting across the aisle from each other, while she wrote out her Christmas cards. (I, of course, have my envelopes addressed and stamped and STILL haven't mailed any out).

The next day, we had tickets for SCROOGE, a modernization of the Dicken's play, which was on at the Gaslight Theater. This little theater puts on a variety of different plays and productions. I'd been there once before to watch a melodrama where they encourage you to boo and hiss at the villian.

The play was hilarious, and afterwards everyone in the audience celebrating a birthday got an ice cream sundae (Gerry included). We went to a great Mexican restaurant (well, it is Tucson, after all) afterwards.

We also did a quick trip to Tubac, a small artsy town (ok, more of a village), a few miles south of Green Valley. Almost every building is a shop of some sort selling southwester/mexican/craftsy stuff. My brother was on a mission to find a particular bowl made of stone for making guacamole. We found a lady who could get it that night from Mexico, and promised to come back the next day for it, which we of course did. We picked up an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen on the way home for Gerry's birthday.

The last night I was there was the BIG dinner at the restaurant at the golf course. Nine adults and two children! I don't think they were ready for us. The big surprise was my Brother in Law and nephew flying in from Georgia that day, just for the dinner. They flew out the next day, as I did. WOW!!

It was a great time, not too much sibling rivalry (haha). We all got to take the mick out of Gerry, excusing anything he did with .... "it's alright... now that you are officially "really really old"" LOLOLOL