A Roll in the Universe

Ever been embroiled in one of those silly looks-like-life-or-death-but-isn't-really discussions on Usenet or online forums? You know, the ones that end up spewing lava, often over something that was simply a misinterpretation, or that could have been quickly cleared up using politeness, but took forever to recover itself due to sarcasm and nastiness. Well, I got myself into one of those, inadvertantly (also typical), and it was about philtrums . Now, normally, the backlashes from such discussions, though raising blood pressure temporarily, manage to quickly fade from my mind. Rather, I'm pretty good at shrugging them off. After all, it's Usenet. But not this time, and simply because this time, I had learned a new word: Philtrum . And now I'm seeing philtrums everywhere, and everywhere I see them, I think "philtrum" . Actually, we all see philtrums all the time. My problem now is that this very specific feature now has a very specific name and it is forev...

There's an eclipse today. The broohaha is that the moon will block out the sun for as long as 4 minutes or so, widely seen today at lunch time GMT in a swath of land that includes Turkey. Since we finally got our rain back, we in Bergen, Norway, will not see the eclipse. We probably won't notice the disappearing light, either, because at our latitude the eclipse is partial, with the moon blocking only 30% of the sun, and who can tell with all these clouds, anyway. But this reminds of the day we did see a brief but total eclipse here in Bergen, Norway. On a hot, clear August day in 1999, I scrounged for something dark enough to see through, and then took the day off work to sit on my grandma's balcony. She had a front row view, directly facing the path of the eclipse, and she and I got ourselves out there, with a pot of coffee by our side, and waited for the nearly invisible moon to climb high enough to meet the sun. We sat in the heat, toasting and tanning our bare feet...

I started the day watching a little girl be born . She was actually born yesterday evening, but her dad obviously couldn't get the video online just then (he may not have it at the permanent link yet, either; if not, try www.knivo.com/blog/blog.html . Dad is the son of a co-worker, and I appreciate being allowed to share the experience. Now to go to work and call said co-worker Gramps. ;-)

I had some time on my hands, and went a-searching using Blogger's search tool for "Religious Science", the other name that "Science of Mind" goes by, as in Church of Religious Science. And I found some doozies, especially in the misinformed department. Here is what "Religious Science" isn't : It's not to be confused with that other "religious science" that currently has portions of America wanting creationism taught as equal to the theory of evolution. It's not a cult. Seriously. It's just another church and there's no mumbo-jumbo to join, no limits on what books to read, no worshipping the leader, and no brain-washing - unless you count getting a way of ridding yourself of some fears brain-washing. It's not Scientology. It's not Church of Christ, Scientist, either, also known as Christian Science. It's not Christianity, though its founder, Ernest Holmes, used the teachings of Christ as examples and insp...

Don't you just hate it when you find a new blog to read, and the current 10 posts are great, and so are the archives, and then no new posts for days? For weeks? And weeks even turn into months? Yeah, I know. I used to pull that crap, too. And since it has been a few posts without pictures, here's a beauty: A full moon over Øystese by the Hardanger fjord, one February:

From Ultrablog comes a meme that actually requires thinking (oh, gawd, why did I start this?): Make a list of thirteen about something. OK, thirteen things about New Age fairs since I just buzzed the local New Age fair today: 1. Swathing everything and yourself in purple or bright gold crushed velvet doesn't make you more spiritual - or even healthy-looking. 2. Looking bored (or even shy) while between customers won't get you more customers. I've worked the floor at this fair enough years to admire my psychic friend's business brilliance: She knew to get out in front of her booth when she had time on her hands and present herself to the steady stream of people and thus pull in some new customers. 3. Looking too weird has the same effect as looking bored. Except for the cat woman with the yellow contact lenses and paw print tattoos. She actually made sales. But she smiled a lot, too. 4. If the EFT or the crystals or the chimes or the music or the teas or the acu...

I just viewed a "promo video" of Mars . I have absolutely no desire to go to Mars. It looks mind-numbingly boring. It looks like the Moon, but I'd go to the Moon. That's because the Moon offers a wonderful view of planet Earth . I'd like to see that for myself. I'd also like to go to one of Jupiter's moons and see a wonderful view of planet Jupiter. Or Saturn's moons and see Saturn and its rings and stuff. Way more interesting than Mars. Yeah, I'm an astronomical snob (is there such a thing?). Back on planet Earth, I visited our local aquarium again, this time with a guide. And this time, in front of the herring exhibit, with tons of fish all moving in the same direction, over and over and over and over, I didn't feel claustrophobic. I felt peace. Something about watching all that gorgeous silver moving from left to right at a steady pace that calmed me. I even discovered individuals: Some herring with one eye missing, one had disfigured tai...

The joke is, during some difficult, messy or otherwise undesirable activity, to ask, "Are we having any fun yet?" The answer currently is, "Yes!" Friday I saw a shrink for the first time. I've been seeing a therapist at work, but yesterday was the first time I saw one that I paid for and that I expect to talk about really personal stuff with. I found him through an ad in the paper. A gestalt therapist and psychologist. The first session went fast. I spent an hour and a half talking about myself, words tripping over themselves and me even being a bit joking. I was in a very good mood. I go back Thursday. I asked my therapist if there was anything I should do in the meantime. He said to carry on as I had been. I was a bit disappointed. Then I realized that that was a pretty specific instruction. I had told him about my process that started last fall and let him read the affirmation I used. Today was fun It does make a difference in my day, if I start it w...

My thoughts watching this (which is why I watched it several times): Ooh, she's bold! Hey, Smash Mouth! Perfect tune for this. Ooh, she's bold! She doesn't know what'll happen next! Boy, is she sweet, even when she sticks out her tongue! (Wish I could look sweet like that.) Look, everybody's smiling, laughing! Told ya so! He got her! *giggle*

To make up for my David Hasselhoff link , here's something truly beautiful and worth watching (and hearing) Chris Bliss' Big Finale . (A tip to those of you with large screens: Choose "original size" to get clarity from drop-down menu at bottom of video screen.)

This has so far been a politics-free blog. Don't worry. It will remain so. What made me think about it, is that three of my friends whose blogs I read (links in the menu on this page), will post about political issues. So here's a little musing about why I don't. First of all, I have never been a newshound. Although I am a child of both the Cold War and a sort-of victim of it (see below), and there was this thing called Vietnam and another thing called Watergate while I was growing up, I was mainly oblivious to it all. My folks had a rule of not having the evening news on while we ate dinner. I'd usually leave the room or do something else while the grown-ups watched the news, which may have contributed to my sense of safety in an unsafe world. I still don't watch the news much, nor do I eagerly read newspapers, though I grew up with people who did. The news - as in foreign affairs, politics, current events - rarely grabs me. Today's media tend to present ce...

This "test" fascinated me, in all its simplicity, so I'm sharing. By selecting one image, you find out what your hidden talent is. Your Hidden Talent Your natural talent is interpersonal relations and dealing with people. You communicate well and are able to bring disparate groups together. Your calming presence helps everything go more smoothly. People crave your praise and complements. What's Your Hidden Talent?

One surfs. One clicks on links without knowing where one ends up. And today one ended up here: www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounceometer/shock.html . Now, this Flash-driven site has a good reason for using Flash, so that's OK. After a lovely and informative intro, I innocently went on to the bounceometer. After settling for size C - and feeling oddly dinky because that was the third smallest size offered - and then choosing an activity level (medium), I got the, uh, bounce metered, and it, well, it defies description. No, really. Go see for yourself.

I took myself out for a walk today, just to get some pictures of the neighborhood pond in white. We don't often get snow here where I live (seriously, Bergen gets the full brunt of the gulf stream so it's downright balmy at times, for 60 degrees north), but for a week we've had white on the ground and enough freezing temperatures to keep it there. And unlike Oslo and neighboring regions who are suffocating in the stuff, we are not hampered by our paltry couple of inches of snow. We've even had sunshine. But not today. Today, fluffy white crystals fell out of the sky. But to the north was a break in the cloud cover and a subtle coloring of the sky over distant hills, with a frosted pond in the foreground. Thusly: (Any little spots you see in the sky in the larger version are actually crows flying.)

I got my computer back up and running. I even blogged about it yesterday, only to lose all contact with my computer again after installing an OS-upgrade, so I deleted that entry. A few hours later, once again, I got my computer back up and running. This time, I'm first getting a good backup routine going, then I'm going to start fiddling around with reinstalling my extra RAM, upgrading the OS, etc. So I need to purchase an external hard drive. But I have to say, once something had to go wrong, I'm happy that all it took was some information and time to fix. I already own a size 0 star screwdriver. Tonight I even put my VCR back in place, something I hadn't done since I got it back from the repair shop around Christmas. Plug in, switch on, flashing 00:00, but works like a charm! I'm enjoying my M*A*S*H VCR-collection. Now, if I could only feel like doing the dishes...