Fun Facts about Cardinals (The Bird, not the Person)

Here are a couple things I've observed since putting birdseed out on my windowsill -

1- Cardinals chirp while they eat

2- Cardinals like to eat at 5am

That is all.

Video

I did this.  And you can, too.  Probably.

IDK bros i've been spamming the hell out of this link.  I love building models and feel like i've unlocked secret powers by learning how to use imovie better to like... speed up the video and do voice overs.  I don't know how I feel about youtube as a Thing though.  It's great but it's also the worst for a lot of reasons.

Nanoblocks are also great but also the worst, for less reasons.

Thanks anyway.

The Lion in my House

There's a lion in my house.  He is small, but he is all Lion.  This is among the few things he knows for certain.  He knows that he is loved, and he knows that he's a lion, and that's about it.

I've been making a point to spend more time at home, and I'm now getting to see him sleep.  Little greengold eyes slowly shutting, tiny pink paws kneading at nothing, grabbing at the arm of the sofa, slipping.  I wonder what he dreams about.  Because I spend too much time at work, getting to see this small lion sleep is a rare treat.  But I know he needs the beauty rest.  He has busy days too, making sure the birds that come to our windowsill to eat stay out of trouble.  We live in an apartment now, so he no longer has to keep the proseletysers and political canvassers at bay, but keeping the birds and occasional squirrel in line have replaced that task.  And at night he has to chase the ghosts.  That's when I see the true Wild in him.

We almost thought we had lost him earlier this year, his body becoming thin and frail, his preference suddenly to just hide from the world.  But with the help of a very good veterinarian, we were able to learn of an overactive thyroid that was making him ill.  Something that can be treated with medicine.  A radiation therapy may be in the future for him, which would cure him forever, but it would require boarding him at the vet's office for five days, so I'm on the fence about that.  So for now I go into the city every month to pick up his medicine, and I stop in the zoo whilst down that way to say hi to his cousins, the big lions.

Shortcut

I have a long commute.  I used to take a shortcut home that took about 5 minutes off of it.  It is no longer a shortcut now.

The airport is right there, so my old shortcut is where the TNP lot is now located.

For those who aren't in the loop, the TNP lot is where rideshare drivers can wait til their pickups are ready.

It's exactly the dystopian wasteland one would imagine would be brought on by the share economy, but with like 50% more fistfights.  And 9001% more traffic.  So I don't go by there anymore.   It is a mess.

Rideshare drivers went on strike today, for many of the same reasons that I won't use rideshare services, but hunger trumped nosiness and I still didn't bother to drive by.

Maybe there really are no shortcuts in life lol.

Shameless self promotion here.

I updated my other blog.  It's not pretty.  Enjoy.

technology as a factor to bring on revolutions

I do a lot with computers.  It is my job.  I sit in front of a screen for most of the day.  It's also one of my hobbies, my passion to learn about how to get things done harder, better, faster, stronger.  So I sit and work, and then I sit and learn, and when I'm AFK, I sit and think a lot.

Thinking back to my Western Civ class, from uni, some 5 or so years ago.  That was a great class.  But one of the things we discussed was what technology brought on what revolutions and why.

Most recent- the internet.  Suddenly we are all connected, to nearly everywhere in the world.  It still seems semibrand-new to us, to most people, even starting out on their AOL accounts 2 decades ago.  And how we live now thanks to that.  It is different than how we were living 20 years ago.

Further back than that- computers.  Just computers in general.  They've technically been around for a century, in the form of punched-out cards fed into machines.  Even then they made things get done faster.

And still further back- the assembly line.  How that revolutionised the way people work, the way goods are produced.  Whether that's good or bad I don't know.

Before- the printing press.  Books suddenly accessible to anyone, when before books had been handwritten.  People could now learn more.

Perhaps earliest- the plough.  Leading to that first revolution, the agrarian one, influencing still how we get our food.  No longer were we the hunter gatherers.  No.  Now we could tame out environment.

These technological revolutions seem to come on more frequently as time passes, and I wonder what the next one is, and when.  I hope it's not cybernetics.  That'd be scary.  Anyway if it's cybernetics I'll personally go out and buy all 5 of you who are reading this a beer, because I'll feel like I've lost some sort of bet.

Thanks.

Things I am up to Just Now (Or: Why I Never Blog)

Mostly I work.  I control the inventory databases.  I total up invoices.  Sometimes when there has been a large volume of sales I assist with the bookkeeping.  Also, whenever there is something requiring a second set of eyes to check over, such as last month's commissions, I am that second set of eyes.  I get to do this while wearing my DBZ hoodie, but pyjamas are unacceptable still where I work.
I'm taking online courses.  I'm one of them "lifelong learners" who wants all the information.  I want to learn SQL.  I want to learn Python.  Computer stuff is a lot of fun if you're willing to be patient with it.
I went back "home" recently.  Basically straight from work to airport to his house, and then from his house to airport to work.  I like to pretend it's just a long business trip.  I'm just doing it so I can work anyway.  We had a wonderful time.  We went to the park.  We went into town.  We visited lots of old friends.  And sometimes we just hung out on the couch and watched TV.  There's gotta be some obscure German word for "being a guest in someone's house, being told TV's all yours, and not being able to figure out their remote control."  But when you get to see your better half about twice a year, sometimes even average stuff like hanging out on the couch and watching TV together seems like the most wonderful thing.

My tumblr blogs get updated far more often.  They are about pictures.  Sometimes pictures are easier than words.
the place where all my photos go to die
same, but with paintings instead

Thanks.

more LEGO

gosh this software is the best goshdarn thing.
this is my biggest build to date, and still unfinished.  a blocky house apartment block made of little blocks, inspired by Habitat 67.  oh how wonderful it would be to actually build this in real life.
thanks for looking.

a Lego

I've been working a lot lately, but I built this.

Just a simple a-frame house, like my Gruncle Stan's old cabin near Bayfield, WI.
I didn't do a whole lot with the interior.  Just put in an upstairs.

I'm still in the US, but I've had a few chances to visit 'home' in the past 2 years.  Visits are still too few and far between, and the prospect of looking for work there gets more and more terrifying, with so many doors being closed by the powers that be everywhere I look.  I press on though.  I need to see my someone more than twice a year.

Flying away

So I had to go back to America.
It's really not a pleasant situation for me.
Between the oil price being low recently, which sort of killed any job growth in my sector, and the UK's really tough immigration policies, even in the face of skills shortages, the jobs just weren't there for me.  Sometimes almost there.  Sometimes my immigration status was the one thing standing in the way of me getting that job.
So I had to go back to the US.  Which was devastating.  Well, it still is, even 3 months later.  Back to Chicago, where it's cold and windy all the time.  Where my friends are not.  And my partner... well he's not here either.  Yes, there's an energy industry in the US... all the big hiring events are in Houston though, which is a bit difficult for me travelwise.
Nothing about this is easy or fair or right. 
But I'll keep trying.
It would be so easy to give up, to resign to a life on mom's couch, sharing space with the cats.
But I can't give up.
K needs me.
Aberdeen will need me eventually.
And I need there.  As a place.
So I look for work on both sides of the pond, visa rules be damned.
I take my online courses, even the ones that are way over my head.
And I try my best to live where I am now, knowing full well that I could be gone again in six months, a year, or maybe even tomorrow.

Pizza Parlor/Bike Shop (a pop punk kid's paradise!)

I would rather build things out of legos than do several other things.
But I have no lego.
So I use software. 

I've been working on several town buildings, mostly with shops on the bottom and apartments on top. 

This is my most recent one, and in progress now.  A bike shop and a pizza place on the bottom floor, with the pizza place extending to the first floor.  Also on the first floor is a travel agency.  The second and third floors will be an apartment with a rooftop garden.  Building itself is 16x32, but on a 32x32 plate to make room for the sidewalk.

 Bike shop section.  There's a neat little display window wedged under the stairs, with another bike.

 Pizza shop, with many toppings available in the case.  Cans of pop are on top, and the stairs lead to a dining area on the first floor.

 Entire ground floor.  There's a better view of the pizza oven here, plus a certificate on the wall.  It could be an award from Michelin, but it could also be an award from the health department.

 A look at the first floor, with the pizza place's dining area and travel shop.

A better look at the travel agency.  And window boxes!  I use these extensively.

More will come later, with the second floor apartment, and some of my past builds.

Da Update

I've been looking for work, and my dissertation's been kicking my ass.
I'm a bit stressed out at the moment, as my lease is up in the dormitory in 2 months, and I'm not sure where I'll be living after that (as in, what country).  The fear of unstable living arrangements really isn't helping with all the other stuff I've got on at the moment, but it is what it is.  I'm doing everything I can to avoid going back to Chicago, as my life is here now, and having to pack up and leave another place I've gotten settled in finally, a place where most of my friends, the man I love, the industry I want to work in, a place where I would feel comfortable continuing my education if I chose to do so in future, just doesn't seem right. 
Dissertation is hard work too; I like what I do, but it's difficult.  Finding data is the worst part.  I may have picked a bad project, but I'll feel so accomplished if I can get it all done.  Writing comes easily to me though, and reading articles!  I could just read the related literature to my topic all day.  So I may have picked a difficult project, but it's certainly interesting.  And I do really like the challenge to be honest.   
I've got some side projects in the works as well, including another blog.  I'd really love do to some sort of economics/business reporting, but I'm wondering how to make it relevant, if I can get away with doing it sort of "Daily Show"-style, and who would even be interested. 
I'll keep y'all posted.  Planning on making my first post on my other blog in Thursday, although it is geography related this time. 

Yo

So.  Sorry I've not been writing that much.  Actual coursework has gotten in the way unfortunately.

But.

I've got something I need to get off my chest.

I've been reading articles, mostly dealing with petroleum economics, for my coursework, and this seems prevalent in a lot of them.  The overuse and misuse of the words "nation", "state", and "nation-state".

Stop this.

It ain't cute.

As a geographer, it bugs the hell out of me.

Not every country is a nation.  Nations are regions that are culturally and linguistically homogeneous.  They may or may not be actually contained within the borders of a place.

States are politically governed by the same thing.  This is a more proper term for the thing you are most likely trying to refer to.

Nation-states are both politically and culturally homogeneous for the most part, and it's been argued that with the exception of North Korea, there really is no such thing as a nation-state.

Thanks.

I'm done.

Best get back to work now.

Macaroni and Cheese

I was scared to try it at the Indian Buffet, and there's a damn good reason I was.

But I did try it.

Not as bad as macaroni and cheese from a box, or the freezer case.

But as someone who used to be able to drive 20 minutes to get to Wisconsin (the macaroni and cheese capitol of the world I THINK) I can tell you that it's not nearly as good as macaroni and cheese from any hole-in-the-wall diner I've been to there.

Speaking of Wisconsin, if I open eateries here, I'm putting deep fried cheese curds on the menu.  The world can do with more deep fried cheese curds.

More about food...

Sorry this is going to be a short post.  I strive to update weekly, but last week was ridiculously busy with special school activities, and I've fallen behind here a bit.

I went with friends to an Indian buffet yesterday.  It was decent.  I do like Indian food, but "all you can eat" style places, and the price that goes along with them, aren't exactly economical when you can't eat much in one sitting.  My friends enjoyed it though.  What surprised me is that there was macaroni and cheese on the buffet.  I don't understand why this is a thing, and haven't seem macaroni and cheese anywhere else in Dundee in the six weeks that I've been there.  And why it's on an Indian buffet of all places just does not make sense to me.  I was scared to try it, but I might do so if we go back to-morrow on student discount day.

The closest thing I've been able to get here to a grilled cheese sandwich is a cheese toastie, and it's still not the same.  But shops will offer not just the plain cheese, but also ham and cheese or bacon and cheese, and at Baguette Express you can pick all sorts of vegetables to go on your toastie.  It's different though.  Much drier.  Grilled cheese sandwiches in America are usually coated in butter, and then fried.  Toasties here are not like that, and also have ridges on the bread after being cooked, which is something I've found very strange.

About once a week here I try to go to the supermarket.  It takes me about an hour to find my way around, because supermarkets seem to be laid out differently here than in the U.S., and also everything is different and new.  Fresh produce is somewhere in the middle of the shop.  Frozen and refrigerated stuff is all around.  Milk comes in litres (I don't know, it might come in gallons too, but who drinks a whole gallon of milk before it goes off?  And at least it doesn't come in bags like it does in some countries...)  The big Tesco by the river is my favourite, but it's hard to get to on foot.  It's kind of like a super Target though, with lots of clothes and general merchandise, but an even bigger grocery section than super Target.  So in addition to groceries, I usually come out of that place with socks, office supplies, and fashion magazines (which are cheaper here and have free stuff packaged with them sometimes, which is something that never happens in America.)  And today I finally have a jar of Dundee style marmalade.  I feel like such a tourist, but it'll go well on the wholemeal bread (we call this whole wheat bread in America) that I usually get.

That's about it.  I know this isn't the best post, but it clears up a few things for people who have been wondering how I've been eating.  So hi, Mom and Dad.  This was for you.

Epic Walks Part 1: Dundee Law

 A field.

 The World War II monument.  I think.  You can see this from nearly everywhere in town, including my building.

 Looking... Southwest...?

 Looking southeast...?  I think.

 Snails.

 A survey marker, on the actual highes
Meet Esther, 20something years old.  Fed up with life and the way things are going, she decides to visit a liquor store.

Or rather, this town's closest equivalent to one, but that's a different story for a different time.

Beer was purchased, obviously, but then I thought, "hey, I need to earn this beer, and also it's still very early in the afternoon to just sit around and drink beer, so let's go for another walk."  (This was, of course, after wandering around City Centre for a few hours in search of a book I wanted that was totally at the shop last week but now is not.)  So I refrigerated the beer, kept my shoes and my jacket on, and went back out.

A quick stroll through the nearest park was simply not enough for me, so I tried taking another road that lead me out.  This lead to another road... which lead me back to the park!  The way the roads are laid out in this town amazes me.  So this road, instead of going back into the park, I decided to cross.  

Going about a block up (up being the only direction I can really think to use, as it's a hill) was another road to cross, and then a little staircase for pedestrians.  The staircase was seemingly never ending, with only a few breaks to cross more roads, but I was determined to get to the top, wherever that was.  I really did not know where I was going.  

But the staircase finally did end, at a field, with another staircase leading up on the other side.  I think the field is some sort of other park, hopefully not the same one I started at, but knowing this town's layout it very well could have been.  I decided to climb more stairs.

I had made it to the highest point in town!  I had earned my beer!  And the views up at the top were fabulous!  And for some reason there were snails!  And a World War II monument!  And a survey marker!  And, oh, let's not forget the seagulls, because they're everywhere here!

I'm not sure what the history is of this place, but it's the top.  One of the markers there said something about the Iron Age, but did not go into detail.  I'm hoping I can get to the city library someday soon to read up on the story behind this place, and its significance.

I had climbed all the way up to Dundee Law without even realising it.

And when I got back, I couldn't even climb the stairs up to my flat.

EDIT AGAIN:  Sorry the photos are at the top.  I have no idea how blogger works.

Missing My Fast Food Nation

My friends and family back home will often ask me about Dundee, what I like and dislike about this place, and how I feel about it.  My answer is usually, "oh... I don't know...", because generally that's how I feel always.

There is one definite thing I can say about this fair city though.  And that is that I find Dundee's lack of Taco Bell disturbing.  I am currently thousands of miles away from the nearest Taco Bell, and that is about the same to me as being thousands of miles away from civilisation.  We have Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken here, which are owned by the same company as Taco Bell (and sometimes in America even housed in the same building as one!)  But still none of that cheap steak chalupa goodness that I am desperately craving now. 

Fast food chains in America, especially in large cities such as the one I grew up in, are generally open 24 hours (or at least the drive thru window is, and that's another thing that's missing in Dundee that was present even close to downtown Chicago.)  I think the McDonalds in City Centre here might close at midnight or something ridiculous like that.  That is too early for McDonalds to be closed, in my opinion, and I don't even like McDonalds.  People say they like it because it's the same in every country, but I've had it here, obviously in America, and in Amsterdam that one time I was laid over for 12 hours.  So yes I can say that they are right and McDonalds is the same in every country.  It is equally disgusting in every country.  Still, midnight seems too early for a McDonalds to close, at least coming from where I do.

I've seen one Burker King here, and there is no Dairy Queen to go along with it.  I did not often get fast food in America, but Dairy Queen was probably my second favourite after Taco Bell.  There is no place that I know of to get a burrito the size of your head, which was Chipotle's purpose in the States.  Starbucks is scattered around, but honestly Starbucks isn't all that great.  Dunkin' Donuts doesn't exist here, but Gregg's fills that void nicely, and does so with sausage rolls. 

There is a bright side to all this obviously.  If I actually had eaten fast food very often in America, coming here I would have cut back tremendously.  Panda Express was another favourite fast food outlet of mine in America, but there are plenty of decent Chinese takeaways here.  There is also an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet, right next door to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet if you are very hungry.  And a really nice, although a bit pricey, little diner where all sorts of exciting burgers are served,  Ketchup might be Dundee's answer to Red Robin, and it's fabulous.  There are probably more places I do not know of, as I have only been here for a month. 

And the lack of American fast food outlets here makes me think about my future here as a business student.  One lecturer discussed the idea of being in one industry, and investing in another.  Seeing how the Krispy Kreme that just opened up in Edinburgh has done successfully so far gives me hope for if I were to someday open up a Taco Bell here.

I think a KenTacoHut up by the motorway is exactly what this town needs. 

How Animal Crossing Ate My Soul

Many, many years ago, I was introduced to a little game called Animal Crossing.  I played it for hours on my little purple Gamecube, and then lost interest.  I wonder how that town is doing now, if it's suffered the fate of the many ghost towns that exist in the settled world.  But I will never know, for in addition to losing interest in the game, I actually lost the game itself.

Enter a new age.  An age of animals if you will.  And also a new leaf, as that's part of the title of this game.  When the title was released for the 3DS, I had to be one of the first to get my grubby little paws on it.  That was about four months ago.

And the truth is that currently I hate Animal Crossing.

Obviously I play it every day.  Only because I feel that I have to.

In the original Animal Crossing, and subsequent titles, you started your game in indentured servitude to Tom Nook.  And you finished your game in debt to Tom Nook, because of home expansions, and because he owns every business in town.  Such a greedy little raccoon this Tom Nook character is!

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, your indentured servitude is not to Tom Nook anymore.  No!  This time it is to the entire town, because somehow you are the mayor.  Honestly, I do not remember running for mayor in this game, or being elected into office, so why I am mayor I do not know.  What I do know is I do not get to live the life of my all-time favourite mayor, Richard M. Daley.  And Tom Nook still holds a monopoly on this towns' businesses, so one still ends up in debt to him for all eternity!  I'm pretty sure in addition to the home building business and his shop, he owns all of the high street as well.  And Re-tail!  And the Bank of Nintendo!  Tom Nook is a sly businessraccoon, and I hope to learn his secret someday.   

A big part of being mayor is approving public works projects.  The animals in my town will propose them constantly, and when I ask my secretary how the town is doing, I am always told that more projects need to be built.  In a way this is fun; it makes the town somewhat customisable, and every time you finish a project, there is a ceremony with fanfare and those little popper thingies that shoot confetti everywhere, and some of the projects are really cool.  But since most projects are up to what animals propose for you, you might get stuck with a listing of really lame public works projects to choose from.  That parabolic antenna?  Sorry, Rosie, but it's ugly as sin and I don't want it in my town.  The stadium light?  No, Axel, that will just keep everyone up all night.  But the hot spring... the hot spring is fabulous, and I'm glad I let that go through.  And funded it nearly entirely on my own, as your constituents will contribute barely anything to all the projects that they so desperately want.

They also want trees and greenery.  Not weeds though.  So one has to log on every day in order to pull the weeds that upset everyone, and water flowers.  If a flower goes a day without watering, it will die!  And if there are too many weeds, a much bigger, uglier, stinkier flower will sprout up and devour everyone.

I may just let that happen though.  Pokemon X is on its way in the mail, so it might be time for me to move on from the sleepy little town of Camp.  Or maybe not.  Maybe I can continue to strive for perfect town status, as that sort of validation would make me feel good.