Virtual Environments

My HCI Teacher Damian, who I wrote about HERE, is currently visiting Australia with some students.

If I had continued my Graduate Studies, I could have had the opportunity to go on this trip, so I have been keeping up with the goings on Down Under.

One of the things the class does is interact with with RMIT teacher Lisa Dethridge and her class. Damian and Lisa both taught together at RMIT and have kept up the friendship.

When I clicked over to Lisa's Facebook page, I found some photos from a Workshop on Virtual Environments that I attended back in October 2013. Yes, that is me in the bright pink clothes. (what was I thinking!)

It was a pretty interesting session, where we first were lectured to and then we had to create a virtual environment of our own. My team included Damian and so I really think we did quite a good job. I wish I remembered what it was about though. :-)

This was one of the many extra things I managed to do, in my small window of time in Oswego. The photos brought it all back to me.

One More Time To Live

There is a song by the Rock Band The Moody Blues that comes to me, when I think about or hear words that end with "shun". How they wrote this song is beyond me. Did John Lodge take out a dictionary and start to find these words? It would not have been an easy task.

It is actually a very powerful song that brings to mind, words that one does not think about every day.

In my travels on the Internet, I found a version of the song. It is a recent version, with better video quality and is worthy enough to watch, so I am linking to it.

My Husband keeps up with the Moody Blues, more than I do...but I have never given up on them and this is proof of that. :-)

Click the title of the song...and enjoy.

One More Time To Live (Chorus Only)
Written by John Lodge

Desolation
Creation
Tell me someone why there's only confusion
Evolution
Tell me someone that this is all an illusion
Pollution
Tell me someone
Saturation
Tell me someone
Population
Annihilation
Revolution
Tell me someone why this talk of revolution
Confusion
Tell me someone when we're changing evolution
Illusion
Tell me someone
Conclusion
Tell me someone
Starvation
Degradation
Humiliation
Contemplation
Changes in my life
Inspiration
Elation
Changes in my life
Salvation
Changes in my life
Communication
Compassion
Solution

Look, I Can See Our Name

I was waiting for the Van Pool on Friday and I glanced over to our building.

There, quite visible, were our call letters. KCET shows up in big letters, on the 5th Floor.

I have mentioned it before, but it makes me glad that people on Alameda Blvd can see it.

Steely Dan Announces Beacon Theater Dates

"The Most Unforgettable Night of Whatever - Featuring Spectacular Musical Guests, Glorious Tunes and Riffage, and Whatever the Party Calls for! Parking Validated for First Dozen Diehard Fans"

Yes, this is what came into my in-box yesterday. A week of Beacon Theater dates (8 of them, actually) culminating it this last date. "The Most Unforgettable Night of Whatever".

You just know that this date is the one that is driving us mega fans wild. What could it be? Will Denny Dias appear after all these years? He is actually going to be playing Steely Dan songs earlier in the summer, so that is not impossible. I have seen Michael McDonald, Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Chuck Rainey and, Bernard Purdie to name a few, so that doesn't sway me.

What other song could they bring back, from those long ago days, that they haven't already brought back?

No matter what, it will be an interesting night and I am going to take a pass on it, because I will have spent a week in New York. There is only so much money in the angel vacation fund and I have blown it all on July.

Ah well, I was there for Second Arrangement, so I can rest on my laurels.

You know that my heart will be there that night and maybe (with luck) someone will Tweet the setlist to us.

Here is the link to the Beacon Dates. Actually all the dates, so far.

Illicit Ivory

Link TV (our newest channel) routinely airs a show called Earth Focus. We have been airing some of the old episodes recently and about 2 months ago we heard about a new show that was not going to be ready for Earth Day, but would be a big deal, for a late May airing.

I have watched this show become more of a promotion priority every day. The subject is the killing of elephants for their ivory tusks and the show is called Illicit Ivory. It will finally air on KCET tonight at 9PM and of course, on Link TV too.

We had a screening last night at the LA Zoo and many environmentalists and activists were on hand. People like Mike Farrell and Tippi Hedren, to name 2.

I have not seen the show and I head that it is very graphic, in regard to the killing of the elephants. If it makes the world take notice of the murdering of these innocent elephants, it is a production worthy of being produced and promoted.

I am proud of being part of this, however small my roll is.

The trailer and maybe even the show, will turn up HERE.

Refugio State Beach And Sadness

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard about a pipeline spill at Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara.

Every time I see a story about the oil spill, I think of the fact that the beach in that area is so very beautiful. It has palm trees all around it and camping spaces between the trees.

The reason why I know this, is that my Husband and I and my Sister and her Husband, camped there. It was 1983 and it was our first stop on our West Coast adventure.

I don't remember much, but you can see in the one photo that there is indeed a palm tree by our campsite.

We had my tent from the trip across the Country, which was back in 1979.

If you never read my journey, you can scroll down on the right side to find it...or you can click the link HERE.

On this vacation, we ended up driving up to San Francisco, passing Hearst Castle and camping at Santa Cruz along the way.

Every trip up the coast is special and I just want to say that the oil company responsible has ruined an unspoiled piece of beach.

It just breaks my heart.

The Navy Memorial On Memorial Day

My Water Post For Today.

Since I have already mentioned Arlington Cemetery, I thought I would go back to 2011 and our trip around Washington, DC.

One of the things we saw that trip, was the Navy Memorial, which I documented HERE.

This year I give you a different angle on the Memorial.

I was so glad we saw it that day and I bring it back today...since I am a proud Navy Daughter.

Getting Ready For EcoCar3...With A Haircut

My son is getting ready to leave for his competition. Friday he will be gone for a week or so.

He decided to ask his old friend to cut his hair for him.

He normally does it himself, but figures it might look just a bit better, if done by his friend.

It brought back memories of this other time, from October of 2007. Almost 8 years ago.

Check it out.

This was when both of them were still in the Air Force JROTC and they had to have shaved heads.

My son has not changed over the years, haircut wise, but his friend has definitely has.

Hoping that his haircut helps his score for the team. :-)

Memories...

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day weekend. A time for BBQ's and 3 day weekends. The official start of summer, as the kids are leaving school and moving on.

I thought I would focus on the reason for the 3 day weekend. Remembering those who gave their lives, so the rest of us can live a life in freedom.

My Country is not perfect, but I would not want to live anywhere else.

Thanks to you, the men and women in uniform, for your service.

The photo was taken by me, at Arlington National Cemetery.

Sleepyhead

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Summer is just around the corner.

So there I am, cooking on the stove.

I glance over to the other room, because sometimes I feel eyes on me.

This time those eyes were closed.

I thought it was so cute that I am making all this noise and my cat, Makenna, is sleeping through it all.

Those chairs have definitely become her "Go To" spot for her afternoon nap.

Love that cat.

BBC World News America Live From LA

My station has been uplinking the BBC World News for the past 7 years. We have gotten quite good at it, if I must say so myself. My boss and I keep it running operations wise and the operators in our Transmission Center, uplink it 6 times a day.

We got a request from the BBC asking us to host the BBC World News America studio segments on our stage. We said that we could and next thing I knew, Katty Kay was in our studio and we were about to uplink her to Washington, DC. From there, it was sent to England and then England sent it back to us and we shot it up onto the PBS Satellite, to all stations in America who carry it, adding closed captions at the same time.

It was exciting and an impressive feat.

I love working with technology...especially when it all goes as expected.

Showing School Pride

This is me on the campus of Cal State Northridge on Saturday.

Yes, I could not resist.

I had to show off my school pride at my "Sons" graduation.

Probably for the better, that he did not see me. :-)

I had trouble trying to sing the CSUN Matador song. I kept wanting to sing my Oswego song.

In spite of it all, no one attempted to throw me out.

I call that a win.

My 16th Order From Abundant Harvest Organics

It is that time of the month, once again. I am basically out of fresh produce and needed to get a delivery. We had the graduation on Saturday morning, which made getting the box a bit more of an effort, then normal. We did set it up with the person who is our contact on Saturday and picked up the box on our way home at noon. Thank goodness, I did not want to lose it to a food pantry or something.

Here's what we got.

3 Carrots

A Bag of Green Beans

Dinosaur Kale

Lettuce

Micro Greens in a little plastic container (Pea Shoots)

Bunch of Oregano

7 Small Radishes

2 Peaches (I think)

4 Pluots (A Plum Apricot hybrid)

1 small basket of Strawberries

1 Yellow Summer Squash

1 Zucchini

1 bunch of Parsley and (I think) Savory

I got a lot of lettuce last time and I still have some left after 3 weeks. Great, eat lots more salad.

More Kale chips in our future. Yum.

Microgreens go into salads, from what I understand and they need to stay on the window, until eaten. I cut 3 of them and put them into my salad on Sunday and then again on Monday. I did not die and they tasted OK, so all is well with them.

The radishes are normal size (thank goodness!) and went into our Sunday salad.

Over the next three weeks, things should get eaten.

See you next time.

A Graduation Week Sunset From 2014

My Water Post For Today.

Since it was a year ago yesterday, that I graduated from SUNY Oswego, I thought I would go back to that week and post one of the sunsets that I took, from the hotel by the river. (as best as I can figure, I do not see this particular sunset on any post containing the word sunset and Oswego, so I think this is new to you all.)

If you remember, I was not sure that I would get to the graduation and so I was sad when I left in December of 2013, thinking I might not ever see another sunset.

Life has a way of giving you what you want, sometimes, and this was one of the sunsets I managed to capture during my short stay.

You have the ever present Niagara Mohawk Power Plant in the photo, but I don't care.

It is a lovely view of the Oswego River.

I hope you enjoy.

My Other "Son" Officially Graduates

Yes, even though my Other "son" graduated last December, he still decided to walk during the ceremony at CSUN on Saturday.

Never let it be said that a Communications Major missed an opportunity for photos and stuff. We live for this! :-)

My Husband and I were given tickets for the event and we really did not think we would manage to get together with him. That did turn out to be the case. I texted and he called me, but we did not manage to make it happen and thus, once again no photos. This one I got from his Facebook page.

He did stop by my house later on and we got to give him his present and give him a hug or two.

His degree is: Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Television Arts. That was the largest sub major of his Communications School. I showed off his diploma on THIS post, back in February.

He has been freelancing pretty consistently since he came back from his vacation in Vietnam, which bodes well for his future employment.

This mama is seriously proud of her "son".

The Loss Of Two Friends

I don't consider myself old yet. Yes, I turned 60 this year, but seriously, I still feel like there are years left to enjoy, etc.

Well, this past month has put a bit of a dent in my thoughts. I have lost 2 people, who were not old and that is making me sad right now.

The first friend I lost, was a work friend named Steve. He worked for PBS for decades, getting us PTV stations the money we were owed for rights. I was not directly involved, but was thrust into it, just a week or two before he died. Due to the fact that we were friends on Facebook, he sent me an email, which I forwarded on to our senior management.

Not a week later, I saw the message from his sister (I believe that is her in the photo above), who posted on Facebook. Steve had died, very suddenly, at 60. I was heartbroken. He was born on Long Island, so we felt that connection, and it drew us together. Music was his thing and he quite often was part of something called Sing Out Jam Out (SOJO). It sounded like a cool thing and seemed to happen about once a month.

His other activity was reading books for the blind and I thought that was a great thing to do with his free time, too.

There will be a Quaker Meeting Memorial Service on Sunday May 17th.

I miss you Steve and your incredible sense of humor.

=======================================

Tammy went by several names, including Charlies Angel in the Internet world. I met her almost a decade ago, via the Max Martini Board during the filming of The Unit.

She loved to write and sew and quilt and shoot guns. We connected on several levels and talked to each other often.

When I went to Oswego to college, she offered to sew me some pillow cases for my room. The pillow cases I had, got wet and so they were not on the pillows, when I took the first photos of my room. I told her that I was good...and I was.

That she cared enough to offer, meant a lot to me.

She mentioned a Monday thing in some of her posts and one day I asked about it. She informed me that she had cancer and that was the day she was scheduled for chemo. I was so sorry to hear this, but one always hopes for the best. In her case, she had 3 more years with her Husband and her young daughter.

I heard of her passing on Tuesday night, May 12th. She was only 47 years old.

Her viewing is on Sunday May 18th and service on Monday.

God Bless you, Tammy. I will miss you.

The rest of my Facebook friends, please stay healthy. Thanks.

Cactus For Landscaping

Our building has so many different kinds of plants around it.

One of my newest loves is this cactus plant. I believe it is an agave cactus plant, which has no spines or thorns.

That attracts me, right off the bat. I do own some cacti and they do have spines, but I am just careful with them.

One of my neighbors has been working on his landscaping (due to the drought) and he planted about 10 of these cacti.

They had a hard winter, but they seem to be doing better this spring.

I can't afford to do anything this year, but I am thinking of taking out my grass in the back yard.

Truly a shame, if I do...but wouldn't one of these look nice? :-)

Just kidding.

Lamb For Mother's Day Dinner

This is a story of a shopping trip.

Meat was expensive that day, but I had heard that some lamb was on sale that week and so I took a quick look at what they had out for sale.

The first thing I picked up was 2 lamb shanks and I felt that it was buying mostly bone, so I put it down. Next to the shank, was this piece of meat. They are called Frenched, because the top meat (which is mostly fat) is cut off the bone. Some cuts of meat put these ribs together and make a circle that is called a Crown Roast.

Well, I don't eat lamb anymore, though my Mom used to make a leg of lamb as an occasional treat. Most of the time, Mom would use lamb neck for stew that we browned in a pot and then added our regular sauce ingredients to. It took 4 hours to cook and we made it at least twice a week.

I found that as I grew older, lamb did not treat me well (too fatty) and so I stopped making it.

Since I had never bought this piece of meat, I had no idea of what price it goes for. What I did see is that the package was all of $2.76 for a pound of meat and bone. I looked over to my husband and we both said "Why not". So we bought it to make for Mother's Day dinner.

It wasn't until I read my receipt at home that I saw that the package was priced for the stew meat I mentioned before.

Well, that explained a lot and I appreciated the fact that we had a yummy, relatively inexpensive, Mother's Day Dinner.

It was OK, by the way, but not great. New Zealand Spring Lamb tends to be more gamey than US lamb.

Nopales (Cactus Leaves)

It took me until the weekend, to finally take my nopales or cactus leaf out and attempt to cook it.

I decided to attempt a stir fry on my own.

No recipe involved.

I chopped up the leaf into rectangular pieces and threw them into a fry pan with:
onion
mushrooms and
A cut up tomato.

My son added it to eggs and spam and he said it turned out OK.

I had chicken teriyaki bowl the other night and stirred it in.

It was fine.

Kind of like having green pepper in a stir fry.

I don't think I would go out of my way for this, but it wasn't bad.

The View From A Park Bench

I don't remember if I ever told you about the contest the City had, to come up with possible designs for Pamplico Park. My son, in his design, wanted to put a gazebo up in this spot, but I bet that would have been a liability to the City of Santa Clarita. Think of all the kids that could have been conceived there...

So instead of that design, they went with a park bench, right at the top of little Pamplico Park.

The park is ringed with an oval walkway. Either way you start your walk at the park, your elevation changes until you are here, at the very highest point of the park.

Once in a while, even if you are just exercising, it is worth the effort to stop and check out the wonderful view.

I took a few moments on my final walk around the oval, to sit for a few seconds and take these photos, for you, dear reader.

The best part of living up on a mountain...the view.

Throgs Neck And Kings Point In May

My Water Post For Today.

Since I have been thinking of growing up on Long Island, this Mother's Day, I thought I would go back to Throgs Neck area and showcase this and not the bridge today.

It is an interesting piece of water and there, right across from where I took this photo is the Merchant Marines Academy. My friend mentioned that if you looked close, you could see the flag flying there. Sorry, I really don't see it...but you can use your imagination.

This is Kings Point and the Great Neck area. Lots of expensive homes, that were highlighted in the Book "The Great Gatsby".

I never got the rich vibe from the look of the area, but I guess, for some, water makes the area rich.

In spite of the clouds, I hope you enjoy.

Happy Mother's Day (2015)

Passing on the love from one generation, to the next. My Mom and Dad, back in 1990.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mother's out there.

No matter what you get (or don't) on your day...know that your children, be they human or furry, love you. :-)

Some of my favorite posts about Mother's Day.

2013

2009

I have no idea how this Mother's Day will go, but no matter what, I still am glad I am a Mother and I thank my son, for making me one.

An Afternoon Treat At The Soda Shoppe

When we visited the VA on Wednesday, my Husband was in a mood to ruin his diet. He suggested his cousin's soda shoppe, which we WENT TO back in November.

If I had remembered how very far away it was from our location, I might have chosen a different way to get to it, but after about a 20 minute drive, we arrived at Jerry's Soda Shoppe at DeSoto Pharmacy.

A birthday party was just ending and I was happy to see so much business at the soda shoppe.

There had been maybe 10 people on the tables by the counter.

In a surprise for us, our cousin's Mother was working the party so we got to see her. She is the wife of the late Jerry, and part owner in the Pharmacy.

A quick catch up with her and then it was time to order.

Hubby went with an ice cream soda and I went with a one scoop sundae. Note it comes with red, white and blue whipped cream.

Delicious.

A Trip To The VA

My Husband is a Veteran.

In so many ways, we are beyond lucky that we have not had to use the VA facilities over the years.

This week we finally went to update his ID card.

The old one has his social security number on it and in this modern world, that is just not good.

The woman who checked his records and updated them, informed us that she was the person who did the original record, back in 2001.

We figure that means that my Husband did go to the Valley location, when last he did this.

He thought he went to the main campus in Westwood.

One of the things that did make me happy, in information that we might someday need.

Wheelchairs, scooters, rollators are all totally covered expenses. I know of people who have had a hard time getting their insurance to pay for theirs, so this was great news for us.

After hearing how horrid the Government treats the Vets, it seems like things might be getting better for them.

Full Moon In May

I did manage to take a photo of the May full moon on Sunday evening.

Known as the Full Flower Moon, it signifies that the flowers on the northern and eastern parts of the Country are in full flower.

It is also known as the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon. Both of those names seem obvious. Especially since my cat rescue keeps mentioning that it's kitten season. :-)

We are way into Spring now.

Hanging Out At Saugus Cafe

We are creatures of habit here at the angel house.

Most weeks end with small amounts of food in our house and so we normally try to get together on Friday evening for dinner. Friday is usually our inexpensive night out. We wind down our week and discuss what's going on in our lives. We are all in a good mood and most weeks our waitress is the same one. She is also in a good mood and so we have a good time.

Some Friday's other people come with us and so we end up with even more to discuss. It works out well.

Our standard waitress, Debbie, is in this photo. In an interesting turn of events, her son is a professional pilot and only a few years older than my son. I think that is why she likes our table so much, my son reminds her of her own.

It has been over 25 years, that we have been going and we are always happy when we leave.

In a world with so much change, it is good to have a place to call your own.

CSUN's 25th Annual Senior Film Showcase

My "Other" son had 2 productions at the CSUN Film Showcase and so he invited his "other" family to attend and see some of what he has done, film wise.

The Motion Picture Academy is in Beverly Hills and so we had quite a hike over to it.

Here were the films presented.

CORRE
Revolves around the unforgiving world of sex trafficking and illegal immigration.

Directed by Robert Hovanisian and Elmer Zelaya
https://www.facebook.com/corre.shortfilm

______

THE DEATH OF COLM CANTER
Set in 1870's California, a mother and her son struggle with a moral dilemma when they come face to face with her husband's killer.

Directed by Revati Crouch Dhomse
https://www.facebook.com/ColmCanterFilm

_______

THE FREQUENCIES
In a small town, a nuclear power plant worker and his younger brother attempt to prove that the secret experiments for energy sources conducted by the government, are bringing life draining creatures into their world from a different frequency.

Directed by Sahar El-Ghali
https://www.facebook.com/thefrequenciesfilm

________

CHAMPION
Focuses on a Mexican-American boxer, Joaquin, who fights not only in the ring, but also against violent problems in the neighborhoods where he lives. However, one burning desire keeps him moving forward: The Art of The Fight. Joaquin get the opportunity to fight in a title fight, in hopes of becoming the Champion that his community so desperately needs.

Directed by Kevin Reyes
https://www.facebook.com/championshortfilm

__________

WHEN A FLAME STANDS STILL
As the love between a young man and a young woman grows, the heat of the Holocaust rises... And as their touch gets closer and closer...so do the Nazis.

Directed by Michael Canon https://www.facebook.com/whenaflamestandsstill

__________

My "Other" son worked on 2 films, Corre and When A Flame Stands Still. Both were excellent and as a matter of fact, 4 out of five were excellent. The only one lacking something was the movie with lots of special effects, "The Frequencies". It was also the shortest at 11 minutes.

Otherwise, these kids have quite a future available to them, because the films were pro all the way.

You make me proud, son.

A Goose By The Bench

My Water Post For Today.

This is Bridgeport a few weeks ago and who greets us at the viewing area?

A goose.

Not like we planned to sit down on the bench, but many other people do sit and watch.

I thought it was lovely and I share it with you.

Halavah And My Family

Being that my Mom was a stay-at-home Mom, we would hear stories about her and her family.

Her life growing up in Brooklyn, New York was totally different from mine on Long Island.

Whereas we would go digging for potatoes in our back yard. Long Island potato, anyone? :-)

My Mom and her Mother would go to the movies, during the Depression. Her Mom loved movies, because they took her way outside her normal (should I add boring) life. My Mom's brother and sister were in school, so after the chores, the two of them went to the matinee. A bonus was that each of them got a dish. So for a dime, you got a movie and two dishes. The dishes that my Mom brought with her to her marriage, were those dishes. A personal aside here: Many years ago I took the coffee urn from that set, just to remind me of it.

Mom also got to hear about her mother's life before she got married. At least I think these things were before she was married. She only got to go to school through the 8th grade and so she was working by around 14 or so.

One of the places she worked was a bomb making plant. I am thinking this must have been for WWI. This doesn't sound wonderful, to me at all.

Moving on, another job she had was at the Joyva Halavah factory, in Brooklyn, NY.

I like Halavah and part of the reason I do, is that my Mom's family had Halavah brought home by their Mom. Even though Halavah is basically a Jewish treat, she had probably gotten a taste for it, during those long ago days.

Many years later, my Mom would occasionally buy some and so I was used to it.

I don't buy it often, but once in a while, I see some in the market and I can't resist.

Such was the case, last week and when I read the label, I saw that it is still made in Brooklyn, NY.

I was surprised and amazed.

A link to an almost 100 year old past.

Fun At The "Derby"

Our building has a tenant party each year. Mr. Jeffrey Worthe's employees put it together and normally its an OK time. Well this one went beyond just OK.

They decided to have a theme for the party and that theme was the Kentucky Derby.

They asked us to wear hats and so that's what we did.

I really did not dress up for it, at least not in a competition sense...but I did bring my sun hat.

As you can see from our Photo Booth pictures, we were having a blast.

The food was good, too. (pulled pork sliders, mac and cheese in little cups, chicken breast, bread pudding and cookies for dessert).

We had Mint Juleps (no alcohol) and Sweet Ice Tea to drink...major sugar shock, ack!

Looking forward to next year.

Sunset Pamplico Park

First off, welcome to May.

Or as we call it, the start of our air conditioning season. Bleck!

We were running late last night and so we gave up on the Bridgeport area for our walk. As we entered our house I asked my Husband if we could take a quick walk after dinner. Exercise and a sunset...win!

So we left the house around 7:15P and figured we would put in three laps on the small path that surrounds Pamplico Park. It is right across the street from us, so it is easy to get to. Unfortunately, the elevation is all over the place. More of a workout, then Bridgeport.

After the first lap, I could see the sun was starting to go behind the mountain and so I took a photo. Then the next time, I took many photos, this being one of them.

We have such beautiful mountains that ring our valley and it is at times like this that I truly appreciate them.