Best sign so far this year

 On my morning walk, we saw ... 

The Unforgettable Penny Scramble Family Photo Shoot Adventure

Let me take you back to a bright and sunny Saturday many years ago—a day when my brother Steve and I embarked on the Unforgettable Penny Scramble Family Photo Shoot Adventure, at a community festival held on the grassy grounds around El Centro De La Raza in Seattle.

Do not think we had some grand plan, oh no ... this idea came together like a mystery meatloaf. I *think* I heard about the event through a community bulletin, mentioned it to Steve during a family gathering, and somehow, in the spirit of "why not," we decided it would be fun to lend a hand. The festival needed volunteers, and Steve had his trusty camera, a portable printer, and his love for capturing memories. "Perfect," he said, "I'll take family photos and print them on the spot to give away!"

As for me? I remembered with joy the classic penny scramble. When I was a kid, parents would throw down a tarp in a barn, cover it with hay, sprinkle in some pennies, and let us kids dive in to find treasure. It was a guaranteed good time, both for us treasure seekers and for parents who could hang out together watching their kids. Then Steve and I Had A Brilliant Idea: Why pay for hay when we can get unlimited office-grade shredded paper from Steve’s workplace? We'll just bag it later and leave it in the recycling bin, no muss, no fuss. Brilliant!!!!!

The festival was on the sunniest day all year in Seattle, which, contrary to legend, can have beautiful sunny days (just not too many of them). We inflated a rubber life raft, filled it with the shredded paper and mixed in a baggy of pennies, some nickels, and a few shiny dimes to keep things interesting. 

photo by Steve

Kids dove in and had a blast scrambling for their loot, splashing through the mess to find treasure. Parents watched, amused, and added their spare change. Every now and then, I'd toss in more shreds to make up for what the children tracked away.

Meanwhile, Steve set up his photo station and was constantly busy snapping and printing pictures for all comers. There were one or two dozen other booths giving out snacks, drinks, information about local resources and health care, balloons, whistles, doodads, gewgaws, and all the farfenagle of a community festival. It was a picture-perfect day.

Until.

The sun began to set - it's clean up time! Steve packed up his gear, and I started to bag the shredded paper. That’s when I began to appreciate the difference between hay and paper.

If a little hay splashes into a grass lawn, you can pick up the big clumps, and any residue just sort of fades among the leaves of grass. In contrast, intense bright white printer paper stands out as the untidy litter that it was. Any single shred shone against the grass like a careless bit of litter instead of a well-intentioned donation - and there were hundreds of shreds, a day's worth of the stuff scattered around the lawn. It felt like that fairy tale about catching every feather dumped from a pillow: we can't do it, we can only try until everyone else has gone home, and then quietly fade away ourselves.

In truth, I don't think anyone but our own feelings of guilt actually held the situation against us, we got mailed a nice "thank you" card, and the day remains a happy memory. Somewhere out there, I hope there are families who still have those photos, and kids—now adults—who smile when they think of that sunny Saturday. And I walked away with a few lessons:

1. Say yes to volunteering. You never know what memories you’ll create and fun you'll have. 
2. Kids like authorized chaos. So often we lead lives of constraints, rule, bossy people telling us what to do, financial or health limitations ... when the universe gives us an opportunity to just go crazy searching for treasure and flinging things in the air ... we do.  This does not apply only to the young ;-)
3. And most important: if you ever plan a penny scramble... for the love of all things holy, use hay NOT SHREDDED PAPER!

Response to Oral Care Idea Survey

A survey company finished its questionnaire with a request to describe who, 3 years from now, I might win an award for improvements in oral care - so I invented:

Gamifying oral care has grossly improved the oral care experience and results. My innovative bluetooth-enabled electric toothbrush connects to a an that audily rings up points which recording brush minutes. The included webcame uses AI image analysis to monitor for plaque, cavities, and other issues to recommend corrective action at the earliest possible moment. All this and more presents timely data to a dashboard that enables cashing out earned points for valuable prizes, and a premium option offers an ad-free version for a small monthly fee.

Prank Memory: SYSTEM CRASH

WAY-BACK-WHEN: 

Coding an inventory management system for the company that sold Cabbage Patch dolls, I slipped in a line that said if this was our test system (not production) and it was April Fools' Day, then the company name was "SYSTEM CRASH". 

No one could see this but the coders while we were testing things. Once a year, we all got a good laugh and forgot about it until next year ...

 ...until management made the not-unreasonable decision to use the test system for end-user training.

 Chaos ensued.

More General Puzzle Solution

I like these puzzles, but they all seem to be solvable with a simple algorithm:
To solve the puzzle of finding the number of squares (or other figures) in an incomplete grid:
1. DEFINITIONS:
GRID: a set of equal-length line segments that connect at right angles.
CORNER: a point at which the line segments connect
SIDE OF LENGTH X: a set of line segments that connect in a straight line. Example: a side of length 3 is 3 line segments connecting in a straight line.
COLUMN: a vertical (as seen by the viewer) set of corners. These need not all be connected by line segments. (Missing line segments complicate the problem to be solved).
ROW: a horizontal row of corners. As with columns, these need not all be connected by line segments. LEFT, RIGHT, TOP, BOTTOM: all have the commonly accepted meaning.
COUNT-OF-SQUARES: initialize as 0, because there might not be any.
I, J, K = counters; don't worry about them yet
Let NR = number of rows of corners
NC = number of columns of corners
2. COUNT PROCEDUREFor I=1 through (NC minus 1):
For J=1 through (NR minus 1):
For K=1 through (NC minus 1):
If the 4 corners (I, J), (I, J+K), (I+K, J), (I+K, J=K) are all connected by an unbroken set of line segments, add 1 to COUNT-OF-SQUARES.
ENDIF
ENDFOR
ENDFOR
ENDFOR.
The value of COUNT-OF-SQUARES is now the value sought.
2. RECTANGLES:
A similar method works except that you have to allow for different numbers of rows and columns. This is not a difficult change.
3. OTHER SHAPES:
The same general methods works for triangles, hexagons, mickey-mouse ears, etc. Basically, find a feature such as one or more corners that uniquely defines the thing to be tallied, and scan each feature for each other feature that defines a unique instance of the shape.

--

I had previously blogged a simpler solution for a smaller set of problems, but when this one started circulating in my Facebook feed, I felt impelled to write up the more general solution I had been thinking of for a while. Maybe I won't lose this one among all the blog posts!

VA Day - Thursday, May 9, 2024

Here's my motion capture outfit, sadly not for the next Marvel movie, but helping the VA develop the next generation of orthotics. I was a volunteer "healthy control" for a study of how bones and other parts move as people walk, in the hope of better understanding body mechanics and therapeutics. 

This was for a Center for Limb Loss and Mobility (CLiMB) study, which is looking for volunteers: https://www.amputation.research.va.gov/ There are plenty of other studies across the country - Why not join a "healthy control" study today?

The Bridge At Catzad-Dum

 Just playing with AI

"In a dark cavern, a wizard in grey robes with a grey hat and long white beard bearing a shining sword and a wizard staff from the top of which shines a bright light that is the only light source ... shouts defiance at a much larger orange tabby cat that is growling and hissing with claws extended ... please try 4 styles: The Brothers Hildebrad, Stan Lee, photorealistic and a lighthearted cartoon"

"On a narrow stone bridge over a bottomless gulch in a dark cavern, a wizard in grey robes with a plain grey hat and long white beard bearing a shining sword and a long wooden wizard staff from the top of which shines a bright light that is the only light source ... shouts defiance at a much much larger orange tabby cat that is growling and hissing with claws extended ... please try 4 styles: The Brothers Hildebrad, Stan Lee, photorealistic and a lighthearted cartoon"

"On a narrow stone bridge over a bottomless gulch in a dark cavern, a wizard in grey robes with a plain grey hat and long white beard shatters on the bridge his long wooden wizard staff from the top of which shines a bright light that is the only light source, creating an explosion as he shouts defiance at a much larger orange tabby cat growling & hissing with claws extended, in 4 styles: The Brothers Hildebrad, Stan Lee, photorealistic and a lighthearted cartoon"

Have A Sia Christmas!

Sia's Christmas Album is wonderful:  

 The videos are delightful as well:

And so much more!

You've heard of Elf On A Shelf?

Baby Yoda With A Soda

I've been experimenting with https://bing.com/create 

At The Escape Artist: Investigating a haunted hotel!

At The Escape Artist, our team of 5 from the West Seattle Timebank investigated a haunted hotel ...

No longer just a holiday; it is a season!

 Seen when walking the neighborhood.

Silly Uncle Tricks

SILLY UNCLE TRICKS (Illustrated):

NUMBER ONE: When you find yourself with a child or other person needing entertainment, put the back of your head against a wall (preferably wood or sheetrock; not concrete) and strike your forehead with the heel of your hand. Don't worry: unless you have a prior injury, the forehead is so strong that many martial techniques teach forehead strikes. Because the back of your head is right against the wall, the force travels painlessly through the skullbones into the wall, which makes loud booming sound, generally followed by childish giggles.
And ... if you are lucky ... your sister goes, "Oh, Randy! Sigh!"
LIFE LESSON: You can handle a shock if you put yourself in the right position.

NUMBER TWO:

Challenge the child to put the blade of their foot tight against a door jamb, then to press their shoulder likewise. Then, announce their other foot is paralyzed; and indeed they cannot raise it!
This always works, but lately children have started telling me "Ha ha ha, this is because of center of gravity". They are making smarter kids these days.
LIFE LESSON:
Sometimes when you feel paralyzed, you are just in the wrong place.

NUMBER THREE:
Go outside and get a very long stick. I have a 10 foot bamboo for this purpose but any stick will do, the longer the better. Stand it on your open palm and watch the top, not the bottom.
You will be able to balance it easily!
You should gape with astonishment to really sell this one, but the technique is simple: when the far end starts to get off balance, at first it moves just a little bit, so if you see the problem in time, you need move only a little bit to fix it. That is a LIFE LESSON in itself.

BONUS LIFE LESSON:
Sooner or later, the whole thing may start to get out of control. That's ok; just relax and open your hand. When the stick starts to fall, grab it as it goes by and take a bow.
To know when the trick is over is the ultimate LIFE LESSON and the key to SILLY UNCLE TRICKS.

My Hops

 

What you gonna do with all them hops?
All them hops inside them pots?
I'ma make, make, make some IPA,
With my hop-vines, they're cray-cray.

(Chorus)
My hop-vines bring all the bees to the yard,
And they're like, "Better than nectar, it's hoppy damn hard."
I can teach you, but I have to charge,
For brewing secrets, it's a reward.

(Verse 2)
You see me fermenting, sippin' my stout,
It's so rich and velvety, there's no doubt.
Citra and Amarillo hops in my stash,
Brewing up a storm, watch me make this batch.

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

What you gonna do with all them hops?
All them hops, make the bitterness pop.
I'll dry hop, wet hop, and double hop too,
Crafting brews that'll make you drool.

(Chorus)

(Outro)

So if you want some, better come to me,
I'll pour you a glass, and you'll see what I mean.
With my hops so fresh, and my flavor so bold,
My brews are worth their weight in gold.

---
I prompted chatGPT and then edited the result. Is this mine? or is it just fun?

We Were Warned

Seen Walking Today

 

Seahawks Moon

 On my walk this morning. My younger sisters are big Seahawks fan so I thought they'd like this when I posted it on Facebook.

Me, mostly I just like the full Moon and clouds in the morning.

This can happen...

 

... if you eat too much beef (...or sling too much bulls**t...)

Actually it's just the statue outside Meet The Butcher, but it's fun

Friday at the Clothing and Hygiene Center

 Today I took a carload of stuff to the Clothing and Hygiene Center in Renton, including 3 sewing machines. Here I am posing with my pal Pamela Swearingen with sewing machine donated by my friend Franni.

I pulled up about the same time as Rita, so I helped her unload her van and discussed the laptop I was donating. She had a family in mind for it.

After I unloaded the donations into various areas (including a lot of housewares directly into Pamela's van for delivery to a newly-arrived family that she was helping) I re-filled the car with clothing that had been surplussed by the sorting process. I don't do the sorting, that's handled by more regular volunteers but since I was going to St. Vinny's anyway it was no problem for me to take the stuff there wasn't room for on the shelves.

First, I stopped by the family to drop off the  laptop and some children's book (including a wonderful encyclopedia of animals I was sorely tempted to keep for a while).

Eventually I got home and just did stuff, including write this blog!

It's Not All About Money

 Today I could do a lot of mystery shops; the money is adequate and useful. But it's not all about money; I need to live life as well. So I am going to do one and let the others worry about themselves.

I actually enjoy going places, meeting people, and that part of the shop; I'm not interested in the drudgery detail which is understandably necessary. I did one gas shop today, then went home.

Zumba at 5:30 was live an enjoyable.

During it I thought of my next joke for my facebook group "Garak is love. Garak is life. Garak is queer.":

Naturally I had qualms because the episode 3 line "A bit of both" also refers to Loki's orientation, and I do not want to unnecessarily upset people of that oritentation but it was used first in episode 1 I figured most people would understand that to be the reference, especially if I published right away while many people would not have seen ep3.

I'm getting a whole lot of positive feedback from this, which is gratifying. It was a nice challenge crafting the letters from the materials available using only MSPaint!

Saturday Train Dominoes

In the morning, instead of taking my Saturday Zumba class, I did phonebanking for 34th District Democrats. It was handy having the training Zoom session remain open so I could submit questions in chat. It was extra handy using Google Voice instead of my cell phone, because I could copy-and-paste phone numbers instead of keying them.
I don't know how much good I'm getting done, but I suppose I must have faith in the process.
I took Shadow in for her post-dental surgery followup, and she is mostly fine although she somehow got food into the gap where the removed teeth are healing. I'll have to monitor that for problems although I'm not sure how. The soft food diet seems appropriate for her, as she actually gained a little weight since surgery (!).

I've Been to Mt Holyoke College

In the evening I went to play dominoes on Hannah and Julie's back deck outside, with their neighbor. I guess that's conforming to social distancing protocols. They had picked up a set of Mexican Train Dominoes at a yard sale, and was eager to try them out. The one other time I'd played Mexican Train was at the Kinch's, before COVID, and I won handily, so I have the self-image of being good at it. This proved not to be the case. It appears that being able to start your train early is critical for dumping a lot of tiles at the start. The 2nd hand I didn't draw a tile that would let me do that, and rather than dumping one tile at a time as other trains permitted, I dried drawing more in the hope of eventually getting the one I needed. After all, there were 13 in the boneyard. Well, I never did draw them and ended up with 244 points. In the next hands I tried the less risky path, but I still ended up with over 500 points over, which was at least 300 more than anyone else. I thought this was tremendously funny; clearly I have to study the strategy a little more, but I still have fun. It was a chance to practice math adding up scores; which lead to a story about watching teaching math on TV.
As it grew dark, it got noticably cool. Hannah lent me a sweatshirt which reminded me that I had myself been at Mt. Holyoke College many times, mostly while visiting the bookstore across the street. I remember now taking in plays in their summer series often, including the Tom Lehrer program that probably included the New Math song; I'll have to send them the link.

A Puzzle Trap, and some responses

A friend posted this puzzle:

Someone’s mother has four sons. North, South and East. What is the name of the fourth son. Private message me the name of the fourth son. If you lose, you promise to repost

Naturaly I thought I'd spotted the obvious answer to a simple puzzle, responded "Someone", and got dinged because that was the nature of the trap: an obvious answer that was wrong. Well, so I reposted as promised and collected answers. I don't normally participate in this sort of thing but since I gave into the impulse, I must pay the price, and had a bit of fun along the way.

---

Susanne Howard What is the name of the fourth son
Jill M Janda Wes
Kisa Emmanuel The namee of the forth son is SOMEONE
Marjorie Farmer Are we assuming Someone is a boy?
Kisa Emmanuel Marjorie Farmer yes
Rayna M. Alsberg Kim Kardashian? Oops. Sorry, not sorry.
Randall E. Winn Various answers, some culled from PM replies, some my own:
(1) "Someone" - this was my first pick. It doesn't seem to have been the intention of the author of this puzzle, see #2 below.
(2) "What" - the most popular alternative. Notice that the sentence "What is the name of the fourth son." ends in a PERIOD not a QUESTION MARK, making it a statement not a question (I did not figure this out.)
(3) "None of the names are shown in this story". Notice that "North, South and East" are preceded not by a COLON but by a PERIOD, making this a sentence fragment that could be meaningless, locations, or proper names. We just can't tell.
(4) "The name of the THIRD son is 'Someone'" - due to the lack of an Oxford comma, "South and East" are clearly one name consisting of three words.
(5) "There is no victory, there is no loss, therefore no need to repost". The request to repost does not establish a loss condition. Perhaps the drafter meant "If what you PM me differs from what I expected, you are a loser" but just didn't say so. Who's the loser now? ===
Have you any additions to this list?
Rayna M. Alsberg omigoodness. So complicated.
Randall E. Winn Rayna M. Alsberg Yes that's part of the fun haha