diving into the future...

I've just made two technological leaps, though both feel like unwilling concessions rather than great jumps forward.

First, I joined SecondLife, the online digital world. This makes me feel like an uber geek, and not entirely in a good way. I don't have the time or patience for really getting into it, or at least those time when I would, like when I'm out at sea, I won't have internet access. And I know this isn't a thing you tip-toe into. Dive in head first and mean it, or why bother? "Why bother?" indeed, but the answer to why I am bothering is as an attempt to feel out this digital world for a little bit as research for the story I am attempting rather than any desire to dive into another online social network thingy. I'm finding myself both amazed and frustrated with the technology of it. In my mind, the graphics were going to be crisper and the interface more fluid. I suppose for what it is, it is impressive, but at this point the bar is so high. I want the graphics to be as crisp as the newest video games, then maybe I might be in danger of succumbing to its charms, ceasing to be an impassive observer and becoming a fully invested denizen. It is a long way from that.

Second, I got an iphone. This feels too bandwagon for me to really be comfortable with it, but damn it is a pretty little piece of machinery. I had the AT&T tilt, which is hunk of junk. I mean complete crap, and crap that I payed too much for thinking I needed a fancy functional little gadget that would do everything when I was traveling. I read a glowing review on cnet and will never trust their opinion again. So I'm relieved to finally have a machine that works. The ubiquity of the iphone, especially here in New York, is a little bit nauseating, but I've never been one to refuse a pleasure simply because its popularity borders on vulgar.

Mount Redoubt from a plane...

taken on Feb 3, 2009, flying from Dutch Harbor to Anchorage.

Rainbow over Dutch Harbor...

one side...



and the other...

fish amongst tube worms...

photo of a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History.

sledding day...

taken while climbing to the top of a mountain on Unalaska with Mary and Doug to go snowboarding. Ok, actually they were going to snow board, I was going to slide down in one of those plastic sled things that looks like a garbage can lid. Taken back in February.

Thank you, Susan Boyle

If you haven't already seen her, go now. Wow.

I would normally never blog about anything that I see as a headline on MSN, but today needed some good news after getting off to a frustrating start. I read two descriptions of this performance before seeing it, and both of them drummed up the cynicism of the judges and audiences before Ms. Boyle starts singing. That is fair enough, since it is obvious that no one really thinks she is going to pull it off, but watching the clip, with perhaps the exception of the girl in the audience with too much eye-liner who we are treated with a close up of as she sneers, it appears more that people were terrified that this woman might fail, not hoping for it. It is a treat to see her succeed so magnificently, but also reassuring that the look on Simon's face before she began suggested that he didn't relish his role as dream smasher and like he was almost wincing with fear against what looked like a coming trainwreck that he was going to have to pick apart. I love that she was better than anyone expected, I love that no one could hate on her performance after she began even if they wanted to, but I love even more that it appears as if they didn't want to.

This frumpy little lady is too cute. I love her! I have never seen Les Mis or really wanted to, but now I do.