My holiday wishlist

Oh gosh, every year it gets harder to make one of these. Updates as necessary.

• Dollhouse season 1 on DVD
• House season 5 on DVD
• KnitPicks gift card
• yarn in general
  
• Suede-soled jazz shoes (like this one) -- sizing on them is always funny, and the dance store in Appleton has them in stock in every size.
• New Star Trek movie on DVD
• Wall-E on DVD
  
• Wool for spinning
• the Bliese spinning wheel!
• a lighted makeup mirror
• new slippers! I have literally worn mine to pieces
  

And so it begins...

I had my first wedding nightmare last night, probably because I spent a lot of yesterday reading books I got from the APL about how to make a ceremony.

So in the dream we got married but Erik forgot to bring the rings along. No big, we just skipped that part. So later we were together and we got them out and put them on -- and they were ALL WRONG. His was something enormous and fancy, and mine was made of acrylic (clear plastic, not yarn!), carved with swirly designs, and had a giant opal in a prong setting (the prongs were acrylic too). I got really angry that he ordered something totally different from what we wanted, but he apparently liked them and didn't care what I thought. So I grabbed his and took mine off and threw them both on the floor (and they proceeded to bounce away) and I stalked off angrily in my wedding dress.

Anyway, it's quite some time before I have any good reason to worry about the rings being wrong/forgotten, since we don't even have the year chosen yet. BUT that doesn't mean we don't have ideas!

This is my engagement ring (in "Happy Feet" by Plymouth Yarns):















And these are some bands we like (from e-weddingbands.com)
For me:
















For him:
















Totally different than in the dream! So maybe you can see why I was so angry -- we're going for simple and classy.



Knitting!
Second alpaca sock is coming along well -- did a couple of inches already today. I need to find the first one so I can carry it around to measure the second so I know when to start the heel.

UFO-mania!!

Oh gosh, I'm knitting on so many things and there are so many more I want to do! Goals ahoy!

1. Finish target practice socks by Oct 31!
2. Make the beard for the Viking hat.
3. Un-hibernate the cabled mittens!!! I want to wear them this winter...
4. New pancreas
   
5. Eclipse slipper socks (1 to go)
   

New things may be started as old things are finished, in this order:

1. Cabled mittens after the sockses (not really new)
   
2. State Fair yarn neckwarmer
3. Simon Tam (after mittens unhibernated)

And THAT'S IT because I have UFO sightings everywhere.

So I have epic things to do

Dear Internet,

Please help me get all of this done on schedule.

Love, Sarah.

To do today:

• Laundry
• Unpack small suitcase
• Choose vacation clothes
• Grocery shopping

To do this week:

• Job applications (Torrid, JCP, Kohl's (no openings), Target, Macy's, Tom's?, Stone Cellar?) Do Torrid first (on Monday) and then I have the info for all the others that I can maybe do online??
  
• Make Sat. hair appt. Coupon!
• Get audiobooks from the Library (Monday) and put them on Johannes.
• Borrow Stacy's safflower oil, or have her come over Saturday.
• Finish Mary's baby sweater (only one sleeve to go!!! well, and the button.)
• Go grocery shopping again and get cake mix and apples
  

To do next weekend:
Saturday:

• Haircut
• Get EVERYTHING packed except what is needed at home -- have a plan for that stuff
• Make cupcakes
• Mall shopping if time: watch battery, headphone 2fer, Old Navy. Also turn in finished applications!
  

Sunday:

• Dye hair
• Home mani/pedi!!
• Mall shopping if not done Saturday

Monday:

• Last full day of work

Tuesday AKA THE BIG DAY!!:

• Half-day of work, with cupcakes -- give a key to whoever is plant-sitting (Stacy or Amy)
  
• Finish packing everything and vacation-proof the house
• Leave for MKE by 3

1st edit: Tues Aug 25

Pizza so good, the smoke alarm went off

SO GOOD.

Jiffy crust, Contadina sauce, mozzarella cheese, chopped onion, diced green pepper, a few olives, and Copp's pork pizza sausage.

classical physics jeopardy!

Classical Physics Jeopardy!!

Rules:

• There are three teams of up to 8 students, as equal as possible. The teacher may weight teams so that the strongest students are in smaller groups. (If there are more than 24 students, there should be more teams so that there are never more than 8 in a group.)
• The potpourri category does not have a 100-point question so that each team gets to choose the same number of questions. This works with 3 or 4 teams (and there shouldn't have to be more than 4 teams!)
• A little different from "traditional" Jeopardy -- answers are not in the form of a question.
  
• Each team elects a spokesperson at the beginning of the game. Only this person's answers count as the team's answer. A team loses 50 points every time the spokesperson does not confer with the group before answering, even if they were wrong! This is a group competition.
  
• Each team in turn chooses a question and gets the first chance to answer it.
• 100, 200, and 300-point questions: team has 30 seconds to conference before the spokesperson must answer or forfeit.
  
• 400 and 500-point questions: team has 1 minute to conference before the spokesperson must answer or forfeit.
• If the first team is incorrect, the next team in the sequence may answer for half points, and has half the conference time. If the second team is incorrect, this continues (further half points and half time) until all teams have had a chance.
• Daily Doubles -- Team may wager points up to what they have or the question value (whichever is larger). If they are incorrect, the next team may answer for half the given point value (not a wager).
• Final Jeopardy -- each team places a wager before the question is revealed. Each team has five minutes to solve the problem. Partial credit for each correct question: 0 correct = minus full wager, 1 correct = minus half the wager, 2 correct = plus half the wager, 3 correct = plus full wager.
  

Newton's Laws

1. F = ma is the most common form of which of Newton's laws? (Second)
   
2. A book pushes down on the table with 10 Newtons of force. With how much force does the table push back? (10 Newtons)
   
3. (Daily Double) A large man and a small woman are standing on a bus that comes to a stop. The woman stumbles, and the man keeps his footing. Who has more inertia? (The woman, because she has less mass.)
   
4. State Newton's Laws in sentence form. (1. An object in constant motion will remain in constant motion, and an object at rest will remain at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force. 2. A force acting upon a massive object will cause that object to accelerate. 3. For every force applied to an object, the object exerts an equal and opposite force.)
   
5. A 1000-kg car is initially at rest. You push it with a constant force for 100 seconds, at which point it is traveling 5 m/s. What was your pushing force? (50 Newtons -- a = v/t = 5 m/s /100 s, f = ma = 1000 kg * 5/100 m/s/s.)
   

Vectors and Projectiles

1. I walk one block north, then one block south. What is the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector? (Zero, which has no direction.)
2. You throw a ball directly upwards, then catch it in your hand at the same height. It was in the air for a total of 8 seconds. At what time was the ball's velocity zero? (4 seconds after you threw it, at the point where it changed directions.)
3. Does a projectile on Earth experience horizontal acceleration, vertical acceleration, both, or neither? If there is acceleration, what causes it? (Vertical acceleration only -- caused by gravity. Also OK: Both, since there may be horizontal drag forces.)
4. Find the sum (magnitude and direction) of these vectors: 1 m/s up (0 degrees), 2 m/s to the right (90 degrees), and 3 m/s down (180 degrees). (Sqrt(8) m/s at 135 degrees.)
   
5. A cannonball is shot at some angle on level ground. What equation should you use to find how long the cannonball is in the air, and why? Assume it is shot from ground level and neglect air resistance. (v_y(t) = 0 = -gt + v_oy -- solving for t tells you the time at which vertical velocity is zero, which is the top of the arc. Twice this is the total flight time.)
   

Energy and Electronics

1. State the Work-Energy Theorem. (The work done on a system is equal to the total change in energy of the system.)
2. What equation relates voltage, current, and resistance? (Ohm's Law, V=IR.)
3. A 5-kg rock is held 10 m above the ground and dropped. How much kinetic energy does it have right before it hits the ground? Assume acceleration due to gravity is 10 m/s/s. (500 Joules -- KE = PE = mgh.)
4. What is the total resistance when a 10-Ohm resistor is connected in parallel with two 5-Ohm resistors that are connected in series? (1/(1/10 Ohms + 1/(5+5) Ohms) = 5 Ohms.)
5. (Daily Double) Describe how a generator in a hydroelectric dam produces an electric current. (The water turns a turbine, which turns a loop of wire in a magnetic field. This induces a current in the wire loop.)
   

Units

1. What is the SI unit of acceleration? ( m/s/s )
   
2. What is the SI unit of force, and what are its fundamental components? (Newton = kg*m/s^2)
3. What is the SI unit of work, and what are its fundamental components? (Joule = N * m = kg*m^2/s^2)
4. What is the SI unit of electric current, and what are its fundamental components? (Amp = coulomb/second)
   
5. What is the difference between weight and mass? (Weight is a force, and mass is a fundamental quantity. Weight is measured in Newtons, and mass is measured in kilograms. An object can have different weights depending on the situation, but its mass does not change.)

Potpourri

1. (Spare question) What is the gravitational acceleration at the surface of the earth, to one decimal place? (9.8 m/s/s)
   
2. What is the name of the force that your chair is exerting on you? (The normal force.)
3. How much force does a 1/10-kg apple exert while sitting stationary on Isaac's head? (1/10 kg * 10 m/s/s = 1 Newton.)
4. What is the first step in the scientific process? (Create a hypothesis.)
   
5. Name the four fundamental quantities and their SI units. (mass = kilograms, distance = meters, time = seconds, charge = coulombs)

Final Jeopardy
Category: Projectile motion

You are on the surface of Mars, where the gravitational acceleration is only 3.8 m/s/s. You get a running start and throw yourself into the air, with an initial velocity vector of 5 m/s at 30 degrees above horizontal. Neglect air resistance and presume the terrain is flat. 1. What is your velocity vector when you hit the ground again? 2. How long were you in the air? 3. How far did you jump?

1. 5 m/s at 30 degrees below horizontal (same as initial, but down).
2. 1.3 seconds
3. 5.6 meters

new apartments are exciting!

Or, the order in which I shall move my life seven blocks.

Things I can move as soon as we get the keys:

• Desks, green chair, table
• Mattress and sheets (wash them, too)
  
• Out-of-season clothes (sweaters, boots, coat), if I have something to put them in.
• Many books and toys
• Drawing supplies
• Sewing things
• Laundry detergent and Soak
• Telescope
• Decorations not currently up
  

Things I can move the week before we sleep there:

• Most remaining books and toys
• TV
• Most desk stuff
• Yarn
• Most food, pots and pans
  
• Spare q-tips, hair dye, etc.
• DVDs
• Some clothes and shoes? (This is the time to go through everything)
  
• Some dishes
• Clarinet
• Floor lamp
• Decorations
• Printer
  

Things to move the day we officially live there (day after graduation?)

• Toiletries, medications
• Laundry hamper
• Pillows, Lord Emsworth, alarm clock
• Tea, coffee pot
• Phone charger
• Towel, bathrobe, slippers
• Fan if needed
• Curtains
  

Things that can wait until last:

• Remaining clothes (luggage)
  
• Computer
• Car
• Things to be stored (my sheets, storage containers, boxes)
• Less-common kitchen stuff (baking pans, crock pot)
  

homework assignment

This is for a homework assignment that should be posted on Moodle, but I think there's been a technical difficulty. I'm typing it out here while it's on my mind.

Personal reflection for EDST 180

The discussion of Humanism reminded me of something that happened to me two years ago. There is sort of a lengthy backstory but I think it helps my point.

My family has always had dogs. When I was in high school, our elderly poodle died and we got a new terrier puppy, who we named Paddi. She was sweet and adorable and I really loved her. It was hard leaving her when I went to college, but I saw her every time I went home for break, and my family sent lots of pictures. During the spring of my sophomore year, however, she started getting very sick. She went days without eating and lost a lot of weight. My mom is a veterinarian, and knew that this was the beginning of the end for her -- the next time she stopped eating would be it; her kidneys were almost completely destroyed and she was suffering. One weekend, they brought her up to visit me because they knew I might not get another chance to see her. She was happy and energetic but I said goodbye.

About a week later I was getting ready for my morning class when the phone rang. It was my mom; she had intended to call her office to say she was bringing Paddi in to be put to sleep, but she pressed the wrong speed dial and got me instead. It was completely devastating; I knew I could not go to class that day. I e-mailed my professors and told them so.

(I wanted to tell this story in class, but I knew I couldn't do it without crying. It still hurts to think about that time, which was almost two years ago.)

The connection to Humanism goes like this: I thought of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and how if one of the lower needs is not fulfilled, the higher ones are impossible. When Paddi died, my "love and belongingness" went all out of whack and I couldn't think about anything else, especially not academics.

Additionally, my professors all exhibited good humanistic traits. Everyone was very empathic to my situation, and understood completely that I needed to take time off and deal with it.

I guess the only way to wrap this up is with the silver lining of the story. Right after Paddi died, her breeder told us about another puppy who desperately needed a new home. A week later, Ripley came home and immediately started tearing the house apart. He has since learned some manners and our home has a dog again.

Letter to Stumble

Dear StumbleUpon,

You are not working right now. I keep clicking on the button, and you wait a bit, but nothing happens. Normally you would at least try to give me the page that says you're down and I should go outside and play (which I wouldn't do anyway today because it's 8 degrees and windy, but I appreciate the sentiment). But today. . . just empty anticipation. I may have to do my homework after all.

Love,

Sarah

P.S. Please be fixed soon!

Knitting in 2009!

Whoooo new year! I have alpaca socks and acrylic microfiber mittens on the needles, but it's time to cast on a new project!

"Hey, Teach!" for Mom's birthday, changed to k the body in one piece to armholes.
Measurements:
chest: 38
waist: 34
hips: 42
bicep: 12
length: 19
This puts it at a size M

Body
Cast on 181 sts (mark 90 from each end-- side "seams")
Work 4 rows in 1x1 rib, ending with a WS row.
Work in st st until piece measures 8" from CO edge, ending with a RS row.
next row: [P8, p2tog] four times, p5. (m) 41 sts;
P4, p2tog, [p7, p2tog] nine times, p4. (m) 81 sts;
p5, [p2tog, p8] four times.
Work in 1x1 rib for 8 rows, ending with a WS row.

Bodice
coming soon!