S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 5

Electronic Notepad

 I bought one of those electronic notepads a while back and tried it out. They had a free-return policy if I didn't like it. 

When doing freelance writing, I was tired of searching through my hand-written notes to find something. The notebook was supposed to turn my writing into text that was searchable. I thought that would be great.

I did like a lot about it. The feel of it was just like writing on paper. I could store my notes as a PDF on my computer and not have them in my physical files which I then clean out occasionally.

But the problem was, it couldn't read my writing. To paraphrase Gandalf, "There are few who can." Sometimes I have trouble reading my writing. Here's an example of me trying to write neatly:

So you can see they the electronic notebook had issues.
So I sent it back for a refund.
Have you tried any electronic devices to make your writing easier? Let me know how it worked in the comments below.

Beautiful Cars

Lamborghini CountachI was admiring a very expensive car and I called it, in my mind, "beautiful." 

And then I got to thinking. Why do I (and other people) call these mechanical devices "beautiful"?

We call paintings and books and sculptures and other man-made things beautiful. So why not cars? Just because they are also functional, doesn't lessen their beauty. If you Google "beautiful car" you get a lot of images, some that are more beautiful than others.

As. the saying goes "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." There are probably people who would never find a car beautiful. I remember a long time ago I was with my parents in Monterey, California, and there was a white Lamborghini Countach parked on the street. And my mother said, "What an ugly car." But I found it beautiful. But my opinion might have been swayed by knowing it had a V12 engine that sat behind the driver. 

And, in general, what is this penchant humans have for finding inanimate things beautiful: mountains, lakes, trees. Or animals. If someone pointed out a beautiful horse to me, I'd have to take their word for it. But a pretty cat, I'm all about that (since our family got a cat seven years ago). 

Why do you think humans call so many diverse things "beautiful"? Let me know in the comments below.

Wolves and Humans

I sometimes think about the relationship of humans and wolves throughout the ages. For example, why are there sayings about wolves:

Keep the wolf from the doorA wolf in sheep's clothingThrow you to the wolves

 Those are the ones I could think of. There may be more. There's also the "Big Bad Wolf" in the Little Red Riding Hood story. The wolf and the three little pigs, also. 

At some time in the distant pass, humans and wolves started living and working together. And modern dogs are descendants of those wolves. But a lot of wolves stayed feral. And still are.

I think that in Europe, especially in the middle ages, wolves hunted humans and humans were ill equipped to handle them. Especially wolves in packs. And that's why we have sayings such as "Keep the wolf from the door." You didn't want to step out of your hovel and be attacked by wolves. Although it probably happened.

I read an article about a couple living off the grid in Alaska. They run into wolves. The article said they are "braving encounters with wolves." So the wolves must make them nervous, at the least.

Wolf attacks on humans have happened as recently as September 2024.

Do you think wolves hunted (and hunt) humans? Or am I wrong. Let me know in the comments below.

Northern Lights

 I can't believe I never blogged about this and it's been eight months.

I've always wanted to see the aurora borealis (also known as the northern lights). And I thought to do so I'd have to go to Alaska (most likely) or at least somewhere far north of where I live.

On May 10, 2024, there was a solar storm and the borealis was visible where I live! It was overhead. I was amazed. Here are some pictures I took that night:

The camera on my iPhone showed a lot more color than my eyes did.

The interesting thing is, now I don't care. I've seen the northern lights and when they say they will be visible again, I don't want to put in the effort to see them. For example, on October 10th, the borealis was visible as far south as Texas. I didn't bother to go see them. (There's sure been a lot of solar activity lately.)

There's a man who lives in the same town I do, and he goes out and photographs the northern lights all the time. I see his pictures on Facebook. And that is, now, good enough for me.

Have you seen the northern lights? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below.

Red Mist and Marbles

In the past (not recently, however), I have driven on a race track. 

In racing circles (and perhaps other groups) there is a term called "red mist."

Red mist is when you get angry or frustrated and make bad decisions because of it.  This doesn't only happen on race tracks. It can happen in all sorts of situations. A lot of them involve driving. It's not road rage, just more frustration. 

For example, I was behind a guy at a stoplight. The light turned green. The car in front of him turned right. Interminable seconds later he put on his right turn signal and slowly turned the corner. And I got frustrated and nearly floored the gas in my car (I was trying to make the tires squeal but with all wheel drive that's nearly impossible) and went across the intersection. Red mist.

Another racing term is "marbles." Once you get off the racing line (the path around the track that is fastest), you get into an area where there are "marbles." Not literal marbles, but pieces of tire and maybe some gravel and you lose your grip on the track surface. That's why they are called "marbles."

Once on the track I got red mist (I don't remember why) and ended up in the marbles. I don't remember how. I just remember saying later "red mist and marbles don't mix." I didn't crash, but I did have to work to get my car back under control. It was a scary moment.

So, my friends, try to avoid red mist and anything that will make it worse, like the marbles on the track. Or ice on a road. Or anything that will make a lousy situation much worse.

Have you experienced red mist? Were you driving or doing something else. Let me know in the comments below.

SiriusXM and Regional Songs?

I've come to the conclusion that some popular songs were regional hits but were rarely if ever heard outside those regions.

Why? Let me explain. 

I have SiriusXM satellite radio in my car. When the idea of satellite radio was first put forward, I thought one would be crazy to pay for radio when there's free radio over the air. Then I bought a car that came with a year-long free trial. By the end of that year, I was hooked. For one thing, no commercials on the music channels (just a lot of promos touting that). And also, for trips, you don't have to search for good radio stations. You just have to listen to the satellite radio. It does have drawbacks beside the cost. It doesn't go through foliage well so leafy trees can block the signal. And mountains do too. It doesn't work very well when I travel down the Columbia River Gorge toward Portland to see my grandson. But other than that, it's great.

Since getting SiriusXM (used to be two companies called "Sirius" and "XM" but they merged in the hope of surviving), I've heard a few songs I've never heard before. For example, Angry Eyes by Loggins and Messina. And something called Jeans On by David Dundas (whom I'd never heard of). Also Jessica by the Allman Brothers (I'd obviously heard of the Allman Brothers, just not that song). And Lovely Day by Bill Withers. And finally Ariel by Dean Friedman. Never heard of the song or the artist. And the song sucks.

It might be that I stopped listening to Top 40 in about 1977 and switched to what the radio biz called "Album Oriented Rock" or AOR. 

But still, I'm wondering if those songs never made it to the Pacific Northwest where I've lived most of my life (except for when I lived in California when I was in the Army). Another interesting fact is I never heard Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd until I was in the Army.

Have you heard of those songs? Were they hits where you live? Or are they as unfamiliar to you as they are to me? Let me know in the comments below.

We Aren't a Quarter of a Century into the 21st Century

Happy New Year!

This year a lot of people are going to start saying we're a quarter of a century into the 21st century.

That's not correct. We won't be a quarter of a century into this century until 2026.

Why?

Because there was no year zero. We went from 1 BC (BCE) to 1 AD (CE).

So the first century was 1 to 101.

The second century was 101 to 201.

The third century was 201 to 301.

And so on until the 21st century will be 2001 to 2101.

So 25 years into the 21st century will be 2026.

I know it's not fun. But it's the truth. But man, a quarter of a century next year already. That amazes me.

Huskies' Bowl Game and Season Wrap Up

The University of Washington's 2024 season is over. And, it wasn't a great one. New head coach Jedd Fisch had a near impossible task of making the Huskies a winning team after all but two starters left and he had to rebuild the program.

The Huskies last game was the Sun Bowl on December 31st against the Louisville Cardinals who had an 8-4 record versus the Huskies' 6-6. 

When our true-freshman quarterback threw an interception that was ran in for a touchdown on his second pass attempt, I thought the game was over. But the Huskies came back and fought hard. Their final drive started on the 3-yard line and they put it in for a touchdown in the final seconds of the game. A PAT would have tied the game but Coach Fisch wanted to go for two to win it. But not getting the two points would lose the game. And, of course, we missed the two-point conversion. And the Huskies lost the game 35-34.

Back around 2008 when the Huskies weren't doing very well (worse than this year, even), I came up with my criteria for a "good season." They were:

Win at least 8 regular season gamesBeat Washington StateBeat OregonGo to a bowl and win itAnd they managed exactly none of those.  Their regular season record this year was 6-6. They lost to WSU and Oregon. And they went to the Sun Bowl and lost.
So, I guess there's always next year. With that season, Fisch probably won't be hired away like Kalen DeBoer was. That'll help build continuity in the system. If we can hang on to our coaches, that would help too. Next year we'll have a sophomore quarterback who this season showed some real talent. So, we'll have to see. Their first game is on August 30th against Colorado State at home.

Things I'm Not Good At

Did you have a nice Christmas? I hope so.

I think I'm a pretty good writer and I have to reviews to prove it. Just wish I had more reviews.

But there are some things I'm not very good at. 

1) Parking. Not just parallel parking (I'm actually decent at that), but parking between the lines. I'm almost always crooked, or to one side, or both. I'm rarely as bad as shown in the picture, but close.

2) Book Marketing. Yeah, I know.

3) Proofreading. As a writer I should be good at this, but I'm not. That's why I have my wife and a friend both proofread what I write before I submit it.

4) Not speeding. I once tried to go the speed limit all the time. It lasted about two days. I couldn't stand it. Even that 5 mph over the limit I usually go made the driving so much better.

5) Determining how much liquid is left in opaque bottles. Shampoo, body wash, eye drops, it doesn't matter. I will think I'm almost out, put them on the shopping list, and then the new bottle will sit on the counter for a week. Or two. If the liquid is viscous (shampoo, body wash), it's worse. If I can shake the bottle and feel how much is in it (eye drops), I'm a little better. 

6) Remembering blog post ideas. I'll have an idea for a blog post, not write it down thinking I'll remember it, and then forget it. 

Do you have things you have to admit you're not good at? Let me know in the comments below.

Speeding

It's almost winter officially (Saturday or Sunday is the winter solstice depending on what time zone you're in). So I decided today is the time to discuss my philosophy on a sensitive subject: speeding.

To me, there are three types of speeding: accidental speeding, casual speeding, and blatant speeding.

Accidental speeding is when you're accidentally exceeding the posted speed limit probably because it's set too low. My last speeding ticket (years ago) was this. I realized I was going around 50 mph in a 35 mph zone. I had just lifted my foot off the gas to slow down when I saw the cop. Now 50 in a 35 might sound reckless to you, but it's a country road with no houses or farms. There's one intersection before you reach the end and after the intersection nothing but a couple of corners that are fun to take at about 50. In my opinion, the speed limit should be at least 40 or 45. But local jurisdictions around here like to set speed limits low. Probably to increase their fine revenue.

Casual speeding is probably most of the speeding I do. I set the cruise control 5 mph over the speed limit and go. I'm pretty sure I won't get a ticket only going that fast. This is probably, also, the way most people speed: just a bit over the limit. And again, speed limits are often set too low. A sure sign of this is one of those radar signs telling you how fast you're going.

Blatant speeding is when you don't care what the speed limit is you're going to drive as fast as you want. In my opinion, it doesn't become blatant until you're at least 10 mph over the speed limit. I do this occasionally but I pick my spots: empty back roads mostly. Although the first time I went over 100 mph was on an interstate and the speed limit was 55 mph (back in the bad old days of the NMSL*). That was pretty risky.

I've never gotten a ticket blatantly speeding (except my first speeding ticket, doing 70 mph on a 55 mph interstate (stupid NMSL). Knock on wood I never do again. I'm pretty careful these days with where I blatantly speed (never on an interstate).

Oh, and that interstate where I got a ticket for doing 70 mph, now has an 80 mph speed limit.

Do you speed? Is it accidental, casual, or blatant? Let me know in the comments below.

*NMSL: National Maximum Speed Limit that imposed a 55 mph speed limit on the whole nation. It was passed in 1974 in an attempt to conserve oil. In 1987 it was raised to 65 mph on "rural interstates" and in 1995 it was repealed completely.