02.29.08
Posted in Meme at 8:18 pm by Meg
Sometime Marquis of Tichfield, Earl of Portland, Viscount Woodstock, Baron of Cirencester, co-heir to the Barony of Ogle and renowned as the finest judge of horseflesh in England, you took the tradition of aristocratic eccentricity to unprecedented heights. Having inherited the stately home of Welbeck Abbey, you proceeded to construct miles of underground tunnels and a ballroom, in pink, beneath it. The ballroom was complete except for one small detail. It had no floor. Despite this vast home, you lived exclusively in a suite of five rooms, each one also pink.
Having been turned down by your opera singer objet d’amour, Adelaide Kemble, in your youth, you suffered a broken heart and never married. This did not stop you from caring deeply about the wellbeing of your servants. Occasionally you would even help them muck out the stables. However, you did not neglect discipline, forcing disobedient underlings to skate themselves to exhaustion on your subterranean skating rink. Servants were given strict instructions regarding conduct: if they met you in a corridor, they were to ignore your existence while you froze to the spot until they were out of sight; and a chicken was to be kept roasting at all times in case you felt like sneaking into the kitchen for a snack.
You became ever more eccentric with age. You built another tunnel, this time to the railway station, through which you would ride your carriage. When you reached the station your carriage, with you inside, would be hoisted up onto the train in its entirety.
Upon your death, your multitude of titles passed to your cousin, who was obliged to delve into your curious domain to find your body once the servants had reported your absence. Entering your private rooms, he found that, aside from a commode in the centre of your bedroom, the only objects in the whole suite were hundreds of hatboxes, each containing a single brown wig.
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
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02.27.08
Posted in Life, the Universe and All that Jazz at 10:38 pm by Meg
Growing up, my mother (who had grown up in Illinois) used to tell me that Indiana didn’t change their clocks because the farmers said it would confuse the cows. I knew she wasn’t serious, but I had always loved that story.
Then, a year or two ago we got a new governor in Indiana who decided that to be part of the 21st. century we needed to move with the rest of the country - and Indiana started changing their clocks.
Having grown up outside of the state, it was quite funny watching the ‘locals’ adjust to changing their clocks twice a year.
It turns out that having such a large quantity of homes suddenly go to observing daylight saving time has finally allowed someone to study in depth what effect moving the clocks has on energy usage.
Using more than seven million monthly meter readings from Duke Energy Corp., covering nearly all the households in southern Indiana for three years, they were able to compare energy consumption before and after counties began observing daylight-saving time. Readings from counties that had already adopted daylight-saving time provided a control group that helped them to adjust for changes in weather from one year to the next.
And the result?
Their finding: Having the entire state switch to daylight-saving time each year, rather than stay on standard time, costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills. They conclude that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.
If you want to full story, it’s from the WSJ and I don’t know how long it will be accessible without a subscription.
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02.26.08
Posted in Specials and opportunities at 9:25 am by Meg
Applications are being accepted for Boiler Vet Camp, a
new event targeted toward students entering the 8th
grade. Slated for June 18-20, the camp is designed for
aspiring veterinarians who want an opportunity to
experience first-hand the fascinating world of
veterinary medicine. The only camp of its kind in
Indiana, Boiler Vet Camp immerses students in a true
college experience through presentations,
demonstrations, laboratories, visits and in-depth and
hands-on activities. In addition to attending
special classes at the veterinary school, students
will stay in campus dorms and eat at residence hall
cafeterias. The total cost is $500 and includes room,
food, t-shirt, disposable camera, journal and other
items. Application information and further details are
available.
The application deadline is March 15.
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02.22.08
Posted in Life, the Universe and All that Jazz at 5:27 pm by Meg
We took a two week break over Christmas and the New Year.
I was sick for almost the entire time.
Hubby is off next week and we are taking a break for the week.
And I’m coming down with another cold.
It is so not fair!!
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02.21.08
Posted in Meme at 2:10 pm by Meg
I saw this over on Carrie’s, and well, she always has interesting memes!
(1) Post the rules on your post before you answer the questions.
(2) List one fact about yourself using each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name use your maiden name instead.
(3) When finished answering, tag one person for each letter of your name.
Now, I should explain that I’ve always been fascinated by middle names.
I grew up being told that my middle name was named after my paternal grandmother, Emma. I never could figure out the connection until as an adult I was exploring my Jewish heritage and discovered that when naming infants you don’t use the name of someone living. You use the same first initial.
My mother had always used her maiden name as her middle name and it wasn’t until later that I discovered that she had had another middle name as a child.
My senior year in high school, they printed a Tshirt with all the graduating seniors’ names on it (nearly 600). For some odd reason while they printed my nickname and last name, on one person (my best friend) that printed her full name and middle name. And she didn’t have just some simple middle name. Nope, she had a family name as her middle name so it was really glaring. E**** VanGordon B***.
My first job out of college was working in Buffalo, NY for a Canadian design firm. One of the engineers that I worked with was British and had 2 middle names. It was the first time I’d ever met someone with 4 names (not counting people with 2 last names.)
When I got married I didn’t want to drop my middle name and I didn’t want to not follow tradition (though I know many who don’t) and not use my maiden name as my middle name, so I decided to have 2 middle names following the English tradition. Not a hyphenate last name, but 4 separate names.
It’s been fun. When we were in California, the drivers licenses could handle it, but here in Indiana it chokes their computers and I end up with a middle name of EN. You should see the credit card offers that come through.
That all said, for the purposes of this game, I’m only going to use the middle name I was born with - Ellen
E - Education - Yep, like Carrie. What else should a homeschooler choose for a first E?
L - Learning - For me. Actually Hubby and I were just talking about how having this life style is not just for educating the kids, but also I’m learning new things (Russian? Japanese? I never imagined.) and trying new experiences.
L - Leather - Hey, what can I say. It’s a skill that I have and that I enjoy.
E - Energy - Right now it’s kind of on a low ebb - I think I’m catching the cold Girl had last week - but normally I’m running over busy with activities and plans.
N - Natural - I don’t dye my hair (never have), though I’ll perm some curls into it occasionally. I rarely wear makeup and I can usually be found in comfy, casual clothes.
And who to tag.
Doc - who says that she will play if tagged by a meme, though will her moving going on it may be delayed.
Kim
and Kim
Heather
and Kathy.
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