Secretly Friends

A Pointless Story

In the 4th grade (that's about age nine for people who aren't regularly exposed to the American school system) I met someone who became one of my best friends. But hardly anyone knew that we were friends and we even made a pact under one of the jungle gyms in the pea gravel to not tell anyone. You see Jenny Stencil was a girl and that was an age when girls and boys didn't associate much. And ones who did got teased at Elizabeth Elementary School.

I met her in science class when we were both nauseated by the smell of the preservative fluid in a dissection and had to go to the library to do a report instead. We talked and found that despite the dissection thing we both liked science. We ended up doing science fair together and we won first place for our plant growing experiment using colored lights.

Unfortunately it didn't last. Jenny moved away with her family the next year and I was quite sad. I have sometimes searched for her online, but no luck. She's probably married and changed her last name making it really hard.

I've sometimes wondered if we would have had a Will and Grace type relationship (without the neurotic parts) if we'd kept living in the same area.

Super People!

trickofthedark wrote about supertasters, those people who taste bitter and hot things more intensely, and so don't like things like brussels sprouts. It the high level of flavanoids. I suspect that it is also what gets some people about sulfides used to stop fermentation in wine.

Anyway supertasters often find things like meat that have not been carefully prepared to have a off or metallic taste that the majority who are medium tasters or those who are non-tasters who don't get the bitter taste at all.

In my comment I noted that I didn't have this problem, but put in a bit about me being sympathetic because I hear things that most people aren't bothered by. Up in about the same register as my mild tinnitus I can hear the sound of cathode ray tubes in standard computer monitors and televisions. When the volume is off the noise is especially noticeable. And it can be really, really annoying.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

Florescent lights used to be worse, but I think the newer ballasts (that's the right word, right?) work better so they don't buzz as much. Or else my ears are slowly becoming less sensitive as I get older. Anyway when I get a new job I'm going to get a LED monitor for my computer and then life will be as perfect as for those people with digital watches in HHGG.

Wine Buying

So I'm thinking I'd like to go wine shopping sometime this week. I want to try one of those premium Australian box wines, because technology to make wine better is cool. Even if it is less romantic than the pop of a cork, which I suspect, will always be with us at least for champaign.

So who's up for some shopping, say about Friday?

Visiting the Museum Again

It was rather nice out and so I was glad to be getting out and with a purpose besides just being outside. I was going to meet my friend Rose to go to an opening at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (I still like the old name of the Denver Natural History Museum, it has overtones of natural philosophy with brass equipment). It was a exhibition of artifacts and reproductions from the Lewis and Clark expedition and the era. Not bad, though some of the explanatory text was quite preachy.

The food for the opening was quite nice as well. There was carved buffalo, and cured salmon, and this little honey cake things, and fancy mashed potatoes put back into skin jackets. Very nice spread and I got to try some chokecherry wine for free courtesy of a display by Colorado Cellars.

The imax film about Louis and Clark was pretty cool as well. Lots of pretty scenery and a nice summation of the trip though I don't know if I would have gone if I wasn't seeing it for free with a friend.