danajohnhill.org

An update on the my ethics paper I wrote about in a post entitled “Overcoming the Contradictions”, I received an A grade.  And not just any A, but a 100% sort of A.  That’s the best kind.

I was reviewing my options for school this fall, and I am now considering doing another semester, in part because Dr. Smillov is teaching a logic course.  I really like the guy, and would like to learn more from him.  An added bonus: he knows who Nicolai Ghiaurov was, and I got the impression that he had seen him live in his native Bulgaria.

So, at this point, I have the highest grade possible.  That feels nice.

What’s better than cake and ice cream and friends? Not much. Last night we attended an ice cream-themed surprise party for Andrew hosted by Shannon at her house, and it was a delight.

We arrived at the designated time thinking Andrew would be out helping friends move. But he was already home from doing that, and was, instead, taking a nap in another room. There was talk of sneaking into his room quietly, to frighten him when he awoke, but we opted instead to assemble in the living room with party favors, ready to ambush him when he came out. He seemed genuinely surprised and happy to see us all there, and he donned his crown and sash and opened gifts.

We presented Andrew with a lavish gift-basket Miriam made from a recycled shoe box, loaded with assorted environmentally-friendly cleaning agents and household goods, plus an organic cotton t-shirt from American Apparel.

Shannon provided us with goody-bags full of little toys and phosphorescent sticks. Some guests sported handsome fake mustaches. There were cookies from Jen (known for her Andrew-as-cat “Kitten Pants”), and soon after, Shannon presented the ice cream cake. Later, Andrew was led into the kitchen where a buffet of imported ice cream was on display. He was emotional. Finally, the ice cream party turned dance party, with Andrew busting some signature moves. The Worm was even demonstrated.

I was glad to see Steve and Kathleen again, and it was great spend time with Andrew and Shannon, really nice people both. We even made new friends: Heather just moved to Gainesville that day with her boyfriend Brian.

I’ve been to some bad parties and a few good ones. This was a very good party.

I am having a good time uploading recently-scanned photographs from days of yore.  Little by little I am going to have all my old 35mm negatives and slides scanned.  It is a time consuming task, however.  At 1200 dots per inch, scanning eight negatives at a time takes between 11 and 12 minutes.  Scanning at 800 dpi, which produces a smaller image, takes a bit less, but still between eight and ten minutes.  At least the results are usable.  I am not looking for perfection, since, if I wanted a print I’d just get one from the negative.  I simply want something that’s good enough for Flickr.

That’s where my faulty memory comes in.  The glory of Flickr, in my opinion, is the ability to date and geotag pictures.  Alas, my memory is poor, and, since I didn’t keep detailed diaries between 2001 and 2004, I have little idea, in some cases, where or when certain photographs were taken.  So, if you are in any of my photos, and your recollection of when or where a picture was taken, let me know, and I’ll fix the tags.

At Target today:

Four Gilette Mach-3 razor blades:  $8.00; Coke Zero (12-pack cans):  4 for $11.00.