Our friend had her first night in jail last night, and called us this evening. Before she turned herself in, she had a drink with schnapps (possibly more than one, there was noise in the background and it was hard to hear her); apparently because of the alcohol, they put her in the holding tank overnight. Bare concrete, urine on the walls and floor, no bed. Put your blanket in the cleanest spot you can find and use your shoes for a pillow. Try to sleep, on the cold concrete with the lights on all night and one of the inmates in another block yelling.
Today she went to a regular cell, which has beds with some padding--"as thick as six layers of toilet paper". It's a lot drier there than here, so she needs chapstick and eye drops and skin lotion. You can order that sort of thing from the commissary, but not till Saturday, and they arrive Thursday, halfway through her sentence. She had taken the things she needed, plus notepaper and pen and such, but she couldn't bring anything in with her.
She sounded exhausted and scared, as if she was having to work at it not to break into tears.
There is some good news, though. The other women who are in with her are mostly in their forties, and don't seem to be troublemakers. She said "Everyone is very nice", although I'm not clear whether she meant the staff or the inmates or both. And she may get out a day or so early for good behavior. Even getting out six or seven hours early would let her catch a plane home that evening.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Aging to Uncertainty
An interesting post by Tom at Ante Aurorum Tenebrae , starting "I've noticed as I get older - unlike most of the older folks I know - I become less sure of myself and of the things I know." As for me, once I found out about confirmation bias, I started--slowly, gradually--becoming less dogmatic and more inclined to think that the other side just might have a point.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Rare Scrabble victory
Diana and I play Scrabble whenever the sting of my previous defeat has worn off. Tonight, though, I'm documenting for posterity that I won, 340 to 290. That will console me during the next dozen or so games.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
If you were a Box
If you were a box, what kind of box would you be? What size, material, decoration? What were you designed to hold? What's inside?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Murphy's of Virginia Beach
We went there for brunch after church this morning. The price was reasonable, but that's about all I can say for it. You have to go through the smoking section to get to the non-smoking section or the restrooms; the haze was thick enough that I had to change clothes as soon as I got home. The morning's special was a rubbery ham and cheese quiche, dry biscuits, and lukewarm fried potatoes. I don't need a waitress hovering at my shoulder every minute, but it would have been nice if she'd come back once or twice to see if we needed anything. I eventually asked another waitress for a coffee refill, but I never got it. And they charged us an extra line item for something which was supposed to be included in the breakfast--nothing major and I'm sure it was an honest mistake, but not endearing. Not recommended.
Sherry Cake
Diana has made half a dozen of these over Christmas, and they've been well received.
Sherry Cake
1 box Duncan Hines golden butter cake mix
4 eggs
1 small package vanilla instant pudding
1/2 c cooking oil
1/2 c water
1/2 c pale dry sherry
Mix all ingredients 3 minutes until well blended. Bake in lightly greased Bundt pan at 325 degrees for approx 50 minutes.
Glaze
1/2 c sugar
1/2 stick margarine (not butter)
2T sherry
2T water
Mix these ingredients, boil for 1 minute, then spoon glaze over hot cake. Let cool for 20 minutes, then serve.
Sherry Cake
1 box Duncan Hines golden butter cake mix
4 eggs
1 small package vanilla instant pudding
1/2 c cooking oil
1/2 c water
1/2 c pale dry sherry
Mix all ingredients 3 minutes until well blended. Bake in lightly greased Bundt pan at 325 degrees for approx 50 minutes.
Glaze
1/2 c sugar
1/2 stick margarine (not butter)
2T sherry
2T water
Mix these ingredients, boil for 1 minute, then spoon glaze over hot cake. Let cool for 20 minutes, then serve.
After action report: Fleet Battle off Hango, 1743
Mark Campbell hosted a 24-player Close Action game this weekend, and chose a battle which could have happened in 1743 if the Swedish admiral had been more aggressive. Both fleets start with fourteen ships in line ahead, close hauled, with the wind coming over the starboard bow. The winds are light, the sea is calm. Both fleets are almost exactly the same strength; the Russians have slightly better morale, while the Swedes have the wind gage. It was a very well balanced battle.
I was selected to play the Swedish admiral commanding both the fleet as a whole and the center of our line, with subordinate admirals in charge of our van and rear squadrons. The admiral isn't usually in the lead ship, and the rest of the squadron is usually supposed to follow the lead ship, so that captain also has a lot of influence in determining where the squadron goes. In this game, the leader of our center squadron was Joshua.
As soon as the game started, we turned to get closer to the Russians and I signaled which ship I wanted Josh to attack. The enemy van faded away from us but kept going in the same general direction; my van got a little too far ahead of them but swung around and cut them off. At the same time Josh broke through the enemy line exactly where I had signaled him to, and the rest of the center squadron followed to attack. The Russian rear and part of the center, eight ships in total, were straggling behind, so I ordered the Swedish squadron, with five ships, to break off their attack. This meant that the ships actually in combat were 9 Swedes against 6 Russians, which is about the best that a commander could hope for. The enemy van fell back towards their center, which meant they passed by Josh's ship and pounded on it pretty hard; but our van came along in hot pursuit. Josh's ship was dismasted and immobile but as he put it, "I don't need to move, I have targets right here."
Around turn 9, both van squadrons passed through or just downwind of the action in the center, and the Swedish rear cut across and engaged the Russian rear. I sent a signal to the fleet "Blood for Odin!" and things rapidly devolved into a general melee--which means that ships were headed in every direction, almost everyone had a target at point blank range, and it was a tangled mess. A Swedish ship caught fire and tried to get in among the Russians, but before the fire spread to the enemy, the crew put it out and gave up the fight. Shortly thereafter a Russian--the one Josh originally attacked--hauled down his flag. One of our leeward ships got overeager and fell in among six Russians, but rescuers came in the nick of time and he was able to crawl off with the Swedish flag still flying. To windward, two Russians did the same thing but separated from their squadron, they got trapped among Swedes and couldn't escape. Some of the leeward Russians were starting to edge away from the battle when Mark called the game after twenty turns. I had to leave before the post-game conference but I believe the final tally was that both sides had several ships severely damaged, but the Swedes won the day and captured four Russians. It was a close battle, and very enjoyable.
I was selected to play the Swedish admiral commanding both the fleet as a whole and the center of our line, with subordinate admirals in charge of our van and rear squadrons. The admiral isn't usually in the lead ship, and the rest of the squadron is usually supposed to follow the lead ship, so that captain also has a lot of influence in determining where the squadron goes. In this game, the leader of our center squadron was Joshua.
As soon as the game started, we turned to get closer to the Russians and I signaled which ship I wanted Josh to attack. The enemy van faded away from us but kept going in the same general direction; my van got a little too far ahead of them but swung around and cut them off. At the same time Josh broke through the enemy line exactly where I had signaled him to, and the rest of the center squadron followed to attack. The Russian rear and part of the center, eight ships in total, were straggling behind, so I ordered the Swedish squadron, with five ships, to break off their attack. This meant that the ships actually in combat were 9 Swedes against 6 Russians, which is about the best that a commander could hope for. The enemy van fell back towards their center, which meant they passed by Josh's ship and pounded on it pretty hard; but our van came along in hot pursuit. Josh's ship was dismasted and immobile but as he put it, "I don't need to move, I have targets right here."
Around turn 9, both van squadrons passed through or just downwind of the action in the center, and the Swedish rear cut across and engaged the Russian rear. I sent a signal to the fleet "Blood for Odin!" and things rapidly devolved into a general melee--which means that ships were headed in every direction, almost everyone had a target at point blank range, and it was a tangled mess. A Swedish ship caught fire and tried to get in among the Russians, but before the fire spread to the enemy, the crew put it out and gave up the fight. Shortly thereafter a Russian--the one Josh originally attacked--hauled down his flag. One of our leeward ships got overeager and fell in among six Russians, but rescuers came in the nick of time and he was able to crawl off with the Swedish flag still flying. To windward, two Russians did the same thing but separated from their squadron, they got trapped among Swedes and couldn't escape. Some of the leeward Russians were starting to edge away from the battle when Mark called the game after twenty turns. I had to leave before the post-game conference but I believe the final tally was that both sides had several ships severely damaged, but the Swedes won the day and captured four Russians. It was a close battle, and very enjoyable.
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