Hearts of Space Timeline

A few years ago, I listened to every single Hearts of Space episode available through Hearts of Space (link: http://hos.com). No joke. At some point during that journey, I started a compilation of various trivia. It remains incomplete, but I thought I would list it below as a starting point for fans of the show.


Moments in Hearts of Space history, 1983-Present


Pgm 605, "Terror and hope": First show after Sep 11, 2001.

Pgm ~450-500?xxx, "": Stephen sick with a cold :(

Pgm 445, "Drifter": Steve Davis' first show. Rick Kovacic leaves show to continue academic studies.

PGM 168 : "KINGDOM OF THE SUN": First BAY AREA WEATHER : Sizzlin and drizzlin

Pgm xxx, "": First mention of the web site, hos.com.

Pgm xxx, "": First mention of the HOS phone information line.

Pgm xxx, "": First mention of the tagline, "Slow Music for Fast Times."

Pgm 436, "Vox Nova," Last mention of the 1-900 Listener Information Line, "1-900-40-SPACE."

PGM 217 : "INTO THE CENTER" First "Safe journey, space fans, wherever you are."
PGM 134 : "DESCENDING PHASES" First program produced entirely on compact disc.

Some random bits:

PGM 118 : "DONA NOBIS PACEM" -- Anna Turner's last program as narrator.
PGM 109: "DEPARTURE" -- Anna Turner and Stephen Hill's last dual-narrated program.
Pgm 478, "New World": Promo bit at the end.
Pgm 453, "Sunyata": Promo bit at the end.

PGM 176: ENCOUNTER : Spoken in Alfred Hitchcock voice. XD

Pgm 091, c. 1996-01-01, "Anna Turner Tribute (Crystal Light)": Produced by Stephen Hill and Anna Turner (I choked up reading that line after reading of her death)

PGM 155 : "ORIENT EXPRESS": Last advert of the 1-800-87-ORBIT phone number
Pgm 358, "Pearls of the Soul": First advert of the 1-900-40-SPACE phone number to order the playlist.

Pgm 294, "Caravan": Program list cost increases to $3. "Inflation has hit us...."

Pgm xxx,(1992) "": Last intro of "From San Francisco, it's music from the Hearts of Space, an hour of contemporary space music. I'm Stephen Hill."

Pgm 264: "Lost Frontier": Last "Heartbeats Catalog subscription" program

Taglines
"Timeless music for a changing world"
"Slow music for fast times"

Various "endings"

Pgm 444, "Safe journey, ambient traveler, wherever you are."
PGM 172 : "NUEVO TANGO (TANGO: ZERO HOUR)", "Safe journey, Astor, wherever you are."
Pgm 332, "Safe journey, space fans, in the deep forest, or wherever you are."
Pgm 413, "Safe journey, space fans, from the magnificent void, or wherever you are."
PGM 168: KINGDOM OF THE SUN , "Safe journey, space fans, from the kingdom of the sun, or wherever you are."
PGM 208: THE FALLING DARK, "You know, it's easy to find someone to make noise, but a good listener is hard to find. So thanks for listening, and join me again for more music from the Hearts of Space.

Questions:

What is the hardest composer name to pronounce and what language in general?
Do you still think that Terry Riley is "least known and most influential American composer of the last 20 years?" as you did in 1985?

Blower Motor Resistors and the Art of Ford Escort Maintenance

The 2nd Generation 1.9L Ford Escort blower motor resistor, in all its glory:



Image credits: http://www.feoa.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=56420&highlight=resistor

Purchased two of these today from a Pick-n-Pull "self-service recycled auto parts store" (junkyard) for $5 each. New they cost ~$18. The benefit of getting them from a junkyard is that I get to make all the mistakes of self-repair on cars that are already junked. It is a lot of fun for me to tear apart cars and see how things work and get the original parts.

I also salvaged several lights for our heating and cooling control module. They burned out about six months ago. Ford (per a mechanic) says that to replace the lights requires the replacement of the entire module. As for a price, the Ford rep said "I do not want to scare you." So I salvaged about six of the lights for free today (no charge items).

The scariest part of self-repair for me is installing the parts on our car. :X Especially when it is something that I see every time I use the car. Hoping all goes well tomorrow.

The other most recent repair is stopping the rattling in the rear spoiler. Over time the plastic lugs that hold the spoiler to the trunk disintegrate. 3M makes double-sided mounting tape which does a great job of assisting the anchors. No more rattle.

Long Hair

Growing my hair out. The original idea I had was this one:



Link: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=43569808&albumID=1306932&imageID=22560655

So it is sort of half-way there. I am not sure I want it that long now.

Ideas:


I like the scruffy Japanese look.


Dawn really likes the above hairstyle.

Radio Song

Santa Barbara, CA-native Kate Perry's "Hot N Cold" from her 2007 album "One of the Boys". Video. "Staccato rollercoaster." x_x I guess it is really "Stuck on a rollercoaster." I like the original way I heard it.

There is No Charge for Awesomeness

Dawn and I saw this sequence of Kung Fu Panda today at CostCo and laughed. Now I want to watch the movie even more.

Stanford Masters Program

Drooling over Stanford University's distance education program:

http://scpd.stanford.edu/becomeAStudent/tuitionAndFees.jsp?expandMenu=becomestudent

For those in public service, federal loans are forgiven after ten years:

http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml

Hmm.

Of course, I will still need to get accepted, and take the GRE.

Thank You Mr. Lumley

Friday night confessions: when I shop at Safeway, I tap in my old telephone number on the pad, and it always comes up with "Bernadette Lumley" on the receipt. The cashier never fails to say, "Thank you Mr. Lumley," just as the cashier also never fails to see that my surname is not Lumley.

Turn Your Name Into A Face

Just like looking in the mirror! Try it!

Link: http://turnyournameintoaface.com/

GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) Public Key

Here: http://kevinschultz.com/schultkl-public-key-gpg-1-4-9.asc

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-12-27

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-12-27
Resting heart rate: 65 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI):
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 4 C
Time: 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
Terrain: flat

Comments: Exercised at the gym this morning. Five minute warmup and cooldown. In between, a 45 minute workout on the arc trainer. Worked hard after warming up and did an interval workout. By the half-way point, I was slowing down on the hard parts and speeding up on the easy parts, which felt good. I tried to stay comfortable. During the second half I watched a program produced by LatinoAmerica.TV and felt a craving for green chile and cheese tamales. I burned about 875 calories today, then went home and ate about 900 calories of tamales (two). I guess that is 900 calories that will not add to my daily total.

Weight (after exercise): 81.8 kg (180.3 lb)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Muscles behind my right knee felt sore a bit after workout.

Wishing Everyone A Patrick Swayze Christmas

For those celebrating today, Merry Christmas, courtesy of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

KYDS Radio Songs

Heard this evening around 5:15 p.m. on KYDS 91.5 Sacramento:

Nutbush, Tennessee native Tina Turner's "Whatever You Need" from her 1999 album "Twenty Four Seven", on the Parlephone Records and Virgin Records labels. Video.

San Diego-based Angels & Airwaves' "Lifeline" from their 2007 album "I-Empire" on the Geffen label. Video.

Running Journal, Thursday, 2008-12-25

Running Journal, Thursday, 2008-12-25
Resting heart rate: 58 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI): 24.0 (upper normal weight)
Weather: mostly sunny, moderately windy, chilly
Temp: 11 C
Time: 4:00-4:45 p.m.
Terrain: flat

Comments: Decided to get some exercise as my Christmas present this year. Apparently, this represents the first time I have run since early November. I walked quickly for five minutes to warm up. The first 15 minutes went by slowly. I ran quickly to warm up against the brisk wind. At the half-way point, 22 minutes, I could not imagine running around the American River College track any longer. The ARC campus became the stage for the next 12 minutes, with two and one-half laps at the track to complete the run. The track has poor drainage. The north end's lane nine always seems to have a squishy section following rain, and the west side collects water in pools between the track and the bleachers. I cannot imagine that is good for the long-term health of the stadium track. A few people were out walking, some with dogs. One person practiced their tennis serve. A soccer player was practicing their foot skills on the fields to the east of the school. Someone had left on the scoreboard next to the college pool, so all the digits were lit up like a Christmas display. As I ran around the campus, I felt like I hit my stride around minutes 25-30. I was running strong and comfortably. It felt very wonderful. It felt even better to finish.

Goal Time: none
Distance (running): ???
Total Running Distance For Year: 64.79 km (32.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): 82.6 kg (182.1 lb)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Sore calves near the end.

Winter Tires

Flat tire on the way home this evening, so investigating tires:

175/65R14 XL Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 Blackwall

Only $550 shipped from TireRack.com (with black steel rims and wheel covers).

Purchasing just the four tires from a local Firestone costs $405 (with tax). x_x

Letters from Iwo Jima

60th Reunion of Japanese and American Iwo Jima Veterans in 2005 (Wikipedia)

Iwo Jima means "sulpher island" in Japanese. Over the course of nearly 40 days, the island became the stage for a pitched battle between 21,000+ Japanese and 100,000+ American soldiers. Only 216 Japanese soldiers surrendered. Close to 3,000 Japanese soldiers remained in hiding in the complex tunnel network of the island after the battle. The rest of the Japanese forces were killed in action or through suicide.

Notes and Thoughts

• General Kuribayashi, through attrition, hoped to deter American forces from invading Japan. I wonder, though, if the losses incurred at Iwo Jima played into the use of the hydrogen bomb at Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
  
  
• The remains of 10,000 Japanese soldiers reported missing-in-action still exist on the island.
  
  
• The movie clearly conveys the Japanese soldiers' desire to protect their families from harm, which resonated with me.
  
  
• General Kuribayashi is the tragic hero of the film (along with tank commander Takiechi Nishi), sent to his death to delay American forces.
  
  
• Desparation, panic, fear, resignation, acceptance, anger, rage, cynicism, horror.
  
  
• Practically speaking, a civilian's best bet of visiting Iwo Jima is through military tourism.
  

Pictures of the island today: http://www.iwojima.com/today.htm

Brown Butter and Pasta Recipe (Old Spaghetti Factory)

Image credit: http://flickr.com/photos/kurtasbestos/2793267607/

Recipe Review

• Trés Bon. One of my favorites. This represents the second time we have made it.
  
  
• The smell of the caramelizing butter represents a heavenly experience.
  
  
• It tastes just as good or better than that served at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
  
  
• We added a bottle of Pinot Grigio, a tossed salad, two tapered candles, and streamed classical music via Shoutcast.com for ambiance.
  
  
• This open source recipe below comes from CD Kitchen: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/23/Spaghetti_with_Burnt_Butter38272.shtml. I did not write anything below unless otherwise noted.
  

Recipe Overview

There is a terrific dish served by The Old Spaghetti Factory chain, called Spaghetti with Browned Butter. It is served topped with shredded Mizithra cheese (a Greek hard cheese). If mizithra is not available (I am able to easily locate it St. Louis at cheese shops and some supermarkets), a blend of ricotta salata and romano is suggested.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup unsalted butter
2. 1 cup mizithra cheese (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizithra)
3. Pasta of choice (spaghetti works great)
   

Directions

1) Brown the butter

• Cut 2 sticks of butter into 8 pieces and place in a 2-quart sauce pan.
  
  
• Place the pan of butter on a burner on medium heat.
  
  
• Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes).
  
  
• Once the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise.
  
  
• Continue stirring, otherwise the butter foam could overflow (about 5 minutes) and catch fire.
  
  
• Once the butter stops foaming and rising, cook until amber in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). It will have a pleasant caramel aroma.
  
  
• Turn off the heat and remove pan from burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes.
  
  
• Pour the brown butter through a strainer into a small bowl. Do not disturb the residue at the bottom of the pan. (Kevin: I used a paper towel over a measuring cup for this step.)
  
  
• The brown butter can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in a microwave as needed.
  

2) Boil the Pasta

• Boil the pasta of choice until Al Dente (depends on pasta).
  
  
• Drain pasta and divide into four servings.

3) Combine and Eat

• Spread 1/4 cup of Mizithra over each pasta serving.
  
  
• Top with 1/4 cup of hot brown butter.

Serves/makes 4.

Level 60 (FreeRice.com)

Achieved playing normally (not setting the level). 41,860 grains of rice donated, which amounts to 2,093 turns. That is a lot.

I installed two FireFox extensions which aided in word comprehension and retention:

1. Wikipedia Lookup Extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/744
2. Dictionary extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7869
   

Link: http://FreeRice.com

In searching blog posts for others who have played, I came across a suggestion to play http://aidtochildren.com. After all the difficulty with freerice.com, I mastered this one in 20 minutes:

Koji Tamaki

Kouji Tamaki emotes every line.

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdI0OTRYwIo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwnmFFtDEc4

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koji_Tamaki

Let the Right One In

Macabre, tender, violent. "Let the Right One In" shatters the myth of childhood innocence. At the same time, it shows the birth of an unlikely friendship between two desperately lonely 12-year-olds. Vulnerability, honesty, and acceptance prove the foundation for friendship, love, and hope for a world without despair.

If you liked the wintry examination of human frailties portrayed by Fargo, this may appeal to you. Often unconventional, dark, bleak, stark, and gory, I highly recommend it.

Link: http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/

Rostropovich

Dawn calls me a Rostropovich fanboy. What can I say? I want to purchase the Bach Cello Suites but have no money. Therefore, blogging about it here so I remember later.