New Addition

Well I have a new addition to my house. The couch in my den has been replaced by an actual new couch. That's right, that is the first new couch I've had. I have to say it's quite an improvement over the old one. Alas I didn't get any pictures of the old one, but that's probably for the best. However I do ramble on about the pictures of the new one.

So this is a picture of the illustrious new couch. It's actually about a foot shorter than the old one, but much of that is arm rest. The back is a little shorter, but it sits higher. The cushions are much firmer, which should soften over time, and they are much shallower. I like it. Well of course otherwise I wouldn't have chosen it. You can tell it's a gold color with a hint of green and maybe cranberry or wine in specks. The thing is this is the tipping point. I was content with the status quo, but that has changed. Next is the craptacular carpet in front of the sofa. It too moved from a previous abode, and was merely there to provide sound deadening and some scuff protection to the floor. So my search has begun.

This is the first foray. A few small pieces I picked up at one location to test in the lighting of the den. This like the other picture had to be color corrected slightly to make it look closer to reality. Darned flash. Anyway, the one on the left I wanted to use to confirm it was too busy for the room. The big version is even worse, so it's right out. My Godsister likes the middle one. It brings out the colors in the couch well. It gets more of the red and brown in the full size version. The one on the right I like, but I'm not sure for this room though. It's a dark forest green around the edge that transitions to a lighter green/beige in the middle. The three rectangles in the middle are the same green/beige with lots of blue speckles. The two vines are a dark wine. The big version is almost identical with the vines getting slightly thicker, but mostly longer with more leaves. I'll look some more places to see what they have.

What do you think?

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Links for the hell of it

I’m not sure if I’m going to keep doing this, but I feel like it to today. So there.

There’s an interesting ballot that popped up in Washington state. It proposes that all heterosexual marriages that do not result in a child’s birth within 3 years will be dissolved. It’s absurdity is designed to point out the absurdity that marriage exists solely to provide stable families for childrearing. It’s interesting, and thought provoking. Talk amongst yahselves.

In another short article on the NYTimes site is about Walmart, Whole foods, and other companies trying to promote sustainable fishing and grow the ocean’s fisheries back to higher levels. There are a few recommendations of fish to stay away from and some that are good choices. Personally I love farm raised catfish, which happens to be one of the best for farming with limited ecological impact. It’s something more people should know about. Expect the day to come when we have to force limitations in fishing to stop the ecological disaster that’s currently happening. In other words, Eat More Chikin.

DailyTech had an article up about a cellular book from Telecom Italia that is the closest production item to a global communicator from Earth: Final Conflict that I’ve ever seen. I want to play with one.

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By the games we play

As I said before, I received an Onyx Nintendo DS for Christmas. Since then I have gotten a few cartridges for it. In fact that’s one of the reasons I’ve been taking longer than usual to finish that Jefferson biography. Well hopefully I’ve gotten a handle on that and will be back to my book devouring self before too long. Anyway it occurred to me that I should write up a little something about the games I’ve been playing. I’ll ramble on about them following the link.

When I got the DS I also got a copy of Brain Age. It has a bunch of exercises designed to exercise different functional areas of the brain. I found that I was rusty on some of the tests. Well rusty may not the best description since I hadn’t performed some of the exercises before. Many of the tests I’ve gotten better at, but I still have a problem with the rote memorization of words. I’m going to try forming sentences or stories with them next to help memorization. I’ve been having a good time with it. It’s a really interesting product, but I wouldn’t call it a game. It does inspire competitiveness and drive though. I think exploration into areas of unique game play are going to be a big boon to Nintendo and help draw in a much wider group of consumers. I’m sure that played a big role in the design and marketing of the Wii as well.

The next game I got was Lego Star Wars II. A friend had played the first one on the Game Cube, and I co-played II with a friend on the XBox. I enjoyed the game the short time I played it , and it got good reviews. It’s a really fun game. It’s an interesting combination of game types. It’s easy enough for children to play, but also offers complexity for adults. I haven’t come close to doing everything yet. There are lots of extras that can keep you coming back for a long time. It’s fun to go through the stories we all know, but they also took a little poetic license with the stories. It’s just too much fun to watch the Lego characters wink at the camera or sashay around. The only complaint I really had is that the game seems a little buggy. I’ve had it freeze up a couple of times, but mostly I’ve had textures disappear. That means my ship, enemy ships, walls, etcetera would vanish. Also, sometimes the camera would get stuck in certain locations. It’s these problems that keep this game from being a total joy to play.

I went to Best Buy to buy a game for my brother; he got a DS for Christmas as well. While there I found that Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was there for $20. I had heard good things about the game, and I loved the PC version, so I bought it. I have to say they did a great job with this game. They turned a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game for the PC into a Turn Based Strategy (TBS) game for a mobile system. The graphics and animations are great. In fact I’m surprised at what they could do with the processing power of the DS. This game is entirely as addicting at the PC game was originally. I’m really optimistic for group play, but it requires everyone to have a copy of the game. In case you didn’t know some games can be played by multiple DS with only one needing to have a card. At $20 this game is a fantastic steal. It’s probably the best game I’ve gotten so far. The only caveat I have is that in some complex games the game may lock up after playing for a while. I recommend saving every 5 days in the game. But other than that the game is fantastic.

The last game I got, and have devoted the least time to, is Final Fantasy III. I’m really impressed with the graphics on this game as well. It’s hard to believe it’s a remake of a console game. If this speaks of the future of games on the DS, the system will dominate for quite some time. It’s a turn based Role Playing Game (RPG) like everyone expects of the FF series. It offers all the treasure of the FF series in a easily portable system. So far, I’m loving it, and I think I’m coming closer to convincing some friends to invest in a DS.

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Flora Sale

This past Saturday I was taken off guard by something I had forgotten about until I saw a sign about it last week. It was time for the semi-annual sale at the SC Botanical Garden at Clemson. I have been to two Spring events, but last year I missed the Fall sale. Check out the page they had for the Fall sale. Follow me while I ramble down that path.


Previously I had purchased items for family as presents or requests. I like shopping there since it helps support the Garden and because of the things they have for sale. They usually have good quality plants in fairly large containers. None of that oversized tree in a small pot like some places. Plus they always carry unusual plants that you don’t find at most nurseries. Not to mention that but the horticulture students from Clemson work the sale. Most of them helped grow the plants and can offer extensive help on picking good plants for particular needs, planting tips, pruning tips, fertilization, and general plant care.

Well this year I had the opportunity to go to the sale for the first time to purchase things for me. Well I could have purchased stuff for me before, but this is the first time I have my own yard in which to plant them.

First I was looking for a tree to put in the front yard. I had a pine tree cut down nest to the driveway, because it had a lot of ice damage from last year, had pine beetles and was dying, and it was ugly (primarily from the effect of the previous two items). There is another tree about 25 – 30 feet from where the pine tree was. I’m not sure what it is, but I cut about 1/3 of the branches out because they were dead. Now more appear to be dead. I think it’s suffering from the ice damage it received as well and will have to come down. That will leave a 40-50 ft hole between the driveway and the Post Oak farther down the ditch by the road. Some idiot ran into the Post Oak several years back and ripped the bark off one side, but it’s alive and slowly healing. I hope it makes it because I love Post Oaks. My Parents had one at the end of the driveway, and looking at the typical figures on Wiki it was a big one ( 4+ ft diameter and 50+ ft tall with leaves 15” by 6”). To me it typifies a “real” oak, huge leathery leaves that make deep loose piles on the ground, huge acorns, and slow growing. Anyway, that hole heeded to be filled and I have enough oaks on the lot, the Post Oak being the crown jewel. I wanted something different. They had a very nice selection of magnolias at the garden, and several other shrubbier trees. I finally decided on a Acer truncatum Maple tree. There are several varieties, and I think mine is either Shantung Maple or Painted Maple. It’s supposed to turn brilliant yellow and orange to red in the Fall. I’ll have to wait t few years to make sure. I should be able to keep the lower branches high enough not to block the view, but the color show in fall should light up the yard as you come down the road. I may get one of the magnolias or a beech for the side yard later. Of course I want to add a coupe of fruit trees as well. Slow and steady.

As for the other plants, I purchased a Camellia Japonica ‘Grace Albritton’ for use under some of the trees in the back yard and behind a split rail fence. It will have plenty of space to do whatever it wants. I sincerely hope it has the chance to reach its full 10’ -15’ height and 5’ – 10’ width. This particular variety is supposed to have light colored spots variegating the leaves and white, pink, and red variegated double blossoms.

I bought several perennial flowering plants as well. I picked up two Coreopsis ‘Limerock Ruby’ or Red Tickseed for the driveway. I also picked up two Gazania ‘Colorado Gold’ that I planted by the driveway as well. By the walkway to the back yard I planted two Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip.’ It should provide a great ground cover for the fairly moist shady area. I love the dark foliage and blue flowers.

Finally I did something I hadn’t intended. I bought three ferns to plant near the wooded area in the back yard. First I got a Dryopteris marginalis or Eastern Wood Fern to be a standard fern. Then I picked out an Osmunda cinnamomea or Cinnamon Fern that has colored reproductive fronds in the spring. Finally I bought an Athyrium Angustum forma rubellum or Lady in Red Fern (pic). I hope they live. I planted them near the woods in the shade where the ground slopes toward them. I may have to mulch the area more to keep the ground from drying out.

I’m looking forward to getting more stuff in the spring.

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