primtastic

The Continuum of Fruity Goodness

Fruit on a Chart

I agree about everything except pomagranates and bananas which I think belong above the tastiness line. Also bananas are WAY easy, easier than cherries or tomatoes. This cartoon originally titled "F*&% Grapefruit" from XKCD

Land of the Almost-Midnight Sun

We're not quite far enough north to have the sun still in the sky at midnight, but since school is over I've been clocking some pretty late nights and I can confirm that it's still light in the sky WAY after midnight. At 2am it's still light in the north (yes, north!).  I suspect it doesn't actually get full dark at all this time of year, but I haven't pulled an all-nighter to confirm it. 

I'm Grooming My Toddler for a Life of Crime

The Young Criminal

It's going pretty well. She's having a tough childhood.  She's being raised by two siblings one of whom would rather workout than pick her up. And neither of them could figure out how to get her into their house the first night so she slept in the driveway. 

Because of her upbringing she's already a light-sleeper. She just left toddlerhood for childhood. She's been playing chess with Papa Sass to hone her strategic thinking skills. She'll be hacking computers and robbing banks before we know it.

Sims 3

Bermuda

Long, long ago I played the original Sim City and then Sim City 2000 and then Sim Tower. And then I never returned to anything Sims, mostly because I'm a Mac girl and the products weren't always cross-platform. I've never played the Sims Online, mostly because I suspect that it would be a major disappointment after being in Second Life for 5 years and having the ultimate flexibility of the metaverse at my fingertips.

But I've been truly desperate for a game since WoW just doesn't hold my interest anymore. Neither does Warhammer. Or any of the bazillion others I've tried. I'd really like a new MMOG. Something so compelling that I'm captivated by and immersed in it for weeks, months, years. But failing that I'm trying a few new things and this week it's Sims 3.

On my second day of Sims 3, I can say I'm pretty entertained. I've made a couple sets of Sims. My first Sim turned out to be a computer hacker. I think all that latenight hacking is a poor lifestyle choice because she became elderly before I knew what was happening.

My second Sim creation is a family clearly living paycheck to paycheck. A woman and twin daughters, one of whom is very green - some dreaded disease? The twins are geniuses so I'm sure they'll be getting into some kind of trouble soon. I think their mother is bulimic. I caught her vomiting last night.

And that's it. It's light. It's entertaining. And it's the perfect thing for me since school just ended and I have 66 days of semi-leisure before it starts again. If it follows my Sims Days of Yore pattern, I'll last about a week with it. A nice relaxing week.

Spring in Norway

What a beautiful time of year it is here. There are flowers everywhere. And birds. And unbelievable amounts of daylight. (Up until a week or so ago I would have said sunshine, but we've hit a cloudy/rainy patch this week.)

The daylight is almost disconcerting. In the middle of winter there were about 6 hours of daylight. I would go to work in the dark and leave in the dark. Now the days are 17.5 hours long. When I force myself to bed at 11:30 the sky is still light. Dusk is LONG. And the sky is light again around 3am. Such an enormous contrast from the winter.

The schoolyear is almost over. And then we'll see how we like summer in Norway.

My Very Favorite Italian Souvenir

I Call It "The Orange"

Fiat - Downtown Rome

Yellow Fiat

All-Time Favorite Board Game: Boggle

I've played a lot of board games through the years. Some of my favorites: Taboo, Pictionary, Monopoly. My early favorite ca. age 5 was Chutes and Ladders. But my all-time favorite has to be Boggle.

In honor of Boggle:

Four Line Long Poem-Hurricane by Alex Valentine

Just Finished: The Wall

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book)

Peter Sis

It's a fascinating, beautifully illustrated account of growing up behind the iron curtain in Czechoslovakia, based on the memories, diaries and artwork of the author. I found it thought-provoking and captivating and it made me Google the word "Spartakiad".

A Few Days in Prague

A statue in every square, a pizzeria on every corner, a beautiful building in every direction.

Latte

We just got back from a few days in Prague. What a lovely city! It is completely breathtaking architecturally - you can't move without seeing some little detail or some grand building. The mix of historical periods is amazing and the fact that most of it is intact is astounding. St. Vitus' Cathedral, part of Prague Castle is enormous, and looms over one city hillside. Everywhere there are little squares and tiny streets of beauty.

Prague is a terrific walking city. We walked and walked and even though the trams are cute and the subway is supposed to be extremely modern and efficient, we never needed public transportation except to and from the airport. Distances are short and seeing the details seems to be very important to really experiencing the city.

Prague Castle

I developed a few vices in Prague. Since it was hovering around freezing the whole time we were there, and mixed precipitation was the norm, hot beverages were constantly on my mind. The cafe below our apartment served probably the most delectable lattes I've ever had. In glass mugs with a perfect combination of espresso, milk and foam they were the sublime start of each day. Later in the day (although available from the earliest hours on) I was fond of the hot mulled wine, which seemed to be available in every cafe and as takeout on every street corner. Sweet, hot, delicious. I even had it with takeout pizza one night. Maybe not the perfect combination, but quite agreeable.

I would go back to Prague in a heartbeat.