I see that they have taken the wraps off the new Chevy Volt.  The cool thing here is that the gasoline engine exists ONLY to charge the batteries.  I've wondered for a long time now why even bother with gas-electric hybrids, when you could just run the gas engine at the optimum electricity-generating rpm to charge the battery, which powers the rest of the car's systems.  I'm happy to see someone finally do this.  40 miles on electric-only isn't much, but then again, my daily commute is less than 20 miles round trip.  I wouldn't even have to touch the gas engine.

There's only one catch, though -- no electrical outlet in my underground parking stall in my apartment.  :(

I think a bat flew into me today.

Do bats fly during the day? Around 1pm walking out of Borders Books (going to try reading Reynolds's "Prefect"), I heard an odd fluttering sound just as something whacked against my chest. It rebounded and brushed against my hand as it flew off. I had the tactile sensation of something furry, but I didn't get a good look at it. It didn't fly like a bird, and seemed too big to be a moth.

No bite or scratch marks that I can tell, but I'm still kind of worried about rabies. Then again I don't want to trouble medical staff with a false alarm either. :P

On my way back from my cello lesson from downtown Minneapolis, I passed by the oddest looking "vehicle" -- it resembled a street vendor wagon decked out like a bar...and the patrons (who were sitting on bar stool-like seats) were PEDAL-ING to make it move.

After getting home, I went searching for it and found this: PedalPub.

Well, that caps off an otherwise uneventful day. :)

I had my second fencing lesson yesterday.  By now, I've accumulated most of the practice equipment that I need (mask, glove, foil, jacket, bag) which was nice.

You know, I've been working out on the elliptical and doing weights (most recently started doing deadlift exercises) and thought I was doing pretty well with my health.  Today at fencing class, though...the footwork drills we did at the start wasn't bad, and the bladework exercises were fine, too.  Once I started bouting for real, though...I red-lined very quickly (hitting the "wall").  It sure doesn't LOOK effortful, but what a work out on your heart it is!  I took a break after class and tried bouting with another classmate on our own.  We went for a few points but then I developed a stitch in my side, and had to call it a day.  I haven't gotten side stitches for a LONG time -- and I've been doing 3+ miles on the elliptical (over 30 minutes -- so roughly 9 minute miles) for weeks now.  Very fun, though.

I also put in an order for a chest protector.  These are basically plastic plates you strap on under your jacket.  I don't QUITE have bruises on my chest, but there are a few sore spots there from being jabbed repeated by my opponent.  :)

I had to yank another dead plant from the Aloe/Haworthia garden bowl today.  It was very clearly dead.  This was particularly unfortunate because this particular plant was the only one of its kind in the bowl (it's the one that looks like jaws in the picture).  I still have 4 unique species (or whatever) left, though, and these look like they're doing a lot better.  Here's to hoping...

I tried adding a new thing to my exercise routine today -- deadlifts!  Supposedly this one exercise can work out multiple muscle groups and hopefully give practical strength (i.e. for stuff you do every day) as well.

Being the wimp I am, I started very modestly, doing 5 sets of 4 reps on 50lbs barbells.  I was really concerned about injuring my knees and back, so I didn't try anything dumb like maxing out my weight or anything like that.  50lbs is pretty comfortable, but by the 3rd set I was feeling the burn in a number of muscles that I apparently don't use too much of.  That's a good sign, I think.

No tweaking of the back and no pain in the knee afterwards.  That's good, too.  I was able to finish my 3+ mile cardio exercise on the elliptical, though I did go at a slightly slower pace than usual.

Tomorrow, though, I'm sure I'll pay.

I decided I need more book space again, and scraped up two grocery bags worth of books I could do without.  On the way over to Half Price Books, I was making a mental bet on how much I could get them for.  I figured maybe $7-$10.

They offered $20.  Woo hoo!

I came close to losing half of it with a book purchase (World Navy Ship Recognition Handbook) but managed to talk myself out of it.  I win!

Last weekend I began and finished Jack McDevitt's The Engines of God.

This book is what I would classify as a "science fiction wonder" book.  It seems (to me) to be very similar to Arthur C. Clarke's "Rama" series (in particular, Rama, the first book).  In both books, we follow a team of scientists (xenoarcheologists in the cases of The Engines of God) as they try to puzzle out the meaning and purpose behind some alien artifact, under the pressure of a very tight timeline (in Rama, because Rama was leaving the solar system; in Engines of God, because the world was about to be destructively terraformed).

In McDevitt's novel, the alien artifacts come in the form of beautiful, alien Monuments, seemingly seeded at random throughout various lifeless worlds, along with odd, seemingly unrelated, ruins on alien planets.  This book is not about answers, but rather the whole journey and process of finding answers.

The characterizaton is very strong, I feel, at least for the main characters, and in fact the prime source of conflict is based on interpersonal opposition and agendas.  In other words, humans cause most of their own problems.  :)

The ending is rather open-ended, though I doubt there will be a sequel.  It's one of those "We'll never know for sure" sorts of conclusions.  If you feel the need to have everything explained and wrapped up at the end of a story, this book isn't for you, but if you like a lot of character study and immersing yourself in an ambience of mystery and wonder, I'd say give this book a shot.

Here's an enthusiastic lecture on the subject of how "pleading the 5th" isn't just for the guilty (aka why NO ONE should ever talk to the police, without their lawyer): Clicky

It's close to 30 minutes (more if you watch the officer's presentation afterward, in the other video -- also very interesting) but quite fascinating if you're into this sort of stuff.  The world of Law is a very strange one indeed.

So about a week ago I bought some plants for my apartment.  How are they doing?

Well, the Lucky Bamboo (dracaena) is doing quite well.  I've kept it topped off with water and I can practically see it shooting off new leaves and stuff when I pass by it each day.  It must not have gotten the memo that I'm supposed to suck at this sort of thing.

The alien garden bowl (the Aloe/Haworthia collection) apparently DID get the memo, and has been having more of a struggle.  I'm pretty sure now that it came overwatered from Home Depot.  I've had to uproot one dead aloe because it was rotted through and through.  Another may be on the its way out as well (it's falling over on its side -- a sign that its roots have died and thus lost its anchor).  Interestingly enough, this is all happening on one side of the bowl.  On the other side, the aloe and haworthia seem to be doing just fine, and I can even see signs of new growth.

I hope this is just a matter of letting the soil dry out, and that it isn't something more insiduous like...some sort of disease...