Boston and the aquarium I didn't see

I'm in Boston for a few days for the SETAC conference. I was free today so I left the hotel around 11 with plans to go to the New England Aquarium. But, being a cheapskate, first I walked down to the convention center to get my registration materials because I knew there was supposed to be a free 1 week "T" (subway) pass in there. I was going to take the subway to the aquarium and why would I pay a whole $2-3 to ride the subway when I could ride for free after I picked up my pass, right? The girl at the front desk of the hotel told me it was 4 blocks to the convention center. Well, apparently, they count blocks differently in Boston, because it was, by my count, 8 loooong blocks. So, by the time I got there, I was badly in need of a diet Coke and I was ready for lunch, since all I had for breakfast was a Payday bar I bought at the airport the night before.

So, I decided to eat next door at the Prudential Center ("70+ shops and restaurants"). Then I saw they had a Cheesecake Factory there, so I said, "Oooo, I'll eat at the Cheesecake Factory." But I decided that if I was going to go to a regular sit-down restaurant, I needed a book to read while waiting and eating, because I hate just sitting there by myself staring at the scenery. So, I went into Barnes & Noble and bought the second book in John Ringo's new-ish "Live Free or Die" series. But, when I got to the Cheesecake Factory, it was PACKED, with a bunch of people holding pagers milling around outside. The entrance to the T station was right across the hall, so I just said, "To heck with it, I'll go back to the hotel, dump my registration stuff off, eat lunch, and *then* go to the aquarium."

I ended up eating lunch at an Irish pub in the same building as my hotel. Beer-battered fish and chips. Harp-battered fish and chips, for those of you who know your beers. And diet Pepsi, because Boston appears to be a Pepsi town. The meal was delicious. And huge. And I was starved so I made a pig of myself. Then I took my SETAC bag back to the room, thinking I would leave it and my coat in the room and head off to the aquarium.

When I got back to my room, I was stuffed from lunch, plus I had a headache, so I decided to lay down for a few minutes. Well, by the time I got up it was almost 3 pm and I decided that there was no point in trying to go to the aquarium, which closes at 6 pm. Instead, I walked down to the Public Garden, which is about a block from my hotel. The Public Garden is where they have the famous Swan Boats in the summer. I had a stroll around the park, admired the extremely large, fat, and friendly squirrels, and made my way back to my hotel.

I guess I'll have to save the aquarium for another trip.

On another subject, I discovered the big drawback to a Kindle yesterday. On an airplane, a Kindle is considered to be the same as a computer, so they make you turn it off and put it away for take-off and landing. Boo, hiss. Fortunately, I also had a paperback with me, so I was not forced to shop the Sky Mall catalog or talk to my neighbor. :-)

More fruit of the Vine

I said I wasn't going to take any more books from Vine for a while, but Vine doesn't just offer free books for review, they have other stuff, too. So, I did take a look at this week's Vine newsletter...and found this:

Scharffen Berger Extra Rich Milk Fine Artisan Chocolate. $22.20 for 18 ounces. Yes, of course I picked this to review! Free chocolate is good. Free fancy schmancy expensive chocolate is irresistible.

I'm headed to Mom & Dad's in the morning. Daniel is going to stay here and hold down the fort while I'm gone. By which I mean feed the dog and the mules.

Buy me a pony

My sister and I begged mercilessly for a pony throughout our childhood. My Grandpa Eccles finally came through for us when I was about 10. Three cheers for grandparents! However, I stumbled across this motivational poster that suggests that perhaps my sister and I were going about it in the wrong way.

Being strangled by the Vine

When I got that e-mail from Amazon inviting me to participate in the Vine Program, I was thrilled. What could be better than getting free stuff just for reviewing it at Amazon.com? Mostly I've gotten some good stuff and some not so good stuff, but have overall enjoyed the activity. Until now. I'm in a real slump here lately. I'm not sure if the pickings have been slim or if I've just been a bad picker, but I have been slogging my way through some really awful books. I've written reviews of two books recently that I didn't even manage to finish, just read enough to write a reasonably intelligent review and called it quits.

Here is the first paragraph of my review for The Ninth Day, by Jamie Freveletti:

The bad news is that the events of this book are implausible, illogical, and impossible. Almost nothing in the entire book rings true. The geography makes no sense. The behavior of most of the characters makes no sense. The science makes no sense. And not only did the ending make no sense, it was unsatisfying and provided little payoff for having stuck with the book until the end.

And yes, I did manage to stick with that one until the end.

At the moment, I've got 2 non-fiction and one fiction book still awaiting review. I've just started the fiction book, Red Flags, a mystery set in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. So far it seems pretty good, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've had one of the non-fiction books, a book on insects, for a long time and I just can't seem to get through it. It's not that it's bad, it just isn't keeping my interest.

I did go ahead and pick 2 new books for this month, a novel from the Mystery/Thriller genre and a Costa Rica guidebook, because I've always wanted to visit there. Maybe I will be inspired to plan a vacation there. But, I'm thinking seriously about taking a break from the Vine. I've got a stack of unread books on my night stand that aren't from the Vine Program and I just bought myself a Kindle to try out, so I've got plenty of stuff to read. And I think it will be nice to not have to worry about writing reviews unless I feel inspired by the book to do so.

A Bug's Life

I finally got registered for summer classes today. I'm taking Graduate Survey of Entomology and the lab that goes with it, both online. I'm kind of excited about it. I think it's going to be fun. I'm also really curious to see how they handle the lab in an online class and whether or not it feels equal to an on-campus lab or like a watered down imitation.

I also ordered my books today. Amazon.com sure beats driving down to campus, circling like a vulture looking for a place to park, and hiking to the university bookstore. I also bought the "Entomology Lab Deluxe Insect Collecting Kit with Student Net" because we have to do an insect collection for the lab. Well, that should be easy. All I have to do is turn the front porch light on after dark, wait a minute or two, swing my "Student Net" around a few times, and I'll have more than enough insects.

The memory is the first to go

At least that's what they say, and maybe it's true.

The company I work for puts out a couple of technical/scientific newsletters every month. When a new one comes out, everybody gets an e-mail notifying them of its availability and listing the contents. A new one came out today and I was scanning the list of articles in my e-mail. I saw an article listed that was about a subject that is in my area of expertise. So, I wondered, "Hmmmm. Who wrote that article? Because if there was something going on in that area, I should have been the one who was following it and writing articles about it." So, I downloaded the article to see and discovered that...I wrote it. Ooops.

In my own defense, I wrote it a while ago, but it didn't get published right away. And, I've been really busy with other things in the meantime.

Yeah, I know. I've got excuses. I didn't say they were good excuses, but I've got excuses.

Fitness Hoop

I selected a 5 pound fitness hoop to review from my last Amazon Vine newsletter. I remembered hula hooping as a kid and I thought this would be a fun way to work on my core muscles, which are sadly out of shape.

HA!

A five pound fitness hoop is heavy! It is especially heavy when it whacks you on the shin falling to the ground because you can't keep it spinning around your waist. Seriously. I have a nice black and blue mark just below my right knee.

I was feeling completely inept at my inability to keep this thing spinning. However, one of my coworkers kindly brought me one of her hoops, which is both larger around and much lighter in weight. I had very little trouble getting and keeping it going. So, obviously, it wasn't me, it was the hoop. Yep. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I think I am going to buy myself a "plain" (i.e. unweighted) hoop, though. It is really good exercise. I was huffing and puffing after just a couple of minutes of keeping the hoop spinning around my waist. (Should I be embarrassed to admit that?)