Powers of 10

When I was a young warthog, I would lay in a field and stare into the night sky; I could usually shield myself from enough light to make it iteresting. It caused me to ponder the vastness of the universe, and I wondered about my place in it. Mentally, I would "zoom out" to the limits of my imagination and knowledge. It is an interesting experiment.

In 1977, Charles and Ray Eames made a nine-minute film called Powers of Ten that still has the capacity today to expand the way we think and view our world. Over ten million people have since seen the film and it continues to be shown in classrooms, business meetings, festivals and retreats everywhere. Starting with a sleeping man at a picnic, the film takes the viewer on a journey out to the edge of space and then back into a carbon atom in the hand of the man picnic, all in a single shot. It is an unforgettable experience. . . Powers of Ten illustrates the universe as an arena of both continuity and change, of everyday picnics and cosmic mystery.

Then, one day I came across a video entitled "Powers of 10". I found this video very fascinating and tried later on to reproduce similar effects on Google Earth, but nothing really does justice to the movie. If you have not seen "Powers of 10" you can watch it on YouTube (also embedded below).

Ellen chasing her tail

Ellen Eating

OK, NOW we're moved in

With the help of our friends Chris & Laura we moved the living room and kitchen over on Saturday. Today I moved Cathy's office (where I'm sitting now, in facet). It finally feel like I'm home again!

No More Support for Windows 98 and ME

In a post to the Microsoft Security Response Center Blog, Christopher Budd indicates that

support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) ends on July 11, 2006, which is the July 2006 Monthly Bulletin Release date. This means Microsoft will end public and technical support on July 11, 2006. This also includes security updates.

Windows XP with Service Pack 1 will also no longer be updated.

Still using Windows 98 or ME? It is really time to move up. Get ZoneAlarm now while the getting is good. Most companies will drop support for Win98 and ME very soon. ZoneAlarm's personal (free) firewall is currently version 6.0 and works on Windows 98 and ME, but their system requirements page indicates Win98 and ME will not be able to run version 6.5.

If you are still running WinXP SP1, it is time to go to Service Pack 2.

Mostly Moved In

We're mostly moved in now. Moving from one apartment next door isn't nearly as difficult as moving across town.

At this point, we have the bedrooms and bathrooms moved, and part of the kitchen. This weekend, after class, I'll move the office and living room. I'm hoping to rent an appliance dolly to move the fridge and oven.

The cats have settled in O.K., although Malachi is still freaking out a little. We will have to be careful to keep the cats indoors for the next two weeks until they think of this new place as home.

On the plus side, the place is bigger, and that gives Cathy's mom a room and a bed (she was sleeping in the office). And it is nice to be able to shower again instead of taking baths. On the down side, we put in much nicer flooring (thicker carpet pads and better tile) and counters in the other apartment. Oh well.

Update on Ellen the Kitten

Cathy took Ellen to get tested on Saturday, and I got a call on Sunday indicating that everything came back negative! Yeah! So, it is confirmed that Ellen is as healthy as she looks.

The other cats all investigated her now that they are allowed to touch her. Zechariah was quick to pin her down and bathe her... :-)

She eats solid food now, so we're about done weaning her. As soon she gets spayed, she can go home to her new mommy & daddy, who have picked out a new name for her. So we'll get to enjoy Ellen for a few more weeks.

We're Moving

From the "what's up with Lee & Cathy" department... we're moving again. We're not going far, however, just next door.

Apartment 1 of our triplex opened up when two of the girls decided to get married in June. So we made plans to rent it out. The main person we were looking at flaked out a week before the move and we had already turned other people away, so we had no renters. You plan for vacancy, so we were not terribly worried, and then I had a conversation at church that led to our move.

A friend at church asked if I had an apartment open. As a matter of fact, apartment 1 had just opened up. It is for his wife's parents, but they don't need a three-bedroom place. He mentioned his parents might want to move into our two bedroom and suggested we move into the larger unit and make our current available. The only problem is I have not finished our unit yet. So, he suggested the following scenario:

• The Joneses move to #1
• He helps me finish remodeling #2
• His parents move into #2

I told him I would think about it and see what my wife thinks. He'll see what his wife thinks, and we'll talk again. A few days go by and I finally remember this and bring it up to Cathy. She gets so excited about the idea that, regardless of what my friend says, she has her heart set on moving into the larger unit.

The girls that moved out did a pretty good job cleaning, so the effort will be minimal. I'll probably move non-essential stuff tonight (winter clothes, etc) and move in earnest once electricity is restored. I'm not sure about all the utilities, but I'm hoping they all just transfer. We'll see. Hey, who knows... maybe my friend's parents will still move in! That would be convenient...

Ellen playing with a ball

Ellen is growing... here she is, playing with a jingly ball.

14 Years - What a Difference

Here's my new license... it has been 14 years since my first license photo!

Let's see... in 14 years I have...

• Gained 1 inch :-) and 20 pounds :-(
• Grown hair on my chin :-) but lost hair on my head :-(
• Lived at eight different addresses!

Boy, does time fly.