RIP.
This is sad. But her obituary is entirely in character.
[Sunday-morning update]
Mark Steyn remembers her.
[January 17th update]
Sheidle among the stars.
[Bumped]
[Afternoon update]
Link is fixed, sorry.
Category Archives: General
Silent Night
…by Gabriella.
She recorded this a couple weeks ago. I love the little harmonic at the end of the stanza, and the ones at the end of the song.
If you go all the way to the end, it segues into her amazing cover of Sultans of Swing, that she did a couple months ago. She’s getting a unique sound on that one with steel strings on a classical guitar (usually they’re nylon). They’re probably light ones, because of the weaker neck, but it also makes it easier for her to bend them. I like the brushes with the left hand. You have to appreciate that she’s playing both guitar parts from the Dire Straits version simultaneously on a single instrument. It’s clearly an open tuning, probably DADFAD.
Second Cativersary
[Christmas-morning update]
Merry Christmas (and other holidays) to all of my readers.
[From yesterday]
On this day two years ago, on Christmas Eve, we adopted the kittens.
We originally thought they were sisters, but a few weeks later we discovered that Ashe and Ember were sister and brother. He was the dark kitten who fell down the stairs. He was the runt of the litter, but he’s now outgrown his sister, weighing 15 pounds to her 13. She still scraps with him, though.
They’ve turned out to be pretty good cats, very social and almost too friendly. Ashe likes to lounge on my lap after painfully kneading my right upper leg, but only at my desk. Ember likes to lie on Patricia’s desk while she’s trying to work. He also likes to help out in the kitchen, but he’s not as helpful as he thinks he is. Anyway, here are the Christmas kittens, at age two.
They’ve both obviously grown a lot. Stretched out, he’s almost three feet long, from ears to tail. I didn’t have to put him in that position. They’re both characters.
Kathy Shaidle
She and her husband need help. I’ve been reading her for going on two decades.
Yesterday’s Launch
We drove up to Lompoc yesterday to watch not just the launch, but the landing. We had clear skies for both events. When I saw the boosters land from the Falcon Heavy flight in Florida, I didn’t see them until they were almost down, but yesterday, we could see the deorbit burn, and then follow it all the way down to the pad. After entry, it dropped like a rock until it arrived near the pad, then rapidly decelerated and set down. We weren’t as close as we wanted to be, but it was on a hill by Vandenberg Village that gave us an unobstructed view. Despite the distance, the sonic boom of the booster coming in was impressive but, unlike the ones in Florida, where I was much closer and heard a pair of triple booms, I only heard a single one. I suspect the other two were too weak to carry as far.
[Update a while later]
Interestingly, this story doesn’t even mention the landing, even though it was historic. I think it was the first time they’ve landed there in the day time.
[Friday-afternoon update]
Here’s video of the landing.
[Bumped]
Thanksgiving
James Lileks’ obligatory essay.
I am not just today, but always thankful that I was born in this Republic, and for the opportunities that we will continue to have to preserve it. Speaking of which, Sidney Powell delivered the Kraken for Thanksgiving.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Also in my home state of Michigan which is, apropo of nothing other than the Lion’s loss today, having a very bad football season.
A Week-Long Bleg
Bob Zimmerman is doing a fundraiser for his site this week.
On The Road Again
I took a ride in an airplane today, for the first time since early March. We’re in Kansas City, driving up to Omaha tomorrow for an event where I’m speaking on Friday. Posting may be light.
Heat Wave
Looks like the next week and a half will be one of those times we wish we had A/C in coastal California. It was warm last night (temperature has been below seventy every morning when we get up, but it was 73 this morning). Can’t really justify the expense and electricity of central air, but maybe we’ll finally be motivated to get a window or portable unit for the bedroom.
[Noon update]
People are talking about split units in comments. No way we’d spend that kind of money, particularly when we have no use for a heat pump. We just need something to keep the bedroom cool to sleep at night.
[Saturday-morning update]
Well, so far, so good. It never got below 74 in the house, but we slept well. If it gets no worse than that, we’ll be OK. The worst thing about Santa Anas is that when the wind comes from the east, we can hear the sound of the 405 freeway, which is about a mile away. Otherwise, the neighborhood is quiet, because despite being half a block from a major thoroughfare to the west, the sound is blocked by a dune that our place is at the bottom of.