Cold and wet

Today was our first rainy day in London, although it didn't rain much. The tube was a little more crowded, and the feel of autumn was in the air. This would have been more welcome had I been able to take a warm shower this morning, but, alas, the boiler was on the fritz, and I had to make do with straight cold water. I'm hoping the plumber did a good job this afternoon.

Bravery

It's Saint Patrick's day, and downtown Syracuse has been awash with alcohol and drunks since the parade ended around 1 o'clock. I walked home for dinner at 6:00, and if I were to guess, I'd say that 3 out of 4 pedestrians and 1 out of 4 drivers was seriously toasted. To make matters worse, it's been snowing lightly for the last day or so, and the driving conditions are less than ideal.

I started to cross Clinton Street when I got the white walking-man light, and about a third of the way across I noticed that the car approaching me from the left (in the center lane of a one-way street) wasn't showing signs of slowing down. My mind was elsewhere, so after missing a half-stride to confirm that I had the right-of-way, I kept on walking, and the car slammed on its breaks, sliding through the slush to a halt a few feet past the stop line, and a few feet closer to me that I would have liked. I finished crossing and realized that I'd had an audience on the other side. One guy said to me, "You've got balls! You've got balls of steel!" and then he turned and announced to all present, "This guy's got balls of steel!"

Luna obscura

The earth may be obscuring the sun from the moon, but the clouds are definitely obscuring the moon from Syracuse.

Total Eclipse of the Moon
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK
W 076°08' N 43°02'
Eastern Standard Time
..........................................Moon's
......................................Azimuth Altitude
Moonrise.............2007 Mar 03 17:50 080.4° ----
Middle of eclipse....2007 Mar 03 18:20 085.6° 04.7°
Moon leaves totality.2007 Mar 03 18:58 091.8° 11.1°
Moon leaves umbra....2007 Mar 03 20:11 105.0° 23.9°
Moon leaves penumbra.2007 Mar 03 21:25 120.5° 35.8°
Moonset..............2007 Mar 04 06:52 275.4° ----

Syracuse Hancock International, New York (KSYR)
Date/Time.........WIND......VIS..WX.........SKY......CEL...TMP
3/3/2007 18:00:00 NNW 03mph 05mi Light Snow Overcast 01900 34°
3/3/2007 19:00:00 WNW 13mph 10mi ---------- Overcast 05000 34°
3/3/2007 20:00:00 WNW 13mph 09mi Light Snow Overcast 04200 33°
3/3/2007 21:00:00 WNW 15mph 10mi ---------- Overcast 07000 31°

Iceland

Walking home from studio was a harrowing experience; the evening's cool rain solidified into a all-encompassing layer of ice. Where the water pooled on the sidewalks the ice crushed forgiving underfoot. Where the water spread thinly the ice became hard, slick, and treacherous. My usual ten-minute walk turned into twenty, and all the trees creaked ominously, occasionally showering me with small shards of ice. I'm sorry that I'll be returning to the studio before the sun has a chance to clear my way for me.

Nature walk

I undertook a much needed trip to the P&C this evening, picking up the essentials: milk, bread, bananas, and cream of mushroom soup. It was dusk when I departed, and a fog was settling over south campus. My "neighborhood," Slocum Heights, is on the highest ground, and setting out from it was a descent into a wispy cloud. The afternoon drizzle had abated, and the rain that's currently falling hadn't yet begun. South campus is by no means an attractive place; there are no real sidewalks; buildings are built in an almost random arrangement; power-lines mar the little bit of wooded landscape (although less so that the cell phone tower that is masquerading as an amazingly fake looking pine). Despite these short comings, I enjoyed my environment this evening with the fog and the darkness smoothing out the rough edges. Dark had come by the time I made the return trip, and I was using the blue light of the emergency phone as a guide. With my attention so occupied, I was almost on top of the four deer lounging on the field I was crossing before I noticed them. I came onto them once before, but they were much calmer this evening. I must have come within ten meters, and they did no more than watch me carefully.

I've spent the remainder of the evening reading, writing, and snacking on a pumpkin doughnut while listing to the rain.

Slush, Stations, and Seats

We've received a fair bit of snow this morning. As best I can tell the sidewalks are still a bit above freezing, but the snow has come down so fast that it didn't melt completely, thus leaving us with a half-inch of slush. I walked through the stuff on my way to and from the Kohler Art Library in the Elvehjem. I'm gearing up for the paper that will determine the bulk of my grade in Post-Colonial Architecture. The topic I've chosen is railway stations. I'm currently planning an emphasis on Grand Central and Union Stations (in New York and Washington, respectively). I'm not sure what my thesis will be quite yet, but I'm thinking that it will have something to do with a change in design I expect to find that corresponds to the decrease of importance in Westward Expansion. I had fun this morning looking at some architectural journals from around 1910. I got a kick out of some of the advertisements. My favorite was for the Never Split Seat Company, an Evansville, Indiana manufacturer of toilet seats.

Slushy

Today marked the first of Madison's two-day Kites on Ice festival. I took a short stroll out onto Lake Mendota to get a better look, but the unseasonably warm day made the surface of the lake more like an Icee than an ice cube. Last year's snow was preferable, but the people in boots seemed to be having a great time anyway. I returned after dark to see a short fireworks display ("nighttime fireworks" according to the man on a cell phone standing behind me).

Tonight I'm reading some of The Odyssey in preparation for Ulysses before I go for my brief run on the treadmill. It's strange to see a number of the characters and civilizations from my art history class appearing in this epic poem. It certainly blurs the line between the real world and fiction.

Unclear

I popped into The University Bookstore this morning on my way to class to pick up a new notebook for my MWF classes and a couple of cards for some birthdays that are coming up in the next couple of months. I couldn't find a birthday card I liked (all that had fun covers had irritating attempts at humor within), so I reverted to my usual plan B and tried to find a quirky blank card. I think I succeeded, and grabbed a pair of the same design (which I won't describe beyond saying that they're a touch on the fuzzy side). I went to pay, and the check-out woman praised me for what great cards I had chosen. While I felt 'great' was too strong a word, I simply said that I hoped that the recipients would agree with her. She looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked me who was sick. I assumed she had misheard me (the 'si' sound is in both words), so I said, "oh, no, I said recipients." But that didn't seem to do if for her. "Recipients:" I continued hesitantly, "the people who will be receiving the cards." This was apparently what was needed to clear things up, for she smiled and gave me a good natured "oh, I see!"

Joe Ienuso, Chair of the Emergency Management Operations Team and Acting Vice President of Facilities Management at Columbia University emailed me just a few minutes ago and warned me that New York City may be getting up to a foot of snow this weekend. I wish I could be there to go walking through Central Park early one of these snowy mornings.

The big day

Today, the first day of Autumn, is the first day this Blog is in opperation. Dave Matthews' debut solo album Some Devil was also released today. I was most pleasantly to find it waiting for me in my mailbox after breakfast.