Housestuff and *fest
It's been an exciting couple of weeks lately! I have done housestuff and gone to two major Events.
Starting Saturday, there was an unusual event (but not an Event) I figured I had to make: the Schnitzelburg annual Dainty Competition, in which Schnitzelburg's quinquagenarians play a game to, essentially, drum up traffic for Hauck's general store. It was quaint but not actually terribly diverting, but I felt I had to go, thanks to the surprising discovery that my new home is in fact just barely inside Schnitzelburg (if it were a half a block further south, it wouldn't be). The real-estate listing defined the neighborhood as "Herman Depholzs", an appelation which Google suggests is unique to realtors. So, anyways, now I know my neighborhood, for what it's worth.
Sunday was an actual event, Forecastle Fest, which had actually been going on all week, but I'd only bought tickets for one day. It was full of activism and music, so I got to listen to pitches for good causes and better music. The musical highlight of the day, for me, was the eclectically jazzy group Paradigm, the unexpectedly excellent New Mastersounds, and the ever-entertaining Brigid Kaelin. Ekoostik Hookah was the band which drew me in, but their set was uninspiring (and dead last, so I was tired). But I enjoyed enough of what I did to call the day a success. The main activism push was for sustainability, so their was tremendous campaigning againt mountaintop mining, presentations on solar and wind power and vegetable gardening and the like, and some booths on light rail and biking (which I can get behind). And a keynote address by Robert F. "I'm the last living member of my family, so I'm worth listening to" Kennedy, Jr. He had a good speech but not what I'd really call a rabble-rousing voice. And I left halfway through since they'd scheduled him opposide Brigid Kaelin. But, still, very much a good time and even fairly educational after dialing the activist fervor mentally down to normal enthusiasm.
Monday was house inspection. No radon! No termites! Only minor repair work necessary, for the most part! The report basically mentioned trivial plumbing issues (two leaky sink traps), minor roofing issues (nail pops and a missing tab), and one serious issue, an overburdened electrical panel. We put all of these down as requests, although the most serious concern was really the electrical -- the others were fixable with little effort or expense. The seller agreed to the request, so things are still go. Tomorrow I meet with a mortgage broker. Oy.
Tuesday was getting on a plane to Madison. And Tuesday through Sunday were Mathfest. Mathfest is the national summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, and it was a fun time. Project NExT helps a lot, since I have a pre-arranged network which can introduce folks to other folks. So I widenend my social sphere a bit. And then there were old acquaintences, among whom the most popular question was, "Where are your parents?" (a note: my mother is a high-school teacher involved in MAA governance and on several committees, and both parents helped run the 2001 International Mathematics Olympiad, so they're familiar faces at these things. It's a little less weird than it might be for an adult professional member being asked where his parents are). The answer to that question, incidentally, was and is "Italy". It was an excellent time in ways which by and large don't lend themselves to stories (attending sessions and workshops and suchlike). The most unusual event really was the Sun Dot Game Night, when a few of my fellow '07 Next Fellows arranged a night of boardgames and cardgames. It was successful enough that I was asked to do it again on the next two days. Another nice aspect of the trip is that Madison is a really cool city. It's got a huge farmers' market on Saturdays, a lot of really interesting restaurants, and is absurdly bike-friendly.
And now I'm back. And that's the news, at least in brief.
Starting Saturday, there was an unusual event (but not an Event) I figured I had to make: the Schnitzelburg annual Dainty Competition, in which Schnitzelburg's quinquagenarians play a game to, essentially, drum up traffic for Hauck's general store. It was quaint but not actually terribly diverting, but I felt I had to go, thanks to the surprising discovery that my new home is in fact just barely inside Schnitzelburg (if it were a half a block further south, it wouldn't be). The real-estate listing defined the neighborhood as "Herman Depholzs", an appelation which Google suggests is unique to realtors. So, anyways, now I know my neighborhood, for what it's worth.
Sunday was an actual event, Forecastle Fest, which had actually been going on all week, but I'd only bought tickets for one day. It was full of activism and music, so I got to listen to pitches for good causes and better music. The musical highlight of the day, for me, was the eclectically jazzy group Paradigm, the unexpectedly excellent New Mastersounds, and the ever-entertaining Brigid Kaelin. Ekoostik Hookah was the band which drew me in, but their set was uninspiring (and dead last, so I was tired). But I enjoyed enough of what I did to call the day a success. The main activism push was for sustainability, so their was tremendous campaigning againt mountaintop mining, presentations on solar and wind power and vegetable gardening and the like, and some booths on light rail and biking (which I can get behind). And a keynote address by Robert F. "I'm the last living member of my family, so I'm worth listening to" Kennedy, Jr. He had a good speech but not what I'd really call a rabble-rousing voice. And I left halfway through since they'd scheduled him opposide Brigid Kaelin. But, still, very much a good time and even fairly educational after dialing the activist fervor mentally down to normal enthusiasm.
Monday was house inspection. No radon! No termites! Only minor repair work necessary, for the most part! The report basically mentioned trivial plumbing issues (two leaky sink traps), minor roofing issues (nail pops and a missing tab), and one serious issue, an overburdened electrical panel. We put all of these down as requests, although the most serious concern was really the electrical -- the others were fixable with little effort or expense. The seller agreed to the request, so things are still go. Tomorrow I meet with a mortgage broker. Oy.
Tuesday was getting on a plane to Madison. And Tuesday through Sunday were Mathfest. Mathfest is the national summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, and it was a fun time. Project NExT helps a lot, since I have a pre-arranged network which can introduce folks to other folks. So I widenend my social sphere a bit. And then there were old acquaintences, among whom the most popular question was, "Where are your parents?" (a note: my mother is a high-school teacher involved in MAA governance and on several committees, and both parents helped run the 2001 International Mathematics Olympiad, so they're familiar faces at these things. It's a little less weird than it might be for an adult professional member being asked where his parents are). The answer to that question, incidentally, was and is "Italy". It was an excellent time in ways which by and large don't lend themselves to stories (attending sessions and workshops and suchlike). The most unusual event really was the Sun Dot Game Night, when a few of my fellow '07 Next Fellows arranged a night of boardgames and cardgames. It was successful enough that I was asked to do it again on the next two days. Another nice aspect of the trip is that Madison is a really cool city. It's got a huge farmers' market on Saturdays, a lot of really interesting restaurants, and is absurdly bike-friendly.
And now I'm back. And that's the news, at least in brief.