Pennsic XLI, Wednesday, Peace Week
Wed Aug 1 23:15:48 EDT 2012
The laptop in "suspend" mode (very low power, memory intact; fast resume) ran the battery down today. "Hibernate" mode (RAM copied into swap, zero power; longer restart) hasn't worked reliably since the OS upgrade from 10.10 to 12.04, and was removed from the menu. But since the WiFi seems to be the big problem for hibernate, and I don't have network access for the next week+, I might as well try hibernate again. I recharged the laptop this evening from the storage battery. (And I'm recharging the cellphone now.)
One of my campmates made a run to Wal*Mart today, and I prevailed upon her to look for miniature screwdrivers. She brought back a set, and I was able to replace the battery in my watch. I used the cellphone as a timepiece today, but that was awkward. I don't really want to be wearing a watch either, but it's good to know what time it is here. The hands on the watch are still not moving. I thought they stopped before because the old battery was low, but maybe something has broken. The digital display still works, so I just set the hands to 6:30, where they are least in the way. Perhaps the replacement battery is old too, but I tried 2 from different packages, with the same result. And I had a hard time figuring out how to get the display into 24-hr mode (vs am/pm), but it was a challenge when I first got the watch too.
Lots of classes today. The printed book with the class schedules can't of course reflect any late changes. I printed a 186-page PDF from the Pennsic University website Saturday, which I am marking up with things of interest and carrying just the pages for the day with me. I made a couple of sandwiches and took along some cookies for lunch, since I wasn't expecting to have a chance to come back to camp mid-day. I'm worried about eating the bread before it goes mouldy. Breakfast was Pop Tarts. I've also got some peaches and grapes. I'm going to have to get some more ice first thing tomorrow morning.
There was a 5-hour basket-weaving class I wanted to take, but it was full. (It's being offered a 2nd time, but will conflict with choir rehearsals.)
The instructor was a no-show for 2 classes. (I didn't realize until later that it was the same instructor for both.) The first was about making soap. We decided to teach ourselves, since some of the attendees had complementary experience. One had made lye (from water and wood ash) and tallow (from suet); another had made soap from lye and lard (but hadn't herself made lye or lard); and a third knew about the chemistry of lye, fats, and soap. So the hour did not go to waste.
Dinner was on the late side, and 2 of the 5 of us here are very chatty, and with so few others here yet it's hard to get away without being rude. So I haven't had a chance yet to look through the class schedule for tomorrow. I have looked over the music a bit, and the Known-World Choir rehearsals start tomorrow. (As I've said before) This is my first first-week Pennsic, and it will be interesting to see what the first-week rehearsals are like. Many people don't arrive until the middle weekend, so I expect the group will be much smaller. I have been appointed the tenor section leader. The select choir rehearsals start Sunday (usually the hour preceding the regular choir's rehearsal). One of the pieces is being done with the main group; it's an echo chorus singing the same music. The other 2 pieces I've done before, but so long ago (with Musica Alta, in NJ) that I can't recognize what part I sang then. And the main group is doing a couple of pieces that Ad Hoc has done recently, although one of them is in a different key. And there's a 3rd piece that Ad Hoc has also done, which I know from much farther back as part of an annual service in college.
[This entry was originally posted as http://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/537769.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
The laptop in "suspend" mode (very low power, memory intact; fast resume) ran the battery down today. "Hibernate" mode (RAM copied into swap, zero power; longer restart) hasn't worked reliably since the OS upgrade from 10.10 to 12.04, and was removed from the menu. But since the WiFi seems to be the big problem for hibernate, and I don't have network access for the next week+, I might as well try hibernate again. I recharged the laptop this evening from the storage battery. (And I'm recharging the cellphone now.)
One of my campmates made a run to Wal*Mart today, and I prevailed upon her to look for miniature screwdrivers. She brought back a set, and I was able to replace the battery in my watch. I used the cellphone as a timepiece today, but that was awkward. I don't really want to be wearing a watch either, but it's good to know what time it is here. The hands on the watch are still not moving. I thought they stopped before because the old battery was low, but maybe something has broken. The digital display still works, so I just set the hands to 6:30, where they are least in the way. Perhaps the replacement battery is old too, but I tried 2 from different packages, with the same result. And I had a hard time figuring out how to get the display into 24-hr mode (vs am/pm), but it was a challenge when I first got the watch too.
Lots of classes today. The printed book with the class schedules can't of course reflect any late changes. I printed a 186-page PDF from the Pennsic University website Saturday, which I am marking up with things of interest and carrying just the pages for the day with me. I made a couple of sandwiches and took along some cookies for lunch, since I wasn't expecting to have a chance to come back to camp mid-day. I'm worried about eating the bread before it goes mouldy. Breakfast was Pop Tarts. I've also got some peaches and grapes. I'm going to have to get some more ice first thing tomorrow morning.
There was a 5-hour basket-weaving class I wanted to take, but it was full. (It's being offered a 2nd time, but will conflict with choir rehearsals.)
The instructor was a no-show for 2 classes. (I didn't realize until later that it was the same instructor for both.) The first was about making soap. We decided to teach ourselves, since some of the attendees had complementary experience. One had made lye (from water and wood ash) and tallow (from suet); another had made soap from lye and lard (but hadn't herself made lye or lard); and a third knew about the chemistry of lye, fats, and soap. So the hour did not go to waste.
Dinner was on the late side, and 2 of the 5 of us here are very chatty, and with so few others here yet it's hard to get away without being rude. So I haven't had a chance yet to look through the class schedule for tomorrow. I have looked over the music a bit, and the Known-World Choir rehearsals start tomorrow. (As I've said before) This is my first first-week Pennsic, and it will be interesting to see what the first-week rehearsals are like. Many people don't arrive until the middle weekend, so I expect the group will be much smaller. I have been appointed the tenor section leader. The select choir rehearsals start Sunday (usually the hour preceding the regular choir's rehearsal). One of the pieces is being done with the main group; it's an echo chorus singing the same music. The other 2 pieces I've done before, but so long ago (with Musica Alta, in NJ) that I can't recognize what part I sang then. And the main group is doing a couple of pieces that Ad Hoc has done recently, although one of them is in a different key. And there's a 3rd piece that Ad Hoc has also done, which I know from much farther back as part of an annual service in college.
[This entry was originally posted as http://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/537769.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]