Our Local Loser

We started watching American Idol two or three seasons ago in self defense. If we didn't, my Mom would be on the phone each week, calling and begging us to "just watch this one" or "that one." It was easier to simply watch the darn show. Then I always say "we're not going to get hooked watching it again this year"... but we do anyway.

So that's my (lame!) excuse for neglecting to faithfully tune into The Biggest Loser (NBC Tuesday 8e), particularly when a friend from our small town has made it to the final 4. (Plus, you already know how I feel about reality shows, right? One a night is my limit! Heh.)

Helen
Photo Credit: NBC

Helen and her family have a vacation place here, and we usually see them quite often but not in the past 8 months or so. I think Helen has been exceptionally busy this winter becoming a TV celebrity— a very pretty TV celebrity.

She has lost a ton of weight (including another 7 pounds in last night's show), and I know everyone here is looking forward to seeing the transformation in person. However, we're all willing to wait as long as it takes because the longer she's gone means the longer she's still in the competition.

Good luck, Helen! You're doing awesome, girl! FINAL 4! YEAAAAAAAA!

— Gee Vee

MANTRACKER

My husband likes to tease me that I never watch anything on TV "with a plot." When he first made that observation a few years ago, I started to deny it but then realized to my chagrin that he was right. I don't watch movies or epidsodic whodunits like CSI. While they don't have a plot, I also avoid reality shows like the plague.

Then over the weekend, Dan had left the house on an errand, and I took a break to curl up with my book. He'd left the TV on, but I tuned it out while I was reading. I'm good at that. Except this time, the beautiful HD scenery on the show caught my attention. Then I found myself trying to figure out what I was watching.

After a quick peek at the Guide, I realized it was a Canadian reality show, and the episode I was watching had been filmed just north of Sault Ste. Marie. The Science Channel was running a marathon of episodes from season two.

The Mantracker is Canadian cowboy, Terry Grant. He and a sidekick spend thirty six hours tracking two human "prey" through a different location in Canada in each episode.

Before I knew it, I'd put aside my book and found myself riveted to the TV, alternately cheering or chiding the prey as they stumbled around the Canadian bush trying to outsmart the Mantracker. Sometimes the prey are so darn stupid, I can't wait for the Mantracker to catch them. Sometimes I really hope they can outsmart the guy.

The next thing I knew, I'd programmed the DVR to record the remaining episodes while we went out for dinner. If you're looking for an entertaining change of pace, check out the show on the Science Channel, Wednesday nights at 10.

— Gee Vee

Geeky Me!

I had yesterday off but spent most of it working to help a girlfriend open her brand new gift shop. I told her it felt a little like Christmas— I get to open the boxes and bags filled with incredible stuff, be the first one to check it all out and don't have to pay for it! Is that cool or what?

It was kinda slow going at first as she's entering all the inventory into her computer from scratch, calculating the retail price, printing the price tags. I cross-referenced the items with their invoices, checked for damage or shipping errors and put the prices on. We soon established a rhythm and plowed through cases of aromatherapy candles and the most adorable tea towels I've ever seen.

But I actually felt like I had truly contributed to the cause when I realized she dreaded installing a high-speed modem and DSL Internet connection and setting up the new commercial printer/copier/fax machine. You should have seen her face when I asked if she'd like me to do it for her.

"You can do that?"

"Oh, yeah. No problem."

"No way!"

"No, I really can," I assured her.

An hour later her computer was surfing the Internet, and she'd received her first fax. However, I'm not going to blow my own horn until after I've set up the credit card machine on Monday. I've never installed one of those before. How hard can it be, right? Keep your fingers crossed for me.

It's kinda funny how such a simple skill set might seem ordinary for someone in their twenties but is considered extraordinary in a middle-aged woman. Now Amy thinks I'm a goddess. Yeah, I'm a regular Susan Boyle. So unlikely. Heh!

Just wait until she gets my bill. She owes me a set of tea towels. ;)

TTYL

— Gee Vee

A Beautiful Mind

On Monday, Professor Stephen Hawking, 67, was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Cambridge, England, suffering from acute respiratory distress. He has been afflicted by Lou Gehrig's Disease, ALS, for over 40 years. Most people diagnosed with this degenerative condition live less than three years. Paralyzed and bound to a wheelchair, he speaks with a computer synthesized voice. Ironically, although he is British, his "voice" has an American accent due to the fact that when the synthesizer technology was new, it was the only male voice to be had. Although there are better synthesizer programs available today, he opts to keep the old one. It has become distinctly recognizable to millions of people around the world as "his voice."

Photo Credit: CNN

Despite his extraordinary physical limitations, he has persevered and is widely considered to be one of the finest minds of our generation. Dr. Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a seat once held by Issac Newton, the father of modern physics. He is probably best known for his work in the study of black holes and is the author of several best-selling books, including A Brief History of Time.

I was at work when I read that he'd been rushed to the hospital and shocked everyone (including myself) when I burst into tears at the news. There was no way to explain how much I admire this man who has made the most of the one gift his disease hasn't managed to ravage— his incredible mind.

Yet so many people have never heard of him, his work or his indomitable spirit. For them, I can only offer a comparison. If Carl Sagan was my Elvis, The King, Stephen Hawking is surely my Dale Earnhardt. I'm a huge fan.

Perhaps what I most admire is the fact that Dr. Hawking has done so much to make the science accessible. He has taken complex mathematical theory and acted as a translator of sorts, interpreting it in a way that you and I can begin to understand. While there are many, many brilliant physicists, few can be bothered to take the time to share their gift beyond their academic circle. His efforts to engage and include the world-at-large have paved the way for so many others from the academic community-- astronomers Richard Pogge and Alex Filippenko and their wonderful podcast lectures, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Egyptologist Bob Brier, historian Simon Schama, geologist Iain Stewart... I could literally go on and on.

Last night I read that Dr. Hawking is doing much better and expected "to make a full recovery," and I sincerely hope he does, not only for what he can still teach us but also for what the universe has left to share with him.

— Gee Vee

"My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all." — Stephen Hawking

FREE HUGS!

This entry is dedicated to the two "Free Hugs" girls in Traverse City on Saturday afternoon.

We really can change the world one hug at a time!

— Gee Vee

Read more about Juan Mann and the Free Hugs Campaign here.

The Fine Art of Aging Gracefully

Since I published my last entry, I have been confronted by the realization that at some point a very subtle transformation began to occur. It was so subtle, in fact, that I was stunned this morning when I looked into the mirror only to see my mother's reflection staring back at me.

Now, don't get me wrong, my mom is a very savvy, tough-as-nails woman whom I admire very much, but she can be a little naive at times— okay, a LOT naive. It's kinda sweet actually, and I love her all the more for it. For instance, tell her a joke today and she might get it tomorrow... or the next day. If you suddenly hear her guffaw out loud for no apparent reason a week from now, you know she just got it.

When Dan gets impatient, I can recognize his father in him almost at once... and don't hesitate to tell him so. When his temper suddenly flares over something trivial— ditto. We see certain characteristics of the parents manifesting themselves in others all the time. While it can be very amusing to bring them to their attention, the revelation is usually met with consternation, horror or— most frequently— denial. But they almost never thinks it's funny.

Today, for the first time, I can fully appreciate how Mom feels when she doesn't quite get the joke, that a certain awkward naivete has sheltered her from something a bit off-color... but she's not quite sure what. It's a bit disconcerting, even a little embarrassing, to suddenly find yourself outside the loop.

So as we age, perhaps it's inevitable we resemble our parents more and more. At the moment, I look a lot like Mom. However, my mother is also an optimist with a good sense of humor, and if I'm destined to favor her, I want those Double-Ds as well! ;)

— Gee Vee