Beyond Reading

Last Summer, I did a light post about how much people are reading.

I’ve been reading a lot of reading reports lately, and a lot of press about the reports. The press is depressing, the actual reports don’t paint nearly as dire a picture and I’m working on a post about that later.

A few key things caught my eye today. According to a new report put out by Scholastic Publishing, kids who are high-frequency internet users are more likely to also be high-frequency readers (going online once a day but also reading for fun once a day). Also, 64% of online users ages 9-17 say they participate in activities that extend the reading experience when online.

AND HOW.

Crafty Summer: Bicycle Repair Kit Bag

One of my “projects” this spring and summer has been finding and fixing up a cheap bicycle for use around Berlin. I began attending lost-property auctions a couple months ago and had luck at my second: I scored a 21-speed bike with a mangled back rim for 5 euros. I took a couple bicycle maintenance classes through the ADFC (German Bicycle Club), purchased a new rim, and with AFDC’s workshop assistance, replaced it myself! It’s not a bike to write home about, but my trusty steed has already been on two long bicycle excursions and does the job for rides to the shop and such.

On our first excursion, I managed to score a flat tire; thankfully my companions had a repair kit along and we were back on track within 10 minutes. I decided then that I should always be prepared myself, and went out last week and bought a cheap kit at the Euro Store. But I didn’t have any way to attach the kit to my bicycle, so I got crafty yesterday and sewed a simple cinch sack that attaches to my bike.

I reclaimed the material from the pocket of a pair of shorts my roommate had given me for sewing projects; the fabric is similar to that used in men’s swimming trunks, which I thought would dry quickly in case of rain. The fabric is also machine washable in case it gets dirty on my bike. As the pocket was already half-sewn, I just needed to trim to my size, sew a cinch track around the top, and sew together a cord from scraps.

The sack holds: 1 tire repair kit in plastic case (band-aids and mini screwdriver added for good measure); 1 package baby wipes for cleaning hands after repairs; 1 package travel kleenex (because I’m sneezy and they’re handy).

I installed it under the bicycle seat, double-knotting the cinch cord around one end of my luggage rack and using a rubber band to fasten the other end. Another solution would have been to sew a cord or loop fastener into the upper seam, but I wasn’t thinking that far ahead at the time Velcro, if you have some lying around, would also work splendidly.

Coming soon: watch me as I attempt to fashion bicycle panniers from three IKEA thermal picnic bags!

Cultural Ascendancy of the Geek

David Brooks published an op-ed yesterday on nerds, geeks and politics. He finishes “The Alpha Geeks” with the line,

the last shall be first and the geek shall inherit the earth.

If he’s right, what will we do with this one precious earth of ours? And is his take on geeks accurate on an international level, or are these exclusively American geeks we’re talking about? Finally, is Geekdom truly welcoming to women and minorities or is this simply another form of domination by a different (albeit generally more sensitive) group of white men?

Discuss.

Thanks to Courtney for the tip!

-poetloverrebelspy

Crafty Summer: Mosaic Picture Frame

We geeks are nothing if not crafty. In our small ranks, we have knitters, embroiderers, beaders, photographers, printers, and graphic designers — producing a variety of items for personal enjoyment and sale. Chief Geek Dana has inspired me with her crafting posts (you see, she decorates tea tins and recently learned how to make temari balls) over at From My Wandering Mind to post on a little project I completed yesterday as a birthday present for my roommate. I encourage my fellow crafty geeks to take a couple pictures of a project they’ve completed this summer and post them here for everyone to enjoy!

To find out how it was made,

Summer Geek Challenge: The License Plate Game

It’s starting to be the summer travel season! This means that now is the prime time to play the license plate game (in the US), particularly if you’re going to be in the car for any extended length of time, or if you will be visiting high density tourist destinations, like national parks.

Playing the game is very simple; designate a passenger to keep a record of all the different license plates anyone in the car spots. The goal is to get as many of the 50 as possible, or 51 if you are in a prime spot to see a Washington, DC plate. You can also keep a bonus list of the number of Canadian provinces you spot. I have a feeling that this would be an auspicious year for me to play, because I saw a Hawaii plate on my way home from work yesterday, and I’ve seen about 3 Alaska plates in the last week.

If you’re feeling ambitious, we could try to work out a point system in the comments based on the rarity of various license plates. If you live outside the US and have a different version of the game, tell us your rules. And if you go on a trip this summer, leave a comment with your list. (To be fair, you should only submit a list that you managed to compile over the course of one trip.)

-posted by Dana

Public Service Announcement: Free Ice Cream!

I don’t know how many people will see this in time, but today, April 29, is Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day! Check the official site for the shop nearest you. I’m seriously considering stopping on my way home from work.

Now, the requisite poll question: What’s your favorite flavor?

I am, unoriginally, a huge fan of Cherry Garcia.

-Dana

New Crayons

This year, the Crayola 64 ct crayon box turns 50!

So they introduced some new crayon colors. Check ‘em out!

I got a box to play with (of course) and I’m pretty frustrated that I can’t figure out what color the various colors are. I meant, “Paint the Town” is a J. Crew color, but you paint the town red so, you at least know it’s red. I mean, what color, exactly, is Bear Hug?! Well, here’s the report:

Awesome: would have been awesome in 1985! Bright florescent orange red

Giving Tree: oddly similar to the discontinued Jungle Green, but not as bright. Slightly brighter than regular green.

Famous: A pinkish-purple magenta-y color. Like, if red violet were lighter. It would be cooler if it had glitter.

Fun in the Sun: A bright, happy orange.

Super Happy: Very similar to the long-ago discontinued Lemon Yellow. However, I think this one should be “fun in the sun” and the orange one “super happy.”

Best Friends: a nice, dark lavender that reminds me a lot of the cover to My Last Best Friend by Julie Bowe

Happy Ever After: a nice dark blue with a hint of gray– my favorite of the bunch

Bear Hug: a gray with a hint of brown to it. An odd color that I like. Almost moss-like.

I’m most happy about the inclusion Happy Ever After and Bear Hug– they’re darker, subtler, and ultimately, cooler, than a lot of the colors Crayola has introduced in the past.

What are your thoughts?

Blogroll Additions: Many, Many Grinnell Blogs

The first blogroll addition was our friend Mike S.’s grad school blog, Ad Nauseam, on which he ponders issues of grad school life and being part of the academy in general. Though he himself is a literature person, and does indeed post on literature-specific issues, he also explores things like how an almost-done PhD TA is supposed to address professors, the role of academic blogging vs. peer-reviewed article publishing, and the point of theoretical work within the context of various field, just to point to a few of his recent post topics. Academics, go forth and read!

The second blogroll addition is where the “many, many Grinnell blogs” comes in, as Geek Buffet’s intrepid poetloverrebelspy/Hilary has started a blog to compile all the other blogs by past and present Grinnellians of all sorts, Grinnell Bloggers. One of our previous blogroll updates got a comment requesting such a thing, so here ya go! It’s quite an impressive list. Thanks, Hilary!

Happy Pi Day!

Today is 3.14, also known as Pi Day. In its honor, some educational links:

Pi Day - The official web site for Pi Day, March 14th

Wikipedia: Pi

And in honor of the traditional way of celebrating Pi Day, some less educational links about pie.

Wikipedia: Pie

pie - The classic Weebl and Bob animation. Mmmmm! pie.

Please now report to your nearest purveyor of baked goods to consume the sacred round pastry. Please also report your favorite kind of pie, or the other ways in which pi has enriched your life, in the comments.

-Dana

Blogroll Addition: GreenCouple

Geek Buffet’s own terrorfirma has started a new blog, GreenCouple.com, where he writes as his alterego, Will, along with co-blogger and fiancée Maggie. You can get a taste by reading Will’s cross-post below, Globalization is Green, and then check out the rest of their posts to date. They started posting in January, so the archives aren’t too daunting. Read them all!

They cover an interesting range of topics, from global economics to personal decisions about where to live, all with a focus on living green. Maggie’s personal and professional interest in eating both green and local promises to inspire any number of interesting posts related to food from them both. Will has already produced several good posts on some of the more personal economics of living green as well, such as alternative gift-giving and the pros and cons of purchasing “green energy” from the power company. I look forward to more!

-Dana