Sunday, December 2, 2007

7 Things About Me



Olga tagged me with this about three weeks ago, and with this and that and sheer pure laziness, I am just now writing about

Seven Thing You Probably Didn’t Know About Me

(I was also waiting for my poll to finish)

1. This is my unofficial bio, as written by Fidel:

"She was born in the frozen arctic wasteland of (see number 2). Surviving several encounters with polar bears, vampire beavers, and really, really upset wolverines, she was able to teach herself to read by the flickering light of pike burning in the hearth.

At 5, she struck out on her own, eventually winding up as a cook in a fishing camp on Hudson’s Bay.

Achieving the age of majority, and with only three homicide charges (all not guilty, which not to say innocent) she entered college to learn how to deal drugs. The sisters of charity finally took her in, but she was such a bad influence that they renounced their vows and sold the hospital."

2. I am a "Slag Heap" baby. Yupper ~ that's right, I was born in Sudbury, Ontario. I spent my formative years there; actually only some of them. I went to kindergarten at Col. David Younger School - if it still exists. After that, Dad had a transfer to Toronto.


It was at kindergarten that I learned two very important physics lessons:

a. A field full of mud cannot be walked through; it will pull you down every time (and make mother unhappy when your kindergarten teachers calls home saying you are covered in mud, from head to toe).

b. You cannot jump far enough away from the top of a hill so that you land at the bottom of the said hill. Well at least at the age of 5 you can't, because you haven't quite figured out the physics yet. However you do learn an important anatomy lesson, i.e. where your funny-bone and tail-bone are located.


3. I used to Fence ~ "En Garde" and not barbed wire (although I have done that too). I started at 11 and continued until I was 17, with another brief moment at 25ish.

I started off with the Foil. R
umour had it, years after the fact, that I was good and that the club was thinking of grooming me as a potential foilist athlete. But me being me, I wanted to fence with a weapon more dashing - the Saber. However, in my time, women weren't encouraged to fence Saber because it was still considered a "masculine" sport (which only made me want to fence Saber even more).

Long story short, I ate, slept, dreamed fencing, and fenced Saber for about four years ( 4 nights a week at the club) and had a great time, even though I wasn't officially competing. I eventually quit because of other interests, the expense (fencing can be an expensive sport), my knee and other reasons. I still think I'd like to fence again, but I don't think my knee would hold up.


4. I belly dance (well not these past 3 years). I started about 20 years ago, as a lark and when it wasn't really that well known. I have performed in public a few of times, but I better like dancing in a class setting.

My interest in the form has to do with the music ( I have so much Arabic music, it isn't funny) and the dramatic - dressing up in costume, and more so, creating the costumes. I have costumes and costume bits and pieces coming out of my ears, lying idle in my spare room.. Anyone want some ?



<=
======= Most might think of me looking like this when I dance
(in my dreams).

However,I think I look more like this

5. I played the bassoon in High School. I just loved it and would dearly love to have one now, but they cost over $2000 dollars AND there isn't much music written for bassoon as solo or duet pieces, anyways.

(Bassoons are sooooo sexy ).

6. I used to smoke. I wasn't a "pack a day" smoker, more a "regular casual" smoker. What this means to me, is that I only smoked at prescribed times of the day and would actually quit for a year at at time. In my last round of smoking, I smoked Colts in the evenings and nothing during the day. I stopped that a year and a half ago and I'm pretty sure I won't smoke again.

These days the only Colt I have actually touched is the firing kind, when Fidel and I went shooting a year ago August.

Finally, last but not least !!

7. I have tattoos.

Well that's a bit about me. However, here is a Bra Bonus Extra

18T04465875031107


PS- This post is a bit messy because I've been playing with the font & html code and now its totally screwed up and I can't be bothered to go in and fix it (I'm still not sure what I am doing).

23 comments:

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

AWESOME!!! Definitely worth the wait! But, what is the Bra Bonus Extra? (Is there supposed to be a link?)...and..............................................................where da heck is Paradise?!?!?!

MedStudentWife said...

No link.. just playing with colour. The number is the Bra Bonus, Olga, sweetie. Its a UTM code. If you can translate it, you'll see where Paradise is

Leslie: said...

This was very informative and amusing, too, I must say. I'm working on that UTM code and I think I know where it is, but if I'm right you do NOT live in paradise, 'cuz I do! lol

MedStudentWife said...

Thank you Leslie :D

I think you live in a bester Paradise than I do... but more snow than us, today.

Gawd.. just love your new avatar !! Tooo funny !!!!

Anonymous said...

always be respectful of a lady who can handle a dagger my old uncle Alf used to say..I think that goes double for one that can handle a gun and a knife...:):):)

MedStudentWife said...

Robert

Bars can be ruff

deathsweep said...

I think I sort of like Fidels version better! ;p

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

UTM CODE?!?!? WTF?!??! I am merely a BRA, not a rocket scientist, for gawdsake!

But I'll find you my pretty....and yer little dog too!

Buh-wha-hahahahaha!!!!

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

HA! I sent out an SOS on my blog! SOMEONE will know WTF a UTM # is!

Anonymous said...

Olga, calm down: It's not rocket surgery!

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Ottawa.

Am I right or am I right? Check out the comments on my SOS post & then let me know!

And I am calm, fidel...I'm just a little wired. Ya know?

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Haha! I tried googling the UTM code and only got Olga's blog. But I already know where Paradise is.

I used to fence in school too. Like you I was best at foil but found the sabre the sexiest....too much reading about the Charge of the Light Brigade and about the Cossacks. I did this for about 3 years but had to stop when we ad no budget to replace the blades that we kept breaking.

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Oh, that IS funny...I googled the cide and only got me too! HA! But check this out...it's even funnier!

http://www.capemaybeach.net/olgautm5.jpg

I can almost feel those fur cups now! Mmmmmmmm......
xoxo!!!

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Please come to my blog and pick up a pretty pink ROSE expressing my gratitiude for YOU & a plethora of awards from which you can have your pick!
XOXOXO

deathsweep said...

Olga, it's very simple indeed! Just follow the instructions and you can pinpoint exactly where paradise is

How to Use the UTM System
UTM stands for Universal Transverse Mercator. It is one way to pinpoint a location on a map. UTMs are coordinates. Coordinates are a set of two numbers.
UTM numbers are measured in kilometers, which can be converted to meters and vise versa. Example 1: 400 kilometers is equal in distance to 400,000 meters. Example 2: 200,000 meters is equal in distance to 200 kilometers.
UTM numbers coincide with a light blue tick mark along the edges of the 7.5' U.S.G.S. quadrangle maps. Some 7.5' quadrangles don't have the blue ticks, but instead have a fine black UTM grid laid out over the entire map (similar to the grid shown in the graphic on the last page).
Why do UTM numbers look funny? UTMs are numbers that are printed in black along the left, right, top, and bottom of the 7.5' quadrangle map. The individual digits of each number are printed in two different sizes. This DOES NOT indicate where a comma or decimal goes. Apparently, the different sized digits help the reader distinguish UTM numbers from the myriad of other numbers printed along the sides. Some of the other numbers along the sides of the map represent latitude and longitude coordinates and township and range numbers.
The UTM system is laid out in a grid pattern. Think of finding a UTM coordinate like finding an (x) and (y) point in Algebra. In Algebra, it is called the Cartesian coordinate system.
There are two numbers in a UTM coordinate. The first number coincides with an east direction (or "Easting"). This is (x). These numbers can be found along the top and bottom of the quadrangle. The second number coincides with a north direction (or "Northing"). This is (y). These numbers can be found along the left and right sides of the quadrangle.
1 kilometer = 1000 meters. Each UTM grid square is one kilometer, or 1000 meters, on each side. Each UTM number marks off one kilometer at each grid tic mark or grid line.UTM Coordinates continued...
Always "read RIGHT, UP. Read to the right (like you read a book), and then read from the bottom to the top. In other words, find the distance to the EAST, then the distance to the NORTH.
Once the kilometer numbers are found, you must narrow your coordinate to a set of numbers to the nearest meter. UTM coordinates can be found accurately to the nearest 25 meters using a 7.5' quadrangle map and an appropriate scale bar. For NatureMapping, find the UTM coordinates to the nearest 100 meters.
Each set of UTM coordinates correspond to a given Zone. Most of Iowa is in Zone 15. Part of the state is in Zone 14, which includes parts of Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, and Pottawattamie Counties in western Iowa. See the zone diagram located in this handbook.
To find out which zone you are in, look in the lower left corner of a 7.5' quadrangle map.
An example of a UTM coordinate: UTM coordinates are written 454,250m E. x 4,661,500m N., Zone 15. (Read: four hundred fifty-four thousand two-hundred fifty meters east by four million six-hundred sixty-one thousand five hundred meters north, Zone fifteen). Always include the zone in your UTM reading. The UTM numbers are exclusive to just one spot in each zone, however, the same set of coordinates are used over again in every other zone. Look at the diagram at the end of this section to see how this UTM coordinate was found.
Why not use latitude and longitude or the tier, range, and section (TRS - often called township, section, and range) to describe a location? The advantage of using UTMs is that they are precise points based entirely on actual distance. On a map, distance and area are important. When you lay out your monitoring site for NatureMapping, you can use the UTM grid scale on a 7.5' quadrangle to measure the area. Latitude and longitude (or Lat/Long) coordinates are precise points as well, yet the information is not distance-based. You've probably noticed how the longitude lines (those running vertically on a globe) converge at the poles. This convergence makes it difficult to convert "degrees" traveled west to east into "distance" traveled west to east. In other words, a degree traveled West to East near the poles is not equal in distance to a degree traveled West to East at the Equator. Tier, Range, and Section does not describe a point like UTM coordinates. Rather, it describes an area. Although we want you to keep track of wildlife in given areas, coordinates are much easier to map out using the GIS software we use. Also, the method for writing TRS descriptions is lengthy and cumbersome when describing an area to any degree of accuracy. Of course, technology is constantly changing, and now there is a web-based TRS to UTM coordinate converter. You can find this converter at www.igsb.uiowa.edu/database/gsbdata.htm. The UTM coordinate is found by entering a tier, range, and section for a given area. The computer sends back a UTM coordinate for the center of the area you described using TRS.
Another advantage of using UTM coordinates is that they are increasingly becoming the convention in other monitoring programs. The UTM is also one of many coordinate systems included on hand GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) units. GPS units continue to gain popularity with the public and can be used by NatureMappers.
One final detail: Datums. Maps are created using surveying methods that maintain their accuracy in relationship to the actual earth. The accuracy of UTM coordinates relies on these methods. The surveying data is referred to as a Datum. 7.5' quadrangles rely on a datum using 1927 surveying data. This datum is called North American Datum 1927, or NAD27. For each set of UTM coordinates you find, you must reference the datum. So, for UTM coordinates found on paper 7.5' U.S.G.S. quadrangles, you would include NAD27. Note: UTM coordinates found using the Iowa Geographic Image Map Server (web-based coordinate finder) use a 1983 datum (NAD83). GPS Units can be switched back and forth.

Now, wasn't that simple?

!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad deathsweep cleared that up....I wonder how that get all that stuffed into one of those little gps boxes.....?...:):):)

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

I just clicked on the link HungryMother sent me - much easier! And in color too! :)

Where are ya MSW???

Anonymous said...

Olga, MSW has been very naughty this week, so she's been chained to the furnace in the cellar.

I'll probably let her out tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Oh, noooo.

She's gotten loose.

I went down to take her a bucket of fish heads for breakfast, and she'd chewed through the chains.

Gotta go find her!

Anonymous said...

OK, found her.

She was out trapping some critter for the fur cups.

She'll be on later, once she's done with the skinning and whatnot.

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Dang Fidel - You run a tight ship up there! I'm starting to get a bit nervous 'bout coming to "Paradise..."

Anonymous said...

I am always a gracious host to our guests....

Agnes Mildew said...

So you say that when you are bored, you read the phone book. How on earth can you find the time to be bored with all of those past-times on the go...as well as attempting to understand DS's explanation above? I think that would take me a lifetime!