thank you! thank you! thank you!

Austin Bakes for West was a resounding success. Bakers, baked-good aficionados, and online donors raised $19,377! This was well over the $15,000 goal. Thank you so much if you came out to the sale or donated your time, money, or goods! A super special thank you to Kathryn of Austin Gastronomist for organizing this and all of the site leaders as well. Megan of Stetted and Steff of The Kitchen Trials were the site leaders at Stiles Switch BBQ and they helped us have a fun, productive sale! Also greatly deserving of credit is Stiles Switch BBQ for making tray-upon-tray of delicious sausage kolaches, letting the bake sale run late, and being a great party host to boot!

If you missed the bake sale, the online donation form is still open here.

I would totally post pictures, but in the interest of actually getting a post up, here's a link to some pictures and the wrap up post over at Austin Bakes.

Austin Bakes for West

Another interruption in my silence here.

If you've paid attention to any Texas news, you already know about the devastating fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that left 14 people dead and up to another 200 injured. West, Texas is a tiny town along I-35 and anyone who's made the drive from Austin to Dallas has gone through West. What makes it so well-known is its close-knit Czech community and the bakeries, like the Czech Stop, within that served up delicious kolaches.

The Austin Bakes team is getting together again to host another city-wide bake sale on May 4th from 10 AM - 2 PM to support the people of West. There will be eight locations and delicious treats at each! All proceeds will be donated to AmeriCares.

So what can you do to help? If you're in the Austin area and have some time, donate baked goods or volunteer to work at the bake sale. If you're pressed for time, but still in Austin, come out to the bake sale and get some tasty goodies for your monetary donations. If you're not in the Austin area, or you simply can't wait to help, you can donate in the name of Austin Bakes to AmeriCares via the FirstGiving page.

Colby, Ramona, and I will be at the Stiles Switch BBQ location. We're planning on bringing strawberry lemonade cupcakes and mojito kits, and maybe some other goodies, if we can get our act together. So come out and visit us on the 4th to help out some people in need!

I'm still here, lurking somewhere on the internets.

The last time I posted for reals was on my birthday and my extended absence is probably going to get longer, but I wanted to post something that wasn't just random code (THAT HAS A SEG FAULT IN IT. GRR). So... here's a picture of Ramona "taking" a selfie.

fucking thesis.

c***********************************************************************
      subroutine lineplot
c***********************************************************************
c     this routine plots individual Fe and Ti line abundances versus
c     E.P. and log(R.W.)

      implicit real*8 (a-h,o-z)
      include 'quants.com'
      include 'characts.com'

      integer ion10(4)
      data (ion10(iqq),iqq=1,4) / 221, 222, 261, 262 /
      real*4 xline(200), yline(200), zline(200)
      real*4 xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, xpos, ypos, style(1)
      real*4 ptypeneed(4)
      data (ptypeneed(iqq),iqq=1,4) / 40.6,  30.8, 243.7,  41.9 /
      integer sm_device
      character*60 shortline
      character*3 plotname(4)
      data (plotname(iqq),iqq=1,4) / 'Ti1', 'Ti2', 'Fe1', 'Fe2' /
      character*1 chars(80)
      equivalence (chars,lnpsfile)



c*****create and open the line plot postscript file
      line = '.plnxx'
      if (niter .lt. 10) then
         write (line(5:6),1020) niter
1020     format ('0', i1)
      else
         write (line(5:6),1021) niter
1021     format (i2)
      endif
      call meld (starname, line, lnpsfile, ifile)
      if (ifile .lt. 10) then
         write (shortline,1003) ifile
      else
         write (shortline,1004) ifile
      endif
1003  format ('(13hpostlandfile ,a',i1,'$)')
1004  format ('(13hpostlandfile ,a',i2,'$)')
      write (line,shortline) lnpsfile(1:ifile)
      if (sm_device(line(1:13+ifile)) .lt. 0) then
         write (*,1005) shortline(1:ifile+13)
1005     format ('FILE OPENING ERROR:',a60)
         stop
      endif


c*****set up, label, etc., the upper plot window for trends with RW
      call sm_graphics
      call sm_erase
      call sm_location (5500,30500,4500,30500)
      call sm_defvar ('y_gutter', '0.70')
      call sm_expand (1.0)
      call sm_window (1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2)
      xmin = -6.2
      xmax = -4.2
      ymin = -0.7
      ymax = +0.7
      call sm_limits (xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax)
      call sm_lweight (4.0)
      call sm_ctype ('black')
      call sm_expand (1.01)
      call sm_box (1, 2, 0, 0)
      call sm_xlabel ('log RW')
      call sm_ylabel ('\\gD log(\\ge)')
      call sm_ltype (1)
      xpos = xmin
      ypos = 0.
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      xpos = xmax
      call sm_draw (xpos, ypos)
      call sm_ltype (0)


c*****write the star name and the assumed stellar parameters in the box
      xpos = -5.20
      ypos = +0.55
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      call sm_putlabel (5, starname(1:iname))
      write (shortline,1001) int(teff+0.001), logg, fehadopt, vt
1001  format ('T ', i4, ' g ', f4.2, ' M/H ', f5.2,
     .        ' v_t ', f4.2)
      ypos = -0.40
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      call sm_expand (0.85)
      call sm_putlabel (5, shortline(1:32))


c*****draw the mean trend of Fe I abundance with RW
      call sm_ctype ('green')
      xpos = xmin
      ypos = rwintercept(26,1) + xmin*rwslope(26,1) - abfe
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      xpos = xmax
      ypos = rwintercept(26,1) + xmax*rwslope(26,1) - abfe
      call sm_draw (xpos, ypos)

      xpos = -6.25
      ypos = +0.80
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      call sm_expand (0.80)
      call sm_ctype ('black')
      call sm_putlabel (6,'(mean,sigma,#)')
      xpos = xmin +0.1
      ypos = +0.60
      call sm_relocate (xpos,ypos)
      call sm_putlabel (6,itercomm)
c      if (disaster .gt. 0) then
c         xpos = -5.20
c         ypos = +0.65
c         call sm_relocate (xpos,ypos)
c         call sm_putlabel (6,'GROSS CHANGE!!')
c      endif




c*****find and plot the individual line abundances for Fe I,II, and Ti I,II
      do iqq=1,4
         nlo = 0
         nhi = 0
         if (ion10(iqq)/10 .eq. 22) then
            call sm_ctype ('red')
         else
            call sm_ctype ('blue')
         endif
         pause 'L131 get nline?'
         print*, 'L132 nline = ',nline
         do j=1,nline
            if (lineid10(j) .eq. ion10(iqq)) then
               nlo = j
               do k=nlo+1,nline
                  if (lineid10(k) .ne. ion10(iqq)) then
                     nhi = k - 1
                     go to 10
                  endif
               enddo
               nhi = nline
               go to 10
            endif
         enddo

10       if (nlo .ne. 0) then
            nplot = 0
            do j=nlo,nhi
               nplot = nplot + 1
               yline(nplot) = real(linerw(j))
               if (ion10(iqq)/10 .eq. 22) then
                  zline(nplot) = real(lineab(j)-abti)
               else
                  zline(nplot) = real(lineab(j)-abfe)
               endif
            enddo
            style(1) = ptypeneed(iqq)
            call sm_expand (2.0)
            call sm_ptype (style,1)
            call sm_points (yline, zline, nplot)
            ii = ion10(iqq)/10
            jj = ion10(iqq) - 10*ii
            write (shortline,1010) plotname(iqq), specab(ii,jj),
     .                             specdev(ii,jj), specnum(ii,jj)
1010        format (a3, '(', f5.2, ',', f4.2, ',', i3, ')')
            call sm_expand (0.80)
            xpos = -6.30 + 0.45*iqq
            ypos = +0.80
            call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
            call sm_putlabel (6,shortline(1:19))
         endif
      enddo


c*****set up, label, etc., the lower plot window for trends with EP
      call sm_expand (1.0)
      call sm_window (1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1)
      xmin =  -0.05
      xmax =  5.00
      ymin = -0.7
      ymax = +0.7
      call sm_limits (xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax)
      call sm_lweight (4.0)
      call sm_ctype ('black')
      call sm_expand (1.01)
      call sm_box (1, 2, 0, 0)
      call sm_xlabel ('E.P.')
      call sm_ylabel ('\\gD log(\\ge)')
      call sm_ltype (1)
      xpos = xmin
      ypos = 0.
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      xpos = xmax
      call sm_draw (xpos, ypos)
      call sm_ltype (0)



c*****draw the mean trend of Fe I abundance with EP
      call sm_ctype ('green')
      xpos = xmin
      ypos = epintercept(26,1) + xmin*epslope(26,1) - abfe
      call sm_relocate (xpos, ypos)
      xpos = xmax
      ypos = epintercept(26,1) + xmax*epslope(26,1) - abfe
      call sm_draw (xpos, ypos)

c      pause 'it will crash after getting to i=3'
c*****find and plot the individual line abundances for Fe I,II, and Ti I,II
      do iqq=1,4
         nlo = 0
         nhi = 0
         print*, "L214 iqq = ",iqq
      pause 'L215 before print'
        print*, "L216 nlo =",nlo," nhi =",nhi
        print*, 'L217 ion10(iqq)/10 =', ion10(iqq)/10," iqq=",iqq
      pause 'L218 after print'
         if (ion10(iqq)/10 .eq. 22) then
            call sm_ctype ('red')
         else
            call sm_ctype ('blue')
         endif
       print*, 'L224 iqq=',iqq
         do j=1,nline
            if (lineid10(j) .eq. ion10(iqq)) then
               nlo = j
               do k=nlo+1,nline
                  if (lineid10(k) .ne. ion10(iqq)) then
                     nhi = k - 1
                     iqq2 = iqq
                     go to 20
                  endif
               enddo
               nhi = nline
             
               go to 20
            endif
         enddo
20       if (nlo .ne. 0) then
c      pause 'I think the problem is in the do loop below'
           nplot = 0
           print*, "L243 nlo =", nlo," nhi= ",nhi
            do j=nlo,nhi
           print*, "L245 j=",j," nlo =", nlo," nhi= ",nhi
               nplot = nplot + 1
           print*, "L247 iqq = ", iqq
               xline(nplot) = real(lineep(j))
           print*, "L249 iqq = ", iqq
               if (ion10(iqq2)/10 .eq. 22) then
           print*, "L251 iqq = ", iqq
                  zline(nplot) = real(lineab(j)-abti)
           print*, "L253 iqq = ", iqq
               else
           print*, "L255 iqq = ", iqq
                  zline(nplot) = real(lineab(j)-abfe)
           print*, "L257 iqq = ", iqq
               endif
c       pause 'it seg faults if this pause isnt put in'
           print*, "L260 iqq = ", iqq
            enddo

            style(1) = ptypeneed(iqq2)
            call sm_expand (2.0)
            call sm_ptype (style,1)
            call sm_points (xline, zline, nplot)
         endif
           print*, "L268 iqq = ", iqq
       enddo

c*****add a legend to identify the species symbols
      do iqq=1,4
         if (ion10(iqq)/10 .eq. 22) then
            call sm_ctype ('red')
         else
            call sm_ctype ('blue')
         endif  
         call sm_relocate (0.40+real(iqq-1), -0.45)
         style(1) = ptypeneed(iqq)
         call sm_expand (2.0)
         call sm_ptype (style,1)
         call sm_dot
         call sm_expand (0.75)
         call sm_relocate (0.55+real(iqq-1), -0.45)
         call sm_putlabel (6,plotname(iqq))
         if (nlo .eq. 0) then
            call sm_relocate (0.55+real(iqq-1), -0.35)
            call sm_expand (0.75)
            call sm_putlabel (5,'(NO LINES)')
            if (iqq .eq. 1) then
             call sm_ctype ('black')
             call sm_relocate (2.2, -0.25)
             call sm_putlabel
     .         (5,'--> model has been forced off the grid <-- p="">            endif
         endif
      enddo

c*****end the plot, close the file, note in the log
      call sm_gflush
      call sm_alpha
      call sm_hardcopy
      write (99,1006) (chars(iqq),iqq=1,ifile)
1006  format (' made a plot of Fe and Ti line abundances: ', 40a1)
      if     (machine .eq. 'pcr') then
         if (ifile .lt. 10) then
            write (shortline,1011) ifile
1011        format ('(14hgv -landscape ,a', i1,
     .              ', 2h &', '$)')
         else
            write (shortline,1012) ifile
1012        format ('(14hgv -landscape ,a', i2,
     .              ', 2h &', '$)')
         endif
      elseif (machine .eq. 'pcl') then
         if (ifile .lt. 10) then
            write (shortline,1013) ifile
1013        format ('(26hgv -orientation=landscape ,a', i1,
     .              ', 2h &', '$)')
         else
            write (shortline,1014) ifile
1014        format ('(26hgv -orientation=landscape ,a', i2,
     .              ', 2h &', '$)')
         endif
      elseif (machine .eq. 'mac') then
         if (ifile .lt. 10) then
            write (shortline,1015) ifile
1015        format (
     .         '(37hgv -orientation=landscape -scale=0.5 ,a', i1,
     .         ', 2h &', '$)')
         else
            write (shortline,1016) ifile
1016        format (
     .         '(37hgv -orientation=landscape -scale=0.5 ,a', i2,
     .         ', 2h &', '$)')
         endif
      endif

c      pause 'note stuff in log'
c*****comment next to lines to supress atmosphere pop-up plots
      write (line,shortline) lnpsfile(1:ifile)
c      call system (line)

      return
      end

Twenty-seven

We interrupt the string of poorly-written posts on San Francisco for my annual birthday check in.

I've officially left my mid-twenties for my late twenties and so far, so good.  Twenty-six was a very good year for me, mostly because of this face:

I can only hope that twenty-seven treats me so well.  So happy birthday to me and happy Valentine's day to everyone else.

San Francisco Day 5

We're back in Austin now.  We've been back for several days now, but things always get hectic when you're home, right?

Wednesday we woke up and decided to check out North Beach.  North Beach is north of the downtown area and Chinatown.  It's got a prominent red light district (that we had to walk through to get to dinner the night before), but it's also filled with ridiculously delicious Italian food.  One of the "don't miss" places I was told to visit was Stella Pastry. It turns out that it's also a coffee shop, so Ramona and I had a latte and got some cookies for Colby.  Maybe only one of us had a latte.  We walked around and found a kitschy little store that sold random souvenirs   Next door was a little specialty food store that featured only products that are made at small businesses.  Most of the products originated in San Francisco or the bay area, but I did spot some Zhi Tea on the shelf!  The person at the register was clearly bored out of his mind, so we started chatting and I was talked into  buying a locally made chocolate bar.  He also pointed me to his favorite sandwich shop in the area, so Ramona and i headed that way.

We made our way to Petite Deli and ordered a prosciutto and cheese sandwich for mama and an "Italian hero" for dada.  It was, sort of surprisingly, run by an old Korean woman who had a granddaughter who was only a few months older than Ramona.  Ramona was again ogled and we exchanged baby stories as she made our sandwiches.  Wednesday was also the day that I decided to check out the SPIE meet's career center.  I found out that no one under the age of 11 was allowed on the exhibition hall floor (lame), so Colby watched Ramona while he ate his sub.  I found a lot of different places that had positions that were perfect for... Colby, but none for me.  I was fine with that, though, because i'm not looking for a job yet, but I have a better idea about what I need to work on for next year.

After that, Ramona and I went to the hotel and I ate my sandwich and Ramona had some "explore the room" time.  And by that, I mean, she got to be unstrapped from the Ergo and just crawl.  I was about to strap her to me and go again, but she was hungry, so I nursed her to sleep, actually, and so we just took an afternoon to hang out because she sort of needed it and i was tired of acting as a pack animal.  Colby got back to the hotel room around 5:30 and later that evening, we met up with my cousin Scott and his girlfriend Tony.  Scott and Tony live in Sunnyvale, about 45 minutes south and it was nice to see him again, as we keep missing each other when everyone comes home around Christmas.  We met up at the Warwick Hotel bar and then moved onto the sushi restarant, Sakana, which was only a few blocks from our hotel.

Sakana was great and we had a bunch of random things that Tony mostly ordered.  I really enjoy madai and toro (obviously), and this place had some really wonderful, fresh fist.  Ramona even got in on the action and had some chicken skewers (still too young for sushi!).  Afterwards, we walked around looking for dessert and ended up in the basement of Macy's and eating truffles from Godiva.  It was the first time I met Tony and she was really interesting, grew up mostly in the bay area, and has really pretty hair. (I know, sometimes I surprise myself and remember that I'm a girl.)  After that, we turned in and tried to pack up, but Ramona was super angry because her tummy hurt and we tried to just sleep for the night.

San Francisco Day 4

Tuesday was the first day that Ramona and I had to go it alone, but it was okay.  I wanted to get a MUNI pass to ride around the city, but had a problem with my cash* situation.  Long story short: MSUFCU is awesome and now I owe them like $6 on a cash advance and it's probably not going to be worth it.  I purchased a $22 MUNI pass with the hopes of taking a cable car at some point and zipping around town on the bus system.  The cable car lines are insane and the buses that I tried to take that night either didn't come or were so overcrowded that, at one point, I got hit by the door because the bus driver didn't know someone was standing on the stairs and I had no way of knowing that he was closing the door.

We took a street car to the Ferry building for lunch.  I knew that the farmers market was going on that day, but I wasn't sure what to expect.  There were some prepared food vendors, but they were all crazy busy, especially Hapa Ramen.  I would have loved some ramen, but Ramona makes ramen-eating precarious at best.  All of this happened outside of the Ferry Building and as I walked in, there were TONS of shops, mostly having to do with food.  It was amazing and I went into the Cow Girl Creamery store and bought a half round of Red Hawk and then went next store to a bakery and bought a sourdough baguette and that's what I had for lunch.  Best decision ever.  I spotted a bakery called Miette and saw that they had macarons and bought a pistachio, a vanilla, and a chocolate to meet the five dollar credit card limit and to try my first macaron.

Afterwards, we left the Ferry Building and I started to walk up the Embarcadero towards Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.  Big mistake.  It's a bit over a mile to get there and having a Ramona on your front and a backpack on your back makes for quite strenuous walking.  I made several stops, including on a (supposedly historical) promenade where I tried my first macaron... and then shortly after my second.  They were wonderful.  Not at all what I was expecting, but that's okay because wow.  SO good! 

Along the Embarcadero was a bunch of buildings that housed some of the America's Cup stuff and that was sort of interesting to look at, although at that point, I was just stretching for things to be interested in during my arduous sojourn.  (I'm not being dramatic. Not at all.)  I finally saw the Aquarium of the Bay and realized that we had reached Pier 39.  I didn't see any walruses or sea lions or whatever you're supposed to see, but this might have been because that part of the pier was closed.  Or because I'm an idiot and never found the lookout point. 

Either way, it didn't matter because what I did find was a miniature playground complete with two slides and some stairs.  We were set!  Ramona played for awhile and then I changed her diaper and we were all happy again.  I've been complaining on tumblr, facebook, and twitter about how smokey San Francisco is and I think some people don't believe me.  I just want to show here that I'm not being crazy.  Here are two people who are smoking right by a playground.  I actually stood back until they left and held Ramona so that she didn't need to be all up in their secondhand smoke while she navigated the stairs.

Exhibits A and B.

So after that, we walked around Fisherman's Wharf, which I had been advised to avoid by anyone who lived in SF for longer than a year.  Was it a tourist shit hole?  Yes.  Did it have a whole lot of people who looked like carnies?  Absolutely.  Am I glad I went?  Yes, but not for the reasons you would expect.  I mean, I knew what I was getting into and now I can say that I went there.  It's also easier to have a screaming baby at Fisherman's Wharf than it is at the Museum of Modern Art.  Not that she was screaming.  We had a playground.  Playgrounds = magical.  After awhile, I ducked into an In-and-Out (I still don't get the hype) and got a pop because I was thirsty and under caffeinated.  On my way out, I passed some (probably homeless) dude without a full set of teeth crouched behind a garbage can.  It took every ounce of willpower I had to not scream, so I was proud of myself.  About 30 seconds later, I heard a huge shriek come from behind me.  I guess that guy got someone else.

As I was about to give up and leave and call the place a bust, I stumbled across the National Parks Visitor Center.  It had a huge exhibit on the port of San Francisco and different parts of the city that pertained to the parks.  It also had brochures on a lot of the local National Parks, including Muir Woods.  It was great and it meant that going to the Wharf wasn't completely stupid.  If you do decide to go to the Fisherman's Wharf, this is what I suggest:

1) clam chowder in a bread bowl - there are several vendors on the street and then there's Boudin Bakery.  There's also a Boudin Bakery in the giant Macy's downtown.
2) at least walk in the public restrooms.  Those things are kind of hilarious and they'll talk to you if you'd like.
3) National Park Visitor Center

After leaving the Visitor Center, we left the area.  I wanted to take a trolley back, but the lines were crazy so I found a bus stop and waited for it to come.  There were several not the right buses that came and I finally talked to someone at the bus stop and realized that I was headed the wrong way anyway so I found the right bus stop and went back into town.  Colby met us back at the hotel room and then we went to Sotto Mare for dinner.

Sotto Mare is in North Beach and I didn't want to deal with the hills from last night, so we opted to take the bus.  That didn't come for a long, long time to the point of missing our reservation time, but that wasn't a big deal because we called them to let them know and they didn't have a problem.  Eventually two different buses came that didn't let us on because they were too full, so we all said "fuck it" and walked.  It turns out that North Beach houses some pretty nice hills along with a vibrant red light district.  That was great to walk by, but it was't a huge deal.

When we got there, the owner was IN LOVE with Ramona.  Between her and our waitress, Ramona was giving ridiculous amounts of attention.  It was kind of cute and sort of creepy, but the food was great and Ramona seems to like scallops and pasta now.  We got oyster shooters, a wedge salad to split, and the cioppino also to split.  When dessert came around, we were informed that they don't do dessert, so we went back to our hotel room and ordered room service cheesecake.

*side note: whenever I type cash, I always type CASH first because that's the acronym for my thesis project (the Chemical Abundances of Stars in the Halo).