Journal entry, 1 August 2000

Lammas, 1 August 2000

There's only one big piece of news this time ...

The Doctor Is In!

There were times I thought I'd never make it, but my doctorate is Done. I passed the defense 17 July, and got the thesis signed off and handed in 27 July. It went reasonably well, I suppose. The defense committee was very thorough, but fair -- not like my oral exam, where they really went out of the way to be harsh and nasty. But the number of snafus and screwups really left me feeling beaten up and wrung out: To top it all off, I also had a paper due for the ICSLP conference in Beijing, also due at the end of July, and had to deal with this at the same time. I have finally got it all done. Then worked the Fetish Fleamarket on Saturday, Sian Gramates' fortieth birthday party on Sunday, and dentist on Monday. I haven't had enough time to unwind yet, or really rest. Must remember to sleep sometime soon.

Very little else has been happening in my life - no surprise there. Mostly it's been beers with various friends, grabbed whenever I had a free moment. I did not get to many big parties, like BaitCon or Starwood. I did get to do some swimming at Lee's home on Folly Cove, although I bashed my nose on a rock when I dove a little too deep. Fooey.

Esplanade fireworks

I spent the long Independence Day weekend in the lab at MIT, but I did get to see the Esplanade fireworks. Just before the start of the concert (8:00), there was a flyover by a B2 Stealth bomber, which is a very impressive aircraft! Big and black and very loud! The lack of any kind of body or vertical stabilizer makes it look weirdly alien. I'm glad I got to see it. I didn't listen to much of the concert (on simulcast), but I did listen to the synchronized music for the fireworks, which was fun. Fireworks technology keeps getting better. There were lots of shaped patterns, bowties and rings and pentacles (which I'm sure are just supposed to be "stars"), and during _Good Vibrations_ they used smiley faces and peace signs, which was cute. There were lots of paired blooms and sprays, and clusters of little things that separate and then all ignite together, so that you see a sky full of flowers appear and then vanish. The music also included Orff's "O Fortuna" and a couple of reels from Riverdance. It was a lot of fun. From my roof deck, I also saw earlier fireworks in the west, about 4 miles away from the sound delay, probably Newton. Sometimes it's nice to live in a nice place in the city.

A visitation from Falcon, 6 July 2000

I have known for years that there are peregrine falcons living in Boston (nesting high on the Custom House tower), and recently I've been seeing them from my office window, circling high overhead. But today was a very different experience. I was walking home in the evening light, across the urban wasteland behind the Simplex development, and noticed that there were crows and mockingbirds yelling and complaining around me. Looked up and saw a peregrine sitting on top of a utility pole, and I would have walked right by except for the racket the other birds were making.

He looked kind of ragged, not sleek, the way some city pigeons look moldy -- tan mottled with light brown. Still, there's no mistaking the viciously hooked bill and fierce, regal stare of a raptor. The crows were hollering at him from a distance, but a mockingbird was diving and hovering around him, just out of reach. The falcon was mostly ignoring her, and only when she got close enough to almost nip at his tail feathers would he bite at her and send her fleeing.

I watched this go on for a while. What struck me about the scene was that the falcon wasn't threatening or causing any trouble. If he wanted to kill any of them, they'd be dead. They were just freaking at his presence, and he wasn't letting their freaking disturb him. Seemed to me like a lesson I should learn, because people freak at me a lot and it DOES disturb me. I have never met Falcon as a spirit guide, like Seal, but I try to observe and learn whenever I can.

Summer blessings everyone!
Wil Howitt, Sc. D.