Reid Beels

While I had a vague idea of features that I’d wanted to include when working on my current site design, I hadn’t thoguht them through enough when I started. As it happened, the design evolved out of some things that I discovered while implementing a different design in css and just stuck. In this process, it lost the ability to work with some of the functionality that I wanted it to have and it’s just kind of sat here in a half-finished state for some time now. Because I’m tired of it sitting like this and need to get a solid design worked out so I can focus on content and other important things, I’m redesigning the site with a lot more focus. Read on for a list of stuff that I’m planning on doing. Tell me if any of it sounds crazy.
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After sitting in the Old Pharmacy Cafe for far too long this morning (a result of accidentally falling asleep at about nine), I think I’ve finally gotten at least a semblance of a handle on the project of mapping platonic dialogue Euthydemus. I keep thinking that I should be doing something more complex and elegant, but the sheer length and density of the dialogue leads me to the most concise representation possible. At the moment, I’m basically just linking together various series of conclusions that the participants of the dialogue jump to throughout the course of the text. I’d like to do this again with a shorter dialogue in a larger format so that the text and rhetoric could be put in context of the actual encounter. While they would obviously have to be estimated, metrics that correspond to perceived stress and anger would be fun to visualize.

After spending the last month at home in Ashland, I’m back in Portland and having to get used to the idea of having classes to go to. Since I haven’t written anything here, this is going to be a big conglomeration of things that don’t really warrant individual posts, but I still feel like talking about.

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The yearly signs of Autumn have been popping up all over Portland in the last few weeks. Brisk winds, fiery leaves, misty mornings, and a change of clocks all have heralded its arrival, but the final key element has only just recently dropped into place. Coffee Time has started serving hot apple cider.

I couldn’t be happier. In my mind, apple cider just might be the most wonderfully perfect hot beverage ever to flow from the mugs of humanity. Just the spicy aroma of this amazing concoction is enough to warm the senses after a long walk in the biting wind. The taste is sweet, but not artificially so. Most of all, unlike so many other beverages in the world, cider has that fleeting texture that can only be obtained by mercilessly squeezing real fruit.

So here I sit, wrapped snugly in a sweater, sipping my cider, listening to the Duhks, gazing out at the early darkness, and wanting to grab some good friends and go on a hay ride.

Attached Files:

• Coffee Time Exterior (Autumn Light)

• April 1, 1848 •
You started down the trail with 20 oxen, 40 sets of clothing, 600 bullets, 3 wagon wheels, 3 wagon axles, 3 wagon tongues, 1,000 pounds of food, and $50.00.
You decided to continue.
You decided to change the pace to strenuous.
• April 5, 1848 •
You have reached the Kansas River Crossing.
You decided to continue.
You chose to caulk your wagon and float it across the river.
• April 7, 1848 •
You had a wagon axle break but were able to fix it.
• April 8, 1848 •
You have reached the Big Blue River Crossing.
You decided to continue.
You chose to caulk your wagon and float it across the river.
• April 12, 1848 •
You have reached Fort Kearney.
You decided to continue.
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• April 13, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• April 18, 1848 •
Severe storm.
• April 23, 1848 •
You have reached Chimney Rock.
You decided to continue.
• April 26, 1848 •
You have reached Fort Laramie.
You decided to continue.
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• April 27, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• May 8, 1848 •
You have reached Independence Rock.
You decided to continue.
• May 9, 1848 •
You decided to change the pace to steady.
• May 10, 1848 •
You decided to change the pace to strenuous.
• May 11, 1848 •
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• May 12, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• May 14, 1848 •
Sara got lost.
• May 19, 1848 •
You have reached South Pass.
You decided to continue.
You decided to take the trail to the Green River Crossing.
• May 20, 1848 •
You found some wild fruit.
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• May 21, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• May 24, 1848 •
You had a wagon axle break but were able to fix it.
• May 27, 1848 •
You have reached the Green River Crossing.
You decided to continue.
You decided to continue.
You chose to take a ferry across the river.
• June 1, 1848 •
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• June 2, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• June 5, 1848 •
You have reached Soda Springs.
You decided to continue.
• June 6, 1848 •
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• June 7, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• June 10, 1848 •
You found 22 bullets, and 1 wagon wheel in an abandoned wagon.
You have reached Fort Hall.
You decided to continue.
• June 12, 1848 •
Hailstorm.
You decided to change the pace to steady.
• June 14, 1848 •
Emily was bitten by a snake.
Emily has a broken leg.
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• June 15, 1848 •
You decided to rest for 4 days.
• June 19, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• June 20, 1848 •
You decided to change the pace to strenuous.
• June 24, 1848 •
Sara was bitten by a snake.
You decided to change the pace to steady.
• June 25, 1848 •
You decided to rest for 3 days.
• July 2, 1848 •
Zeke was bitten by a snake.
• July 3, 1848 •
Emily was bitten by a snake.
Sara is well again.
You have reached the Snake River Crossing.
You decided to rest for 7 days.
• July 8, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
You chose to have an Indian guide help you cross the river.
• July 11, 1848 •
Zeke is well again.
• July 12, 1848 •
Emily is well again.
• July 17, 1848 •
You decided to change the pace to strenuous.
• July 18, 1848 •
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• July 19, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• July 20, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• July 21, 1848 •
Rough trail.
• July 23, 1848 •
An ox wandered off.
• July 26, 1848 •
You decided to change the pace to steady.
• July 27, 1848 •
An ox is sick.
• July 28, 1848 •
Heavy fog.
No water.
• August 1, 1848 •
The trail is impassable.
• August 7, 1848 •
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 0 pounds of food from hunting.
• August 8, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• August 10, 1848 •
No water.
• August 11, 1848 •
You have reached Grande Ronde in the Blue Mountains.
You decided to rest for 5 days.
• August 15, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• August 16, 1848 •
You decided to take the trail to The Dalles.
• August 18, 1848 •
Bad water.
You decided to hunt.
You brought back 200 pounds of food from hunting.
• August 20, 1848 •
You decided to continue.
• August 21, 1848 •
No water.
• August 22, 1848 •
No grass for the oxen.
• August 25, 1848 •
You had a wagon tongue break but were able to replace it from supplies.
The trail is impassable.
• August 28, 1848 •
The trail is impassable.
• September 5, 1848 •
You found some wild fruit.
A thief stole 7 oxen from your wagon.
• September 7, 1848 •
Emily was bitten by a snake.
You have reached The Dalles.
You decided to continue.
You decided to raft down the Columbia River.
You made it to the Willamette Valley.
5 people arrived in good health.
Your Score = 2,730