April 23--An afternoon in the park

[zyzyly]

We had some rain the other day, but today was just perfect. Temperatures still a bit cool, but mostly clear sky with some big white fluffy clouds.

I spent most of the day reading nursing theory in anticipation of a presentation I had to give to my professor last night on which theory would form the foundation for my project. Unlike most people, I love reading about nursing theorists. I remember when I was first exposed to nursing theory--it helped me make sense of what I did in a larger sense. I am thinking about working with the Hmong community here in Sacramento, so I am exploring theories that incorporate culture into caring.

Five years ago, when I was doing my Master's degree, I had to propose a community health project. My proposal addressed the high prevalence of diabetes among the Hmong Americans here in California. We didn't actually have to do anything with it--mostly an academic exercise. I dug it out yesterday and read my proposal. Surprisingly (or not, maybe) it is very similar to what I am working on now, only now I actually have to do it.

I made my presentation to the professor and we had a nice discussion. We all agree that she is the nicest and most supportive of the bunch. She understands what teaching is about. One more week and these classes are done, and then on to the next ones.

I spent a lot of time in the park today. I got up early and walked around collecting stuff that I need for Ingress, then went to a close by town to capture some enemy portals. I have been pretty close to getting up to the next level, and wanted to see if I could get there over the weekend.

There were a lot of people out, even early on. Lots of people were getting ready for big picnics and barbecues. I have mentioned previously that the park is really set up for people to use it. Lots of tables and bbq pits, places to play and so on. There is even a little wooden dock for the model yacht people to launch their boats from. They were having boat races today.



There is even a little wooden dock for the model yacht people to launch their boats from. They were having yacht races today. I watched for a while with the geese.

While I was sitting home eating lunch, some people from out of town came in and took over all the portals in the park. I was watching on a map, and it was cool to see how they methodically went from portal to portal, capturing, then linking. It was just what I was waiting for.

I went back over and started recapturing portals. It was tough, because they were above my level, and I used up all my stuff. I had to go around and collect more stuff, then tried again. Finally, I reached level 7, and got all sorts of higher level stuff, and managed to recapture the park. For the moment, anyway. It is back and forth, back and forth.



I stopped for a while to watch the kids play baseball. There are at least 10 baseball diamonds in the park, and someone's always using them. I am guessing these guys are about 8 or 9, but they were pretty good. Batters getting hits, pitchers getting strikes. It was fun to watch.

I walked 7 1/2 miles today. MY feet hurt. They are sore, but there is something else. I suspect I might have some arthritic changes or something. It's not enough to keep me from walking, but I will be paying more attention to it.

Tomorrow is hospital site visit and lots of homework. I am marinating a leg of lamb, though so looking forward to that.

Comments

[thoughtsbykat.livejournal.com]

A busy Saturday at the park. i love the Canada Goose watching the model sailboat. good job on recapturing the portals. I'm not sure I quite understand it but, I have a rough idea.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Haha you should download it and see for yourself!

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

Yep, you may be hooked. :)

There really is a certain fascination in watching the alternating waves of blue and green on the Intel map. It's an intriguing mix of battle strategy and human sociology ... even more interesting if you get to know some of the other players in real life.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I know one person in real life, who I knew before Ingress. She is the one who told me about it. I do have online conversations with someone in my area. We are often at opposite ends of the park, and I am sure our paths will cross eventually.

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

I'm the person who introduced gracegiver to Ingress, so if you do end up becoming too obsessed i can take part of the blame.

A lot of people happily play Ingress solo, but there are plenty of opportunities to meet other players if you think that would be fun. Players often work together in groups to coordinate the construction of large fields and such.

Up here, the players mostly use Google Hangouts to interact, while other places use Slack channels for that. There are also G+ groups for Ingress players based on faction and geography. Even if you don't plan on participating in any large-scale "ops," hanging out in those places can be entertaining and will help fill you in on what's going on.

[manintheboat.livejournal.com]

Almost to 8!

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Lol yes, but I will miss level 6. Was it you who suggested it is the most fun level?

[manintheboat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 6 was the best :)
8 is briefly cool. Now I just play for missions.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo L7! You said you were already practicing field layering. I don't know if you've played with this in ingress.com/intel but you can at least plot fields there. Sites like maxfield.com allow you to actually plan out the ideal fielding strategy for a given set of portals.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I am starting to see how they can happen, at least on a small scale. I was playing around with them the other day. I captured a small park with lots of portals and planned out the fields. Then someone from the same faction came along and destroyed it. Not sure why, or how. Can you take down a friendly portal? I was looking for a larger strategy, but all he did was deploy some resonators and that was it.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

Yes. You can use jarvis viruses and ada refactors to flip portals from one to the other alignment. It can be useful when there's a link in the way of something you were doing. It's possible the other player was clearing a lane for a large link/field that someone else was doing, and something then went wrong and they couldn't finish it.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. Everybody tells me don't get attached, but it's tough sometimes, lol. Anyway, I spent an hour this afternoon near my old stomping grounds destroying someone's labor of love, and felt better.

[gracegiver]

I know that park. It's almost as nice as McKinley.

You'll be pleasantly surprised once you start tossing L8 bursters. The power behind those things seems like double L7s. congrats!

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I like McKinley too, especially the rose garden. This park, though, is special. On the times we think about moving, the park is always a big factor in staying where we are.

[howeird]

Got me that Ingress app, but there's only one portal in my neighborhood.

If you're thinking of working with Hmong, I bet you've read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down". Fascinating book, took me forever to finish, and even though I had a lot of contact with them during language training in Chiang Rai, it showed how little I knew about their culture.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

yes, it is a fascinating book, and it took me forever to get through it. It was an eye-opener for me, though, way before I ever came in contact with the Hmong community. There is (or was) a large refugee camp near my wife's town, since it is so close to the Lao border.

Here is a link to the Ingress map. If you put in your zip code, it will show you where all the portals are. they tend to concentrate in public places like parks, colleges, downtown areas, etc.

https://www.ingress.com/intel