Friday, January 30, 2009
Random
I'm getting ready to head up to Denver in the morning for a RootsCamp, so I may not be very posty until next week.
One thing very important to say, though, is that thanks to my friend Hawk, I HAVE MY OBAMA/SPIDERMAN COMIC!!!!
Hawk rocks!
There's been a meme going around the various venues where you are supposed to list 25 random things about yourself, then tag others to do it and so on. I THINK I did something like this a few years back, but the whim-wind was blowing from the right direction, so I've done it again. Feel free to make your own list, if you feel like it.
1. My favorite colors are 'bright' and 'shiny'.
2. I have a stuffed mama and baby shark wedged in one of our trees outside. (Toy, not taxidermied)
3. At 4, I freaked my mom out because I was coloring everything in my coloring books black. No, I wasn't the original baby Goth. I had a crush on Zorro.
4. Although the two current cats probably would not approve, we would like to find another Maine Coon type to add to the menagerie.
5. Due to a youthful mishap at a Baptist church camp in Canada, I am seriously allergic to pine oil based products.
6. I have the weirdest ex of anyone I know. Married 8 times, has been a fundamentalist, Satanist, neo-Confederate, and a pirate. Currently says he is a transgendered person. Looked frighteningly like his mom in the pics he sent around, possibly because he stole some of her clothes for his photo shoot.
7. I also have a really nice ex. He's a German guy living on the beach in New Zealand, last I heard.
8. I was once Darth Vader's bodyguard. (Well, okay, Dave Prouse's. Still funny since he was over a foot and a half taller than me.)
9. Our first computer was a Coleco ADAM. I think it might still be in the attic with Kenny's stuff.
10. My first salaried job was harvesting onions and radishes, by hand, in farm fields near Pueblo. Ten cents for each dozen bunches.
11. I once tried to tan a buffalo hide. Step one was salting it in our basement. Step two involved battery acid water and a stock tank lined with plastic. It had to be mixed now and then by getting in and stomping around, leading to a family joke about making the SE Colorado delicacy, buffalo wine.
12. I have four kids, two home-made, two store-bought.
13. During his visit to Lamar, I unthinkingly smacked Senator John Kerry on the arm to get his attention. Luckily I was not tackled by any Secret Service agents.
14. Until The Clone and I moved and bought this house, I had lived at least 42 different places, maybe more because my memory is getting shaky on some details. We have been here since 1984.
15. I am technically a dealer in human body parts, having bought and sold an antique anatomy skeleton and a tumor in a jar. We got the latter without knowing it, in a mixed lot. Sent it back out into the resale world the same way.
16. The oldest formerly living thing I've ever touched was a dinosaur tooth.
17. My first college was a Bible college that Jerry Falwell had been kicked out of for being too liberal in his theology.
18. In 1962 I won the Little Miss Thornton pageant, and was 2nd runner-up for Little Miss Colorado. That was the first kids' pageant, intended to be a joke poking gentle fun at the Miss America ones. Little did we know what was coming....
19. I fondled Weird Al in front of thousands of screaming fans. He didn't mind, it was part of the song.
20. I have a tattoo on the side of my head, the United States Tae Kwon-do Federation logo.
21. One year I got the first numbered admission ticket, 000001, to the Colorado State Fair. I still have the stub.
22. I have been part of teams that saved lives, and part of teams that tried but couldn't.
23. James Agee, Pulitzer winner and screenplay writer for The African Queen, is a distant relative of mine through the Huguenot immigrant line, the d'Ages family.
24. In 2001 I filmed a tornado from our front porch, which was just over 1/2 mile away at the time.
25. I like to entertain people.
One thing very important to say, though, is that thanks to my friend Hawk, I HAVE MY OBAMA/SPIDERMAN COMIC!!!!
Hawk rocks!
There's been a meme going around the various venues where you are supposed to list 25 random things about yourself, then tag others to do it and so on. I THINK I did something like this a few years back, but the whim-wind was blowing from the right direction, so I've done it again. Feel free to make your own list, if you feel like it.
1. My favorite colors are 'bright' and 'shiny'.
2. I have a stuffed mama and baby shark wedged in one of our trees outside. (Toy, not taxidermied)
3. At 4, I freaked my mom out because I was coloring everything in my coloring books black. No, I wasn't the original baby Goth. I had a crush on Zorro.
4. Although the two current cats probably would not approve, we would like to find another Maine Coon type to add to the menagerie.
5. Due to a youthful mishap at a Baptist church camp in Canada, I am seriously allergic to pine oil based products.
6. I have the weirdest ex of anyone I know. Married 8 times, has been a fundamentalist, Satanist, neo-Confederate, and a pirate. Currently says he is a transgendered person. Looked frighteningly like his mom in the pics he sent around, possibly because he stole some of her clothes for his photo shoot.
7. I also have a really nice ex. He's a German guy living on the beach in New Zealand, last I heard.
8. I was once Darth Vader's bodyguard. (Well, okay, Dave Prouse's. Still funny since he was over a foot and a half taller than me.)
9. Our first computer was a Coleco ADAM. I think it might still be in the attic with Kenny's stuff.
10. My first salaried job was harvesting onions and radishes, by hand, in farm fields near Pueblo. Ten cents for each dozen bunches.
11. I once tried to tan a buffalo hide. Step one was salting it in our basement. Step two involved battery acid water and a stock tank lined with plastic. It had to be mixed now and then by getting in and stomping around, leading to a family joke about making the SE Colorado delicacy, buffalo wine.
12. I have four kids, two home-made, two store-bought.
13. During his visit to Lamar, I unthinkingly smacked Senator John Kerry on the arm to get his attention. Luckily I was not tackled by any Secret Service agents.
14. Until The Clone and I moved and bought this house, I had lived at least 42 different places, maybe more because my memory is getting shaky on some details. We have been here since 1984.
15. I am technically a dealer in human body parts, having bought and sold an antique anatomy skeleton and a tumor in a jar. We got the latter without knowing it, in a mixed lot. Sent it back out into the resale world the same way.
16. The oldest formerly living thing I've ever touched was a dinosaur tooth.
17. My first college was a Bible college that Jerry Falwell had been kicked out of for being too liberal in his theology.
18. In 1962 I won the Little Miss Thornton pageant, and was 2nd runner-up for Little Miss Colorado. That was the first kids' pageant, intended to be a joke poking gentle fun at the Miss America ones. Little did we know what was coming....
19. I fondled Weird Al in front of thousands of screaming fans. He didn't mind, it was part of the song.
20. I have a tattoo on the side of my head, the United States Tae Kwon-do Federation logo.
21. One year I got the first numbered admission ticket, 000001, to the Colorado State Fair. I still have the stub.
22. I have been part of teams that saved lives, and part of teams that tried but couldn't.
23. James Agee, Pulitzer winner and screenplay writer for The African Queen, is a distant relative of mine through the Huguenot immigrant line, the d'Ages family.
24. In 2001 I filmed a tornado from our front porch, which was just over 1/2 mile away at the time.
25. I like to entertain people.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Much Misc
It's lucky we observed Free Dump Weekend Sunday. Once I'm there, I always clean out my car. This time I got a bonus, the water bill (I'd wondered why it never came!) and the notice to renew The Clone's car registration. Yes, I am an iriot.
In case you didn't notice it in my ReTweet post yesterday, HERE is the link to the page that gives my personal recipe for Hot and Sour Soup. We had some last night for the start of Chinese New Year, and it was, as usual, excellent. In fact, I just had some more a few minutes ago and it was STILL excellent! Just the thing for a freezing cold day like today!
My Chinese Zodiac Animal is the Snake, and in particular, the Water Snake. Here's a bit from one page I found on it, which was intriguingly accurate:
Water Snakes are the realists who bring to life the visionary schemes of the idealists. They are the practical, useful, dependable people of earth who are tinged with enough imagination themselves to make life very interesting indeed.
(Isn't that interesting times thing supposed to be a curse?)
Famous Snake People: Mao Tse-tong, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Ferdinand Marcos, Abraham Lincoln, Lady Pamela Mountbatten, Martin Luther King, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Edgar Allen Poe, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bob Dylan
The rare Neon Snake:
In case you didn't notice it in my ReTweet post yesterday, HERE is the link to the page that gives my personal recipe for Hot and Sour Soup. We had some last night for the start of Chinese New Year, and it was, as usual, excellent. In fact, I just had some more a few minutes ago and it was STILL excellent! Just the thing for a freezing cold day like today!
My Chinese Zodiac Animal is the Snake, and in particular, the Water Snake. Here's a bit from one page I found on it, which was intriguingly accurate:
Water Snakes are the realists who bring to life the visionary schemes of the idealists. They are the practical, useful, dependable people of earth who are tinged with enough imagination themselves to make life very interesting indeed.
(Isn't that interesting times thing supposed to be a curse?)
Famous Snake People: Mao Tse-tong, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Ferdinand Marcos, Abraham Lincoln, Lady Pamela Mountbatten, Martin Luther King, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Edgar Allen Poe, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bob Dylan
The rare Neon Snake:
Monday, January 26, 2009
Top Ten Twitters of the Week
*Yay! SpongeBed SquareParts is complete and fully operational! AND I still have a few shivering shreds of sanity left! This Never Happens. 1:19 PM Jan 17th from web
*I'm sorry, Furtwangler is just a weird name. Even weirder than Fehrenbach. 3:43 PM Jan 18th from web
*Getting Breaking News emails from CNN and such: Obama is President. Ya THINK, guys? Who put the Geez in 'geezer'? 10:34 AM Jan 20th from web
*People need to stop making me all snuffly so I can get to work here and help stimulate the local economy!!! Also hard to type with wet eyes. 11:10 AM Jan 20th from web
*I like to have dreams where I am working on something I don't like, because I can wake up and just say "Dismiss it profanely." More or less. 11:44 AM Jan 22nd from web
*Have you seen the new Obama action figure? Check out these hysterical pics! http://codeneonblue.net/ 11:19 PM Jan 22nd from web
*Any of my musical friends want a sheet music book, Paul Simon's Greatest Hits Etc.? DM me! 12:13 PM Jan 23rd from web
*COOL book! Legal chemistry: A guide to the detection of poisons, etc. Very CSI:1884! http://tinyurl.com/covtj5 Selling this for our library. 8:29 PM Jan 23rd from web
*Weekend Waste O'time: Have to help MrMike make a model of a cell for biology. I <3 science and I still am wondering WHY?!? 12:03 PM Jan 24th from web
*Lovely services this morning at the First Church of the Cool Side of the Pillow (Re-flipped), 10:21 AM yesterday from web
*I'm sorry, Furtwangler is just a weird name. Even weirder than Fehrenbach. 3:43 PM Jan 18th from web
*Getting Breaking News emails from CNN and such: Obama is President. Ya THINK, guys? Who put the Geez in 'geezer'? 10:34 AM Jan 20th from web
*People need to stop making me all snuffly so I can get to work here and help stimulate the local economy!!! Also hard to type with wet eyes. 11:10 AM Jan 20th from web
*I like to have dreams where I am working on something I don't like, because I can wake up and just say "Dismiss it profanely." More or less. 11:44 AM Jan 22nd from web
*Have you seen the new Obama action figure? Check out these hysterical pics! http://codeneonblue.net/ 11:19 PM Jan 22nd from web
*Any of my musical friends want a sheet music book, Paul Simon's Greatest Hits Etc.? DM me! 12:13 PM Jan 23rd from web
*COOL book! Legal chemistry: A guide to the detection of poisons, etc. Very CSI:1884! http://tinyurl.com/covtj5 Selling this for our library. 8:29 PM Jan 23rd from web
*Weekend Waste O'time: Have to help MrMike make a model of a cell for biology. I <3 science and I still am wondering WHY?!? 12:03 PM Jan 24th from web
*Lovely services this morning at the First Church of the Cool Side of the Pillow (Re-flipped), 10:21 AM yesterday from web
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Before I Forget
Tomorrow is the start of Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox), so Gung Hoy Fa Choi!
Now I can get to the part where I wonder how I managed to skip most of the week without posting much of anything, despite all my good intentions. (Although I did a LITTLE better with the political blogging.)
It was partly one of those ADD hyper-focus things. I got all swept up into popping open some boxes of books that have been sitting around forever (nothing new or unusual there) and getting them listed for sale online. This means I was mentally tuned in to that to the exclusion of most everything else, and also that nothing interesting was likely to happen to me that I could blog about. Because *I* think it's cool when I find my favorite high school English teacher's picture in her college yearbook, but who else is likely to care?
At least listing books will help pay the bills down the road, unlike the other thing I was doing, finishing a honking big and EXCELLENT book. Someone (can't remember who) on Twitter sent a link to a chapter of the book online. I read the sample and scampered off to find a whole copy.
It's called The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, by Gordon Dahlquist, and my 700+ page copy turns out to just be the first HALF!!! (Although it ends satisfactorily this way, and happily the next half, Volume 2, hits the stands next week.)
The story is told by taking turns focusing on one of the three main characters: Celeste Temple, a fiercely independent rich girl; Cardinal Chang, an enforcer/assassin for hire; and Dr. Svenson, a naval surgeon assigned to babysit a spoiled and foolish young foreign prince. The setting is an alternate universe, Victorianish England-like, and as the story unfolds, you get new viewpoints on things that already happened previously, making you something of a participant in the process. That sort of thing really sucks me in when it's done well, as it is here. There is slam-bang action from start to finish, but also humor, character introspection, a fiendishly complex plot, and elegant turns of phrase.
(When I went looking for more info, I found out this was a first novel the guy got paid a two MILLION dollar advance for. If I didn't want so much to read the rest, I'd go jump off a cliff now....)
The part I read online was, in the book, Chapter 2. You can find parts of all three character's opening chapters here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/glassbooks/
The other thing I did this weekend was help Mike with a project for school. For some reason, the kids in his biology class are all supposed to make a model of a cell. His aide grabbed a few suggested ways to do this from the net and also called me to explain. She tried to make it sound easy, but I'm here to tell you, I had more than a little trouble with it, and I actually KNOW a wee bit about cells and stuff.
Rather than mess about with grapes and boiled eggs and a baggie within a baggie and the other weird ideas (you know how the internet can be), Mike and I got out some spare craft and home repair items, and made a cell from a Silicone Creature from Glitterpaint World.
The only cell prettier is in this amazing video that my friend Katharing the Scientist pointed us to! Mike was highly impressed, and we are trying to figure out a good way to send the link to his biology teacher so the rest of the class can enjoy it too!
To sum up the week, I refer you to Past Posts (Political, not Personal), which can be seen at http://codeneonblue.net.
I hope to stay more in touch next week.
Now I can get to the part where I wonder how I managed to skip most of the week without posting much of anything, despite all my good intentions. (Although I did a LITTLE better with the political blogging.)
It was partly one of those ADD hyper-focus things. I got all swept up into popping open some boxes of books that have been sitting around forever (nothing new or unusual there) and getting them listed for sale online. This means I was mentally tuned in to that to the exclusion of most everything else, and also that nothing interesting was likely to happen to me that I could blog about. Because *I* think it's cool when I find my favorite high school English teacher's picture in her college yearbook, but who else is likely to care?
At least listing books will help pay the bills down the road, unlike the other thing I was doing, finishing a honking big and EXCELLENT book. Someone (can't remember who) on Twitter sent a link to a chapter of the book online. I read the sample and scampered off to find a whole copy.
It's called The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, by Gordon Dahlquist, and my 700+ page copy turns out to just be the first HALF!!! (Although it ends satisfactorily this way, and happily the next half, Volume 2, hits the stands next week.)
The story is told by taking turns focusing on one of the three main characters: Celeste Temple, a fiercely independent rich girl; Cardinal Chang, an enforcer/assassin for hire; and Dr. Svenson, a naval surgeon assigned to babysit a spoiled and foolish young foreign prince. The setting is an alternate universe, Victorianish England-like, and as the story unfolds, you get new viewpoints on things that already happened previously, making you something of a participant in the process. That sort of thing really sucks me in when it's done well, as it is here. There is slam-bang action from start to finish, but also humor, character introspection, a fiendishly complex plot, and elegant turns of phrase.
(When I went looking for more info, I found out this was a first novel the guy got paid a two MILLION dollar advance for. If I didn't want so much to read the rest, I'd go jump off a cliff now....)
The part I read online was, in the book, Chapter 2. You can find parts of all three character's opening chapters here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/glassbooks/
The other thing I did this weekend was help Mike with a project for school. For some reason, the kids in his biology class are all supposed to make a model of a cell. His aide grabbed a few suggested ways to do this from the net and also called me to explain. She tried to make it sound easy, but I'm here to tell you, I had more than a little trouble with it, and I actually KNOW a wee bit about cells and stuff.
Rather than mess about with grapes and boiled eggs and a baggie within a baggie and the other weird ideas (you know how the internet can be), Mike and I got out some spare craft and home repair items, and made a cell from a Silicone Creature from Glitterpaint World.
The only cell prettier is in this amazing video that my friend Katharing the Scientist pointed us to! Mike was highly impressed, and we are trying to figure out a good way to send the link to his biology teacher so the rest of the class can enjoy it too!
To sum up the week, I refer you to Past Posts (Political, not Personal), which can be seen at http://codeneonblue.net.
I hope to stay more in touch next week.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Rockeration!
Mike came home yesterday and said his third hour history teacher did indeed let the class watch the "Rockeration" on TV.
Yes, another bit of MikeSpeak (TM). As with many of his coined words, he catches the true meaning even though he misses some of the actual syllables.
See, the way his brain is wired means his learning process works by him testing any new incoming data against what he already knows. (It's a 'regulatory disorder'; his brain has no 'auto-sort' like neurotypical ones) It's most obvious in the language area. Like how he was sure for a long time that that Baja Men's hit single was called, "Who Made a Dog Sound?".
Happily, he is getting much more amenable to being corrected and practicing alternate versions. For example, although at first he thought our First Lady's name was Mrs. Shell, he switched without complaint to Mrs. Michelle, and then to Mrs. Obama. :)
So in four years, I'm sure he will know the proper term is "inauguration".
Plus what are the chances we will ever have another Rockeration like that again?
Yes, another bit of MikeSpeak (TM). As with many of his coined words, he catches the true meaning even though he misses some of the actual syllables.
See, the way his brain is wired means his learning process works by him testing any new incoming data against what he already knows. (It's a 'regulatory disorder'; his brain has no 'auto-sort' like neurotypical ones) It's most obvious in the language area. Like how he was sure for a long time that that Baja Men's hit single was called, "Who Made a Dog Sound?".
Happily, he is getting much more amenable to being corrected and practicing alternate versions. For example, although at first he thought our First Lady's name was Mrs. Shell, he switched without complaint to Mrs. Michelle, and then to Mrs. Obama. :)
So in four years, I'm sure he will know the proper term is "inauguration".
Plus what are the chances we will ever have another Rockeration like that again?
Monday, January 19, 2009
If I had wheels...
...apparently, rather than a tea cart, I would be a baby stroller.
Found this the other day while I was goofing around Googling myself. It was for sale in South America, and is called the Silla Dakar Neon Nurse. Seriously!
I chose that image to share because this has been a day heavily featuring customer service. Two different people emailed me wondering where their book might be, so I had to explain the PO's little funny ways re a. holidays and b. media mail shipping to US addresses overseas, such as to the Marinana Islands. (Which I always think of as the Marinara Islands, as though their chief national product was spaghetti sauce or something.)
Then there was the voice mail message from someone who had found my listing for a very old book of stories about Lincoln. She wanted to know if I had priced it so cheaply because of the condition. Which is, in fact, exactly why.
She continued in some detail, telling me she had the same book, BUT with all the pages and with the cover still on. And that...was the sum total of the call. I suppose I should call her back, even though I have no idea what, if anything, she actually wanted....
All this was balanced out by MY chance to be a complaining customer. For some reason we had bad hotel luck at MileHiCon last year; little annoyances like room keys that wouldn't stay working, even when they replaced them twice, an internet connection we paid extra for that ALSO quit mid-stay, and not enough hot water for a bath. I had filled out a survey and gotten a nice apology in a more or less timely manner, but had not yet gotten around to answering that with the details as requested. So today I did (my inbox is down to 56!!) and, somewhat to my surprise, they wrote back offering to comp me a night's stay.
Since I have a meeting to attend in Denver at the end of the month, I decided I might as well go for it. Time will tell if this is a good idea or NOT.
Found this the other day while I was goofing around Googling myself. It was for sale in South America, and is called the Silla Dakar Neon Nurse. Seriously!I chose that image to share because this has been a day heavily featuring customer service. Two different people emailed me wondering where their book might be, so I had to explain the PO's little funny ways re a. holidays and b. media mail shipping to US addresses overseas, such as to the Marinana Islands. (Which I always think of as the Marinara Islands, as though their chief national product was spaghetti sauce or something.)
Then there was the voice mail message from someone who had found my listing for a very old book of stories about Lincoln. She wanted to know if I had priced it so cheaply because of the condition. Which is, in fact, exactly why.
She continued in some detail, telling me she had the same book, BUT with all the pages and with the cover still on. And that...was the sum total of the call. I suppose I should call her back, even though I have no idea what, if anything, she actually wanted....
All this was balanced out by MY chance to be a complaining customer. For some reason we had bad hotel luck at MileHiCon last year; little annoyances like room keys that wouldn't stay working, even when they replaced them twice, an internet connection we paid extra for that ALSO quit mid-stay, and not enough hot water for a bath. I had filled out a survey and gotten a nice apology in a more or less timely manner, but had not yet gotten around to answering that with the details as requested. So today I did (my inbox is down to 56!!) and, somewhat to my surprise, they wrote back offering to comp me a night's stay.
Since I have a meeting to attend in Denver at the end of the month, I decided I might as well go for it. Time will tell if this is a good idea or NOT.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Spare some change?
A friend of mine on LJ, dalbino83, made an offer at New Year's, to pull a Tarot card from the various decks she owns for anyone who wanted to volunteer for it. This was what she came up with for me.
"A beautiful city rises in elaborately constructed towers, representing plans and projects, things that are established, ordered and controlled. A violent storm sweeps over the city, striking the tall towers with sudden bolts of lightning. A jester maniacally pops up, echoing the shock and surprise of the lightning...
Old structures are changing, like it or not... You are being blasted from one reality to the next, and the way is being cleared for transformation. Change is in the air, crackling in the atmosphere like summer lightning..."
Kind of disconcerting, yeah?
Elaborately constructed towers of plans and projects? That's very me.
Established, ordered and controlled? Not so much.
If the violent storm means the future may equal a wild roller coaster ride...yeah, I believe that. And that jester guy -- I know him. Sometimes I AM him.
Change is fine with me, though. I DID vote for it, after all. :)
"A beautiful city rises in elaborately constructed towers, representing plans and projects, things that are established, ordered and controlled. A violent storm sweeps over the city, striking the tall towers with sudden bolts of lightning. A jester maniacally pops up, echoing the shock and surprise of the lightning...
Old structures are changing, like it or not... You are being blasted from one reality to the next, and the way is being cleared for transformation. Change is in the air, crackling in the atmosphere like summer lightning..."
Kind of disconcerting, yeah?
Elaborately constructed towers of plans and projects? That's very me.
Established, ordered and controlled? Not so much.
If the violent storm means the future may equal a wild roller coaster ride...yeah, I believe that. And that jester guy -- I know him. Sometimes I AM him.
Change is fine with me, though. I DID vote for it, after all. :)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Power Workout x 2!
Had a nice productive day, getting MrMike's bed completed, and then getting started on evaluating a HUGE classical record collection we will be selling for someone's estate. Did you know Marlon Brando was in a movie version of Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar? I didn't!
On a completely different topic, here are links to two cool articles from The Mother Earth News Online, which were published in 1981. They tell how you can adapt a bike to produce pumping power (like for water) or even electricity!
The writer admits that you can't power your whole house this way. Using a car battery to charge up and then draw from, you would have to pedal about 20 hours to get an hour's worth of electricity. But if you were going to be working out on an exercise bike anyway, hey, you'd be getting a little something back!
It's very easy to go to these pages and print them out for later use. You know, just in case of total economic collapse or something....
Part 1
Part 2
On a completely different topic, here are links to two cool articles from The Mother Earth News Online, which were published in 1981. They tell how you can adapt a bike to produce pumping power (like for water) or even electricity!
The writer admits that you can't power your whole house this way. Using a car battery to charge up and then draw from, you would have to pedal about 20 hours to get an hour's worth of electricity. But if you were going to be working out on an exercise bike anyway, hey, you'd be getting a little something back!
It's very easy to go to these pages and print them out for later use. You know, just in case of total economic collapse or something....
Part 1
Part 2
Friday, January 16, 2009
Top Ten Twitters of the week!
This is kind of an experiment, partly a way to back-up my "tweets" and partly to equalize this blog and my LiveJournal one.
In case you haven't heard about it, Twitter.com is a site/application that lets you send very short posts, 140 characters or less, to whoever subscribes to your feed. I usually do it online, since that's where I am most of the time, but you can send (and receive) them by texting, too.
People use it for many different reasons. What I like is the challenge of trying to create a fun mini-post in the 140 characters allowed. Kind of like a haiku version of a regular blog post, except you don't have to count syllables.
So here are my favorite ten from this past week (or so)
*It's funny how Eudora always wants to change my email name, carosue, to carouse. Does my mail program know me or what? 3:22 PM Jan 4th
*Is it Spring? Monday I saw a robin, and just now I saw a HOUSE FLY! (Insect-type, not tornado-driven.) 2:13 PM Jan 7th
*Not What I First Thought Dept: The NorthernTool sale catalog has $100 off on a Gas-Powered Concrete Vibrator. Turns out it's for sidewalks. 11:11 PM Jan 7th
*Hmm, 40 mph wind, plus fertilizer trucks and plows in the fields near my house. Also beebee calfs! MUST be spring! 5:10 PM Jan 9th
*I dreamed I lent Oprah my swimsuit. This was odd because I'm still annoyed at her for dissing Lamar during her road trip a few years back. 10:04 AM Jan 11th
*Our local clinic seems to need vials of blood at its lab, so I'm heading off in the cold morning light to help them out. 7:52 AM Jan 12th
*Neighbor Pup does not understand physics. No matter how many times I tell her two bodies cannot occupy the same space, she doesn't get it. 6:33 PM Jan 12th
*Despite several setbacks, MrMike's new bed is about 4/5 painted. Hard to type with my fingers all glued together with paint, though. 4:03 PM Jan 14th
*The Clone said "It's the 15th, you know what we should be thinking about!" Stock Show Weather was not the answer she had in mind. 2:02 PM Jan 15th
*Birds are tap-dancing on our A/C unit hood, making noises to claim the primo nesting spot by it in the house wall. DEFINITELY spring! about 13 hours ago
In case you haven't heard about it, Twitter.com is a site/application that lets you send very short posts, 140 characters or less, to whoever subscribes to your feed. I usually do it online, since that's where I am most of the time, but you can send (and receive) them by texting, too.
People use it for many different reasons. What I like is the challenge of trying to create a fun mini-post in the 140 characters allowed. Kind of like a haiku version of a regular blog post, except you don't have to count syllables.
So here are my favorite ten from this past week (or so)
*It's funny how Eudora always wants to change my email name, carosue, to carouse. Does my mail program know me or what? 3:22 PM Jan 4th
*Is it Spring? Monday I saw a robin, and just now I saw a HOUSE FLY! (Insect-type, not tornado-driven.) 2:13 PM Jan 7th
*Not What I First Thought Dept: The NorthernTool sale catalog has $100 off on a Gas-Powered Concrete Vibrator. Turns out it's for sidewalks. 11:11 PM Jan 7th
*Hmm, 40 mph wind, plus fertilizer trucks and plows in the fields near my house. Also beebee calfs! MUST be spring! 5:10 PM Jan 9th
*I dreamed I lent Oprah my swimsuit. This was odd because I'm still annoyed at her for dissing Lamar during her road trip a few years back. 10:04 AM Jan 11th
*Our local clinic seems to need vials of blood at its lab, so I'm heading off in the cold morning light to help them out. 7:52 AM Jan 12th
*Neighbor Pup does not understand physics. No matter how many times I tell her two bodies cannot occupy the same space, she doesn't get it. 6:33 PM Jan 12th
*Despite several setbacks, MrMike's new bed is about 4/5 painted. Hard to type with my fingers all glued together with paint, though. 4:03 PM Jan 14th
*The Clone said "It's the 15th, you know what we should be thinking about!" Stock Show Weather was not the answer she had in mind. 2:02 PM Jan 15th
*Birds are tap-dancing on our A/C unit hood, making noises to claim the primo nesting spot by it in the house wall. DEFINITELY spring! about 13 hours ago
What's that shiny thing down there at the end of the tunnel?
I'm not quite sure, since it's not a state of being I'm used to, but I MIGHT be possibly starting to think about beginning to catch up on at least the most recent part of my To Do List.
When last we met, I was getting ready to start painting on MrMike's new futon sofa bed. I don't know why, but somehow I had wildly imagined that two cans of spray paint would be plenty for this project.
Nope. Managed to cover three of the long slats. Man, that unfinished pine can really soak up the paint!
No prob. Wednesday was also supposed to be a nice day, weather-wise. So I got up early(ish) and went to town to buy a CAN of paint. Came home with a quart of Sunflower Yellow, which now decorates bits of both porches and has given me a new set of paint clothes.
It also gave me muscle spasms that night and most of the next day, which really kind of ticks me off anew at my body. You would think I would be used to it going all drama llama over what ought to be an easy, low energy activity. But I'm not used to it. I get grouchy and upset at its traitorous ways every time.
OHH WELLL.
Another annoying thing was that I finally got the right kind of batteries to put in my RoboFrog alarm clock, which I found during one of the recent cleaning frenzies. Annoying because they failed to make it work, which was probably why I put it aside in the first place. See, he's SO cute:
(from the one out-dated webpage I could find online)
and he used to say a bunch of funny lines in an Ah-nold/Terminator voice. Now he just says, "Al-lom SET!", no matter which way you flip the switch.
OHH WELLL x 2.
On the plus side, I FINALLY finished the last three t-shirts. It should have been the last two, but when MrMike saw me use the amazing modern technology of iron-on transfers you can print yourself, he talked me into making him his own custom T with pics of Diamondback, the new coaster under construction at King's Island in Ohio, which is his current favorite.
I may have unleashed a can of worms here. Although $10 for shirts he will cheerfully wear might not really be such a bad thing.
When last we met, I was getting ready to start painting on MrMike's new futon sofa bed. I don't know why, but somehow I had wildly imagined that two cans of spray paint would be plenty for this project.
Nope. Managed to cover three of the long slats. Man, that unfinished pine can really soak up the paint!
No prob. Wednesday was also supposed to be a nice day, weather-wise. So I got up early(ish) and went to town to buy a CAN of paint. Came home with a quart of Sunflower Yellow, which now decorates bits of both porches and has given me a new set of paint clothes.
It also gave me muscle spasms that night and most of the next day, which really kind of ticks me off anew at my body. You would think I would be used to it going all drama llama over what ought to be an easy, low energy activity. But I'm not used to it. I get grouchy and upset at its traitorous ways every time.
OHH WELLL.
Another annoying thing was that I finally got the right kind of batteries to put in my RoboFrog alarm clock, which I found during one of the recent cleaning frenzies. Annoying because they failed to make it work, which was probably why I put it aside in the first place. See, he's SO cute:
(from the one out-dated webpage I could find online)
and he used to say a bunch of funny lines in an Ah-nold/Terminator voice. Now he just says, "Al-lom SET!", no matter which way you flip the switch.
OHH WELLL x 2.
On the plus side, I FINALLY finished the last three t-shirts. It should have been the last two, but when MrMike saw me use the amazing modern technology of iron-on transfers you can print yourself, he talked me into making him his own custom T with pics of Diamondback, the new coaster under construction at King's Island in Ohio, which is his current favorite.
I may have unleashed a can of worms here. Although $10 for shirts he will cheerfully wear might not really be such a bad thing.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Catchup on your Tuesday?
The weekend disappeared on me, and I have surprisingly little postable goodness to show for it. But here's a few bits.
Friday I had to get up insanely early (7:30!) to call in for a doctor's appointment. They make me come in for routine blood checks every few months, and if I forget, they 'remind' me I need to do it if I want my med refills.
I chose the mid-afternoon one available, thinking I could then eat a bowl of Cheerios and still be in fasting compliance 6 hours later. But I outsmarted myself, because that's only a good amount of fasting for a couple of the tests. I ended up having to get up early AGAIN yesterday to get the other draw done!
The upside is that everything came back pretty much okay. Like my A1C test, which shows an average for your blood sugar levels for the past 3 months. Mine was at 6%, and the norm is 4-5.9%. Considering there was a road trip and two holidays in that time span, where I DID cheat a little, I think that's pretty good. Bite me, diabetes.
Friday was windy but warm, and the wind was from the NE, which let me finally attend to a chore. We had a big pile of ash and crud from where we dump out the burn barrel now and then. By raking it when the wind was right, I could pull out the few non-flammable chunks that had gotten in there, and let the somewhat soil-nutritious ash blow onto the lawnish area.
Not-our-pup Poppy thought this was GREAT. Every once in a while a big flake of unburned paper would go fluttering away, and she could CHASE it! Pup bliss. I like that game much better than the one where she runs loopily around in circles. The running is mostly harmless. But it's not much fun when she zooms in behind and crashs her shoulder against the back of my knee, dumping me on my ash.
Twice.
So I was sore and tired Friday evening and Saturday, and whiny about it. Also on Saturday, I dutifully attended a meeting of our sewer association (we have problems that are causing the City of Lamar problems as well, and we hope to mitigate them by selling out to The Man). Saturday evening we watched Wall-E from Netflix. (We all liked it, even MrMike, who is picky about such things.)
Sunday I felt a LITTLE better. With a great deal of help from MrMike, we finally got the tree down and put away for next This Season. The rest of Sunday, and Monday, I was doing bookbiz work and also trying to finish off other things hanging fire, like the last Artistic Gift Shirt, and communications with all my friends, and stuff like that.
Which brings me to my closing apology. My inbox was approaching almost 400 emails. Lots of these were LJ comments, or regular emails, that I had fully intended to reply to someday. But I went through them with my teeth gritted and threw away anything I figured people wouldn't even remember what any theoretical reply I might yet someday make was ABOUT at this late date.
So if you think some of those might have been from YOU, please know that I did answer them in my mind, inadequate as that may be. I'm trying to do better. Really.
Now I am off to start painting MrMike's new bed!
Friday I had to get up insanely early (7:30!) to call in for a doctor's appointment. They make me come in for routine blood checks every few months, and if I forget, they 'remind' me I need to do it if I want my med refills.
I chose the mid-afternoon one available, thinking I could then eat a bowl of Cheerios and still be in fasting compliance 6 hours later. But I outsmarted myself, because that's only a good amount of fasting for a couple of the tests. I ended up having to get up early AGAIN yesterday to get the other draw done!
The upside is that everything came back pretty much okay. Like my A1C test, which shows an average for your blood sugar levels for the past 3 months. Mine was at 6%, and the norm is 4-5.9%. Considering there was a road trip and two holidays in that time span, where I DID cheat a little, I think that's pretty good. Bite me, diabetes.
Friday was windy but warm, and the wind was from the NE, which let me finally attend to a chore. We had a big pile of ash and crud from where we dump out the burn barrel now and then. By raking it when the wind was right, I could pull out the few non-flammable chunks that had gotten in there, and let the somewhat soil-nutritious ash blow onto the lawnish area.
Not-our-pup Poppy thought this was GREAT. Every once in a while a big flake of unburned paper would go fluttering away, and she could CHASE it! Pup bliss. I like that game much better than the one where she runs loopily around in circles. The running is mostly harmless. But it's not much fun when she zooms in behind and crashs her shoulder against the back of my knee, dumping me on my ash.
Twice.
So I was sore and tired Friday evening and Saturday, and whiny about it. Also on Saturday, I dutifully attended a meeting of our sewer association (we have problems that are causing the City of Lamar problems as well, and we hope to mitigate them by selling out to The Man). Saturday evening we watched Wall-E from Netflix. (We all liked it, even MrMike, who is picky about such things.)
Sunday I felt a LITTLE better. With a great deal of help from MrMike, we finally got the tree down and put away for next This Season. The rest of Sunday, and Monday, I was doing bookbiz work and also trying to finish off other things hanging fire, like the last Artistic Gift Shirt, and communications with all my friends, and stuff like that.
Which brings me to my closing apology. My inbox was approaching almost 400 emails. Lots of these were LJ comments, or regular emails, that I had fully intended to reply to someday. But I went through them with my teeth gritted and threw away anything I figured people wouldn't even remember what any theoretical reply I might yet someday make was ABOUT at this late date.
So if you think some of those might have been from YOU, please know that I did answer them in my mind, inadequate as that may be. I'm trying to do better. Really.
Now I am off to start painting MrMike's new bed!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Cat invades weather broadcast - Film at 11!
"...But Germany’s star weatherman had little choice but to share the limelight with the studio cat when he wandered in for some feline fame in the middle of a prime-time broadcast...."
Weathercat lovers click here for video!
The cat's name is Lupin. Cherry on the cupcake!
Weathercat lovers click here for video!
The cat's name is Lupin. Cherry on the cupcake!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Going to a comix shop next week, by chance?
Please be advised I will curl up and DIE if I can't get a copy of THIS!
Lamar has no such enlightened establishment as a comix shop, so I have no way to go out and buy one of these myself.
If anyone reading this is going to be picking one up anyway, I'd sure appreciate it if you would try to get one for me as well. I'd be glad to pay for time or gas or the hassle of mailing or whatever, on top of the cost of the comic and postage. Just let me know if you might be able to -- all I actually need is one, so one helpful volunteer and MAYBE a safety back-up is plenty.
I kan haz? *looks at you all with BIG EYES*
Lamar has no such enlightened establishment as a comix shop, so I have no way to go out and buy one of these myself.
If anyone reading this is going to be picking one up anyway, I'd sure appreciate it if you would try to get one for me as well. I'd be glad to pay for time or gas or the hassle of mailing or whatever, on top of the cost of the comic and postage. Just let me know if you might be able to -- all I actually need is one, so one helpful volunteer and MAYBE a safety back-up is plenty.
I kan haz? *looks at you all with BIG EYES*
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Mom Mistake
Reading for content. It's such an important skill.
But it wasn't until I was looking over the part of Mike's learner's permit form *I* needed to fill out that I noticed the official part from the teacher was only good for 30 days. 30 days which were well past.
I went to the school and asked if the teacher could just fill out another one, but no. You know how all that legal jazz always works. So now Mike has to retake the written exam.
Happily, he took this set-back in stride. Once in a while, he actually acts OLDER than his age!
Which reminds me of a Mike story. In the interest of developing good hygiene habits, we let him pick his own deodorant. His choice is Axe spray-on. I thought it might be because of the TV ads where ladies go mildly insane over the men wafting this scent around. So one day I asked him casually if the ads were true and girls did like the smell.
He answered me with a comically irritated huff. "I can't be stopping in the hall to let girls sniff me! I have to get to class!"
He sounded just like he knew he SHOULD do this, noblesse oblige and all that, but he didn't want to because he KNEW it would turn into a bigger and bigger hassle over time.
Somehow I found it very relieving.
But it wasn't until I was looking over the part of Mike's learner's permit form *I* needed to fill out that I noticed the official part from the teacher was only good for 30 days. 30 days which were well past.
I went to the school and asked if the teacher could just fill out another one, but no. You know how all that legal jazz always works. So now Mike has to retake the written exam.
Happily, he took this set-back in stride. Once in a while, he actually acts OLDER than his age!
Which reminds me of a Mike story. In the interest of developing good hygiene habits, we let him pick his own deodorant. His choice is Axe spray-on. I thought it might be because of the TV ads where ladies go mildly insane over the men wafting this scent around. So one day I asked him casually if the ads were true and girls did like the smell.
He answered me with a comically irritated huff. "I can't be stopping in the hall to let girls sniff me! I have to get to class!"
He sounded just like he knew he SHOULD do this, noblesse oblige and all that, but he didn't want to because he KNEW it would turn into a bigger and bigger hassle over time.
Somehow I found it very relieving.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Mikes In The News
I know it won't surprise anyone to learn my little baby is growing up. That's what they do, after all.
I had to root around a bit, but I've now located his birth certificate. So this afternoon I will pick him up from school and we'll go to the Driver's License Office to get him his learner's permit.
He already has the form that says he passed the written test. They give those in Driver's Ed at school now. He had to take the test TEN times, but he stuck with it, scoring a little higher each time, until he got a passing grade. I've always said that if we could just get him to use his powers of stubbornness for Good, he'd be unstoppable.
I think we're going to start with driving around and around our circle drive. That will be a good, safe place to teach him to hit the brakes on command. :) After that, the empty acre out back can grow some tracks. Gradually.
I had to root around a bit, but I've now located his birth certificate. So this afternoon I will pick him up from school and we'll go to the Driver's License Office to get him his learner's permit.
He already has the form that says he passed the written test. They give those in Driver's Ed at school now. He had to take the test TEN times, but he stuck with it, scoring a little higher each time, until he got a passing grade. I've always said that if we could just get him to use his powers of stubbornness for Good, he'd be unstoppable.
I think we're going to start with driving around and around our circle drive. That will be a good, safe place to teach him to hit the brakes on command. :) After that, the empty acre out back can grow some tracks. Gradually.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Pieces of quiet
Nothing like a holiday to make you appreciate school starting up again. If you're a parent. :)
I'm having a nice, productive day so far, back in book-selling harness and planning the month ahead. I like Christmas, but I have to admit my favorite holiday is New Year's. Having a whole year stretching out in front of me, full of amazing possibilities, is better than presents in the present. Not to imply I dislike getting gifts.... That Would Be A Lie.
Before I get back to work, here's a cartoon that made me LOL.
I'm having a nice, productive day so far, back in book-selling harness and planning the month ahead. I like Christmas, but I have to admit my favorite holiday is New Year's. Having a whole year stretching out in front of me, full of amazing possibilities, is better than presents in the present. Not to imply I dislike getting gifts.... That Would Be A Lie.
Before I get back to work, here's a cartoon that made me LOL.
Still not organized
Got just a teeny smidge closer today, though, and that's something.
I'd feel a lot better if I could just finish Christmas. I had a clever plan to make some artistic shirts for a few lucky family members. There was this web site, see, which said all you need to make these great shirts was finesse.
I've complained about this guy before, haven't I?
The page with his tutorial is HERE. Gorgeous shirt, eh? I have come to realize that "finesse" probably equals a fabulously equipped studio and 30 years experience (plus beaucoup talent).
I think I am STARTING to get the hang of this process a little bit. My talent leans away from drawing towards photography, so I used pics as my basic images.
Remember the cat figure on the Royal Gorge carousel?
Here's the blinged out shirt version.
Cutting out the stencil turns out to be HARD. I think maybe there is a laser-y sort of thing that can be used for fine detail work...but I don't have one. So for doing faces on the shirt for my mom, I tried using some Photoshop posterizing and color twiddling.
(The dark bar across it is just a shadow from the window pane thingie.)
It's been kind of fun, but I guess I won't quit my day job (such as it is) just yet.
I'd feel a lot better if I could just finish Christmas. I had a clever plan to make some artistic shirts for a few lucky family members. There was this web site, see, which said all you need to make these great shirts was finesse.
I've complained about this guy before, haven't I?
The page with his tutorial is HERE. Gorgeous shirt, eh? I have come to realize that "finesse" probably equals a fabulously equipped studio and 30 years experience (plus beaucoup talent).
I think I am STARTING to get the hang of this process a little bit. My talent leans away from drawing towards photography, so I used pics as my basic images.
Remember the cat figure on the Royal Gorge carousel?
Here's the blinged out shirt version.
Cutting out the stencil turns out to be HARD. I think maybe there is a laser-y sort of thing that can be used for fine detail work...but I don't have one. So for doing faces on the shirt for my mom, I tried using some Photoshop posterizing and color twiddling.
(The dark bar across it is just a shadow from the window pane thingie.)
It's been kind of fun, but I guess I won't quit my day job (such as it is) just yet.
Friday, January 02, 2009
So much for good intentions and happies
Remember how I was doing that eight days of things that make you happy meme? Just barely? Yeah. Me, too. I had forgotten I was planning to zoom down to Dallas between Christmas and New Year's, which put a tiny crimp in my posting plans. It's nice to be able to at least do the minimum via Twitter, but still, that's not the same as real posting.
However, yesterday changed from a lazy holiday of minor catching up to another family extravaganza, because Sterling (The Trucker Who Rules The Mall) and grandgirlie Lexi got a chance to come through for a visit. During all that fun stuff, I discovered Mike has broken his cheap Wal-mart futon frame, which was a minor annoyance, but not unexpected or too hard to deal with. (Buying a new one from the same company where I got mine, sturdy American-made yellow pine with a 10 year guarantee!)
Much more peevish-making was the discovery that Mike, for his own Mikely reasons, re-set his computer's administration permissions to the Canadian Pacific Railway's authority. (As well as downloading Google Chrome. Why, *Deity, why??) No doubt fixable with the application of some time and research, but NOT what I was planning to do with my day!
Oh, well, if this was the worst thing to happen in 2009, I'd be the lucky skunk, right?
Well, back to work. But while I'm here, let me show you one of the sights that we HAD to stop and take a pic of, on the way back home from Texas. It's a sign for a roadside produce stand.
That actually DID make me happy!
However, yesterday changed from a lazy holiday of minor catching up to another family extravaganza, because Sterling (The Trucker Who Rules The Mall) and grandgirlie Lexi got a chance to come through for a visit. During all that fun stuff, I discovered Mike has broken his cheap Wal-mart futon frame, which was a minor annoyance, but not unexpected or too hard to deal with. (Buying a new one from the same company where I got mine, sturdy American-made yellow pine with a 10 year guarantee!)
Much more peevish-making was the discovery that Mike, for his own Mikely reasons, re-set his computer's administration permissions to the Canadian Pacific Railway's authority. (As well as downloading Google Chrome. Why, *Deity, why??) No doubt fixable with the application of some time and research, but NOT what I was planning to do with my day!
Oh, well, if this was the worst thing to happen in 2009, I'd be the lucky skunk, right?
Well, back to work. But while I'm here, let me show you one of the sights that we HAD to stop and take a pic of, on the way back home from Texas. It's a sign for a roadside produce stand.
That actually DID make me happy!
