In which I was born into a world that did not contain the word “blogger.”
I’m not going to call myself an early adapter because I’m not. But I have been blogging for about eight years now, and in spite of having lost a shitload of content over the years – server crashes, failed backups, my own stupidity – I find that when I log into my current CMS, it greets me with these statistics: “You have 1,617 posts, 11 pages, 49 drafts, contained within 71 categories and 217 tags. You have 5,688 total comments, 5,255 approved, 433 spam and 0 awaiting moderation.”
Yeah. That’s a lot of content.
I was trolling around on the ‘net today and watched a few minutes of this and thought, “So what. Pictures of kids. Who cares.”
And then I realized what I’d just thought.
I no longer look at images of young skinny things doing whatever it is that they do and identify with it. I no longer think I am one of them.
And then I thought, they can’t remember a world in which people didn’t keep millions of insipid, useless diaries on the web for all to see.
More privacy: none of us know our neighbors. Less privacy: we all hook up and break up and get fired on the Internet in front of the whole world. More privacy: we only post pictures of ourselves that we actually like, so our online-only friends think we’re prettier than we really are. Less privacy: WE POST PICTURES OF OURSELVES ON THE ‘NET.
Weird world, innit? Especially with this Internet thing. I truly do love it.
One day I’ll be a venerated old-school blogger, tolerated by the kids only because I’ve been doing it for so long. Imagine that.
In other news, I hope you’re all getting whatever it is that you need from the holiday: time off, time alone, time with loved ones, a new Wii, both the drumsticks, whatever. Big love.
In which white Christmases are neato, but my feet are cold.
This being-snowed-in crap is starting to get a little old.
They sent us home from work early on Thursday. Friday, I worked from the front room and never even got properly dressed. Saturday night I actually left the house for the first time in 48 hours – went out with Teh BF and my bro for a few hours – but Sunday I was home all day. (G’ma threw a little party Sunday evening though; it was really fun.) Now it’s Monday and I’m working from the front room again, and the phones are dead. I think I’ve taken four calls in 45 minutes.
At least I’m getting some knitting done.
In which twitter got me yesterday afternoon off!
I follow the U-B on twitter, and noticed while at work yesterday afternoon that they’d posted an article about the city wanting people off the streets due to the extreme weather.
So I texted the article link to everyone at work – including management – and within fifteen minutes they’d closed the office and sent everyone home! Those of us with broadband connections were invited to take our VoIP phones with us and finish the work day from our home offices. (Most of our tools are accessible with a web browser, so to work from home all we really need to do is plug in a VoIP phone and open some browser tabs. I’m also running LogMeIn for access to the few things I really need on my work box, like the SSH tunnel to the POP server.)
We all piled out of the office into the snow. Bindu and I jumped into Teh BF’s car and he surfed us to Loney’s, where I bought some veggies and a loaf of bread and picked up stamps for G’ma. The snow at that point was well over a foot deep and still coming down. Kaje dropped us off in front of our house and then left to see if he could get into his own driveway.
I set up my VoIP phone in the front room and logged in. I made a few callbacks and then sat around for awhile before realizing there were no incoming calls. Snooping revealed that there was no one else logged into the queue. I IMed a couple of the supervisors and got no response. Finally, I called the office with my cell… and discovered that we were closed until Friday morning!
So I clocked off and spent the evening playing with my iThing, eating too many cookies, and watching Stardust with the family. (It was a lovely little heartwarming fairy tale, and DeNiro as a pouf was hilarious.) Then I laid in bed with my dog, watching episodes of Firefly (thanks, bro!) on my iThing until about two in the morning.
Then I slept. Apparently I slept weird, because I woke up with my back and neck all fucked up. (Stupid ancient bed with a ditch in the middle! I really need to get myself a futon or something; sleeping in sprung beds is hurting me because I’m so old now.) I did a couple rounds of sun salutations this morning and they helped, but sitting in this old chair in front of the computer isn’t helping. I downed an Advil before lunch – I made veggie fried rice – and it’s helped some, but I think I might take another.
Working from home is hella charming. I’ve really never done it before; when I was in engineering at an ISP in Iowa I couldn’t get bandwidth out at my house so I never really did much from home other than reboot web servers.
There is snow everywhere and the city apparently isn’t very well equipped to deal with the roads under these conditions. I’m enjoying working from home today – in my pajamas! – and might do so again on Monday if we really do get the additional six inches they’re threatening.
It’s snowing right now, for the record.
I chatted with Teh BF earlier and he’s all kinds of behind in his Xmas shopping. So is my G’ma, and so am I. I think most of us thought we’d just run a few quick errands here and there… and then we got this crazy weather and none of us have been anywhere since. If we get hit with another storm tomorrow, I think a lot of people will be getting rain checks on some of their Christmas gifts!
For more Walla Walla Blizzard ’08 pics, check out the Your Walla Walla Flickr pool.
In which it’s winter. And slow at work. And I can walk! (Oh, wait, I already could walk. Yeah. It’s that I can see! Yeah, I can see! It’s a miracle! A five hundred dollar miracle!)
I overheard the moms in the office saying that the schools will be closed tomorrow… due to the weather.
The weather that has been here now for three days. Ahem.
The roads and parking lots are slowly being plowed. There doesn’t appear to be any sand or de-icer down anywhere yet, so everything is still completely treacherous. The busses and cops and ambulances are all running chains.
Right now, it’s 2 degrees out and there’s a winter storm watch in effect.
I never thought I’d have anything really good to say about the city of Fairfield, but I’ll tell you what: when you live there, you don’t wait three days after the sky dumps a foot of snow on the ground to see the damn tractors out!
Work was hideously slow today, so I made this, this, this, and this. During my lunch break our network went down for nearly an hour, so no VoIP calls, no surfing, and no control panel. Fun times.
Yesterday, I picked up my new glasses. I can see really, really well through them. It’s wonderful.
Today, I picked up my new contacts. I can see really, really well through them. It’s wonderful.
Did you know that you can buy contact lens solutions on the cheap if you get them directly from your optician? Well, I didn’t! Not until today, when I purchased a box containing a bottle of conditioning solution, a bottle of cleaner, a contact lens case, and 4 liquid enzyme cleaners – for only $8.49! At the store all of that would cost over $25. I’m astonished! And pleased!
And also pissed off, because it means that in the twenty years I’ve been wearing contacts I’ve paid much, much more than I should have for Boston solutions. Gah.
In which we consider our data-syncing options.
Once upon a time, an iPod could be used as an external USB hard drive; all you had to do was tick a check box in iTunes and from then on you could plug your trusty iPod into any computer and use it as a thumb drive. Great for hauling files and applications around in your pocket.
Now the iPod’s file system type has changed so the iPod no longer mounts as a disk drive. The pod itself has gone from being primarily an MP3 player to being a full-fledged PDA: we find that now that disk drive utility is truly needed, it’s gone.
Enter a host of syncing applications and solutions. The pod itself has great built-in Mail, Calendar, and Contacts applications, but they won’t natively sync to web-based content. There’s no built-in file utility, either, so you can’t put your Office documents on it. You can sync some functions through iTunes to local installations of Outlook, but who uses a single installation of Outlook any more?
The problem on the table is this: how do I sync my content to my iPod Touch?
Let me count the ways:
1. I can’t. I use the Google application (essentially just a bunch of shortcuts to mobile Google content on the web) to view web-based documents, contacts, and calendar items.
This solution is clean, but it sucks for two reasons: you can’t view your Calendar if you’re not at a hotspot, and you don’t get to utilize the iPod Touch’s built-in applications, which are adorably cute.
2. I sync my iPod to iTunes, iTunes to Outlook, and Outlook to Gmail using Plaxo.
Gack. This is the mess I’ll probably settle on, because I already use iTunes and I already have a Plaxo account, but can you say clusterfuck? Any chain with that many links in it is bound to fail miserably at some point.
3. Use Apple’s MobileMe.
MobileMe is a service that allows you to keep your files on a web server, and then access them from any web-connected browser and your iThing.
It has a cute little web interface where you can upload files and images, music and movies. It has a cute little iPod app that lets you view that same content – cached, even, so you can view previously-viewed content – offline. It opens Office docs, PDFs, and other file types. It syncs your Contacts and even your email (although why you’d want that, I have no idea
…aaaaaaand it costs $99 a year. For very little storage space. And it doesn’t do anything that Google and Plaxo don’t do for free.
What I really want is some genius to write a Google sync application that allows two-way synching between my iPod Touch apps and my remote Google services. (I suppose I’d want the same thing for Plaxo, AOL, Yahoo!, etc if I were nicer, but I’m not. I use Gmail.) You can sync (one-way only) your Google calendar through iTunes, but what good is a one-way calendar sync?
Argh. It’s so hard to be in love with a product that won’t do what you need. Except that it’s THE CUTEST DEVICE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD OMGWTFBBQ!!!1!
In which I post again about bentÅ-making, because it’s all I think about lately.
I woke up at four this morning and immediately started thinking about what I’d make for today’s bentÅs. Literally! Four in the damn morning! I laid there in the dark in my blanket-cocoon, and went through all the possible combinations of foods I have in the house. I finally settled on a breakfast theme and went back to sleep.
I got up at nine and started the sticky rice. Then I made a 3-egg omelet (eggs, milk, dill, shredded cheddar). Then I rummaged through the fridge for random veggie elements: carrots, pickles, celery, leaf lettuce…
Down to the freezer in the basement to grab some frozen peas and a few veggie sausage links, back upstairs to turn off the burners under the rice and omelet pans. Slice, shape, arrange. Find some cute candies. Fill the onigiri mold. Cut the omelet into squares. Fry the onigiri, brush them with soy sauce. Throw them in the freezer to cool while I go shower and get dressed.
This is the third morning in a row I got up early to make bentÅs. Yes, that’s plural: I’ve been making them for gibblesnix and Left Coast Girlie, too.
Tuesday, it was maki sushi. Wednesday, it was onigiri and chili. Today it was omelet and sausage links.
Just in case you were thinking about getting a food hobby obsession of your own: the best part of food hobby obsession is feeding the results to unsuspecting people in the office where you work!
I just can’t stop with the food hobby. It’s too fun. It’s also a lot like cooking, which I totally enjoy.
In which I didn’t get dilated, but I did get lectured.
For breakfast I had two soft-boiled eggs and toast with tea. I was going to bathe after, but it was too late by then so I ran upstairs and got dressed. I grabbed my Christmas cards and my knitting, clicked to my dog, and ran out the door with Bindu on my heels.
…aaaaand I left my bento box on the counter. Damn.
I drove my brother’s pickup downtown, and got rockstar parking right in front of the building. I went in, signed the forms I’d already submitted electronically, and paid for my exam in advance.
Then I was called into the back, where I put my chin on tissue paper and pressed my forehead against the bar at about five different machines. Then I was seated in The Chair. The doctor’s assistant came in and asked me a bunch of questions focusing closely on the floaters – I assured her I hadn’t torn a retina and that it was all cool. The doctor came in and blinded me with a light brighter than the sun for awhile, and said things like, “Nice.” and “Good blood vessels!” Then he said, “How long have you had that–” and I interrupted, “It’s a mole. I’ve had it forever.” I need to get the thing removed because it always gets the optometrists excited, like I’ve got eyelash cancer or something. It’s a mole. On my lower eyelid. Do we have to discuss it? It’s gross enough as it is!
Then they walked my light-blind ass down the hall and pointed at a counter; I took my contacts out. The assistant put me on yet another machine (aaaaand I’m still not color blind, k thx bai). Back in the examination room, the doctor looked at my eyes yet again. Then he located my new prescription (“1, or 2? D, or E?”), and afterward I followed the assistant to yet another machine for topography.
My new contacts will be in by the end of the week and they’ll cost $75 each. (I’ll probably wear them for 5 or 6 years before replacing them again, so it’s a screaming deal really.) And when I get them, I will be able to see things! From a distance! On purpose! How hard will THAT rock?!
They didn’t threaten me with dilation, and I didn’t ask for it. Considering how long the good doctor stared at the back of my eyeballs with a laser, I think I’m okay for at least another year.
When the assistant asked me if I wanted new glasses I said yes, so she handed me a paper with the total damage for the gas permeable contact lenses (plus superfun $90 fitting fee) and led me to a room full of frames. She pointed at a few sections and said they were women’s frames, said she’d send someone to me, and flapped off in her nurse’s scrub top.
I started checking out frames. They’re all square these days, and smaller than I ever thought I could wear. The ones I chose are almost exactly what I’d envisioned this morning when I was thinking about frames – they’re basically tortoiseshell, because brown is my favorite color, but they’ve got bright teal too so they’re fun. Here’s the link. They’re “fairly inexpensive,” per the optician. I did not choose either of the $300 frames that I’d thought were cute.
There was another pair of black frames that I might go back for; there’s no reason not to have more than one pair of glasses, and SINCE I STILL DON’T NEED BIFOCALS they can pull the lenses right off the shelf and cut them to fit any frames I want pretty much on the spot.
So, yeah: I might end up with more than one pair of glasses, depending on how much I like these when I get them in a day or two.
The optician who fitted me congratulated me on my first pair of new glasses in twenty years, and then gave me a rather deeply paternal lecture listing the negative long-term effects of improper tear absorption caused by contacts. Okay, okay, okay, lecture noted: no more wearing contacts for more than 12 hours. I promise.
He then turned himself into my personal ‘if the world ends’ go-to guy, because he revealed he’d been collecting antiquated optical equipment and was hand-making glasses in his free time. I’ve always been concerned about the end of the world for one reason and one reason alone: what if the world ends and then I break my only glasses? Well, now I know: I could go find this guy, and he could make me new ones in his garage. Even without power. He assures me that he can do the math.
What a relief! Seriously. What good is someone who consumes resources but can’t even stand watch? I’ve always worried about this vision thing, in terms of its impact on my personal survival of the next dinosaur-killer.
In which there’s, like, not much.
Apparently my brain is broken. I mean, I’m doing stuff – making bentos, knitting a hat, doing Xmas shopping online – but I can’t think of a single thing to write about. All my creativity is going into my tweets, I guess… there is a lot to be said for brevity (pun intended).
This dearth of stuff to write might be due to what I’m reading, which is pretty much nothing. In the past week I’ve consumed few nice sci-fi shorts and some cheesy erotica, but not enough to get my brain going. (I can tell I’m not reading enough when my in-use vocabulary drops to twelve single-syllable words.)
In keeping with the aimless, disjointed tenor of this entry, here are a few unrelated items:
– I want to buy a tiny little Christmas tree and hang tiny little lights and tiny little ornaments on it, and then plug it in and stare at it. For about nine hours. In the dark. With a cup of hot chocolate. Yeah.
– I need to figure out something to bring for the potluck tomorrow. Suggestions, anyone?
– Since I can no longer read anything more than ten feet away, I’ve decided it’s time for new contacts and some glasses. I have an eye appointment on Monday. It’ll probably take about two hours because I’m 40 and have astigmatism and floaters, which means A FULL EXAM WITH PRESSURE TEST AND DILATION. I seriously hate having my eyes dilated, but I’ll get to pick new frames for the first time in twenty years.
– It’s so slow at work today that I can barely keep my eyes open. But I’ve noticed that if I pick up my knitting, the phone will ring within eight stitches.
– Freaked out about the number of hits I get from people googling “my little pony porn,” I googled it myself. And it’s this. Naw, just kidding! It’s actually a game where you try to determine if a name belongs to either a My Little Pony item or a porn star. While I understand why my site is the first hit when people google the phrase (because GOOGLE IS MY BOYFRIEND), what I can’t figure out is why everyone’s googling it IN THE FIRST DAMN PLACE.
In which it’s like I’m turning over a new leaf or something, what with all the being organized and shit.
This is how on top of the holiday game I am:
I had my Christmas letter written yesterday, when it was still November! I have created a Christmas card list! I have purchased over half of the gifts I need! Tomorrow, since I have the day off, I’ll probably dig the box of santas out of the attic and help G’ma decorate the house.
Superfreaky, yo. I’m all in the Xmas spirit, bitches.
In other news, last night I got my knit on while watching Doctor Who1 and eating insanity bread2 on Teh BF’s couch. Using some of the yarn she gave me, I started this hat for him. Yay!
—
1 We’ve watched all of seasons 1, 2, and 4 of the new Doctor Who, and have only two episodes left of season 3 and then we have NO. WHO. LEFT.
We’ve also watched all of the Torchwood episodes, so we’re kinda freaking the fuck out because what delicious Brit sci-fi will we watch next?
2 Insanity bread is an invention of Teh BF’s involving frying slices of French bread in olive oil and butter, rubbing them with raw garlic, and topping them with brie and sliced tomato and avocado. It’s hella good and it looks like this.
In which I had a Thursday off.
On Thanksgiving I did the following:
Slept in.
Got up.
Hung out with Sue & Blue.
Demonstrated my iThing for my aunt Sue.
Showered.
Got dressed.
Rode to Dave & Reva’s in my bro’s truck.
Ate black olives. A lot of them!
Had a glass of white wine.
Took cell phone pictures.
Ate a couple of deviled eggs.
Filled my plate.
Ate.
Visited with family.
Played with my iThing.
Had more white wine.
Went home.
Charged my iThing.
Napped.
Went bowling with my bro and teh BF.
Bowled a 169 game!
Went to the Blue.
Had two cocktails with my BF.
Went home.
Tried to go to bed.
Got up and had a smoke with my brother.
Went back to bed.
I am of course thankful for my family, my friends, my health, and my job, but mainly I’m thankful for the fact that in the weeks leading up to yesterday I was neither a turkey, a pig, nor a lamb.
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