No knitting content...

Oh, that was awful. I just accidentally posted this to the Yarn Yard Club blog. My apologies to anyone who subscribes to that. AAARGH. Sorry. Blech. But I did figure out why I couldn't put a title on my post ... and I'm leaving the nutty comments about how I can't at the bottom of this one, just so anyone who reads it can laugh at me!

I love the IgNobel awards. I love geek humor. (I really enjoy economist jokes, too.)

But this winner of an IgNobel award is simply an example of what happens to a certain kind of human being after surviving a close-encounter with a grizzley bear. Nope, this isn't the guy who decided that bears were wonderful and after camping peacefully in their midst for many years ended up dinner. This is the guy who decided that nobody should have to be afraid of a grizzley.

Allow me to suggest that you watch the following three clips from YouTube in the order presented, and then read the article at the end. The guy's a hero, yes, but...well, you'll see.

Make sure you can hear the sound with this. You'll be convinced that this is not a viable solution.
Watch me first.

Then you'll be impressed with the improvements:
Watch me second.

And finally, this is what it has come to. Watch for the clock.
Watch me last.

Here's the article that alerted me to this unbelievable feat of invention:
Inventor touts Robocop-style armour for use in Iraq

When I talk about the human spirit, this is the kind of thing I'm talking about.

Oh, and I discovered this link this week. Neil Gaiman's web journal.

Oh, and did I mention that I gave in and bought Knit Visualizer? Yep. Worth every penny.

And I have somehow managed to lose the ability to give my post a title. Huh? There used to be a place to put the title. Blech. I gotta move this blog to my own server...

I did it!

Bwa ha ha ha HA!

I have succeeded in putting my blogroll on my sidebar.

You see, I'm a computer programmer. And after spending my whole day programming, I find I don't spend much time learning non-job-oriented technical stuff anymore. I blamed it on not having enough time until a co-worker re-kindled my love of knitting last year and I've miraculously found plenty of time to knit. Obviously this has nothing to do with time and everything to do with really not being interested enough.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Go check out Bloglines. I use it to keep track of when the blogs I read have been updated. This is really important to me, since I had taken to creating favorites shortcuts for all the blogs I wanted to read, and then I'd go through the list whenever I had a chance to catch up on my blogs. Well...that didn't work. A couple of my favorite bloggers disappeared for months at a time. I started to be unhappy with people when they didn't blog every day, even though I never do and can't imagine that I ever will. I'd get lost in blogs that did update every day but posted so much information that I couldn't keep up.

Yep. My spoilee from Secret Pal 9 turned me onto this. Viral Marketing Works.

This just tickles my fancy

This blog is called Running from Camera. "The rules are simple: I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can." I love these pictures!

And Cathy who sent the most amazing stuff in the swap package she sent me has made a lovely felted bag after worrying that the yarn wouldn't felt.

Meanwhile, I've been on a texture kick. I think maybe this will be a small bag. Maybe it will be a pair of trivets. I really haven't decided.

I promised you a picture

After deciding that absolutely under no circumstances would I ever want a pair of fingerless gloves, I concluded I just couldn't live without them and made these. I designed them myself, and the hardest part of them was that I couldn't knit them both at the same time. Well, I could have, but I didn't realize that when I started, so I didn't.

They're mirror images of each other - one pattern is a right-twist cable and the other is a left-twist cable. And the yarn was a hand-dyed camel (no, I don't know if it's the one-hump or two kind) blend clearance item off ebay from the Motomo gallery.

These are lovely and now I can keep them at work where I need them, because I don't have to remember to bring them home so I can photograph them!

This is Good

I've actually got stuff to show. I've got photos on my computer to be uploaded. I just...am not up to it right now. I actually feel like I'm coming down with something nasty.

But this is important. I really don't want to lose this link. This is a really, really great video of continental knitting technique. If you knit continental and would be impressed at an opportunity to refine your technique, or just want to understand how continental knitting works and what could possibly make it particularly efficient, this is for you. This is a continental knitting demo. (Both links go to the same place.)

I'll get the thing in my sidebar under important stuff, eventually.