This is what makes Google Ads Creepy

Ok, so part 3 of the booties needs to be un-done and replaced. The shaping mistake was obvious once I got a normal pair of socks and applied my brain. But at the moment, I've got a completely different issue. This is a public complaint. I hope you laugh.

Google Ads on sites make those sites creepy. But this morning's experience made me realize it's not always creepy - just sometimes.

For example, if I go shopping at a computer store, like TigerDirect, or a big national company, like Sears, I expect the targeted ads later. It makes sense they would spend a silly amount of money trying to convince me to purchase something I already bought from them or somewhere else, or that I decided not to purchase after all. They're even amusing when they're for something I was researching for my father or a friend.

Actually, I've discovered this is a reliable way to reinforce my impression of a company. "Why is that company showing me drapes? Oh, yeah, they were waaaaaaayyyyyy too expensive. I'm definitely *not* buying drapes from them, and I'm going to think twice about their prices on other items in the future."

If I were in marketing for one of those companies, I would want to fix that.

But there are some companies I wouldn't expect to show me ads on national sites. It just wouldn't occur to me that they'd be big enough to put their marketing dollars into such a thing. So when a friend of mine sent me a meme photo this morning, the advertising I got struck me as particularly creepy.

Here's the first thing this ad made me think: "Is this the reason I had sticker shock when I saw the price of their garlic a few days ago?" Sure, I have since found a more reasonably priced source with the additional benefit of not advertising in unexpected places. This ad has done me the favor of reminding me I need to buy garlic ASAP, before the site I intend to purchase from runs out of reasonably-priced garlic. Why don't I think that was the intention of the ad?

Meanwhile, my husband received a mailer from google the other day offering him a discount off those ads. His reaction? He imagined a YouTube video with the punchline being a google ad shaking its finger at a businessman saying something along the lines of, "Bad business owner! Behave yourself and buy our advertising!"

Hmmm. I may find all of this really creepy, but I suppose I should be happy they haven't gotten to the point of anticipating what I want before I go shopping for it. I know those days are coming. Maybe they'll be less intrusive. The trick is for me not to notice them.

I wonder if I'm actually asking for subliminal advertising so I don't notice it? That would be creepy, wouldn't it?

I think I'll go back to my booties. I'm in control of that. That makes me happy.

An Adventure in Bear Booties - Part 3

In case you were wondering where I've been, I've been pondering.

But I think I've got it figured out, so here goes.

The last row was a purl row. Turn, but use the cable cast on to loosely add 10 stitches.

(The cable cast on is like knitting on, but instead of knitting into the stitch, you knit between the stitches.)

Row 44: Slip 1, knit 53

Turn, and use a purl version of the cable cast on to loosely add another 10 stitches.

Row 45: slip 1, purl 63

skp = slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over.

Row 46: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 42, k2tog, knit9
Row 47: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 61 stitches
Row 48: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 40, k2tog, knit9
Row 49: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 59 stitches
Row 50: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 38, k2tog, knit9
Row 51: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 57 stitches
Row 52: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 36, k2tog, knit9
Row 53: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 55 stitches
Row 54: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 34, k2tog, knit9
Row 55: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 53 stitches
Row 56: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 32, k2tog, knit9
Row 57: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 51 stitches
Row 58: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 30, k2tog, knit9
Row 59: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 49 stitches
Row 60: Turn, slip 1, knit 8, skp, knit 28, k2tog, knit9
Row 61: Turn, slip 1, purl remaining 47 stitches

Ok. Time for another fitting.

An adventure in Bear Booties - Part 2

I think this is going to work. As far as I've gotten, I've gotten over the claw.

It was a little surprising to find that our stuffed bear has really long claws, since they're completely obscured by his fur.

This is obviously not a teddy bear!

So, continuing on from where we left off, we are now technically about to start Round 16. For this foot, this will be the last round we knit.

Round 16: Knit 14, cast of 20, knit to end of row (which will be the remaining 14 from this round, plus the 14 we just knit in this round.

Always slip the stitch as if to purl.

Row 17: Turn, slip first stitch and purl to end. (Total number of stitches = 28)
Row 18: Turn, slip first stitch and knit to end.
Row 19: Turn, slip first stitch and purl to end.
Row 20: Turn, slip first stitch and knit to end.
Row 21: Turn, slip first stitch and purl to end.
Row 22: Turn, slip first stitch and knit to end.
Row 23: Turn, slip first stitch and purl to end.
Row 24: Turn, slip first stitch and knit to end.
Row 25: Turn, slip first stitch and purl to end.
Row 26: Turn, slip first stitch and knit to end.
Row 27: Turn, slip first stitch and purl to end.

In the next section I use an increase called a make one. If you're unfamiliar with make one left and make one right, this video shows how to make it and what it's good for.

Row 28: Turn, slip first stitch, knit1 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit2.
Row 29: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (30 stitches).
Row 30: Turn, slip first stitch, knit2 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit3.
Row 31: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (32 stitches).
Row 32: Turn, slip first stitch, knit3 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit4.
Row 33: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (34 stitches).
Row 34: Turn, slip first stitch, knit4 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit5.
Row 35: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (36 stitches).
Row 36: Turn, slip first stitch, knit5 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit6.
Row 37: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (38 stitches).
Row 38: Turn, slip first stitch, knit6 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit7.
Row 39: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (40 stitches).
Row 40: Turn, slip first stitch, knit7 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit8.
Row 41: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (42 stitches).
Row 42: Turn, slip first stitch, knit8 make1(left) knit 24 make1(right) knit9.
Row 43: Turn, slip first stitch, purl to end (44 stitches).

Tomorrow, Bear gets another fitting.

An adventure in Bear Booties.

I haven't said anything here in ages. I'm inventing a pair of booties for a stuffed bear who has one foot firmly glued to a stand.

I figure I might as well blog my attempt.

Foot circumference: 13 1/2" (converts to a diameter or approx 4 1/3")
Foot length: 9"
Heel height: 4"
Cuff height: 3"

measurements forgotten - length of foot before leg, circumference of leg.

Materials: Red Heart Worsted, size 10 circular knitting needles.

kfb = knit in the front and the back of the loop.

I use the magic loop method for this. (If you're a visual learner, like I am, turn the sound down and start at the 45 second mark.)

Starting at the toe:
Cast on 4 stitches - 2 on each needle. This is a good way to do it, even though that's a painfully slow video.

Round 1: kfb in each stitch (4x total. 8 stitches total. 4 per needle)
Round 2: kfb, k1 four times (12 stitches total, 6 per needle)
Round 3: kfb, k2 four times (16 sts total, 8 per needle)
Round 4: kfb, k3 four times (20 sts total, 10 per needle)
Round 5: kfb, k4 four times (24 sts total, 12 per needle)
Round 6: kfb, k5 four times (28 sts total, 14 per needle)
Round 7: kfb, k6 four times (32 sts total, 16 per needle)
Round 8: kfb, k7 four times (26 sts total, 18 per needle)
Round 9: kfb, k8 four times (40 sts total, 20 per needle)
Round 10: kfb, k9 four times (44 sts total, 22 per needle)
Round 11: kfb, k10 four times (48 sts total, 24 per needle)

At this point, my toe measures something less than 4" across all scrunched up, and I can stretch it out a lot.

Knit 4 rows around. Stop until I can try this on the glued-down foot.

Happy Knitting!

Very Interesting Video Stuff

If you use Google's Chrome web browser, this music video is quite, well, disturbing, actually. Put in an address and be prepared to feel considerably less private. I didn't put in an address that actually connected to anything personal of my own, but of a location I've known for years, and was quite disturbed by it.

The Wilderness Downtown


Disturbing in a different way, here's a mash-up of a video belonging to one decade and a song belonging to a completely different decade.

Justin Timberlake Ice Ice Baby


Enjoy!

Geek Sock-Knitter's Heaven

Tomorrow night I will watch a live video stream of the IgNobel Prize Ceremonies.

From today's Mini-Air:

2010-09-05 Ig Details

Ten new Ig Nobel Prize winners will be announced. Almost all will be at the ceremony. Several Nobel Laureates will hand them their Ig Nobel Prizes.

The ceremony will also include...

Keynote lecturer (for 60 seconds) RICH LOSICK.

24/7 Lecturers NEIL GAIMAN, TOSHIYUKI NAKAGAKI, MARY ELLEN DAVEY.

The premiere of "THE BACTERIAL OPERA", about the bacteria who live on a woman's front tooth, and about that woman. Features a cast of trillions.

Musicians EVELYN EVELYN, AMANDA PALMER, JASON WEBLEY, NICK CARSTOIU, and DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT.

Past Ig Nobel Prize winners TOSHIYUKI NAKAGAKI and ATSUSHI TERO (slime mold can solve puzzles); ELENA BODNAR (invention of a bra that converts into 2 protective face masks); DON FEATHERSTONE (creation of the plastic pink flamingo); KEES MOELIKER (homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck); and CHRISTOPHER CHABRIS (people can overlook anything - even a woman in a gorilla suit)

... and much more.

DETAILS: http://improbable.com/ig/2010

WHO'S WHO: http://improbable.com/ig/2010/ignitaries/index.html

OPERA CAST: http://improbable.com/ig/2010/ignitaries/index.html

What does this have to do with sock knitting?

Ah. Well, there's the video with the only partially misleading title:


And the article.

Jonathan Coulton Rocks Northhampton

Last night Jonathan Coulton rocked at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. You should go to tonight's concert. Before he gets too big and you can't get tickets for love or money.

Somerville Theater – Somerville, MA
Friday July 23 at 7:30 PM
Tickets

The new music is really great, it rocks, and his band is absolutely top-notch. I think I could make out most of the words and the songs seem to be up to his standards, as well. I look forward to getting my hands on the album so I can enjoy the lyrics and hear the nuances in the music. It would seem to be all there - the whole Coulton package.

I'd really like to know how the band liked having a room full of people sing, "All we wanna do is eat your brains" at them. That might not have seemed too odd to John Flansburgh, since he might be a giant. But the other guy, Chris Anderson, was both a truly fine musician *and* really funny. (There was some ribbing about sweating on stage, and he played his part just right.) I have no idea what he thought of a room full of zombie singers - it would've been neat to get a reaction.

So here's the thing. If I could tell him what he should be doing with his stage show as he busts out into the really big time, I'd tell him to be more like Garth Brooks and less like Weird Al Yankovic, even though I'd bet his music appeals more to the Weird Al fan than the Garth Brooks fan.

Why do I say this?

• I will never go to another Weird Al concert without earplugs.
• Garth Brooks talks a lot more between songs *and to the audience* than Weird Al.

(If Garth Brooks played his concert as loud as Weird Al does, you couldn't hear the commentary anyhow, so there would be no point.)

Maybe I misunderstood him, but I thought he was telling us he wished he wasn't talking to the audience so much and that he wants to ditch his acoustic guitar completely. He wants to ROCK. And he's good at it. He could do exactly that.
But if you look at Garth Brooks' career, you have to see that a musician doesn't have to go the all-music very-little-intro route to whip an audience into a glorious, happy, screaming frenzy.

JoCo is on the verge of the big time and I'm cheering for him. I want him to get his rock-n-roll dream. He deserves it, and his music is considerably better than most of the stuff out there on the charts. He's not going to disappoint me, even if he never writes another song like one of my favorites, "I'm your Moon." I'm just afraid he's going make me miss him when he's standing right in front of me.

He's so great. You gotta go see him.

Cooking Fail

So, I joined a CSA this spring and spent a silly amount of time trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of beets a week.

I got all giddy when I picked up a bunch of fresh basil in May.

And I even got good at making stir-fry to use the garlic scapes in my share as well as the huge pile of garlic scapes in my own garden. (I decided I'd better eat them or sell them when I noticed them for sale at $2.50 per quarter pound at a local farmer's market!)

Tasty, I must admit.

But my one downfall is the pot luck. It just kills me every time. If I have a successful delivery of food, it has still taken the life out of me.

This time I brought a dip - it was supposed to be a salad.

Allow me to explain.

I started with a recipe in Saveur magazine. Someone recently brought baked beans from a recipe out of the magazine and they were so good, I decided I'd subscribe to the magazine for one year only so I could get some interesting recipes. This was a successful strategy by most counts.

But, you know, I couldn't find the tabbouleh I needed for the tabbouleh salad I wanted to bring, and since I really needed to use up the mint in my garden, I figured the recipe would be good as a couscous salad, so I forged ahead.

The basic idea of the recipe is 1/3 parts fresh mint to 1 part fresh parsley, finely chopped. Add the same amount of finely chopped chives. To this they add cinnamon, allspice, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. This is mixed into the cooked tabbouleh. This is very similar to a recipe I've used for couscous in the past, but I didn't have much time this time, and I tried to use the food processor to mince the herbs.

In retrospect, I suspect my problem was that I was trying to use the small food processor, but I'm not sure. In order to get it all to actually process, I ended up throwing in the couscous. If I'd just thrown in the olive oil and wine vinegar (no lemon juice in the house either), it probably would've worked just fine. But I threw in the couscous as well and ended up bringing a rather heavily olive-oil flavored dip.

It wasn't bad, actually. It just wasn't what I was trying for.

I really ought to stick with picking up a batch of brownies at the grocery store. They're always such a hit...

I should know better

I have a good life. Although I'm feeling more than a little behind the eight-ball at the moment, I love my job, my family, and my friends.

And sometimes I do things I have learned the hard way that I do not want to do. I'm talking about clicking on that link at the top of blogger blogs that says "next blog."

The last time I did that, I ended up at the last post of a blog of someone who was blogging his cancer experience. His sister was kind enough to let the world know how horrible his last twenty-four hours had been. And I had to read a little more to see for myself just how a person's psyche deals (or doesn't) with having the body disintegrate.

But that was several years ago, and I got curious, so I went random blog surfing. After the first few blogs filled mostly with pictures of craft projects and photography I dropped in on a blog belonging to a woman who was recently unemployed (again), going through a nasty divorce and had recently discovered a bomb under her car. Of course I had to read all the details about how the county doesn't have much money, so the bomb won't be checked for fingerprints for about six months, since she was neither killed nor injured. I don't know - something about the whole thing just made my brain go bbbbzzzzzzpt. You'd think I was looking for something disturbing to read.

As a matter of fact, I get plenty of disturbing stuff by just passively opening my email. Here's a link to a really creepy guy that a friend sent me. Ugh!

But there is some really good stuff on the web. Stuff that makes me feel better. Stuff that makes me laugh.

Franklin has been having experiences at O'Hare Airport. I'm feeling much better now. In fact, I feel a little bit as though I just ate some chocolate.

I think I'm going to go check up on my friend who's knitting his first scarf. That makes me smile too.

Some Days I'm too Geeky for Words

This guy has figured out how to use his theremin to play the voice part in Guitar Hero.

This guy talks about how the theremin works using a different style of theremin.

Ah, fascinating stuff!

And all I did was start off looking to send this one to a friend...

What's Up?

Since my last post I've had another birthday. This is a good thing. People I cared about started dying shortly after my last birthday, starting with my mother. I feel as though I'm getting a fresh start. As far as I'm concerned, the rest of you are alive and likely to stay that way. Please don't disillusion me. I prefer you alive.

For my birthday, my sweetheart got me The Orange Box . This is because he knows I wouldn't get it for myself, and because he knows I'm quite taken with the whole idea of the portal gun. He also knows I'm a fan of Jonathan Coulton, and would really love to understand all the references in Still Alive (shown here playing his own song in Rock Band with a most incredible line-up of co-conspirators when they only get to 99%!).

My sweetheart also got me instructions to make my computer stop crashing all the time while playing the game. And he dug out a mouse for me. And so far, he's just amused that I'm playing a first-person shooter game. And sometimes I need to go to Strategy Wiki to find the door to get out of the room. I have no problem with the concept of shoot all the bad guys. It's just sometimes I can't find the exit door after I've killed everyone. And now that my computer doesn't crash every time I go from one room to another, well, I'm not always so sure I'm in the middle of a puzzle or between puzzles. Until someone starts shooting me, that is!

Anyhow, I'm also half-way through a very strongly-recommended book on HTML. Literally, I am at the half-way point - I've completed seven of fourteen chapters. I have finished with HTML, the one chapter on XML, and am now about to finally learn some CSS. I really, really need to be able to write CSS instead of being able to read it well enough to understand what's going on. After I finish this book, I plan to start on Python.

Mind you, what I really want to do is finally get my head around Prolog. Although, in truth, I don't suppose that's really what I'm after. What I think I really want to do is be able to write my own inference engine. I should probably go find myself someplace that teaches what I'm looking for and just sign up. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? And there are too many other interesting things to learn along the way.

Anyhow, I'm knitting another Clapotis. This one is in Artful Yarns Broadway. Oh, and yes, I'm knitting socks, too.

Bent Objects

Yes, he has a blog.

The Alka Seltzer Interview didn't embed well.

Two Book Trailers:

In My Bedroom

Back in July of 2006, I promised to whine here if my self-watering planter project failed to work as planned.

And you haven't read any whining, have you? Heh, heh. I only really have one thing to complain about - it turns out that those nice Rubbermaid totes aren't UV-stabilized. My sweetheart pointed this out to me, but I had no idea what he was trying to tell me until they just sort of started disintegrating in the sun. I'm not sure I mind so much. If I have to re-engineer them every couple of years, I figure I can make other improvements to the design.

And so the last-remaining self-watering planter is in my bedroom right now, with three jalapeno plants and a couple of Thai basil plants. I've got a few nice cherry-red jalapenos that need harvesting, and an unfortunately fairly healthy infestation of aphids for which I've released lacewing larvae.

Which brings me to what's flying around in my bedroom right now.



I actually feel rather bad about this. After all, there's nothing for them to eat in my house. I have no flowers giving nectar. I hardly expected a half-dozen or more to survive to adulthood, and now these pretty things are starving to death.



For a much better photo, follow this link to a BBC "This Day in Pictures" and select photo number 8.

Secret Pal 15 Questionnaire

Secret Pal 15 sign ups end January 18. I'm a bit concerned, since there are only seventeen members and it's January 10. I don't know how many people they need to run it. There are 111 people in the Ravelry group, though. I hope more of them sign up before the deadline.

So in hopes that it runs, here's my questionnaire:

What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like?

Favorite: Wool. Soft, squooshy yarns that feel like butter in your hands and are really elastic when you do a knit two purl two ribbing.
Secret Desire: Something Interesting. An interesting blend or an interesting texture.
Can't Handle and Why:
Ladder yarn - seems to be too slippery. I have quite a bit of it, and in different brands, but I can't seem to actually knit with it.
Chenille - increases my blood pressure for no good reason. I tried. It was a very rewarding learning experience and I intend to never repeat it.
Red Heart Acrylic - if only it didn't feel so indestructible. There are a lot of acrylic yarns out there that are soft and washable. If I ever lose all feeling in my fingers, I bet I'll still be able to feel this stuff enough to knit with it. I'm not there yet, and I'm not stashing the stuff, either!

What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I sprang for a circular needle case a few years ago - that was totally worth it. I could definitely use some kind of case for my straight needles, but I get by with keeping them in drawers and in a pen-holder from Staples. My Knitpicks Harmony interchangeables came in a case that I haven't destroyed yet so I'm perfectly happy with that!

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I'm intermediate to advanced in socks and stitches, but beginner to intermediate in color work and sweaters.

Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yeahbut. I don't tend to take stuff off the list when I get it. (Truthfully, I have to be careful not to get something twice, because I'll shop for something for six months and then forget I got it.) Tell you what, I'll do a blog post wish list and link to it - usually when I have an item on my wish list I have a particular reason for my desire, so you can come up with something similar but not exactly it and still make me really excited!

What’s your favorite scent?

I like lavender, citrus, rose, mint, rosemary.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Dark chocolate is my favorite. I like nuts in my chocolate, but I don't like anything that sticks to my teeth or any fut in my chocolate. I am also a fan of SweeTarts!

What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

When I'm not too lazy, I'll do something fun. Today I covered a plastic container with photos cut out of magazines so I'd have a pretty container on my desk to throw my used tissues into. So instead of having an empty Maidenform container on my desk, I have a National Geograhpic Cruises container on my desk!

Under duress, I do plumbing. I've also been known to help build a computer from parts. I once designed and built my own bookcase. I've also built self-watering planters. I'm just as happy to hire a plumber, buy a fully-assembled computer, knock together a bookcase from Ikea and hook up a Vertigro or Aerogarden. Just because I can doesn't mean I can always be bothered.

I crochet, I tat (a little - maybe I'll actually make a bookmark one of these days), I've learned to spin. I have grand plans to haul out my sewing machine and turn some sweaters into market bags. I cook and I garden and I generally make a mess.

What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

What I'd really like would be links to places like last.fm to check out an artist.

What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?

This is such a hard question to answer. Probably because I'm a little nuts. If I am by myself in a yarn store, I will avoid reds, browns and oranges. I will also avoid anything even remotely neon. I shudder when I see photos of the 70s because I really detest those color combinations. I've bought stuff for other people and thought, "Gee, if I liked orange, I'd love this yarn." I've also knit with colors I hated that were a part of a blend and wouldn't want the finished product without that splash of color I usually avoid.

Also, if I get a gift of yarn that I don't really like very much, I'm more likely to try to come up with something creative ASAP. If I really like it, I often hoard it. So I have several pairs of socks made from gifted yarn that I don't really like all that much, but boy do I get compliments on them. I've also got some beautiful yarn that I take out and look at before putting safely away.

Told you I'm a little nuts.

What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with my sweetheart. He only has one flaw - he doesn't knit. It's not much of a flaw, since it means I get ALL the yarn for myself!

Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear hats and gloves. I considered wearing mittens this year because it has been so cold, but I vaguely recall getting fed up with them and switching to gloves, so I couldn't find any in the house. I wear indoor scarves more often than outdoor scarves. And I can't imagine wearing a poncho - but I'm sure that's because all the ponchos I've ever seen were 70s colors or granny-square based.

What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I rather compulsively knit socks.

What are you knitting right now?

Socks. I'm about to re-start a sweater for the third time. I'm failing to figure out the instructions for the Elizabeth Zimmerman baby surprise jacket. Hey, look, there's help on YouTube! Oh, look at that, I need to rip back to row 2. Hmmm.

Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes, thank you.

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I think every kind of needle has its uses. I have a lot of aluminum and two sets of circulars. I think I only have one pair of shorter straights. I sometimes find myself looking at the shorter Harmony straights thinking they'd make nice scarf needles.

Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes. Thank you. They're wonderful!

How old is your oldest UFO?

I have a couple of projects I've finished knitting but never put together. One is a sweater circa 2007 or 2008. The other is a small purse circa 2005.

What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

I'm not really all that into holidays. I have very little family left and I was never into all that cooking. My birthday shows up 3 days after Valentine's day, so I really enjoy getting discounted Valentine-themed chocolate (really, I prefer he get the bargain)! I also get all excited when I can get the egg dyes on sale after Easter. (I've really got to do some dyeing this year.)

Is there anything that you collect?

Well, I seem to like small containers. If you spent a couple of months eating Altoids and sending me the empty tins, I'd be quite thrilled. I also seem to have a thing for giraffes. I don't have any kind of extensive collection, though. Just a few items.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I subscribe to Knitcircus, Vogue knitting and Interweave Knits. Last year a friend gave me her unusable Knitter's, which I really enjoyed but that's over now. Stashbusting ideas are really what I need. I have quite a bit of Farmhouse Yarn in one-off colorways that I would like to use up. I need to make room for more yarn!

Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?

I've recently learned to spin with a drop spindle. I can already see why they bothered to invent the spinning wheel!

Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am a compulsive sock knitter.
foot length - 9.5"
ball circumference - 9.5"

When is your birthday?

February 17.

Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? Yeah, I'm Procrastinatus.

A couple finished objects for the New Year

I went to the big knitting do this year - Stitches East. It was held in Hartford, CT, so I felt like I really had to do something to support it. So I took one short class and that was it. I had such a good time, I do plan on more in the future. The scarf project I signed up for was the knit one below scarf from this book.



I made it out of two balls of Farmhouse Yarns that I picked up when Carole Martin was running an incredible sale. I think I had a good experience with both the yarn and the pattern. Don't you?

I also needed some mindless knitting. So I made a simple scarf in knit 2 purl 2 out of something called "Smania." I just wanted a little something to go around my chilly neck.



Ah, it's so hard to blog when I'm busy falling into YouTube.

Joe Bonamassa and Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall:



Go ahead, fall in. This is the good stuff.

Does Anybody Else Notice?

This morning I caught my sweetheart muttering irritatedly about a spam he received from a somewhat local not-for-profit and the ethics of an exempted organization blatantly ignoring every last one of the provisions of the CAN-SPAM act.

What I found so fascinating about this email, when I looked at it, was that the email clearly instructed the recipient to delete the email unread.

The sender of the email sent the email from his work address to his home address, using the bcc option of his email account to send the email to who-knows-who. The bottom of his email contained his company's standard disclaimer: "If you are not the intended recipient of this email, please delete."

Now, the more I think about the content of the email, the more certain I am that his employer wouldn't have approved, even though his employer would be the beneficiary of any business he managed to scare up. (I mean that literally - he was using scare tactics.)

It just boggles my mind.

I Wonder

Yeah, we just had a major storm. It's incredible. Three whole inches of light, easy-to-move snow. What is the world coming to?

It's enough to make me wonder what became of these guys:


Yeah, that's twins, nibbling insufficiently at the invasive species under my backyard pine tree. About a month later, we never saw two together for the rest of the summer.

Ah, yes, hiding in the invasive mint. That will teach me to let a portion of my garden go fallow for a season.



Stay warm. Monday is the shortest day of the year. Spring is just around the corner, as all the gardening catalogs would like me to notice!

Quoth..?

I'm not sure which of the two amaze me more. This amazing review, or the amazing price of the item.

I'm staggered.

AT&T - The Rant

I get a lot of sales literature from AT&T.

Nobody. Absolutely Nobody sends me such elaborate, fancy, expensive-looking sales literature.

Why would I want to purchase products from a company that has to keep the prices high enough to send all this expensive sales literature to badger their own customers?

It's an ostentatious waste of their customers' money.

If I could switch my land-line to someone else, I would. Unfortunately, VOIP would go down every time the cable goes down and the only DSL provider in my area is, you got it, AT&T.

Neil Gaiman is So Good