Yearly Archive: 2015

I was making some changes on a web server that necessitated restarting the process, which I did. As per normal, I went and tailed the logs to make sure everything was coming back up all hunky dory.

Now, you all know me. I accept a wide variety of events as being normal.

This… this was not normal. (more…)

Today, in the world of knitting, I was reminded of one thing, and learned one thing.

I was reminded that the intersection of “knitting I actually care about” and “knitting I can work on while watching a movie in a theater” should be a null set. (I didn’t make any uncorrectable mistakes, but Mistakes Were Made™.)

I learned that trying to look at ones knitting whilst wearing 3D glasses is a good way to get a headache. I do not know if this was made better or worse by my yarn being a shade of red, but I did rather quickly stop trying to look at the project. Come to think of it, this may have contributed to the aforementioned mistakes.

Bonus hint: If you do take your knitting to the movies, make sure it’s on a circular needle. If you drop a straight or DPN, you will likely not be able to find it until after the lights come back up. This leaves you sans knitting for the remainder of the movie. Also, consider your average movie theater floor (especially the areas under the seats). Now imagine your needle after it’s been rolling around in that environment for a while. Ew.

Those of you who were following along with my flurry of updates and comments on facebook last night know that I was having a great deal of difficulty finding my way to sleep. This was particularly annoying as it was the third¹ night running that this was a problem. My body doesn’t have much in the way of reserves to draw upon, and it really needs to be able to recharge through sleep. Often more than once per day. Any significant drop in the aggregate amount of sleep I get in a 24 hour period generally leads to an abrupt and overwhelming system shutdown, where my body overrides my brain and takes charge of the situation.² These forced periods of near convalescence always occur at the most inconvenient times, and are generally a big drag. (more…)

TL; DR: My friend Stephanie’s (more local-to-her) friends urgently need help moving Stephanie’s belongings out of her Medford (Boston, MA) apartment by the end of the year (December 31, 2015, in case this gets picked up by some crazy hibernation / resurrection cycle). Assistance in the form of actual bodies-on-site is going to be vital in order to get this done on time. Financial contributions to help defray associated costs are also welcome. More details are included below.  If you want more information, let me know, and I’ll put you in touch with the appropriate person or persons. If you aren’t able to assist, but know someone (or multiple someones) who might be interested, feel free to share this post. (The blog post is obviously public, but the crossposts to facebook and LiveJournal are as well.) (more…)

Really, the subject just about says it all, but in case you require more detail: Interweave Knits / Knitting Daily is having a “5-Star¹ Products² for $5″ sale. At the time of this writing, there are 32 items on sale for $5.

Free Tip #1

Be sure to check what format you’re actually getting things in! The sale includes eBooks; printed books (paperback and hardcover); magazines; VHS (!) and DVD content, downloadable video content, and I’m sure I’ve missed some other way things are being distributed. I adore the digital editions, but some people hate them. Some features I find alluring for the digital editions include, “not having to find a place to store another physical thing,” “not tripping on another physical thing for which I did not find a storage space,” “I can carry ALL THE BOOKS on my laptop,” and “not having to pay for shipping.” But, whatever floats your boat.

Free Tip #2

Before buying something about which you’re not certain, I recommend double-checking the item’s reviews elsewhere online (I used Amazon, but see above, re: your boat). In addition to some more reviews, you might be able to find additional (or even any, depending on the item) images of what’s inside the covers.

Footnotes

TL; DR: Help me provide my friends who are traveling to Oahu on Friday a list of great things to do. Bonus points for kama’aina favorites. (more…)

Yesterday, after a slightly less painful (but still fairly brain foggy) morning than I’ve had of late, I rushed up to Bothell to get my hair cut by Betty¹. During the hair cutting, the inevitable “glasses off, glasses on” routine had to happen a few times. (With my glasses off, I can barely read my phone when it’s 10″ from my face, much less have any sort of meaningful impression of the image reflected by a mirror that’s 5′ away. With my glasses on, it’s very difficult to cut my hair.)

During the third or fourth iteration of this process, I was unfolding my glasses when I realized that they did not need nearly as much folding as experience has led me to expect. Upon closer examination, I realized the right earpiece/arm/stem of my glasses was missing. The wayward piece was in my lap. There had been no trauma or rough treatment or anything else I could think of that would cause this to happen. It was as if the right earpiece suddenly — and without warning — broke its allegiance with the previously cohesive unit that was my glasses. (more…)

While waking up this morning did involve a feline alarm clock, it did not involve drama (the narrative mode, not the dog) or trauma (include Sprocket’s recently discovered “I’mma gonna cut you if you don’t get up!” mode). Cats were fed, I was allowed to live. All is right with the world. (more…)

TL; DR: I am interested in buying a new couch. I would like to be able to search / browse online (marginally optional), and then sit on / lay on / poke at the couch (required) before shelling out money. The vendor must deliver to my home, preferably into my home. I live in the Seattle area, on the Eastside. Where should I go to find a new couch? (more…)