$ cat /var/log/meri

Other than Hershey Park and the Hershey Museum, are there any must-do / must-see things in or around Hershey, PA that y’all would like to share with me? Please keep in mind that huge lines are not my friend (for physical reasons, not just impatience), and that I will only be there for about 48 hours (Sunday afternoon – Tuesday afternoon).

Of particular interest: spas that won’t break the bank, yarn & craft stores (duh), and vegetarian dining. However, anything that you think I need to know about, I’d love to hear.

(Hey, the last thing I wished for with regard to the Kindle came true, so who knows?)

I’m on something like my 4th Kindle. Nothing’s been wrong with any of them. I just somehow keep upgrading. *waves hands* That’s not the point.

The point is, I am really really tired of having to re-download all of my content to my device every time I upgrade. I have over 1,000 Kindle titles. I do not want to have to individually download all of these things every time I switch devices. Can someone poke Jeff Bezos and ask him to make a bulk action tool on the “Manage Your Kindle” page?

Thanks!

A few minutes ago, I clambered out of my car and gathered up my bags and trudged up the stairs to the door. I used my key to let myself in, and plopped down in my chair. I pet the dogs and the cats, and pulled my laptop out of my bag, connecting to the house wireless.

This is only remarkable because this is not my own home. This is the lovely home of my friends Jenn and Jim. But I am encouraged to treat it as my own home, and am constantly reassured that I am welcome any time I want to make the trek down.

This got me to thinking a little bit about how lucky I am. I have not one, not two, but three homes (Jer and Shamala also provide me with a lovely home). Places where I am comfortable, and know that I can be me. Even if being me means that I need to sleep, or be grumpy, or be completely antisocial, or be silly. Places where I can rummage in the fridge and go through the pantry. Places where I’ve stashed toiletries, because it’s easier than carrying them back and forth all the time. (And Amy, I haven’t forgotten that your house was once one of my homes, too!)

Growing up, I never felt comfortable in my own home, so those friends’ places where I could really relax were dear to me. As an adult, I’m so much more aware of the overarching idea of personal space and the intrusion of same, so finding these little oases is even more startling. As much as I love the home that G and I share with Sprocket and Widget, it’s wonderful to be able to feel so comfortable in someone else’s space.

A friend made a post this morning that got me thinking. There are any number of web-/net-based services out there that are the modern-day equivalent of shareware. The services are available in two modes: free and premium (even if not using those words). The service in question in the original post was Spotify, but there are countless others out there.

My question to you is this: Which of these services do you actually pay for, and why? (Are there features behind the paywall that you want, or do you want to pay for a good product which you find useful, or both, or some other reason entirely?)

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Ok, so I’m calmer now. Certainly calmer than I was yesterday. I had a very bad pain day yesterday, and PT was very hard, and  I could barely walk, and a little part of me snapped, resulting in that post.

This isn’t to say that all of what I wrote isn’t true. My outline of a ‘normal’ day was pretty spot-on. But, looking at my life a little bit more objectively today, it’s not the whole truth. (more…)

I’m having an annoying day, and needed to rant.  (more…)

Not necessarily asking for the dictionary response, but rather what people actually use.

Neither ‘troubleshooted’ nor ‘troubleshot’ sound right, though ‘troubleshot’ sounds less wrong.

TL;DR: Where can I find the colors of all the stars in various constellations?  (more…)

If you’ve paid any attention at all to my posts, you know I’m something of a knitting nut. Really and truly. I freely acknowledge this. However, even I do not have the words for this: (more…)

For those who didn’t receive this via email, there’s going to be a tribute to Evi Nemeth at this year’s USENIX Security Symposium in Washington, DC. Even those not registered for the conference are invited to attend the tribute.

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