Six Pomegranate Seeds

So, anyone who knows this stuff...

2009-12-23T17:22:49Z

what does this code do? (It was in the comment)

lj-raw

div style text-align:right; font-size:0;
overflow:hidden; display:none; Data89,

a href="http://www.data89.com/" web data extraction /a ./div

/lj-raw

What an odd b-day greeting...

2009-12-23T17:08:29Z

From an elgrillador, who may or may not be a real person...but the greeting included an invisible link to a data mining site (which was rendered visible in the email notification of the comment).

I'm not a web or connectivity geek, or anything...not sure what it all meant, but in the end decided that it would be best to delete the thing altogether - it's fishiness was raised by the fact that the greeting was commented to a very old post, with non-personal stuff (as are spam comments, usually). Has anyone else experienced this kind of oddness?

nora_knickers @ 2009-12-21T08:38:00

2009-12-21T16:38:38Z

Leaving soon for the train to Mom's for Christmas - and the house is actually fairly clean for once (before leaving on a trip)! The decision to wait until Monday was apparently sound, so Hooray! I even pickled the last of the veggies (tomatoes and peppers) I salvaged from the frost we had a couple of weeks ago. Completely took out the peppers, and two of my tomato plants...but Audrey 3 (while a shadow of her former self), is still gamely hanging in there.

(I was going to post pictures, but Flickr is being a stone cold bitch, so I guess those will have to wait...)

Good lords and ladies...is it really morning?

2009-11-03T14:53:17Z

Last night I went to see The Tiger Lillies in SF. It was, to put it mildly - FUCKING FANTASTIC.

*cough*

No, seriously. The whole band, and Martyn Jacques (the singer) in particular, are simply phenomenal showmen, as well as incredible musicians. I was, not surprised, but very impressed with Jacques vocal control (which seemed absolute), as well as his mean accordion playing.

They played primarily songs I had not heard before (not hard as I think I've got about 30 of their songs and they have an almost insane number of albums out), though they did play some songs from Shockhead Peter, including this song (although played with the ukele rather than piano), and Kick a Baby (one of my favorites). I got so excited in fact, that I jumped the gun on the first "Hooray!" and earned a slight glare from the band and hid behind my brother.

This song is now a new favorite: Start a Fire, although my brother I think prefers Flipper Boy. (BTW, the show we saw last night was somewhat more intense and sinister than these youtube videos might lead you to believe, due - I think - to the venue being smaller and more intimate).

We did not get home until 12:30 am, which has not left me much sleep time...so if this post seems slightly garbled you can blame that.

If I were anywhere near London, this is where I'd be for Halloween

2009-10-23T12:51:53Z

nora_knickers @ 2009-10-15T06:30:00

2009-10-15T13:30:22Z

Gods I love Dresden Codak.

On the dangers of working off-pattern without notes...

2009-10-11T00:08:08Z

And why I don't do gauge swatches (yet). What?! I hear the experienced knitters say. You don't swatch? That's crazy!

Well, yes, and I know it's the mark of an amature knitter...but read on and you'll learn why.

Some of you may recall way back when, I made a pair of knitted gloves and I was thinking of making a pair in a lace stitch. Well, I finally got around to knitting up one, and this is how it turned out:

Not too bad, really. However, I didn't think I had enough yarn to finish a second glove (the yarn ball is not particularly big) and it took me a month to getting around to buying a second hank and knitting up the other glove. It looks like this:

In case you can't quite see it (do you have any idea how hard and uncomfortable it is to take a picture of your own arm?), it is bigger. Much bigger. It is, in fact, so much bigger that it keeps falling off my arm, no matter how tightly I lace it. Same yarn and same needle size - so why is it so much bigger?

Two reasons (although only the first of which I thought of at the time):

1. Making the first glove I was going totally off-the-cuff, as it were. This was the first time I was actually using this particular stitch and was completely uncertain how it was going to work with the glove pattern - particularly around the wrist shaping and thumb gusset with the increase/decrease in stitches. Consequently the tightness of my stitches was...severe. By the second glove, I knew that I would end up with something wearable and I'd realized the lace stitch was much more forgiving than I had feared. Consequently my stitches were far more relaxed, resulting in a much larger glove.

2. I had actually added two stitches. I didn't think of this until rather later, after I'd finished glove 3 (which I did manage to do with the yarn I had left. D'oh!):

(As you can tell, still bigger than glove 1 (from the extra two stitches), but it fits better than glove 2. I deliberately tightened the stitches. I'd even figured out the wrist shaping, although I still need to play with that some.)

So, how did I end up using an extra two stitches? Well...I hadn't kept notes when I made the first glove. I had no idea how I was going to make the stitch and the pattern come together. Or even if I would make them come together. I just kept knitting, ripping and playing with the stitch. And, as I said, it was a month before I got the next ball of yarn...

I fucked up the math, basically. I was thinking a multiple of 3 for the lace stitch, plus 8 stitches for the ribbon holes (4 to each side) - but it had to be an even multiple. And I came up with a larger number than if I'd gone with my original math of a multiple of 3+1, then add the 8 stitches. I'd forgotten that +1. And came up with more stitches to make sure the thing would fit around my wrist. 6 stitches less would have been too short.

It probably makes more sense if you are a knitter...

So, now I'm a glove over, but that's okay because I've decided to give the largest glove as a present. Now I just need to get to the yarn store and buy another ball of this yarn. I do know this time around I don't have enough left over for a glove this size. Hopefully I'll make it in time to finish the damned thing before Christmas!

So, why don't I swatch? Because I'm not consistent in my stitching yet - that's why, and thus a gauge swatch is of extremely limited usfulness. As in practically none. So, I still do things that can be fudged, or don't really rely on gauge at all (like scarves). But I am getting better. I'm gonna try socks soon. You can bet I'll gauge for those!

So this is what the pair looks like together (and very cute, too, with the dress - by happy accident):

*edit: Well...bugger. Went to the yarn store yesterday and they are now out of this kind of yarn. In any color. So now I have to reclaim the yarn from the odd glove out, and figure something else to do with it.

*headdesk*

I'm not dead yet! I'm feeling much better!

2009-08-03T20:16:30Z

So I think I may finally (oh please, oh please finally!) be crawling my way out of the slump that's dominated for the past month+.

I mean, July wasn't a total wash - I made ice cream (two kinds!), and scones, which are two things I did set my mind on...I biked to work - not everyday, but more often than I didn't. I made sure I tended the garden. I was pretty good about cooking with all the veggies I get from my CSA subscription. I wasn't completely idle.

But I have spent probably more than 50% of my time sitting on the couch watching tv, because I didn't have the concentration, motivation, or energy to be doing much of anything else. I slept alot. (I tried to keep up with the polyphasic thing, but my brain couldn't think of a reason to be awake, so that went right out the window.)

I'm getting better now.

Oh, I do still spend time in front of the tv, but now I'm working on projects and expending more energy on them rather than whatever's on. I did cleaning this past weekend! I made pickles!. I've got ideas for several projects to keep me busy for ages, including finishing the Librivox recordings. I got two done this weekend... I'll restart doing polyphasic again this weekend, because now I'll want the extra time to do stuff. I may even start going to the University gym in the morning...and I want to move back into doing my Tribal Dance classes (haven't been since...May? Too long, anyway).

Oh, and if you ever need an idea of what you might want to get me as a gift? Yarn (preferably natural fibers.) Or needles! Knitting or crochet! Sock needles! Circular needles! All different sizes! Needles for doing afghans! A nice box to keep all this crap in wouldn't be amiss, either.

Wow, I have a lot to budget for...and it's much better than being bored.

Recipes!

2009-07-04T16:32:46Z

I'm becoming extremely fond of cookthink. Not only does it have very tasty recipes which are easily searchable, but it also makes recommendations for side dishes, etc so that you can plan a whole meal from one place if you so choose. And it now includes recipes for beverages, as well. I just made this, which is a variation of a ginger ale that I make myself. Well, not really ginger ale, since I don't really make it thick enough to mix with soda water (which would make sweeter than I like). More like a ginger water. Whatever. Being me, I cut the amount of sugar in the recipe, added a sliced lime with the ginger/lemongrass puree, and some mint at the simmering point.

A note on making 'ginger ale', or 'ginger water' - the longer you cook the ginger, the more peppery it gets. If you want it sweeter, less 'hot', or thick enough to add soda water to for a more traditional ginger ale, boil the sugar and water seperately for a bit to make it more syrupy (you can also add more sugar from the get go), then add the ginger bring to a boil again, then cut heat to a simmer fast. Keep tasting the mix until it gets to a level you like (usually about 10-15 minutes). Strain immediately - the peppery taste comes on fast.

This is good straight, and also excellent with either gin or vodka. My friends and I used to go through a gallon of this stuff a night.

Really?

2009-06-29T19:12:11Z

Nobody wants a scarf?

nora_knickers @ 2009-06-29T08:50:00

2009-06-29T16:28:41Z

Or whatever you might want to call it.

I've been experimenting with polyphasic for...ages now, really. First started over 2 years ago, I think, but it's been an on-again-off-again sort of affair depending on what else has been going on in my life. After this past weekend I think some review would be helpful...

First and foremost that was pounded into my head - once a month (or every other month at least) I need a day, or two, of not being on schedule. It's a hormonal thing, right around the time of my period. This makes sense because this is around the time that I sleep way too much when I'm not doing the polyphasic schedule...like 10 or more hours. 8 seems to be sufficient if I am doing polyphasic - although it is occasionally more. Depends on how well I've been keeping up with naps.

I've also noticed that while a core sleep polyphasic is more flexible than Uberman, it is not that flexible...certainly not while adapting. And adapting can take a surprisingly long time if one does not stick to a fairly rigid schedule in the beginning (for, say, the first month). This can, of course, be really difficult to stick with if you have any kind of social life...but treat it like NaNoWriMo (if you do that). For one month you are off limits to anything other than an emergency.

Another tidbit I've picked up is that whatever activity it is you want to include in your extra time should be started right away. Even if the quality, or whatever, won't be the best. Or even passable. Habits established at the beginning have a tendency to linger - especially since they'll be going to the pre-conscious part of the brain, making it that much harder to get rid of them at a later date.

Thus, if at all possible, avoid giving into the sneaky excuse "I'll start once I'm adjusted and am more awake at this hour." That could be quite awhile depending on the adjustment period and by then you might have a seriously entrenched bad habit. Save early, save often...or whatever the equivalent would be in this situation.

There are other thoughts, but this is all for now.

Sometimes computers are a major pain in the tuckus

2009-06-22T11:51:50Z

Wow, that was...obnoxious.

My computer was recently upgraded - a bigger hard drive caused a whole restructuring of the case. Now, when I go to open the CD drive, I turn of the computer instead. I lost a whole post I was working on about my experimentation in polyphasic and some of the cycles I've discovered within it. I don't think I've got it in me to recreate it just now...maybe later.

*headdesk*

Want a scarf?

2009-06-21T03:40:18Z

It's my latest finished project I'm giving away. It's done in a lacey stitch called "arrowhead". Fiber is synthetic, although since it was gifted I'm not entirely certain what kind.

Leave a comment if you or someone you know would like it.

Shamelessy ganked

2009-06-12T03:24:13Z

From drkaos

Because I am crazy

2009-06-08T15:35:06Z

I have decided to learn to do amiugurumi dolls so that I can eventually stitch my own Gir. And possibly a Zim, too.

In case you didn't know, amigurumi dolls (or toys) are like this:

There's other kinds, too.

Writer's Block: Significant Choices

2009-06-07T17:45:17Z

If you had to choose between your friends and your significant other, who would you choose?

View 503 Answers

If the SO made me choose, I'd dump him. If the friends made me choose I'd dump them...I'm really not big on ultimatums.

nora_knickers @ 2009-06-03T23:51:00

2009-06-04T06:51:49Z

Think "organic" ought to mean something? Well, the USDA disagrees with you - go here to tell the USDA to take it's exceptions and shove them. In a nice way.

Words to live by...from you-know-who

2009-06-02T16:28:52Z

This is my pledge to you: I promise to use all my otherworldly connections to get your karmic debt reduced in the next few weeks. In return, I ask that you make these pledges to me: You promise not to be a self-pitying martyr or a cranky beast of burden or a willing victim of rank manipulation. You agree not to just follow sloppy orders or passively capitulate as some bad guy with a nice smile tries to lower your standards. And finally, you swear to feed a really healthy desire that will ultimately help give your other desires more
integrity and nobility.

nora_knickers @ 2009-06-01T09:03:00

2009-06-01T16:06:13Z

If you don't have pure_doxyk in your friends page, you should make a point to read this entry (also on her other blog) on the murder of Dr. Tiller in the name of 'life'.

nora_knickers @ 2009-06-01T08:46:00

2009-06-01T15:48:41Z

BTW, I'm totally serious about the hat. Or gloves. Or a pillowcase...please gods help me use this stuff up!

It's a wool/rayon(?) blend. I know there's wool, I just forget what the other ingredient is.

And my latest project is done!

2009-06-01T00:16:46Z

More pictures can be found on my flicker page, including one insanely cute picture of a sleeping critter.

I'm really happy with how this turned out - especially since, though I got the idea from a pattern, I pretty much did the whole thing off the cuff. I particularly like the frilly edges that I added. Gives it a sort of Victorian bed jacket kind of feel, and works really well with the yarn I used. It's what makes the thing work, I think.

I have an insane amount of this yarn left, too. A friend gave me a Safeway re-usable bag full of the stuff. I don't know if you're familiar with the Safeway re-usable bags, but they are big. I used 7 bundles to make the shrug...and that barely cleared the top layer. I'll be making the kitty a blanket out of the stuff, cause he just LOVES it. Jumped on top of the shrug and immediately started purring and kneading. But that leaves me with quite a lot left.

Anyone want a hat or something?

First non-scarf knitted project completed!

2009-05-25T05:24:41Z

And here is what the snakes dressed in ribbon look like when worn. I confess I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm going to experiment a bit with some knitted lace stitches, then I'm going to try these in cotton with whatever lace stitch I think looks best to make a nice pair of summer mesh gloves.

First I'm taking time out for crochet. Just finished my first fancy dishcloth, now I'm doing up a kitchen towel that matches up. The dishcloth is actually really nice - the colors worked well together and the cloth itself holds the soap well. I may never buy sponges again.

The Legenday Shack Shakers

2009-05-22T06:49:19Z

I just discovered them this year, and I've gotten quite fond of them.

From Pandelerium...which isn't quite psychobilly. Or maybe it is, if you put the the emphasis on "psycho". Pandelerium is a total eclectic mix of styles, with rockabilly hiding out underneath it.

Which is two songs from their latest album, and sounds rather different from Pandelerium. Closer to their earliest sound, which is more traditional rockabilly, but with a hint of the psychobilly in the background.

They look like they are having way too much fun.

listening to "The Legendary Shack Shakers "Cussin' in Tongues" - " on Blip

2009-05-21T22:23:04Z

These guys are touring, and will be in San Jose (and San Francisco) in June. I may have to sell a kidney and go.

As It Might Have Been.

2009-05-20T18:51:06Z

"God, I'm glad I'm not a father."

It was an offhanded comment - a reaction to the housemates' screaming child in the next room at far too early in the morning. Unfortunately, the early hour also meant that the rational part of her own brain was not yet awake. His words hit her like a wall of ice water and she went cold all over. She had been feeling excited, with the potential for being extremely happy, with the suspicion that she might be pregnant. There would be complications, of course - he was married and she was finishing her last year of college - but she had felt those could be surmounted somehow. She felt so deeply for him, as he seemed to for her in turn.

In the matter of seconds all that was gone, and from that moment on she denied even the possibility that she was pregnant.

She was remarkably good at it. One menstrual cycle passed by, and then another, with nothing to show for it. She took herbal emmanogogues, put pennyroyal drops in her tea, and opined on whether she might be hitting early menopause, or perhaps it was amenorrhea brought on by stress. The (very small yet) bulge in her lower abdomen was just basic weight gain. The inanity of these assertions did not phase her...she was not pregnant. Thus, since that explanation was "impossible" some other improbable explanation must be the correct one. Elementary, my dear Watson.

Of course, she discussed none of this with him. He could not help but notice her lack of period, but she supplied one of the explanations she decided it "must" be, before he ever asked, and in such a way that further conversation on the topic had nowhere to go.

Weeks passed and still there was no comfort from waking up to find blood spots. She began to get desperate as another, more rational, part began poking her. She upped her intake of pennyroyal - dripping it directly down the back of her throat - and added a couple of other rumored abortifacients to the mix. Still nothing. Still she denied that she was pregnant. But her sense of conviction was crumbling and she began raging at her uterus - going so far as to punch herself in the stomach on more than one occasion.

As the time for her third period went sailing past and there was not even the vaguest twinge of PMS, or slightest hint of red in her underwear, she buckled to the inevitable (before it was too late). An appointment to Planned Parenthood was made, the horrid horrid truth confirmed, information on abortion services collected. After a brief struggle with the more rational part of herself, she finally even told him, although that part could not quite manage to convince her to present it as a point of discussion, but as a conclusion reached and a decision made. The information was relayed dispassionately, betraying perhaps just a hint of irritation at the inconvenience. He blinked a few times, but otherwise seemed to take the revelation in stride. His only contribution was to ask a few logistical questions regarding the when, transportation needs, and whether there would be any out of pocket expenses. Luckily, state aid covered all costs, and she had arranged a ride to and from the clinic. Those topics covered nothing more was said on the subject.

Time passed, and finally the scheduled appointment was for the next day. The two of them spent the night together. She lay awake in the dark. Wrapped in a misery she could not, would not, share (would not, could not admit that she felt) she kept her back to him. And then she felt him shaking as he suddenly curled against her and there were tears wet between her shoulders. She turned and wrapped her arms around him.

"What is it, love?" she asked, concern for him overriding any other considerations.

He reached and and clutched her so tightly she had a moment's trouble breathing. "I don't want you to do it," he said, and she could hear the sobs barely in control in his voice.

"Wh-what?"

She wasn't sure she heard right and she felt panicked disbelief flood her as she fought to determine whether or not she was dreaming. Or perhaps hallucinating.

"The abortion," he said, "...don't go through with it. I - I want this baby."

"But. Your wife...the legal problems..."

"She and I have been talking," he said. "We never had the the usual marriage arrangement, obviously . Now it seems that we've gotten to the point that we won't even be married in name only. You know she's dating that guy she met skiing - he's asked her to marry him, and she said yes. We're getting a divorce."

She felt her breath catch against an almost impossibly large lump in her throat.

"Are you sure?" she asked. It was almost a whisper.

"I am more sure of this than I have ever been about anything else in my life. Marry me. Have our child." He ran his fingers across her cheek and over her hair.

And then she was weeping in joy and the release of months of tension and misery. "Okay," she told him. "Okay."

And it was.

This story has been bugging me lately. Apparently being written once wasn't enough, especially after I lost the other version (computer uprade/file migration).