Not something I’m loving currently

Posted on May 9, 2008 by HappyGoth

Oh, BBC. You and your crazy antics. I say this mock-lovingly, because although I do thoroughly enjoy many of your programmes (see, it’s British, so… yeah), you do some things that I don’t agree with. Take this, for instance:

BBC Removes Doctor Who Fan’s Knitting Projects From the Web

Really, now. You must understand that there are a bajillion knitting patterns related to Dr. Who on the internet. I, myself, have knit a Dalek from a free pattern I gleaned from the Web, and possibly from this very site. She’s not making money from them, and the BBC does not seem to acknowledge the free advertising. So I’m posting this, and I’m hoping it makes it all over Bloglandia, and she gets to put the patterns back up (’cause I kind of want to knit them). I think I’m also going to email the BBC, and ignorantly argue (since I have not as much knowledge of British copyright law as I do American).

I’m so not posting this to the Ravelry copyright forum. You can, if you want. That place scares me.

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Clarification

Posted on May 8, 2008 by HappyGoth

More reason that the contest appears to be un-entered by most:

Not enough directions on what a search string is. A search string is that little list of words you type into Google, which then delivers up a list of relevant websites, one of which is your blog.

How do you find these? Well, if you use WordPress, you’ve got a “Blog Stats” link directly on your dashboard. If you’ve got another kind of blog, here’s what you do:

1. Go to the Google Analytics homepage.

2. Enter your email and password, or create a new account if you don’t have one.

3. Fill in your information, then paste the code it gives you where it tells you to paste it.

4. View your report! For the contest, you’re looking at the analytics information under the pie chart. The list of search strings is at the bottom right of that page. You can expand the list to get more options.

So in light of this, the contest is extended until the end of the month, and if you have any further issues, let me know. I didn’t realize the parameters were so technical!

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It’s been rough lately

Posted on May 7, 2008 by HappyGoth

But it’s okay, because when I look down, this is what I see:

And another view, more realistically from my perspective:

Thank you, Jennie! You are truly an awesome friend.

I wore these on a ~1.5 mile walk yesterday and the left one feels fantastic. The right one is a little too small (like, one millimeter too small), so it’s rubbing my heel, but as I wear it more I can feel that start to improve. It was better than getting the size 40, which were gargantuan. I’ve worn them to work three days in a row, and will wear them every day until they’re completely comfortable (aside from those days when I have to interact with clients; something tells me they would not be well-received).

And, at long last:

I’ve made it to the next color on the second piece of the Super-Secret Project #2. It’s going fast but I’ve been diverted as of late, so I’ll probably get round to finishing it this weekend (which is good, since it must be gifted next week).

And as an added bonus, I’m sending this in to the Skull-A-Day guy:

Can you see the skull? I took off the other boot to see if perhaps this was a clever feature intentionally added to all New Rock boots, but it appears to be purely coincidental. It’s neat.

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Oooooh.

Posted on May 6, 2008 by HappyGoth

WordPress got all fancy again. It looks like a time-suck, but I’m generally open to that.

I’m still missing my camera cable, which makes me sad since I have so many exciting things to show off. Tonight I’m going to attempt to sew up an entire period kirtle (don’t laugh – SCA-type people do this sort of thing regularly, and apparently without memory of the last time they tried, wherein they attempted to create a full Elizabethan kit in the hours between 5pm and 5:30 am the next morning, without sleep, and didn’t succeed, and then ended up wearing it anyway with duct tape holding the arms into the body), and perhaps finish hemming my head covering thingy (which my husband says makes me look like the Flying Nun).

I won’t drink half a bottle of wine by myself this time, though. I did that last night, and was wholly unproductive. And I stabbed myself in the thumb with the needle. I will, however, be dying my hair afterward, since my roots are almost two inches long and very not black, and therefore very noticeable, and I’m feeling pretty trashy.

I’m also going to hunt for the camera cable so that I can post some photos, because there are photos what need posting.

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Things I learned

Posted on May 5, 2008 by HappyGoth

The past three days:

1. You people aren’t on the internet on Saturday. Good for you! Go get some fresh air!

2. Apparently not everyone has a way to check their search strings to post for the contest. Here’s how you do it: Go to Google Analytics. Click the little “analysis” link under the lovely pie chart. On the next page, your list should be at the bottom right hand side. You can also sort it to show more than just today’s, which should give you more to choose from.

3. Iron Man is still awesome.

4. I look fetching in a top hat. Observe:

DSCF0092.jpg picture by jenniebreeden

Okay, so maybe fetching is too strong a word, but I don’t look shabby, even with the poor posture. And stuff. This weekend will be an SCA event, so more of the same, but less of the stretch velvet and campy crap (but I love the Renaissance Festival, don’t get me wrong).

Yesterday, instead of working on Super Secret Project #2 (I’ve made progress but have yet again misplaced my camera cable), I did some hand sewing while watching Pride & Prejudice, and drooled a little over Colin Firth. The sewing appears to be none the worse for the drooling, thankfully.

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Monkeys with an M?

Posted on May 2, 2008 by HappyGoth

Newest awesome search string: Tiny Monkeys with an M.

[Remember: enter your favorite weird search string by May 15th for a chance at an awesome personalized rubber stamp!]

Favorite things of Friday:

1. Silver Scream Spook Show. Have I mentioned this before? No? Well, it’s awesome, and if you live in Atlanta you should go see it. It’s once a month on the last weekend of the month at the Plaza Theater, and if you sign up to be a member of the Fang Club, you get a pack of goodies (including an excellent glow-in-the-dark t-shirt, a bumper sticker, and some buttons, plus other perks) and a prize when you show your card at the ticket booth. This past month I got to meet Kevin Rej, whose class I taught last quarter, and who is also the designer behind the SpookShow’s brilliant posters. He’s an awesome guy.

2. Finishing Projects. Possibly because I do this so rarely, it always feels very special to me.

3. The Renaissance Festival. I’m going tomorrow, and it’s awesome, and I’ll eat lots of fried things on sticks, and I’ll go see #4, which is

4. The Tortuga Twins. These guys are embarrassingly hilarious. If you’re more of an adult, go see the last show of the day because it’s by far the best one. Even better with a beer.

And that’s pretty much it for the week. Work is absolutely killing me this week, and so next week should see a better list.

Happy Friday!

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Not made of wool.

Posted on May 1, 2008 by HappyGoth

Made of AWESOME.

TOKYOLOGY

I must purchase this and then watch it. Or perhaps find a place to rent it to me.

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I need an intervention.

Posted on May 1, 2008 by HappyGoth

Seriously, I do. I knit two whole rows on Super Secret Project #2 last night (and none on SS Project #1, not for several weeks now), and none on anything else, and then this morning I checked my email and saw that Knitty posted two new and awesome patterns, so I printed them off and will add them to my ever-growing stack of patterns. One is good for some of the sock yarn I’ve stashed. The other? Well… it’s just neat, and I’ll knit it eventually, just like all of the other projects. After I finish the 9 projects I’ve currently got in progress. Or maybe just after I finish half of them, because 5 is still a very manageable number.

Goodness. I feel like the mother in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain (my absolute favorite film), when the fish gets stuck under the refrigerator and young Amelie screams as only a little girl can, and the mother claps her hands to the sides of her face and yells, “Assez!” (which means “Enough!” in French, in case you were wondering). And I really feel that the French term perfectly captures my feelings of too much right about now.

But the new projects are really awesome…

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It’s a blog!

Posted on April 30, 2008 by HappyGoth

About knitting! And an octopus! Perfect! (Must….find….pattern…)

See?

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Mmmmm… tentacular…

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Contest!

Posted on April 30, 2008 by HappyGoth

I came up with the prize sooner than I’d imagined…

In honor of my 100th blog post, I’m having a contest! I love weird search terms used to find my blog. What are your favorite weird search terms from your own blog? Post them in the comments, and then I’ll choose the weirdest. If you win, you get the sweat of my brow (ew) in the form of one personalized rubber stamp/block print (you get the block so that you can print as many as you want) designed and made by Yours Truly. Seriously. I can make stamps. (If this is a lame prize, email me and suggest another). If you want to see my work, go to my other website, Sugar Devil Design, and take a gander at the Chicago Horror Film Festival work (click on “pdf” and download a pdf, since the site itself is really buggy and is due for a major overhaul).

Have fun, everybody! (You’ve got until the Ides of May, or the 15th for you normal types)

——

[I have not knit for a whole day, mostly because last night I cleaned out my living room, and discovered no less than 4 bags full of unfinished projects, plus assorted yarn ends and patterns. Most of these were under/around the couch, though one was tucked away in the corner, and another was living on the coffee table. My husband is so amazingly patient. I’m going to add to the Super Secret project #2, since I have realized that I have enough yarn for something else, and I’m not really one to wear those colors.]

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