Monday, March 08, 2010

Comment on comments.

I may yet find the energy for a real blog post today (considered topics: Oscars fashion, storytelling in modern times, history of the steam engine, history of computers). But in the mean time, I've had a lot of questions and comments in the comments, so here are some replies. This is probably gonna jump topics like a frog on speed. FYI.

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The reason I got my netbook instead of giving the laptop a lobotomy (known to computer geeks as 'reformatting the hard drive'), is because 99% of my computer gear is in a box in South Carolina. All I've got here are a couple gaming discs. No operating system, no MS Office, no nothing. Before we moved, I loaded all the software I thought I'd need onto my external hard drive (the one the hubby got me, two Christmases ago, that I said was silly and I wouldn't use -ha) and let the movers pack and store all the discs and stuff, to save space. The hard drive was untouched by the virus, so all I needed was a way to access the hard drive and the internet. So. Netbook. Plus, as I said, I'd been planning to get one anyway, just not quite so soon. So when things went all to hell, it was the obvious solution. It really worked out well (especially with the purchase of an external CD ROM), it was just a huge annoyance when I'd been planning to get a drum carder with the money. The only data I lost were the bookmarks in my browser, which, all things considered, was amazingly good.

About, geez, twelve years ago now, I dropped my laptop in the Pittsburgh airport (that place is EVIL) and shattered the hard drive. I lost four chapters of a novel I was writing, and about half of a database I was building. In comparison, some bookmarks seems okay.

I'm just mad about the drum carder aspect of it. Even if I had no room in the apartment for a drum carder.

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I hate that 'data' and 'media' are plural collective nouns, yet everyone nowadays uses them as singular nouns, so that no matter what damn verb you use with them, it looks/sounds wrong. That's evolution of the language for you; damned annoying. This is all Johann Gutenberg's fault.

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Around here we define 'geek house' as 'having more computers networked than we have people living in the house'. Once we get moved into a house and all the computers up and running again, we will have - by my tentative count - five computers, counting the netbook. Plus the hub's talking about plugging a hard drive into the router, so I don't know how we'd count that.

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Why do they do premieres of children's TV shows at ten at night? Are they fucking stupid? What preschool kid is going to be up at ten at night? Nickelodeon, you assholes.

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The problem with spinning yarn out of animal hair is always the smell. It shouldn't smell if you clean it properly, and it is dry. But usually animal hair yarn is used for outerwear, and that stuff gets wet. Once wet, well... I know someone with dog hair socks who says the only drawback is that they smell like wet dog. That's my big complaint about alpaca, actually. It smells like wet camel when it gets wet.

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Thanks to everyone who checked in with info on Pittsburgh museums. I'm hoping to get the Goober down to the Carnegie dinosaurs on Wednesday after her eye doctor appointment. (It looks like the Goob needs glasses. Imagine the cuteness.) However, after cruising the museum web site, I saw they have half-day summer camps for kids the Goober's age, and I got her signed up for the week that they dig up dinosaur fossils (resin ones, I assume) and otherwise learn about dinosaurs. She'll be thrilled. It sounds like fun - I want to go, too. I hope to also get her into another week at the art museum later in the summer, but the camps are kind of expensive so I'm waiting until another payday. Ideally, a one week camp every month of summer would be great - I don't want to have to drive down there every damn day, but the programs are fantastic.

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My lungs are doing better. I'm still really tired but otherwise am almost over this whole mess. The only problem now is that all the stuff they've given me to dry out my lungs is drying out my eyes to the point of pain, so I'm juggling eyes vs. lungs. The fun never ends.

Right now the biggest problem is cleaning up the mess I've made, laying around not cleaning for a month. Not. Pretty.

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GOTTA cast on this tapestry bag to knit with my mother-in-law. She's to the hard part and needs help and I need an example to show her. Hopefully that'll happen today.

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That's everything that's fit to print at my house... oh. A photo. The husbeast was playing hide and seek with the Goober last weekend, and snapped this photo:

I keep looking at it, and wondering when the kid grew up on me. She was a baby just a minute ago.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Does a wireless printer count? We finally took our old bulky laptop with a broken charger connection down to Goodwill, so all we have now is the desktop/media center, netbook, and wireless printer. And my work laptop...

Emily said...

"...She was a baby just a minute ago..."

Right. All those people who told me to enjoy my kids, that the years would whiz by too fast...I'm sorry to say they were RIGHT.

But you all are doing a great job documenting the blooming of cuteness.

amy said...

Yep, I'm looking for that balance over the summer, too. I signed them up for one week at a local nature center, and might add a day or two here or there. When my kids were younger, I used to aim to have each week include a day trip (we are surrounded by awesome places, so that helps), a trip to the library, and a visit to the beach. It helped keep us on a good rhythm of out & home, and not bored, and taking advantage of the weather.

Louiz said...

Glad your lungs are on the mend, hope the cleaning isn't as traumatic as it would be here.

The camp sounds fantastic, hope the Goober enjoys it.

Steam engines are a cool topic:) I took Kathryn to the Kew Bridge Steam Museum yesterday. (http://www.kbsm.org/) We saw some amazing machines going.

Barbara said...

Funny, my knitting group went to the zoo yesterday to celebrate the first warm and sunny Sunday since November and we decided we need activities this summer too. I want to go to camp to dig up dinosaurs too! I only have writing camp for a week in Oct.

The Goob will look awesome cute in glasses! They grow too fast.

kate said...

To continue my praise of the Carnegie Museum: I forgot to mention that they've got a rather nice rocks n' minerals hall, too. (In case you didn't stumble across that on your virtual tour.)

I spent waaaay too much time in that museum when I was a kid. :)

Mandy said...

I wonder what happened to my kid just about every day, when this young man walks into the room and starts talking to me. Then he throws himself at me to give me a hug and my baby is back!

Galad said...

Well, now I know I live in a geek house. We have five computers networked for 2 of us also (unless the cats are using them when we aren't around)

Donna Lee said...

That's what I say when I look at my 26 yr old.....

btw, Systane helps with the dry eyes. A little expensive but oh so soothing.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of steam engines... Up in Scranton, not too far away, is the National Railroad Museum and it's a wonderful place for kids. We used to take grandchildren there for 2 days. They enjoyed every minute of it. She's the right age for that. You'd enjoy it too.
Judy

Alwen said...

I totally want a picture of you juggling eyes & lungs!

We have a geek house, all right. Four computers, two external hard drives (not counting the two terabyte storage device) and wireless internet.

Theresa I said...

My house is geekier 7 computers on the network. Of course the SO is a software developer so that explains a lot of it

Amy Lane said...

awwwww.... she's so big! (I have a couple of those-- I know that feeling.)

LOL-- I just dread the day when having a cat means one more skein of yarn in my stash.

My house is recovering from three novels. Maybe it will never recover.

RAK said...

Just found your blog last night and am enjoying reading backwards. I know this was a rhetorical question, but...

Perhaps the premieres are on at 10 so that parents can pre-screen them without the kids?