Month: March 2009

  • “E-commerce”

    I Asked MetaFilter a question about e-commerce websites tonight.

  • Mending

    I’m all about the short links today! I guess it was those two mammoth posts from yesterday. My next topic: mending. I’ve got socks that need darned and jeans that need patched.

  • Richard Feynman in Cross Stitch

    Richard Feynman in cross stitch. Sweeeeet.

    Edited 09/03/2025: The link is dead and not preserved. Keeping the post up because of the comments…

  • Science Fiction set in 2009

    Science Fiction set in 2009. That giant monster from Cloverfield? Yeah, that’s coming in May.

  • Watchmen cupcakes

    Watchmen cupcakes. Neat! And no, still haven’t seen it. *sigh*

  • Shared today on Twitter

    is going to try to back up the dead iMac before I haul her into the city for service again.


    @tim0th We’ve tried that several times. Computer keeps failing. Had to pull out HD & put in external enclosure. Transferring now…


    is back at the Apple Store for the 3rd time in a week. Hopefully we’ll get a diagnosis on Boudicca’s issues this time!


    @mrs_sockvictim No, no, the old computer. The old one is dead, but we’re trying to resurrect it.


    @redambition Here’s that software I was telling you about: runkeeper.com. I’m going to try out the Pro version this week.


    @eileenDCoE It works better once you have a critical mass of followers/followees. But I’m still dubious about the value, really.


  • Weekend Update

    Rusted Root(Ha! I just had an email asking if I was all right, seeing as how I hadn’t blogged in two days. At least I know I’ll never go missing with you folks around.) Anyhoo, I spent most of Saturday afternoon working on a new knitting project: Rusted Root. It’s a little cotton T-shirt with a puffy sleeves and a lace panel down the front. It’s knitted from the top down, which is nice because you can try it on for size as you go! I’m probably a third of the way done with it. Saturday night we headed into the city for a friend’s surprise birthday party. Unfortunately it was also Mardi Gras, which meant fighting our way through crowds of slutted-up freshers in sparkly cowboy hats. (Theory: Mardi Gras in Sydney is like Halloween in Sunnydale. Most of the actual gay people stay far, far away, and you’re just left with kids playing in costume.) We had a fantastic meal at Bar Reggio in Darlinghurst. I walk past there every day on my way to work, and it always smells fantastic. The service was execrable, but the food made up for it. (Excitement! The Snook spotted the Critic from The Chopping Block unsuccessfully trying to get a table.) We got home very late, and Sunday we slept in as long as the cats would let us. I spent most of Sunday setting up my new Macbook, which we bought Thursday night. The Snook managed to remove the hard drive from my dead iMac and set it up so I could transfer everything to the new computer. Then we took the iMac back to the Apple Store where they – as expected – quoted me like $1500 to fix it. Eek. I spent hours futzing around with iLife ’09, including the fun “Faces” feature within iPhoto. I also got DeskCam working again, in case you missed it. I had planned to go for a long run this evening, but the skies opened and it poured rain. So it was a quiet night in for me.

    And did I mention that the Snook has a new job? No? It’s pretty cool. He starts in three weeks. 🙂

  • Knitters Guild AGM 2009

    Me and Issy twitteringSaturday started with a bang with the 2009 Knitters’ Guild of NSW Annual General Meeting. I’m always a little nervous for these, seeing as how I have to give an official report on the state of our website. There was added tension this year due to various guild-related scandals of the last six months: Ravelrygate, allegations of election fraud, members of the Executive Committee openly insulting members, secret spies tattling to the Guild about online discussions, etc etc. After all was said and done, three of “our people” had been elected (well, there weren’t enough nominations so no election was needed) to the Executive, and it seemed unlikely that some of the Old Guard would be willing to let go gracefully. I decided to embrace the madness with my outfit. I wore my Ravelry T-shirt and “Hello my name is: webgoddess” badge, along with my Guild lanyard and convenor’s pin. I also wore my Space Invaders socks (with a skirt so you couldn’t miss ’em). I got there to see that our folks had pretty much stacked an entire aisle across the auditorium, right down in front. It was a veritable who’s who of the Sydney Ravelry community: me, missfee, redambition, RandomKnits, knitabulous, WittyKnitter, yarna, Pompom, KatieV, GrandmaFlea, diane, gemma, sandrah, 1funkyknitwit, and probably a few others I didn’t even recognise. It was on.

    Sally fired the first salvo. Fifteen minutes in, we were asked to approve the Treasurer’s Report for 2008, and Sally (quite reasonably) asked how we could be expected to approve a complicated financial document that we’d only just seen. It went downhill from there. After nearly every report, someone would raise their hand to ask why the information wasn’t available on the website. I could hear both mutterings of approval and whispered insults in the rows behind me. My turn eventually came and I gave my website speech. (They all made me show off my socks first.) I could see some nodding heads when I talked about ideas for the site, which was heartening. I thought we were going to make it through unscathed. Then out of nowhere, a scandal erupted over a seemingly-harmless motion to add some wording about the Guild archive to the Constitution. Apparently the rules state that all new motions have to be sent out to the members at least two weeks before the AGM. The submitter had sent it in plenty of time, but the Guild newsletter was delayed and it was only sent out 12 days before the AGM. Ergo, no motion. The submitter was (rightly) pissed. Other people were (rightly) pointing out that the Constitution allows for members to request a special general meeting in cases like this. And some people like myself were thinking that we were lucky the motion itself was so non-controversial, otherwise we’d be wondering if the Executive had killed it on purpose. So yeah, all kinds of craziness. Issy and I were both twittering from the peanut gallery, as seen in the photo. Finally the new members got “pinned” and it seemed like the worst was over. It was time for lunch, so I mingled a bit before making a break for home. It was nice to catch up with all my buddies though, including Ailsa and Donna (who’d made a special trip to attend). I figured that – all things considered – the meeting went better than I expected.

    I should’ve known I left too soon. Apparently after I left, things got even worse. The President and the Secretary got into an argument that left the President apoplectic and the Secretary nearly in tears. (She resigned later that day, probably setting a record for the shortest time between inauguration and resignation.) The special afternoon speaker never even turned up. What chaos. Mary-Helen has a big run-down of the problems that were exposed. Sally and Kate have their work cut out for them…

  • Shared today on Twitter

    is 15 minutes into the Guild AGM, and Sally has already pissed off the outgoing Prez. Fun! More as situation develops…


    is laughing. M-H, Kate & Susan have had a go. The cabal is alive & kicking. It’s a wonder they don’t kick us out. I may have to streak…


    Constitutional scandal! And it doesn’t involve the Internet. I am all astonishment.


    suspects that Sydney Mardi Gras is like Halloween in ‘Buffy.’ I can’t spot any actual gay people. It’s all just kids in costumes.


    is amazed! Snookums just spotted the reviewer from The Chopping Block being turned down for a table at our restaurant!


    @mrs_sockvictim Eh, I’m still not 100% convinced it’s anything worth doing.