A Spring Shower

Posted on September 1, 2005 | Comments Off on A Spring Shower

Well, the stitching drought may not have completely broken, but there has been the equivalent of a light shower’s worth of stitching in this house over the last three days. There was linen, and there was silk (red), and for a little while, all the NotGood things in my life receded into the background. Stitching is Good, and I should never not do it again!

The NotGood things in my life at the moment are mostly some variation on crap customer service. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s me. In the last week, or thereabouts, I’ve had NotGood interactions with our bank, our insurance company, one of my tutors, and the girl at the copy centre. Oh, and our washing machine decided to die a horrible (and stinky) death. What’s going on? It must be me. I must be giving off “piss-me-off-today-coz-I’ve-got-nothing-better-to-do” vibes! Or perhaps it’s a full moon*. Whatever it is, I wish it would just go away :grr:

So I will continue putting a few stitches into my new (top secret) project each day, keeping the NotGood things at bay. And hopefully sometime soon I’ll be able to make an entirely GoodThings post ๐Ÿ™‚ Meanwhile, think good washing machine thoughts, coz TheGuy comes tomorrow, and I’m really hoping this death thing is just temporary!

*Nope, nuh-uh, not a full moon. Therefore it’s the vibes. QED.

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Posted in Counted Stitchwork, General Ramblings, In Progress

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Aha – Gotcha!

Posted on August 26, 2005 | 4 comments

Are You a Hippie? Which File Extension Are You? Which Survivor of the Impending Nuclear Apocalypse Are You?

Quizzes… blogthingies… you’ve seen them everywhere. Although I often run off and checkout the latest novelty doing the rounds, I don’t usually post the results on my own blog. Partly because heck, you lot have all seen that stuff hundreds of other places before, partly because I think it clutters up the look of a blog, and partly because I don’t like to cut and paste other people’s code into my blog, without thoroughly checking it out. And mostly, I’m just too lazy to check it out! But today, I did a new quiz, and I actually considered pasting the info… and this time, I did check. And boy, am I glad. The makers of the geek, dork, nerd quiz are doing something a leetle bit naughty, something which the nice people at Google don’t look kindly upon.

Link stuffing ๐Ÿ˜ก

Inside the tables that make up the ‘graphics’ that display how much geekier, nerdier or dorkier you or I are than others*, there are invisible 1×1 pixel images which also happen to be links to the online dating service run by the providers of the quiz. Sneaky sneaky. There are 6 of these invisible links in each slab of code that is posted into a blog. Hundreds (maybe thousands?) of blogs each providing 6 links inward to the dating service adds up to a lot of links, and should provide the dating service with a tidy little increase in their Google Pagerank (that thing which gets you listed higher up in the search results). Pagerank calculations give great importance to inward-bound links. I checked, and the site in question is indeed ranking at #1 for the particular search term they’re sneaking into blogs everywhere.

I don’t especially care that they’re getting an artificially high Pagerank – I’m not in the market for an online dating service. Most likely every other dating service on the Web is engaged in equally clandestine behaviour. I do care that they are using unsuspecting blog-authors as their weapon, however. So don’t fall for it, people! At the very least, check and understand the code you’re cutting-and-pasting into your blog. Link-stuffing might not be the worst of what you’re unwittingly putting in there.

*For the record, I’m 78% Nerd, 17% Geek and 30% Dork. You see! I always tell people I’m not really a Geek – I just like to learn, and at the moment, I happen to be learning Geekstuff!

4 Comments

Posted in Blog Blather

I’m Not Ignoring You

Posted on August 24, 2005 | 4 comments

I won’t be commenting on a number of peoples blogs anymore, it seems ๐Ÿ™ If you’re one of them, then I’m sorry. I am still reading, but I am not going to sign up for a Blogger account just to enable me to make comments.

I understand that you’ve switched off anonymous comments in order to block comment spam, I do. It just irritates me that Blogger require a signon for commenting. So I won’t do it.

I could add a little plug here for WordPress and its very effective default comment moderation behaviour which stops comment spam in its tracks. But of course I wouldn’t do that :giggle:

4 Comments

Posted in Blog Blather

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Sulking

Posted on August 23, 2005 | Comments Off on Sulking

One hundred and thirty one days until I can buy stash again, announces my sidebar cheerfully. And I pout, and grumble some more ๐Ÿ˜ฅ Everyone who is anyone on the stitching BBs has just returned from Nashville CATS (= big stitching show in the US) bearing mountains of new stash. And I want some.

This always happens when I’m not stitching. Pre-Wagon, I would indulge my slump-induced desire for new stash and shop all my favourite ONSs until my credit card begged for mercy. Well, perhaps I exaggerate just a wee bit, but that’s the general idea. Nowadays, however, my blog tells me I cannot, and the serious size of the mortgage we are about to become intimate with tells me I cannot. So my clicky-finger is itching, and I just can’t take reading about the Nashville stash-orgy any more, dagnammit!

I really need to be stitching again, and I’ll get over the yearning to shop. But I’m not stitching, because if I do, I’ll get the guilts because I should be studying. But I’m not studying either, because… well, there is no because. Simply that I am the World’s Best Procrastinator. Aaargh!

I’m also very antsy and impatient to settle on our house, so that it all starts feeling a little more tangible and a lot less like a dream. I want to paint walls… and tear down a different wall… and plant vegetables… and hang out in my own backyard watching Finn ride his trike…

Off to put our settlement date into my sidebar countdown, to distract myself from the not-allowed-to-shop situation. I so deserve to win the Queen of the Wagon challenge, with all the pain this is causing me!

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Posted in Counted Stitchwork, General Ramblings

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Addendum to the Previous Post

Posted on August 16, 2005 | 8 comments

I’m not the only person celebrating a big b’day in October. I know someone who will be turning 21 a few days after my big bash. I won’t be sending a gift though – she’s the driver who collided with my car not ten minutes after I found out the good news about our house :ouch:

I didn’t write about this the other day, I was trying not to let this annoyance spoil my day. Now though, it’s not such a “little annoyance”. I do have some sympathy for her – I’ve caused my share of accidents (3, for the record, none of them recent), and it’s a horrible thing to happen, especially when you’re young and inexperienced. I do not, however, have any sympathy for drivers who choose to risk driving when they don’t have any insurance ๐Ÿ˜กย  ๐Ÿ˜กย  ๐Ÿ˜ก Are you kidding me?! If you aren’t prepared to pay for third party property insurance at the very least, you damn well shouldn’t be on the road! I personally believe third party property insurance should be mandatory. Without it, you’re taking a huge gamble every time you drive. Frankly, she’s lucky she hit me, in my 10-year-old Camry, and not a brand new Mercedes Benz or Porsche.

I wasn’t hurt, and nor was she, and I’m so glad Finn wasn’t in the car. I, being a responsible driver, do have insurance, and my lovely wonderful insurance company is taking care of the entire repairs process. Unfortunately for me, that process is going to take 10 days (yes, the damage is substantial), and my insurance only provides for a discount on hiring a car, it’s not free. With the impending house purchase, I really don’t have the $$$ to hire, so I’m taking Finn on a train trip to Mum’s place tomorrow to borrow her extra car.

I think one 20-year-old is about to learn a scary lesson about insurance. She is under the misguided impression that she will only be asked to pay my excess. Um… no! She’ll shortly be receiving a bill for over $2000 ๐Ÿ˜ฎ And good luck to my insurers getting that money – she has already informed me she doesn’t have any. Thankfully I don’t have to do the debt-collection duties!

8 Comments

Posted in General Ramblings

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No Grey Hairs Yet!

Posted on August 12, 2005 | 3 comments

At the beginning of this year, I decided I wanted two things on my 30th birthday. To not have any grey hairs, and to have purchased our first house. The big Three-Oh is now two months away.

I’m holding strong on achieving #1 – none to be spied :giggle: And #2 was fulfilled today, hooray! In fact we will settle on the house 6 days after my birthday. I’m so happy that hunting is over. I plan never to look in a real estate agent’s window or website again… until the next time ๐Ÿ˜†

October is going to be quite the month for me in fact. The 11th is Happy Birthday Mel, the 13th is the deadline for my major assignment in Usability Eng, the 15th is the rollout for our major assignment in Web Database Applications, and the 17th is the settlement. I am scared… very scared. We will probably have an extra week or so tenancy in our current place, so moving can be stretched out a bit, but still…

Our house (our house…. teehee!) is nothing super-special. It will need sprucing up over time, but is perfectly liveable as is. It’s 3-bedrooms, has heating and cooling (big bonus!), and good sized front and back yards (better bonus!) I can’t wait ๐Ÿ˜Ž

3 Comments

Posted in Family, General Ramblings, Postgrad Study

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Good Things, Bad Things

Posted on August 6, 2005 | 2 comments

Good Thing: Lending Manager has approved our request to borrow more $$$ ๐Ÿ™‚
Bad Thing: Bit scary, that! :blank:

Good Thing: There are 4 or 5 houses on the market in our desired area which may be in our price range ๐Ÿ™‚
Bad Thing: One of which sold at auction today for more than we expected ๐Ÿ™

Good Thing: Played in my stash the other day, found a design to stitch for the Red Exchange ๐Ÿ™‚
Bad Thing: Still no actual desire to stitch, no time either ๐Ÿ™

Good Thing: Have formed a group with 3 other apparently competent people for major assignment in Web Database Applications ๐Ÿ™‚
Bad Thing: We all got stuck in an elevator at uni together ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

Good Thing: Got to see the wee babe again today, and a cuddle too ๐Ÿ™‚
Bad Thing: Fatherinlaw is in hospital awaiting eye surgery after a construction incident ๐Ÿ˜ฅ

It’s been quite the few days. Not feeling particularly chatty right now.

2 Comments

Posted in Counted Stitchwork, Family, General Ramblings

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Break Out The Bubbly

Posted on August 3, 2005 | 3 comments

I’m an Aunt! Well, by marriage, anyway, but it’s just as good. OtherHalf’s first nephew was born late last night. Finn’s first cousin on any side of the family, young Aidan reluctantly made his appearance after a torturous list of obstetrical interventions (his mum is looking astonishingly well and active, doesn’t resemble at all the medicated zombie I was for 36 hours after my own caesarian). He’s a lovely baby, with his dad’s nose and his mum’s lips – no eyes to be seen, he was a tired little tacker this evening. I finished off this tonight before we went to visit – with name and birthdate below the house, it looks lovely. I have tentatively picked out a mount colour and some frame moulding, and I’ll be framing it sometime next week, if all goes according to plan.

3 Comments

Posted in Counted Stitchwork, Family, Finished

Grumpy McSlumpy

Posted on August 1, 2005 | 2 comments

I’ve been in somewhat of a stitching funk since finishing WFS. In fact, to be honest, I haven’t placed a single stitch in anything! For almost a week now! It’s getting kind of depressing:sad:. The main problem is, I can’t seem to decide what I feel like stitching, at all. I really want to start another Mirabilia, but not any of the ones I have kitted up right now! Being on the wagon means I can’t kit another. But a little birdie told me I may be getting one for my birthday (ok, ok, it’s Enchanted Mermaid, from my wonderful mum!) and I think I would like to stitch that, so I thought instead that I should work on the WIPs I have. No inspiration there though. Everything seems too difficult to work on for short periods of time, which is really all I have during semester, especially now that Finn is no longer sleeping in the afternoons (and to that can I just say… aaaaaaargh! :yell: ) So instead, I thought perhaps a small piece, like Blackberry Jam which I started not long ago. But no, it isn’t itching my stitching fingers either, so I’m just grumpy and slumpy!

But… never fear – this story may yet have a happy ending. I have, in the last few days, joined the Stitching Bloggers Exchange BB, and signed up for two of the exchanges. I will have to stitch from my stash, but I think that will be possible in both cases, and they will both be quite small projects. I’m quite excited about the prospect now, and off to rummage in my stash tonight ๐Ÿ˜† Hopefully it will be enough to break the drought, and with any luck, I might just get inspired by one of my WIPs in the process.

2 Comments

Posted in Counted Stitchwork

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Dot Com Generation

Posted on July 28, 2005 | 1 comment

So the precocious 2.5-year-old member of the family has taken to amusing me by chortling “Dot com, Mum? Dot com dot A U? Dot net dot A U… dot com?” all around the house. I tell you, that kid spends too much damn time on the internet :giggle:

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Posted in Family, The Kids

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