I love Joss Whedon fans to death... the ones from the old guard, Browncoat days. They are some of the kindest, most generous people on the planet. When my family and I went through Katrina, the support from my fellow Browncoats was touching and overwhelming.
That being said, the new ones are getting on my last freaking nerve.
Maybe it's just Joss Whedon fans who are knitters. The groups related to Joss shows on Ravelry are filled with immature types who use past plotlines to justify their wild speculation about current plotline directions that *will never happen*. Just because you have a slash fantasy about two Whedon characters on Dollhouse doesn't mean it's somehow magically going to happen just to make you squee.
Joss doesn't do wish-fulfillment. He certainly doesn't pander to his fans... he likes to plunge the knife in your heart and give it a twist or two. In a good way.
I am also extremely tired of every single fan group, whether it's for Buffy, Firefly, Dollhouse, or an all-encompassing Joss group having all the exact same topics in them. If I'm a member of all these groups, I don't need SIX threads discussing spoilers, or SEVENTEEN threads discussing what Summer Glau is doing. This behavior is starting to spill over into other groups that are for shows totally unrelated to Joss, simply because one of the actors used to work for him (Hello "Castle"). I mean, if you go into the Castle group and start talking about being in your bunk, shindigs and strawberries, you're going to get a confused "Huh?" from about half the people there.
Knock it the fuck off.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
It's a Sim Life...
Sims 3.... not bad! (How's that for a ringing endorsement?) I played it all day yesterday once it was a) delivered and b) my computer finished its on-boot C: drive defragmentation I foolishly started to "keep me occupied until the game got here". The dang defrag took two freaking hours! That's what I get for being a hard drive space hog.
Sims 3 is both shiny-new and terribly familiar all at the same time.... both in very good ways. With the seamless neighborhood, load-times are limited to when you first load up the game... no more loading every time you travel. You no longer have to endlessly make friends to advance your career, you get to actually *do* your *job*.
Wants are no longer mandatory, they are put into a "wish list" where either you can promise your sim you'll try to accomplish it, putting it into one of four empty slots, or skip it by right-clicking and dismissing it.
My only problem with the game is that even at the fastest speed, waiting for your sim to get done sleeping is a tremendous snooze-fest... and they need to sleep a LOT. Let me put it this way, I've gotten 153 pages into one of my favorite epics (The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis... my first ever trashy novel) while watching my sim sleep. It's a flaw, to be sure, but not irredeemable.
I've still only experienced a fraction of the game, but all in all I am happy with my purchase... unlike SPORE, which disappointed me to no end. Just exploring all the fishing spots on the default town could take me days! Now, if only I could tinker with the refrigerator to make it self-cleaning like the stove, sink and shower, I'd be content.
Sims 3 is both shiny-new and terribly familiar all at the same time.... both in very good ways. With the seamless neighborhood, load-times are limited to when you first load up the game... no more loading every time you travel. You no longer have to endlessly make friends to advance your career, you get to actually *do* your *job*.
Wants are no longer mandatory, they are put into a "wish list" where either you can promise your sim you'll try to accomplish it, putting it into one of four empty slots, or skip it by right-clicking and dismissing it.
My only problem with the game is that even at the fastest speed, waiting for your sim to get done sleeping is a tremendous snooze-fest... and they need to sleep a LOT. Let me put it this way, I've gotten 153 pages into one of my favorite epics (The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis... my first ever trashy novel) while watching my sim sleep. It's a flaw, to be sure, but not irredeemable.
I've still only experienced a fraction of the game, but all in all I am happy with my purchase... unlike SPORE, which disappointed me to no end. Just exploring all the fishing spots on the default town could take me days! Now, if only I could tinker with the refrigerator to make it self-cleaning like the stove, sink and shower, I'd be content.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
I don't know what I was thinking
When I started my weaving project, I knew that warping my rigid heddle loom would be my least favorite part of the process. So I made sure that I put enough warp on the loom to do six placemats at once.
Now I'm halfway through placemat #2 and I'm sick of the project. I want to move on to something else, but I don't want to waste all that warp. So the project has been sitting while I do other things, like knit the Sipalu bag from Knitpicks.
My selvages are improving with each placemat, so I should be happy with my progress. Unfortunately, I never could justify spending the $110 dollars on the stand for my loom, so it is stuck on my dyeing table. There is no way to use it on my lap, since I went with the 36" loom. I mean... $110 dollars for fancy sticks and a few bolts! I'm about this close to asking hubby to use a Home Depot gift card he got to go buy me some PVC pipe or dowels and some bolts, and I make my own.
Sigh.
Now I'm halfway through placemat #2 and I'm sick of the project. I want to move on to something else, but I don't want to waste all that warp. So the project has been sitting while I do other things, like knit the Sipalu bag from Knitpicks.
My selvages are improving with each placemat, so I should be happy with my progress. Unfortunately, I never could justify spending the $110 dollars on the stand for my loom, so it is stuck on my dyeing table. There is no way to use it on my lap, since I went with the 36" loom. I mean... $110 dollars for fancy sticks and a few bolts! I'm about this close to asking hubby to use a Home Depot gift card he got to go buy me some PVC pipe or dowels and some bolts, and I make my own.
Sigh.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Summer is coming...
My slow season is approaching. Gee, why wouldn't anyone want piles of wool in their lap when it's 110 degrees outside?
As I was cleaning out my freezer yesterday, I decided to make room for the ice bucket and cube trays. As I was filling the ice cube trays with water, I caught myself running the High School Musical 2 song/riff through my head... the one that goes "Summer... summer... summer" all chanty and expectant.
I'm not usually one who's anxiously awaiting the summer months. Even in Minnesota where the summers are noticably cooler than here in Texas, I hated summer. It was hot and sticky, hard to get to sleep, and just generally not fun. I mean, sure, there was no school, but then my grandmother who raised me was a teacher, and we tended to go on trips a lot. At the time I really hated them, because my books and things were at home, and I had to go drive for days to see yet another "interesting" rock formation. Mt. Rushmore was cool, but the South Dakota badlands were a little boring to a 12 year old kid.
I think it's a shame that when I *did* travel, I was too young to appreciate it. Now that I have the perspective to see some of the natural wonders of our country for what they are, I don't have the money or the time to enjoy them.
I think this is why video cameras were invented. This summer when we make a trip up to Minnesota to see my grandparents, I think I'll be shooting lots of video.
As I was cleaning out my freezer yesterday, I decided to make room for the ice bucket and cube trays. As I was filling the ice cube trays with water, I caught myself running the High School Musical 2 song/riff through my head... the one that goes "Summer... summer... summer" all chanty and expectant.
I'm not usually one who's anxiously awaiting the summer months. Even in Minnesota where the summers are noticably cooler than here in Texas, I hated summer. It was hot and sticky, hard to get to sleep, and just generally not fun. I mean, sure, there was no school, but then my grandmother who raised me was a teacher, and we tended to go on trips a lot. At the time I really hated them, because my books and things were at home, and I had to go drive for days to see yet another "interesting" rock formation. Mt. Rushmore was cool, but the South Dakota badlands were a little boring to a 12 year old kid.
I think it's a shame that when I *did* travel, I was too young to appreciate it. Now that I have the perspective to see some of the natural wonders of our country for what they are, I don't have the money or the time to enjoy them.
I think this is why video cameras were invented. This summer when we make a trip up to Minnesota to see my grandparents, I think I'll be shooting lots of video.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Hilarity ensues
I've never seen the original commercial, but this is hysterical...
And this is terribly cute and makes me nostalgic:
And this is terribly cute and makes me nostalgic:
Thursday, April 30, 2009
USPS... what happened to you?
There has been this ongoing issue with one of my packages that has finally been resolved. I hate to crab about it, but I have GOT to get this off my chest.
I had an overseas customer who ordered some of my fiber because of the "Stone Soup Challenge". Her package did not arrive after two months... overseas is slow, but that was a little ridiculous. So I sent a replacement package to a relative that lives here in the states that was about to come over for a visit. Priority Mail. Supposed to arrive in a few days, right?
Twenty days had passed and the electronic tracking showed no movement after the package reached Houston. I made six phone calls over the course of two days, trying to track down that package. I bitched, whined, pleaded, and eventually tried humor and humility... I was *desperate* to have that package be found. I was sure this customer was going to think me a flaky weirdo because I couldn't get a shipment to arrive.
In the midst of all this, the first package was returned... marked up like you wouldn't believe. I'm surprised they could still see the return address.
Eventually, I returned the customer's money. I was very bitter... not towards the customer, but towards the US Postal service. If I couldn't rely on them to send my packages, how could I continue with my business? When the USPS screws up... it costs ME money, gives me tremendous amounts of stress, and wastes bucketloads of my time. I was *this* close to just chucking it all and moving to Tahiti. Or you know, something less expensive.
Well today the family member arrived overseas and guess what? They had received the package. The customer sent my money back once again, but that's not the point. The point is I was completely stressed out because the USPS' electronic tracking system was completely unreliable.
Now I have another package out there, and I have no idea if it has arrived... same kind of deal, there's no movement on the tracking number. I can't do business this way. If they're going to only scan the packages into the system when they feel like it (never) then they need to take the electronic confirmation numbers OFF their list of services.
I'd switch to UPS or FedEx, but unfortunately the same two pound package costs over $11 to ship UPS, and I haven't even priced FedEx recently, but I remember them being even more expensive when I checked a few years ago.
Well, it's a good thing I didn't ask the USPS to refund my postage. Now I'm going to have to start convo'ing all my customers to make sure their packages arrive, and it's going to look like I'm nagging for feedback... which I hate.
Summer is usually my slow season... is it here yet?
I had an overseas customer who ordered some of my fiber because of the "Stone Soup Challenge". Her package did not arrive after two months... overseas is slow, but that was a little ridiculous. So I sent a replacement package to a relative that lives here in the states that was about to come over for a visit. Priority Mail. Supposed to arrive in a few days, right?
Twenty days had passed and the electronic tracking showed no movement after the package reached Houston. I made six phone calls over the course of two days, trying to track down that package. I bitched, whined, pleaded, and eventually tried humor and humility... I was *desperate* to have that package be found. I was sure this customer was going to think me a flaky weirdo because I couldn't get a shipment to arrive.
In the midst of all this, the first package was returned... marked up like you wouldn't believe. I'm surprised they could still see the return address.
Eventually, I returned the customer's money. I was very bitter... not towards the customer, but towards the US Postal service. If I couldn't rely on them to send my packages, how could I continue with my business? When the USPS screws up... it costs ME money, gives me tremendous amounts of stress, and wastes bucketloads of my time. I was *this* close to just chucking it all and moving to Tahiti. Or you know, something less expensive.
Well today the family member arrived overseas and guess what? They had received the package. The customer sent my money back once again, but that's not the point. The point is I was completely stressed out because the USPS' electronic tracking system was completely unreliable.
Now I have another package out there, and I have no idea if it has arrived... same kind of deal, there's no movement on the tracking number. I can't do business this way. If they're going to only scan the packages into the system when they feel like it (never) then they need to take the electronic confirmation numbers OFF their list of services.
I'd switch to UPS or FedEx, but unfortunately the same two pound package costs over $11 to ship UPS, and I haven't even priced FedEx recently, but I remember them being even more expensive when I checked a few years ago.
Well, it's a good thing I didn't ask the USPS to refund my postage. Now I'm going to have to start convo'ing all my customers to make sure their packages arrive, and it's going to look like I'm nagging for feedback... which I hate.
Summer is usually my slow season... is it here yet?
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