michelle’s Neighborhood

QotD: Internet: Back in Time

M-----l
Yesterday
9 comments

How have the ways you use the internet changed over the years? How did you use it ten or fifteen years ago compared to how you use it now?

(1994-1998) At first I used the internet to see what naked ladies looked like.

(1999-2006) Then I used it to steal music by the Dave Clark Five.

(2007-????) Now I use it to talk to people I don't really know.

Thanks for asking.

Wish this monkey'd set me free...

M-----l
Yesterday
15 comments

I recently found a coffee maker in the back of my pantry. I'm not sure where it came from as I don't remember ever owning a coffee maker. I have one of those red Melitta filters that I go nuts on every single day, but I've never used a machine to make coffee. The coffee maker I found features a glass carafe that can make up to four cups at a time. I cleaned out the dust, set it up, and made some coffee. That's when I noticed something weird. The four cups it makes fit exactly into the coffee mug I usually fill up twice a day. Am I screwing up the math here, or does that mean what I think it means? Have I really been drinking the equivalent of eight cups of coffee a day? Can that be right? Is that why my teeth are brown, I don't sleep, and why my heart stops and starts at random?* Hmmm.

I ran out of coffee beans last night at around 7:30. (Yes, I was drinking coffee at night.) Usually I'd be running up to that fancypants grocery to grind some beans, but I'm going to hold off. I'm going to see if I can go a week without any coffee or coffee-flavored beverages. I used to do that all the time...back in 1998. * = Hey Anthem, I'm kidding about at least one of these symptoms. Don't pull any of that pre-existing condition shit on me.

Gil Scott-Heron - 'Where Did the Night Go'

Where Did the Night Go

Muhsinah - 'That Day'

That Day

399 songs, 23.9 hours, 1.90 GB

M-----l
2 days ago
43 comments

I am a bad compiler. When I first started creating the world's largest collection of ba-ba songs*, I'd write down the performer and title on my list and then rip or buy an mp3 of the song in question. I got away from the second step and realized last night that there were about a hundred songs on my list that I didn't have in my mp3 folder. So, I spent a lot of time ripping those songs I hadn't bothered with before. Ripping songs is very boring.

I'm still missing audio files of about 50 songs. Some of those are songs I only have on vinyl. Most of them are songs Voxers told me about that I haven't tracked down yet. I hope I get an iTunes giftcard for Christmas. Actually, I hope I get an Amazon giftcard as I'm not a fan of the iTunes store at all. Their MPEG-4 files can suck it.

But anyway, I gathered all the ba-ba songs I own and stuck them in a playlist. I have 399 songs in there and it would take me just under a day to listen to them all. I think I would go insane after about six hours. Ba-ba songs are great, but too much of a good thing will make me bang my head against the wall over and over and over again.

The playlist shown below doesn't include the 18 songs I selected for The Ba-Ba Box Set, Vol. 1. Now that I've got the rest of them all together, I think I'm going to put together the second volume in the series.

screen capture

[* = I have no idea if my collection actually qualifies for this title, but I find it hard to believe anybody else out there would take such a silly sing as far as I have.]

We're Moving...(sorta)

RPM
3 days ago
3 comments

In an effort to consolidate all things bloggy and potty (euw)...I'm moving most of my blogging activity, posting of items and all general stuff to:

www.sibbotery.com

But that doesn't mean I'm abandoning this space. At least...not entirely. I'll try to crosslink updates and of course, I need to keep this account active to keep an eye on you hooligans.

Stuff I've Been Reading: A Monthly Column (11/09)

M-----l
3 days ago
22 comments

I started off the month with two books that got their own posts, The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens and My Abandonment by Peter Rock. Then I settled in and read four additional books before the month ended. Here are my quick thoughts on those:

Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen
After reading the silly zombie mayhem version and watching the BBC miniseries featuring the dreamy Jennifer Ehle, reading the original "classic" version of Jane Austen's novel came as a huge disappointment. It was just about the dullest thing I've ever plodded through.

Dressed For Death--Donna Leon
This was the third book in Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery series. I take one of these with me whenever I travel. Dressed For Death is my favorite in the series so far. Three down, fifteen to go.

The Purple Cloud--M.P. Shiel
This book was written in 1901. I don't remember where I heard about it, but it's one of those post-apocalyptic stories I usually enjoy so much. In this one, the first successful expedition to the North Pole results in a purple cloud of toxic gases that floats around the world and kills everybody on the planet...except for the explorer who unleashed the cloud in the first place. He doesn't realize what's happened until he makes it back to civilization and finds bodies all over the place.

What would you do if you were the last person on Earth? I'm not exactly sure what I'd do, but it would probably involve finding a food and water supply, a library, and a comfortable couch. The explorer from The Purple Cloud is a bit different than me. He builds himself a castle made of gold and surrounds it with a moat full of wine. Then he goes around to all the major cities and burns them down. Finally, he ends up in Constantinople (not Istanbul) where he makes a shocking discovery.

Well, at least it was shocking to him. I saw it coming a mile away. It was pretty obvious to me where things were going. It'll probably be obvious to you, too. That doesn't mean The Purple Cloud isn't worth reading, though. In fact, I'd say it was on par with most of the H.G. Wells I've read. Put it on your list if you're into early science fiction. Maybe if you're lucky you'll find a copy like mine; it cost $2, had bite marks on the cover, and featured a full color ad for Kent Menthol cigarettes between pages 64 and 65. Classy.

Under the Dome--Stephen King
I read Stephen King's The Stand earlier in the year. I loved it...until it started to get stupid about two thirds of the way through. The Hand of God coming down to set off a nuke was the single worst ending of any book I've ever read. Oh, that previous sentence was a spoiler. I'd say I was sorry, but I just saved you 1,000+ pages.

Under the Dome is another one of Stephen King's epic 1,000+ pagers. It starts off great, with a mysterious, invisible dome suddenly appearing over a small Maine town. Planes and trucks wreck into the dome. Entire flocks of birds break their necks on its surface. One unlucky woodchuck gets chopped in two. In the middle of all this confusion, King's greatest villain appears on the scene. He's not a clown who eviscerates children. He's not a murderous vampire. The thing that's truly scary about Jim Rennie is that he's just a regular man. He's real. He doesn't have any supernatural powers at all, and yet he makes Randall Flagg from The Stand look like an amateur. Jim Rennie is the town's Second Selectman. He's an elected official who waddles around spewing Bible verses to back up his evil deeds. He says his new policies are for the good of the town, but he uses the dome and the fear that results for his own benefit. Take George W. Bush, mix him up with Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard, and then add a sharp intellect. That's Jim Rennie.

The rest of the book is about Jim Rennie's power-grab and its disastrous consequences. It only takes a few hours before the situation in the dome turns into a complete "clustermug" (his term). Most of the townspeople go along with Jim Rennie, but as the book progresses, a few stand up against him and his regime...a few people who know that human rights and due process don't disappear just because they're living in a snow globe. The final battle between good and evil is, in a way, reminiscent of The Stand. There's a big difference, though. Under the Dome stays strong all the way through. It doesn't fall apart at the end. Stephen King pulls it off.

As a book snob, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but Under the Dome might just be my favorite book of the year.

CURRENTLY READING:
Love in the Ruins--Walker Percy

Austen Leon

King Shiel

Discovering needlefelting and other things

Scooter Kitty
4 days ago

1122092133.jpg

Before I begin..what is going on with Vox? It's been acting weird..first I inserted a photo and it ended up on some weird part of my screen. Now there's a weird vertical orange line in the content box...I don't understand?!?!

I have a new addiction...and it is called needle felting. Have you tried it? It's so fun. I also started wet felting. I've made this funny looking macaroon cookie thing. I need to buy thos weird googley eyeball things and stick it on it. I've made a pin. I wet felted some soap. And now I'm working on a weird cuff/corsage. I can't stop! I need an intervention where someone stops me from going to the Home Ec Shop.

You can take a class with Jenny Ryan, who is really nice and sweet and super supportive. I'm so glad I could take a class this time. I always miss out because they really sell out pretty fast.

Thanksgiving was super fun. We actually had an early celebration the week before and then the day of I hung out with Ambookgeek and Melle. So fun! We watched "The September Issue" and then ate at the French Market/Quarter in WeHo. I'm so glad I could spend it with 2 fantastic friends.

Also, there's only "14 teaching days" (someone corrected me this morning after I blurted out - "We have 3 weeks left til break!!!" - nope only 14 days.

I think I will bake my cookies for the staff & faculty next week. I have some new recipes and I invested in a Kitchenaid stand-up mixer. I already made this awesome chocolate pecan pie with it. Well I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.