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A note for folks picking up their cell phones via the convention's arrangement: these provide voice call service only: no mail, no text messaging, no bluetooth. The services seem to exist, but to be locked out. Pretty bare bones. They do work pretty well, at least around Tokyo.
Saw this on a friend's LJ. . .I still can't really believe it. And after you finish boggling, look up the rates in Utah.
ETA. . .Thanks![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ase
http://thebratqueen.livejournal.com/856112.html
ETA. . .Thanks
asehttp://thebratqueen.livejournal.com/856112.html
Judy has sent this to WSFA, I may as well include it here:
As I mentioned at the last meeting, the Spooky Action Theater is doing a
production of "The Lathe of Heaven." Here's the link:
http://www.silverspringdowntown.com/events.php?item=386
I propose a theater party this Friday, June 8. Who's up for it?
Judy
As I mentioned at the last meeting, the Spooky Action Theater is doing a
production of "The Lathe of Heaven." Here's the link:
http://www.silverspringdowntown.com/events.php?item=386
I propose a theater party this Friday, June 8. Who's up for it?
Judy
Judy & I are thinking of going down to the free Shakespeare presentation at Carter Barron tomorrow night; I understand that one person (me, probably) can pick up 4 tickets. Curtain at 7:30, but you want to be down there a lot earlier to get a decent seat--as in, bring along a picnic dinner.
Anyone else interested? Here's the show (Love's Labors Lost):
http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/ffa/index.aspx
Anyone else interested? Here's the show (Love's Labors Lost):
http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/ffa/index.aspx
A number of European embassies are doing free tours tomorrow, with free bus service from DuPont Circle. Judy and I will be going down there for this--sounds like fun. Anyone else interested?
See http://www.europe-in-dc.com
See http://www.europe-in-dc.com
Had a busy afternoon running errands & shopping. For anyone who might be interested, the new Penzey's Spices store is now open in Rockville, and there are apparently plans for another in Falls Church sometime later this year. If you cook, you owe it to yourself to check this out.
Apropos of nothing else in particular, I just replaced a battery in an old palm pilot a couple of days ago. I kind of lucked out--came across one of the many suppliers who includes a little set of specialized tools and an illustrated PDF of the process. And their price was pretty darned good, too. Most of them won't even acknowledge that the chore might just be a little tricky.
The main thing is the tiny torq head screwdrivers, which almost nobody has as a matter of course. Also a special pry tool to slip under the glued-in battery for gentle extraction without cracking the circuit board.
The company is http://batteryship.com , and they can also help you do the same thing for your IPOD battery.
The main thing is the tiny torq head screwdrivers, which almost nobody has as a matter of course. Also a special pry tool to slip under the glued-in battery for gentle extraction without cracking the circuit board.
The company is http://batteryship.com , and they can also help you do the same thing for your IPOD battery.
This seems worth posting for my relatively short friends list--A computerworld article listing 20 quite neat and nifty Firefox extensions. I know, there are more of them than anyone cares to count. But this is a good batch. If you go to the bottom of the first screen and click on "Print this article" they very kindly reformat into one long page instead of 5, and ***omit the advertising***. Enjoy.
http://tinyurl.com/3bf6un
http://tinyurl.com/3bf6un
Very quiet and uneventful, rainy day here. . .daughter and I are both living with perpetual colds, mom's waiting for us both to get over it. Just watched last week's Torchwood, which ended by telling us that the Finale will be aired on New Year's Day. Um, today. Which would suggest it might be available to downloaders any old time now. That would be good. It's been *very* quiet and uneventful.
A goodly line at 7:40 this morning but it moved pretty well. Everything in our polling place in Montgomery County, MD seemed to be working smoothly--even the Diebold machines. But it still took some 40 minutes or so, what with the line and the fairly extensive ballot.
One thing about the touchscreen machines that has (briefly) confused me twice now: the summary page shown at the end of the process, which lists the selections you've made, doesn't all fit on one screen. The button to scroll down is over on the left side of the screen, and I didn't immediately notice it. I suspect that this may be the basis of a lot of the claims that selections are being changed--they're just not visible. Someone not tremendously computer literate could easily conclude that the machine had eaten or changed one or more selection, and I've heard some of those claims on the news.
A significant interface problem, at the very least.
One thing about the touchscreen machines that has (briefly) confused me twice now: the summary page shown at the end of the process, which lists the selections you've made, doesn't all fit on one screen. The button to scroll down is over on the left side of the screen, and I didn't immediately notice it. I suspect that this may be the basis of a lot of the claims that selections are being changed--they're just not visible. Someone not tremendously computer literate could easily conclude that the machine had eaten or changed one or more selection, and I've heard some of those claims on the news.
A significant interface problem, at the very least.
In case anyone really wondered, here are some reminder items from Molly Ivins' column of November 2, 20006:
May I remind you what this election is about? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, unprecedented presidential powers, unmatched incompetence, unparalleled corruption, unwarranted eavesdropping, Katrina, Enron, Halliburton, global warming, Cheney's secret energy task force, record oil company profits, $3 gasoline, FEMA, the Supreme Court, Diebold, Florida in 2000, Ohio in 2004, Terri Schiavo, stem cell research, golden parachutes, shrunken pensions, unavailable and expensive health care, habeas corpus, no weapons of mass destruction, sacrificed soldiers and Iraqi civilians, wasted billions, Taliban resurgence, expiration of the assault weapons ban, North Korea, Iran, intelligent design, swift boat hit squads, and on and on.
This election is about that, but much more -- it's about honor, dignity and comity in this country. It's about the Constitution, which gives us this great nation. Bush ran on a pledge of "restoring honor and integrity" to the White House. Instead, he brought us Tom DeLay, Roy Blunt, Katherine Harris, John Doolittle, Jerry Lewis, Richard Pombo, Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert, David Safavian, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, Karl Rove and an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. People, it's up to you.
A quiet day, that had its own amusement. Judy hauled me around to three different church bazaars today. Many crafts and Christmas decorations, not my thing at all--although the free samples of Scotch salmon and locally made chocolate were very nice. The winner of the day was the Saki set that she found in the Lutheran's bazaar. Two porcelain bottles and five cups, fitted nicely in a black cardboard box. And on each piece, a couple evidently having sex in some very contorted and imaginative position. Mostly covered in flowing garments, but unmistakable. And delightful.
I'll have to go to church more often.
I'll have to go to church more often.
Have put this off long enough, time to put it in writing. We lost a member of the family last week. A small, black female Manx cat, who'd been with us for the last 18 years. She was definitely feeling her age the last couple of years, slowing down considerably, limping badly on the repaired knee that had served her well for most of her life. She got to the point where it took a lot of forced meds and obnoxious procedures to keep her going, but they seemed to be effective. But last Friday she just crashed, too weak to move. When the vet suggested that it would take a transfusion to give her enough strength to manage further diagnosis--it was pretty clear that her time had run out, and we agreed to euthanasia. We'd seen it coming for a long while, but the arrival was still abrupt and unexpected.
I guess she had a pretty good life, for a cat. Owned our acre and a couple besides, and did her Darwinian best to ensure that the small animals and birds in the neighborhood were quick and observant. Or dinner. A mighty hunter, Moxie. She deserved a better ending to her story, but it was long and mostly happy one. She'll be missed for a long, long time.
I guess she had a pretty good life, for a cat. Owned our acre and a couple besides, and did her Darwinian best to ensure that the small animals and birds in the neighborhood were quick and observant. Or dinner. A mighty hunter, Moxie. She deserved a better ending to her story, but it was long and mostly happy one. She'll be missed for a long, long time.
Life continues apace; various of us are becoming higher maintenance beings. Our aging cat, Moxie, has gotten seriously arthritic in one of her knees, and is going into kidney failure. She'll be with us for a while yet, but needs a lot of meds and regular subdural IV hydration to keep going. Definitely does not like the veterinary profession, but does pretty stoicly put up with most of the indignities they impose on her.
I developed a white patch on my lower lip a while ago, and when it was still there after a month, got it looked at. This led to a session with an oral surgeon, who basically burned it out with a laser. The thing looked like nothing so much as a Bic pen with a wire coming out of the back. With a little local anaesthetic, it was a quick and painless procedure, though the smell was not exactly pleasant. In any case, after 4 or 5 days I only look like somebody got in a lucky punch, and it seems as though it will heal up and leave no trace.
Lots of sun-screening chapstick in my future--they're pretty sure the original problem was UV exposure. It figures--I've been pretty good about slathering on the sunblock for the last few years, but didn't put it on my mouth. A word to the wise for the younger folks who come across this post--think global warming, and stay in the shade.
I developed a white patch on my lower lip a while ago, and when it was still there after a month, got it looked at. This led to a session with an oral surgeon, who basically burned it out with a laser. The thing looked like nothing so much as a Bic pen with a wire coming out of the back. With a little local anaesthetic, it was a quick and painless procedure, though the smell was not exactly pleasant. In any case, after 4 or 5 days I only look like somebody got in a lucky punch, and it seems as though it will heal up and leave no trace.
Lots of sun-screening chapstick in my future--they're pretty sure the original problem was UV exposure. It figures--I've been pretty good about slathering on the sunblock for the last few years, but didn't put it on my mouth. A word to the wise for the younger folks who come across this post--think global warming, and stay in the shade.
(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)
( it goes on... )
| × I miss somebody right now. | × I don't watch much TV these days. | ✓ I own lots of books. |
| ✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses. | × I love to play video games. | ✓ I've tried marijuana. |
| ✓ I've watched porn movies. (It got boring after the first few minutes. Doesn't seem to have improved.) | × I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship. | ✓ I believe honesty is usually the best policy. |
| ✓ I curse sometimes. (Oh, yeah!) | × I have changed a lot mentally over the last year. | ✓ I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me. (Not entirely true. Too many places to get a little pocketknife confiscated any more.) |
( it goes on... )Yep, saw the first goslings of the season yesterday, hanging out near the Lakeforest Mall ponds. Those birds are really precocious, everyone else is still just wandering around thinking about how there's something they ought to be doing about this time of year. . .
The back is a lot better, in fact I could almost forget that there had ever been a problem. That would, however, be wrong. And stupid.
Going to the MySQL User conference in Santa Clara Sunday, and between that and visiting friends in Denver on the way back, will be away for a week. Will hopefully have at least *some* access to the internet in the meantime, but the only working laptop in the family right now belongs to Judy, and she insists on taking it to *her* conference. How inconsiderate.
The back is a lot better, in fact I could almost forget that there had ever been a problem. That would, however, be wrong. And stupid.
Going to the MySQL User conference in Santa Clara Sunday, and between that and visiting friends in Denver on the way back, will be away for a week. Will hopefully have at least *some* access to the internet in the meantime, but the only working laptop in the family right now belongs to Judy, and she insists on taking it to *her* conference. How inconsiderate.
Guess I only thought I was in pretty good shape. Was picking up some detritus from the living room floor this afternoon, and felt a sharp pain in my back as I stood up. Definitely a muscle pull or spasm of some sort. A stiff dose of ibuprofen has allowed me some motion, as long as it's reeeaaally slow and careful. Reached the doctor via her answering service, and got prescribed a muscle relaxant and some codeine/acetamenaphine.
Now it's just wait and see. . .can I stay awake through dinner?
Don't know just when you can stop calling yourself middle-aged and have to consider "elderly". But it's feeling a lot closer today.
Now it's just wait and see. . .can I stay awake through dinner?
Don't know just when you can stop calling yourself middle-aged and have to consider "elderly". But it's feeling a lot closer today.
Peace and quiet, rainy Christmas day. Presents open, stomachs full. Judy would be happier without her head cold, but all in all, not bad at all. A little later, perhaps, Serenity on DVD. And Merry Christmas to all. Whether you believe in it or not, so there!
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