Archive for the 'Jemima' Category

For Sale by Owner

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2004

Free font of the day: Kontrapunkt

The management apologizes for yesterday’s lack of content. The web server was out to lunch. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog:

I had a surprise job interview recently, and if I get hired it will also be a surprise. The company sounds much more interesting than I expected, and the location is far superior to the usual place in the boondocks. It’s not the perfect spot (which would be right next to Filenes’ Basement downtown), but ‘twould do, ‘twould do.

Jemimas

Friday, August 6th, 2004

GNXP Post of the Day: on James Hart—thanks to Seema for the link.

This is a Jemima link dump. Jemimas of the world, unite!

She’s Baaaaack…

Monday, July 26th, 2004

I’m back from the woods, the highway is shut down, and all is well with the world. I’ve been unpacking and grocery shopping today, but tomorrow I may have some real blog content. Future entries will be live unless otherwise indicated.

The management apologizes for the inconvenience.

State of Jemima

Sunday, February 29th, 2004

Free software of the day: GNU typist

Late last week I figured out that tomorrow, and not today, was the first of March, meaning that I had the whole weekend to finish a couple of sci-fi contest entries due then. The stories are more or less done, though my revisions were interrupted when I re-read the rules and realized that I needed to get my name off the submission. That little technical hurdle has now been jumped.

NaNoEdMo starts tomorrow, and I’m not ready to face my November Disaster yet. It’s only an hour a day, though, so maybe I’ll do it this year. Last NaNoEdMo was a complete wash for me.

On the Stargate side, I finally saw “Chimera” and enjoyed it, though, again, there wasn’t nearly enough Jack. I don’t know why everyone was upset about Sam telling all to Pete - obviously she wouldn’t give out classified information without clearance right in the infirmary under the security cameras. Pete was cuter than the screenshots led me to believe, although still kind of chubby in the suit. Was it just me, or did Sam look guilty when he said “It’s nice to know that people still stay together no matter what, isn’t it?” I certainly felt guilty on her hussy behalf, although otherwise they were just too happy together for me to feel the typical Ex-JetCer In The Hands Of The Cruel PTB anger. I almost feel guilty plotting to break them up in fanfic…almost.

I’ve decided to go back to the Dvorak keyboard, since my typing is only getting worse in my old age. I need a keyboard that was designed to help people type fast, not impede them. Most sites about it are too old to cover MacOS X, for which there are two Dvorak keyboard options available from the International System Preferences pane under the Input Menu tab. Be sure to check the box for “Show input menu in menu bar” so you can switch back and forth easily. For a typing tutor, I downloaded and built gtypist (link above) without any difficulty, though it’s possible you might have to grab ncurses with fink if you don’t have it installed already. I’ll make a note of it when the first Dvorak-typed blog entry appears.

Jade was having IE problems, so I downloaded FireFox in solidarity with her. I noticed it colors my XML links as html links, wiping out the pretty colors from my XML CSS stylesheet. I hope the new Camino, coming soon, doesn’t do the same. I really wish Safari could handle XML links, no matter how it colored them.

Jade also complained about my dark salmon background, so I added a style shutoff at the top of the sidebar: Turn Style Off. It’s a javascript link that I’d like to include on all my pages, but I’m not sure where I’d put it. At the moment it isn’t persistent, either - you’ll have to turn the style off whenever you visit, if you want it off. The function itself (OffCSS) is simple; you can get the code by viewing the source for this page.

Phoning it in

Monday, February 23rd, 2004

Dictionary of the day: the OED’s sci-fi citations - it’s a great way to trace concepts like cyborg and corpsicle.

I’m in a Connie Willis phase at the moment, due to a lucky find of two used novels at Brookline Booksmith. (The used books are in the basement.) Reviews to follow, but at the moment I’m feeling detached and retired. I know I should go check those ASC checkballots one last time, but real sci-fi (as opposed to fanfic grey market) has been taking up my time lately. Maybe I’ll drabble for old times’ sake.

After all, how wrong can you go in 100 words?

Cardamom

Saturday, January 24th, 2004

Here’s a Friday Five, by way of Seema:

At this moment, what is your favorite…

1. …song?
“She” by Charles Aznavour.

2. …food?
Chicken Sofrito (with cardamom)

3. …tv show?
Stargate SG-1.

4. …scent?
I’m not a big scent person, but I noticed cardamom is popular now. It makes me hungry.

5. …quote?
“Better a dry crust and peace with it, than a house full of feasting with strife.” Proverbs 17:1

The Big Snowball

Friday, December 12th, 2003

I’m alive and well and in NYC. My trip here wasn’t unusually horrific - the most impressive third world transit incident was the way they make you pay extra for your Metro North ticket aboard the train because they don’t have enough ticket agents to sell you one before it leaves the station. And then there’s the endearing sight of snowplows prowling Central Park with their plows up when there’s still snow on the paths. Such is life in the third world.

Sorry I haven’t had time to blog. Your regularly scheduled blog will return no later than Monday. The management apologizes for the inconvenience, and has a couple of funny links for you to bide your time:
Holiday Snowglobe
Psychobabble

Free Stuff

Friday, September 19th, 2003

My printer came yesterday, sans USB cable. I knew there had to be a catch somewhere in the whole $99 printer and $99 rebate scheme. But thanks to Radio Shack, I’m now printing merrily away.

I’ll be gone again for the weekend, so don’t watch this space.

Alive and Kicking

Sunday, August 31st, 2003

Word count: 0

I’m just blogging for a moment to tell everyone I’m alive and well in NYC. We’re going to the Tugboat Festival today. I’ll be home and blogging again Tuesday at the latest.

No Words

Friday, July 11th, 2003

Since I’ve finished the draft of the story I was working on this week, I don’t feel too guilty for not writing anything these last two days. In fact, I’m considering extending the not writing for another week or so. Dr. Deb has gone to Seattle for reasons which I don’t quite recall, so I will be feeding the feline and enjoying the DVD player. I’m hiking over to Brookline every day, I may as well make the most of the facilities. I’ll have plenty of time to get back on the 1,000 word wagon come August…