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July 10th, 2008
02:57 pm - name the companion!
"Oh no! You've ripped a hole in the space-time continuum! It's a disaster! We're all going to die! AAAAH - there's an appendage coming through the hole! RUN AWAY! NOW! FLEE, YOU FOOLS!"
"Ah, a hole. How odd. How interesting. Wait - it.. it tunnels somewhere! Wow, a wormhole! A tiny little wormhole just for me! This is the bestest thing ever!"
---
I installed a cat-door in the door leading from the bedroom to the garage. The garage has the "best" litterpans, but it's not air-conditioned. Phoenix has apparently never seen a cat door before, and "freaked out" doesn't quite cover it. Maddie was confused, but quickly decided it was wonderful. She looked horribly betrayed when i opened the people door to go in the garage later in the evening. "But this place is for kitties only! See the special hole? KITTIES. ONLY. Idiot."
I have since lured Phoenix through the door a few times. I'm not sure if he's gone through on his own initiative. Ah well, there's other litterpans in the house.
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July 9th, 2008
05:09 pm - funny on conference call today
*interruption during long-winded babbling*
"Gene: when I said i was turning the floor over, I meant that I was turning it over to the customer."
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/ankwinkg.gif) silly
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June 24th, 2008
09:36 pm - One word meme!
( Read more... )
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May 5th, 2008
05:12 pm - ouch
I think this is the first time i've posted YouTube videos. I just had to share the PAIN of listening to these songs:
Chim Chim Cher-ee (techno dance club version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrMdpc5z81A
It's a Small World (same deal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZV12ENmXWk
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/ankthinkg.gif) my ears, they bleed
Current Music: DDR Freak Radio
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April 16th, 2008
04:31 pm - On the Importance of Not Making Assumptions
I am short. I am under 5' tall.
For some reason, when people meet me, they often assume I'm 5'2" or so. I guess I project tall or something.
At any rate, when I work for a company, I ask for little things. My previous company, i asked for a little chair and a little desk, and they said they couldn't do it. I can understand, but it makes ergonomics a joke when you're working with stuff that's on a different scale than you are. But, whatever.
At my current company, when I started, I asked for the same thing. I was told that they didn't have smaller chairs, and that it was too much work to lower the desk. Whatever.
Three years ago, our company swapped out our "normal" office chairs for those fancy Aeron chairs. I did research, and was excited - these actually came in three sizes! The small one might fit me! (It would at least fit better than the "average" size.) I knew I was going to be out when they swapped out the chairs, so i tried to inform people that i needed a smaller chair. I replied to the chair-swap email asking for a smaller chair, i declined the meeting planner saying that i needed a small chair, and i left a note on my desk and a note on my old chair asking for a smaller chair. ("I am 4'11" tall. I need a small chair. Thank you.")
When i got back, i adjusted the chair as low as it would go, and it was too big. I immediately asked for a smaller chair, and was told they didn't have any. I ran around looking for smaller chairs, but they all seemed to be the same size. Crap, it looks like everyone got mediums. When they came around to make special modifications for a tall person's chair (6'5") I asked if i could get my chair modified to go lower, and they laughed at me. (It's a common reaction: "Can I have a kid's desk?" *laughter* "No, I'm serious. My feet don't touch the floor. The last time i can remember furniture fitting was when i was in fifth grade visiting a kindergarten classroom. Can I have a child-sized desk?") I don't know why it's so important to give tall people big things when short people are left with their legs swinging.
Recently I went to an ergonomics seminar at work, run by a tall person. Again, my request for child-sized furniture was met with polite laughter. However, there was an internal Affy person there who did ergo evaluations. He's short, and he took me seriously. He came up, and has put in a work order to lower my desk. (Hasn't happened yet; I'm keeping my fingers crossed.) He also told me to go over and try out someone else's small chair to see if it fit. I tried it. No, I told him, it was still too big. Would it be possible for me to try out the small-sized Aeron chair, to see if it made a difference? I know I had been told "no" previously, but it was worth a shot.
He said, "You already have a small chair."
I said, "No, i don't. I have a medium chair. I was told I couldn't get a smaller one."
him: "You have a small one. You can check the code."
me: "I did check my code. The chair has two dots. That means that it's a medium one, right?"
him: "I'll ask them to bring up a small one tomorrow."
This makes my mind race. We do have smaller ones? Why didn't anyone tell me? Could I find one to try out?
Yeah, there were a lot of small ones around. Some with people who were 5'10" or over 250 pounds. (The "small" size is optimized for the bottom 5% of the population - people who are below 5'2" and below 130 pounds.) And yes, they do fit loads better. I can actually brush my feet flat on the ground. I was so upset i was shaking and crying - why had i been told i couldn't get a smaller chair, when they were actually everywhere? (And when did they appear? I couldn't find any when they first made the swap.)
But what if everyone assumed that I already had a smaller chair? Nobody thought to check. Nobody thought to tell me how I could check. (I just found out how to check the chair size yesterday. I would have done this years sooner had I known.) That would explain why i kept on being told i couldn't get a smaller chair - if i already had the small one, there was no smaller to be had. *headdesk*
Bloody stupid assumptions.
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April 14th, 2008
10:36 am - ouraboros, the answer is:
four months.
(Did you forget the question already? It was "How long will it take before Madeleine becomes your cat?")
We had a prospective adoptive family come over yesterday to visit her. The little girl asked, "So, why are you getting rid of her?" - which practically made me cry.
After sleeping on it, Earl stated that we like Maddie and that we would be sad if she went away.
I stated that Maddie is a mean evil little beast who may claw out the little girl's eyes, and that would be sad, and we can't allow it to happen.
I asked Phoenix what he thought, and he gave me a blank stare.
I asked Maddie what she thought, and she looked at me with a "kitty treat??" look.
So, well. It looks like we acknowledge that we have two cats now. And I've been thinking that "Fire" would be a good middle name for Maddie. ("Be careful when you play with Fire!")
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April 5th, 2008
10:26 pm - driving barefoot...
... is perfectly legal.
http://tafkac.org/legal/driving.barefoot/driving_barefoot.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot#Driving_barefoot
Now, shall I post a picture of how i was dressed while driving home this evening?
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March 31st, 2008
04:38 pm - cats. socks. yarn from rabbits.
So bad at updating. Sigh. Another post with more pictures than words, i fear.
( Read more... )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/anksleepyg.gif) exhausted
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March 5th, 2008
01:06 pm - why I hate Microsoft, part N
"The spreadsheet should be working again. I've modified the color of green to be backwards compatible."
*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk*
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/niaha/kitty/ankangryg.gif) incredulous
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February 21st, 2008
03:27 pm - why i like being me
friend: "Bleah, my socks are falling down."
me: *big grin* "Not mine! They're glued on!"
Current Mood: silly
Current Music: clicky of keyboards and mice
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February 14th, 2008
01:43 pm - on holidays...
Happy Bacon Candy Day, everyone!
(Apologies to those who cannot or will not eat pig, for whatever reason. However, not all holidays are for everyone.)
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January 23rd, 2008
09:52 am - sun/moon sweater update
Almost done; all i have to do is the collar. I've been punting because i hate finishing a project. (It means i need to choose what to do next, oh terror.) Anyhow, here it is on my sweetie, with stitchholders for a neckline:
( behind here )
(The hem says "Image and Logic" on one side, and "Earl 2008 =^.^=" on the other.)
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January 3rd, 2008
10:29 pm - sun/moon sweater
( pics of sweater in progress )
Current Location: home
Current Music: Earl playing God of War
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December 18th, 2007
02:15 pm - oh, so that's why....
I just stumbled across the DDR gene! =D (apologies if link doesn't work)
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November 12th, 2007
01:10 pm - kitteh
So, Matted Kitty was one of the outdoor cats that taunted Phoenix. However, now Phoenix' worst nightmare has been realized: there is another kitty in the garage. Horrors! He was right in thinking some interloper kitty may lurk there!
So, uh, yeah, i'm a big softie, and invited her in, and fed her, and cleaned her up. But both she and Phoenix are one-cat cats. So...
http://www.bayareacatrescue.org/adoption/profile.php?id=1317
p.s. - We've dematted Matty Kitty; her temporary name is now "Madeline". Sounds a bit like "matty", and i really liked Madeline L'Engle's books when i was a kid. So there.
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November 1st, 2007
04:54 pm - one of my favoirte things
.. is LibriVox. Free online audio books in the public domain. All recordings done by volunteers. They care about the quality of the recording, not the quality of the voice; anyone can record. And that's what I adore - the wonderful variety of textures of voices. One book may have chapters read by people in New York, Texas, California, England, the Netherlands, and Russia. I love that people just *read* the books. I don't like it when the books are acted, if you know what i mean; it's just reading.
Why audio books? I can listen to them while knitting, spinning, gardening; i can't read a book while doing these things. (Yes, i know other people who read while knitting. It doesn't really work well for me.)
Just had to mention. I have this horrid urge to share everything that i think is great. (My poor sweetie; he has to keep on turning down offers of cups of tea. I know he doesn't like tea, but i feel compelled to offer.)
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October 31st, 2007
11:18 am - earthquake?
There was an earthquake nearby last night. Me - I was busy playing DDR; i've gone back to my "old" game (Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2), and am diligently piling up the points so i can "buy" all the secondary outfits for all of the characters. (Just 6 more left! Less than 30 hours of guesstimated playing time!) I had been playing some of the heavy songs, and went back to a light one to take a break. Earl tries to tell me something in the middle of it. I noticed that the fireplace utensils were shaking back and forth, and got annoyed, since i didn't think i was jumping *that* hard. When i finished (i got my AA with a star), i asked him "What?!?!". "Earthquake." "No, i wasn't dancing that hard. This was an easy song." "No, earthquake!" (points at swinging hanging lamp). "Oh, huh. Um. Well. It's over now. And, I got my AA*!" (So *that's* why he was standing in the doorway cutout.)
Dunno; the earthquake we got on vacation in Taiwan was more startling. Mebbe since we were on the 8th or 10th or something floor of an apartment. All the California earthquakes, i've been on the ground or first floor. (Uh, "second" floor. Whatever.)
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October 29th, 2007
06:57 pm - picture update!
*hide* yah, bad at updating. but look, a picture!
( behind here )
So, that's the elephant I knitted for Earl, Phoenix being Hyper Kitty, and the new knitting project (Rheingold Wrap). Yes, i'm playing with Phoenix with my bare hands; he has been well-taught that you Must Not use claws on people. He can still whap really hard with his little paw.
Yes, the "wrap" is currently a tube. If you look really closely, see how there's a hazy checkerboard stripe on the right-hand side? When i'm done, i'll cut it apart along that, and voila - flat wrap! It's 100% wool, so it'll stick to itself well. Plus, i am going to do arcane knitterly reinforcing with crochet before slicing. I've cut open knitting before, no biggie.
I've got more pics of my knitting on Ravelry. Or, feel free to hunt down my flickr photostream, and be bafffled at what i bother taking photos of. *grin*
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October 22nd, 2007
October 19th, 2007
12:20 pm - time-waster!
Keen vocabulary test at: http://www.freerice.com/
It's a "turn mouse-clicks into money donated to combat world hunger" site. The quiz is set up pretty darned well:
"FreeRice automatically adjusts to your level of vocabulary. It starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty and then, based on how you do, assigns you an approximate starting level. You then determine a more exact level for yourself as you play. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level. This one-to-three ratio is best for keeping you at the “outer fringe” of your vocabulary, where learning can take place.
There are 50 levels in all, but it is rare for people to get above level 48."
Unrealistic goal ahoy!
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