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Non-walking wounded 2005
I slipped on my stairs the other night and got a big bruise on my butt and managed to whack my foot on the trim on the wall. Somehow the toes tucked around the curves of the molding in such a way that the big, 3rd & little toes are okay, but the 2nd and 4th got badly walloped.
They're swollen with interesting purple and reddish mottling. The seem to go in the usual direction so if they're broken they aren't horribly broken. Unfortunately, there just isn't much even doctors can do for toes, so even if they're broken they'd probably just get taped to the toe next to them.
I have been icing them, keeping my foot elevated, and minimizing the amount of walking I do. I stayed home today and will make up the time by working on Monday. (Looking forward to a quiet and productive day then, actually).
Anyhow, not much posting. I'm sore and feeling lame in more than the obvious way.
Note to self: do not go down the stairs in slippery stocking feet.
Posted on August 30, 2005 at 07:16 PM in health | Permalink | Comments (1)
Now this is my kinda journalism: "Age-Old Cures, like the Maggot, Get U.S. Hearing".
Any article with sentences like
Thus, the agency decided that maggots and leeches were devices, Mr. Melkerson said.
and
"I was afraid he would wake up suddenly and see a leech stuck to his hand," Ms. Combs said. Josh later did just that, with another leech, which he named Fred.
kicks ass.
Posted on August 25, 2005 at 10:09 PM in health | Permalink | Comments (0)
Most of us believe in trying to make other people happy only if they can be happy in ways which we approve.
--Robert S. Lynd
Posted on August 25, 2005 at 12:25 AM in quotes | Permalink | Comments (0)
Oh no, she's gone off the safe topics again 2005
Hey, cool! The nice folks at Blowfish have a new podcast. If you want to hear some folks who are totally comfortable with sex and sex toys talking about things you might want to buy, this is for you.
Posted on August 25, 2005 at 12:21 AM in sex | Permalink | Comments (0)
Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.
--Dodie Smith
Posted on August 22, 2005 at 10:27 PM in quotes | Permalink | Comments (2)
If you notice after watching a video online (A, A, A is for Arlo...) that you have suddenly lost sound (e.g. you can't hear iTunes anymore, no startup sound, etc.) on your Powerbook G4, look at the Sound System Preferences and try checking and/or unchecking the mute checkbox. In my case, it was not checked, but checking it and then unchecking it brought the sound back.
... for a moment, and now its gone again and that trick isn't working anymore. Grrr.
... and now it seems to be fine again. Weird weird weird. Software is goofy.
... No, wait, it's a hardware thing. I can get the sound to cut in & out by pinching the case. Okay, I think my decision re: upgrading is getting made for me. Time to look into a more stable PowerBook, get this one repaired (still can do an insurance claim for the fall last November which could be behind the problem and I have Apple Care for it as well) and then sell it. It's a damn pity to only get a year out if it, but the fall was an exceptional event.
Posted on August 20, 2005 at 10:52 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (3)
Disk space for multimedia files 2005
As I prepare for my trip to Africa and for capturing audio & video on my journey, I'm realizing I need a lot more storage space for the media files I'll create. Questions are coming up:
1. Should I upgrade the drive in my 12" PowerBook G4 to a larger size than its current 60GB?
I've already had advice from my friend Tantek to definitely have a pro do this if I go this route since its a fragile operation. (Of course, I could get an immediate 28GB upgrade by moving my iTunes folder off, but since this is my primary stereo, that'd only be a temporary solution and is unattractive).
2. Should I buy some small physical size, high storage USB drives to store things on? What are the largest ones available?
I saw Seagate has a 5GB. Anyone know of others or have experience with them good or bad? Seems like I'd want to carry at least two so I could back files up to both in case of disk failure.
3. Where can I learn more about video capture and editing so I can work with the largest file size I need and no larger?
Friend of a friend Elli recommended I get Quicktime Pro which will let me edit my movies and export them to other formats. Any other recommendations? Good books or online tutorials?
4. Anyone got any experience with or know any resources to help me with safely and securely uploading posts and/or media from random internet connections? Advice on extending battery life and recharging while traveling (especially in regions with flaky power supplies) would also be most welcome. (I don't suppose there's a good solar charger yet...)
Posted on August 14, 2005 at 01:20 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (9)
Good evening... 2005
Suiting myself on Saturday night.
Posted on August 13, 2005 at 09:52 PM in mundania | Permalink | Comments (2)
More multimedia experimentation. 2005
Maybe audioblog's tools will be easier & better for me and my viewers.
Posted on August 13, 2005 at 08:52 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
Floundering toward multimedia 2005
Well, I'm trying to beef up my skills before I go to Africa and so I broke out the iSight and with a certain amount of futzing about with Quicktime Broadcaster - made a little video post.
Then I signed up for audioblogs.com (which also does video, don't ya know) and tried uploading it.
Turns out they only support avi format, so I flailed around a bit more before figuring out how to convert it in iMovie - and man is it an awkward process, would an Export option in the menu right under the Import option have been so hard, Apple?
I'm uploading and it's taking forever so I look and see that the Quicktime movie is 1.6MB while the avi file is over 29MB. What the hell, man?
There has got to be a better way. Advice anyone?
Posted on August 13, 2005 at 08:39 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (2)
My sexy wordsmith friends make me happy. 2005
Seth wrote "I mostly let my music appliance randomly weave through its 40GB of joy like a stoned magpie in a tinsel factory..."
Lovely!
Time to let iTunes work its random magic.
Posted on August 12, 2005 at 08:29 PM in creativity | Permalink | Comments (0)
Excellent commentary on NASA's manned space activities from Maciej Ceglowski: Rocket to Nowhere. This was recommended as a must-read article by Jason Kottke and he's quite right. I hope every member of Congress reads this.
Personally, I would like to see the United States reallocate the manned space "exploration" funding to an even split between direct funding for more primary school science & math teachers & classroom materials and an increase to the budget of our highly successful unmanned activities. Maybe in 10 or 20 years it'll be time to think about sending humans off-planet again, but the decision must be driven by scientific reasons not national propaganda goals.
Posted on August 6, 2005 at 01:39 PM in Science | Permalink | Comments (3)
Blog (noun) A weblog or similar brief journal usually containing links and commentary thereon. Term coined by Peter Merholz.
Visit Typepad or Blogger to start your own. (I began with hand coding, then switched to Blogger when it first became available, then to Movable Type when I wanted more control over my weblog and to have it hosted at a place of my choosing (Hurricane Electric). Now I use Typepad, built by the same folks who made Movable Type and I love it).
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