web-goddess: archives

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

[1]

By the time I get up in eight hours the Oscar nominations will have already been released, so let me just assure you all that the Fourth Annual Web-Goddess Oscar Contest will be starting very shortly. I'm not quite finished with the prize yet so we'll probably be launching on Friday or Saturday. And can I just say, I have had a stroke of GENIUS this year. Seriously, it's going to be the greatest prize yet. So go to the movies!

DietBlog: 83.7kg. That's another 400g (about a pound) lost. Three losses in a row! I haven't hit a hat trick in months. Pretty amazing considering my Weekend of Social Engagements.

[11]

The Perils of Having Co-Workers Who Read Your Weblog
I had a heart attack today when Heather, who was on duty in the knitting shop, called to ask about some yarn and went on to explain that "Angora Man's here and he's asking about it." Dude, don't use my made-up nicknames WHEN THE CUSTOMER IS IN THE STORE! (She later explained that he was on his mobile phone and didn't hear her.) I figure it's only a matter of time before somebody blurts out "Titsiana" next time the thief is mooching about...

I ended up chatting to Angora Man while he was out in the shop, and he recommended this website to me. Seriously. Don't neglect to check out the pants. Two pounds of rabbit fur!

[1]

"It's downright unpatriotic to be fat!" That goodness I can fit into my Civilian Defense uniform now. Vintage beauty advertisements courtesy of MetaFilter.

[1]

Whoooooaaaah, what a wookie!
Chewbacca blogs. That amused me far too much. I started laughing as soon as I saw the URL. Be sure to scroll down through all the posts. Chewie likes cute animals in funny hats, Domokun, and photoshopping himself onto famous pictures. (I personally love the one of Nick Nolte's mugshot.)

Monday, January 30, 2006

Tonight's low-fat recipe experiment: Butternut Pumpkin Salad. (That's plain ol' butternut squash to us Yanks.) I knew I'd like this one, but the final result tasted a lot different than I expected. The apple juice, vinegar, and sugar make it really sweet. We had it with salad and the leftover bits from last night's steak, and it was a lovely cool way to end a hot day. Recommended.

Speaking as a clumsy person, this is, like, my nightmare. It reminds me of the (one and only) time I wore my backpack in the bead shop on Enmore Road, and I knocked an entire bowl of itty-bitty seed beads EVERYWHERE. Except they weren't worth millions, and the guy was just able to vacuum them up.

[1]

Shhh! For Valentine's Day, I'm going to make the Snook a card that has this on it.

Nah, just kidding. I can't post any surprises for him here anymore because he's a regular reader nowadays. Still a lurker, but he's definitely reading...

If any of you Weight Watchers (or Fat Fighters) need extra inspiration this week, check out Georgie's site. Damn. Her before and after is way more dramatic than mine!

Sunday, January 29, 2006

[1]

Happy Chinese New Year! And dog owners, don't forget to wish your pup a happy birthday tomorrow. (I'm amused by the fact that I'm supposed to stay home and not visit anyone on February 2nd to invite the God of Wealth into our home. Given that the other two wisdom teeth are coming out that morning, I don't think I'll have any trouble complying!)

Saturday, January 28, 2006

[17]

Knitting Olympics 2006 - Team Australia
It looks like knitters all over the world are gearing up for Yarn Harlot's 2006 Knitting Olympics. Even more amusing, people are forming "teams" and making buttons so you can show your participation. There's Team Boston, Team Wales, Team Germany, Team South Africa, a bunch of American and Canadian Teams... even Team Goth and Team Caffeine. Yet in all my wanderings, I have yet to come across an official mention of Team Australia. (It was suggested on gadgetgirl's site, but interest kinda petered out.) Folks, it's time to rectify that. Who's with me? I know crumpet and gadgetgirl are in. I'm definitely "competing" but I haven't decided on the project yet. Anyone else want to join us? Leave a comment telling us what you're going to attempt!

Feel free to grab one of the buttons above, or make your own and leave a comment so other folks can find it. (If you use one of mine, please right-click and save the image to your own server.)

Two social engagements down, one to go. I've been sticking to my healthy-eating plan pretty well. It helps that I've been making healthy salads and dips to bring to each gathering. The big winner so far was the home-made guacamole. I doubled the garlic and added loads of fresh coriander. Delicious! I also tried out the curried yoghurt tip (I didn't think it was very special, but other folks liked it) and beans with tomato (which I liked a lot).

Friday, January 27, 2006

[21]

I'm almost embarrassed to post this...
One of my WW tasks this week is to sort through my clothes and get rid of all the too big, "just in case" stuff. So I was poking around in the underbed drawers today, and I pulled out a Notre Dame tank top completely *covered* in cat fur. Upon cleaning it off, I realized that it's the same top I'm wearing in my "before" picture, the one I keep posted on the fridge and carry with me to meetings for inspiration. (Everyone I show it to refuses to believe that it's even me. I look like a fatter, older distant relation.) Curious, I tried the top on and took a picture of myself in roughly the same sort of pose. And now, of course, you all want to see the comparison. [more...]

[2]

This one's for the boys: Top Ten Cricket Sledges. (Not safe for work, and probaby not interesting for anybody who doesn't know cricket.)

Anybody got a spare half-million lying around? I'd like this for my birthday, please. *sigh* That place looks nice, and it's only about a block from where we are now. I wish we had a deposit!

[6]

Okay, so I just finished Volume 2 of The Astonishing X-Men, and I've got some more questions for you experts... [more...]

Thursday, January 26, 2006

RunningBlog: Trail Note
Happy Australia Day! As this marks the start of three straight days of social engagements, I thought I'd better get in some exercise before the beer starts flowing. Today I headed out on a long run through the city to see everything going on for the holiday. As I jogged down George Street, I was amused to see the number of people wearing Australian flag T-shirts increase as I got closer to Circular Quay. Everywhere along the harbour was just packed with tourists and residents alike. (Only at Circular Quay would people pay money to watch two Aboriginal guys covered in mud smoke pot.) I zig-zagged through the crowd and went past the Opera House, where a big screen is set up so everyone can watch the Australian Open live. I chugged around Farm Cove to the Botanic Gardens, smiling as families spread out picnic blankets and waited for the festivities to begin. I walked up the steep hill to Macquarie Street and found myself in the middle of the Hunter Valley Classic, which featured several blocks' worth of classic cars and trucks. (Only one made me stop dead in my tracks - a classic red convertible Beetle. My dream car. And it was for sale! Only seven grand!) Soon I crossed over into Hyde Park and had a peek at the food stalls lining the grand tree-lined avenue. There were stages set up elsewhere and families were settling down for lunch. Next I cut over to Castlereagh and followed it down to Belmore Park, where tents were being erected for tonight's Hawker Food Market (as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations). We definitely need to head back there. Then it was up to Central and back down Broadway to home. Total time: one hour and fifteen minutes. Whenever I do stuff like this, I'm reminded why I like living in the middle of a big city. I'm sure I'll want peace and quiet some day, but for now, being able to leave my house and jog down to the Sydney Opera House - one of the most iconic buildings on arguably the prettiest harbour in the world - is just too, too good.

[1]

Me: I might be awhile. I'm gonna shave my legs.
Him: Really? Huh.
Me: What?
HIm: I'm just wondering if you'll weigh in again afterwards...
Me: Oh, HAR HAR.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

[11]

From the Dictionary of Snook: "Bus Panickers" - A name for idiots on public transport who seem to worry that they'll be trapped on the bus forever. You can usually spot one by his reluctance to move down the back of the bus (away from the back doors), or by her insistance on getting up five minutes before her stop and pushing her way to the doors, without regard to the fact that half the people she just shoved out of the way are getting off there too. I hate bus panickers.

[2]

I just made a connection. Those stupid "zeromovement.com" thingies that were spraypainted all over the city's sidewalks a few weeks ago are part of the marketing campaign for Coke Zero! Those asses. I take back my compliments about it. There's nothing I hate more than vandalism masquerading as advertising.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

[7]

DietBlog: I'm happy to say that the "85-kilo monkey" is off my back at last; and in fact, I think the little bastard might be dead. Official weight tonight: 84.1 kg. That's a drop of 1.5 kg from last week, and it brings my total loss to 16 even. I'm ecstatic. Here's the thing though: I KNEW it was going to be a good week. I KNEW I was going to have a loss. I've been faithfully tracking everything (using the online eTools) and I knew exactly how much more output than input I had every day. I've been feeling POWERFUL. I don't even feel like I've done a ton of exercise, but I know I've done something every single day. I even had two social engagements last week: trivia on Wednesday and the symphony on Saturday. Normally that would have been excuse enough to wreck the whole week. I feel like I can handle anything now.

Joanne asked me at work today whether I thought the hypnotherapy had done me any lasting good. It's an issue I've been thinking about lately. I mean, I don't feel "cured" or anything. I'm still hungry ALL THE TIME and I'm still worried that my progress could stall if I lose focus. What I don't have, though, is that crushing feeling of depression and futility I had a few months ago. I feel more capable and confident. I don't know if hypnosis was the key to that, or whether it was simply trying something different to shake me out of the doldrums. (Or whether I'd have had the same result with any sort of counselor.) So I don't know if I'd wholeheartedly recommend it as a bona fide proven weight-loss treatment just yet. It was exactly what I needed at that time, but that doesn't mean it would have the same effect for everyone.

I think I may be facing a new hurdle though. Now that I can finally look past the 85 kg barrier, I can actually see the end in sight. Folks, I AM SEVEN KILOS FROM GOAL. That means I'm seven kilos away from NOT BEING A FAT PERSON ANYMORE. I mean, I know I'm not magically going to turn into an Olsen twin once I hit 77 kg, but I mean that mentally, I won't have to think of myself as overweight anymore. That is utterly inconceivable to me. It would be like changing gender or race or something. Being "big" has been an intrinsic part of my self-image since college. If you take that away, what's left? It's like staring into an abyss. I won't have it as a crutch anymore. It's going to take some serious getting used to.

[3]

Quiddity pointed me to a fascinating little eassy on sex and comics. I've sorta been thinking about these issues myself as I've started exploring the world of comics. Fortunately none of the books I've been reading - Astonishing X-Men, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and The Sandman - fall into the heavy T&A category. (Although I have to admit, when I got to the sex scenes in Volume 2 of LoEG my jaw dropped. I wouldn't say they were exploitative - or even explicit, in the case of Mr Hyde and, um, Mr Griffin - but I found them pretty shocking, nonetheless.) To be honest, I feel that the "soft-core exploitation" issue is the same one that dogs the video game industry. You've got an art form that traditionally appeals to guys, so the guys who make it put in the chicks that the guys who consume it want to see. Then they all get together and bitch about how no real girls are into games or comic books. The fact is, we tell them over and over exactly why we don't like participating in that vicious little circle. They just don't want to hear it. I don't mind if a chick is sexy while she kicks ass; I own all seven season of Buffy. I just don't think her boobs should be the only thing that makes her interesting. (I'm looking at you, Lara Croft.)

[1]

Check it out: Big Things! I was going to send it to Amy and Rob but it turns out they're already posters. Figures. Maybe I should finally sign up for a Flickr account... I could post the picture of us at the Big Banana!

Monday, January 23, 2006

Kenya has just discovered his grandfather's cricket player stats. How cool is that? I like the bit about how, in his one first-class match, he opened the batting for Dublin University with the playwright Samuel Beckett. He was out there batting with the guy who'd go on to write Waiting for Godot. That blows my mind. (Also cool that he went on to be the Secretary-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Good on ya, Grandpa Deverell.)

[2]

Turns out there have been some fresh sightings of the murderer around Dubbo lately... (I've come to think of him as "our" murderer.) In case I forgot to mention, the Zoofari people have been wonderful in dealing with the whole debacle. Our money got refunded right away and they've even offered us a complimentary visit if we ever get back there.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

[1]

My good mate Nick (aka "Kenya") has officially launched his Kenya Cricket weblog. An admittedly narrow subject area, to be sure, but please consider giving him a link so he can build up some Google goodwill...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

In a rather last-minute display of civic involvement and an earnest desire to get some "cultcha" for once on a Saturday night, Amy, Snookums, and I headed into the city for tonight's big free Sydney Festival event: Symphony in the Domain. Unfortunately 20,000 other people had gotten there before us, so we were sitting way, way off behind a tree in probably the only acoustically-poor section of the park. It was still fun though. We nibbled and munched our way through an assortment of healthy snacks and even knocked back a couple glasses of wine. (Ooh, contraband!) Given that the theme was Gershwin and the conductor knew how sophisticated Sydney summer concertgoers are (i.e. not very), he began with the obvious but still impressive "Rhapsody in Blue." They even trotted out singers for a few numbers including one of my favorites, Caroline O'Connor. It was a beautiful night and most people seemed content to just treat it as a big communal picnic with some lovely background music, which suited us just fine. Next year we'll know to get there earlier!

Symphony in the Domain

Friday, January 20, 2006

Steve has posted the Martini Club's first review from our night at Kuleto's in Newtown a few weeks ago. My comments regarding the non-gin-based cocktails are in the comments.

[1]

Friday Accomplishments

I resisted the urge to sleep in and instead met Albie at the university squash courts for an hour-long workout. Good way to start the day.
The Snook and I signed paperwork at the bank to create our first official joint bank account together, which we got so that we can open a savings maximiser and start socking away cash to buy a house. (And so that I can steal all his money.)
Deposited my last two checks from Google, which I forgot I had. Cashing foreign checks is such a hassle.
Spent half the Google money on a 1GB iPod Shuffle. :)
Cashed in my "buy-ten-massages-and-get-one-free" card.
Got six months' worth of new contact lenses.
Hit the grocery store and the fish monger to pick up supplies for my first ever paella tonight. (Needless to say, this will be the first time I've ever cooked seafood in my life.)

And what did you do?

[4]

I'm being all schmoopy over at Tara D's site.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

[3]

Scandal! Titsiana the THIEF was just in the shop! It was a tense fifteen minutes as the staff tailed her around the knitting department while the rest of us watched on the cameras in the office. She didn't steal anything this time, but she did put some stuff on hold and we think she's going to try to "return" the kit she stole and try to exchange it for other stuff. She was also behaving very oddly with her credit card - asking us what her limit was, etc - so we rang AmEx to alert them that it might have been stolen. It's like Dragnet in here!

[1]

Also from the BBC... FOX has cancelled another of our favorite shows. Malcolm in the Middle will finish this year after seven seasons. (I'm praying for a Dewey spin-off.) More intriguing is the quote in that article from some Fox boofhead stating that they're considering offers from two other networks to pick up Arrested Development. *crosses fingers*

It looks like Prince Caspian is going to be the next Narnia movie, and all four kids are returning. I'm really happy about that; it's actually one of my favorite books in the whole series. I wonder how they'll do the dryad bits though, since they sorta took them out of the first movie. (Or rather, they turned them into lame "blowing leaves.") I want to see a full-on bacchanalian dirt feast at the end!

I thought I was gonna rock this Winnie the Pooh quiz, but then it turned out to be all about the history and economics of it so I sucked. I got, like, four out of ten.

The stitches on my wisdom teeth came out last night. (I had one in each "hole.") I was brushing my teeth and when I spat, out came a little piece of string with a clearly-identifiable knot at one end. The gross part is that I remember them being black when he put them in, but after two weeks being digested in my mouth they'd turned white. I told you it was gross!

Not that I want to give the bastards any money, but Sony have at last joined the Australian iTunes Music Store. I wonder why they caved.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

[7]

Trivia Update: We sucked the big one tonight. We had a good first round - coming in second by one point - but then the wheels really came off in the second. It was our largest team yet and we were doing the thing I hate, the thing where we all talk each other out of correct answers. I missed out on two free jugs by virtue of sending up the boys instead (like they're going to know "Dracula" or "Jennifer Garner"??). Anyway, here are a few practice ones for you guys:

Name the members of Led Zeppelin in the 70's.
Who played Mace Windu, Bail Organa, and Count Dooku?
What recreational activity did both Al Jolson and Buster Keaton die while doing?
How many tires are on a 747?
Which two "Jessicas" won Best Actress Oscars in 1989 and 1994?
Which two countries have the most Jewish people?

(We got the Star Wars one, of course, and I managed to remember the Jessicas... but we flubbed all the rest in one way or another.)

[1]

Bookmark: wwcalculator.blogspot.com. (I promise I'll get off the diet topic as soon as possible.)

[6]

The new menu at Sumo Salad is turning into a total Seinfeld non-fat yogurt situation for me. To recap, they "revamped" their salad menu a few months ago and added/removed a bunch of items. Fair enough. The problem is that the few salads that they kept are now MUCH less healthy, but they haven't advertised that fact at all. (Nor have they updated their listing in the new WW Points Guides, all of which still list the old Points values.) I sent in a complaint before but I haven't heard anything back. At the very least, I'm going to post the current menu Points here in the hopes that future WW Googlers will know what they're in for:

BBQ Prawn - 2.5 Points
Smoked Salmon and Goats Cheese - 4 Points
Tandoori Chicken - 4 Points
Pumpkin and Pinenut - 5.5 Points
Malaysian Beef - 5.5 Points
Moroccan Lamb - 5.5 Points
Lemon and Herb Chicken - 6.5 Points
Grilled Chicken Caesar - 9 Points

It's the Pumpkin and Pinenut that still galls me. How it went up from 2.5 to 5.5 is baffling, unless they started using new super fatty feta or something.

The Invasion of Iraq as a Text Adventure. Brilliant!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

[4]

DietBlog: I'm happy to say I'm back on track. I hadn't officially weighed in since before Christmas - though I did attend meetings, since I was subbing for our weigher, Jonathan - but I did hop on the scales briefly last week just to check whether I had put on a couple kilos over the Christmas holiday. I had. So I decided to get down to business. I signed up for the free trial of "eTools" at the WW site and the novelty of tracking my food and exercise online has gotten me doing it again. Last Friday I walked all the way from our place in Chippendale through the city and across the bridge to North Sydney, which took me over an hour. Last night I went back to kickboxing for the first time in ages, and it Kicked. My. Ass. The upshot? I'm officially back to 85.6 kilos... which is exactly what I weighed before the holiday madness. Sweet!

I think some of the weight was brain cells, though. I distinctly remember telling the Snook last week that there was something I wanted, but I was holding off buying it til I'd managed to stick to the plan for a week. Today was the big reward day... but I've forgotten what it is I wanted! Forgetfulness begets frugality, I guess.

This week's meeting was really good, by the way. Gaye finished Maintenance and officially became a Lifetime Member, and she gave us a great speech about hanging in there. (It took her 16 months to lost 23 kilos.) I seriously got a little choked up. It was like an Oprah episode, and I mean that in the best way possible. I also came away with a task for this week: I'm going to go through my wardrobe and throw out everything - EVERYTHING - that is too big for me. No more hanging on to my "just in case" clothes. (Those of you who see me on a regular basis will soon observe that I only have four pieces of clothing left.)

Monday, January 16, 2006

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: The Mexican Shuffle. And now that you've got Herb Alpert stuck in your head for the rest of the day, I'll just point out that this guy was responsible for it. (Isn't that last paragraph cute? He worked in both me and the puss-puss!)

[1]

"Mine says 'Chop Gun.'"
Check out this year's We Love Our Lamb on Australia Day ad. The Snook and I were both LOVING that. Too, too funny. We'll probably be at Steve and Kate's annual do next Thursday, but I can guarantee that some lamb chops will indeed be whacked on the barbie as we "celebrate living in the best bloody country on earth." (Link courtesy of non-lamb-eater - yet still a damn fine American-Australian - Amy.)

First fluffies and now amputee admirers... I noticed the other day that I was getting a fair few hits from that Yahoo! group, so I joined in order to see what the link was. Turns out somebody basically reposted Marci and Lindsey's conversation from last year. Well, uh, I guess a welcome to my new visitors is in order! (I don't normally post about amputee admiration.)

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Dude. If they'd had this light cafe in London four years ago, we might not have needed to leave! (Can I just say how great it is to not have the sun set at four p.m.? Lack of light makes Kristy go nuts. A glorious, bright sunny Sydney day like we had today makes me happy to be alive. It's like that scene in Swingers where Rob tells Mike: "The future is beautiful... It's sunny every day here. It's like manifest destiny.")

[2]

Ma Snook thinks we should go to The Dark Side for my birthday in two months. We've read about it before. I dunno; I might be too scared to eat something without knowing what it is! The Snook would be up for it though. He'll eat anything.

You Know You're a Weight Watcher When... (Somewhat corny, but I couldn't resist.)

[4]

Ha. I don't even know who Giada on the Food Network is, but this blow-by-blow account of her tasting a sorbet that went very wrong is HILARIOUS. (Link courtesy of crumpet.)

Thursday, January 12, 2006

[4]

Snookums dubs it... the iBog.

Huh. So Reese from Malcolm in the Middle just bought Jessica Simpson's house. I'd wish him well except I'm still too busy PUKING from the episode we just watched where he gets super-sunburnt and then peels AN ENTIRE SKIN SUIT off himself in one-piece. And then Lois sucks it up with the vacuum cleaner. (Hmm. I feel such a revulsion towards this image that it might come in handy in food-temptation situations...)

[2]

Note to Self: Register for this class!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

[7]

Trivia Update: We've officially caught the bug again, folks. This was our second week back and we had Kenya and Sal along to back us up. The Snook quickly homed in on our main competition when he recognized an old chemistry nerd friend, Tim Schmidt, sitting at a nearby table. From that moment on, it was the Science Nerds versus, well, Us. We completely boned the first round (again) yet still managed to come out tied for second. I again won us a jug based on a movie identification, completely shredding the competition because as soon as she said "Directed by Christopher Nolan..." I was OFF. We also rocked all three points of a Jaws-related puzzler (one point of which was entirely due to this post of Max's, which allowed me to recall the setting of the movie). We ended up tied for second with Tim's team, and it all came down to a tiebreaker: "How many individual parts are put together to make up a 747?" Did I ever mention that the Snook started out in uni as an aeronautical engineer? Needless to say, we won that sucker. Other notable questions:

In the old TV show Batman, who was Barbara Gordon's alter-ego and what actress played the character?
Which 60's LSD advocate said: "Turn on, tune in, drop out"?
Which desert is the sunniest place in the world?
What were the names of the three Chipmunks?

We're still trying to identify our strengths and weaknesses as a team so we can plug the knowledge gaps. Our two real problem areas are sport (especially Melbourne Cup, Olympics, and Rugby League) and 60's pop music identification. Any of you Sydneysiders feel you're up to the challenge?

[10]

The Snook and I will definitely not be having diamonds on our wedding rings, and this is partly why. (Incidentally, I just learned an appropriate new word: "Veblen goods." It refers to products that people only want because they're expensive.)

Good grief. If this AskMetaFilter poster hadn't given her age as 25, I would've seriously wondered if I'd gotten up in the middle of the night and posted it while sleepwalking. This person describes pretty much all of my diet problems. At least I'm not alone!

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

[1]

Dude, Christoper Walken and Scarlett Johansan are totally identical! That's creepy. (Link courtesy of new daily read, Mike.)

Today we finished the shop's schedule of classes for the first part of 2006 and they're now online for booking. As I did last year, I'm teaching the three specialty knitting subjects: Cables, Colour, and Socks. And we're even having kids' classes during the school holidays this year! (I'm not teaching those.)

Creative tries to redefine "podcast." *guffaw* Good try.

[2]

The Lost Art of Knitting Nancies. Very informative little article, that, with lots of pictures. (Incidentally, we sell "knitting nancies" in the shop but we call them "French knitters." People used to make them out of wooden spools but you never find wooden spools anymore.)

Monday, January 9, 2006

Moblog:

Mad-Eye Snookums
There just really are no words...

Australia in the mud. Sweet! (Link courtesy of Amy.)

[3]

Howard's Law: The chances of your running into a fellow Weight Watcher are exponentially related to the number of scoops of Forbidden Ice Cream you're holding. *sigh*

I noticed recently that I wasn't getting any sound in Flash movies on my iMac G5. My little iBook worked fine, but Big Boudicca just stayed mute. I'd even reinstalled Flash. Well, today I finally tracked down the problem. If you're running OS X 10.4 and you've used Audacity at some point, you've probably got the same issue. Luckily the fix is pretty simple!

[11]

I discovered yesterday that Coke Zero has finally landed on Australian shores. (This Wikipedia article is particularly helpful in explaining the differences between the various Coke formulas.) I picked up a bottle with my felafel roll and had drunk half of it before I remembered I should be critiquing it. On that basis, I can conclusively state that if you like Coke, you'll like Coke Zero. It definitely tasted sweeter to my Diet-Coke-attuned palate, but not so sweet that I had to suppress the gag reflex just to get it down. (*cough* Pepsi Max *cough*) Actually the thing I liked best about the new formula is the label design. Very schmick. And is that my favorite font Trebuchet MS on there...?

[2]

You know, I just can't really imagine what danger a space terrorist poses. It's not like they're going to teach the tourists to polite the ships. It's not like they're going to point out all the buttons they could push to blow up the ship. It's not like you'd be able to sneak a box cutter on in your space suit. It's baffling.

Sunday, January 8, 2006

[10]

Paging John from Sore Eyes...
Okay, I just DEVOURED the first volume of The Amazing X-Men, and it was fantastic and all... but since I've never read any other X-Men EVER, I'd say about 50% of it went right over my head. Can anybody fill me in on the immediate backstory? Assume I know nothing beyond the two movies (because I don't). I figured out Kitty Pryde, but who's Emma Frost? Where's the Professor? What's the previous virus they're talking about? What happened when Manhattan was attacked? Is Magneto dead? Who are S.H.I.E.L.D.? I'm definitely going to read it again - and a lot slower - but I could sure use some help. If this is all too much, perhaps there's a wiki or other useful introduction someone could point me to?

[10]

I'm officially launching the new design of the Knitters' Guild of NSW website. I still have more content to add, but the basic gist of it is there... (And hey, that's Miss Fee in the photo I used on the home page!)

Saturday, January 7, 2006

[7]

Things I Discovered Today:

It wasn't the antibiotics that were making me feel woozy and crappy; it was the codeine in the painkillers! I switched it up to plain ibuprofen today and I'm fine. Kudos to the clever pharmacist at Harrison's for diagnosing that one.
Veronica Mars is really, really good. I watched the first six episodes.
It is entirely possible to eat chocolate with only one side of your mouth. In fact, it's possible to eat an entire Advent calendar with only one side of your mouth. Oy vey. I'm sooo not weighing in this week.

Friday, January 6, 2006

[8]

The Return of Pub Trivia
Since I wanted a big hunk of red meat for my last pre-op meal, the Snook and I ended up over at the Nag's Head in Glebe. I had the filet mignon; he had the sirloin. Just as we were finishing, we heard someone announce that the weekly trivia comp was about to begin. "Why not?" We hurried over to grab an answer sheet. Needless to say, we absolutely SUCKED on the first round. There were too many questions about rugby league, too many song identifications we didn't know... At one point, we actually resorted to putting down joke answers. (Which I normally hate, but when the question is "What countries are separated by the Bay of Bothnia?" and you have no clue, there's nothing else to do but write "Therbia and Herthogivina.") After that round, we were tied for fifth place and I was seriously considering bailing. It seems that we just needed to work the rust out though, because in the second round we ROCKED THE HOUSE. It's like you use a special muscle to retrieve information from all the crazy cobwebby bits of your brain, and I just needed to give mine a bit of a warm-up before it was functioning properly. I even won us a jug of beer on a movie identification game. (The hints: made in 1975, featured coconuts as a "special effect" for horses' hooves, starred Connie Booth... I got it as soon as she said coconuts, but I was worried since it's such a long title to write out!) We ended up making a stunning comeback to finish second(!) behind an entire quartet of Comic Book Guys (who were so far ahead that it seemed dodgy). And besides, if you'd divided each team's points by the number of members, we were totally the champions of the night.

Anyway, here were some of the memorable questions:

Name the Steven Spielberg movies from the taglines: "The Mission is the Man," "They're Here," "He's Scared. He's Alone. He's Three Million Miles from Home."
Name the two actors who played the bumbling robbers in Home Alone.
Name the Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medallists in the men's 100m, 200m, and 400m dash.
What vegetable is also known as the stinking rose? (We actually high-fived when she read this out.)
Which part of the body contains spongy tissue called the "corpus cavernosum"? (We were the only people in the pub to get this right! And we actually wrote our answer down as a bit of a joke, seeing as how we misheard the Latin as "corpus cabanossum." Go figure.)
Which Clint Eastwood movie featured the song "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack?

And if any of you actually know the Bay of Bothnia, I shall bow down to your superior geography skillz...

[9]

"Get me the double-ended root pick..."
That, I submit to you, is the absolute LAST thing you want to hear your dentist EVER say. For the most part, though, my extraction went smoothly. I was really nervous but the assistant, Maria, was an angel and she really calmed me down. Dr. Wong had decided to do the left side (top and bottom) so he started by smearing around the teeth with some numbing gel. It tasted absolutely terrible. Then, with my iPod cranked up and Maria holding my hand, we started with the shots. I closed my eyes as he gave me six or eight shots around the area, including one to the side of my cheek and one in the roof of my mouth (which was the one I was really dreading). They didn't hurt a lot, but the knowledge of what was happening and the general stress of the situation brought a few tears to my eyes. Within a few minutes the entire left side of my mouth was completely numb. Once Dr. Wong ascertained that I wasn't going to feel anything, we really got started. (For the record, I didn't have any gas. I don't think that "twilight" option that some of you Yanks had is available here.) [more...]

Thursday, January 5, 2006

[4]

The phone rings.
Her: Hello, could I please speak to Mrs. Snook?
Me: Excuse me? Who is this?
Her: Is this Mrs. Snook?
Me: This is Kristine Howard.
Her: Oh, are you the new homeowner?
Me: [with some force] No, I'm Mr. Snook's wife.
Her: [a moment's pause, as I have clearly befuddled her] Oh, I see. Shall I call you Mrs. Howard?
Me: Whatever. Who is this?
Her: This is Kim calling from the Something Something Advertising Agency, and I'm just calling--
Me: Kim? I just had two wisdom teeth pulled from my head two hours ago.
Her: Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you feel better. Goodbye.

I was telling the truth, but I think I may be on to a great excuse for the future...

(Incidentally, the procedure went fine. The real pain hasn't kicked in yet. I'll post a run-down later in the night if I feel up to it...)

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

[7]

Odontophobia
I'm off to have the crunchiest, chewiest dinner money can buy, because the Big Day is finally upon us! At eleven a.m. tomorrow a dentist is going to stick a needle in my mouth and then yank out two of my wisdom teeth. I plan on eating nothing but soup and Jello for a few days. Any other recovery tips? I'll try to remember to get a good DeskCam shot of my inevitably puffy chipmunk cheeks...

[2]

"The Straight Dude's Guide to Brokeback." The funniest part is that they include the fact that Anne "Princess Diaries" Hathaway takes her top off, which has been the Snook's repeated excuse for wanting to see the movie for some time now. (Link courtesy of John, who hopes that UK men will be less squeamish.)

[14]

Happy blog-birthday to me!
My blog is going to kindergarten, folks! That's right; I've officially been blogging at web-goddess for FIVE years. (The archives go back a little further because I was blogging elsewhere.) As I have done in previous years, I've compiled some statistics about the past twelve months. Overall the trend was towards less posting and commenting (which isn't very surprising given that it was my first full year not working as an IT drone). Here we go!

Number of posts: 779 (That's down nearly 100 from last year!)
Number of comments: 2528 (Down 795 from last year!)
Comments-to-post ratio: 3.25 (Pretty close to last year, actually.)
Comments mentioning the Snook: 200 (Good grief, that's like 25%!)
Most commented posts: Half-Blood Prince Review, My Birthday, Send Emma a Postcard, "What candy would you sell your soul for?", Cottage Cheese Recipes
Top 10 commenters (excluding myself): Amy (173), Eileen (86), Marci (86), Niffler (80), Tricia (72), Robert (62), Frances (60), Brigita (59), Tara D (56), Max (55)
Moblog posts: 34 (I really need a phone with a better camera.)
Posts mentioning "diet" or "Weight Watchers": 43
Major redesigns: 1 (You're soaking in it.)
Pictures of my cat: 2 (Only TWO? I can't believe it. This situation needs to be rectified immediately!)
Major hair color changes: red, blonde
Apple letdowns: Dead iPod; G5 Weirdness progresses to full-on Breakdown; Another Breakdown leads to a Major Frustration, a Complaint to the Office of Fair Trading, and three months of waiting for a Replacement Machine; and Ongoing Firewire Issues with the new machine
TV appearances: Better Homes and Gardens, Knitting with the Channel 7 Weather Girl

What will 2006 bring? Definitely more cat pictures...

Here's some amusing trivia for your lunch break: 100 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Year. BBC staff compiled it from news stories published throughout 2005. The one that immediately caught my eye was the assertion that the orange Monopoly properties are tactically best. This refutes the Snook's longstanding belief that the red properties are the key to winning the game.

[6]

Help me, Grammar Nazis!
We were just reviewing an ad for the shop with this copy: "What Ever Your Passion, Tapestry Craft Has Something For Everyone." And I suddenly realized that "What Ever" should be one word, not two. Right? The dictionary only lists it as one word, yet upon Googling there are tons of examples of people saying "What ever happened to...?" Of course, I'm talking about the Internets here so those might be all idiots. At any rate, we're now having them change it. I just want to be sure I'm right. Thoughts?

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

[2]

New Year's Resolutions

I will get to my healthy BMI range, but I'm not going to beat myself up over how fast it happens.
I will run the Nike Women's 10K and the City to Surf this year.
I will finally get my finances in order so I can enter my thirties as an honest-to-goodness grownup.
I will do my best to cut toxic people - both professionally and emotionally - out of my life.
I will read more books.
I will take a photography class so I can hang out with the Sydney Photobloggers and not feel like a doofus.

Anybody else got any good ones?

Monday, January 2, 2006

When the Snook and I next visit Indiana, we're soooo going to see the world's largest ball of paint. (Link courtesy of Pop Culture Junk Mail.)

Since people keep asking us, no, they haven't caught the murderer yet.

[1]

Dubious Holiday Achievement: The Snook and I cleaned off twenty-two episodes of Scrubs from the TiFaux. And by "cleaned off," I mean "watched for ELEVEN HOURS CONTINUOUSLY." We love Scrubs.

[2]

I've been working on the redesign of the Knitter's Guild website all day. (Old version; New Hottness) It's not done yet but you can take a peek if you want. All design credit goes to Hank, who kindly volunteered his time and talent and somehow refrained from balking at my stipulation that the text had to be HUGE. (Old ladies are blind, yo.) In terms of the code, this is my first hard-core XHTML + CSS site ever... which means that the Snook pretty much had to hold my hand the whole way through. He's the best. I dunno; I just have a blank with this stuff. I've resisted learning it because I don't like feeling dumb, and I just knew it was going to leave me frustrated and tearful. It did. I got used to being the whizzy Internet chick - the web-goddess, if you will - and it's hard to face having to start over at the bottom. He knows how to deal with me though. Like I said, he's the best. (Oh, and yeah, I still used tables to position the columns. Suck it, Zeldman!)

Happy New Year!
The Snook and I have been enjoying a pretty low-key holiday weekend. After the debauchery of the first Martini Club session Friday night, we decided to forgo the traditional New Year's Eve activities in favor of watching TV at home. On Sunday we mainly hid inside the house from the disgusting heat (over 100 degrees F!) while preparing dinner for our friends Leanne and Brendan. Since Brendan's an apprentice chef (at one of our favorite restaurants), we made a last-minute attempt to impress him by brining and smoking a chicken. We'd never done it before. For the brine we used this recipe, and the only glitch was that we'd decided to do it so late that we only brined it for four hours, not eight. We then smoked it on our barbecue using some apple wood chips for about two hours. It turned out delicious! So that was a success. We also had fresh prawns from the Sydney Fish Markets, grilled squid salad, and green beans from Ma Snook's garden. The Snook's homemade summer pudding was the glorious finalé. Man, it really is time to get back on the diet...

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archives

You can search through the archives by post keyword using the form on the left, or you can browse by month using the links at the bottom.

"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.

"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm.