web-goddess: now with new effervescence!

Monday, February 1, 2010

[2]

RunningBlog: Holy crap. This Tough Guy contest in England makes the Tough Bloke Challenge we did look like a stroll in the park. Eight miles of obstacles including barbed wire, fire, mud, and chunks of ice? That's awesome. (Link courtesy of the Snook.)

[6]

Ready to laugh? I got an email this morning inviting me to be in a documentary about "guerilla knitting." The filmmaker needs somebody to represent the "against" side, of course. Not wanting to open that particular can of worms again, I declined. I am particularly proud of the conclusion of my reply though: "I have more important things to do with my time than give them the sweet tingles of condemnation that they secretly crave." Good luck, kid.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Whoa! How are the Biggest Loser producers going to deal with this? One of the eliminated contestants has been charged with child porn, so they had to completely edit the couple out of all episodes. The pace of the first episode was frenetic, with lots of close-ups and voiceovers. (Obviously since all of the group shots were ruined.) But how are they going to deal with the second elimination without showing it?

[1]

More Outback Photos
Cool! Eileen pointed me to this amazing blog post with photos from our Outback adventure. The blog belongs to Andreas, an Austrian guy who came on the trip with his girlfriend. I knew he liked taking photographs (he was never without his camera for the three days), but I didn't realise how gifted he was at it. Seriously, go look. He really captured all the best parts of our trip. I especially like this one of us all sleeping on the bus (me and Snookums are in the back seat) and this one of our swags set up around the campfire (Snookums and I are on the right). The rest of Andreas's photo blog is equally good. I'll be visiting from now on!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Moblog:

Opera in the Domain 2010
Three cheers for Snookums, bringer of hot pizza and cold beer! It's been a long day of sitting in the sun and knitting with friends. Now for "Candide"!

Friday, January 29, 2010

I found today's xkcd quite melancholy. I was hoping for the Moon or WALL-E ending, and instead we got... reality. You did a good job, little Spirit.

[3]

Wollemi Pine
I just sent an email to Gardens R Us about our little Wollemi Pine tree. He's looking very droopy lately, and I'm worried.

Hello, We bought a Wollemi Pine from the Kingsford store back in September. I was very excited to help in the conservation of these wonderful plants! The instructions we got indicated that the tree would be happy in a pot and out of direct sun, so we put him in a large pot near our front door. Here's what it looked like then.

The location is sheltered and it gets only indirect sun. We read that overwatering can be a problem, so we've tried to limit watering to times when the pot soil feels dry. (No more than once every week or two.)

We had an initial period of lots of growth, but now our little tree is looking very droopy. Here's what he looks like as of today.

You can see all the new growth along his branches, but they're *very* droopy. Some of the lower branches are slightly brown and dry looking.

I've been searching the Internet but all the advice I read is conflicting. Should we move the pot into the sun? Is it the hot humid weather we've been having? Are we over or underwatering? Could the potting soil we used (just normal potting soil with some compost) be inhospitable to the species? Could the pot itself be leeching something into the soil that is hurting the tree? (It's just a normal pot that we picked up secondhand.) Or is this actually just normal growth, and the branches are drooping because of the additional length?

I'd really appreciate any advice you can give us!

Have any of you ever seen this before? Have I actually managed to kill a tree species that survived untouched for hundreds of millions of years?

Keep Calm and Carry Yarn. Nice.

Superhuman Tape Measure Skills. We ladies do love guys with skills.

[2]

On iPads and ebook readers
So... the iPad. I was half-hoping it didn't exist, just because the rampant speculation of the past few weeks was driving me nuts. I wanted Steve to come out, do a big preso on iPhone OS 4.0, then turn to the audience and say: "Oh, and one more thing. SUCKS TO BE YOU!" Exit, stage right. But he didn't, and now I've spent 24 hours reading crap like "HEEHEE, HE SAID IPAD. OMG WHO WOULD WANT TO USE SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT GOES IN/NEAR A VAGINA EWWW! HA HA! #iTampon" (I think the iPad-period meme has worn out even quicker than the previous speed record holder, the Kanye "Imma let you finish" joke.)

Anyhoo, the big surprise for me was the price of the thing. When was the last time Apple released a project that cost 50% less than everybody predicted? How about NEVER. Also, they're going into a nascent market with a device that has 140,000 third party apps at launch. (If I were Amazon or Sony, I'd be crying into my cornflakes.) That's just crazy. Still, I don't really see where I need one of these in my life. Sure, it'd be nice to have in the kitchen (seeing as how I cook a lot from my iPhone or laptop these days). And I'd love to be able to subscribe to comic books and magazines. Those aren't huge, compelling, drool-worthy reasons though. Then I read Stephen Fry's review. Okay, I'm a little more interested now. Fry knows his gadgets, and when he says something feels magical, I believe him. I like stuff that feels like it's from the future, but is actually usable and relevant today. (Like GPS. Snookums has commented more than once before that Google Maps on iPone feels like magic to him.)

As for reading books on the thing, I dunno. This morning, I noticed a girl two seats ahead of me on the bus reading from a Sony Pocket Reader. It was red and looked pretty nice. The text - at least from my view - didn't look very clear though. The black-and-white display reminded me of a 1st-gen Gameboy. I've heard that E-Ink displays are good stuff though, so maybe up close it was better. I tried reading books on my iPhone with Stanza, but I found that I just don't absorb digital text the way that I do printed text. It took me a lot longer to finish, and I didn't retain the story like I usually do. I do like the idea of carrying around a whole library though. I also really hope that the iPad will be the catalyst for the ebook market to really take off.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

RunningBlog: Week 4
It was a weird week. It's been hot and humid, and I'm still having trouble keeping my heart rate down. On Sunday, my HR was all over the place and I actually found myself getting irrationally angry about it. In retrospect it was actually kind of funny. (Gritting my teeth in anger doesn't do much to calm down the ol' HR!) I'm having a bit of shoe trouble though. I looked down at my Newtons the other day and realised that the outer lugs on each foot have worn completely down on the front! I got them at the end of August, and my total mileage in that time is just over 200 miles (325km). Is that normal? On one hand it's clear proof that I'm landing in the right spot (as are the calluses on the balls of my feet). But on the other hand, these are pretty expensive shoes, and I can't afford multiple pairs per year. I tweeted about it to sirisaac but they didn't respond. I'm guessing it's partly because I actually have racers, as opposed to trainers. (The racers had a big discount when I bought.) Can anybody comment on the longetivity of their Newtons?

Anyway, the weekly totals...

Jan 22: 5.56km
Jan 24: 7.13km
Jan 26: 5.61km
Jan 28: 5.44km
Total this week: 23.74km (14.8mi) - same as last week!
Total in 2010: 92.4km (57.75mi)

I've got quite a cushion built-up in my quest to run 1000kms in 2010. I haven't missed a run yet in January!

Why do Koreans like cute things? Bwahahaha! I've never heard of "Teenie Weenie" before. It looks like Ralph Lauren crossed with teddy bears. I WANT TO GO TO THERE.

RunningBlog: Running Barefood or in Minimal Footwear. "This website has been developed to provide an evidence-based resource for those interested in barefoot or minimal footwear running." This is an extremely good introduction to running with a forefoot strike, and it's got a lot of cool little videos showing exactly what your feet and legs are doing when you land on your heel, midfoot, and forefoot.

[2]

Spencer Tunick and public nudity
You know that famous artist, the one who takes huge group photos of naked people in famous locations? Yeah, he's coming to Sydney. He needs volunteers for a photo to be taken at the Opera House. Oh yeah, we're doing it. This comes at a pretty opportune time. I've been undergoing a real attitude change towards my body in the past year. I'm not at my "ideal" BMI/weight, but this seems to be the weight where I'm happiest. I feel fit and strong. I like my curves. Looking at the scale in the morning doesn't wreck my whole day anymore. I think I'm ready to get naked in public with hundreds of other people. I'm think I'm finally proud and happy in my own skin.

As for the Snook, apparently public nudity was a big theme of his college years. So it didn't take much convincing to get him on board.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

RunningBlog: Today was our office's weekly workout at Spudds, so I took along my workout clothes. About half an hour before the time, I discovered that I was the ONLY ONE GOING. There are normally about 6-8 of us, but a combination of holidays and rescheduled meetings meant that everyone else had to bail. I considered chickening out. When there are half a dozen people, it's easy to kinda hide in the back and work at your own pace. The company was going to pay for the time regardless though, so I figured I'd be stupid to turn down what was essentially a free personal training session. So I went. "Just you?" Spudds asked. "Yep." For the next forty minutes, he put me through the wringer. Cardio machines, free weights, squats, abs, the climber, all kinds of stuff. He tested my heart rate at a couple points, and he seemed pretty happy with it. (Go the HR training!) We also talked nutrition, and he wants me to eat more often. Yep, I have official trainer dispensation to have three healthy snacks a day. I'm also going to try to do an extra session at the gym each week. He finished the workout by telling me that I'm going to be his "new project." I guess it wouldn't hurt to shake things up a bit!

Google Reader Tricks for Craft Bloggers. That video tutorial is worth watching for anybody who uses Google Reader, regardless of whether you have a blog. My jaw actually fell open at the last bit, where she shows you how to see how many people are subscribed to your own blog feed. So simple, and yet I never thought of it!

They are married too.
Christopher has written a lovely blog post about being married to Matt. They went to a taping of Big Bang Theory a few months ago, and at one point in the evening Christopher found himself telling the entire studio audience that they were amongst the lucky few gay couples who got married before Proposition 8. The audience responded with applause and cheers. I love that. (He's collecting other gay marriage stories on his blog We Are Married Too.)

What's a Jawa's favorite vegetable? ZUCCHINI! I laughed.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

[8]

Happy Australia Day!
The Snook and I celebrated the holiday by hosting a small barbecue at our place. We cooked some beautiful barbecued lamb, garlic chicken, and damper on the grill. Tia, Daniel and Rohan brought potato salad. Steph and Eva brought some amazing Australian-themed bento boxes, including one designed to look like a jar of Vegemite. (No Vegemite was actually IN the bento, thank goodness.) Rachel - who still persists in not having a blog - brought a gorgeous panzanella salad. And for dessert, I whipped up a "Lamingtonmisu" from Not Quite Nigella's recipe. (I used storebought lamingtons, cut them in half, and just wedged them in the pan as best I could.) Everyone scoffed when they saw me making it, but it really did turn out awesome! Clean plates all around. Other than that, we availed ourselves of the Snook's homebrew and tried not to move too much. It really was stinkin' hot today.

It made me a little sad to see comments on Twitter and Facebook from Australians who choose not to celebrate the day. I can understand their position, but not all national pride is misplaced. Many of us chose to come here, and we are proud to call ourselves citizens of this country. It's nice to have a day where I'm reminded of it.

[4]

What do we think of the Jindabyne Cowl? For some reason I'm a little obsessed with it. I can't figure it out. I doubt it would look good on me. And yet I can't stop staring at it and itching to buy the pattern.

[2]

Home Decor for Absolute Geeks. Some nice stuff in there! My favorites are the pixelated couch, the ASCII curtains, and the arcade coffee table. (Having a sit-down MAME cabinet to play Ms Pac-Man on is a lifelong dream.) I'm amused that they included the Lego Star Wars minifig magnets... because we already have those on our fridge. :)

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welcome

I'm Kris Howard, a thirtyish Hoosier living in Sydney, Australia. I work as a business analyst at an IT company specialising in mobile solutions. I knit and run and have crazy adventures. This is my weblog and personal site.

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