UGH, I SUCK. So it turns out my web host finally changed a security setting that they probably should have changed like ten years ago, and it broke a bunch of my code that I also should have fixed up ten years ago. It’s not a complicated fix – just a tedious one – so I’m workin’ on it. In the meantime, comments should be working again. If you see any weird errors, please let me know!

Wrap up of November Girl Geek Meetup | girl geek sydney – If you missed my talk last week, here are my slides! I got great feedback and everybody seemed to like it. There’s even a picture of me wildly gesticulating mid-talk! 🙂

Blank Canvas Tee – 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World – How neat! A bare-bones T-shirt sewing pattern that can be dressed up and hacked in various ways. And it’s FREE!

Goldie Blox – a set of books and construction toys designed by a female engineer for girls! That looks fantastic. I’d love to get it for my nieces!

“I am no man”: For Zelda-playing daughter, dad gives Link a sex change – AWWWWW. A dad is playing one of the Zelda games with his little daughter, and he got annoyed that even though you can change Link’s name, you can’t change his gender. So he hacked the game files to change all the language to refer to Link as a girl, so his daughter could get to be the hero for once. *sniffle* I got something in my eye…

The Food Lab: How To Make The Ultimate Turducken – Kenji puts me and the Snook to shame. (Our version.)

Francis Bacon – Five Decades – This exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW looks amazing. Anybody want to go with me?

Boxers or Briefs? | Mark’s Daily Apple – Over the past year or two I’ve read a lot of articles about Paleo… but none that used the word “scrotal” so much. *giggle*

As he has done in previous years, the Snook is growin’ a mo and fundraising as part of Movember. Please sponsor him so he’ll keep doing it and I can continue to feel like I’m married to Magnum PI for a few weeks every year!

Edited 02/05/2025: Fundraising link removed.

So, it’s been an interesting week, so say the least. As many of you know, Mr. Snook took off last weekend for a three week work trip to the Google headquarters in Mountain View. This will be the longest we’ve been apart since I had had a similar trip four years ago. As with the last time, I was looking forward to it a little bit. It’s a change of pace, and we get to prove we’re not – as Max taught me four years ago – “sublunary”. So the Snook left on Sunday, and my friend Kylie stayed a couple nights on that first long weekend to keep me company. And I’ve been on my own ever since.

In practical matters it’s been fine. I had built up a large cache of frozen leftovers so I don’t feel the pressure to cook every night. I’ve been good about making a hot breakfast every morning (and my own coffee, now that Snookums taught me how to use the espresso machine). I’ve been scooping the litterbox and keeping the cats fed. The house is still relatively tidy. I’m handling it.

The difficult part has been that this is one of the most stressful weeks I’ve had at work in a long time. I’ve got one big project coming to an end and several more ramping up to start. I’ve been doing 10-12 hours days (combination of time in office plus time on the computer late at night) and it’s wearing me down. My stomach has been bothering me again and I’ve been guzzling Gaviscon. Luckily the cold I was pretty sure I’d caught last weekend never fully eventuated (I might have killed it with alcohol the night before Snookums left), or else I’d really be in bad shape. I haven’t had any bad insomnia, but the sleep I’m getting isn’t super restful either. So yeah, a challenging week to be without the one person who always takes care of me when I get like this. I’m really looking forward to the weekend…

And since I know you’re interested, Mr. Snook seems to be having a great time in Mountain View. He’s staying in a decent hotel and catching a bus to the Google campus every day. He seems to have good Internet access both at work and the hotel, so I’ve been able to chat with him for a while each day. This week is all orientation, and next week his conference starts. I’m really proud of him and I hope it all goes well!