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Backup Diary
Dec. 22nd, 2021 08:25 pmThis is a backup diary for my main one on LJ.
Note: xdawnfirex's entry with links on importing etc is here.
Note: xdawnfirex's entry with links on importing etc is here.
Post Christmas
Dec. 27th, 2016 07:20 pmHi all
I hope you all had a great Christmas or, in the case where you're not celebrating that, a wonderful holiday. :-)
I had a relatively stress free day - as per usual, we had Christmas at my niece/nephew's place (they tend to alternate) and everyone brought food. My contribution was Tandoori chicken breasts (heavy on the yoghurt to allow for young kids' tastes) and a Wildberry Cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory).
Those of you who've followed me for a while will know that I have issues with Christmas. It's great to get together with family but because I'm unmarried with no children, I generally end up spending hundreds of dollars buying presents for hordes of kids and getting very little in return. And yes, it's all about the giving, and I really do love seeing the kid's faces but... when you've spent 4-5 hundred dollars and get gifts in return that are a) worth little and b) show no sign that they've thought about what you want then it's hard to not be "Bah, hum bug" about it all.
At the suggestion of![[livejournal.com profile]](/%20https://www.npmjs.com/package/ocr-https-www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
penne4m and others, this year I bought "family" gifts rather than buying a gift for every child. It worked well and I still managed to retain my 'crown' of 'the uncle who buys cool gifts' while spending only $250 instead of the $500 I spent last year. I researched via their grandmother what games each family had and what they were missing, so that worked well.
Still, it was fun watching the kids open presents & they're finally at the age (mostly 8-10) where they're not quite so feral. *g* Psychologically, it's fascinating to see how they're still at the age where they believe in Father Christmas but are (according to the parents) starting to have doubts.
I really seem to have zero parental instincts. I just don't understand how people can put up with young kids. I've watched my friends get married and have kids and, as far as I can see, it just destroys them, financially and socially. They become unable to have any sort of rational discussion that doesn't involve minute descriptions of what their children are up to. And, yes, I know... I'm a teacher! But I've never been able to effectively relate to students under the age of about 13/14. Years ago I asked my Head of Dept never to give me classes in Year 7 or 8 (age 11 or 12) and fortunately she took me seriously.
Anyway... for those of you who are celebrating; I hope you had a great time and best wishes for a wonderful year. Given what a shitty year 2016 has been in terms of killing off the best of show-biz, I'm hoping that it's going to be a huge improvement!
I hope you all had a great Christmas or, in the case where you're not celebrating that, a wonderful holiday. :-)
I had a relatively stress free day - as per usual, we had Christmas at my niece/nephew's place (they tend to alternate) and everyone brought food. My contribution was Tandoori chicken breasts (heavy on the yoghurt to allow for young kids' tastes) and a Wildberry Cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory).
Those of you who've followed me for a while will know that I have issues with Christmas. It's great to get together with family but because I'm unmarried with no children, I generally end up spending hundreds of dollars buying presents for hordes of kids and getting very little in return. And yes, it's all about the giving, and I really do love seeing the kid's faces but... when you've spent 4-5 hundred dollars and get gifts in return that are a) worth little and b) show no sign that they've thought about what you want then it's hard to not be "Bah, hum bug" about it all.
At the suggestion of
penne4m and others, this year I bought "family" gifts rather than buying a gift for every child. It worked well and I still managed to retain my 'crown' of 'the uncle who buys cool gifts' while spending only $250 instead of the $500 I spent last year. I researched via their grandmother what games each family had and what they were missing, so that worked well.Still, it was fun watching the kids open presents & they're finally at the age (mostly 8-10) where they're not quite so feral. *g* Psychologically, it's fascinating to see how they're still at the age where they believe in Father Christmas but are (according to the parents) starting to have doubts.
I really seem to have zero parental instincts. I just don't understand how people can put up with young kids. I've watched my friends get married and have kids and, as far as I can see, it just destroys them, financially and socially. They become unable to have any sort of rational discussion that doesn't involve minute descriptions of what their children are up to. And, yes, I know... I'm a teacher! But I've never been able to effectively relate to students under the age of about 13/14. Years ago I asked my Head of Dept never to give me classes in Year 7 or 8 (age 11 or 12) and fortunately she took me seriously.
Anyway... for those of you who are celebrating; I hope you had a great time and best wishes for a wonderful year. Given what a shitty year 2016 has been in terms of killing off the best of show-biz, I'm hoping that it's going to be a huge improvement!
Image test
Dec. 22nd, 2016 11:03 pmHi. I need to check whether what I'm seeing is correct for others who don't have access to my account where the image is stored... Could someone please comment on whether you see one image or two? No need to do so if someone's already commented; anyone other than me is all I need. Thanks in advance...
I've been re-watching Star Trek Enterprise over the past few months. I'm currently in season 3 and I have to say that I'm becoming more and more impressed with the acting of Jolene Blalock.
She's simply outstanding in her interpretation of a Vulcan and, having just re-watched the movies Reboot, Into Darkness & Beyond, I can see how she laid the basis for Zachary Quinto's portrayal of Young!Spock.
On a less pleasant note; you may recall that I bought a new car a few weeks ago. The universe being what it is, you may not be surprised to know that my next-door neighbour's visitor decided to back his truck into it the two weeks after I bought it! I'd reversed out of my driveway and was stationary in the road, changing gear, when the damn idiot in a truck who was visiting him decided to back out at full speed without checking behind him.
She's simply outstanding in her interpretation of a Vulcan and, having just re-watched the movies Reboot, Into Darkness & Beyond, I can see how she laid the basis for Zachary Quinto's portrayal of Young!Spock.
On a less pleasant note; you may recall that I bought a new car a few weeks ago. The universe being what it is, you may not be surprised to know that my next-door neighbour's visitor decided to back his truck into it the two weeks after I bought it! I'd reversed out of my driveway and was stationary in the road, changing gear, when the damn idiot in a truck who was visiting him decided to back out at full speed without checking behind him.
Help with OneDrive?
Dec. 18th, 2016 03:16 pmJust wondering if any of you can help me with a problem I'm having with OneDrive?
I've been using the Dropbox "Public" folder for years to post images and files on LJ and other places. Unfortunately Dropbox have just announced that they're removing the Public folder and, from mid next-year all the links that have been created will stop working!
This is going to be catastrophic for a lot of people, myself included. Many of the links I've created are now impossible to edit. Emails and printed worksheets for my students for example. Even those that can be edited, such as on LJ, I certainly don't have the time to fix.
I am cancelling my subscription to Dropbox, as are a LOT of other people. I don't pay $99/year to be f*%&'ed over as badly as this. But in the meantime I'm trying to work out a substitute. One possibility is OneDrive, since it offers 15Gb free. The other is Google Drive.
( However, I'm having problems getting the sharing links on either of them to work properly & I'm hoping you can help.... )
Anyone able to help?
I've been using the Dropbox "Public" folder for years to post images and files on LJ and other places. Unfortunately Dropbox have just announced that they're removing the Public folder and, from mid next-year all the links that have been created will stop working!
This is going to be catastrophic for a lot of people, myself included. Many of the links I've created are now impossible to edit. Emails and printed worksheets for my students for example. Even those that can be edited, such as on LJ, I certainly don't have the time to fix.
I am cancelling my subscription to Dropbox, as are a LOT of other people. I don't pay $99/year to be f*%&'ed over as badly as this. But in the meantime I'm trying to work out a substitute. One possibility is OneDrive, since it offers 15Gb free. The other is Google Drive.
( However, I'm having problems getting the sharing links on either of them to work properly & I'm hoping you can help.... )
Anyone able to help?
Last day of school today! The students finished on Friday and, after two days of meetings, I'm now finished for the year - on holidays until nearly the end of January.
I'm SO looking forward to being able to relax. One of the most common comments I get from people who aren't teachers is "The holidays must be great" (with the implication being that we don't deserve them). It's absolutely true; they are. But by the time we reach them we *really* need them. I am so tired both physically and emotionally that I don't intend to surface for at least a couple of days. I'm just hoping that I don't do my common trick of coming down with some kind of nasty cold/flu. My body seems to have the habit of saying "It's ok to relax? Fine, it's ok to get sick too!".
On Friday I have an 800km drive to Kalgoorlie to catch up withpenne4m, who I've not seen for some months (we have a very peculiar relationship but it works). I'm looking forward to it in one respect in that I'm SO enjoying the new car. But it's a loooong way to drive in one day. I plan to use an audiobook of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to stay awake if it turns out to be an issue. If you've not discovered that series (available both as books and as a TV series) then do yourself a favour...
In the meantime I'm chilling out with a bottle of nice Shiraz and a caramelized onion and goat cheese tart (bought not made). :-D
I'm SO looking forward to being able to relax. One of the most common comments I get from people who aren't teachers is "The holidays must be great" (with the implication being that we don't deserve them). It's absolutely true; they are. But by the time we reach them we *really* need them. I am so tired both physically and emotionally that I don't intend to surface for at least a couple of days. I'm just hoping that I don't do my common trick of coming down with some kind of nasty cold/flu. My body seems to have the habit of saying "It's ok to relax? Fine, it's ok to get sick too!".
On Friday I have an 800km drive to Kalgoorlie to catch up with
penne4m, who I've not seen for some months (we have a very peculiar relationship but it works). I'm looking forward to it in one respect in that I'm SO enjoying the new car. But it's a loooong way to drive in one day. I plan to use an audiobook of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to stay awake if it turns out to be an issue. If you've not discovered that series (available both as books and as a TV series) then do yourself a favour...In the meantime I'm chilling out with a bottle of nice Shiraz and a caramelized onion and goat cheese tart (bought not made). :-D
Only the young
Dec. 6th, 2016 06:56 pmYou might appreciate this: One of my colleagues has a young daughter learning ballet. Picture her at the end of year 'concert' where the small kids display their skills. Generally to the great embarrassment of the parents.
Enter Miss Four-Year-Old with stick & ribbon. Not having much luck keeping it up and twirling but full of enthusiasm. Gradually decreasing in skill as fatigue sets in, finally wraps it around her ankles. Flops down on her bum as only a four year old can do.
Looks out at the audience and exclaims (very loudly) "Fucking ribbon!!".
Queue ROFLing of entire audience. Minus of course the parents who are quietly dieing.
Enter Miss Four-Year-Old with stick & ribbon. Not having much luck keeping it up and twirling but full of enthusiasm. Gradually decreasing in skill as fatigue sets in, finally wraps it around her ankles. Flops down on her bum as only a four year old can do.
Looks out at the audience and exclaims (very loudly) "Fucking ribbon!!".
Queue ROFLing of entire audience. Minus of course the parents who are quietly dieing.
It's been a bit of an interesting week hasn't it? :-(
I must admit to being disgusted, dismayed and other similar dis's about the US election result. I really expected right up to the last moment that sanity would prevail and Trump would be defeated in a landslide. What astonishes and horrifies me is that apparently nearly half the people in the US are xenophobic, homophobic, racist arseholes. I keep expecting to see a few gloating posts in my flist that require de-friending and yet the reaction has been universally "OMG, WTF??" so far. So I have to ask: "What the hell?".
On the home front I am due to pick up my new car tomorrow morning! Well, almost new anyway. I've bought a Toyota Camry Altise hybrid (petrol/electric) with only 8500km on the clock for $24K. New price is ~$30-32K so it's a good deal I think. The downturn in the mining industry in Western Australia has meant that there are a number of cars bought by people who expected to have lucrative jobs that are being dumped on the market as the jobs evaporate.
It's very frightening, of course, to hand over that amount of money in one hit & I'm currently gazing at a bank cheque for more money than I've seen in one place for a long time that has to be handed over tomorrow morning. I'm paying the entire price in cash (which helped discount the price) and, since I'm starting to prepare for retirement it's reassuring to own it outright. I only had about $15K to pay off on my house so I've re-negotiated the mortgage to $30K and taken the rest of the car's price out of savings. When I sell the old car that will further offset the cost. Anyone want to buy a (very) used 2007 Honda Accord Euro Luxury model for about $6K? :-)
The difference to pay off my mortgage is only going to result in a change from 3 years to six so it still means I retire with a paid off house & no debts. Not a lot of superannuation but still. One of the advantages of being a maths teacher is that I can always get work tutoring students who are finding maths difficult.
We're currently in the arse end of the school year; reports, exam marking and so forth. I'm *really* looking forward to the Christmas break which, in the Australian system is about 6 weeks. Healthwise I'm having difficulties at the moment: I have bursitis in my right hip that is VERY painful and is making normal day to day activities quite difficult. It's not a really huge level of pain most of the time, only about level 4/5 or so, but it's just so unrelenting that it wears me down. I had a cortisone injection a week ago that I was hoping would give me respite for a year or so. Instead it had no effect at all, which is very depressing.
Anyway... I'm hoping that you're all enjoying good health and good fortune. I know I should be posting more often but... I'm *reading*, just not posting. :D
I must admit to being disgusted, dismayed and other similar dis's about the US election result. I really expected right up to the last moment that sanity would prevail and Trump would be defeated in a landslide. What astonishes and horrifies me is that apparently nearly half the people in the US are xenophobic, homophobic, racist arseholes. I keep expecting to see a few gloating posts in my flist that require de-friending and yet the reaction has been universally "OMG, WTF??" so far. So I have to ask: "What the hell?".
On the home front I am due to pick up my new car tomorrow morning! Well, almost new anyway. I've bought a Toyota Camry Altise hybrid (petrol/electric) with only 8500km on the clock for $24K. New price is ~$30-32K so it's a good deal I think. The downturn in the mining industry in Western Australia has meant that there are a number of cars bought by people who expected to have lucrative jobs that are being dumped on the market as the jobs evaporate.
It's very frightening, of course, to hand over that amount of money in one hit & I'm currently gazing at a bank cheque for more money than I've seen in one place for a long time that has to be handed over tomorrow morning. I'm paying the entire price in cash (which helped discount the price) and, since I'm starting to prepare for retirement it's reassuring to own it outright. I only had about $15K to pay off on my house so I've re-negotiated the mortgage to $30K and taken the rest of the car's price out of savings. When I sell the old car that will further offset the cost. Anyone want to buy a (very) used 2007 Honda Accord Euro Luxury model for about $6K? :-)
The difference to pay off my mortgage is only going to result in a change from 3 years to six so it still means I retire with a paid off house & no debts. Not a lot of superannuation but still. One of the advantages of being a maths teacher is that I can always get work tutoring students who are finding maths difficult.
We're currently in the arse end of the school year; reports, exam marking and so forth. I'm *really* looking forward to the Christmas break which, in the Australian system is about 6 weeks. Healthwise I'm having difficulties at the moment: I have bursitis in my right hip that is VERY painful and is making normal day to day activities quite difficult. It's not a really huge level of pain most of the time, only about level 4/5 or so, but it's just so unrelenting that it wears me down. I had a cortisone injection a week ago that I was hoping would give me respite for a year or so. Instead it had no effect at all, which is very depressing.
Anyway... I'm hoping that you're all enjoying good health and good fortune. I know I should be posting more often but... I'm *reading*, just not posting. :D
Just musing
Sep. 11th, 2016 07:32 pmWith the 50th anniversary just passed, I'm currently re-watching Star Trek Enterprise. I'm not sure if I'll get through the whole series again but I did enjoy it the first time I watched it.
In particular, I'm impressed yet again by Jolene Blalock's portrayal of Sub-Commander T'Pol. IMHO she really did a great job of balancing the Vulcan emotional supression with the charisma needed to make her character one that the audience could relate to. In some ways I think better than did Leonard Nimoy. Blasphemous I know but still. :-) He was the path finder, establishing a whole culture and succeeding so well that his successors were able to portray less emotion yet still have the audience fully relate to them. It amazes me in retrospect; imagine the originality in coming up with an emotionless character and expecting it to be successful in TV culture!
I also really do like the theme music. I remember it was a shock at first because it was so utterly different to all the other series. But it grew on me big time. It seems to encompass the whole ethos really well: "...But I will see my dream come alive at last - I will touch the sky..."
In particular, I'm impressed yet again by Jolene Blalock's portrayal of Sub-Commander T'Pol. IMHO she really did a great job of balancing the Vulcan emotional supression with the charisma needed to make her character one that the audience could relate to. In some ways I think better than did Leonard Nimoy. Blasphemous I know but still. :-) He was the path finder, establishing a whole culture and succeeding so well that his successors were able to portray less emotion yet still have the audience fully relate to them. It amazes me in retrospect; imagine the originality in coming up with an emotionless character and expecting it to be successful in TV culture!
I also really do like the theme music. I remember it was a shock at first because it was so utterly different to all the other series. But it grew on me big time. It seems to encompass the whole ethos really well: "...But I will see my dream come alive at last - I will touch the sky..."
Well... damn.
Sep. 3rd, 2016 07:55 pmAs you get older you tend to get set in your ways. You set up routines and get very annoyed when the universe conspires to disrupt them. :-) For the past 10 years or so I've been buying a particular brand of lasagne from my local, because it's just WAY superior in quality to all the others. It's so handy to have something that I can just reheat when I come home tired from a long day. Not that I live on it! But it does make it onto the menu once a week or so.
So last week it was suddenly no longer on the shelf. How dare they suddenly change their stocking! Damn their lack of customer service, which should be oriented around keeping me happy! Some web research later on the brand name I found that, much to my glee, the factory that made it was located only 5km from where I live! I win: I could buy it from the source and bypass the mean supermarket that wasn't doing what I want!
Unfortunately, when I went out to the factory site I discovered that the reason they were no longer being stocked was that the company had gone out of business two weeks ago.
This is not good. This is the universe conspiring against me.penne4m's reaction was "Oh well, you'll just have to make it yourself." This is my partner in life being supportive?? No. While it's true that I do make a mean lasagne, the whole point was to have a ready to heat meal that required no effort on my part!
::pouts::
So last week it was suddenly no longer on the shelf. How dare they suddenly change their stocking! Damn their lack of customer service, which should be oriented around keeping me happy! Some web research later on the brand name I found that, much to my glee, the factory that made it was located only 5km from where I live! I win: I could buy it from the source and bypass the mean supermarket that wasn't doing what I want!
Unfortunately, when I went out to the factory site I discovered that the reason they were no longer being stocked was that the company had gone out of business two weeks ago.
This is not good. This is the universe conspiring against me.
penne4m's reaction was "Oh well, you'll just have to make it yourself." This is my partner in life being supportive?? No. While it's true that I do make a mean lasagne, the whole point was to have a ready to heat meal that required no effort on my part!::pouts::
(no subject)
Aug. 31st, 2016 09:08 pmIf you've not seen it, there's a *brilliant* ad for the Paralympics called "Yes I can" or "We're the Superhumans". Truly inspiring. Do yourself a favour and click. Sometimes they just get it right.
(no subject)
Aug. 18th, 2016 10:46 pmYou may perhaps have seen it but if you want a laugh, check out this *brilliant* ad. It was featured on "Gruen Transfer", an Australian show about advertising. Which sounds incredibly boring but is actually hilarious if you're tempted to check it out.
Anyone with a long memory able to help out? I remember a cartoon character from when I was young but I can't remember its name.
I know it was Warner Brothers and used to appear in Bugs cartoons but did it have a name? It's bugging me. :-)
To explain: I'm doing a maths exercise with my class where they have to use equations to make a picture. They're aiming for a viewing of all their results at the end of the term, with a chocolate prize (that's how you motivate my class!). Anyway, to get them started I used an example of a "monster I remembered from when I was a kid". My result is shown below and when I got home I started to research what the original had looked like, since it had been forty years or so since I'd seen it! And yes, I know mine doesn't look much like the original but it needed to be simple enough that I could build the equations with the class in 45 minutes! I suspect I was getting partly confused in my mind with Cousin Itt.
I know it was Warner Brothers and used to appear in Bugs cartoons but did it have a name? It's bugging me. :-)
To explain: I'm doing a maths exercise with my class where they have to use equations to make a picture. They're aiming for a viewing of all their results at the end of the term, with a chocolate prize (that's how you motivate my class!). Anyway, to get them started I used an example of a "monster I remembered from when I was a kid". My result is shown below and when I got home I started to research what the original had looked like, since it had been forty years or so since I'd seen it! And yes, I know mine doesn't look much like the original but it needed to be simple enough that I could build the equations with the class in 45 minutes! I suspect I was getting partly confused in my mind with Cousin Itt.
PC or not PC
Aug. 6th, 2016 05:57 pm"We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist."
- Clint Eastwood commenting about political correctness being out of control in support of Trump's latest ravings...
Well gee, Clint. Could it be because when you were growing up it was back in the days of apartheid & the Stolen Generation, when women were "barefoot & pregnant", gays were bashed and African Americans were tolerated as long as they didn't imagine they were equal? Those sort of attitudes are Neanderthal remnants that most of the world is, thank goodness, gradually growing out of. Don't you think it's about time you did too?
- Clint Eastwood commenting about political correctness being out of control in support of Trump's latest ravings...
Well gee, Clint. Could it be because when you were growing up it was back in the days of apartheid & the Stolen Generation, when women were "barefoot & pregnant", gays were bashed and African Americans were tolerated as long as they didn't imagine they were equal? Those sort of attitudes are Neanderthal remnants that most of the world is, thank goodness, gradually growing out of. Don't you think it's about time you did too?
(no subject)
Jul. 26th, 2016 08:37 pmThought I'd tell you about a conversation while paying for food this afternoon. I'd put two items on the bench & the man at the cash register had rung it up and asked me to put my card in the reader. At that point I realised he'd only rung up one of the two items...
Me: Aren't you going to ring up the cheese too?
Him: ::stares::
Me: You've only rung up the OJ.
Him: Oh. Yeah.... Thanks. ::cancels & re-does the transaction:: Oh, well.... it's Monday eh?
Me: Noooo.... actually it's Tuesday.
Him: Really? Huh... ::stares::
Hi to all of you! It's been a while since I've posted. I'm ticking along. :-)
Me: Aren't you going to ring up the cheese too?
Him: ::stares::
Me: You've only rung up the OJ.
Him: Oh. Yeah.... Thanks. ::cancels & re-does the transaction:: Oh, well.... it's Monday eh?
Me: Noooo.... actually it's Tuesday.
Him: Really? Huh... ::stares::
Hi to all of you! It's been a while since I've posted. I'm ticking along. :-)
If you've not read it...
Jun. 7th, 2016 07:50 pmI'm going to copy this one from my rec site because it's a great story that's finally drawing to a close. If you're after a good read and like the HP'verse then do give it a try.
catsarecool: (FFnet) A Marauder's Plan or (AO3) A Marauder's Plan
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG
Pairing: Harry/Hermione (but as a sideline, it's not a romance)
catsarecool: (FFnet) A Marauder's Plan or (AO3) A Marauder's Plan
Fandom: Harry Potter
Sirius decides to stay in England after escaping Hogwarts and makes protecting Harry his priority.Length: long (86 chapt as at June '16)
This is an amazingly well written story. The complexity of cultural background invented by the author (political & familial relationships & magic, depth of motivations), the insight into the characters and, to put it bluntly, the ability of the author is outstanding. This is a story of political deals, mature relationships, realistic expectations and real people. It's the story that JKR should have written, to be honest. HIGHLY recommended.
Update: The final chapter is about to be posted in this story. If you've not yet discovered it or have been holding off because it was a WiP then do yourself a favour and read it!
Rating: PG
Pairing: Harry/Hermione (but as a sideline, it's not a romance)
My goodies have arrived!
Mar. 9th, 2016 09:30 pmThe postman delivered from "ThinkGeek" today - my Star Trek glasses and my Doctor Who tie. LOL Far too expensive but what the hell - you have to indulge yourself sometimes. :-)
Evolution in action
Mar. 3rd, 2016 07:54 pmI thought I'd pass on a conversation that had me LOLing. We have a "club fair" coming up in the school where all the depts who have clubs - including our dept, which has the Maths Club - put on a display to attract members. The discussion was on how the clubs should be arranged in the venue....
Dave: Perhaps they should be arranged in evolutionary order... You know - from Phys Ed up to Maths.
Laughs & thoughtful pause from all.
Jo: Nah. It'd never work - there'd have to be too big a gap between Phys Ed and the next dept. Besides, where would you put Drama?
Dave: Perhaps they should be arranged in evolutionary order... You know - from Phys Ed up to Maths.
Laughs & thoughtful pause from all.
Jo: Nah. It'd never work - there'd have to be too big a gap between Phys Ed and the next dept. Besides, where would you put Drama?
Operation Boomerang
Jan. 19th, 2016 06:52 pmThe Australian Lamb Marketing Board released an ad in the lead up to Australia Day (Jan 26). One of the really well done funny ones that's gone viral. In case you've not seen it and would like to... https://youtu.be/7i15OPuFvmA
Note:There have been complaints about it from vegans; just giving advance warning. :-)
Note:There have been complaints about it from vegans; just giving advance warning. :-)
All my best to everyone!
Dec. 25th, 2015 08:11 pmBest wishes to everyone for a joyous celebration. I hope everything goes smoothly and your day is everything you hope for!
I've had a.... well "fun day" doesn't quite describe it but... I had Christmas lunch at my niece's house, who's hosted it for some years now and does a marvelous job. The food was wonderful and a good time was had by all. It was also a bit stressful in that there were six kids with ages running from 6 months to 9 years; the screaming level reached epic proportions at times and I find that very hard to take.
I always worry about the presents that I get for the kids; not having any of my own I don't feel very confident about buying age-appropriate gifts. Apparently I seem to be able to manage it as I get compliments from the parents each year. :-)
My cute-as-a-button grand-niece, Miss Eight, was just great. She unwrapped her first present, which was a set of doll's clothing/accessories and, while grateful, she was really worried that her second-most favourite doll would be jealous. Her look of relief when she opened the second and found that it was another (different) set was so funny.
I've had a.... well "fun day" doesn't quite describe it but... I had Christmas lunch at my niece's house, who's hosted it for some years now and does a marvelous job. The food was wonderful and a good time was had by all. It was also a bit stressful in that there were six kids with ages running from 6 months to 9 years; the screaming level reached epic proportions at times and I find that very hard to take.
I always worry about the presents that I get for the kids; not having any of my own I don't feel very confident about buying age-appropriate gifts. Apparently I seem to be able to manage it as I get compliments from the parents each year. :-)
My cute-as-a-button grand-niece, Miss Eight, was just great. She unwrapped her first present, which was a set of doll's clothing/accessories and, while grateful, she was really worried that her second-most favourite doll would be jealous. Her look of relief when she opened the second and found that it was another (different) set was so funny.
Quick question
Dec. 23rd, 2015 07:06 pmFor those of you who have iPhones...
My Samsung Note 3 has a thing called "Drama" mode when using the camera that lets you take action photos and combine them. For example:
I'd like to try to use this in my maths class to take action shots involving something thrown through the air in order to derive the quadratic equation of the parabolic path.
The problem is that most of the students have iPhones and I'm not familiar with them at all. Do they have a similar facility?
Also, the Note 3 has two settings which seem very similar - "Drama" and "Golf". I've never used either one. Has anyone used them and can tell me which one I should be using to do this?
My Samsung Note 3 has a thing called "Drama" mode when using the camera that lets you take action photos and combine them. For example:
I'd like to try to use this in my maths class to take action shots involving something thrown through the air in order to derive the quadratic equation of the parabolic path.
The problem is that most of the students have iPhones and I'm not familiar with them at all. Do they have a similar facility?
Also, the Note 3 has two settings which seem very similar - "Drama" and "Golf". I've never used either one. Has anyone used them and can tell me which one I should be using to do this?
Just a giggle
Dec. 17th, 2015 06:38 pmI've been watching his TV appearances with a mixture of horror and bemusement...
Plot bunny
Dec. 16th, 2015 04:19 pmJust an idle thought:
In the Slayer mythos the last of the Old Ones to be driven out of the world created the first vampire. In the words of Giles "... the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed ... infected ... by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another ... and so they walk the Earth, feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind."
Ok, so what if that last true Demon was thinking ahead? What if it had some scheme to come back someday and left that remnant of itself as a seed, intending one day to reclaim that power... which by now has been multiplied by thousands due to the spread of all those vampires? Could be an interesting Big Bad, particularly given the probably ambivalent reaction of some vampires to having themselves re-absorbed!
If anyone wants it, feel free. :-)
(Or, if it's already been done, please let me know.)
In the Slayer mythos the last of the Old Ones to be driven out of the world created the first vampire. In the words of Giles "... the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed ... infected ... by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another ... and so they walk the Earth, feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind."
Ok, so what if that last true Demon was thinking ahead? What if it had some scheme to come back someday and left that remnant of itself as a seed, intending one day to reclaim that power... which by now has been multiplied by thousands due to the spread of all those vampires? Could be an interesting Big Bad, particularly given the probably ambivalent reaction of some vampires to having themselves re-absorbed!
If anyone wants it, feel free. :-)
(Or, if it's already been done, please let me know.)
Help please
Dec. 12th, 2015 06:39 pmMy sister is in hospital again and wants to start a journal. It's mainly for her, although she does want some entries to be visible to friends and relatives to update them on her progress.
A friend of hers in the IT industry suggested that she use Wordpress. I've never used this but I gather from what she was told that you have to download files and set them up on a server - she has webspace available through her ISP so that's not an issue. She's also very intelligent and pretty IT savvy. Certainly she's capable of setting it up if she needs to. The advantage from her point of view is the privacy; that it's completely under her control.
I've suggested LJ as an alternative. Very easy to set up, privacy is simply a matter of setting the default entries to be 'private' and it's equally simple to set selected entries to be public.
I have no experience with Wordpress at all. Can anyone advise me on whether there's a significant advantage to using it over LJ?
A friend of hers in the IT industry suggested that she use Wordpress. I've never used this but I gather from what she was told that you have to download files and set them up on a server - she has webspace available through her ISP so that's not an issue. She's also very intelligent and pretty IT savvy. Certainly she's capable of setting it up if she needs to. The advantage from her point of view is the privacy; that it's completely under her control.
I've suggested LJ as an alternative. Very easy to set up, privacy is simply a matter of setting the default entries to be 'private' and it's equally simple to set selected entries to be public.
I have no experience with Wordpress at all. Can anyone advise me on whether there's a significant advantage to using it over LJ?
Looking for help
Nov. 16th, 2015 08:17 pmAre any of you fans of Fleetwood Mac as they are in their modern incarnation?
My sister went to their concert here recently and wants me to buy her a CD - ideally one that has similar content to the concert (she's in hospital again). My problem is that although I'm a huge fan of Rumours & their self-titled album and also of the Stevie Nicks Belladonna album, I'm not so keen on their more recent stuff. Consequently I'm finding it hard to decide which album is the best to buy.
It seems to narrow down to either this one, which has content from the 70s to 1997:
...or this one, which seems to only contain material up to '88.
Any thoughts? Better suggestions?
My sister went to their concert here recently and wants me to buy her a CD - ideally one that has similar content to the concert (she's in hospital again). My problem is that although I'm a huge fan of Rumours & their self-titled album and also of the Stevie Nicks Belladonna album, I'm not so keen on their more recent stuff. Consequently I'm finding it hard to decide which album is the best to buy.
It seems to narrow down to either this one, which has content from the 70s to 1997:
...or this one, which seems to only contain material up to '88.
Any thoughts? Better suggestions?
Filled with confidence
Oct. 30th, 2015 05:56 pmI sat down in front of the computer just now (which I'd left on since the morning) and found a pop-up saying "GWXUX has stopped working" which was offering to either stop the program or wait for it to respond. I'm sure you've seen similar messages if you're a Windows user.
Being a suspicious bastard, I googled GWXUX before doing anything. I found that this is one of the programs that is used by the utility that Microsoft has imposed on everyone (without asking) that evaluates whether your computer is able to run Windows 10 and then bugs you over and over again to reserve a copy.
Wow. It *really* fills me with confidence in Windows 10 that the program that MS has chosen to use to promote it has a bug that's serious enough to hang the program!
Being a suspicious bastard, I googled GWXUX before doing anything. I found that this is one of the programs that is used by the utility that Microsoft has imposed on everyone (without asking) that evaluates whether your computer is able to run Windows 10 and then bugs you over and over again to reserve a copy.
Wow. It *really* fills me with confidence in Windows 10 that the program that MS has chosen to use to promote it has a bug that's serious enough to hang the program!
