ANOTHER RETIRED-FOR-THE-MOMENT HEADER IMAGE
RETIRED (FOR THE MOMENT) HEADER IMAGE
RETIRED HEADER IMAGE
BUST A MOVE
I saw something quite amusing yesterday. Or maybe it was Tuesday, I can't remember. But it was nice and warm outside, so I opened up the big bay door to let the sunshine into my little inventory area at work (I think it was Tuesday) and set about restocking a bunch of parts. Wearing dirty coveralls, listening to Creedence (CCR is perfect for sunny days), all in all, quite enjoyable for a work day. Then I saw something just wonderful.
This semi-geeky high school age kid wearing the typical massive high school backpack, plugged into an iPod, trudging along down the street. I probably see this kid every day and don't really take notice. But that day, the moment I glanced up at him passing by, he interrupted his monotonous plodding to totally bust a move all over the sidewalk, then continued on his way. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you, That Kid. Thank you very much.
Note: Geeky high school age dance moves are amazing, especially in split-second increments.
Katie
10:45AM 06/21/2007 - Permalink
YAPLET
This is mostly for Simone, who has "denied access" issues at work, but she says she can access my website and wishes she could talk to me here. Well now she can, and so can you! I took my cue from J.Sto, who has a yaplet sometimes when she doesn't have time to post.
Anyway, I would have put one here ages ago if I had known how easy it was. I didn't even have to install anything or write out huge chunks of code, I just put a badge link here and Yaplet did it for me. If you have a website and would like your very own chat, just go to www.yaplet.com. It took me about five minutes to do it, no headache whatsoever.
So, this is my yaplet button:
Click it and a chat area will pop up as a sidebar. It's pretty self-explanatory and easy to use. One helpful tip: the little green number up at the top is how many people are currently in the yaplet. If it's 1, then you're so very alone. If it's 2, it's probably just me and you, so say hello. If nobody replies, I'm probably just not paying attention. Don't be offended. If you want to, you can leave a message sitting in the yaplet and I'll probably see it next time I open it, unless someone else writes enough to move it out of the chat box. Yaplet doesn't save very much of a conversation.
I will leave the button up in the header. If it becomes a problem, I will remove it. But it should be fun for now.
Katie
11:20AM 06/06/2007 - Permalink
SO ORCAS ISLAND IS PRETTY MUCH GORGEOUS...
I went to a wedding this weekend with my friend Megan. I don't know the people who got married, but I know lots of people who do know them, so I figure they didn't mind if I crashed. Anyway, that aside, the wedding was on Orcas Island, which is one of the San Juan Islands here in Washington. I had never been to Orcas before, despite the fact that I've spent 23 years living a mere 45-minute drive and 1-hour ferry ride away.
(Side note: the ferry is very fun for us mainlanders.)
So what I found out when I got there was that Orcas Island is an incredibly beautiful place. Really really. The view from the top of Mt. Constitution is absolutely breathtaking. I am kicking myself for not taking a camera (or having a camera). But here, I stole a picture from www.picturepawfect.com just to give you an idea of what you would see:
Only way, way better. You literally feel like you're on top of the world, cliché as it sounds. It's an amazing view of Mt. Baker. I'm used to the Bellingham view of it, with most of the bottom blocked by hills and trees. They're not in this picture, but you can see the Cascades, the Canadian Rockies, Vancouver Island, and basically anything around this area - even Mt. Rainier on a clear day. I highly recommend a trip to Orcas if you live around here, or even if you don't. Everywhere you look, it's all trees and hills and ocean and islands. And if you do visit, you absolutely must go up to Mt. Constitution. There even an awesome castle style lookout tower:
ARTEMIS ETERNAL
I told you it was The Awesome. I mean, how cool is that? Amazing art by Greg Martin.
This is going to be so rad. You can still help if you want to. Click on the poster to go to J.Sto's project page.
Note: This is Jessica Stover's picture. She has all copyrights. It appears here with permission. Do not steal it. Go to her page and support the project.
Katie
10:53AM 05/29/2007 - Permalink
DO SPIDERS GET MAD?
I was typing away at my desk today, and a little black spider bungee-web-dropped down in the corner of my office, right in front of the door. My first instinct was to jump up and kill it. The principle behind that being, of course: it's smaller than me and it's weird-looking. I must destroy it.
But instead, I just watched it for a little while. It kept going straight up and down on the same thread, doing freaky leg-parachute manuevers when it dropped (supercool). I don't really know the whole intricate web-building process, so it looked a little pointless to me. Maybe it was storing it up for building material, I don't know. Then it crawled back up into the ceiling tile a little bit. I became concerned for my small alien companion, being as it was building something in front of a doorway, and I couldn't just let it stay there. This is a place of business and it's an outside door. Traffic, you know? So I considered throwing something at the ceiling tile just to let it know it wasn't a safe place. But then I thought maybe that would make it mad and it would sneak up and bite me later. (Spiders are really good at sneaking.) Then I realized I don't even know- do spiders get angry? I mean, I realize they probably don't plot revenge, but can you agitate a spider the same as other animals? I decided not to risk it. And by the way it's sitting on top of the EXIT sign and looking at me, I'm kind of glad. That's an eight eye stare.
Wow, three posts today.
Katie
12:45PM 05/25/2007 - Permalink
PERMALINKS!
Setting up permanent links to posts has been in the back of my mind for a little while, but I'd never gotten around to it. Then J.Sto e-mailed me today asking if they were available, so I decided to see what I could do about them. Man, I had no idea they were so stinking easy, or I would have done them from the beginning. It only took me like 20 minutes to figure it out and retrofit the whole site. The program I use to write the site (Web Weaver) has a big button on the toolbar that does it automatically, I just never noticed it. Super easy. So anyway, each post has a permalink now. It's right down there next to the time/date stamp.
Explanation for the less web-savvy who might be visiting (hi mom!): this means anyone can bookmark or link to specific posts. The page will scroll automatically to the desired part of the page. Pretty cool.
Also, I can self-reference like crazy now. I can talk about that one time I battled the Gallery, or my very first post on the new site, or how Marc is learning Chinese. It's a real website now, everybody! Yayyy!
Katie
10:09AM 05/25/2007 - Permalink
STICKY MESS
You know, the more I work with duct tape, the less I like it. I had to take two long strips of it off a big metal sheet yesterday and sheesh, it was a lot of work. I think I have about a teaspoon of paint thinner in my lungs now.
New, freshly applied duct tape = Good. Holds stuff.
Old duct tape = Worst thing ever. Brittle, weak and sticky and impossible to remove. You'd think it couldn't be both, but it can. Ohhh, it can.
-End useless post-
Katie
08:44AM 05/25/2007 - Permalink
BE A HIGH-ROLLIN' FILM SPONSOR
And by high-rollin' I mean 5 or 10 bucks. Here's the deal:
Jessica Stover is making a Sci-Fi short film, code-named AAE. This is awesome or, rather, The Awesome. Problem is, films take money. Even short films. So she has offered the general public a chance to help out with the cost. Why am I calling this a chance and not an inconvenience? What's in it for you?
Well: (a) J.Sto makes awesome things, therefore she would make an awesome Sci-Fi short film which I really want to see, so pony up, (b) by donating, you get your name in the credits of said short film, which is highly awesome, and (c) it's only 5 or 10 bucks, which is quite far from unreasonable. It's about the price of a fancy coffee or a ticket to a lame movie. You know, the kind where you come out thinking, "I can't believe I paid to see that."
That in mind, I've personally decided I will atone for supporting bad movies by repaying the price of my tickets to the AAE fund. Example: I willingly paid $8.50 to see Next. It was not worth my $8.50. I have atoned for this mistake by donating $8.50 to the AAE fund. My hands are washed clean of supporting a bad film. And although I haven't seen Spider-man 3 yet, I know it's bound to happen. From what I've heard, AAE will be getting another $8.50.
Also, if you're not feeling particularly philanthropic and you don't want to just give money away, you can buy cool things instead. Like a sweet little green book called Aidmheil which is full of cool stories, including a glorious account of the Nerd Line which waited fruitlessly outside Grauman's Theater for Episode 3, a trip to the Badlands, and an original short story called Greyfeather. There's also an amazing art print of a concept scene from a film project called The Silver Legacy. It all goes to supporting the AAE project.
Do you want to help support AAE? (Correct answer: yes.) Go here. Click the 'Donate' button or look in 'Projects' for cool things to buy.
It would also be a good idea to support the feature film project The Silver Legacy by adding to the Demand here. (it's quick and free and rad)
If you have a website or friends who would be interested in getting their name in the credits of a film for only $5, it would be cool of you to link this up. Spread the word.
Trust me on this one.
Update: J.Sto has now added a special incentive: $25 or more gets you in a drawing for a free Limited Edition The Silver Legacy concept art print! So $5 for a credit and $25 for a chance at a sweet art print. Nice.
Katie
04:13PM 05/16/2007 - Permalink
VICTORY IS MINE!
I have at last defeated the Gallery in battle. Observe and rejoice in my triumph.
Katie
03:01PM 05/10/2007 - Permalink
PUPPIEEEEEES!
Last night I went down to Simone's parents-in-law's house to see the puppies their black lab just had; three chocolate brown and four black. They were quite adorable, but they were still in that dog-larva stage where they can't really walk or do anything. Their eyes weren't open yet, but they probably will be sometime today. One of them was trying really hard to open her little eyes. I would have taken pictures, but I figured meh... they'll be more interesting in a week or two. They're just furry slugs right now. I'll go back and see them when they're all bouncy and naughty and chew on things. That will be much more fun for pictures. As long as it's not my things.
Katie
08:50AM 05/08/2007 - Permalink
MY SINOPHONIC BROTHER
Marc just came in and starting saying things to me in Chinese. He took the first of his classes over the weekend. It was very exciting to hear him speak it. And he said that the word 'ma' (pr: "mah?") at the end of a sentence makes it a question, like a question mark that you actually say out loud. I said that makes sense because you can't change the inflection of the words to sound like a question the same as English, because Chinese is tonal and it changes the meaning. Then he said yes, that's right. Then the conversation was over and he left my office. The end.
Also - the Chinese word for "Chinese" is "Zhongwen," which sounds remarkably like "John Wayne" when spoken aloud.
Also also - I got a haircut.
Katie
10:25AM 05/07/2007 - Permalink
A BATTLE OF WITS
Scene opens on grassy hill scattered with boulders. KATIE sits on a rock,waiting. Two wine goblets are set in front of her. A laptop containing a LIBRARY OF IMAGES is open at her side. GALLERY FOR THE WEBSITE approaches, hand on his sword.
KATIE: So... it is down to you and it is down to me.
Gallery nods and steps forward.
KATIE: If you wish Library of Images dead, by all means keep moving forward.
Katie's hand moves to the laptop, Gallery stops...
GALLERY: Let me explain...
KATIE: There's nothing to explain. You're trying to prevent me from posting what I've already uploaded.
GALLERY: Perhaps an arrangement can be reached.
KATIE: There will be no arrangement-
Gallery moves closer, Katie right-clicks on Library of Images and hovers over "Delete."
KATIE: -and you're killing it!
Gallery stops.
GALLERY: But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.
KATIE: I'm afraid so -- I can't compete with you with HTML. And you're no match for my tenacity.
GALLERY: You're that persistent?
KATIE: Ha! Let me put it this way - not really.
Katie gets distracted reading urban legends on Snopes.com on the laptop. Gallery sighs and sits down on the grass to wait another week or two.
Fade out...
Annnnd.. scene!
Katie
11:22AM 04/30/2007 - Permalink
YOUNG BRAINS
Marc just told me that when he was really little, he thought eyebrows were called "feelings" because people would always scrunch them up and say "You hurt my feelings!" I laughed and laughed. Oh, Little-Marc-From-the-Past, you are a fantastically odd little person. That's awesome.
I don't remember anything funny that I thought when I was little, or at least I can't think of any right now. I just remember that when I was 7 or 8, I would lie frequently about what I thought when I was little, saying stupid junk like "When I was little, I thought the lights on Lummi Island were holes!" Someone would usually call me on it, but I would insist and become very defensive until they got tired of arguing with logic and reason against a stubborn 8-year-old pathological liar.
Side note: There is an extremely annoying whining computer fan in this office. It's like an instant headache machine.
Katie
02:59PM 04/23/2007 - Permalink
MENU IS A GO
Yes. I have conquered the menu. I'm using a very limited style sheet, which I'll probably be adding to as time goes on. Anyway, though the menu links all work now, there isn't much in the other sections yet. I'll work on that soon. But right now I'm celebrating my clicktastic menu.
Katie
01:50PM 04/10/2007 - Permalink
IT'S UPDATE TIME! IT'S UPDATE TIME!
It's been a few weeks, yes, but it's not as though I have an audience, so I forgive myself. Anyway, I'm going to really focus on getting that stupid menu going and actually have some other parts to this site. Like a gallery. Everybody likes to look at pictures, right? Right. So I'm going to try to get that up. Also, side note: I just got one of these awesome drink cup things and I love it. Becca says it's all about the straw and you know what? It totally is. Straw = drinking your daily allowance with ease. Huge difference. Water is good for you. Drink it.
Katie
10:47AM 04/10/2007 - Permalink
SULPHAGNE GIVES YOU SUPERPOWERS
This is brilliant. YouTube has several more, ten in all, I think. Enjoy.
Look Around You - Sulphur
PS: It's the first day of Spring.
Katie
09:30PM 03/21/2007 - Permalink
A THIN RED LINE
Marc says geeks are powerful. I think he is right. Or maybe it's just that geeks feel powerful sometimes. Because I totally feel powerful right now. Why? Because of the thin red lines that are under these entries now. Very simple, but it took me a while to figure out how to put them there without making the entries go all wonky and overlapping and making a three-layer jumble of words while the lines just disappeared altogether. But once I did a little research (thank you, W3C) I figured out it was really quite easy (make use of div - yes, I am completely ignorant of everything). Anyway, trying to make it work and then eventually succeeding; well... I feel powerful.
Katie
05:30PM 03/16/2007 - Permalink
THINGS I DO NOT LIKE
- Asparagus
- Tiny sharp rocks in my shoe
- Loose socks
- Iodine smell
- Violent dust allergies
- Not spontaneously knowing all the HTML I need to do exactly what I want with my website
- Erasers that do not erase
- Most purples
Katie
03:45PM 03/16/2007 - Permalink
NOW IN GLORIOUS WHITE!
I decided to go white background instead of red. Mostly for ease of reading, but also because too much red is... well, too much. So I'll go with a little rather than a lot. I do love me some red. I'm trying to figure out the whole customized style sheet thing for HTML. Marc gave me the one he uses so I can build from it, but it's still Greek to me.
Tschüß! (That's not Greek - that's German.)
Katie
02:08PM 03/14/2007 - Permalink
HERE I GO AGAIN.
I finally got a program to help me build this site. But, genius that I am, I got the wrong one. So I'm still going to need to learn how to do everything in HTML. I suppose that's a good thing, though. Learning is good. It will make me feel all smart when it eventually works.
The menu up there is non-functional right now, so don't get your hopes up. All in good time.
Katie
05:15PM 03/13/2007 - Permalink