Fool Resistant

Your Kara ran over my Drama. (gaming)

2008-07-07T07:30:19Z

Note: No Kara report last week, I was interrupted by my dad calling about my granddad; so I was there for about three trash pulls.

The suspects this week:

TANKS:
Fineilldoit, warrior
Torvish, warrior

Both these guys have tanked Kara before with us.

HEALERS:
Lintra, paladin (Anthrak's alt)
Nhinx, shadow priest (Enhtiar's alt)
Lenka, priest (Draculette's alt)

All-new healer lineup; while all three of us have raided before with the group, we're not on our usual characters.

DPS:
Frogvete, hunter
Mariothebull, hunter
Landox, hunter, new
Xanosine, mage (edited to add name and that she's ours), new
Yukinaya, shaman, new

Summary:
HUNTSMAN: Downed. No wipes.
MOROES: Downed. 2 wipes.
MAIDEN: Downed. 1 wipe.
OPERA: R&J, 2 wipes. (ETA: corrected, thanks Anth)

Notes:
One priest on shackle and one on heals = good idea.

I suck at dispelling holy fire. Fortunately, Lintra doesn't.

Spriesting makes me happy.

Also, Torv and Frog discussed setting up master looter next week, to avoid situations like the guildie who needjaed the bow after being told to pass (resulting in a stunning display of profanity-laced fireworks). I think this is a brilliant plan, as it also lets us put all the cash and junk into the guild bank.

Public service announcement for area parents

2008-07-05T06:58:37Z

To: Parents
From: Local ER doctors
Re: Letting children play with fireworks

FIREWORKS ARE ON FIRE.

Nearly ten and nothing to read.

2008-07-05T06:53:36Z

I haven't bought the kid new books-of-her-own in a while, except a neat hardcover copy of Charlotte's Web (some pig!). I am looking for some ideas on what to get her for her upcoming birthday, but that's only tangentially related to my real question.

Do feel free to rec anything you like, of course, but my question is this:

What book do you remember liking best as a child that you CANNOT remember the name of? And why did you like it?

There was a book I read three or four times from our local library and have no idea what it was called.

The book was about a boy who liked to tell jokes, and who would make people listen to him tell jokes whether they really wanted to or not. He was transported to another land (somehow, I forget how) and got a guardian devil, whose name I forget-- and the only way for him to get home, along the No-Pun Road? NOT TELL JOKES.

Mmm, yeah.

The funeral.

2008-07-02T20:17:24Z

Imagine two men, two old men.

Chin wattles, arms all thin, wrinkles around eyes and mouth.

Two VFW caps.

One under the folded hands in the coffin.

One being worn by the man giving a shaking, palsied last salute.

My grandmother kissed her husband goodbye, and told him that he was always beautiful.

Tomorrow would be their 65th wedding anniversary.

We were worried that we'd have to drag my grandmother away from the grave. She did pretty well, though. Even accepted the folded flag and the ceremonial thanks and all that.

I haven't mentioned enough that I am extremely proud of her for getting through all this.

Because I've been crying too much to talk a lot. I'm okay, just very sad.

We had dinner at the church and I got to meet (and hug) dale_in_queens's mom. Yay!

On the way back to the house, my mom and uncle and I were having a lighter discussion about gravestones.

My mother has always said, "You can bury me in a sack but get me a big stone." I told her that I'd certainly do that, but those words were GOING on the stone. "That's okay," she said.

My uncle wants something different on his:

DON'T SAY MY NAME THREE TIMES.

He reckons it'll give him at least 100 years of fame among the local schoolchildren...

I was singing, but... (POLL)

2008-07-01T06:39:08Z

View Poll: I forgot the words.

Isn't that something!

2008-06-30T08:31:31Z

My granddad was weak, but lucid and not in pain, when I saw him last Wednesday. Hospice was set up late in the week, so when he took a sharp downturn on Friday and wasn't able to get around, they were available to come and help.

Saturday, he was a little more alert, probably thanks to the ibuprofen and anti-anxiety medicine they convinced him to take; enough that my parents went out for dinner and a movie for their 40th wedding anniversary, while my uncle stayed home with him and my grandma.

My parents are one of the most awesome married couples I know. They have a great partnership and share a sense of humor, which I think is part of why they get along so well.

When I was in high school, my parents would go grocery shopping together, then split up in the store, take separate carts, and pretend to meet each other in the checkout line. Then, for the benefit of the checkout clerk...

DAD: Hey, you look really nice. Want to go home with me?
MOM: Oh, I don't know about that.
DAD: I could cook you dinner. And we could sleep together.
MOM: I'm married.
DAD: Great, then YOU can cook dinner.

...Given the short-term nature of the checkout clerks, there's always someone new and shockable...

So my parents got done with the movie and went back, checked on my granddad, and went home.

About 7 in the morning, my uncle called and said "Get over here, I think he's going." My granddad had had a few chips of ice and not much else in the previous hours, and his breathing was very labored.

He passed very quietly, without regaining consciousness, just before my parents arrived.

By the time I showed up at quarter til 11, the funeral home had been and gone, the house had been picked up a bit, and my grandmother was ready for visitors. Since the church crowd hadn't heard the news yet, we were on our own for lunch, so my uncle and I went out to get pizza.

My grandfather was an insulin-dependent diabetic, so my grandmother followed his diet along with him for years; much to my surprise, when I asked what drinks to pick up, she said, "I want a Coke, a real Coke, not a diet one."

My dad said the grace, which choked everyone up a bit. And we talked and chattered, and more people came by, a couple at a time.

It wasn't just about being sorrowful together, it was about taking the opportunity to re-connect in the midst of change. There was laughing and hugging and kissing, as well as tears.

My grandmother tried again to give me a set of dishes (Christmas patterns, service for 12). I refused on the grounds of having no space, and joked, "Could you hang onto them for another 10 years?"

She got a thoughtful look and said "Well, you know, I just might make it to 100!"

I am so proud of her. I really am. For the past few months, she has been grieving, and winding up the rest of her life with my grandfather, and now she's ready to start her life after him.

Wednesday we're going to bury him, with the military burial and all, and then... go on.

Passing.

2008-06-29T13:55:15Z

Every night, I listen to the voices of those who have lost someone they loved, and while I prayed for them, I did not share their names.

Today, I have one to share.

My grandfather, J. B. Corvin, passed from this life to the next this morning.

He enjoyed a full life with his wife of nearly 65 years and their family. He was a devout member of the Assembly of God church, participated highly with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Good Sams, and was visited by his friends and neighbors until the end.

I will be at home with my family today.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

oh, my sides.

2008-06-28T03:18:44Z

The best Prince Caspian parody evar

Sample quote:

PETER: I had to fight them because they shoved me. Also they did not bow to me or offer me tribute as their High King.
EDMUND: O High King, I offer you some tribute. It consists of these four magical words.
PETER: What?
EDMUND: SHUT THE HELL UP.
SUSAN: Let’s just face the fact we are never getting back to Narnia.
DRAMATIC IRONY: Oh really?

Hospice "throws"-- not all that great. (rant)

2008-06-26T16:28:28Z

For those of you who aren't knitters, allow me to explain.

There are a number of knitting groups who believe that receiving a knitted item makes a person feel cared for, because they appreciate the work that has gone into the item, and the item is useful or comforting.

I believe that this is true only if the item really is useful or comforting. More about the time commitment later.

Some problematic items:

***The chemo cap. People who have cancer lose their hair from chemo sometimes, so it's apparently vitally important to knit them some kind of head covering, because being embarrassed by baldness, or sunburned, is their #1 concern.

Problems: People want to use awful yarn, things they would never wear against their OWN bare skin. (It's not so much that people with cancer are so inhumanly sensitive-- it's that their heads are naked!) They want to use gaudy patterns and colors because it makes it fun for them to knit. This is especially prevalent in wanting to use the brightest possible colors for kids' caps (because, you know, kids with cancer don't feel singled out enough).

***The prayer shawl. People who are very sick, or terminally ill, are apparently in need of even more possessions. It's especially popular to knit these out of Lion Homespun, possibly because the short lifespan of the yarn symbolizes the shortness of the person's remaining time. Or because it's cheap and easily available, one.

***The hospice throw. This is a small lap-sized blanket, about 3-4' by 4-5' at the most. The ideas behind such a tiny blanket are:

a)Provides warmth for legs and feet; people who are very sick get cold.
b)Provides modesty by covering a thin sheet, hospital gown, or pajamas.
c)Provides a keepsake for the survivors, after the person passes away.

All three of these are, to some extent, stupid.

First, take my granddad. What's the point of giving him something to keep warm, when he's not likely to make it through the summer?

Second, it's too hot to use a blanket for anything, and even if it was cold, why would he want scratchy acrylic against his skin? And as far as modesty, when he is too sick or encumbered with wires and stuff (during hospital visits) to get a shirt on, it's only family and closest friends around, and we are all too busy to worry about what he's wearing or not wearing.

Third, my grandparents have lived in their house since the mid-50's. It's FULL of things to remind my grandmother of my grandfather. There's no reason she should need a generic "blanket for person with cancer" to remind her and collect dust.

So, knitters: Rather than spending the 10-15 hours knitting a worthless item for someone, why not find out more about someone in your community who is very sick and do something they actually need or want? Mow a lawn, take a dog to be groomed, bring dinner. If you must knit, for them or their family, make sure they WANT something knitted-- or barter it for something they DO want or need. (Knit socks for your friend who owns a lawnmower...)

cornute @ 2008-06-21T12:06:00

2008-06-21T17:08:42Z

I don't want to talk about knitting, I just want to share that I'm grown-up enough to buy certain products, but silly enough to think that a soft yarn case is all I need to protect them against the ravages of my purse.

So, apparently, I'm a prude for thinking that a knitting community is not the correct place to inquire about the packaging of prophylactics.

Why, yes, actually, I AM a prude among strangers, and sometimes I wish more people were as well.

No matter how bad I feel.

2008-06-20T07:16:18Z

No matter how bad I feel, I have absolutely got to get stuff done today for my mental health. If I don't shower, cook, sleep, and get my legs stretched out enough that they stop cramping, AND find something fun and creative to do, I will not survive the week without a crying breakdown.

Sure would be nice if I didn't feel as exhausted as if I had the flu. All I really feel like doing is lying on the couch to read and eat, then moving to the bed and sleeping until time for work.

ETA, 9:12AM:
_X_ shower
_X_ cook
_X_ fun (WoW, 20% of level)

The old gray matter, she ain't what she used to be.

2008-06-19T09:23:21Z

My mother reports to me that my grandfather, despite having trouble breathing and extreme weakness, DROVE HIMSELF* to the hospital. The following conversation ensued:

Mom: Momma, next time that happens, call 911 and get an ambulance. I don't want him driving and I don't want you driving either.

Granny: How do I do that?

Mom: Just dial 9, 1, 1 on the phone and the operator comes on and talks to you.

My grandmother is not suffering from any mental problems other than the natural consequences of old age and extreme stress (her husband, who has been married to her for 65 years almost, is slowly dying). Yet I am not absolutely certain that, in the event of an emergency, she would know her address and phone number spot-on. (They changed the area code a few years ago, so even though she's had the same number since it was FEderal-2, it's not the same number.)

I mean, most people would tell you that the number you dial in an emergency is 911 (or 999 across the pond); but each of you reading this, I promise that you KNOW someone who, in an emergency, does not instinctively know to call this number. (You may even be this person.)

In today's world we have "security measures" where you can't get information without reciting passwords, security answers, and things that hopefully only you would know. But what happens when you don't know them? What happens as our population ages and we start to forget where we worked 10 years ago? What happens to our personal safety, to our medical assistance, when the privacy laws forbid disclosing information without proving our identity by verifying things that we can't verify right now?

It's also not an aging thing; I had to verify some information for a credit report, including the name of the employer I had back in 1995. That was 13 years ago, and while I remember how we answered the phone, I don't think I ever DID know the formal name of the business. I'm sure it would have been on my tax records, but I don't keep those for 13 years. So, even if I don't know the business's name, aren't I still me?

How are we going to deal with securing personal information? Are we going to have retina, fingerprint, or other scanners built into SecurePhones that we use to make our personal business calls? Will there be a rise in officials like the notary public again?

My (now deceased) grandmother told me that notaries used to be required to personally know someone, not just identify them with a driver's license. That's why notaries used to be people who knew a lot of the community, like local businesspeople.

*This is not unusual behavior for our family; my great-uncle Craig drove himself to the hospital while suffering a heart attack. This was in the days before cell phones, so it was that or die.

Not good.

2008-06-18T13:59:32Z

My dad just called. My grandfather (mother's father, the one who is very sick) is in the ER, with trouble breathing.

He hasn't been seen by the doctor yet so we'll have an update later. I may have to go down tonight rather than tomorrow. Or something. Don't know yet.

I am still awestruck at how well my parents work as a team to handle things like this. They will be married 40 years a week from this Saturday.

That's all I got to say. Hug 'em if you got 'em, folks.

NOTE TO SELF!!!

2008-06-17T08:09:36Z

WS = "wrong side" (knitting)
CBT = Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
SSC = Serpentshrine Cavern (WoW)

And I won't even tell you the answer I gave my co-worker who asked, "I can just stick it in anywhere?"

Well, that was neat!

2008-06-13T20:16:36Z

Two or three old friends-- the sort I don't talk to very often, but who always show up like an unexpected ray of sunshine-- IMed me today.

Thanks, guys, and you don't know how welcome it was. It helped a lot.

In which Kiztent is, once again, right.

2008-06-12T10:15:41Z

It seems that he does know what drives me.

Respect, especially from people I care about.

More squee!

2008-06-11T10:22:55Z

Nick Yee's website, The Daedalus Project, does surveys and reports on people who play MMORPGs.

I participated in one of the latest ones, "Kids and MMOs," and actually got quoted-- twice-- in the writeup. :)

I'll talk more later about the context of what I wrote, but here's the article itself if you're curious. The two quotes attributed to the 33 year old female are mine. Kids and MMOs

The quotes, for those who don't wanna click through:

From a page regarding benefits of playing MMOs:

Leadership Opportunities (7%)

Where else in the entire world can a teenager lead a group of people including adults into accomplishing a common goal? [F, 33]

From a page asking what advice the players had for other parents:

Parents should not only 'sit down and try' the game, but learn what the basic unit of time is where something can be accomplished. [F, 33]

And Nick Yee's own conclusion:

"In talking to parents and teenagers during my Qwest trips, involvement and setting up expectations are the two themes I stress. We’ve done informal surveys at high schools and it’s often surprising how many young teenagers have internet-enabled computers in their own room without any clear rules or limits about internet use. Whether it’s spending too much time online or misunderstanding the nature of online relationships, parental involvement is the key to mitigating many of the risks present when kids play online games."

Expect a follow-up to this later today when I'm not at work.

Hair.

2008-06-11T08:04:14Z

Warning: The following post is excessively self-centered and vain.

I'm growing my hair out but would like some (hopefully informed) opinions:

1. I've heard about a million times that if you get your hair trimmed regularly, it keeps the split ends down and your hair grows faster (instead of breaking off). Anyone who can disprove this-- non-trimmers who still have a lot of hair growth, for instance? Or is it true? I should probably mention that my eventual goal is to get my hair waist-length and have the ends cut to all the same length. This is, by my reckoning, about another 2 years of growing it out-- assuming it will grow, and not just split or break or whatever.

2. My current beauty regimen consists of shampooing with cheap shampoo (sometimes twice if it's been 3-4 days or my hair is really in a state of filth) and using cheap cream rinse, then patting it with a towel to get most of the water out and air drying it. I may own a blow drier but I have no idea where it might be. I don't really want to join the cult of a zillion hair products, and I have absolutely no need for any styling stuff (curlers, spray, gel, etc) but does anyone have any recommendations for other stuff I should be putting on/in my hair?

Random cost-of notes and activities.

2008-06-07T09:37:21Z

Low-sugar pectin: $1.50 for a 3 pack, over in housewares; compared to $2.12 for a one-pack in the baking aisle.

This makes the cost of...um, 8 cups of mulberry jam, a whopping:
60 cents sugar (4 cups out of an 8 cup bag for $1.20)
50 cents pectin
96 cents jar lids (not reusable, the jars are however)
--
$2.06 for 8 cups of homemade jam, plus the labor of picking/cooking. In case of storing the jam in just plain reusable jars, that cost is halved. (But it only keeps for a couple weeks in the fridge that way.)

Yarn: "Freedom Spirit," 100% wool, by Twilleys of Stamford. 50g/120m. Bought at The Wool Pack in MA. Shade 506.

Finally getting around to using the blue/brown colorway I had stuck back; it's a pretty dual-strand of blue/purple/sky-blue/tan/brown. Much nicer than it sounds. I'm making another insulated lunchbag, as my current one isn't big enough when I bring jam and bread to work.

I just pretty much cast on some stitches for a bottom and started knitting, then I'll pick up around all 4 sides when I'm done and knit til "wool and patience are nearly exhausted" (per Zimmerman).

It feels good to be back knitting again. I really should knit more, and clean up the house more, but when I also really, really want to get my priest to 70 and raid with the guild... well, I need to set some priorities so that I can fit things into the corners of my life.

I have about 4 levels left to go, and a general estimate of time spent per level is 10-12 hours. I don't expect to get this done in a week, of course, or even two or three; but I really would like to fit in 4-5 hours at least on the weekends.

My jam.

2008-06-06T16:12:15Z

IT IS JAM!!! Hooray!

For the record: taking the pot immediately off the stove, and sinking it in a sink full of ice water, seemed to do the trick.

Hm, now what?

2008-06-05T13:38:04Z

Just picked about a dry pint of mulberries, off the trees in the back lot. I am certain these were not treated with any insecticide, as I had to avoid quite a few insects in order to pick them (including what looked like a congress of some weird sort of beetle).

I don't think I have enough to make jam or jelly; should I make them into a pie or muffins or something?

Food for thought. Or gas. Or something.

2008-06-03T09:32:51Z

Minimum wage in 1998	$5.15
Gasoline cost in 1998	$1.24
Minutes:seconds worked per gallon gas in 1998	14:27
-
Minimum wage in 2008	$5.85
Gasoline cost in 2008	$4.00
Minutes:seconds worked per gallon gas in 2008	41:02

Even though I make more than minimum wage, that kid working at McD's back in 1998 still has me beat on purchasing power*, as far as gasoline goes.

Thoughts? Anyone interested in the "bread and circuses" model that compares the cost of food and movie tickets? Or what would be the appropriate circus equivalent?

*If you would like to figure out your own costs, but are math-impaired, here's what I did:

Question: How long must you work at a certain wage to earn a gallon of gas at a certain cost?

This is only tricky because it involves minutes and seconds, which aren't regular decimal fractions of an hour.

Example:
Cost of gas divided by wages
1.24 / 5.15
answer: 0.24077...

x 60 to get minutes
answer: 14.44660...
14 is the minutes here (and the seconds are still after the decimal); write down 14 somewhere and subtract it.

answer: 0.44660 (same as above without the 14)
x 60 to get seconds
answer: 26.79611
26, rounded up to 27, is the seconds.

Answer: 14 minutes, 27 seconds at 5.15 an hour equals one gallon of gas at 1.24 a gallon.

Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2008-05-31T10:13:03Z

Barbara Kingsolver, who may be better known for her Poisonwood Bible, has also written a non-fiction book about her family's quest to live as much as possible off locally grown food.

1. The language in this book is reminiscent of the food she describes; luscious, flavorful, with surprising twists. Just reading about canning tomatoes makes you want to do it (even if you HAVE canned and know how much work it is).

2. She's extremely passionate about the WHY of buying locally-- because it's good for the local economy, good for the environment (because you're not paying to ship your food from far away), and so on.

She touches on the lack of a "food culture" in America. Unlike a lot of countries, we don't really have a national "menu" of any sort; this, according to some people, is part of why we're adrift in a realm of fad diets and obesity all at once. People whose ancestors grew up eating one sort of food married people whose ancestors ate something else entirely, and now they all eat at McD's.

Of course, her answer to "food culture" is "eat locally"-- which leads to point #3.

3. The author and her family had a swimming time of it, moving from the desert of Tucson to the hills of Virginia. According to her calculations, the value of the food her family farm produced (a.k.a. what it would cost to buy the same stuff retail) was about $1.70 a meal, plus 50 cents worth of other materials not locally available (flour, oil), plus $100 a month to the local farmers. This comes out to about $75 a week.

Now, before this recent rise in food prices, I budgeted $100 a week for our groceries and other needs (cat food, litter, cleaning supplies, and so on); $75 of that was for groceries, and I'm only feeding 3, not 4. Her family definitely eats better than mine, and for cheaper; sounds like the way to go, doesn't it?

Consider, though-- she deliberately moved to a place in the country where food can be grown. She moved into a house that had some land. She doesn't really talk much about making this idea work if you don't own land, or don't live in a good climate and can't afford to move. Face it, there are places (and she admits Tucson is one) where the local flora don't make very many succulent dishes, unless you're willing to supplement soil and water.

Doing the right thing-- and, from all she says, buying locally IS the right thing-- shouldn't be something only for the rich, or for land-owners. So what's the answer for city folks? Container gardening? Windowsills? Hydroponics in the spare room?

I don't know yet. I'm still proud of myself for using every bit of the chicken, these days, and that'll have to be enough.

/gquit, cooking

2008-05-31T09:18:11Z

I think I'm over my first mad about the whole thing. Basically, the guild I was in felt it was important not to offend current guildies by asking them to change their behavior. This resulted in a couple of folks having some very bad insulting arguments in /guildchat, and some folks choosing to leave the guild because the disagreements weren't conducted in a respectful manner.

Contrary to popular opinion, asking people to abide by the guild rules is not "trying to take the guild leader's job"; answering an obvious factual question when the guild leader is busy is also not "trying to take the guild leader's job." Neither one is, as it was charmingly put, "gaytarded."

So, I really do wish them luck in Kara on Sunday, especially missing two of their ten regulars (and three if Anthrak decides not to go too). Much as it might give me a private moment of satisfaction to see them fail miserably, I don't really want that to happen...more than once. Ya know?

Anyways, drama being over-- I had Torvish (the warrior who's been tanking Kara for the past few weeks) over for dinner Thursday night. He's a pretty cool guy and the cats seem to like him. I made some chicken on a stick and mashed potatoes, and it was all et up.

I was also exceedingly proud of myself for one thing-- I accidentally got chicken breasts with bones, but rather than throw away the bones and remaining meat, I made some stock, with which I made chicken rice this morning. (Stock and little bits of chicken picked off the bones.)

I'm currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which I will review a bit later.

TIMMAYS IN DA WELL!!!!

2008-05-30T09:34:34Z

Engineer Cat is going nuts tonight. He's been running around the house meowing since 9pm, in a "Pay attention! Something is wrong!" way. We've both followed him around and talked to him and shown him everything in the house, but somehow he's just convinced.

The previous time he did "Timmy in the well" like this, I was not waking up for work, and he led Raven to me to get me up.

If the downstairs neighbors are making meth or we die in a CO leak, please to be noting that the cat did try to warn us.