Hi! It's Friday!

I have lots to do today, so this will be a short post.

First of all, before I forget, here's the post from Vicki Howell about another contest she's having on her blog. If you're a crocheter, get on over there and enter!

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Here's where I am on the first of two Christmas stockings I'm knitting on a commission.

I'm about to switch to knitting in the round for the foot. It will eventually (when I've finished the foot) need a seam up the back of the leg.

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I have to go over to Comcast to pay my bill and yell at them once again. I yelled last month, but I started keeping a journal of stuff that's been messed up on TV because of them, and I've got two pages almost completely filled already. I plan to make an "I Hate Comcast" sandwich board to wear over there. They drive me crazy!

This is going to keep me pretty busy for the rest of the day, considering that I have to take two buses to get there, so it's a three or four hour round trip. I'm considering stopping at JoAnn Fabrics as a reward on the way back.

I also need to pay a flurry of other bills before I leave to do that.

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I watched a bit of the British version (the original) of Life on Mars before I watched the US version. I was less impressed with the original than most people seemed to be, but persevered through the first four or five US episodes. I'd read where some people were annoyed that the US version was so different, but the main difference I found in the first few episodes was that they called Sam's phone a "wireless" in the original, and a "cell" in the US versions. I didn't really see much difference between the two. They even had the woman policeman (Annie) in a knock-off of a British police uniform which is something I've never seen on a US cop anywhere.

After the first few episodes, I gave up on it, lost interest. But then I heard rumors that Sam kills himself in order to get back to 2008 in the original, and when the season finale came up last week, I watched it.

Wow! It was good. And Sam didn't kill himself. The ending was neat, though. I won't say any more except watch the reruns (if they ever show the series again).

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Tru Calling is on the SciFi daytime rotation today.

Tonight, we have a new episode of Dollhouse, and a rerun of Ghost Whisperer. 

On SciFi, a rerun of last week's Ark of Truth followed by the premier of Continuum this evening in the Stargate universe. If you have a problem watching Dollhouse and Continuum, the latter will be rerun next Friday.

I have to get running if I hope to do all I need to do today.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, and since it's a bill-paying day, I thought you would enjoy this:

Happy Monday!

Well, in the last 24 hours, my mobius hood has exploded from something that looked just a little longer than it did the day before to starting to look like a real hood!


It doesn't look in the photo like it would fit as well as it does in real life. Well, I did some shaping on the hood, and I still have some doubts about this project. I think it's really turning out nice, so far, though.

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For those of you who don't know, the SciFi Channel has discovered that they can't trademark/register/copyright/whatever the term "SciFi." So they have embarked on a journey to find the perfect new name for their network. They have chosen SyFy as their new name. I read one report that insisted that they chose it because that's how they would spell it in a text message.

First of all, I doubt that they can't trademark it. Blaster, and a lot of other basic SF words were successfully trademarked in the past, which seems really silly to me. Unless someone else has already trademarked it.

Io9 has some really funny articles about this. The first one I saw was named SciFi Channel Changes It's Name to a Typo, and it was just an announcement of the change. The second one, 25 Other Names the SciFi Channel Could Rebrand With was funny. My favorite on the list was "Sci-Fi Except For All That Wrestling Channel," although I also liked "Zzzzzzzzzy-Phy."

Then there was a post called "15 More Alternate Names for the SciFi Channel," which continued the funny theme. One of my favorites from this list was the "I Cant Spel But I Kin Txt Chanel."

Here's what SciFi has to say about the name change in their own words. The theme that keeps repeating is the idea of "a name we can own." There was also a poll on your opinion of the new name in the sidebar. I voted against it, but it seems to be gone now. I can't find it on their site. But when I voted, the score was something like 157 for and over a half million against. I suspect they took it down because they didn't like the general direction in which it was headed.

But they are doing something good tomorrow during the day. They have reruns of Eureka on! On Wednesday, there will be episodes of Tru Calling on their daytime rotation, too.

This weekend, actually Friday evening at nine (here) they're showing Stargate: Ark of Truth for all of you, like me who haven't been able to scrape up the money for the DVD, even though it's not very expensive.

I suspect they're doing that to make it up to us for showing Beowulf last weekend. I didn't think anything or anybody could mess up a fine, classic, Icelandic saga as badly as Grendel, but Beowulf gave it a run for it's money.

NBC will be showing their usual Monday night science fiction shows, Chuck, Heroes, and Medium, and we'll be treated to another episode of Castle at the same time as Medium. The Monday night lineup is currently good for all old Firefly fans because we can get to see both Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin! It's just a shame Castle isn't science fiction (or fantasy).

Well, there's lots to do today, so I'd better get going.

Have a great day!

Quiet Tuesday

Tru Calling is on the SciFi daytime rotation today! This would have worked better if I had told you about it before it happened, but I completely forgot.

I also almost forgot that Eureka is on this evening. There will be three solid hours of it: one rerun episode from last season, the episode from last week, and the all-new, never-been-shown-before episode, which, this evening, is What about Bob? What a wonderful addition to Tuesday evening!

On Friday, the SciFi Channel will be showing Doctor Who on it's daytime rotation. Especially not-to-be-missed, are Tooth and Claw (which shows the beginning of Torchwood), and School Reunion (where Sarah Jane comes back). For all you people who are getting psyched up for the Olympics or Ravelympics, don't miss the episode entitled Fear Her! It involves the 2012 Olympics.

Well, I found out why I can't get closed captioning on channel 50 (ABC Family) through Comcast. Part of what they were claiming was right, and part of it was wrong. And part of what I was telling them was right, and part was wrong.

With standard definition TV (NTSC in the US), the CC is imbedded in the information for the picture. If the CC is imbedded at the network level, if you have a TV that gets CC and it's turned on, it has to appear if you're getting a picture at all. That's what they were trying to tell me, and they were right about it. It's something that should be absolutely foolproof, no matter what. But they found a way to mess it up anyway.

High definition TV (ATSC), is so compressed to get a HD picture up there at all that they don't have room to embed CC into the picture. So it goes along with the sound. It can be displayed by any HDTV, but a standard TV hasn't got a clue and can't display it.

Comcast is broadcasting ABC Family on two channels. Channel 50 is supposed to have the SD signal, and 245 is supposed to have the HD signal. Can you see where this is going?

Right! They have the HD and SD channels switched! I was tuning in to 50 to get the SD signal and CC, but was getting the HD signal (which displays, but at SD), which doesn't have the CC embedded in the picture, and can't be displayed on my TV.

I called them today, and hopefully it will be fixed soon for all those people out there who haven't done a computer search on CC.

But I figured it out in time to see the last half of Middleman with CC, and then set the DVR to record the whole thing! It's wonderful! They throw in so many in-jokes for SF fans! At one point, Wendy and the Middleman are using code names over their radios, and one of them is "Gatekeeper" and the other is "Keymaster." Needless to say, the episode is about ghosts! It's a new favorite program for me. If you missed it, by the way, it'll be on later in the week a couple of times. Check your TV guides.

I'm still looking at cables for the shoulder of my Celtic sweater, and I should be swatching soon. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get the cable to start and how to turn the knitting so that half of the cable goes down the front and half goes down the back, and then I realized that I don't have to turn it. All I have to do is run the cable elements off the edge as I did on the hood, and will do on the buttonloops. Then just stop knitting and put the end on a stitch holder.

I need a cable with four individual strands for the shoulder, and then it needs to separate and two strands will go down the front, and two down the back. I'll add a short bit of I-cord that will go directly across the shoulder and be picked up at the edge in front and back. I could even weave it through the shoulder cable. This is going to be neat!

I'm going to put up a page within the next few days for the Celtic sweater. It will be just the beginning information right now, and I will add to it as I design it. So you can see the design process, too. Watch for the link to it in the sidebar within the next few days.

I will also be putting up a tiny ad for Designs Toscano in the sidebar. I love that company! I got some of their small gargoyles as a Christmas present one year, and I love them!

Have a great day!

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Addition:

I have some early information about the Celtic sweater up. You can get to it by using the link in the sidebar.

I still need to make charts for the parts that are already done, and get them into the right places, not to mention the parts that I will be swatching and charting for the Ravelympics before it starts.

Be patient.

Comic Con Just Keeps Rolling!

What an exciting weekend! 

Comic Con is running all this weekend, and the Tour de Fleece is finishing up. 

By Monday morning, it will all be over.

Check the listings for G4 this weekend. They don't seem to be covering Comic Con on Sunday, which is a shame, especially for Steve Canyon fans, because that's when all the news about the new DVDs will be coming out. I don't have the details yet, so I'd love to be there and get to see the panel John will be on.

Speaking of the schedule on G4 today and this weekend, there is still day 2 of Comic Con today and day 3 tomorrow, as well as a Heroes marathon on Saturday!

I really should have started at the beginning with what's happening today, but Comic Con is so exciting!

Today, the channel to watch is SciFi! They're in the middle of a Tru Calling Marathon at the moment, and this evening there will be a new Joan of Arcadia, followed by the first of the two-part finale of Doctor Who for the current season! Not to mention a new Stargate Atlantis.

A large group of people on Ravelry were raving about the trailer for the Doctor Who finale, and I hadn't seen it until this morning. There's a lot to rave about!

I watched it as a recording and slowed it down so I wouldn't miss anything. The characters I saw in it were Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen, Ianto (from Torchwood), Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, and, of course, Donna Noble and the Doctor. I suspect that last week's episode, Turn Left, is something that will help understand the grand finale. I can't wait!

And now for the second part of this weekend's excitement: The Tour de Fleece.

I've had some slow going on the spinning front, but have most of the singles done. Finishing the singles tonight and tomorrow and then plying on Sunday should get me to my goal with time to spare.

On the knitting front, I've actually blocked the Shetland lace shawl and the Christmas hood, but I plan to take photos outside, so they'll be taken either this evening or tomorrow and posted here ASAP. The shawl turned out particularly well. I just love my steamer! I hadn't blocked a lace shawl with the steamer before, and I have to say the blocking went off like a dream. knitted lace looks like a wad of tangled yarn before blocking, and then turns into the most beautiful, magical web!

John called last night to let me know that he was all right. He had some dental work done yesterday. He had a dental problem that he thought would make speaking on Sunday an ordeal, but the dentist fixed everything painlessly without having to give him novacaine or anything. He said it was the best dental experience he's ever had, and he's now willing and able to smile and talk without worrying about malfunctions.

I sounded off again about my current cable problems, and was particularly annoyed about not being able to hear The Middleman, which looks like a really fabulous show. He said I should tell you about it.

It's beyond description, but here goes: It's got a very comic book feel, and the general tone reminds me of Get Smart, with a lot of SF in-jokes and general fun. 

In the first episode, Wendy is working as a temp answering phones in an office with a big window behind her. Through the window you can see lots of technical equipment with many scientists rushing around. 

Then they start running frantically, there's an explosion, lots of smoke, and one of the lab-coated technicians gets slammed up against the window behind her and dragged away. In the meantime, Wendy is cheerfully and efficiently answering phones. 

An enormous monster gets slammed against the glass, and it starts to crack, and then suddenly breaks with explosive force, throwing her and the monster across her desk and onto the floor. Wendy says into her headset "Please hold." and then gets up to battle the monster, who has grabbed her around the waist and is trying to drag her off.

Comcast is not displaying closed captioning for this channel, though so I can see the pictures and catch part of the dialogue, but I know I'm missing a lot of it.

I called and complained to Comcast again last night, and they finally talked me into letting a repair person come out on Saturday for free. This is going to drive me crazy because he'll be here during the Heroes marathon, so I'll miss some of that, but maybe I can get him to report the problem to the office once he figures out that it's not the box or my TV. 

A TV that's delivering sound on every channel but one, and closed captioning on every channel but another one isn't malfunctioning. They're not broadcasting it.

Check out  The Middleman. The bits and pieces I can decipher are so much fun!

Have a great weekend!

Comic Con Sweepstakes

Most of yesterday was used up getting help for my various problems (food stamps, help affording Medicare, etc.).

I still have more papers to fill out and get in right away. The woman there said I would get food stamps, but she didn't know how much.

I have just a short section of the Christmas present hood to kitchner together, and then block it. The purple shawl has the knitting finished and has to be blocked. The lavender Shetland lace shawl is knit and needs to be blocked.

As you can probably tell, I'm not real fond of blocking. But I have a steamer, which makes the whole process a lot less painful. Actually, I have a pile of other stuff to block, too, and I should do it and get some of it up on my Etsy store.

Photos of that will happen real soon.

In the meantime, I have forms to fill out, documents to get copies of, and mail out, along with some books to pick up at the library.

This Friday, the SciFi Channel will be showing Tru Calling in their daytime rotation. There are some great episodes being shown, notably the end of the series, where the plot starts to thicken. Don't miss it!

Speaking of Friday, later in the day they will show Joan of Arcadia and the next episode of Doctor Who. I think this is the next-to-last episode of the series, so I hope you saw last week's episode, Turn Left. It's shaping up to be a fabulous finale!

And the SciFi Channel sent me a text message this morning and let me know that there's a Comic Con sweepstakes going on right now. It sounds great. I've already entered, and I don't know why I'm lowering my odds of winning by telling everybody else.

For any of you who are lucky enough to be going to Comic Con, here's the schedule for SciFi channel stuff.

My friend, John, will be there, but he'll be spending all his time on panels, etc. Being a guest at a con is fun, but it has it's limitations, too. I hope he gets to see some of the con.

SF Update!

Well, Eli Stone was a bust this weekend. The pilot episode was scheduled, but they showed something about NASCAR instead. I was disappointed. It's beginning to look like I'll never get to see the pilot. It is scheduled for next Saturday evening. We'll see if it's on.

But there is other science-fiction-on-TV news out there!

Special Unit 2 will be on the SciFi daily rotation schedule tomorrow, and Tru Calling will be on the daytime schedule Wednesday.

As far as evening Science Fiction goes, Supernatural seems to be the highlight of the week, with a rerun on Thursday.

Oh well, some shows will be returning in July, although not much.

My Risata Marionberry socks have metamorphed into a pair of mitts and a beret. I've transcribed Crazy Aunt Purl's beret pattern from bulky to fingering yarn. If it works out well, you'll get photos and a pattern. Not that I really expect anyone to want to knit a beret in fingering weight yarn. I'm the only one dedicated enough to do that.

In the meantime, I finally managed to get all the information I need for the IRS (I think I have it all), and need to spend some time filling out forms and getting them xeroxed (I don't trust them not to lose them) and mailed off.

Have a great week!