Adventure Is Out There!

As you may have guessed, I just saw Up yesterday! I liked it, but not as much as most people seem to.

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Speaking of yesterday, my friend, John put up something he called "his six degrees of separation from Martin Luther King" in honor of the day.

I really wanted to put the photo up here, but everything that has anything to do with both the internet and my computer does not seem to be working right today.

It's a photo I took of John with Nichelle Nichols at our friends Jan and Phil Cox's house. I wish I could show it to you, but Safari seems to have gone on one, so I'm using Fire Fox, which is wonky, and the internet seems to react differently to it.

In case you don't know, Nichelle met Martin Luther King, and he's the one that convinced her to stay on Star Trek when she wanted to quit and be on Broadway.

For instance, I just hit return twice to get a new paragraph, and the curser moved two lines UP!

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I can show you what it looked like out my window today, though.

We seem to have gotten a bit of snow either overnight or this morning. Paved areas, once again, are just a bit damp, but the grass, trees, and some buildings have snow on them.

I haven't actually seen it snow today, but every so often, a breeze knocks the snow off the trees, and then a while later, they look like this again.

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Well, I really want to say a lot more, but my whole computer is acting so wonky that I'm going to quit for now. You may not hear much from me until I get this fixed.

There's a new V tonight!

Have a great evening.

A Dozen Days Until the Sheep and Wool Festival!

I'm all excited about the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, which will be the first full weekend in May (always), and is the largest thing of it's kind in the United States! This year it will be on May 1 and 2, and we'll be going on the first.

This year, the big draw for me is that the Majacraft people will be unveiling their new wheel, called Serenity (another Firefly fan was responsible for this), which was designed specifically for spinning "art yarns." I can't wait to see it, and see how it works, and what makes it special! Here is a photo of some of the yarns that have already been spun on a Serenity:

This photo is from the Majacraft blog, which you can find and read at the above links. I'm showing the photo because I want you to go look at it on their blog. It's an incentive.

This year, I may have some money coming to me, but if it doesn't arrive by the end of the month, I'll be going without any money. There will be a lot of things I can later buy over the internet, but there will be a lot of things I'll have to miss out on if I have to go with no money.

Here's a couple of photos of their Rose wheel, which is the one I have:

Holly went to a knitting retreat this past weekend, and she was telling me about one of the women who was there and spun on what she thought was a Rose wheel all weekend. She said she wasn't sure and would tell me the next time she saw my wheel, so I thought I'd put photos of the wheel up so she could see them.

Money or not, I'm still getting excited about the Sheep and Wool Festival!

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I have actually been doing some knitting, but what I've been knitting is gifts for others, so you won't be seeing photos of them here for a while. Sorry!

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There's a rerun on Chuck and The Big Bang Theory tonight, but a brand, spanking, new episode of Castle. No Ghost Whisperer on SyFy, though because they're doing their "miniseries" month. It'll be back on Monday nights eventually, at least once in a while.

Tomorrow night, as usual, there will be a new Lost and V!

Wednesday is an evening to spend watching what you recorded on your TiVo, DVR or VHS.

I hope you're having a terrific start to your week!

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Addition:

The apartment place I live in promised that the people would be coming out today to turn on the air conditioning. They say it takes a whole 8 hours for them to do this, but it's now 6:30, and it usually goes on around 4 or 5 when they actually do it, and it's 80 degrees in here, so it's obvious they haven't done it.

It's cool outside, so that's not a problem. The problem is that the windows are open and there's a fan blowing in not only cool air, but all the pollen, too! My health can't stand this!

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Another Addition:

Get your fix of cute little lambs here!

Heat Wave!

Well, we're back to the usual Spring insanity with the place that I live.

Don't get me wrong, this is a really wonderful place to live. There's just one problem. The heat is either on or off. The building seems to hold heat, and I only have to use the control that I have in my apartment to turn it up from "cold" when the temp doesn't go above 10 degrees for a high in the winter. Normally, the windows are open from October to late April because it's so warm in here.

Well, we have had temperatures around 80 degrees for over a week, and THE HEAT IS STILL ON! It's expected to get to around 90 today, and have I mentioned that the heat is STILL ON! I can expect temps in my apartment of 110 degrees or above.

AND, as if that isn't enough, the only way I've been able to survive so far is by opening the windows and blowing in TONS of tree pollen, to which I'm allergic! So, as usual, the apartment place has given me a BIG start on a health problem that will last until Christmas because of all this pollen I'm being exposed to. First, there's tree pollen (now), then grass, then ragweed.

I'm planning on going out for the day where the heat will only be excessive, not lethal.

Maybe I'll move to the mall.

Anyway, until this problem is resolved, you may not hear much of me on this blog, so don't be alarmed.

Lost and V tonight!

Have fun until I'm back!

No Photos!

Blogger has just updated their interface, and so, of course, there is a problem. This particular one seems to mean that there are no photos in my blog. That includes the sidebar. All of them have been removed! I've been to blogger help after I tried unsuccessfully to replace a photo that had gone. Everybody on blogger seems to be having this problem, and can't even replace their photos. So, you won't be seeing any photos here for a while.

Don't we just love progress?

Oh, and by the way, the reason they changed their interface so that it would deal with photos better!

They're not offering any help on the help forum, so let's hope that they're aware of the problem and are doing something about it, although it would be nice to know if that's the case.

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V will premier tomorrow night, so SyFy has gotten on the bandwagon and is showing (probably all of the original) V today, this evening, and tomorrow. I think it might just end in time to switch over and see the premier of the new season!

If you have a DVR (or TiVo) you might want to set it to see the new episode of Lost, though.

As for tonight, there is a new Chuck, a rerun of The Big Bang Theory, and a new Castle, which is the second half of last week's episode. We'll get to find out if Beckett survived the explosion.

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I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Drex Files, and found this entry that tickled me now end. It's about someone who is marketing covers to put on your garage doors to make it look like the door is open and there's something in your garage that's different than what's really there.

I've been following the Steve Canyon comics on his blog, and it's really fun.

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It's cold and rainy here. I hope it's better where you are! Have a great beginning of the week and a wonderful Spring break (if that applies to you)! Here's hoping that you will see photos here again sometime soon!

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Addition:

So, after writing all that, I publish this and go to look at my sad blog with no photos, and they're back! At least some of them are. I'm seriously confused at this point!

Know-It-All Bag Contest and More

There is a contest on Knitty that has a prize of the electronic components to make the Know-It-All bag! Most of their contests have an automatic entry for everyone who subscribes to their blog, but this is one you have to enter. Check it out! Good luck!

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When President Obama first started talking about Health Care Reform, I was all for it.

Then I found out he's working on Health Insurance Reform. The Health Care Reform is apparently yet to come. And I really hope that enough people have figured out that it really isn't care that's been reformed so that we have some hope of real health care reform!

But I noticed one interesting thing. If you follow Twitter, our president is on there. I followed him. I'm sure he doesn't write the tweets personally, but there was one up where he was rejoicing about the health care reform bill and it's passing. I wrote him a reply pointing out that it's health insurance that's being reformed, and ever since then, the tweets "from" the president have referred to it as health insurance reform!

It's a first step in changing how people think about the bill and the reform. It's more accurate. And it leaves the door open for real health care reform! I'm also amazed and impressed that I was able to communicate that to someone who is in a position to change people's perception!

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We've been having sun and weather with highs around 70 degrees for about a week, now. As you know if you follow my blog, in the apartment building where I reside, the heat is either on or off. Currently, it's on, so the daily low temperatures in my apartment have hovered around 80 degrees. Today (and yesterday) we've had either rain or just overcast and lower temperatures, so it's a livable temperature here, for a change. I'm so glad I'm not melting today.

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Lost tonight!

First there's the weekly recap of last week's episode (with odd info underneath that makes it worth watching again). Then, the new episode!

And as if all that weren't enough, it will be followed by the premier of the new season of V!

Not another interesting thing on tonight!

I hope this is shaping up to be a good week for you!

Shifting into High Gear for Christmas

Sorry! I feel like I've been neglecting you, but I'm shifting my previous efforts toward Christmas into high gear. We have only about a month left until then, which for knitters and crafters is getting to be last minute.

I'm also preparing a Thanksgiving post (which will go up on Wednesday) about some of my favorite Thanksgiving stuff. I'm putting it up on Wednesday because there are some people who will be away for the holiday, and I want to give them a chance to see it before then.

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I finished an absolutely gorgeous hat for someone last night using the Bernat Alpaca yarn in lavender.

It's just a little darker than it looks on my screen in that photo. The color is soft and beautiful, and it feels just as soft and cuddly, with just a little bit of fuzzyness. I really don't like yarn that's this thick as a general rule, but I love this yarn, and especially this color. They also have a plum color that's to die for, and a beautiful denim as well as other colors.

Considering that it'll be a Christmas gift, I'm going to take a picture (although not today: it's raining outside and dark in here), but that will not be available until after I give it for Christmas. Sorry, you'll just have to wait along with the recipient, and I'm not saying who that will be. I have finished knitting the hat, but although it fit my head snugly when I tried it on while I was knitting the critical part, now that it's finished, it feels a little loose, so I'm going to get some thin elastic cord and weave it through the area where a hat band would be to make it a bit more snug, so it's not completely finished. The hat is completely original, specifically for the person it was made for! And did I mention how beautiful it is? I may make a similar one for myself!

I'm busy making a hood out of the same stuff, for the same person. Then, I'm not sure if I'll make mitts or mittens to go with the set. I'm also considering the possibility of making a scarf in a way that will drive any knitter nuts trying to figure out how I did it. But I haven't made any decisions yet, except for what I'm already knitting.

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Some of the networks have thrown out their normal scheduling completely for the duration of Thanksgiving week, with SyFy leading that parade. They're having movies on instead of their normal daytime rotation all this week, with only James Bond movies on during Thursday and Friday. In a few cases, they're putting on movies that I previously wouldn't have expected from SyFy, so maybe they are trying to change their programming a bit. I personally thing they could stick to science fiction and fantasy and still expand their borders tremendously. Case in point, Grendel will be on again soon, specifically, Saturday at 11am (here), and on Sunday, we'll have the complementary Beowulf. I still can't figure out how someone could take such a timeless classic, and destroy it as thoroughly as they did in those two films. They beg to be on MST3K! The only was these films would be watchable is if you watch them with friends and either supply MST3K-like remarks or have to drink a shot every time Grendel uses his "scud missle."

There are some new episodes on tonight on Heroes (NBC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), and Castle (ABC) as well as the usual Monday night line up of four reruns of Ghost Whisperer (SyFy) tonight.

Tomorrow, we have only one new SF entry, V, which will be the last new episode shown this year. Read about it here.

For the overall outlook of science fiction on TV this week, check this out!

And don't forget to check your local listings for The Legend of the Seeker, which is the only worthwhile sword and sorcery on TV right now. I'm seeing it locally on the CW on Sunday nights, but it may be different where you live, and they keep moving it around, so you may really have to look. Saturdays and daytime weekend TV have not been immune from this enjoyable series, so check it out.

Although they usually show the episode from the week before, and then a new episode, last week they showed the episode from the week before and then repeated it again immediately afterward. I was hoping they'd catch this, and show the new one they should have shown last week along with the next one, but they have definitely skipped an episode, and a whole new character has shown up and we don't know why. But they are doing reruns, so maybe we'll get to see the missing episode for the first time during the reruns.

Have a great evening!

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Addition:

Today is the 46th anniversary of the showing of the very first Doctor Who episode!

Happy birthday, Doctor Who!

Happy Tuesday!

There's not a lot going on around here.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day, so if you want to do something that requires advance planning, this is your wake-up call.

Tonight, the only science fiction thing that will be on is V.

Tomorrow, there will be no SF on TV that I could find , except for a movie on SyFy at two pm (here). OK, I can imagine greater, but I'd still like a little SF on SyFy, please. I guess that's why they changed their name and it's no longer SciFi.

Eastwick won't be on tomorrow, either, and I'm really disappointed.

I've been reading The Magicians, and I have to say that it hasn't been living up to it's hype, at least so far. I'm at least three quarters of the way through the book, and so far, our hero, Quentin, hasn't gotten to Fillory, as promised on the book jacket. So far, the story has been about how hard it is to learn to be a Magician at the only school of magical higher learning in the United States. It's been interesting, but reads more like a documentary, so far. Maybe things are about to change from black and white to color on the next page, and it will get to be a good story. The book is due back at the library today, which means I can get it back tomorrow, free, but I may just take it back tomorrow even if I haven't finished it.

I hope you're having a great Tuesday!

V!

Well I recorded most of V on my DVR. That is I tried to record what the SyFy Channel aired. Not all of it, thanks to the shoddy Comcast DVR that failed to record about an hour of it. But not one episode. It failed to record the second half of one episode, and the first half of the next episode.

Aside number one: Comcast DVRs do not work well. They malfunction at random and in random ways all the time. About one out of ever ten times I go to play something back, the screen goes to black, and the whole thing locks up. I have to turn it off and back on to get it to play the recording if I'm lucky. The thing it's currently doing is saying it's taking up 4% of the disk space to record a two hour movie, but if I erase that same movie, it says I freed up 1% of the space. As you can see, this is eventually going to be a problem. Even though it said I had 18% of disk space free, I think it quit recording because it thought the disk was full. I'm having to disconnect it for 30 seconds and then reconnect it and leave it turned off for 15 to 20 minutes to get it to malfunction at it's usual level, as opposed to not functioning at all.

They are coming out to fix it on Monday. At least that's what they told me. Then again, they also left a message that said that they had fixed a problem in my area, and that they think it fixed my problem with the DVR, and my appointment was canceled, and that if I still had a problem I should call them and they'd schedule an appointment. When I called them, their automated service confirmed the existing appointment.

But there is a Comcast representative coming out to talk to all the people in the building that have problems on the 19th. I suspect that he, like the people I speak to on the phone, is an expert at blaming someone else, and will not really answer any questions or do anything to help. Comcast almost never does.

Aside Number Two: I had forgotten that Judson Scott was in some of the later episodes of V. He's been one of my favorite actors ever since the first time I saw him on Phoenix.

Back on Topic: V was a really wonderful and important show in a number of ways. It showed beautifully how a population can be convinced to do really terrible things. It compared what the visitors were doing with what Hitler did before and during World War II, and it was an excellent comparison, too.

When I was in High School, the teacher showed us an educational documentary to illustrate the way the communists were dealing with propaganda, and how they were manipulating people's minds.

The thing that was truly scary, is that a large group of the population of the town I went to school in protested vigorously about the fact that she was teaching this, and, even more terrifying, was that they followed all the procedure to stop her that the teacher was trying to teach us! They illustrated what she was trying to teach perfectly.

And the visitors in V are doing the same thing.

But, what is even more chilling is that some of those things have been happening right here in the United States, and the majority of the citizens I've spoken to have been calling it a good thing! One of those things that stands out is the federal laws about terrorists that have been passed under the last administration.

What people I've talked to seem to miss about all this is that by "terrorist" what they really mean is accused terrorist. In other words, all you need is to accuse someone of terrorism and all their civil rights go away, and they can be tortured, imprisoned, and even killed! This leaves the door open to someone who's miffed that their next-door neighbor has let their dog loose to make a mess on their front lawn to accuse that person of being a terrorist, and the federal government will punish him. To within an inch of their life. If they're lucky. It's the first step to abolishing democracy.

And I can't help noticing that it was extremely convenient for that administration to have everyone upset by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I also couldn't help noticing that a couple of days after the attacks, there were no plane debris anywhere near the Pentagon when I rode past it. And in spite of the government insisting that hundreds of people saw the plane hit the building, I haven't been able to find even one, and I live nearby.

And I can't help thinking that if someone who wanted to pass legislation to start to legally abolish democracy in the US, it was awfully convenient.

Aside Number Three: I saw a program on The History Channel recently about people who have a conspiracy theory going about 9/11, and the show drove me crazy. The show gave both conspiracy theorists and government representatives a chance to state their case.

Surprisingly, the best information to prove that it was a conspiracy came from the government reps!

One of the things that really gave me a jolt was that the government people said that large parts of both of the twin towers were closed for about two weeks before the "attack" and there was a lot of construction/destruction going on without an explanation. I didn't know that, and it provides an excellent explanation for the fact that both buildings went straight down without harming adjacent buildings.

Back on Topic: The second reason I think V is so important is that it provides lots of ideas for how to fight back. So, pay attention. It could save your life and your country. I'm sure the Germans thought it couldn't happen in their country, but it did.

I should mention, at this point, that I feel that the US is getting back on track as a country I can be proud of under the current administration.

But the best thing about the previous miniseries/TV show called V was that it was entertaining. And the new version promises to be entertaining, too. The first episode alone is too small a sampling of quality to be sure, but keep watching.

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In other SF/fantasy TV, Eastwick will be back on tonight, and now that Chad is dead (killed by the statue his girlfriend, Roxie, made) things may be heating up. I can't wait to see it!

The SyFy Channel will be showing a new (for them) series tomorrow evening, called The Legend of the Seeker. The show is based on the Sword of Truth series of books by Terry Goodkind, and is the very thing that all you Sword-and-Sorcery fen have been waiting for.

I haven't read the books, but I have seen the first season, and it's better than I expected. In addition to being based on books from a respected author like Terry Goodkind, Sam Rami also has his hand in it (as one of what seems like a dozen different kinds of producers), and his brother, Ted, even appears in an episode. You might remember Ted Rami from Xena Warrior Princess, where he played Joxer.

So, you might want to check it out on SyFy tomorrow night if you haven't already seen it.

Oh, and SyFy will be showing Doctor Who on their daytime rotation on Friday!

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I have some additional photos from Holly and Robin's trip to New Orleans.

Here, you see an overall view of Robin in his costume.

And, in case you missed the point, is a close-up:

Holly said that everybody recognized him instantly.

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Well, my Social Security arrived yesterday, and I've paid my bills and bought some things to make Christmas presents from, and now, one day later, I have barely enough to buy food and stuff for the rest of the month.

What else is new?

I need to think up a good money raising project. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Have a great evening!

Happy All Saints Day

Happy All Saints Day!

Although It's All Saints Day, I expect that I'll be dealing with the fall-out from Halloween for the coming week. I still haven't gotten all the photos from Holly with her and Robin in costume.

But her sister, Heather, and her husband, Rob were in the newspaper today! Read the whole story here.

This was the view of their house yesterday.

Rob apparently scared kids with a (bladeless) chain saw.

And Heather posed with her son, Mitchell.

The problem with all this is that next year, we'll expect bigger and better things from them! But then, Heather is only following her father's example.

When we lived across the street from my mother, Al made the house so scary that none of the kids would stop to trick or treat! He finally had to turn off or take down some of the stuff so that kids would come for the candy!

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Well, V is on SyFy! All day! And all day tomorrow and Tuesday!

Today, they are showing the original mini-series (twice, it's on later, if you missed it) followed by the two other mini-series. Tomorrow and Tuesday, they'll be showing the TV series during their daytime rotation.

I have a lot more to say about V, but right now I just want to make sure I don't miss any of it!

Have a great All Saints Day!