Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day to all veterans and currently serving military no matter where you might be! I wish you the best now and in the future. May you all come back safe and sound!

For an article about some of my more flamboyant adventures while in the Air Force click here. I might mention that I actually did some stuff that was actually useful to the Air Force, and before I was in the military, I did some stuff that was even more useful to defend our country.

I got a job right out of high school working as a technical illustrator for a small printing company doing the assembly, wiring, and other diagramming for all the manuals for the BMEWS Project.

I hope the weather where you are is nicer than it is here for Veterans Day. Here it's chilly, overcast, and drizzling! Makes me not want to go out at all!

I had planned to go to the library and grocery store, but if the weather is better tomorrow, I think I'll do it then.

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The repairman from Comcast came on Monday, and said that the only way he could "repair" my DVR would be by replacing it. I wasn't really happy about the idea of giving up all the shows on the hard drive. There was at least half of one show that I hadn't watched, and some others that I wanted to watch again. He said I didn't have to decide now, that I could try to get along with the machine I had and If I changed my mind, I could get a new one later. He said most of my problems were because I had the machine set to keep programs until I erased them. Possibly, but I really don't think that that's why it says I only regain 1/4 of the space used to record a program when I erase it. He says it is, though.

The new DVRs they have are made by Motorola, and mine was from Scientific Atlanta. He said that the two DVRs were identical, just made by different companies. You would think that they'd go for some kind of improvement, but NO. I looked around the internet and discovered that the "new" DVR is just as unreliable as the old one (maybe more), and has it's own set of idiosyncrasies. I'm not sure I want to change.

But, while looking around the internet, I found out that you can use TiVO on Comcast. I have to find out more about that. I suspect that you have to pay the fee for TiVO service, and I know that you have to buy the box yourself. If there's anybody out there using TiVO on Comcast, give a shout, and let me know how the arrangement works! Clearly, I have to do some more research on this. But if there are still any questions, there will be a representative from Comcast here on the 19th to talk to all their disgruntled customers in this building.

Maybe he can explain why they have done their "weekly required test" and then repeated it and hour and 10 minutes later, and then again, 45 minutes later! Three tests in less than two hours doesn't strike me as a "weekly test." The answer I get to that one is that the government requires it. No, not true! Otherwise, why call it a weekly test?

I have to laugh at the FIOS commercial where their representative is asking their customers about how they like the service, and the cable guy wants to know why they care what the customers think. I've dealt with some other cable companies, and they seem to provide quality service and care about their customers. But Comcast really doesn't care if they provide what you're paying for, or how bad their service is.

The people who are supposed to fix things over the phone are actually there to provide excuses so that you can never get anything fixed. Their DVRs (and cable boxes) malfunction on a whim, and it's not just that there's a bad box or two floating around. They all malfunction, and they do it from the beginning. I have never seen a DirecTV box malfunction! The DirecTV boxes are the best out there in my experience, but I've never had an actual TiVO.

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Well, there doesn't appear to be any science fiction on TV today at all! I thought there was an SF movie on SyFy today, but I tuned in, and it's a documentary on possession, like Ghostfacers in Supernatural.

Eastwick is not on tonight, due to the Country Music Awards. I'm disappointed!

Sorry I'm so boring today. I think it's all the rain and overcast today. Days like today always made me wish I could play hooky, and stay home from work. It's one of the few perks of being retired.

I have to run to check the mail!

I hope something cheerful happens to you today!

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Addition:

The news has just broken that Fox has decided that they will cancel Dollhouse after this season. At this point, they're saying that they'll show all 13 episodes of this season, and that the decision to cancel it has come early enough for Joss to wrap up the story for the series. There are only two episodes that haven't already been filmed, so I tend to wonder about that.

Fox has been notorious for sabotaging their own shows and then canceling them when their sabotage is effective, and seems to be fairly schizophrenic at best. It looks from the outside (where I'm standing) like they're over endowed with a combination of greed and fear.

In related news, Joss wrote up info on a project called Goners, and submitted it to Universal, who are not doing anything with it, but haven't freed up the rights so that Joss can use it. See more information about it here. The site doesn't include an email or street address for Universal, but does contain all the information you need to make your opinion known on Twitter.

Quick Post! (again)

I was really busy yesterday, and I have lots to do today, so this will be quick.

I finally got the rest of the yarn for the stockings ordered. I tried over the weekend, but the JoAnn Fabrics website was malfunctioning and wouldn't let me actually pay for the order and place it. I had better luck on the phone today. I also got the order for the DP needles for the heel part ordered from Knit Picks.

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I've been darning in ends and finishing a pile of projects that just needed ends woven in but were otherwise finished. Some of those projects will need blocking, too, but I'm saving those up to do in one batch. 

I now have a dedicated box that is collecting finished Christmas presents that are ready to wrap and give. Once I finish all the projects that are almost done, it will be a lot more full.

I also ordered the stuff I need to make Christmas cards. Now that I have a working printer, I ordered the card stock, envelopes and some glitter glue. I seriously never thought I'd be putting glitter glue on anything, but the art I'm using for the cards almost screams out for it. I suspect that the little wreath I got for my apartment door will look really smashing with it, too. The glue I ordered is clear with glitter that is also clear, but iridescent. I saw some commercial wreaths that had something similar to this last year, and they were beautiful.

I also plan to make some nifty Christmas ornaments to include with the cards.

Oh, and I ordered a punch to use to make hang tags from for stuff I've knitted. I plan to update my logo, and these should make really neat tags with the logo.

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For knitters/crocheters/craftspeopls/fans of Firefly, Buffy, etc., Joss Whedon gave an interview about crochet, knit, and crafts in general at crochetme.com. You can see a transcript of the interview here. He even discusses Jayne's hat.

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The Librarian trilogy on TNT yesterday was wonderful! If you missed the new one, Curse of the Judas Chalise, it will be on later in the week, along with Leverage, which is the best pilot I've seen in a long while. Check your local listings for Tuesday evening for precise times.

Tuesday evening, the pilot for Leverage will be on again, followed by the second episode. The second one will be on at the same time as Fringe and The Mentalist, but if you want to see all three, Leverage will be repeated later in the evening.

Tonight, we'll be having the usual four new episodes of Lost on SciFi, plus new Chuck, Heroes, and My Own Worst Enemy on NBC.

I need to go and get stuff done!

Have a great evening!

Holy Cow! It's the Renfair!

Holy Cow! The Renfair was fun! Today is the last day, so if you haven't gone, it's too late. You'll have to wait until next year.

Unfortunately, Everett couldn't come along. He just got out of the hospital where they finally determined that he didn't have pneumonia. I'm glad about that, but he's still pretty sick.

Holly said she had a phone call from him yesterday morning. It started with a lot of coughing, followed by "Does that answer your question?"

Holly ordered a custom-made guitar strap for Robin, and tried to get them to commit to making a sheath for her dagger (the one with the heart cut into the blade), but the woman who actually would make it wasn't there.

She bought an incredible mask! If I'd been thinking at all, I would have taken a photo of it while it was in the store, but I was asleep at the switch. It's got a very spooky, long angular face when you see it from one side (as I did when I first looked at it). But if you walk to the other side, there's another face. It's outrageous! I told her that once Robin sees it, she's going to have to fight him for it.

We walked until we didn't want to walk anymore.

They had a showing of something called "MacBeth in 20 Minutes" which was hilarious, Holly said. I missed it.

And we got some JERSEY TOMATOES! I am so happy. I had a tomato sandwich this morning!

Yes, I know I reported that there had been a frost up there, but apparently not. I got an email from Lynn yesterday which said, in part: 

"I need to correct myself. We have not had temps lower than the high 30s one night. Sorry, it's hard to think it's not colder when you haven't turned your heater on yet. Billy hasn't cleaned the heater yet. He's only had all spring and summer to get that chore out of the way. He says "Sometime this week". I even told him about the noise I heard in the house. I listened closely and followed the sounds. I found myself in the basement standing next to the heater when I perked my ears to faintly hear the whispers. "You must gather your husband to perform the yearly cleaning of my innards so you can have heat in your home emitting from other than your stove burners."  

"Obviously, Billy was listening quite keenly till the heater started whispering to me."

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In knitting news, I found some beautiful Red Heart Symphony yarn in my stash that had been earmarked for a couple of ponchos, and started one of them yesterday morning so I would have something to knit on the ride to and from the Renfair, and while I was there. It's a beautiful lavender, and I think the color has been discontinued, which is unfortunate, because it's beautiful!

I didn't want to drag the Celtic sweater (in progress) around with me yesterday. I was at a point where there was some cabling going on, and I lose cable needles around the house all the time. That means that I find them again within a few hours, but if I lose one at the Renfair, it's gone forever.

Last night and earlier today, I did some more on it, and I'm almost at the bottom of the sleeve. It's turning out very nicely! The cables are crossed at the bottom of the cross, and will (later) be continued as I-cord that will be threaded through the row of eyelets. This can be left almost as a surface design to have a sleeve with a belled shape, or pulled tighter to make a bloused sleeve with a ruffle around the bottom. This is going to be so cool!

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Today, I checked my email and there was a special offer from a clothing company. I wanted to buy a nightgown/dress that I had been discussing with Fibermom on my other blog. I tend to buy/make clothes to wear around the house that are comfortable enough to sleep in, but look nice enough that I don't mind stepping out the door or answering it. Clothes that look good and don't really look like nightgowns. Something perfect if I ever get to go to Pennsic again.

Anyway, there's one I had planned to buy so that I would have something pretty to wear at Stitches East in the hotel (I don't actually plant to wear it at Stitches).

Anyway, the place that has it for sale had it on sale, and not only is the price reduced, but they're throwing in express shipping and they're giving me a cabled cotton knit blanket! 

I snapped that one up right away!

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I watched Tomb Raider on TNT earlier today, and I want to get off so I can finish watching Cradle of Life, which is on now. If you're disappointed you missed it, set your VCR or DVR. It's on again late tonight (early tomorrow morning).

I found a ton of really neat stuff on the Joss Whedon website today.

Dollhouse won't be ready in time to be a midseason replacement, so we may have to wait until next Fall. You can find the information here, scroll down the page a bit.

The cutest thing is about to be available. A maquette of Kaylee! She is just so adorable!

And Firefly has added a new word to the dictionary: Browncoat! I don't know how many Firefly fans there are out there, but they sure are vocal and sincere! And now Firefly, like the Yarn Harlot, has added a word to the language.

And I found a photo of James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) wearing a Jayne hat!

I want to get back to Cradle of Life, and finishing the sleeve so I can start the other one.

I hope you had as great a weekend as I did!

Getting Up-To-Date

Last night, I got to the bottom of the body of the Celtic sweater. It now has a picot edge on it.

I looked around at the amount of yarn that's left, and there's about two skeins. And I still have to do the sleeves.

I originally bought 12 skeins, and then later bought two more in the same dye lot. Those were in-case skeins, and I-can-make-a-hat-out-of-it-if-it's-left-over skeins. That should have been more than enough.

I suspect that those two skeins are still in their original bag somewhere, and that I didn't put them with the main stash of yarn, so I may have plenty to finish with. But it's possible that I'll have to unravel the bottom and start the edging with less space between it and the knots on the side. And it might have to be narrower. 

I'm not even going to think about the pocket linings until I finish everything else. They can be finished with a different dye lot of the same yarn and color without making it a disaster.

On the knitting front, I saw the neatest pattern. SCA fans will love this. Check it out at Wicked Woolens blog. You'll love it!

On the science fiction (or, rather, fantasy) front, there's a new "autumn fantasy drama" coming out on the BBC, and I can only think that they'll be doing something really stupid if they don't also show it on BBC in America, and probably fairly soon. It's a 13-part series called Merlin, and, not surprisingly, it's the Arthurian legend retold. I can't wait for it to come to the US!

For Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams fans, the website for Dollhouse is up, and has lots of information. For those that missed out, Dollhouse is about a group of people who are kept as slaves, with their minds wiped of memories. As assignments come in for them, they are given false memories and appropriate skills to carry out the tasks they are hired for. But one of them is starting to remember a little each time. It has the possibility for greatness! Especially with those two creators (plus Eliza Dusku). Check it out.

If you'd like to see some photos of Stonehenge, check out this post from pink_hebe. Be sure to scroll down for more henge photos at the end of the post. She just went to visit it recently. Wish I could go.

And for a couple of funny photos, check out this. One of them is science fiction related.

Around here, it's overcast and rainy again, with a reasonable indoor temperature of 73 degrees. I should really get out and return my library books and try to find a place to buy postage stamps so I can mail out all these forms I'm filling out.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

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Oh, by the way, there's a count-down timer to Christmas, and another to the next Harry Potter movie at the bottom of the blog (in case you don't usually scroll down).

Progress Is Slow

Well, I'm below the waist on the Celtic Sweater, but haven't done the sleeves yet. If I had been able to finish the sleeves and get just a little further, it would be a race to the finish, but I haven't and it isn't.

I finished the front part of the pocket on the right hand side. 

As you can see, the pocket opening will be at an angle. I think that looks good on most people, and it seems to help keep things in the pocket rather than spilling out onto the floor.

There is a simple, narrow cable forming the edge of the pocket. On the right, you can see just a bit of the cable for the front.

I am finding more and more reasons to love the Options needle I have. I've bought a set of size 8 points, and several lengths of cable, and they are wonderful!

The two front sections each get knit in a separate piece, and the back, sides, and pocket linings get sewn in another piece. Normally, I would put each pocket lining on a piece of yarn to hold it, but with the Options needle, all I have to do is take off the needle tips, and replace them with stoppers, and don't have to thread them onto the yarn, and later have to pick them up again. I love them.

I've shifted the points to the other project, the wimple. I want to finish at least one of the projects I started for the Ravelympics, so I want to get this done. And I want the 24 inch cable from it for the other front pocket piece. You can expect a photo of the wimple tomorrow.

In the meantime, the SciFi Channel has run out of current Doctor Who episodes, which has downgraded their Friday evening offerings.

There is still Joan of Arcadia, which is wonderful, and Stargate Atlantis, though.

Somewhere, yesterday, I read that SciFi has canceled Stargate Atlantis. Ah, yes. It was on Joss Whedon's blog? Yes, it was!

I'm not happy about the cancellation, but not as upset as I was about the cancellation of Stargate SG-1.

Not much else happening around here except for more and more forms to fill out (and the universe finding more and more ways to separate me from my money) and lots of knitting to do.

Don't forget that I now have yarn and lots of knitting stuff in addition to books in my Amazon Store. The various yarns have been selling out quickly, and you need to grab the bargains when you see them because they may be gone soon. There's lots of wool, including the wool I'm using for the Celtic sweater, and lots of silk.

Have a great Friday, and a great weekend!