Happy Halloween!

Now this is a great and easy halloween decoration. :)

Dang.

Today's payday was rather disappointing... it only brought in $240. I'm guessing that means that since they overpaid me in August, this'll be my last paycheque this term. On the up side, they only took off $2 in taxes. :)

I'm guessing I'll be digging into my Canadian savings. *sigh*

Picovoli Progress

Picovoli Progress

A little RSI, but under control. Those circular rounds sure are hypnotic...

Interesting knitting news: I can almost knit without looking now. This stage of picovoli would be pretty good conference knitting.

Acrylic Orb of Wisdom

Acrylic Orb of Wisdom

The acrylic orb of wisdom produced some giggles when B was over the other day. ;)

One more post...

I remembered one more thing...

After our outing today, B and I sat around and crocheted. She bought some LB Homespun to make a stocking out of, so I taught her my secret Words of Wisdom relating to Homespun. She held the acrylic orb of wisdom (photo tomorrow, maybe), and grasshopper learned swiftly.

Since that went so well, I also taught her my secret to paperbacks WOW.

Okay, so they're not so secret, since I've spread them all over blogdom... but I am rediculously proud for having discovered them. ;)

If you're interested in my other WOWs, check out the links in the sidebar. I have another I've been meaning to post... if I ever get around to it. (Or a round tu-it.)

Fun with B

B's fairly new in town, and Friday it was her birthday. Birthdays require celebrating, cake, friends, silly photos, and poorly sung versions of "happy birthday to you".

I like leftover cupcakes, and baking produces heat, so I volunteered to bake some. Thursday night I produced somewhat lumpy cupcakes. I'm not sure why they were lumpy... I've never had that problem before.

Since I was being nice to B for her birthday, I also turned the heat on Friday evening, even though it was already 63F in the house. ;) Before she came I turned it up to 65F, to make sure that I got rid of the burning smell before our "party". She still found it a bit chilly, so I upped the temperature to 67F. That must have been good enough, because she didn't resort to the long johns she had brought. Thick socks, yes. I would have turned it up a bit more had she asked, though.

Here's B suffering me singing:


And here's a slightly better photo taken just after she blew out the candle:


I had a package of 24 candles, but since that wasn't enough anyway, and I wasn't sure how silly she thought me, I only used one candle.

Afterwards we knit and watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" on DVD. Tivoli is now back to pre-frog progress, and the crayon for *my* blanket is at the point.

I kicked B out fairly early (for Friday night standards) because I had to be at school at 9am this morning. Which meant I had to get up shortly after 7am. That's way too early for a Saturday. :P I left the heat set at 60F so I wouldn't have too hard a time getting out of bed. This morning was a "Science Saturday" for high school seniors. I was a bit of a zombie, but performed reasonably well.

Afterwards I walked home... since I had *just* missed the hourly bus. My feet were a bit sore by the end... I haven't been exercising them much lately. It was a beautiful day for a walk, though, and there wasn't too much traffic making noise and smelling things up.

Then a phone call with dad, and a nap. Until B came again. :) (My, I'm being social this weekend! I wonder if S is coming tomorrow?) We went to the "Really, Really Free Market" in Carrboro, and I actually got rid of everything I brought! Even the cardboard box I had put stuff in! Wow... that's *so* nice! I got rid of some clutter. :)

B gained a bit of "clutter" though... but it was useful clutter. ;)

We also stopped in the NC Crafts Gallery where I *almost* bought someone a Christmas present, but I couldn't decide which to get. Then a brief stop at Yarns, Etc to pet the alpaca yarn. I did leave some cash behind there... the owner sold me Cornelia Tutte Hamilton's Noro Book One at a discount, since she doesn't stock Noro yarn. (She recently aquired a yarn shop in Raleigh, and she's doing some "decluttering" herself.) I really want Book Two, but there were some awesome patterns in Book One as well, and the price was right. ;)

Oh... and no Eucalan at Yarns, Etc, but she's thinking of carrying it. She normally has something similar in stock, but was out when I was there.

Okie doke... I think that just about covers everything, and it's past my bedtime. Night!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Baby It's Cold Outside

Fee, fi, FO, fum... I spy with my little eye... a FO! Baby, it's cold outside, but this little number is rather sweet. :)

I didn't have enough green to do two rows of sc on each cuff, so I ripped back to one. Of course, now I'll have to figure out what to use as trim on the second one. (There's an unbelieveable number of babies due soon... but I'm only crocheting for two of them.)

I need two buttons. I'm thinking of making a pair out of sculpy... perhaps smiley frog faces? :)

Mom's Socks

Mom's Socks

One Christmas present down, and a gazillion to go. But who's counting?

Fun Lunch

Another fun lunch today with Kelli. :) Her bag is coming along nicely.

Mom's socks are now done, and I've started Regina's chicken socks. I think she wants them to be a bit of a surprise, so no photos will appear hear unless I hear otherwise. ;)

View from H's Office

View from H's Office

I love UofM. Besides being a great university with a wonderful CS department, would you look at that view?! Pretty buildings, and an amazingly blue sky. I love the blue skies in Winnipeg.

Here's another view looking down and to the right:

Cats Inspect Socks

Cats Inspect Socks

New socks astound all cats in range of their amazingness!

Socks!

Socks!

H's socks made it safely to her, they fit, and she loves them! Yay!

Crayons!

Yay! I can still submit my crayons for consideration to Crochet Me... however, this means I'm planning on not posting any more photos until it's published (or I hear that it won't be). :) I'm excited!

crayon option 4

crayon option 4

crayon option 3

crayon option 3

crayon option 2

crayon option 2

crayon option 1

crayon option 1

Over-thinking

(Yes, apparently the chatty me is back after a period of relatively low blogging output. I have no idea why.)

I think I'm really over-thinking my crayon blanket. Right now I'm deciding which way up I want to put the text on the crayons. I have a couple of options.

1. alternate the orientations, so they're all the same way up when assembled
2. orient the text so that it would be the right way up for someone right-handed
3. orient the text so that it would be the right way up for someone left-handed
4. Put writing on both sides, one oriented for right-handed people, the other for left-handed people, and then assemble the blanket so that the orientations on each side alternate, so they're all the right way up on both sides.

I like the last option best, but I'm not sure I have enough coloured yarn left over for that plan.

Which way will confuse a growing child less? Is orienting the text for a right-handed child discriminatory? Would gray text look good, or out of place?

Of course, the most pertinent question is probably Is the baby really going to care?

But *I* care.

*sigh*

I'm going to finish my spare crayon first, and then see how much yarn the text takes. Maybe I can do the two-sided text option.

Of course, I still need to decide how to attach the crayons. I've got a half-dozen ideas for that too... :P

Overheard

Signs of the season... I can hear someone explaining trick-or-treating to an international student.

Not Me.

A tech support student came to my office and asked if I was Brad.

Nope. Not me.

I do have short hair, and was wearing a gender-neutral sweater, so I guess I should forgive him.

Experience

I'm apparently the department expert on allergies. Whenever someone has a question, they ask me. Of course, that could be because I usually know the answer. Like what other grains people should avoid if they're allergic to wheat. It turns out my friend's mom is allergic to wheat, and wanted to know what to avoid, and how to treat certain reactions. I gave my advice, and also said she should see an allergist, because with the kind of reaction she was having, she might need an epipen.

My dad's girlfriend even asked my opinion on pet allergies, since she has a cat with allergies, but can't afford the special allergy food from the vet. She's now making her own pet food, and wanted to know what she should avoid. So I told her what allergies were common in people, and what allergies were similar. Stuff like oats were better filler than wheat. Stuff like that. She seemed to think I was helpful.

Allergies suck. I know... I have tons. Anyone have an allergy question for me? I can probably answer it. Just remember I'm going for my PhD, not my MD.

Picovoli Progress

Picovoli Progress Before

What was, is now less:


And here's picovoli, safely back on the needles:


I managed to put every stitch (except one) back on twisted. So I knit one row through the back loop to fix that, and then knit another row to reposition one of the stitch markers I accidentally put in the wrong spot.

Then I abandoned picovoli, and worked on the crayon for *my* wool blanket. Which I need. Now. Actually, as of two days ago. But oh well, that's life.

At least my crayons love me, even if picovoli enjoys messing with me.

I've had two questions now... Picovoli is a t-shirt, and the pattern can be found here at Magknits.

In the news...

There's too much death and destruction in the news. Here's some articles on the lighter side:

Rome bans 'cruel' goldfish bowls
CBC News
Round goldfish bowls are out and daily dog walks are in for all law-abiding citizens of Rome.
Full Story

OLD SEATBELTS BECOME TRENDY ACCESSORIES
A Manitoba family is turning seatbelts from junked cars into designer handbags.
FULL STORY
http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mb_seatbelt-purse-20051025

Weather

So, I eventually did get myself up and out of bed this morning. Before leaving for the bus, I bundled up in a coat an tuque... after all, I was cold *inside*.

Only to discover it was quite mild outside.

In fact, as I went to return a library book just now, it's comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt.

I wonder what the house temperature will be like when I get home.

Picovoli Progress

Picovoli Progress

Last night at SNB (plus watching Gilmore Girls afterwards), I finished the yoke of picovoli. I counted stitches, just to be sure I had the right number (ignoring the little oops in the left sleeve).

I didn't.

I missed two increases right on top of each other, on the *front*:

Oops. I think I'm going to have to rip back that inch of progress...

Brrr!

It's a nippy 59F in my house this morning. I was warm enough under the covers, but getting up was a real challenge.

Getting Better

Well, I was much better than usual at getting in to school this morning. I caught the 9:14 bus. However, I had planned last night that I was going to make the 8:35 bus. Oops.

I started off pretty good... I was in bed by 11pm. I hadn't done all my reading for this morning's meeting, but I was planning on being in by 9, which would give me an hour to do the reading. I left my radio set for 7 and buzzer for 8, assuming that if I was in bed early enough, I'd have the willpower to get up with just the radio.

The radio went off at 7. "Just five minutes of listening" turned into falling asleep for another 45. Whoops. However, I did pull myself together and get up at that point... much better than hitting the snooze button on my alarm a half dozen times. ;)

Speaking of a half dozen, there were a half dozen or so bluebirds playing in my back yard this morning. They were fun to watch for a few minutes. (I was tempted to watch them longer, but was already behind schedule.)

It's also turned rather chilly here. The other day I had the AC on, and now I'm trying to resist turning the heat on! It was 61 F in my apartment this morning. I was doing fine until half way through breakfast, when my body temperature dropped. I was then cold for the rest of the morning. I put on my tuque, made from a bulky baby alpaca and silk blend yarn, and that helped. It seemed a little silly wearing a tuque in the house, but it was better than turning the heat on. I'm resisting turning the heat on for as long as possible. I don't want to find out what's happened to the natural gas rates. :P Plus, there's that whole burned-hair smell the first time it comes on. Yuck!

Speaking of which, it's time to change the air filter. I didn't do it before P came, and mid-October was it's 3 month due date.

And speaking of cleaning for P, the dust bunnies are coming back! What gives? It's only been three weeks or so since I swept. Sheesh. ;)

Well, anyways, I made it in a little after 9:30, finished a reasonable amount of reading by 10, and J wasn't there. He had lost track of time. We met at 10:30, but only had time to go through two paragraphs. I guess this means I'm ahead on my reading for next time! ;) However, I do have an assignment... write a brief definition and short example for all the important terms so far. I had been thinking of that on my own, but now it's official. ;)

This matriod stuff is pretty cool, and working together with J is really increasing my understanding of it.

Oh... and my theory on why it's turned cold? I decided to wash and block Weasley on Sunday. (I used Woolite, since I don't have Eucalan. I've heard Woolite is harsh, but I figured once wouldn't hurt it.) It's been too warm for Weasley for ages, and now that he's damp and will take about a week to dry (I'm estimating), it's nippy out. Murphy, you got me again. Turning the heat on would probably help Weasley dry faster. Maybe I'll go at him with a hair dryer.

In the news...

BABIES DYING OF COLD, SAYS DOCTOR IN QUAKE ZONE
Chilling stories are emerging to back grim predictions of a second wave of earthquake deaths in Pakistan related to a lack of aid supplies and shelter.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/10/21/pakistan-deaths051021.html

Boxes III

boxes

You know, as a kid, I liked playing with lego. Boxes filled with someone else's stuff aren't quite the same. Although, I think I do have enough that I could construct a fairly decent fort... had I enough space for a fort, and a kid to play in it.

I got tired of the boxes blocking my craft table. They're now "hiding" behind my ironing board.

Hmmm... boxes as an exercise routine?

For some reason, my "office" feels much smaller than it once did.

I look forward to being rid of the boxes.

Great Lunch

I had a really fun lunch with Kelli today. She's completed her scarf, and wants to make a project bag. So today I taught her how I started my project bag, which is basically a tube with a closed bottom. We had such fun! She was excited about learning, and I was excited because she was. She also brought me a yummy piece of cake! Great lunch, great friends... what more can you ask for?

Don't ask what time I went to bed last night, or what time I straggled in to school. I did, however, finish the book I was reading.

Rainbow of Crayons

Rainbow of Crayons

Waiting for lettering and seaming.

I haven't heard from Kim at Crochet Me... so I'm going to assume that I won't be publishing my blanket there, and I'll just keep posting photos here. ;)

Picovoli

Picovoli

A progress shot.

It doesn't look like much yet, but I really love this yarn. Soooooo soft. Lovely stitch definition.

I've already noticed one mistake: a missing increase. I'm trying to decide how important it is... given that it's way back at the start...

Extra Crayon

Extra Crayon

A progress shot. Also shown are the red and orange crayons that *will* be used in the baby blanket.

Mom's Socks

Mom's Socks

A progress shot.

Lazy Sunday

I'm having a marvelously lazy Sunday. I slept in late, then talked to my mom on the phone. Then I had breakfast, knit a few more rounds on picovoli and read for a bit. Then I had a nap. Then my dad called, and I talked to him. Then I snoozed some more. It's now 3:41, and I still haven't had my shower. ;)

I should though. I do need to make pita bread at some point today. I did laundry and grocery shopping yesterday, so pita bread is the only chore I have left for today.

I've been trying to decide if I should buy some Eucalan. So far, none of the local places I've called has it. I snooped around my favourite online stores, and KnitPicks had some. Ooooo, the temptation! Do I ask one of my blogging friends for the free shipping codes, or order enough Shine to bring my order to $30? Or splurge for shipping? Of course, I'm a little hesitant to buy some eucalan without knowing whether or not I'm allergic to it.

However, when I was browsing the Eucalan site to see if I could find a list of ingredients, I found something even better! If I send in a SASE, I can get free samples. :)) Here's the link if you'd like to try a sample too. This is good... it lets me see if I'm allergic to it for a pretty low cost (two 37 cent stamps), and reduces the temptation to spend money I shouldn't at KnitPicks. ;)

On the knit/crochet front, all the crayons are done, and just need lettering and seaming together. I've started a seventh crayon... I decided I needed one for my wool blanket too! (It will take the place of several squares.) I used the unused-for-blanket, not-as-nice orange, plus some Emu charcoal yarn I had that's the same gauge. I've knit another reapeat on the qiviut scarf. And, as mentioned, I started picovoli. The Shine swatch came out of the wash exactly on gauge, so I'm using the #5 circulars I have. I've decided to do the picots along the neckline, and a straight switch between the green and the blue, rather than a wave pattern. I didn't feel like doing colourwork. Starting picovoli I've learned two new knitting tricks: provisional cast on, and picot border. Not bad for only an inch in. ;) I've even done the finishing for the neckline, so I won't have to do that later.

I'll post some pictures later... for now, I think maybe I'll go have a shower, and start my pita bread. After all, I want to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight! ;)

Math Prints

Here's a cute gallery of mathematical prints. My favourite is Surrealism.

Another Late Night

Yep, I'm up late again. Even later than usual.

It didn't start out this way. Today I had a morning meeting with J, and attended an afternoon talk over at Duke. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and hungry. I considered going straight to bed, but I was expecting two phone calls (neither called), and it was only 6:30.

I had a snack (some jello and chocolate... not healthy, but I knew I'd feel even worse if I didn't eat anything then) and lay down for a nap. Around 8 I got up and had cereal for dinner (again, not healthy, but I didn't feel like a real dinner at that time) and turned on the TV. At 9 I turned the TV back off, and read for a bit. At 10 I decided that I wasn't waiting any longer for the phone calls, and logged in to tell them I was going to bed.

Around 11 I finished mail and blog reading...

Then, since I had stopped reading in the middle of a chapter, I decided to read a bit more.

At 12:30, I finally gained the willpower to put down the book.

However, by this time I was hungry again. I had some cheese.

Then some more chocolate.

Then some pretzels. And since pretzels can't be eaten in bed in the dark (at least, not if you want a crumb-free bed), I took the pretzels to my computer and ate by the light of my lcd. (I didn't want to turn on a light and make myself more alert.)

Of course, I just had to log in while I was here.

And so there I am. It's 1:30 am, and I'm still up. Even though I wanted to go to bed when I got home, I actually intended to go to bed at 10, got into bed at 11, and turned out the lights at 12:30.

Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow night. I tried going to bed earlier last night... it wasn't "early", but it also wasn't as late as usual, but had trouble falling asleep.

Tonight I was tired enough that I could have fallen asleep, had it not been for a good book. *sigh*

Well, I'm back to bed to try sleeping again. Good night.

Oh... and the purple crayon still isn't finished. I was too tired to crochet tonight. However, with all the talks and bus rides this week, mom's socks are already 50% done! (Regina, this is a reminder to measure your feet.)

I think I'll try to get back to my qiviut scarf tomorrow. I should do another repeat one of these days. I'd like to finish it before Christmas.

I wonder if Whole Foods sells Eucalan? I'd like to use that to wash Weasley (he's not dirty, but I want to soften him up some, and hopefully convince him to stop shedding). I tried calling Yarns, Etc, but no one answered the phone on Thursday, and they haven't called me back. Yes, I was just there last weekend, but I completely forgot to buy Eucalan. Whole Foods is a *lot* more convenient to get to by bus, and, being a "natural" kind of store, they might just sell it. I'll call first... no sense in wasting my Saturdays on busses if they don't have it. (Plus, I should keep myself away from places that tempt me to spend money.)

Oops... 1:40 now. 'Night! ;)

Bus

I *almost* made the 9:14 bus this morning. It went by while I was brushing my teeth. Since the next G was at 9:34, I worked on the purple crayon until then. I'll definitely have it finished tonight!

Some lady was wearing perfume on the bus. Yes, it was probably a nice smell. However, I could do without the headache and other allergic reactions. I opened the window to reduce it's effect, but I was a bit worried that I was annoying the guy sitting behind me. It's a nice temperature out for me (a bit humid, though), but most locals probably find it cool.

Well, time to read the matroid paper. My advisor and I are going through it together bit by bit, and I'm really learning a lot this way. I must remember this technique to use on my future students. (Assuming I ever manage to graduate...)

Random Babblings

I finally wrote up my crocheted version of Sophie for Deneen. I typed it up while sitting in front of the TV. Since the news is on, I'll blog about my opinions on some of headlines.

antibacterial soap
Surprise! Antibacterial soap doesn't actually work any better than regular soap (which washes the germs down the drain), and may create stronger germs. Gee, really? We've known that for years up in Canada. I try to avoid using antibacterial soap. I don't want to be the creator of any super-bugs.

Pakistan
They were interviewing one guy who dug his daughter out of a collapsed building, then carried her for two days to get her medical help. It took long enough to dig her out and get her there that gangrene had set in, and part of her foot had to be amputated. His response? His family would have been been better off dead, because the girl couldn't stand the pain, and it would be hard to find her a husband. Um, *excuse me*?!? Yes, I'm sure she's in pain, but that will end. And anybody who can't handle the minor deformities isn't worthy of being a husband. Sheesh. Yes, she probably won't be an olympic sprinter, but she still has functional feet! And unless she gets addicted to pain medications (which can also be dealt with), there's nothing wrong with her mind. (Unless, of course, there were problems before.) Stupid prejudices. Better off dead. Blargh!

hurricanes
The hurricanes have reached Wilma. That reminds me of when I was a kid, and wondered what would happen if they got to the end of the alphabet. I was told that they normally didn't end up using more than half the alphabet. Well, they've used up the alphabet now. (Especially since they skipped several letters.)

Okay... that's all the news I feel like blogging about tonight.

On the crochet/knitting front, I have no new news on knitting, but last night (or was it the night before?) I finished the green crayon. Just the purple one left, then lettering and seaming! :) I may end up using grey yarn for the lettering... I had very little green left for lettering, and I'd like the style to be consistent.

Speaking of the crayons, I e-mailed Kim at Crochet Me about whether or not posting photos of the blanket in progress meant that I couldn't submit my design. I haven't heard back. Should I assume I still have a chance and stop posting photos, or that I've messed up my chance, and can continue posting photos?

Oh well... I'll still have something I want to submit. I want to create a bag design (I think it'll be original enough to warrant yet another bag) and submit it. I'll just have to keep quiet and not post photos of my progress. ;)

Speaking of progress photos, LadyLinoleum are having a little swap... I'm trading her a pair of socks for one of her adorable chicken nuggets! Very cool!! And, since she likes chickens, I have a little chicken sock idea I want to try out... *grin*

Silly Entertainment Rumour show is on now. :P You know, I think one reason celebrity marriages tend not to work is that celebrities are people too... like normal people, they fall in love with the characters actors play, and for some reason, real life isn't like that. ;) There are several movie characters I love, but I know that I would never get along with the real life actors.

Oooo... Katie Holmes is learning how to knit. Like I really needed to know that. Speaking of Katie and Tom, MI3 is another movie I refuse to watch. MI1 wasn't too bad, but MI2 was *so* incredibly sexist that I refuse to watch any more of them. (Plus I don't like Tom as a person... he's a good actor, but a twit in real life.) That whole "I slept with her first so she'll do what I say" thing was complete crap. Yeah, like we don't have brains. I thought it was men that were supposed to think with their "other brain"... I think the script writer must have been.

OMG... now that there's been "bennifer", they're concatinating every couple's names! Sheesh. Now they're trying to figure out how to concatinate Jennifer and Vince. :P

You know, the 7-8 time slot is when I really wish I had cable. There must be some neat neat nature show, home show, documentary, or *anything* else on all those channels I don't get. I could turn the TV off, but it keeps me company.

Hmmm... this post has gotten long. I'll stop now. ;)

LYS

Here's my take on Local Yarn Stores (LYSs).

A few days ago, Bron posted about her take on LYSs. That prompted me to post about my opinions. (It just took me a few days to get around to actually writing the post.)

There is this whole movement to "support your LYS". I partially agree with this, but have a somewhat different interpretation than most people. Mostly my interpretation of "local" is quite a bit different. In my local area, I can shop at Yarns, Etc., Knit-A-Bit, Michaels, AC Moore, and Walmart. Roses has a bit of acrylic, but not enough to count. Non-locally, I order a bunch of stuff on the internet, from places like Elann, KnitPicks, TheKnitter.com, Ram Wools, Simply Socks Yarn Company, and others. (I don't have a car, and the prices and selection are great.)

Now, of the above, most people would consider Yarns, Etc., and Knit-A-Bit to be my LYSs.

If you merely went by distance, my LYSs would be Yarns, Etc., Knit-A-Bit, Michaels, AC Moore and Walmart.

I consider all of the above, excluding Michaels, AC Moore, and Walmart to be my LYSs. I use "size" rather than distance to determine what is a LYS. After all, consider Yarns, Etc. It's located close to me, but also has a web store. Is the physical store worthy of support, but it's webpage not? No.

Yarns, Etc. and Knit-A-Bit are both close to me. Do I patronize them equally? No. (Knit-A-Bit is run by a crabby lady. I prefer no service over crabby service.)

Is a small, family-run web business less worthy of support than the local Walmart? Hell no!

Given that the yarn is usually from somewhere else, is there really that big a deal if it's next-to-last stop is close to me? No. In fact, if I were driving, the amount of polution produced by me driving to my LYS would probably be more than any additional pollution produced by mailing the yarn directly to me. (I reuse and/or recycle virtually all the packaging, as people receiving packages from me can attest to.)

So, that's my opinion. I don't feel guilty from ordering off the internet. After all... I don't order yarn from big chains. ;)

KnitPicks Shine

KnitPicks Shine Swatch

Wow. I love, love, love the feel of KnitPicks Shine! I bought seven balls of Shine a while back (six in River, one in Green Apple) to make a Tivoli Tee with a contrasting neck and hem. However, I made myself wait until I had finished Weasley before starting Tivoli.

Weasley is *done*! Tivoli should be quick, because it's in the round.

However, I had bought size 5 circulars. Tivoli is now Picovoli, and requires size 4 circulars. Oops. (I checked the copy of old Tivoli I had saved, and that one actually called for size 6, so I have no idea what I was thinking, beyond that Weasley called for size 5.)

However, before I go out and buy another pair (or two, to get the different lengths required) of circulars, I thought I'd do a gauge swatch. I seem to be on gauge, but the pattern also warns of blooming cotton, and that the gauge swatch should be washed. So Tivoli/Picovoli will have to wait until this weekend at the earliest. (Laundry day is Saturday.)

I think once I have yarn money again, I'll be making *lots* of sweaters out of this marvelous yarn!

Good night... I'm actually getting to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. :))

Shronedom

I'm a shrone! How cool is that?

Dear Noricum (Andrea),
I'm pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a esteemed recipient of The Bona Fide Shrone Award! I've determined that you possess many of the salient characteristics of a Shrone! Here are the reasons why you are a Shrone:

1. You are Canadian born putting you in the esteemed ranks of Colin Mocherie, Peter Jennings, Mike Meyers, Sarah McLachlan, k.d. lang, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Bare Naked Ladies,
2. You are studying for your PhD! How cool is that?!?!? And in a scientific field no less, even cooler!
3. You have a kind and generous heart.
4. You have an understanding of what it means to be troubled with health problems.
5. Something about you says when you get old and withered, you just might go out crusing for penis!
6. You are unknowable.
7. You make outstanding socks!
8. You have the coolest pair of espionage bacon on the planet and highly coveted bacon bandages!
9. You're one groovy chick and I think you are super cool!
10. You haven't killed your inner child and you freely allow it out to play.

Yours in Shronedom!
Lori

P.S. Your distinguished Bona Fide Shrone card will be sent to you shortly. Feel free to post and brag about your Shrone status! To assist you, I've provided the attached button proclaiming your Shronedom to place on your blog!

Shrone button is already in my sidebar. ;)

Update: I've added links to "What is a Shrone".

Spam!

I'm SFC Armstrong, the US Army Station Commander responsible for recruiting at UNC. I received your contact information from the University. Under the "Solomon Amendment", colleges and universities must give Armed Forces recruiters access to their campuses and provide them with lists containing "student recruiting information". Army Recruiters have the right to contact you by mail, phone, or e-mail. ...

Dear SFC Armstrong,

Thank you for your spam.

Upon arriving here in the US, I filled out the form that specifies I do not have to register for the draft. Not only am I female, I'm an alien.

I have no voting rights here. I am not a citizen. I am not allowed to "work off campus". I do not agree with present US policies, nor the war in Iraq. I am a pacifist. Why on earth do you think I would be interested in joining the US armed forces?

In the future, please filter your recruiting lists before spamming the entire student body population.

Sincerely,
Canadian Citizen

Random Babblings

I'd like to welcome my friend Kelli to the world of crochet addiction. (In my defense, I also brought her a bunch of Michaels and AC Moore coupons today.)

I received my 2006 Crochet Pattern-a-Day calendar. My patterns got two holidays: Canadian Thanksgiving, and Remembrance Day! (That's Oct 9, and Nov 11 for you Americans.) Each pattern actually takes two pages, but I think it's neat that I got two holidays.

However, I did notice some changes made to what I submitted, beyond fixing my poor pattern writing skills. I wish I had made Vertigo from Louet Gems Topaz Merino. I might actually wear it then. Nope. I used some obscure acrylic I bought in New York when I ran out of conference yarn. (Since I was attending a conference, I went to the LYS that was easiest/fastest to get to, and bought the cheapest stuff they had... which was still expensive!)

Same thing with Roseisle, which has the more prosaic name "Raglan Turtleneck Sweater" in the calendar. I used the nice feeling (but non-breathing acrylic) TLC Amore. I've never felt Goddess Yarns Phoebe, but I bet it's nicer than what I used.

I haven't looked closely at either pattern to see what other changes were made, but I did notice one other change. I said to use random width stripes on Vertigo, but also specified the ones I used in case you wanted the exact same stripes. Annie changed it to say use a regular striping pattern if you didn't want what I had done. I think the randomness is half the fun of this sweater. *sigh*

I've gone through the calendar and picked out a few things I'd like to make... mostly squares for my afghan in progress.

Next rant is on TV Guide. Yes, I got the subscription for free, but that's not going to stop me from expressing my opinions. ;)

TV Guide recently switched from small format to a regular magazine size. Whatever. I don't care which they use. However, the old version went from Sunday to Saturday, and the new version goes from Monday to Sunday. That means they totally skipped over last Sunday. Couldn't they have stuck in the missing day? Sheesh.

A bigger rant is that they no longer say what's on during the day on Saturday and Sunday. I do not regularly watch Saturday or Sunday daytime TV, but there are occasions where I'd like to fry my brain. But now I have to channel surf to see if anything's good on. (Okay... so I only have 10 channels... that's not the point.)

Finally, I opened up next week's guide in order to remove all the inserts (I hate magazine inserts, and remove them all before reading), and saw a quote on Numbers' "mathematician" actor.

"Charlie's not your conventional mathematician... we sexed him up a bit"

Okay... I'm in Computational Geometry and not math, but it's pretty close. We are not a bunch of old white men covered in chalk dust. (Although we do have a few of those, just for variety.) Sheesh. Stupid stereotypes.

I think there was something else I was going to babble on about, but I promised myself I'd get to bed earlier tonight. So, good night!

Oh, yeah... I wove in the last ends of Weasley, H's socks are done... and, um, if I remember anything else, I'll babble more tomorrow. ;) (That reminds me... I've lost five private subscribers on Bloglines in the past few weeks... I kind of wonder why, but I'm not planning on changing. I know you're gone now and so won't see this, but thanks for hanging out while you did.)

Burned Cinnamon Buns

IMG_7448

Stupid oven. Stupid, annoying oven. I set the oven for 425F (like the recipe said), and it decided to bake at 500F.

The other side was still yummy though! :)

Unbaked Cinnamon Buns

IMG_7447

Mmmm... cinnamon buns (with pecans!) ready to go in the oven! So full of promise! Yum! I can't wait!!!

(The bread pan has extra sugar and pecans on top, because I thought I would need two loaf pans in addition to my cake pan, and prepared them before preparing the buns. I didn't want to waste the sugar and pecans.)

H's Socks

IMG_7449

H's socks are nearly done... I just need to find out where she wants me to stop. I have enough yarn left for another green then blue stripe each. I plan to be near the post office tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be ready to mail them then. :)

Weasley, and the Digital Camera Autotimer

I borrowed Fever Pitch (enjoyable), and finished up seaming Weasley.

Here's Weasley, in all his finished glory:


I thought I should model a shot too. Since I don't have anyone else to hold the camera and take the picture, I played with the autotimer feature.

First I placed the camera on Ms Dee. Hmmm... not so good:


Maybe the other direction would be better. I put the camera on the dining room table:

Hmmm... the letter looks crooked. I'll try again:

Well, that was straighter, but still not a great shot. Maybe an outdoor shot will look better.

Here's me sitting at the somewhat more scenic front office:

Where the opposite curb is way too far away, and the curve of the street is eating my foot.

I noticed some nicely placed raised flowerbeds on my way to the grocery store:

Hmmm... I'm not too fond of the placement of my legs. Another try:

Well, now I can't see the letter. Another try:

It would help if I could point the camera at me.

Oh well, good enough. Time to do my grocery shopping and get on with things.

I actually have two ends remaining to weave in, but I thought I'd try to close up some holes created by my sloppy picking-up of stitches around the neck. I'll give that a shot during Grey's Anatomy. Maybe.

I declare Weasley finished. He is, after all, functional. ;)

Reconnaissance Report, 16.10.05

Crispy, Soggy, and Acorns

Our host has been slacking. She went to the Farmer's Market yesterday, but neglected to bring us! However, she did rescue a whole mess of green beans, five battle scarred tomatoes, and a lovely banana pepper.

Today was a beautiful fall day, so Sargeant Soggy and I went canvassing to collect acorns to help reforest areas devastated by Katrina.

The squirrels were quite dense. They thought *we* should give *them* nuts. Then they didn't understand why we should be allowed to dig into their stores. It was only through Soggy's fast talking that we got any acorns as well.

Soggy invented a tale of hungry squirrels in New Orleans. We weren't sure of the VLA's stand on squirrels eating oak embrios, but we were desperate.

We finally came away with 64 acorns that, after preliminary testing (a cursory visual inspection) appear to be viable. Our host informed us that 64 is two raised to the power of six. She's fond of that sort of thing. We just smiled, nodded, and slowly backed away.

We've started looking at FEMA's list of charities, but so far we haven't found any accepting acorns. If you find any, could you please let us know?

Over and out, Captain Crispy.

Sophie

Sophie

I ran Sophie through the wash a few more times yesterday. (Three times... that's how much laundry I had.) I may keep running her through until the stitch definition goes away. Or maybe not. Anyway, here she is, blocking. I think she'll make a great alternate sock bag.

Nice Saturday

Oops... it's past my bedtime again. And I still need to make my bed, too. (Laundry day today.)

I had a nice day today. B and I went to the farmer's market, followed by Yarns, Etc. Then B drove me to the mall so I could drop off my mixed paper recycling, and she could get her knives sharpened. I also stopped in at A Southern Season to buy some nice quality chocolate on sale. Yum!

Today's sale was on some really nice single-source Colombian chocolate. It's "Jet Santander", and is *very* nice. I had previously bought a sampling to share with H, one bar each of 53%, 65%, and 70% cocoa dark chocolate. I decided then that I preferred the 53% semi-dark chocolate. It's very smooth, and has a wonderful flavour. It's also not as bitter as other dark chocolate, yet has a rich chocolate flavour. I highly recommend it. I bought three bars... two for the freezer, and one for comsumption this week. Or should I say this weekend? I'm almost finished. (Even though a single square is enough to satisfy a chocolate craving, I kept indulging. Oops. Yum!)

Seaming on Weasley is going slowly. Both sleeves are attached, and also seamed from cuff to armpit. Now I just have the side seams to do. I liked doing the sleeve underarm seams better than the shoulder-to-body seams... it's much nicer when I can match stitch to stitch. I'm getting a very nice seam, but I wish it went faster. Seaming is definitely not my favourite part of knitting. This fuzzy, tweedy yarn is also making it difficult for me to see individual stitches, and thus make it harder on my anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive self. Oh well... I'm almost done. Hopefully I'll finish tomorrow.

Although tomorrow I should bake pita bread (not quite enough for next week), go grocery shopping, and also do some research reading in preparation for my meeting with Jack on Monday. I had intended to do some reading today, but didn't.

Today I watched two movies from my apartment complex while seaming: "Wimbledon", and "Million Dollar Baby". Wimbledon was a rather mindless chick-flick, but okay. (It wasn't as much of a tear-jerker as I usually find chick-flicks to be... is this a sign that my antidepressants are working well? Possibly. I've been feeling pretty good too.) Million Dollar Baby was sad. Good, but sad. I should have watched it first, so I'd have the chick-flick to cheer me up afterwards. I'm not weepy (like I might be when my depression is worse), but I would have preferred to finish on a higher note. Maybe I'll read a chapter before going to bed (after I make my bed). Yep, another late night.

Well, S isn't coming over tomorrow, so I'll have more time for chores. And seaming.

Oh... current state of the crayon blanket: the last two crayons, green and purple, are both at the point where I start the oval. The oval's a bit of a nuisance to knit, because I have to keep changing yarns, and flipping the yarn bag over to keep the three balls detangled. (A flip at the end of each row.)

Well, good night!

Dang!

Doh! Advisor is AWOL. When at home, I work with H in her office, and it works really well. I had started doing the same thing with my advisor here, but it seems we can't manage to schedule anything this term. I'm finding this annoying. :P

Oh well... I seem to be doing fairly well this afternoon on my own anyway. (No naps! None! Not me! ...and stop blogging! ;) )

Update: Advisor stopped by, and we have a real plan for Monday. (Which will make it that much more annoying when he cancels, but I still have hope.)

Tired

I'm tired, and want a nap. I'm not going to let myself nap, though. Partially because I'll be working in my advisor's office from 2-4 (assuming he hasn't scheduled himself elsewhere), and partially because I want to make myself get some work done. it's 1:30... I can make myself stay awake for another 3.5 hours. Maybe this'll also encourage me to go to bed earlier. (Which would be smart, since I'm getting together with B tomorrow morning... late morning, but still morning.)

Even though I was up late again last night, I caught an earlier bus than yesterday (still not as early as I'd like, but I'm working on that). I'm going to make myself catch a reasonable bus all next week. And go to bed on time.

Well, that was a five minute break... back to paper reading. I'm reading an interesting one that looks at the effects of point mutations in proteins, and how the resulting structure changes very little. Looks like combinatorial rigidity can say something here too. :)

Speaking of which, I should check to see the effects of backbone vs sidechain hydrogen bonds on structure. I wonder if I can say anything interesting there. Alpha helices are rigid, but are beta sheets? What makes a protien choose to fold the way it does? Both helices and sheets have the same backbones (obviously), but I think they tend to have different sidechains. Curious. Proteins are very curious beasts.

(Oops... now this has been a ten minute break. Talk to you later.)

In the news...

Most of this article is interesting, but not super-blogworthy:

Prions that cause BSE can be spread through urine: lab
CBC News
Prions that cause mad cow disease can be spread through urine under certain conditions, a finding that could explain how brain-wasting disorders may reach wild deer and elk.
Full Story

But then there's this paragraph down near the bottom:

Infectious tissue from cows, including brains and spleen, are now checked before being used to make cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Um... what *cosmetics* are made from cow brains and/or spleens? Yet another reason I'm glad I don't wear make-up!

I didn't know men could get breast cancer, although I suppose it makes sense:

Male breast cancer often misdiagnosed, ignored: study
CBC News
That men can get breast cancer is not widely known and as a result, the disease is often overlooked or misdiagnosed, according to an Alberta study on the experiences of male sufferers.
Full Story

My guess? Something ate it:

Quebec firm abandons lost cheese
CBC News
A Quebec cheese company has finally given up on finding $50,000 worth of cheese it sank underwater in an attempt to make it taste better.
Full Story

Seaming Sucks

I didn't want to accidentally stretch any of the pieces while measuring and pinning, so I first pinned the pieces to the bed. On one side of the body, both the front and back measured 25.5 inches. On the other, one measured 25", the other measured 26". Same sum, different center. Hmmm. I measured the sleeves. One measured 23" wide, the other 24".

Starting on the uneven side, I marked 13.5" from the bottom on each side, then pinned one sleeve to the body. On the other side, I placed markers at both 13.5" and 14". The 14" markers worked better without stretching, so I used those. Then I went back to adjust the other side to 14" from the bottom... but when I measured, that's what it was. Without repinning.

So I started seaming. It took me an *hour* to sew one sleeve to the body. Yikes.

After the one sleeve, I went back to the crayons. The orange crayon is now finished, and I've started the green. (I really wanted to do purple next, but decided I should really do green. Don't ask me why.) It's strange, the green yarn is quite a bit thicker than the other colours, including the charcoal (which was thicker than most of the colours itself). I'm getting a different gauge. I may have to do some adjusting in the number of rows so that I don't get puckering. Hmmm... maybe I'll do the purple next after all...

Speaking of sucks, I found a downside to bloglines accepting hotkeys: my command keys (for things like new tab, etc) get caught and not handled by bloglines (correct), but also not passed on to the browser (incorrect). So my regularly used command keys are defunct when the bloglines tab is the selected (or only) tab. Grrr. That's a rather sloppy programming/design mistake.

Yikes! Will you look at the time! Good night!

Hotkeys

Ooo... I like bloglines' new features. I like the hotkeys (especially "refresh left pane", which displays the feed list), and how they've separated out the count of unread vs keep as new posts. :)

In the news...

Postpartum depression hits 30 per cent of new mothers: Canadian study
CBC News
A new study says that postpartum depression affects 30 per cent of new mothers, and most suffer in silence.
Full Story

I despise Tom Cruise. There is no shame. If you are suffering from depression (postpartum or otherwise), seek help.

Hmmm... but be careful which drugs you take:

Paxil may raise birth defect risk, Health Canada warns
CBC News
Women who take the antidepressant Paxil during pregnancy should know about the drug's new safety information, Health Canada says.
Full Story

Morning Silliness

This morning I woke up at a fairly reasonable time, and thought "I should ride my exercise bike! I feel motivated, awake, and able!" I then rolled over and went back to sleep. Oops.

I think I did so because I was up late last night. I *had* intended to go to bed early, but didn't. My late afternoon plan was that I'd be good and go to bed at 10. But then I got engrossed in a Helen of Troy documentary on PBS that ran until 11. And then C-H called about bills and boxes. (Good news: it looks like she'll be accepted to the univeristy she wants to attend in California.) And then I did some blog posting. And then some blog reading. And then some book reading to relax before sleeping. And then a second chapter in my book. Then I tried to sleep. And then I thought of something I should check for C-H and logged on again.

I used all those "and then's" on purpose. It was 1:45 before I finally tried to really go to sleep. Oops.

Well, I ended up getting up this morning at a somewhat better time than usual. I thought, "yay, I'll make an earlier bus, even if I read some blogs." I then lost track of time, and realized I wasn't going to make the earlier bus, because I had read blogs for too long. So I showered and ate. It was indeed after the bus went by that I finished eating. The next bus wasn't due for a bit, so I went back to blog reading. Foolishly, I didn't brush my teeth or make my lunch before doing so. Luckily I noticed the time before it got too late. I had enough time to make my lunch, but not brush my teeth. (Fine, I have a toothbrush and toothpaste in the department.) As I'm leaving the house, I notice a girl at the bus stop has decided she forgot something, and walks back to her house. I figure that if she has time to do that, and it's still two minutes before the bus is due, that I can put my recycling out. (It was pretty full, and recycling hadn't been picked up yet.) As I'm halfway to the curb, carrying a bucket of recycling that's trying to drip dirty rainwater on me, the bus flies past. Oops.

Yep, the other girl missed it too. (I'm not even sure she noticed it go past, because she ended up going to that stop anyway.)

I took the recycling to the curb. I thought about going back in to brush my teeth, but decided it was late enough that I'd better get my butt to school. I walked down to the noisy, but more frequently served, bus stop. All the while I was stressing over the fact that I had left the house without brushing my teeth. I just barely caught a bus at the noisy bus stop. It was the V, which goes to campus, but no longer goes close to my department. I caught it anyway, and walked from the student union. All the while stressing that I had left the house without brushing my teeth.

So, even though it was cooler and less humid than it has been, I was sticky-sweaty when I got to school. Ugh. Apparently I sweat when I'm stressed. Luckily, in addition to toothbrush and toothpaste, I have a facecloth and spare t-shirts in my office. I feel much better now that I'm brushed, rinsed, and in dry clothing.

I need to stop being silly in the morning.

Silly Quiz

You are 'French'. In the nineteenth century, it was the international language of diplomacy. It is a 'beautiful' language, meaning that it is really just a low-fidelity copy of Latin.

You know the importance of communicating 'diplomatically', which for you means both being polite and friendly when necessary and using sophisticated, vicious sarcasm when appropriate. Your life is guided by either existentialism or nihilism, depending on the weather. You have a certain appreciation for the finer things in life, which is a diplomatic way of saying that you are a disgusting hedonist. Your problem is that French has been obsolete for a long time.


What obsolete skill are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I don't think French is obsolete, merely not as common as it once was.

Weasley

Weasley

Tonight I laid Weasley out on my bed so I could line things up for seaming. I wanted to let it relax before pinning the seams. Then I got wrapped up with crayons. Weasley is back in an un-pinned heap on my coffee table. Maybe tomorrow night. I think I'll lay Weasley out in the morning, so it'll be ready to pin when I get home.

Crayon Baby Blanket

Crayon Baby Blanket

Two and a bit more crayons to go. Oh... and the text. The green will of course be between the yellow and the blue. Then the purple. I'm not sure why I decided to work the primary colours before the secondary colours...

I had thought of submitting my pattern to Crochet Me, but the submission instructions say that photos can't appear on the web before publication. I didn't see that until after I've already posted some progress pictures. Hmmm... I think I'll send an e-mail to see if I can still submit my pattern. (That's the problem with me and Crochet Me... I'm too impatient, and want to show people what I'm working on.)

H's Socks

H's Socks

H: you will have socks soon, but they're not yet done. I'm getting closer!

Sophie, Crochet and Knit

Sophie, Crochet and Knit

Hmmm... one of these things is not like the other. They're similar, however. I meant to write up the instructions for Deneen, but ended up working on crayons all night. (Soon Deneen!)

I always wonder with knitting and crochet... how different does something have to be for it to be your own pattern?

Silly Meme

Andrea needs...
1. ... some help coming up with stalker songs.
2. ... treatment -- not a death sentence.
3. ... glasses - or do we?
4. ... to be active and fun loving, but also very firm and assertive, strong at setting limits and boundaries and enforcing rules.
5. ... help.
6. ... to be interested in me and my problem.
7. ... to be able to create written material.
8. ... to take a bus to the airport.
9. ... a profession in which she can express her inventive and idealistic side.
10. ... a lot of special care. But she is very quiet and easygoing. She is very caring. She has a beautiful smile and is very sweet.

That was fun, but it's time for bed now. ;) (I'll just post some pictures that have finished uploading before I go.)

Google “[your name] needs” and list the best. Found at Amelia Raitte.

Teaching Crochet

Kelli's doing really well! She practiced chaining and sc by herself, and has quite a respectable rectangle going! Today I showed her dc (which she practiced), and gave her a quick introduction to slip stitch, hdc, tr, increasing, decreasing, and combining stitches to make patterns. :)

She's also discovered the dangers of yarn shops... sorry Kelli! ;)

*Yawn*

Well, I've straggled in, but four days of "partying" has left me rather wiped. It was very nice to be back in a real bed last night, although my couch was okay. I did my grocery shopping and laundry last night, which left the ritual bashing of the chick peas for this morning. (I'm rather glad I like chunky hummus... smooth stuff would take way too much bashing.)

On the adgenda for today: read a paper my advisor sent me, and start working my way through the matroid text. Also on tap are a lunchtime crochet lesson with Kelli (who's instructor talks in a monotone with Powerpoint slides), and hopefully dragging my sorry butt to the gym.

On the TV scene... so what's happening to all the episodes of "House" that have been preempted by baseball? I watched "Commander in Chief" instead... very good, but some very disturbing "American" behaviour. (Ms Prez seems to have no problem about bossing around other countries... both in last night's episode, and the previous one I saw.) I'm annoyed that I forgot to tape "Grey's Anatomy" on Sunday. I thought about it Sunday morning, but then decided we'd be back from the ren faire with plenty of time. We were, but I forgot it was Sunday (holidays will do that to you), and so forgot to tape it when the visiting continued late. (Great visiting, but I wish I had taped Grey's Anatomy.)

Okie doke... let's see what this paper's about now. ;)

More Magnets

More Magnets

The red cross sure likes magnets. These came with my US blood donor card.

Needle Holder in Action

Needle Holder in Action

Here's my needle holder in action. I'm very happy with it. :)

Oh... I suppose I should make sure I was clear... they provided the unfinished items, and I simply painted it. Then they fired it for me.

Fiber Update

While I wait for my last load of post-P laundry to finish, I'll write an update on my recent fiber fun.

I've felted crocheted Sophie... I don't think I've posted about that yet. I know I haven't posted a photo (because I don't think I've taken one yet), but I will soon. It looks different than the knit Sophie, but still cool.

Weasley is *nearly* done. Yay! I finished the sleeves last night, and just have some seaming to do. I didn't do that last night, because I needed a large flat surface to pin the sleeves to the body, and that wasn't very condusive to visiting with company.

Speaking of company, I taught P to crochet (just ch, sc, dc), and helped B to learn knitting! :)

I'm almost done the blue crayon on the baby blanket, so I have about three and a third done altogether.

Both of H's socks are well past the heels.

Finally, Jess loves her socks! Yay! Photo of socks on feet here.

Well, I should go make my bed, and fold the other laundry, while waiting for the last load to dry. Good night! (Photos of crayons, Weasley, socks, and c-Sophie coming soon.)

Still Here

I'm still here... I just have no time to post, we're having so much fun. Here's some photos I took yesterday (Sunday) at the Carolina Renaissance Festival.

P & B at the Ren Faire:


Ent:


The art of falconry show:


Me & P at the raku pottery booth:


Pottery coming out of the kiln:


My new knitting needle holder:




Parade:


B at Greentree Weaving:

(I so wanted to buy something... I wish I had more money!!! ;) )

Jousting:



Me & B:


P & B at the Cracker Barrel on the way back:


And finally, in the gas station washroom, I *so* wanted to press this button, merely for the sake of pressing the button: