bluehighlights.com

migration

2010-04-14T21:57:00.002-05:00

blogger is concluding their ftp publishing service at the end of this month. i've gone through their migration process for all of my archived blogs, and everything still appears to work beautifully. although, honestly, i went through the process by telling it to leave them alone. so if something had gotten screwed up, it would have been completely uncalled for.

so now i really need to migrate this blog off of the ftp service. i could tell it to leave the others alone because i don't publish to them anymore. blogger doesn't need to know where to publish new posts because there will never be any new posts to the 2008 archives. i can't do that with this one. this is me posting to it, you see? i'd like to think that it will be fine. but, if not ... it was good to know you. ;)

sugar rush

2010-04-14T21:38:00.002-05:00

today was the big welcome back for one of my coworkers. she's returning from a 12-week maternity leave. those 12 weeks managed to go ridiculously slow & amazingly fast all at the same time. i'm sure she's thinking the same thing, looking at her baby boy that's almost 3 months old now.

how can so much happen in 3 months while so much stays the same?

spring flowers

2010-04-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

magazine bowl, complete

2010-04-14T21:28:00.002-05:00

joe's magazine bowl ended up being about 8" across at the top and about 3" high. i really like the feel & shape of it. patti mentioned it would be a good fit for the Trash to Treasure show at the local convention & visitors bureau. i love that idea. and my mom wants one, too.

i used several layers of mod podge on the inside so it would keep its shape. unfortunately, the mod podge isn't clear. it's got a little bit of a milky finish. maybe i should water it down? or use something else completely? i'll need to do some poking around on that.

netflix and wii

2010-04-14T06:41:00.004-05:00

netflix has offered instant viewing for quite some time. instead of waiting for dvds to be shipped to your home, you can stream movies and tv shows directly to your computer or to your television through a netflix ready device. thankfully the dvd mailing process is ridiculously quick. if i mail a movie back on monday, i have my replacement on wednesday. i'm especially thankful for that because my computers don't support instant viewing; their operating system is too out of date. so that leaves me the option of purchasing a netflix ready device for my tv. the cheapest one is $80. that's not horrible. and it's small. but do i really need another box sitting around?

as it turns out, no i do not. this week, netflix launched instant viewing through the wii console. yesterday i got my instant viewing disc, and within minutes i was streaming law & order: criminal intent to my tv. i love it. and when i got sick of l&o, i watched mythbusters. from the time i select what i want to watch with the on-screen menus to the time the show starts is about 45 seconds. the quality is the same as having the dvd. and there's no mailing time.

this could be dangerous.

narwhals, part 2

2010-04-13T08:23:00.001-05:00

when i redesign my blog, i'll take into account the width of youtube videos. because that last post just looks ridiculous. good thing narwhals are awesomely worth it. here's another great one:

the fabulousity of the narwhal

2010-04-12T09:12:00.002-05:00

they recently wallpapered a small area at the office, dubbing it the War Wall. i can't say the words "war wall" without hearing "narwhal." undoubtedly this is because narwhals are awesome. so we start today with some youtube narwhal goodness.

magazine bowl, take 2

2010-04-02T07:22:00.003-05:00

i don't have photos because i'm not done, yet. but i started a second bowl last night. on this one, i'm folding the strips one more time, making them half the size. so each one is about a half inch wide. that's making them twice as thick, so the bowl will be wider. but it also makes them only able to telescope up half as much. it's a good trade off though. these narrower strips are also easier to work with, creating less wrinkling & bunching as they're wrapped around the coil.

i'm also using super glue, which seems to be working quite well. indeed, i have no desire to go to work today - i'd much rather stay home & finish this bowl instead. :)

magazine bowl

2010-03-31T23:09:00.002-05:00

i don't know why i can sit around like a vegetable for two hours after work, and THEN become so antsy to make something. but tonight, i decided to try a magazine bowl. basically it's folded strips of paper that are taped end to end & coiled. then you pull up the rings to form the bowl.

since the rings move, you can make the bowl whatever height you want. i'm most fond of the shortest one, on the right.

and i really like seeing the rings on the inside.

i didn't pay any attention to color scheme on this one. i just grabbed a magazine and used every page. and i taped my strips together, but i'd like to try gluing them on the next attempt. as i was tightening the coil i popped a few pieces of tape and had to go back and mend them. i'm thinking a drop of super glue would work better.

once i have the technique fine tuned, i'd like to make a much bigger one. one that's about 16" wide, maybe 4" deep. i don't know what i'll do with it when i'm done ... but i'll figure that out some other night.

san francisco

2010-03-29T21:30:00.001-05:00

tow31: update

2010-03-13T22:30:00.002-06:00

i'm seven weeks into my 31st year, and i'm feeling pretty successful so far. here's an update on the goals.

1. watch 31 johnny depp movies: finished! including Alice in Wonderland, i've seen 35 johnny depp movies this year. 35 movies in 25 days. slightly ridiculous, but a fabulously good time. :)

2. read 31 chapters: i'm currently 13 chapters in. after watching Alice in Wonderland, i sat down & read through the book. now i'm getting back into Eclipse. i'm hoping to get a good chunk of it read this week.

3. go 31 days without watching Friends: finished! i lined this one up with watching the johnny depp movies. so i basically traded one obsession for another. :) yesterday actually made day 32 without Friends. tonight i popped disc one of season one into the dvd player ... and all seems to be right with the world.

4. make 31 new recipes: eight tried so far. mostly good. i didn't really appreciate the crock pot squash, but it would work really well for squash soup.

5. prepare food for someone else 31 times: five so far.

6. take 31 photos a day for 31 consecutive days: i haven't started this one, yet.

7. send 31 pieces of mail: i've sent one so far.

8. blog 31 days in a row: i don't know, maybe i'll do this in may? i can't do everything at once, right?

9. watch 31 episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent: i'm 20 episodes in right now. i'd hoped to finish off season one today, but it turns out i got the wrong disc from netflix. the sleeve said L&O: CI, but it was regular L&O instead.

10. watch 31 Friends episodes in preparation: in honesty, even with my 31 day fast, i've probably already watching 31 episodes this year. but the 31 that accomplish this goal will be watched with purpose.

11. take 31 photos of the same object or scene: i haven't found the inspiration, yet, for this one.

12. do 31 things i've never done before: i've claimed four so far. i'm trying to be picky about what i choose. it'd be easy to come up with 31 if i claimed things like "watch 35 johnny depp movies in 25 days." i need to challenge myself. ;)

13. lose 31 pounds.: i'm down almost five pounds since my birthday.

14. drive 31 miles on US Route 31: i figure i'll take Route 31 down to indianapolis some time when i'm visiting marlana.

15. go 31 days without meat: two days so far. they were spread out, but still it's two days.

16. make 31 pieces of jerky: nothing, yet. but i did have some tasty homemade venison jerky this week. good stuff.

17. sew 31 seams on a quilt: i thought about quilting this week. and i did do some mending today. so that's something.

18. take at least 3100 photos: at last count (about a week ago), i was at 232.

19. play a 31-game series of Phase 10 with liz: we're currently 12 games into the series. i was on a winning streak at first, but liz is coming back with a vengeance. i'm only one phase ahead of her right now.

20. fill 31 holes: the weather's getting nicer, i'll be getting around to this one soon. once the holes are filled, i'll need to do some painting - so warmer weather for open windows will be good.

21. make use of 31 photos from Ireland: no plans, yet.

22: play 31 notes on a musical instrument: i've started coming up with a plan for this one. if i follow through, it'll be fun.

23. ride 31 miles on my bike: again, the weather's getting nicer. i'll pull the bike out soon.

24. scan 31 old photos: nothing, yet.

25. go 31 days without leaving dirty dishes in the sink for more than 31 hours: finished! and still going strong - today makes 39 days.

26. secret: i've made progress on this one. it's small, but that's okay. :)

27. give 31 handmade gifts: currently one, soon to be two.

28. finish Christmas presents at least 31 hours early: c'mon, it's march ... no way will i be THAT early!

29. print 31 photos for the photo album: finished!

30. print 31 more photos for the photo album: 18 done. then i ran out of magenta ink. :)

31. print another 31 photos for the photo album: and i misspoke about my photo albums. i was at the spring of 2007, not 2005. currently, i have 2008 finished.f

Real-life "Frogger"

2010-03-09T07:13:00.001-06:00

The Telegraph is reporting that animal rights groups in France are working hard to make crossing the road a lot easier for French frogs, toads and newts.

But why is it so important for the jumpy critters to get to the other side? According to the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals, the creatures are attempting "to reach the damp areas [where] they need to reproduce." Unfortunately, the number of drive-by squishings has risen to the millions, and the group is worried that the total frog/toad/newt population is being affected.

So, what can be done to help our hopping brothers? The Association has a two-fold plan. They're currently trying to have road signs put up to alert drivers of amphibian crossings. Their second idea is a little more ambitious: the group is lobbying local authorities to build little tunnels under the highway so that the frogs and toads can hop across safely.

this information brought to you courtesy of mental_floss watercooler ammo.

L&O: CI

2010-03-08T22:57:00.002-06:00

so i've started watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Season One. i'm surprised that of the four episodes on disc one, i've seen at least two of them. i say "at least two" because the first episode felt very familiar, but i'm not quite certain i'd seen it before.

i don't expect you to find the above information interesting. i'm just writing it to keep you informed.

Oscar picks

2010-03-06T20:12:00.000-06:00

last weekend i sat down with marlana, fred & liz to watch all the Oscar nominees. we had an agreement that if we got 20 minutes into a movie, and no one was enjoying it, we would turn it off. we took advantage of that agreement with two of them movies: District 9 and The Hurt Locker. fortunately, those were the two i'd gotten from NetFlix, so i was able to bring them home with me. i watched them in their entirety this afternoon. so i've seen all 10 nominees. my thoughts, in order of preference:

Avatar - my choice for Best Picture. absolutely amazing. and, it just got moved to the $5 kerasotes in merrillville, so i'm hoping to see it on the big screen. it has to be even better that way.

The Hurt Locker - i know, we turned this one off halfway through. but the last 45 minutes make this movie. i can not say i enjoyed this movie - but the timeliness and rawness of it are impossible to ignore. if it wins, i will not be surprised or disappointed.

Inglourious Basterds - this movie is fabulously funny. quentin tartentino did a marvelous job here. it's always good when the audience is cheering for the movie to defy historical facts & re-write the story.

The Blind Side - sandra bullock's performance was stellar. i know the movie won't win best picture, but i do hope she'll be properly acknowledged for her performance. best line in the movie? "who'd have thought we'd have a black son before we knew a democrat?"

Precious - again, it would be hard to say i enjoyed this movie. but it's very well made, and the honesty in it gives it power. perhaps it should be higher on my list. it's probably more likely to win than Inglourious or Blind Side.

District 9 - we turned this one off about as soon as we could after the 20 minute mark. it's bloody and science-fictiony ... but i really enjoyed it. the aliens are well made, and the storyline is intriguing. it interests me that they set it in South Africa, as many of the human attitudes struck me as american arrogance - but maybe i'm too hard on my own country. humans as a whole may simply be that arrogant.

Up In The Air - again, a timely movie. and good, though every one of us was mad when we guessed one of the twists at the end.

Up - this was really cute, but i thought it dragged in the middle. i'm hoping this doesn't mean i'm outgrowing Pixar movies.

An Education - not a bad movie, but nothing spectacular either. i wasn't pleased with the ending. they needed to cut it off earlier. it's almost like they gave too much follow through, not enough was left for the viewer to guess at.

A Serious Man - ugh, seriously? this one i did not understand. and i've spent a good chunk of time daydreaming at work trying to understand it. and i just can't. if it wins ... my brain may explode.

april's owl

2010-03-04T15:11:00.001-06:00

this morning, as i was watching Public Enemies, i crocheted a little owl for april. he stands about 1.5" tall.

yarn art

2010-03-03T22:37:00.000-06:00

meet my newest yarn creations. aren't they cute?

for reference: to the tops of their heads (no ears included) the white fellow is 3.5" tall, the gray fellow 3.25". the green bunny is 2.25" tall, and my favorite so far. the littlest fellow is about 1.5" tall, and i'm thinking of hitting his antennae with a little glue to help them stand up straighter.

brand new weekend

2010-03-03T22:22:00.002-06:00

one of my goals this year is to do 31 things i've never done before. this past weekend i made a decent dent in that goal.

fred, liz and i headed down to marlana's for an oscar weekend. we went for sushi friday night - the first new thing.

we tried a variety of rolls. some cooked, some raw. some tuna, some salmon. some shrimp, some eel. yes, eel. it was fabulous. we had a great time.

over the course of the weekend we managed to watch every movie that's been nominated for this year's Best Picture award at the Oscars. or, at least, we tried to watch them all. we agreed that if we got 20 minutes in and no one was enjoying it, we would turn it off. we took advantage of that with two of the movies. the other 8 we watched in their entirety. i've certainly never watched that many oscar nominees before.

we headed home sunday afternoon, but traffic on 465 was terrible, so i took us on a little detour. undoubtedly we did not save any time by detouring. there were a lot of other people doing the same thing we were, so we still sat in traffic. we did, however, pass a Trader Joe's along the detour. and seeing as none of us had ever been to a Trader Joe's, we simply had to stop. :)

i'm watching ... me?

2010-02-26T00:57:00.002-06:00

when i sit on my sofa, there are times when i catch sight of my camera out of the corner of my eye. it takes me surprise. as if it were a poor attempt at a hidden camera, and someone was watching me. but then, it's my camera. and why would i need to be watching me? i already know what i'm doing.

ghost train

2010-02-26T00:56:00.000-06:00

fresh snow

2010-02-26T00:55:00.000-06:00

the lunch crew

2010-02-26T00:54:00.000-06:00

tree scarf at work

2010-02-26T00:53:00.000-06:00

getting lost

2010-02-22T00:49:00.002-06:00

i have, admittedly, watched copious amounts of johnny depp movies in the past week. but tonight, as i watched Chocolat, i again experienced a strange phenomenon that had struck me earlier in the week. i was completely relaxed. i had no concept of what day it was, what time it was or what obligations were nearing me. and the very attempt to clear that haze was quickly pushed from my mind.

apparently a little haze can be good for us.

the value of johnny

2010-02-14T10:02:00.002-06:00

i figured out that if i switch to the 8-at-a-time plan from netflix, and watch the movies as quickly as possible (three per night, most nights) i can watch all of johnny's movies before going to see Alice in Wonderland on opening night. that sounds awesome.

and a bit overwhelming. i should have come up with this plan last week.

crabs in the dishwasher

2010-02-13T22:17:00.003-06:00

so i didn't move on to Gilbert Grape. instead i started watching Benny & Joon again with the commentary track on. what have i learned? that there was a third cooking scene originally shot. sure, we see sam make grilled cheese with an iron and mashed potatoes with a tennis racket ... but what was cut from the movie? he apparently cooked crabs in the dishwasher. kid you not. the fellow on the commentary just said so.

i've also learned that benny was originally going to be a psychiatrist instead of a mechanic. and that they thought about naming the movie "it's a shame about raisins."

i'm starting to love the commentary tracks.