My Archives: September 2005
This Tuesday, October 4 at 7 pm, it's the East Side Weblog Meetup! Location is Crossroads Mall Food Court, NE 8 and 156 Ave NE in Bellevue, WA. Look for us between the main area by the stage and the giant chessboard -- there will be a sign.
Posted by Anita @ 04:45 AM PST [Link] [Add a Comment]
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Jack told me that the documentation set he's been working on during his latest contract is live on the web! He wrote the UJML Language Reference. It's part of a cross-platform SDK that lets you develop apps for a variety of wireless carriers and platforms.
Posted by Anita @ 04:12 AM PST [Link] [Add a Comment]
Thursday, September 22, 2005
I was glad that I was able to make it to last night's Seattle Weblog Meetup! (My next chemo day isn't until tomorrow.) Jack indulged me by leaving work around five so we could get there around six pm. We got one of the best possible parking places, right across the street from Ralph's Grocery and Deli. The turnout was pretty good:
- Jack did some liveblogging and posted to Antigravitas during the meetup, breaking a two-week hiatus. He also did a lot of grandson-wrangling.
- Dan the Deliverator was at his first Seattle meetup (his report), but he's been to the East Side Meetup before.
- Ian was another first-timer.
- Nick Finck attended for the first time. He's a friend of Matt May's. He posted a few photos. It's still shocking to me to see my new bald look!
- Everett Perry was new and doesn't have a weblog yet, despite Jack
bullyingurging him to start one right then. He came because of the recent Seattle PI article.- Harry Love
- Jake of 8bit Joystick (his report) brought me a bag of hats from his girlfriend Kimberley. Thanks! He also demo'd a new game on his Nintendo DS, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan.
- Matt May
- Jeanniecool
- josh [sciencevsromance.net ]
- Samantha posted about the meetup at Metroblogging Seattle.
- Eric Soros and Ben, and Dylan and Annabel. The three toddlers present played with our grandson's small trains, each in their own style.
- Tara
- Ryan
- and me at Anita's LOL
Did I miss anyone?
(tags: seattleMeetup, weblogs, blogs, blogging, meetup, seattle)
Posted by Anita @ 05:25 AM PST [Link] [Add a Comment]
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
I asked Luke to take some photos of my grandson and me before my hair fell out. I'm really pleased with the results!
(tags: LukeMcGuff, Riley, Anita)
Posted by Anita @ 12:49 PM PST [Link] [2 comments]
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Hamburger Lad is spending a year or two in China (his wife is teaching English there) so he switched to a different blog: A Short Letter Home. So far he's doing well at keeping up on the posting! I especially liked his story about getting some whole wheat bread baked in the rural village they are living in:
We arrived at the mill--a large barn-like building--and climbed out of the truck. A group of soldiers were sitting on the ground nearby and were giving us that typical "who let the big noses in here" look. I imagine I would do the same if I saw a foreigner in such an out of the way place. In one sense, the mill is nothing exciting. About an eighth of the building is a grain bin, and on the other side of the building are about five or six milling machines. There were two guys (or was it three? I really should have bothered to count) working the machines, and one lady who seemed to be in charge. Thad discussed things with her and eventually she brought out a handful of flour. Joan and Thad inspected it (They showed it to me, but what do I know about flour?) and deemed it acceptable. The mill lady then provided us with a nice pile of flour (10 lbs, maybe?) in a huge sack. She seemed to want to refuse payment, but Joan tried to pay her 20 yuan. (that's $2.50 US) The mill lady balked vociferously and finally accepted 10. Thad later suggested that her generosity stemmed from the fact that Thad's mother-in-law is a noodle manufacturer and a customer.(tags: blogging, china, hamburgerlad)
Posted by Anita @ 06:16 AM PST [Link] [Add a Comment]
Friday, September 16, 2005
Next Wednesday, September 21, it's the Seattle Weblog Meetup! Location is Ralph's Grocery and Deli, 2035 4th Ave in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, across from the Cinerama. Start time is 7 pm, but we usually go at least until nine so come by even if you are late! Food (I like the pizza), drink (you can bring any beverage into the deli so beer or wine are possible) and free WiFi. This is the night before my next chemo treatment so I really think I'll make it.
(tags: meetup, blog, blogs, seattleMeetup)
Posted by Anita @ 03:58 AM PST [Link] [Add a Comment]
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Polymath Jon Singer (about Jon and me) was inspired to do some experimenting on whether Tecnu (intended for removing urushiol, the active ingredient in poison ivy and its relatives) could remove the firey capsaicin associated with Habanero peppers. Brave chap! "A dull knife [3] was then used to slice one of the habaneros into two pieces, care being taken to ensure that the cut traversed the seed-bearing region. It was then necessary to perform a suitable test to determine the suitability of the experimental material." Pictures and footnotes are included; one could make comments at Jon's LJ entry about the experiment.
(tags: capsaicin, habanero, tecnu, JonSinger)
Posted by Anita @ 04:07 AM PST [Link] [Add a Comment]
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
An Ask Metafilter thread full of suggestions for those helping people undergoing chemo. I've really had only a few of these problems, and most of the time between sessions hasn't been bad. Even on days when I haven't had much appetite, I haven't worried about eating a bunch of high-calorie food. If I'm watching different TV programs, is it because of chemo, or because I feel more entitled now to tune in the house porn where before I'd have skipped it. "one friend said that her mom's bout with breast cancer left her with completely different interests in television (my friend said her mom never missed an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, and since her chemo she hasn't watched a single show)."
(tags: chemo, askMetafilter)
Posted by Anita @ 04:22 AM PST [Link] [3 comments]
Monday, September 12, 2005
From the always entertaining Big White Guy in Hong Kong: "Two salesmen at one of Mong Kok's innumerable mobile phone shops need a remedial lesson in how to close the sale."
Posted by Anita @ 04:40 AM PST [Link]
Sunday, September 11, 2005
I've been wearing contacts and getting along without a back-up pair of glasses since college. But while she was visiting last week, my sister B----- urged me to get glasses by describing all sorts of horrid scenarios where I wouldn't be able (or allowed) to put in my contacts so I would be forced to go around in a big blur. Thus, yesterday my sister M----- and I went to the LensCrafters at Overlake Fashion Plaza, and I got my eyes examined at the independent eye doc contained within. Good news! I don't have any retinal bleeds (a not uncommon effect of diabetes) or other problems. The doctor did write the prescription with bifocals, a first for me. I went for the kind with lines, since these glasses are for backup and the invisible bifocals are more expensive. When I'm wearing contact lenses it's easy to add a pair of reading glasses if seeing the computer screen, reading a book, or knitting prove difficult. My new frames are a bit larger than the current mode; I think I was trying to get back to my frames from high school and college.
I was feeling drained and weary after doing the exam and making these decisions. I didn't even want to wait for the glasses, so we'll pick them up today. M---- and I went for a quick lunch at Quiznos around the corner and I was much restored. Toasted subs, yay!
(tags: eyeglasses, lenscrafters, quiznos, bifocals)
Posted by Anita @ 04:05 AM PST [Link]
Thursday, September 8, 2005
The author of Feeling Listless has been catching up on the Andrew Davies adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (in prep for the new movie version coming out, I guess). He had unaccountably never seen it! "The real joy is that it takes time to tell the story, whole scenes simply reflecting a mood or a meeting, any information being revealed simply an impression of a feeling if not necessarily some great gesture to move the plot forward. It takes time, allows characters to simply sit there, looking at each other, for minutes sometimes, wordless conversations with motives withheld from a wider group, glances seen only between lovers or confidents and the audience."
I agree that this relaxed quality is one of the deep pleasures of this version. Very few novel adaptations are five hours long nowadays.
(tags: PrideandPrejudice, FeelingListless)
Posted by Anita @ 04:51 AM PST [Link]
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
I think we are seeing summer's end; there will be few golden Seattle days after the next few weeks. So this list of indoor kid-activity ideas from Parent Map is a good resource! We go to the Central Library in Seattle fairly often, but I had no idea you could do drop-in play at Pump It Up in Kirkland. That would be a great reward for some longer-term goal accomplished.
(tags: indoorPlay, SeattleLibrary, PumpItUp)
Posted by Anita @ 04:39 AM PST [Link]
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
The first three days after chemo have mostly been me descending into the depths, sleeping a lot. Yesterday I felt well enough to leave the house, so my sister B---- and I took grandson R----- to Bellevue Square to play on the indoor boats/climbing structures. I was surprised that at first he was reluctant to play on them! It's been a few months since we were there but he always liked it before. Maybe he was still tired from a busy day on Sunday visiting the Seattle Aquarium. More details in a possible journal entry to be written today.
Posted by Anita @ 04:42 AM PST [Link]
Friday, September 2, 2005
Details on my Thursday chemo experience are in my journal. Also bits about the movie Bright Young Things.
Posted by Anita @ 04:55 AM PST [Link]
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Today is my second chemo session, so expect even lighter blogging for the next few days. I'm all set to occupy myself while the treatment is happening. I've got a simple knit-hat project (mushroom hat done in gorgeous strawberry patch colors with Brown Sheep Handpaint). We found a great deal on a small DVD player (similar to this one) so I'll be able to watch comfort videos like Pride and Prejudice or Der Rosenkavalier. I might even do some reading!