Gas Prices, Berkeley, CA Aug. 29, 2008

Need a humor break?

When you need a humor break, plug some headphones into your PC and go to this link:
Not Much dot Com archives

and listen to Part C where Bil Lepp talks about his neighbor and his friend Skeeter, from the archives online for the NPR show "Whad'Ya Know?" with host Michael Feldman (who always SOUNDS to me like Bob Newhart).

Lepp's own website is Buck-Dog dot com.

-- R

Kumihimo (Japanese braiding)

The Oakland Museum recently held a "textiles day" with live demonstrations. I took photos of smocking and kumihimo until my camera battery ran out. This elaborate loom, worked in a way I had never seen before, was quite impressive. If you'd like the fullsize originals emailed to you (they're about a megabyte apiece for four pictures), please email me.

After I first posted this, Michael Hattori emailed and said that he's the braider in my photos (and that I had a typo on the site, now corrected). His "loom" is called a takadai and the pattern he wove, Kikkogumi. He is part of a kumihimo listserve on Yahoo Groups. The other braiding demonstrators at the museum were Richard Sutherland and Anne Rock. -- Rachel Holmen

Sixties Light Show

My friend Linda was one of those 60s pioneers who performed light shows on screens behind rock bands. Here she is with her gear, at the end of a sixties party held at a friend's home. The two sets of platters hold different colored liquids; light shining through them was then reflected onto a screen -- last night just a sheet -- from the back, for the audience to enjoy.

-- Rachel Holmen

Baby Mittens

I'm through with the knitting on two thumbless baby mittens. I just need to find some nice ribbon to thread through the wrist eyelets so the mittens have some hope of staying ON the child who will wear them.

Clutter: progress and setback; verticalization

Recently I was stuck home for most of a week with pharyngitis (I think that's medical-ese for "gee, your throat looks red!") so I paid some attention to the area of my room near my bed. I have a small table, and things constantly fall off it onto the floor. I made a list of all the things I wanted on that table, or nearby (such as my purse), and it's no WONDER things won't fit. I resolved, as I felt better and the antibiotics began to take hold and vanquish the throat bugs, to improve the situation.

VERTICALization is the goal -- things on shelves, rather than things on the floor. I'll probably figure out a way to attach a powerstrip to the wall under my bedroom window, getting yet more stuff off the floor. So now I'm shopping for a small but tall shelving unit to hold baskets of STUFF -- knitting projects, library books, CDs, etc.; I will use the table only for the radio and my morning teacup (oh, what an optimist I am!).

I recently discovered a store called Ichiban Kan which sold some really nice plastic baskets, perfect for my plan. I used three to organize a shelf in the living room, and they worked marvelously. Bought more, took a couple of them to Ikea one evening and stuck them onto various shelves, looking for units deep enough to hold these particular baskets. I also want real wood this time for the shelving; I intend never to buy pressboard again if I can help it.

My aim is complete verticalization of the stuff I like to have near the bed -- a small but tall shelving unit for most things, the table only for the radio and my morning teacup (oh, what an optimist I am!). I haven't decided exactly which shelving unit to buy, but it was nice there were several possibilities at Ikea with shelves deep enough for my baskets. So yesterday I went back to Ichiban Kan to buy a dozen baskets -- and they are out of stock!!! I don't even know if I will ever see these particular baskets again, so I guess now I'm searching for a basket alternative (though Ikea itself offers some very nice cloth-and-stiffener containers exactly for this same purpose, of holding small odds and ends neatly on a shelf).
I also realized that I could move the small stereo from my living room (where it's mostly gathering dust) to the proposed bedroom shelving, where it would give me nicer sound than my cute retro-look but not-very-high-fi clock radio can offer.



I progress by inches. If having a plan, but not much action, can be considered progress.

(I also found references to a well-reviewed book on designing a sewing studio, which I am hoping will inspire me. Details will be posted when I locate them.)

-- Rachel Holmen

Droodles and Roger Price

In my long-ago youth, I remember being vastly amused by a set of books with the title "Droodles". These were odd drawings whose witty captions convulsed me.

I was trying to remember a few of my favorites -- I recall a single vertical line in the center of a frame (all droodles had a thick black line around the outside) and two tiny triangles joined at the point. Most droodles had several alternate captions. The idea was to look at the picture, puzzle a few minutes, and then read the captions.




This one was either "single strand of spaghetti, gift-wrapped", or "man with bow tie stuck in elevator".

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So anyway, it's now the day of the internet, so I Googled "droodles", and found a wikipedia page about Droodles and their author, Roger Price. He had written for both Mad Magazine and for comedian Bob Hope, but after Droodles were a hit, he and a friend founded a book publishing company. You can read the whole thing yourself here, and see the Droodles website as well.

Me, I'm going to buy the Classic Droodles and track down a used copy of the first Droodles book, then share them my with 14-year-old nephews.

-- Rachel Holmen

Weaving II -- Another source for Roving (what's roving???)

Aha! This is a followup post to my report on the weaving conference in Sacramento: I have found the lost name of a booth.



Chameleon Colorworks impressed me. This vendor offers something called OPTIM, wool that's been stretched so it no longer shrinks very much when YOU wash it later. Available either as yarn or as roving (plain or dyed). (Roving is fiber half-way to being yarn; it's usually fleece that has been carded and possibly dyed, sold as a continuous but very loose strand of fibers -- usually about an inch in diameter more or less. If you buy it, you probably intend to spin it using either a wheel or a drop spingle, into a much skinnier strand of yarn, which may then be plied with other strands to make a stronger yarn. But there are really cozy-warm socks you can make by simply stuffing roving in between the stitches.)

-- Rachel

NetSquared -- third set of photos

More NetSquared Photos

Everywhere, people were engaged in active conversation, gesturing, persuading. It was AMAZING. -- Rachel

NetSquared

Tuesday and Wednesday, TechSoup held its annual conference, NetSquared. I went Tuesday and took a million photos in the morning, then served as Speaker Support for four sessions in the afternoon -- find a bottle of water for one speaker, getting the video guys to fix the overly-pink screen for another presentation, urging the attendees to fill out the orange evaluation forms. Here are some of my favorite pix.
-- Rachel

Yucca

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My friend Sandy gave me a yucca plant, and while I was deciding where to put it, it took root. Now it's sending up two huge spikes, easily 6 and a half feet tall, of buds, and some of the buds are opening. I got these photos by holding the camera over my head and aiming into the flowers. -- Rachel

Weavers in Sacramento

I went to a weaving show this weekend, sponsored by CNCH (conf of No calif handweavers). Thanks to a spot of car trouble, all I had time for was a quick dash through the vendor areas, but I did grab shots of these two exhibits: a modern Navajo-style rug loom, and an amazing rendition of what I assume was a Louis Comfort Tiffany stained-glass window, done as a rug.

Hokett Would Work - the H-shaped loom in cocobolo

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Yarn barn of Kansas, http://www.yarnbarn-ks.com, Great SCOT booklet-- this booklet offers a fascinating new set of techniques (based on research by Peter Collingwood, weaving and rug expert) for creating interesting cords which could be used for necklaces, bracelets, and other adornments.

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The Dizzy Ewe, dyed roving -- 5 sets of related colors
http://www.dizzyewe.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=63, ruth@dizzyewe.com
(909) 944-5567

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Beautifully crafted and finished small looms, shuttles, etc.
Northwest Looms, 308 West Idaho St., Cheyenne, WY 82009, website http://www.northwestlooms.com
email klissus@msn.com



(307) 638-8003
eight-shaft, 15" weaving width, $490
offered in 8, 12, and 16 shaft models, ranging in price from $350 to
$600 for maple and oak; also available in cherry and walnut
Reeds available for 8, 10, 12, and 15 dents per inch, $28-$38
Prices do not include shipping

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Clamp loom
2779 Hillcrest Dr, LaVerne CA 91750
http://www.craftsbypatricia.com/Minirigidheddleloom.htm

-- Rachel Holmen

Still my favorite April Fool prank

See 2005: http://mapleleafreh.blogspot.com/search/label/April%20fool

Doesn't hurt or damage anything, but it's frustrating for someone who THINKS they know all about their computer.

-- Rachel

MacWorld 2008

A quick summary of some of the nifty stuff at MacWorld 2008, now happening at Moscone South and West. I thought these were fun, or interesting; your mileage may vary. Many of the prices quoted are available only at the show, or perhaps for a week or so afterwards. -- Rachel Holmen

SD chip that wifi's your pictures from your camera to your computer (avail center back of main hall, behind the big apple logo), sorry, I didn't get the vendor name -- probably eye-fi.

3-D mouse from Logitech -- SpaceNavigator, $60 (3dconnexion)

Download uTube videos to any MP4 player -- tooble.tv [Probably the most fun thing I saw, but it needs OS 10.4 and I only run 10.3.9]
Video tagging: yourview.tv

Recover files in damaged SD or other camera/PDA/MP3 player chips -- http://www.lc-tech.co.uk/

Computer advice from John Cleese: friendlyadvicemachine.com

A printer for $279 that would fit into a shoebox; puts professional-looking color printing on your inkjet-printable CD or DVD. Cartridges are $40 and good for approx 100 disks. (Can you imagine taking one of these to a family reunion?). Dymo Discpainter


$60 Mac webcam, USB 2 -- http://www.ecamm.com/mac/imagewebcam/


Turn your house wiring into a network: DS2.es

Sort of like Lojack for your Mac or iPod: GadgetTrak and bak2u anti-theft software

$50 drawing software for Mac: lineform from http://www.freeverse.com/; this firm also makes SoundStudio 3, for audio editing

Etch your mac or ipod (http://www.etchamac.com/)

Add a removable plastic skin, with an image on it, for your mac or gadget (approx $30) gelaskins.com


Remember hypercard? See tilestack

Capture a series of screenshots, add text -- voila! Documentation! -- www.screensteps.com

Similar to above: link pix, audio, video, text: memory miner, www.memoryminer.com; also showmacster from www.pleasantsoftware.com

Run windows software on a Mac without having a Windows license: www.codeweavers.com

Print really nice-looking books and calendars: blurb.com, also mpix.com

Screensaver world map, complete with light and dark areas, city lights, etc. EarthDesk4 from www.xericdesign.com/mwsf/

File conversions: Images -- see LemkeSoft. PDF to InDesign: recosoft ($229 show special)

Web design: www.sandvox.com. See also tilestack.com

A decent-looking bluetooth headset: http://www.joby.com/products/zivio/ (and their business card can be planted)

Call a number and dictate something; it will email you the text (perhaps a reminder to buy milk on the way home): www.integspeech.com or www.reqall.com

Web browser: FLOCK

$50 desktop publishing: iStudio Publisher from www.cfour.net

Want to get rich from your fabulously popular podcast? Contact podtrac, which will link your podcast to advertisers.

Also check out ubercaster, which helps create and edit podcasts.

Database for ordinary people: BENTO from FileMaker.

Idea mapping: www.thebrain.com

Put your screen on somebody else's (I believe this works online or at a the desktop): GLANCE.NET


Internet filter for content: getK9


Charging your gadgets: iVolta wireless charging from Taylor Technologies -- sorry, I couldn't find a link -- set your device on this metal grid, and it charges! You can get a charger plate for a desk or a car.

Or use a conventional connector, but go solar: solio.com [I'm buying one] Good show specials, not available on the web.

Digital rights management, asset management -- docmoto, libsyn, mavricmedia


the Napping Lounge









And of course, a million accessories, cases, earphones, etc. for an iPhone



Old favorites:

Online training from Lynda.com
Roxio for CD and DVD burning software
RealBasic
AmbrosiaSW (games, audio editing "Wiretap Studio" and "iToner", video editing SnapzProX)
ToonBoom Studio 4 -- animation software
Frogpad -- type one-handed -- USB keyboard approx $130
Nisus Writer -- word processing that's not from Microsoft
Office suite or standalone apps: marinersoftware.com
the John Lennon bus -- it's a complete recording studio