Blogging To Compensate For Poor Social Skills Since 2003.

Link Dump.

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:06:24 GMT

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories are turning me to the dark side. They are the ones that do DIY Cylon Eyes.

The Well Trained Mind. I'm not about to get into it (I have enough on my brain already), but the conversation was fascinating so I'm putting it here so I don't lose the reference.

Regina Holliday and her mural re-the American health care problem and her husband's death. It's a good looking piece of work, I'm hoping she (or someone) will produce a print of the actual mural.

Alexander Calder, kinetic sculpture. Wire sculptures. ArtGuy suggested I look at his stuff. Like this wire stuff especially.

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:41:35 GMT

At the moment, some very good things and some very bad things.

Certainly no doubt that I'm alive though.

~~~~

Mrsbrown was chatting about comfort yesterday. how we have rules and dieas about what's comfortable. And being an engineer she knows them: between 22 and 24 degrees, that sort of thing
But also how our idea of holiday is to go to places where we aren't comfortable - to the snow, to the tropics, that sort of thing.

Because inertia is not necessarily relaxing.

Selye wrote that an unstressed organism is a dead one, and divided stress into distress and eustress, the latter being positive stress. I've often thought we'd do well if we took this concept into regular usage.

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:33:37 GMT

I am not the only client my home-care worker has who doesn't want workers coming in when they have colds or influenza (or anything likely to be contagious). When you have chronic medical problems and you're sick to start with, and maybe you're on a truckload of things that effect your immune system, it's a reasonable request.

My home-care worker is recovering from a cold. A few days ago, when the cold was in full swing, she was supposed to visit a client who has also said she doesn't want contagious people coming in.

When she told her boss that she was unwell with a cold, her boss advised her to tell the client in question that she had hayfever. I believe she did not, and took time off instead.

~~~

I don't remember the outcome, but I also know she had trouble getting time off to get the Swine 'flu vaccine. Health care people like her are considered one of the most important groups to get vaccinated.

I am in a bind here. This sucks beyond belief but I do not want to get this woman in trouble. If I speak up, she'll be in for it. And *she* isn't the one behaving badly.

Accessory to murder plans to work with disabled people...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:11:06 GMT

While I entirely appreciate that a court case is the best way of determining culpability, if you ever think I whine too much about quality of care for disabled people, consider the following.

An excerpt From The Age, November 3, 2009:

Four Charged Over Betts Killing

(I'm not including the details, they are distressing and not relevant to my gripe. Suffice to say it's a murder trial and this woman has been charged with being an accessory to murder.)

Godfrey in contrast was red-eyed and cried as she applied for bail, which was rejected.

Dressed in black and with a ponytail, she said she was not a flight risk and was due to start a new job today as a disability carer. She said she was filled with fear over what had happened. ''I did not say anything as I was too scared,'' she said.

The point being, that if you ever need a job where the employers won't care where you've been and don't care where you're going, you can get work with disabled people. Going into the homes of people who often live alone, are isolated and dependent on *you*.

And if I may be cynical for a moment, it has the added advantage that working with disabled people tends to get you brownie points if you do need to provide proof of good character/good prospects of rehabilitation at any point.

I know there's much more to the story than this, there may well be extenuating circumstances, but the care industry really needs an overhaul. A good employer will surely look for more than a criminal records check, which only provides information on convictions, before employing someone for this sort of work. I find it hard to believe that a reasonably conducted job interview would not have uncovered some anomalies in this woman's presentation of herself. If not her impending court case, a work record and CV that would have reflected what appears to have been a very erratic lifestyle.

Yep, overhaul needed.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:04:29 GMT

Must

stop

drinking

coffee!

Kenya Remix.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:42:59 GMT

I'm now using LJ for linkage. Beats losing everything when the hard drive eventually crashes, no?

Kenya Remix!

And the original: here.

I could watch these for hours, it's quite frightening really.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:30:15 GMT

Aaargh!

There are things that must be done!

Nevermind the frying brain!

Do!

Do!

Do!

Aaaaaaargh!

~~~~

*ahem*

Don't mind me. I'm doing fine, really.

A Photo A Day(ish)....plus some.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:00:26 GMT

From Saturday.

First I got arty, then I got crafty (felted slippers for the lovely hometime), and between those two points we went out for a drive.

Succulent/landscape.
Here's what happens when I try and get arty.

Felt Slippers
Here's what happens when I try and get crafty.

And here's what I notice when we go for a drive.
Random people in the sunshine.

Random Person.
Crap photo, but I liked his posture.

I am still uncertain about the ethics of taking photos of random people. Trouble is, I really like photos of random people just doing whatever, and when I'm out and about, this is what I notice. Hmm.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:39:35 GMT

As scarily avid readers may recall, I bought a beginner's hobby electronics kit a while back to see if it was fun. I'll be honest, it didn't really catch my imagination. (Of course, this doesn't mean it never will, just that it hasn't yet.)

The first project is all I've done thus far. It's a continuity indicator, which is a little thingy for testing whether the various components you've got lying about the place actually work properly. If they do, a little light lights up.

No doubt it's a handy thing to have if you play with electronics a lot, but I think as a newcomer my enthusiasm would have been better encouraged with a DIYCylon Jack O'Lantern, although I admit this might not be a beginner's project. (Especially since I'd want to improvise and make a Cylon Santa, since we don't do Hallowe'en round here. (In fact, we don't really do Christmas in a big way here either - but that's more of a sulky rebellion than anything, so a Cylon Santa at the door would be quite a la mode chez nous.)

But having said that, I was truly delighted today when tenbears wandered in to ask where it was, then wandered out again to where he was playing with sacred_chao, and sacred_chao used my continuity indicator to check the components of the car stereo!

Go me, and my useful hobby electronics kit!

In which I am amazed.
This is Sacred_Chao pulling out the car stereo for the fiddling. My thingy is that blue thing next to it.

That little red thing is an LED. It has actually lit up, which shows that the thingy that this thingy was testing does actually work. Gosh.

Maybe I will continue, clearly I have a gift.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:03:05 GMT

Jam jars from the back of the fridge.
Soon they'll hit puberty.

I've now chucked them out.

When you lose loved ones, there are some things you should throw out before you've even had a chance to think. Otherwise it just gets too damn hard. Trust me on this.

Start with the homemade jam.

More pathos, anybody?

~~~

Tomorrow, with a bit of luck, it's boobies! I promise an lj-cut and no nipples.

CFS Link.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:30:25 GMT

Hilary Johnston's take on XMRV. She certainly makes clear the effect of the political stuff on human suffering pretty clear.

(Thanks braunie)

Like most of us, as far as XMRV goes, at this point I am 'watching with interest'.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:37:46 GMT

These are from the weekend, but I got all distracted by the brothel and the facelips thing.

It's all the planning.
Someone described one of my previous domestic interiors as looking like something from a magazine. While I could take this as a great compliment to my compositional skills, I now feel vaguely fraudulent and feel I should 'fess up.

More random living room.

Living room.
You'd be surprised at how much thought went into this one.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:21:20 GMT

Alas I dropped the ball for a couple of days this week, but here are today's piccies.

Local magpie.
S/he sings to me regularly, especially at this time of year. I don't feed it often, but it does understand the concept and comes straight down when I whistle and put something on the front gate post.

Contemplating lunch:

Local Magpie
I rather like this one. It's contemplating lunch.

Eating lunch:

Magpie.
A more classic pose.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:23:12 GMT

Brothel Signage.
While I can see that there's a slight bend in the middle and two slight bumps on the right, they do not convince me. Consider the length (they aren't pursed at all), the subtlety of the 'facial' bits, the lack of the implication of kissing that one usually expects with a lips based logo. Tilt your head and look at them sideways. These are definitely lips but not, as it were, FACElips. The fact that they're vertical with the brothel name down the middle really doesn't help.

So:

View Poll: Facelips or not?

A Photo A Day(ish).

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:23:20 GMT

For yesterday and today.

Another view from the couch.

A close up view from the couch!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:57:02 GMT

No photo today!

However, I'd just like to publicly thank 17catherines for recently advising me to marinade strawberries in a mix of equal parts sugar to red wine vinegar (or was it white...? I used red, anyway).

This was the perfect recipe for a gel who does not cook but does need to eat more fruit, because it's not really cooking at all. It's just sloshing things into a bowl and coming back an hour or so later to drain out the marinade and add ice cream, and it's not really fruit at all because it tastes nice.

Apparently it's even better with mascarpone cheese and those lattice biscuits. Hmm.

A Photo A Day(ish)....plus one.

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:16:01 GMT

Remembering To Look.
Mum gave this to me many, many years ago. She'd bought it in Hungary and it's been sitting on my chest of drawers, as a runner, for years. The good thing about doing A Photo A Day(ish) is that it's making me pay attention. As I was heading off to bed last night I stared at this beautiful pattern and realised I'd not properly appreciated either the pattern, the gift, or the history of the piece for a very long time.

Remembering To Look 2.

And in other news, the other day I was bemoaning someone who had failed to send me payment for some yarn I'd sent her (not as a formal sale through a sale site, just as a goodwill gesture to a fellow knitter - so it was my feelings that were hurt, not my wallet). I'm happy to say the money turned up today, so it seems she was just a tad disorganised.

My faith in humanity is not only restored but - since she *also* sent me five dollars more than we agreed on - somewhat improved. Improved enough that I decided to up the ante by donating it (plus five more dollars) to The Hamlin Fistula Relief and Aid Fund.

Tidying up.

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:47:15 GMT

Today I freecycled my old non-working sewing machine. Every time I freecycle something I'm stunned at just how hassle free it turns out to be. You say what it is, someone puts their hand up, you leave it on the porch and it goes away.

I also planted seeds. There will be more seed planting this week if my body holds out. No drama if it doesn't - this is about my little 'cut and come again' garden for salad greens and such, which is trundling along quite nicely and can also be allowed to go fallow when it's all too much.

~~~

Yesterday we discovered a new cheapish Chinese place that looks promising, although I've now established I don't like the Westlake duck. Too sweet for my tastes, and don't even get me started on the pineapple. But they have an enticing list of things I've never tried before, so we will be going back.

~~~

This Wednesday I'm getting my carer to take some books and clothes to the Brotherhood, having established that their nearest drop-off point is actually really close by.

Other than that, I have only one proper appointment outside the house this week, what bliss! This actually makes socialising later in the week seem feasible.

~~~

The week before last I mailed some yarn to a person who contacted me through Ravelry. She agreed to pay postage and a token amount on top of that, but hasn't done so yet. She has not responded to a reminder email. She is in the phone book, but I figure people who are prepared to be so mean are probably quite used to being arseholes in real life as well, and she knows where I live as well. A lesson learnt.

~~~

I wish I lived closer to friends.

I also wish I could read more.

I want some more food from that Chines place for tea....

A Photo A Day(ish). Two more

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:19:53 GMT

Pot.

Lilac.
And at this point, I really wish I knew how to do more than 'point and shoot'. The actual colour of this is a magenta, almost burgundy, but as yet I don't know enough about my camera to get it to cooperate.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:18:28 GMT

My 'cut and come again' garden.
This little patch, overlaid with chicken wire to keep the birds out, contains assorted non-lettuce salad greens, a few little parsley plants, radish and such. It's also where I'm keeping my little guavas for the time being - it's kind of little plant nursery as well.

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:43:11 GMT

Urgh.

Okay - this'll be Friday then?

Someone's had a wee bit of a crash.

A Photo A Day(ish).

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:30:15 GMT

I do have a picture of me getting an infusion at the hospital today, but still can't get photos to jump from my phone to Dave. But it was a close-up of my hand with a drip attached, so consider yourselves lucky.

View From The Couch, About 7PM

Oh Dearie Me...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:58:43 GMT

Last week we went to Borders. 10B had a book in mind he was after, and I was keen to get out of the house but not quite up to seeing 'District 9', which I really, really do want to see and on the big screen too please.

Figured that a trip to Borders would be safe, as 10B could buy his book while I had a snack from one of the many tiny establishments nearby and then maybe a tiny browsette which wouldn't be a problem as I've really gotten sensible about books in recent times and no longer feel an overwhelming urge to add to the huge pile of things I've never read and probably never will whenever we are within sniffing range of such places.

Alas, I was wrong. Not only was 10B obliged to sit and wait for me until closing time, but I bought stuff.

Then I came home thinking about books I'd like to have and that have been on my wishlist for a while. So I got more the next day at the secondhand place round the corner, then got onto the online book store of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence and bought more there. Two of there were already on my wishlist but I assure you that all the other ones I purchased would have been on my wishlist if I'd known about them before I saw them.

Of course, buying from Brotherhood Books is totally okay as they are a great organisation. They've a long history of providing excellent services for homeless and low income people of Melbourne and I'm more than happy to throw money at them.

The list:

From Borders-
Cate Kennedy, The World Beneath. Ecks bought me her book of short stories Dark Roots a while back and it helped changed the way I feel both about short stories and about local authors taking inspiration from present day local life. She managed to get past my defensive shell, for which I am grateful.
Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
William S. Burroughs, Jumky
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality vol. 1
(The last three were all $10 apiece).

From the secondhand place around the corner I got a large book on Indian folk art which is presently out of reach so I can't tell you who it's by but as well as being a good book for the pictures, looks like it has a wealth of information and analysis as well, which doesn't always happen with art books.

Also from the secondhand place: Xin Ran The Good Women Of China. bookgirlwa told me of Xin Ran just a few weeks ago, so this was a lucky coincidence. I can add it to my reasonably large collection of books about the status of women in China.

From Brotherhood Books I have ordered several vintage knitting books. Also Susan Cooper, The Boggart and Ben Grahams, The Intelligent Investor, both have been sitting on the wishlist for some time.

I am _so_ not buying books again for a while.

Oh and I've just started reading For The Term Of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke.

A Photo A Day(ish)....plus one.

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:20:41 GMT

Toadstools

First ever non-blurry shot of Tiger aka Fuzzychops aka Ratbane aka OutsideCat
Admittedly she's looking rather worried.

Five words.

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:14:04 GMT

Courtesy of escarpe:

1. Ghost
2. Music
3. Teen Angst
4. Fire
5. Wood

1. Sometimes I am a ghost. I am the person who is either physically present but not really there, or not present but referenced. In either case, known but not seen.

The world has turned, moved on, but the ghost remains unchanged. The refusal to accept the inveitability of life adn movement is what makes a ghost so frightening.

2. Music is usually beyond me. Except when I'm well when I make tuneless utterances that have no sense for anyone but me. I feel sad about this as I'm aware of the importance of music in other peoples' lives and I know I'm missing out on something good.

3. Teen angst is a tragedy. I so wish I had not had to endure it, or at least that I could truly have shaken it off when I turned 21. Just like that - become an adult and left that crap behind. It only ever held me back.

4. The tattoo idea that most appeals to me now is one that symbolises rain. But I love smouldering tobacco several metres away in an open space. I love to sit by a fire, I love to poke sticks in and watch them burn.

5. Wood: a fine thing for a man to have.

Comment if you'd like five words.