Between Wednesday's post and now today's, I've been totally slacking on this "bring back the words" thing. In my defense, Bout of Books has been taking up most of my blogging energy. Next week I'll start writing posts of more than a hundred or so words. But in the meantime . . .
1) Star Trek Into Darkness!!! We're planning on seeing it possibly tomorrow but more likely Sunday morning. (Yes, morning. We don't like crowds.)
2) Drunk Harry Potter tonight!!! (Also known as the reason we're probably not seeing Star Trek tomorrow morning.)
3) All the finales!!! I only watch a handful of shows, and this week most of them ended for the season (or altogether, in the case of The Office). I'll be sharing my thoughts on all of these next week.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Mental Health Blog Day
I just learned that today is Mental Health Blog Day. I could get into my own stuff here, but it's nothing I prepared for or planned on, so I just don't think I have it in me right now. Instead, I'll share a couple links that fit the theme.
Brain Knows Better - This is one of my favorite new blogs. Today's post is a little outside the norm for this author, but I think it's an important one, and I'm so glad that he shared his story.
Hyperbole and a Half - This is a blog I didn't discover until after the author had been gone from blogging for a while. (I instantly fell in love with her post about the 'alot,' a magical creature that keeps her grammar rage in check.) She recently returned to blogging with an amazing post chronicling her issues with depression. I think everyone should read it, because even if you can't relate to any of it, I guarantee that you know someone who does.
I know there are WAY more amazing posts out there, in fact there might be some written specifically for today, sitting unread in my feed reader right now (I am SO behind on reading my blogs, I feel terrible), but these are the two I have to share today.
Brain Knows Better - This is one of my favorite new blogs. Today's post is a little outside the norm for this author, but I think it's an important one, and I'm so glad that he shared his story.
Hyperbole and a Half - This is a blog I didn't discover until after the author had been gone from blogging for a while. (I instantly fell in love with her post about the 'alot,' a magical creature that keeps her grammar rage in check.) She recently returned to blogging with an amazing post chronicling her issues with depression. I think everyone should read it, because even if you can't relate to any of it, I guarantee that you know someone who does.
I know there are WAY more amazing posts out there, in fact there might be some written specifically for today, sitting unread in my feed reader right now (I am SO behind on reading my blogs, I feel terrible), but these are the two I have to share today.
Monday, May 13, 2013
A Look at oneQube
Phew, okay . . . I think I'm recovered.
I'm participating in Bout of Books this week. It's a read-a-thon, and you can read all about it at my other blog.
But, since I have to write something for today here as well, I figured I'd use the opportunity to sort out my chat experience. See, the first Bout of Books Twitter chat was this afternoon, and it was . . . overwhelming, to say the least. I saved a transcript on oneQube (I'll get to that in a second), and while unfortunately it can't tell me how many participants we had, it does say that in the 65 minutes captured, there are a total of 1,969 tweets. That's roughly 30 a minute. Even given the fact that tweets can't be more than 140-characters and therefore are relatively short, that is a LOT of information coming at you.
So, how did I survive?
Well first of all, I was using oneQube's SmartStream to manage the chat. I know TweetChat is usually preferred (I've used it in the past myself), and is technically still up and running, but it's been glitchy lately, and is soon going to be going away entirely, so I wanted to take this new chat manager out for a spin.
I'm participating in Bout of Books this week. It's a read-a-thon, and you can read all about it at my other blog.
But, since I have to write something for today here as well, I figured I'd use the opportunity to sort out my chat experience. See, the first Bout of Books Twitter chat was this afternoon, and it was . . . overwhelming, to say the least. I saved a transcript on oneQube (I'll get to that in a second), and while unfortunately it can't tell me how many participants we had, it does say that in the 65 minutes captured, there are a total of 1,969 tweets. That's roughly 30 a minute. Even given the fact that tweets can't be more than 140-characters and therefore are relatively short, that is a LOT of information coming at you.
So, how did I survive?
Well first of all, I was using oneQube's SmartStream to manage the chat. I know TweetChat is usually preferred (I've used it in the past myself), and is technically still up and running, but it's been glitchy lately, and is soon going to be going away entirely, so I wanted to take this new chat manager out for a spin.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Chicago Sports
So, the Bulls and the Blackhawks have both made it through the first round in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the White Sox and the Cubs are both at the bottom of their divisions.
The Bears are the only team I really pay attention to, and of course the only team not currently playing. So, since football is currently in the off-season, I've been trying to keep up on at least the very basic news for the other teams.
I used to watch basketball as a kid, back in the Michael Jordan era. I can rattle off the years of our championships without even thinking about it ('91, '92, '93, '96, '97, '98). I know that the '95-'96 season was the year we went 72-10 . . . it was a record at the time, I don't know if it still is. But after the second three-peat, the team went downhill, and I lost interest in watching the games. By the time they started getting good again, I'd lost interest in sports altogether.
I've never really been a hockey fan, not really sure why. It's actually kind of ironic, since hockey (well, floor hockey) was one of the few sports I liked to play in gym class. I guess that never translated into watching the games.
I've never been much of a baseball fan either. As far as the Cubs vs. Sox rivalry, I've always been more of a Cubs fan, even though I can't really consider myself a fan at all. And no, it's not that I'm not a fan because my team sucks. Take a look at the Bears; even when they're doing well, they can never seem to pull it together and go all the way . . . just like the Cubs. (Though I guess the difference is, it's been just under 30 years since the Bears won the Super Bowl, not over a century . . . and 6 years since we've been there, not almost 70.) So, no, it's not that I can't put my support behind a team that doesn't win. It's just that baseball is extremely boring to me.
But really, watching the games is only part of what I like about football . . . and even that is a relatively recent development that originally had more to do with socializing with friends than any real love of the game.
I also like learning about the rules, and why teams might choose one play over another. I like following the stats and the standings. And I like what sports mean to people, even if they don't mean as much to me. Looking at all that . . . there's really no good reason why I follow football but not any of the others. There's no reason I couldn't follow baseball, even if I don't care about the games themselves. And at the very least, you'd think I could get into basketball and hockey, since those games are more exciting to watch.
For all you sports fans out there, what is it that makes you drawn to one game over the others?
The Bears are the only team I really pay attention to, and of course the only team not currently playing. So, since football is currently in the off-season, I've been trying to keep up on at least the very basic news for the other teams.
I used to watch basketball as a kid, back in the Michael Jordan era. I can rattle off the years of our championships without even thinking about it ('91, '92, '93, '96, '97, '98). I know that the '95-'96 season was the year we went 72-10 . . . it was a record at the time, I don't know if it still is. But after the second three-peat, the team went downhill, and I lost interest in watching the games. By the time they started getting good again, I'd lost interest in sports altogether.
I've never really been a hockey fan, not really sure why. It's actually kind of ironic, since hockey (well, floor hockey) was one of the few sports I liked to play in gym class. I guess that never translated into watching the games.
I've never been much of a baseball fan either. As far as the Cubs vs. Sox rivalry, I've always been more of a Cubs fan, even though I can't really consider myself a fan at all. And no, it's not that I'm not a fan because my team sucks. Take a look at the Bears; even when they're doing well, they can never seem to pull it together and go all the way . . . just like the Cubs. (Though I guess the difference is, it's been just under 30 years since the Bears won the Super Bowl, not over a century . . . and 6 years since we've been there, not almost 70.) So, no, it's not that I can't put my support behind a team that doesn't win. It's just that baseball is extremely boring to me.
But really, watching the games is only part of what I like about football . . . and even that is a relatively recent development that originally had more to do with socializing with friends than any real love of the game.
I also like learning about the rules, and why teams might choose one play over another. I like following the stats and the standings. And I like what sports mean to people, even if they don't mean as much to me. Looking at all that . . . there's really no good reason why I follow football but not any of the others. There's no reason I couldn't follow baseball, even if I don't care about the games themselves. And at the very least, you'd think I could get into basketball and hockey, since those games are more exciting to watch.
For all you sports fans out there, what is it that makes you drawn to one game over the others?
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Yet Another Iron Man 3 Response
So, we saw Iron Man 3 on Saturday. It's going to be hard to discuss what specifically I liked or didn't like without being all spoilery. Maybe I'll do another post on this in a month or so, after more people have had the chance to see the movie. But for now, here are just some general thoughts.
Overall, it was . . . okay. It was decently entertaining. It had some scenes, some bits of dialogue, that I did enjoy. But I didn't love the movie the way that I loved the first one. Of course, I didn't love the second one the way that I loved the first one either. The first one has an unfair advantage in that I love origin stories. I love seeing characters evolve, and there's usually no more dramatic evolution than when they decide to become a superhero. (Batman Begins remains my favorite of the new trilogy for much the same reason.)
Iron Man 3 had a lot of potential to tap back into that whole character development thing, since one of the plotlines . . . and I don't think this is giving too much away since it was mentioned in at least one trailer that I saw, but if you really don't want to know ANYTHING about the movie. . . well, then why are you even reading this? But I'll still give you the chance to turn around now . . .
Overall, it was . . . okay. It was decently entertaining. It had some scenes, some bits of dialogue, that I did enjoy. But I didn't love the movie the way that I loved the first one. Of course, I didn't love the second one the way that I loved the first one either. The first one has an unfair advantage in that I love origin stories. I love seeing characters evolve, and there's usually no more dramatic evolution than when they decide to become a superhero. (Batman Begins remains my favorite of the new trilogy for much the same reason.)
Iron Man 3 had a lot of potential to tap back into that whole character development thing, since one of the plotlines . . . and I don't think this is giving too much away since it was mentioned in at least one trailer that I saw, but if you really don't want to know ANYTHING about the movie. . . well, then why are you even reading this? But I'll still give you the chance to turn around now . . .
Monday, May 6, 2013
Blargh . . .
It would figure that as soon as I make a statement that I want to be more active in blogging again, that my computer would decide to up the intensity with which it's trying to ruin my life (and yes, I'm positive that it has a personality of its own, and that it's doing this to me personally).
I know I've mentioned my computer issues before. Some here, some on Twitter. The main problem is that it decides to shut off with no warning and for no apparent reason. No pattern to it as far as I can tell. This has been ongoing for a couple months now, and we've slowly been eliminating possible causes, but unfortunately every time we think it might be fixed, it'll go a week or so without incident, and then start doing it again, at first sporadically, and then with increasing frequency. It's currently at Staples awaiting the next fix, and as frustrating as it is to have a computer that isn't reliable, it's almost worse not to have it at all. Mainly because I have zero confidence that they're actually going to solve the problem, so I'm giving it up for however many days for no good reason.
So . . . I have to make a point of doing my blogging (not to mention anything else I want to use a computer for) when Pat's not around, or at least not using his computer.
And yes, I know I'm lucky that we have a second computer at all. For that matter I'm lucky that I'm not starving in a third world country somewhere. But that perspective really doesn't make this situation any less frustrating.
Guess I'll just leave it at that for now. Gotta pace myself if I'm going to keep up this three times a week thing, and hopefully things will be going a little better in a couple days.
I know I've mentioned my computer issues before. Some here, some on Twitter. The main problem is that it decides to shut off with no warning and for no apparent reason. No pattern to it as far as I can tell. This has been ongoing for a couple months now, and we've slowly been eliminating possible causes, but unfortunately every time we think it might be fixed, it'll go a week or so without incident, and then start doing it again, at first sporadically, and then with increasing frequency. It's currently at Staples awaiting the next fix, and as frustrating as it is to have a computer that isn't reliable, it's almost worse not to have it at all. Mainly because I have zero confidence that they're actually going to solve the problem, so I'm giving it up for however many days for no good reason.
So . . . I have to make a point of doing my blogging (not to mention anything else I want to use a computer for) when Pat's not around, or at least not using his computer.
And yes, I know I'm lucky that we have a second computer at all. For that matter I'm lucky that I'm not starving in a third world country somewhere. But that perspective really doesn't make this situation any less frustrating.
Guess I'll just leave it at that for now. Gotta pace myself if I'm going to keep up this three times a week thing, and hopefully things will be going a little better in a couple days.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Bring Back the Words
So, earlier this week, Ginger over at Ramble Ramble decided she was going to post every day in May. (I didn't read it till today because we were out of town for the weekend, so I had a ton of blog posts to catch up on, and while I was slowly working through those, people KEPT WRITING, what is UP with that?! So . . . basically I'm still behind, but at least I'm down to like 30 unread posts, instead of almost 100.)
Anyway, I was just complaining on Twitter the other day how I have all of these ideas for posts, but when I sit down the words just won't come out. And I've been focusing A LOT on my book blog, and part of this frustration is me still not really knowing how to write a satisfying book review (I'm working on it, really), but . . . okay, so if I'm having issues with a review, why can't I jump over here and write something? I've been neglecting my readers here (all two of you) and it's time to stop it.
So . . .
I think every day is a bit much for me, and would only cause me to burn out again once the month was over, so I'm going to focus on posting every MWF. In May. And maybe/hopefully beyond. We'll see. But for now, May.
See you on Monday.
Anyway, I was just complaining on Twitter the other day how I have all of these ideas for posts, but when I sit down the words just won't come out. And I've been focusing A LOT on my book blog, and part of this frustration is me still not really knowing how to write a satisfying book review (I'm working on it, really), but . . . okay, so if I'm having issues with a review, why can't I jump over here and write something? I've been neglecting my readers here (all two of you) and it's time to stop it.
So . . .
I think every day is a bit much for me, and would only cause me to burn out again once the month was over, so I'm going to focus on posting every MWF. In May. And maybe/hopefully beyond. We'll see. But for now, May.
See you on Monday.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Darkness is Coming
We're a month away from the release of Star Trek Into Darkness.
I loved the reboot, and I'm super excited for the sequel. I definitely won't be going to a midnight showing -- I never have and probably never will -- but this is one that I'm planning on seeing opening weekend. Luckily for me, "braving the crowds" isn't so much an issue in Dubuque.
Anyway, in honor of the upcoming release, I thought I'd share 5 reasons why I love 2009's Star Trek.
WARNING: This is going to be full of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie, go watch it. Now.
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| Click to enlarge and enjoy the always-hilarious mouseover text. |
I loved the reboot, and I'm super excited for the sequel. I definitely won't be going to a midnight showing -- I never have and probably never will -- but this is one that I'm planning on seeing opening weekend. Luckily for me, "braving the crowds" isn't so much an issue in Dubuque.
Anyway, in honor of the upcoming release, I thought I'd share 5 reasons why I love 2009's Star Trek.
WARNING: This is going to be full of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie, go watch it. Now.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Clipless Pedals
So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had ordered some new pedals for my bike. The kind you clip into. Ironically they're called clipless pedals. The reason for this is that the old style of pedals with clips are very different from these.
This is what the name clipless pedal is disassociating itself from. This is an older style of clip pedal that your toe is clamped into. If you leave them lose enough, they're easy enough to slip out of from the back, but if you really want them to be secure, they're pretty hard to get out of.
This is what my new pedals and shoes look like.
The spade-shaped clip that you can see on the bottom of my shoe clicks into the matching bracket on the pedal. They were quite stiff at first, but once it had managed to click in and out of them a few times they loosened up. They're also very easy to get out of. All I have to do is rotate my foot on the clip and they pop right out. That's not to say that they come off accidentally.
Hill climbing is much easier with these pedals. When I was thinking about getting this type of pedal, I was doing a lot of research online and a lot of people were saying that they make little to no difference, but that there was a little bit of an improvement on hills. My first day riding with them I went over to a quiet little subdivision nearby. It has a lot of hills. I was up my second or third one before I realized that I had yet to shift gears. To most of my friends reading this back in the flat sections of Illinois, this may not seem significant. I went through most of high school with a bike with a broken gear shifter and spent most of my time in one gear without any trouble. Dubuque, however, is HILLY. I shift gears all the time now. Being able to not only push down with one pedal, but also pull up with the other is huge. I'm still very out of shape from not doing much over the winter, but I see my road rides getting a lot easier in the future.
Here is a side view of my new shoes. Being bike shoes, they have a stiffer sole than most shoes for more efficient power transfer to the pedals in addition to having a mounting point for the clips. The main reason I chose this shoe was for the style. They're very similar to the type of sandal that I have. They slip on, but can be tightened with the elastic laces they come with. I can also wear them sock-less when it starts to get really hot. (I wore my sandals on a couple of rides last summer) The fact that they're orange and black is just icing on the cake for me. These babies are going to see a lot of use this year.
This is what my new pedals and shoes look like.
The spade-shaped clip that you can see on the bottom of my shoe clicks into the matching bracket on the pedal. They were quite stiff at first, but once it had managed to click in and out of them a few times they loosened up. They're also very easy to get out of. All I have to do is rotate my foot on the clip and they pop right out. That's not to say that they come off accidentally.
Hill climbing is much easier with these pedals. When I was thinking about getting this type of pedal, I was doing a lot of research online and a lot of people were saying that they make little to no difference, but that there was a little bit of an improvement on hills. My first day riding with them I went over to a quiet little subdivision nearby. It has a lot of hills. I was up my second or third one before I realized that I had yet to shift gears. To most of my friends reading this back in the flat sections of Illinois, this may not seem significant. I went through most of high school with a bike with a broken gear shifter and spent most of my time in one gear without any trouble. Dubuque, however, is HILLY. I shift gears all the time now. Being able to not only push down with one pedal, but also pull up with the other is huge. I'm still very out of shape from not doing much over the winter, but I see my road rides getting a lot easier in the future.
Here is a side view of my new shoes. Being bike shoes, they have a stiffer sole than most shoes for more efficient power transfer to the pedals in addition to having a mounting point for the clips. The main reason I chose this shoe was for the style. They're very similar to the type of sandal that I have. They slip on, but can be tightened with the elastic laces they come with. I can also wear them sock-less when it starts to get really hot. (I wore my sandals on a couple of rides last summer) The fact that they're orange and black is just icing on the cake for me. These babies are going to see a lot of use this year.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
My Kingdom for a Trouble-Free Computer
(Oh . . . I don't have a kingdom. Crap.)
Lately it seems like like every computer I touch just breaks down. I have to think that it's me. No one else I know seems to go through computers this quickly. But what could I possibly be doing that's causing these issues? I have my Norton up-to-date. It warns me if a website has been flagged as questionable (which happens quite infrequently). In fact I rarely stray from my "typical" websites -- Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google, Wordpress, and a few others, none of which have a reputation (as far as I know) for causing issues, as long as you don't click on strange links, which of course I don't.
My very first laptop caused me the most grief . . . and again, I'm not sure exactly why. To be honest I can't even remember what the specific problems were. What I do remember is that when it got to the point where it was pretty much unusable, my friend's mom -- who's very handy with computers -- completely wiped and reformatted it for me, and then it was fine . . . until it wasn't again. She did this for me a couple times, to get me through my last couple years of school. Each time, though, it reverted back to its unusable state even faster, and by graduation I was spending more and more time in the computer labs on campus rather than deal with the frustration.
Lately it seems like like every computer I touch just breaks down. I have to think that it's me. No one else I know seems to go through computers this quickly. But what could I possibly be doing that's causing these issues? I have my Norton up-to-date. It warns me if a website has been flagged as questionable (which happens quite infrequently). In fact I rarely stray from my "typical" websites -- Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google, Wordpress, and a few others, none of which have a reputation (as far as I know) for causing issues, as long as you don't click on strange links, which of course I don't.
My very first laptop caused me the most grief . . . and again, I'm not sure exactly why. To be honest I can't even remember what the specific problems were. What I do remember is that when it got to the point where it was pretty much unusable, my friend's mom -- who's very handy with computers -- completely wiped and reformatted it for me, and then it was fine . . . until it wasn't again. She did this for me a couple times, to get me through my last couple years of school. Each time, though, it reverted back to its unusable state even faster, and by graduation I was spending more and more time in the computer labs on campus rather than deal with the frustration.
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