Blinky Lights and Shiny Objects

Another sick day, another day of scanning. Today (technically, yesterday at this point) I concentrated on color negatives, which are more difficult to handle than the slides. Because of the way they load into the transparency carrier for my scanner, there is more variation in position of the frames. So, in addition to fiddling with getting the film strip loaded, I need to modify the marquee position for all eight shots. I've scanned four rolls of film today, and it has taken over six hours. That is just for the scanning - I've also spent another two hours post-processing in Bibble and uploading to Flickr, just for the first two rolls. Why bother? In addition to still being sick and not wanting to leave the house today, I am really excited about bringing these photos back to life. These four rolls plus three more still to go are from our honeymoon trip to Arizona. In October of 2002 (6 months after the wedding because I didn't have enough vacation days built up yet i...

090214_scan_95aug_089 Originally uploaded by prismglass This is one of my favorite photos. I just happened upon it while on a walk with my camera. I've spent most of today scanning slides and uploading them to Flickr. It has worked out well as an activity on a day that I am recovering from a nasty cold. Scanning is repetitive, not requiring much in the way of decisions or movement. Just clicking and waiting. On a normal day it would drive me nuts. Today it fit my capabilities perfectly.

In less than a week we fly to Cozumel, Mexico for our vacation. I've never been on a standard tropical-beach vacation before, but after the winter we've had it seems like a VERY good idea. It is fun to have "buy bikini" as part of the pre-trip checklist, because it reminds me how different the weather and the priorities are going to be down there. Having this to look forward to is helping my mood because it encourages me to brush away the little annoyances before they build up. Mental conversation example snippet: "This email I got highlights a problem with my design that I couldn't have anticipated. That's unfortunate, but I'm not going to let it get to me today because I'm going to Mexico next week." I studied Spanish formally for four years, but never really felt like I "got" it. I'm not great at retaining memorized information, so when they would leave one verb tense to teach another, I'd forget the details of the ...

I've had fun recently by packing a few kitchen toys and prepped ingredients into bags , and cooking Sunday Dinner for friends in their kitchens. I made chicken thighs with peppers and onions for K+H, and just tonight did custom pizza for B+J. (Though, I almost left the pizza dough in the fridge here, and the second pizza turned into improvised calzones when I screwed up transfer onto the baking stone .) Sunday is the only day of the week I get a good solid block of time to spend on food prep and cooking. It is also prime hanging-out time with friends before getting back into the work week. By cooking and hanging out, I get the most out of my Sunday evenings. I like the Produce Saver containers that Rubbermaid has out now. They have a vented lid and a tray at the bottom of the bowl to keep your fruits and veggies elevated, extending their life. I bought mine at our local Target. The larger size (14 C) has been really useful - a 5 lb bag of carrots will fit when peeled and s...

I'm trying to grow culinary herbs indoors, from seeds . The first few green shoots are appearing - so far so good. But, I don't have a good track record with indoor plants. (The ones I got at IKEA for my cubicle are still doing okay, but those don't mind being ignored.) If it works, great, I'll have fresh basil (x3 types), oregano, lavender, chives, and dill growing on a kitchen bookcase. If not, I'll be disappointed, but I'm not going to be surprised.

At -15 degrees F, or -26 degrees C, the packed snow/frozen slush on driveways and parking lots SQUEAKS when you walk or drive over it. Rather than put on workout clothes that had been sitting in my cold car since 9 am, I laid them out on the bench in the gym's locker room sauna. Five minutes later the clothes and shoes were wearable and I actually felt warm for the first time all day. I don't think they should be allowed to call it a "High" if it is only forecast to be -5 F. They should have another word for "Least Cold it will be Today" that does not imply that much relative motion of molecules. Ridiculous cold is very unpleasant and uncomfortable, but at least it isn't snowing again.

B&J got us GameStop gift cards for Christmas. I used mine to buy a used copy of Sim City DS. (Does anyone else just erase the former owner's saved game without looking at it? I'd rather not know what they may have left on there as a joke. Could be the most awesome simulated metropolis ever, or it could be something rude spelled out in trees.) Anyway, both times I've turned on the game I have then stayed up until 2 or 3 am playing. Last night I even plugged the charger in because the red light was blinking, and proceeded to sit down on the dining room floor and KEEP PLAYING. So, new rule is: no Sim Anything on work nights.