Archive for » April, 2009 «

Thursday’s Mindless Wandering
Thursday, April 30th, 2009 / ptrader

I saw a great sign on a church yesterday.  It read:

Can’t sleep?  We can help!
Pastor’s sermons now online.

A recent article I read indicated that only 40% of new Twitter’-ers come back the second month after joining.  Is it because they finally decide they don’t really need to know the life-casting details of other people’s lives?

If the first US casualty of swine flu wasn’t a US citizen, but instead was a little boy from Mexico City visiting relatives in Texas, then does that really count in our statistics?

The iPhone and the Blackberry are NOT the only internet enabled cell phones are the market these days, but you sure wouldn’t know it by the media buzz.

My lilacs did exceptionally well this year, but I haven’t seen hide nor bloom out of the tulips.  Have no idea where they are hiding.

I’m looking forward to the new Fox show “Glee”.  It’s a rather obvious attempt to cash in on the High School Musical craze, but  I think it may appeal to adults as well.  The story revolves around a high school teacher who offers to take on the Glee Club – a bunch of misfits who make up the drama/music group.  The trailer shows a few stereotypes, but I think there’s opportunity for a few “feel-good” moments here and maybe some good music.  There’s some sort of premiere on May 19th to check it out.

What’s on your mind?

Category: Uncategorized  4 Comments
Socks
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 / ptrader

I joined up with Claire Delacroix/Deborah Cooke’s Knit-A-Long this month in an attempt to complete a couple of pairs of socks.  One pair is knitted and one is crocheted.  I have one sock completed – one of the crocheted ones.  The knitted pair are about 4 1/2″ along, but this month “life got in the way” of my leisure time pursuits and they’re not as far as I’d hoped they’d be by now.

A long time ago my grandma taught my sister, The Lish, how to knit and taught me how to crochet.  I admit I enjoy the activity of crocheting more than knitting, which I taught myself.  The Lish, on the other hand, seems to have forgotten nearly everything she used to know about knitting and can only crochet.  Although I’m not convinced she knows any stitch other than chain and double crochet.

socksSo in her honor, I found this simple crochet sock pattern (which is practically the same one I’m doing.)  Click on the picture to go get the free pattern from Coats & Clark, who recommend using their Heart & Sole with Aloe yarn (you’ll need 3 balls).  You’ll also need a 3.25mm (size E) hook.  (Warning:  I had to drop two hook sizes to make gauge on my crocheted socks.  A 2.75mm  hook wasn’t easy to find.)

This pattern is different from others I’ve seen, which calls for doing the cuff in rows, long ways, then forming the ankle, turning the heel, and proceeding in rounds down the foot to the toe.  To finish, seam the toe and cuff up the back.

Crocheted socks aren’t for everyone.  The fabric created by the hook is denser and just plain odd-looking when compared to the pretty stockinette stitch of a knitted sock.  But with the crazy sock yarns out there today I think there’s a lot more room for personal expresions. 

So I challenge you – dare to be different!  Crochet a sock for a change of pace.  Or maybe even two?

Category: Patterns  2 Comments
Tech Tuesday – Lala.com
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 / ptrader

The office I’m in now doesn’t get very good radio reception – in fact it gets NO radio reception, so I have a personal computer and an air card hooked up for entertainment purposes.  Most days I just stream XMRadio Online, as it is free for me with our other XMRadio subscriptions. 

Sometimes, though, I want something different.  I’ve tried streaming a local radio station, which works OK.  But…there’s got to be more out there.

First, let me say I’m not particularly adventuresome when it comes to the music I listen to.  I’m firmly stuck in the 70’s, when disco was king and music didn’t sound like it came out of a whiny mouth.  Those were the days of a red-hot Bruce Springsteen, the power ballads of Barry Manilow, the grooves of the Bee Gees, and just about everything in between.  So that’s my comfort zone.

I’m willing to stretch outside my comfort zone once in awhile though.  I think Carrie Underwood is an awesome talent, and if you haven’t seen her video of the Randy Travis song “I Told You So” then you’re missing a treat.  Oh, what the heck – I’ll put it in at the end of the post for you.

Like many of the modern age, I buy most of what little music I do buy online.  There’s plenty of places now – iTunes, Walmart.com, Amazon.com.  I’ve bought from all of them.  But I think I just may have found my newest favorite.

Lala.com seems like a great place to go to for music.  I signed up for a free account and started playing around with it, finding that the new music I was interested in was equal to or cheaper than the other online sources.

Some of the other great features lala.com has:

1)  Preview the entire contents of an album once for free.  Not 30 seconds of a song, but every song and the whole song.  Free.

2)  Buy “web albums” for significantly less – typically $2-$3.  While you can’t download web albums and you can only play them when connected to lala.com, I think this is a great way to check out an album without investing a lot of money on it.  Since I listen to a lot of online music, it works for me to check out an album to see if I just like it or love it.

3)  Lala.com will search your computer and determine if it has rights to any of your current library.  If it does, it will add your song to your account’s library so you can listen to it online (along with those web albums).  Not quite importing your music onto its servers, it’s still a great alternative to toting your own music around with you.  Just open up lala.com and pick your favorite music.

4) The usual sharing features for Facebook and what not.

5)  I got 50 free “music credits” just for signing up and validating my account.  I used some of mine to buy a web album – so now they’re adding free music to sweeten the pot. (1 credit = 1 song, I think.)

So, go forth and enjoy some new music today! 

Edited to add:  Click Here to go to a YouTube video of Carrie Underwood singing “I Told You So”.

Category: Uncategorized  2 Comments
Nora Roberts – Vision in White Release
Monday, April 27th, 2009 / ptrader

As Nora’s ghostwriter*, I feel obligated to post that her newest release will come out tomorrow, April 28th.  Please rush out to your local book-source and buy it.

nora1

 Vision In White is the first of her new Wedding Quartet series.  (I suspect there will be four books in it, don’t you?)  Ya’ll please note that this release will be a trade paperback (the big one) instead of a mass market size.  Price will be upgraded accordingly, I’m sure, although pre-order from B&N.com indicates they’ll knock an additional 5% off pre-orders.  List price is $16, but you’ll be able to get it for about $9 if you play your cards right.

 

Here’s the blurb from B&N.com (and hit the pic to the left to run over there and place your order):

 

Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be’s brother…an encounter that has them both seeing stars.
A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac’s type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends—and business partners—to see her way to her own happy ending.

**Inside RWAOL joke.  Don’t take it seriously.

Category: Books  2 Comments
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