Absquatulate

There Is Hope

Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog

It's nice to see ol' Goeff jumping on the blogging bandwagon.   Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog: Chaucer the Holy-Wood Scabbe. (via Fussy)

Internet, sometimes we break up

But then you come back around with a gem like this, and I fall in love with you all over again: best of craigslist : The Zen of Costco.

Next, allow your body and brain to come back slowly to the real world as you face the geometry problem of loading up a 2-seater convertible with all your purchases. Will the toilet paper fit in the front seat? Spatial awareness is important. This exercise will prepare you for re-entry.

Do your research.

Tom Coates has an excellent, excellent, post regarding PR flacks, online marketing, and advertising that uses bloggers as mules for their messages: plasticbag.org: This is not a brothel....  This makes me happy that nobody knows about me or my blog.  Via Fussy.org.

Nora's mom, scoutin' for Vs

Sweet Moses, mimi smartypants, this is brilliant:

"Are you guys virgins?" They [a group of underaged boys at a local show] looked collectively offended and said no, so I said, "That's too bad, I'm kind of on a scavenger hunt." I really don't know where that came from but they ended up going away, so THE END.

I have redesigned.

I'm not sure I like it, but if you can't see it employ ye olde [shift]-reload.

I'm still twiddling and I would love your thoughts. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them at kcurro [at]gmail[dot]com or in the comments.

We're all going to Hell.

Well said Jessica, well said: indexed: We're all going to Hell..

mimi smartypants

From the always entertaining mimi smartypants:

Also on Friday, in between chicken wings and mary jaaaaaane, I suggested to Nora that we go to the playground. She pumped her fists in the air and yelled, "SCIENTIFIC!" This is excellent happy-exclamation slang and we should all start using it immediately. Scientific is the new kick ass.

Jump, Shark, Fonzie, &c.

Sweet Mercy, this is for real?  Apparently there is a  Blogger & Podcaster Magazine.  "For aspiring new media titans"? Are you kidding me?  Hat Tip: If you decide to do something foolish, like launch a print mag. for bloggers, at least make the website have easy to find content.  What a pageclick nightmare this gorilla is.

(courtesy of Kottke, who gets blogging right.)

Message for you, sir

Message for you, sir
Originally uploaded by heather.

in the day and age of instant messaging and the internet, the problem more or less still remains that you can only talk to those you know. In such cases when you don't know to whom you are conversing, Post-Its prove an effective means of communication.

Twitter / Maggie

Happy!  No wonder Mrs. Mason looked chipper post labor:  all hail the epidural :D  Congratulations Maggie and Brian and little Hank.  Link: Twitter / Maggie.

Serious Eats: Eating Pretty

I'm hot and cold on the Amateur Gourmet Adam Roberts:  Sometimes his posts on AG are great and entertaining, and other times they seem to pass me by; it's probably just two different people passing in the blogosphere, nothing more.  But when I read his piece on Serious Eats regarding eating and the reasons why we feel guilty about it I came around and appreciate his writing on this topic.  Take a gander: Serious Eats: Eating Pretty.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all...

I really wish I had found indexed when I was sitting in class hearing* the professor talk about our previous exam and replay video clips of modified barium swallows from said exam during our last class of the semester when we were all itching to write our damned evaluations.

*Not listening because I was tracking a UPS package online instead.

BRAIIIINNNSSSS...

After reading his blog for a few years I had the honor of meeting Anil at Gel 2004 and he was incredibly nice to a lowly D list blogger such as myself. And while he doesn't post quite as often as he used to every so often he posts a real gem. The secret of the blogosphere is out, we want to eat your brains.

I'd write more, but I'm knee deep in analyzing the spelling errors (and accuracies!) of dyslexic children and what they say about their underlying phonological processes and compensatory strategies.

Four Things

I've been tagged. Here we go:

Four jobs I've had:

• Doughnut Slinger at Bess Eaton
• Bank Teller
• Student webmaster
• Outdoor gear slinger

Four movies I can watch over and over again:

• The Princess Bride
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Any of the LOTR movies
• Iron Giant

Four Place I Have Lived:
The last two don't really count, as I think it's a difference only in municipalities, rather than actuall location.

• Tiverton, RI
• Rochester, NY
• Amherst, MA
• Sunderland, MA

Four TV Shows I Love:

• Good Eats
• umm.... I don't have a TV, so that's pretty much it.

Four Places I've Vacationed:

• Puerta Vallarta, Mexico
• Montrèal, Canada
• Sanibel Island and vicinity, FL
• Cancùn, Mexico

Four of My Favorite Dishes:
Gosh only FOUR!?

• Grandma's Lasagna (I need that recipe from you Mom!)
• Suz's macaroni and cheese
• Sushi or Udon Noodles, I can't decide which
• Filet Mingon with mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts or oven roasted root veggies

Four Sites I Visit Daily:

• Dooce
• Metafilter
• Loobylu
• Que Sera Sera

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:

• New England in the summer on a sailboat
• Ireland
• Australia/New Zealand
• On vacation

Four People I'm Tagging:

• Naava
• John
• Everyone I 'know' online has already done it, so whatever.

Awesomest. Birthday. Present.

Received today regarding my recipe for my made up cocktail, the Slutty Nun:

A new comment has been submitted to your weblog "Bread & Coffee," on the post "The Slutty Nun."

Comment from:
Name: A Proud CATHOLIC
Email: [REMOVED to protect the humorly challenged]

Comment:
You could've picked a better name than "the Slutty nxx" why would you scandalize people like this. the nuns and priests sacrifice for all of us and you have the nerve to trash whose names represent people of charity???

I finally feel like a legitimate blogger now. It's an awesome way to start my birthday! (for real!)

Survey

Artifical Butter

"She then stood up, put on her gloves, wrapped herself in her blue shawl, and walked out knowing exactly where she was going."

"Sitting next to her, he now realized it was becoming very difficult to breathe. "

"...things seemed to be much clearer now in the middle of the night."

"And as unbelievable as they may seem, this is real life."

Condi, baby...

He can compose and perform a love ballad to the U.S. Secretary of State. Ladies, you know you want a peice of Ze Frank.

Cool, or Too Much Time on One's Hands?

Neat little photoset on Flickr: Transparent Screens Pool.

I wanna Uncle Liam!

Take a gander at the most imaginative and creative baby songs for Jennville's little bundle of joy Arlo. Be sure to click on the link at top to see the first one she posted.

VD

Ze Frank says it best. Happy "Slap a Girl with a Bloody Strip of Goat's Hide" Day!"

Project

Upon returning from NYC, I wish very much to photograph the people in my neighborhood. A fun little photolog project courtesy of David.

Linky Goodness

• Witty UK prose
• You Grow Girl a pretty site for city dwelling gardeners
• Fresh Baked Goods offers cute sweaters at expensive prices (but they are handmade...)
• MacGyver contest create stuff from everyday household objects... COOL!
• Morningcraft has kitchy things from designers in NYC including some awesome toys.
• History of the ampersand (&) courtesy of LanguageHat
• Lance Armstrong's Bike has a blog. Really, is there anything more to add?

Linky Goodness

• Says Me learns the perils of camping and Avenue Q
  Link courtesy of Sylloge
• Rock, Paper, Saddam
  Link courtesy of Naava
• An interesting critique of the SEO Nigritude Ultramarine Contest
  Link courtesy of Mr. Nigritude Ultramarine Himself
• I don't know what happened to Jason, but his site has been kicking some serious ass lately.
• Bag Borrow Steal: Now I know how all those fashionable NYC gals can afford to live in Manhattan *and* carry the latest Fendi bags.

Announcing Bread & Coffee.

Some of you might remember a few food related posts I put here with the subtitle "Bread & Coffee". I've decided to take those posts and spin them off into their own blog, you know, kind of like Joanie Loves Chachi. So now you can see what I've been wasting my time on rather than posting here.

Bread & Coffee

This weekly features blog will concentrate on the narratvies and reviews of recipes, gadgets, or restaurants with guest writers and illustrators on occasion.

So please go check it out, sign up for the mailing list or leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say. And if this new blog gives one person a new idea for dinner or the penchant to try something new and daring, well then I'd say the blog is a success.

And you know, as a peace offering for the complete lack of updates here, go be voyeristic or something and enjoy photos of my cats. And snake. And husband.

When was that?

So this past week was spent knee deep in real work and in side projects and sunshine and with new electronic gadgets and bathing in jazz which means I was spending more time thinking about ERP systems and restaurant reviews and being outside and Rebels and Australian blues than posting something here.

You'd think I'd have photos to post, and you'd be correct, except my darling hubby kicked me off the machine that had them so he could "do work" on his photos of his oil paintings. *Pffft*. Like that's more important than entertaining you, Internet.

Eye Searing Gamma

Is this what passes for 'design' these days? Please tell me this is some sort of self parody, or some sort of joke on the rest of the blogs out here (including this one.) Because if it isn't a small part of me has withered. Lance, say it ain't so!

Update: I laughed. Because Zeldman's post skewering Lance for letting glassdog devolve to a blog (um, and what was it before? Long essay-ish entries.) could be taken seriously or jokingly. The problem is nobody seems to know which is the right way he intended. He seems so serious in most of his posts, so is he serious here? Is there a right/left coast smackdown brewing? Or just two popular bloggers getting the last laugh on the rest of us? STAY TUNED!

Weblogs? THE NEXT BIG CRAZE!

... And here Matt Weiler has to patiently explain the difference between a weblog and a chat room. No kidding, they asked both of us about that. It's like getting a squirrel confused with a mailbox because they're both on the sidewalk.

Go read Poundy's funny breakdown of a local Chicago Fox affiliate attempting to do a report on blogging.

Jaw Droppingly Ignorant!

In one of the most ill-informed things I've read about blogs lately, Angus Lind from the Times-Picayune claims that blogs are much ado about nothing. I could write a missive dealing blows to this weak attempt to satisfy to a copy editor's deadline, but I'd be interested in hearing from those of you who read this blog. What do you think? Are blogs just a bunch of hooey? If so, why are you here? If not, why do you think blogs are interesting?

By the way, my favorite color is light blue these days, and I'm drinking water from a Nalgene bottle. LOLZ0RS OMG!!!!11!

Linky Goodness

• Harvard Sucks
• Infinity. Not for those susceptible to motion sickness.
• (the May 6th post) Corey needs to give us a recipe for that Ou Dong Soup
• Lance's Guide to Man Grooming: Part 1 and Part 2.
• Foodie Blogs enter the mainstream (and this is what a GOOD post on Metafilter should look like. N00bies take note.)
• The reason why my site might be screwey the next few days.

Linky Goodness

• Epicurious cooking technique videos
• Brad DeLong, professor of economics at U.C. Berkeley
• Meg has some fantastic musings on eating and writing. And while I'm not ready to chuck cholesterol caution to the wind, I think I need to get that book if my side project is going to become a reality.
• This is one of many reasons why I think the web, particularly blogs, is just the beginning of an information revolution.

Color Theory

Tell a story without saying a word. Absolutely charming! Courtesy of Currently.

Internet Observation #457 and #457.a

Internet Observation 457: The problem with being a famous blogger is that eventually people will meet you in real life.

457.a: Corollary to the above, the problem with being a very unfamous blogger is that people will start asking for your URL.

Love letter to Poland

One thing that keeps me coming back to Maciej's site is his thoughtful prose (another would be his devilish European demeanor). I cannot say if his writing style can be attributed to the fact that he is very smart, bilingual (and bicultural), patient, or all three, but there is something wonderfully enchanting about his writing that makes me feel like I've just had a conversation with him. If I could write half as well about my hometown I'd be quite satisfied. But since I don't (and tend to write off the cuff) you should read about Bukowina Tatrzańska.

Diversions

• Beautiful industrial design illustrations
• Courtesty of Mimi Smartipants, home of, "Receiving spam that told me to "update my johnson." I immediately forwarded this to LT, since he is still using Schlong 2.0."
• Vaguely naughty graphics make an excellent point about project management.
• A liberal political blog that isn't half bad.
• Absurd cartoon that makes me LOL.
• A conservative political blog that isn't half bad.
• Three places I won't be visiting: 1. 2. 3.

Memo to Self:

Read Shiny Shiny later when I have more time. But don't let that stop YOU from enjoying it now. :^)

Oooh Snap!

Found this little gem over at rumandmonkey.com. A skewering of the typical LiveJournal blog entry. If you're going to write about your day, take a cue from Dooce or IzzlePfaff and make it funny.

New design?

I've been working on a new spring-ish design for this here blog but with the weather being like it has I just don't have that urge to update it. Twenty degree F weather will damper one's enthusiasm for spring-like things. I'm just excited to see the frozen grass rather than three month old snow. Baby steps, I suppose.

I can't, can you?

Has anybody been able to get to MetaFilter, Megnut, or A.Wholelottanothing.org lately? The last several days I haven't been able to call up the server or ping to it. Just wondering if anybody knew what was up with Matt's machine.

Foaming spittle, first thing in the morning!

I've been a long time reader of Lileks. While I do not usually agree with his politics I respect him as a writer and he can usually put forth a good argument. He cloaks his lastest post as a "Screed" but, sorry, screw that. If you post it, even if you say, "Well, I was just VENTING..." you still look like a raving loony for not having the control to type it all out, and then walk away from the [upload] button.

And so today I heartily recommend Lileks fans to don some foul weather gear because the spittle is bound to get ya. And if it's in the eye, I'm sure Lileks would be all the happier. Ya damned Liberal Hippie!

New things online!

If you've got a sec, spare a kind thought for the good folks at the Blurbo-doocery. They're hopefully in the process of bringing forth another wise-crackin' Armstrong into the world so ask God to give them a shoutout, preferably in the form of bourbon, limes, and cigars.

In response to Megnut: On Comments and Weblogs

Meg of Megnut/Pyra/Blogger fame recently posted her thoughts on comments in weblog posts. It got me thinking, thinking lead to writing, and well, look where *that's* gotten me.

I have the utmost respect for Meg and the work she had done. My comments should not be construed as a dig but rather an interpretive echo, if you will.

1. ... Are you writing about something that can engender a discussion? And do you want to have a discussion about it? Not everything needs a discussion, and if it doesn't, think about disabling comments for a post, if only to avoid spammers and trolls.

I leave comments on for all my posts, with a few exceptions. You can say that I've taken her observation and turned it inside out. Leaving comments on works for me because I am a little known website with only a few readers, most of whom I know and have a good idea of where they sleep at night. While one particular post may not warrant discussion, sometimes the comments themselves will spawn a new comment on my site, or a side discussion. I've only started writing on TypePad and so my comments are, um, well, few (/me looks at readers, eyeing them sternly. I know you're out there, is it that my posts are so dry that you can't drum up a response? .... Drat, I thought as much.) So while Meg says "turn them on only if you specifically want to" I'd counterpoint with, "Turn them off if what you are posting is not open for discussion."

2. Do I have time to manage a conversation right now? It's easy to turn on comments, it takes work to host a discussion. Especially when the post is controversial or inflammatory, the poster needs to be prepared to stay on top of the thread.

She's dead on. Need some examples? View Jason Kottke's website. Turning on comments does require attention, however take it with a grain of salt. Meg, Jason, and others such as Dooce and Powazek are incredibly popular (aka the digerati.) Me? A complete unknown. And that's just fine, because I know my audience (for right now) are my friends and family. I want them to participate in conversation and I know for the most part they will be civil. The important caveat to my response is: Make sure you stay on top of your target audience. Dooce is a prime example of a site which had comments on for a very long time, but she eventually had to shut them off because of trolls and Sarah B. is going through the growing pains of online popularity. Remember though, that turning off comments doesn't stop the deluge of hate mail though.

3. Is this conversation over? There comes a point in every thread when the conversation is done, either because posts have petered out or because it's gotten so out of control and unpleasant that it needs to end.

If you're going to leave comments on you have to monitor the threads. Period. It's your responsibility, lest your site become a google bomb for some unsavory website.

Rather than just having a blanket rule -- whether that's "comments on" or "comments off" -- it would be nice if we could consider these questions before posting. Turning on comments is an opportunity and a responsibility.

I think it's perfectly okay to have blanket rules. So comments are on all the time, or they're off. What makes a good blogger is someone who has control over their site and sometimes that means turning comments off, or ending a discussion. You just have to know your audience, and that's 99% of any website.

Doff your cap to Languagehat

Despite recent bellyaching by some people about why blogs are useless I for one think that the blog phenomenon is a wonderful explosion of ideas. Sure there's lot of chaffe out there in that grainery, but hey, that's why you don't go to sites you don't like, right?

One of my favorite blogs to visit is LanguageHat. I don't know who this chapeau afficionado is but he constantly has the most facinating blog entries about phonetics and language from around the world. Of particular note is his recent entry titled, "Deaf Thinking". Given my background I was quite interested in this and highly recommend any visitors to my site to read the post and the comments.

Language is a beautiful and completely mystical thing.

And the Chord is Cut

Well, despite the fact that I'm still not quite up to full capacity here, I've decided to cut the virtual umbilical chord with Fast Net and start using TypePad full time. I was a little sad to close down CuteFTP, knowing that I wouldn't be needing it anymore to update my blog. I love FTP, although I guess I'll get over it, much like I got over not using command lines to create new directories and set permissions (sniff, I miss you, Unix.)

It feels weird, but my bank account will thank me in the end. So, if you are so inclined, raise a glass to new beginnings here at Absquatulate. In a few days www.absquatulate.com will redirect here. Salut!

Big Changes

I've decided to switch to TypePad for hosting and blogging services. So, for the next few days things might be a little wonky. I hope you'll bear with me while I work on getting the new site up and migrating over all my archives.

BlogWhore

Today I chatted very briefly with Megnut. She was kind enough to return an unsolicited IM from me regarding her blog. Whatta gal!

Smile

I am a sucker for photo blogs. So here are three gems sure to put a smile on even the dourest of faces:

• Heather Champ


• Oliver Daily at Textism


• Will Yurman and his duck

Help Me Bubby!

It's legit. It's funny. It's Bubby.

Fake Friday Five

DS and I sent each other fake friday five questions. He's already answered his softball questions that I lobbed at him. Here are my answers to knuckleballs:
Q: You've got a limitless amount of money. You've got an important business event to go to. You have to wear something to it, but you can afford to get anything you want and enough time to get it. What do you wear?
A: Well since I have so much money, I'd wear whatever my personal stylist recommends because s/he would know me better than I know me. And it would all be hand crafted by the finest tailors and cobblers in Italy and they would be paid handsomely for their unique efforts. Preferably it will harken back (but not direcly copy) to the days of Katharine Hepburn, with a modern twist.

Q:What is God?
A: This question is wholly unfair. I mean, I ask him what his favorite candy bar is, and he comes back with THIS. What is God? My answer is:  

QWhich is your favorite season of the year and why?
Still to this day it's fall in the NorthEast. I love the cool crisp weather. I love feeling the autumn wind whip through my hair. I always feel more aware during the fall, as compared with the heat induced coma of summer and the relative dreariness of winter (in Rochester, at least.) I love wearing sweaters and jeans and hiking boots. I love gathering with friends around a fire sipping hot mulled cider and cocoa. I am also blush morbid every once in a while, and there is something I like about the cycle coming to an end and that process of sleep in order to renew. I also find the season to be a cold reminder that we aren't that far removed from less advanced times, where people struggled to survive harsh winters with naught but their wits. It keeps me in touch with my mortality, in a good way.

Q: What song (or songs, if you can't settle on one) should be played at your funeral?
A: All of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons".

Q:Name the top ten things you want most in your life (yes... ten). We're talking about your life here, so things like world peace and an end to famine aren't really applicable.
A: In no particular order

• A happy family.
• Eventually, relatively well behaved kids who push their limits but not to the point of harm to themselves or others.
• Our own modest house
• With lots of outdoor space nearby
• And near a major body of water so that I can take my
• Sailboat out on occasion.
• To do good works for others by teaching them things I'm passionate about, such as sailing, computers, etc.
• A healthy family
• Humbleness.
• A close knit circle of friends to grow old with.

I am SO going to hell

I have been reading too much Dooce because apparently I've got a meanstreak going.

Ladies and gentlemen, furbabies of all ages, I present to you the Meditative Cat. What follows is a notable highlight:

Our sweet Monday passed away, over the Rainbow Bridge and into the Summerlands, on December 28, 2001 and on May 11, 2002 we lost our dear Princess Honeybear. I've built two memorial pages, both to honor their memory and to help others who have lost furbabies of their own. Click on the beating heart to visit the memorial pages or just continue down this page to turn back the clock and have some fun with Monday and Honeybear and their family and friends in happier times.

Furbabies. She refers to her cats as Furbabies, people. I have two cats, and you know what, THEY'RE CATS, NOT BABIES WITH FUR.

I think I need a vacation from the web for a while.