Friday, August 22, 2008
I'm not dead, I'm just in Denver.
(Usual apology about being so busy blah blah blah and how I am reading every day even if not posting goes here.)
As you may recall, I made up my mind to go to Denver and blog the Democratic National Convention as soon as they confirmed the site. I am here now!
I'm not an actual Delegate -- I don't even play one on TV. I'm not one of the Official Credentialed State Bloggers, either. (For Colorado, that would be Square State, a site really worth your time if you are into Colorado-flavored political stuff.)
Where I AM credentialed is as a blogging member of The Big Tent. This is a HUGE two-story tent set up in the parking lot of the Alliance Center in Denver. Hundreds of bloggers from all over are going to use this as a base of operations, from the giant and world famous Daily Kos (also a Big Tent sponsor) to the tiny and unknown (like me). This is also the place I am volunteering. Happily, we have that all straightened out now....
Part of the reason the ProgressNow people decided to make The Big Tent is that they didn't want to see this going on in the streets of Denver:
From what I saw on Wednesday, when I went in for volunteer training, I think they've got that action covered and then some.
If you want to follow along with my on the spot views of the DNC action, you will find them at http://codeneonblue.net So far I only have a few items of peripheral convention stuff described, but there are some COOL pics of the FOX who hangs out in the backyard of the friends' house I'm staying at.
Yes, that's a bribe for you to go and look!
As you may recall, I made up my mind to go to Denver and blog the Democratic National Convention as soon as they confirmed the site. I am here now!
I'm not an actual Delegate -- I don't even play one on TV. I'm not one of the Official Credentialed State Bloggers, either. (For Colorado, that would be Square State, a site really worth your time if you are into Colorado-flavored political stuff.)
Where I AM credentialed is as a blogging member of The Big Tent. This is a HUGE two-story tent set up in the parking lot of the Alliance Center in Denver. Hundreds of bloggers from all over are going to use this as a base of operations, from the giant and world famous Daily Kos (also a Big Tent sponsor) to the tiny and unknown (like me). This is also the place I am volunteering. Happily, we have that all straightened out now....
Part of the reason the ProgressNow people decided to make The Big Tent is that they didn't want to see this going on in the streets of Denver:
From what I saw on Wednesday, when I went in for volunteer training, I think they've got that action covered and then some.
If you want to follow along with my on the spot views of the DNC action, you will find them at http://codeneonblue.net So far I only have a few items of peripheral convention stuff described, but there are some COOL pics of the FOX who hangs out in the backyard of the friends' house I'm staying at.
Yes, that's a bribe for you to go and look!
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Best George Carlin tribute so far!!
(Cross-posted copiously, because it's just that good.)
I adjusted this Candorville comic to better fit on blog pages so I could share it as widely as it deserves.
If you don't get it in your local dead tree news venue, Candorville can be enjoyed online HERE.
I adjusted this Candorville comic to better fit on blog pages so I could share it as widely as it deserves.
If you don't get it in your local dead tree news venue, Candorville can be enjoyed online HERE.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Teeny Tiny Toad!!!
We had a pretty good rain the other night, and there are still puddles in my (dirt) driveway. Good thing I always avoid them, because look what I found there!
For those good at math conversion, the gold key in that pic is 1 3/4" long.
And yes, we sent him on his way after his photo shoot.
For those good at math conversion, the gold key in that pic is 1 3/4" long.
And yes, we sent him on his way after his photo shoot.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Did I mention I was going on vacation?
No, I know I didn't. Sorry.
Between my last post and the morning Mike and I took off (Friday the 27th) I was trying to get the trike done, because people had been asking about how to get one and I wanted to be able to give a straight-up account of the process, and also how it turned out.
The departure date came around too soon. More on all that later.
The trike is getting close to done, except I've run into an odd problem. I THINK the chain is too loose, because it (or the wheel?) starts to spin instead of propel whenever the amount of pedal-push-power exceeds a very low minimum. Since 'chain and gear' is a fairly simple mechanical concept, I am hopeful I will figure it out soon....
Between my last post and the morning Mike and I took off (Friday the 27th) I was trying to get the trike done, because people had been asking about how to get one and I wanted to be able to give a straight-up account of the process, and also how it turned out.
The departure date came around too soon. More on all that later.
The trike is getting close to done, except I've run into an odd problem. I THINK the chain is too loose, because it (or the wheel?) starts to spin instead of propel whenever the amount of pedal-push-power exceeds a very low minimum. Since 'chain and gear' is a fairly simple mechanical concept, I am hopeful I will figure it out soon....
Saturday, June 21, 2008
A trike. We haz it. Sort of.
So The Clone decided she wanted a bike. A comfy, grown-up bike, not the kinds available here aimed at kids or sporty adults. Naturally, we went shopping on eBay.
You may recall I have a virtually unused wheeled eBay purchase of my own under wraps in the barn, a moped. I had chickened out trying to ride it because my knees threatened to walk off the job if I even THOUGHT about it hard. I had a vague plan to work on knee strength and come back, but it stayed in the planning stages...until I spotted the TRIKE!
It was only $269 including shipping! Being a trike, I could NOT fall off it and damage myself irreparably! So I could use it to go to the store and the PO and save money and strengthen my knee and get exercise! Naturally, we ordered it!
What I hadn't quite realized was that I would get so much of the exercise just doing the assembly. Like so many other things, bike mechanic-ing is a young person's game. If I ever have to get a job doing this, I want to be paid by the hour, not by the bike.
So far I have about six hours invested in the project. I have to take the blame for some of the delays, because a couple of times I put something on crooked, backwards or upside-down, and had to re-do it.
But part of THAT is due to the instructions. I think this trike's instructions take the prize for the WORST I have ever seen. Here they are, you tell me.
The corner bit tore off in the wind when we were first unpacking the box. Mike managed to catch the rest of the page, but he might as well not have bothered. There are three blurry illos and less than 100 words. That's it!
Luckily we had read the seller's feedback on eBay before ordering, so we had one of the secret tricks for success already planned. A company that makes a somewhat similar trike has assembly instructions available online for downloading and printing. Not an exact match, but it helped, especially considering where you have to start in the assembly process.
When I quit for the evening last night, I had assorted muscle strains and some pinched fingertips, but also a trike-shaped object. Today I plan to see if the air stayed in the tires, connect the hand-brake to the back wheels, do a final tightening up on all the nuts and bolts, and put on the fiddly bits -- the baskets, reflectors and the jingly bell!
I'll keep you posted!
You may recall I have a virtually unused wheeled eBay purchase of my own under wraps in the barn, a moped. I had chickened out trying to ride it because my knees threatened to walk off the job if I even THOUGHT about it hard. I had a vague plan to work on knee strength and come back, but it stayed in the planning stages...until I spotted the TRIKE!
It was only $269 including shipping! Being a trike, I could NOT fall off it and damage myself irreparably! So I could use it to go to the store and the PO and save money and strengthen my knee and get exercise! Naturally, we ordered it!
What I hadn't quite realized was that I would get so much of the exercise just doing the assembly. Like so many other things, bike mechanic-ing is a young person's game. If I ever have to get a job doing this, I want to be paid by the hour, not by the bike.
So far I have about six hours invested in the project. I have to take the blame for some of the delays, because a couple of times I put something on crooked, backwards or upside-down, and had to re-do it.
But part of THAT is due to the instructions. I think this trike's instructions take the prize for the WORST I have ever seen. Here they are, you tell me.
The corner bit tore off in the wind when we were first unpacking the box. Mike managed to catch the rest of the page, but he might as well not have bothered. There are three blurry illos and less than 100 words. That's it!
Luckily we had read the seller's feedback on eBay before ordering, so we had one of the secret tricks for success already planned. A company that makes a somewhat similar trike has assembly instructions available online for downloading and printing. Not an exact match, but it helped, especially considering where you have to start in the assembly process.
When I quit for the evening last night, I had assorted muscle strains and some pinched fingertips, but also a trike-shaped object. Today I plan to see if the air stayed in the tires, connect the hand-brake to the back wheels, do a final tightening up on all the nuts and bolts, and put on the fiddly bits -- the baskets, reflectors and the jingly bell!
I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Neon Health Update
I don't think I mentioned it here, specifically, that I celebrated finalizing all the political stuff for the first half of the year by picking up some sort of virus that went straight to one of the more problematic parts of my body (no, NOT my brain!) and gave me bronchitis. Happily, I am mostly over it now, other than the occasional mad coughing fit.
I've figured out I suffer from bureaucratic body parts. These guilty parties do the least they can get away with, complain about that little smidgen of work they DO do, and generally fail to get along with the other body departments.
So it seems the body-in-general decided to fight the rising bitterness by holding onto every molecule of sugar passing through, hoping this would restore our former sweetly sunny disposition. The brain TRIED to tell it this was a bad idea, but you know bodies....
Anyway, after teetering on the brink for years, I'm now considered Officially Diabetic. My doc prescribed Glucophage, and since he has confidence in my willingness to keep to a med schedule, and also knows I want the cheap version of things whenever possible, he set me up with the kind where you break one large tablet in two, and take half twice a day.
The only problem is that these tabs are roughly the size and consistency of bricks. The first day it sort of half broke and half crumbled on me. The second day I used one of those one sided razor blades, which worked okay except that it CUT the pill instead of breaking it, so the two halves weren't quite equal.
Today I found that using the razor blade and a HAMMER worked perfectly. As in the old adage, if force doesn't work, you aren't using enough.
More health type updates later...I need to pack and mail some books before I run out of afternoon!
I've figured out I suffer from bureaucratic body parts. These guilty parties do the least they can get away with, complain about that little smidgen of work they DO do, and generally fail to get along with the other body departments.
So it seems the body-in-general decided to fight the rising bitterness by holding onto every molecule of sugar passing through, hoping this would restore our former sweetly sunny disposition. The brain TRIED to tell it this was a bad idea, but you know bodies....
Anyway, after teetering on the brink for years, I'm now considered Officially Diabetic. My doc prescribed Glucophage, and since he has confidence in my willingness to keep to a med schedule, and also knows I want the cheap version of things whenever possible, he set me up with the kind where you break one large tablet in two, and take half twice a day.
The only problem is that these tabs are roughly the size and consistency of bricks. The first day it sort of half broke and half crumbled on me. The second day I used one of those one sided razor blades, which worked okay except that it CUT the pill instead of breaking it, so the two halves weren't quite equal.
Today I found that using the razor blade and a HAMMER worked perfectly. As in the old adage, if force doesn't work, you aren't using enough.
More health type updates later...I need to pack and mail some books before I run out of afternoon!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Oh hai! I haz a returnz.
It would take a long time to explain everything I've been doing, although some of you have seen some of it on my political sideline blog, codeneonblue.net . Basically, I have been trying Real Hard to be all things to all people and get everything I have ever agreed to do or wanted to do done, in a timely manner.
No doubt you will be shocked and dismayed to find out that I didn't succeed at that goal. Although I HAVE gotten quite a few things done, and am pleased about that.
Anyway, I am going to try to post SOMETHING regularly again. Except on days when I run out of energy and something like this happens:
(Just keep watching....)
No doubt you will be shocked and dismayed to find out that I didn't succeed at that goal. Although I HAVE gotten quite a few things done, and am pleased about that.
Anyway, I am going to try to post SOMETHING regularly again. Except on days when I run out of energy and something like this happens:
