Computers, part deux

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Suzanne

Shortly after I wrote my earlier post, I decided to actually attempt to do a little troubleshooting, and fired up my laptop. Network worked just fine on it, so now I don’t know what to think. I’ll have to try moving the laptop to the front counter to see if it is locational, and if it’s not…well, then, I guess we’ll know it’s the computer (which happens to be the new Mac, and…I guess I’m going to learn a lot more about how my Mac works!)

Photos from yesterday and today:

I cheated a tiny bit. I took a number of photos last night, I wasn’t looking through the eye-piece, just holding the camera at about my stomach, snapping pictures. The picture I took that captured the word Lost on the TV — the knitting was blurry. So, I cut the TV screen out of that one, pasted on top of the TV in this picture and VOILA! (I worked on my sweater some last night. Long way to go yet.)

Yes, I’m weird. And geeky. And just the slightest bit addicted to several TV shows right now. I got to choir last night at 7 and informed the choir director that I HAD to be home before 8. I didn’t tell him why, but my Mom knew. Thankfully, she didn’t give me away.

I took about 25 pictures of Katie. She basically ignored me. The lighting in here tonight is terrible, which means the camera takes longer to expose the pictures. Holding it by hand gave me very blurry pictures. I set some books down on the floor, the camera on top and got some great pictures. So there’s your photography tip for today. Actually, two tips. Get down on the same level as your subject and use something to balance your camera (it was sitting off the floor as far as Don Quixote and a Moleskine journal would lift it). Books, tables, chairs, counters all work as stand-ins for tripods.

And on that note, it’s time to stop letting the sleeping dog lie and send her out for her last trip of the day to the great outdoors.

Come on Katie, time to wake up so we can go to bed!

Computers. Love them or hate them. Discuss.

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Suzanne

Actually, it’s not so much the computer as it is the network. I don’t know what the problem is exactly, but there is something going on in this building that interferes with my wireless network. Over Christmas break, when the chiropractor next door was closed, everything worked great, but now that they are back, something is interfering again. Only, it doesn’t get better during the afternoons they are closed, so I’m still not sure it is them. Or their equipment.

Some times it’ll work great, and the rest of the time, not so much.

In a previous life, (before children…), it was my job to figure stuff like this out. Actually, it’s still my job, but at that time, the computer networking stuff was what I got paid for. I do not miss those days. I bet a lot of you didn’t even know that about me. Or don’t know that I have a degree in computer science and used to be a Certified Novell Engineer.

Now, I’m just Certifiable.

And, I’m wishing I could call tech support and say “FIX IT.”

Fraternal Twin Quilts

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Suzanne

These were actually done last night, but it was too dark to take pictures. And the pictures I took this morning aren’t all that great, but I wanted to have them “modeled” by my helpers.

Get it? Fraternal Twin Quilts? The same, but not the same?

I guess it helps to know that the boys are Fraternal Twins. (Speaking of which, I never did write any more posts about having twins, did I? I’ll have to remedy that).

Excuse all that stuff you can see laying around in the background. And the Be Merry sign in the window.

Honey, I found another Christmas deco that didn’t get put away.

We had our Christmas countdown calendar (frozen on 7 days til Christmas) on the wall until a few days ago.

The pictures I took this morning weren’t great. The boys had no interest in helping me.

But I wanted to show you what the original picture that I showed above looks like:

I still have a lot to do to figure out how to get the picture coming straight out of the camera (SOOC) to look good, but I feel like I’ve been let into a secret society now that I’ve figured out to make the pictures I do take look better.

Here’s the edited picture again:

And then the two side by side:

(to see it larger, click on the picture, then click on ALL SIZES (up above the picture) which will give you different size options to look at)

I did several things to this picture, including sharpening it, running a noise reduction filter, and running an action called Boost, from The Pioneer Woman.

My aim is not professional photography, or doing lots of fancy touch-ups…and I’m not saying the fnial result is great, but it sure is a lot brighter and sharper. Of course, I’m also something of a geek (OK, a LOT geek), and this sort of thing thrills me in the core of my geekiness.

Time for my inner geek to go shower and get breakfast and get moving. Have a great day!

Suzanne

Big Day

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Suzanne

It was Mark’s birthday!

The lighting is terrible in the basement. This was the best of what I took, but still not great. He talked the boys into playing pool with him for awhile. They also helped me with the laundry (hey! they can match their own socks and and fold their own clothes!) and dried the dishes. I think the only chore Mark had to do was scoop the ice cream and cut the brownies.

I’ve started and erased thoughts about the inauguration today several times. Anything I come up with sounds trite. I guess I’ll leave it at saying I’m hopeful and wish the best for our new President, his family, his advisors, and all of us as well.

Suzanne

Today was Monday, right?

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Suzanne

Between multiple days off school (unplanned) and various other things going on, I sometimes lose track of what day it is. I do know that today was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so I guess that means it was, in fact, Monday.

I had seen the idea in a number of places: spend the day in service, and as a quilter, I knew where my time would be spent. I wanted to work on something for the Quilt of Valor efforts of Alycia. I took a pass through my various in-process projects and realized that none would suit the purpose.

Naturally, that meant I needed to start something new.

I started with the brightly colored fabric you can see in the back, and pulled brights to go with it. I had decided to make a Strip Twist quilt, and had this great idea that if I was cutting for one lap size quilt, I might as well cut for two. Which meant going back to the drawing board for the background fabric, but the result is going to make for better quilts. I cut and actually sewed for quite awhile last night.

And then did as much sewing as I could today. I was hoping to get further, but the shop was busier than I was expecting it to be.

I discovered this evening that I can’t count. I was sure I had enough parts for all 24 blocks, but when I got it everything sewn together, I only had 23 blocks. I did some more cutting, sewed it all together and now have 24, enough for 2 quilts. I hope to get them set together and bordered and quilted yet this week.

Alycia needs all the quilts she can get to make her goal this spring. I hope that if you are a quilter, you’ll consider helping out, either with her goal of 400 (or more!) this spring, or through the Quilt of Valor foundation directly.

I mentioned earlier in the month that we had started doing a nightly reading about USAmerican History with the boys. I’m happy to say that we started week 3 tonight, and it’s going really well. We only missed one night, and one night I actually took the book with us when we went shopping, and we read it at McDonald’s. LOL

Quite a few of the readings have been about slavery or the horrible things early settlers inflicted on the Native Americans. And I’m not sure I ever really realized how much of our nation’s beginnings are owed to tobacco.

Now that we’ve gotten that habit started, I got to thinking I wanted to pick up something else that I have been meaning to try to do, and that’s learn more about how to read and think critically about books. I read a lot, but purely for pleasure and sometimes i read so fast, that I’m mostly just skimming.

So, I’m coming out, Internet, and telling y’all that I’m getting ready to read some weighty stuff:

I’ll let you know how it goes.

I would actually love to find a reading partner, so if anyone wants to read Don Quixote with me, and then try to work some other Serious Books, send me an e-mail!

In the meantime, though, I’m headed for bed.

TTFN-

Suzanne