Pointless photo of the day:

Yes, just a picture again today. Those are actual, growing leaves on the ninebark, though, so I guess that's exciting. Or would be if I didn't know that they're just going to freeze right off. It's not spring yet, no matter what this bush thinks.

And yes, I was playing stupid photoeditor games with the picture. It's a lousy shot. It needed something.

Anyway, expect me to be sporadic in my posting for the next couple of days. I'll be off-site quite a bit, and I'm not sure if I'll have the time to blather.

Pointless photo of the day:

Sorry, got distracted by something and now I don't have time to blather the post I was intending to.

Today's photo, though, is new. And, although it's a pretty pathetic picture, it has a great deal of sentimental value to me. You see, I took this yesterday.

IT'S THE FIRST SPIDER OF 2010!!!

Hey, some people look for the first flowers as a sign of spring. For me, the first sign of any living, moving invertebrate gives me hope that spring might be somewhere in our future.

Grasping at straws? Probably. But it works for me.

See you tomorrow.

Sorry, what?

Oh yeah. This is the part where I'm supposed to blather.

Guess I'm having a not in the mood day. So far, at least. I even went on to Plinky to see if any of their recent prompts would get something going (something I haven't done in ages) and nothing there jogged anything worth typing about.

Sooo... I guess I'll either come back later today -- when I might even have some new pictures -- or try again tomorrow.

Too bad, really. I'd had a pretty good streak going, hadn't I?






Later, then.

Twits

Today's photo is old. I might have used it before. I... don't really care, to be honest. I'm really needing some spring to show itself so that I can get enthused -- or at least un-ennuied -- about taking some new shots. Pointless shots? Pretty much guaranteed, yes, but at least they'd be new.

----------

I'm sort of torn at the moment. I hate it when I find myself thinking about doing something that I've stated outright in the past is stupid and still think is kind of stupid. But, er, maybe not as stupid as I thought it was initially.

By way of illustration, let's go back to about 2002 or so. Picture me, an active internet forum member, chatting to a friend from one of the forums on messenger (back when I used to both chat and use messenger. Boy, that seems like a long time ago now). The subject of blogging came up, and I let it be known that I thought blogging on the whole was kind of a waste of time. I mean, what the heck is the point of a blog, really? You sit there typing to yourself and basically have no interaction with anyone who might possibly be reading your narcissistic meanderings.

We're talking 2002 here, remember. Many blogging platforms were pretty basic, and you had to manually add things like comment forms, counters, and the like from other providers. And sometimes that wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do, so a lot of people never bothered to try.

Back then, the internet to me was all about the idea of community. I went to the internet to discuss things (sometimes incredibly stupid things, true, but they were still discussions), not to be lectured to. To me, the difference between forums and blogs was like the difference between going for coffee with friends and being harangued by some mad homeless person while waiting for a bus. I just couldn't see why someone would prefer the second option over the first.

Then... a few things happened. I started to notice how circular the discussions in forums can get, I wanted to learn a bit of basic html, and I got bored one day.

Bored enough to go to a small blogging site (this was before Blogger became part of the Google amoeba), design a simple layout, and make my first blog post. It's here, in all its non-glory. The template is different now and I deleted all of the other posts on that blog when I decided to start using it for pointless artiness and move the pointless blather to its own place, but I kept that first post just because it was the first.

Speaking of first, at first I just used that blog (which at the time was only posts and a few links. I had no way to allow comments or pictures or much of anything, really) to store some astronomy stories that I used at work. Which I moved over here when I deleted the old stuff, by the way. Just search astronomy at the top of the page if you're interested. I didn't know why I had a blog, I had no idea what to do with it, and I figured I'd give up on the blog thing in a month or two.

That was 2003. Now? I keep two blogs more-or-less going, I blog for work, I follow a bunch of blogs, and the few forums that I even bother to keep up with anymore probably don't even know I exist because I've taken up lurking nearly full-time.

What changed? I dunno. Blogging platforms on the whole got more user-friendly and that caused a wider variety of people to start blogging, maybe. And as commenting became more widespread blogs became more than just shouting in the dark (although I personally still rarely comment). And forums started to seem so deja vu that I really couldn't be bothered to try to come up with new ideas to keep up my end of the conversation, as it were.

I'm not sure that I've really changed my mind about blogs overall, though. Most of them, especially mine, are still largely wastes of time. I suppose maybe I've decided that a bit of time-wasting can be harmlessly entertaining in the end, is all.

And what brought this history of Dee's blogging career on?

Twitter.

I don't especially like Twitter. I tweet for work (if you're desperate for the work blog address or the work Twitter homepage, e-mail me. I try to keep them separate from my personal waste-of-timeage) which at least has a purpose, but the thought of having a personal Twitter account seems pretty darned pointless. Even more pointless than this blog, since the very nature of Twitter makes things smaller and more immediate.

So why am I even thinking of Twitter? Well, I have to admit that there are a few feeds I'd like to be following. A couple of celebrities, some science-based stuff, and a friend or two, mostly. Plus, the whole new phone thing is taking my non-computerness out of the equation, since I'm looking at changing my phone plan slightly to fit the phone I'm sort of thinking of getting. Now, I do realise that I could just start a Twitter account to follow people and not bother tweeting at all myself, but if you've got the account you're probably going to find yourself using it, right?

Oh, bugger. I really don't want to become a twit.

Like I didn't want to become a blogger.





Somebody hit me with a brick now, before things get any worse.

Me, right now

No, I'm not dead grape leaves. I told you I was lacking in photos at the moment, remember? I just don't really have anything today.

Well, I do have a program that I'm going to have to get prepared for soon, so I'll try to keep this short. Appropriate, since it's about me.

Consider this a verbal snapshot, since I know you're incredibly curious about what I look like here at work. Or you're not. At this point I'm not really concerned either way.

So, me. Right now. Shoulder-length mouse-brown hair with designer grey highlights (yeah, whatever) that is currently up in a pony tail because a) I was too lazy to do anything else with it, and b) I'm doing a planetarium show tonight so there's no point in doing anything with it. Pink hair elastic. No reason.

Shirt? Work uniform. Usually it'd be a dark green t-shirt, but today I opted for my collared shirt because it's more breathable and the planetarium can sometimes be a bit warm when you get a bunch of bodies in there. Unfortunately, my collared shirt is a kind of tannish-clay that makes my skin look... wrong. Just wrong. There's no other word for it. It's just so not a good colour for me. In fact, the first time I had it on at work one of the girls looked at me and said WHAT are you wearing? like I'd suddenly come over all leper-y.

My nerdstick is on a lanyard underneath my shirt, as it generally is when I'm at work. It's out of the way there.

Trousers? Faded black denim. Black belt, mostly because I need someplace to clip my cell phone. My bundle of too-many work keys is on a 'biner that's attached to my belt loop because otherwise it'd probably commit pocket suicide.

Shoes? Red leather winter mocs that I'm going to miss SO MUCH when they finally give up the ghost.

Jewellery? None today. Couldn't be bothered. I am wearing the solar-powered watch that my father gave me a few years ago, though.

What else? Well, I'll do you the favour of not describing my underwear. I will tell you, though, that I'm wearing my Christmas penguin socks. Yes, I know it's not Christmas. Sometimes a girl just has to wear penguin socks, that's all.

I guess I forgot my glasses when I was at the head end, didn't I. Well, just assume that I'm wearing my glasses. I usually do, unless seeing is optional.

Well, that's about it. Not terribly impressive, but I can't say that it worries me. Oh, and if anyone was worried about me -- or at least my balance in an icy parking lot -- a couple of posts ago, I can tell you that while the parking lot is still icy in places it appears that my personal parking lake has finally drained, so when I go home tonight I'll attempt to park in my own space instead of borrowing one of the visitor spots. I know you were dying to know that.

And now... well, back to work for me. Wish me luck with the cub scouts.




I hope they like my Christmas penguins.

Choices, choices

I'm running out of newish photos. I guess I should do something about that. And I'm not sure if my father's fake birds are enjoying those real peanuts...

So. Not sure how this is going to go, blatherwise, because I'm really tired. Early programs mean I've been at work since gawdawful, and that's after my apartment building decided to get back at me for badmouthing it by attempting to blow up its own boiler room at about 1:30 in the morning. Or at least that's what it sounded like. Picture all your radiator and hot water pipes suddenly sounding like they're being operated by a runaway steam locomotive, and then just imagine me sitting there thinking of the Mythbusters, exploding hot water tanks, and the fact that the mechanical room is on the first floor directly below my apartment (well, that's not entirely accurate. My downstairs neighbour's apartment is directly below mine. But the mechanical room is directly below her apartment...).

Yeah. It was great.

Anyway, eventually the noises stopped (via a process that sounded awfully like someone taking a sledgehammer to the whole works) and I did manage to get back to sleep sometime before 3 am. Which, yay me. Too often I would have been done for the night after that kind of experience.

Ah well.

What was this post about, again?

Oh yeah. Choices. As in, my cell phone contract is apparently nearing renewal, because I've been sent a brochure of possible phones that they're more than happy to give me for a very low price. Out of the goodness of their hearts, yes... and a three-year contract. Funny how I'm suddenly being given all this choice, when last time I wasn't even offered a freaking phone for renewing. Could there be COMPETITION in the wind, boys and girls?

Um, non-Canadian readers won't see that I was trying to be clever with that last sentence. Canadian readers probably will, but I doubt that they'll care much.

Yep, this time I'm getting choice, and I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with it. Phones have changed a lot in the threeish years I've had my current one, and I'm not sure how fancy I want to get about things. I have a very good, very reliable phone right now. It's clear, it takes... well, middling pictures, and it gives me all the joys of predictive text for messaging. Or should I say that it gives my friends all the joys of predictive text. Especially when I'm typing in a hurry. As a phone, though, it's never given me a bit of trouble. That's important when it's my only phone. I haven't had a land line for years.

However.

I could be doing a lot more with my phone contract, and I know it. And I could be doing a lot more with my phone.

Do I want to?

I... dunno yet.

I've gotten as far as looking up some reviews of the phones that they're offering just to make sure that they aren't complete crap, and that's about it. As to anything else, I supposedly have until the end of the month. I say supposedly, because last renewal I was phoned by customer service long before I could be bothered to do anything about the renewal notice. I guess we'll see.

And if anyone out there has a new phone that they absolutely hate, please do leave me a comment so that I can be sure to completely steer clear of it. Thanks a bunch.

Trying to drown my car

Yes, the photo has nothing to do with the post title. Remember, I gave this blog its name for a reason.

Now then. About my car, which the managers of my apartment building are having their annual go at drowning. The company that manages the building I live in doesn't believe in parking lot clearing. They made one massive exception this past season because we'd had a flipping blizzard, but that was the only time we got any snow removal. All. Winter. Long.

Do you know what happens when you don't clear a parking lot all winter? Well, eventually the snow foundation that's built up starts to melt. When the snow starts melting, you get two separate and unpleasant things that you have to cope with for far too long. The first is that the daily thaw/refreeze turns everything into a solid ice block. I don't know about you, but those of us that live life on the balanced-challenged side really don't need the fun of a daily ice dance to and from the car. When things get bad I'll wear my cleats out to the car (and then immediately take them off because apparently my apartment's parking lot is the ONLY PLACE IN THIS CITY that only got cleared once all winter, and the sound of ice cleats on non-icy asphalt is decidedly fingernails-on-a-chalkboard), but other than that it truly is taking your life (or at least your ankles/knees/bottom) into your hands just get to your damned car.

Which is probably drowning.

That would be the second unpleasant thing.

You see, when you don't clear a parking lot you tend to get a nice, car-sized divot in the snow at each person's parking spot. Built-up snow along the sides from sweeping it off your car, and a depression in the middle from where the parked car has blocked the snow from hitting the ground. And what happens to those divots when the snow starts to melt? The sides become dams, and your car finds itself living in a lake.

Yesterday I had to wade through water that was up over my boots just to get into the car. Now, to be fair, I was wearing my winter mocs and they're only a little higher than normal shoes, but when you consider that much water and the ice layer underneath... yeah, I'm just happy that I didn't end up under the car.

Swimming.

What makes it worse is that my next-door neighbour doesn't have a car (and my newish neighbour on the other side apparently lacks one as well) so it will take a looong time for the lake in my spot to burst through the extra-wide dyke on the downhill side so it can drain into... well, one of the other parking spot lakes, I guess.

Yesterday night when I got home from work I decided not to fight with the lake and parked in one of the visitor spots. That's all well and good when there's a visitor spot open, but it wouldn't surprise me if I end up wading again when I head home this afternoon.

And this happens every single year, boys and girls.

Gotta love well-managed properties.




Maybe sometime I'll tell you why my bathroom light didn't work for nearly three months...

I really do need to move at some point, don't I?