I don’t need this, but it’s cute
Cute Monkey Cookie Jar
Usability in Clocks and Watches
I’ve been subscribed to the Watchismo Times blog for quite some time now after noticing links to it from Boing Boing, one of my staple blog reads. Watchismo describes their content as being “a reliquary of obscure timepieces from bygone eras as well as the cutting edge designs of today.” I’d say that’s definitely the case; there are some truly amazing watches that show up on their site, like the Kilfitt spy watch/camera prototype from 1969. If you notice damages on your watch, you may bring it to a watch service shop to have it fixed. Something about that watch is really aesthetically pleasing.
The thing that bugs me, though, is that so many of their highlighted “cutting edge designs” may be visually interesting, but they aren’t very usable. For me, large face watches needs some key things – if it’s analog, it should have all 12 numerals in Arabic (NOT roman). If it’s digital, the numbers should be large and high-contrast. Also required are the date and a light so the time can be checked in the dark. These are the qualities to look out for in a hublot replica. Anything else is just a pretty bracelet, IMHO. You may also consider taking a look at this fake rolex. And if you are looking for the perfect everyday wear, waterproof jewellery that won’t tarnish, then you may check out some waterproof jewellery collections here. There are also curated antique ring finds that showcase the artistry and craftsmanship of past eras. Each piece tells a unique story, connecting the wearer to history and tradition.
The 12 Arabic numerals (or at the very least, 4 Arabic numerals) is a criteria for analog clocks for me, also. I have a weird fetish for clocks (which is part of the reason the change to daylight savings time makes me really grumpy; we have lots of them to change twice a year) but you’ll never see me buy one with Roman numerals. Why they even make them is beyond me.
Good.
Good.
Not as Good.
Presidential facts in 2008
The stats, via Shakesville:
If you were ever in any doubt about the supremacy of White, Protestant Patriarchy in this culture, let’s do a quick review, OK?
232 Years as a Nation
42 Presidents
42 White Presidents
42 White Male Presidents
42 White Male Christian Presidents
41 White Male Protestant Presidents
1 White Male Catholic President (who was assassinated in office)
46 Vice-Presidents
46 White Vice-Presidents
46 White Male Vice-Presidents
46 White Male Christian Vice-Presidents
46 White Male Protestant Vice-Presidents
It’s definitely time for some change.
links for 2008-01-08
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Oh, that is the hotness. John Barrowman K-I-S-S-I-N-G with James Marsters (AKA Spike on Buffy.)
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Winners will be announced on NBC News instead. This doesn’t bode well for the Oscars.
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Read this article – interview with one of the dumbest, most illogical men ever. Rather than let him protest abortions, how ’bout we just give the idiot a vasectomy? That’ll solve the problem.
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Douglas, you’ll want to download this. Last year’s was awesome.
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So, now having a bad day is a crime. Trains are looking like a more sensible option for traveiling to me…
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Awesome – he created [citation needed] stickers for advertising that makes dubious claims.
Fake Band / Album Cover Meme
via (original link, no longer active -http://www.xtra-rant.com/2008/01/06/2331/) Xtrarant…
Generate a fake band and its first album:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band. (Reference Ellipsoid)
2. (original link, no longer active -http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3) Quotations Random (one which is funnier)
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. (Like Jason, I also chose the third creative commons license picture by wmbreedveld rather than just the third picture.)
Thus:
2022-03-17 Update:
I’m sad this one broke with the quotations link page, because it was fun. And was appropriate given how random many cover album names seem.
I’m sad this one broke with the quotations link page, because it was fun. And was appropriate given how random many cover album names seem.
Gee, that sounds familiar…
Remember a couple days ago when I said If it were up to me…. and I proposed a new way of doing the primaries that would be more fair? That post did get linked to by about 40 sites… but apparently not everyone likes to give credit.
Check this out on Shakespeare’s Sister:
It wouldn’t have to be hard. Divide the country up into five groups of states, starting with the 10 smallest, then next-10 smallest, and so forth. Run 10-state primaries every other week from the first Tuesday of February through the first Tuesday of April. If you want, put Iowa and New Hampshire in the first group for old-time’s sake. Craft a federal law that sets basic criteria for the primary: the value of each state in delegates, the means of apportioning delegates. Give the parties some input, but make this a federally operated election — meaning it’s time to eliminate caucuses, and replace them with primaries.
Dude, that’s uncool.
Movies I’ve Seen: 2007
I’ve never kept track of movies I’ve seen in the past, but this year we saw so few in the theater, and most of our viewing was via Netflix, so I was able to figure most of it out. I think. If you know of some we saw with you in the theater that aren’t on here, let me know. Also, these are not in any particular order other than just as they came to mind, so if they don’t match release dates or whatever, that’s why. Of the 25 movies I can recall seeing, just 6 were in the theater.
I’m going to keep better track of our movie viewing in the future. I enjoy seeing movies in the theater, but Stephanie can take it or leave it. (And at times, she has trouble staying awake.) And since we have a fully stocked Netflix queue all the time, we tend to stay home more than go out. There are quite a few movies I wish I’d seen in the theater this year – The Bourne Ultimatum, Once, and Ocean’s 13 were a few of them, along with Michael Clayton, Juno, Ratatouille, and Into the Wild.
1. The Simpsons Movie (in the theater)
Cute, but I expected more.
2. Volver (in the theater)
Wow. Penelope Cruz is awesome.
3. Sideways (via Netflix)
Sadly, I know someone just like this guy.
4. Swing Kids (via Netflix)
Not nearly as much swing dancing as I remembered, but what little there is in the movie is awesome.
5. The Prestige (via Netflix)
A great mystery, and I didn’t have it figured out.
6. Cars (via Netflix)
We finally rented this after being teased by the entire Route 66 caravan about not having seen it.
7. Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (via Netflix)
Eh. Not as good as I’d hoped.
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (via Netflix)
I saw it when it came out, but Stephanie had never seen it.
9. The Departed (via Netflix)
Wow. Disturbing and compelling.
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (via Netflix)
Really holds up after all these years.
11. Clerks II (via Netflix)
I loved it, though it was panned. I enjoy Kevin Smith’s movies and can overlook the dumb parts, though.
12. The Muppet Movie – Kermit’s 50th Anniversary Edition (via Netflix)
I’d forgotten how many familiar faces are in this movie. It was pretty packed with celebrity cameos.
13. V for Vendetta (I own the DVD)
I like Alan Moore, and I thought this movie did the graphic novel pretty good justice, although he didn’t believe so. I especially love that there’s a local right wing blog that has adopted the V persona, given that V was a radical lefty. But, ya know, some people have comprehension problems in books and movies both.
14. Idiocracy (via Netflix)
I enjoyed it, and am still trying to figure out why it wasn’t more popular.
15. EXPO – Magic of the White City (via Netflix)
Documentary on the Chicago worlds fair – I wanted to see pictures after having read Devil in the White City. It was pretty slow, but I got what I wanted out of it.
16. Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl (via Netflix)
Fun.
17. Frankie & Annette – Ski Party (via Netflix)
Rented entirely for the short Leslie Gore scene, where she sings “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” and entirely worth it for that, although the rest of the movie sucked.
18. Good Night, and Good Luck (I own the DVD)
Of course I liked it.
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (in the theater)
I loved the 3-D at the end, but it gave Stephanie a headache.
20. Blades of Glory (in the theater)
It was a skating movie, so of course we saw it in the theater. Still trying to figure out if this was funny or homophobic. I’m leaning towards the latter.
21. High School Musical (on DVD)
We had to see this at Dan and Doug’s so we’d be prepared for the second one, which was just coming out.
22. High School Musical 2 (on TV)
For a sequel, it didn’t suck much more than the first.
23. Freaky Friday (via DVR)
Lohan before the wheels came off her wagon. Very cute. I thought Jamie Lee Curtis was more over the top, though.
24. Sky High (via DVR)
It has Linda Carter in it. Enough said.
25. Enchanted (in the theater)
It was cute, but the first part was a little too twee for me, and I thought Amy Adams before she wises up was too cloying.
26. Alvin and the Chipmunks (in the theater)
Whatever – I love cute chipmunks, and these are extra cuteness. We were originally going to see The Golden Compass, but one of our Christian friends freaked out at something she read on the Family Research Council website, so that selection was scotched. Believe me, the fact that I know some that reads the Family Research council website gives me pause, too.
Weekend Update: 2008-01-06
Dunno what my last journal entry covered, so let me start at the top – we rang in 2008 at the traditional party at Dan and Doug’s, which is always fun and pretty low-key, and thankfully a few blocks away so we don’t have to risk life and limb. I got really toasted, but managed to not have a hangover the next day; pretty excellent. I seem to have made a dozen different resolutions lately; I’ll work on them if I remember them all. The books resolution is firmly cemented and I’m sure I’ll do well on it.
I have a new niece as of January 2nd at 3:42 a.m. My sister Stacy had her baby, named Annabelle. I’m suffering from “Twitter is killing my blogging” or I would have mentioned it before now.
So I’m an aunt, again. Yay! Stephanie and I decided we’d get the kid started right, so we set up an ING savings account and automated it to deposit $20 ever month. After a couple of years, we’ll look at investing it. Stephanie’s Dad invested the money her family gave to her when she was a baby and she has a nice nest egg because of it, so I thought it would be good to do something similar for my niece.
This weekend we had a really full To Do list, and we managed to get a lot of it done. We put away all the Christmas decorations and finally cleaned up after all the Christmas baking and the tons of cooking we’ve done at home lately. We’ve done really well about making meals at home rather than dining out, but it does have a tendency to trash the kitchen. We got other vacuuming and cleaning done, and I managed to finally package up and get ready to mail some gifts we’ve had around the house since this summer. I completely failed to do my crime watch block leader stuff; I’ll have to get to it soon.
I had a full-blown cold after Christmas that went away, but left some sort of sinus thing in it’s wake that I can’t seem to shake. Dunno what that’s about. On January 18th, I’m going to be getting laser surgery on my eyes to correct my vision. I’ll take a few days off, but I’m not too worried about it. I have a pretty high pain threshold these days. If it doesn’t involve I giant hole in my chest, I’m not bothered.
I’m going to keep track of the movies we watch in 2008, in addition to the books I read. I’ve never really kept track before, but in reconstructing this past year’s list, it’s apparent movies aren’t really a high priority in our house. I can recall seeing 24 movies, and only 6 of them were in the theater. The bulk of our movie watching was on Netflix. I’ll reconstruct the list in another post.
This weekend we got the movie Madeline from Netflix and watched it. It’s a live-action version of the children’s book that Stephanie adored as a kid, so it’s been in our queue. It was cute but the story didn’t flow well, and we spent the whole movie analyzing what plot points came from the books. However I have had the Carly Simon theme song stuck in my head all morning, so it made some sort of impression.
I’m currently in the middle of reading The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books by J. Peder Zane (a present from Stephanie’s Mom) and The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden, which was a present from my friend Jen.
I’ve also been playing several different video games from bigfishgames.com. We had a coupon for free downloads with a Barnes and Noble purchase, and after playing their version of Mahjongg, I started looking at some of their other games, including Madame Fate, Mystery Case Files – Huntsville, and Mystery Case Files – Ravenhurst. They’re basically scavenger hunt-like games, where you poke around rooms and find missing items. I find them a lot more fun than war games and blowing up crap, though.
links for 2008-01-06
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Sure. Right.
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They won’t marry anyone, gay or straight.
District 7 Special Election will be Tuesday, March 11th
From the [link deprecated: http://www2.indystar.com/articles/7/254061-5937-127.html – Indy Star] via Taking Down Words:
Republican and Democratic state party officials have agreed on Tuesday, March 11 as the date for a special election to select Rep. Julia Carson’s successor.
State Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Friday he and GOP Chairman Murray Clark had recommended the date to the governor’s office. Gov. Mitch Daniels must set the date for the special election to replace Carson, who died Dec. 15.
Other Key election dates:
* January 23: Primary filing period begins
* February 16: Marion County Democratic Party slating convention
* February 22: Primary filing period ends
* March 11: Seventh District special election
* May 6: Primary election
* November 4: General election