Yesterday, penelope_stone signed me up to facebook. She gave me a username and password and was like, 'okay, now you fill in the rest.' Yeah. I'm going to keep it to real-life friends and family, which is why I'm not posting my user name here.
But, just as when I joined twitter, I will still be posting here. In fact, this journal will be 9 in 5 days. Isn't that cool. It will be 10 years old next year. A whole decade of random posts on stuff that happens to me.
In other news: I get to cycle into Intel today. That'll be fun. I've always wanted to cycle into Intel.
I went into the kitchen today and was at the sink looking over at a blank space where Nymph used live. And when I went into the kitchen last night I was still worried about turning on the light and making noise that I'd wake him, even though he's down in Kerry now. I'll get used to it in a while. Sure, in a few weeks everything will be completely different.
Yeah. I don't think I have much else news.
I'm trying to read four books in a month (good luck to me). The first is Elantris, and I'm about a third of the way though. I may actually get it finished by the weekend, because Sanderson's writing is not complex at all. In fact, i'm finding it a little too simplistic, but that's okay. It definitely reads more like a YA (young adult) than an adult fantasy.
Right so. I'm going to go now.
29 September 2010
27 September 2010
Living in Kerry
I'm in penelope_stone's house and Yoshi is looking at me from the corner of the room. Yoshi and nymph live in Kerry, now. We brought them down last night and I set their tanks up today. They seem ok. Yoshi is doing his usual (ask - just hanging out. he doesn't seem stressed). Nymph seems a little more stressed, but he should be ok once his filter clears up the water.
I made chicken jalfrezi for everyone last night. it was yummy. but even better - i made chocolate cake. i have photos at home and will post them when i get back. i kept the recipe so i can make it again and this time (as if the cake wasn't rich and decadent enough, i'm going to add chocolate chips to the base mix. mmmm. yum.
we brought the remains of the cake with us (there's half of it left), and it was all i could smell as i was doing stuff in the kitchen today. i just wanted to eat it. but i'll save it for dessert.
i don't think i have much other news. well, none that i can think of anyway.
I made chicken jalfrezi for everyone last night. it was yummy. but even better - i made chocolate cake. i have photos at home and will post them when i get back. i kept the recipe so i can make it again and this time (as if the cake wasn't rich and decadent enough, i'm going to add chocolate chips to the base mix. mmmm. yum.
we brought the remains of the cake with us (there's half of it left), and it was all i could smell as i was doing stuff in the kitchen today. i just wanted to eat it. but i'll save it for dessert.
i don't think i have much other news. well, none that i can think of anyway.
15 September 2010
things
yesterday we got our gas boiler serviced. today my shower was scalding hot. like absolutely roasting. so, i guess it was worthwhile getting it done.
also in the shower this morning, i was listening to phantom and i realised that it is a pretty high quality station. dublin recently got a new rock station and it is appalling. the djs are terrible. they seem totally immature. i listened to it a bit, but the poor production quality has made me realise how good phantom really is. yes, sometimes the music gets a bit too indie / pop-rock, but at least the djs act like respectable people. or they act like they respect their audience.
also in the shower this morning, i was listening to phantom and i realised that it is a pretty high quality station. dublin recently got a new rock station and it is appalling. the djs are terrible. they seem totally immature. i listened to it a bit, but the poor production quality has made me realise how good phantom really is. yes, sometimes the music gets a bit too indie / pop-rock, but at least the djs act like respectable people. or they act like they respect their audience.
14 September 2010
happy birthday davidnarby
davidnarby's birthday was last weekend. i made icecream cake - it was fantastic. i think everyone had a good day. dinner was lovely, dessert more so. there were balloons, and a ribbon around the computer.
here is a photo of the cake (mostly eaten):
i also made french toast for the first time on saturday. it was yummy, and simple. whisk an egg with sugar (or salt). coat the bread. fry. what could be more simple? i made it for penelope_stone on sunday, and again today for breakfast today (we ran out of cereal).
this afternoon i got around to making my own granola in the slow cooker. i think it may be burning slightly. not sure. i'll see when it's all done (in a few minutes).
i have a small tip, if anyone's interested. if an egg floats on the surface of water it is gone off. if it does not, you can still eat it. this morning, my eggs' best before date was 26 august. i floated them, they sank, i used them and they were fine.
in other news: i'm drafting my query letter at the moment. it is very hard. i kind of have what i want to say, but saying in a way that is concise and engaging is hard. draft 3 is off being read by people, so i'm kind of at a loose end at the moment. i find myself spending time on absolute write reading other people's queries. yea - it's hard trying to spend all day on one query letter.
ps - i am wearing a vest for the first time this autumn today.
here is a photo of the cake (mostly eaten):
i also made french toast for the first time on saturday. it was yummy, and simple. whisk an egg with sugar (or salt). coat the bread. fry. what could be more simple? i made it for penelope_stone on sunday, and again today for breakfast today (we ran out of cereal).
this afternoon i got around to making my own granola in the slow cooker. i think it may be burning slightly. not sure. i'll see when it's all done (in a few minutes).
i have a small tip, if anyone's interested. if an egg floats on the surface of water it is gone off. if it does not, you can still eat it. this morning, my eggs' best before date was 26 august. i floated them, they sank, i used them and they were fine.
in other news: i'm drafting my query letter at the moment. it is very hard. i kind of have what i want to say, but saying in a way that is concise and engaging is hard. draft 3 is off being read by people, so i'm kind of at a loose end at the moment. i find myself spending time on absolute write reading other people's queries. yea - it's hard trying to spend all day on one query letter.
ps - i am wearing a vest for the first time this autumn today.
08 September 2010
Printing
Oh my god, what is it with me and page numbers? Why can I never remember to put them in before I print? Draft 3 had just started printing and after the 4th sheet came out, i was like, "Gah - page numbers." I even have a table of contents and everything, with page numbers, but what use is it, if none of the pages are numbered.
I'm waiting for it to print while writing this and I just got the smell of hot paper and hot toner. Yum. There's probably something bad for you with this smell, but I love it. I love all smells associated with paper. Except some glossy paper, actually. Like glossy magazines - they smell awful.
I don't really have much else to say. I forgot to say that we were at Mark's wedding on Satuday. It was good. The little ceremony was amazing.
But what was kind of cool was that we were staying in a room over a pub. It was so fantasy-ish. Staying in the tavern. Renting rooms. Too good to sleep on the common room floor.
Then, the next morning we went for breakfast and the restaurant was in a big hall with unicorn and dragon sculptures on the walls. It was totally surreal.
I'm waiting for it to print while writing this and I just got the smell of hot paper and hot toner. Yum. There's probably something bad for you with this smell, but I love it. I love all smells associated with paper. Except some glossy paper, actually. Like glossy magazines - they smell awful.
I don't really have much else to say. I forgot to say that we were at Mark's wedding on Satuday. It was good. The little ceremony was amazing.
But what was kind of cool was that we were staying in a room over a pub. It was so fantasy-ish. Staying in the tavern. Renting rooms. Too good to sleep on the common room floor.
Then, the next morning we went for breakfast and the restaurant was in a big hall with unicorn and dragon sculptures on the walls. It was totally surreal.
07 September 2010
a5 paper
i have come to the conclusion that kitchen sinks were not designed with women in mind. this doesn't surprise me, because they were probably designed by a man. every time i wash the dishes my back starts hurting me and i have come to the conclusion it's because i'm forced to hold my arms (and therefore shoulders and back) at an angle that isn't suited to my height.
yea, that's all i wanted to say. i'm hanging out here letting my back chill out a bit before i go cutting paper.
i've spent the last few days looking for a5 printing paper. my book binder is a5 sized and i wanted the paper to align perfectly. but it turns out that no one stocks a5 printing paper and so i was forced to cut a4 in half. the reason i didn't want to do this is because i can never get a sharp enough knife (that stays sharp - paper has this magic ability to blunt knives, it's really annoying) and after i've cut 20 sheets or so, the edge starts getting ragged. this gets worse the more sheets i cut through. i have a knife sharpener beside me this time, but it's still hard to hold a straight line as you cut down through 200 sheets or whatever.
i guess the good thing about doing things this way is you get double the paper from one ream.
right so. back i go to cutting paper.
yea, that's all i wanted to say. i'm hanging out here letting my back chill out a bit before i go cutting paper.
i've spent the last few days looking for a5 printing paper. my book binder is a5 sized and i wanted the paper to align perfectly. but it turns out that no one stocks a5 printing paper and so i was forced to cut a4 in half. the reason i didn't want to do this is because i can never get a sharp enough knife (that stays sharp - paper has this magic ability to blunt knives, it's really annoying) and after i've cut 20 sheets or so, the edge starts getting ragged. this gets worse the more sheets i cut through. i have a knife sharpener beside me this time, but it's still hard to hold a straight line as you cut down through 200 sheets or whatever.
i guess the good thing about doing things this way is you get double the paper from one ream.
right so. back i go to cutting paper.
03 September 2010
Catching Flies
You know the way, in children's cartoons, they make a fly catcher out of a bit of stick and a cobweb? Right - keep that thought in mind.
I have a problem with little black flies on my plants. I think they may be gnat-flies, but their larvae are little round white things, not little wormy-looking things. So I’m not sure. Anyway, the flies have been annoying me over the last few days, especially. I think a bunch of them just hatched, because there are more than before. So today, I decided to do something about it.
I cut the top off a plastic cup to form a hoop, stuck a stick onto the end of it, brought it outside and swiped it through a cobweb (carefully). Voila, a perfect fly catcher. (You may now release that thought you've been holding, if you haven't done so already.)
The only problem is, it's not a perfect fly catcher. It catches flies, but they get away. They don't stick to the web. I don't know how spiders stay alive at all. Clearly, their webs are inefficient at trapping flies.
Anyway - I have a photo.
In other news: there are now two tomatoes, with possibly more on the way.
And: I have a strawberry plant. Putting it in the fridge for a month totally worked. It’s about 3mm tall at the moment :)
I have a problem with little black flies on my plants. I think they may be gnat-flies, but their larvae are little round white things, not little wormy-looking things. So I’m not sure. Anyway, the flies have been annoying me over the last few days, especially. I think a bunch of them just hatched, because there are more than before. So today, I decided to do something about it.
I cut the top off a plastic cup to form a hoop, stuck a stick onto the end of it, brought it outside and swiped it through a cobweb (carefully). Voila, a perfect fly catcher. (You may now release that thought you've been holding, if you haven't done so already.)
The only problem is, it's not a perfect fly catcher. It catches flies, but they get away. They don't stick to the web. I don't know how spiders stay alive at all. Clearly, their webs are inefficient at trapping flies.
Anyway - I have a photo.
In other news: there are now two tomatoes, with possibly more on the way.
And: I have a strawberry plant. Putting it in the fridge for a month totally worked. It’s about 3mm tall at the moment :)
02 September 2010
Addendum
I totally forgot to say: I made quinoa for dinner last night. I did it in the rice cooker with chorizo, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. I used chicken stock, Cajun spice and rice vinegar to flavour it. It was yummy. And to prove how good it was: I have a photo.
I also have a photo of the book binder in action.
Doesn't it look way better than the photo I posted a few days ago of the original? (The answer to that question is: yes.)
I also have a photo of the book binder in action.
Doesn't it look way better than the photo I posted a few days ago of the original? (The answer to that question is: yes.)
Book Binding
It seems drafts are not good only for books.
My book binder draft 1 didn't work out. The clamp bar was too small and the drill killed it. Book binder draft 2 is amazing, however. It’s 20 billion % better, in fact. It’s a nicer colour, it works, it looks cool. Woo! I spent the morning working on it. I kept two pieces from the original and sawed out new pieces from an old bit of shelf we had lying around.
Yea. Book binder cost €3.50 (the price of the carriage bolts and wing nuts - all the wood came from scrap). The glue was €4.50, and whatever paper costs, and printing costs, but it's definitely less than getting novel drafts professionally printed and bound. I haven't glued anything yet. I’m a bit scared about how that will turn out.
I’m not sure if I’m allowed tell the great wide public, but it looks as if me and lordkilljoy will be moving. More on that in the next few weeks. People who know what I’m talking about can't say anything in their comments (except lordkilljoy. If he says it's ok to mention it, then other people can talk about it).
Oh - I totally forgot to say: I finished draft 3. Well, I need to go back removing all the 'arounds' and 'backs' and sentences starting with 'and', but that doesn't count.
Yea. I think that's it.
My book binder draft 1 didn't work out. The clamp bar was too small and the drill killed it. Book binder draft 2 is amazing, however. It’s 20 billion % better, in fact. It’s a nicer colour, it works, it looks cool. Woo! I spent the morning working on it. I kept two pieces from the original and sawed out new pieces from an old bit of shelf we had lying around.
Yea. Book binder cost €3.50 (the price of the carriage bolts and wing nuts - all the wood came from scrap). The glue was €4.50, and whatever paper costs, and printing costs, but it's definitely less than getting novel drafts professionally printed and bound. I haven't glued anything yet. I’m a bit scared about how that will turn out.
I’m not sure if I’m allowed tell the great wide public, but it looks as if me and lordkilljoy will be moving. More on that in the next few weeks. People who know what I’m talking about can't say anything in their comments (except lordkilljoy. If he says it's ok to mention it, then other people can talk about it).
Oh - I totally forgot to say: I finished draft 3. Well, I need to go back removing all the 'arounds' and 'backs' and sentences starting with 'and', but that doesn't count.
Yea. I think that's it.
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