Friday Five - Games

OK this Friday Five is a week late, but this is a subject near and dear to me so better late than never right?

1. What is your favorite board game? Monopoly. Let's not ask Doug about several loud all night games.
2. What is your favorite card game? Hearts. Ditto above. Also loud card-throwing games at work during lunch. See this post.
3. Do you like to play games on the computer or on a gaming system? I used to be addicted to computer games, so I try to avoid them like the plague. I spent many all-nighters in college playing larn instead of writing my senior thesis. Now I have the Nintendo Wii and play on that with the family.
4. If so, what is your favorite game to play? I can still play Bejeweled on the computer for hours (see this post), and love Rayman Raving Rabbits on the Wii (see this other post).
5. Do you like to play games with people or to play them alone? Um, isn't the point of having games to play with other people? I spent too many hours as an only child playing solitaire and even making up solitaire games. Apparently, games are a big part of my life!

See the original Friday Five post here.

Thursday Thirteen #4 - Quiz mania

I just love quizzes!

Your Blogging Type is Confident and Insightful

You've got a ton of brain power, and you leverage it into brilliant blog. Both creative and logical, you come up with amazing ideas and insights. A total perfectionist, you find yourself revising and rewriting posts a lot of the time. You blog for yourself - and you don't care how popular (or unpopular) your blog is!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

You Are 72% Perfectionist

You are a true perfectionist. You are both demanding of yourself and others. While it's great to have goals and standards, they don't need to be sky high!

Are You a Perfectionist?

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

You Are 70% Creative

You are beyond creative. You are a true artist - even if it's not in the conventional sense of the word. You love creating for its own sake, and you find yourself quite inspired at times.

How Creative Are You?

You Are 40% Extrovert, 60% Introvert

You're a bit outgoing, a bit reserved Like most people, you enjoy being social But you also value the time you have alone You have struck a good balance!

Are You An Extrovert or An Introvert?

You Are Bold And Brave

But daring? Not usually? You tend to like to make calculated risks. So while you may not be base jumping any time soon... You are up for whatever's new and (a little) exciting!

How Daring Are You?

You Are 60% Feminine, 40% Masculine

You are in touch with both your feminine and masculine sides. You're sensitive at the right times, but you don't let your emotions overwhelm you. You're not a eunuch, just the best of both genders.

Are You Masculine or Feminine?

Your Beauty Element is Earth

You are the epitome of a natural beauty. Your look is definitely effortless. And while you shy away from a lot of make-up and accessories, you're no granola girl either!

What's Your Beauty Element?

You Are Independent Sexy

You drive men crazy with your "playing hard to get act" Except, it's really not an act at all. You're a strong, sexy woman with her own life and interests. And that makes men even more interested in you!

What Kind of Sexy Girl Are You?

You Are an Afternoon Person

You can find energy any time of the day ... or night! You prefer to be out and about when most other people are. Very early mornings or very late nights aren't really your thing. You're practically solar powered, and the afternoon is when do best.

Are You a Morning Person or Night Person?

You Are 77% Peaceful

You are a very peaceful person. All is good in your world, no matter what's going on. Occasionally you let your problems get to you, but you generally remain upbeat. Your inner strength is inspirational - much more so than you may realize.

How Peaceful Are You?

You Are More Yin

Feminine Devoted Forgiving Fall Winter Afternoon Moon Time Passive Metal Honey

Are You More Yin or Yang?

You Are Snow

Magical yet potentially destructive You are well known as fun to play with People anticipate your arrival but then are quickly sick of you You are best known for: your serenity Your dominant state: reflecting

What Type of Weather Are You?

Wordless Wednesday - Missing Madeleine

Please visit the official Missing Madeleine site.

Update May 3, 2020 - Today is the 13th Anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.

Check out the new Wordless Wednesday HQ!!

Mini-mitten pattern

Lest I forget, here is the pattern for this mitten, based loosely on the DIY channel's Knitty Gritty pattern.

White yarn is Paton's Be Mine in Wuzzy White, variegated yarn is Lion Chenille.

1. Using size 5 double pointed needles, cast on 24 stitches of the white yarn onto 3 needles.
2. Knit 4 rows in garter stitch
3. Switch yarn, knit about an inch in stockinette stitch
4. Knit 3 stitches at the beginning of the row onto a waste yarn
5. Slip the waste yarn stitches back onto the left needle, knit across using the working yarn
6. Continue knitting stockinette stitch for another inch
7. Transfer from 3 to 4 needles for the decreases
8. At the beginning of the row in the front and back, SSK to decrease
9. At the end of the row in the front and back, K2tog to decrease
10. Knit one row
11. Decrease one row using 7 and 8
12. Repeat 9 and 10 until you have 4 stitches
13. Sew through the remaining stitches
14. Carefully remove the waste yarn and pick up 6-7 stitches using 3 dpns (I couldn't really see clearly with the dark chenille)
15. Knit about 3/4"
16. K2tog all the way around
17. Sew through the remaining stitches, go back and sew any "holes" at the bottom of the thumb.
18. For the second mitten, put the thumb on the opposite side!

I think my next pair of mittens should be even smaller, so I may try 16 stitches, and only 2 stitches on waste yarn for the thumb. It's only May, but I know I have to get cracking if I'm going to give these out as gifts for the holidays.

Georgia O'Keefe and the Firefox logo

I am probably the last person to notice this, but there is an uncanny resemblance between Georgia O'Keeffe's Goat's Horn with Red, from 1945 and the Firefox logo.

My mother went to Santa Fe and picked up a book about the artist from the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. When I saw this painting on the cover, I immediately thought it looked like the Firefox logo. I guess lots of other people have noticed this as well!

Flashback 2005: The "other side" game

Part of my motivation for the post a day for the month of May was to finally get rid of all my old drafts. This is the oldest draft, ironically dated 5/26/05, exactly two years ago. Here is Dova around that time at 17 months. She was already quite a talker and showing signs of being quite demanding as we can definitely attest to now. When I nursed her, she would pop off when she was done and tell me "other side". At some point, this became quite the game for her. When she went to bed, I would lie down with her and nurse her to sleep. When she was more interested in playing than sleeping, she would nurse for 10 seconds, and then say "other side", I would hop over her, nurse her on the other side, and then after 10 seconds, she would say "other side", and kept flipping her mom over like a pancake. One night this happened about five times. Telling her that she was being ridiculous meant nothing to her. I started thinking, oh man, she's going to be a handful. No truer words have been spoken!

Sonicare Elite vs. Rotadent

A few years ago, Doug's previous dentist suggested getting the Sonicare Elite toothbrush system. They offered a $10 coupon and we picked one up on the cheap at BJ's warehouse club. The first night we tried it, I was a bit alarmed at how strong it vibrated but the instructions said that you would get used to it. The most amazing thing was that afterwards, our teeth felt as clean as if we had just come from the dentist's office. In the beginning, the rechargeable battery lasted long enough for both of us to use it for about 5 days between charging. About 2 years later, we noticed that the battery life significantly decreased and moved it so that it sat in the charger all the time while not in use. Now, a year after that, it can only do one brushing before the low battery beeps at the end. Since the battery is integrated into the unit, it is not replaceable (just like the iPod). I like the toothbrush, but I'm not about to buy a whole new one! Three years is really not an acceptable lifetime for this class of product.


Recently, Doug changed to my local dentist and he claimed that the Sonicare was too harsh and actually harms gums. He recommended the Rotadent system. Now, I'm starting to believe that dentists simply recommend the product that they get the biggest kickback from. Now, we're back to using manual toothbrushes since we're not about to shell out another huge sum for another fancy toothbrush system. Anyone else have experience with the Rotadent?

Right to dry campaign

For a while, I was an avid laundry hanger while I worked at home. It was a good way to get outside for a break and save the environment at the same time. I was only joking when I called hanging laundry white trash, but apparently some people really believe it. The group, Project Laundry List has a "Right To Dry" campaign, where they advocate legislation allowing people to dry their clothes naturally. Some communities actually ban this. I would hate to be forced to waste energy drying clothes. Opponents to this campaign say that clotheslines can lower property values 15%. This is ridiculous people!! You can hang underwear discreetly, just like you can breastfeed in public discreetly, and it is totally natural and beautiful! Here are the green and economic reasons to allow clotheslines, from this article:

On an annual basis, electric dryers in the United States consume the rough equivalent of 30 million tons of coal—the output of the nation's 15 least productive nuclear reactors. That consumption is expensive: Estimates suggest that it costs the average household more than $100 a year to use a dryer.

Check if your community prohibits clotheslines here. If it does and it is not listed, add it! Let's overturn these uptight and environment-killing clothesline bans.

Beautiful art by the Painting Activist.

Thursday Thirteen #3 - Favorite Podsafe Music

Here are 13 of my favorite podsafe music selections:

1. Round the Bend by Adrina Thorpe
2. Sound Scientist by bill
3. Waves of Summer by Jennifer Avalon
4. Happy Mother's Day by The Alice Project
5. Shine by Rachel Fuller
6. Walking in the Beautiful Sunshine by Pauline Taylor
7. Hell of a Boy by The Lascivious Biddies
8. Drive Away by Matthew Ebel
9. Fan of the Bean by The Clintons
10. Do You Hear What I Hear by Jill Parr
11. Your Face is Not Enough by 3 Blind Mice
12. Sinora by Banooba
13. Skeletons and Spirits by Allison Crowe

Wordless Wednesday - Adam and his late grandfather John

Beautiful Solar and Wind power

It is amazing when being green becomes art. These beautiful structures are a sight to behold.


I would be a little wary of this solar tower as concentrated light from 600 mirrors sounds a bit dangerous. From boingboing's Solar power plant looks heavenly.


And I wouldn't want to be a bird flying near those wind turbines! But it is wonderful to see that designers are incorporating renewable sources of energy. From Inhabitat's Bahrain World Trade Center has Giant Wind Turbines.


Now this building design claims to produce enough wind energy to power ten buildings, but I find that a bit hard to believe. It is beautiful if the floors could really rotate in unison to music, but in actuality, they would probably be spinning randomly in a not so pretty pattern, as entropy rules after all. It would be great as a model to spin around on your desk. From EcoGeek's Twirling Tower Could Power Itself, Ten Others.

Tough chick sports

So I finally took the plunge and signed up for a summer session of women's ice hockey. I've done three sessions so far and survived. I even scored a goal the first game! People are quite impressed when I tell them that I play ice hockey and am not talking about my son (he's starting this summer). In reality, I'm really bad, and most of the gals skate circles around me. I barely know what to do during drills, especially if it requires skating backwards, but hopefully I'll improve with time. I'm planning on signing up just for practices during the regular season at the wonderful ice time of 10:40 pm!

Here's a funny story about my old helmet. I originally bought my first hockey helmet in the early 90's back it was in fashion to have these lightweight helmets with no face shields like Wayne Gretzky. It was really cheap plastic with barely any padding and probably cost less than $20. For my latest foray into ice hockey, I bought a new hockey helmet with a face shield (on sale for $35) and decided to sell my old one on eBay. It turns out that the model I had is a collectible since it was the exact same model Wayne Gretzky used. After 24 hours, it was up to $76 and eventually sold for $200. My very first "Antiques Roadshow" moment. The money will go to Adam's equipment and at least I have a real helmet now.

The other sport I started doing recently is cardio kickboxing. I was really nervous before my first class, but by the end, I was really digging it. I felt maybe I was a fighter in a previous life. So between ice hockey and kickboxing, I've really gotten into tough chick sports!

My favorite stop motion videos

Here is the awesome Tony vs. Paul if you haven't seen it already.


I also happened on this cool short "Stop, Look and Listen" (1967) from this BoingBoing post, but it was pulled from YouTube for copyright infringement. I did find another copy here, so go watch it quick before it gets pulled.


Here is another great classic video game simulation using food (imagine a pizza for Pacman) by PES.

The Friday Five - Nudity / Body Awareness

Nudity/Body Awareness
aka "How comfortable are you in your skin, or with others?"
I will add: aka "Way too much information if you're interested"

1. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? Of course, in pools and in the ocean. I usually get into the water before stripping, and I remember getting some mosquito bites in some unfortunately areas coming in and out of pools. There is nothing like the feeling of water against your bare body especially in the ocean, where water swishes in places you don't usually feel with a suit on. It is completely free and liberating. You also get the sense of being a fish gliding through the water with no resistance.
   
2. When you're home alone, do you strip down to get comfortable? Do you ever go out without underwear (bra and/or panties) because it's more comfortable? When I'm at home, my motto is: Do I have to wear clothes? Doug says that I'm always giving the neighbors a free show, but in reality, they are too far away to see anything. I usually go braless at home, but wear one in public. I never go without panties as that is not comfortable at all! Anyone who says it's more comfortable is just kidding themselves. During my company's walking program while I'm at home, I have to clip the pedometer to my underwear because I'm never wearing pants.
   
3. Have you ever/Do you use the bathroom with the door open? Are you comfortable using public facilities? At home I've finally been trained to close the doors for No. 2's, but I usually don't for No. 1's. And closing the door for me means just the main door and not the back door to the bedroom, where I still get dirty looks if someone walks by (both doors are closed if we have company, this is just with the family). The kids of course, feel free to run through the bathroom anytime while I'm in there. In terms of public facilities, you have to go when you have to go. I suffer from germ phobia in these places and don't enjoy it much at all.
   
4. When getting intimate with your significant other, lights on or off? I'm rather particular about having just the right lighting, as I hate complete darkness or being too bright (unless of course it is daytime). I like to be able to see the person I'm with and use some soft star lights hanging over the window, nightlights or candles.
   
5. How comfortable are you with body exposure/nudity of others? Group shower rooms?, topless/nude beaches?, breastfeeding in public? I am actually more uncomfortable with people that are totally paranoid about showing any part of their body in a locker room. I feel like I'm the one imposing on their privacy and making them uncomfortable by my presence. I'm much more at ease with people that aren't so self conscious about exposing themselves. Nude beaches? Never been, but would be open to try it once. Breastfeeding in public? Always!! Stop harassing women for feeding their babies!! I once fed Adam in the Museum of Fine Arts' Art of the Guitar exhibit which was packed and the only place I could sit down was on a mock concert stage under real stage lights. Talk about being on display! Usually I will try to find a more discreet place either in a back hall or in the car. But the baby's gotta eat when the baby's gotta eat and sometimes there just isn't a discreet place to do it (I would have had to exit the exhibit which I entered on a timed ticket and miss the rest of the show and miss my friends and family). Will people stop being so uptight about breastfeeding in public? It is the most natural thing in the world.
   

Is Google the Next Evil Empire?

Recently I've seen a few interesting articles about Google. First, this Mashable post describes Why Google Is Making Us Dumber. I rely on Google extensively for work and I'm not sure how I was able to program before that (MSDN used to be a heck of a lot better than it is nowadays). And I certainly go by the slogan that Bart is typing above, "I will use Google before asking dumb questions." But I don't agree that Google is making us dumber. Like a commenter mentioned, it is a tool, like a calculator, which frees our mind for other computing tasks. You certainly can abuse it but it's not about to decrease your mental capacity. It may level the playing field a bit for those on the lower end, but there is still an art to crafting the perfect search. And Google will not help stupid programming mistakes like typing "Common" instead of "Common Files" in my stand-alone Installshield build which I banged my head on for hours (and wasted lots of Google searches on).

Then Father Roderick went into a long rant about how Google is taking over the world and there is nothing we can do to stop it in this podcast. He says that if we disagree with practices of a company with consumer products, we can simply boycott their products. But Google has become so prevalent on the internet that you'd be hard pressed to boycott them. The fact is that their services are simply superior to others. Having used Yahoo and Hotmail for years, I am much happier with Gmail. There are a few UI quirks that I don't like, otherwise it is very intuitive and understands your intentions (like the "Not Spam" button which not only puts a msg into the inbox but will remember for next time, not like the 100 clicks you have to go through in Hotmail). Some people are a bit wary of the fact that their bots are scanning your mail and putting up relevant ads, but it sure beats all those single scantily clad women always showing up in Hotmail. Don't they know that I'm not a young single lesbian?

I've mentioned concern before over Google's infringement on personal privacy here and here. I believe that information is power and Google is a key to that information. I guess time will tell if they will overstep their bounds with all the information they have on us. It's hard to put the works Google and Evil Empire together because I love Google so much. I can say however, that I DON'T love Microsoft and they ARE an evil empire, even though my livelihood depends on them. Let's hope that Google won't go down the same path.

Podcasting with Ustream

I've heard a few podcasts recently where the podcaster recorded their show live in front of a Ustream audience. Ustream is basically a site which streams live webcam video and audio and provides a chat window for interaction.

On May 3rd, CC Chapman of Accident Hash broadcasted and recorded this show live with the talented Matthew Ebel in nearby "Metrowest Boston". I remember seeing the twitters about it at work, but of course Ustream is blocked from my work. I listened to the show later and it was really cool.

On May 8th, my favorite podcaster, Father Roderick, broadcasted the 300th episode of the Daily Breakfast live on Ustream. Thankfully, he also recorded it with his other video camera and posted the video which I watched later. During the live broadcast, UStream featured his stream on the front page and he had over a hundred viewers. Watching the video, you can really observe his craft: multi-tasking by fluently speaking a 2nd language, seamlessly clicking his bumpers in CastBlaster, adjusting sound levels, reading the chat window in Ustream, pulling up websites while playing listener feedback (they were talking about creating social sites using www.ning.com), all the while maintaining his cool and charisma.

I finally got to experience a Ustream podcast recording first hand when the Rosary Army recorded this show. In the chat window, people were complaining about the lighting and Greg would respond by moving lamps or switching the overhead light on an off. I made a comment about the camera automatically dimming after the light turned on, so Greg reached over and flipped the light switch a few more times. Near the end of the show, Greg pulled out a Fun Dip stick and showed all the Ustream viewers what it looked like (I had never seen one). After the recording of the show, the podcasters were finally able to turn their full attention to the Ustream viewers. Jennifer asked what image they should use for the show and I immediately typed "FUN DIP!". Lots of people agreed, and even though Greg and Jennifer seemed a bit reluctant since it was only a small side joke during the show, it did become the image. It was really cool to watch and be part of the whole process through Ustream.

Ustream definitely adds a whole new dimension to podcasting. There is direct interaction with the audience instead of feedback a few hours to a few days later. And as Fr. Roderick notes, even large audiences can be managed. With TalkShoe, you can have live audio chats, but it is really hard to weed out non-relevant and off topic comments. Dan Klass used TalkShoe for his 2nd anniversary of The Bitterest Pill, but the energy was a bit off and hard to control. With the Ustream chat window, you can ignore the fringe, pick which questions and comments to address and therefore provide direction for the show. Plus, if Fr. Roderick used Ustream everytime he podcasted, he would never be at a loss for an English word, although I find that very charming. I hope all podcasters will try out this new medium as it definitely adds value. Now, if only I can get the block from work lifted...

Thursday Thirteen #2 - Cool NPR stories

OK, this is one technically isn't about me, but I've got a backlog of cool NPR stories that I want to let people know about!

1. Going Binocular: Susan's First Snowfall: If you listen to only one of these stories, this is it. Most people naturally see in stereo. Susan Barry didn't, but it didn't stop her from doing anything that required depth perception. When she learned that she was monocular in her 40's and started therapy, her world completely changed. The way she described how she now finally saw the world in 3-D is completely wondrous, magical and uplifting. Something the rest of us take for granted.
2. Artist Takes Inspiration from Amputation: The unbelievably positive attitude of this amputee is something that everyone should learn from.
3. Zero Gravity Zzzs: Joys of Sleeping in Outer Space: I always wondered how astronauts slept in outer space. I would imagine that it would be extremely comfortable since there would be no pressure points and the need to turn over all the time. Then again, you can't get the feeling of being covered. There are some funny laugh out loud sections in this piece as well.
4. Sunday Puzzle: Get Ready to Go 'Pro": Tom Hanks makes a guest appearance on Will Shortz's weekly challenge. He was awesome and funny.
5. Prayer: Once a Last Resort, Now a Habit: Kevin Kling is hysterical in this piece. I am a big fan every time he comes on.
6. The How and Why of Life and Death: Another great Kevin Kling piece.
7. When the Elephants March in Manhattan: Even though I'm from NY, I had no idea that elephants marched through the Midtown tunnel in the middle of the night every year for the circus. This piece highlights the elephants and the crowds as they cheer and wave them by.
8. The Dog Who Lived to Suck on Toads: People aren't the only ones who suffer from drug addiction. This dog managed to finally curtail her escapades to weekends.
9. Rock, Paper, Scissors!: Who knew there was a world championship for this? Former champion Jason Simmons shows how he sizes up people and predicts how they will play. Very accurate psychological assessment of host Steve Inskeep.
10. Baking by Senses and Memories: This touching essay from This I Believe recounts a young woman's connection with her grandmother who taught her to bake. It brings baking to a transcendental level.
11. Blogging: A Blight or a Boon to Marriage?: This commentary is a hysterical account of the blogging addiction that so many of us have.
12. 'Toynbee Tiles' Mystery Resurrected in Philly: Mysterious tiles crop up on the streets of Philadelphia. Is it art? Is it a cult?
13. Lost And Found Sound: Numbers: Strange numbers are read out on shortwave radio since the Cold War. Is it secret code? Is it espionage? No one really knows.

Wordless Wednesday - Dova models mini-mittens

True Friend Test

It took some time think up some good questions and I had a blast creating trick answers. Here are the answers below. I think the moral here is that you can't use the blog for the answers!

Update 5/9/20 - This site is no longer available, but the post is still fun!

Who knows Angela answers

[−]

1. What state was I born in? North Dakota, my parents were graduate students at the University of North Dakota.
2. How many brothers and sisters do I have? 0, one and only.
3. How many cats do I have? 2, Ebony and her daughter Wysiwyg.
4. What is my favorite sport to watch? Tennis, followed by baseball, basketball and hockey. This is trick question in that I like to play ice hockey the most.
5. Who is my favorite composer? Chopin
6. What is my favorite instrument? Cello. I play the piano, but I love the cello and once rented one and took lessons in 1995. I love its beautiful, soothing sound and being able to wrap yourself around the instrument.
7. How old was I when I graduated from high school? 16
8. Which state have I lived the longest? Massachusetts (currently almost 14 years, plus 4 years in college), followed by New York (11 years in school and 1 year prior to that), Connecticut (4 years) and a tie between California and Minnesota (2 years each).
9. What is my favorite movie? Diva. This is definitely a tough question because all these movies have been my favorite at one point in my life. Close Encounters when I was 10, Grease when I was 11, West Side Story in high school, and Diva in college. I did blog about Grease recently because I did a scan of my DVDs for the question and it popped out. I love Diva for it's beautiful operatic singing, the huge jigsaw puzzle of an ocean wave, the cute guy, the cool girl on the roller skates, and the whole artsy fartsy Frenchness about it.
10. What gadget do I desire the most? DSLR camera. Yes, I've blogged about the iPhone a few times, but I'm not really about to buy one. The one thing that I love to do is take pictures of the kids, and I'd like to get a real camera someday so that I can take sparkling crisp beautiful shots of them. I almost got the Canon Digital Rebel XT when I bought the Canon S2 IS (which I love dearly), but decided against it because I really liked the video capabilities of the S2 IS. Congrats to George and Noorul for getting this one!

Johari Window

Arena (known to self and others) confident, dependable, giving, intelligent, logical, organised	Blind Spot (known only to others) able, adaptable, bold, brave, calm, caring, clever, complex, dignified, helpful, independent, knowledgeable, loving, observant, proud, quiet, self-assertive, sensible, tense, trustworthy, wise, witty
Façade (known only to self)	Unknown (known to nobody) accepting, cheerful, energetic, extroverted, friendly, happy, idealistic, ingenious, introverted, kind, mature, modest, nervous, patient, powerful, reflective, relaxed, religious, responsive, searching, self-conscious, sentimental, shy, silly, spontaneous, sympathetic, warm

Dominant Traits

70% of people agree that moonfever0 is intelligent

All Percentages

able (20%) accepting (0%) adaptable (10%) bold (10%) brave (10%) calm (10%) caring (30%) cheerful (0%) clever (40%) complex (10%) confident (40%) dependable (30%) dignified (10%) energetic (0%) extroverted (0%) friendly (0%) giving (10%) happy (0%) helpful (20%) idealistic (0%) independent (10%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (70%) introverted (0%) kind (0%) knowledgeable (20%) logical (30%) loving (20%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (10%) organised (40%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (10%) quiet (10%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (10%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (30%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (0%) tense (10%) trustworthy (20%) warm (0%) wise (10%) witty (10%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 14.5.2007, using data from 10 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view moonfever0's full data.

I gave this Interactive Johari Window to all my friends over a year ago and here are the results. I'm glad to know that I am at least completely transparent and have no "Facade" items (items which I picked and no one else did). I finally put this up as a preview to the True Friend Test which I just sent out. Feel free to join in!

Reversing entropy

I am forever trying to fix the kids' toys in a vain attempt to reverse entropy and the natural laws of children to the point of obsession. Take this Ariel doll. The day after Dova received it from Grandma at Christmas, the tail fins started ripping away from the tail. By a week afterwards, both fins were off and one was ripped right in half. I carefully saved all three pieces and devised a plan to fix it. I arranged and laminated the brittle pieces together and carefully cut out the tail fins as one piece, leaving the space between the fins to attach some velcro. On the bottom of the tail, I sewed on velcro to attach the fins. It came out beautifully and is still in one piece today. I have no idea if Dova appreciates all the work I put into it, or whether she simply thinks she is free to wreck anything because Mom or Dad will fix it. And why do I feel so obsessed and driven to fix anything that breaks? Crazy mom!

Happy Mother's Day

You Are Totally Like Your Mom

You and your mom are practically clones. You think alike, and you even seem to read each other's minds. You're definitely you're mother's child... and that's just fine with you.

Are You Like Your Mom?

Mango Fever!

This is seriously the most addicting video that I've ever seen. The kids were instantly hooked and want to watch it ALL THE TIME. Go check it out. (Don't say I didn't warn you!)

It even prompted us to buy mangoes from the grocery store.

Soccer mom in the making

Here's a cute conversation with Dova and Adam in the car. We were on our way to Adam's soccer game and I was planning to return something to a store afterwards.

Mom: Darn, I forgot the receipt for the return.

Dova: That's OK, I can help you.

Mom: Thanks Dova, but you can't, you can't drive home and get it.

Dova: When become a mommy, I can drive.

Mom: Yes, when you become a mommy and you have your own car and your own kids.

Mom: How about you Adam, are you going to be a daddy when you grow up?

Adam (with head buried in Gameboy): No way, too much work.

Mom: (LOL) Ah, so you do know how much work you guys are!

Dova: I'm going to be a mommy when I grow up and have lots of kids.

Adam: OK, I guess we'll have kids if Dova wants them.

They are still at the age where they think they will marry each other when they grow up. Adam is so accommodating, like an old married couple. They're shown here during halftime of this game. She absolutely adores her brother.

Thursday Thirteen #1 - Things that happened on my birthday

My very first Thursday Thirteen! This is a mashup of Thursday Thirteen and another birthday meme going around. These are things that happened on January 4th through history:

1. 1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey.
2. 1643 - Sir Isaac Newton born, English mathematician and natural philosopher (d. 1727)
3. 1785 - Jakob Grimm born, German philologist and folklorist (d. 1863)
4. 1809 - Louis Braille born, French inventor of braille^[1] (d. 1852)
5. 1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William W. Grant on Mary Gartside.
6. 1896 - Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
7. 1960 - Albert Camus dies, Algerian-born French philosopher and writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
8. 1961 - Erwin Schrödinger dies, Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1887)
9. 1967 - I was born!
10. 1970 - The Beatles record as a band for the last time.
11. 1990 - Doc Edgerton dies, American electrical engineer (b. 1903)
12. 2007 - The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
13. Every year - Trivia Day and Humiliation Day

Find yours by typing your birth month and day with no year into wikipedia and also check out Holidays for Everyday.

Flinging the door open while driving

How many times have I said "Don't let that sweet face fool you". I remember being around 10 years old, and driving around in the back seat of the car with my parents. No seat belts in those days of course. I used to think, there's no stopping me from just opening that car door and flinging myself out. If we are driving, would the pressure of the wind keep the door shut? I could just reach out and touch the handle - no, don't touch it! I had the crazy thoughts, but never acted on it.

This past weekend while I was driving the kids back from grocery shopping after a soccer game, a rather long afternoon, Dova pulls this one. I stopped briefly at an intersection before making a left turn and I hear Dova fiddling with the right rear car door. Next thing I know, it flings wide open as I go around the turn. Thankfully, she was safely buckled into her booster seat and I was able to pull over immediately. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I ran outside, activated the child lock and slammed the door shut. I blame this stunt on "trusting" Dova to open the car door only when we asked her to, using the Toyota Echo which has a really light door instead of my car which she can't open at all, and the perfect timing of opening the right door during a left turn. I asked her why she did it and she simply replied that she wanted to get out. Both kids were snickering the whole time I was yelling on the way back. She wasn't so happy when she found out that she could no longer open her door when we got home though.

Wordless Wednesday - Adam's soccer kick

Fired and promoted on the same day

It's been two and a half years since I was first told that I was laid off from my last job, but it only recently dawned on me that ironically, I was fired and promoted on the same day. I was on vacation when my boss called me at home. I had no idea that I was about to be laid off, and when he told me the news, I was quite shocked. It was not an instant layoff as they wanted to retain me for 9 months for technology transfer.

It was also review time and I knew I had a promotion coming, so at the end of the call, I also inquired about that. My bosses' tone turned around and he was happy to tell me that I was promoted to "Staff Software Engineer" and got an 9% raise. In addition to that I was going to get a 15% salary increase during the transition period before my termination. So the call to inform me that I was going to be terminated ended up also about a nearly 25% pay increase and a promotion. Only in corporate America.

I hadn't realized the importance of the "Staff" title as I knew lots of engineers that had reached that level at my last company. It was basically the highest level of individual contributor that you could achieve without having to get into the manager grades. At my new company, I learned that "staff" was a special title. Basically, only a handful of top management are staff, and nothing happens unless staff approves. I was not originally allowed to have server access with VPN, because that was reserved for staff. The building doesn't get unlocked unless someone from staff enters (we were locked out all day once because they were off-site and the receptionist had to open the door by hand every time). So even though I'm a manager at my new job, I've been downgraded to Senior Software Engineer and no longer staff. Hard to win at this corporate shell game!