Categories
fashion nerdly

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

I was born without much of a fashion sense.  Or the ability to really find clothes that fit right.  I drool when I watch ‘What not to wear’ because I’d LOVE for someone to take me aside and dress me ‘right.’

So I was doing a little googlin’ the other day and I found a most wondrous website:  myshape.com.  I punch in all my measurements (and I mean ALL – they have you enter in about 100 different measurements), and then they provide me with a selection of clothes that will FIT me.  And be flattering on my body type.

That’s right.  I found a WEBSITE to tell me what clothes to wear if I want to be fashionable.  How awesome is that?  I don’t even have to talk to anybody! 

And they also tell me what SIZE to get – which is awesome when you’re talking about buying clothes off the net.  Sometimes I’m an extra small – and sometimes I’m a medium.  It just depends on the mood of the designer.

The only downside is the cost of the clothes on the site.  I’ve never bought a pair of $150 jeans; I’ve never even considered it.  I don’t own any shirts that cost over $60.  They put together suggested outfits – which look fabulous – but I’ve never gone out in a $500 outfit before.  Not even my wedding dress … Which I suppose is greatly hindering my ability to be fashionable.

Maybe one of these days I’ll take the plunge into fashionable.  It’s great to know I can accomplish it with just a click of my mouse.

Categories
nerdly technogeeky

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

Fire pony, fire pony, I finally got my fire pony!

Years ago, the first time I ever laid eyes one, I had a conversation with the husband that went something like this:

Me: Wow!  How do I get a fire pony?!

The husband:  A what? 

Me:  A fire pony!  I just saw someone run by on a horse that was ON FIRE!

The husband:  Oh.  A felsteed?  You have to be a warlock to get one.

Me:  A warlock?  What’s a warlock?

The husband:  A warlock is one of the classes in wow.  You are a hunter.  You can’t get a felsteed.

Me:  Oh.  But you told me I could pick my mount when I got to 40.

The husband:  Yes …. within reason, though.  You can’t pick a felsteed.

Me:  Oh.  <pout>

But I rolled a warlock awhile back, and I finally got him to 40.  And now, I have my very own fire pony!

Categories
nerdly

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

I just threw my husband a murder-myster dinner party.  Not only that, but I wrote the mystery myself.

Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, and there were some great costumes:  A butler in a tuxedo, and a vet in scrubs and stethoscope, to name a few.  Unfortunately, the husband was in charge of party pictures and he didn’t want any, so there are no pictures of the memorable event.

The mystery involved some great props:  kitty x-rays (google ‘cat xray,’ and print out what you find on a transparency), a scrap-book of the deceased, bottles of medicine, bottles of repackaged medicine with hand-written labels, ‘poisoned’ cat treats, and an empty vial of stolen drugs.  Ok, so I made them all so of course I thought they were great – but as someone who loves puzzles, I wanted to put in tangible elements of the story that people could use to figure out whodunnit. 

Not all the props were clues – some were just fun (like the x-rays) – but I was pleased to find that people did pick up on the hints I left.  They weren’t obvious – not everybody caught on right away – but they were all eventually sniffed out.

I want to make a few edits, and get the husband to look over everything and provide suggestions (he’s way more creative at that stuff than me), and then I’ll post the complete story for people to use for free.  I feel fairly certain that it was better than the mystery I paid real money for last year, so I think ‘free’ is a fair price.  🙂 

EDIT:  So I just looked at my google analytics, and I got a hit from someone searching ‘free murder mystery dinner script’!!  So I’ll try to hurry and get it out there, so the next googler won’t have to be disappointed.  🙂

Categories
nerdly

Honeypaws Whodunnit

I’ve posted the story premise and character list for the husband’s murder-mystery birthday party this weekend.

Depending on how the party goes, I may or may not be posting the murder-mystery itself …

But for those attending the party, if you want to see who else is attending, feel free to check out the character list

Categories
nerdly technogeeky

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

I love my phone.  Or, should I say, my cell phone-pda-camera.

I’ve had a cell phone of some sort for the last 6 years.  Flip phones.  Camera phones.  Clunky phones.  Phones with difficult interfaces.  Phones that tried to do too much – and ended up not doing much of anything at all.

But the phone I have now is heaven.  It does so many things – and it does them well.  I was really wary of purchasing a smart phone, but the husband talked me into it.  He got the beefier Palm Treo, while I stuck with the entry model Palm Centro.

And I love it!  I got the black one, but it has a fun glitter in it.  It’s not so much that people think you have a child’s phone – but it’s enough to keep it from being a boring black. 

I love the size of it – it fits nicely in my hand when I’m using it as a phone.  It doesn’t look like I’m just holding a pda to your head – it’s a reasonable phone size.  It is the most adorably tiny pda you will ever see.  Granted, it’s probably too small for power-pda users – but for someone like me who uses a phone to a) make phone calls, b) send the occasional text message, and c) kill time while waiting in lines, it is perfect. 

I love that it runs the Palm OS.  There are so many Palm applications out there – Quicken, Office, games galore.  If I can imagine something I need, it’s there.  Also, since Palm has been around awhile, they have had time to polish their OS for hand-held devices.  They know what works, and how to keep things responsive on a mini-computer.

I love that it has a touch screen!  Whether surfing the internet, playing sudoku, or entering contact information, the touch screen adds an intuitive way to let you do it all faster.  I did replace the tiny little plastic stylus with a slightly more sturdy metal and plastic one, but the upgrade only set me back $7, so I’m not complaining.

I love the tiny little keyboard!  Most grown adults would probably find it too small, but it works for me.  I was blessed with wonderfully strong thumbnails, and I find that the corners of my nails work perfectly for it.  When I want to send a text message or write a note to myself, I have a little keyboard which is wayyyyy faster than phone-typing.  I’m not 14, so that whole phone-typing thing is beyond my ability.  I haven’t had a chance yet to IM on my phone, but it’s got all the different IM clients on it – and with a full keyboard, I could actually keep up with a conversation.

I don’t really use the camera much, but it’s actually pretty impressive for a phone-camera.  There’s no flash, only a 2x zoom, but the pictures aren’t half-bad.  It’d certainly do in a pinch, to capture pics of a wreck in case the other guy tries to change his story later, or an unexpected celebrity sighting.

The thing I like the most, though, is that every time I see it, I think, “oh, I LOVE my phone!”  I’ve never felt that way about a phone – there was only one other phone that I thought was cute, but cute isn’t enough to make a great phone.  I love the way it looks, the way it feels – and most importantly – the way it works.

Categories
girly nerdly

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

Actual exchange between the husband and myself, after I came home from the spa:

The husband:  Did they do something to your face?  It looks … different.

Me:  Different how?  Good different or bad different?  Is it a different color??  Am I splotchy???

The husband:  No … it’s …. crisper … like when you make the jump from SD* to HD**.

Me:  Oh, thanks!  Maybe I’ll get facials more often …

*SD = Standard Definition – as in a regular tv signal

**HD = High Definition – as in a fancy new tv signal

Categories
confession nerdly

one-way conversation

An interesting thing has happened since I’ve started blogging:  nobody needs to talk to me anymore.  They already know what’s up with me; they’ve read my blog.  (The only person who this doesn’t hold true for is b3, who doesn’t read my blog, because, well, that would involve reading.  Oh, and b2, who is currently having trouble with the ladeez and somehow thinks I might have some insight for him …)

I didn’t notice at first, it’s been a slow decline.  And, well, I tend to shy away from actual contact with other human beings, so it wasn’t something that even registered on my radar.  But now that I’ve noticed, I do kind of wonder what’s going on with everyone else …

Another side-effect of blogging, is that now there are people who know me, and I don’t know them.  Neighbors, work colleagues, church acquaintances.  My blog is my heart and soul, right there on the internet for anyone to see.  Not that I mind; I mean, I’m the one who puts it all out there.  But – it means that, for the mere price of a few minutes invested in reading my silly little thoughts, a person can really get a glimpse into all of my crazies.  And they don’t have to share any crazies back.  All of y’all have something on me – and I got nothin’ on you.

So – if you feel so inclined – please do let me know where your blogs reside.  I’d like to know what’s going on with you!  And well, I mean, an actual conversation, in person, is just a little too much … (Oh, and for the husband’s friends, I think I’ve already got you all on my google reader.)

Categories
nerdly

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

I have the hugest polo collection you’ve ever seen.  Red, yellow, a couple blue ones, brown, dark gray, light gray, striped, you name it, I have it.  (Except for pink.  There’s no room for pink in my collection …)

It’s strange, how something that started out so preppy, has become an icon of nerdliness.  In my office of software-developing geeks, we all wear polos.  Having left the comfort of hoodies and t-shirts with obnoxious (but clever!) slogans behind in our college days, we have embraced the next best thing:  The polo t-shirt. 

Because, honestly, it has (almost) all the comfort of a tshirt.  But with a real collar, it has a place in the professional workplace.  Even though our managers might like to see more buttons, longer sleeves, and, well, clothing that requires ironing, the polo t-shirt is here to stay.  And I have a collection to rival the best of ’em.

Categories
life nerdly

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

I’m distributing my Christmas newsletter via blog! Never heard of a Christmas newsletter? It’s a long-standing tradition in my family to deluge the world with a ‘Christmas newsletter’ with all the year’s happenings. Instead of mailing it out in print, I’ve decided to use electronic media. That way, my 5 readers who might care can get the scoop, and the 32 other people I sent Christmas cards won’t have to be all, “as if I care,” as they toss it in the trash.

So here’s the wrap-up for 2007!

The cats and I rang in the year with the assembly of my Lego Batmobile. The turtle … burrowed under her newspapers and ate a lima bean. And the husband … did something exciting, I’m sure, on his computer in the basement.

The husband got a promotion to timesheet-approver of 5 hapless souls. My boss decided that I don’t completely suck, and has allowed me to keep working and drawing a paycheck.

We dropped directv, and moved to cable.

I built a rock garden, tore up a rock garden, got approved to build a rock garden, joined the HOA ARB, and got kicked off till I get my act together and clean up my disgrace of a fenced-in backyard. A fenced in backyard that nobody can see except for the people and critters who live in my house, and, apparently, members of the HOA Board who like to hang out in random people’s backyards.

We got sunburns on our sunburns in San Diego.

The cats shoved 14 toys under the refrigerator and range. Oh, let me be honest: Forge shoved 13 toys under the refrigerator and range. Havok managed to get one lodged under the range, but he didn’t intend to. Because, well, he sorta understands that you can’t play with a toy that you can’t reach.

Our AC went out during the hottest part of the summer. Ah, that was good times.

WE GOT CLEANING LADIES. If you have it in your budget, I highly recommend it for the cleaning averse. I HATE HATE HATE cleaning bathrooms, they gross me out – plus, it’s not a quick task when you put it off for as long as possible. I never have to do it anymore. Also, I rarely have to vacuum or sweep or mop anymore. And, there’s nothing like that feeling on the first or third Tuesday evening of the month, that I’m not gonna wipe off my counters cuz there are people coming tomorrow who will do it for me. Juvenile, maybe, but it’s a nice feeling.

We moved from cable to FIOS.

Forge found a new hiding place, in the rafters of the utility room. It keeps him safe from visitors, except, well, the heating/AC folks and the cleaning ladies. And the FIOS installer, he REALLY gave her a start when she noticed him hovering a few feet above her head.

I made it to level 70 with my wow character. And then I proceeded to stop playing wow. Ah, well, the husband is getting some use of my level 70 hunter.

We attended The husband’s 10 year reunion. The husband is still not popular.

Tortellini ate 20 yellow squashes, 4 zucchini squashes, and over 2000 lima beans. She is really doing her part to make sure children in the area will be spared the awful fate of “vegetable eating.”

The husband and his work buddy launched strahotski.com, which is now bringing in actual money! Not enough to quit the day jobs kind of money, but perhaps almost enough to make it pay for itself.

The husband’s friends left 37 comments on my blog. His family, 10. My friends? 8. My family, 4. Clearly, I need to recruit some more friends and family. Or maybe, find some friends who like to read and comment on silly blogs …

The husband mowed the lawn on 5 occasions, and weed-eated 4 times. Still not enough to make the HOA happy, but, well, what are you going to do? Get blacklisted from joining the ARB?

akaemi.com did not make me famous. In fact, it did not bring in a single penny. It had 290 visitors, 280 of whom have only visited once. Guess maybe I should find a purty girl to base my site on …

We put up Christmas lights for the first time ever! They aren’t quite as pretty as the Amy-house, but, well, there’s always next year.

We joined linked in and facebook. The husband is immensely more popular than myself. Most of my friends are really his friends.

We watched 27 movies.

And yes – we had no babies.

Happy Holidays, from

akaemi, the husband, tortellini the grouchy, havok the OCD, and forge the sink-pooper

Categories
nerdly

don’t even try to out-nerd me …

I have mastered the art of traveling with minimal interaction with other human beings. Other than my husband, of course.

No, I am not talking about a road trip where you drive out to the middle of nowhere, hike 5 miles, and then pitch a tent; I am talking about a trip that involves flying on a plane and renting a car.

This is all possible thanks to the introduction of the new “self-service” industry. I can book a flight online. Then, 24 hours before my flight leaves, I can check in online, pick my seats, and print my boarding passes. When I get to the airport, there is a special line for me – the “people who already have their boarding passes and need to check bags line.” This line is shorter and faster moving than the other lines. When I get to the front, I enter my information into a self-service check in machine, where I confirm the number of bags I am checking, and then it prints my luggage tags. I do have to show my license to a person who then puts the tags on my bags, but that is it. No prolonged conversation about where I am going. Just me getting on my way.

There is mandatory personal interaction to get through security. As long as you don’t get tagged as “suspicious” – which, these days, includes traveling with children who require such suspicious items as “baby formula” or “juice” – this interaction is pretty minimal, though it does involve disrobing.

Upon arriving at my destination, I ride the bus to the car rental place, get in a car, and drive away. You think I forgot the part where I stand in line for 45 minutes to get the keys to the car I reserved, but I didn’t. I rented from Alamo, who allows me to check in online. Before leaving my home, I paid for my car, declined all the silly insurances, and printed out the 10 page rental agreement. This allows me to bypass the torturous car rental counter. (“Do you want to upgrade your car for an additional $10 a day? Do you want uber-insurance, super-uber insurance, or super-duper-uber insurance? Will you be needing any carseats? Do you want a GPS direction-giving-doo-bob? How about a Sirius radio?”)

As I drive my rental car out of the facility, I stop for 26 seconds and hand my rental agreement, credit card, and drivers licence to a man in a little booth. He checks everything over, enters the car I’m taking into the system, and then I am good to go.

I am excited about the future of the self-service industry. When done poorly, it can be for a miserable experience. But when done right – it is truly delightful to not have to deal with, well, people.