Playing Tourist and New Yarn

My cousin and her family came to visit this weekend , so we all played tourist at the Smithsonian. And what did I see at the Air and Space Museum, apart from a ridiculously overpriced McDonald's (think $7-$9 "value" meals)? It's a membership card for the Interstellar Association of Turtles. I did a little googling and found that they're still around and still offer memberships (for a fee, of course) to "bright eyed, bushy tailed, fearless and unafraid folk with a fighter pilot attitude." Hmmm, it took me about half and hour to muster the courage to kill the spider in our kitchen this morning, so I guess I don't have the right stuff. We also met these guys, who my cousin's daughter so accurately dubbed "the silver dead people." Oh, from the mouths of babes... The museum wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be. It's a good thing we went this weekend, instead of Labor Day.

Yes, I have been knitting. Here's Bert the Turtle sporting a finished Tychus.



It's 2 strands worked together over short rows and it moved along so quickly, I've started another one in black and red. My brother said the FO was "very Mongolian," not to mention oversized. So, does wearing it make me want to ride around Eurasia and sack a city or two? Sort of, but I pity the horse that has to carry me. I'm also trying to figure out one of the slipped rib patterns from Knitting on the Edge. That's not going so well. There is a pattern emerging, just not the pattern I was looking for (you know, like the one actually pictured in the book). Bummer. But wait, there's more:



A second One-Skein Wonder, with a more accurate gauge this time, and with only the seed stitch edging missing. Thanks again, SP5, for the great pattern. I'm hoping to finish this piece off by tonight. That's a good thing, because there are new additions to my stash:



I made a trip to the LYS on Friday after orientation . They were having a sale (50% off King Tut, plus 15% off Noro) and I couldn't resist (alright, so I would have bought them even without the sale). I've started on a Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts:



I've never used Noro before and I think it's interesting that Kureyon somehow manages to be a little rough and a little slick to the touch (is that the lanolin, maybe?). The colors are really nice, though. I'm sure this stuff would make a lovely sweater, though I personally won't be able to test that idea unless I win the lottery, get a bonus, or find some other way to increase my yarn budget!

Endings

I finished the pink bathmat, which my doggie likes very much, though not as much as he loves the air vent it's next to. I just can't explain such passion for a non-knitted thing.

My SP5-related activities are also coming to a close. I'm savorying every last minute of guilt-free shopping for my spoilee. I'm now on the prowl for some nice stitch markers. I sorta wish I knew how to make them, so I could have exactly the right style and size. But then again, I probably wouldn't have the time or manual dexterity anyway, so Ebay and Froogle to the rescue!

Speaking of dexterity, my right hand is killing me! The short story is that my laptop bit it. The (really very) long story is this: I decided to add an extra stick of RAM to my laptop, so I ordered the memory, which was waiting for me when I got home last Thursday. I've change laptop memory before so I thought it would be easy - 10 minutes, tops. But the screws on the underside of the machine were so incredibly, unbelievably tight, I couldn't undo them to expose the memory slot. After about an hour, I called the manufacturer to make sure I was using the right screwdriver (it's a philips size 0 - I love that there are sizes even smaller than this). Anyway, the Dell tech said it was the right size and advised me to "put more effort into it" (he said it politely, so I didn't get mad, despite my sore hand). Really, I literally stripped the philips head X off the screws trying to get them out. Luckily, the Dell tech called back and said he could dispatch a tech on a service call to replace all of the screws on the bottom of the laptop. The service tech did just that yesterday, so I tried adding the memory again after work. The first screw came out in two shakes (hooray!), but no-go for the second screw. It was pretty much stuck like before. I even had my parents in on the un-screwing fun, but they didn't have any luck either. I made another, much more agitated call to Dell and, though they pretty much think I'm a complete weakling, they're sending another tech (or possibly the same tech), who is supposed to replace the whole plastic underside of the computer, and leave a new set of screws, with all the compartments open, so I'll have to close them myself. I figure if I tightened it, I could probably loosen it. Today, the palm of my hand has bright red splotches from gripping the screwdriver and I had to ice it down :(

I'm not too happy about this whole thing. If it's not right by Monday, this will definately be the end of my Dell experience. I miss my old Fujitsu Lifebook (its screen died, alas). It was getting kinda pokey in performance after 5 years, but at least it was accessible.

Yarn & Tech Sprawl

You know that IBM commercial with the techie sitting alone in an empty room, when suddenly, servers start popping up out of no where? Well look what has appeared in one corner of my bedroom:



Hmmm.... 6 pounds of acrylic (yes, that's pounds). Now, I wonder how that got here **head-scratching** I think the scariest part is that I really have absolutely no idea where this stuff came from. Yarn elves, maybe? Or a yarn-induced blackout while I was at the craft store? Or perhaps a time warp? There are Woolworths price stickers on them and there haven't been any Woolworths around here since I was in high school.

Now, I do remember shopping for a new laptop. I needed something small to carry around. After a lot of googling, I decided on a Dell 700m. They shipped a week earlier than promised (yay Dell!!) and the box came yesterday via UPS. Care for a geeky strip tease? No? Well, too bad:








If you ignore the crap on my desk, it's quite a pretty sight, no? I had a 40% off coupon so I loaded up on some extras - faster processor, more RAM, a DVD writer and an accidental damage warranty - I wouldn't normally have gotten the latter, except I kept imagining the scary things that could happen to my shiny new toy. I can't wait for the cushy case to arrive so I can take it for its first trip!