Why? Because it causes dreams like the one I had last night, which involved pretty much every friend I have around my own age having a party in a room I've never seen before but was in typical dream-logic certain was in my parents' house, all dancing the Macarena to the Llama Song (which I'm not certain can be DONE, but in order to figure it out I'd have to actually dwell on this disturbing thought).

... my dad is crazy.

I'll be over here. O.O

Took a crack at updating my wishlist today. Still suffering from "I have no idea what I want" syndrome. Also, is it just me, or does Amazon get slower every time you use it? After a few searches I have to give up before I lose patience. I have the same problem with Facebook lately, too -- they've loaded the site(s) with so much 'cool', 'helpful' bling that doing anything "quick" is a joke. Bleh and bah humbug.

I'm remembering why I rarely ask people for help with projects. No matter how clearly I explain what I need, I only actually get it about 30% of the time. And I'm really terrible about telling people, no, that's not right, especially when they volunteered to help rather than being required to by work/school. Ten times easier just to do it my own damn self, since probably I'll have to anyway and I won't have to wait on someone else's schedule.

I'z in ur code, squishing ur bugs!

*mournful look* Why is the lemonade gone?

I know I've badgered any number of people on my f-list into starting the Dark is Rising series, but did anyone finish it? I've picked up and fiddled with a story that's been stalled for several years thanks to a certain stubborn Welsh bard, and I'm still bashing my head against the same wall. Could use another pair of eyes on the thing if anyone I coerced into reading got as far as Silver on the Tree.

( Continued ramblings )

Closest thing to hibachi-place-noodles without the drive and price tag of going to the hibachi place:

Order plain lo mein from Chinese restaurant in town.
Reheat in pan, not microwave under any circumstances.
Add:
2-3 cloves garlic, minced,
dash of soy,
and just enough oil to keep the lot from sticking hopelessly to the pan.
Close eyes, focus on taste, and imagine texture isn't slightly off.

Am coding tonight. Am finding myself saying "there's GOT to be an easier way to DO this" a lot. Forseeing much googling in my future, because, yeah, there probably is an easier way to do this. Programmers are the only people I know more inherently lazy than mathematicians.

So far, have discovered great affection for GROUP_CONCAT.

Edit: Oh! Duh! FOR loops! *headdesk*

Wanted: One cat. Short-term loan. Good mousing skills a must. Lack of trophy gifting a plus. Immediate start date, term dependent on applicant skills.

Mother's Day Cards considered and rejected:

- So drenched in roses they appeared to be Valentine's Day cards
- Suggesting that mom is a superhero solely because she cleans things
- Suggesting that mom should make a mess instead of clean one
- Suggesting that mom should take one day of the year to "be like dad/kids" and do nothing
- Reversed the intent of the holiday by implying that mom should be glad to have kids
- Offered brief thanks for mom's work then demanded more of it

Cards remaining on the entire internet: 6.
This holiday screams out for feminist critique.

Mom, I hope you like the one I finally did pick. Which will be late, because the site won't send it ON Mother's Day.

My master's thesis groupmates aren't really prone to swearing (any more than other American twenty-somethings). But I am noticing tonight that the closer we get to being finished with this project, the more curse words are creeping into the emails flying back and forth. And it's not that things are going wrong; we're in very good shape. We're just "so fucking done with this shit."

It's baaa-ack.

The Rules:
1. Reply to this post with 'Icons', and I will pick five of your icons.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will - allegedly - create a never-ending cycle of icon glee.

1. stained glass

Got this one when I was looking for something generic and craft-y or medievalish to use on SCA communities. I tend to use "illumination" more, and should probably lose the stained glass to make room for icons I will use, but what the heck? I have room for 35 yet, it's not like I'm running out of space! (illumination is: )

2. duck butt

This is my happy-surreal one. I use this when I want to comment on something utterly random but good/amusing. "Dancing fish are love." That sort of thing.

3. mm-hmm

Good West Wing icons are in short supply. This was one of the few I found that I liked/could see myself using. And it's a great 'you are talking but no sense is coming out' sort of icon.

4. plotbunny

Ah, one of my earliest, when I thought I'd use my journal for writing stuff more. Also the result of my not having the time/energy to animate -- originally that was going to say "Plotbunny of..." in black, with a nice innocent bunny and then "DOOM!" in red jagged letters with glowing red eye effect. And possibly teeth. Then I got lazy.

5. iFigment

FIGMENT!!
Seriously, what else do you need to know? :)

*sigh*

Teaching self php.
Can't get INSERT INTO to work off a form $_POST. Even went so far as to copy-and-paste directly out of two different tutorials. Neither worked. Can add just fine inputting the fields directly, but the form is epic fail. And I kinda need it for what I want to do.

*grumps, wanders off to look for still more help forums*

Definitely a conspiracy. Yes.

There is a cosmic conspiracy preventing me from getting the pint of Daiquiri Ice I've been trying to get since Sunday when it appeared in the local Baskie's.

This makes me sad.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have achieved the holy grail of homemade junkfood -- Get-crisp, stay-crisp french fries! How? Hint: Think 'bagels'

You will need:
Use-'em-or-plant-'em old potatoes (I have no idea whether this has bearing on the success of the recipe, but it's what I used)
Water
Oil
Salt

( Directions )

Edit: Updates to recipe --
1. Thick fries definitely need to be boiled longer.
2. It may be better to cook the fries in medium-high oil for a longer period than to cook quickly in high temp oil. Further experimentation required.

Time for a cross-stitch update before I finish the project. It's going faster than expected; all that half-cross flies.

( latest pics behind cut )

Here's the bottom half of the new project...

( Picture behind the cut )

You should imagine it a little brighter, since even after a first-pass color correction, it's not as bright as life.