New skills I have acquired in the last few months:

1) Using InDesign
2) Creating Flash files and programming ActionScript (well, a little)
3) Replacing screen mesh in window screens (not that hard. Best tools: spline roller, utility knife)
4) Digging ancient rubber spline and decaying mesh out of old window screen frames (best tools: letter opener, needle-nose pliers)
5) Replacing utility knife blades (4. and 5. being direct results of 3., natch)
6) Customizing views in LibraryThing
7) Plank position in yoga
8) Double-stick saidi in belly dance
9) Embedding sounds in PowerPoint
10) Tricking PowerPoint into believing MP3s are WAVs
11) Making kick-ass apple-oatmeal cake from scratch

Well, I may not be making any money, but at least I'm learning cool stuff. :)

( SYTYCD: Top 10 Perform )

Tags: sytycd

Moya (MacMini) has been updated to 10.4.11 (following two separate software installations). Firefox is upgraded to 3.5, and will hopefully no longer put up annoying little "This script is no longer functioning" messages, or crash for no reason (and I recovered my bookmarks when it lost them). I have Snood Deluxe that I accidentally bought a license for (and I'm not sure I like it better than the old version, but what the hell). iTunes will be updated to 8 tomorrow, so I can have the Genius playlists. I have widgets on my Dashboard. If I choose, I can install an updated version of Office (as in, again, a version that isn't 5 years old).

It's like getting a brand new computer, seriously (miraculously preloaded with all my stuff). Everything runs so much faster and smoother, I have new toys, and it's just stable, which it hasn't been for a while. I'm really, really psyched.

Tags: geeking out

I just voided the warranty on my MacMini! :) Which is to say, I just upgraded the RAM on my Mac (got a great deal on 1G at NewEgg). This is much scarier than it sounds, since Apple made it really really hard to get into the MacMini case.

See, there are no nice neat screws -- you need a putty knife (and a letter opener, in my case) and you stick it into the little cracks around the edges and you pry. The plastic clips inside go all snapcracklepop as you're doing this; if I hadn't been warned by an excellent web page with step-by-step instructions, I'd've chickened out. But I didn't, and the RAM clicked right into place, and I got the case back on (that took two tries), and I'm all happy and can now upgrade to an operating system that's less than 5 years old, and then finally install Firefox 3! Yay!

OMG, Photoshop just opened so fast!!!!

Tags: geeking out

I have some Dreamwidth codes if anyone wants one. :) Comments are screened; just let me know what your email is.

I am seriously impressed by the quality of dancing this season. I argue occasionally with the choreography, but that dancing has really been outstanding. Wow. And I'm going to hate to see a few of these couple break up; it'll be as bad as losing Katee/Joshua was. :(

( SYTYCD: Top 12 Dancers )

Tags: sytycd

Wow. One of the more fantastic performance nights I can remember. I didn't necessarily like all of the routines, but all of them impressed me. ( SYTYCD: Top 14 Perform )

Tags: sytycd

It has been ridiculously windy here for two days, with insane gusting at random moments. I assume it has something to do with pressure systems moving in and out, which would explain why my sinuses were attempting to drill their way through my forehead with ice picks last night. Seriously, worst sinus headache I've ever had; it just sneered at my usual meds, even in higher dosages. I finally gave up on the drugs and wound up trying to watch soothing TV (Food Network Challenge, Iron Chef America -- and yet, I couldn't really eat due to throbbing pain) from under ice and heat packs all evening, and still woke up with a medication hangover. :P

On the plus side, this weekend looks to be an awesome one! butterflykiki arriving, going to see Stonehoney, seeing Transformers (although the reviews are worrying me) and going to a Cubs games (although their playing is worrying me :P). Oh, and Edgewater fireworks on July 4, whee!

Went to the Fountain Square Art Festival with my friend D this weekend, and had a great time looking at fantastic photography and paintings. It's the photography that really grabs my attention these days; so many times I wind up looking at shots and going "Yeah, that's what I meant to do with that one shot I tried." I'm really pleased with how well some of my UK shots turned out, and I've wondered if selling them I something I should look into, but i have no clue how to even get started.

Oh, and I finally sold my high-end portable air conditioner that came with the place and that I've never used even once. I posted it on Craig's List for $350 and got some very insulting offers telling me why I was charging too much and what they were prepared to pay -- I mean, really insulting in places; you would not believe how patronizing this one apartment manager was, sending me a long email listing all the reasons I obviously didn't know what I should be selling for so he would advise me, and when he was prepared to come inspect the unit and how much he would condescend to offer and... yeah. Insulting, particularly when the unit has timers and auto temperature settings, was $625 new, and was only used for a few months. Craig's List makes me crazy. I wound up selling to a nice guy for $300 ( < sticks tongue out at $200-$250 dollar offer by jerk >), which was what I wanted in the first place. :) So that's the upgrade for Moya's memory and money for the dealer's room at WorldCon. \o/

( SYTYCD: Top 16 Eliminations )

Tags: sytycd

Hmmm. Not a fabulous night; there weren't really any dances that got me excited, although several were quite nice. I don't know.

( SYTYCD: Top 16 Perform )

Tags: sytycd