Category Archives: Randonymity

Randonymity

“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.”

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– Willie Nelson (with apologies to those who now have an earworm)

For the next ten to 14 days, I’ll be on vacation. I’m sure I’ll post about my visit to Toronto, my journey there and back again, and the many wonderful bloggers I hope to meet, but said posts will be sporadic and eclectic. Stay out of trouble, ok? (And does this look like Chaos and May or what?! Too perfect.)

“Wait a minute… Mom, where are you going?! Why are you taking your pillow with you?!! Oh, this does not look good at all…” -Mayhem

Randonymity

Bulleting into a long weekend

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  • Grr. At some point yesterday afternoon, Dreamhost started to have mail delays with things like comments from my blog. I’m sure hoping that they get that sorted out soon so I can reply to y’all. (Of course, after I wrote that, I started to receive comment email again.)
  • Tuesday? Why, yes, Monday’s a holiday here in the States, so it’s a blogging holiday for me. 🙂
  • Speaking of which… After today, only two more blogging (and working) days until vacation starts next Thursday! Woot!
  • I’m sure I’ll blog while I’m on vacation, but it’ll be sporadic and probably picture heavy.
  • In order to add a bit more knitting content (the four remaining and desperate knitreaders just perked up, I can tell), I’m trying to convince Jeanne to guest blog periodically.
  • Jeanne also has three very cute kitties, who have been known to (unwillingly but adorably) model knitwear.
  • No pressure, Jeanne. *ahem*
  • While on a bike ride after work yesterday (yup, things are slowing down at work!), I saw a guy with possibly the most amazingly muscley and sexy arms ever. Yum. Sleeveless bike jerseys were made for that guy.
  • I also saw a large moving van stuck under one of the bikeway (formerly railroad) bridges. Dude. Did you not think the height restriction applied to your humongous vehicle? Why were you driving a moving van on the parkway in the first place?
  • Glad I wasn’t on the bridge when that thing got stuck!
  • Today should be a mellow day at work. My boss is on vacation and I’m the in-charge. My minions shall be legion, um, well, maybe two. One of whom will probably go for a long lunch and not return.
  • That’s ok, since I’m taking a long lunch and getting a pedicure. 🙂
  • And tomorrow I’m finally getting my hair cut, after six or seven months. Goodbye, 3-5″ of heavy, tangling hair.

“You did not just write that you are leaving again next week, right?” -Chaos

*looks worried* -Mayhem

Randonymity

Chris can’t come to the blog right now…

22 Comments

“Wha…?” -Chaos

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Thursday, September 3, for your chance to win a copy of Michelle Rowen’s forthcoming paranormal romance, Tall, Dark and Fangsome! (Another of Michelle Rowen’s vampire romances, Bitten and Smitten, is a $1.99 ebook from Hatchette Books in September.)

P.P.S. Sticky note created over at Superstickies and as inspired by Paperback Writer.

Randonymity

Introducing Kuroi Neko (formerly known as “Dell Mini 9”)

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My new netbook skin arrived! I applied it to my Dell Mini 9 netbook and dubbed said netbook Kuroi Neko (Japanese for “black cat”).

I think it fits right in around here. 😉

When I was taking pictures, I realized that Kuroi Neko is literally half the size of my Toshiba laptop, which has a 14.1″ screen.

Of course, not everyone was impressed…

“Um, Mom? There’s something seriously hinky about this cat.” -Chaos

Contests, Randonymity

Cabiny bullets and a furry pirate

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Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Monday, August 24, for your chance to win a copy of Rita Herron’s paranormal romance, Dark Hunger!

I’ve notified the five winners of the So Into You contest – as soon as I hear back from all of them, I’ll post the winners. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Lea’s giving away an ebook copy of Dirty Love by Lacey Savage – leave a comment by August 21 if you’d like the chance to win what looks to be a scorching hot read.

Amy’s giving away an autographed copy of the mystery Fatal Encryption. For your your chance to win, leave a comment about what job you’d choose if you could choose any job.

  • Ok, things are going to be really, really crazy through the end of the month in workland.
  • Good thing I escaped to the cabin last week!
  • Yes, the cabin was a lot of fun. Thanks for asking. 😉 We saw a bald eagle. We fished. We lounged about on the deck drinking beer. We puttered around the lake on the boat. We rejoiced that there weren’t any bugs other than a random horsefly or two.
  • Jeanne, clever one that she has, has suggested that perhaps knitting wouldn’t be so painful if the two projects I’ve been not working on were wool instead of cotton blends. *lightbulb moment* Now I just have to find the energy to wind yarn some evening!
  • Why is the wind always against me when I go biking? You’d think I’d be used to the wind, having grown up near Rochester, Minnesota, which is apparently one of the windiest cities in the US.
  • I wonder if I’ll get caught up on my blogs in Google Reader before September? I still love all of you, but I’m a bit behind…
  • Have I mentioned that I’ll be going to Toronto in September to visit Brigitte and Lorraine and MamaTulip and Lea and many other fabulous bloggers?! (If you are a fabulous Toronto or environs blogger and would like to meet for coffee or drinks, drop me a line.)
  • LOL! Mayhem was napping in her toy basket (handily included in the background of the picture below) and just fell out. Now she’s lying on the floor, looking at her toy basket with much suspicion. (“I’m sure it’s out to get me, Mom.”)

“Arrrrgh! I’m a pirate, hi ho, hi ho. Avast there, Mom, and prepare to hand over the kitty treats!” -Chaos

Randonymity

Dear Blog…

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Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Monday, August 17, for your chance to win a copy of Sandra Hill’s So Into You!

Last night work, exercise, and the pollen count conspired against you. Also, a cat may have eaten my homework. Or not. Anyway, I got nothin’ here except a very special picture of Chaos. Please feel free to caption amongst yourselves – I could use the giggles throughout the day!

Yours truly,

Chris

Randonymity

Bullets’n’Tiaras

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Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Monday, August 17, for your chance to win a copy of Sandra Hill’s So Into You!

  • Mayhem spent a rare night sleeping in my bedroom Friday night, as I can’t actually get her out of her thunderstorm hiding spot (and it would’ve been cruel to try). I awoke Saturday morning to Mayhem happily gnawing on my arm and purring. Way to be unobtrusive, May! Not.
  • We had an exciting Saturday weatherwise ’round here. Throughout the day, in no particular order, we had a heat advisory, a flash flood watch, a tornado warning, intermittent noisy thunderstorms, oodles of humidity, and the sirens going off in the evening. This probably didn’t help attendence for the local art fairs in Uptown, Loring Park, and Powderhorn Park.
  • Yikes. I’m closing in on post #1000. This post is #994.
  • I’m checking into getting a Dell Mini 9 laptop skin. I even know the design I want to get customized. (Many thanks to Limedragon for sending me that link some months ago!)
  • I actually knitted last week when Jeanne was over. I knitted an entire inch of my second Meilenweit cotton sock, only to realize that I was knitting it on 56 stitches, not 72. D’oh. *rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrip*
  • Many thanks to J. Kaye and Cecile for the recent blog awards. And much belated thanks to Lea for the Angel on My Blog Award a while back – I added the icon to my sidebar ages ago, but never mentioned it! (And apologies to anyone else who I haven’t mentioned on this one…)

“Pink! Feathery! Sparkly! Tiaray!” -Mayhem

Randonymity

Geekity

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Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, Thursday, August 6, for your chance to win a copy of Diana Holquist’s How to Tame a Modern Rogue!

You may or may not have noticed that I have certain geekish tendencies. It’s hereditary – what can I say? (Hi, Dad! Hi, Matt!) 😉 Anyway, said geekish tendencies are sometimes expressed through acquisition of technology. Most recently, through the acquisition of a Dell Mini 8.9″ netbook, on the right below. For scale, my regular laptop on the left has a 14.1″ screen. Quite a difference, eh?

My plans for the wee Dell are to get it setup so I can connect to work when I’m on-call (better than lugging a laptop around!), take notes in various situations, and have a lightweight way to stay in touch on vacation.

Oh, and I think Jeanne was mightily amused to be fielding Ubuntu questions from me last night. I’m mostly recovered from that fall when I discovered that you don’t need anti-virus software for Ubuntu, Jeanne. Thanks for checking! :p

“Technology bores me.” -Mayhem

“Crap, this thing is too small for me to hide behind.” -Chaos

Contests, Randonymity

Contests and bullets and work, oh my!

32 Comments

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post before 7 pm CDT, August 6, for your chance to win a copy of Diana Holquist’s How to Tame a Modern Rogue!

Carolyn of the Thrillionth Page (who lives on the same street as I do – how cool is that?) is giving away a copy of Silent in the Sanctuary or Silent in the Grave (both are historical novels by Deanna Raybourn). Leave a comment before August 4 for your chance to win.

Lea’s having daily giveaways through August 6 to celebrate the release of Devyn Quinn’s new novel Possession at the end of August You could win an ARC (advance reading copy) of Possession or a copy of Men in Blue, so head over and get in on the fun!

Knitnana’s having a contest to celebrate five years of her Nana Sadie Rose business, as well as 750 bags completed during those five years. Leave a comment on her contest post by midnight EDT, August 10, for your chance to win a goodie bag.

  • Dear Readers, I fear there will be many more bullet posts in our future.
  • Why, you ask?
  • Well, I have big project going on at work this month.
  • A project originally planned to finish in October or November.
  • A project I did not start coding on until Monday, July 27, after the Board of Directors told our CEO that it was our number one priority.
  • A project that must now be coded, tested, and deployed by September 1.
  • *gulp*
  • Last week, my brain was exhausted by the time I got home from work each day, incapable of additional complex thought.
  • So, yeah, more bullet posts, which are such a tidy way to do stream-of-consciousness, don’t you think?
  • Speaking of stream-of-consciousness, I have to admit that I’ve taken more pictures with my cell phone than with my Olympus 1010 during the past week or two.
  • That crappy two megapixel camera inadvertently creates interesting effects, especially after I turn the pictures black and white.

  • “I don’t like the sound of this work project, Mom. If it’s going to keep you away from home, I do not authorize you to work on it.” -Chaos
  • Funny you should mention that, Chaos, as I’m going to talk to my boss about working more from home for the duration of this project. That way, I can go for a walk or bike ride over lunch, which really refreshes me (and has already led to some project breakthroughs), plus I’m more willing to work later if I’ve already exercised and am sitting on my comfortable love seat. We’ll see how that goes. 🙂
Randonymity, Those Cats

Pictures from a cell

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The camera on my (Nokia 6301) cellphone takes pretty crappy pictures. But sometimes, such as when I’m biking or when I’m sitting on the couch and the cats are being cute, my cellphone camera is my only option.

Such was the case yesterday while I was riding my bike when the following sign on a boxcar gave me the giggles:

Embiggening may or may not make that actually readable!

How about this spectacularly blurry picture of Mayhem vamping out?

Or yawning. Whatever. 😉

Some photos can be pretty cute after some tweaking.

“Why aren’t you throwing my mouse for me? I am displeased.” -Mayhem

“Aren’t I just the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?” -Mayhem

“Really, it’s not a hard question.” -Mayhem

“Still adorable back here!” -Mayhem

“Hmph.” -Chaos