Frustrated with importing!

I've been trying to export old blogs from MySpace and am frustrated by my progress. I was able to export them as Atom feeds, but Google/blogger is pretty particular about rejecting xml that didn't come from their own export tools.

Exporting them to HTML and then cutting and pasting one entry at a time seems to be only only option, but it's a tedious one.  If anyone has any simple fixes, please let me know!!

Your Photo

You are frozen in a frame above the mantle.
Your face thin, I notice now; but though it seems
not for the first time.

There are things I want to ask you; when I'm alone
I do. You haven't answered me yet-
this is the first promise you've broken.

It's been too many years for me to keep talking
to ink behind glass.
This photographic love must end.

My sweet memory. I should forget.

Typo of the century: Large Hardon Collider

We all knew it would happen.

EverySam's Summary of the Health Care Reform Process

The best summary  of the Health Care Reform process was posted as a Digg comment by EverySam:

Democrats: "We need health care reform"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! Give us a majority and we'll do it better"
Democrats: "Done, you have majority of both houses"

12 years later, health care is irrefutably worse in every respect for every single person in the United States

Democrats: "We need health care reform"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! Americans are tired of partisan politics!"
Democrats: "OK, let's compromise"
Republicans: "OK, get rid of half your ideas"
Democrats: "Done"
Republicans: "Too liberal, get rid of half your ideas"
Democrats: "Done"
Republicans: "Too liberal, get rid of half your ideas"
Democrats: "Done"
Republicans: "Too liberal, get rid of half your ideas"
Democrats: "Done"
Republicans: "Too liberal, get rid of half your ideas"
Democrats: "Done. Time to end debate"
Republicans: "Too liberal, we need more debate, we will filibuster to prevent you from voting"
Democrats: "OK, we'll vote--sorry guys, debate is ended. It's time to vote on the bill"
Republicans: "Too liberal, we vote no"
Democrats: "OK, it passed anyway--sorry guys."

One month later

Republicans: "Wait--wait, OK, we have less of a minority now so we can filibuster forever."
Democrats: "Sorry, the bill already passed, we need it to pass the House now"
Republicans: "But we have enough to filibuster"
Democrats: "Sorry, the bill already passed, we need it to pass the House now"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! You haven't listened to our ideas! You've shut us out of this whole process!"
Democrats: "Sorry, show us your proposal"
Republicans: "Smaller government"
Democrats: "That's not very specific"
Republicans: "OK, here's our detailed proposal--It's our common-sense ideas we spent 12 years not enacting"
Democrats: "OK, we'll add a bunch more of your ideas"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! You included all these back-room deals"
Democrats: "OK, we'll get rid of the back-room deals"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! You're using obscure procedural tricks to eliminate the back-room deals!"
Democrats: "No, we're using reconciliation, which both parties have used dozens of times for much larger bills"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! You're pressuring Congressmen to vote for your bill! Scandal!"
Democrats: "It's called 'whipping', it's been done since 1789"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! Can't you see the American people don't want this?"
Democrats: "This bill is mildly unpopular (40-50%), doing nothing (your proposal) is extraordinarily unpopular (4-6%)"
Republicans: "We need to start over! We need to start over!"
Democrats: "We should really consider voting--"
Republicans: "Liberal fascists! Start over! Clean slate! Common-sense! America!"

Firefox keyboard scrolling issues

Firefox has been driving me crazy lately. I use my keyboard 99% of the time and mouse only when necessary. I didn't even realize I relied on keystrokes so much until caret browsing stopped working after an update. Once I installed 3.6, when I'd try to scroll down using page down or the down arrow, my cursor would jump to the bottom of the screen and then snap back to the top of the page.

Thankfully, I figured out the fix! I present it here as a public service:

Select Tools ¦Options ¦Advanced ¦General
Make sure Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages and Use autoscrolling are not checked.



It's counter-intuitive, but it worked for me! You can switch caret browsing on and off by hitting the F7 if you're using a PC.

Water of Love

Jesse Sterling Harrison on YouTube--pass it around and then subscribe to his YouTube channel so you can say you knew him when. His original music is even better and I have it straight from the horse's mouth that there's more of it on the way very, very soon. 

Logan's Run

I loved Logan's Run as a child. It came out when I was seven and I've been trying to find a copy of it for years. Thank you Netflix!!

It's funny how things change over time. I can't remember it looking so fake to me back then and apparently I wasn't the only on. It was nominated for two Oscars, won a Saturn and Nebula award, and it received an Academy award for Special Achievement for its visual effects. And since I'm spewing trivia, I should mention that it was a ground breaking movie for its sound too! It was the first movie made using Dolby Stereo.

I'm not sure why my parents let me watch it, except that parent's were not quite as protective in the '70s as they are today. The carousel scene was horrifying:

Census 2010

This seems like the most reasonable answer. I wonder if they'll send someone to my door to verify my race.

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it...

Heads up! We're not a democracy anymore.  Seriously. Texas said so! And the entire state must be part of some alternate USA, because their country has a different history than the rest of us in the US. Really, if my kids ever kids passed a test based on the new curriculum standards, I'd consider grounding them.

If you stumble on this post months or years from now, I hope the new standards haven't spread throughout the country and become ingrained in society. If they have, I do hope you remember what happened to spark this post and your skewed-version of history.  If not, take this chance to research the Texas Board of Education ruling in 2010.

If you're reading this soon afterwards and start thinking about the ruling too hard, you'll get yourself all worked up. Actually,  I can't imagine not getting worked up about this even if I were comatose! Still, I had t laugh through the irritation, and other articles online have helped. For example, Mark Morford's article at sfgate.com, Dear Texas, Please shut up. Sincerely, History, had me at the word Dear. From that article:

Hey, kids! Here's something I bet you didn't know: Black people? Back in 1800 or whenever? They liked volunteered for that fine, desirable position. It was a completely balanced, fair, hugely successful system, until those damn liberals came along and ruined everything. I know, right? What a shame....

And from a TFN press release:

The Texas State Board of Education’s vote today against requiring that students learn what the nation’s Founders did to protect religious freedom represents an irresponsible rewriting of American history and a stunning triumph of politics over education, the president of the Texas Freedom Network said today.
“These board members voted to reject the most fundamental constitutional protection for religious freedom in America today: the principle that government may not disfavor or promote any religion over all others,” TFN President Kathy Miller said. “In a world plagued by religious conflict, the Founders understood that keeping government out of religion was essential to protecting freedom. It’s stunning that this board, which directs the education of nearly 5 million public school children, doesn’t understand that.”
The board’s vote came on an amendment offered by Mavis Knight, D-Dallas: “examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others.”
The board rejected Knight’s amendment on a party-line vote, with all Republicans voting no and all Democrats voting yes.
The board is continuing the revision of social studies standards today and tomorrow and will take a final vote in May. Publishers will use the standards to write new textbooks that will be sold in Texas and across the country.

My morning started with a bang!

I'd write the story but I'm very late on a deadline for work, so it'll have to wait.

If anyone is actually reading this and you care to hear what happened, leave me a comment and in return, I'll post the story.

Have a great Thursday. And remember...things could be worse!

Well, they don't know me.

I just noticed there was a Google ad at the bottom of my page that said "How to save your marriage."

I found that ironic.

Please, don't be American!

I just had a random memory. Since no one is reading this blog right now anyhow...

France,  September 2001

I was once approached by two girls in front of the Louvre. They had a tourist map out and unfolded, which they had been referencing as they argued about which way to go. I'm sure you've seen these types of maps: it was one of those cartoony maps with only the major streets marked and large caricatured drawings of major attractions.


They asked if I knew where "the Leaning Tower of Pizza" was. I'm positive I accidentally used the "duuuuuh, you idiots" voice when I answered "uhh. in Pisa." They thrust the map at me and asked if I could show them where it was. I said if they showed me a map of Italy, maybe I could. But a map of Paris just wasn't going to cut it. I mentally chanted "please be Canadian! Please be Canadian!" when I asked them where they were from, and I was beyond relieved to learn they actually were Canadian!
 
Of course, I mean no slight to my Canadian friends. I'm  just really, really happy they weren't American. We have enough problems with our international image these days!

My roar may be a meow.

I'm not going to lie. I get a thrill when I successfully fix something around the house, especially if it's something that seemed daunting to me when I considered trying. Being single has been educational: I've learned to use a propane torch, sweated pipes, fixed a dishwasher and a washer and dryer, wired lights and doorbells, and deconstructed (then reconstructed) a box spring that was too tall for a stairwell. I just purchased my own multimeter and electric receptacle tester; I purchased and own my own circular, jig, chain, miter, and hack saws; and I literally carry the scar of someone who has learned, through trial and huge error, how not to cut her finger off when the protective plate for the electric hedge trimmer is broken.

The cycle of concentration-frustration-elation (wash, rinse, repeat) as I figure out how to accomplish some household fix-it task is similar to what I used to feel when I did coding or computer hardware troubleshooting. I enter some weird time-tunnel; everything stops until I figure out the problem, and when I come out of the vortex after that "aha!" moment, I realize what felt like an hour was really a day.

In the end, I glean a bit of knowledge that will be with me forever, whether I want it to be or not. Seriously, someday I'll be taking a written driver's license exam and my mind will freeze on "traveler wires" and "ground" when I see the words "red" or "green" and "light." Useless knowledge tends to lodge into the most inconvenient ledges of my brain.

My kids and I play a game at dinnertime. I ask them what they've learned that day. If they say nothing, they'll (almost jokingly) be required to go gain a tidbit of knowledge to share. They'll come back with a new word, some random trivia, or most often, something surprisingly hilarious. It's because of them that I know farts have been clocked at 10 feet per second and that Leonardo Da Vinci is credited with inventing the scissors. My input to this game lately is all about household stuff.

Mom: "Today I learned that the R-value marked on insulation is a measure of thermal resistance!"
Kids: "uh. okay. What's thermal resistance?"
Mom: "The resistance to heat flow."
Kid: "Cool mom. Did you know crocodiles can't stick out their tongues?"

I feel their pain really. Because you know, I really could have gone my entire life without knowing this stuff and still have been perfectly happy. Although I may feel victorious when I 'get it', the truth is that I'd rather someone else do it and leave me to the things I want to know.

I'm taking this opportunity to make a list, just for the hell of it, of things I never particularly wanted to learn. I may be setting the feminist movement back a few decades, but I never said I wanted it all.
(grammar nazis beware: the following list is not parallel)

I never wanted to learn

• to fix anything on the car.
Although female mechanics are cool, I wouldn't mind just sticking to changing oil and the rogue flat tire now and again. Even those, I would have been happy to hire out.
• what my dishwasher's guts looked like.
• what my dryer's guts looked like.
• how to bypass the door sensor's wiring on my washing machine.
• how to read a wiring schematic and use a soldering iron.
• how to cut open (and then patch) a ceiling to access the plumbing for an upstairs bathtub.
• how to replace a clogged disgusting u-trap for said bathtub.
Some things are just plain gross.
• to fish a dead possum out of a pool when opening it.
Did I mention that some things are just plain gross?
• how to clear ice from a gutter at 6 am in -2 degree weather
• what exactly is in the crawl space behind the basement.
• how to run a water line to the refrigerator across the room from the sink.
• landscaping.
Really. I don't want to know anything about keeping up my yard. I want it to just magically look beautiful and well kept.
• how my neighbors would react if I chose to let my yard return to its god-given state.
It's not pretty (both their reactions and the yard). I don't recommend trying this one if you like your neighbors.
• how to rip out a preformed shower unit and put in a new one on a minimal budget.
I don't actually know how to do this yet, because I'm still in the 'reading everything ever written about it' stage. Likewise with:
• how to tear out an upstairs bathtub when it requires going through walls.
• how to beg for help from knowledgeable friends when I get myself in over my head; and hoping they don't feel used for their arm mass.

Although I am woman (hear me roar), it's empowering enough to know I can learn this stuff if I have to. I'm also woman enough to say that if I someday live happily ever after with a man enjoys doing these things, more power to him. And I'm not sexist: if you're a woman looking for room and board in exchange for handy woman work, give me a call!

Until the phone rings, it's back to figuring out what to do with the neutral and how to wire the travelers when converting two 3-way switches (each controlling the same two lights) to one single-pole motion-sensor and one regular single-pole switch.

But...did you know that Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie were named after the policeman (Bert) and the taxi driver (Ernie) in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life"?

P.S. Measure twice, cut once is a nice truism. Unfortunately, some of us were apparently born without the ability to use a measuring tape accurately. I can measure eight times and if I'm lucky enough to come up with the same measurement twice, what I cut will still be wrong. A better ditty: measure twice and let someone else handle the saw.