« August 2006 | Main | October 2006 »
September 29, 2006
it's really weird to watch star trek, a scene with wesley crusher, while reading wil wheaton's latest blog entry which is about auditioning for a tv role.
wheaton is such a great writer. seriously.
:|:
i'm having one of my many busy times right now. i basically have my act together for the car show next weekend but i'm still stressed by the situation. the show won't break even-- that i know for sure. we'll lose money. it's ok. if we do it again next year i'll know better how to make it work financially.
i don't get enough sleep and there never seems to be enough time for everything.
oh well, it'll be done next week, and then i am taking monday off.
Posted by lisa at 06:52 PM
September 28, 2006
analog version of the spacepod cam
back in 1988, this guy did, essentially, the analog equivalent of the spacepod cam. and he even did it in a vw beetle!
Posted by lisa at 11:17 PM
September 20, 2006
renewed respect
i've always admired the interior of the beetle. the design is harmonious, pleasing, and largely circular. i sometimes think i get the best view of the car while driving it.
i spent an hour cleaning spacepod's interior today. i've removed a lot of the surface mold and dirt. it's startling how easily it comes off of all the surfaces. most require a simple wipe down with a spray of simple green and a microfiber towel. in fact, i suspect it would have come off the cloth upholstery with no more than that, although i did spray that down with carpet cleaner and brush with a clean scrub brush.
i removed the leather steering wheel cover that I added a several years ago. mold was growing on its underside. once i'd removed it, the steering wheel wiped down clean with little effort. the cover itself is ruined, i think, with the strange yellow mold.
i am nowhere near done, of course, but it's good that i've made some progress.
i met with the nbeast folks tonight. i think i have more work to do to get my cars ready for the show than i do to get the show ready.
Posted by lisa at 11:36 PM
September 19, 2006
on the up side
i'm still bummed about the spacepod situation, and i had a fairly aggravating day in regards to Durham Central Park, the booking of, a matter which I thought was long since laid to rest. Not so; applications must be made to two more entities, a fact I was told this morning by the Park person, and it turns out one of those applications is already late.
so i made nice with the lady who will process it, and then i made nice with someone who must sign the form, and got the form signed right in the saint nick of time (he leaves the country later this week).
it was irritating, but the thing is that people in durham are just cool about things. it's a laid back place. it makes everything much easier.
then this evening i was at Large Red Concentric Circle Store and walking out of the store ahead of me was a young woman in a burkha. I saw oversized white trainers peek out from under her dramatic garment, and then she began to glide! i realized she was wearing those shoes that have wheels in them. combined with the burkha, the effect was quite stunning. it was as if Spike Lee had directed Dune.
And I thought that I love Durham, I love the people.
Posted by lisa at 10:08 PM
September 18, 2006
i need a garage
like, really need.
i noticed that spacepod's windows had fogged up again so i decided this morning to open them and let him air out.
i was a little startled to find that his battery is apparently dead. i guess i let him sit too long.
i was startled to find that every porous surface in the interior (except perhaps the headliner) is covered in white mold, with a three-dimensional, yellowish growth on the leather steering wheel cover.
i almost cried when i saw this. in fact, i should be out there right now cleaning him up and not writing this.
the problem that originally grounded him is that the lower engine shield is dangling by a single bolt and scraping the ground. it had come partially loose and i'd removed two bolts, but could not get my screwdriver angled correctly under the third. faced with indecision: jack the car up, or get a shorter screwdriver, i let the issue slide for, i don't know, two months? the driveway is so dirty, i get filthy whenever i have to get on my back to get under the car. plus rain makes it worse, so i let it slide...
so let's recount the problems:
car is leaking and turning moldy: a garage wouldn't fix the leak, but it would prevent the car from getting wet and moldy inside. i've ordered a car cover as my best current solution to this problem.
battery has died, probably due to lack of use: a garage would allow me to keep the car on a charger. i will find a way to jump-start it, although this might be a real pain if my jumper box isn't strong enough, which it has not been in the past.
need to get under the car to remove engine shield: a garage would make this a heck of a lot less unpleasant, and feasible to do after dark.
i need a garage.
i don't want to photograph the mold, even though it's extraordinary, because i'm afraid i'll become known on the internet as the woman who let her beetle grow fungus.
Posted by lisa at 07:14 PM
September 15, 2006
a random WTF? from flickr
ETA: ok, the burning man reference wasn't on this photo page when i first posted it. it all makes sense now.
Posted by lisa at 11:56 PM
September 12, 2006
if you love your pudding, label it
i had this brilliant idea a couple of weeks ago: bring enough food for a whole week to work on Monday. this works incredibly well in my effort to improve my lunchtime habits, because at lunch i always follow the path of least resistance. walking down the hall to the breakroom is much easier than walking to the cafe or to my car. so if i have the food there, i eat it. excellent!
ok, so there's this sign on the refrigerator door that says it will be cleaned out every Monday. I assume this means at 0'dark-thirty Monday morning, when the housekeeping staff is around, and I pay it little mind, because I clean all my stuff out on Friday, then bring new stuff Monday.
Happily, I brought very little stuff yesterday because I was out of town all weekend and had to do my grocery shopping last night. But I did bring some lasagne (which I ate), some grapes (left over from last week, but still good), and some small tubs of butterscotch pudding. And some DDP.
"Funny," I thought this morning as I unloaded a week's worth of sandwich supplies, yougurt, and more DDP into the fridge. "Didn't I have some food in here last night?"
The grapes I remembered, and didn't feel too sad about losing them. After a week of grapes, I was a little tired of them.
The DDP is a little baffling. Soda doesn't go bad, why throw it away?
Then this afternoon I remembered the pudding. Oh, woe. They threw away my pudding! Dammit.
Still, there is no point in being angry at the faceless powers that render the fridge clean each Monday evening. They cannot know that that pudding was perfectly fresh, and loved by somebody. I have learned my lesson.
I will label my pudding.
Posted by lisa at 02:47 PM
NBeast is not just for Beetle nerds!
NBeast is a New Beetle car show (and some other stuff).
NBeast is happening in Durham, at Durham Central Park, on Sunday October 8th.
You're invited!
The cars will be pretty, and the people will be merry! And it will be a lovely day in the Park.
Posted by lisa at 12:20 AM
September 09, 2006
the mo: officially cured
for those following along at home, it's official. moses had his three month thyroid test recently and the levels were normal. no more hyperthyroid.
he's such a good kitteh.
Posted by lisa at 12:08 AM
September 08, 2006
endangered durham
an amazing blog sent to me by joe (thanks, joe!)
i found it a little cynical, but the research and the photos of durham from the previous century more than make up for it. his point about the effect of churches on the urban landscape is particularly chilling.
Posted by lisa at 12:10 AM
September 05, 2006
BPAL: The Organ Grinder
MORE...Posted by lisa at 11:00 PM
September 04, 2006
BPAL: Midnight on the Midway and Gennivre, L'artiste du Diable
Part of the Carnival Diabolique series. I did well enough on BPAL sales this summer that I was able to purchase the entire Carnival with my earnings-- knowing full well that I'd be selling off plenty of it, just not sure which parts. And I have to say that it sure was cool to have them all show up in my mailbox, complete with little cards for each scent and all kinds of other extra goodies.
Sarah and I met today at the Broad Street Cafe so she could check them out, and we lined them all up on the table, each with its card, and I could feel the collector part of my personality twinge a little. But by the end of the afternoon I knew that some of them have to go. And probably a good bit of the rest of the BPAL collection does too. How many lifetimes of perfume does a girl really need? I don't even wear that much, anyway.
Ooooooh-kay. Oh, by the way, I'm linking to the artwork for each scent for a reason. Go look at it. It's great.
MORE...Posted by lisa at 08:03 PM
September 01, 2006
yay rain!
yay rain yay rain yay rain
(mysterious one-time puddle on bedroom floor notwithstanding)
in other news, i finally admitted that i was sick and went to health care. all week i've sworn up and down that i had allergies. the nice man at health care pointed out that it's not likely that i'd suddenly develop allergies after living 37 years in the same place.
sick twice in one month? me? unheard of. a parting gift from the big city, i guess. two pairs of fluevogs, a nice skirt, and a virus.
Posted by lisa at 08:32 PM