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June 21, 2007
Travel along with spacegrrl and spacepod!
Starting Saturday, June 23rd, J and I will be driving to Indianapolis, Chicago, then along historic Route 66 to Roswell New Mexico, where we'll attend the annual Roswell2k New Beetle convention. Along the way we'll be picking up other bugs also traveling to Roswell.
I'll be running a live web cam in the car during our travel times and at various times while we're on site in Roswell. I'll post travelogues and photos daily (internet access permitting).
Want to follow along? Visit All Pods Go To Roswell.
Posted by lisa at 10:59 PM
learning to love the link
so, the exasperating audio link and i have been getting along a little better today.
i don't have to turn off the CAR to switch between the link and the cd changer; i just have to turn off the radio. that's cool. that's ok.
it is possible to use the ipod's UI instead of the dension UI. what i've been doing is selecting the playlist and song i want before putting the ipod in the cradle, and the link just picks it up and starts playing.
not having to manage power cables for the ipod and an fm transmitter is a big bonus-- the link taps into the car's power system and charges the ipod.
a couple of trips to the big blue hardware store helped matters a great deal. heavy duty velcro and some industrial looking zinc and rubber clamps were key items. i can bolt the ipod cradle and xm radio receiver to the clamps and clip them to the grab bar in front of the passenger seat. looks pretty cool and they're easily removable.
right now i'm waiting for the XM radio to pick up my new subscription. it plugs right into the link, too.
finally, i tried out the Tom Tom one GPS today. the device itself seems great, but the darn suction cup mount pops off the dash every five minutes! one more thing to work on.
anyway, tomorrow will be hectic-- lots of errands, spacepod gets his new tats, laundry, getting the house tidied up and packing, lots of odds and ends.
not sure how present i'll be on my blog/livejournal over the next week or so. i'll post an entry with the url to my travel site for anyone who wants to follow along.
Posted by lisa at 10:45 PM
June 20, 2007
not optimal
actually, that's an understatement. i am most displeased.
i ordered a dension icelink gateway 400 for the 'pod. this magickal device is supposed to let you connect your ipod and other devices, continue to use your cd changer, charge the ipod, and do all this fancy stuff.
harumph.
i let the guy talk me into the one that plugs into the back of the radio instead of the one that plugs into the cd changer in the hatch. mistake.
i removed the radio and the glovebox trying to see if i could get the device into the glovebox. no dice, i couldn't see a way to do it without cutting a hole in the glovebox, wasn't sure there was enough cable to reach anyway, and i don't have the right tools to cut that hole.
hell of a time getting the glovebox back in, and when i finally shone sufficient light on the subject (note to self, get a BATTERY POWERED work light) i was devastated to see that i had scratched up spacepod's dash really badly. my poor baby. like the rust and the mildew aren't enough (and i got an eyeful of those when i was looking inside the dash).
i ran the cables down below the dash. the link device doesn't connect solidly. i don't know where i'll put the ipod cradle, really.
sigh. ok, so i get the dash all put back together and it works and stuff but it's really weird the way it works. the user guide is less than helpful. the UI is crazy and it takes over and forces you to use it's UI instead of the awesome ipod UI that is easy to use and i already know how to use it.
and the cherry on the ass cake is that apparently you have to turn the car off and back on to switch to the cd changer. um, i don't think so!
:|:
on the up side, after i finished up with all of this, i came inside to mail from J wherein he listed out the many tempting and delicious foods he is bringing for us to have on the road. yaaaay!
:|:
so, apparently the motels we're staying at don't have high speed internet access. just dialup.
yay.
Posted by lisa at 11:10 PM
i'll just bite the hand that feeds me, instead
so last night before sleeping i had a heart to heart talk with moses about this whole standing on my head at 6am thing.
i think he listened. he didn't stand on my head, and he didn't wake me up at 6am.
instead he bit my hand at 7am. then he started making for my head but i blocked him with a pillow, and we laid there in a detante for the next 40 minutes, until i deemed it time to rise.
i guess the acupuncture is really working, because he just jumped down from the sofa instead of using the moses steps to get down. of course, he's going to pay for that, he immediately started limping afterward, but i haven't seen him just jump down like that in a really long time.
in non-moses news, today a slew of electronics shall arrive at my house and i get to try to install an ipod hookup in the spacepod, amongst other things. should be interesting.
Posted by lisa at 08:24 AM
fish n' chips
we went to "the triangle's only authentic english chippie" today.
i can still taste the chips.
Posted by lisa at 12:01 AM
June 19, 2007
my cat obviously feels better
because he's started sitting on my head every morning at 6am. it's just his little way of saying, "you shouldn't be in REM sleep, you should be walking out to the kitchen with me JUST IN CASE there's no food in my bowl."
i always get up and shuffle to the kitchen with him. there's always food in his bowl. he's like, "ooh, food! i shall eat this!"
sigh. my cat.
it's also really weird for him to weigh less. after having had a fat kitty for so many years-- he topped out at 21 lbs a few years ago, and has been holding steady around 17 for the last year or so-- it's like he's shrinking before my very eyes. he has all this ground clearance now. i am sure people meeting him for the first time will still say, "wow, that's a BIG CAT!" because he's not just overweight, he's tall and long and very sturdy, but to me he's getting kind of little.
it's good for his health of course. but i kind of miss the squishyness.
Posted by lisa at 08:37 AM
June 18, 2007
90%
i busted my ass this weekend and i am 90% ready to go.
less than one week til we leave.
it suddenly hit me that i am very tired.
Posted by lisa at 01:02 AM
June 16, 2007
good kitty news
the more-accurate fructosamine test that moses got this week showed that we have stabilized his blood sugar at a level of insulin that was lower than my vet predicted he'd need. in fact, it's a little on the low side but we now it can skyrocket when he's stressed so better, i guess, for it to be slightly low most of the time.
i haven't weighed him lately but i am pretty sure his weight is coming down.
the only worry now is the fact that he sounds congested all the time. his lungs sounded perfectly clear several weeks ago when i first mentioned his weird breathing noises to the vet; today on the phone i told the doc that it has morphed into a constant sound of stuffy nose, so he's going to take a quick look at him today and possibly treat it as an infection.
anyway, the good news about the diabetes makes me feel better about leaving him while i go on vacation.
Posted by lisa at 09:10 AM
June 15, 2007
a tiny light shines; vogs on display
i removed mt-blacklist and comments started working, magically, on the new blog.
meanwhile i am proceeding to back up the laptop to dvd which is hampered by the drive being close to full. i've got the cube connected via firewire; it suddenly won't boot after the external hard drive fiasco, but it booted to target disk mode without complaint, disk utility was able to mount the disk but claims it, too is now damaged and can't be fixed. nevertheless, i can drag files to it while it's in target disk mode, which is all i need, just a little place to put a few things while i do the big backup.
:|:
last night m and i went to firefly to check out the vintage fluevog display she has going on. the place was deserted (sigh) and i had a nice chat with the owner about how her business has gone downhill and she's not sure if she'll move or just close up shop altogether.
m and i encouraged her to move to durham and suggested the old macdonald's drug store on 9th street; lots of foot traffic, well-heeled duke students nearby, and the drug store is quite original, with soda fountain, so it would make a very cute boutique. she seemed to perk up a bit at the idea.
there were a few choice examples on display, older 'vogs i'd seen pictures of but had never seen in person. i was sad, though, that she had no lifoffs! otherwise known as "the spacegirl shoes", i have two pairs and an amusing anecdote behind them, which i related to her. so today i brought her a few things to add to the display; the liftoffs, the pointy witchy shoes, and the pink nuns. the pink nuns aren't old enough to be vintage but they were a limited edition and most people would never have seen them. i don't think she had; she flipped out over them. they also add some much-needed color to the display.
oh, and i have been asked more than once recently how many fluevogs i have. i decided to count today, and i will confess for all the internets to hear, that i have twenty pair. i am no carrie bradshaw; i have not spent $20,000 on shoes. not even close.
Posted by lisa at 08:33 PM
the computerez, they hates me
decide to consider upgrading to MT 3.3
realize i need to back up current MT database
can't remember password
get distracted; decide to reboot computer before getting in too deep into something
get a disk error when trying to save a file
quietly freak out
reboot, apply security patch
decide to back up computer
try to get external hard drive to mount, it won't
causes computer to crash, reboot
install drivers, reboot
install updated drivers, reboot
still won't mount; run disk utility
external backup drive is corrupted and cannot be repaired
decide to try backing up by email zipped archives of things to underutilized gmail account
zip things
try to email three zips; mail crashes
try to email one zip; mail crashes
decide to back up to DVD
currently making more zips for the backup
now, wait. what was i trying to do? get comments working on the new allpods site? oh right. yeah. uh.
right.
Posted by lisa at 06:36 PM
June 14, 2007
way behind the times
i haven't upgraded any software, even my OS, in so long that it's biting me in the ass now that i'm trying to get the new allpods site set up.
comments don't work -> looked like it was one problem -> fixing that problem involved re-ftp-ing a file in my MT install -> that version of MT no longer available -> help no longer available for my ftp client -> finally found the option to upload as binary -> problem fixed but comments are not -> hey, maybe it's mt-blacklist -> mt-blacklist no longer exists and the entire support forum has been taken down -> fiddle with mt-blacklist plugin without guidance -> comments still don't work.
sarah suggested upgrading my MT install which is so the last thing i want to have to do a week out from roswell! but having comments on the blog is really important to me, and i may have to.
post roswell, i am upgrading. everything. hell, i might even get a new computer.
Posted by lisa at 11:08 PM
June 13, 2007
webcam fully functional. spacegrrl not functional.
the webcam code is all functional for 2007. thank you, self of the past for writing such thorough code. thank you, co-pilot of the past for writing image resizing shell script which works awesomely.
blog/website largely functional except for fucking comment script fails every time. same comment script as all my other blogs use successfully. only error returned is 500 internal server apache error which tells one nothing. host tech support useless in answering simple question, "is there an error log?" i guess that would be no.
so i need help with debugging. the problem must lie in my blog config or templates. next easy step is to replace the template with a known good template. my ability to debug perl is limited.
road trip mix can be called done. web cam enclosure requires some modification which i will tend to tomorrow if i can. right now i'm thinking beer, tv, and sleep.
Posted by lisa at 10:49 PM
June 12, 2007
i'll get right on that
i leave for roswell in a week and a half and wow, i am so not ready!
i'm finally feeling the pressure. the pressure takes this weird form where i imagine other people critisizing me for forgetting some ridiculous detail, like not getting a spare headlight from the auto parts store before leaving, or having less than flawless usability on the web site.
it becomes more difficult to separate the true high priorities ("get more insulin for the cat") from the things i merely want to get done before leaving ("make the perfect road trip mix").
i stayed up too late last night and got up extra early this morning so i could take the cat for... er. acupuncture. yes, my cat gets acupuncture treatments for his arthritis. it seems absurd, but after caring for him for sixteen or seventeen years, i feel compelled to make his life more comfortable if i can. and it seems to be helping him; the third treatment was today, and the effects after the treatment are immediate. he stops limping for several days.
i'm using the customizable google home page really heavily now. i've got two separate to-do list widgets, both crammed full. my google calendar is loaded with little green and blue boxes. and i SO love the little theme i applied; a frog and a ladybug frolic all day on my home page. in the morning when i get up, their little animated sun is rising and they are drinking coffee and eating donuts. later when i get to work, they're practicing martial arts. throughout the day they slide on a water slide and... hm, you know, i don't know if they ever have lunch? anyway, at night their sun goes down, the whole page changes color, and they roast marshmallows over a fire and tell scary stories.
i love it.
where was i? oh yes. loads to do. miles to go. so tired. wish i had an iphone. must complete construction of weatherproof isight enclosure which J masterminded. i'll post deets later, but it involved a trip to a harley davidson dealership and a trip to J's favorite big box home improvement store, and it's going to look pretty sharp because he is the awesomest and he is totally going with me to roswell yay!
Posted by lisa at 06:59 PM
June 04, 2007
more 'old is good'
i had this crazy impulse yesterday to work on the back bedroom, aka, where clutter goes to die in my house. randomly, i attacked the cassettes. yes, magnetic media. analog. no random access permitted. fragile, erasable artifacts from my youth. like everyone else, i have a lot of them and don't quite know what to do with them.
but you know, my car has a cassette player. this was a dated piece of equipment seven years ago when i bought the car, though i used it to listen to my ipod for quite a while.
so yes. this afternoon on the way home, i listened to led zeppelin on cassette in my volkswagen beetle.
Posted by lisa at 10:02 PM
old and new are both good
new is good
Today spacepod got a new windshield. It's quite refreshing to see clearly, again.
i also joined twitter; maybe it could be useful in some way for roswell. like during the caravan, it could be a way to put quick updates on the web site for where we are and what we're doing. although, last time we just used captions on the webcam photos for that so i dunno.
old is good
oh my god, it's a De Lorean!
Sadly, I did not get to see its gull wings open.
Posted by lisa at 09:39 PM
June 03, 2007
total gutter failure
i think i've determined that every single gutter i have is failing in some way. i need professional gutter help. stat.
it's raining pretty good right now so i've been observing all the gutters in action.
Posted by lisa at 02:01 PM
June 02, 2007
marjoram honey and other idyllic thoughts
photos of a lovely day in june
observed while watering new plants: honey bee unable to tear itself away from the tiny white blossoms on my gigantic marjoram plant.
a pair of robins. i've been seeing them around, you know? i think they're living in my yard this summer. the female is very bold. well, i guess it's the female. she has a rusty breast, not bright red.
a white butterfly.
:|:
feline locomotion study:
click through for notes.
Posted by lisa at 06:47 PM
way number 367 how i am a bad person (and grammarian)
my neighbors, who used to be THE YELLING FAMILY have been pretty quiet lately.
however, today the two heads of the household decided to have an argument outside within easy earshot of, say, a person who had been innocently puttering in their back yard and watering their shrubs just prior to the argument breaking out.
i felt self-conscious going out to move the hose from one shrub to another because of how that put me within mere feet of this conversation that perhaps should have been more private.
anyway, my primary thought, besides gee i feel kind of weird about this situation was oh my god, please let this somehow lead to them moving out!
horrible, yes. but that's really all i could think.
Posted by lisa at 04:15 PM
June 01, 2007
wireless?
you know, when the first set of instructions for a wireless product are to "plug it into a power outlet"...
it's not really wireless.
i'm cranking on some creative ideas for the spacepod cam today. i said i'd keep it simple, just do what i did last time, and not make it a big project but...
i can never resist.
Posted by lisa at 07:23 PM