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April 29, 2008

this headline:

"Bush faults Congress for inaction on energy..."

I just can't get past it.

in the most recent de-crapification of my house i found a booklet called "heating with wood". (those in the back can stop snickering.)

it was printed by the US Department of Energy and is dated May 1980.

the inside cover says:

"All citizens must be aware of this nation's need to achieve a smooth transition from its reliance on imported oil to a more self-sufficient, energy-diversified economy. Over the next few decades, we must reduce our dependence on foreign petroleum. We must increase domsetic production, not only of oil and natural gas, but of coal, nuclear power, solar energy, and other renewable facts."

Posted by lisa at 09:08 PM

April 27, 2008

operation OMG, my family is coming over!

absorbing cartons of photos and memorabilia into my household is one thing; absorbing pieces of furniture (plus extra cartons) is another. it means large items need to leave the house.

it also turns out that my family-- including some extended family who never see my house-- are going to be coming by on mother's day.

no time to waste.

big stacks of stuff in the living room. everything is either slated for goodwill or already listed on ebay or the bulletin board at work. all the stuff i'd pulled out of the back bedroom but never got rid of is now going. everything, as they say, must go.

the decisions get harder and easier. easier because i'm used to making them. harder because the stuff i'm deciding on is nearer and dearer to my heart. like, if only i had fixed that shortwave radio. it's so cool. but i had it for ten years and never did. my grandfather's cameras, so well cared for.

but, you know, it's just stuff. it's gotta go.

Posted by lisa at 10:11 PM

Vintage shortwave radio - TAKEN

I'm giving away this shortwave radio has been taken:


P1010061.JPG

The last time I tried it (10 years ago), it powered up but only made a clicking sound. The person who gave it to me told me that it probably needed to have a vacuum tube replaced.

The cord is in excellent condition. That's about all I know about it.

Posted by lisa at 04:17 PM

April 26, 2008

Extremely anerable Fluevog mary janes for sale

I got these on ebay and they were just barely too short for me to wear.

They're back up on ebay now. Check em out!

Posted by lisa at 05:28 PM

Bust magazines

I have some back issues of Bust magazine (I guess there's no other kind of issue of Bust, at this point). Does anyone want them?

I also have a ton of old design mags, architectural digest, southern living, a few wired, some mac addict and mac home... those are slated for recycling but if anyone wants them, they won't be picked up until next friday.

Posted by lisa at 03:19 PM

nice work, what not to wear

this week's participant looks to be about a size 18-ish. the few women they've had on the show in this size range have usually been very frustrated on shopping day one because they send them to stores that don't have their size, then they go to lane bryant on shopping day two.

this time they've sent her places where they actually carry her size, so she's not set up for failure. day one she went to Loehmann's, and day two she went to Lee Lee's Valise.

Posted by lisa at 11:17 AM

furniture overload

i have too much furniture now. some of it is not right-- the thing i store my tv and stereo in is too wide for the space it's in. a lot of it doesn't go together-- i have traditional stuff that has come from other people in my family, and modern stuff that i've bought for myself.

i'm also going to replace my bed. it's too small and the mattress and boxspring didn't last as long as they should have-- there's a dip in the middle.

i tried to figure out if i could consolidate the modern looking stuff in the bedroom with a new modern bed, but since my couch, etc are not very traditional, i don't think that's going to work.

i need to reshuffle my house, and i need to get rid of a lot of stuff. still.

i was looking at old pictures of my basement and it made me realize how much crap i've removed from the basement so far. it's actually a lot better than it used to be. i have to remind myself that, although it may be slow going, i will get there with the whole house.

Posted by lisa at 11:03 AM

April 25, 2008

1013 w. main

while most people in durham are interested in the food, beer selection and atmosphere the new occupant of 1013 w. main will offer, i have to provide the nerd's critique of their web site.

1013westmain.com

the site looked suspiciously amateurish, and i couldn't resist sneaking a peek at the html behind the web site. even better (or worse?) than i hoped, it's a tour de force of poor coding featuring links to 14 different style sheets, plus tables for layout and font tags!

Posted by lisa at 07:29 PM

April 24, 2008

here we go again

moses has diabetes again. we did a full panel yesterday and his glucose was 600 which is quite high.

i had a feeling that might wind up being the case. my guts tell me it's because we switched him off of m/d (the diabetic food) for k/d (kidney disease food). after we switched him he started to gain weight again and now he needs insulin again.

i asked dr. c if he wanted to put him back on m/d and he said no. but i think i'm going to bring it up again in two weeks when we re-check.

in the good news department, the anemia situation seems to be stable and his kidney values have actually not gotten worse, which was a pleasant surprise. i really thought we'd see downward progress in the kidney disease.

we've passed eight months now since was first diagnosed with CRF. if nothing else, that's pretty amazing.

Posted by lisa at 09:23 PM

April 23, 2008

walking alone vs. walking with the boy and the dog

this week i've resumed my evening walk around the neighborhood. it's the perfect time of year for it-- warm, but not hot; nature is looking its best and the sun is setting later.

i'm used to walking around with J and the dog. reese needs a daily walk so we go every day when they're here.

i realized this week that one of the reasons i don't often walk down mangum when i'm walking alone, even though it has a nice sidewalk and makes logical sense as part of my favorite route, is because i've had guys make catcalls at me when they drive down the street.

it will surprise no one that this never happens when J and reese and i walk down this street.

fuck it, i'm walking down that street alone if i feel like it. you know?

Posted by lisa at 10:08 PM

April 22, 2008

and in other news...

the roswell2k car show has been canceled - presumably for all time. didn't quite make it to the 10th anniversary show-- but i kind of expected that. that's one of the reasons i went last year.

there's already chatter on the list about going out there next year on the 10th anniversary and just hanging out. i'm all for it-- the car show itself wasn't that exciting anymore, and i mainly want to see my bug pals again.

Posted by lisa at 12:27 AM

April 21, 2008

periodically she surfaces

not a remarkable weekend, but a good one. J came to visit. I had not been to the grocery store since before miami, so it was eating out all weekend. nosh for breakfast, then sunrise biscuit kitchen for breakfast the next morning. i had never been there before, and am somewhat embarrassed to say that i never would have thought to go there had i not heard a review of it on the splendid table.

biscuits = fantastic. coffee = undrinkable. J claims that his was drinkable after he added nine packets of sugar, but we stopped for coffee somewhere else, anyway.

on sunday we got a bunch of furniture from my mom's house. the house goes on the market in around a month and they're clearing it out. sixty years of stuff. so now i have another layer of stuff to work into my household.

we also bathed moses. this is something i've never done before-- bathe a cat. poor little guy. but it was quite necessary, and will probably become a monthly event, when J is here to help. it's definitely a two person job.

anyway, i feel like i'm back to myself again after the distress and unhappiness of last week. no longer depleted. i guess that's a good sign, if you can spend a couple of days with someone and go back to feeling like yourself again as a result.

:|:

re: the title of this post: i've noticed that some bloggers apologize if they don't blog frequently enough, with "frequently enough" being defined in their own minds by some arbitrary criteria. that's never made sense to me.

i blog less now. i'm busy. that's all.

Posted by lisa at 11:24 PM

April 18, 2008

I just fainted.

"David Byrne and Brian Eno have completed a new album (of "electric gospel") for released before 2009 and have booked a North American tour on which they're planning to play at least 40 percent old Talking Heads material. Holy moly, this is as good as life gets!"

From b2

Posted by lisa at 12:18 PM

April 16, 2008

prediction

this auction for a pair of grand nationals will go up to $600 at the very last minute in an insane snipe war.

it's really disconcerting that there are zero bids on a very nice looking pair of GN boots with only an hour and a half to go on the auction.

Posted by lisa at 01:02 AM

April 15, 2008

laid to rest

Gran's funeral today. It was a very nice ceremony, in the cemetery. it was the first time i'd ever seen my stepfather's grave, because i was out of the country when he died and we are not generally a family of grave-visitors.

this cemetery is remarkable in that all of the markers are flush with the ground, with flower vases the only feature that sticks up. so many of them had flowers, some fake but many of them fresh. a lot of people must have come out to visit on sunday. i guess spring is a nice time for it.

afterwards we went to mom's house and lots of old friends and neighbors came by. everyone had a good time catching up.

Posted by lisa at 09:50 PM

i am home.

i am home, and i am really, really glad.

the funeral is twelve hours hence.

and then-- collapse. perhaps with wine.

Posted by lisa at 01:18 AM

April 14, 2008

where was google?

there were some big names in attendance. ebay, yahoo!. sites that i often look to to see how they solved a problem i have.

nobody from google, though. don't think there was anyone from amazon. would have been fascinating to hear from them.

i did hear a talk today from the guys at ebay who are the brains behind the changes you've been seeing in the ebay UI lately. they did an interaction audit, something i've never heard of (and perhaps they made it up). good stuff.

oh, for those who don't know, i am at a conference, it just ended, i'll be home soon, and i took down/friends locked my initial post about it a few days ago because i got a really scary crank call that night and i didn't want to make it super obvy that i was out of town.

Posted by lisa at 04:45 PM

April 13, 2008

my demographic & other observations

Posted by lisa at 11:03 PM

April 10, 2008

when the universe slaps you around, go home and pet your cat.

that is today's lesson.

the day kind of sucked until i threw up my hands, went home, and pet my cat. it was really gorgeous weather and i had all the doors and windows open. i felt better immediately.

i almost forgot to get my hair cut.

i am not usually an emotional hair-cutter-- that is, i get my hair cut twice a year when it really needs it, not whenever i am feeling down and want a lift. but this week i made an exception. earlier in the week i decided i could work in an appointment this evening and i'd be looking nice at my conference. well, that worked out very nicely because it really did make me feel better to get a haircut, and the woman who cuts my hair is fun to talk to.

it turns out that i already had everything for my trip either taken care of, planned or thought through, so making ready this evening has not been too taxing. J called while i was mixing the cat food (a revolting process, but very efficient and easy on my cat sitters) and we talked for a while.

i have this whole rant about how Ole Slavey no longer carries my size in the store, but i just don't feel very ranty right now. maybe later.

Posted by lisa at 11:30 PM

RIP Bonnie Whatley

Gran died early this morning. She had had a stroke on Christmas Eve and had not been doing well ever since. If I am remembering correctly, she was 99 years old.

Gran was my first stepfather's mother-- she always treated me as a grandchild, however.

Mom said they would try to have the funeral after I get back from Miami this weekend.

Posted by lisa at 08:52 AM

April 07, 2008

Another VisArt falls

"My" VisArt-- the one on MLK next to the mega-teeter, is reportedly selling off all their stock and closing doors.

SON OF A BITCH. i really rent there regularly! well, i did. not anymore i guess.

Posted by lisa at 09:31 PM

late menu

so, aside from watts grocery and mellow mushroom, where can one get a good dinner after 10pm on a Friday night around here?

i never feel like cooking then, and that's when J tends to get into town when he comes on Friday.

Posted by lisa at 08:15 PM

April 06, 2008

two down

second weekend of three away from home. it was good. atlanta with mom to see stu.

met his girlfriend-- very driven, very nice, very good influence on him.

he drove us around.

like visiting a different city from the atlanta of my twenties which was all cheap cuban food, sleeping on floors, edgy music and hours poring over the record store in five points. this was buckhead, expensive and delicious food, touring cnn, hungover kids in the mornings, high priced real estate.

twice daily update from the moses care-takers. he did great. totally normal all weekend, all good. that's a relief.

spending 56 hours straight with my mom was okay. we shared a room, and all things considered i think that was a good choice. we're compatible enough roommates.

tonight i vegetate. tomorrow i being preparations for the third and final weekend away from home.

Posted by lisa at 07:34 PM

April 02, 2008

an odd request - apple power adapter

does anyone have a power adapter for a white ibook / aluminum powerbook that they won't be using over the weekend that i could borrow?

Posted by lisa at 09:18 AM