Posts in the category "Miscellany" and its subcategories.

Group hug!!! Oh horror

I can’t stand group projects. In a group I can’t be an oppressing dictator who has a complete control over the outcome (by myself, I can, and I am). I can, at best, check that the text isn’t horribly spelled and commas all over the place but I can’t go erasing things saying “no no, that’s silly”. That makes me feel so vulnerable. My grade is in the hands of other people — :shock: what a thought. I do know that other people have better ideas and the more there is people the more points of view there are and thus the work’s better. Still, that doesn’t make me feel any more at ease.

I offered to make the slide show for our database project. This way I know it’s going to be good. No, I’m not that self-confident. What I am is a perfectionist-freak. The others said, “I don’t have a Power Point”, “I don’t know how to do that stuff, I haven’t taken the basics course yet. I can do that when I’m almost graduating”, or “we can whip up a few transparencies in class before our turn”…

I do get along with people and at work it’s great to have others working on the same project, but work isn’t graded. When my FUTURE depends on the work I’m doing and I have to allow others meddle… that makes my heart skip a few beats.

Nutty professor — minus the professor

I’d made myself a full thermos of coffee. Milk and all. To keep me happy through the 4 hours of work and the 3 hours of lecture. (I just realized it’s *3* hours…)

I forgot it on the kitchen table…

Horror immunity

Yesterday I watched Sixth Sense for at least the 2nd time. I had completely forgotten the ending which was good (both the ending as such and the fact that I’d forgotten it) but that’s not the point. It was a good movie. I felt empathetic toward the little boy, Cole, and his fears. Made me think of children’s fears in general. Made me think how horrible it would’ve been to be in a similar situation as a child. (real dead people or not) That’s really not the point either, but I just wanted to “prove” that I’m not a heartless person.

I am, you see, immune to horror. I mean the entertainment kind (real life kind I have never met, and hopefully never will). Books, movies… nothing “works”. Well, does horror mean scaring people, really? In my opinion, it doesn’t. I’ve watched horror movies seriously (or religiously?) ever since I got my own tv (I was able to watch anything I wanted), at the age of 15. I remember seeing one movie, Bad Dreams, which included a scene where “the bad guy” sticks a knife through a woman’s hand. Back then it was awful and after that I’d always thought it is the worst movie I’ve ever seen — until I watched it again last year. Boy was it stupid. Really bad 70s–80s special effects and the hand thing? Meh, small potatoes.

I appreciate horror movies that have a twist. I love Ring (apart from it’s cheesy ending) because IMHO it’s got a new idea (even though it’s a remake of the Japanese version, Ringu, but I haven’t seen that!). Blair Witch Project was refreshing when I first saw it. I also like splatters like Scream(s), Nightmare on Elm Street(s)…
I also rarely (make that: never) jump at the movies (or watching a movie on tv) when something sudden happens on the screen. People say they get easily scared even when the suddeness is clearly hinted upon before it comes. Tense music… a character walks into a room where the door is opened to form a dark corner… camera pans so that there’s a space for the new arrival — you know the drill.

I appreciate horror books because they can keep my interest. And besides, how can black on white scare the bejesus out of anyone? It goes without saying that Stephen King is my favourite author. Now that I’ve read almost all his books, I’ve come to like the little connections I can find. Makes me proud: “hey, I can remember something about the books I’ve read!” (but about Nikolai Gogol’s Lost Souls, Moliere’s Miser, or most of the 10 Finnish classics we had to read for high school Finnish course I have no recollection) And of course, I love the stories.

Now, would I rather NOT be immune to horror? Probably not. I don’t know what’s so wonderful about having nightmares, being scared of every screech and shadow, jumping at every sudden noise or movement.

I do have to admit: sometimes I startle awake from my dream and clearly see a huge spider crawling above me. But that’s a whole different ball game. Spiders are horrrrrrible. . . . .

All new all things me

The redesign of all things me is finally done! Now I’m just waiting for the domain to start working to the right direction. (aaagh, 1 week free trial period and the domain won’t be registered before I pay the bill — but they won’t send me the bill!!)

So, I’ve changed from green/purple to purple (or lilac or violet — I don’t know!). I was planning to have my “colour depth of three” (black, white, purple) on the site but black was so bright!! So I made it a little “foggier” (#444444). I’ve used Harrington font in the pictures. I don’t know where that splash came from; I was looking for a nice bullet (which, in the end, I didn’t use) and then I decided to add it in front of the post titles to separate them more clearly when there’re several posts in one day.

The layout is flexible. That means the text is as wide as it can be (minus the menu). I used to have it at max 760 pixels which I — on a 1024×768 screen — didn’t like but I had to think about you little people. I mean, people with little screens — whoops!

Now that I have a proper domain I’ve enabled ping/trackbacks (not yet on all posts cause I have to click through them all dammit). I said bye-bye to category pictures. They just didn’t fit anywhere. Hmm… I *could* put them on a post’s individual page.

On to another topic. I finished reading Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah on September 27. At 4:40 am. Ssshhh, don’t tell anyone! Now I’m waiting for DTVII to arrive in the bookstores. It was published on 21st and when I went to ask when I could expect it to be on the shelves they said “in two weeks”, so I’ll probably check it this week (as I have to drag myself to the center on Friday — 2 months of work starts, again) and then, naturally, next week.

Now I’ll add the category image thingy…

I also changed from Pagination to "vBulletin Style page navigation".

Yesterday night I was glued to the screen reading a blog (Myrskymurmeli) that had a convenient page navigation (hmm… actually I think it’s the default WP navigation which I’d removed to enable ScriptyGoddess’s Pagination… anyway) and I read the whole blog to the very first entry… thank gawd there wasn’t a lot more entries — I would’ve been stuck to the screen till the wee hours.

I’m starting work tomorrow… I’ll be working for 3 months’ worth and doing as-long-as-I-can/want-days until I’ve filled the required hours. I’ll be working till the end of spring I bet ;)

Money money money…

… must be funny in a rich man’s world. (ABBA)

I went shopping today. Apparently the 2-hour gap between my intro to databases group meeting and localisation is very very dangerous! I have to think of something (reading!) to do on these occasions in the future. I bought the Dark Tower Concordance by Robin Furth although I was only supposed to ask when DT7 could be found on the shelves (“in about two weeks”). Then I bought two shirt/jacket things (two!) when I thought “I’ll just take a peek” (and actually I’ve been meaning to buy t-shirt type of things to wear under these blouses and jackets but actually, it’s nicer to have different things to wear *over* a simple shirt — excuses excuses :wink:). Oh, but they’re wonderful! The other is a sort of denim jacket type and the other is a 3/4-sleeve shirt with blue pinstripes.

Money burnt — big time. Luckily I paid for the clothes with plastic :D I could’ve felt remorse if it was paper money.

Fanlisting checkup

[A quick-check list for myself so I don’t always check the ones that are ok]
I don’t dare mail/fill in a form so many times but my url has been different since January and many still lists my old info. I don’t know what to do :sad:

Still with my old/faulty info:
HTML
Classic adventure games (probably not active)
Brendan Fraser
The Ring
Matrix Reloaded (old fl)
Teachers (probably not active)
Naked Chef (Jamie Oliver’s show)
XF Game
Dark Tower (no http:// in front of my url so it gets added to the site’s base url)

Site not working:
Staying up late
xD smiley
IE
Old url NEW URL: Max Payne 2 [OK; 6/10]
WordPress [OK; 18/9]

Hopefully pending:
Dawson’s Creek

Not too shabby, considering I’ve joined quite a few…

Re-joined The Matrix fanlisting (it had moved so often that I didn’t have the correct url (the url I had seemed to be having MySQL problems) and so I had been kicked out, I’d imagine :mrgreen:)
Also, re-joined Jamie Oliver fanlisting

I’ve been wanting to join the Mozilla fanlisting but the site hasn’t been working for ages… at least not for me.

A little woo hoo to top this all off (off topic, though): only a little over a week to wait and then Dark Tower VII is published!!! \o/

@ 1:14
I just remembered. This morning when I woke up, I had just got a little folded note in my dream, and it had said “Get help.” The extreme subliminal message? *cracks up*

@ 1:25
I know I know, it’s getting late and I should go to sleep (I have a lecture at 4 pm tomorrow, mind you). Just this last thing…
Blogging Personality Quiz

I am The Pundit!
I like to blog about a specific topic of interest that I am passionate about – be it business, politics, technology, law, education, entertainment, or literature. I blog regularly and I welcome relevant discussions about my topic. I have a constant thirst for knowledge.

Wiping cold sweat

For a moment I was panicking. The database connection didn’t work on my or my hostess’s site (so the problem was with the server) and it seemed to go on forever. I updated my index page already, telling about problems, but then suddenly everything works. Phew.

Now, what was I supposed to write before I was cruelly denied access.

First of all, my sister spotted a silly sight while playing Splinter Cell:

Screenshot from Splinter Cell

That handsome chap there is Sam Fisher — the one in black. There’s a slaughter house at one point in the game, and one of the soldiers my sister (or Sam Fisher) shot, froze with his hands still holding the gun. Also the grimace is awfully funny but you probably can’t see it well. You can see the other corner of the mouth being darker and thus being drawn downward. (speak of the devil: Splinter Cell music just started playing on Winamp)

I saw two episodes of Dr. Phil this week. He’s supposed to be some really popular tv “shrink” but I don’t know… He sounds exactly like the guidance counsellor, Mr. Mackey, in South Park!! Hoookay? Sorry, it’s more like “m’kay” with Mr. Mackey but “hookay” with Dr. Phil. They sound the same, nevertheless.

I wanted to show the last update on my Booklog, but I’d removed the date of the post from my static pages. Well, running php from a post is not possible on WP. I found a wonderful plugin by Mark.

Also, “installed” Customizable post listings plugin (from Coffee2Code; wonderful site and wonderful name!!) and put a list of 5 most recently updated posts (including static pages, which is actually really good) and 5 most recently commented posts (currently there are only 2 though… :???: ) on the menu.

Quizzies

BBC has very interesting science section with lots of quizes and games.

I’m a Moderate Owl

Like Extreme Owls, Moderate Owls love staying up late and sleeping late into the morning. Their body clocks tend to be more flexible than a Larks, making it easier for them to adapt when their sleep pattern is disrupted. Like most people, Moderate Owls body clocks are set within the standard range – they’re likely to be most alert in the morning and early evening and have a period of low alertness in the afternoon.

Tips for owls:
* Sleep with blinds or curtains open. Let daylight wake you naturally. Its much nicer than an alarm clock — but set the alarm anyway!
* Walk outside as soon as possible after waking up. Exposure to daylight in the morning can make you more alert earlier in the day.
* Get up at the same time every day including weekends and holidays. This will anchor your biological clock at the desired time.
* Prepare the breakfast table the evening before. A morning routine helps owls function smoothly without having to think about what they’re doing.

I’m also Almost an alien expert!

I was very bad at putting muscles, bones, and organs into place…

At Tickle (formerly known as Emode) I am a…
— perfectionist

Appearance
Like what you see when you look in the mirror? We thought so — with every hair in place and every crease in line, you have every reason to. Looking well-put-together is important to you, so you take great care with your appearance and maintain your excellent hygiene with a very consistent regimen. Since you take pride in how you appear to others, you don’t feel comfortable leaving the house unless you think you look properly groomed.
Possessions
Looks like you take very good care of your possessions — without obsessing about them. Since you probably take pride in the condition of your things, you like to keep your surroundings in a relatively neat, organized state. But you know that every little thing doesn’t necessarily have one spot it has to be in at all times, and you’re just fine if everything isn’t always in peak shape. That’s a great attitude — being aware of, but not overly concerned about, your possessions is an effective way of extending the lifespan of your things without causing yourself undue stress.
Work
Whether a task is large or small, you always turn in top-notch work. How could you not? After all, you have a lot of pride invested in everything you take on, and you won’t sign your name to anything unless it represents your best work. You’re willing to burn your candle at both ends to get the job done and like to have your projects organized and carefully planned out. Although being a perfectionist at work guarantees a job well-done, it can sometimes make it hard to be flexible and open-minded. So, make sure to leave room for a little leeway.

— Sharp at Sunset

That’s right, when the sun goes down, your energy and creativity go way up. This is your on time, when you’re most inspired thoughts come pouring in and when you’re most motivated to venture out. Are you into sports, dinner parties, or just hanging out with friends as the sun sinks out of sight? We thought so. Because that’s the time of day that really empowers you and makes you feel alert.

You’re especially dynamic at dinner, cocktail parties, and early evening functions, when your persistent wit and wisdom are at their finest. And after dinner, when everyone else is putting on their jackets and preparing to head home, you’re the kind of person who stays alert, inquisitive, and ready for more world-changing conversation.

Being such a superstar at sunset has its drawbacks too. Right when you’re coming up with your most fantastic ideas, most of the world is too tired to listen. Sure, this might leave you with a limited audience from time to time, but when you’re on, you’re on, and those lucky enough to be around value your enthusiasm. But even superstars hit a slump at some point in the day. That’s when you need to remind yourself that there are tricks to get you through. Like grabbing an extra cup of coffee, getting some fresh air, or taking a power shower to rejuvenate you. And when that happens, there’s no stopping you. Every hour can be your power hour!

OK, that’s enough. I did more tests than that (I’m practical pumps (the shoes), my room is classical (NOT), I’d be a ground-breaking document (barely), my monster personality is Devil (eh…), and I’m Eric from That 70s Show…). Am I bored or am I bored? No, actually… I finished a course today. I just haven’t mailed my work to the teacher yet. I’ll double check it tomorrow and send it off.

Now, I think I’ll catch up on my Dark Tower.

Single power

Yesterday I heard that a friend of mine from high school is having a baby in November (awwwww). Another friend of mine has been together with her boyfriend for over six years (they’re really cute). Another is living with her boyfriend. I could go on and on. All are the same age as myself (younger, to be exact, but same year). I’m trying to smile through it all, but sometimes it gets really really difficult. (Not too often, though.)
(Luckily there are “single power” (cf. girl power) programs like S&C. :smile: )

Yesterday I bought Dolores Claiborne (the book by Stephen King) and saw Shrek II (original version of course! Kiddies’ version is dubbed). It was a wonderful movie and it had lots of allusions to other movies etc. (as movies of that genre tend to do). I won’t list them here openly (someone *could* blame me for spoiling the film), but read the rest of this post if you want. Of course I don’t remember many of them, but maybe I’ll find some reminders some place else.

Updates: University stuff converted to new static page form.
Note to self Posts showing changed from “7 posts” to “7 days” (because of the static pages there are only a few actual posts on the index page)
Continues »

Toothpaste and vampires

The other night in my dream Ewan McGregor had lost his teeth-whitening toothpaste and asked if I had any. I had just the sort of paste he wanted so I promised he could borrow mine.

Tell me about your weird dream.

Did a quiz just to kill time:

You are Form 9, Vampire: The Undying.
“And The Vampire was all that remained on the blood drowned creation. She attempted to regrow life from the dead. But as she was
about to give the breath of life, she was consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the cycle began again.”

Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek) and Isis (Egyptian). The Vampire is associated with the concept of death, the number 9, and the element of fire. Her sign is the eclipsed moon.

As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic individual. You may be a little idealistic, but you are very grounded and down to earth. You realize that not everything lasts, but you savor every minute of the good times. While you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you have strong ties with people that will never be broken. Vampires are the best friends to have because they are sensible.
Which Mythological Form Are You?

If I were something else like, I don’t know, a hairy ogre or a pink fairy, I probably wouldn’t have made this public. :mrgreen: