the everyday adventures of sabrina

socks! socks! i have achieved two socks! a pair! so i could, like, wear them, and stuff!

cue cathedral music and light shining down from the heavens…

SOCKS!!!

So. Let me just get this straight. For the past two weeks we’ve been hovering around 60°F (about 15°C) — in fact it was much too warm to wear a coat outside, so I was just wearing a hoodie for a jacket, and even that was pretty much just because “it’s late November and I am required by law to wear a coat” more than actual need — and yesterday it was 60°F and rainy, and now today we’re dropping down to freezing, going to get sleeted upon, and then get 3-5 inches of snow followed by another 3-5 overnight?

Stupid great lakes. Stupid lake effect weather conditions. Stupid wintertime. I do not approve.

Free throw

Originally uploaded by sldownard.

bulls versus knicks at the UC tonight. should be fun — not least because Sec 113, Row A, Seats 3-4. am looking forward to it. if bill irritates me, will simply push him out of his chair on to the court where someone can dribble the ball on his head!

p.s. if, while watching the game on the teevee, you see a girl with short brown stripey hair wearing a green sweater get pummeled in the face with a foul ball, you know… send me a get-well card.

…

am now determined to go see the hawks play, because i haven’t been to a hawks game since, like, ‘98 or ‘99 or something ridiculous. hawks vs. leafs sounds fun. friday, 22 dec. anyone in?

so, i have done most of the heavy lifting for porting the blog from blosxom over to wordpress. a few things remain. sadly, they are mostly the annoying and hard-to-accomplish things.

• set up apache, mysql, php
• set up wordpress
• import blosxom entries
• modify comments in templates to point at haloscan instead of wordpress
• customize wordpress theme
• go through and properly categorize imported posts (about 200 of ~980 done)
• either fix the formatting that broke in the import, or decide i don’t care about ugly formatting on imported posts
• (showstopper) make sidebar less ugly
• figure out how to rename existing haloscan threads to re-align them with their proper posts
• do the legwork on renaming existing haloscan threads
• (showstopper) figure out why WP’s rss feed isn’t escaping &s in blog subtitle fields correctly, and is therefore too wonky to use
• (showstopper) set up apache redirect for existing rss uri to new rss uri
• (showstopper) decide how to implement redirects for old blosxom permalinks (and then actually implement them)

you can view the new blog now here, though that link will only be valid as long as blosxom is still the “production” blog. there are a couple of entries up there that aren’t in blosxom, but they’re mostly along the lines of “play with the pretty shiny new toy” stuff. whee!

as i have previously had issues with denying myself things i wanted and then being immediately presented with something bad — am wondering if the fact that i decided against buying new speakers (which i really really want, and have wanted for months — have actually gone out shopping intending to buy, twice!, eventually talking myself out of it both times because i don’t really need them) is why i had to spend $280 taking poor pathetic kiyoshi to the veterinary ER last night.

he’s okay now, but man, was he not happy yesterday. first he’s yakking all over the carpet and, uh, let’s just say “engaging in unusual behavior patterns,” then he gets stuffed into the kitty carrier and hauled to the vet (meanwhile i’m both worried about my poor cat and also starving to death because i hadn’t eaten since lunch and i was getting ready to go out for dinner when kiyoshi started freaking out), then he gets poked and his temperature taken and x-rayed and an IV and all kinds of mean nasty ugly horrible things (right there on the group W bench). they gave me a CD-ROM of his x-rays, antibiotics, and i have to start feeding him metamucil and take him to his regular vet for a checkup. poor cat just can’t catch a break. all he wants to do is take a nap, man!

so, in short, these things make me wonder. i’m crap at self-denial, but am i so crap that engaging in it actually causes bad things to happen? am i meant by a cosmic force to yes, have those great shoes! yes, get speakers for your kitchen! yes! should i continue to be more scared of the consequential having of no money than i am of the potential consequential DOOM!, or should i give in and CONSUME!?

man, being a grown-up is confusing.

I have nothing funnier than this and this  in the history of ever. Srsly.

(P.S. WYSIWYG editors apparently shame me into using uppercase. Ooo! Weird!)

Wow. I can tell already that importing all my blosxom posts — in a way so that they are legible, at any rate — is going to be a ginormous pain in the ass.

The import script relies on the RSS feed, and something in between the RSS feed and the import scripts is breaking all my links very obnoxiously, and adding in explicit paragraph breaks where all there was before was a non-HTML-encoded linefeed. And let’s not get into what it does to my Amazon Associates links. blah.
I fixed about five posts by hand. I only have about 980 posts in blosxom in total….
Turns out, you know… I know perl.  You know, what blosxom is written in?  And I know how to get rid of extra linebreaks.  Because chomp() is, um, hard  You know what, just forget I wrote the whole bit above about linebreaks.  Let’s pretend this never happened.  Oh, and, um, apologies to anyone who was reading the extremely repetitive blosxom RSS feed (Hi, Livejournal!) while this was being fixed…

So really, all I have to actually do by hand is to go through and add extra categories to things that need more than one category.  Which is, I swear to God, my main reason for switching.  And then I have to figure out how to make it link in my haloscan comments.  And then fix the layout.  And I honestly think the layout may be the worst part.  Your pal niqui is not a web designer.

1. The Cutting Edge. i don’t care. I DON’T CARE. also, I DON’T EVEN WANT TO HEAR IT, MISTER MOCK MY INNER TWELVE YEAR OLD WHO LOVES ICE SKATING (and who thinks d.b. sweeney is cute). so there. TOE PICK!
2. Maximum Overdrive. look, sometimes you want to see an alien comet take over a bunch of semi-tractor trailers and cause electronics to become homicidal to an all-AC/DC all the time soundtrack, that’s all i’m sayin’.
3. Speed. improbable action sequence-palooza; never not awesome!
4. From Dusk Till Dawn. also known as “Robert Rodriguez’ Vampire Boom!” you can’t go wrong with Robert Rodriguez’ Vampire Boom!
5. Willard. i love crispin glover. i apologize for nothing.

so, uh. there may be some site unavailability in the future. looks like i’m getting up off my ass and moving the site from ${CRAPPY_LOCAL_ISP_WHO_NEVER_ANSWERS_NIQUI’S_EMAILS} to the JohnCompanies colo sooner rather than later. apparently i’m doing it this weekend!

FROM: [Fred the Support Guy]. From CHIhost.com
TO: me

Hi,

You have WAY too much perl usage, the cpu and ram this site uses is not appropriate for the plan you are on.

root@server132 [~]# cat file| grep zig
32572 zig 18 0 7940 5928 1444 D 6 0.3 0:01.22 /usr/local/bin/perl
32303 zig 18 0 7956 5580 1444 D 4 0.3 0:01.56 /usr/local/bin/perl
32376 zig 18 0 8188 5756 1588 D 3 0.3 0:01.57 /usr/local/bin/perl
31195 zig 18 0 8276 5580 1448 D 1 0.3 0:01.29 /usr/local/bin/perl
392 zig 18 0 7356 5544 1444 D 1 0.3 0:01.18 /usr/local/bin/perl
31012 zig 18 0 7052 5576 1444 R 1 0.3 0:01.46 /usr/local/bin/perl
32585 zig 18 0 8252 5576 1444 D 1 0.3 0:01.33 /usr/local/bin/perl
32174 zig 18 0 8564 5748 1588 R 1 0.3 0:01.37 /usr/local/bin/perl
1038 root 15 0 8560 2256 1804 S 0 0.1 0:00.02 sshd: zig [priv]
1061 zig 16 0 8560 1700 1252 S 0 0.1 0:04.70 sshd: zig@pts/1
1090 zig 16 0 3080 1376 1088 S 0 0.1 0:00.09 -jailshell
11552 root 17 0 8736 2216 1776 S 0 0.1 0:00.03 sshd: zig [priv]
13375 zig 15 0 8736 1664 1212 S 0 0.1 0:00.00 sshd: zig@notty
13483 zig 16 0 5024 952 716 S 0 0.0 0:00.01 /usr/libexec/openss
Please switch to a plan appropriate for that usage such as our
dedicated server $179.95/mo + $99 Setup
or
Semi-dedicated server $39.95/mo + Free Setup

Failure to switch to plan appropriate for your usage may result in your site being shut off without further notice. Which plan did you want to go with?

Thanks,
[Fred]

some days i am better at hiding my contempt than others.

FROM: sabrina downard
TO: [Fred the Support Guy]

> Failure to switch to plan appropriate for your usage may result in your site
> being shut off without further notice.
>
>  Which plan did you want to go with?

Hah! That’s fantastic. Every time I have tried to email chihost support I get utterly blown off and never hear back at all — such as my most recent email after someone messed up my chroot jail, wherein I actually pleaded for just an acknowledgement of the email — but you find a problem and suddenly you guys remember I’m here.

Also, I really like the emailing threatening cutoff on the day before Thanksgiving. That’s awesome.

Tell you what, I’ll do us both a favor. Let me know what the date through which I’m currently paid up through is, and we can shake hands and go our separate ways at that time.

–
sabrina downard

i really, really, *really* wanted to ask for exactly how much “perl” i am allowed to use, or remark on his super-scary “cat file| grep zig” “of course the puny user will be frightened by my PS OUTPUT” attempt to techno-frighten me into submission, or hell, even just say “boy, are you guys dumb,” but i couldn’t bring myself to be mean. well. meaner than i was.

i do really like the threatened cutoff on thanksgiving eve. ‘cos that shit is TOTALLY what i was going to be doing tomorrow, baby!

Day 0: smoke the last cigarette in your pack. decide more or less spontaneously just not to buy any more. go about your life more or less normally.
Day 1: become mildly twitchy, but mostly okay. congratulate yourself on how well you are doing.
Day 2: snarl at anyone who breathes on you. attempt to choke anyone who actually speaks.
Day 3: neurotically chew nicotine gum, which for the record tastes like minty shoe rubber. call friend for moral support. run through all your cash taking cabs around the city in order to avoid walking past stores that will sell you cigarettes.
Day 4: go out for drinks after dinner to celebrate the new democratic house and senate majorities. fail to resist the lure of cigarettes; chain smoke 3/4 pack in a hipster karaoke bar.
Day 5: finish the pack.
Day 6: feel guilty, but now unsure why you should quit smoking because, after all, you are a grown-up, you know the consequences, and you can smoke if you want to. defiantly buy another pack; smoke three.
Day 7: feel guiltier, but don’t let it stop you from smoking half a pack.
Day 8: finish the pack. resolve again to not buy any more.
Day 9: sulk.
Day 10: continue sulking, at least until you go home from work and buy another pack. smoke four.
Day 11: go out drinking after work again. fail again to not chain-smoke in the bar. kill most of the rest of the pack.
Day 12: finish pack in the morning. resolve not to buy any more. mope the rest of the day.
Day 13: do a bunch of housecleaning to distract self from smoking. sequester all cigarette lighters into a tin. drink a bottle of wine and mourn its lack of firey accompaniment.
Day 14: do even more housecleaning. find some more nicotine gum; promptly misplace it. discover that another friend is attempting to quit. compare phraseology of respective “choke the living shit of everyone who gets within ten feet of me” sentiments. award points for creativity!
Day 15: sulk.

i was idly reading the amazon reviews for the new scissor sisters album ta dah! earlier today, while fetching the link to put them in my little featured fangirling sidebar thingy, and one of them noted something along the lines of: “saying that you don’t like scissor sisters is like saying you don’t like fun.”

(which is, y’know, pretty much true. i’m not asking anyone to go all crazy, here, or anything, but if you don’t at least reflexively tap a toe to something as easily accessible as “take your mama out,” you’re at least (a) stodgy or, more likely, (b) undead.) this goes a long way towards explaining a wacky interpersonal issue that’s been bothering me for about six months. clearly X. does not like fun! this explains everything! i feel so much better (and no small amount oblique) now!

… as i grocery shop at peapod online, after taking care of most of a bottle of cabernet sauvignon.

* niqui is not certain that drunk is the best time to be filling out a peapod shopping order.
<niqui> apparently what /me really wants right now is pie, based on her cart.
<wasy> PIE!
* niqui beams.

also, i like mocking the more stupid products. like “Green Giant Just for One Broccoli & Cheese Sauce.” perhaps i am extraordinarily gifted in the culinary arts, but i have to say: i’ve never really had all that much trouble with preparing broccoli for one that i’ve had to actually special-order a “just for one” product. i pretty much get the bag of frozen broccoli out of the freezer, put it into a bowl until i have achieved sufficient broccoli for my dinner, put the bag back in the freezer, and then put the bowl in the microwave. it’s not hard. i am just not convinced why i should pay $4.49 for four servings of broccoli and cheese (why do people think broccoli requires cheese? this also mystifies me).

oooh! they have a sale on kraft macaroni and cheese dinner! brb!

this morning’s commute:

• leave house at 0855 (aka “35 minutes before i have to be at work,” aka “slightly before normal time”). entertain fantasies about arriving early to work. hahaha, poor stupid niqui.
• arrive at el stop at about 0903. get cup of coffee from the dunkin’ donuts built into the division stop.
• walk down to the nearly empty — except for a woman with three boisterous toddlers, and one cranky hipster — platform. put down coffee; take out knitting. mentally weigh how much knitting will be accomplished before the train arrives; decides it’s worth it even if it’s only half a row. begin knitting the last row of the first orange stripe.
• complete orange stripe. o’hare train arrives; departs. begin purple stripe.
• o’hare train arrives; departs at 0920. complete purple stripe. begin orange. wonder, “where is the train?” stare at all the people now on the platform, mourning in advance my inability to find a seat so i won’t be able to knit on the train.
• complete orange stripe. another o’hare train comes and goes. the boisterous toddlers are now sitting forlornly on the platform. begin purple stripe. a loop-bound train arrives! but it is full, and no one is able to board. it is now 0930.
• put knitting away as a second loop train arrives several minutes after the first, anticipating being able to board this one, but alas, it is full too, and again only a handful of people can squeeze on. get knitting back out. complete purple stripe.
• at 0939, begin red stripe. complete one row. get disgusted, have a 10AM meeting that am now in danger of missing, so leave el station and get in a cab.

gotta love that CTA rapid transit that is neither rapid nor transitty (but it certainly is CTA)! i want my two dolla back!

did make it to my meeting on time. and got knitting in. the funny part (!?) is that while i was standing on the platform knitting, i was mentally composing a blog entry about the virtues of subway knitting: i cast that sock on this past weekend, without much hope of progressing much on it, but i’ve gotten nearly all of the cuff done just on my commutes this week. so yeah, you have to juxtapose the pain of repeatedly poking the left index finger with sharp, pointy needles, not to mention dropping stitches (naturally while knitting in dark purple) on a dim, dirty, unlit subway platform and then trying to pick them up before they fall down sixty rows against “dude! i got like four inches done on my sock this week without even having to try!” of course, then the CTA found a way to transmute the lead of my tolerant amusement into golden fury, so, you know… go them. socks are the ideal subway knitting, though, i think. two circs, doesn’t take much room, not really much pattern, so you don’t have to think about it… you can do it in dim light situations, you aren’t going to have to stress out too much about a pattern. plus, if i can knit six inches in a week’s commuting, then i can turn heels over weekends, and get a sock done in two weeks! how awesome is that? still, i hope the blue line can get its ass in gear tonight for my ride home. seriously. i can do without the 40-minute waits for a 10-minute train ride.

FIIIIINALLLLLLLY.

The White Sox sent left-hander Neal Cotts to the Cubs in exchange for right-hander David Aardsma and Minor League pitcher Carlos Vasquez.

of course, my coworker the cubs fan tells me “yeah, have fun with aardsma,” so we’ll see. for now, i’m just grateful we shuffled off the lead weight of Neal “I enjoy causing sabrina pain!” Cotts’ “mad skillz.”