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May 24, 2006
the coolness of a day 12 days away
This is SO cool.
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You entered: 6/5/1971
Your date of conception was on or about 12 September 1970 which was a Saturday.
You were born on a Saturday
under the astrological sign Gemini.
Your Life path number is 11.
Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 3 & 6. (Joe is a 6, but he's Aquarius which IS the most compatible...)
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 9.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2441107.5.
The golden number for 1971 is 15.
The epact number for 1971 is 3.
The year 1971 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/27/1971 and ending 2/14/1972.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Pig.
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 11 April 1971.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 18 April 1971.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 24 February 1971.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 30 May 1971.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 6 June 1971.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 21 September 1971.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Sunday, 11 April 1971.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 23 February 1971.
As of 5/24/2006 10:42:05 AM EDT
You are 34 years old.
You are 419 months old.
You are 1,825 weeks old.
You are 12,772 days old.
You are 306,538 hours old.
You are 18,392,322 minutes old.
You are 1,103,539,325 seconds old.
Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.99882583170254 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)
There are 12 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 35 candles.
Those 35 candles produce 35 BTUs,
or 8,820 calories of heat (that's only 8.8200 food Calories!) .
You can boil 4.00 US ounces of water with that many candles.
In 1971 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1971 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1971 in the US there were approximately 2,158,802 marriages (10.6%) and 708,000 divorces (3.5%)
In 1971 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.
Your birthstone is Alexandrite
The Mystical properties of Alexandrite
Alexandrite can assist one in centering the self, reinforcing self-esteem, and augmenting ones ability to experience joy.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)
Pearl, Moonstone, Opal
Your birth tree is
Hornbeam, the good taste
Of cool beauty, cares for its looks and condition, good taste, tends to egoism, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads reasonable, disciplined life, looks for kindness, an emotional partner and acknowledgment, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom happy with her feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious.
There are 215 days till Christmas 2006!
There are 228 days till Orthodox Christmas!
The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waxing gibbous.
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And for my name (this is really freaky, btw. Oddly accurate.):
There are 14 letters in your name.
Those 14 letters total to 64
There are 2 vowels and 12 consonants in your name.
Your number is: 1
The characteristics of #1 are: Initiating action, pioneering, leading, independent, attaining, individual.
The expression or destiny for #1:
A number 1 Expression denotes the skilled executive with keen administrative capabilities. You must develop the capacity to be a fine leader, sales executive, or promoter. You have the tools to become an original person with a creative approach to problem solving, and a penchant for initiating action. Someone may have to follow behind you to handle the details, but you know how to get things going and make things happen. You have a good mind and the ability to use it for your advancement. Because of these factors, you have much potential for achievement and financial rewards. Frequently, this expression belongs to one running a business or striving to achieve a level of accomplishment on ones talents and efforts. You have little need for much supervision, preferring to act on your own with little restraint. You are both ambitious and determined. Self-confident and self-reliant must be yours, as you develop a strong unyielding will and the courage of your convictions.
Although you fear loneliness, you want to be left alone. You fear routine and being in a rut. You often jump the gun because you are afraid of being left behind.
The negative attributes of the 1 Expression are egotism and a self-centered approach to life. This is an aggressive number and if it is over-emphasized it is very hard to live with. You do not have to be overly aggressive to fulfill your destiny. The 1 has a natural instinct to dominate and to be the boss; adhering to the concept of being number One. Again, you do not have to dominate and destroy in order to lead and manage.
Your Soul Urge number is: 1
A Soul Urge number of 1 means:
Your Soul Urge is the number 1. With a Soul Urge number of 1, you want to lead and direct, to work independent of supervision, by yourself or with subordinates. You take pride in your abilities and want to be recognized for them. You may seek opportunities to display your strength and usefulness, wanting to create and originate. In your desire to manage the big picture and the main issues, you may often leave the details to others.
The positive 1 Soul Urge is Ambitious and determined, a leader seeking opportunities. There is a great deal of honesty and loyalty in this character. If you possess positive 1 Soul Urge qualities, you are very attainment oriented and driven to success. You are a loyal friend and strictly fair in your business dealings.
The negative side of the 1 Soul Urge must be avoided. A negative 1 is apt to dominate situations and people; the home, the spouse, the family and the business. Emotions aren't strong in this nature. If you possess an excess of 1 energy, you may, at times, be boastful and egotistic. You must avoid being too critical and impatient of trifles. The great need of the 1 Soul Urge is the development of friendliness, and a sincere interest in people.
Your Inner Dream number is: 9
An Inner Dream number of 9 means:
You dream of being creative, intellectual, and universal; the selfless humanitarian. You understand the needy and what to help them. You would love to be a person people count on for support and advice.
To find out your birthday and name stats check out the Birthday Calendar.
Posted by crystallyn at 05:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 20, 2006
quote of the year
said by my friend Carol last night...
"Who in the world gives a 35-year old woman a hamster as a gift???"
Posted by crystallyn at 08:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 17, 2006
ramble ramble
I was looking back at old blog entries and I've realized how much my blog has changed over the years. I used to care little about who read it...I mean, six years ago there were so few blogs that it didn't really matter. Search wasn't what it is now and although I had had my site since 1995, it really hadn't been indexed by search engines because there wasn't much of anything on it. I was young, in turmoil--in the process of trying to figure out how to end an unhappy marriage. My blog was a place where people could know me, or know what I chose to show them. I was flip, I cursed a lot, I spouted off all sorts of things that in looking back, I wouldn't say now. Not that I said anything that I regret, but that I'm just different. My purpose is different. The way I choose to present myself to the world is different.
TONS of people that I personally know read my blog but I don't even realize it. I find out later--at parties or running into friends on the street. "Oh, I read that on your blog..." People that I meet for the first time but are friends of my friends will say, hey, I read your blog and feel like I already know you. It's such a strange bizarre thing to me. I think my mom reads my blog although she won't really say. Colleagues probably read it. And now a new audience may find me--my students. Suddenly the exposure is completely different. It's not the same audience that I was writing for in 2000. And I've changed a LOT since then.
In looking back, I find that my writing was freer. I didn't feel restrained. I blogged about the most random things (thankfully--I just discovered my rumball recipe that I thought I lost but apparently blogged about). I rarely posted pictures--mostly just blathered. And the weird thing is, I think I was rather interesting. I don't feel that way anymore. Not really. It feels like so much WORK to be interesting. To say the witty things I once said. To write and espouse my feelings. My blog feels BORING these days. To me and probably to everyone else. The readership has dropped off significantly, most notably over the last year. I used to have 300 readers that would swing on by...now it's about 30. Probably all people I know. Or people searching for stupid Timecube...which I wrote about a long while back when I attended a lecture by the nutty guy. Number one reason people come to this blog is because of the Timecube phenomenon. Or searching for gnomes when I blogged about the Travelocity gnome ad campaign.
And now? People see boring random pictures of things that have only a little personal connection. I don't write so much. Some of it changed because I realized that I don't feel as free to write about whatever I want. I mean, anyone can search and find this blog. I lecture to my students to be thoughtful about what they put on their websites because ANYONE can uncover it. Parents, employers, colleagues, stalkers. I did a search for Crystallyn, for example, and came up with a 22 yr old perpetually drunk college student with the same name, just a few towns away. I felt such an overwhelming sadness and pity for her, blogging all this angst and anxiety and insecurity that is hidden by the college cool factor of alcohol. The Crystals on myspace are equally sad and scary (maybe my friend Mike was right and Crystal is a mostly trashy name--all the other Crystal's I have met are pretty darn trashy). All the young women look like they are ready to fall into bed with someone. God, maybe it is true that you can't trust anyone over 30. And the thing is, I'm no prude...far from it, but there is a subtlety that is lacking in the social connections of what you can find on the Net.
I can tell you this much...when I hire in the future you can bet I'm going to be checking out websites--I want to know what I'm getting myself into.
So I think that a part of me feels massively censored. I miss the freedom of me, the unfettered cursing, the writing of whatever is top of mind. But since I've began teaching, I feel a sense of responsibility that is, at the same time, hindering. Combine that with the growing Big Brother feeling--I'm sure I'm on a watchlist for blogging my political views, for IM'ing them, and since I have Verizon, it's a sure thing my telephone number is secure somewhere at the CIA. Employers are increasingly aware of the web presence of their employees. And I'm more well-known in the mobile industry where I write often on mobile technology. Plus at some point I need to get off my ass and sell a non-fiction book and will be needing to find and impress editors. People know other sides of me--the "responsible, knowledgeable, expert, mature," blah blah blah. And I AM those things, but I am a lot of other things...and as a highly expressive, gregarious person, it's hard to compartmentalize it. I've tried to do that with crystalking.com, which I'm proud of and want to write more for. But I find that it doesn't change how I feel about this site, the feeling that my parents, my students, my colleagues could read what I write and shape perceptions of me. It's not like I'm ashamed of who I am or the things I think and say, but for people who know me in particular contexts, my political view shouldn't matter. If I wanted to talk about things of a sexual nature, I feel extra super restricted in a way that I never would have in my past (sorry mom, it's just too weird. Not to mention, I don't want my students even remotely thinking of me in that way). I will rarely talk about parties where things became excessive. Or about weirdness in friendships or relationships. You'll notice that I won't ever blog about my current job...maybe a past job, but not my current one, unless it's something positive to say. NOT worth having any repercussions for that. When I started blogging, everything was fair game.
And that brings me to the conundrum that many bloggers find themselves eventually faced with. What is the blog for? And what is appropriate to blog? I think the answer is different for many people. My blog has changed over the years. I have changed. And I do love my blog...but I think I am in a transition... a place where I need to discover how to feel that freedom and unfetteredness when I write here, but at the same time maintain the respectable distance that is needed for particular audiences. At the very least though, I would hate to be perceived as boring...
Posted by crystallyn at 11:01 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 15, 2006
the perfect gift for mom
In trying to find a present for my mom's birthday, I checked out Amazon and their gift suggestion guide. I clicked on "Mom" and amongst all the other bath, books, vases and jewelry, this recommendation stood out:
Black & Decker LP1000 Alligator LopperTM Electric Chain Saw
List Price: $180.00
Was: $99.99
Now: $99.97
I'm just chuckling, imagining my mom with a chain saw...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:38 AM | TrackBack
May 12, 2006
more spring runoff
I know I blogged about this before but my cousin Rhett and his wife in Twin Falls took more pictures of Shoshone Falls. Really amazing pictures and I had to share.
For comparison, here is July 2005:
October 2005:
April 23, 2005:
Posted by crystallyn at 08:13 PM | Comments (2)
May 11, 2006
I don't get it
Why are they praying for Clay? Are they hoping he isn't gay?
I saw those Enquirer photos. I also have watched gay friends trolling the Net to pickup guys (and no, I really really don't understand why that is), exactly like Clay is in that picture. I don't doubt it for one second.
Shocking...it's like those people who don't think Manilow is gay. I went to see Manilow last year with a girlfriend and thousands of old ladies were swooning over him. Amazing. I wish I could impart my extra-sensitive gay-dar to all those completely-homophobic-but-in-love-with-gay-men women out there...
At least Manilow is smarter than Clay is when it comes to coming across as being ambiguously gay.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:37 PM | TrackBack
May 09, 2006
the future of radio
is Pandora or something similiar. I am SO fascinated with this creation...an offshoot of the Music Genome Project, which catalogs music by particular characteristics, creating a method to better map and match like music. As you tell Pandora what you like and don't like, it learns to associate different characteristics and eventually, voila! And with just very minor tweaking, you have a cool radio station that has completely tailored itself to something you would like, even if you have never heard the music before.
WOW. That's amazing. A station that will play only what you like? Even if you haven't heard the music before? Very seriously powerful. And even more amazing...I am discovering music I would NEVER have ever discovered. Discovering music that I like...and would be very willing (and will very probably be doing) to buy because I'm hearing a way cool band I would never have known I would like except that Pandora has tailored itself to what I like! Nearly ten years ago, I did marketing for a company that was touting intelligent agent technology that personalized web apps much like how Pandora does with its stations. Its amazing to me that only now are companies starting to understand what real personalization is--and its still in fits and starts. Pandora is the closest I've seen to accomplishing what I think of as personalization and wow is it amazing.
You can create a variety of radio stations (recommended because mixing songs from wide genres doesn't give you good results). I have a popular alternative rock station, a more poppy 80ish sort of station, a chill out station, an electronica station and a loungey, jazzy, french pop sort of station. You can check out my latest favorites on the left.
This type of radio will bode well for bands who may never otherwise be able to reach out to the people who would truly enjoy their music. Even more interesting, it makes finding the music ABOUT the music--you are searching for characteristics of music that you would like and so therefore advertising is taken out of the equation. Artists without huge monetary resources for major marketing campaigns are suddenly on the same playing field as Madonna or U2. It's really amazing.
I honestly think that this sort of technology and categorization could drastically change how we listen to and discover music. Very very exciting. I can't wait to see how this evolves.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:16 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
spring has sprung
This morning's run was full of wonder for the season we call spring. Trees and flowers are in full bloom, there is the hint of rain in the air, birds are singing away and I just felt a real sense of pleasure from being outdoors. The lilacs are bright and full of fragrance. The azaleas are vibrant and the irises are just starting to pop. It was so gorgeous. I DID stop to smell flowers...white and purple lilacs wherever I go. They remind me of my mom and growing up outside of Spokane, the Lilac city. When I was little I loved going to the Lilac parade...they had a gorgeous nighttime festival that was full of the most spectacular lighted floats.
I also saw one of the best things, in my opinion, about spring--babies. I shooed a little fluffy grey cat away from our garbage and watched as she slid around the fence next door to join her calico friend. Together they were protecting at least two little black kittens. I came over to the fence and found one on a low stump, staring at me, his tiny navy blue eyes as big as he could make them. He was shaking, he was so afraid. Poor kitty. Probably not really been near a human at all. His mother seemed unconcerned with me for the most part, she was watchful but seemed to realize I had no intention of hurting her little ones. Finally he jumped off the stump and scampered away. I watched them for a little bit. So so so cute. I wish I had a picture of that little baby on the stump to send to cuteoverload...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:29 AM | TrackBack
May 04, 2006
that crazy WWW
del.icio.us has recently added networking! If you don't have a del.icio.us account, go grab one right now. It's an excellent way to keep track of favorite websites and even more so, a great way to learn about new ones. It's both a fabulous resource and a superb way to waste a ton of time.
If anyone has del.icio.us and wants to network up, let me know! Crystallyn is my user name...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:13 AM | TrackBack
May 01, 2006
I'm confused...
What on earth were they thinking, letting Colbert speak at the White House Correspondents dinner? Didn't they EXPECT to be roasted royally? And with such panache as only Colbert can do?
I would have killed to be a fly on the interior wall of the limo as Bushey rode away...
To view the clips and to find out more, check out:
http://www.thankyoustephencolbert.org/
Also, of note, over the weekend, was an article in the Boston Globe, showing how Bush really feels that he is above and beyond the law.
President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution. Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
All hail the King!
