July 25, 2006
Voxing it
For the last couple weeks I've been posting more on Vox. I like the networking, templating, the ease of posting books, video and photos. The main thing that sort of sucks is that you have to be registered to leave comments (so if you want an invite, let me know, even if you never plan to have a blog--at least then you can comment on other Vox sites). There are a few other things that I know are in the works to upgrade Vox sites even further, so I think I may stick it out there for awhile.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:00 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 11, 2006
vox
I've been messing around with the preview, invite-only version of Vox , the latest offering from Six Apart (makers of Moveable Type and TypePad). It's a hipper sort of Live Journal type of site. One of the key features is that you can create privacy areas for friends and family, so if you want to be more personal, you can control who can see what (well you can group them into friends, family or friends and family...it's not set up for individual viewing specifically). It's an interesting premise and there are definitely bugs that they need to work out but it's interesting. It would be nice to feel unfettered when I blog.
Is anyone else using Vox yet? Let me know so I can add you to my neighborhood. Of if you want a Vox invite, let me know and as soon as I get some I'll invite you in!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:42 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 24, 2006
the coolness of a day 12 days away
This is SO cool.
--------------------
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.
----------------------------
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 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 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
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
March 22, 2006
recent outage
Soooo I discovered what happens when my server gets full--MT can't publish to the front page and so it just gives me a lovely blankness.
After deleting 50k worth of spam mails on the main webmaster mail, finally, back up.
I want to start blogging more so have faith...I haven't disappeared. :)
Posted by crystallyn at 06:58 AM | TrackBack
February 25, 2006
it's all about zombies
Posted by crystallyn at 08:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 10, 2006
bits of random-ness
I realize that I haven't blogged lately. I've been busy. Or lazy. Maybe a bit of both. But I'm always interested...
Some of the random things that have caught my interest:
* Zillow, a very cool way to research real-estate
* EQ2 and all of the enjoyable time-suck that it is
* How long it will be before they indict Cheney
* CB2 has a new catalog! But when are they going to open up a store in Boston?
* When you wash clothes and oil gets all over them, it means that your seal around the agitator is cracked and that basically a new washer is on your agenda. And new clothes. Argh.
* I hope to soon have the courage to join this club.
* Apparently up in Canada they aren't just fond of poutine (BLECH), but also eating pig's tails.
* Hanging out in the wonderfully clever Kingdom of Loathing
Posted by crystallyn at 07:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 16, 2006
i am going to die
After I rudely push my way through a crowded line at the zoo, a large, angry man picks me up and throws me over a guardrail into the bear pit. Being only minutes before feeding time, I am quickly devoured by the hungry beasts.
Posted by crystallyn at 05:37 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 12, 2006
2005 Cities Meme
Following in Jason Kottke's footsteps...
All the cities I stayed in 2005, not including Boston, of course.
Las Vegas, NV
San Francisco, CA
Provincetown, MA
Waterloo, ON*
Dublin, CA
Boise, ID
Pittsfield, MA* (Berkshires)
One or more nights spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.
The lack of travel denotes two things--one, I managed to get out of going a lot for work and two, we is poor... We tended to go to the Pitt a lot for vacation because it's free to stay and we have a great time when we go.
Joe pointed out that my list is full of "rainbow" destinations...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:27 AM | TrackBack
January 08, 2006
vengeful mouse
The most talked about story on Technorati today is a BBC News article about a mouse that some 81 year-old guy threw in a pile of burning leaves.
The mouse decided to take its revenge and it ran back to the guy's house and set it aflame.
Serves that guy right! WOOHOOO Mouse!
I can't wait to tell Rosie, Joe's mom. She collects mice. Draws them on everything. She'll definitely get a kick out of this.
Posted by crystallyn at 03:37 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 06, 2006
For Joe's Birthday
I'm thinking of getting this for Joe's birthday on the 1st....what do you think?
Posted by crystallyn at 06:58 PM | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
my new favorite website
Posted by crystallyn at 08:34 PM | TrackBack
December 07, 2005
Squidoo is live...
And here are my lenses...
One Acorn: Critical & Creative Thinking
Mobile Advertising and Mobile Marketing
The Power of Self-Learning: Constructivism
Crystal King: Shining Star
Metacognition: Thinking About Your Own Thinking
I talk a bit more about the premise behind Squidoo over on crystalking.com.
Posted by crystallyn at 10:28 PM | TrackBack
November 03, 2005
mmm Han Solo!
I had such a crush on him when I was ten! Good thing because my Fantasy/SciFi character is none other than:
courtesy of Niki...you MUST go check out the Halloween pictures of her little twins! Absolute genious!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 22, 2005
suddenly I'm five years old
and sitting with my father on the hood of his cadillac, watching with wide eyes at the drive-in. I was young, but it was absolutely amazing.
Ahhh...thanks for the memories...
Posted by crystallyn at 10:42 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 17, 2005
holy crap!
Very very scary.
http://www.license.shorturl.com/
Posted by crystallyn at 09:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
take me seriously!
My latest endeavor is a blog about things a bit different than that I would normally post here. I realized that while this blog is fun and a great place for me to interact, rant, share and connect on a casual level with friends and interested people, it's not the best forum for my professional ideas. As a marketer, my #1 product is really myself and as a result, I needed a place to be able to better showcase my talents and my thought leadership.
Sooo that said, help me spread the word about Creator of Circumstance!!
Posted by crystallyn at 09:12 PM | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
calculate your life expectancy
found on one of my favorite sites, Lifehacker, you can determine how your health and history may affect the length of your life.
Here's my expectancy:
Life Expectancy: 89.53
Lower Quartile : 82.99
Median Lifetime: 91.53
Upper Quartile : 98.37
Unless I add in my asthma, which is mild and only during the winter. I wouldn't consider it the type of asthma that compromises my life much at all.
Life Expectancy: 85.74
Lower Quartile : 79.04
Median Lifetime: 87.84
Upper Quartile : 94.49
Check yours out:
http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/~foster/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html
Posted by crystallyn at 04:07 PM | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
sites that have me hooked
I am loving loving the new Yelp! I can't wait till there are more people signed up so that the reviews really take off. If any of you join, look me up!
Odeo is a great new tool to help find podcasts. It's also in its early stages but it's much better than iTunes and iPodder for helping to preview podcasts.
The expanded customized Google News is improving. I really like the nice clean interface.
Slashfood is a great foodblog for the food and wine obsessed.
And extra super cool--the marriage of poetry and evolution! Darwinian Poetry
Posted by crystallyn at 07:43 PM
August 05, 2005
who owns that fish?
In my del.icio.us inbox I ran across a great little brainteaser from a site that I have frequented in the past from design firm Coudal Partners. The trick, which may or may not have been invented by Einstein apparently is solvable by only 2% of people. Are you in the top 2%?
Took me a little bit of time last night but I came up with the answer--and it all checks out--I didn't guess, I did all the logic and completed the grid. I didn't even use Jason Clarke's Fish Helper, although it might have been handy.
The extra cool thing is that the prize is one of the Euro live CDs from the new Dead Can Dance tour! WOOHOOO!
Coudal does the super cool jewelboxes for the Pixies and Dead Can Dance CDs and they also are creating CDs of each show for purchase afterward (not as efficient as the way They Might Be Giants lets you buy the MP3s and burn your own (plus it looks like all the DCD ones are sold out) but the package for the DCD shows are SO cool).
We have October 5 tickets to the DCD show in Boston. I can't WAIT! I am so excited about this show...have been a fan for so long and thought I would never see them since they were no more. Who would have thunk a reunion would have happened?!
Will be interesting to go and see what the crowd is like. I'm wondering if it will be a bunch of young kids who fancy themselves all goth or if it will be a bunch of former goths (they didn't have that word back then when we were growing up; we were wavers or sometimes "batcaves"). Or people who just love gorgeous music and enchanting voices? They have the best music to write to...soothing, calming, beautiful. Joe is worried that it will be "boring" as a result. Kind of how the Cocteau Twins were VERY boring when I saw them years ago--lush ethereal music but not a lot else (they also used their own made up words and language for their songs so that was odd).
Regardless, I have several things to celebrate--I'm in the top 2% (and no I'm not going to give away my answer and yes I have the work to show I know it); we're going to Dead Can Dance and thirdly that Joe is being really cool about the fact that I'm dragging him to a concert on our 5th anniversary (of meeting--which for us is our really big anniversary, more than getting married).
Oh and....it's Friday.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:36 AM
June 20, 2005
spell with flickr
Check out this very cool little web tool for spelling out things with flickr images:
Posted by crystallyn at 06:49 AM
June 06, 2005
lend a helping hand?
In case you want to be extra nice to me, feel free to visit ChangeThis and vote for my manifesto proposal. If enough people vote for the proposal, then I can submit my finished manifesto. Would be a great way to share some of my Critical & Creative Thinking knowledge, so if you are up for it, go to:
http://www.changethis.com/proposals/452
and vote for my proposal!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:14 AM | Comments (2)
May 24, 2005
MUST HAVE
GOLD PANTS!
All right--maybe the sweaters are hot too! Leslie Hall, student at Joe's alma mater, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (or usually Museum School), demonstrates the glory of the Gem Sweater!
And if you think those pants are as fab as I do, you must check out the latest album cover by her band, Leslie & the Ly's: Gold Pants. Too bad they're playing in Brookline on the 3rd--graduation for me (M.A. in Critical & Creative Thinking at UMass)...I'm sure I could have had a blast thrift shopping for my own Gem Sweater so I could get in free!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:52 PM
May 11, 2005
tiddly widdly
So I've become a convert to the latest craze that is going around the web... Getting Things Done (GTD).
The book, by David Allen, is being talked about all over the place. If you check out Technorati, you'll see that there are 335 posts from 102 blogs that match the GTD tag. Going through the del.icio.us GTD tags could take you all day. Normally I'm not a total bandwagon jumper but all those people are really onto something here.
What is it? There are lots of sites that explain how GTD works. So I'll just sum it up--it's an incredible organization system for tasks and projects.
The cool thing--it's completely changing how I work. Working in marketing, I usually have a gazillion projects with numerous tasks that are associated with those projects. Keeping track of them is a constant challenge and I always live in some fear that something is going to fall off the huge plate that I'm juggling around. No more! Well not as much anymore at least! GTD is such a smart and easy way of understanding what lies in front of you. It's a nonlinear way to organize, which is perfect for the massive multitasker. It took me a few hours to put it all together at work but now everything is so fluid it is freaky!
There are a lot of great tools popping up everywhere that are making GTD fans happy--Backpack, Airset, Trumba and others, none of them even come close to what the GTD Tiddlywiki is doing for the way I'm working. It's absolutely phenomenal. I've tweaked it all around to suit my GTD needs, changing some of the categories and the menus. One thing I am doing is creating a dump file organized by month so that once a major task is complete I can archive it so I have a list to look back on for my monthly reports. I love that it is an offline tool and that I can take it easily with me on my USB stick (i.e. WikiOnAStick). I didn't even have to install any software, which means that my IT department won't flip out.
It's a really nice feeling to be able to know exactly all the work I have in front of me. I feel more proactive and even more excited about what I'm doing than I was before. The pressure of remembering everything is gone. If you, like me, have looked into countless methods of organizaiton for your crazy worklife and have never been able to quite find something perfect--pick up this book. And yes yes yes, check out the GTD version of the TiddlyWiki. Nathan Bowers and Jeremy Ruston have drastically improved my life within the space of the two days I've been using the GTDTiddlyWiki!
Posted by crystallyn at 06:01 PM
May 10, 2005
meatspace iPod shuffles
Mike Davidson recently ran his first "Mike Industries iPod-A-Month Creativity Competition™" where entrants tried to re-create the iPod shuffle out of food. The results are absolutely brilliant!
The winner was Davin Risk, who entered a banana spaghetti shuffle:
Of equal wonder is Stephen Lodefink's spam shuffle:
and Nikki Sevcik's Morning Shuffle:
Definitely check out the rest of the entries on Mike's site. He also has an ultracool webcam banner of Alki in Seattle, which makes me terribly homesick.
Posted by crystallyn at 06:19 AM
May 01, 2005
useful things
In Harvard Square, there is a great little store called the Museum of Useful Things (MUT) (which is nearly as cool as its sister store, Black Ink). In the store you can find all sorts of great things that are, yes, highly useful. Kitchen gadgets, cool cleaning tools, little things to organize your office, etc. Last time I was there I picked up this great little thing that keeps your kitchen sponge in one place.
So in the spirit of the MUT, here are some things that I consider highly useful...
everyday gadgets
The Drop Stop is awesome for keeping wine from dripping.
This bracelet fastener has saved me OODLES of time.
Joe gave me this wicked little Cross Ion pen for Christmas. I keep it on a keychain with my memory stick. Very handy in a pinch and it writes beautifully.
Super Cool/Handy Websites
43 Things ~ Map your goals out with this great community tool.
And another 43, this time Folders. Tips, tricks and "lifehacks." And the wiki (I recently added my coffee hacks--cleaning your coffeepot and novacaine)
And the excellent Lifehacker.
Also can't quite say enough about del.icio.us. You'll notice I streamlined my left nav and cleaned it up a bit. Now you can just click on my list of links to see what I'm checking up on here and there. Let me know if you are a del.icio.us user--I'm always curious to see what my friends are up to. Funny how links can say a lot about a person.
And Angela, you asked about Flickr...yes, its great! It's easy to use, great display capabilities and I like the community aspect--seeing when friends have new pictures and the like.
I'm also excited about the possibilities of Trumba...
I much prefer gMail these days. I have a ton of extra invites if anyone wants one. It is infinitely better than Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.
The Mentat Wiki which is right up my alley as a recent MA grad in Critical & Creative Thinking. Tools, articles and information galore.
Software
Well, I have to give a strong plug (and yes, yes, I'm probably biased here) for AvantGo. Simply put, the best mobile web content provider around. They just keep improving. Now available for BlackBerry too so if you have a mobile PDA or a smartphone you don't really have an excuse. It's the best way to keep up with news and information when you are on the go. Even better, it's free!
Firefox ~ If you are still using Internet Explorer as your web browser, all I have to say to you is STOP! If you don't have tabbed browsing, you are missing out on the best way to quickly and easily use the Internet to your best advantage.
Open Office ~ The best free productivity suite you can find. If you can't/don't want to shell out $400 to Microsoft for its Office Standard Edition, check out Open Office. I use it for my writing--I like the organization of multiple chapters better than the way Word does it. It IS compatible with Microsoft, however, so if you create a spreadsheet in Open Office and send it to a friend who has Word they won't have a problem opening it. All in all a great, cool software suite and the best part is that it's free.
Picasa ~ Google's free picture album/sharing/editing tool. Best free software for quick fixes and the way it organizes all photos on your hard-drive is awesome.
The A-9 Toolbar ~ Amazon's search tool which is based on Google. You can easily search Google, Amazon or A9. The way it displays your searches is especially helpful, with thumbnails of images and other related searches that you can set up. Quickly search for your results on Creative Commons, NASA, Flickr, Feedster and a host of other great sites. One great thing about the toolbar is that you can easily track bookmarks between computers if you have a toolbar on each machine and are logged in. I keep a lot of my private bookmarks (bank, journals, etc) here--that I wouldn't want on del.icio.us.
iPodder --software to quickly subscribe and download Podcasts into your iTunes. Check out PodcastAlley to find podcasts galore. My current favorite? >Grape Radio.
Posted by crystallyn at 04:05 PM | Comments (1)
April 29, 2005
maybe this is perverse
but I really want one of these:
Posted by crystallyn at 11:37 PM | Comments (2)
April 19, 2005
thanks to
a dear friend, I landed a free upgrade to Flickr Pro!
Wooohoooo!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:09 AM
April 16, 2005
so if you are feeling a little crazy
this should make you feel better (plus my blog has been too damn cutesy lately so here's a dose of odd, antique reality for you). It's a record available at the New Orleans Public Library City Archives. It's a detailed record of patients at the New Orleans (La.) City Insane Asylum 1882-1884.
It's a fascinating look at how they used to diagnose insanity. The clinical diagnoses are amazing in themselves: melancholy, stupidity, acute religious mania (I wish they still locked people up for that!),delirium of persecution, chronic mania, epilepsy, softening of the brain...
It's also a testament to the way that racism was still very prominent--not that the person diagnosing these people wasn't kind and compassionate, in fact, I had a distinct feeling that he was--rather it was just the common belief at that time about how black people were, the Irish are, women, etc.
Some of the more amazing accounts:
p. 81
Wm. Sheldon, male, black, 36 years old, single, native of Virginia. Recommended his commitment to the S-I-A. at Jackson, La. on April 16th/83, finding him suffering from Religious Mania.
This man’s actions & reasoning were so lucid, that I was about writing his discharge when he told me that he had something to tell me before going out. What is it I said, he answered “Jesus-Christ cut my nuts out last Monday, and it was not until Tuesday morning that I found it out, when I then missed them.” He was positive his testicles had been removed. When I made him examine himself, he laughed & said with surprise, “Well, I made a mistake, I told a lie, but did not mean it. I take it all back. Sure enough they are there.”
p. 100
Louise Blache, female, black, about 100 years old, widowed, native of Africa, recommended her commitment to the S.-I.-A. at Jackson, La. on June 8th 1883 finding her suffering from Dementia.
This old woman is very old, being in the neighborhood of 100 years. She is in a state of infancy, loss of memory, and shriveled up from old age. She is the type of the African, and is no doubt one of the African negroes brought here by the negro traders of the north at the commencement of this century.
p.116
Charles Welsh, male, white, married, 69? [sic] years, native of Ireland, cab driver. Recommended his commitment to the S.-I.-A. at Jackson, on July 23d/83, finding him suffering from Chronic Alcoholism.
Like all Irishmen, he is very witty. But his conversation is incoherent, vulgar, and obcene [sic]. He has been an inveterate drinker, for years back, but his physique bears his age very well. He does not seem to be over 50 or 55 at the utmost. He knows not where are his house and cab, or at least says they are where they are not. If whiskey is mentioned to him, his face radiates with joy, and he becomes talkative.
p.130
Jefferson Davis, male, white, 22 yrs, married, native of N.O. La. Recommended his commitment to the S-I-A. at Jackson, La. on September 20th 1883, finding him insane suffering from Acute Raving Mania.
This unfortunate young man, was badly beaten a day or two ago, and bears the marks of the beating, in the shape of bruises of the scalp & nose and black eyes. Since then he is said to have become insane. To day, 5 p.m., he is very much excited, is constantly spitting every where, and at every one, begs not to be struck, asks for the priest and holy water, and implores his wife not to abandon him. His pupils are normal, his face, excited & inquisitive. He is so restless that I am unable to count his pulse. (He was beaten on Tuesday morning 18th inst. A few hours after when he returned home he was talking foolish. That evening, between 5 and 7 oclock [sic] he was speechless but would by signs & writing ask what he wanted. That night he was restless & talked foolish, though he slept some. That day & the next, Wednesday, he had hemorrhages from the mouth & nose. Wednesday all day foolish talk & movements; by 7 p.m. he became violent. No sleep that night. Thursday morning at about 3 o’clk. was arrested & in the evening I sent him to the La. Retreat.) These last informations [sic] I have from his mother in law.
You must check out the record...it's absolutely amazing in its entirety. The descriptions are clear enough that even now you can probably guess at some of the real truths behind it: alzheimers, depression, schizophrenia, brain damage.
Joe used to work with the director, Brad Anderson (who also did Next Stop Wonderland), who created the movie Session 9, which coincidentally, our friend Sharyl told us about initially. Joe's wheels started turning and he realized it was the movie that Brad always talked about wanting to make. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the Danvers State Hospital, on which the movie is based, still has its records mostly unavailable to the public--it only closed in 1992 so they are private. Here is a detailed account of the Danvers State Hospital by Michael Ramseurwith some gorgeously haunting portraits of the castle-like institution. One of the most interesting facts about Danvers that he notes is that in 1898, the biggest foreign population in the hospital were the Irish (those witty Irish!). Ramseur is putting together a book about the Danvers State Hospital which I imagine will be a fully fascinating read.
We live quite close to the famed Mclean Hospital (Sylvia Plath really put it on the map and so did the movie Girl, Interrupted). I keep meaning to pick up the book, Gracefully Insane, but haven't yet.
We're going out with an Irishman tonight (who also worked with Brad Anderson). I can't wait to give him a bad time about being witty as he's drinking his whiskey...
Posted by crystallyn at 09:20 AM
March 31, 2005
i really shouldn't laugh at geeks
but well, when good friends send you
links like this...
Posted by crystallyn at 09:31 PM
March 24, 2005
she has integrity
as Joe says.
We caught a recent episode of South Park, featuring WING! Oh my, she kicks ass over all the American Idol contestants, hands down!
Joe: "She's much better than William Hung!"
And he's right.
Listen to Dancing Queen. ABBA remake--the best I've heard yet!
Posted by crystallyn at 10:05 PM
March 06, 2005
share and share
I've really come to like Google's next little free tool, Picasa. What a wonderful program! I've been looking for a good, free program that allows you to easily categorize and manipulate photos and hands down, Picasa is the best I've found. Combine that with Hello another tool that helps you to quickly share photos with friends and you've got a winner. If any of you end up trying Picasa and Hello make sure you add me to your friends list!
And speaking of friends, NetFlix gives you the opportunity to share your movie lists and recommendations with your friends. Any of you Netflix users that want me to add you, let me know!
The accident update: Joe's surgery on his nose went okay. He had a high blood pressure reaction to the cocaine pack they had given him (and the guy next to him in recovery who was puking didn't help) but he's better now with a cast on his nose and finally in better spirits. He can nearly breathe again! We're waiting for results of my CT scan to come back to see if I may need surgery. I really really don't want to go through what Joe has just gone through. In the meantime, I'm fighting with this freaky little bit of scar tissue in my upper lip where they stitched it back together after the accident. Between my nose and my lip it's essentially numb. I can't pucker up very well and blowing candles out is suddenly the most difficult job in the world...not because I don't have enough hot air, but because I can't get my lips to work right. It makes me immeasurably sad...if they can't fix it I don't know what I'll do. Kissing, one of my all-time favorite things, is suddenly only a half-sensation now. My smile is messed up too...it looks tight and fake. Okay, enough whine. Anyone got some good bleu to go with it?
But if you are waiting anxiously, like I am for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to come out, go here
Posted by crystallyn at 06:08 PM
February 14, 2005
Happy Valentine's Day--the Martian Way
The one above is a a 279 yard wide mesa and the one below is actually a 1.4 mile wide pit.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:03 AM
January 24, 2005
MT upgrade/nofollow plugin--spammers can kiss my...
So I've upgraded to better handle comment spam and I've added the nofollow plugin which means that anyone posting a URL to my site won't find that URL picked up by Google, Yahoo or MSN Search. Google led the way on this initiative and my hats off to them for realizing that the way that they rank websites is the reason that comment spam occurs in the first place.
I've reopened my comments again. If you are unregistered with Typekey then your comment won't show up right away--it will go into a queue until I moderate it, and I'll try to do that in a very timely manner. I receive an email everytime I receive a comment so can keep tabs on that easily. I do recommend registering with Typekey though...then you will be able to comment on a variety of MT sites without any issue.
I'll post Blizzard 05 pictures soon!
Posted by crystallyn at 06:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 17, 2005
hate to have to do this but...
I disabled comments on my site for a bit. I just came back from visiting my parents in Boise--was only gone three days--and found hundreds of forced moderated spam comments in my mailbox waiting for me to approve for the Blacklist. Sigh. It's pointless for spammers to even try my site--it won't show up on the blog and only serves to waste my time. I'll figure it out and let you know.
I'm going to upgrade to the latest MT which helps a bit more when comment floods occur. I'll look into other options as well--if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. poetess AT crystallyn.com
Oh and Boise? Snowy, full of pickup trucks and flat, boring subdivisions, but it was great to see my family and we had two nice dinners...one at the Red Feather Lounge and the Cottonwood Grille. Nice to see Boise starting to become a little more cultured, even if it still is, for the most part, buried in the land of strip malls and chain restaraunts.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:38 PM | TrackBack
January 08, 2005
oooo i figured
it out...MT stylesheets. Aren't you proud?
But for the basic update:
Today we bought Joe's 40th bday tickets to Vegas in February! YAY! Staying at the Mirage and currently contemplating what culinary adventures await when we arrive. We're thinking Aureole is on the agenda. We have already been to Picasso (which Zagat shockingly rated at $91 a plate!!! We went there on our wedding night) and Lutece (my favorite place ever!!!) so its time for a new food-lover's delight.
Romeo had surgery on Thursday...removed three teeth and a fatty tumor on his belly. He's recovering quite nicely and is quite spry for having a sewn up gash across his belly. He keeps flopping over waiting to be loved. The first night we got him home he kept oozing blood so I had to hold him the whole evening with a warm compress. But now he's fine but with this extraction, he's left with only 6 teeth. True hillbilly kitty he is now. My mother-in-law, Rosie (who is the most awesome MIL a girl could have) wants to sew him a vest. I should tell her to make him some overalls instead. :)
Back on track on resolution #1. Been to the gym 5 days this week. Me and six billion other Americans. The thing is...I'll still be there in 5 months and they won't be. :) I proved it last year and will do so again.
And I've managed resolution #4 so far too.
Posted by crystallyn at 11:23 PM | TrackBack
December 23, 2004
Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! May Santa be extra good to you this year!
Posted by crystallyn at 05:21 PM | TrackBack
November 17, 2004
always time for candy!
FINALLY there is going to be a Daily Candy for Boston!
I've been on the mailing list for Daily Candy Everywhere for a long while now, but it's going to be extra awesome to have things be local for a change. And just in time for Christmas!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 08, 2004
comment trouble fixed
Not sure why they aren't working...will try and fix tonight.
all fixed!
Posted by crystallyn at 08:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 09, 2004
little jewels
I forgot to mention that the October/November issue of
is up! Some really great art this issue, as well as all the other lively bits of poetry, interesting memoirs and wonderful fiction.
Also, I want to show off the really beautiful necklace that I picked up while in P-Town.
The necklace is a Swarovski crystal pendant and what you can't see here is that it isn't a black cord, but rather little individual, thin black acrylic paillettes. It's really beautiful. Elegant but simple.
I didn't get the earrings...we were starting to spend too much! But the artist is a German woman, Carola Hiersemann, who is quite well known in Europe but not as well known here in America. I think though, that more and more boutique shops are starting to carry her line. I was just thrilled to discover that you could buy her jewelry via the Internet. Really, go check her stuff out...the necklaces are incredible. The designs are bold, beautiful and made out of really interesting materials: "hand-winded glass, shell, alabaster-glass pearls, eloxated aluminum, precious wood, coral, gold, silver…and unique acrylic "paillettes" with mirrored surfaces." And the best part is that while it's fine, boutique jewelry, it's not a zillion dollars...it's actually quite moderately priced. The site doesn't really do justice to the beauty of the pieces...especially the Swarovski crystal. I think that this is the kind of jewelry I could really get into collecting--starting with the earrings to go with my necklace!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 08, 2004
crystal
is the 4,128 most commonly used word in the English language....and you can see it at Word Count.
I'm ranked higher than the word "fuck" (5598) and "terrorism" (9035) and much much higher than "loser" (14211) and even higher than "boston" (8099).
Joe is cooler though. He's at 2,133. My brother, Chase is at 5,380. My sister is really out of luck. Misty rolls in at 15,562. My kitty (13131), Romeo, is at 14,939. My cat is more popular than my sister. But my dad, he's the coolest of all...at 1,119. Joe's mum, Rosie, is 8,541 and his father, Lionel is 15,068, still beating Misty out. My mom fares the worst...Lynette comes in at 74,764 out of 86,800 words in the archive.
It's good though...that happy ranks (848) higher than sad (2847). Heart is 712.
Content is 1678.
Joe tells me he's seen this before and that I should enter my birthday as the rank to see what I get. 6571 is "rebel." Hmmm. His birthday comes out to be "phase."
Even more interesting is the way that we use Word Count. Query Count tells us the dirty truth about us all. I come in at 815 there. Joe at 128. Fuck is #1. Sex #2. The #3. Love #4. Shit #5. Cunt #6. God #7. Granulation #8???????????????
Posted by crystallyn at 06:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 02, 2004
Happy Belated Birthday!
to crystallyn.com that is!
I didn't even realize it, but it slipped by in July, marking nine years of existence! I didn't begin blogging until 2000 but I did have a website which went through various incarnations in the five years prior. It's come a LONG way. Back in 1995 I owned two domain names. Now I own three (down from five last year).
I am a geek.
Posted by crystallyn at 06:30 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 05, 2004
so it turns out
that I have a wedding to go to the day after Manilow. In New York. From one magnificent party to another.
Other things of note:
1. I have a tan. Really. Imagine...pasty white me, tan. :)
2. Joe forgot to pull the paper off the disposable litter box while we were out at Mirror Lake in NH on vacation last week and Romeo decided that the big rubber plant in the living room was a suitable cat box. Well, he is smart, I have to give him that. We at first thought he was disgruntled, but then realized that he was just using his next option. Besides, how could he be disgruntled? He had Paulette taking care of him (in between hanging out with Jerry Springer (literally!) that is).
3. CONGRATULATIONS TO BRENT AND MARY ANN!!!! WOOOOHOOOO YOU TWO! You better be sending some pictures in my direction! I want to see this Dreat guy once and for all. ;)
4. Joe and I have decided that we're going to France next year. No clue how or when, but it is going to happen. We're targeting 10 days. I minored in French...figured I better actually put all that education to use. But it's been 10 years now and a brush up is DEFINITELY in order. Would welcome any recommends on places to eat or stay in Paris or any of the wine regions.
5. When I get my first paycheck from the super cool new job (I haven't had a paycheck in a month!!), I'm getting one of these:
6. I learned about the wicked cool Archimedes Palimpsest today.
7. Urbanoutback pointed out what someone else pointed out...in that every day you think of a monkey. OMG it's SO TRUE! Every day since then, a monkey has surfaced at some point during the day. Amazing. EVERY DAY YOU THINK OF A MONKEY.
8. In case you ever wondered about the evolution of food, now there is the Food Timeline
9. WOOOHOOO I made the Wikipedia. Who knew that a little jaunt by Joanie and I would end up being a bit more than 15 minutes of fame?
And I'm sleeeepy.
Posted by crystallyn at 09:19 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 15, 2004
random cool things
I'm recovering, slowly. Just left with some stuffiness to my nose, taste still slightly off and a rattle when I breathe. Lovely, huh?
But to brighten my day, I've come up with a bunch of random cool things...
First off, a gem that makes me think that maybe I could take up bike riding after all...a little beauty called The Betty.
Wishing on a star:
I'm thinking that I really need to get myself a Dream Log to decipher dreams like the one I had the other night, about my parents divorcing and my father taking all three cars and half the pictures off the walls and me trying to convince my sister that if we found an apartment together that we wouldn't kill each other.
LINENS! Yes yes, cool dishtowels:
Keep going...
And it's peach season! Time to try a Peachmolitan!
Or what about a very expensive soccer ball?
And finally, for some really wonderful summer reading, you must check out David Lehman's edited collection of Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present.
Posted by crystallyn at 06:51 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 21, 2004
as you can see
I'm not very good at MT CSS. :(
And it's late and I need to sleeeeep.
Posted by crystallyn at 10:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 20, 2004
wooohooo!
I have a gmail account! 1000MB storage! No more Yahoo! for my general email box!
Posted by crystallyn at 07:01 PM | TrackBack
April 18, 2004
My turn to play
the game...I'm a little late to jump on this bandwagon, but...here goes:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
I have Tom Shippey's J.R.R. Tolkien-Author of the Century.
5th sentence on page 23:
'It was rather splendid to be wearing a blade made in Gondolin for the goblin-wars of which so many songs had sung,' says the narrator, and though this romantic sentiment is immediately qualified by a practical one--'and also he had noticed that such weapons made a great impression on goblins that came upon them suddenly'--it marks perhaps the first stage in Bilbo's winning a place in the modern world of fairy-tale.
Posted by crystallyn at 08:29 PM | TrackBack
April 14, 2004
leggo of my lego
Check this out...
It's made entirely from Legos. Really. Found at Gizmodo...go check out the close-ups if you don't believe me.
I really love Legos. My brother was really into them and when we weren't making him play with my sister's Barbies we would build crazy things. My nephews have discovered how much fun they are too. There is a wonderful little shop in Waltham, The Construction Site, that carries every Lego you can imagine. I have to admit, I found myself longing for the whole Harry Potter set. :)
Oh my...there is a Legoland? No wait, FOUR of them? What planet have I been living on?!
Posted by crystallyn at 06:26 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 25, 2004
odd things about crystallyn.com
Checking my stats confuses me. I have the strangest referrers...
www.countryconcert.com is my number one referrer...and while I despise country music, someone who likes it sure likes me!
Another odd one that is in my top referrers: http://www.iaea.org/ which baffles the hell out of me. I shudder everytime we drive by a nuclear power plant.
And a whole slew of Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears nude related blogs that are also in my top referrer list. NO clue why.
Getting tons and tons of hits because everyone that is receiving their YM (formerly Young Miss) magazine in the mail from MLI Inc. comes here to see what the deal is. I haven't received my Health magazine that I requested yet, but I have two copies of YM that have come in the mail lately, in case anyone wants to know what the latest with Justin Timberlake is. It makes me feel older than anything else has ever made me feel!!
Lots of hits of people looking for Landscape With the Fall of Icarus.
And Bill, the Travelocity gnome.
A few people looking for my friend Ned's Gollum Rap.
Or wanting to know about John Malkovich, one of my favorite actors, in Boston.
Other crazy search terms:
coughing in the middle of the night (which I did do last night)
dr zen zen wine
20 nobel laureates write bush
snow bones
make shyness dyslexia
pictures of tapeworms
pictures of sloppily dressed people
a splash quite unnoticed
poetry car accidents
bump under skin on shin (which I still have from my fall a year ago)
clay aiken oh my!
michaelangelo wedding dress
why must i spend my time filling up my mind
canyon ranch food poisoning (ack! not good!)
most annoying things in america
sloth racing company australia
Who are these people?!
But very cool...866 out of 2006 people this month have added me to their favorites. :)
Posted by crystallyn at 07:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 20, 2004
perfect way
Posted by crystallyn at 08:02 PM | TrackBack
March 18, 2004
my t-shirts arrived
yesterday and if it weren't SNOWING in Boston, I might be able to wear them. And well, if I weren't sick, and if it were nice outside and etc.
I picked up some great tees from Buy Olympia, which reminds me of how much I miss the West Coast and Seattle...and my grandfather still lives in Olympia.
The first one is a boy's t-shirt...they had a capsleeve shirt for the chicks but well, I'm not fond of yellow and I liked this one better. This is an AWESOME t-shirt and it looks great on me. Except, funny enough, with my glasses on, I look like her. Which Joe thinks is cute, so I'll go with that.
And of course, I couldn't not get the kitty-that's-sad-about pie shirt. I figured Joe and I could share this one, except it says it is pre-shrunk...and it's like a dress on me!! So, we're going to wash it and hope.
And I got this one for Joe, which he loves!
Now I'm just impatiently waiting for my star wallet to arrive.
Very impatiently.
Off to go pass out. Still recovering from whatever plague I managed to contract. Blech.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:53 PM | TrackBack
March 14, 2004
Shining*Star
You are the Star card. The Star is the light of
hope. Shining in the night, sending light into
darkness, the stars provide direction to
sailors and are a field on which to dream.
Humanity used to look up at the sky and desire
to be there, to find out what it all meant, and
now we have been a distance into space and have
elementary ideas of the makeup of all the
different stars. This kind of achievement adds
further fuel to our hopes. The eternal,
slow-moving stars that will be long shining
past the end of our own existence provide hope
of immortality, and the vast space they suggest
and the very mystery they hold provide us with
excitement and knowledge yet to be discovered.
Image from: Danielle Sylvie Taylor
http://members.limitless.org/~morpheum/gallery.html
Which Tarot Card Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by crystallyn at 07:54 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 08, 2004
What Biological Molecule Are You?
Stolen from Niki.
You are an enzyme. You are powerful, dark, variable, and can change many things at your whim...even when they're not supposed to be changed. Bad you. You can be dangerous or wonderful; it's your choice.
Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by crystallyn at 07:38 PM | TrackBack
March 04, 2004
oh wow
I wonder if I'm in there somewhere...
Posted by crystallyn at 08:06 PM | TrackBack
February 29, 2004
thinking about attending bloggercon
Bloggercon is coming up this year on April 17 and it's at Harvard so it's a hop, skip and a jump away. Plus it's free and I'm always up for meeting new people...
Posted by crystallyn at 05:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 26, 2004
why is
this site so damn fascinating?
Posted by crystallyn at 06:50 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 21, 2004
massive faux pas
William Hung is the secret American Idol.
Fan sites are popping up everywhere. Including at www.williamhung.reallyrules.com, which we found from an article in the Boston Globe this morning. There are a couple of problems with this site, however. One: you can't read the really crappy font, and, Two: 587 people have let them (or maybe the site owners didn't even ask, just did it?) post their email addresses on the site for the world to see. Can you say spambot dream? I bet within a week half of those people will be closing out their email accounts because they have been spam bombed because all their email addresses have been scraped for penis patch and viagra ads.
Amazing. Not sure how old the two girls are that created the site, but they really don't know much about privacy protection, spam prevention and how to protect themselves from angry angry people once their emails have been shut down due to spam overload...
Posted by crystallyn at 10:45 AM | TrackBack
February 15, 2004
Upgraded!
Okay, so I upgraded to MT 2.661...and sorry I deleted your comment Ancarett, but it was a junk post full of testing comments by me, so figured it was easier. :)
It WAS much easier than I thought but in order to enable the comment flood protection I had to go in and do a little bit of hacking, which was annoying. They didn't include the mt.cfg file in the upgrade, so I had to go into the file, and guessed about where to put the configuration for it (the configuration instructions seemed to indicate that it would be in the mt.cfg file but it wasn't). Thankfully, it worked. I've set my settings to take three minutes before you can comment again, which seems to be a sort of random thing. But the problem I've found is that it only works on posts that are posted on the same DAY, not on posts that are posted to one day then immediately to the next day, or simultaneously. So it sort of defeats the purpose.
Most of my old posts are locked now, so that's not a big deal. Until 3.0 comes out I will only keep the last week or so unlocked for comments and will just go lock any that are older than 14 days or so. That way if the comment flooding doesn't stop the crapflooders (reading the support forum seems to indicate that it's buggy and my testing seems to agree), that it will be easier to delete comments.
I think spammers and crap-flooders are the bottom of the scum barrel. It's amazing to me that they actually think that people are going to purchase from them after they piss them off by their unscrupulous marketing. Plus it gives legitimate, respectable marketers like myself a bad name.
Going to keep tweaking...
Posted by crystallyn at 09:32 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 13, 2004
googlish
Anyone notice that their Google toolbar is full of happy hearts today? Cute, very very cute.
Posted by crystallyn at 06:15 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 12, 2004
addicted
to Bloglines that is. I don't have any clue how I surfed without it. If you don't have an RSS feed on your blog (MT and Typepad users usually have it installed automatically), get moving...it's the best thing since sliced bread if you try to keep up with many many blogs.
I have 127 in mine, in categories of literary, personal blogs (of which the literary minded ones go into literary), web (entertainment, metafilter, scriptygoddess, and more), food, technology, marketing and news. Absolutely amazing that I can take an hour and scan through that many sites and feel either:
a. numb
b. informed
c. guilty for procrastination
d. mind-boggled
e. entertained
Some of my favorite blogs don't have RSS feeds though, and that's a shame (nudging those of you in my always read links)...
God I love technology.
Posted by crystallyn at 10:01 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 28, 2004
thank your lucky stars
at Lucky W. Head here if you need to know what to do if you find a luckyhand root
or how a walnut carved with 108 buddhas may help you out...
Posted by crystallyn at 10:48 PM | TrackBack
January 23, 2004
once a Seattlite...
You might be from the Pacific Northwest if:
* You know the state flower (Mildew).
* You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
* You use the phrase "sun break" and know what it means.
* You know more then 10 ways to order coffee.
* You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
* You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
* You stand on a deserted corner in the pouring rain waiting for the "Walk" signal.
* You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
* You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Tully's, Seattles Best and Venetos.
* You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye.
* You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Skakomish, Lliwaup, Dukabush, Humptulips, Mukiltioh, Nisqually, Skookumchuck, and Willamette.
* You consider swimming to be an indoor sport.
* You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Thai food.
* You know what a Geoduck is.
* You understand the word Bumbershoot.
* In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark and you only work 8 hours.
* You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
* You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers".
* You cannot wait for a day with "showers with sun breaks".
* You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
* You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not simply a state of mind.
* You can point to two volcanoes, even if you cannot see them through the clouds.
* You notice, "the mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
* You put on shorts when it gets above 50, but still wear you hiking boots and parka.
* You switch to your sandals when it get above 50, but still keep your socks on.
* You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
* You think the people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
* You knew immediately that the view from Frasier's window was fake. (OH THIS IS SO TRUE!)
* You buy new sunglasses every year, cause you can't find the old ones after such a long time.
* You measure distance in hours.
* You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.
* You use a down comforter in the summer.
* You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them.
* You design you kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
* You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining- Spring, Road Construction (Summer), Still Raining-Fall.
* You actually understand these jokes and forward them on to your friends.
Courtesy of Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy
Posted by crystallyn at 06:07 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 22, 2004
i shouldn't
post this, but I had to...
Posted by crystallyn at 06:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 21, 2004
just a little addicting
smack the penguin...really, go ahead.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:33 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 19, 2004
the ultimate prank
covering someone's apartment, down to the quarters in the change jar, in tin foil...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:28 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 16, 2003
HOLIDAY DISTINCTIONS
Courtesy of my dear Jewish friend, Paulette.
1. Christmas is one day--the same day every year: December 25. Jews also love December 25th. It's another paid day off work. We go to movies and out for Chinese food, and Israeli dancing. December 25 is also National Jewish Ski Day. Chanukah is 8 days. It starts the evening of the 24th of Kislev, whenever that falls. No one is ever sure. Jews never know until a non-Jewish friend asks when Chanukah starts, forcing us to consult a calendar so we don't look like idiots. We all have the same calendar, provided free with a donation from either the World Jewish Congress, the kosher butcher, or the local Sinai Memorial Chapel (especially in Florida) or other Jewish funeral home.
2. Christmas is a major holiday. Chanukah is a minor holiday with the same theme as most Jewish holidays. They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat.
3. Christians get wonderful presents such as jewelry, perfume, stereos... Jews get practical presents such as underwear, socks, or the collected works of the Rambam, which looks impressive on the bookshelf.
4. There is only one way to spell Christmas. No one can decide how to spell Chanukah: Chanukah, Chanukka, Hanukah, or Hannukah?
5. Christmas is a time of great pressure for husbands and boyfriends. Their partners expect special gifts. Jewish men are relieved of that burden. No one expects a diamond ring on Chanukah.
6. Christmas brings enormous electric bills. Candles are used for Chanukah. Not only are we spared enormous electric bills, but we get to feel good about not contributing to the energy crisis.
[what happened to 7?]
8. Christmas carols are beautiful. Silent Night, Come All Ye Faithful....Chanukah songs are about dreidels made from clay or having a party and dancing the horah. Of course, we are secretly pleased that many of the beautiful carols were composed and written by our tribal brethren. And don't Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond sing them beautifully?
9. A home preparing for Christmas smells wonderful. The sweet smell of cookies and cakes baking. Happy people are gathered around in festive moods. A home preparing for Chanukah smells of oil, potatoes, and onions. The home, as always, is full of loud people all talking at once.
10. Women have fun baking Christmas cookies. Women burn their eyes and cut their hands grating potatoes and onions for latkas on Chanukah. Another reminder of our suffering through the ages.
11. Parents deliver to their children during Christmas. Jewish parents have no qualms about withholding a gift on any of the eight nights.
12. The players in the Christmas story have easy to pronounce names such as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The players in the Chanukah story are Antiochus, Judah Maccabee, and Matta whatever. No one can spell it or pronounce it. On the plus side, we can tell our friends anything and they believe we are wonderfully versed in our history.
13. Many Christians believe in the virgin birth. Jews think, "Joseph, Bubela, snap out of it. Your woman is pregnant, you didn't sleep with her, and now you want to blame G-d. Here's the number of my shrink".
14. In recent years, Christmas has become more and more commercialized. The same holds true for Chanukah, even though it is a minor holiday. It makes sense. How could we market a major holiday such as Yom Kippur? Forget about celebrating. Think observing. Come to synagogue, starve yourself for 27 hours, become one with your dehydrated soul, beat your chest, confess your sins, a guaranteed good time for you and your family. Tickets a mere $200 per person.
Merry Christmas!
Posted by crystallyn at 10:51 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
December 05, 2003
methinks
that Mr. Cohen has no clue about being a Presby and I can tell him that at least I CAN EAT THE FILTHY PIG and thus enjoy pure unadulterated bliss.
You poor Jews. Don't know what you are missing when it comes to bacon. ;-)
And tonight, after a fabulous meal of pork chops in bourbon cherry sauce--a bottle of Dom Perignon while we trim the Christmas tree and watch It's a Wonderful Life. Being a Presbyterian isn't so bad. Sappy, but good.
Posted by crystallyn at 10:51 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 04, 2003
monkeys monkeys monkeys!
I HAD to share this photo.
According to Yahoo News: "A monkey drinks cola on a round table 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter in Lopburi Province, north of Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003 during the annual monkey festival which has been hosted since 1989 by a local businessman who believes the monkeys were behind his family's good fortune. A total of 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) of fruits were offered to the monkeys roaming the area." (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
What I thought was even more interesting was that they opened up the first hospital just for monkeys! (Niki, maybe you can specialize?)
Posted by crystallyn at 11:18 AM | TrackBack
October 27, 2003
i feel slightly sorry for those of you
who didn't manage to get ahold of any of LoobyLu's wonderfully designed holiday cards. She's sold out! I managed to get a couple packets, so I'm all ready for the sending! I feel so cool. I got my holiday cards before Halloween. Ha!
We're also going to be WAY on the ball for our Christmas party (sometimes with Paulette's Hannukah flair thrown in, although no more potato pancakes after the lingering grease smell of two years ago. :) We're planning on getting our invites out during the first week of November. Imagine that!!! No last minute planning on our part. Except that now, the sucky part is that Joe isn't a wine god and able to get cheap drinks. I have a feeling we'll get past that, however. :)
But back to LoobyLu, I am sad that I never managed to snag any of the cool t-shirts that she designed from last year's NaNoWriMo. This year's shirt is pretty cool, and I'll probably get one, but dang...I wish that last year's was this year's!
Speaking of, I'm getting SO geared up for NaNoWriMo. I've been going crazy with getting my outline together. I have my pantheon, which is the core of the book in many ways. That was one of the main components. I realize that I was so stalled on writing the book for so long because I didn't have that backstory figured out. I have so many wonderful ideas...I feel so excited and confident about writing a longer piece, finally. I fall to sleep at night thinking of where my characters are taking me. It's so exciting to have the revelations of where the story might twist and turn. I've been holding off on writing it until the official start for NaNoWriMo, and I think that's good...the backstory is going to be rich and complex and I will have all my stepping stones in place. Terry Brooks is a huge proponent of outline--one of the few sci-fi/fantasy writers that seems to take this direction. I finally realize that the reason I was so stuck for so long is because I tried to just sit down and write whatever happened...but that doesn't really work for me. But the outline--WOW! That has opened up huge possibilities for me. I even have the beginnings of the sequel nearly planned and I haven't even begun the writing of the first one! Very exciting. I feel like there is a future for me in my writing. I've never felt that, or BELIEVED that before. It's an amazing, incredible feeling.
Posted by crystallyn at 12:04 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 25, 2003
it's just plain
awesome that I'm not the only one who considers Xanadu to be some sort of recognizable part of their past.
Although I admit to having a cosmo or two while saying this...that's better than admitting to liking the damn movie/soundtrack in the first place.
Or I could take the road that I studied and just quote Coleridge, but well, I'm not sure which one influenced me more...Olivia or Samuel...
Posted by crystallyn at 10:46 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 14, 2003
i love halloween
Paulette sent me the most hilarious pet Halloween pictures. This is my favorite:
This is Joe's favorite:
but wait! There are more!!! Look on...
I just want to know how they got the cat to sit still for this...methinks they must have knocked them out...
And you have to love sleepy puppies.
Trick or Treat!!
Posted by crystallyn at 10:02 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 24, 2003
teaser...
Posted by crystallyn at 09:17 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
September 09, 2003
and so I have
To here too. But only because I'm blogging about how true it is. Me...I could never give up the wonder of real books and real libraries and true research and facts. The rest of the world...is starting to forget a little, I agree.
Posted by crystallyn at 09:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 23, 2003
Casting the Runes
Your Name: Crystal Lyn King
Your Date of Birth: 06/05/1971
Your Question or Information: work, life, creative license
Past Sigel - Victory, power, strength, health, the rune of the sun, vitality, drive to work and produce. | Present Ansuz - Communications, wisdom and clarity, to attract others to your cause, increase magickal energy. | Future Daeg - Increase and expansion, prosperity, growth, major turning points in life, turning in new directions. |
Cast the runes here:
Rune Caster
What a wonderfully positive reading, by way of dear Shanna's site. I think I need Paulette to do a reading for me soon...every time she's read my astrology chart, she's been dead on--she predicted when I was heading back to school (contrary to what I firmly believed) and she predicted the day that Joe asked me to marry him...so well, maybe I might listen with just a little more than a grain of salt now. :) Still, I don't see myself going the way of Nancy Reagan...
Posted by crystallyn at 07:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 16, 2003
there's something
really wonderful about bubblewrap. I'm not the only one that thinks so, right?
So someone managed to even create a virtual bubblewrap site, which isn't quite the same but still quite entertaining. :)
My friend Mike (except I think he's in England for a couple weeks) will find this next bit entertaining--he used to play ping pong a lot, but I don't think it was quite like this.
Yesterday, I brought in Dunkin Donuts for my co-workers...but I had no clue that someone had managed to swing by the only Krispy Kreme in the state of Massachusetts. At 5PM, some of my donuts were still left.
Jeesh and I tried to be nice. I mean, I can't really blame them though--KK donuts are WAY better than DD.
LJC mentioned other things you can do with Krispy Kreme donuts--like making your wedding cake out of them. Hmmm...
Posted by crystallyn at 05:54 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 19, 2003
several disturbing things
** Cheney Energy Task Force Documents Feature Map of Iraqui Oilfields, courtesy of SixDifferentWays
** Creationist (ignoramus) Science Fair, courtesy of Ancarett
** Joe making me listen to Slade's Cum on Feel the Noize.
** The fact that Slade is still around and touring...
** The fact that I actually remember and like the song Run Run Away (see chameleon lying there in the sun...)
** A man finding a mouse head in his Wendy's chili. Mmm yum. Courtesy of Exploding Cigar.
Posted by crystallyn at 09:39 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 27, 2003
i'm always
amazed at how people find my site in search engines...I get some of the most curious terms that come up in my stats.
I get hits from people who search for Timecube because of a lecture I attended awhile back and commented. Gene Ray is really rather harmless. He looks like someone's grandfather that is ready to head out to the golf course and putter around slowly.
Other search terms are related to poetry: poems about crushes, poems with taste imagery, starting life off right poems, lost friends poems and oddly enough--sonnets about Metallica.
Other ones are just plain weird: frodo's bedroom pictures, cheap crystal vases, fedex search dogs, fools work hard, evil pictures of christina aguilera, bullets or prizing or coworker or waupaca or frank, hilary clinton narcissism, zit pictures, she needs to cut her hair, funny whale pictures, write up on new initiatives in life, disneyland wedding headband, 3 = bm shtr, absinthe taste and smell, bitch offscreen, siren horn company, harvard square = the pit = pictures, what is an exhibitionist, how to write letters of sadness...
Some of them are really disturbing, people searching on: little boy porno, incest brother sister love, defecating urinating slipknot, teacher porno, teen bra pictures, free 1 day trial incest, and christina aguilera in bathroom pics.
There are many people in the world, clearly, who I have no desire to ever get to know...
Posted by crystallyn at 06:44 PM | Comments (5)
June 10, 2003
there is a reason
that this site was voted best weird site in this year's Webby Awards...but it's weird in a really fascinating sort of way.
Posted by crystallyn at 08:41 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 02, 2003
link whore
Going to do it up in style...odd places to visit on the web...
Cheese Racing (via Pantaloons)
Singing Horses (via a friend). It's part of this Swedish cartoon site, which of course I can't entirely understand but it looks fun.
iSketch, which looks rather fun but I haven't tried it as of yet...online pictionary, basically, which you play with other people.
Orsinal, which is a site that I've posted before but it's so cute and great entertainment, full of little sweet, well-designed games...I can spend hours here.
Bookcrossing. I'm seriously thinking of getting into this.
My Cat Hates You , on which you won't find my cat, because Romeo is a lover kitty, but this site really cracks me up.
Mullet Junky, on which, sad but true, you could probably find pictures of my brother...
Bizarre American Holidays, which is, apparently, the way we teach our children how to enact laws.
Tick Tock Toys (via Peppermint Tina), where you can experience a serious blast from the past.
And here, ReproDepot, where you can do the same, and get crafty if you want (courtesy of notmartha.com). They make me want to learn how to sew.
Blogshares, which has earned me over $4 million in virtual money, sigh. But it has introduced me to some cool blogs.
I'm as old as this online Sears catalog (link via Scrubbles)--and the worst part is that my parents probably dressed me in some of those clothes...
Posted by crystallyn at 06:49 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 31, 2003
if i were still
an Everquest enchanter named Nyxa, here is what I would look like (although she is two steps from that snakey stick):
Thanks for the diversion, Ancarett...I love silly things like this.
Posted by crystallyn at 08:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 23, 2003
bizarre search words
a great thing about being on BlogOMania for my host is that it comes with this kickass control panel with every web-related feature you can imagine, including several web email options (with calendar, tasks, addressbook and more!!), web ftp capability and several different types of super comprehensive web stats.
I discovered some very odd search words were taking people to my site:
huge zit pictures
poems about crushes
lost pounds food poisoning
wench
you wanna manage a hedge fund?
flip your eye lids
and several Everquest related types of searches...
Posted by crystallyn at 09:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 22, 2003
sooo what do you think?
made the switch to Moveable Type! I had a bit of trouble in the end and one of the MT support staff, Brenna, was super responsive! I didn't expect real-time help and I got it! If any of you are considering a switch to MT and are worried about all the technical stuff, it's definitely worth the $40 for them to help you with the install.
Overall it's more complex but the flexibility, scalability and the features make it worlds above Blogger. I couldn't figure out how to import my old Blogger entries though and in the end I figured that I would just link to the archives. I don't really need to categorize them and all that.
Now to switch over poetry.crystallyn.com
Posted by crystallyn at 08:02 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 21, 2003
two things
well, maybe three...or four.
Going to move over to Moveable Type from Blogger...having them do it (I got freaked out thinking about how I could mess it all up), so unsure when it will take place--hopefully in the next day or so.
Thanks James for getting me hooked on Blogshares. I went from $500 to $192,000 in less than a week. Joe thinks I'm obsessed. Now it's getting to be too cumbersome and time consuming to trade, however.
Clay better win tonight, that's all I can say.
Joe put his name into the Googlism and it had WAY better things to say...
joe is my interactive bra
joe is love
joe is a good man
joe is the hottest man alive
joe is rad
joe is appearing with his own band
joe is so getting laid tonight !!!
joe is interrogated at the police station
joe is having a drink in his local bar when in walks this beautiful woman
joe is the devil
joe is your pwner
joe is not happy about being left behind in episode 101
joe is not an expert in voodoo and he promises to be nice to his followers
joe is controlling transmission
joe is a highly secret paramilitary organization whose job is to stop the diabolic organization of cobra from taking over the world
joe is nasty
joe is hurtled to purgatory
joe is a priest
joe is no ordinary gorilla
joe is so smart
joe is enjoying a lot of success with his latest album
joe is truly a beer fanatic
joe is working to ensure that northwest florida becomes a place that is as unique
joe is dancing in the streets
joe is not stoned
joe is gorgeous
joe is awesome
joe is a sick monkey
joe is founder and president of hypnotic marketing
Posted by crystallyn at 10:24 PM
crystal is
according to Googlism:
crystal is highest quality of over 30% lead
crystal is a public health consultancy group
crystal is our specialty
crystal is crucial
crystal is one kind of piezoelectric material
crystal is currently a hot item nationally
crystal is approximately 10 cm high
crystal is stolen
crystal is cheap !!!
crystal is golden nintendo
crystal is forever
crystal is a fourth ``state'' that certain kinds of matter can enter into under the right conditions
crystal is at heart a collector
crystal is transparent
crystal is truly magnificent
crystal is a nice point with a centrally located point and an isis face
crystal is concentrated energy
crystal is a reward in itself
crystal is considered by many people to be the finest quality
crystal is a fragrance free stone that neutralizes odor causing bacteria for 24 hours
crystal is manufactured in large sheets up to 3" thick
crystal is sent to you for continued healing
crystal is bound with jute twine
crystal is making tremendous adjustments within your energy field
crystal is found almost everywhere you see white quartz rock on the ground
crystal is president and chief
crystal is from brazil and arkansas
crystal is pervasive in the market with 85% of fortune 1000 (wow I would like that)
crystal is the crystal of death or outcasting
crystal is a tabby and hosts soft green tourmalines
crystal is one of the largest weyrs on pern (any Anne McCaffery fans out there?)
crystal is amazing
crystal is priced at $400
Posted by crystallyn at 03:23 PM