Famous Novels

I guess Random Quiz Friday survives another week...

My sister-in-law found this one and posted it on Facebook. It's from Quizfreaks, and it's a test for all us bookish people. Can You Name the 12 Most Famous Novels in History?  

Need a new pic for these besides the "what if" pic. I'm working on it.

I got all 12. How'd you do?

Playboy Bond

School is back in session, but as I schedule these before the week, I have not as of this point worked any new days. Which means it's another #ThrowbackThursday. This originally appeared on December 3, 2008.

A boy in fourth period came up with that today. One boy introduced himself as, "Bond, James Bond". Another boy asked to pass by me by saying, "Please let the playboy pass". Then the "playboy" combined both. I would have said something about that being a good porno name, but that would have been way too friendly to a class that was behaving not at all how they should have behaved.

Today I covered a special ed class with a teacher who is the polar opposite of a leslacker (his lesson plans were so detailed, they were a thing of beauty). The day had gone pretty well. But fourth period would not work. I asked them to work. I told them to get to work. Four of them were working on a quiz. Only one (the one who had been absent yesterday) made any progress on it.

Then the boy who was seated at the back of the room ("James Bond") came up front to rifle through the teacher's overhead marker collection. I got him to put the markers back, but shortly thereafter I noticed that my pen was missing.

It's a cheap pen. I've learned not to use fancy pens at school. But it's a point of honor with me--I never lose pens. And this one is just about out of ink. I kind of want to get to the end of the ink with this thing. But it was gone.

I looked about for it. Many times it'll fall to the ground. But I knew that "James Bond" had swiped it when he was rifling through things earlier. I couldn't accuse him, though. Then I never would have gotten it back.

To the class I said that my pen had gone "missing" and I hoped that someone would "find" it. As usually happens, it found its way to the floor. An innocent student found it. She, of course, was then accused of the crime, but I knew that she couldn't have possibly done it even if she would have been so inclined. So, I got my pen back, and the students spent the rest of the period accusing everybody of swiping it.

If only they would put that kind of effort into their work.

Too Many Greens

So, my little EOS Lip Balm Holders...

...have been selling well. Very well. Surprisingly well.

One sold on Christmas Day. One sold on New Year's Day. And I keep making more to replace the colors sold.

When I first listed these, I only had one made of each color. I soon learned this was probably not the best idea. I marked "out of stock" as I sold colors and only put them back in stock once I replaced them.

The other day, I finally got around to replacing the "grass green" one. At least, I thought it was "grass green". (I think the yarn color is actually called "limelight".) I made it, changed the availability on the site, and a few days later it sold.

But something was nagging me. The color didn't look quite right.

Turns out I had two similar greens, and I had used the wrong one...

The one on the left (the one that was made) was actually a "sage". Ooops.

I quickly made it in the correct color and shipped it out. Although, now I have one in a color not listed. (And now I'm out of that yarn.)

They're close, but the difference is visible. At least to me. 

So, the question is, do I get more of the "sage" yarn and add it to my stock? Or am I right? I already have too many greens.  

And, what other colors should I add? I went to the yarn store to look for other colors, and I was flummoxed as to what to add. I have just about every shade. (I was planning on making an orange, but they were out of orange. Sigh.)  

Anticipating Our Needs

At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, all I ask is a thank you in the acknowledgements.

I got a new cell phone for Christmas. When I text, it gives me three choices of possible words as I start typing. The first choices were "Yes", "No", and "Talk later?" Now, they've become "I", "The", and "I'm". And I went to type "yes" and "yeah" appeared. It's learning my idiosyncrasies. I think.

I don't know if this is a good thing or not.

What if future computers (cell phones, devices) learned us well enough to anticipate our needs? Like, what if the fridge knew when to order groceries (and what to order)? What would that be like? How might that make things go wrong?

After Christmas Projects

Christmas ended, and that's when I had to ramp up the crochet. You see, not only did I put off starting my Christmas knitting, I also put off a birthday present.

HapkidoKid's birthday is December 26th.

Bad timing on his part, really.

He got it on New Year's Eve...

I was worried it wouldn't fit. I was wrong. (The pattern I used is here. I ended up making it a bit smaller than was written.)

Then for Christmas I received a skein of Malabrigo Merino Worsted Yarn. And because the skein was in orange, that meant I had to make something for myself...

Just in time for our cold snap. (Which might be over by the time this post goes live.) This pattern is called Calorimetry, and it was pretty easy to knit.

And now...

Now I've got time and I'm not sure what I'm going to make. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Famous Roles

The schools are on vacation, and so I have no subbing stories for you. Which means I delve back into "the schedule"...

The only problem with this is Fridays kind of suck. I've never gotten a good Friday topic. They don't seem to stick. But then I had this brilliant idea.

Random Quiz Fridays.

(I thought about doing Friday Funnies, but that idea came from another blog, and then there's the alliteration. Can't do alliteration if I have a choice in the matter.)

I mean, why not?

So, to inaugurate the new feature (I suppose I should put feature in quotes as that's how seriously I'm taking this. In all probability, this will be the only one), we're doing "Who DIDN'T Play These Famous Film & TV Roles" from Playbuzz.

(I tried to embed the thing or at least get an image, but after a half hour of fail, I can't try anymore. Click on the title and it should take you there. Considering the luck I've been having with this, I can't be sure.)

I got 11 out of 15. Not too shabby. How did you do?

Early Morning Fright

Yep, it's time to pull out the ol' repost. Well, it is #ThrowbackThursday and the first day of the year, so might as well find something from New Year's Day...2008...

Oh my! I saw the skunk!

Not the actual skunk. I did not stick around long enough to take a pic.

There is a skunk in the neighborhood. The distinctive odor of eau de skunk permeates the air every so often. But honestly, when I don't smell the skunk, I don't think of the skunk.

So, this morning after returning home from my New Year's Eve out, I went out to retrieve the mail as usual. I noticed the scampering creature but didn't really see it at first. By the time it registered to me that it was a skunk, I was viewing its back end as it was scurrying away from me.

It was black with the very distinctive white markings. Its tail was in the air--a black tail framed in white. I saw all of this as the skunk jumped off the sidewalk and into the gutter. Then it disappeared under the sidewalk into a storm drain.

Very carefully I continued on my way to the mailbox, traversing the sidewalk right above where the skunk had disappeared moments earlier. Then I practically ran to the mailbox and returned to my home just as quickly. My heart was racing, but luckily the neighborhood stink bomb did not return.

I'm sure glad Pepe Le Peu picked flight over fight. I don't even want to think about how I would have gotten rid of skunk stench in the wee hours of New Year's Day.