text:
Introduction and disclaimer
I'm not quite sure why I have written this. I guess I just wanted to write about my past experiences with loneliness, admittedly to get my story out there but also to evoke some sympathy for a lot of lonely shy guys who must have made similar experiences – and are still making them. Another reason was to write a critique of the "worldview" of PUA – but one that makes rational and scientific arguments, in contrast to most critiques of PUA which are overwhelmingly motivated by political correctness and reality-denial. I wish I could have read such a critique 3-4 years ago, that would have saved me from a lot of pain.
In the first part I will try to convey my past state of mind as authentically as possible, meaning that I will not only write about my experiences but also about my PUA-influenced interpretations of them. As should be clear by now, I no longer agree with substantial parts of the PUA-body of thought (and also with other more philosophical views of the first part). So if you only read the first part and think it's misogynistic crap, please keep in mind that there is a second part before sending me death threats. Thanks.
Oh, and one last note: You can skip the next 3 paragraphs in case they are too boring.
[ETA: I don't agree with the negative language of the post anymore, though even at the time of writing I was using a hyperbolic style as this is more fun to write and read (which is true for most of the posts on this blog. But even so, the language strikes me as too, hm, judgmental. Actually, this is again true for most of my other posts. Lastly, I've used this blog always more in a therapeutic way (as compared to the most accurate description of my epistemic map), as an outlet for my feelings and experiences with the aim of inducing catharsis and eventually getting over them.]
Part 1: My own story – Experiencing the darwinian abyss
I like to think of loneliness as the worst fundamental existential evil of the human condition: Loneliness is associated with an around 30% increased likelihood of mortality (after controlling for possible confounding variables), which is comparable to smoking and obesity. But even more important for my belief in the seriousness of loneliness are my personal experiences.
About my youth I will only mention a few things because I was basically a superficial idiot until 18 so there is little to talk about anyway. I met my first girlfriend with 16 and was together with her for two years. At the beginning it was lovely (of course still shallow from my present perspective) but soon the relationship transformed into a nightmare because besides being depressed and suffering from low self-esteem she was pathologically jealous: During the last 12 months my home was essentially my prison. Just to take two examples of the absurdity that permeated this whole relationship: I wasn't allowed to see my friends – because I could meet pretty girls there – or read the newspaper – because I could see pretty girls there. Why I didn't break up with her? Well, I was an idealistic, naive and romantic "white knight" and wanted to marry her. She was my "true love" after all! I would probably still be together with her, if she hadn't cheated on me by sleeping with another guy (and kissing yet another guy 6 months before this) and then telling me, that she wanted a break. It's not unlikely that I would have stayed with her if she hadn't initiated the breakup because I somehow never was angry at her for this and forgave her immediately. Sometimes I think about all the Everett branches in which I'm still together with her and cry a bit.
Anyway, from 18 to 19 I became ever more interested in philosophy and science, briefly had another girlfriend but she was too much of a stuffy, boring satisficer and I broke up with her. I had already become disillusioned after my first relationship and after the second breakup I swore myself to not waste time with romantic relationships because I came to believe that emotions like love and sexual attraction just delude people and fool them into fulfilling their genetic imperative – having offspring – and, most importantly, distract them from the truly important stuff: philosophy and science. Consequently, from 19 to 23 I didn't have any physical or romantic contact with females (not even hugging) because I basically cut all my social ties and only focused on reading and figuring out "the meaning of life". To make a long story of intellectual development short, my interest in girls renewed around one year after I had discovered LessWrong, EA and related ideas. On LessWrong I first encountered this thing called "PUA" – short for pickup artistry – and got convinced that it is an excellent method for improving your social skills and confidence. After years of near social isolation I basically didn't have many social skills left and thought that it would make sense to try to find a girlfriend, improve my confidence and social skills at the same time, which would make me happier and more productive. Basically "finding a girlfriend" was at the beginning merely a subgoal to the main goal: "saving the world". Ok, and I guess I actually started to feel lonely after all those years of solitude even though I might not have admitted this to myself back back at this time.
Anyway, approaching girls actually was waaay harder than I thought. I'm relatively shy by nature and years of social isolation certainly didn't help to improve this. In addition, the human brain is essentially programmed to find the idea of approaching strangers terrifying because in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness this was a big deal (e.g. if you got rejected by a woman of your tribe you lost not only her as a mating opportunity – and there were only around 10 appropriate women "available" in total in most clans – she also would probably tell other women and it would be much harder to attract them). But presumably the biggest problem was that I didn't have a social circle or friends. Normally it's not so difficult to talk to "strangers" if you meet them, say, on a party of a friend – you immediately have a sort of social connection, you have "social proof" and often you even get properly introduced by the common friend. Alas, this option was not available for me. That's why I had to go alone to night clubs, festivals or other parties and try to meet my soulmate there (or so I thought, more on the stupidity of this strategy later). But trying to approach groups of strangers while having no "wingman" requires incredible amounts of confidence, at least for me. After numerous failures and rejections my confidence actually started to severely decline. While searching for possible solutions, I had the great "epiphany" of trying out drugs especially tranquilizers in order to be calm, confident and happy before approaching girls. But even this didn't help because I was just such a pussy. I don't remember how often I went to clubs alone, high on some drug or another, but still not uttering a single word to anyone the whole evening – and I was there for like seven fucking hours. I felt like the greatest retarded loser of the whole fucking Milky Way. After all, I only had to blame myself for my misery and loneliness because I was such a pathetic coward, unworthy to live for another second. And of course there is also the fact that taking drugs is pretty bad for you so my depression and confidence naturally deteriorated even further.
Let's get a bit more concrete here. I wrote about "rejections" in the abstract but people not familiar with the process may not truly grasp what this word actually means. First, what you have to keep into account is that approaching girls required me to summon all my willpower and courage. We are talking about an amount of willpower and courage that probably exceeded what I needed to finish my whole bachelor thesis, heck, probably my whole degree. With this in mind, let's imagine a typical night: I'm standing there in the club and after preparing myself to approach this cute girl for like an hour or two, I finally do so with an innocuous opener like "hey, do you know the name of this track?" or something like this. And then, depending on the situation, we would either have a short conversation and after a few minutes it became clear that she either had a boyfriend or was shallow and mentally deficient. Or she would reject me by screwing up her face and waving me away like I was a genetically modified maggot. You know how this makes you feel? Imagine God himself pointing a finger at you, in front of every earthly and celestial being that has ever lived, and saying "Look at this deformed piece of subhuman genetic garbage. You are the only mistake I've ever committed. You are a disgrace to my whole creation. Please kill yourself. Immediately." Needless to say, my evening was over.
But what probably disillusioned me the most was reading numerous blogs and books about PUA and evolutionary psychology after which I was forced to discard my idealistic and romantic notions of love that I was holding dear since my early youth. I was forced to stare into the darwinian abyss of human nature and realize how arduous, competitive, mechanical and brutish this whole endeavor, actually our whole existence is. This shift in perspective stripped the whole concept of dating and love down to the essentials: Love is not magical. It's merely an epiphenomenon of the biological drive to mate. As in most biological species, the male has to fight to gain sexual access to the woman. Women as the picky sex choose, and men have to prove themselves. I will quote wikipedia, because I'm too lazy to explain everything:
In many species, sexual selection is closely linked to parental investment. In theory, a male from such a species can produce a large number of offspring over the course of his life by minimizing parental investment in favor of investing his time instead impregnating any reproductive-age female who is fertile. In contrast, a female from said species typically can have a much smaller number of offspring during her reproductive life, partly due to an obligatory non-nil parental investment (i.e., gestation and delivery). This suggests that females will be more selective ("choosy") of mates than males will be, choosing males with good fitness (e.g., genes, high status, resources, etc.), so as to help offset any lack of direct parental investment from the male, and therefore increase reproductive success. Robert Trivers' theory of parental investment predicts that the sex making the largest investment in lactation, nurturing, and protecting offspring will be more discriminating in mating; and that the sex that invests less in offspring will compete for access to the higher-investing sex (see Bateman's principle).
So basically my state of mind when entering a club resembled that of a lonesome warrior, who has to compete with all the other males there – and most of them have more muscles, are way more confident and have "social proof" than me, that is they are accompanied by male and/or female friends in contrast to me who is just being awkwardly alone there. Going to nightclubs or parties was no fun. It was war. All males trying to impress females with their dancing skills, charisma, confidence or whatever they had in their arsenal in this big fucking darwinian mating contest. And losing it condemned you to loneliness and death (from your gene's eye perspective).
Naturally, this kind of Lovecraftian perspective leads to desperation, soul-crushing cynicism and further isolation. Because if you tell anyone, they will accuse you of misogyny or "biologicism" or some other "ism" they invent in order to not have to face reality. Or they say that you are just a self-pitying, pathetic "nice guy". In our society you are basically not allowed to say that there exist certain areas where men have it at least as difficult as women, if not more. But one such area is definitely dating. At least women under 30 whose attractiveness is not significantly below average can far more easily find a partner than most men. How anyone who has ever been to a party or a night club does not see this is a fucking mystery to me. Contemplate this: Myriads of idealistic, good-hearted but lonely and nerdy "betas" sit at home, dreaming about merely hugging a girl and crying in front of their computer while murderous psychopaths in jail get flooded with love letters.
As hinted above, the whole nightmare gets even worse once you realize which type of men are actually attractive for most women. Certainly not nice, intellectually curious, attentive men as everyone wants you to believe. Women may say that they like such traits but they actually long for confidence, aloofness, arrogance, wealth and status. Naturally, the man should also be desired by other females – called "pre-selection". Of course it makes evolutionary sense for females to seek those traits (personality traits like confidence e.g. are at least partly genetically determined. So if you as a woman have sex with someone who is e.g. confident then your sons will also be more confident and more likely to have lots of genetic offspring, too. Similar arguments can be made for the other traits. Why pre-selection should be crucial should be obvious for example). The problem was that I wasn't confident, aloof or rich. I was insecure, idealistic and poor. I had no social proof. Non. Not a single friend. I also had not pre-selection at all. In fact, I didn't have any sex for 5 years. In terms of those criteria, I was the most unattractive male at the whole club, if not in the whole city. So of course this made me even more nervous and insecure – so I had to take even more drugs to fake being confident. I had to hide my nervousness as if my life depended on it – but women can smell nervousness from miles away like hyaenas. Knowing this makes you even more nervous, of course. A truly vicious circle.
Love, i.e. mating is basically one big Matthew effect: Males who already have slept with a lot of women can easily get more women because they are so confident and aloof. And romantic but desperate, nervous and lonely males who would do everything for their future girlfriend are as attractive to females as a fruit fly contaminated with radiation. Here is the real law of attraction (not to be confused with this shit): The more you are attracted to a woman the less she is attracted to you. The more you love a girl the more nervous, unconfident and needy you will behave around her – which is as repulsive to women as a supernova of vomit. The less you are attracted to a girl the more aloof and confident you will act around her and the more she will be attracted to you. True love is impossible. Human nature is rotten to its very core and fucked up beyond all redemption. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Anyway, during the first year of searching for a girlfriend/doing PUA, I somehow managed to not kill myself and became better, more experienced and eventually succeeded in getting a few dates. I still remember the first time I actually got a date after a approaching a girl in a bar. She was really pretty and during the first two dates I've developed a strong affection for her partly because of her great nihilistic humor and the fact that she was sharing some of my interests. After the third date I was deliriously euphoric because I had just kissed her goodbye – remember: my first kiss in half a decade. I was so happy and optimistic about our "relationship" I was practically planning our honeymoon already. Of course I never heard of her again after kissing her.
The doors of desolation were opened and the world appeared as it is: infernal.
Absurdly enough, essentially the same thing happened three months later: Met an awesome girl, awesome conversations, fell practically in love with her, kissed with her on the third date, only to never see her again. What the fuck was going on here? Did I really have such a bad breath? Did I suck at kissing so hard? Or did these girls just find me repulsive because I was so
romantic and idealistic shy and nervous that I merely kissed with them and didn't physically escalate more? (Not only this, I also needed aeons – until the third date! – to merely kiss them!) About three months later I finally could experimentally confirm the last hypothesis: I had sex with a girl on our first date after I had approached her like two days ago. She essentially fell in love with me and continued to write me for a year or more although I basically stopped answering her messages (she was nice but quite boring, sorry).
To sum it up: Through reading PUA-materials, evolutionary psychology and above all my own experiences (and the ones of friends) I became deeply hopeless about the prospect of ever finding a girlfriend. I lost my "faith" in humanity. All women appeared to be essentially the same. All of them seemed like superficial, hypergamous, rationalizing, status-whoring, compartmentalizing, self-righteous, false-hearted, hateful hypocrites without souls. But what good is life without true love? What good is even a positive singularity if all this talk about romance and soulmates is just a mendacious charade and (at least) half of humanity is wicked and attracted to psychopaths but disgusted by people like me? Sure, creating your own soulmate using advanced AI could be a way out. And wire-heading is always a possibility. But those options felt a bit hollow.
Part 2: How I finally found my soulmate and why (much of) PUA sucks
Alright, the above part should have given you a feeling of how a felt during that time. I think it's important to note that I now feel much better, have a girlfriend with whom I happily together for two years. Most importantly, I do not subscribe to many views anymore that one can read on many PUA-blogs. I believe that that these views are wrong and maybe even more importantly, also depressing and in a certain sense self-fulfilling.
But first let me admit that there certainly exist women – probably even a lot but certainly not all of them (as I will argue later) – who are truly superficial and fit the description of PUAs almost perfectly: They seek aloof, arrogant, almost semi-psychopathic men with lots of money and power and don't care about much else – except astrology, shoes and their looks. So what. Human nature is fucked and many humans are shit. Big news. You should have internalized this by now if you ever read about the Holocaust, the Milgram experiment or thousand of other tragedies and wars in which the pettiness and cruelty of humanity revealed itself. But notice that I'm writing about humans in general. There are also lots of men whose superficiality, perfidy and predictability is in no way inferior to the type of women I described above. For example, PUAs often complain that women are disloyal and hypergamous and leave their current partners if they have the chance to get a partner with higher status. But many men also leave their partners if they meet a girl that's younger or more attractive. In a way, men are even more cruel and superficial than women: Men care about the physical attractiveness of women to a much greater degree than vice versa. But physical attractiveness and "inner beauty" – say, altruism, intelligence, kindness, etc. – essentially do not correlate at all. Moreover, physical attractiveness starts to rapidly decline once you get past the age of 30 or so. "How fucking cruel is that" you could ask with good reason. In contrast, women care about things like status, confidence and "interestingness". But that's completely understandable, maybe even laudable. "Status" isn't a bad thing. Most awesome people have high status – just think of Albert Einstein or Bertrand Russell. And low status correlates at least with being boring or shitty, albeit by no means perfectly. Lastly, of course no men or women is at fault that they genetically programmed to seek certain traits in the different sex. We humans were designed by evolution and now we are equipped with psychological mechanisms that tended to maximize inclusive genetic fitness in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness. But I would love to edit my neural algorithms underlying those psychological mechanisms and e.g. delete my preference for fatty and sweet food or my preference for slim, young female bodies and make it much less discriminating. I guess this is true for many men and women out there. We are the slaves of our genetic past. Let's not blame each other for having preferences we never deliberately chose.
(And of course most dictators, psychopaths, murderers and rapists are men, but let's not even go there.)
Probably the most crucial point to keep in mind is that all women are not fundamentally the same – a fact that some, maybe even a lot of PUAs deny. But of course some women are different. You really want to tell me that e.g. Marie Curie or Irena Sendler were superficial? Many PUAs claim that their beliefs about female nature are true for all women and although I agree that their views pertain in many ways to many women I'm pretty sure that the traditional concepts of PUA are at most very limitedly applicable to the women I like most: intelligent, curious, rational, altruistic, empathetic and a bit existentially depressed and nihilistic. I know that this won't convince anyone, but for me the strongest evidence against the traditional PUA-view of female nature is my girlfriend who certainly doesn't fit the PUA-female-stereotype –or at most in very few instances 🙂 .
Furthermore, an important point about the "methods" of PUA: Going to night clubs, approaching strange women is a fucking bad idea – at least for people like me. Only superficial men or men who only want to have sex have something to gain from doing this. Since I'm interested in unusual things and a romantic maximizer, the chances of finding a girl that shares all my interests and fits all my other criteria are exceedingly small. And meeting her in a random night club is about as probable as winning the lottery twice in a row because attending a night club doesn't select for intellectual curiosity, rationality or lots of other things I care about: So every time you approach a girl in a night club it's almost like you draw a sample from the general population and just hope she will be the one. Not only this, going to nightclubs or festivals is also inefficient, expensive and detrimental to any normal sleep rhythm. Lastly, in a night club or at a festival you have to directly compete with dozens of other males trying to achieve the same goal as you. A way better method is online dating or trying to go to meetups or groups that are interested in EA, philosophy or something like this (admittedly, I also had tried this without success for the simple reason that almost no women were part of such meetups or groups – however the movement of EA/LessWrong is growing exponentially and thus it should keep getting easier to find like-minded women). Of course, ultimately the best method is going to a good university (or maybe a good company) and trying to find your girlfriend there. For example, if you seek an intelligent girl passionate about philosophy, your chances at finding this girl while studying philosophy in Oxford are astronomically higher than just going to a stupid night club. Also, it is quite easy and natural to get to know your fellow classmates or colleagues. That's also similar to how I've met my girlfriend (although not in Oxford of course). What when you are trapped at your shitty university or your shitty job? Well, you are fucked. That was also basically my problem for basically two years. Just try to think long-term, even though that's not easy.
Moreover, I think that many prominent PUAs like Roissy or Roosh are eternally discontent, hateful and restless, existentially empty beings, only seeking short-term pleasure, incapable of forming close human relationships and engaging in deeply personal conversations with women they love. In certain respects, they resemble psychopaths (Roissy says as much himself). I pity them. Some PUAs are maybe even more pathetic. For them the meaning of life consists of fucking as many women as possible who are as pretty as possible. That's their sole life goal. That would be deplorable enough but then they go ahead and try to convince numerous young guys who don't have a sense of purpose yet and are therefore vulnerable that they should adopt the same goal and measure their self-worth by the same metric of "lays". This even happened to me: At the beginning I practiced PUA only for instrumental reasons and rather half-heartedly while still pursuing my other interests. But after a few months I became obsessed with it, forgot about all my other valuable qualities and equated my worth as a human being basically with how successful at PUA I was, that is how attractive I was to some stupid girl I met at 3:30 at some degenerate night club.
Another drawback of the PUA-lifestyle is that practicing PUA day and night requires extraordinary amounts of time and is basically not compatible with having other passions like art, music, philosophy or science or having an challenging job. But that's not a problem because many PUAs don't really have a life anyway and try to hide their own emptiness from themselves by focusing on putting their penis into as many vaginas as possible. I really have as much respect for a traditional PUA as for a heroin junkie: Both are seeking short-term pleasure at the exclusion of everything else and they don't care about hurting other people in the process.
Also, PUA is generally not even good for increasing your confidence. Sure, if you are not too shy to begin with, don't have too high standards and are good-looking, you can increase your confidence with PUA. But in all other cases the only thing that will get fucked is your self-esteem by the countless rejections and failures. Approaching and afterwards seducing women one doesn't know at all is incredibly difficult and even the most confident and skillful PUAs have a success-rate of significantly less than 50% if they approach only attractive women.
Of course, PUA is not all bad. Some techniques are useful and I myself probably increased my social skills by practicing it. And sure, confident guys, maybe even arrogant, aloof assholes can be more attractive to many women than shy, nervous nice-guys. But I think the mistake that a majority of PUA-enthusiasts committed was the following: They discovered that many women are generally not attracted to shy, unconfident nice-guys, and so they simply reversed every trait into its opposite: Niceness is not attractive, so arrogance has to be! Likewise, shyness gets transformed into confidence and attentiveness into aloofness. And born was the ideal of male attractiveness– or so the PUAs thought. But reversed stupidity is not intelligence. Through merely reversing one's previous unattractive behavior into its opposite one doesn't reach the ideal behavior. Being confident, aloof and arrogant might be an improvement to being an awkward, nervous nice-guy. But being generally authentic and naturally confident, funny and interesting is vastly superior. Becoming naturally confident is of course not easy, but I guess one promising path is to find something one truly enjoys and at which one is good at – be it painting, programming or writing – and the confidence will more or less follow. Lastly, being passionate about something makes you interesting and distinguishes you from all the other bland, overly pushy zombies trying to hit girls in the clubs. And if a girl doesn't care about your passion and rejects you because of it – good for you, or would you like to spend time together with someone who is not interested in you and your dreams? Ok, ok, I won't lie and admit that it can be quite tough to find girls who share your passions if your passion happens to be mathematics, philosophy, EA or programming instead of fashion or sport.
But I never said that existence is worth experiencing.


text:
HOME GamesGaming Utilities Games Bot Download
GamesBot - free gaming software to play millions of games using one browser. No need to spend time on multiple registration - install Games Bot and play games - easy gaming pc soft - free to use. Games Bot is used by more then 892 000 users. Unlimited possibilities in games searching plus to super bonus system makes Games-Bot popular and favorite. GamesBot - the best service for online games! Way about the price, GamesBot is absolutely free. But what is Gamesbot? It is a multifunctional online service for games. In our katolog there are more than 1500 different games among which you will surely find one that you especially enjoy. What are the advantages of GamesBot: - It is absolutely free (download the program, games, never have to pay); - It is easy to use (user-friendly menu does not require a lot of time to understand, you can quickly find all you need); - To find the right game in the menu, quickly and easily; - Now the game does not take up space on your hard disk; - The more you play. the more you can do it. During his stay in a network game coin reward. Coins can afterwards spend on new games. huge selection of games, there are more than 1500 games in one box! Easy to use, totally free, system of bonuses for using Games-Bot - more then 10 000 positive reviews from users. Full-time U.S.A. + U.K. support.
To start download the software please click here:
Site 1 If you can not download this product please report us broken link
If you can not download this product please report us broken link
Software downloads related to Games Bot
Smart Poker Bot
Poker Bot Software :: Description :: Smart Poker Bot is an automated poker bot designed for playing No Limit Texas Hold'em. more info download
Advanced Poker Bot
Advanced Poker Bot is an artificial intelligence poker-playing software designed for playing online texas hold'em and do not require any human input. more info download
Custom Concentration
Test your memory in the classic tile-matching game, Concentration. Not only can you play Concentration with one of several included graphics sets, but you can also create your own games from images on your computer or on the Internet. more info download
Euchre & Ecarte by MeggieSoft Games
MeggieSoft Games Euchre & Ecarte is a comprehensive implementation of two card games: Ecarte and Euchre (the two-player version). Play against an online opponent or against your computer with many customizable visual, audio, and game options. more info download
Genie Games Backup
Let Genie Games Backup work for you and never again lose the harvest of endless hours of outwitting enemies, concurring realms, dodging bullets, winning races or sleighing dragons. more info download
m9P Games Collection
m9P Games Collection is a collection of 6 simple desktop games: Line Up (Guessing game), Area 52 (Pac-Man-like game), Breakout, Super Jigsaw Puzzle, F1 Racer, and Drum Machine. more info download
Pieces of Music Games
This software package consists of 3 educational games titled: Music Matching, Music Bingo, and Music Missing. These games are designed to work together to teach the names of several music symbols and music notes. They are fun and exciting to play... more info download
Pinochle & Bezique by MeggieSoft Games
A comprehensive implementation of the original Pinochle and Bezique card games (the two-player versions). Play online or against your computer. Pinochle & Bezique has a rich user interface with many customizable visual, audio, and game options. more info download
Spanish Listening Games
Spanish Listening Games is a collection of eight games designed to help you with the most difficult part of learning Spanish : understanding what you hear. It includes a wide variety of themes with native speakers from Latin American countries and... more info download
The Games Factory
Build your own games, screen savers and applications easily. more info download
Soft4Boost Video Converter
Convert video to all popular formats and for all popular devices. Manage HD- and Blu-ray videos. Correct aspect ratio. Use batch mode for conversion. Create HTML pages with embedded flash video. Create menus and burn discs. more info download
3D Glossy Icons
3D Glossy Icons delivers professionally created icons which will deliver a great look and feel to any website., application or business presentation. Available in sizes 16x16 thru' 64x64, and in ICO, BMP, GIF and PNG file formats and for just $99.95! more info download
Popular Downloads
Platform Studio
This easy-to-use program creates professional-quality platform and 2D games. more info download
Mpowerplayer is your digital hub for mobile gaming. Download the player for free, browse the games, and play before you pay. It's the smart way to buy mobile games. more info download
MorphVOX Classic Voice Changer
Voice changing software for online games. MorphVOX Voice Changer will transform your voice. Use it to change your voice to match your personality. Disguise your identity or add additional themed voices and sound effects for even more fun. more info download
CheatBook Issue 07/2010 07-2010
CheatBook (07/2010) - Issue July 2010 - A Cheat-Code Tracker with Hints, Tips, Tricks for several popular PC Action and Adventure Games. more info download
CheatBook-DataBase 2010
CheatBook-DataBase 2010 is a freeware "cheat-code tracker" that makes hints and cheats (for PC, Walkthroughs, Playstation, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Sega, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, DVD, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Color, N-Gage, Nintendo DS, Xbox, X more info download
Play multiple WOW, EQ2, and/or DAOC characters with pic-in-pic, CPU optimization, and much more! more info download
DimensioneX Multiplayer Game Engine
It is a freeware, open source software kit for developing and running multiplayer adventure games. It is a freeware, open source software kit for developing and running multiplayer adventure games. more info download
Random Dice Roller
This little RPG tool will let you define how many dice and then how many sides on the dice and then roll them for you. Plain and simple. more info download
Game Speeder
Game Speeder is our Award winning program, which makes your game to run faster or slower so that you can have a better control of your game. Game Speeder contains all the secrets to speed up or speed down the games. more info download

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Today I have finally gotten around to joining diigo a tool which enables you to add your comments to articles that you are posting and sharing. From wikipedia
Diigo (DEE-go) is a Social bookmarking website which allows signed-up users to bookmark and tag web-pages. Additionally, it allows users to highlight any part of a webpage and attach sticky notes to specific highlights or to a whole page. These annotations can be kept private, shared with a group within Diigo or a special link forwarded to someone else. The name "Diigo" is an abbreviation for "Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff".[1]
It was easy to sign up and there is an option to join diigo as a face book application and only took me a few minutes to have the toolbar downloaded.
I have the perfect article to test however you will not be able to read my highlighted comments unless you have downloaded the diigo toolbar.


text:
Nov 27, 2009
ECF - Oyster Bay Cove Edition
Posted by hillary at 8:27 AM 3 comments
Labels: Eye Candy Friday
Nov 26, 2009
Thankful Thursday - Thanksgiving Edition
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends near and far.
Here are Bruce and the girls in line to get cider and apple pie from the best cider place on Long Island. We are very thankful that we got there before they ran out. My M-I-L would've had a cow if we hadn't.
Seriously though, there is a lot to be very thankful for today.
- The relative good health of my friends and family. With a few exceptions we are all well enough to gather in various places for the celebratory feast and that's definitely something to be very thankful for.
- That the effect of the financial downturn upon my family has been limited. Yes, Bruce is still out of work and I don't see that changing anythime soon but we're still ok and I hope that I can still say that a week, a month, a year from now. I think so.
- My family. Today I'll see my grandparents and many other members of our family. That in and of itself is something that makes me very, very, thankful.
I hope that the day brings good food, god company, and lot' of laughter to you all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by hillary at 8:15 AM 2 comments
Labels: "Thankful Thursdays"
Nov 25, 2009
Greetings From Long (Sleeve) Island
I remember now why we don't spend Thanksgiving in NY most years. The traffic is HELLACIOUS! Thankfully I was able to knit on the sleeve of DQ's sweater in the dark without problem.
Now that we're finally here after our normal 4 hour drive stretched to 8 !!! I need to make the most if it and that doesn't include a whole lot of computer time. Gotta run!
Posted by hillary at 11:51 AM 2 comments
Nov 23, 2009
Ten on Tuesday - 10 People (Living or Dead) I'd Like To Invite To Thanksgiving Dinner
November has been a month of Thankful Thursdays and it seems a little redundant to do a thankful Tuesday as well so this week Carole suggested an alternative - 10 People (Living or Dead) I'd Like To Invite To Thanksgiving Dinner.
- My Dad - He's been absent from our Thanksgiving table for 2 long years and we still miss him. He could carve a mean turkey.
- Michelle Obama - Now here's a First Lady to admire. I can only imagine what she'd add to the discussion around the table.
- Bob Edwards - I listen to him on the radio every day and he's amazing. He does the most interesting and well-researched interviews. I bet he's a brilliant conversationalist.
- George Clooney - He just fasciates me and he's easy on the eyes as well.
- Johnny Depp - Sexiest Man Alive and then some.
- Oprah - Who woudn't want Oprah at the table? No doubt one of the most admired women in the world.
- Bill Clinton - That man is endlessly interesting.
- Bono - Ok, if I'm setting my dream table then why not. He could chat up Michelle and Bill and I really could be a fly on the wall.
- Alton Brown - He's amusing and he knows his way around a kitchen.
- My Siblings - We live far apart and I can't recall the last time we were all together for Thanksgiving but it would be very cool if we could.
Who would you invite?
Posted by hillary at 11:14 PM 3 comments
Labels: Ten on Tuesday
More Kid Socks
I was away this weekend at a family event. We had so much fun that, although I had 3cameras with me, I only took one good picture. One! There were 3 or 4 lousy shots but that was it. Now it's Monday and I have nothing to show for myself. Nada!
Today I'm focused on finishing stuff before the holiday and that includes knitty stuff. It's getting cold out there!
Here are a pair of socks that I finished recently. They are Creatively Dyed Yarn on size 0 needles. I knit these toe-up and the only special thing is the heel which is certainly my new favorite. I got it from Wendy's book, Socks From The Toe Up and I love it. It feels nice and sturdy and it's dead simple. The only problem is that I haven't committed the details to memory yet so I copied out the relevant page from the book (the copy I bought) and I carry it with me for reference.
Stinkette liked these socks so much that she wore the first one to sleep one night while I was still working on the second sock. She just couldn't wait to get her hands on them. Since I finished them a few week ago she's worn them over and over again. As soon as I wash them she's got them on her feet again.
The joy my girl is getting from these socks makes up for the irritation I felt while making them. It was my first time using size 0 needles and I didn't like them at all. They just feel too small to me and make my hands cramp. On the other hand, the fabric is lovely and feels like it'll hold up well so maybe I'll try them again with another yarn and see if I like them better then.
Posted by hillary at 11:22 AM 1 comments
Labels: Finished Objects, socks
Nov 20, 2009
ECF - Seen On The Street Edition
What do you do with old emergency call boxes to prevent them from becoming an eyesore?
How about this:
I'm pretty ure that's what this is. As any rate it's a nice surprise when you're walking down the street.
Have a great weekend.
Posted by hillary at 9:16 AM 2 comments
Labels: Eye Candy Friday
Nov 19, 2009
Thankful Thursday - Feeling Happy
One week from today is Thanksgiving and for a change I will not be cooking for the holiday. We will be part of the great masses traveling the highways and byways for the holiday. The excitement of the upcoming holiday and another family event this weekend have me feeling very silly and happy and... thankful, today.
- I am so thankful that I am NOT going to see the midninght showing of New Moon tonight. I had told DQ that I would take her if she didn't get a better offer but thankfully she did. She will be going, decked out in her Twilight t-shirt and her Eclipse socks, with a bunch of her giggly friends. I will be home knitting, packing and waiting for her to return. I will be very appreciative of the relative quiet and not having to pretend that the movie is high art.
- On a related and more positive note, I am even more thankful that DQ was selected to be part of the cast on the Middle School Musical. They're doing Annie, a show she could sing in her sleep... in fact, she fell asleep to it every single night until about 4 years ago. We took no trip without the Annie CD. It would've been horrible trying to comfort her if she haddn't gotten in to any show but this one especially. I will be there with bells on and my new video recorder. Oh yes, I will definitely be That Parent and she didn't even get a lead.
- Most of all I am thankful that this coming week will be filled with friends and family. We'll be on the road for most of it. I am so happy that we are all healthy and excited for our trips.
What are you thankful for?
Posted by hillary at 9:38 AM 2 comments
Labels: "Thankful Thursdays"
Nov 18, 2009
Through The Loops Mystery Socks
Look - it's a finished pair of socks! These were actually the Through The Loops Mystery Socks for this year and I was so proud that I managed to keep up with the clues, finishing each one before the next one was posted. It wasn't hard because this was one of the most enjoyable pairs of socks I've knit in a long time. They were just so nifty and fun.
The yarn was from Ball & Skein and it was a gift from Carole quite a while ago. By a weird coincidence, I was working on these at our hotel in Rhinebeck when Carole introduced me to Ball & Skein Judy.
I'm not a huge orange person usually but I love the colors in this yarn. They have so much depth and richness and they photographed well without much tinkering. The yarn itself was fine. In a weird quirk of fate there was a knot in it that I snipped when I was preparing to wind it up, thinking it was the end. As I wound it up I realized that it wasn't the end - it was the middle. This turned out to be serendipitous because it created 2 balls of yarn that were perfect for knitting these socks 2 at a time.
So back to the pattern. I've never done a mystery sock before. It's really a huge leap of faith to commit yourself to all the time and effort for a project not knowing if it'll be any good. If it was a pattern from Kirsten then I'd gladly do it again. The details that she adds are so much fun. I love the way the cuff zig-zags, the way the swirly bits split at the ankle and the way they end so sweetly at my toes.
I am so happy that the weather finally cooperated and I was able to get pictures of these socks and 2 other finished projects. now I'd like another sunny day please because I'm about to complete another pair of socks and my NaKniSweMo project. Let's hope that I can get everything posted on a more timely basis.
Posted by hillary at 9:38 AM 3 comments
Labels: Finished Objects, socks
Nov 17, 2009
Ten on Tuesday - 10 Things You Wish You Knew How to Do
Is this a great topic or what? I'm sure we all have a list of wishes. Things we wish we posessed. Things we wish we had done. Things we wish we had NOT done. Things we wish we could find. You could go on and on but things we wish we knew how to do is so broad and potentially full of promise because we could turn the wishes into reality.... Maybe.
- Sew - kind of. What I'd really like to do is find a way to skip all the boring pinning and cutting and math-like stuff and make the clothes I want spring forth from my sewing machine like magic.
- Time travel - wouldn't it be great if we could go back and fix all the stuff we screwed up the first time around?
- Play tennis - or just about anything else requiring coordination. I can't catch, or hit or any of that stuff but I wish I could.
- Sing - The world is a much better place because I confine my singing to my car with the windows up.
- Make sugar flowers - it's a baking thing. I would love to be able to make gorgeous cakes with the type of decorations that make peoples jaws drop.
- Knit while doing stuff - I could be so much more productive if I could knit while walking, and cooking, and driving, and sleeping... you get the picture.
- Find a few more hours in a day
- Get Anne Coulter, Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, etc to shut up.
- Fix the economy - nuff said!
- Use a drop spindle - I've tried and failed, and tried and failed repeatedly. It's just not a skill I posess.
While we're on the subject of wishes, here' a good one. I wish I could be more decisive. I went button shopping for DQ's 28Thirty this weekend. I was set on getting coppery buttons. I thought they would pop against the deep turquoise. Ideally they'd have a bit of greenish patina but I couldn't find any like that. I did find a nice selection though and, with Stinkerbelle's assistance we narrowed it down to 2 selections.
I like the idea of using the ones with the numbers on them because they tie in with the pattern name and they are kind of young and fun. Perfect for a 14-year-old. On the other hand, I really adore the other ones because I'm drawn to the organic shapes and think they go well with the garter bands.
I showed them to DQ and she made a firm decision immediately. Oh to be so decisive. The problem is that I'm also ornery and now I think I need to convince her that the other one is better for this sweater.
What do you think?
Posted by hillary at 9:11 AM 4 comments
Labels: Ten on Tuesday
Nov 16, 2009
Shoes & Socks
Faced with the evidence I have to admit - I'm a bit of a shoe person. Saturday night I brought all 3 of these pairs home. Before you think I'm nuts I should say that I only paid for one pair. That would be the shiny new Danskos that I have coveted for-freakin'-evah and finally bought with a gift card I won. I love my shiny shoes quite a lot and I danced around the house in them all weekend. Danced might not be quite the right way to describe it. It's more accurate to say that I clomped around like a giddy elephant.
The other shoes are replacements and since we bloggers complain loudly when we are wronged it's only fair that we broadcast good customer service just as well. I have many pairs of Clarks and I wear then all the time but recently, in the middle of DMV, my blue pair broke. They just split along one of the seams where the leather upper is attached to the sole. Unrepairable and unwearable. I'd never seen anything likeit before and then, days later, the same thing started to happen to my black ones. I was ready to chuck them and chalk it up to fat feet or something else when a friend suggested that I take them back to Clarks.
Saturday night I walked into the Clarks store with the shoes and the guy there instantly offered to give me 2 replacement pairs. No fuss at all! Apparently there was an issue with the material they used for the older soles. It was so good to have it taken care of so easily.
And now I have 3 new pairs of shoes. Including shiny ones! Woot!
Aside from shoes I did a boatload of gift shopping. There are 4 family birthday's between now and the end of the year and of course there are Hanukah gifts to be bought. I got a lot of it done this weekend. It's nice to be a little bit ahead of the curve for once.
I also finished a pair of socks, took pictures of a bunch of F'd O's, turned the heel on another, got buttons for my NaKniSweMo project and, oh yeah, started another pair of socks. Whew!
Posted by hillary at 10:02 AM 4 comments
Labels: socks
Nov 13, 2009
ECF - Fancy Cupcake Edition
A vendor came to see me at work yesterday and brought a little suprise - 2 boxes of very fancy cupcakes. Yum! Ironically, the one that looks so pretty in this picture, with the sweet yellow flower on top, is banana. I hate all things banana.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by hillary at 9:38 AM 3 comments
Labels: Eye Candy Friday
Nov 12, 2009
Thankful Thursday Brought To You By The Letter "F"
A funny thing happened last weekend. I was driving Stinkette and her friends somewhere and idly listening to their conversation when suddenly it turned to my grandfather. Stink was proudly telling her buddies that her great grandfather should compete in driving competitions. In all fairness, he's as good a good driver as any in Queens, NY which is to say that he is impatient, knows all the sidestreets, and makes use of them to avoid traffic at all costs. What he isn't is a slowpoke and apparently my daughter has picked up on this.
Apparently she really wanted to press her point, or maybe her friends weren't geting it because the next thing I knew she was telling them about how young her Zaydie acts saying that he seems about 20 but really he's 90. Can you even imagine describing a 90 year old man as seeming like he's 20? It's had me smiling all week and it brings me to the first thing on my list for this Thankful Thursday:
- I am thankful that my girls are getting to experience my grandparents the way I did - as vibrant, fun and interesting. It is truly a rare gift. Sure my grandfather doesn't climb trees or chase after the ice cream truck anymore but he sings and dances, tells silly stories, plays games, and keeps up with my girls just fine. It's nice to know they appreciate it.
- I am also thankful for the internet. Go ahead and laugh but it's true. My evening knitting has slowed lately because I'm busy playing online Scrabble with my sister who lives hundreds of miles away. No matter where my siblings may find themselves, NY, Connecticut, Italy, Korea, or Indiana - the internet has kept us close. I see videos of my year old niece learning to climb and I hear my nephew wishing me happy birthday on the Monkey Mail.
- My friends also make me feel thankful. Near and far they make me laugh and give me comfort. These days it seems like they're there wherever I go. The supermarket or on the street. Now they're there when I open my laptop at home too. Friends from High School and College and all kinds of places I've been.
So there it is, my list of 3 things I'm thankful for today. It all boils down to friends and family.
Posted by hillary at 9:24 AM 3 comments
Labels: "Thankful Thursdays"
Nov 11, 2009
Deb's Chemo Cap
I've finished a bunch of stuff lately but, now that everyone is so busy and it gets dark so much earlier, it's really hard to find the time for photo shoots. Thankfully Stnkiette and I squeezed one in for this little hat a week ago. Most of the stuff I'm knitting has self-imposed deadlines but this was different. This was a chemo cap for my friend Deb and I really wanted to get it to her before her hair fell out. Mission accomplished.
Although there are lots of great patterns for chemo caps out there, I didn't want to use any of them. They just didn't feel right to me. Deb isn't a fancy person so I wanted something simple and classic that could be worn by anyone. It couldn't be too lacey because the goal is to protect her sensitive head. On the same note I wanted something super soft and light. something that looked and felt really good.
I settled on the yarn first. Malabrigo Silky Merino is gorgeous stuff. Soft, soft, soft with lots of shine. Then, after trolling Ravelry excessively I saw Beret de Printemps which was perfect. I think that you can see hints of Stinkette's red hair through the yarnovers but it's just peeks. No big holes.
The pattern was not hard at all. The only problems i had were due to my inability to pay attention to the instructions. Happily the frogging didn't hurt the yarn at all.
We gave the hat to Deb on Sunday and by the following Saturday her hair was gone and she was wearing the hat as a soothing alternative to her wig. My plan exactly! I'm happy to help but I really hope I don't have to make any more chemo caps for anyone I know.
Posted by hillary at 9:22 AM 5 comments
Labels: Finished Objects
Nov 10, 2009
Ten on Tuesday - '10 Favorite Movie/Song Remakes'
Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is '10 Favorite Movie/Song Remakes'. While there are plenty of remakes that I like I'm not sure I can think of 10. Here goes nothing:
- Boys of Summer by The Ataris - The original by Don Henley was good but I really like this cover too.
- Brown Eyed Girl by Everclear - Another song where the original by Van Morrison was perfectly fine but I really love this cover.
- I Believe I Can Fly by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - The original by R Kelly bears little relation to this one which is speeded up and punked out. We heard Me First and The Gimme Gimmes for the first time in chattanooga, TN at a funky little place called Lupi's Pizza and it just fit. It was a great place with great food and the music went with it perfectly.
- Where Do Broken Hearts Go by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Originally by Whitney Houston but given a similar twist to #3.
- Bold As Love by the Pretenders - This appears on "Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix" and happily it came out during a time when I was hanging out at a local used record store in LI that hooked me up with some ridiculous deals. That's where I heard it and that's where I got it.
- Ocean's Eleven - I'm sure that the original was good but Clooney, Damon and Pitt speak to me more and they are super fun to watch.
- The Birdcage - Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and hank Azaria cracked me up.
- Father of The Bride - Spencer Tracy was great but so is Steve Martin
- Sabrina - I happened to like the original too but my girls aren't as into old black & white movies as I am.
- The Talented Mr. Ripley - I didn't even know this was a remake when I first saw it. I just liked it.
Posted by hillary at 9:06 AM 2 comments
Labels: Ten on Tuesday
Nov 9, 2009
Number 6 -Come on Down!
It has taken me an eternity to get around to posting today. Mostly it's because I feel terribly random. Unfocused. Ready for a nap.
- Maybe it's because I was deprived of my relaxing Sunday morning by having to rush Stinkerbelle to the doctor (who was in the office!) after her Sunday school called us to pick her up because she was "unwell". Since she had her H1N1 shot the day before we were worried. It turned out that it was just an asthma attack. We had a long discussion about how important it is to bring her inhaler with her EVERYWHERE.
- Perhaps I wasted all my focus on 28Thirty. This was my constant companion all through the weekend. So far I really love it but I didn't enjoy the endless raglan increases at all. By the time I divided for the sleeves I was well over 300 stitches. That is not a happy thing at all but it makes me feel a bit better about using this as my NaKniSweMo project. I think that those Increases of Doom should certainly qualify as something.
- The yarn I'm using has turned out to be a surprisingly good thing. It's Peace Fleece, a yarn I've avoided for quite a long time. I was afraid it'd be scratchy or unfun to knit with. While it isn't as soft as some other yarns and the dye is getting on me a little bit (not very noticeable at all) I am really enjoying knitting with this. Not only does it behave well - it also creates a really nice fabric which feels super sturdy. I feel confident that it will hold up well. It doesn't hurt that the color is fab. The girls at the LYS saw it peeking out of my bag on Saturday and all commented on it.
- Then again, it could be that all the online scrabble has addled my brain. OMG! That is wicked addictive. I finally felt like my skills were ok and challenged some random scrabble addict to a game late last week. Since then all I'm getting is vowels. What do you do when all you've got to work with is "AAOUIIIR"? SRSLY!
- It could also be that a card I received last weekend just knocked me over. I don't know if it was the 40 thing or what but this year my birthday was marked by members of DH's family who never have in the past. The last one was his grandmother. Granted it was a little bit late but she's 96. And it's worth noting that I always thought she hated me. Perhaps at her advanced age she forgot that I'm the evil one. Maybe she was posessed by aliens. Does it matter?
This brings me to the belated choosing of winners of my birthday contest. I had hoped to have my girls do the choosing but corraling them for more than a minute is easier said than done. So I resorted to the Random Number Generator and it chose Kathy as the winner of the STR and the book.
And then, because I was having fun giving stuff away I hit the Random Number Generator again. This time Jan's name came up. I'm guessing that she'll want the Mini Mochi.
Posted by hillary at 11:55 AM 1 comments
Labels: Randomness
Nov 6, 2009
ECF - Daytime Moon Edition
Posted by hillary at 10:18 AM 2 comments
Labels: Eye Candy Friday
Nov 5, 2009
Thankful Thursdays
Thank goodness for friends with great ideas. Earlier this week Carole suggested that we post 3 things that we're thankful for each Thursday in November. Here are mine:
- My girls - I love my daughters deeply and it makes me so happy to see the people they are becoming. They're developing their own interests and direction and, even though it means I see them less and less as they get busier and busier, it's all good. Really, really, good.
- My husband - Bruce is a good guy. It's rough being unemployed but he's tring to keep his head up and stay positive.
- Being employed - naturally it's great that one of us is enployed but it's even better that there have been positive changes and developments around my office lately. No details for obvious reasons but it's enough to say that I feel more positive about work-related things lately. These days that is absolutely something to be thankful for.
What are you thankful for today?
Posted by hillary at 10:30 AM 3 comments
Labels: "Thankful Thursdays"
Nov 4, 2009
NaKniSwemo... personally
Old Business - Today is it, the last day for my birthday contest. If you haven't already done so then leave a comment here by the end of the day for a chance to win a bit of yarn. Spread the word.
New Business - NaKniSwemo. Yup, I'm going to try this again. Of course no project ever goes off without a hitch and this one is no different. First - I didn't remember NaKniSweMo until the very last minute - actually a day late. Nothing quite as much fun as starting a project behind the 8-ball.
Thankfully once I saw a NaKniSweMo button on someone else's blog I knew immediately what I wanted to cast on AND I had the yarn, pattern, and needles ready to go at home. As soon as I got home on Monday I cast on for 28Thirty from Zephyr style using Peace Fleece Worsted in Baltic Blue. So far it's moving along without any problems. I finished the neck last night and now I'm into the raglan increases. At this rate I'm pretty sure I'll finish on time.
Unfortunately the second problem is that I don't think that this is a true NaKniSweMo project because it's a cropped sweater and I doubt that it's got 50,000 stitches. I do plan to lengthen it a little but it's still likely to fall short. I suppose if I was a stickler for this type of detail it would be a big problem but I'm not. I think of this as more of a personal challenge and since this is far from the only thing I'm knitting right now I totally think it counts.
Posted by hillary at 9:22 AM 3 comments
Labels: NaKniSweMo, Progress reports
Nov 3, 2009
Ten on Tuesday - '10 Ways to Waste Time on the Internet'
Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is '10 Ways to Waste Time on the Internet'. I'd love to be able to put a positive spin on it but really, most of the time I'm on the internet is time that I really ought to be doing something else. The internet just sucks me in and the next thing I know I'm wondering where the last hour - 2 hours went. And how am I going to get whatever I was supposed to be doing done.
Here's a happy sheepy picture for today.
And here's the list:
- CNN - I am a news junkie. I have this open at work and at home ALL DAY LONG. Just in case something happens. Heaven forbid I should be the last to know.
- Washington Post - Still on the news junkie theme. This would be the source for all things local. A girls gotta know what the weather is like before she heads out for lunch or makes weekend plans.
- People - My news junkie tendencies wouldn't be complete without adding a little gossip to the mix. They wore what?
- Blogs - These are just the ultimate in escapism for me. Feeling stressed - read a blog. feeling bored - read a blog. Feeling uninspired - read a blog. Now that the line between blog friends and real life friends is blurring a little it's even more fun.
- iTunes - Whatever did we do before iTunes? The apps, the music, podcasts of This American Life, the episodes of shows we missed.
- Email - reading what I want to and deleting what I do not takes up way too much time. The person who can build a fool-prook spam filter will be my hero.
- Wikipedia - I am an info junkie (see 1,2, & 3) and I cannot tell you how often I wiki stuff. Not for serious citation purposes of course but when I need to know who played Heath's love interest in A Knight's Tale, or who got voted off of Dancing with the Stars first last season there is nothing better.
- Facebook - I was trying really hard not to get sucked into this. I was doing pretty well with it tooo but then my sister introduced me to Scrabble on Facebook. I am sunk.
- Amazon.com - I really just love shopping on the internet period. Especially if there's yarn involved on sites like Elann.com, KP, Loopy, DBNY and way too many more to count.
- Ravelry - This goes hand in hand with #9. I see a great sale on a yarn and need to find a pattern to buy it for or vice versa.
What are your favorites? Am I missing good stuff somewhere?
Posted by hillary at 9:45 AM 3 comments
Labels: Ten on Tuesday
Nov 2, 2009
Ode to a Pumpkin
If you're looking for the contest post, it's (here). It doesn't end until about 8pm on Wednesday, November 4th so there's still time to enter. Please do. In fact I hope that you'll spread the word because, although I love all the yarns I bought, I really want to give them away. You know, share the love a bit. Thanks!
This weekend I resolved to be a slug. I was not going to go anywhere or do much beyond knitting and reading a book. Clearly that was never really likely to happen but I gave it my best shot. Saturday I didn't get out of my pj's until after 1pm and only then because I couldn't go to my mani/pedi appointment that way. It was glorious!
My quest to relax was also interrupted by jack-o-lantern carving. This year was special because we grew the pumpkin ourselves. We harvested this 12.5 pounder last week.
Stinkerbelle sketched out what the face should look like and I drew it on the pumpkin. Then the two of us carved it out. We were very careful.
Here's the result. Isn't it spooky?
Of course there's a bit of a side effect to having a homegrown jack-o-lantern. You tend to feel very protective of it so someone has to stay home and watch over it and make sure that no harm befalls it. That is why I did not go out walking through the neighborhood with my daughter and her friends, collecting candy in the rain. Yup, it had nothing at all to do with my dedication to a lazy weekend. Nothing at all.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Posted by hillary at 9:11 AM 5 comments


text:
4:40 p.m.: Now that the combine is over, it's become a bit clearer who the Patriots could draft at cornerback in the first round. The team has only drafted one cornerback with a 4.5-plus 40 since Bill Belichick came on as head coach, and only one cornerback that ran a seven second-plus 3-cone.
Check out which players fit the mold here>>
3:29 p.m.: The agility drills are finally out. At cornerback, Will Davis, Logan Ryan, Dwayne Gratz, Brandon McGee and Marc Anthony finished in the Top 5 in the 3-cone. B.W. Webb, Desmond Trufant, Jamar Taylor, Davis and Ryan finished in the Top 5 in the short shuttle.
At safety, Josh Evans, Jawanza Starling, D.J. Swearinger, Zeke Motta and Keelan Johnson finished in the Top 5 in the 3-cone and Kenny Vaccaro, Earl Wolff, Keelan Johnson, J.J. Wilcox and Evans finished in the Top 5 in the short shuttle.
1:55 p.m.: The positional drills have just wrapped up for the defensive backs. Now begins the long wait for agility drills, but we will keep you updated as soon as those drop.
Today, Jamar Taylor, Dee Milliner, Tyrann Mathieu, Rod Sweeting, Eric Reid, Brandon McGee and Leon McFadden were the most impressive prospects. Earl Wolff, Shamarko Thomas and Shawn Williams did a nice job setting themselves apart from the rest of the safeties as well.
1:44 p.m.: I loved him coming in, but Jamar Taylor has really impressed in drills today. I'm having a hard time seeing why he's not considered on the same level as Desmond Trufant, Xavier Rhodes and Johnthan Banks. He doesn't have the same height as those guys, but he's a better press-man corner.
1:29 p.m.: BREAKING: Rich Eisen ran a 6.03 40-yard dash.
1:26 p.m.: Rich Eisen is about to run his 40. Stay tuned.
1:22 p.m.: For some reason the internet thinks it's too cool for the combine and 40-yard dash times.
[tweet https://twitter.com/DougKyedNESN/status/306465482351968256 align=center]
Teams care about 40 times and teams care about the combine. Otherwise, there would be no combine, there would be no pro days and teams wouldn't hold private workouts for prospects. Every teams has a scout at the combine with a stopwatch timing these players because they care how fast they run. It's one part of the equation, but it's still part of the equation.
1:10 p.m.: The explosion drill numbers are out there too.
Xavier Rhodes, B.W. Webb, Steve Williams, Robert Alford and Dwayne Gratz led the way for cornerbacks in the vertical jump. Eric Reid, Shamarko Thomas, T.J. McDonald, Earl Wolff and John Cyprien led the way for safeties.
In the broad jump, Webb, Alford, Rhodes, Williams, Tharold Simon and Blidi Wreh-Wilson led the way, while Wolff, Reid, Thomas, McDonald and Zeke Motta were the Top 5 safeties.
12:59 p.m.: The official 40 times are out. Darius Slay ran a 4.36, cornerbacks Dee Milliner ran a 4.37, Desmond Trufant ran a 4.39 and Jamar Taylor and Robert Alford ran 4.39's.
At safety, Shamarko Thomas ran a 4.42, Earl Wolff ran a 4.44, Shawn Williams ran a 4.46, Eric Reid ran a 4.53 and Keelan Johnson and Matt Elam ran 4.54's.
Tyrann Mathieu finished with a 4.50, Blidi Wreh-Wilson finished with a 4.53, Leon McFadden finished with a 4.54 and Jordan Poyer finished with a 4.54.
The Patriots love sub-4.5 guys. Brandon McGee, Sanders Commings, Kayvon Webster, Steve Williams, Rod Sweeting, Xavier Rhodes, David Amerson, Terry Hawthorne, Dwayne Gratz and Johnny Adams all finished in the 4.4s.
12:55 p.m.: The NFL just tweeted that Desmond Trufant's official 40 time is a 4.38, Steve Williams ran a 4.42.
12:54 p.m.: This is not surprise, but Jamar Taylor just looked very impressive in his backpedal. I didn't love him coming in, but Rod Sweeting has impressed me as well.
12:51 p.m.: Neither Desmond Trufant nor Xavier Rhodes have been overly impressive in their hip movement. Tharold Simon just looked good, though. He ran a high 4.4, but you can't forget he was on the same list at LSU that said Sam Montgomery had effort issues in practice.
12:35 p.m.: The last 40-yard dash of the year has been run, and I managed not to shed a tear. The cornerbacks have impressed, and now it's down to the final hour of the combine, and then the long wait for agility drills to be posted. The 3-cone is hugely important for defensive backs. The Patriots, for example, will rarely draft a cornerback with a seven-plus second 3-cone time.
Now it's time to watch the second group of positional drills. Be on the look out for Xavier Rhodes, Jamar Taylor, Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Desmond Trufant.
12:30 p.m.: Steve Williams ran a 4.25 on his first attempt and 4.34 on his second. NFL Network showed the simulcast of Williams and Marquise Goodwin and Goodwin's 4.27 looked like it still stands as the fastest 40 this year.
12:24 p.m.: Coming into the last day of the combine, Shamarko Thomas was the best bet to break the combine record for the 40. His best time was a 4.38 when he face planted at the end.
Jamar Taylor continues to help himself. He ran a 4.32 on his second 40 attempt. Desmond Trufant ran a 4.38 on his second 40, he should be more than happy with a 4.31 on his first.
12:19 p.m.: I expect Jamar Taylor to shine in positional drills. He'll look especially good in his backpedal.
The drills will be important for Xavier Rhodes. He didn't show 4.41 speed on tape, so he'll have to look smooth and fluid.
12:06 p.m.: Steve Williams out of Cal just ran a 4.25. It will be exciting to watch his second time and his official time. Duke Williams and Shawn Williams, both safeties, ran 4.4's and J.J. Wilcox, a former running back, ran a 4.53.
The other UConn cornerback, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, ran a 4.47.
11:59 a.m.: Shamarko Thomas face planted at the end of his 40 and still ran a 4.38. He's one to watch for his second time.
Desmond Trufant ran a 4.31, which definitely helps. He could also be the No. 2 cornerback taken this year. Top safety prospect Kenny Vaccaro ran a 4.59.
11:53 a.m.: We've got a couple more solid times. Rod Sweeting ran a 4.40, Darius Slay ran a 4.37 and Jamar Taylor ran a 4.37. Jamar Taylor is one of my favorite prospects at cornerback. He might be the best pure-cover corner in the draft. The Boise State product is very physical at the line of scrimmage and stays with wide receivers very well down the field. He'll showcase his backpedal and hips later on in drills too.
Safety D.J. Swearinger disappointed a bit with a 4.62. Phillip Thomas ran the same time.
11:43 a.m.: Xavier Rhodes just helped himself out big time. He ran a 4.41 at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. The No. 2 cornerback in the draft is wide open right now, and Rhodes might have just taken it.
LSU safety Eric Reid ran a solid 4.53 and Rutgers cornerback Logan Ryan ran a 4.50. Oregon State cornerback Jordan Poyer ran a 4.46.
11:19 a.m.: As the first group is wrapping up, there have been some obvious winners. Tyrann Mathieu and Dee Milliner helped themselves out big time, Leon McFadden and Brandon McGee looked strong and Dwayne Gratz, Matt Elam and David Amerson had strong 40 times.
The only player that may have truly hurt himself was Johnthan Banks. He'll have an opportunity to rerun the 40 at this pro day, and he'll work hard to get that time closer to the 4.4 range.
10:59 a.m.: I'll usually give players who run better 40 times than they flashed on tape the benefit of the doubt. I think players take the two months before the combine and their pro days to become better athletes. David Amerson's 4.38 40 time doesn't seem legit, though. He may be able to run in a straight line fast without pads on, but that did not show up lined up outside at NC State.
In other football news, the Patriots' free agency plan seemed to be mapped out today and it seems to include Wes Welker, Aqib Talib, Dwight Freeney and Ed Reed.
And speaking of cornerbacks, the Jets are avoiding Darrelle Revis' agent because they don't want to talk contract extension.
10:49 a.m.: The second group's vertical jumps are out. Eric Reid, Xavier Rhodes, Shamarko Thomas, B.W. Webb and Steve Williams all jumped 40 1/2″.
Earl Wolff, Kenny Vaccaro, Nickel Robey, Desmond Trufant and Duke Williams rounded out the Top 10.
Thomas will be a guy to watch in the 40-yard dash. He's supposed to be the fastest player in this draft. So far, that distinction goes to Marquise Goodwin.
10:27 a.m.: Leon McFadden and Dee Milliner are helping themselves out in these drills. Both are showing great fluidity in their turns and quick change of direction. Miami cornerback Brandon McGee is helping himself out as well. He flashed 4.4 speed and now he's showing off a nice backpedal.
10:17 a.m.: Tyrann Mathieu is coming out and absolutely acing the combine. He ran a faster 40 than expected and he's looking mighty fluid in his positional drills. It doesn't hurt that he got the seal of approval from Deion Sanders either, who called him a "straight-up dog" and "overachiever."
Mathieu would have been a sure-fire first-round pick if he hadn't got kicked off the LSU football team. Now, he could still go as high as the second round. He offers so much to an NFL team. He can be a shut-down slot corner, he can play safety, he can play outside and he's a dynamic punt returner. The guy is a playmaker.
Most of the time character issues are overblown in the NFL anyway.
10:11 a.m.: One of the big concerns about Dee Milliner is that he was rarely asked to drop into a backpedal at Alabama. Well, he may have just quashed those concerns by keeping low and showing fluid hips.
David Amerson may have run a 4.38 40, but he's got some of the tightest hips in this class. He could be switched to safety at the next level. He was a ball hawk, but he has a tendency to get beat deep.
Dwayne Gratz out of UConn just showed off some tight hips, as well.
10:01 a.m.: Fans and draft analysts will try to convince you up and down that speed and agility drills at the combine are overrated, but teams pay attention and lots of them draft by trends. Defensive backs and wide receivers are defined by their speed. This may be without pads and in an unfamiliar setting, but NFL teams need speed.
9:55 a.m.: Tyrann Mathieu will be the most interesting player to watch in April. There's really no telling where a team will take a risk on him, but he can be an immediate contributor whether it's at safety or in the slot. He's a proven playmaker and showed flashy skills on special teams.
The key will be for him to keep his nose clean. He says he hasn't used drugs since he got arrested in October, but he has a history of issues and will have to be drafted into a great locker room.
9:50 a.m.: Tyrann Mathieu ran a 4.50 in his second 40 attempt. His 4.43 might not hold up when the official times come out, but it should remain in the 4.4's.
9:47 a.m.: For some reason NFL.com still hasn't released the defensive line 3-cone and short-shuttle times, but my buddy Mike Loyko from NEPatriotsDraft.com caught them on the NFL Network scroll and put them on his Google Docs spreadsheet.
Barkevious Mingo of LSU ran the best 3-cone at at 6.84. Devin Taylor surprised with his agility by running the second-best 3-cone, followed by Michael Buchanan, Ty Powell, Nathan Williams and Dion Jordan.
Ezekiel Ansah destroyed the shuttle with a 4.26, whiel Taylor, Datone Jones, David Bass and Dion Jordan rounded out the Top 5 in that drill.
9:40 a.m.: The best players among this first group of defensive backs are Johnthan Banks, Leon McFadden, Dee Milliner, Tyrann Mathieu and Matt Elam. All of those players except Banks helped themselves in the 40.
Going back through historical 40's, you won't find many top-tier cornerbacks that ran a 4.59. Elam's time will certainly help him, but he still showed a lot of coverage issues while at Florida. He projects as a speedy, hard-hitting strong safety, but he'll have a lot of trouble if he's asked to play heavily over the top.
9:32 a.m.: Miami cornerback Brandon McGee helped himself out with a 4.41 40-yard dash. Dee Milliner really did himself a favor running a 4.31 40-yard dash. That ensures a top-10 pick in the draft.
9:25 a.m.: Tyrann Mathieu just killed it with a 4.43. That will definitely help him out. Most thought the "Honey Badger" would run a 40 in the 4.5's.
9:19 a.m.: Matt Elam wasn't joking when he said he would run a 4.4, because he did. The hard-hitting Florida safety ran a 4.46.
UConn has two very athletic cornerbacks in this combine in Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson. Gratz ran a 4.41. It will be tough for Wreh-Wilson to top that.
9:12 a.m.: David Amerson shocked the world with a 4.38 unofficial 40-yard dash. He had 13 interceptions as a sophomore at NC State.
Johnthan Banks disappointed with a 4.59 40. If 40 times are important for any position, it's cornerback.
9:06 a.m.: We started off with a 4.45 by Adams. Expect to see a lot of times in the 4.4s for the defensive backs. These guys have to be faster than wide receivers to stick with them.
Robert Alford ran a 4.41.
8:59 a.m.: The defensive backs are starting to run. Johnny Adams of Michigan State is up first, followed by R0bert Alford, who should have strong 40 time.
8 a.m.: Tuesday marks the sixth and final day of the NFL combine. It may also be the most exciting day for viewers.
That's because Day 6 is dedicated to the defensive backs. Typically, we see the fastest 40 times among cornerbacks and safeties, and the positional drills are the most useful to watch. You get a really good sense of a player's agility and flexibility when he's dropping in a backpedal, turning his hips and running.
Among the top players to watch in the 2013 class are cornerbacks Dee Milliner, Johnthan Banks, Desmond Trufant and Xavier Rhodes and safeties Kenny Vaccaro, John Cyprien, Matt Elam and D.J. Swearinger. The players with the most to prove, however, are Tyrann Mathieu and Rhodes.
Both cornerbacks have major question marks about their athleticism. Rhodes even talked about a possible conversion to safety in his combine interviews. If Rhodes tests out well, teams may have more confidence in drafting him in the first round. He comes with elite size for the position.
NFL teams haven't seen Mathieu perform since the 2012 BCS National Championship game. The artist formerly known as "Honey Badger" was kicked off LSU's football squad for multiple infractions. Now he says he hasn't taken an illegal substance since Oct. 26 and is ready to work out.
Stay with us for all the updates throughout the day. We'll keep you abreast of all the 40 times, how players are performing in drills and any other news that comes out of the final day of the NFL combine.


text:
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tourists on the road
One of the things my Nepal photos don't do very well is record our trekking group. Fortunately, Kate Reid, the proprietor of Call of the Wild Women's Adventure Travel which organized the trip, recorded a video of the group on the road.
I'll have a couple more major photo posts next week, one showing Nepalese at work and another composed of images of people we met.
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Our skilled staff present particular person help and labour market info to help you in your job search. Changing career may be performed with no cash by gaining experience by doing issues like working without spending a dime , doing voluntary work, working part time while you're might have to gain a side earnings whereas gaining expertise in your chosen subject.
Also keep away from conserving Bonsai or Cactus vegetation inside the house or Office as they'll adversely have an effect on ones Career or Business. And regardless of all these parts that can be essential, not everyone needs all of them, so Career Planning should be an individualized exercise. If you go to varsity or take seminars concerning the career you want, work together with your classmates so you will have a large-network of people. There isn't an outlined career path, but here is a suggested route into paranormal investigating. Search for organizations on that do the type of work you're excited about. Use this site, as well as resources like your school career middle or alumni community, to attach with people at present working in your goal fields. I assume and i m positive that if you'll suggest me for my career so it will be very helpful for me. i've a query concerning ACMA. But if you are frightened in regards to the financial implications of changing career don't despair.
If you're simply getting into into a telemarketing career you are more likely to earn a determine nearer to the present minimal truthful wage in Australia ($15.ninety six an hour for an working adult as at 1 July 2012), plus incentives like fee.
The titles of Career Objective, Professional Profile, and particularly Professional Purpose assist to determine the job seeker as a person that is critical about doing good work, exceeding requirements, making a difference in the world, and creating a powerful, recognizable Personal Brand and Professional Personality.
The only bit of recommendation I would give is to ensure you select a career the place theres a requirement. I even have been working at Novelis in Switzerland for the previous 5 years, and it's the best alternative that I even have had in my complete career. That shouldn't be much growth but, it'd occur as a result of so many US medical transcriptionists are giving up the career. When you're completed together with your every day duties, stay after hours and check out an internet course designed to help you facilitate a career change. An important sub-set of career information is labour market data (LMI), similar to salaries of various professions, employment rate in varied professions, accessible coaching applications, and current job openings. Career planning directs us, motivates us, and helps us to accomplish what we want.


text:
Supply, Demand, and Affordable Housing
Bill Witte, president of Related California, oversees all multi-family and mixed-use development in California for one of the nation's largest real estate firms. Drawing on his four decades of experience and on his time in San Francisco's public sector, where from 1988 to 1989 he was Deputy Mayor for Housing and Neighborhoods and acting Director of the Housing Authority and from 1983 to 1988 was Director of the Mayor's Office of Housing and Economic Development, Witte sat down with The Planning Report to discuss Los Angeles County's losing struggle to meet demand for affordable housing. He puts LA in the context of the State of California as a whole, commenting on the larger social and economic issues behind the disconnect between low-income residents' needs and the housing options available to them in today's marketplace. Housing costs not the only story. Schools, transportation, and livability make finding the appropriate housing options difficult for people in a cities, particularly for families.
Ultimately, there's only so much a city can do to directly subsidize housing against a market. Witte notes that the problem is developers not meeting the demand for housing due to a variety of reasons, saying, "Los Angeles County has a very high percentage of low and very-low-income households. You have both a supply and a demand problem. You have a relatively expensive housing market and an often lengthy and expensive approval process for new development."


text:
I've just been reading some threads on an MSX forum and came across this little snippet.
That was from a post by someone named ThorhamZed. If anyone has more information I'd love to hear from you.I'm currently doing an Amiga cenversion of Advance Wars 2, and am looking at making a cross between Fire Emblem (GBA) and Ultima using the Fire Emblem graphics. It would be interesting if this could be done well on an MSX 2. Also, Kings Valley 2 is a game I would love to see on the Amiga.


text:
Welcome to Al's Tirecraft Ingersoll
Al's Tirecraft Ingersoll is a Proud Sponsor of the Ingersoll Curling Club!
About Us
Al's Tirecraft Ingersoll is conveniently located on 431 Bell Street in Ingersoll. We are family owned and operated, and have been proudly serving customers for over 40 years. We provide complete tire and auto service by friendly qualified technicians! Most up to date equipment includes: Road Force Balancer, Custom Wheel Changer, Nitrogen Tire Fill.
We also offer tires and service for commercial truck and Agro/OTR applications.
Al's Tirecraft Ingersoll keeps detailed service records so you'll always know what was done and when. We want customer loyalty and we strive for that loyalty every day. If you are in our area, stop by and see all that we have to offer.
After hours: 519-485-1646
Our Commitment to Customers
Al's Tirecraft Ingersoll is built on placing it's customers needs first, and providing high quality customer service. The Tirecraft Mission means that:
- we always treat our customers with respect, providing the best quality work and ensuring that they leave fully satisfied with the work we've done.
- we strive to make our customers feel like part of our family. Family's a priority for us, and we want you to feel like you can ask us anything!
- we're a positive influence in our community and support many local organizations.
- we help our staff stay well trained so they're confident, capable and empowered to provide the best possible service.
Commitment Statement
Our Organization's corporate culture promotes the Service Provider of Choice and the Employer of Choice values. We are committed to a positive experience for every person that walks through our doors. That means that we are committed to making sure all people are able to communicate with us and can access our services.
Our team members have been trained on how to provide services in a way that promotes the four core principles of dignity, equal opportunity, integration and independence.
We are committed to removing barriers to accessibility and meeting the accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Upon request, Our Corporation will provide or will arrange for the provision of accessible formats and communication methods for persons with disabilities that take into account the individual's accessibility needs.
Questions, concerns or requests for a customer feedback form relating to this commitment, policy or customer service experience can be sent to:
Cheryl DeCooman, CHRL
Director of Human Resources
email@example.com the subject line "AODA Comment/Feedback"
Alternatively you may contact the Location Manager directly.
Accessible Customer Service Policy
Customer Service Feedback Form
Integrated Accessibility Standards Policy and Procedure