Becca Stareyes

What I did today:
-- Polished my presentation for the Division of Planetary Sciences 2009 meeting based on comments I got from grad students on Friday.
-- Did two sketches -- one for MAX, one for mrcaex. I'll see how they look tomorrow before coloring them
-- Cut out all the pieces for my exchange gift for ag_over_18
-- Finished a fic for fma_fic_contest
-- Finished reading The Mermaid's Madness

What I'm going to do now:
-- See how many words I can get on my fic forscifibigbang before bed

What I would have liked to do:
-- Grade the dozen essays I have to do tomorrow.
-- Go over a report to ask a colleague for help.
-- Do my dishes

I sometimes wonder if I should practice my science blogging skills by writing up the weekly colloquiums that my department holds, or at least the ones I don't fall asleep in. So far, it's been a good semester, despite both presentations being on interstellar dust. Then again, the first presenter was a researcher from our department with a good speaking style so he can make something like 'crap in space'* interesting. The second guy also had a good send-up and it was partially interesting to me since he was using some of the same techniques that I use for Saturn's rings on the Interstellar Medium.

* This is my friend Cece's nickname for the Interstellar Medium back in undergrad. We had a whole semester talking about it, thanks to Nebraska offering three astronomy courses, all of which an astro-focused person needed to take. Well, technically four, but the fourth was removed from the coursebook my freshman year after they realized that no one could teach it, and that had been the case for years. So everyone took 'Stellar Atmospheres and Interiors', 'Galactic Astronomy' and 'Physics of the Interstellar Medium' after they did the 'Astronomy for Majors' and 'Astronomy Lab'. It wasn't that bad, since you can get a lot of basic astronomy out of what's going on, and meant that I've had more repetitions of radiative transfer than any sane human being really wants.

So, anyone want to hear about what I learned about Crap in Space? It's interesting, I promise.

Writing is going well. I got back some concrit on the Cordelia/Aral story, and want to take a looksee at the story for editing. I'm also breaking a normal habit. Normally, I write drabbles in a universe first before I try to do full-length fiction. Well, except for Yuletide, where I don't get a choice, or when I crazily sign up for a ficathon. But, now I'm trying to write my first Firefly story, when I haven't ever written for that fandom before. Mostly because it came out of the Random Fanfic Prompt Generator I wrote. It's weird.

(Speaking of Bujold, the latest book came out on Tuesday. I need to go to the bookstore and pick it up.)

Also drawing. I have two exchange pictures due, then I promise I'll start work on those meme pictures. I haven't forgotten. Expect an art dump soon.

New phone features baffle users. I admit, I laughed here, mostly because I am one of those people who just wants a cell phone, and doesn't want to pay for anything else -- no camera, no mp3 player, no games, no web browsing. Because I either already own something that does that better, or I really don't need it. (Okay, I do occasionally use the alarm when visiting people, and the clock when I lose my watch. So a cell phone and a clock, and a place to keep phone numbers, and maybe the occasional text message.)

In more irksome news, I can't find my yarn needle, and didn't discover this until hours after I went to the craft store.

ETA: Five minutes later, i find it. On my bookself in my bedroom, five inches from my wristwatch (also missing).

I'm a bit annoyed with Ravelry, which is a social networking site for knitters and crocheters. Most of the pages cannot be seen except if you are logged in, so if you found out someone has made, say, Wobbuffett mittens, you can't share it with a person who is not a member.

Also annoyed with the Slayers fandom, mostly because as soon as the raws go up, discussion of the new episodes starts. I don't generally watch raws because... well, I won't follow the plot, since my Japanese knowledge is limited to greetings and asking where the train station is, plus a lot of stuff you pick up from fandom*. And Slayers isn't quite as out there for me to be able to not care what the plot is.

* There is something wrong with the universe when I can say 'Stop! My butt hurts!', but can't ask where the bathroom is. Oh, fandom. Why must you be... well... fandom.

I'm worried that as soon as there's an actual translation, people will be moving on. (I don't know what the fansub status is, since fannish etiquette demands that since the anime is licensed and the licensing company has asked subbers to stop distribution, that fansubbing stop. The odds that this actually happens is slim to nil, given the 'Need it now!' attitude of most fans**.)

** Not gonna lie -- including me. I know this is an entitlement issue, and that I'm lucky that the things I like will be translated and licensed at all, and that I don't have to hunt down bootleg VHSs at cons, or ask for copies from the Creepy Guy at my high school. But... well, other people will be talking about it without me.

I just finished a report on what I've been doing, and a bunch of graphs for my adviser to look at. I'm gonna print those out and then I don't know what I'm gonna do. Maybe put together some notes on the F ring. The next step in this project is to get my adviser's opinion on conclusions and turn my report into a paper, and the next step in my other project is a meeting on Friday. So, about all I can do is that F ring stuff, which is stalled since Matt took the lead on that project, and he's pretty much working on some other stuff on the E ring for now.

I'll stall until 4 PM, then go out shopping. There's some stuff I need to get at the crafts store.

I have an account on Ravelry. It's a gallery/social networking site for knitters and hookers crocheters.

if this interests you, take a look. No pictures up yet, but there might be later in the week.

http://www.wwkipday.com/

So, I found this* -- apparently June 14 is World-Wide Knit in Public Day. (Crocheters (hookers? ^_^) and other portable fabric crafts welcome). So, expect me to head out to the Ithaca Commons with a lawn chair, a bottle of water, a big ol' bag of yarn and the afghan I want to finish for my sister.

It's weird how I consider crochet as one of my geeky hobbies, despite the fact it (and cooking) are one of the most traditional, in-gender-role things that I do. (The, again, I'm one of those people who's made Harry Potter House Scarves and FMA slippers for her friends... so maybe crochet is a geeky hobby.)

* Thanks to the CrochetCrochet comm on LJ.

My weekend went well, if you ignore the fact I went way over budget on groceries (I was filling out my spice rack again, and buying some food for the end-of-year barbecue) and slept a bit too much.

My surge protector also blew out -- I think. I noticed that my computer wasn't starting up on Sunday morning*, but everything else seemed to be working. I started to fiddle with the surge protector, when I noticed the power button was lit, but the switch wasn't. I pushed at it, and then the switch fell out, with a spark. Needless to say, I quickly unplugged it and high-tailed it to Best Buy and got a new one. The computer was fine, once I got it plugged in again. I also got some new dishes to replace the bowls and plates I've broken, and a slow-cooker. Yay, more culinary adventures!

* Well, for loose definitions of morning.

I've also been working on a present for my cousin Dylan's baby-to-be (so my first cousin, once removed) -- he and his fiancée are expecting this summer, and are also getting married. Well, technically they are marrying civily, but my cousin doesn't believe in marriage as a religious institution or something, so it's just a civil marriage plus a party. Or something -- he used an unfamiliar term for it. Anyway, the shower is in three weeks, and I'm hoping to have things finished by then. Which means I'm crocheting like a mad woman. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

Never realized that first cousin once removed refers to both my parents' cousins and my cousins' offspring. Probably because I'm not used to thinking of my cousins as having kids, despite the fact that this will be the fifth*.

* I have nine first cousins on that side of the family. I'm the fifth oldest of twelve kids in that generation. And that's ignoring my second cousins. We're a clan.

Because they take forever and it's hard to see progress. I started my second afghan three days ago, and I've done 4 rows (2 inches). On an afghan that is going to be 48". Yeah.

At least the pattern is simple enough that I can do it while I watch TV*. I ought to start bringing it to lunch seminars. Though I'm not sure how well that will go over.

* I think I impressed a few people in anime club by working on Sara's scarf while I watched subtitled anime in a darkened room -- the pattern was simple enough I could work by touch without needing to see what I was doing.

(I am also in love with this icon I made. Not sure why.)

So, I had adventures in crafting today, as I started thinking about Christmas presents.

Part One: The Yarn Store (Yes, there are stores that sell only yarn, and yarn related accessories)
Oooh, pretty. And soft. And also expensive. Darn it, all the measurements are in metric, and my pattern's in English units. ::takes out calculator:: Wow, very expensive. But, still so pretty. Wait, do any of my friends have allergies to wool and/or alpaca? Will they know how to wash wool/alpaca without it felting up? Maybe I better hold off. I'll check the other craft store.

Part Two: The Craft Store With a Sale on Yarn.
Excluding Cheap Acrylic Yarn, this isn't much cheaper. -_- And there's no selection. The craft store at the mall has a better selection. I'll hold off.

Yes, I'm planning on making at least some presents. Which means I needed to start a couple of months ago.