Slacking as a method of forward movement

Turns out when there's things I've promised I'd do, I get a great uptick in productivity. This of course only applies for productivity not related to said promises. It's unsustainable long term, but it can feel good. I just have to out-run the guilt.


This weekend was brought to you by unsent and unwritten letters & packages as well as un planned group vacations. (It now being Tuesday, I can confess the surge has worn off... now I just want to sleep to avoid doing promised things)

The weekend started off well- Friday night I went to see Puscifer at the Palace of Fine Arts. Great show but criminy- one of the worst audiences I've endured in a long time. Boo. Late night anticts by not-me resulted in Adam and I failing to get to dim sum the next day. This lead me to deciding it would be a good idea if I made steamed buns....



I followed this recipe which I approve of. For fillings I experimented with peanut-butter and apples (bad), spinach and Gouda (VERY bad- I blame the Gouda), beans and cheese (good), black berries and blue berries (good), and egg and beans (meh). Next time those buns are going to be half the size and the fillings just as wacky. I am not thwarted by bad ideas!

The rest of the weekend was spent pleasantly. A lot of it was spent bitching about the weather. SF has made me so weak- give me a gust of chilly wind and I whine worse then a 5 year old denied a pony. Capitalized on indoor time by finishing off the last of my hex hemming for the Settlers of Catan game. Yes- I am now done sewing down the hexes! WOOT! One could now hypothetically play a game with all the titles...


Am far from done with the quilt though. Need to sew snaps onto the hexes, need to "quilt" more tiles, need to sew hexes onto the titles and then I need to address all the other problems that come with making one's own set-- player pieces, ports, numbers for the titles... Am not dishearten by it. At the very least the quilt basic (ocean tiles + the few hexes that can snap to it) has been actively serving as a vital piece to our whole bed set-up. Did you know that SF gets really fucking cold at night?

Life in February

Went out to Colorado last week for work. Not sure if I mentioned it, but my company was acqu-hired by these guys last month. They're based in Boulder, Colorado but, no, I will not be moving out there.

Turns out everyone in Colorado (at least the Boulder & Fort Colins portions I visited) is crazy nice. Like... kinda' spooky nice. I hadn't realized how jaded I had become living in SF...

Work is still working along though. We're still using the Play framework (1.2.4) and I gotta' say I'm a huge fan. Several people on the team have become slightly disillusioned about aspects of the framework but not me. As long as you're willing to accept that their testing framework should be taken with a very large pinch of salt and that you're going to have to brush up against more static methods then you'd like, it's great.

Also, we are using git and I've sorta' pushed myself to the front of managing our transition from the basic "working off the master branch" to something more like the git-flow behavior. I've had at least two nights of intense git dreams now... not nightmares, but not exactly restful. I still haven't mastered rebasing, but other then that I'm finally starting to feel pretty damn comfortable with it. It helps that we're using FishEye and it visualizes everything fantastically. Also, we're using Crucible for code reviews. THAT is super awesome.

Just switched some UI code the other day from a janky "jquery hacking at stuff in Spine" over to Knockout. OMG Squee! I've talked about Knockout before and I gotta' say- it still rocks. Working with it just feels right. Like a fuzzy code blanket that you wrap yourself in and sigh, knowing that everything will be alright.

We're still using Coffeescript and it still makes me mutter under my breath. I don't have any problem using it myself, but I apparently have a problem accepting that folks are going to write code in the Coffescript way which means no method ()s and using the words "and" and "or" in their conditionals... and that conditionals/control structures sometimes go *after* the statement they're controlling.... It's like... like... WHY? Why? I refuse to believe you gain anything by leaving off method ()s-- it just makes it harder to read. Coffeescript CAN be written in the "usual" way. Maybe if you don't know how to program the "English" style of coding is helpful, but personally I've learned to read code that looks like Java, JavaScript and C++ and have optimized my code skimming/scanning behavior for things that match that.

I've said it before in the office, but reading Coffeescript feels like reading a Cormac McCarthy novel-- I'm sure there's a great story/stuff there, but WHY? You can leave off the quote marks in English and ()s in code and I can figure out what you mean but it's not helping anything. It's just really fucking annoying.

Also- no {}s? WTF.

Speaking of questionable ideas, I've for some reason started to express interest in cooking. Talk about being a late bloomer. It helps that I bought an immersion blender aka spinning blades of death machine. That's fun.

It's not fra-la-la-la cook anything interest though. I've got 1.5 very specific dinner party plan ideas with specific dishes I need to learn to cook. So... yeah, I'm working on that....

In fact, I'm so dedicated to the plan, I'm shelling out ridiculous $$$$ x more to take a pasta making class at Flour + Water (it comes with a dinner so I guess that makes it reasonable?). I'm also going to the Gastronomy event at the Exploratorium.... So we'll see how this all goes....

But with every up, there is a down... Increase in programming thoughts + cooking = decrease in ... ? Sewing? Drawing? (could it get any infrequent?) I'll probably miss the gardening boat this spring...

StarCraft Pillow & Music

I first played StarCraft back in... a while ago... 2000? I was working as a camp councilor at the ACE computer camp down at Stanford that summer and I remember staying up late at night delighting in how creepy the sound effects were as I played through mission after mission. I've never stopped loving the Zerg since.

Was totally rocking that SC2 beta back at the very start, and have been playing it off and on since with my friends. I'm no pro (or Gold league even... would call myself a mid-range Silver) and I never even finished the campaign... but I enjoy the game and enjoy my friends who enjoy the game even more. A particular gentleman- the most talented of us lot- has taught Adam and I the delight in watching the league Korean gamers play. Starcraft- the only pro-sport I'll actually watch/follow along. Huh.



Anyway, this friend of ours aged and to celebrate it I made a pillow following this free pattern over at Sew, Mama, Sew!. While he can kick butt as any race, he tends to favor the (boring) Terrans.


Shout-out to my friend Katie for helping me pick out the fabric on super short notice (did you know JoAnne's cutting table closes 10 minutes before the store does?)

I've got enough for another one- think I'll give it a try. The blue would look good in our den. I of course plan to follow up with my own Zerg pillow and then I guess I'm obligated to make a Protoss one eventually... It's Adam's race of choice (figures, yes?)

Yes, this one is... less then ideal. Turns out one should probably applique and *then* cut the square out... because laying down applique straight is a bit "tricky"... Live and learn.

--

Speaking of wrapping stuff up that happened last month-- I now feel capable of sharing my Febuary/January 2012 playlist. It's got some songs I knew I liked, but it's mostly new things I've scrapped together during that period of time. While it takes work, I am a fan of combing through Rdio.com's weekly releases listening to random songs here and there. It's labor intensive but worth it for me since things like Pandora never seemed to work out (Last.fm's stations by tag is my other search of choice)

Feburary/Jaunary 2012 Rdio.com playlist

Warning : contains several NSFW tracks

It's the first playlist where I've actually ordered stuff a bit-

• First we start off with a touch of moody music-- I appreciate the yearning sound I hear in Cheerleader, and the sadness of Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime....
  
• That goes on for a while and we eventually end up with Nine Inch Nails, we're finally, like, "Really?" and wrap up that leg of the playlist with Super Saiyan
  
• A confused story begins to unwind... in my mind I feel it's totally reasonable to string together Over At The Frankenstein Place, Cheerleader, Two Against One + more... it's a story of loss, unhappiness, angst, and frustration which life and oneself... culminating with The Hill....
  
• ... after *that* downer, we're, like, "Fuck it, lets turn this up" and lurch over to Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me, Bad Girls, and more. So much more. Note the artful transition from "real" hip-hop by Jay Z & Kanye West into delicious Nerd Core tracks. In my mind, they sound the same. Special attention must be drawn to the Former Fat Boys tracks-- a totally random yet delightful find during February
  
• Narratives and energy are hard to maintain so it starts to fumble towards the end... The last highlight(s) would be the two (spread out) tracks from the Arkham City EP which basically sounds like Batman quotes & Dubstep- a fitting conclusion to my confused nerd core leg of the playlist.
  
• Let us note that the playlist concludes with Prelude- the opening track to some random crazy metal album. Why does Rdio have so many of these? I keep wanting to like crazy (death?) metal... but I just can't bring myself to tollerate the screaming for an entire track...
  

What I think and what I get....

Adam is a film snob, who donates generously to some SF film society thing, who provides him-- and therefor me sometimes-- the opportunity to screen films in advance and/or with director and/or cast in attendance. I was therefor most fortunate to be able to hear Guillermo del Toro talk after seeing Pan's Labyrinth. This was years ago and I'm certain I blogged about it (dear Livejournal?) but cannot find the post-- nor a quote from him, which is why I bring it up. He said something that struck me deeply and I'm going to slaughter the quote so I ask your forgiveness in advance.

I have monsters in my heart the way some people say they have Jesus in their heart

As silly as it sounds, that quote affected me more strongly then any other quote I've heard in ages. It rang so true in my heart and yet I'd never thought to phrase it that way (the power of all good quotes, yes?). It's not like "woah, angst! ah!" monsters. It's just... a feeling. This is perhaps one of the several reasons I feel compelled to craft stupid shit all the time. I could be making useful things, like scarves or sweaters, but instead I spend time and money making little monsters because that's what I think about all the time. It's what and how I often feel things. Of course, my heart and mind are still miles away from what my fingers produce... let me share an example...

I've got some yarn and a hook and some time. Time to make a monster! Six limbed, lanky, looming perhaps. A maw. Small beady eyes. Bulbous limbs that are fuzzy and then tipped with... something.

This is what my brain is thinking:


And this is what I actually produce:


Well... hmmm... Could be worse I guess...

(Disclaimer : I sketched the image after I finished the monster... the "what am I making" idea shifts around as I go and I can never craft from my own sketches-- however occasionally I can work from others')

Anyway, yeah, so that's how I spent a lot of last weekend. The yarn I picked up from the ever-delightful Imagiknit. Had a good excuse to visit- brought with me a new co-worker from Colorado was in town on a business trip. I started the monster only 2 weeks ago, I believe, and finished 'em rapidly with the assistance of my newly acquired crafting accessorires : a CozE and all of House Season 7. I'm a crafting MACHINE when these ingredients are added!

A painless crafting process... Not sure how I feel about the results. I mean, it's "cute" and all but.... now what? I guess I'll list it on Etsy... "watermelon colored 6 armed monster" is a bit harder to sell then something that can be paired with the word "unicorn" it should be noted. Hmmmmm....

Anyway, random progress photos :


I can't really say much about the process that isn't covered in this post from my old blog : Crocheting Monsters : How to Part 1. (this is from 1/29/2010 and there still isn't a part 2 yet... )

Hopefully my rapid success with this project (and still more DVDs of House!) will keep the yarn ball rolling and I'll finish a couple other projects. I unearthed several projects this weekend while continuing my tragically slow cleaning efforts... They are all at various stages of not-done-ness but all (well most) still have glimmers of potential!



Maybe they'll even look like the monsters I dream them to be

I ♥ SF Food

You see that? You see that there? There's some sushirritos. They are fucking awesome. Living in San Francisco is fucking awesome.

My work office used to be located on an unfortunate block, just a pinch too far from down town. Not a nice location, kinda' dirty. Then we moved offices (about six months ago say) and I know work in the Financial District. Takes some getting used to- so many suits!- but there are definitely perks to working there. Namely the exciting food selection.

There's a Coffee Bar location across the street. If my taste buds shifted just so, I too could be in love with Curry Up Now- the Indian burrito truck that my coworkers rave about. Lets not forget about the Creme Brulee Cart that occasionally lurks around the block from my office.

When I go home, it's just as good. Last week Adam and I went to Flour & Water again- this time for the fantastical pasta tasting menu. Tonight Adam and I went to Local : Mission Eatery for romantic dinner. There's the original Coffee Bar location a few blocks away and Slow Club, which I'm slowly falling more and more in love with.

Yes, Paris had great food... but it was all always sort of the same type of great. I'm thrilled with the variety that I've uncovered in this city I live in. That it flowers and changes over time. Just last Friday I went spur-of-the-moment like to Bones (link goes to a PDF of the flyer) a food crawl on 20th street where all the food was themed off bones. Going by myself made me bolder then I ever am in a group- I had a small cube of what was essentially pig ear jello, among other things...


(click image for link to Flickr page with notes about each dish)

...

so... yeah... it's all relevant because good food makes for a happy Rebecca, and a happy Rebecca is a better coder and more prolific crafter...

Normal to you, exciting to me

You may know this, but I don't cook. I don't make food. I didn't know how to cook pasta or a potato till I was in college and living in my first apartment. Don't blame my parents- both of them cook, like to cook, and have successfully passed on cookie joy to my two sisters. Until I was several years into my relationship with Adam I really didn't have the pallet to appreciate food and therefor was satisfied with cans of soup, frozen pizza, and dry top ramen. Now Adam has me OoOoo-ing and Aahhaah-ing over fancy foods and I can never go back.

I still don't *want* to make food- my time is much too precious for the tedious task of preparing meals every day†. But I'm willing to experiment a bit more now, mostly with the baking and desserts. Maybe I'll get bit by the baking bug and become a bread head? I know several in Mountain View who already suffer such fates already.

Followed directions from How To Cook Everything the weekend of the Superbowl to make oatmeal cookies. So underwhelmed.



On the up side I got to practice playing with the camera. I like the wide-angle len's closeups but I want... a smaller F stop? Is them the words? A smaller field of focus! This lens only went to 4 I think, and the lowest any we've got is 3 I think. Also need to get a tripod- balancing on tables and chairs can only get you so many shots. And while I'm at it, I want one of those remote clicker things- if I had that (or maybe just a good tripod) I could try my hand again at more stop motion. MMMmMmMMmm... stop motion....

But, yeah, cookies. Big let down. Pulling out everything ahead of time helped make it an easy, almost fun, process but they tasted CAKE-Y not COOKIE. Boo. A lame final product casts a gloomy light over the entire process...


(cookies have a slight reddish tint because I put a couple drops of food coloring in the dough. Food coloring makes everything better...

† : sounds kinda' bad/snobby, I know. Sorry. But it's true. I'm an engineer and Adam's an engineer. We both work all day and come home late. If he wants to cook for fun, that's fine, but most often we'd rather just throw money at the problem and eat out/take out/order in then spend a moment of our few free hours doing "chore" like stuff...

Pin Bird

Feeling guilty about not finishing anything lately. Have been working on things though!


As mentioned in the yarn hanging project, I have an unhappy relationship with my hat pins because they are not as awesome (see: sturdy) as I wish. They also came in a terrible plastic container that once opened never quite contained them. Even after pulling out a handful for the yarn project, they still don't fit.


Wound up sticking them into a cork for storage and then just crafting up and around the thing... Unfortunately horizontal surface area is in high demand in my craft area and I couldn't put the pin poof anywhere practical. So I decided to mount it on the wall. The original idea was to have more of a crouched frog like creature... but as I was working I realized the pin poof too closely resembled to plumage of birds I've seen (most recently in Paris! Photos are almost ready to share!)

Could be more bird-looking, but whatever. I'm calling it done because A) I need to get more shit done and B) I need to work on my "less is more". Adam said it was kinda' bird-like and that's good enough for me.

It's hanging above my desk... which still isn't clean enough to actually be usable, but is getting closer. It goes well with my reddish/purplish yarn chain and I hope to add more practical & pretty things to the space. Practaprettty? Practetty? I feel there's a great new catch phrase there somewhere...