lolajl: January 2005 Archives

As you've probably noticed, I haven't updated the blog for over a week. I've been quiet, just browsing the web and finishing up on entering the bulk of my yarn stash into my database. Still have a few more balls to enter, but It's mostly over, thank God. Now I need to create a few templates to display the statistics. It'll take me a while. And thanks to Webmin, I was even able to back up my database by generating a SQL script.

Yesterday I received the KnitPick winter 2005 catalog. I was shocked by how cheap the yarn brands in their new lines cost. It seems that they went to Peru and set up deals to manufacture the yarns and sell it through their online business. I ordered two skeins of Simple Stripes, and four skeins of Wool of the Andes. It will be interesting to see how these knit up. I'm not so crazy about their use of merino wool for Sock Landscape yarn. Yes, merino wool is soft, but it doesn't really stand up well to hard wearing. Genia is planning to order several skeins as well as her friend, and they're going to be commenting on their experiences on Genia's blog. Of course, I'll post my impressions.

Yes, I'll still be posting details about the Knitting Library. Just need to get going on it . . .

Yesterday I spent several hours entering all the yarns for which I had tags into the Knitting Library that I've set up on my laptop, and today I plan to continue this process. I've taken several screenshots that I will put up on this blog. I will likely break up my comments into several posts because there are so much that I've learned and would like to share with you, in the event that you are looking for ways to inventory your stash.

Now, git back to work, Lola . . .

It's really ironic that my paternal grandfather, who I adored and one of the key influences of my perspective of what a real man should be, was a horse trainer (and in his youth, a jockey). Yet I never learned to ride a horse because I just didn't have the opportunity to do. Well, perhaps I really did have the opportunity, but I wasn't mad about horses as a child.

But I've had may occasions to watch people riding horses, either on tv or in person, and regretted that I never learned to do so. Nowdays women ride horses the same way men do. But there was a time, that if you were in the proper society, women were expected to ride sidesaddle being as that it was more ladylike to do so. Yes, that may have been sexist. But I just think there is an elegance to riding sidesaddle that just cannot be matched. It looks like you really have to master the ability to sit upstraight, while keeping your legs on one side of the horse, and control the horse at the same time. I came across a website that sells clothes and saddles. I just love the clothes that you can see on this page. Maybe someday I can actually learn to do so. I think Miss Myla would look so elegant. Don't you agree, Genia?

BIL stopped by last night, and he was able to fix the database issues I've been having. One fix was such an obvious fix I couldn't believe I had missed it - set tcpip_socket to true. This apparently lets you connect to the database at an ip address. Doh.

So now I've got to load the database schema, fill in some of the tables before firing up my knitting library website to proceed with data entry. One thing I'm going to be diligent from now on is to back up the database, in case my setup goes south again. I'll not be working next Monday as it is a holiday, so this weekend will be a perfect one for me to get started with recording my stash.

For a while I've been using NoteTaker, from AquaMinds. It's an outliner/notebook software where you can keep snippets of information collected from anywhere, from email to websites to pdfs. You can use it for keeping tabs on research for that dissertation, or to collect information you'll be teaching on for your students. Right now, it's available for OS X only, but they'll be releasing a Windows version later this year.

Well, now they've released version 1.9, with a plug-in technology that uses Java. At first glance, you may wonder why do that - oh, it's just some other gimmick they've come up with to keep themselves in business. But when you download their demo and take a look at the What's New notebook (by going to Help menu and clicking on What's New, then on Technology Preview), the more it is really impressive what new uses they've come up with.

Here's an example:

Basically, what this database plugin does is to query the database server and then give you a list of what is in that particular table. Now, I'm sure you're starting to get an idea of what one could do. If you can get a simple list of animals, why not be able to automatically get a list of all the yarns you purchased during November, 2004 that cost between 5 to 7 dollars per skein? You could set up a notebook page with details about your project - one entry of your thoughts, another entry for your sketches, and an entry for the database query. It's one of those things that make you go “gee, why didn't I think of this before?”

Hopefully, I can get my database issues resolved when my BIL comes over to take a look at laptop so I can get going with cataloguing my yarn and fiber collection.

One of the guys who was in our bridal party has now gotten engaged, and we had a chance to talk with him while cooking lunch at Christ House (as part of our church charity activities). We learned that he is planning to wear a kilt since he has Scottish ancestry. The bride-to-be is thinking about having a Renaissance wedding and having everybody dress up. So . . . I've been browsing through costuming website.

There are a couple of things I need to keep in mind. The wedding will likely be during the summer, in July probably. In the Orthodox Church, there are dates when weddings can't be performed. During Lent, Peter & Paul Fast (which takes place after Pentecost), Dormition fast (which is the first 15 days of August, Advent (before Christmas), and a couple other fast days. So that leaves a finite number of days that weddings can be performed. Having known the couple for quite a while, it is likely that they don't want to have a long engagement. Hence, summer wedding.

Now, the weather in this DC metro area can be very beastly in July (although it was quite pleasant when I got married back in 2003). So - the dress for myself will need to be comfortable. There's one era that best meets these criteria - Early Italian Renaissance. And I love this style. It's flattering as well - the waistline fall just below the bust, thus hiding that stomach belly. And sleeves can be detachable. So I've been browsing the web for ideas. I've looked at Italian Renaissance Gown Construction.

And there's one of my favorite sites - A Festive Attyre where she has a gallery of costumes created by other people and several diaries of her own costumes. Take a look at her Research section. That 1470s gown looks like a possibility, as does the 1515 gown.

Now . . . I really, really have to get my sewing up to speed. I'll likely have to enlist help from a couple of my friends. Of course . . . the bride-to-be could change her mind and go with a conventional wedding.

And then there's my hubby - what's he going to wear? It seems that a kilt would be the best thing to go with. I'm very partial to the Braveheart kilt style and I think Hubby would look dashing in it. Since he has Scottish ancestry on his maternal side, he could get away with it. Now I need to find the tartan colors for the MacDonald clan.

Finally we're having a quiet weekend, the kind where you don't have anything urgent that must be done and you can take your own time to do what you want to do, or not do any chores that must be done. Earlier today we headed out over to G Street Fabrics and picked up this attachment for my sewing machine (which will become part of the table. Another stop we made was to that certain store near a grocery store which I visit only about every 6 months or so (those of you who live in the DC metro area will know know which one I'm talking about - it's been a fixture in the area and the decor is probably the same as it was when it was first started). I was hoping to find a lot of Wildfoote sock yarn but I didn't find the colors I wanted. So, I bought two skeins of Kroy greyish-black yarn that I'll use to make socks.

Another stop we just had to make was at Russia Online, Inc. I asked if there were any knitting books but they couldn't locate any. The nice lady gave me this book but it was more for cross-stitching. They do sell one or two magazines but the subscription is pricey, even with the discount for new orders.

There's this book that I did get - “Russian Grammar in Illustrations” by Pekhlivanova. It's a really interesting approach, where images are used to show aspects of the grammar, which can get very intricate. I'd looked for a copy in used book websites. Now . . . here, I bought the 2nd edition from this store for only 12 dollars, which is a very, very good deal considering that it is hardcover (although the paper quality is a couple steps above newspaper quality). Now, do an ISBN search for 5-200-02190-1 at Amazon and at ISBN.nu. You'll be shocked at how much this book is going at some used book sellers - as high as 163 dollars!!!!! Yeeouch. And I think it's the first edition. The lady at the sales counter said that this 2nd edition was better than the one they had on display. I'll take her word for that. But . . . that's still quite a lot of money to pay out for!!!

Checking the blogs, I see that folks are starting to put up a list of what they've made for the past year. Regrettably, I must abstain from doing so, because I didn't really finish a lot of items this year. Part of it was that I was just in a bit of a funk when it came to knitting and spinning. Also, I didn't keep a careful record of what I'd accomplished. Perhaps I'll do better this year.

Lately I've been thinking about linguistics. And it just so happens that tomorrow on PBS, there will be a three hour special titled “Do You Speak American?” It should be a very interesting program, and I've even gone so far as to buy the book which I got togay and am reading through it now. there's a lot of fascinating stuff, such as the fact that there is a vowel shift going on up in the northern midwest region, in Ohio, Michigan. And there's a chapter about the Texas speech in the book, which should be useful in at least understanding where President Bush is coming from when one listens to the way he talks.

Now, if I had the money and was able to go back to school, I'd study linguistics. I'll have to put up with Chomsky, though . . . his theories about linguistics are interesting, but from what I've read so far, some people think his theories have a ways to go when it comes to being proved in fact. Maybe someday I can come up with theories that can run circles around his . . .

What a glorious day it was - warm enough that I could go out in the backyard of my parents' home to walk around and remember my childhood memories. So peaceful and quiet. Worked a few rounds on my sock.

Now, I'm trying to figure out how to get either MySQL or Postresql up and running again so I can get back to building my database of my yarn and fiber. For some reason, I can only access these through the command line. When I fire up phpMyAdmin or phpPgAdmin, I just can't log into these. I'll have to wait for the computer expert in the family to get back from Hawaii where he's having a lot of fun with my sister. Lucky guys, spending the new years in the tropics.