First things first

Really!

Jan has a remarkable talent for finding four-leaf clovers. Now if he could just find a seven-leaf clover, we’d be all set…

Remembering: To say “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” as soon as I woke up on 1 March.

Reading: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. This book is about naked mole rats, so even though it’s by an author whose other work I find fairly unimpressive, I was pretty sure I’d love this one before I even cracked the cover. In this tale, one naked mole rat who likes to wear clothes is criticized by other naked mole rats who think that clothes are weird and that everyone should be naked. In the end, they all agree that it’s okay to have different perspectives on clothing. The best part is that the book doesn’t fall back onto a trite ending in which everyone is wearing clothes. There are still plenty of naked naked mole rats around!

Watching: All of Red Dwarf (the original version, not the let’s-cut-some-material-to-make-room-for-more-special-effects version that came out a few years ago) from start to finish. I love this show.

Resisting: An urge to call people who annoy me “smeghead.”

Speaking of smegheads: I’ve noticed that whenever I send an e-mail to my senators and congressional representative, the only one who requires a “prove you’re not spam” test on the submission form is the one Republican in the bunch. I wonder if this party-line divide is true elsewhere or just in my district.

Not caring about: The Olympics. In short, the Olympics are now nothing more than a huge expression of nationalism and competitions that are more between technologies than between skilled humans. How many millions of dollars go into, say, getting the strap attachment on a helmet just so in order to cut down on wind drag by 0.00000005 percent? It just seems like such a waste of money and effort to me.

Chuckling: About this joke: “Two cats decided to have a swimming contest across the English Channel. One was an English cat called One Two Three. The other was a French cat called Un Deux Trois. One Two Three cat won the race. Un Deux Trois cat sank. “

Time to MARCH FORTH, everyone!

(I just love this date every year.)

I figure I’d better post this list before it gets any longer. It’s amazing how many free knitting patterns out there don’t fit into “conventional” categories.

Knitted mushrooms! My daughter is currently in the middle of a serious fairy phase, so I think some of these are on my horizon. Maybe those fairies could use some knitted daffodils, too.

Knit your own party bunting. This looks so charming . . . and so time consuming. I think I’ll stick with a sewn version.

Knit tie. If you’re looking for a stereotypical Father’s Day gift and can knit really fast, this may be the project for you.

Knit heart pin. If your ambitions are more along the lines of “tie pin” rather than “full-on tie,” this may be up your alley. (Another option: get started on your Valentine’s Day gifts now!)

When you’re ready for new linens and need to figure out what to do with your old ones, consider turning them into yarn.

I’m intrigued enough by Knitminder that when I do get an iPhone, it’ll probably be one of the apps I load on there (right after Peggle). Some of the functions look like they duplicate what Ravelry has, but the counters and the project notes (with photos that you take with your phone, I’m guessing) look like they might be handy.

Think your knitting is getting stale? Shake things up with these conceptual knitting patterns.

Halloween will be here before you know it, so you’d better starting thinking about your costume now. Whatever you have in mind, be sure to include a knitted mustache. A knit/felt bangle bracelet would be a nice addition, too.

May the Fourth be with you!

…we’ve all wanted to do this at some time or another, haven’t we? (Follow the link to see the popout text when you hover your cursor over the image. Heh.)

I certainly had no idea just how freaking dangerous ostriches could be.

I prefer to go through life without getting sliced up by an ostrich’s toenail, thankyouverymuch.

I first heard about the World Sunlight Map site two years ago and added it to my bookmarks right away. Except for computer-free days, I generally check it at least once a day. Because my visits to the site take place at different hours, the map is never the same.

I have friends and family all over the world, and this map helps me feel a bit more connected to them. When I peek at it in the evening, for example, I see that the day is well under way in eastern Australia, where my friend Valerye lives. And when my day starts while friends in California are still asleep, well, that just reminds me that even though the Internet seems to close some distances and they aren’t very far away from me in the global scheme of things, they definitely aren’t right next door.

I love how the line of sunlight curves and dips across the globe. The cloud cover is amazing to see, and the nighttime light patterns…well…it’s interesting to see how few truly dark places are left on land these days.

Alas, I was unable to complete the registration online. Up until midnight, the YMCA system was working fine. Right after midnight, it started crashing and getting stuck. I tried for twenty minutes but just couldn’t get through. So I went upstairs, set my alarm for 5 a.m., and went to sleep. Or at least tried to. Between my second p.m. cup of coffee and half-dreams about an impending zombie apocalypse (what, you don’t have dreams like that?), I had some trouble sleeping.

At 5:15, I tried the website again—no luck. So then I thought, “Maybe I should try registering by phone. Can’t hurt to try.” So I called, and a very nice man named Bill answered the phone. The YMCA had just opened, and he was the only person at the front desk, so he was pretty busy checking in swim team people and other early exercisers. But I was in no hurry—especially if it saved me the trouble of putting on go-out-in-public clothes and schlepping over there.

First he said, “Our printer isn’t working, so I can’t print up a receipt. Can you call back later?” When I explained to him that usually I wouldn’t mind doing that but this time I was feeling rather anxious because I was hoping to snag the one spot left in the class, he said he would see what he could do.

There were other complications: program members aren’t supposed to be allowed to register by phone, but he was kind enough to finagle the system so I could; their system showed Sylvia as simultaneously having an active program membership and not having one at all, so he had to poke around to figure out what was going on. I was on the phone for twenty minutes with him. But I managed to get Sylvia signed up for that swim class!

After all of this, if we show up at the first class and she starts saying she doesn’t want to be there…I am so grounding her for the rest of her life.