Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Angel, it would seem to me more than appropriate if a real angel with feathered wings should appear and make you some chicken soup – ordinary penicillin is useless against H1N1, but Jewish penicillin might do the trick. Seriously, take very good care of yourself, and don’t try to get back to work too soon.

The Faculty Meeting Knitter has heard of my struggles with progress bars, and posted a most useful summary of how to do it through Ravelry. What I want to know now is, how did she know I’d been talking about her?

(I think I’ve found the answer, in Google Webmaster Tools. But in searching for it, and trying to use it, I’ve wasted valuable time. The computer got all huffy and window-is-not-responding, and I had to reboot, wasting more time. My sister-in-law is coming to lunch today, not a great kerfuffle but it behoves me to sweep the kitchen floor, and I meant this to be quick.)

So, on to knitting.

That's a view of the back, of course, because that's all there is so far, with the sleeves folded up into something like their final position.

Mother Lode is wound and will be knit into the ASJ today. When that’s done, all the colours will have been deployed except for Franklin’s Panopticon. I took a moment yesterday – how’s this for time-wasting? – assigning percentages to the different stages of ASJ-knitting, mitre-in, mitre-out, neck edge, skirt (where you lengthen the jacket), sleeves, edging and finishing. They may not be the right percentages, but they’ll serve for progress-bar use. The Christmas Project is easy, because I’ll assume that the five balls of Cocoon will more or less get used up, and derive percentages from how much yarn has been consumed.

Kindle

Your observations are salutary, Dawn. Another problem for me is that I buy paperbacks, essentially, to read in the kitchen. It isn’t wise to have proper books in there, to read as I stir the soup. If I had a Kindle, I might well feel that it was too valuable for the kitchen as well, thus defeating the whole purpose. And does it need two hands? Maybe what I really want is a machine to read books to me, while I stir the soup or knit.

I must find out how James is getting on with his Kindle. His reason for buying was perfectly justifiable – that English-language books are slow and expensive to acquire, in China.

So I’ll watch and wait. The National Trust is advertising a cruise for next year which will call at both Fair Isle and Unst before going on to some interesting Scandinavian ports. I shall dream of taking my Kindle along when I go cruising (not a chance).

6 comments:

  1. I listen to books on my iPod while I stir the soup - it relieves the tedium of cooking & spending time alone in the kitchen. I also listen while I knit, while I sew, while I drive, while I exercise...anytime I'm in the solitary condition. The selection of books available is wide-ranging; I've listened to a number of classics for free from LibriVox.

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  2. Anonymous2:44 PM

    Like Angie I listen to books on my mp3 player. I even modified my car stereo (added a data port)to play audio books. Our local library has two sources of audio books, one plays on ipods and one does not.
    Also a player that bookmarks is best.

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  3. Dawn in NL2:46 PM

    Jean, The cruise sounds lovely! OK, so dreams are nice too.

    You should be able to hold the e-reader in one hand, or even prop it up in a cookery book stand. However, it now sounds like you want an mp3 player with headphones. The Project Gutenberg has a kind of sister organisation that records the books LibriVox.org.

    The knitting is looking good.

    All the best,
    Dawn

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  4. Librivox is good as is Audible.com for current books ... I started with a trail and am addicted as I can knit and read now (or spin for that matter). Also I wanted to say how brilliant your abservation was in your comment the other day on how the first stitch your needle enters is the one on top. Brilliant! And right when I was trying to figure that exact thing out. Thanks!

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  5. Gerri3:22 PM

    A Kindle does read aloud but I read that it was a "stiff sounding electronic voice." As a gadget fiend, I'd like a Kindle. As a realist, I see my iPod as much more useful. The books I tend to buy are not the sort that land on the Kindle. There are plenty of books for me to listen to for free from Librivox. Also, since I'm on a computer all day, there comes a time when I need to be free from electronics. Reading from paper is still more enjoyable to me than reading from the screen. (At least the computer screen; haven't tried an e-reader.)

    All that said, since it doesn't sound like you're going to get to go on that cruise, it would be completely justifiable to console yourself with the purchase of a Kindle!

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  6. =Tamar7:44 AM

    I will dream of going on that cruise at all. As a near-Luddite I have neither iPod nor mp3 nor Kindle. It's a near thing that I still have a computer.
    The sweater is amazingly pretty already.

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