June 1, 2006
closer to being done, web troubles
I am so close to being done with this website. For now, anyway. I've added archives to the journal, which should have been done ages ago. I've also included the latest image from my photo/art site, and I link to that from the journal instead of including it in the main navigation. I hope this doesn't increase page size too much - I've been on high speed internet access for so long I've almost lost any concept of what it's like to look at things over dialup. I am still trying to keep down page sizes, though.
I am having SO MUCH trouble with my FTP. I can't delete certain things except one by one through the file manager, which takes forever. I don't know what the difference between those files and the rest are, though. I can't overwrite these files, either. This isn't too much of a problem, except when I need to change site wide navigation, and then it becomes almost an hour long project just to upload.
It is SO frustrating, and I don't know what to do about it. It seems to affect in particular files created by the program Jalbum.
Next up is to add something to the projects section. I have two initial things- I'm going to put back up my ooooold Frida Kahlo site, because people are still looking for it. I am also going to digitize some of my research about the Nebraska State Capitol, because I think it's interesting.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 1, 2006 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Note on comments
To anyone trying to comment on my site- I am making the comments so that you have to preview them in order to post, this will hopefully decrease the amount of spam. *crosses fingers*
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 1, 2006 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
June 2, 2006
Buahahah - my painting on another site
Check out this page. Scroll down. There's one of my paintings!
Neato.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 2, 2006 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 5, 2006
This would suck - Mistaken ID
Mourners remember girl in mistaken ID case
I can't imagine how painful it would be to think someone survived when they didn't. Or the shock of going through the grieving process and then finding out your daughter was still alive.
:(
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 5, 2006 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 6, 2006
8-5
I've started to develop a routine around this whole 8-5 schedule. It's weird, having the same schedule every day and every week. Someone asked me if I was busy some Saturday in the future and I forgot for a minute that I don't ever work Saturdays anymore! (ok, I might work a few here and there, but it'll be VERY rare)
The hard part, though, is that when I get home, I'm beat. No one wants to work when they get home, but I have to. I've taken almost a month off from making artwork, and it shows - the first few things I've done are dumb, as usual after a break. It'll get better, though. Right now I'm sticking to sketchbook things. The other hard part is, we're keeping Pyewacket in my art room for the time being, because she's still having litterbox problems. She's been in there 4 or 5 days now, and there have been no problems, which makes me think it was all the fault of the other cats (those meanies!). I don't know how long we will need to leave her in there, though. as long as she is in there, I don't want to do any oil painting, and acrylic painting is problematic, too. Actually, pretty much anything on a large scale will be difficult, especially when she's feeling inquisitive.
The problem is, she wants to be an only kitty, but she just can't be. I don't know how to resolve this. It's weird, because she didn't have these problems in the old apartment, even though there was much less room, and there was only 1 litterbox.
I really like going in and spending time with her for several hours each evening, though... in that way, this arrangement is working out well. It can't last forever, though- especially if I start painting in oils again.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 6, 2006 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
argh - spam woes
I am still getting spam, after trying a few things, I need to look into installing several spam filters for MT 2.661 - I found a few sites that archive them.
I really really want to upgrade to MT 3.2 - I would like to buy a copy, since it is one of the most useful things I've had for this website. I could then do more things, including possibly running my gallery off MT.
But.
When I tried to install MT 3.1 on Network Solutions webservers, it wouldn't run. I didn't have access to the tech support for MT, but my hours of searching led me to believe it wouldn't work as long as I am on this server. (I don't remember the exact problem) Stupidly, I forgot all about this when it was time to renew servers and stayed with Network Solutions for another year. Hopefully I remember next April.
So, I have to stay with 2.661 and a sucky webserver for the time being. Blah.
I really really hate spam bots.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 6, 2006 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 7, 2006
MP3 woes
Way back near the beginning of May I ordered a MP3 player (A Creative TX Muvo). It went past the shipping date and I didn't get an email, so I emailed them, and they said it wasn't in stock and they weren't sure when it would be.
So I looked around for a different one, and settled on the Creative Nano Plus, which I think might be better anyway. I ordered a black one that said it would ship in 1-2 weeks, but then when I went to look at it is said it wouldn't ship until the middle of august. There was another model that was $5 more that would ship in 24 hours, but it was hot pink. So I decided to spend the extra $5 on top of that to get a blue one- not only because I hate hot pink, but because I want Geoff to be able to borrow this, and I know he won't if it's hot pink.
So now I have one that says it will ship by June 12. I'm crossing my fingers.
This little device will help me out in so many ways- it's tiny, so it will be easier to carry than my old one, which I use heavily to play music through various stereos around the house. It's also a flash based player, so I can exercise with it. It has an FM feature, which is nice, though I don't know if I'll use it that much. The big thing, though, is that it can record- I'm going to record meetings at work so that I can catch little details I miss when people are talking fast. I also plan to record tours I give at the Sheldon, so I can listen later and improve my tours. The "Plus" model I decided on also has a line in for recording, so I might be able to get a good enough sound quality to do a podcast with it if I ever get really motivated. It also has plug and play capacity, so I don't have to load software on my computer to use it. yippee!
I hope it gets here quick, and I hope it works.
Update - Right after I added the MP3 player to my list, the wait went from 24 hours to 1-2 weeks. This worries me. :P Hopefully I got the last one and it'll be shipped soon. This whole thing is starting to give me hives.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 7, 2006 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Buahahah - Stolen Sidekick
this is pretty funny:
http://www.evanwashere.com/StolenSidekick/
Someone "found" a sidekick, and used it to take pictures of themselves. There's even video, which I won't watch till I get home.
I just can't believe that anyone would be this dumb, or this immoral for that matter. They keep digging themselves in a deeper hole, too, adding more evidence to the pile already collected against them.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 7, 2006 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 9, 2006
Yay! (MP3 player shipping)
My MP3 player is actually gonna ship this time! *knock on wood*
fourth time's a charm. :)
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 9, 2006 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 11, 2006
Lunch
I've been making a real effort to make my lunch lately for several reasons - to save money, to eat healthier, and because it takes so much time to go buy lunch, time I'd rather spend visiting Geoff or reading. Geoff's mom got me a really neat-o lunchbox:
It's called a Mr. Bento. It's kinda like a thermos, except it has stackable food compartments. The nice thing about it is is forces me to bring a variety of food, which also forces me to think ahead. I've started making my lunch the night before, and it's been taking 30-45 minutes. But it's really good, and I look forward to eating lunch when I know I am going to enjoy it. I also have been bringing things to snack on during the day, so I don't go catatonic like I do if I don't eat every few hours.
And that's my really boring entry about my lunch.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 11, 2006 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 12, 2006
Un creative
What is it about a full time job that saps my creativity?
It's bugging the hell out of me. I'm trying to paint, everything is crap. Maybe I can only make things on assignment. I just don't know.
There is one thing I do know- I have a few people that believe in me. And that's really all it takes. The other thing is, I know that art is really 90% about determination- about not giving up, even when it sucks, even when it feels like you're not getting anywhere. I have to keep working, because if I don't make anything in this year (or two) off, I'll never get into grad school. and I need to not only get in, but I need them to pay me to go.
I got through my bachelors, but I feel like I have not decided yet, I still don't know what I'm doing, I still don't have a direction. All I can do is keep working, though.
...
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 12, 2006 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
June 13, 2006
French!
I am officially enrolled in French class for the fall semester. It's a 5 credit hour class, so it won't be easy. Basically, I'll be in class for my lunch break every day.
But it'll be great! I wanna learn French so bad.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 13, 2006 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 15, 2006
yay! (got my MP3 player)
I finally got it. so far, it's everything I hoped- files transferred over quick and easy (and I didn't have to install any software) - the voice recorder feature works as expected- not the best quality, but it'll be enough. My only gripe is that I thought the line in would be a miniplug, but it's even smaller, so if I want to use a mic, I'll have to get an adaptor. No biggie. I have not tried the feature that will let me record mp3's directly from a CD player- I will try that later for some of my copy protected CD's. (I'll finally listen to them if I can get them in MP3 form)
The FM works better than I expected- I can get quite a few stations.
And... it's TINY. and light. and beautiful.
It came just in time- my parking pass ran out today, so I'll be walking from this point out.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 15, 2006 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
*clap* *clap*
I am happy today. Suddenly, inexplicably happy. I was in a bit of a funk the last few days, pissy and down. Now I'm just... happy.
It's nice. I hope it lasts.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 16, 2006 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 21, 2006
%^&*(# - lost entry
I had a big long entry about my frustration with my printer (Epson's Suck) and a windfall of money, but I hit the wrong button and lost it. &*(%^#
So anyway, I don't feel like rewriting it.
The other part was about grad schools and how I'm getting excited, but there's SO much to do - I need to take the GRE, I need to get a really, really good portfolio together, I need to research schools.
Anyway, with that, I'm going to go paint, because I need to get the hell away from the computer. :P
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 21, 2006 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 28, 2006
stingy or frugal?
There was an article on MSN about this, and it's something I think about a lot. (I can't find the article again)
According to the article, I'm mostly Frugal, with a tad bit of stinginess thrown in. I don't donate a lot of money to charity, but I do donate time, and that's how I justify that. The difference according the the article was that frugality mostly affects you, while cheapness affects others.
For instance, Geoff and I always tip well. If we have a coupon (which is often) we tip on what the price of the meal would have been if not discounted, and then usually 20%.
The article mentioned someone that was frugal as a result of being poor growing up, and I can really relate to that. I used to have a recurring nightmare that there was a giant pile of money that I had to protect, and it kept disappearing, making me extremely agitated. The dream often involved sleepwalking. Later on, I figured out at least part of where the dream came from (I think) - I have a vague memory of my mom trying to win some money from TV... they showed the money (I think it was a million dollars?) in a big pile. At the time, mom and I didn't have much money, so she really wanted to win.
I've been thinking a lot about money, lately, now that I actually have some. It's really hard not to spend what you have- I'm suddenly making about $1000 more a month than I was, and it's oh so tempting to buy buy buy. Instead, I'm putting $400 a month each in savings and towards my student loans. I hope to pay of my student loans in a little over a year, if all goes well, and will hopefully have about $5,000 saved up as well. As a reward, Geoff and I will go on a real vacation. By setting up payments that come right out of my account as soon as I get paid, I don't see the money, so I can't spend it.
I've also been giving a lot of thought to future career possibilities, and graduate school. I just don't know that a Master's in Fine art will get me where I want to go- the actual getting of the degree sounds like fun; I would love to spend 2-3 years making art. But I don't know for sure that I want to teach, and the success rate of actually living as an artist is low. I am firmly convinced that making it as an artist is much more likely if you already have money- after all, you have to pay for trips places, insurance, supplies, etc. What I need is a job that doesn't drain all of my energy, that keeps my brain active, that affords enough time off to take a couple of trips a year, and one that pays well enough to fund those trips as well as my supplies, studio space, etc. A teaching job might be able to do this, but the outlook for obtaining a full time teaching job in art is not good.
So I'm thinking about another degree. I like academia, and would like to stay in it- plus, it generally gives the best vacation time, job security, health benefits, etc. Right now I'm Looking into a Master of Library Science degree, and I don't know if there are any others I should be looking at. The Librarian thing just struck me because I'm surrounded by Librarians that get to do fairly interesting things, and from doing a little research, I see the pay is decent.
I'm long winded today.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 28, 2006 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
More thoughts on Money
Frugality and saving money has become a bit of an obsession lately- that and figuring out what I want to do with my life.
Mostly, I'm trying to figure out how far beneath my means I can live and still be fairly comfortable. Denying yourself comforts has less obvious benefits than just having more money-
- less stuff. When you're on a budget, you examine every purchase and think "do I need this?" I think "where will I put this?" as well. I've decided that I never need to buy another decorative item again, for several reasons: people buy me stuff as gifts anyway, and if I'm going to display them, I need room. Also, moving will be easier the less stuff I have, and I expect to move at least 2 or three times int he next couple of decades, if not 4 or 5 times. Plus, the less stuff you have, the easier it will be to keep your house clean.
- more quality time. When you think of disposable income, and the things you don't really need, much of what you cut might just be stuff that sucking your life away anyway. We decided that we really didn't need to pay $80 a month for Cable TV, and instead use Netflix. The result is that the TV is off most of the time, and I'm more inclined to pick up a book or work on a project than I might have been otherwise. Geoff's life, of course, hasn't changed much, as he spent most of his time playing games anyway.
-more opportunities for creativity - Whenever you're faced with having to buy something, a card, a present, a decoration for the house, ask yourself, could I make this? Not only is it usually cheaper, it's more satisfying. Not everyone can do everything, but there's probably something you can make. For instance, I can't sew well, but I can do simple woodworking projects.
-less frustration - how often have you bought an item and it doesn't work right, so you have to return it, or call the product support line? It's unavoidable, but the less you buy, the less it will happen. Plus, lately it seems like the more expensive an item is, the more likely it will break.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 28, 2006 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 29, 2006
Money and Food
Plan for this weekend: clean out the kitchen. What needs to be done:
- Clean out pots, pans, and kitchen accessories and give away the extras we don't need (I brought a lot of crappy dishes and pots and pans with me, it's time to get rid of them) - this will not only help with space, but right now there's ALWAYS dishes out on the counter, because instead of washing something, we get another out. If there's only two pots, we won't be able to do that.
- go through cupboards, get rid of spices we don't use or are just really old. Figure out what we need to properly store pastas, wheat, sugar, etc, and buy airtight containers for them (we've had bug problems, I would like to get all dry goods in airtight containers)
- build a counter extension with a hole in the top for a large trash can - this won't be that hard, I just need to do it. It's going to be next to the stove, so I would like to tile the top so we can set hot stuff on it. I'm guessing this will cost about $50 in materials, and will probably take about 2 days. Hopefully this will help with the "always out of counter space" problem. I would also like to build a new microwave cart that has more room and puts the microwave up higher.
- get rid of useless dishes. We have 8 matching drinking glasses, yet we still have a bunch of other mismatched ones for no reason. Again, these just end up all over the counter. Less dishes = we are forced to do them more often.
- I would also like to build a corral for the cat food dishes - a long low wooden tray to keep them together and out of the way. Hopefully this will stop the cats from pushing their dishes under the microwave stand.
- Tupperware organization - I'm tempted to get rid of it all and then buy a bunch of matching disposable containers.
OK, I think that's it. This weekend, I would like to at least get the pots and pans and dishes cleaned out and carted off to goodwill, and draw up plans for the counter extension.
I know this seems to have little to do with the topic "Money and Food", but the point of all this is: we have a small kitchen and way too much stuff. Most everything is put away where we stuck it when we first moved in. As a result, the kitchen is *always* a mess, and I never want to cook, which means we eat out too much. The theory is, if it's more organised and cleaner, I'll be able to whip up fantastic gourmet meals in seconds. OK, not really. But I at least won't have to spend half an hour cleaning before I can make something. Hopefully it will also mean less waste, since I won't rebuy things I already have (I think we have at least two of almost every spice. My goal is to spend no more than $300 a month for Geoff and I for food- that's eating out, candy, snacks, lunches, all of it. $5 each a day. It's not really that much, but it still comes to $3600 a year.
I would guess that we have been spending at least $600 for food some months. eep.
Posted by Karin Dalziel on June 29, 2006 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)