Lisa: another question for the Mac gurus

Sending out another SOS signal to you geniuses...

OK, so I have a Powerbook with an Airport card and a PC that is connected to a printer via USB and to a modem (with wireless capabilities) via ethernet cable. I want to be able to print from the Powerbook to the printer that is attached to the PC. Also, just to complicate things, I also have Virtual PC installed on the Powerbook so that I can run the PC version of Quickbooks, and I need to be able to print reports from Quickbooks within Virtual PC. Also, being able to wirelessly share files between the Powerbook and the PC would be nice. I know all of this is possible, but I can't seem to make it work!

Update: I followed these awesome instructions and got everything set up the way it is supposed to go. Unfortunately, things still aren't working because I purchased a printer that may be incompatible with networked macs. It works fine with networked PCs or with macs that are directly plugged into the printer via USB. Argh! To make matters worse, I have the same printer at home and at my office at my parents' house, so if I really can't get it to work, I am screwed twice. Curse you, Unsupported Personality error!

Update #2: SUCCESS!!! I downloaded gimp-print and as per these instructions chose HP LaserJet 5 as my printer and gimp-print as my driver. Thank you, internet!

Lisa: Stop me before I do something stupid.

If you read this entry from a few weeks ago, you know that we have been having a few issues with a leaking water softener and the lack of a drain in the laundry room of our new house. Well, last week the awesome Jeff came and helped haul our new washer and dryer down the stairs and into the furnace room (alas, we "have bought the mansion of a love, but not yet possess'd it"), and then assisted Blake in dismantling and emptying the water softener and dragging it back up the stairs and out to the garage. Of course, the copper pipes that used to lead to the water softener still leak, so we currently have a bucket hanging from the pipe ends to catch the drips. Every few hours we have to go down and empty the bucket, or it overflows and mixes with the cement dust raised by the hammer Blake is using to break through the cement that was inexplicably used to fill in the old drain pipe we found under the linoleum.

The current plan is to buy a pipe cutter and some compression caps (to avoid the whole blowtorch/soldering process), cut off the pipes where they connect to the main water pipes, and cap off the ends. Is there some reason we should not do this? Please stop me before I do irreparable damage to my plumbing system.

Update: Thanks for nothing, Internet. This was indeed a stupid thing to do. The pipes can't just be cut off, they have to be connected together, bypassing the water softener. Also, we tried the soldering thing and I was right to be apprehensive--it was too hard for us. Anyway, a call to Action Plumbing and $225 later, our pipes look great and work perfectly.

For the next entry in the laundry room saga, click here.

Lisa: I wanna get witcha...and take your pitcha

Here are some more of the pictures I have been talking about for weeks. You would think it wouldn't be so hard to download them from my camera onto the mac, edit the images in Photoshop, put them on the USB key, upload them onto the website, and then ultimately save them on our PC...

Anyway, as always, click on the thumbnails to see larger images.

Here's the flower pin I made, pinned onto the apron my mom gave me because 1) I didn't have an apron and 2) my dressmaker's dummy looked kind of funny in my kitchen. It isn't in the kitchen anymore (because I now have a craft room!!!), but I still have a cute apron that matches my kitchen and dining area.

Here's the poncho/capelet thingie I crocheted to take my mind off of being super stressed out. I really like how it turned out, but I haven't worn it yet because I am afraid that I don't have the fashion chutzpah or whatever to pull it off. I am afraid it will look all contrived, poseurish, and over-trendy.

Here's a picture of a Scion just like mine. Sarah and I snuck onto the Toyota lot one night before my Scion came in and took pictures of the one they had there. I guess now I could just post pictures of my own Scion, but then we would have been so stealthy for nothing, right?

Lisa: Careful, I think it might be contagious.

I let this Super Eggplant entry convince me to order yarn from elann in preparation for knitting this sweater, which is probably way too hard for me. Here are the colors I chose:

Hey, the yarn was less expensive than the cheapo stuff at Fred Meyer...and what kind of librarian would I be if I didn't knit my own sweaters?

For the next entry in the Ribby Cardi saga, click here.

Lisa: Is making time for stress relief stressing you out?

My doctor (Well, I'm not sure if she is a doctor or not. All I really know is that her name is Aymi. The woman I usually see is a CNP.) asked me today what I do to deal with stress, and I didn't have an answer. Usually I just feel stressed until the stressor is removed. She recommended pilates or yoga, or listening to a CD with relaxing music and sounds when I get home every day. She suggested exercise as a stress reliever, but not if I get stressed about making time to exercise, or if the exercise itself is stressful on my body. I technically understand and agree with what she is saying on an intellectual level (and I have blissed out while watching the Wai Lana video recommended by Pamie here), but I think it might be hard for me to fit one more thing into my (non)routine. I can't manage everything I have to do as it is (as was so oddly pointed out to me yesterday when my mom said "it's a good thing [I'm] not married to Charles" after seeing the state of my basement). Hmm.

Oh, she also prescribed lemon-flavored cod liver oil.

Lisa: Stream of Consciousness

1. Yesterday I seriously considered purchasing a black velour tracksuit at Old Navy. A cry for help? I think so.

2. I don't know if this sweater is considered a shrug or not, and I don't care. I want one for my own. (Thanks to Lukes Diner for the screencap.)

Update: Unfortunately, I can't afford it. Shocker.

3. Thank you, Matthew Baldwin and Margaret Berry, for making me feel a little bit better about the election results and for explaining your thoughts coherently so that I don't have to.

4. As much as I love the library, it would not be a good place to be in case of zombie attack. It might be a good place to film a creepy zombie movie, though.

Sarah: God Bless Us, Everyone.

Well, I'm back again to report that I still haven't uploaded those photos onto my computer. I'm a bigger slacker than Lisa. I've started using the table that I took the pictures of, even though it isn't completed. All hail Sarah, Queen of the Half-Ass Job. The Christmas gifts have all been formulated. I've started on the presents for girls (the bigger undertaking of the two genders), but haven't made huge strides. My problem is that I think the gifts for boys will be more fun, so I keep creating them in my head rather than taking care of anything. I think I want to make my own wrapping paper too. That sounds fun. And something I could do in one afternoon, right before Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, I'm totally excited. I'm working over the holidays at The UPS Store, like last year. Except at a different location. Long story. It's seriously so fun to work there, and it'll be good to see my good buddy Mallory again.
I loooove Christmas. I'm already getting all full of the holiday spirit...

Sarah: One More Thing

I've been meaning to mention this: my friend (who's also my roommate, but don't even think about calling her a "roommate friend") Jessie told me about this site. If you like cute crafty things that you can accessorize with, which I do, check out Crackers + Honey. Cute.

Lisa: But which turtle would play Hamlet?

I hope this is referring to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Because that? Would be awesome.

Update: Alas, they are the tiny plastic ninjas of the grocery store vending machine variety.

Lisa: I'm sure God likes Red Vines, too

More members have been inducted into the awesome Girls Bike Club. I'm not linking the entry I quoted from below, because I think it's important to start reading at the beginning. Oh, and Sars rocks.

Wing Chun: But doesn't Jesus have better things to do?
Sarah: You'd think so. Then you'd look at the election results.
Wing Chun: That's kind of what I mean. He seems pretty busy hating gays these days.
Sarah: Oh, we can't blame Jesus for that. I bet he's under the bed totally mortified that people are using his name to pull this shit down here. "I died for this? Gah!"
Wing Chun: And God is tapping at his bedroom door all, "Jesus? Honey? Are you okay in there? I heated up some Bagel Bites, do you want some?"
Sarah: "They're pepperoni, your favorite. … Jesus?"
Wing Chun: Aw. Our God is a snacky God.
Sarah: That's what I choose to believe.

Lisa: matters to attend to posthaste (like, maybe as soon as Gilmore Girls is over)

Here's what I still need to get done in the laundry room. The sooner this all happens, the better, because I am getting pretty tired of the constant emptying of the pipe-drip-catching bucket and not being able to use our new washer and dryer. This small section of the overall house to-do list is probably the most urgent, but is somewhere on the fun continuum between "go through boxes of papers and address, pitch, or file each item" and "plan vegetable garden." Unfortunately, I have checked all the good "buy plastic bins"-type items off the list already.

Lisa: Swatching

I got the gorgeous yarn from elann! Here's what it looked like when it came...

I even knitted a swatch according to what I could decipher from the pattern instructions. It says "19 sts/24 rows over 4" stockinette stitch using #7 needles." I took that to mean "cast on 19 stitches, stitch 24 rows alternating knit and purl, and make sure the result is 4" square." It worked out (I guess), because my result is basically 4" square.

Anyway, I hope that means I'm on the right track as far as size, because I couldn't wait to find out before getting started on the sweater. I have the first two inches of the back piece done--pictures to follow (becuase I know you are on the edge of your seats).

For the next entry in the Ribby Cardi saga, click here.

Lisa: It's important to take a stand on this sort of thing.

Why is Tinkerbell in the Disney Princesses line-up? Why not fellow Peter Pan character Indian PRINCESS Tiger Lily? Is she not needed because the token Native American princess role is already filled by the more politically correct (but also historically inaccurate) Pocahontas?

Here's my take on the official princesses:

The Good:

Lisa: Problems in Ribby Cardi Land

I'm having a little trouble getting started on my sweater. I had the first three inches done of the back piece, but then there was an error in the pattern. If I had been using common sense, I would have caught the error right away--in fact, while I was knitting, I kept thinking something must be wrong. Three stitches are missing from the first row of the stockinette panel section of the back piece. Thanks to Amped for helping me figure out what I had done and why. Anyway, I had knitted a few rows after the mistake, so I just had to rip out the whole thing. I haven't yet figured out a way to back up in knitting--once it's off my needles, I can't salvage it. I was bummed, but actually a little glad because I had made a small mistake towards the beginning that now I could fix. The pattern calls for the piece to be started on smaller needles, and then you switch to the regular needle size after a few rows (which I think is a genius idea). The problem is that I didn't order the smaller needles from elann, so I just went to the JoAnn's near my house and grabbed the pair they had in stock that was the right size. They are 14 inches long, which is really too long for me. I keep bumping stitches off the end of the needle and screwing up. I started the first few rows three times before it was acceptable enough to go on the first time, and now I have started the first few rows another two times. Plus the yarn is all icky to work with now that it has been knit and then unknit. Argh. I am afraid to just cut that section off and start with fresh yarn, in case there isn't enough left to finish the sweater.

Update: I found a little yarn shop around the corner from my house called The Wool Cabin, and bought a new pair of 10-inch #6 needles. I have started the back piece again, and things seem to be going much better with the shorter needles.

For the next entry in the Ribby Cardi saga, click here.

Lisa: Sing it, Charlie Brown

Sarah: Things I Meant to Say and Never Got Around To.

I'm way behind. Let me just dive in:

Lisa: Basted in Blood

Don't miss Basted in Blood (courtesy Defective Yeti) even though Thanksgiving is over. It might be Sarah Maclaughlan's finest moment.

Sarah: Santa Baby...

I love our Christmas traditions in our family. Each year, we write letters to Santa, telling him how great he is and kindly requesting a few gifts. In a family of clever people, I get to listen to all of their hilarious letters (complete with my Dad's requisite "You sure are lucky to have such a good-looking wife...") while they are read aloud. After we write the letters, they are each, in turn, burned to ashes in an aluminum tin on our porch. This way, the smoke can reach the North Pole and Santa can get our messages. It's a highly scientific method, and costs less postage than sending letters by mail. The only problem with this method is that sometimes the finer details are lost in the smoke-transporting process. An example of this would be when I recieved a bubblegum pop c.d. that had a similar title to the artsy c.d. I requested. Maybe that part of the letter was not burnt thoroughly. To assist Santa, who I'm sure reads weblogs to determine who's naughty and nice (Lisa's sworn more times on this site than me, Santa!!), I'll compile a list of Christmas wishes so that he can reference it if necessary.

Practical items: