Ten on Tuesday: Ten Things to Do Instead of Watching TV

Yeah, so it isn't Tuesday... whatever!  :P

1) Read a book - I have recently started reading obsessively again.... I think my knitting is suffering for it.

2) Go for a walk or a swim - I really should take my own advice on this one.

3) Start a blog - Blogs are a great creative outlet and can be a great way to journal about your day/week.

4) Play with fiber - Knit, crochet, spin, weave... you name it.  It's all fun :D and addictive!

5) Scrapbook or make your own cards - You need surprisingly little to make a cute card or a nice Just a stamp, ink and some markers.  I have plenty of all, so theoretically it's really easy for me...

6) Photograph your world - Take photos of what you think is mundane.  Try macro photography or some other specific kind to test out your skills.  Then, use your pictures on that blog or in a scrapbook.  Or, if you really like them, frame them and use them for decor.

7) Bake or can - I haven't tried canning yet, but I want to.  Baking however, is a great thing to do when you have extra time.  Once you have a cake or cookie recipe that works, often you can substitute flavors and get very different results.  For example, I have a Lemon - Honey Cookie I make, but you can really change out the lemon for any citrus available to you.  I've done orange, lime, lemon, lime and I'm thinking graprefruit would be good as well.  Canning is good because you are prepping food for a later date.  I'm contemplating making tomato sauce as my first venture in canning, but I don't think I'll get to do that until next summer.

8) Catch up on reading blogs (or in my case reading the message boards on Ravelry) - It's good to get caught up on your chosen social media.  I got so off of reading my usual blogs that I had a backlog of 700+ posts to read after I went on vacation a few weeks ago.  A happy result of me getting caught up this week was that I went through and unsubsribed from all those blogs I really don't read or haven't been updated in say a year. 

9) Play some games - Board games, video games, computer, on your iPhone.... any of them work and cause your brain a little more exercise then just plopping in front of the tube mindlessly.  My favorites of late are any of the Monkey Island series for the PC and Tap Resort for the iPhone.

10) Plan your next vacation - Explore online where you might want to go and all the activities you want to do.  Once you have an idea, you can start saving and be one step closer to making your vacation a reality.

It's a Good Time for Gaming Music: Legend of Zelda

A homage to the Legend of Zelda theme music.  It's not every day that you get to hear this stuff played by real instruments.

Ten on Tuesday - Ten Favorite iPhone Apps

1) We Rule - My favorite iPhone game of all time.  It is very much like Farmtown in a lot of ways, but cooler.  You can take a look at it here.

2) Facebook - I don't think I need to explain this one.

3) Evernote - I can type a note on my phone and it syncs with my online profile, or I can type a note on my desktop and my phone is sent the info.  Genius!

4) WoW Armory - A must have for the World of Warcraft enthusiast who just needs to know what gear they are wears, their stats and what achievements they have completed.... right NOW!  You can check it out here.

5) Auditorium - A very fun music and physics (kinda) game.  Probably the first game I truly enjoyed on the phone.  You can check it out and even play it online here.

6) Gmail - It's simple and at works.  Enough said.

7) Tweetdeck - An excellent twitter interface.  It also is a great desktop application.

8) GroceryIQ - A grocery store app that lets you make lists and even scan bar codes.  You can check it out here.

9) Angry Birds - Fun new game I found thanks to @NathanFillion on Twitter.  It involves hurling birds at pigs using a sling shot.  Hilarious!  Take a look at it here.

10) Bank of America App - A must have for my mobile banking needs :-)

Dr. Horrible Gets an 8-bit Makeover (Act 2, Parts 1 & 2)

Act 2, Part 1

Act 2, Part 2

Dr. Horrible Gets an 8-bit Makeover (Act1)

My friend Amy posted a link to this video on Facebook for all Dr. Horrible and gamer geeks to enjoy.  I can't wait for the rest of it to come out!

10 Things I Am Thankful For

This is such a great 10 on Tuesday. For most of November I kept on seeing people on Facebook and Twitter talking about all the things they are thankful for. While I know I could do at least one status update a day with something or someone I am thankful for, I just didn't seem to find the time to actually do it. So, I guess this week's 10 on Tuesday is my opportunity. There have been so many awesome things for me to be thankful in the past year. Here is just a small list of them:

1) All the wonderful people who are part of my life - I can't even begin to list all of the people who are dear to me, so I'm not going to try.  Some people I see everyday, some less than once a year.  I am so blessed to have such caring friends and family, thank you all for being there for me.

2) Warm, purring cats - To me a house without a cat isn't a home.  I have had a kitty in my life since I can remember and for 4 years we did without, which was very difficult for me. Whether I'm reading in bed with our Molliwog rubbing her face against the pages of my book or having Winks purr like a madman when I stop by to feed him when Brian's folks are away... these cats just mean the world to me. 

3) The smell of a good campfire - I'll admit, I'm a sucker for certain smells and the scent of wood burning is one of them.  Good thing I married and Eagle Scout and I was a Cadet in Girl Scouts.  Between the two of us, if we need one, a good campfire is an easy undertaking.

4) The taste of freshly baked bread - To quote a co-worker of mine, "I never met a carbohydrate I didn't like," and since I'm home on vacation and have some spare time this week, I've been cooking a lot.  Today I made spice bread and it is just so good hot with a little pat of butter.  I love my bread machine; now I just have to remember how it works.

5) My hobbies - They might sound distinctly unimportant in the scheme of things, but knitting, paper crafting, photography, blogging and computer games really make a big difference in my life.  They de-stress me while forcing me to be creative and laugh at myself.  There is also the added bonus that they are all social in some way.  I play World of Warcraft with several of my friends, so that gives me a chance to spend some time with them during the week when I normally couldn't see them.  Almost all of my paper crafting projects happen when I'm in a class of mostly familiar faces and my knitting introduces me to all sorts of small businesses and other knitters as I look around for some beautiful new yarn I have yet to discover.

6) The exquisitely soft feel of Malabrigo - Ok, forgive me, I'm going to step into my yarn geek persona.  If you told me a year ago that I was going to absolutely drool over certain types of yarns... I would have thought you were crazy.  However, a tactile obsession has befallen me sometime since I started knitting in earnest.  I. Love. Soft. Yarn.  All I do when I go to a fiber store is touch things.  I can honestly say I have picked up a gorgeously dyed skein to put it in my basket, only to put it down when I notice it's just not soft enough for me to knit with.  So sad.... but, at this point I know my weakness.  To me the perfect illustration of what is soft (yarnwise) is how Malabrigo Worsted feels.

7) The generosity of others - It always blows me a away how generous people can be.  Just this week one of my friends' parents gave us a beautiful four poster queen sized bed.  They were moving and didn't need it so they generously said we could have it.  Now, my husband and I have been married for over six years now and for those six years have been sleeping in a full sized bed.  Our old bed was great, don't get me wrong, it was just a little tough to establish peace where covers were concerned....  Another example is how quickly Brian and I found ourselves with new queen sized sheet sets and a comforter after mentioning our new bed's imminent arrival.  I mean really, we didn't even have time to go out any buy any for ourselves!   

8) Music - I don't think I can say how much am am thankful for music and do it any kind of justice.  It has played such a large part in my life for so many years that I don't know how to begin.  I have yet to find a musical genre I don't like at least in some way.  From classically written movie scores to musicals and Metallica, I really enjoy a wide range as both a listener and performer.  Music is just the perfect way to express all kinds of emotions that are hard to convey by words alone.

9) All the beauty that surrounds me - Spring flowers, blazing sunsets and birds calling in the early hours of the morning; the sound of children playing on the playground outside our window.  These are just a few of those tiny things that bring a smile to my face everyday that people often overlook.  Even I forget to take time out for them on a busy day, but when I have a change to slow down and relax, they creep back into view.

10) My wonderful husband -  I couldn't leave him out now could I?  Love you honey!

Super Secret Project Revealed: Knitted World of Warcraft Figureprint

Everyone, meet Thayolin, my level 80 Horde Paladin on the Durotan server of World of Warcraft. Why, you ask, did I knit a rendition of her? Well there's a bit of a story there.


The backstory:

My husband and I have been playing World of Warcraft together for about 3-4 years now. Recently I got an iPhone and started listening to podcasts on my way to and from work to entertain myself. My favorite is The Instance, a podcast by Scott (@ExtraLife) and Randy (@RandyDeluxe), that gives WoW players the news, rumors, and general discussion of all things World of Warcraft on a weekly basis with heavily douse of hilarity. In their most recent episode (#164) they announced a contest they are running to give away a free FigurePrint of a character from Figureprints.com Now, the concept getting a free FigurePrint is damn near irresistible to me.

Brian and I each have on of these and they are very cool. They are a 3-D rendering of your character wearing their armor and weapons and run you about $150 a piece. Brian got me one of Thayolin for Valentines Day this past year. I was so excited!

But I digress. To enter the contest I had one week to make my own figureprint out of anything I chose: whatever I wanted! Hmmm, what do I do for fun all the time? KNIT! And what do I have a metric ton of just sitting around our apartment? YARN! So, given this wonderful idea, I decided to give knitting up a Thayolin doll a go. I mean why not? how hard could it be?

The process:

Ok, it was pretty darn hard!!!! The podcast came out on Oct. 1 and the due date for submitting a photo of your figureprint was Oct. 7. That is not much time. Especially since I'm not a fast knitter, I have never made anything like this before AND I'm making up the pattern as I go along. So, 20+ hours later Thayolin's knitted persona was born. Below are some pictures of the process of making her. I have some notes on the pattern, but I generally just improvised it, so if you are interested in making one for yourself, I could give some tips, but that's about it.

Ahhh, the early stages... It's always fun to see a disembodied knitted head sitting on your desk.



Working down to the hip area. I even tried to make a basic skeletal system so I could bend her at the waist and legs. She bends a little but not too much, so I obviously have to work on this more next time.


For awhile she just looked like a voodoo doll because of all the needles sticking out everywhere. A certain member of my family who shall remain nameless was a bit concerned of what others might think if they saw me working on her at this point. Hehe...


A little bit of intarsia for the Wyrmrest Accord tabard. Not too bad for exactly zero planning beforehand.


Getting close, just the gauntlets, shoulders and helm (shudder) to go!


Here's a closeup of her helm. That is the piece that took the longest to make because I had to embroider the detail on it in order to make look even remotely ok. I probably put 3-4 good hours into this alone. But I am very proud of it. It even kind of looks like the original :P


So, wish me luck on the contest. My friend Amy also made a figureprint and hers is awesome. You can see it on her blog here. I know I have some good competition. Hopefully we will find out soon. My fingers are crossed and I'll post the results once I find out.

Must Have Video Game: Tales of Monkey Island

Now, I am not the avid gamer that my husband is... I wouldn't even try to compare us on this subject. He has quite a long history with games going all the way back to the age of 5 when he sat down at his parents' TI99/4a (aka old freaking computer) to play Alpiner. Since, he has tried out so many console systems and computer games, that I can't even begin to list them here. However, I will state for the record that there are no fewer than 7 consoles in our apt. at the moment in addition to our computers.

That being said, I want you to know that I too was exposed to video game-age at a relatively young age. While I never had consoles growing up, I instead fulfilled my healthy need for entertainment via computer based video games. While, there were many over the years, one of the most memorable games that I played growing up was The Secret of Monkey Island which came out in 1990 when I was about 12. The story begins with the main character, Guybrush Threepwood, and his desire to become a "mighty pirate." This game was great and while some would consider it being on easy-mode, you had to solve problems interestingly and use your head rather than your sword (as it were). I won't wax poetic about this first game anymore, but if you know me at all, you will understand the allure of the plot and the game design.

The first game was followed by multiple sequels such as Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, The Curse of Money Island, and Escape from Monkey Island. Back in college, before we were even officially dating, my husband ordered a copy of Curse for us to play together. Awww.... his first gift was a game. Are you shocked? Cause I'm not. And I loved it!


So, now to the point of my lengthy blog post. Back on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Telltale games had a special promotion to download the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island for free. I jumped at the chance and got episode 1, knowing it would be awesome. Until the past few days I hadn't had much time to get into the episode, but now that I have it all wrapped up I feel the need to stand on my soapbox and shout of its excellence!

Check out the trailer below to get a sense of the Tales series:

If you've played any of the previous games, Tales offers the same bumbling Guybrush, the same type of insane solutions to problems (rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle of it), and the same great character voices (since there were characters voices anyway). If you haven't played them, then check them out. I believe you can still purchase them all, although it might take a little digging.

As for Tales, you can purchase the episodes for your computer individually (for $10) or as a complete season here. Three of the five episodes are ready for download and if you buy a season pass for $29.95 (promo at the moment, reg is $34.95) you get a free dvd when the series is complete. They also offer the game for the Wii (clicky for more info on how to download for the Wii). If you want to try it out first click here and select a download option under download the FREE demo.

So, go over to the Telltale games website, download an episode and GAME LIKE A PIRATE!

Edit: As an added note for all you iPhone addicts out there, you can also get the special addition of The Secret of Monkey Island for your iPhone for just $7.99 off of iTunes or App Store. Three guesses as to who downloaded that this evening...

Season 3: Episode 1 of the Guild comes out - SWEET!

Ah.... happiness for all. I'm so glad there is another season of The Guild. It makes playing World of Warcraft all the more fun because of all the in game references.

The next installment of my favorite form of entertainment

As some of you may know, Blizzcon 2009, Blizzard's Annual convention celebrating Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo, is going on right now. Now, I don't really care for Starcraft and haven't had the opportunity to touch Diablo, but I am totally excited about the announcement regarding World of Warcraft. There has been alot of speculation on what will happen in the expansion. Even the name, Cataclysm, was up for debate until recently.

They are supposed to be doing some really neat stuff in this expansion such as repurposing some of Azeroth rather than just creating new areas, so I'm really excited and thought I would share the expansion trailer with you.

Do you want to date my Avatar?

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&vid=601e493a-9f80-4d4e-ad8c-62962c3c5add" target="_new" title="The Guild: "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?"">Video: The Guild: "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?"</a>

This is a recent music video done by the folks at The Guild. The Guild, which you can watch on their website, is a two season web series about a group of online gamers starring Felicia Day who has also starred in another great web series, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. I highly recommend this music video, the mp3 of the song and The Guild web series to anyone who has ever played a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game, there! are you happy?).

As you all know B and I play World of Warcraft often, and this web series is very good (and funny) commentary on what it can be like to play online with people you don't really know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. If you like the video and want to support The Guild you can download the video on iTunes for $1.49 and the mp3 on Amazon for $.99 (both are a steal).

Can I just say that I LOVE electrodynamics? Oh, yeah, and Tesla too.

Someone please tell me WHY I have never seen anything like this before?



I think Brian has been shirking his duties.... Here are a few other renditions via tesla coil for you to enjoy:

Theme from Zelda
Imperial March (bear with this one, it's worth it)
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Ghostbuster's Theme

AND if you want to get one of your very own for use at home check out this great demo:
Buy your own "Singing Tesla Coil"- The Zeusaphone