Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

Reason #3,045 that I want a Mac: Delicious Monster, which is software for people with supersonic OCD. I love using LibraryThing to keep track of all of my books, but damn that Delicious Monster makes me drool. Of course I don't have a Mac. Yet.

Someday.

In the meantime, my other new favorite (and free!) application for organization is Todoist.com. I am a habitual list maker and procrastinator, and so far this magical website has both satisfied my base need for list organization and for friendly (yet hard to ignore) reminders of the stuff for which I'm procrastinating. You can upgrade for $3/month to get extra task management perks like text reminders, if you like.

I also went back to del.icio.us to help me keep track of my bookmarks. When I initially signed up a while back, I didn't quite understand why I would need to bookmark sites on a web page when all the sites I needed were in my Firefox bookmarks. After a little more time in the Web 2.0 world, and probably largely because of the fun I had with tagging my books on LibraryThing, I finally get the need and wondrous delight that comes with tagging and organizing sites on a web page. I can access my bookmarks from work (even though that's not an issue at the moment), from my old and occasionally used laptop, from a friend's computer or from anywhere.

But as ooey-gooey as I am over these organization applications and their social interaction integration, I still have a hard time embracing MySpace or Facebook. They contradict everything I ever learned about privacy on the internet, no matter how private they say that can set your profile. And while I accept them as a part of 21st century media, I do not love them.

I have, however, fallen in love with Twitter. When I'm not blogging here, chances are good that you can find me twittering here, especially now that I have a small text message plan and a QWERTY keypad on my new phone (the LG enV2).  I guess I'm not too old to be enticed by all this new stuff the kids are talking about these days.  

Posted by Yvette at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Computers & Tech | Geeky | Nerd Alert | Personal | Review | Teh Interweb

Spoiler Alert: I definitely cover what happened at the end of the Kids in the Hall tour performance in this post.

One thing I forgot to mention in Part 1 of my recap of the KITH Salt Lake City show: though some of characters in their sketches were originally from the TV show, the tour's material and a lot of the characters were all new.  And after watching a few clips from other live shows on YouTube, it seems that the premise of a lot of the sketches was consistent but, like any good improv, the majority of it was deliciously unique.

The last sketch of the show had all five of the Kids in it, and I guessed it was the end of the show when they came together for a company bow and the theme song started blaring again over the clapping and cheering of the audience, who stood up for an exuberant (though not rowdy) standing ovation.

They thanked the audience and said something about how excited they were for the 13 hour bus ride to Seattle that lay ahead of them. And that they loved their SLC fans so much, they were going to keep the show going for just a little longer. Encore! Hooray! Everyone sat back down.

And then Mark McKinney came out with a handheld video camera pointed toward the audience, dressed as his head-crushing character. The footage was shown on the big screen behind him, and the crowd was very, very happy with this little surprise.

He ripped on a few people in the audience, and used that criticism as justification for crushing their heads. I was too far back for him to focus on me, but I was sitting in the center and think I saw my hands waving on the big screen a couple times. Thrilling!

Mark also panned around the entire theater (which is not a really huge venue, btw). There were a smattering of people in the balcony, which was otherwise very empty. That raised a big (and hilarious) WTF reaction from Mark, as you might imagine. It made me a little embarrassed for the lame Salt Lake City crowd... why wasn't the theater packed? Then again, I'm not actually from here, so I didn't stay embarrassed for too long.

The final, final feature of the performance was when Mark (still as the Head Crusher) lined up the other 4 guys and individually called them out on their "crimes" before crushing their heads. Kevin got really close to the camera, a la Blair Witch Project, and Mark started patting his face. That led to Kevin sucking on Mark's fingers... which led to Mark sticking a wet finger up Kevin's nostril... which led to the total gross-out of Kevin sucking on that same finger again. Blarghblecch!!!!

I leave you with a YouTube clip of the 5 Kids in the Hall taking a final bow as the theme song plays. It is not from the show I saw, even though I filmed something similar, because my memory card went kaput after I opened up a couple of the photos. Sad. It would have been a tragedy if I had been able to take my picture with any of the Kids, but we didn't stick around long enough after the show to see them come out (if they did at all).

Posted by Yvette at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Events & Happenings | Fun! | Personal | Review

The Kids in the Hall performance last night was a refreshing change of scenery after living in Utah for almost three years. It was our first time on the University of Utah campus (which is not religiously affiliated) and I giggled with glee when I stepped inside of the Kinsbury Hall Theater...  there was a large screen hanging down with a static collage of images projected upon it, including a box with the phrase "What the fuck were you thinking?"

I giggled because unless I watch a movie or have some very specific friends over to my house, I rarely hear the "F word" anymore. I was definitely treated to some fantastic use of cursing during the course of the 1.5 hour KITH performance. And the crowd in the theater could take it... I don't think that there were too many conservative, non-swearing audience members. (Interesting note: Ben and I were solidly on the younger end of the audience age spectrum. I wonder what the average demographics are of show attendees?)

Liz doesn't want spoilers. Stop reading right now, Liz, if you really want to be surprised when you see it in Seattle tomorrow.

The show started out with the KITH theme song as the lights went down, and that was awwwwsome! Then there was a pre-filmed skit shown on the big screen to introduce the tour, including a gag where they blatantly dubbed "Salt Lake City" over some other word that Bruce McCullough mouthed in a generic Your Town reference. They pulled that gag a couple other times during the performance.

The show felt very much like a Kids in the Hall TV episode, but on stage with no censorship and several moments when the guys broke character... which was okay because some of their shit was really funny and seeing them break character made it better (which usually isn't the case, but I have a feeling that they had to do several takes to get the footage they needed back when they taped their shows).

The set-up was low-key, with bare bones scenery consisting mostly of folding chairs and images projected onto the screen behind the actors. Costumes and familiarity with a lot of the characters (Buddy Cole, Cathy and Kathie, the Chicken Lady, etc.) set the stage for an all-around good show.

Scott Thompson had some blasphemous fun as Buddy Cole, monologuing about how Jesus was clearly gay. He prefaced that with pokes at Mormons, like... "Many of you are probably risking excommunication by coming here tonight, so the least we could do is make it worth your while!" 

Hallelujah! 

Then, in a skit that (I think) followed Buddy Cole's monologue, Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney walked onto stage together dressed like this: 

When these guys walked on, the Salt Lake City audience roared because it was probably assumed that Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney were playing Mormon missionaries. They turned out to be Jehovah's Witnesses who made the mistake of requesting entrance to the house of Bruce McCullough's annoying, nerdy kid character (Gavin, I think?).  Still funny.

And then Mark McKinney came out wearing a mini skirt for a scene, except the mini skirt was pulled up around his underwear. Yup, tighty whities in full view! He pulled the skirt down as soon as he realized it was up... but the damage was done and I'm pretty sure that wasn't a planned gag.

Then, after much hilarity, including a second and not-really-hilarious pre-filmed sketch on the big screen, the show ended with some head crushing. As it should have.

And that's all I'm saying for now  because I know that Liz is still reading and I don't want to ruin it completely for her.

Posted by Yvette at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Tags: Around Town & Beyond | Events & Happenings | Fun! | Personal | Politics & Religion | Review | TV & Movies

Yesterday, after finally posting the list of 2008 Summer Movies for the Geek, Ben and I went to see Iron Man at the theater.

Wow. If more movies were like this one, I would go to the movies more often. Robert Downey, Jr. embodied the pretentious, self-righteous Tony Stark and made a very believable transition from an egotistical billionaire playboy to the accountability-driven billionaire superhero (with a much more loveable egotistical streak).

The Story: Strong overall, though there were some parts that took me out of "the dream" for a minute, like when Gwyneth Paltrow ran for her life in a tight skirt and 4-inch stilettos (over a grated walkway, even).

The Acting: Really good overall.

The Style: Perfect. 

The Effects: *DROOL*

The Ending: Without giving any spoilers, the end of the movie leaves itself open for a sequel. Black Sabbath was the perfect segue music into the credits, which Ben and I sat through and then were very satisfied with the short clip played after the credits... as in, I probably geeked out for the next twenty minutes talking about Teh Awesome of the newly introduced character (played by a well-known badass actor) who will undoubtedly play a large role in the clearly inevitable sequel even if they only loosely follow the comic books.

And to the sequel, I say bring it on. You have me right where you want me because I'm ready for it now. 

Posted by Yvette at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Tags: Geeky | Review | TV & Movies

It's been another hard-working weekend for me as Ben and I continue to prepare for the arrival of our Norwegian visitors in (yikes) less than two weeks.

Ben took a break from sawing, sanding, painting, banging, swearing, etc to bottle his four batches of nearly-complete liquid bread: a blacker-than-black stout, an India Pale Ale, a Honey Wheat and a Blueberry Wheat. I helped by using my labeling the bottlecaps with my otherwise underused stamps and inks (I know I'll use these! They're awesome! I said when I thought I was going to be crafty on a regular basis).

I've been digging through old papers and boxes of CRAP that have moved with me for many years and also some relatively new stuff. It sucks to be a pack rat, and I've been better about throwing and giving things away lately. But sorting through everything I already have is a pain in the ass, as well as in my back from too much hunching over while sitting on the floor... I can hear my mother telling me that I'll get scoliosis.  But our junk storage room with a futon is slowly turning into a more usable guest room with a crafting area. It turns out that a 5 foot brown folding table can actually look nice when it's covered with a tablecloth that hangs close to the floor.

Will our house be ready to impress the people who took me in as an exchange student eleven years ago? Probably Definitely not as much as we would like. The skylights will not be replaced in time due to our contractor not understanding that we WANTED THEM REPLACED LAST YEAR and we do not want to wait until he has a bid for the specific back door we also want him to install. At this point, I'm hoping that they will finish with all the work we need them to do by the middle of April (because we don't want them here while we have visitors). We had to add one more delightful project to the contractor's list: installing a pipe that will actually lead smelly air and humidity away from the house once bathroom fans suck it up. The original builders didn't think of that, apparently?

Yep. Our house was built by retarded buffoons, previously "maintained" by drunken monkeys and then flipped by corner-cutting assholes.

For all the work he's done around the house, at least Ben has been able to derive some pleasure out of the whole thing by acquiring more power tools.

Posted by Yvette at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: House & Home | Personal | Review

When I mentioned how much I love my mouse at home, I should have also told you about my wrist cushion. It is absolutely THE BOMB.

I may complain about a sore middle finger from scrolling too much, but I haven't complained about wrist pain since I started using the IMAK wrist cushion. It's a slightly stretchy cotton-nylon shell that is filled with ergoBeads, whatever those are. It doesn't matter what they are, because my wrist loves them.

I bought it about the same time as I purchased my Logitech trackball mouse because using the new mouse without one was, admittedly, a little awkward. And I'd never found a wrist cushion that I liked, despite trying several different types.

The IMAK cushion I purchased had been sitting patiently on the shelf of an office store, inconspicuous next to the colorful gel-filled mousepads and the various "adorable" comfort-inducing items with kittens and puppies and American flags on them.

If you're in the market for a wrist cushion, this is the one to get.  The thumb-controlled trackball mouse isn't for everyone, but  everyone needs a good wrist cushion. It probably comes in several colors and with fewer bits of lint than appear in this photo.

Someday I'll probably upgrade to the wrist cushion for my keyboard as well so my left wrist will stop feeling so jealous. But I figure that my left hand gets out of doing a lot of the labor that my right hand endures, so it can just shut its proverbial mouth and be content with the fact that it gets to wear a pretty ring every day.

Posted by Yvette at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Computers & Tech | Review

I have been scrolling pages on Teh interwebz too much lately and it's catching up to me.  

For as much time as I spend with my hand on my mouse (that's not innuendo, thanks very much) and on the computer, I'm fortunate not to not (yet) suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Today, however, I realized that the underside of my middle finger is tender.

At work, I use a semi-ergonomic wireless Microsoft mouse with a scroll wheel. My middle finger logs many hours on the slightly raised bumps, pulling repetitively as my brain demands more, better, faster visual input on the screen in front of me. My right hand middle finger is much more of a workhorse than I give it credit for.  

(My left hand middle finger also works diligently in tandem with my left hand thumb, resting on the Tab and Alt keys respectively as I frequently switch views on my taskbar.)

At home, my preferred mouse for the last couple of years is a Logitech with an optical Trackman Wheel. It stays in one place and I move my on-screen cursor around with a red track ball... and I absolutely love it. It took a couple days for my thumb to adjust to the new movement, and now I can go effortlessly between different mice without even noticing (like hopefully someday I will do with  Dvorak and QWERTY keyboards).

But it also has a scrolling wheel upon which I rely heavily for my internet needs. And isn't it always embarrassing to talk about a seemingly benign injury that is related to a cushy desk job? Well, whatever. At least the underside of my middle finger gets a break when I'm playing the Wii.

On a side note, it absolutely drives me crazy to watch people surf the internet, wholly dependent upon their mouse to scroll down a page, etc. in a painfully slow manner. If I just described you, dear reader, please do not take offense. Just learn the faster way or let me do the fingerwork while we're looking at something together next time, okay?

In the meantime, I better go check into what kinds of rehab I might expect to endure if I continue to abuse for my poor, tender middle finger. But I'm thinking that there also has to be a fancy gadget out there that will allow me to scroll down pages through eye movement!

Posted by Yvette at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Computers & Tech | Geeky | Personal | Review | Teh Interweb