LeRoi’s Neighborhood

• So happy for all the good things in my life (family, friends, health, future). Going to stuff myself silly and take a nap and knit a bag. #

loudtwitter.com set all this up for me.

• I broke 40k today. Will hit 50k by dec 1 but i don't think the story will be done. :( #nanowrimo #

loudtwitter.com set all this up for me.

From the turkey and stuffing to all of the fixin's... Who's cooking your Thanksgiving dinner this year? What dish are you most looking forward to?

See also QotD: Talking Turkey; as I said before, cooking responsibilities are being shared by most all those who dine.
I just put the custard in pumpkin shell into the oven.  Princess Thunderstorm (my wife) has started her pies-- a mixed berry, a pumpkin, and an apple pie each-- and has had to make crusts from scratch because, unfortunately, the crust mix got weevils.  Trinity (my sister-in-law) is contributing to the hors d'oeuvre tray, if I remember right.  Leslie (my mother-in-law) is taking care of the turkey and that which immediately comes with it.

I am also bringing Klaussen half-sour pickles, and will try to make that sweet potato gnocchi Purplesque shared if there's time in the morning.  There is a possibility there might not be time, but since I did get sweet potatoes, it will be made eventually, perhaps for the feast at my parents' house on Friday.  I did not get a rutabaga, so the mashed rutabaga will not be on the table; I suspect most of the other "kids" might actually cheer on the inside once they find out (I like it, Cimmy likes it, but I don't think any of the rest of them do).

I am looking forward to all the dishes as there is an element of surprise this year.  My in-laws are fairly traditional, but the fact that the "kids" are all contributing upon the suggestion of one of my brothers-in-law practically dictates that there will be surprises, and although my mother-in-law asked for a list from everyone, I think that yes, I do think "surprises" will be literal in some aspects.

• I underestimated how much I wanted to get a replacement cellphone. I finally got one and now can't stop using it. Can't stop, won't stop! #
• I want to read: Martha Graham by Martha Graham - bit.ly/8BZt8Q #
• I want to read: Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine - bit.ly/66XYTw #
• I want to read: Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomet... by Matt Kellogg - bit.ly/4nM2ml #
• I want to read: A Year With Swollen Appendices by Brian Eno - bit.ly/5QMO6O #< /li>
• I want to read: Couldn't Keep It to Myself by Wally Lamb - bit.ly/4SRJMD #

loudtwitter.com set all this up for me.

So it's not Monday.  Better a day late than never, and it's been a long while.

Sometimes mashups are less than innovative and original-- that is, they aren't a mix of two obviously different songs you wouldn't expect to go together.  Sometimes a mashup or bastard pop artist will go back to a tune that's influenced a particular song, and use it as the mashed backup track.  Such is the case here:

• 36376. About 300 more words to go today. Never mind that most of the ones I've written will eventually end up in the trash. #nanowrimo #

loudtwitter.com set all this up for me.

• Time to get outside. #
• I just had cookies & milk for the first time in my life. It was amazing. #
• Everything else today has sucked the big one, but the cookies & milk are indeed amazing. #

loudtwitter.com set all this up for me.

With so much information on the Web, how do you stay organized online?

Sponsored by Yahoo!

A good part of my organization is done offline, actually.

My wife uses a PDA to keep our appointments organized, to store contact information, and for reminder alerts.  As soon as I could figure out gnome-pilot (like HotSync but open source), I synchronized that information to the desktop here and now I get those reminder alerts, too.

I use Tomboy to organize recipes I get online.  For those of you that use Macs, it's a bit like Sticky Notes, if they're still around.  Entries can be connected Wiki-style, so that helps organize things even more.

I like to use clients to manage online content.  When I still used Windows and LiveJournal, Semagic was the client for me.  I have always preferred using e-mail clients, even when I started actively using web-based accounts.  It started with Outlook Express and Hotmail and has come to Mozilla Thunderbird and Gmail.  I set up filters to organize my mail into folders so reading my messages is manageable.  I have used spam filter programs, and currently, the only one I use is one that turns text into pidgin English that sounds like it's being read by The Swedish Chef.  (My regular readers may recall I "borked" my grandfather's e-mails since many were political in nature.)  I primarily use Picasa to share pictures online, but I have a downloaded client that organizes them on my computer beforehand.

Speaking of Picasa, I am aware that Google is pushing forward the modern concept of "cloud computing", where files are stored on an outside server rather than on a home computer.  I prefer to save copies of most of my files locally on my machine, but I have used Google Docs to write music reviews for W♥M, write stories with my wife, and access spreadsheet documents for games I play.

In my opinion, organization online matters more when others are involved.  When it's things that are individually private, I figure they might as well be offline.

• Still short a couple thousand but #amwriting. Or about to get back to it, anyway, after a break to study German. And then CIV! AND BEER! #

loudtwitter.com set all this up for me.