I love crafts fairs and handmade things in general, but it’s hard to help buying something, which is really the only problem. I got this frog phone charm from a lady (Eri’s Studio) who makes metal and stone bracelets and rings (really cool stuff, I wish I brought my camera, only I didn’t know about the crafts fair ’til we got to the farmer’s market) and also knit hats of all types. Cute, and I’ve been meaning to get a new charm for my phone since the old one broke. It’s also completely one of a kind cos she said that there were way too many little pieces and she made one and decided not to make anymore. So wohahahaha! :p

BUT (and there’s always a but, no?), there was this one part where someone needs information from someone else and OF COURSE the way to get this information was to beat his fingers with a mug. I am starting to wonder if shows on Fox have a contract where they are supposed to show some sort of torture or physical duress and have it Save Lives at least once per season. In the last season of 24 there was a scene that was so gruesome I could not watch it, but Jack got the information he needed in the time available, so I guess I’m supposed to think it was ok. Yes in Fringe, it was just a mug banged a couple of times, but really? This is ok?

The difference between Fox and other stations is especially stark because when other networks broadcast instances of torture or brutality, there are usually consequences that show that this sort of behavior isn’t ok, or doesn’t work. Like (speaking of Star Trek), when Captain Picard was captured by the Cardassians (Chain of Command, parts 1 and 2): after they realized that Picard wasn’t going to give them any strategic information, the Cardassians nevertheless kept asking him how many lights were on a particular fixture, and insisting that there were five when there were really four lights. Despite the torture, Picard truthfully said that there were four lights every time. Towards the end of the episode, he was offered a choice: the torture could stop, all he had to do was to say that there were five lights or the torture could continue, if he was obstinate. He later admitted that, “I was ready to tell him anything he wanted… anything at all.” Picard had proven his own point, that “torture has never been a reliable means of extracting information. It is ultimately self-defeating as a means of control.” Even if Picard had given them information, it would have been useless — he was ready to say that there were five lights, even though there were four.

This episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired in 1992, but I remember it pretty well. And I think that’s the insidious thing about the shows that are airing on Fox. They are portraying torture as a legitimate means to an end in the case of an emergency, and in the instances that I can think of, there are NO consequences for these actions, or maybe even some amount of admiration for the people willing to get their hands dirty, and Do the Hard Thing to Save Lives. Yes, it’s just a tv show, but to some degree television is a reflection on our culture, which makes this trend disturbing.

On another topic entirely, I’m trying out disqus for the comment system. It allows for threaded comments and whatnot, which might be cool, although I’m not totally sure that I have enough comments to really need a system. Anyways, let me know how you like it in comparison to the regular comments.

This is the part where I was laughing uncontrollably, which made Julie crack up. You can’t tell from this picture, so why I’m telling you, I don’t know. :p Also, I don’t know if you can tell, but my feet are pretty red from the hot soaking in the water with the jets.

Anyways, it’s been 2 weeks now and my toes still look perfect. It’s like my toenails don’t grow or something. My fingernails have grown like a millimeter or something (based on how the polish looks) and I dunno, I guess I’m harder on them. So yeah, happy. Now if the weather would just go back to that nice sunniness from just a week ago so I can wear flips everyday again, that’d be awesome. Sadly this past week has been all rainy coldness instead. But it’s winter, so I really can’t complain too much about rain after a two week reprieve.

Okay, and it’s not even that I don’t have anything to talk about — well I mean, I mostly blather about nothing so in a sense I don’t have anything to talk about, but that doesn’t really mean that I can’t blog if you see what I mean — sometimes, I do intend to blog about something, but I just don’t get around to it (see above, re: go home, eat, hop in bed). I just thought I’d post this explanation cos I’m caving into pressure from K (not that it took much). Btw, dude, K, did you read about Hello Kitty Online (via little. yellow. different.)? I totally signed up for the invitation beta. :p

Also, I got a new phone, the AT&T Tilt (it’s a re-branded HTC 8925 I think); you know how I feel about gadgets (puffy pink heart lurve, in case you don’t know). It’s my first smartphone I think, so the novelty with the email and the web surfing and the calendaring and whatnot hasn’t quite worn off yet. But dude, it is so convenient! There are so many sites that have mobile versions, photos can get sent to flickr, texting is easier, etc etc. The only bad things about the phone are its size (rather large) and the fact that AT&T seems to have removed Terminal Services Client (it’s running Windows Mobile 6 so I think the remote desktopping program should be built in) which is ridiculous. Of the two, I think size is probably the bigger problem, but I really hate how phone companies think that removing capabilities from phones is a great idea. Or ok, those are the bad points that I can think of right now — maybe someone with more smartphone knowledge would have more to say. Anyways, it’s actually a contributor to the whole hang out in pjs in bed thing. Cos I don’t even have to get up to read blogs and check email anymore. I can just lie in bed watching tv, eating ice cream, and web surfing even easier than ever before! Oooh yes! (Or oh no, I’m not quite sure, really.)

So here it is, all the parts for the new computress, all set and ready to go:

I meant to take a bunch of photos, but part way through when things got more complicated I forgot.
Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 4 MB L2 Cache
4 GB (2×2GB) Mushkin RAM (32 bit Windows systems can only recognize a little over 3 GB but it was a good price)
750 GB Western Digital hard drive — I’ve heard really good things about the Samsung Spinpoint series also, but pricewise, this was better
XFX GeForce 8600GT 256 MB GDDR3 OC video card
Corsair HX 520 power supply (same as mine, we love modular power supplies)
Antec P182 case (gigantic!)
MSI P35 Neo2-FR motherboard
Zerotherm BTF-90 heatsink/fan (pretty)
etcetc, total: almost $900 after rebates. It was as little trouble to put together as any computer we’ve ever tried. :)

About a month ago, we got another camera, this time a little one that’s easy to stuff in Yut’s pocket. (Or my pocket. Y’know, whatever.) Officially, since the D50 is sorta my camera, although we both use it (Yut snickered here), this new one (a Canon Powershot SD850 IS) is officially Yut’s cos I couldn’t justify owning two cameras. I know, I know, what’s the difference, but I dunno, that’s the kind of logical I am! The good thing about it is that I generally just stick it in my backpack so I have it with me a lot of the time, and we both pick it up to take pictures of like feet (ok that’s more a me thing) and other random photos more often. Obviously, the image quality isn’t at all as nice as the D50, but considering the price/weight difference well… it’s all about the trade-offs I guess. Anyways, we’re both pretty happy with it. You can see my photos and tons of sample photos taken by lots of other people on flickr. We also considered the Canon Powershot SD870 IS which is similar but has a wider angle lens, but it was more expensive and we didn’t think we cared about the differences. (Wide angle is when you zoom farther away (good for scenery, like sunsets, and architecture, like houses, for example), telephoto is when you zoom closer. There’s a better explanation, but I’m not equipped to give it. :p) I think for a small camera at this price range (<$250) it's one of the better ones out there, although I can't help but look at the Sony DSC-T2 with all those colors and 1gb of built in memory for $350 or so with a little gadget lust. (Although I don’t know anything about that camera other than it’s new and colorful.) (And I just like gadgety things anyway, it’s a weakness of mine.)

To be perfectly truthful, I never look at the computer cos it sits under my desk, so I don’t use my see through side panel or look at the colors of the parts inside. At all. So I’m not sure I’m necessarily recommending this route. :P