The Kiwi Invasion
Many of you already know this, but James (Fibre Alive blog) from New Zealand will be coming to the states and visiting with me this coming weekend.
Schedule of Events
James arrives from New York City at 7:30 PM on Friday evening and will have a quiet dinner at our home (if he hasn’t already eaten). After that, we’re looking at the following tentative schedule, in case anyone would like to meet with James while he’s here.
Saturday
Morning – Gazebo Yarns – New Hope, PA
Late Morning – Woolly Lamb – Pennington, NJ
Lunch – H.I.Rib Company – Pennington, NJ
Afternoon – Pins & Needles – Princeton, NJ
Late Afternoon – Either walking around Princeton campus – Princeton, NJ
Sunday
Afternoon – Twist Knitting & Spinning – New Hope, PA
Current Knitting
This week, I’ve put down the crochet tablecloth, and focused my work on the Alpaca Jacket.
Fortunately, I’ve re-couped some of the lost knitting I had to rip out, but I’m much happier with the more muted color differentiation. This picture reflects approximately 13 inches of the back of the jacket.
New Magazine
I picked up the new Interweave Knits this past weekend, and for one reason only. Marilyn has two articles in it, and I wanted to support her.
I’m hopeful that the choice of having Marilyn write some articles for them is a sign that the magazine will get better and better. It really needs to.
Readers’ Comments/Questions
Regarding Googling for answers, Marilyn writes, “For those who are truly lazy, get the Google Toolbar. That way, you don’t have to favorite it or even type in the URL. You can Google right from it.”
I love this tool, and can’t imagine why most folks don’t use it. Not only will it allow you to do a search from anywhere, it will also allow you to search the resulting web pages for your search terms. It’s a great tool.
Regarding the same topic, Ann writes “But in defense of the ‘neps’ question, it’s one of those things where if you didn’t know what it is, Googling won’t help. Google on “neps” and you get unhelpful answers in the first several results pages. It’s not until half way down the 3rd page that you get the relevant answer. It’s something that all search engines are working on, but it requires contextual references, which people are leery of.”
In some cases, I would agree with Ann, but not this time. The context of using the word ‘neps’ in my blog entry was clearly associated with carding wool. If a reader tried googling for ‘neps’ and got a lot of confusion, they should probably realize it required an additional search term or two, such as ‘definition neps carding wool,’ which would have narrowed down the search results.
I also want to say I was glad that Evelyn didn’t take offense to the public critique, even though she had tried to Google.
That tool only works with Vista or XP- I am a Mac user, which is why I don’t use it. One young woman of my acquaintance uses the term JFG. Just Fing google it.
There is an option in Firefox to have Google in the Firefox toolbar. I use it all the time. I do miss the Google Desktop gadget in Windows, but I so love my Mac.
I love my Google toolbar. I use Firefox on a mac at home, but it doesn’t take any more effort to google things there.
I can understand being cautious in googling though. I don’t normally google things I ask my hubby about anymore… Not after the milf incident. @_@
Give James a hug for me. He’s a lovely guest. I’m sure you’ll have a great weekend.
You may want to look in to what kind of information Google says they can collect by tracking what you search for with their tool. It may be more than you bargained for – I think it’s worth being an informed consumer.
Also, I was happy with the new IK. This is the first time in a long time I’ve actually cast on for a project immediately after receiving the magazine. It still has a ways to go, but I think it’s improving.
Oh, my librarian heart loves you–another search term!
So many Google, so few understand the limitations. If you really want to know, call your local library. They will find a proven source to use or help you to craft a better search!
Google toolbar is responsible for about 1/2 of the IE issues I troubleshoot. As mentioned it also tracks things about your use. The desktop can be a true tech support evil.
Use a bookbark, or even better use firefox.
Joe – You’re going to have so much fun with James. He’s here with me now and is even more wonderful in person than on the blog. It’s hard to believe that’s possible – but it is. Be prepared to be incredibly envious of his FABULOUS Kaffe Fassett workshop experience. I’m still green. At least I can say I have only 2 degrees of separation from KF via James. Enjoy! Happy knitting and yarn crawling.
I use Firefox with the built in google tool bar. This has the additional advantage that there are several search engines (or site searches) that it will work with. Want to search Wikipedia, use the pull down button select Wikipedia and then your search term. Casey @Ravelry has developed the plug in to search their site.
So if you don’t like google there are other options for built in search bars.
I can’t function without the google toolbar.
The problem I have with the tool bar is the privacy policy, lookgin and keeping track of where you have been. Did you know That?
Welcome the Kiwi to Our Great Nation!
Oh, I don’t give a rat’s ass if Google knows where I’ve been. What makes you all think that it’s just Google who’s tracking ya, without letting you know?
This was one fabulous day with the handsome, sweet Baby James. We had a lovely time, lovely lunch, and I left the boys as they continued on their travels to Princeton.
Thanks for the support, bro of mine. Mwah.