Problem: Solved.

I like our little netbook for its portability, even if it is a bit pokey in the processor department (1.6GHz). One problem with using it on my lap is the angle. The screen doesn't tilt back quite far enough.

I needed something to prop up the front edge a bit.

Something textured and rubbery on one side (to grip the smooth plastic bottom of the netbook), and cloth on the other side (for to caress my delicate thighs).

But WHAT? I began furrowing my brow, that deep furrow that tells The Good Lady Wife that I am either plowing to sow butternut squash or thinking up some half-baked scheme.

I could use some of the rubbery shelf-liner that I find so useful, and sew or glue on some cloth... Perhaps an old towel? Wait, this is heading in a cheap and cheesy direction; I don't want to have to hide the thing every time we have company.

And there's always the concern to be considered by any conscientious inventor (I'm sure you know what I'm about to say - we've all been there) - any conscientious inventor wants to be sure whatever we invent can't be mistaken for a sex toy.

Inventing sex toys is fine, but you don't want to confuse anyone. A 'Violet Ultra Wriggler' is great and all, but you shouldn't have to do a double-take as you're fumbling around in the dark: "Is this my 'Violet Ultra Wriggler', or my 'Laptop-Propper-Upper'?"

In the end, I used a slipper. Works great, and sexual confusion concerns are minimal.

Who Knew?

We Americans use a lot of funny names that the rest of the world (usually very rightly) uses different terms for.

Such as: 'Soccer'.

I've always thought that 'Football' made a lot more sense for the sport Americans call Soccer. American Football is a game largely played by running around holding the ball - the U.S. name does not seem to fit.

Since you're all a worldly bunch, it's likely that everyone knew this but me.

What is the source of the term 'Soccer'?

a) Association Football (UK)
b) Socre Zapato (Spain)
c) So'kre Bashmak (Ukraine)

Answer

Sunday Snapshot

(Perhaps) little known fact; real pudding (well, bought from the bakery section of the grocery store) lasts only a short short time.

If you don't eat it with four hours of buying it, the stuff dissolves into a very thin, watery goo.

I guess that's a good indication of just how many chemicals are in the unrefrigerated 'pudding in cups' version, to keep it stable and congealed.

Next for iPhones - Infrared Emitters and LASERs

I received my iPhone4 on Thursday night, and have been playing with it ever since. The new features are not as world changing as I'd expected, which is logical since I've had an iPhone for two years.

My old iPhone was the original 2G, 8GB version, so getting GPS, video record, and 3G with the new phone is very cool - it just didn't 'rock my casbah' the way going from a crummy flip phone to the iPhone did.

Surprisingly, one of my favorite new features is the ability to categorize apps into folders.

Also, the anti-oil coating on the glass doesn't really seem to collect fingerprints any less, but it does seem to allow my fingers to glide a bit better - there seems to be less friction, and I'm liking this.

As soon as I get my hands on a new piece of tech, I start thinking about everything it could do, but doesn't do.

The ability to use the phone as a remote control for the TV and DVD player would be very cool, and there is an add-on device you can buy from a 3rd party vendor that will turn your iPhone into a remote control. I'd like this feature built in, but I don't plan to buy the add-on.

A feature that I don't believe is available even from a 3rd party but would be very useful would be a laser thermometer.

The laser thermometer would need to have the laser emitter and the laser sensor built in to the phone, but would have many applications for temperature sensing alone; Scanning your beverage, the fridge, the freezer, your car's radiator, the cooking griddle or pan, the oven, outdoor temperature, bathwater, even your own body temperature.

Having the laser emitter and laser sensor built in to the phone would allow for many applications beyond temperature.

The laser could determine the shape and size of a room or house, telling you how much carpet or tile you need to buy, whether or not the new furniture you'd like to buy will actually fit, whether that new TV you're considering would fit into your entertainment center.

You could scan the layout and dimensions of your home allowing for easier renovation plans, determine the air volume for air conditioning and cooling. There's also a whole variety of uses for motion sensor apps.

A laser would also be useful for scanning UPC and Q-Codes, which the phones can do now (after a fashion) as they take a photo of the code and read the data from the photo, but having a built-in laser means one less step.

Given all the great applications a laser and sensor would allow, maybe EtchCo needs to create a little docking laser gadget for the iPhone...

Crash You Will

A Missed Opportunity

I very rarely remember my dreams, but I had one yesterday; I was a young black woman wandering through a food court. I was hungry and had no money, so I stole a Personal Pan Pizza with pepperoni from Pizza Hut.

The Doctor (David Tennant version) arrived and sat at my table, and we discussed how something strange and unusual was going on in the area. I didn't help him with any daring do, we just had a chat and some pizza.

Who dreams about The Doctor and doesn't dream that they themselves are a Timelord? And a food court? I can't even dream about an alien planet? That's right up there with dreaming you are on the starship Enterprise, and you're one of the guys who cleans toilets.

Damn, Yo!

The Fruit Doesn't Fall Far

Is this sweet?
Unfortunate?
Does the mommy tree like having junior right there?

Or is there a "Damn! You're all up in my grill, hogging all the essential nutrients, yo!" vibe going down?

Is there a tree therapist in the house?

The Vampire Pose?

I've been told by medical professionals that the best position for a person to sleep is on our backs. This might be best for your posture and to prevent sore muscles, but it doesn't make much survival sense.

Can you imagine a wild animal sleeping on their backs as we are supposed to, with belly exposed, throat exposed, genitals exposed, completely vulnerable?

Millions of years of survival education means that animals have learned to sleep with their vulnerable tidbits protected - sleep means being curled up, usually a combination of sleeping on the side and the tummy. Shouldn't humans sleep the same way?

Take a look at this article by Michael Tetly, Physiotherapist. It's interesting reading (with more than a couple unintentional LOL's) and quirky photos.

Thanks Paulius!

On Wednesday I posted something I thought no one would respond to, which quickly became the hot new online phenomenon known as 'Michelle's Chuckle Button'.

Ok, so I exaggerate a bit. It might not be a full-blown phenomenon.

Thanks to Paulius, who investigated, discovered and reported about the 'Reactions' feature already built into Blogger. Very cool!

So now my blog has a 'chuckle' button and a 'meh' button at the bottom of each post, terms which I think fully capture the broad emotional spectrum of online opinion.

It's taken a long long time, but Blogger has finally started delivering some very neat tools. I would have been willing to pay for all these extras, but hey - they're free!

121 Days Till NaNoWriMo!

November 1st seems far away until you count the actual number of days. For the first time since we met, Michelle won't be in the wicked clutches of Retail Christmas Hell during November, so she has no excuse but to participate! Bwa ha ha!

I've learned many lessons over the past few years of NaNoWriMo, and the biggest one is that despite my desire for an 'internal struggle' type story, I'm really bad at accomplishing them.

So I'll need an action-oriented story - not necessarily something action-packed, but something with an external pressure that keeps the story moving from A to B to C.

Without this pressure, I tend to provide ever greater detail about nothing (which is part of the problem of having a daily expected word count - a certain amount of rambling on about nothing can make you feel productive).

I've been toying with the idea of writing a new type of ghost story, but it would involve creating a whole new world (or new layer on our current world, more accurately) and I don't know that I have the energy for that level of creation.

At this moment, I have no idea what I'll be writing about on November 1st, but I will be writing something. It's definitely not too early to start thinking about it.