Are just so cute…
Category: Geekitude
Getting My Google Juice Back
Over at another of my blogs, I’m making the switch from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WP setup so I can have an ad or two. This process is long and arduous, but here’s how I understand it can work.
First, I mapped my domain to the WP.com blog so now all of the addresses in the URL bar no longer have .wordpress.com. Right now any links to the .wordpress.com address automatically redirect to the post or page they need to. In about 3 months I’m going to move the blog and the domain to my server, then erase everything from WP.com. Now, if this goes well, all of the links and such will already be pointing to my domain, so the switch should be smooth and uneventful. There will probably be a few people still linking to the .wordpress.com address. Not sure what to do about that.
The question I have is: Does anyone know of a way to get Google to just replace domainname.wordpress.com to domainname.com in their database?
I’m slightly afraid Google will think that the change in address means duplicated content. I don’t know if WP.com uses 301 redirects or whatever, and they seem reluctant to answer this question. They certainly don’t do 301 redirects when you move your blog off of WP.com, which is highly annoying, but understandable, given the size of their operation.
Jack and Ianto (but mostly Jack)
Those who know me pretty well are aware that I’ve been calling my roommates Jack and Ianto since before they moved in. I knew when they first applied to be in the apartment that they were a young gay couple, so I figured that my life would be just one big Torchwood episode with hot gay guys wafting around kissing each other and wearing no shirts. And I was right! Except I got bonus breaking into Broadway showtunes on top of all that.
One day I was listening to my John Barrowman CD when one of them popped his head in and went “OMG is that John Barrowman!?” and I was all “You know who John Barrowman is?” Yeah. My Broadway geek roommates totally know who he is from his Broadway stuff. So I’ve been introducing them to Torchwood and Doctor Who and such. They’ve seen episodes 1 and 2 of Torchwood, and then I skipped ahead to “Captain Jack Harkness” because they were complaining that there was no boy kissing. And besides, most of the episodes in that season weren’t strictly necessary.
My favorite part of watching it with them is throughout one or the other would say “I wish John Barrowman would just kiss that guy,” (meaning the real Jack Harkness) and “OG just stick your tongue down his throat!” But neither of them actually expected that, even though I kept telling them “On Torchwood, there is no subtext, there is no slash.” Still, it was fun to watch their reaction.
Then I followed up with the video of John singing Anything Goes on the set of that episode, because it’s fun, which led me to the YouTube Sidebar of DOOM, which informed me that there was an Official Video of I’m All Out Of Love from John’s latest CD. I was like, “No wai! There’s a video of that?” There is, and it’s just as cheesy as the rendition of the song would lead you to believe.
Clicking on the sidebar of THAT led me to this even cheesier live performance of You’re So Vain, with random, random disco screens in the background.
John is a good singer, but no one has ever taught the boy how to perform when he’s not acting. He is the stiffest dude ever. But THEN! Oh god, then… Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. Live. And when I watched this, I didn’t pay attention to where it’s live FROM. So the thing that happens at 0:38 came completely out of nowhere. And even then, I did not expect the thing that happens at 2:20. Really did not.
All of us were fucking cracking up at that one. It’s just so…. random. It’s also hilarious to have John singing about some woman he just can’t approach and who he is deeply in love with. Oh Barrowman, you certainly know how to tug at our heartstrings!
This is all very horrific, I know. So I’ll leave you with a final video. Dead Ringers does Torchwood.
I’m Having A Bad Day
In order to stave off being completely depressed about such a day, I’ll need your help. Post the funniest, silliest, happiest thing you can imagine in the comments.
Pain and Gain
When I got my new job I was finally able to afford to start weight training again. It had been several months since I could work with machines. Freeweights are okay, but I much prefer working more than one muscle at once. Plus, it takes less time. I’m also much more motivated if I know that the gym will charge me whether I come every week or not. No use wasting cash.
Yesterday I went with my roommate who loves the weight machines as much as I do. We’ve been contemplating the ab crunching one for a while since we both love the twisty abs/obliques machine. I tried the crunch last week and found it very useful, so I did it again yesterday. First set of 10, the weight wasn’t enough so I barely felt it. Second set the weight was right and my abs said “Heeeeyyyyy!” Third set, I crunched while alternately raising my legs in turn, which really made my abs go “Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!” Since the first set had been a bust and I did the leg thing only on the third, I thought, “I should do one more set.”
I am not always as smart as I look.
I crunched down and pulled one leg up. My abs said “All right, I have put up with this shit 30 times already! No more!” and I said, “No pain no gain!” On the third rep, my abs said, “Fuck that! [CRAMP]” and I said, “Quit yer bitchin’.” On the seventh rep, my abs said, “I’m sorry, maybe you didn’t hear me before, I said [CRAMP].” I said, “8… 9…. 10….! OH JESUS OWWWW!”
I stretched a bit to make the cramp go away, but it was so bad that any time I made a hint at bending forward (like to get my water bottle) my abs said, “We are still cramping and we hate you!” I had to hobble quickly to the stretching area and have my roommate spot me as I bent over backwards on a balance ball. A few minutes of that finally took care of it, but wow.
My overall goals for weight training are not to become overly muscled. I basically want to tone and be in good shape. I don’t do that thing where I just keep going and going until I collapse, making the weightlifter face. So I have no idea why I didn’t listen to my abs and, instead, pushed them until they mutinied. I guess I’ll know better next time.
The other aspect of weight training is that the next day I’m always sore and stiff. Only a little, usually, because I always stretch before and after and then the aforementioned not pushing myself to crazy limits. But I still have to resist walking like a stiff person when I am stiff :) The only way to break the pain-stiffness cycle is to keep moving and not give in to the stiffness. But oh my, today my abs are all, “LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO US,” and it’s painful to stand up, bend over, and any number of other movements. I’m not alarmed, as it’s not acute pan. But it’s definitely time to pay for yesterday. And I knew it was coming. Gah.
This will all be worth it soon. I weight train so that I will be strong enough someday to kick someone’s ass if the need arises. Also, when I’ve built up some muscle, I’ll consider some self-defense classes or martial arts training. I’m not feeling in any particular danger, I just really want the ability to beat the shit out of someone if I need to.
(Does that sound too violent?)
I enjoy things making fun of Twilight far too much
Seriously, it’s like a parallel fandom, making fun of those awful books. Have you all read Growing up Cullen? I blame Alaya for that one. I didn’t think I had it in me to laugh so hard. But oh, it gets better and better. Like this:
Click here for the source.
The last panel where they’re under the rainbow kills me every time. Particularly the puppy in the corner. Sparkling vampires. jeez.
(okay, here’s what is tragically sad and awesome at the same time. The alternafandom of Twilight-mockers? has a name: lolfans. They also have a wiki. Oh Cleolinda, I love you.)
April 19
I don’t do memes! However, this is interesting (to me). From Wikipedia:
In the Gregorian Calendar, Easter Sunday falls on 19 April more often than on any other date.
Events
1775 – The Battle of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War.
1943 – Bicycle Day – Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time.
1961 – The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba ends in success for the defenders.
1993 – The 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian building outside Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. Eighty-one people die.
1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168.
2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave. (interestingly, the pope before him became pope the year I was born.)
The trend seems to be: bad things tend to happen on my birthday. Seriously, for a string of years it was like a sad little game, trying to predict what horrors I would wake up to the day I became a year older.
I share my birthday with the following people
1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress
1965 – Suge Knight, American record producer
1981 – Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor (dude, this keeps getting worse…)
1946 – Tim Curry, British actor (okay, that’s better)
Holidays
Easter Sunday 1908, 1981, 1987, 1992.
I spent a lot of birthdays in church wearing a dress I hated. At least I got brunch, chocolate, and jellybeans later. But it won’t fall on my birthday again (in the Western tradition) until sometime after 2022. And the earth will be destroyed by then.
Emails From The Future
Last week several family members forwarded me emails saying comedian Bernie Mac was dead. Generally, I don’t pay too much attention to mass forwards, but that caught my eye cuz I like Bernie a lot. But then I discovered that he was, in fact, NOT dead, and the emails going around were just weird rumors. Huh.
This morning I got another email saying Bernie was dead, so I decided to google the Bernie Mac Is Dead Rumor to point out to this person that, no, the dude is fine, only to discover that, this morning, he actually did die. (Source: CNN; Chicago CBS Affiliate) Unless this one is yet another hoax (and truly, if CNN is that lazy checking facts, they deserved to be hoaxed), I find this incredibly sad. Bernie Mac was a great comedian and actor.
But, if course, the SF writer in me was like: So what’s up with all the emails from the future? Almost 10 days ago someone out there wrote an email about Bernie being dead and passed it along. Psychic? Visitor from the future who got the dates mixed up? Jellybaby? If you’re going to spill the beans on tragedy from the future, can we get a look-see at the day after the election?
Boom de yada
Because I don’t watch live TV much, I was completely late to the whole Boom de yada thing. When I first saw the XKCD strip I didn’t know what it referenced, but I liked it. Now that I’ve seen 10,000 things on YouTube taking after it, I decided to see the original. OMG so cute! No wonder it’s completely viral. The song and the sentiment are great. Plus, it’s catchy.
Anyway, while going through the YouTube playlist Discovery Channel is keeping of their favorite Boom de yada videos, I came across one of Mike Rowe leading some Discovery stars in an extended version of the song backed up by a chorus of cuuuuute kids and choir ladies. If you’ve ever wanted a longer than one minute version of the boom de yada song, check it out:
So cuuuute!
Two Opportunities at Fantasy Mag
We’re looking for people in two areas. Web Interns and Review Managers. Interns first:
Web-Savvy Intern for Online Magazine
Fantasy Magazine, an online genre entertainment publication, is looking for interns to work primary in Web Production with some crossover into editorial and multimedia development.
Interns will learn or hone their skills in web design and production, content management, and email marketing. There will also be opportunities to help us develop new content, from non-fiction features to podcasts and video.
We’re looking for candidates with the following qualifications:
- Strong HTML skills. Ability to hand-code AND work with WYSIWYG editors.
- Knowledge of CSS.
- Experience with blogging software. WordPress a big plus. Also relevant: Blogger, Moveable Type/Typepad, LiveJournal, and similar.
- Experience with social media and social networking.
- Comfortable working exclusively in an online environment.
- Interest in or experience with podcasting and video blogging a big plus.
- Ability to learn quickly and complete tasks with little supervision.
The position will require 10 – 15 hours per week (from mid-August to mid-December), very flexible, with some weekend work and online meetings required. We’re open to candidates from any location as long as you are available during some part of American east coast business hours. We do offer college credit. The position is unpaid.
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to this gmail address: fantastictempest. Please put your cover letter in the body of the email and attach your resume in rtf, doc, or pdf format. A link to an online resume is also acceptable. If applicable, please include links to web projects you’ve worked on.
We will only contact candidates if we intend to interview them.
Seeking Review Manager
Fantasy Magazine is looking for one or two people to join our existing review manager in keeping track of and overseeing reviewers and review material plus seeking out and vetting new reviewers. We’re looking for candidates with the following qualifications:
- Highly organized and able to take initiative.
- Willing to manage reviewers and, if need be, stay on them to turn in assignments.
- Comfortable working in an online environment.
- Experience with GoogleDocs, WordPress, or similar programs.
- Comfortable communicating with editors, authors, and publicity personnel to request and coordinate review materials.
The position will require 5 – 10 hours per week, very flexible, with some weekend work and online meetings required. We’re open to candidates from any location as long as you are available during some part of American east coast business hours. The position is currently unpaid but by 2009 will have a small monthly stipend.
To apply, please send a letter of interest with a summary of qualifications to this gmail address: fantastictempest. We will only contact candidates if we intend to interview them.
If you know someone interested in either of these opportunities, please send them here or forward the text. Thanks!