Monthly Archives: September 2009

You have to be smarter than the smartphone

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this phone, that phone

So last month a friendly chick named Kate contacted me from Womworld/Nokia, offering me one of their smart phones (the e71x) to try out for a few weeks. I don’t usually respond to unsolicited pitches, but my inner gadget geek  was excited to mess around with someone else’s phone and see what this 3G talk was all about. Since there were no strings attached, no money offered, and no review demanded, I decided this was a pitch I’d relent on.

People who know me in real life, especially my family, will tell you about two of my annoying habits: Picking up, and subsequently getting lost in, any magazine lying about the premises; and picking up, and subsequently screwing around with, your new cell phone. It’s just a thing I do. Give it here, lemme look. Same applies to cameras, Kindles, and laptops. I’m very careful, and I like to think I’m considerate, but put it away if you don’t want my paws all over it.

So I put my paws on this e71x, which is like a smartphone for business people. It has a camera and e-mail and messaging and GPS: everything most phones have these days. It’s cute, a good palm size. I liked the camera (practically double the pixels of my Samsung Alias) and how clicky the keyboard was. I liked the shift key on the Qwerty keyboard.

But actually using it made me feel like a Neanderthal. I couldn’t figure out where to find where my phone number was, or how many minutes I’d used, or how much data I’d consumed. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the last *counts on fingers* 12+ years using Macs. Or it could be the five years I spent organizing, designing, and presenting information to readers. But in terms of usability, I thought the user interface was clunky, that navigating the menus was awkward and weird, and that the icons had gross names like “App. Mgr.”

Admittedly, my experience with anything other than Samsung/Verizon phones is limited to the point of nonexistent, so maybe this is de rigeur. Maybe I’m being too fussy. But I hope maybe in the next iteration the software can match the hardware.

(p.s. my working title was “It’s not an iPhone, but …”.)

That said, I’m glad Nokia gave me the chance to try it out. My first cell phone — in 1999, I think it was? was a Nokia, and I have very fond memories of it.

Sew For Broke: Eco Tawashi puts that shameful pile of acrylic yarn to good use

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I saw this on Craftzine.com yesterday: The Eco Tawashi, which is basically a wee crocheted circle made of acrylic yarn that supposedly cleans your dishes and whatnot really well without the need for evil, morally negligable detergents.

(I’m just kidding, I don’t think using dish soap is a sin.) (OR DO I?) (No seriously though I don’t.)

But I do like the idea of making something beautiful out of all that “I didn’t know any better” acrylic yarn I have stashed upstairs. And I am pretty sure that if I tried to crochet a circle again I might get it right this time.

Craftzine.com blog : How-To: Magically Clean Eco Tawashi.

(Also, I know this is “crocheting” and not “sewing” but … oh well.)

Houseplant Week: creepy crawlies

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(More Houseplant Week!)

I am sparing you a picture today.

So. Bugs. Gross, huh?  This link from the Colorado State extension is a pretty good primer on everything that could freak you out about your houseplants. You’re welcome. But basically there are many gross bugs ready to infest your precious green pets, and three easy household weapons: Your shower sprayer, rubbing alchohol, and a solution of Dawn suspended in water.

Here’s what you do. Pick off any obvious bugs. Then give the plant, pot and all, a good thorough shower. That knocks a lot of little guys loose.

Even mouthwash sprayed or daubed will eliminate bugs. And half a teaspoon of old-fashioned Dawn or Ivory dishwashing liquid in a gallon of water makes a satisfactory insecticidal soap.

Keep your plants far enough away from each other that they’re not passing bugs like a high school case of mono and isolate any infested plants. A good dose of shame never hurt ‘em, either. (HOW DARE YOU BRING THAT FILTH INTO MY HOUSE, et cetera).

In sum: with constant vigilance, good hygiene, and some bathroom accoutrements, you too can keep some of the bugs off some of your plants, some of the time. For the rest of you pansies, there’s pesticides.

Two other gross but helpful tips today:

  1. Miracle Gro Organic Potting mix has a strong tendency to arrive absolutely infested with fungus gnats. FYI. I did not realize this until (of course, Supa’s Law) I had repotted several of my most fawned-over specimens. Luckily there’s tip number two:
  2. In which I say, you can sterilize potting soil in the microwave. It’s gross but possible. In small amounts, in a freezer bag with the top open or a plastic pot, put the potting mix in and nuke it for 15 minutes on 50% power. Some people do 2 and a half minutes on high. It’s your call. Either way, take it out and let it alone for 20 minutes to finish working and to cool down before handling or dumping it on your plants. It’s going to be hot.

I did this for a few pints of potting mix and it worked just fine for killing off those stupid annoying gnats. Just be warned that your microwave (and kitchen, too, probably) is going to smell a bit on the earthy side for about two days.

Houseplant Week: Prepping for fall; recently bookmarked

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What up, my nerds? Houseplant Week continues!

I can't believe I haven't taken more pictures of my porch plants.

Last night I was panicking about the cold nights and wondering how to save some of my porch plants. I have two Boston ferns and two geraniums that I really want to hang on to for next spring, which would save me about $100 in porch decorating costs if I could put them up in my house during the upcoming Pittsburgh winter. (“Pittsburgh Winter” sounds like code for “Weather That Will Rob You Of Your Will To Live Plus OMG, Cold” which, for my purposes, is pretty accurate.)

I also think they would make fine houseplants, regardless. The ferns are especially ridiculously, comically huge (for my house, anyway), but I have a good corner for one of them in my living room and I’d like to have my hunky handyman (aka Iain) install a hanging hook for the other one. Ideally I’d learn to macrame a hanging plant holder out of all natural cotton cording, but it has been IMPOSSIBLE to find new and modern and not barfy macrame patterns.

(Hmm. Do I smell a book idea? Do for macrame what people have done for knitting and sewing and quilting and crochet and crewel? STUART TABORI AND CHANG ARE YOU LISTENING?)

(Oops! Sorry, that has nothing to do with houseplants) (But seriously, TBC, Macrame. Call me. I’m on it.)

ANYWAY. So my long and laboriously belabored point being that I want to bring these little green dudes inside but didn’t know if that was like, kosher, so I consulted the following web sites. Short story: Sure is! Bring ‘em in, give them bright light and a little bit of water and clean up after the ferns. For the geraniums, you can bring the whole pot in, divide them, and/or take cuttings. I’m on it, little green dudes!

And for locals, the last frost date for Da Burgh is 9/20, f.y.i. Only three weeks left to get crackalackin’.

Here are links that helped me:

A special note: GardenWeb is pretty much indispensible in my book for houseplant help. Those dudes and dudettes know their business.

Houseplant Week: ’70s as inspiration

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Houseplant Week continues!

Design*sponge had this feature about Annie Hall as decor inspiration and LAND SAKES, I love it. I’ve already got the rug, the books and the palm(s), and if I had the dough that black phone would be miiiiine.

anniehallrdp

I liked to describe my decorating style as part Seventies Split-Level, but maybe I meant Manhattan Disco-Era Intellectual.

This copy of Infinite Jest will have to stand in for the tennis racket, though.

Sew For Broke: How to make a summer wallet

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I found this via whipup — God, this is cute. I’m thinking of making one for Owen; we’re teaching him about spending and saving, and this would give him a place to put his spending money (it’s too confusing now having the spending and saving together in the piggy bank).

Lola Nova - Whatever Lola Wants: Summer Wallet Tutorial. Photo credit: Lola Nova.

Sew For Broke is where I blather on about  free sewing patterns, tips, ideas for cashless crafting, et cetera, et cetera. Because hey — just because it’s a recession don’t mean the obsession ain’t in session.

Sew For Broke: 6 free fabric sources

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Old sheets to be dyed and used as fabric: before

organizing my scraps

I love the designer fabric as much as the next girl (if not more), but when I can’t afford it I have to use something. Here are five of my favorite ways of pulling fabric out of thin air.

  1. Your linen closet. Take those ugly old sheets, dye them with RIT, and boo-ya. New yardage.
  2. Your clothes closet. Take everything that doesn’t fit or is stained or holey. Slice shirts and pants up the seams, open them up and square them off with your clear acrylic ruler and rotary blade. Cut out the stained or holey bits. Then cut everything into rectangles, fold, and add to your stash. Save the leftover scraps in your scrap basket.
  3. Your unfinished projects pile. Either finish that project or rip out the stitches and reuse the fabric for something else.
  4. Your windows. Half of my good home-dec weight fabric came from the last 30” trimmed off the bottom of my Ikea curtains.
  5. your friends and neighbors. Let them know you love to sew, and you’ll become known as Our Friend Or Relative Who Sews. Then whenever people come into fabric — from work, from Grandma, God knows what — they think of you first.
  6. Enter sewing blog contests for free fat quarters and the like. Hey, dude, it’s like the lottery. Somebody’s gotta win.