Things achieved and other mundanities
Jun. 6th, 2012 02:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizbee1. I bought 8gb of RAM and installed them in my laptop! This is pretty exciting, since first I had to work out what kind of RAM I needed, and how much my laptop could take, and then I had to leave the house and buy a new Phillips head screwdriver. And then came the really hard bit, ie, getting a tight screw loose, and then applying the full force of my strength (derisive laughter) to getting the memory into the second slot. (Turns out that close enough isn't good enough. More like, "close enough and your laptop tries to boot up but just gives you a black screen and then you panic for a bit".)
This is exciting! More for me than for the people who just followed my liveblogging of the RAM adventure on Twitter, but I did something technical and didn't stuff it up!
And now my laptop is faster than when it was new, and I can actually use it without scheduling extended breaks for tea whenever I want to open a new program or save a file! Which means that, if I find myself in the middle of a big writing project by the time my North America trip comes around, and I hope to be, taking the laptop is a viable option instead of the equivalent of hauling a brick across an ocean. (I was also considering getting a keyboard for the iPad, which is still a possibility, but ... well, the truth is, I paid so little for this laptop that it cost less than some iPad keyboards.)
2. More expensively, but with less technology, I have bought plane tickets! I'm flying United from Melbourne to Toronto (via Sydney and LAX), then Air Canada from Toronto to New York, and, eventually, United again from Chicago to Melbourne.
I wound up deciding against Korean Air because, much as they're an amazing airline and it would have been more comfortable, it added about 20 hours to my trip. United seems like the McDonalds of airlines, but it's a much faster flight. Really, the only thing they lack that I would have really liked was in-seat USB plugs. And my Kobo can manage, like, a week of constant use before it needs recharching, so between that, my iDevices and possibly my laptop, I guess I'll be okay for entertainment.
("Liz, just bring a notebook and a pen and use them to write," you say. Ah, but pens never work properly on planes! I presume it's a side-effect of the air pressure. And I'm really ... fussy about my writing implements. Which reminds me, I really need a new brush pen...)
Now I have five months to sort out all the other things I'll need -- travel insurance, my ESTA waiver for the United States, possibly a new suitcase that isn't falling apart, a proper winter coat. (Usually I use a very light wool coat, since my limited time spent out of doors in winter usually involves very brisk walking. But thenrj_anderson said, re Ontario, "There probably won't be much snow," and Chicago is supposed to be very cold in November. I don't know about Boston and New York, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right? What do northern hemisphere types wear in late autumn?!
3. I baked bread! Which I've never done before, but I worked in bakeries for years, and most of the bakers were idiots, so I figured how hard could it be?
And it was very nice bread! Mostly. I replaced the water with boiled wine, because what's the point of doing something complicated for the first time if you can't make it even harder? So it came out with a lovely purple colour and a pleasant aftertaste.
Of course, it would have helped if it had been cooked through. So there's a lesson for the future: the "tap and if it sounds hollow it's done" trick isn't necessarily accurate. I served it up at our Game of Thrones finale party, and we sort of ate around the doughy bits.
I briefly contemplated making another loaf for the Mad Men finale party, but really, the most appropriate food for that is nothing, just and endless sea of scotch and kosher wine.
It does turn out, unfortunately, that kneading dough is bad for arthritic hands. Maybe more practice would make them stronger? Or maybe I shouuld invest in a bread maker? But that feels like cheating. I mean, what's the point in making bread if you haven't poured your own sweat and tears (and nail polish and a stray hair) into it?
This is exciting! More for me than for the people who just followed my liveblogging of the RAM adventure on Twitter, but I did something technical and didn't stuff it up!
And now my laptop is faster than when it was new, and I can actually use it without scheduling extended breaks for tea whenever I want to open a new program or save a file! Which means that, if I find myself in the middle of a big writing project by the time my North America trip comes around, and I hope to be, taking the laptop is a viable option instead of the equivalent of hauling a brick across an ocean. (I was also considering getting a keyboard for the iPad, which is still a possibility, but ... well, the truth is, I paid so little for this laptop that it cost less than some iPad keyboards.)
2. More expensively, but with less technology, I have bought plane tickets! I'm flying United from Melbourne to Toronto (via Sydney and LAX), then Air Canada from Toronto to New York, and, eventually, United again from Chicago to Melbourne.
I wound up deciding against Korean Air because, much as they're an amazing airline and it would have been more comfortable, it added about 20 hours to my trip. United seems like the McDonalds of airlines, but it's a much faster flight. Really, the only thing they lack that I would have really liked was in-seat USB plugs. And my Kobo can manage, like, a week of constant use before it needs recharching, so between that, my iDevices and possibly my laptop, I guess I'll be okay for entertainment.
("Liz, just bring a notebook and a pen and use them to write," you say. Ah, but pens never work properly on planes! I presume it's a side-effect of the air pressure. And I'm really ... fussy about my writing implements. Which reminds me, I really need a new brush pen...)
Now I have five months to sort out all the other things I'll need -- travel insurance, my ESTA waiver for the United States, possibly a new suitcase that isn't falling apart, a proper winter coat. (Usually I use a very light wool coat, since my limited time spent out of doors in winter usually involves very brisk walking. But then
rj_anderson said, re Ontario, "There probably won't be much snow," and Chicago is supposed to be very cold in November. I don't know about Boston and New York, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right? What do northern hemisphere types wear in late autumn?!3. I baked bread! Which I've never done before, but I worked in bakeries for years, and most of the bakers were idiots, so I figured how hard could it be?
And it was very nice bread! Mostly. I replaced the water with boiled wine, because what's the point of doing something complicated for the first time if you can't make it even harder? So it came out with a lovely purple colour and a pleasant aftertaste.
Of course, it would have helped if it had been cooked through. So there's a lesson for the future: the "tap and if it sounds hollow it's done" trick isn't necessarily accurate. I served it up at our Game of Thrones finale party, and we sort of ate around the doughy bits.
I briefly contemplated making another loaf for the Mad Men finale party, but really, the most appropriate food for that is nothing, just and endless sea of scotch and kosher wine.
It does turn out, unfortunately, that kneading dough is bad for arthritic hands. Maybe more practice would make them stronger? Or maybe I shouuld invest in a bread maker? But that feels like cheating. I mean, what's the point in making bread if you haven't poured your own sweat and tears (and nail polish and a stray hair) into it?
