tuluum's Diaryland Diary
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Bogged Down
Spent my first Shabbat in well over a year in the Zen room. Slept wonderfully except for one period when I woke up suddenly and looked down. Somehow I had pushed Squishy onto the mosquito coil :( Now he has a rather massive burn on his back. I'm glad that my senses had woken me up thoguh cos it could have started a fire. And as I am in a wooden loft that would have been horrible...
That was the only low point of the 24 hour period though. However my Friday was just one depression after another. Woke up determined to tackle the DVD install of Garageband, to shop for Shabbat and to deal with matzah arrangements for Pesach. On my way to Navid I cut my elbow in the car. The interior panel of the driver side door was removed several wweeks ago leaving all the mecchanisms exposed. Somehow while turning a bend my elbow made contact with some sharp bit and was peeled. Driving with a burning bleeding elbow is not fun. By the time I reached Navid it had begun to heal. He had said some rather mean things to me upon my arrival and that really hurt as well. By the time I got home I wondered what the point of being alive is. I swear I'm just taking up space here. He was really helpful about trying to get the install to work though. It didn't work though. So I'm gonna try the external drive of the guy in the mac group. He's in San Fernando though, so who knows how we'll arrange that.
So I did my shopping and got home. I was so excited to make my cornmeal/whole wheat dosas but our non-stick pans are so worn that they all stuck and fell apart. The scraps tasted so amazing I hated having to throw out the batter. But I had to :( I used matzah for my bread as a last resort. Fortunately my main meal (Sauteed squash with parsley and ghee, Curried tofu, pak choi and potatoes) came out awesome. As has become the norm my father didn't eat any of it. he's been boycotting my meals for some time now silently. It's hurtful if I think about it so I try not to. Last night it seems mom told him he'll have to cook his own food for Shabbat if that's how it's gonna be. I mean dang. I'm a good cook. And if he does eat i he insults it. Let me not get into this. Mom says he put the panel back into the door. Gee. Thanks.
I have gotten nowhere in my Passover preparations. My seder stuff is only about 25% planned. I'm just so depressed. At least I'll have enough matzah. Talked to LaLa on MSN on Thursday night. Miss her :(
Haven't talked to/heard from Gizelle (?) :(
I saw Charles Kaufffman on Charlie Rose. Felt really inspired. Have an idea that I've had on the backburner for about 4 years now. I think that's what I should focus on along with my CD for the next 12 months. We'll see.
Nothing makes sense right now. If it does, it doesn't feel that way.. :(
Share your thoughts on your fave shows in my 'Television Corner'
From the Desk of David Pogue: Meeting the Googlers
======================================================
Set the TiVo! This Sunday morning, "CBS News Sunday Morning"
will begin with my report on Google, the Web search page-
slash-cultural deity that's expected to go public this
spring -- the biggest in high-tech history, with a valuation
as high as $25 billion.
It was a real kick to interview Google's executives and
staff. Along the way, I asked each interview subject to name
their favorite Google tips and tricks.
Few of the tricks made it into the TV segment -- but you,
the shrewd subscriber to this newsletter, get them hot off
the press.
* Download and install the Google toolbar. Not only does it
put the Google search box into your browser full-time, but
it also blocks pop-up ads and fills in forms for you. For
Windows at:
http://toolbar.google.com
(Ad blocking, form-filling and Google's search box are
already built into the Apple's Web browser, Safari.)
* Phrase your question in the form of an answer. "After all,
you're not looking for Web pages that ask your question,"
explains director of technology Craig Silverstein. "You're
looking for pages that answer it."
So instead of typing, "What is the average rainfall in the
Amazon basin?", you might get better results by typing "The
average rainfall in the Amazon basin is."
* This is an old one, but very important: Put quotes around
phrases that must be searched together. If you put quotes
around "electric curtains," Google won't waste your time
finding one set of Web pages containing the word "electric"
and another set containing the word "curtains."
* Similarly, put a hyphen right before any word you want
screened out. If you're looking up dolphins, for example,
you'll have to wade through a million Miami Dolphins pages
unless you search for "dolphins -Miami."
* Google is a global White Pages and Yellow Pages. Search
for "phonebook:home depot norwalk, ct," Google instantly
produces the address and phone number of the Norwalk Home
Depot. This works with names ("phonebook:robert jones las
vegas, NV") as well as businesses.
Don't put any space after "phonebook." And in all of the
following examples, don't type the quotes I'm showing you
here.
* Google is a package tracker. Type a FedEx or UPS package
number (just the digits); when you click Search, Google
offers a link to its tracking information.
* Google is a calculator. Type in an equation ("32+2345*3-
234="). Click Search to see the answer.
* Google is a units-of-measurement converter. Type
"teaspoons in a gallon," for example, or "centimeters in a
foot." Click Search to see the answer.
* Google is a stock ticker. Type in AAPL or MSFT, for
example, to see a link to the current Apple or Microsoft
stock price, graphs, financial news and so on.
* Google is an atlas. Type in an area code, like 212, to see
a Mapquest map of the area.
* Google is Wal-Mart's computer. Type in a UPC bar code
number, such as "036000250015," to see the description of
the product you've just "scanned in." (Thanks to the Google
Blog, http://google.blogspace.com, for this tip and the next
couple.)
* Google is an aviation buff. Type in a flight number like
"United 22" for a link to a map of that flight's progress in
the air. Or type in the tail number you see on an airplane
for the full registration form for that plane.
* Google is the Department of Motor Vehicles. Type in a VIN
(vehicle identification number, which is etched onto a
plate, usually on the door frame, of every car), like
"JH4NA1157MT001832," to find out the car's year, make and
model.
* For hours of rainy-day entertainment, visit:
http://labs.google.com
Here, you'll find links to new, half-finished Google
experiments, like Google Voice, in which you call (650) 623-
6706, speak the words you want to search for, and then open
your browser to view the results. Disclaimer: It wasn't
working when I tried it. (Ditto a lot of these experiments.)
* Poke around the "Services & Tools" link on the Google.com
home page, and you'll find some of the better-known lesser-
known Google features, if that makes any sense.
For example, there's Froogle (product search), News, Groups
(Internet discussion boards), Google Catalogs (hundreds of
scanned-in product catalogs), Images (find graphics and
photos from other people's Web sites), Blogger (publish your
own online journal), Google language translation, Google
Answers (pay a couple of bucks to have a professional
researcher find the answers for you) and much more.
Pretty soon you'll need Google just to search Google!
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12:25 a.m. - Sunday, Mar. 28, 2004
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