Happy, Happy, Happy!!!!

I don't know why this makes me happy, and it probably shouldn't, but it does.

Madoff "Victim" Looks Strangely Like Nigerian Scammer

Yep, I'm sick!

Why Does Stuff Have to SUCK?

I really hate it when things I enjoy start to suck. I hate it even more when the suckage was completely avoidable. I hate it the most when the suckage gives people who otherwise could be completely written off as insane an actual, rational, reasonable point. I'm looking at you Ravelry.

This month marks the first mass bannings in Ravelry history. It all started with a right wing nut job group being disbanded for being a pain in the neck. There was the usual whining, teeth gnashing and blogging as well as the inevitable starting of their own little off site group. Seriously, who cares. Then things took a turn I don't like so much.

First off there was a lack of transparency on Ravelry, that sort of thing always bothers me but that's my issue, I can handle it. Then came the mass banning with no warning. This bothered me a little, some people got axed by accident but it was going to get straightened out. Then things took a turn I really didn't like with the "lawyer letters" vs. the site "site statement". They didn't quite gel.

On the one hand you have Ravelry claiming that people were banned for being disruptive and on the other you have the banned claiming it was for associations and political beliefs. Well knowing how nutty right wingers can act I wanted to give Ravelry the benefit of the doubt until I saw people posting the "lawyer letter" on some personal blogs.

"We have compiled numerous examples of certain users, including you, from the offending website using our Website’s posting, flagging, and voting features, amongst other tactics, to disrupt and harass our legitimate and serious users."

OK, seriously, this bugs me a LOT. Mostly because, with the possible exception of the last bit, there's a very large and very popular group of "Gawkers" who does this every single day and they are sill live and kicking on Ravelry. In the interest of full disclosure I'm going to admit I despise them every bit as much as the right wing nutters. They are like a pack of jackals who attack then retreat into the safety of their own little group the rules of which both protect the members and restrict the recourse of their targets. Additionally, there seems to be an inordinate number of moderators who are members of this little clique so if you have an issue good luck, they stick together. They basically have an untouchable status.

"However, I will advise that if you were a member of www.bunkerboard.com we will not consider your appeal."

WHAT?! Guilt by association? Seriously? So much for the benefit of the doubt I was giving Ravelry, this bit really sucks. It sucks because it give an actual, valid, reasonable point for those damned right wing nuts to make!!!! I don't want them to have a valid point to make but now they do and it SUCKS! The "Gawkers" have an off site, members only, not so secret chat and they get to stay but this group gets nailed for the same thing? I don't want to agree with the right wing zealots but they have an actual point now, dammit!

Lastly, carbon credits. Where do I even start? OK, here goes, carbon credits are BULLSH*T! Seriously, I'm a dyed in the blue, from the bluest state, CSA joining, food not lawn planting, Sean Hannity's the devil incarnate, LIBERAL but, I'm sorry, carbon credits are stupid. Taking excess donations to Ravelry and buying carbon credits was bound to annoy right wing donators, they really HATE carbon credits ( not for the right reasons, mind you ) and I'm not surprised some people took this as a slap in the face.

I like the idea of donating extra funds a lot but there are really a lot of better places the money could have gone besides a completely unregulated, oversight free, give us money to alleviate your guilt, scam like carbon credits. How about a local ( for me Ravelry is local btw ) charity for the poor like Bread and Roses. The economy is in the toilet and they could really use the help. If you wanted to give money to help out the environment why not a local organization like the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution? They can always use a little extra cash I'm sure and they have great educational programs. How about Cape Wind? Anything but stupid carbon credits.

I'm really disappointed in the way in which this whole ordeal was handled. It taints Ravelry and has me thinking about my opinion of both the site and the owners and that makes me sort of sad. I liked the idea of a free sprinted, fun, mature, silly, down to earth site and now, I'm not so sure that's what Ravelry is. Left wing nuts are just as vile as the right wing nuts but to treat one group differently really rubs me the wrong way. It flat out sucks.

Here's the thing.... I keep trying to decide if it's a good idea to post this on the web at all. I guess I'm mostly disappointed and disillusioned at this point and I hate that feeling. I guess I expected more, different and better from people I had come to respect a great deal. I'm also not sure I want to leave Ravelry, I'm still hopeful all sides will pull the sticks out of their rear ends long enough to come to a fair and rational conclusion. They way things have progressed lately, there's now a little part of my brain that's afraid I'll get banned if someone takes issue with my opinions. Yes, I'm afraid having a contrary opinion will get me booted from an otherwise amazing knitting site..... and that sucks most of all.

And Don't Let the Door Hit You...

Good, no great, no amazing awesome unreal news. WBZ-1030 has brought back Steve LeVeille and Boston has live, local talk at night again. I'm trying to feel bad for Jon Grayson but it's not happening, he sucked. If that's what passes for talk radio in middle America I'm glad I live on the coast. So bye-bye monkey-meat man and don't let the door hit ya where the Lord split ya on your way out of Boston's radio waves.

So what else is new? Not too much I'm still waiting on the estimate on the 79 Thunderbird repairs. A real one from a real body shop not some weird cobbled together joke by a clueless claims adjuster. I fear she may be totaled but that's better then the slow death she'd face with bad repairs. She's complete and original and bad repairs would be worse than just parting her and letting other 79's live on. We'll have to see what the numbers say. On the home front I made doggie cookies this week for my niece's puppy. She helped with the cookie cutters and was quite proud to make treats for her furry friend. I used this recipe from KAF. The smell of the poaching liver and the liver puree in the blender was really gross but Miss Maggie loves the cookies so it's worth it. On the fiber front I've been spinning a bit on my spindles. When we were stuck in the house in the ice storm I actually made a few with some oak dowels and leftover jewelry supplies I had in the basement. I don't do well in the dark and cold with nothing to do. I think it this one came out pretty well. I made the bowl everything is sitting in as well, I miss working clay. Maybe if I hit the lottery I'll put in a pottery studio out back.I'm now off to clear the driveway and walkway of snow. Did I mention it's snowing? Again? Several inches? Again? This Winter is a whopper. I think hubby should do it since I finished him a pair of socks over the weekend but he's at work. On the bright side I get to play with the snow thrower and don't tell but it's kinda fun.

Mistress Mary Quite Contrary How Do You Scour Your Wool?

I finally finished scouring all the fleece my sister brought be at New Year's. After lots of experimenting this is what worked out best for me. If you ever decide you do your own fleece scouring experiments a free garbage bag of fleece will be MORE than enough to try out a bunch of methods.

First I do a cold water soak for about 24 hours. I was amazed the amount of gunk that settled out of the wool in just a cold bath.

Then I mix up my sudsy stuff. I think a lot of the issues people have with scouring wool with handmade soap come down to not dissolving the soap BEFORE adding it to the tub. It just won't dissolve fully that way most of the time.I use 1/2 cup of handmade soap flakes and top it with 4 cups of boiling water from the kettle. Stir it a bit and let it sit.It only takes a few minutes to dissolve completely. If it cools off it turns into a gloppy gel that still dissolves really easily in the tub but it is also kind of neat to play with.I also add something on the old fashioned side to the first soapy bath, washing soda. For me a 1/4 cut in the first bath is more than enough and doesn't seem to hurt the wool any. The second bath is just soap. I finish with a plain water and then a water/vinegar soak. I don't pour the soapy soaks down the drain, I put them outside. There's a lot of lanolin in that waste water and while it won't hurt the plants it might do a number on the pipes. Think bacon grease. I have enough plumbing issues, I'm not game to bait the tiger ( read hubby ) by gunking them up before we've saved enough to get the needed plumbing work done.

More Fun With Free Fleece

I decided to try spinning from dyed locks. I scoured up some of the free fleece and dropped it into the dye pot. I thought hey chartreuse, acid yellow and purple. They fleece took the dye very well. Unfortunately my color sense took the day off and I ended with colors reminiscent of something putrefying.

"Oh well" I thought, I'll spin it up anyway. Thankfully it mellowed out quite a bit once it was plied. I ended up with a couple hundred yards of a funky but passable bulky weight.

Even close up it's not so bad. I'm curious to see how it knits up. I'm thinking a hat and knucks. Maybe some super warm mitts.

I'm still going to call the color "putrid".

Boston Radio is Dead!

Some people are trying hard to save it. You can help.
Please visit the following sites and pitch in.

BringBackSteve.com

BringBackSteve Blog

Buy a Bumper Sticker or Cool T-Shirt

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A Quick List and Free Fleece

Since I last blogged...



Ice Storm Destroyed our 1979 Thunderbird



I learned to HATE Commerce insurance and ignorant claims adjusters



It Snowed and Snowed and Snowed and ...



Christmas on a budget



My niece started to "get" the idea of the potty



New Years



and

My sister brought me a garbage of free fleece from her boss' farm.

It was dirty, unskirted and had been barn stored for a couple years but it was you know free.

The boss man calls them Merino "Mutts" aka he really breeds them for eating and never got around to thinking about the fleece part.

Did I mention a GARBAGE BAG FULL?

Not too bad once I pulled it out.

Hey it might be workable.

Let's load it up and see what happens.

Hmmmm. Sheep are dirty. It looks better, perhaps a second and third dunk. Yeah that works. It does come clean eventually. Ohhhhh kind of fluffy. Not super soft but workable for outerwear for sure.

Yay, YARN!!!!!!