Snarking! it keeps you warm at night!

From the knitting community, in this thread, this comment by tashabear:

"That's perfectly clear. It's exactly how a knitting pattern should be written. I realize that people have learning curves when it comes to reading knitting patterns, but it's unfair to the designer to diss their pattern when the issue is that the reader doesn't know how to read it yet."

On the one hand, I understand the impulse to provide sympathy for the person posting asking for help with the directions, and I understand how that can lead to "gee, that was hard to understand, you're right."

On the other hand, a lot of people who design knitting patterns read the community, and it's even possible that the person who designed the pattern is reading it-- it's not fair to them to characterize their writing as "not clearly written" for using standard knitting terms like "break the yarn, leaving a long tail."

---

(For those who don't knit or do any yarn crafts, "break yarn" means to cut, snip, or pull apart the strand of yarn that connects whatever you just made to the unused yarn still in the ball. "Break" is used instead of "cut" because there are several different methods depending on preference. The "tail" of the yarn is the bit you haven't used yet, in this case-- to say "leave a long tail" means "don't cut it right up next to your project, cut it closer to the ball of yarn, because we're going to have you do something with the tail.")

(no subject)

It's time for my semi-annual rant explaining why you should not pay for any service that "screens" or "filters" anonymous calls on your phone line. The common versions of this service are called "Privacy Manager," or "Anonymous Call Rejection."

This service is marketed as blocking telemarketing calls. However, the new FCC rules here state that telemarketers are required to show their name and number when they call you.

So, what calls DOES it block? ( It blocks calls from emergency personnel. )

If you have anonymous call rejection, which completely blocks these calls, I highly recommend that you stop the service immediately, because having it may delay or deny your access to urgently needed information or help, and it doesn't do a damn thing to stop telemarketers. Even if you personally never need help from your family doctor, someone in your family or neighbors may need it at some point and be unable to get it through your phone.

If you have Privacy Manager or a similar system, which forces anonymous callers to dial a special code to get through, I still highly recommend that you stop the service immediately. It's just rude to expect the person you want woken up at 3AM to jump through hoops in order to help you, such as stating their name or dialing 8.

In which I file an official complaint.

Highs this Wednesday are projected to be in the 80's.

Will whoever moved Oklahoma to the southern hemisphere please put it the hell back?

Thank you.

--Corr

attn: transmitte

( voila the cuteness! )

Hey transmitte-- yer hat's done.