At a party recently, someone made a joke about a detachable penis. I said there was a song by that name. He didn’t seem to believe me, so I said I would look it up.
I immediately forgot all about it, until I saw that Syntax of Things posted the video by King Missile.
Thank goodness for the Internet.
I’m bundled up at home, fighting off some kind of illness that makes it hard to stand long and to think.
This is a darn shame because it means I’m going to miss this terrific event, organized by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and sponsored by Google:
PghTech Women Network LaunchWe’re inviting women who work in Pittsburgh’s technology community to join us for drinks, discussion and the opportunity to provide direction for the Council’s newest network – PghTech Women.
Meet with other women from all areas of Pittsburgh’s technology community for casual networking as well as a chance to offer ideas and suggestions for the PghTech Women Network.
The PghTech Women Network is sponsored by Google.
Date: Wednesday, October 29
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Parking: Free Parking after 5 p.m. in Forbes Avenue Garage
Venue: Red Ring Restaurant, 1015 Forbes Avenue, 15282
Cost: $15
Register: Online | E-Mail | 412.918.4229PghTech Women provides female technology professionals a forum for networking, best practice exchange, online interaction and community visibility.
For more information and other ways to get involved, contact us at 412.687.2700.
If you attend — and I hope you will — please let me know what you thought of the event.
New post up at the Pittsburgh Symphony blogs: “Compare and Contrast.”
(Photo credit: Scenes from Shakespeare – Macbeth taken by kimberlyfaye)
A few times today, I told people at PCPGH3 to try writing a blog post every day.
It’s an interesting discipline. When I’ve blogged daily, I’ve posted some rather boring stuff, but I’ve also created more interesting and unique content.
If you’re interested in trying the post-a-day practice, the perfect opportunity is just a few weeks away: NaBloPoMo.
National Blog Posting Month is the epicenter of daily blogging! People who want to set the habit of blogging by doing it every day for a month, including weekends, can come here for moral support, inspiration, and the camaraderie that only marathon blogging can provide.
You don’t need to do anything special to join in (other than post every day), but if you want to connect with others who are NaBloPoMoing, visit the NaBloPoMo and join.
Then let me know you’re in, and I’ll follow your adventure through your blog.
Today 8 or so months of collaboration come to fruition. I’m at PodCamp Pittsburgh 3, the third of these unconferences about social media (blogging, podcasting, social networks, etc.) that we’ve had in Pittsburgh, PA.
I co-lead a couple of sessions on blogging with Mike Woycheck, one of my fellow co-founders of Pittsburgh Bloggers. The sessions were fun for us, as well as a nice ego boost since both sessions were standing-room-only.
Right now, I’m attending a panel discussion on Social Media Business Plans, on which people from venture capitalist company Meakem Becker, tech accelerator AlphaLab, and ElasticLab.
This is a great example of what makes PodCamp amazing: I can share what I know and learn from what others know. Everyone gives, and everyone gets — and the more you put in, the more you get out.
(Photo credit: IMG_0262.JPG, originally uploaded by mbfulk.)
Pitbull Armory, an amazing website, also offers metal and leather armor for humans, horses, and dogs.
But I think you’ll agree with me, and with squirrels everywhere, that the squirrel armor is pretty wonderful.
(Link via I Let My Fists Do the Talkin’.)
UPDATE: I have explored Pitbull Armory further. Now I’m undecide about which is more delightful: the fact that there is such a thing as squirrel armor, or the fact that the women’s armored bra with visible nipples is the "Cold Steel Bra."
But why choose between them? They both demonstrate that the world is an amazing place.
My result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz…
You Are a Katherine!
Katherines are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world.
How to Get Along with Me
- Give me companionship, affection, and freedom.
- Engage with me in stimulating conversation and laughter.
- Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories.
- Don’t try to change my style. Accept me the way I am.
- Be responsible for yourself. I dislike clingy or needy people.
- Don’t tell me what to do.
What I Like About Being a Katherine
- being optimistic and not letting life’s troubles get me down
- being spontaneous and free-spirited
- being outspoken and outrageous. It’s part of the fun.
- being generous and trying to make the world a better place
- having the guts to take risks and to try exciting adventures
- having such varied interests and abilities
What’s Hard About Being a Katherine
- not having enough time to do all the things I want
- not completing things I start
- not being able to profit from the benefits that come from specializing; not making a commitment to a career
- having a tendency to be ungrounded; getting lost in plans or fantasies
- feeling confined when I’m in a one-to-one relationship
Katherines as Children Often
- are action oriented and adventuresome
- drum up excitement
- prefer being with other children to being alone
- finesse their way around adults
- dream of the freedom they’ll have when they grow up
Katherines as Parents
- are often enthusiastic and generous
- want their children to be exposed to many adventures in life
- may be too busy with their own activities to be attentive
Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy
I had quite hoped to be a Bette Davis, but I am pleased to be a Katherine Hepburn.
About three-quarters of the description is true. Points to anyone who can guess which three-quarters.
It’s Mixology Monday again, hosted this time by my Gold Coast buddy Stevi Deter. Our theme this month is “Guilty Pleasures.”
It’s tempting in these neo-Puritanical times to list all alcoholic beverages under such a category, but Stevi has something particular in mind:
…in the world of cocktail bloggery, we are often pronouncing certain drinks, categories of drinks, and even an entire base spirit to be the sign of a poorly educated drinker’s palate. There seems to be no room for comfort cocktails.October’s Mixology Monday will be a tribute to our guilty pleasures. Write about that one cocktail that, no matter how many times you’re told it’s no good for you, is the one near and dear to your heart. Feel free to celebrate your drink in all its pre-mix glory. Or try to dress it up, show us that when made right, it’s a worthy drink, we’ve just misjudged it.
For me, this was an easy one. I started out my drinking life in the days of wine coolers and other predecessors to the alco-pop trends. I’ve since abandoned Bartles & James and the like, but I still find myself turning to one such option again and again: the Jack Daniels line of coolers.
The reason is simple: They’re both tasty and easy. You can bring a four-pack to a picnic with the beer-and-wine crowd without having to lug around a cocktail mixing kit.
More importantly, outdoor music venues like the dreaded Starlake Amphitheatre typically have Jack Daniels booths. In these booths, they’ll often up the fun quotient by spiking one’s cooler with an extra shot of JD. That’s a service I appreciate, especially when I’m surrounded by crowds of stifling humanity.
My preferred JD cooler is the Lynchburg Lemonade, which is basically an extra-sweet Jack Daniels sour with a bit of fizz.
If it weren’t for MxMo, I’d not bother to mix up Lynchburg Lemonade at home — after all, the convenience is most of the value. But in the spirit of community and as an experiment, I thought it might be interesting to see whether there was an alternative worthy of making from scratch.
Most recipes you find for Lynchburg Lemonade employ both sour mix and lemon-lime soda, but that combo is silly. If you have sour mix and seltzer, and maybe an extra bit of sugar or simple syrup, why in the world would you need Sprite or 7Up? Get that high-fructose corn syrup out of here.
I added a bit of fresh lime and a little extra lemon to replace the Sprite, and doubled the sugar. Real lemon-lime soda would be even sweeter, so if you’re looking for authentic flavor go for 3 total teaspoons or more of sugar. Me, I like it a little tart.
The recipes also include Triple Sec. I substituted in Cointreau, because I like it more. And in tribute to that extra punch of Jack Daniels available at the outdoor music venue booths, I added a bonus splash of booze at the end.
Improved Lynchburg Lemonade
1 oz Jack Daniels whiskey
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz fresh lemon juice
0.5 oz fresh lime juice
2 ts sugar (or more to taste)
seltzer
additional 0.5 oz Jack DanielsFill pint glass with ice. Shake first 5 ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker. Pour into prepared glass; top with seltzer. Top with 0.5 oz JD and lemon wedge and serve.
Mix up a glass of this, put on a bootlegged recording of your favorite jam band, and suddenly it’s summer right in your living room. Get your muddy feet off my blanket.
Thanks again to Stevi Deter for hosting — check out her site, “Two at the Most.” Also visit the official Mixology Monday site in the next day or so for a peek into the comfort cocktails of booze bloggers everywhere.
There’s a new post of mine over at the PSO blogs: “Stories told in notes.”
Among the pieces we heard in Friday’s concert was Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, which made me think of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, which made me think of The Seven-Year Itch.
It thrills me. It chills me. It makes me feel goose-pimply all over.
