curgoth, posts by tag: rfi - LiveJournal

As part of my ongoing, inevitable, regrettable hippification, I am considering buying non-boot footwear for the summer. Something possibly in the sandal family. The last time I wore sandals, they were plastic k-mart flip flops when my age was in single digits.

I am, of course, still me, and don't want something like birkenstocks. However, I'm tired of wearing hot combat boots in summer, and taking longer to do up my boots than it takes to put on the entire rest of my outfit. So, I want some kind of summer footwear that's a) fairly easy to put on and take off, b) allows for greater airflow than combat boots, and c) looks good.

I've been looking at the Vibram Five Toes with the instep strap. Anyone know of other good looking sandal relatives I should be considering? Is it, for example, worth combing the stores on Yonge for some kind of gothy sandal with spikes on or something?

neeuqdrazil and I are thinking about going camping on the weekend of July 17/18. Any suggestions on where good places to go are? We went to Rockwood last year, and while it was nice, we feel like we pretty much did everythign to do there last time. We also ended up having the flodo lights from the bathrooms pointing at our camp site, so our spot was overly well lit for camping.

Anyone know where I can buy the rings used in keychains? I don't want the fob part, just the rings. In bulk, because I frequently find I have uses for them, so if I had a bag of 100 (or 1000) I wouldn't have to worry about finding another free keychain to cannibalize.

I've been webcasting my RPG sessions so that our player from Ottawa, dagibbs, can play remotely. I've had two nice microphones crap out after 30 min of use, so I'm giving up on the "go to best buy/futureshop and pick something up" model. Does anyone have any suggestions for computer microphones that are good enough to pick up a small living room of people?

Additionally, I have decided that I really need to get a good multitool. Any recommendations from the LazyWeb? A minimum requirement is that it has a good, sharp blade in it. Something that can be used as a bottle opener is also key. Screwdrivers, pliers, etc. are all bonus.

Does anyone has an optometrist they like in the general Yonge/St. Clair or Forest Hill areas? The last eye checks I had were from a surly, unhappy guy in a closet attached to a chain optical retail store, and I'd rather not go back there.

Quick, somebody talk me out of buying a couple pairs of these!

Things learned tonight:

• If I use primer on my eyes before putting on eyeliner, it will actually not run, even with the amount I sweat when dancing!


• I can dance all night in a gi top, because it breathes well. Unlike my old Darth Maul tunic made from heavy polyester.


• I've learned a lot about sewing since I made my long Sith robe for Hallowmas. I spent some time this afternoon going over it, zigzag stitching the seams and reattaching the sleeve I put on inside out the first time. I put it back on inside out again, but now it's harder to tell since the seams are finished better.

Questions pondered:

• Is it acceptable to glowstick to Industrial/EBM if you're doing it at Dark Rave?


• If the dance floor is entirely empty, does it become acceptable to violate the normal politeness rule about not throwing high kicks on the dance floor?

I dragged myself out to DarkRave this evening, and had a pretty good time. I think a fair number of the more hard core out of high school Dark Rave crew were at BM or something similar - the crowd was a little thin, and there seemed to be fewer 20-somethings; lots of kids and a fair number of the old guard. Holy Joes was Industrial/EBM all night, so I spent most of my time up there, wandering off to glowstick occasionally in the more air-conditioned room to change muscle groups for a bit. The downstairs wasn't bad music-wise, but the crowd were not my people - I haven't seen that much white under black light since... ever.

In any case, that was a good night out. Now, I should go to bed.

Dear LazyWeb,

Having long since surrendered and moved my music into iTunes, I find myself with several itunes related questions.

1. iTunes tracks are now DRM-free, which is great. However, I have a number of older tracks that still have DRM on them. Is there an easy way to strip the DRM off the files, or am I going to have to do it the hard way? (convert to mp3, or burn to audio CD and re-rip, etc.)


2. Is there an easy way to share an iTunes database across machines? I have itunes on my desktop,, where I sync my ipod, but I also want to be able to use the same itunes DB on my laptop, since the laptop outputs to the TV in HD and the desktop does not, and I love having pretty visualizations on the TV, especially while crafting or for parties. It seems like the sort of thing that one ought to be able to do. I know I can just copy the DB files across, but I don't want top have to do that every time I want to listen to music on the laptop. Complicating matters slightly is that the actual music files sit on a third machine, my linux server, acessible to both machines via a mapped drive.

Anyone know where I can get a decent holepunch? Of the sort used for fabric. I had one I got from Home Despot, and while it was okay for putting new holes in leather belts, when I was using it to punch holes in denim for my utility belt, I sheared the metal in the wheel mechanism and it blew up. I have this thoery that somewhere there are more heavy duty holepunching tools, perhaps intended for use on heavy leather or something, that can handle going through a couple layers of denim.

Of course, I eventually also need to get myself stuff for working with leather, too, but that's another expenditure.

---

Also on the RFI subject; one of these days, I really want to learn basic wiring so I can build stuff with LEDs. I own a soldering iron, but have only a vague idea of how to use one.

---

I also need a month off to work on my various random projects.

The lure of sort-of affordable cellular internet has me wanting a 3g phone. The iphone is an obvious front-runner, but I'm not terribly happy with the degree of control that apple demands over them. Does anyone have recommendations for other 3g phones?

I want something that does;

• Web browsing (my current blackberry surprisingly does not)


• Calendaring, including syncing to the desktop. Though I suppose I could just do it live to yahoo calendar online if it came to it.


• Mp3 playing, because I need a backup device for when my ipod dies.


• A camera - doesn't have to be a good one, but I'm getting annoyed by not having a quick-n-dirty camera on hand.


• Bluetooth

Nice to haves;

• Voice dialling - the BB does this well, and I've gotten used to it.


• Wifi - because while I want the phone for the 3g internet, if I can get by without it...

I don't care about getting e-mail on my phone.

Any suggestions besides the iphone?