Randomly Nicole

Summer Reading Programs

2010-05-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! Bribery? Maybe. But my kids love filling out their forms and redeeming them for valuable prizes! (usually, more books)

Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/summerreading/

Pizza Hut http://www.bookitprogram.com/

Half Price Books http://www.halfpricebooks.com/feed_your_brain.html

Borders - http://www.borders.com/online/store/MediaView_doubledogdare?cmpid=SA_20100505

Scholastic Summer Challenge - http://www.scholastic.com/summerreading/index.htm

Also be sure to check with your local library for both children and adult reading programs this summer. But you knew that. Right?

Letting the iPod make the decisions

2010-04-21T16:25:00.001-07:00

This morning I needed music, but didn't know what. So I put the iPod on shuffle all, and did not allow myself any skipping as I went about whatever domestic drudgery was going on today. This is what happened.

Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 6-9 - Pink Floyd: A little much playing this long version early in the morning. But it's Pink Floyd, so it's all good.
Rehab - Amy Winehouse: Always good.
Let's Get High - Lords of Acid: Had forgotten all about this song. There was dancing. The children were alarmed.
Come Sail Away - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: I love this song in any form. Shut up.
Ball and Chain - Social Distortion: Never not in the mood for this one.
Suspicious Minds - Dwight Yoakam: Country? Now? Ok, at least it's fast and it's Dwight. Mmmm Dwight.
Blue (Da Ba Dee) [Extended Mix] - Eiffel 65: More dancing!
Memories of East Texas - Michelle Shocked: Love her, didn't know this song. Very pretty, really liked it.
Stickshifts And Safetybelts - Cake: Cake is awesome. This song is one of the least awesome. Bad luck.
Somebody - Depeche Mode: Like Pink Floyd, hard to go wrong. High school memory inducing tune. Just sayin.
My Name Is Prince - Prince & the New Power Generation: Now that's some morning cleaning music I can get behind.
Walking Towards Paradise [*] - Robert Plant: meh
Wind Below - Rage Against The Machine: Good song, but not in the mood.
Dress You Up - Madonna: At first I was like cool, old Madonna. Then it was more of a yuck, this song is annoying.
Mendocino County Line - Willie Nelson & Lee Ann Womack: Reminded me of my dad, in sad/happy ways.
Is It Still Over? - Randy Travis: Blech. Romance. Sappiness. Gag.
Judas - Depeche Mode: We know about DM by now yes?
Slice of Your Pie - Mötley Crüe: A little jarring in the middle of the rest, but ok.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles: Beautiful song I don't really hear much, which is odd.
Policy Of Truth Depeche Mode: DM
Down In Flames (- LP Version) - The Uninvited: Bought this cd for a different song, turns out most of it is pretty good. Like this.
Ya' Keep On - Kid Rock: Another cd loaded for an entirely different song(s). Kid, not today. Go away.
Carrie - Europe: Hair bands, how I miss you.
Down Rodeo - Rage Against The Machine: This was ok, I was about done with the music for a while though. Besides...

And then something from Metallica's Load came on, and I had to give up the game. I don't even remember what it was, but it wasn't good.

So that was fun. It could have been better. It could have been a lot worse, too.

Finally, 12 of 12

2010-04-12T20:36:00.001-07:00

Every month I enjoy looking at my friend Brian's 12 of 12 posts. Self, I say, you should do that. Then I forget. But not this month. Set a thingy in the Blackberry, and managed to take 12 pictures, every hour(ish) today starting at around 8:30. Want to see them? Ok bye. The rest of you, let's go.

I give up. I can't figure out how to do the pictures like he does. But I did this, dammit.

Click HERE to go see the set on flickr.

Goodnight. Gah.

Don't call me Lady

2010-03-29T21:00:00.001-07:00

Seriously. It's a direct route to my facepunching nerve. LADY. Nothing good ever comes from conversations that start with someone calling me Lady.

So I'm driving in this suburb today. It's out in the country. The roads aren't paved yet. They are gravel and dirt, and with all of the snow and rain we have had, they are really horrible.

The speed limit is 20 mph. This is hardly a problem, as when it is wet, anything over 10 will send you into someone's front yard, and when it is dry, you throw up enough gravel and crap from the tires to shatter every piece of glass in your car.

Anyway. I drive to where I'm going and do what I have to do (nothing interesting, honest). I head back out of the neighborhood.

Cue Crazy Old Man. He stands out in the middle of the street. I slow down and try to go around him. He holds up his hand moves in front of the car. Wait, what? He's holding a jar of something in his hand. He wants me to roll down my window.

And conversation. I am not using some dialect thing to try and make him sound like an uneducated country bumpkin. I'm just writing it how he said it.

COM: Hey, Lady, are you aware the speed limit here is 20 miles an hour?

Well, yes.

COM: Well, you wasn't doin no 20 when you came thataway! You stayed down there for a while then you came back this way.

Yes, I did that. But I wasn't speeding.

COM: Yes you was! Lady you got kids you (mutter mutter)

I see. Can I see your radar machine?

COM: I just count from pole to pole, them telephone poles!

Well, that's a fucking magic trick, congratulations.

Then I rolled up my window and left. Didn't even try to squish his foot.

I will now work on overcoming my childish urge to drive past his house really, really slowly. A lot.

A list of 50 random things I stole from Popping Bubbles

2009-07-21T05:40:00.001-07:00

Popping Bubbles » Blog Archive » More incredibly boring crap about me than you ever wanted to know, but feel free to read it anyway

Because without her, what would I ever post? She actually writes on her blog more than every few months, check it out. Anyway.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I haven't looked in the mirror yet this morning. It is way too early for that.

2. How much cash do you have on you?
$22

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
whore

4. Favorite planet?
Uranus. Because I'm 12.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
Unknown Caller - I never take those

6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
Cartman singing Come Sail Away.

7. What shirt are you wearing?
Black tshirt, with pocket. Need ipod pocket you know.

8. Do you label yourself?
No, I gave the label maker to Venus for christmas.

9. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing?
Barefoot. Please, I don’t wear shoes unless I have to.*

10. Bright or Dark Room?
Turn down the lights, mummy has a headache.

11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
She is my long lost twin or something. I adore her. But not in a creepy way.

12. What does your watch look like?
A blackberry. Who wears a watch?

13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Watching an old western on TV. I know. It did suck.

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
It says "yep, lol"

15. Where is your nearest 7-11?
Around the corner that way -->

16. What’s a word that you say a lot?
Honestly!

17. Who told you he/she loved you last?
My dog stuck his tongue up my nose. I think that is what he meant.

18. Last furry thing you touched?
Elmo the dog with the crazy tongue.

19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
Look, a baby wolf!

20. How many rolls of film do you need developed?
“Rolls of film” Who the hell uses film anymore?*

21. Favorite age you have been so far?
42! It is the answer!

22. Your worst enemy?
Could be reading this.

23. What is your current desktop picture?
Levitating, meditating robots.

24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
Wiggles or Laurie Berkner?

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?
Money. The sky is full of evil birds.

26. Do you like someone?
I like some people.

27. The last song you listened to?
Itunes says...Brickhouse by the Commodores. Mighty mighty, y'all.

28. What time of day were you born?
11:15 am

29. What’s your favorite number?
6

30. Where did you live in 1987?
Salt Lake City, UT

31. Are you jealous of anyone?
Nope.*

32. Is anyone jealous of you?
I highly doubt it.*

33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
At home on Long Island, staring at the TV in shock. Later, I got to breathe in the smoke/fumes/etc. Ugh.

34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
Seethe.

35. Do you consider yourself kind?
I don't go out of my way to be mean. Usually.

36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Another one...down the foot I suppose.

37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Japanese

38. Would you move for the person you loved?
What is this love.

39. Are you touchy feely?
With my kids.

40. What’s your life motto?
Wait, what?

41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
blackberry, lip balm, ipod

42. What’s your favourite town/city?
I can't think of just one.

43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Dr. Pepper

44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Last week. I'm old school like that.

45. Can you change the oil on a car?
Yes, and the tire, and several other things.

46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
Who?

47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
Way far. I come from the mormon peoples.

48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
My black dress to my cousin's funeral.

49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
My back, my head, my joints - I'm old.

50. Have you been burned by love?
More of a burner than a burnee. Sorry.

*Questions I didn't change her answers to, because they were perfect.

This cupcake layout is so cute

2009-06-11T21:17:00.001-07:00

I really should just freaking blog more. What is wrong with me?

BLEH.

Dipping a toe in with a meme

2009-05-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

And ScribeFire.

Friday Fill-Ins: #125

And...here we go!

1. Moving right along.

2. Born free.

3. My best quality is a matter of opinion.

4. Don't bother me with details.

5. In nearly 10 years, my boys will be grown up.

6. Quiet is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching a movie with the kids, tomorrow my plans include a cowboy's estate sale, and Sunday, I want to go out for coffee with friends!

Decluttering the interwebs

2009-03-11T11:24:00.001-07:00

Ok, the million beta site frenzy has come and gone, and I think I've figured out which ones I still want to use. When I got the new laptop for Christmas, I did not import anything from the old desktop, but set everything up fresh. Although, since my beloved Flock browser is going to switch to Chrome from Firefox, things could always change. I just got it all figured out and set up right! But right now, this is what works for me.

What makes me stick with a site? Any, or preferably all, of the following:

It has a mobile site, application or at least a way to post from email or text. If I can't post to it or read it from my crackberry, I don't want to hear about it.
Fun people who interact, or at least post things that amuse me. I'm not here to be bored.
Efficient gathering of the various types of digital information I tend to vomit upon the matrix daily.

Facebook - Because I can consolidate almost all of it right here. Link to my profile in the sidebar. If you friend request, please identify who/why you are.

flickr - I may not be the best photographer, and definitely not a serious one, but I certainly enjoy it. Great tools for intergrating with Facebook.

YouTube - because I got a Flip Mino HD and I have to use it!

Plurk - Microblog. Fun. Less fail than the whale. Usually.

Twitter - Microblog. Fun, business. Many of my Tweeps won't go to Plurk, so I can't leave.

Myspace - Still have a profile there for my friends who don't/won't Facebook.

ping.fm - for updating all of the above. Couldn't live without it.

Shitty Blogs Club - Better than it sounds. Most of the blogs in SBC are among the most entertainig I read...when we the shitty bloggers can be bothered to blog, anyway.

Ravelry - for the knitting

socialmedian - Imports shared Google Reader items, and feeds into the tumblr.

Tumblr - Gathers up various feeds of stuff I bookmark, post, like, whatever. The tumblr feed is then put into the blog sidebar (see it down there?) and a tab on Facebook.

Goodreads - Keeping track of books I read. Because I have no memory. Also integrated with blog sidebar and Facebook.

Heavy as Hell - All things metal! The site owners are made of awesome.

Bucket of Hate - All things hatey! Another awesome network creator.

Still seems like a lot. But it is set up so that one click on my toolbar will send whatever I want to the right service, which will feed it to another place, and so on, and so on...

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Saturday Six - Wishes and Memories

2009-03-07T15:39:00.001-08:00

Because my new hobby is stealing from Popping Bubbles:

1. Name the last movie you watched on DVD.

The Empire Strikes Back, just today in fact.

2. If you could spend one day as:
A) a member of the opposite sex
B) a member of a different race
C) a member of the opposite sex AND different race
D) an animal
…which would you pick and why?

Animal all the way. Some big scary fish in the ocean, because the ocean fascinates and terrifies me.

3. If you won the lottery and received $200 million dollars in one lump sum, who would get the first check you wrote?

I should say mortgage company, but we all know it would be newegg.com

4. If you could change careers, what job have you secretly been wondering about?

Writer. Shock.

5. Describe your earliest memory.

Stepping on a bee while helping wash the bitchin Camaro we had when I was 2-3ish.

6. What deceased relative would you most like to sit down to dinner with and what would you most want to ask them?

My mom. What did he do to you?

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Sunday Stealing: The Procrastination Tool Meme

2009-03-01T06:07:00.001-08:00

Sunday Stealing: The Procrastination Tool Meme

Like I need another meme or another form of procrastination. Ah well. My only other goals today are to get all the wires untangled before the live show tonight.

So on with the questions and stuff:

1. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Pietro's

2. What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Rice and beans.

3. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Besides children? No...

4. What is the last heavy item you lifted? 42" flat panel tv.

5. Have you ever been knocked unconscious? A few times. Shocking, I know.

6. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Yes.

7. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Nicole Randome

8. What’s your goal for the year? Not to stab any heads. Or at least not to get caught.

9. Last person you hugged? My 7 year old.

10. First place you went this morning? Outside to let the dog pee.

11. Do you always answer your phone? Hell no.

12. It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? Will Radik. He keeps weird hours.

13. If you could change your eye color what would it be? Brown.

14. What’s on your wish list for your birthday? My sister coming to visit.

15. Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Excited.

16. Do you have any saved texts? No.

17. Ever been in a car wreck? Yes.

18. Do you have an accent? Don't think so. Kinda. Maybe.

19. What was the last song to make you cry? Johnny Cash, Hurt.

20. What did you do last night? Slept. A lot.

21. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Many times.

22. Current hate right now? That octuplet freak.

23. Met someone who changed your life? Yes.

24. How did you bring in the New Year? Sleeping.

25. What song represents you? Comfortably Numb.

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Saturday Six - shut up, it's a post

2009-02-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

Browsing through my feeds this afternoon, I found a meme at Popping Bubbles and immediately stole it. Because I'm unoriginal like that.

1. When you write a note to a friend, do you tend to write in cursive or manuscript? Manuscript that ends up connected and illegible. If I actually want them to be able to read it? Manuscript.

2. Think back to grade school when you learned how to write: which manuscript letter gave you the most trouble? I can't remember any of that. Learning cursive from that crazy art teacher guy sucked, though.

3. Did you find cursive easier than manuscript? I really just mix them up.

4. How do you type on a computer: the four-finger “professional” method, the “hunt and peck” method, or something in between? Four finger professional, smoking fast. Hah!
5. Take the quiz: What Keyboard Key Are You?

You Are "enter"

Some people might try to say you're impulsive and rash.

You like to consider yourself decisive and committed instead.

You don't have a lot of trouble making very final decisions.

You trust your instincts, and you don't waver. You just go for it!

What Keyboard Key Are You?

6. As a general rule, how often do you use the key mentioned in the answer to the previous question? All the time. It is one of the more awesome keys, for sure.

CREEDOCIDE - Demetri Martin

2009-02-19T22:27:00.001-08:00

I needed a laugh tonight. I found it here.

Dr. Pepper sign

2009-02-13T20:43:00.001-08:00

Dr. Pepper sign
Originally uploaded by randomnicole

and they want me to give it up. bah!

I have a cupcake!

2009-02-02T06:18:00.001-08:00

My very own cupcake button for the Shitty Blogs Club. Go on, click it. It's better than it sounds. Really.

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Virtual Insanity

2009-01-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, if Venus can blog, so can I. Especially if I steal her ipod game.

Having recently lost my itunes library in a horrible accident I don't even want to talk about, my newer, less gigabytier ipod has only some of my very favorite artists, and a collection of 90's dance club music. Shut up. You're not even going to read the meme anyway, why do you care?

INSTRUCTIONS
-Put your music player on shuffle.
-skip to the next random song to get your answer for each question...
-Write it down, even if it sounds silly (no cheating!)

1. How would you describe your personality?
A Saucerful of Secrets - Pink Floyd

2. What is your best quality?
This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan

3. What do you look for in a lover?
Too Much Rope - Roger Waters

4. What is your life's motto?
She'll Come Back To Me - Cake

5. What do you think about all the time?
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - Pink Floyd

6. What do other people think of you?
You Gotta Make It Through The World - Van Morrison

7. What do you like to do when no one else is around?
Dream Sequence - Marillion

8. What is your favorite hobby/interest?
Wild Children - Van Morrison

9. What is your biggest secret?
How Bizarre - OMC

10. What is your life story?
Cinderella Search - Marillion

11. How will you die?
Paranoid Android - Radiohead

12. What will they play at your funeral?
Bodyrock - Moby

13. What is the one thing you regret?
Where Do You Go? - No Mercy

14. If you could go back in time, what would you change?
Waiting - Cake

15. What makes you laugh?
Waiting for the Worms - Pink Floyd

16. What makes you cry?
Make it Happen - Mariah Carey

17. What scares you the most?
Keep Talking - Pink Floyd

18. What's the worst thing that could happen?
Mambo #5 - Lou Bega

19. What is the meaning of life?
The Space... - Marillion

20. What title will you give this post?
Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai

It never fails

2009-01-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

The best post ideas come when I've shut down the laptop and actually tried to get to sleep at a "reasonable" hour.

Posting from a Blackberry is not so great. I need a few dozen tabs open for research* and links.

Gah.

*research: websites which have distracted me and drawn me far from my original idea. Also, Plurk.

Where is the archive, anyway?

2009-01-04T11:13:00.001-08:00

Yeah, it's still over there.

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Well, who are they?

2009-01-03T21:18:00.001-08:00

038
Originally uploaded by randomnicole

These little peopley shaped things?