Talk about a “BFO” (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) – as we were planning a day of visiting various retail locations to “see what’s out there”, it occurred to me (these things happen at 04:00) that it would have been MUCH simpler if I had less tedious way to make an itinerary.

Okay, I have already said that taking the time to look up the full, NINE digit ZipCode, is really helpful if you want those traveling thru to drop in.

AND, have mentioned my pet peeve – web pages where the STREET address is not easily found on EVERY page of your web presence.

So here is my latest bit of advice – INCLUDE YOUR GPS Coordinates.

Why? Just think about how many folks now have phones that allow them to get directions – all based on GPS technology.

No Idea WHERE to get this information?

It is really easy – IF you know your own address.

First you need to look up your correct Zip + 4 code, easily done courtesy of the
USPS’s Zip Code Lookup feature

Now, using the Zip Plus 4, go to GeoVisualizer’s Converter

For best results, type in your entire address and it appears that choosing Yahoo as the source might be a bit more accurate than Google Maps.

Once you have the cross hairs where you want them – cut and past the information from the map on your lower left “Center: 39.41355,-76.94434″ into your page as:

Latitude: 39.41355 Longitude: -76.94434

You will have given your potential customer yet another way to find you.

Ain’t technology grand!

Since I do not read Japanese, and even if I did…, I would like to find out the correct name for each of the Asian knots pictured below and possibly even a link to where the information might be … in English

Click for larger view

Why is it that almost every newsletter I receive that is sent using AWeber looks just great in Eudora & Thunderbird and every one sent using Constant Contact does not display correctly.

For the sake of context, I usually sleep in the guest room because it is closer to where I needed to be if Mom needed help in the night, and because I tend to be a toss and turner and no surprise Talker when sleeping.

FORTUNATELY I also tend to fall asleep while reading so the light was on.

About 1:30am I woke up and felt something cold and dampish around my upper arm.

Thought we had a roof leak since it seemed to be moving – That must be dripping … right

WRONG – Sat up in time to see a SNAKE almost hidden under the pillow I HAD, up until about 4 seconds ago had wrapped around me. Something I would have missed had the light not been on.

After a non-crucial (it turns out) one or two seconds to take a fast deep breath, dump the waste basket and slam it over the snake.

OKAY NOW WHAT DO I DO?!?!?

Oh my good Lord in Heaven, there is a portion of it sticking out, but if I lift the edge minutely to shove it back in will it escape like the rattler that bit Valerie. What would Valerie do (our cousin who raises snakes) Vaguely I remember seeing Valerie using a flat piece of cardboard to slide under their Snake boxes

I used a 14 inch Double Ended Crochet hook to push its bits under the basket.

and thought, yet again

MMOG, NOW WHAT

All I can say is THANK GOD FOR COLOR CARDS and the fact that most are done with “over sized” cardboard. Better yet thank goodness I was working on some color cross refs yesterday .

Wait, I can’t leave that color card under the snake, what if it makes a mess and damages the samples!

By this time, the colorful words have reached sufficient volume so that TheHenry has somewhat awoken and comes in to see if I am Okay, why are there tissues all over the floor, and why am is standing with my weight baring down on the top of the waste basket where the tissues belong.

No, I AM NOT OKAY, there is a snake under the waste basket and I have

ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Following the careful replacing of the Presencia Color Card with an appriopriated size Priority mail box (the guest room is also my “shipping center” but the color card was closer”

After several minutes of discussion, ending with you cannot kill it and are you sure you did not just have a nightmare?

“FINE I will take it outside – but if it is dumb enough to come back, before it is large enough to catch mice, then its safety is NOT assured.”

The boring end to this little adventure. I carried it outside and dumped it into the road (as far as I willing to go in sleepwear.

For those interested in the details. I came back in and sat down to GOOGLE Maryland SNAKES – it appears to be a Black Rat Snake – not a poisonous breed but still not welcome in most people’s beds

Based on the picture in the Wiki entry, it appears to have been a young Black Rat Snake.

Now I need to go call the family herpetologists and find out what to do next – to determine how it got into the house. Likely the same way the field mice do.

I think I will go read email. Hopefully that will be less exciting.

Wheat

P.S. I solemnly promise never to complain about the odd size card stock used by most YARNandTHREAD manufacturers to make their color cards no matter who awkward it is to try to mail them or the awkward shape of that particular (shoe box) priority mail box.

Tiny URL : http://tinyurl.com/snake-blog

Nothing (except possibly copyright) can stir a more lively discussion in a fiber art oriented group that defining art vs craft.

Admittedly much of my own viewpoint has likely been formed with my obsession with all the writings of Ayn Rand – even if my 6th grade teacher said there was no way I could “understand” what I was reading.

Frankly in view of what is going on in our country of late, I have been thinking that not only do I need to, like our Congressional Representative Roscoe Bartlett, need to be giving away copies of the US Consititution, The Federalist Papers, but as importantlyAyn Rand’s novels Anthem ” and “We The Living“.

Aside from the obvious, what Ayn Rand has had to say about Artistic creation and Art continue to inspire me and maybe are really about as close as I will EVER come to understanding the meaning of life.

So what does all this have to do with “Ukraines Got Talent”?

A few days ago, TheHenry sent me a link about the 2009 winner of UGT,
Kseniya_Simonova

If you have about 15 minutes, and quite possibly even those *not* of Ukrainian heritage will need to be armed with tissues, you will need about 10 minutes to watch Sand Art Animation. I doubt anyone with a soul will find it a waste of time even if you don’t understand the language.

Wheat

(HBIH – I have not forgotten)