Spirit Chrysalis

Intercon Makeup Test Run: Cirque du Fey

rigel — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 03:25:46 GMT

This year, the most costume-intensive Intercon game for me is, by far, Cirque du Fey. I've been considering how to do my makeup for it, and tried a mockup of that tonight. While I don't think this is especially spoilery, I don't suggest clicking past the link if you're concerned.

So I have a fairly large, round forehead. And the middle of it is slightly more rounded than the sides, giving this interesting faint 'S' shape on either side of the roundest part. Knowing that I wanted to do the majority of my makeup around my eyes, I demarked these areas with a white eye pencil: that S-shaped arc on my forehead, around the brow, under the eye socket, and just over the top of the cheek bone. This gave it a bit of a flared shape.

(It's faint in the photo, but not on my face, enough that I may try to find a more flesh-toned pencil to outline with.)

From there I did a little online research, and opted to add two elements to the shape.

1) An angled inverted teardrop shape above the inner corner of my eye and pointing at it.

2) A line demarking the area between the lower eyelid and the socket, tapering into a point under the inner corner of my eye.

(That downward tapering part is likely larger than I'd make it next time.)

From here, I created a common eyeshadow pattern I do over my eyelid: three colors in roughly vertical patches, moving from light to dark as it crosses from the inner to outer corners of my eye. (This is because my eyes are actually rather close-set, and doing so creates the illusion of more space between the eyes.) In this case, the colors were a bright sparkly gold, a vibrant gold-tan, and a red. (I used my 'smokey' brush applicator for this, as I usually do for most eye shadow applications.)

(It's a little difficult to distinguish between the gold and the gold-tan in this photo.)

I then 'pulled' the areas of color up over my brow and forehead, filling in the areas above the eye. I believe I used the same brush for this, as it's the one that covers the widest area. Getting the angle and shape of the border between the gold and gold-tan was hard, and I bet will be slightly different next time around. Mostly, I wanted the colors to take up roughly equal areas on my forehead and the side of my face.

(Edge of ear and nostril included to give an idea of the color's spatial relations to one another.)

Then I started to fill in the region of the lower eyelid and the tapering point below the inner corner of my eye with both the demarking white eyeliner, and white eyeshadow applied with my 'fine' brush. I also extended the white in a horizontal tapering point past the outer corner of my eye as I thought it looked cool. I found the liner better for forming a solid white base, and the shadow better for smoothness and consistency of color.

(Hello, nearly whole face!)

Then, I applied a light, warm, slightly shimmery brown eyeshadow in the remaining 'open' area using my 'precision' brush. If you look closely, you can see that I drew a thin brown eyeshadow arc down from the outer corner of my eye, over the white eyeshadow. Using the precision brush was definitely the right call, as I could fill in the inner corner of this region better. Here it is, in white and yellow light.

Finally, I opted to fill the teardrop shape in with the brown eyeshadow as well. Using the precision brush was harder over my eyebrow.

With that done, now we start to really have fun. I decided to demark the gold and tan-gold regions above my eye with red eyeshadow using the 'conceal' brush (which was when I realized figuring out where that was was incredibly hard and took some practice/fixing), add a thick tan-gold lightly curved arc further in on my forehead in a way that sort of followed the overall shape of the eye makeup, apply a thick black cream eyeliner around my eye in the pattern you see here, and brighten up the white eyeshadow a bit. I definitely want the eyeliner to extend past the corners of my eyes in this overall shape, but as you can see, it took a bit of fiddling to figure out how much I wanted at the inner corner of my eye.

Now, the glitter 'puffy paint' I love so much. I decided to use slightly arcing lines of dots, as dots are the single easiest way to apply this sort of makeup. I chose a darker color than the eyeshadow each time, and have realized I may not have this makeup in gold! I will have to see if it's hiding in my room, and if not, order it, perhaps. For the sake of practice, I used black in place of gold for the dots. I also tried outlining the teardrop shape in white glittery puffy paint stuff, but boy, did that not work. If there's anything I know I'm not doing for the actual LARP, it's that. I also created three larger dots following a vertical line that bisects my forehead, the top dot tapering upwards. That was oddly easy, which isn't always my experience; we'll see how that goes at Intercon. Here it is, in white and yellow light.

To cap off the makeup, I replicated the mouth makeup I did a few weeks ago and added some dark brown eyshadow line along the blush line using the precision brush. For the mouth: I learned that a smaller bisected lip looked better on me, so I drew it in black eyeliner from the very middle of the pink part of my lip, allowing the entire length of the bisected lip shape (which was drawn with eyeliner this time) to be smaller. Muting the rest of my upper lip was done with a combination of white-gold lipstick and the white eye pencil; I may use foundation at the convention. I realized after the fact that I'd brought my mahogany lipstick for my lower lip rather than deep red, so I tried using that highlighted with the red pressed glitter rather than the previous version. (I think I like the red lipstick better for the lower lip glitter base.)

And there you have it! I'll probably add mascara in the final incarnation, but didn't really need to practice with that.

Who are you?

rigel — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:40:51 GMT

Here is a small sampling of people on my friends list who I do not recognize. If you see your name, or the name of someone you know, chime in?

issendai
landicine

Singularity looking for tenant as of August or September 1!

rigel — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 01:54:49 GMT

TL;DR Version:
One bedroom opening in beautiful apartment in heart of Porter Square. All residents friendly, responsible, fun and geeky! Rent ranges from $650/month to $900/month based on bedroom size, and is up for negotiation. Move-in date some time between July 1 and September 1, possibly with some flexibility if that's helpful! Link to pictures included.

Please feel free to point others at this page! We'd prefer people we know if at all possible.

One bedroom opening in a gorgeous four-bedroom apartment in the heart of Porter Square. I've lived here in some configuration or another for about a decade now, and have an excellent relationship with the landlord. The rent has varied by bedroom size lately, with the smallest costing $650/month and the largest $900/month. The bedroom opening is technically a larger one, but there's some talk of people within the apartment moving to bigger rooms, so don't let that deter you!

The move-in date is currently being sorted out. It will certainly be by September 1, but could be as soon as July 1.

The full photo list can be found here. Note: Please excuse the odd album name. Pictures are taken on an iPhone rather than a real camera. The common room pictures are pretty indicative of roughly how clean we keep the place. The large bedroom pictures (and the bathroom) are oddly yellow-tinted and seriously outdated in terms of clutter. I hope to have better pictures of the large bedroom soon.

The Place
More about the apartment . . .

Location: The house is on a quiet tree-lined street off of Elm Street, the main thoroughfare between Porter and Davis Square. The walk from here to Porter is about three minutes.
Space and Amenities: We have a spacious living room and dining room separated with French doors, a big kitchen with modern amenities including a fairly new stove and a dishwasher, and a free washer and dryer in the basement. We also have two porches in good repair that have served us well in social situations.
Furnishings: Most of the common rooms will be pre-furnished with our things, but we'd love additions to the place! Come see; it's pretty swank.
Landlord: The landlord only owns this property. He's kind, respectful, attentive, timely and cares a lot about his tenants; he's kept the rent lower than he would offer to new people, and he's had us over for dinner a few times in the years we've lived here.
Geekery: The apartment would come with everything we own, including a full entertainment system (with Playstation III, XBox 360 with Rock Band 2 set, and Wii), a laser printer and tons of board/card games, and wired and wireless Internet options.
Misc.: No pets. No smoking, even on the porches; you'll be asked to do it on the curb. House is in no way childproofed.

Us
We are three young professionals and geeks whose ages range from mid-twenties to mid-thirties. Our fields vary greatly, from law (J.), to Library Science (K.) to Psychology (me). We all enjoy the arts, some of us active members of the local theater communities (Theatre@First, Post-Meridian Radio Players). We all like to cook; some of us are more experienced than others. Our interests overlap in other ways -- J. and I are both LARPers and video game players, K. and I both enjoy fashion and costuming, and so on. We endeavor to be friendly, open-minded, responsible and communicative.

You!
We're looking for someone who:

pays rent and other bills on time, and takes responsibility for managing the cost breakdown of one utility in the house.
keeps the apartment clean. We're not obsessive about it, but like to think of the place as a home as much as possible, and that includes keeping it tidy. We've lately been able to manage keeping the place clean without a chore list, but may consider instituting one if others prefer.
is open-minded, specifically to queer/poly folks.
is communicative. We try to address any house concerns in a forthright, tactful manner that respects everyone's perspectives, and we hope for the same behavior from our housemates.
is preferably geeky and doesn't mind occasional social events. If you prefer to keep to yourself or aren't into what we're into, that's totally fine! But we welcome those who indulge in mour hobbies and would enjoy our occasional get-togethers.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, please feel free to reply to me here or over e-mail if you have that address. Thanks for reading, and we look forward to hearing from you!

PSA: Want two tickets to Friday's Jonathan Coulton concert for cheap?

rigel — Wed, 30 May 2012 19:19:49 GMT

Many of you likely already know this, but . . .

Is anyone interested in two tickets to the Jonathan Coulton concert this Friday night at the Paradise? A friend of mine can no longer go due to circumstances beyond her control. The tickets will go to waste otherwise, so you might be able to get in on this for less than you normally would!

(I'll also be there, if'n that's of interest.) Thanks!

Let me know and I'll put you in touch with her.

New cyberlox set: long, teal and opal

rigel — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:19:58 GMT

I've posted pictures of EB's set of cyberlox on Etsy.

Signal Boosting: Live with my lovely boyfriend Ab3nd!

rigel — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:38:07 GMT

Edit: ab3nd has found a subletter. Thanks!

Are you looking for an apartment, or know someone who is?

Is cost-effectiveness important to you? Say, $500 a month without utility split?

Are you looking for ease to public transit, like right on the corner of a frequently running bus line?

Would you enjoy living with a friendly, open-minded, introverted geek?

If so, I have your apartment!

My boyfriend ab3nd is looking for a housemate to take the place of the grad school/lab subletter as of 2/5 (or as close to that as possible). His place is pretty cool too; it's in Belmont a bit past BCOS for those who know it, right at the corner of a very regularly running bus line. If I was available and he were similarly inclined, I'd consider the space!

Here's a chunk from his Craigslist ad. If you're interested, comment here and I'll put you two in touch. (You can also try to contact him via LJ, but I would not consider that a reliable method.)

My housemate is going back to Turkey on the 5th of February, so I am looking for a new housemate to move in around then.

I'm asking $500 and half of the applicable utilities (heat and power required, internet optional). Half of the utilities with internet tops out near $150 in the dead of winter and drops to around $60 in the summer. The heat is forced air, heated with gas, so the gas bill is the real killer.

That gets you the room and the use of the living room, bathroom, and kitchen, refrigerator space and pantry space. The kitchen doesn't have enough counter space, but I don't think they ever do.

The room is a square about 12 feet on a side, with one corner lopped off for a door. It has a closet and two windows. The windows face northeast, but the room still gets good light. The room, and all of the apartment, has hardwood or tile floors. The room is away from the street and the front of the building.

There is storage in the basement, and washer/dryer hookups, but no laundry machines. There is a laundromat about 300 feet away.

The building itself is a triple-decker apartment building, with front and back stairs, but no elevator. It is located in Belmont, near the border with Waverly.

If you have a car, there is a reserved off-street parking space. If not, the local transit options are the 73 bus line (about 30 minutes to Harvard Sq., bus stop is half a block away), and the Fitchburg line of the commuter rail (A few blocks away). Alewife station is about two miles away and has a (recently improved!) bike lane for significant stretches of the distance.

There is a Shaws' Supermarket in walking distance, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's within convenient biking distance, and nice parkland within a few blocks.

Smoking is not allowed in the building, and I don't want to live with animals (pets or the guy from the muppet band).

I'm a graduate student in computer science and an engineer/electronics nerd with occasional pretensions of artistry. I use one room of the house as my electronics and general hacking lab. I'm an introvert, but you probably figured that out when I mentioned the computer science. I'm generally quiet but not antisocial. When I do make noise, it's usually a few minutes of power tools at reasonable hours, not a billion decibels of bass at 4AM.

I'm male. I mention this because it's important to some people, not because I care if you're male, female, other, vampire, dragon, etc.

Malware Alerts on Friends Page (not my journal!)

rigel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:38:38 GMT

As I may have mentioned elsewhere, I have regularly been receiving alerts about possible links to malware on my friends page. Malware from [sweepstakes*and*contests*info(dot)com, asterisks added to not replicate the original address], to be specific. This time it appeared right at the top, and with a little finagling, I was able to see who has posted since I last checked and didn't receive the malware alert on that page. Those users/journals are:

davis_square (posts by by miss_chance and closetalker11)
mindways (whose posts I've seen recently and don't seem to be triggering the alert, so likely not him)
breakinglight11
akiko
audioboy
drwex

At present, my suspicion is that it's the Davis Square LJ or, more likely, one of the two posters on it. I'm pretty sure I've seen posts from DragonWolf and AudioBoy without issue, and less sure about Dr. Wex and Akiko.

Just FYI.

My tweets

rigel — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:21:43 GMT

Пт, 00:23: Also: Imma grumpypants at the moment.
Пт, 00:26: Blah blah blah whinge whinge whinge want to do all the things.
Пт, 00:37: Micro summary: Because of combo of factors, going to talk of major steampunk artist at @ab3nd's lab (and spending time there) can't happen.
Пт, 00:41: Not a huge deal, but it sounded cool.
Пт, 02:09: . . . or I could look at the Occupy Boston live feed and be reminded that my problems are /incredibly/ trivial.
Пт, 02:25: I am aghast with horror. And non-trivially afraid. (Occupy stuff.) http://t.co/vTF0tJwg
Пт, 12:24: Blargh? Blargh.
Пт, 13:53: Whoa! I seem to have found a group of high level players! "Wanna test experimental potions with us?" XD
Пт, 14:51: In other news: If there's a deadline for a thing, it's usually helpful if I know what it is.
Пт, 15:00: Neat! http://t.co/WEL70Bos

Пт, 16:01: Not entirely sure how I feel about looking through sister's FB photos to get inspiration on what to wear tonight.
Пт, 17:18: Face mask drying. Shower soon.
Пт, 19:42: Almost at game! (I'm very late.)

Мои твиты

rigel — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:05:09 GMT

Чт, 15:17: Ah well. Hope for today to be a quiet day with me being the only person at home during the day failed. Meh.
Чт, 15:18: Also: There was another assault of a woman in the Porter area, on Cherry St. I think. Short guy wearing a ski mask, this morning.
Чт, 17:44: I has a ridiculous.
Чт, 17:55: One of my housemates perpetually talks to himself. I . . . am not sure how to politely ask him to stop.
Пт, 09:55: I . . . don't even know. http://t.co/5nOZnOwA
Пт, 09:56: Like others, I also really like this: http://t.co/3Dz0TsOK

Мои твиты

rigel — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:00:38 GMT

Вт, 14:43: Just "submitted a proposal" for how @ab3nd and I could spend $WINTERHOLIDAY plans with both families. I'm . . . oddly nervous and excited.
Вт, 17:20: I just ousted @kinnerc as the mayor of Ittyo on @foursquare! http://t.co/TeNlfGaE
Вт, 17:21: So, friends! Do I buy Skyrim? (This is an important question.)
Ср, 03:08: I had planned on going to sleep by 2am. Really, I did . . . but, I can do it now. Yes.

Lush Review: Three Gold Rings

rigel — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:41:38 GMT

Time for a holiday bath product review!

Three Gold Rings
Bubble Bar
Our most luxurious Bubble Bar this Christmas, Three Gold rings shares the rich vanilla fragrance of our Crème Anglais Body Lotion. Named for its three shimmering gold rings, this beauty is a sophisticated bath time treat. With soya milk powder to soften skin, fluffy, cozy bubbles and a delightfully rich fragrance – a mixture of vanilla absolute, sweet orange oil and myrrh, Three Gold rings is pure indulgence– ‘tis the season! The crème de la crème of Bubble Bars. Mounds of richly scented bubbles and golden waters make this a bath fit for royalty. Vanilla absolute (extracted from vanilla beans) gives this one its delightfully comforting fragrance.

In short: This is a Sunny Side bubble bar with even better skin properties, some vanilla and myrrh. And if you like the idea of a Sunny Side which is somewhat more luxurious and more earthy at the same time, great! Three Gold Rings is for you. I love watching the shimmery, swirly gold 'Star Trek transporter' effect in the water, too. Still, I won't miss it overly much if I can only buy Sunny Side. (I do like the mix of scents even better, though.

My Tweets

rigel — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 01:39:04 GMT

Сб, 02:42: Looking back at last Serendipity PEL and reminding myself what happened around then that caused late PEL may have been a bad idea.
Сб, 02:42: In other news , it's been about three months since Major Change. (Which was less than a week before Firefly, which does not surprise me.)

Lush winter products are in!

rigel — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:11:27 GMT

Huzzah, the Harvard Square Lush has the new winter products! I picked up one of each of the new products (in the class of products I tend to buy - bath bombs and bubble bars) to try out. Hopefully, reviews to follow some time in the near future.

Addendum: Make that most of the new products. I missed Christmas Eve, I just noticed, and Candy Mountain if I consider that sufficiently different from a prior release. More for later!

New Products
Abombinaball
Golden Wonder
The Melting Snowman
Rocketeer
Superstars
Three Gold Rings*

* - I may try this one tomorrow!

My tweets

rigel — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:30:31 GMT

Wed, 19:08: Long e-mails are long.
Wed, 19:08: Now I have more time to get ready to go to Toronto? #silverlining
Wed, 19:11: I want to be better about seeing people socially outside of parties additional to: my SOs, my housemates, occasionally @sylentsage.
Wed, 19:12: (Much as I like @sylentsage, the main reason he's on this list already is because we're still in Utena viewings.)
Wed, 20:06: Hmn. Perhaps it's not the best idea in the world to be poking people trying fervently to make their stuff work where photos are . . .
Wed, 21:40: Outfit is coming together.
Wed, 21:45: How is it already nearly 10pm?
Wed, 23:08: Ok! ~75% packed. Will be getting the car, setting up the GPS, etc. tomorrow.
Thu, 00:02: Huh! Sounds like both Starbucks and McDonald's gives you free WiFi. The Sbucks site alludes to 802.11; hopefully this won't cause a snag.
Thu, 13:20: Released early with permission to get done more for my trip to Toronto! Huzzah!

My tweets

rigel — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:15:50 GMT

Thu, 13:14: I want to figure out a way to be occasionally attentive to Twitter at work. I miss things otherwise!
Thu, 17:04: Aaaaand I'm out! See ya, work week! Imma get a bubble tea on the way home.
Thu, 18:15: Minecraft fixed.
Fri, 02:39: Sheets read. Sleep time now, for serious.
Fri, 02:40: . . . and I just remembered I have an appointment at 11am tomorrow. I r smrt. *facepalm*

BBB Complaint: All Seasons Home Remodeling

rigel — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:22:15 GMT

As of a couple hours ago, this post was going to be very different. Now, it's a summary of my Better Business Bureau complaint, and public.

Primary Nature of your Complaint: Failure to honor a repair estimate or agreement

Tell Us About Your Problem:
When All Seasons Home Remodeling came to repair our closet, I outlined the repairs I wished to have made in clear, simple detail. The repairs were as follows: 1) reflooring the closet floor with new, finished/varnished/smooth floorboards, 2) removing the broken wood closet pole supports, 3) adding a sturdy metal pole with supporting metal flanges, and 4) sealing and covering the hole in the ceiling with something waterproofed and professional looking as it looked up into the house insulation. I reviewed these repairs with Gary Mercer, their lead contractor, at the time and had them confirmed.

When one of his supporting contractors, Barry, came to perform the repair, his impression of the work required was quite different. It was confirmed that he received this list of repairs directly from Gary. He believed the repairs were as follows: 1) covering or "patching" the loose and broken floorboards with half inch unfinished plywood, 2) adding a wooden dowel as a closet pole, supported by metal flanges and brackets, and 3) covering the hole in the ceiling with more plywood without any waterproofing. The removal of the broken wood closet pole supports was not addressed.

Over the course of approximately an hour, as each of these discrepancies were made clear, phone calls were made by Barry (the on-site contractor) to Gary (the lead contractor), and by myself to Joannie (the receptionist/admin/dispatcher -- unsure of her formal title) and my landlord. Before I continue, I would like to make it clear that Barry and Joannie themselves acted with the utmost professionalism; Barry started showing me the provided materials and waited to perform work until he would hear from his boss, and Joannie stayed in contact with me throughout and assisted with much of the communication to Gary, offering her profuse apologies. As of the last set of phone calls, Gary was on his way back with a metal closet pole and finished floorboards, and wanted to talk to me briefly before commencing work to make sure we were all on the same page. Barry left to perform work at another site nearby, indicating that he would likely be back once Gary and I had spoken, indicating that the floorboard and closet pole work was "an easy job" and would only take a few hours.

After waiting an hour for Gary to arrive, I called Joannie to find out his estimated time of arrival. She called him to find out and called me back, stating that Gary had declined the job without informing her or me, effectively stating that it was too much hassle and that he didn't think I would be satisfied with the work "with all the changes I wanted," placing the blame for the difference in work expectations solidly on my shoulders. He also added that he had to pay Barry for an hour of work despite him not doing anything, necessitated by him having to wait to receive clear orders from Gary. Joannie was incredibly apologetic and said that she thought Gary -- who she now confided was her brother -- was not behaving appropriately, stating, "Oh, there are things I want to tell him too, believe me." She offered to make one more phone call to persuade him, which I accepted, but called me back to inform me that his decision was, sadly, final.

My tweets

rigel — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:15:38 GMT

Wed, 17:12: Today . . . could gave gone better. *facepalm*
Wed, 17:15: I swear, I should not be allowed to touch anyone's things but my own when I'm having a clumsy day. Aigh.
Wed, 17:22: Tangentially related to my day, date tonight has been canceled/postponed due to health reasons. (Everyone is fine.)
Wed, 20:28: Cleverbot just told me I have a pretty mouth. I am not joking.
Wed, 20:39: http://t.co/tKZ5Eq0 is hySTERical.
Wed, 23:51: I am wryly entertained by the idea that, due to governmental changes among others, I might want to move to Canada.
Wed, 23:52: In part, because I was pretty solid on not leaving the Boston area when @ab3nd wanted to move to Toronto.
Wed, 23:52: Note: I am not really considering this seriously . . . currently.

Looking for a job!

rigel — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:57:55 GMT

(Feel free to forward this on to relevant parties!)

Hi!

As some of you know, I've been looking for a job. Given the small, interlocking Dunbar's numbers that comprise the Boston geek community, there's a chance that you may know of one. I thought I'd send up a flare and let people know I'm still looking. Assistance would be appreciated, and possibly rewarded with socializing and/or tasty food!

My education (Masters level) is in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, though I have not worked in that field for several years. Most of my work experience is in administration, junior-level ad operations, and junior-level production assistance. I could potentially work in some areas of tech support.

My preferred work environments include: the tech sector (especially startups), education (especially university/higher education), and non-profit. I've also greatly enjoyed working in the video game industry. Mostly, my preferred environments have to do with working with intellectually curious and similarly aligned coworkers.

While I welcome comments here to the effect, "I know of something; I'll e-mail you!" I'd prefer the details about a job not posted here directly to avoid comment length. The best e-mail to reach me at regarding job offers or other vocational questions is my professional GMail account; my username is my last name followed by the first letter of my first name.

Thanks in advance!

My tweets

rigel — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:00:16 GMT

Sat, 13:35: Wow, my black jeans shorts are nearly sliding off me!
Sat, 13:56: As, Boston Tea Shop closed for today. Back to Porter!
Sat, 14:05: Trying Tapicha in Porter.
Sat, 14:14: Bubble tea get! Could go home, but sooooo tempted to stay here in the AC.
Sat, 14:35: I need to dress like a Bond girl on short notice. I am me-shaped. Advise?
Sat, 20:58: Sitting in Diesel, waiting to be joined by some peeps.
Sat, 22:57: Yep. I am not yet any good at Bananagrams.
Sun, 01:26: Holy moly, the acoustic version of Who Can It Be Now? by Colin Hay is EVEN BETTER than the original.
Sun, 01:26: Must get Men At Work album.

My tweets

rigel — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:00:28 GMT

Wed, 12:01: Time-sensitive things are time-sensitive. If I don't hear from the Cambridge place soon, I may have to go with the second Belmont one.
Wed, 12:16: . . . what? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ivYd2NDRvc (Nyan cat is not The Best At Space.)
Wed, 12:20: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Wheatley's 'the best' at flirting. Not Work Safe.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeBqvIzcU7c
Wed, 13:07: Apartment viewing today at 5:30! And then Ludo! Woo!
Wed, 16:00: Hrm. Should I dress up for the Ludo concert tonight?
Wed, 16:00: I can't find my cool space cat shirt, though the last time I wore that I weighed less. It might not fit me.
Wed, 16:07: The only thing I own that sort of makes sense for the theme is my sparkly starfield-looking dress.
Thu, 07:57: There /may/ be a solution. Maybe. Possibly.
Thu, 07:58: Hopefully, I will know more in the next . . . 24 hours or so.
Thu, 08:02: Meanwhile, I wait

Thu, 08:02: A;so: Ludo was LOTS of fun. But I seriously think I was the oldest person in the audience who wasn't there as the guardian of someone else.
Thu, 08:03: They were also only passingly friendly, which was really a shame. Hmn. Maybe back to just listening to their CDs.
Thu, 08:05: Ok, brain. I've responded to some e-mail. Could I sleep now, maybe? Possibly? Yeah?
Thu, 09:20: Today: Wash, dress, pick up car, go to backup apartment viewing, get stuff done around the house, dinner out i Plymouth!

My tweets

rigel — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:00:25 GMT

Tue, 12:28: Yep. Still no profile reapproval love from Google+.
Tue, 14:16: Soooooo. If I were to move to Belmont between Harvard and BCoS, right around the Cambridge/Belmont/Watertown line, would you visit me?
Tue, 14:17: (More Am I On The Moon Or Not? posts!)
Tue, 14:19: (I do not want to be estraaaaanged . . .(
Tue, 15:18: RT @tiven: Scoring the last couple of Second Shift scenes EVER! Gotta send the show out in style.
Tue, 16:06: Hmmmmmmn. Is my Internet down/flaky for some reason, or am I having DNS lookup issues?
Tue, 16:19: Had to cancel my later tenant meeting and the earlier one canceled herself. Maybe it's a sign?
Tue, 16:36: Randomly supernervous about my 6:30pm appointment.
Tue, 18:03: SOMEONE PUT A DEPOSIT ON THE BELMONT PLACE AS I WAS HEADING THERE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME
Tue, 20:05: Other acquaintance of mine pulled out. Crap. I think I pressured her too much.

Tue, 20:42: Maybe I'll just spend the evening obsessively reloading Craigslist housing posts under the false belief that'll make a difference.
Tue, 20:44: Even the studios I'd live in are starting to disappear. I am so boned.
Tue, 22:54: I am pretty darn sure I do not want to live in Salem, cool as it seems.
Tue, 23:55: Maaaaaay have found a workable thing? But, hoom, exhusted.
Wed, 07:32: Counting my Blessings: Sleeping pretty well from 1am until now.
Wed, 07:36: I did wake up with a start wondering if there was a response to an e-mail, but.
Wed, 07:51: Dear Universe: I will spend the entirety of August packing my life away if you'll just give me a place I can live with @ab3nd. Please.
Wed, 08:04: Wow. After looking up the realtor who had the amazing apartment yesterday, I'm consistently seeing 1 star ratings on Yelp.
Wed, 08:05: Ok, no, there are a couple of two stars and one five stars. But.
Wed, 08:34: My Google+ profile is still being reviewed!

Wed, 09:32: I know that realty agencies need to assign customers to an agent, but getting flak because you happened to talk to the wrong one? Not cool.
Wed, 10:06: Aaaaaaand the first of the brownouts starts.
Wed, 10:13: One of the odd side effects of perpetual housing search: Getting JoCo's "Brookline" stuck in my head.

Ask GChat Guru EllJay

rigel — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:47:25 GMT

As of a handful of days ago -- oddly enough, since about when my Google+ account was suspended, but I don't think the two events are related -- I've been experiencing an odd GChat bug.

No matter what I do, my GChat status lists me as Busy to other people, with absolutely no status message. I can try to change it to any number of statuses in the Available or Busy category, either custom or provided, and it doesn't change what other users see. The only time I'm now listed as available is when my iPhone app IM+ overrides my status and lists me as Available on my phone.

This happens regardless of what machine I'm on, what OS I'm using (as far as I can tell), or what browser I'm using.

The closest thing I've found to a comparable bug is this:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Talk/thread?tid=4f2c52fc3f08b397&hl=en

That has more to do with being stuck in Available mode, however. A few days ago I found a thread about being stuck in Busy mode which I can no longer find (and didn't save, sadly) which seemed to indicate that updating one's version of Java would help, leading a Mac user to say that they couldn't use that fix as Apple has its own version of Java. Even so, I've cleared the cache from my browsers and made sure I'm not logged in elsewhere, and it doesn't seem to help.

Anyone have any ideas?

Suspended on Google+

rigel — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:43:05 GMT

This morning, I bopped on over to my Google+ account to add some folks and post something. In trying to do so -- add people or post -- I found I couldn't. I couldn't even get to my Circles page.

And then I tabbed over to my Profile page, and found out why. It was suspended for violating their Community Standards.

If one goes to said page, one will see the list of Community Standards. They include:
- Nudity and Sexually Explicit Material
- Hate Speech
- Impersonation
- (unauthorized publishing of) Private and Confidential Information
- Copyright (infringement)
- Illegal Activities
- Spam, Malware and Phishing
- Display Name (aka not using your birth name)
- Profile Picture (including mature of offensive content)

Supposedly, this is to stop people from creating fake accounts and spamming. And I get that. Even so, this is effectively indicating that using something other than your identified name is as bad as copyright infringement, spamming, hate speech, and promoting illegal activities.

There's also the Google+ Project page on one's name and Google profile. It mentions "three different types of use" for Google products: identified, unidentified, and pseudonymous, but it doesn't really get into how those types of use function. (It does mention that you can't use Buzz or +1s without an identified name, though.) Google's public policy page on personal identification also touches on this, but not extensively; all it mentions is that you can use YouTube or Blogger with a pseudonym. (Because, you see, Blogger and YouTube are a form of self-expression that deserves anonymity for reasons of safety and/or privacy. Google+, it appears, is not. At least Twitter got this right, allowing you to call yourself what you like and lock your tweets.)

I've given in and used my real name on my Google+ account. But I'm not happy about it. I've turned off my search visibility in my profile, but that's not really what I was looking for. I just wanted to identify in the way I felt fit me best. And now I can't add people to Circles, or post, or pretty much do anything but read, until they re-review me and deem me appropriate. All I have is this:

"Your profile was flagged for violating our Community Standards and is currently under review. During this time, you will not be able to fully use Google services that require an active profile and your profile will not be visible to others. Check back soon for the review results."

My tweets

rigel — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:00:22 GMT

Wed, 16:50: Tenant #1 today seems nice, pleasant and knows people I know. On the other hand, she has a potential place to live on her own. Urgh.
Wed, 16:50: I see tenant #2 in a little over an hour.
Wed, 20:20: . . . I have been so preoccupied lately that I haven't realized I didn't eat today until JUST NOW.
Wed, 23:41: My stress levels are, I THINK, slowly dropping. Slowly.
Thu, 00:43: Hot damn. http://www.oimag.com/iwave/images/36/o-fright-night-3d-s-peter-vincent-is-on-fire.jpg
Thu, 01:36: Here's to hopefully getting a full night's sleep for the first time in several nights.
Thu, 11:22: Well, that's one small worry off my chest. (If I do HAVE to move still for some reason, the movers I want still have availability.)

My tweets

rigel — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:00:18 GMT

Thu, 12:36: Today appears to be "you can get it, but not here" day. (Need to get allergy meds at another CVS; need to get shoes at another store.)
Thu, 13:52: Cute sandals are cute! http://t.co/fxrg6wJ
Thu, 15:58: Good: New sandals, and fun weekend ahead. Poor: Less choice. (Haven't found a suitable place for @ab3nd and I in time.)
Thu, 15:59: (Unless the Huron Village landlady ends up much cooler than I thought she'd be, or the place tonight pans out.)
Thu, 16:12: Anyone know anything about the area roughly around Morgan and Beacon Street in Somerville?
Thu, 16:32: Are my parties rowdy? I tried to ask a prospective landlady about a housewarming, and she said they were tentatively fine . . .
Thu, 16:33: . . . adding, "So long as they're not rowdy," and "This is a quiet neighborhood." (Her brother lives downstairs and shes in her 60s?)
Thu, 16:34: The realtor won't ask her again; he said I already set off red flags by asking more than once during the meeting (her answer was unclear).
Thu, 16:36: If it were one of those, "Keep it down, guys - the landlord wants it quieter by midnight" that would be fine. But if they want silence @10?
Thu, 17:23: Suddenly incredibly tense and not sure why.

Thu, 17:24: Oh, wait, no. I know why.
Thu, 17:42: About to go into what's probably the last apartment viewing we have of this year. Huzzah? (Don't even know if it's a walk-through.)
Thu, 19:31: Holy Jeebus. Watertown is MORE restrictive than Arlington when it comes to parking?
Thu, 19:31: Also: DEMMIT. Sandals are biting into my feet. Aaaargh.
Thu, 20:31: Holy mood crash, Batman.
Thu, 20:41: Today's mood crash is brought to you by regret and perceptions of inadequacy. Regret: Fueling Rose Duelists since time immemorial.
Thu, 23:39: My apartment needs tenants. Come live with awesome people! (PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST! ) http://rigel.livejournal.com/1914202.html
Fri, 08:27: I'm getting really sick of waking up at 7-8 am despite going to bed at 2am. THERE IS NOTHING TO WAKE UP FOR, BRAIN.
Fri, 08:44: Probably better time to ask: My apartment needs tenants. Come live with awesome people! (PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST! ) http://bit.ly/qvn462
Fri, 10:37: COULD THERE BE A DAY WHEN SOMETHING STRESSFUL AND AWFUL DOES NOT HAPPEN PLEASE

Fri, 10:38: Seriously. Also, life, stop messing with my loved ones.