ferrousland.com - general news
stuff that doesn't really fit into any particular category.
only the fifteen most recent entries in this category are shown below. to see other entries in this category use the navigation to the right.
February 28, 2010
Roller derby rocks! - 04:05 PM
Today I went to a fresh meat intake of roller derby on the north side of Brisbane. Oh, my goodness. It was such fun!
After signing on, getting numbers safety-pinned to our backs, and sitting down for an information session, more than 30 new girls (fresh meat) went out to skate and be observed by some members of the derby team.
We skated pretty much non-stop for about an hour. I was a big ball of sweat by the time they halved the group, sitting the other half in the middle of the rink, and watched each of us a little more closely to see how we did with stride, cross overs, balancing on one foot, and stopping.
After a demo of the team doing what they do, we all got back onto the rink and had a game of 'mats'. It's the same as musical chairs, but instead of chairs, there are small, very worn, squares of carpet. There are fewer carpet squares than people, of course, so when the music stops, whoever isn't on a mat has to leave the floor. I managed to stay in the game right until the end when I was one of just two girls going for one mat! I couldn't believe it! *grin*
I took a couple of good falls on my bum diving for the mats, but had only one fall while we were skating. The sliding falls onto my bum are already making my tail bone suffer, but I had one 'good' fall where I went down onto one knee (wearing knee pads, of course) and I managed to avoid hitting the floor. My legs are already really sore. What's the bet that tomorrow I can barely walk. Heh.
Training starts next week, and we'll learn more, such as how to fall properly and how to play the game. I can't wait. I'm really excited about it. I've never really played competitive sport before, unless you count netball when I was a kid, so this is very exciting for me.
February 18, 2010
My life has been interesting, of late - 05:35 PM
Boy has my life been interesting, of late. Like train wreck interesting.
Smiley is going to school.
The decision was not mine to end his home education. His dad said he would take it to child welfare if I didn't agree to send him to school. I wasn't willing to put Smiley through the emotional trauma of a court case and the extreme likelihood of me losing him (the courts are very biased against home education) over school, no matter how important it was to me. Some things aren't worth the fight. Pick your battles, you know?
I hate almost every moment of what's involved with him going to school, but he's doing fine. I may go into more detail about this at some point.
DO NOT tell me how he'll do really well at school and it'll be good for him. I don't want to hear well-meaning, 'Oh, he'll make lots of little friends!' He was doing really well at home education, it was good for him, and he already had lots of little friends, thankyouverymuch.
My goal, since he was an infant, to home educate him for at least the first three years of his school life has been rudely taken away from me. I'm very angry about it and I will be angry about it for a very long time.
On a much more pleasant note: I have a new boyfriend. We've been seeing each other for about 5 months. He's really sweet. I like him a lot. 
October 11, 2009
It's been so long! - 04:45 PM
I've had a couple of you email me asking where I've been. Heh. :-P
Sorry, all. I've been a slack bum. I've been busy being social, mostly, since I've had spare time while Smiley's been spending time with his dad. I've been missing him heaps, only seeing him a few days a week, but aside from that, I've been well.
This social life thing. Wow. I'd forgotten what it was like. LOL! 
Not really much to say at this point, but I'll update again when I have something even remotely interesting to say.
August 01, 2009
So much going on in the past two weeks - 12:06 PM
So it's been two and a half weeks since I updated ferrousland. Naughty me. 
A lot has happened in that time. Some of the happenings, and the repercussions of those happenings, or perhaps more correctly, my reaction to those happenings, has meant no updates for ages.
This is going to be a long entry, so if you're interested, keep reading.
July 03, 2009
I'm on Twitter - 08:56 PM
I don't think I've ever mentioned it here, so in case you don't already know, I'm on Twitter. As @ferrous of course.
If you're on Twitter, too, feel free to follow me and make sure you @ reply me to say 'Hi'!
June 29, 2009
Dogs and cats - 12:22 PM
I have a long-held theory that not only are there dog people and cat people, as in those who prefer dogs and those who prefer cats, but dog people and cat people in the sense that some people are like dogs and some are like cats.
I am a dog. I'm a very open person. I'll meet someone and if we get along well, within 5 minutes they may know half of my life story. I really get into the things that I really get into. I'm passionate and enthusiastic and physically expressive. There is no mystery with me.
I'm even more so like a dog in regard to relationships. When I get attached to someone, I do it with my whole self: I don't hold back. When I like someone, I like them a lot. If I like you and you go away from me, one day apart seems like a lifetime, and when you come back I'm all over you like I haven't seen you for years.
(Actually, there is one way that in which I'm like a cat. I love having my back scratched and I'll start squirming and stretching and almost even purring if someone gives me a good back scratch. But that's beside the point.)
Cat people seem to be more haughty and distant. They hold back. If they decide they like you, then they'll let you know, but they usually don't jump all over you straight away. They're a little bit mysterious and you usually find out all about them just a little bit at a time as they sparingly choose to share tidbits of their life pre-knowing you.
I'm a dog through and through. Aside from the back scratching thing, I'm about as far from being a cat as you can get.
Do you think my theory is valid? How about you? Cat or dog? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
June 26, 2009
Proper case - 06:14 PM
You may have noticed that last post was written using all proper case. I started out ferrousland using all lower case mainly due to laziness, but then it became a style. However, since I've been writing for my other site, Earth and Body Friendly (which is not just a personal blog like this one, but has a more professional focus) and since I've been using my iPhone (which autocorrects to proper case), I've started using proper case in some places. I was getting confused switching between the two styles, but now I've been leaning towards proper case for everything.
So that was the official change from all lower case to proper case on ferrousland and everywhere.
I might even change it in the navigation, categories, etc, one day. *shrugs*
What makes a geek a geek? - 06:12 PM
I've referred to myself as a geek for a few years. Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not as geeky as some, but I think there are a few things which qualify me as a card-carrying geek:
- I've created and maintained my own webcams/blogs/websites for many years.
- I love coding. Even though my brain turned to mush when I was pregnant with my boy and hasn't yet recovered, meaning I haven't coded for years, I still love PHP. I even tried some BASIC way back when I won a Commodore 64 at a skating rink competition when I was 11. That was fun.
- I worked as a website developer and was paid to put my hands inside the guts of computers regularly.
- I'm not fully into sci-fi, but I do enjoy some Dr Who (and perhaps even more so, Torchwood), I love The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I loved Firefly.
- Most of my friends are geeks.
I've also realised that most of my serious relationships have been with geeks: my ex-husband is a geek; my previous boyfriend is a bit of a geek; my current boyfriend is a full on geek (and a very cute one, at that. *grin*).
Since I've been using Twitter more, I've tended to follow geeky types, because I enjoy what they talk about and link to. Lately, I've been reading a few articles about geek girls and I just started thinking what exactly is it that makes a geek a geek? Not just girls, but geek boy or girl.
I suspect it's more than just one thing. Any type of person might do or be one or two of the things on this possible list of geeky things, but that doesn't necessarily classify them as a geek, right? Perhaps it's having a few core geeky values, combined with some lesser-ranking geek traits.
So what do you think makes a geek a geek? What can you suggest that would go on this list of geek traits?
June 06, 2009
a short, but truthful, exchange - 09:10 PM
young twitter friend: this growing up thing isn't very appealing, to be honest.
me: i can vouch for that. occasionally it sucks not having anyone to blame but yourself.
phishing for what? - 07:50 PM
just got this email in my inbox. please tell me that no one would seriously be fooled by this:
GOOGLE GIVE-AWAY WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!
This E-mail is to inform you that your e-mail emerged as a winner of £500,000.00 GBP (Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in our online Give-away draws. GoogleUK has successfully organized for the second time a Cash Give-Away in the UK. Over £20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million British pounds) is to be given out for this Draws.
No purchases of tickets were required. Participants for the draws were randomly selected from a world wide range of web searchers who use the Google search engine (Googler) and other Google ancillary services. Google is now the biggest search engine worldwide and in an effort to make sure that it remains the most widely used search engine, Google is running an e-mail beta test.
Your email address was linked with our Computer Generated Profile Numbers(CGPN) and attached to the following details: Computer Generated Profile Numbers (CGPN):7-22-71-00-66-12, Ticket number: 00869575733664, Serial numbers:/BTD/8070447706/06, Lucky numbers: 12-12-23-35-40-41(12), was picked among our lucky winners to receive £500, 000.00 British pounds.
Winners were selected randomly through a computer ballot system from worldwide users of the Google search engine.
YOUR WINNING DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOW:
Computer Generated Profile Numbers (CGPN):7-22-71-00-66-12
Ticket number: 00869575733664
Serial numbers: / BTD/8070447706/06
Lucky numbers: 12-12-23-35-40-41(12)
To claim your give-away prize, send the following. Your full names.................
, sex...............................,Location............................Alternate
e-mail address..................Your winning details.................
To your processing agent (Mr. Francis Henson) who have been assigned to handle your winning file and payment processing.
Your Processing Agent contact:
Mr. Francis Henson,
Email: giveaways.promoonline004@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Mrs Ann M. Johnson.
*sigh* there must be some really stupid &/or gullible people out there to be tricked into giving their personal details in return for an email like that.
it's sad for real if the person who is fooled is someone elderly whose wits aren't about them anymore.
June 02, 2009
burning toast is a bit scary - 09:51 AM
i just burnt the toast .. & not in a good way (if there is such a thing).
the toast actually caught fire in the toaster. the smoke alarm went off, but because those things have been overreacting in the past, i didn't actually look for a fire, i just went to get the broom to wave at it.
fortunately, smiley was near the kitchen & saw the toast actually in flames.
this is scary for two reasons: 1) i can't see the toaster from where i sit at my workspace; 2) where it sits now is under a set of shelves attached to the wall.
it wasn't all the way under the shelf, so i wasn't really worried about it heating up the shelf above it enough for it to catch fire with normal use of the toaster. it hadn't occurred to me to be concerned about what might happen if the toaster malfunctioned, which is exactly what happened.
it seems that the toaster has decided to break. the two side elements aren't working at all & the middle element is working on overtime. it was very brightly lit & very hot, which is why the toast caught fire.
i guess a new toaster is on the shopping list for when i can afford one. using the griller to make toast in the meantime is rather annoying. it doesn't work as well, takes ages to cook the toast & it sets off the smoke alarms. what a pain in the bum.
i think i'll sit here & wait for the adrenaline rushing around my body to dissipate. the actual fire wasn't all that scary. it's what might have happened that scared me.
May 30, 2009
shocker of a week - 09:21 AM
gosh it's been a weird & annoying week.
for starters, i went over my download limit on my internet, so it's been throttled. that's so very painful. the speed is terrible. for example, last night it took an hour to download a 9 minute video on youtube. ugh. this has been partly solved by NB (new boy, remember?) lending me his USB internet key & me putting some credit on it, but i seem to be destined to live in 3G blackspots, because no matter where in the house i put it, the connection is really patchy & i thought i'd wasted my money on the internet credit. mind you, it saved me this morning. more about that in a minute.
then, at the end of last week my body started doing weird stuff that's been a bit worrying. i'll tell more about that when i know what's going on.
last sunday afternoon, i accidentally broke my iPWR charger/battery extender for my iPhone. i love my iPhone, but the battery life sucks in a big way. almost everyone knows that about it. the iPWR partly solved that problem. i'm hoping it'll be covered under warranty, but i haven't heard back yet. being saturday, i guess i won't hear back until at least monday now. frustrating.
in the middle of the night on tuesday, i managed to actually smash the screen of my iphone when i somehow knocked it onto the hard tiles on the floor. i was so upset about it. these things are such handy little devices that you end up putting your life on them, so to not have it working was going to kill me. fortunately, a friend helped me out & i was able to replace it that very day. it cost a pretty penny, though. doh.
this morning i woke up to my internet, my home phone & my mobile all having no connection. what with the goings-on of the past week, i'd totally forgotten about paying the remainder of an overdue bill, & so all three had been cut off. all three are with the same provider, you see. maybe there's a lesson there for the future. mind you, i'm in the process of changing over internet & phone provider, so that'll be solved soon.
as part of this change over process, i've had a landline installed (as opposed to the 3G phone line that's connected through my 3G modem), so i was able to call mum to tell her not to come to the markets today to pick up smiley because i was keeping him at home with me (he's got a cold & a mild fever). i was also able to get online with the USB internet key to shuffle some money around so i could pay the bill. i was then able to use my landline to call them to pay the bill & get my connection & phone back up & running.
tell you what, NB has been such a life saver this week. almost all of the things that have gone wrong this week have been solved either directly by him, or indirectly via his past suggestions and recommendations.
so, as bad weeks go, it's not been that horrible since most of the problems have been sorted in one way or another .. but gosh, i could really do with a bit of a break now. please?
May 26, 2009
smashed the screen - 01:02 AM
i just smashed the screen of my iphone. i kid you not.
i accidentally tugged on the cable & it fell off my bed head onto to the hard floor onto one corner.
it still works, but probably not for long if i use it or touch it & the pieces of the screen shift & move.
*cries*
May 13, 2009
a change i do not like, twitter! - 02:41 PM
twitter has made a change so that replies from people you are following to people you are not following will no longer show on your timeline, seemingly with no option to turn it back on!
i don't like that change at all. i would like an option to turn it back on. many of the interesting people i've found on twitter i found by seeing & then following the one-sided replies of the people whom i already follow.
bad, twitter! bad! 
May 11, 2009
rude people - 11:09 AM
i'm really enjoying this video blogging thing. here's a personal vlog about a situation at the markets on the weekend.
some text ads:
Nevis Hotel - Credit Card Consolidation - Credit Counseling - Nevis Hotel
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