Second Geekhood

Author Archives: TimeSiren

My Dream Doll…*sigh*

Posted on by Posted in Anime, BJDs and Doll Clothing

Dream Doll

If you are wondering what “BJD” in the category title stands for, it is Japanese “Ball Joint Dolls”. I have seen them around at different anime conventions, but found my dream doll at Fanime Con last year at the San Jose Convention Center. She was in the dealer’s room and was too much at the time for me to afford. I have not forgotten her and am in the process of saving up to get her (or the parts to recreate her).

Keeping the dream alive, I’m planning on going to a doll meet in Torrance this weekend.

Thank you, Open Cart!

Posted on by Posted in 'round the 'net, Damn Technology!, Website Tech Tips - Knowledge for Knerds

You may notice that my jewelry & giftware website, EarthDaughter Arts, has been down for two weeks. That is because some asshat credit card scammers in Russia hacked it. My ISP shut the website down and I had to clean out the files and start over again.

I really want to nail those bastards in Russia.

But, will you hear me complain about having to clean out those files and reboot a website that has been up since 1992? No, not really. You see, I have been wanting to take down the website and clean it up and out, completely and utterly for a couple of months anyways. Yes it was a pain in the butt to have to drop everything and deal with this mess, but it was worth it and I was wanting to do it anyway.

Everything happens for a reason.

So…what does this have to do with Open Cart? Well, I had Zen Cart as my shopping cart for a few years now and it was difficult to manage for a number of reasons…the back-end being too complex, for one. So, in a pondry as to which shopping cart to go to next (heck, I wasn’t even looking!), I ran across a local programmer in my networking circles that uses Open Cart. My God, what a LIFESAVER. The thing is so simple to use, even a retard could install and use it. *jumping up and down with glee!*

After my new programmer took me on a working tour of the Open beast, I jumped on installing one on my system ASAP. Then, to my horror, after I had deleted all the sample categories for products, the damn thing wouldn’t let me create new ones! WTF?!?!?!!!! I went to Open Cart’s forum and looked up the problem. They knew what it was.

Would you believe it was the Germans???

Yes, the problem (for those of you tearing your hair out), is the stupid German language module in the admin area. Find the language and delete it, dude. Then your Open Cart will work like a charm. God, I love forums. Go to them early and often and you won’t have to rely on the lack of customer service and 24/7/365 tech support #s.

Open Cart Forum Discussion on Categories problem in Open Cart

Welcome to "Damn Technology!"

Posted on by Posted in Damn Technology!

gun to a computer

$%#*!!! Tech!

Actually, I love technology. Grew up around it with my father working for United Airlines maintenance yards in South San Francisco in the 1960s – ’70s. He said he took me there as a baby to show me off…yeah, I *think* I remember something vaguely about that ;P

What I remember more is sitting on the couch watching in fascination as he cut his own slides and mounted them with a heat-press-thingy. He looked like he was having fun and I wanted to do it. He had a darkroom in the garage he also used to develop his own black and white photos. Next were his filing cabinets of photography equipment and cassette tapes. He made his own tape recordings of record albums to play in the car when he commuted to work every day. He always watched science programs and I was right there on the couch, sitting next to him, listening to the program and him talk. I probably asked questions, but don’t remember if I did.

Sadly, he passed away in December 1976. Star Wars came out in May 1977 and I know he would have loved the science fiction and technology sides of it. Every time there is a leap in computer, entertainment, medical or space tech, I think of him and know he would have been fascinated by how far and how fast we have come.

So there you are, I still love technology. And since I am, among many things, a website designer and mess around with throwing in the occasional software program and hard drive in my computer, it is a love/hate relationship. I love the breakthroughs…I HATE the malfunctioning software, the defective hard drives, the viruses and spam, BUT my generation created the internet and now it is so easy to keep in touch with those loved ones and friends that have had to move away. The trade-off is fair. I’ll live with it.

And in the meantime, I will review, rant and rave about all the neato things that are in our world of technology. I hope you’ll stick around to throw your opinion in too, on occassion. You’re welcome to it!

What's New on the Bead Board

Posted on by Posted in Beadwork, Crafting, Journal of the MoonWitch

My latest fancy in the world of beadwork and stretching myself? My beaded bottles. What are they for? What do you put in them? This s a question I get a lot when I wear them. You can use them for perfume, for holy water if you are a vampire chaser *grin*, or for holding essential oils. I’ve done the first and the latter, but haven’t chased vampires since my story writing days, so I leave the holy water to someone else, though I have been known to carry Moon Water in it. My favorite thing is to tell people to put an eyedropper in it so the contents can be taken out easily without spillage. Their eyes usually light up at that.

Though I haven’t put bead to needle in a couple of weeks, I am working my way back to springing off the ideas that sparked these beauties. I want something that will take less time, but still look elaborate and beautiful. Something in a lower price point for those who long to possess these little goodies, but can’t spare the cash for the big items yet.

Autumn Leaves Beaded Bottle

Autumn Leaves Beaded Bottle - closeup

)O( )O( )O(   )O( )O( )O(   )O( )O( )O(   )O( )O( )O(  

This one is my favorite. My artistically talented friends think so too, and that is a great compliment. They love the colors and they are REALLY FUSSY with that in their own work. I got them just right…how AWESOME is that?!?

Pink and Blue Iris Beaded Bottle, Kristine Cherry, EarthDaughter Arts.

Pink and Blue Iris Beaded Bottle

Pink and Blue Iris Beaded Bottle closeup, Kristine Cherry, EarthDaughter Arts

Pink and Blue Iris Beaded Bottle - closeup

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My first experiment with doing this type of beadwork came about with this bottle. The colors symbolize Rosemary and all it’s attributes. Rosemary is a “warm, fiery” herb (symbolized by the red beads). It’s appearance is like an evergreen in the year-round, slim, dark green leaves (hence the green – I even found beads that mimic their appearance perfectly!). The flowers are the same color as rosemary flowers, recreated here with small bunches of stone chips. I’ve received a lot of compliments on the perfectly stitched pattern of white and red beadwork on the body. That was a joy to do and I’m really proud of how it came out. The challenge was in creating the strap. That required several redos and nearly made me tear my hair out, but perserverence paid off.

Rosemary Oil Magical Bottle, Kristine Cherry, EarthDaughter Arts

Rosemary Oil Magical Bottle

Rosemary Oil Magical Bottle closeup, Kristine Cherry, EarthDaughter Arts

Rosemary Oil Magical Bottle closeup

Gallifrey One: Blackjack 21

Posted on by Posted in Children in Need, Cosplay, Creative Madness, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Videos, Gallifrey One, Humor, Matt Smith, Peter Davison, Videos

Gallifrey One Blackjack 21

Dennis and I always love this convention…oh my goodness. How could I not adore it when I met Peter Davison (my favorite Doctor) in 1995 at The Six Wives of Gallifrey One? Getting the chance to talk to him, one-on-one, for several minutes while no one else was around, launched my interest in finally sitting down and taking another go at understanding a show that had left me very confused and disinterested when viewing it back in my childhood.

Okay, yes, this used to be embarassing to admit, but I didn’t understand British humor until I was in my 30s. It was only because Peter was so incredibly nice and sweet and gentle that I got intensely interested in watching the show. He was so much like my husband, Dennis, that the instant linking to the persona behind the 5th Doctor was completely natural.

That was why I wasn’t worried at all about his beautful daughter, Georgia Moffett, being anything but a reflection of her father. This being her first convention, she said in the closing ceremonies that she had a marvelous time and the fans were wonderful and awesome and fantastic and she thoroughly enjoyed her first Gallifrey experience. Between Dennis and I, we have wonderful memories of her relating her experiences of being the daughter of parents who were both actors, (Her father: “You will always be broke and starve if you become an actor.”), which she said gratefully has not been the case thus far. When acting with her father, upon the director wanting her character to be more flirty with Peter, she replied, “I can’t do that…he’s my father!” Good for her! And two of the most touching things he said to her were, 1. about being in Doctor Who, “It’s your turn now, kiddo.”, and 2. when acting with her, he said he doesn’t always see the women she has become, but sees, “his little girl”. This is the beauty in the heart of the man I have come to adore as my favorite Doctor, that place challenged only by David Tennant, and then, it is a neck-and-neck race.

This being the case, you can only imagine my glee and joy when the Children in Need special, “Time Crash”, aired. If you haven’t seen it, or are wondering who Peter Davison is and was he a good Doctor, let me answer those by directing you to this YouTube video of that very special special:

An awesome Gallifrey this year, with great costumes of Timelords:

Doctor Who Time Lords

A fantastic cosplay of Sally Sparrow and a Weeping Angel from the Tennant episode, “Blink”, a HUGELY popular and scary episode, ranking among the cream of the best of the crop of his era so far:

Doctor Who Sally Sparrow and Weeping Angel

Am soooo looking forward to next year’s Gallifrey when Peter Davison will be back and we have had the first year of the new Matt Smith Doctor. We also got to preview the brand new trailer for his era:


He already looks promising, though the outfit does look like he mugged a schoolteacher…*sigh* Guess they all can’t be dressed as hot as David Tennant.

Doctor Who Favorites

Posted on by Posted in David Tennant, Doctor Who Videos, Videos

OMG! My,what skinny, chicken legs you have, David Tennant!
Scary that he is actually better looking than some women I’ve seen at local science fiction conventions, LMAO!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4dUQgIaXGg

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We were afraid that Catherine Tate wouldn’t pass muster as a Timelord’s companion back when it was announced that she was the new resident of the TARDIS. She was known as a comedian across the pond. Happily, we had an open mind and grew to love her performances. This is a great piece with David Tennant and took great coordination in dialogue. Enjoy!

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If you harbor some fantasy about having David Tennant in his underwear, tied to your bed, here’s a taste of what that would look like…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhYkzbT79zs

Notice I didn’t say it was some sort of sick fantasy…hey…bondage can be fun! *evil, wicked grin!*

So, What Anime are we into?

Posted on by Posted in Anime

Here’s a list:

Bleach
Blood Plus
Code Geass
Cowboy Beebop
Death Note
Eureka 7!
Fooly Cooly
Full Metal Alchemist – series and movie
Full Metal Panic!
Ghost in the Shell – all seasons and movies
Gurren Lagann
Inuyasha
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
Naruto
Nausicca
Ouran High School Host Club
Paranoia Agent
Read or Die – original and the T.V. series
Saber Marionette – all three series
Samurai 7
Samurai Champloo
Shin Chan
Xxxholic

Yes, I love Farmville

Posted on by Posted in Facebook, Twitter, Blah, Blah, Blah, Farmville

Farmville - my poppy fields

Yup, I play Farmville. I have gotten a big enough farm and enough coins and Farmville cash that now I want to sit down sometime and really design it. You know, do the landscaping really nicely. I have seen some awesome farms out there and they really inspire me to create my dream farm.

I would love to have you as a neighbor. Please catch me through my Facebook link and tell me you want to be a neighbor.

See you ’round the farm =D