You're a geek girl if...

This is sort of an informal list I've been keeping for a few years. A few months back, I posted it on Technochicks, and got a few more good ones. The events of Valentine's Day prompted me to post it on my blog. :)

You're a geek girl if...

You own more computer media than makeup (and carry more of it with you, too).

When you wear makeup, your friends ask you "What's the special occasion?"

You can keep track of chargers for your iPod, DS, PDA, GPS unit, digital camera, and laptop, but you've lost your lipstick. Again.

You've been hit on by a Jedi, a Klingon, a pirate, and an elf, and it's not even lunchtime yet.

After the last entry, you added "Jedi" and "Klingon" to your spell check, and then threw in a dozen other words for good measure.

You miss Surge, because it was a great stand-in for Bouncy Bubble Beverage during gaming sessions.

You've had to replace elf ears or horns because they're worn out.

Your costume wardrobe is bigger than your real life one.

Packing for a vacation requires an extra bag for your laptop and all your travel chargers.

You barely read the local paper, but you know about strange events all around the world.

Your sweetie has bought you things with power cords for Valentine's Day, and you were ecstatic. (Who needs onyx jewelry when you can have an onyx DS Lite?

You don't know the names of your neighbors, but you know the handles and real life names of dozens of people around the world...

And their blogs, websites, and social networking IDs.

You go through your day looking for things to blog.

Google is your best friend.

Your favorite number is pi.

In your mind hottest = smartest (Courtesy of Anathema)

You're in the hospital and a guy comes in to replace the monitor, and the nurses get upset it will bother you, but all you want to know is the resolution on it. (This really happened with Ishy; she's a bigger geek than I am!)

And now for true confession time:

You're a geek girl if your husband gives you diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, and topazes for Valentine's Day...in Diablo II...

...And you're terribly excited about it, and spend an hour selling off stuff to make room for them in your inventory.

Yes, it's really true. And my favorite number really is pi.

2009 Audiobook Challenge

J. Kaye is doing an audiobook challenge over at J. Kaye's Book Blog. As it happens, I love audiobooks almost as much as I love regular books. It's just so much easier to listen to audio while I knit, crochet, spin, or journal, you know? (Though I can knit or crochet while I read, if it's a nice, thick hardcover that will stay open on its own...)

The goal is twelve audiobooks; I'll probably do a few more, but that's where I'll start. I'll blog a review for each of them, and post it here.

My definite listens:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l'Engle
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine l'Engle
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine l'Engle
A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
Begun with my husband 01.27.2009

Completed to Date
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l'Engle (01/09)
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine l'Engle (01/09)
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine l'Engle (01/09)
A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick (03/09)
Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty (04/09)
Winter's Heart (The Wheel of Time, Book 9) by Robert Jordan (05/09)
Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time, Book 10) by Robert Jordan

Abandoned as Horrible
Hart's Blood by Orson Scott Card

In Progress
The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2) by Robert Jordan
Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, Book 11) by Robert Jordan

Save Handmade! Amend the CPSIA!

Cross-posted from my craft blog, because it's just that important.

Have you heard about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, or CPSIA for short? No? Well, our government has really done it this time!

The CPSIA is a new requirement for all items intended for babies and children. Its aim is good: keep kids safe from lead. But it's insane! Under its provisions, handmade items, especially one-of-a-kind handmade toys and clothes, are no longer feasible to make and sell.

In a nutshell, it requires that every single item intended for children and babies be tested for lead and the like, and have a tag permanently affixed to it. That may sound reasonable, right?

Think about it. If your neighbor is a seamstress who makes custom christening gowns for babies, she now has to make TWO IDENTICAL DRESSES and send one off to be tested (which destroys it). The remaining dress must have a permanent tag affixed to it, stating that it is safe.

If a handmade item is sold in a store, the store must display a certificate for that item, and for every other children's item! How does that work?

It's insane! For more information, see Craftzine's excellent post on the topic.