On May 16th, I placed an order at Amazon.com. It consisted of two crochet books, two DVDs, a memory stick, and a digital camera purchased through an Amazon vendor.

I have yet to receive any of these items.

I was charged immediately for the camera (over $260), but the only information I ever received about it was the default email sent by Amazon. I’ve emailed the vendor and gotten no response. Unfortunately, when I later checked his ratings, he’s recently gotten a lot of very back feedback about not sending items, not responding to inquiries, not refunding payments, etc. One of the most recent negative feedbacks stated that the customer received an email stating the vendor no longer stocks the camera that was ordered. I don’t know if it’s the same model I ordered, but if it is, wtf haven’t I gotten a refund yet? According to Amazon’s A-Z Guarantee, I can start a claim process with Amazon tomorrow, June 1st.

About a week ago, I recieved an email from Amazon that half my remaining purchases had shipped: one book and the memory stick. According to UPS tracking info, the package left Stafford, Tx, on May 27, going “out for delivery.” Well, it never got here. Checking UPS.com today shows this message:

THE PACKAGE WAS MISSED, NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO DELIVER AS SCHEDULED

Yet, the Status is listed as “Exception - On Time.” It’s now almost 7pm on May 31st and I really doubt the package is going to show up tonight.

The remaining book and DVDs have an estimated delivery date between June 6 - June 14.

Dale and I have purchased from Amazon a lot in the past, and we’ve already gotten great service, fast shipping, and the like. I don’t know what happened this time, but it’s like May 16th’s order is just cursed.

What kind of pirate am I? You decide!
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[via The Little Hedgehog, who I am 90% compatible with, after I redid some answers because I didn’t like being called a drooling child. :P]

About a week ago, I picked up a skein of Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool and a bunch of Kool-Aid packets. I used the directions at Knitty, but I forgot how much yarn I actually had and way overestimated on the amount of Kool-Aid I’d need. I think I bought 40 packets, 10 of four different flavors. I divided the skein into seven roughly even hanks and then dyed five of them. Four are straight flavors, one is mixed. I left two hanks undyed.

Clockwise from top:

• (Dark Red) Black Cherry + Orange + Mountainberry Twist (?)
• (Red) Black Cherry
• (Orange) Orange
• (Pink) Soarin’ Strawberry Lemonade
• (Light Pink) Pink Lemonade

Overall, I’m very pleased with the results, though the two lighter pinks have a lot of variation, even though I used plenty of Kool-Aid mix. Now I just need to figure out what to make from the yarn.

Up late and bored, I Googled variations on my name. One of the results was a web page where someone took the time to Google and MSN Search common first names to compare the top hits from each search engine (for 2004). Unsurprisingly, “Pamela Anderson” was the top Google hit for “Pamela,” but “Pamela Hichens” was the top hit for MSN Search.

Buh?

Crazy Ebay Mom

This guy’s mother is an Ebay junkie who’s literally filled her house with crap bought through the auction site. Though there’s some humor to the story and unbelievable photographs, it’s also quite sad.

The Something Awful thread where it was originally posted has additional comments from the son.

I’d just made several overdue posts to Olivia’s blog about our recent trip to New York and Virginia, and about her being sick. My baby has a sinus infection.

Most of the trip updates are wav files because I haven’t transcribed the recordings yet. But at least you get to hear my chipmunk voice accompanied by baby babbling.

A sweet friend, Gretchen, has challenged us to post 5 things we’re grateful for and pass this along to others.

Okay I challenge everyone to find five things that they are happy about / grateful for today… They don’t have to be big things… just FIVE things.. DO IT.

1. First of all and forever, I’m grateful to be blessed with Olivia and Dale.
2. Though Olivia is sick (sinus infection), I’m grateful it’s not worse and that she’s continued to be such a happy baby.
3. I’m grateful to have been able to spend the past week with my family, who live on the east coast so we don’t get to visit often.
4. I’m grateful for the tax return that came just in time for us to give my sister a big present in honor of her graduation from NYU with a Masters in Professional Studies.
5. And finally, I’m grateful that Dr Pepper comes in a decaf variety.

There’s so much more I could add, but these are the first five that came to mind. What are you grateful for?

A team of knitters from the Houston Center For Contemporary Art have knitted a cozy for a Volkswagon Beetle. The project’s used roughly 7 miles of yarn.

…jiggity jig.

So, Dale, Olivia, and I are back from our New York/Virginia trip. Lots to write about and even more photos to upload, but I’m already tired of sitting at my computer where I’ve been getting caught up on my web reads. So, picture posty updates will have to wait.

Welcome to Geek Fantasies - created by geeks for geeks. We’ve scoured the web looking for the hottest, tech-savvy girl geeks the world has to offer.

Have you ever fantasized about a room full of sexy college coeds sweating over a match of Strip-Counterstrike; or perhaps you long to see young, bikini-clad sweethearts slaving away with soldering irons, installing mod-chips in their home consoles?

We know what you want and we know how you like it.

“Your fireball has been… resisted.” [via 7805.org]

Well, Dale, Olivia, and I have been in New York for the last two days. We’ve come up for Phaedra’s graduation and associated festivites, then we’re going down to Virginia for a few days. On Saturday, we’re going to have an early birthday part for Mom (June 16th), Phaedra (June 2nd), and me (June 28th). We’ll be back home on May 15th with lots of pictures to upload.

I hope all you Moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day. My first one was great! We had a nice lunch with Dale’s family on Sunday, then we got to see mine the next day. Many many thanks and hugs for the lovely flowers (wow, Gretchen!), cards, e-cards, and gifts!

Flowers and gratitude to all you Moms out there!

…by suspending their kids.

Bah.

We Are Family - a collection of disturbingly lifelike human/mutant sculptures by artist Patricia Piccinini. I think this Young Family baby is rather cute. Dale thinks I am weird. [indirectly via Capt. Spastic]

Another artist named Patricia (Waller) has done a series of cartoony violent sculptures - in crochet.

And finally, though there are no Patricias involved in this last project (that I know of), it involves crochet and some people would consider it art, though it started out as a tactile representation of Euclidian geometry. A Gallery of Crocheted Hyperbolic Models.

I just finished watching my sister’s live streaming thesis presentation. Her subject was pretty interesting and she did a great job with the presentation. She even had to end one segment of the presentation because it was entertaining and amusing the audience too much.

I’m so proud of Phaedra! And I’ve never seen a cuter waving pillow.

There are so many things to say about this, but I think the product’s description says enough.

Protect our troops - from the womb to the war. What if the fetus you were going to abort would grow up to be a soldier bringing democracy to a godless dictatorship?

Plastic replica of an 11-12 week old fetus, 3″ long, holding a firearm in its precious little hand, with an assortment of other military paraphernalia, encased in a translucent plastic ornament, with a patriotic yellow ribbon on top. Includes a metal ornament hanger. If only a womb were this safe, attractive and reasonably priced!

Show that you support the “culture of life” by buying and proudly displaying one of these patriotic unborn Americans.

Also available in a “Brown” model

[via daddytypes.com]

No frat boys were harmed in the making of this movie, though one may be slightly singed.

Good thing that kitty was declawed.