And apparently it struck Persistent Illusion last night. I was down for a while. But it appears that the only damage was to the newsfeed. That’s all been restored now. Fortunately Carp is easy to install and configure.

Everything should be back to what passes for normal around here. If you see anything whacked, let me know!

Two stories from Rio de Janeiro today:

A bill passed yesterday by the Rio state legislative assembly makes it illegal to sell some aromatic solvents and… shoe glue. It seems that shoe glue is a fairly “fun” substance and too many people are taking advantage of its narcotic properties. A wave of muggings by gangs is apparently being blamed on shoe glue sniffing by street kids.

I wonder if there are a lot of shoemakers in Rio? And if so, are they “happy” in their work? And what will they now do for glue, since the ban applies also to shoemakers until a regulatory process can be worked out?

Shoe glue was not on the agenda for six Brazilian men when they robbed a drug store in Rio last Sunday. They were after the drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction… Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. These drugs are sold without prescription in Brazil.

Perhaps that’s the source used by all those spam messages cluttering up my spam-collector email address? I’d prefer a trip to Rio. 🙂

I spent all weekend finishing up the ornaments for the folks at work. They were all finished and delivered on time! I’m pretty proud of myself for that. 😀

I worked a bit on the slippers that I wanted to make for K. But I’m finding that, in my zeal to make it warm, the felt I made is too thick. My poor Bernina is choking as it tries to stitch the upper to the sole. I’m not really very happy with the result. I’ll probably finish them, but I don’t know that they’ll be given as gifts.

In the meantime, I needed a TV-watching project, so I’ve decided to teach myself the continental style of knitting. I used to knit way-long-ago, but gave it up in favor of crochet, which for me has always been faster. But lately I’m finding that the motions of crochet are tough on my hands, even when I use a pad around the hook.

There are two basic styles of knitting (with a gazillion variations). I learned English style knitting, where the yarn is held in the right hand and “thrown” over the hook. I’ve always been fascinated by the continental (aka “German”) style, where the yarn is held in the left hand and picked up by the needle in a motion that’s rather like crochet. KnittingHelp.com has videos and pictures showing both styles.

Last night I knitted a swatch using the continental method. Wow… I am so out of practice! I couldn’t even remember how to cast on! Although it’s slow going right now, I can tell already that continental will be much faster than English. And since there is so little hand and finger movement, my hands didn’t feel at all trashed even though I knit for about 90 minutes straight! (I would have paid for 90 minutes of straight crochet, believe me.) I knit a few inches of stockinette stitch with size 5 needles, and then a few of 2K/2P ribbing.

If I can get this going well, I think I’ll try knitting a pair of socks. That doesn’t take too long and if the results are not what I’d like, I can still wear them in bed.

If I get really brave and back in practice, I might steal this sock scarf from Jerry at When Knitting Was A Manly Art, which he adapted from a this pattern in Knitter’s. I think the heels down the length of the scarf look strange and I like Jerry’s version a lot better. But I’d like to try it with one end as a toe-up sock and the other as a top-down.

If I get better, that is. I’ll start a little smaller.

According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, support for Dubya and his little war continues to slip.

56% of those asked now believe that the cost of the war outweighs the benefits and is not worth it.

57% disapprove of the way that Bush is handling the situation in Iraq.

53% disapprove of the way that Rumsfeld is doing his job.

52% believe that Rumsfeld should be replaced.

Fewer than half believe there has been significant progress towards restoring order. But 60% believe that the elections should take place in as scheduled in January, and 58% believe we should remain there until order is restored.

Bush’s approval rating on Iraq is down to 42%.

The margin of error is 3%.

I wonder where all of these people were during the election? What suddenly opened their eyes? And I keep reminding myself that Time’s Person Of The Year title is given to the person who has the largest impact — for good or ill.

Enjoy good food, but worried about the risk of cardiovascular disease? The Polymeal could be just the diet for you!

Dr Oscar Franco, a public health expert at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, decided to combine in one meal the foods that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Using a mathmatical model to determine the optimum combination and proportion of ingredients, Franco and his team came up with what they consider the best meal. The results of eating this meal, combined with non-smoking and exercise: For men, an additional 6.6 years added to their average lifespan plus a 9-year delay in the onset of heart disease. Women could live 5 years longer and delay heart disease by about 8 years.

And what is the Polymeal? Wine, dark chocolate, fruit and vegetables, garlic and almonds eaten daily, plus fish eaten 4 times a week.

The article addes that wine and chocolate should be consumed in moderation. But… I suggest eliminating the fruit, vegetables, garlic, almonds and fish.

Just go for the good stuff.

What if your apartment commanded a 360-degree view, and you never had to move from your favorite chair in order to take it all in? If you lived in Suite Vollard in Curitiba, Brazil, that’s exactly what you could do.

Suite Vollard is a new 11-story apartment building in eco-friendly Curitiba. Each floor is a single, 3000-sq-ft, $300,000 apartment. And each floor rotates independently through a full 360 degrees. Think of the top of the Space Needle in Seattle, except its every floor that rotates, not just the top of the building. The floors can rotate in either direction and at varying speeds. “Slow” speed gets you around the full circle in about an hour.

Each floor is faced in four different colors of glass: Silver, green, bronze and blue. As the floors turn independently of each other, different effects on the facade of the building are created by the changing colors.

The central part of the building, which houses the kitchen, bathroom, and other utilities does not turn. Lights, air conditioning and the revolving can be turned on and off via a control panel, a remote control or verbally.

The building is located in a residential neighborhood of Curitiba called Ecoville. The tower was the latest addition to Curitiba’s cutting-edge urban planning, which includes a much-copied transit system.

Suite Vollard is the world’s only revolving building. And I think it’s pretty cool. Considering what you get, $300K for 3000 square feet seems like a fairly reasonable price. I hesitate to even guess what these apartments would go for here in Stumptown.

Click on the pics to embiggen. More pictures are available here.

Mom’s take on Suite Vollard: