On the knitting front, I’ve started the gusset increases on the Wildfoote socks. I like the blueberry waffle pattern with the Wildfoote yarn. It’s working out well. And it appears that the socks will fit well. Can’t wait to finish them.

Of course, that means I have to actually work on them, and I can’t seem to manage more than 4 or 5 rounds a night.

Last night #1 Son asked when I was going to “get those things done” so I could start on his socks. Oh… and I was going to make him some gloves, too, right?

“They” did something to my work email over the weekend. In the process, every email message received in my account since March 1st was remarked as “unread.” This poses a problem, because I normally leave messages that I need to respond to unread so I remember to follow up. There are now about 600 email messages I need to go through to determine what I was doing with them, and whether they should be marked “read” or left “unread.”

But even worse is my calendar. Every item since mid-January in my already full calendar has been duplicated, triplicated or quadruplicated. Every one. From January through next December. Many are repeating entries, but I can’t delete all of the repeats, or it deletes all of the duplicates also.

After several long conversations with techie support guys, it appears that there’s no solution but to delete all of the duplicate calendar entries one by one. Well… there is another solution, but it would involve losing all of the email I’ve received since Saturday, which is not OK.

I’m shuddering to think what’s going to happen when I try to sync my Palm.

In searching for a Latin dictionary to make sure I spelled requiescat in pace correctly (spelling… not my strong suit), I ran across the Free Online English To Latin Translator. Not limited to English and Latin, it will translate either a phrase or an entire web page from a dozen languages to a dozen languages, all for the nominal fee of $zero.

It’s fun to play with. Want to read Pertinax Simulatus instead of Persistent Illusion? No problemo.

I had the most fun, though, in translating from English to English. One would think that the oustput would be substantially similar to the input, but that is not actually the case. There must be several “interesting” intermediate steps.

In the previous post, I said:

There’s a rumor that the Homeland Security Threat Advisory System of colors and threat levels will be discontinued. I’m sorry to announce that, should that prove to be the case, the Persistent Illusion Magical Lucky Charms level will also cease to be. Requiescat in pace.

This is helpfully translated from English to English as:

In situ’ a publish special loveDisplaced Safety Defiance Expedient Order incomplete variegation with defiance be uniform resolution exist be discontinuous. Im’ unimportant be the cause of predict special, support special number be the cause of exist, loveLive to fight again Imperfect vision Magic Opportune Motive be uniform resolution also discontinue be the cause of exist. Requiescat internal successive change of place.

I hope I’ve made that perfectly clear!

There’s a rumor that the Homeland Security Threat Advisory System of colors and threat levels will be discontinued.

I’m sorry to announce that, should that prove to be the case, the Persistent Illusion Magical Lucky Charms level will also cease to be.

Requiescat in pace.

Gauri Nanda, an MIT graduate student, has invented an alarm clock that requires getting out of bed to find it. After one push — or in my case it would be slap — of the snooze alarm, Clocky falls to the floor and rolls away. To turn the thing off, one must get up and find it.

Nanda is currently developing a prototype and hopes to begin testing it soon with future world marketing in mind. Judging from the amount of interest Clocky has generated, it will probably be a hit.

Clocky features a built-in computer chip that causes it to roll a random distance, guaranteeing that it will end up in a different place each time. It has rubber wheels and is covered in carpet to help cushion its fall to the floor.

“My parents had amplifiers that looked like they were covered in carpet,” she [Nanda] said. “I went with it because it’s unconventional looking and gives the clock a playful personality. Maybe it’ll even make the user laugh.”

In my checkered youth, I possessed stereo speakers covered with shag, so I would feel right at home with Clocky.

But the real question, of course, is…

Would it get #1 Son out of bed?